"Still - in a way - nobody sees a flower - really - it is so small - we haven't time - and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time."
                                                                   Georgia O'Keeffe

August beauties...loving the crape myrtle trunks..

• Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the Earth are never alone or weary of life   

                                                                                              Rachel Carson

  
  

  

JOURNAL....Lessons, learning and changes

October 7, 2017


We had two areas renovated by our guys from John Newman's landscape design company and created a new sitting and viewing area in the bak of the yard and in front of the house.  Adding to the new plantings of evergreens (deodar cedar, etc.) we creating a beautiful view near the wooded area of our lot and a great enhancement of our front garden.

Next year, I want to figure out what to do with my mthly grasses.  They don't look as good as past years and I figure they needed to be divided.

I also should:

-perhaps remove or transplant the perennial chrysanthemums.  Maybe I will just cut them back hard.
-really clean up area around compost....maybe pots with annuals; perennials don't do well and bloom too short
-need to plant zinnias somewhere also in the area of compost, raised bed.

Butterflies:

Lots of action on the false ageratum, which, by the way, looks great in a drift. Blooming late Sep./Oct
Need to move Montauk Daisy and cut back early spring.

Want to plant several varieties of asclepius in the area so Monarchs can find it near the ageratum.

Saw hardly any yellow swallowtails and usually have tons of them, especially on tiger lillies.

I love:

The hellebores.  Very healthy and reproduce well.  Flowers a pale purple.
Annuals:  coleus and   did really well. Rabbits ate homestead purple verbena and asters
Not sure about honeysukle vine on black trellis.  Maybe needs more twining?
Clematis (purple) came back but lack of water caused dieback at the bottom
Echinachea reproduced and throwback to the cross variety; paler than original.  Reblooming now so will cut back after bloom next year.  The goldfinch loved the seed pods

A Great Tool....the Bulb Planting Auger

I just posted information about my new favorite tool...check it out on my blog http://www.gardencoachws.blogspot.com/

The little Crowder peas

September 3, 2016.    It seems like ages since I have written in my garden journal. The subject today is Crowder peas. I have just shelled a bag full and am planning to cook them tonight.  They bring back memories of my mother who loved them.  She and my father liked all kinds of Southern country cooking....e.g turnips, mustard greens, corn, fried chicken, blackberry pies.  I didn't like any of the greens but could take an ample quantity of the last three.

Today I picked a bagful of the Crowder peas.  We had planted them last spring in our watermelon patch at the food bank garden. I figured they will get along well with the watermelon since the peas grow up and the watermelon spirals out.  Turned out to be a great combination except that I forgot we planted them and one of the other volunteers and I almost pulled them up thinking they were weeds.

Oops...we let them grow and some other volunteers asked, when can we pick the peas? I didn't know

but we picked some that were still on the green side.  They were tiny but tasted ok raw.  This week we had a group of 15 managers from the Food Lion Supermarkets.  Although several of them weren't familiar with growing produce.Thankfully, there was one manager who knew when to pick the peas!  Yeah!  Pick them when the shells are red.  He was so right.

Tonight I'm going to test them so I will post the results and my recipe.

Oh, I forgot to say that growing Crowder peas was suggested by Mary Jac Brennan, one of the Forsyth County Extension Agents.  Not only did they taste good, but they also serve as a cover crop to fix nitrogen in the soil, as do all legumes.  You can't beat that....you eat them and they do something else good.

My garden spring 08

Summer scenes from my garden

HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH DROUGHT?

This summer we have had many over 90 degrees with very little rain during June and July. Although we have had some water restrictions in the past, we haven't had any yet. There is much to learn and do to conserve water. It will probably continue to be a problem in NC. 

Here are things I have learned and plants I recommend for gardening in NC:

1. Select Drought Tolerant Plants

My best picks for drought tolerant plants:

Yarrow (photo above) Shasta Daisy, Cosmos, Rudbekkia, Vinca, Lavender, Geranium, Lamb's Ear. All ornamental grass(NOT the lawn grass), such as Miscanthus and Muhly Grass, Many shrubs and trees such as dogwood are drought tolerant. All succulent plants are great, such as hens and chicks (which are also perennial), ice plant, portulaca,etc.
Worst:
Impatiens, Hydrangea, Morning Glory, Lawn grass
Moderate:
Roses, Chrysanthemum, Coleus, Begonia, Malva family (e.g. hollyhock)
Most of my garden is sunny so I'm not including the good dry shade plants, but there are many.
The other things I have learned:
2. Use drip irrigation (as early in the morning as possible).3. In fact, Water early in the day for everything. 4. Water deeply, especially when planting so that the roots can go as deep and therefore be protected from drying out on the surface. 5. Amend the soil with as much compost as possible. It retains water, improves the structure of the soil and provides vital nutrients. Make your own compost with fruit and vegetable discards from the kitchen. 6. Mulch, mulch, mulch. We use soil conditioner as it breaks down quickly and improves the soil. I like shredded hardwood or pine straw for some areas as they give a nice clean look and set off the plants. Mulch also keeps weeds under control. Living mulches are also good, such as ground covers that are drought tolerant.7. Plant a rain garden to collect water runoff. 8. Nearly every plant will withstand drought better when it is established and/or larger and shrub like. Newly planted plants are very vulnerable to drought, so avoid planting new plants and/or seeds when it is hot and dry. 9. Finally, get a rain barrel. We are getting one installed in our vegetable garden to collect rain off the roof from the drain pipe. Rain water is an endangered resource and is much better for the plants. A huge amount can be collected with one downpour. Will let you know how it works.


See "Links" in right sidebar resources on Water Conservation and Drought Tolerant Gardening (NC State Ext. Service has NC list). See my photos for drought tolerant plants on the sidebar.

Children and youth have a great time at the Food Bank Garden www.foodbankgarden.blogspot.com

Iris Farm Wonderland (This is a small rewrite of the entry I wrote two years ago; the garden will be in full bloom around May 1)

A Wonderland of Iris

My irises are coming up better each year. 

Several years ago when I first returned to Winston-Salem, I drove by Meadowlark Road  and noticed a field with many small signs. Thinking that it might be a day lily farm, I was even more curious when I began to see the plants growing. It occurred to me that this might be a nursery of some sort, but there were no signs or other indication of what it might be. On May 12, my friend Patsy called to say that she was going to the Iris Farm so let's meet there. Since I wasn't able to go on that day, I really forgot about it. I had no idea that this was the same field I had been observing for some time. That afternoon I decided to call Patsy about something else and she was IN the iris field selecting iris for her new garden. Her excitement indicated to me that now I HAD to go to the Iris Farm and SOON before the iris had stopped blooming. Although they had already reached their "peak", there were still still plenty to enjoy.

It turns out that the iris in the field below was created  by the 86 year old  mother of Faye Short  (she's the one in the photo below). Visitors were welcome anytime. I couldn't believe what I saw. Purchases are possible from the 2000 varieties available; yet, it seems that the main purpose of this garden was the sheer joy it brings to the community. Mrs. Short's sister  described it as their  mother's obsession gone wild.

TIPS on iris cultivation from these experts:

Iris need full sun, don't care much about the soil type (and grow well in our dense clay soil in western NC). When planting these iris (as soon as possible), plant them with the rhizomes near the top of the soil (in another words plant them high), cut off the folIage to about 5". This will encourage root development and a clumping effect, if done every fall.

I came home with twelve new iris, all different colors. I went with the idea of getting maybe 12 of the same color; forget it! Hopefully, I'll get some bloom next year, but it maybe be a little later. Meanwhile, I have these wonderful photos to encourage my anticipation of the future bloom in early May.

IT'S APRIL 2009 NOW AND MY IRIS ARE COMING UP ALL OVER MY YARD; ONE HAS A BLOOM JUST GETTING READY TO OPEN. PHOTOS TO COME AS SOON AS THEY BLOOM.

IF YOU ARE ANYWHERE NEAR WINSTSON-SALEM, NC GO TAKE A LOOK AT THE FARM. YOU WILL BE AMAZED.

Oh, if you want to see this Iris Farm, it's approximately 920 Meadowlark Rd. in Winston-Salem, NC. Go in early May to see the peak of bloom.

David Bare, the garden columnist for the Winston -Salem Journal wrote and extensive article about the iris farm in the Friday, May 6 paper (see Journalnow.com).

First roses in my garden...May 1, 2009

Our Water Garden....We Did It Ourselves!

Garden Coaching: What is It?

Simply put, garden coaching is like any other coaching. A person with experience guides another person. It could also be called garden mentoring. Recently there has been an increase in home gardening, especially vegetable gardening. When a person is just learning or is moving to a new place, they might want someone to help figure out next steps. Whether you want a flower garden or a vegetable garden, it should be a fun process for all involved.

As a Garden Coach, I do not do the actual installations but I teach you how to develop your own garden. Here are a few types of situations that might be aided by a garden coach:


-planning a garden for a new home (or renovating an existing one)

-planting a perennial bed, a cutting garden, a cottage garden, children's garden , etc.

-improving your property if you want to put your property on the market

-analyzing what will grow best on your property, sketching a plan

-tips on what tools, soils and plants you can use and where to get them

-go to the nursery to choose plants if you wish

-starting a vegetable or herb garden

-developing a maintenance plan including teaching you how to prune, water, weed, etc.

-incorporating your goals for conservation and environmental responsibility into your garden

If you are more interested, check out my garden coach blog at gardencoachws.blogspot.com

Facebook | Garden Coaching and Design in Winston-Salem, NC Reviews

Check it out.....Facebook Garden Coaching and Design in Winston-Salem, NC Reviews

Books and such

While the snow is on the ground, gardeners can relax from the busy times of the planting seasons. I just got my first two catalogues.  Cook's Garden catalogue is a feast for the eyes.  It's a good time to plan as well.  I will begin to look at my notes from last year and think about how to move things around, where to start new flower beds, etc.  I don't think I will do much winter sowing unless I direct sow larkspur and other hardy annuals. I will really push the envelope by planting some daffodils that never got into the ground.  I planted them as late as Christmas in New York and am not sure I can get by with that here in WS. Meanwhile at the Food Bank Farm we have truckloads of leaves to get distributed into the fields in time to decompose for the spring planting. 

Since January and February provide a great time to dig into gardening books, I want to remind folks to look at the book Community Garden, published by Brooklyn Botanic Garden a year ago.  Hopefully, it will inspire you to look at ways to start your own community garden.

Winter Beauty Camellias

I'm introducing this series of posts on winter gardening with this most beautiful Camellia that was planted in my yard near the front door by the previous occupants. It blooms every winter.  These flowers often seem "out of sync" with the rest of the landscape at this time of year but I love it. According to the NC State Extension another good choices for winter color is Camellia x 'Crimson Candles'. The new foliage is bronze- red, and the flowers bloom in Feb and March. Both these plants can withstand night temperatures in the 20s and is hardy in USDA zones 7 through 9.

Home from Hotlanta...American Commmunity Gardening Association Fabulous Annual Conference

Participants loved to explore the gardens...this is the Dill Street Community Garden that is part of the Sullivan Community Center in Atlanta

I haven't blogged in a while but am still on a "high" from a fabulous annual conference for ACGA and NEED to write about it because it was so wonderful. Previous conferences have been held in Portland (Oregon), Indianapolis, Chicago, Philadelphia, NYC, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Toronto, Boston, Columbus (Ohio) and Atlanta again (did I forget any?).  This conference took place August 6-8 at the Loudermilk Center in downtown Atlanta.

The mood of the conference was enthusiastic, inspiring and hopeful. There was amazing energy among a truly diverse group of nearly 300 participants of all ages and backgrounds. The conference was filled with great workshops, garden tours and excellent speakers (including First Lady Michelle Obama via videotape about the White House vegetable garden and her commitment to fighting child obesity). The theme "A Holistic Approach to Building Sustainable and Healthy Communities " was carried out beautifully with an emphasis on how community gardens can be a force in preventing childhood obesity and promoting child health.  Speakers and workshops gave great examples of how this is being done in schools, community gardens, food banks, etc. 

Two workshops that I attended were outstanding.

Bikes and busses were the methods of transportation to visit community gardens

Founder of a booming neighborhood community garden in a lot behind her backyard

Participant from a new citywide program in San Francisco

"Growing Healthy Kids: Community Garden with Obesity Prevention in Mind" was presented by Maria Hill from Chapel Hill, NC.  Maria shared their experience from three years of establishing new community gardens to serve immigrant families with young children. The one in Chapel Hill primarily includes Latino families who are learning to grow food for their children and encouraging healthy eating habits of fresh vegetables and fruits. Close to 30 per cent of children in NC are either obese or in danger of obesity leading to higher child rates of hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol.

The Mother Hubbard's Cupboard is a food pantry in Bloomington Indiana. Leader Stephanie Solomon led a workshop "Growing Food Access: Garden Education at the Food Pantry". Mother Hubbard sponsors four gardens which are tended by those who receive food from the food pantry.  Stephanie shared great ideas for connecting families with healthy eating habits.

 I left feeling in awe of how brilliantly these women are organizing truly  "holistic" programs.

Dill Street Community Garden
Program of Sullivan Community Center

(Top)Atlanta's Community ToolBank progam that lends tools for communtiy programs
(Bottom) Tool shed that has a solar panel to provide power for lights and sound systems)

Experienced and enthusasitc gardener tells us about her plants including this awesome Princess Amaranth

Bus and bike tours to community gardens were fun and inspiring. I really learned a lot about design, crops, community organizing and eco practices.  I went to three outstanding community gardens plus the Atlanta ToolBank Program (www.atlanta.toolbank.org) which was a totally new concept for me. This is a lending warehouse for tools for gardening, home repairs and other community projects.  Tools can be borrowed for a week.  ToolsUSA is now a new organization based on the Atlanta model and the next one will be in Charlotte!  (Just wish I could get some tools for our Food Bank Community Garden project with 80 wake Forest students next weekend when we convert our garden from a summer to a fall garden).

My only regret is not having photos of a fabulous party on Saturday night at the Urban Metro Farm with every kind of southern food, a blues band and a tour of their new farm. A silent auction yielded $1500 for ACGA.

Ursula Chance from Bronx Greenup...checking out that mulch!

I returned home feeling renewed and refreshed.  I'm inspired to keep connecting with these great people, especially those in our NC gardens and to improve our Food Bank Community Garden here in Winston-Salem.  (http://www.foodbankgarden.blogspot.com/)

Thanks to the organizers and the great participants.  Bobby Wilson and Kathy Walker of Fulton County Extension are the best!

For more information about the American Community Gardening Association, go to http://www.communitygarden.org/

Spring Bulbs in Bloom

April2013

Pollination Works!

Ilex 
verticullata, a native holly, is one of my favorite plants. I LOVE IT!  Anyway, I bought two. You have to have male and female to get berries.  The male, quite appropriately is named 'Jim Dandy' and is very low key obviously with no berries.  However, he did his work, or at least the pollinators did.  The female is full of berries.  In addition, and this is the really cool news, there is another very  large shrub in my garden which I inherited from a previous owner.  I knew it was deciduous but I couldn't figure out what it was.  It was so blah that I pruned it back bigtime last spring and was even thinking of taking it down. It had flowers which were very inconsipicuous.
 
Now, at the end of summer, it  is full of berries...amazing,  my own very large Ilex verticullata, commonly know as winter berry.  When everything else is colorless and bear and bleak, it is in its shining glory.
Continuing to love this tree like shrub, I'm now a total convert to the amazing wonder of pollination.

Now, rush out and get one, but make sure you get two...male and female.  I love Jim Dandy.

Making Our Water Garden

Richard and I put together our water garden ourselves, after much consideration of whether we could do it. Of course, getting prices from professionals gave us a pretty good idea we would have to do it ourselves or not at all. We drew our plan, had a big hole dug, got the flexible liner, skimmer box, water fall, plumbing things, some water plants ( water lilies, pickerel weed, acoris, etc.) We ordered a ton of stones and put them around the edges.

We love to sit on our deck listening to the sound of the water fall and watching the dragon flies, fish, flowers on the water lilies and anything else. There is a lot of life in a pond. We had two frog visitors but they only stayed a few days.

Squash Rules! First harvest of squash at the Food Bank Community Garden here in Winston-Salem,NC

The Good, the Bad and It Depends Where You Are

I haven't blogged for a while and have a lot of catching up to do. Of course, everyone out there knows that this time of year is more doing than thinking and I have been totally immersed in the world outdoors, plus my computer died. Now I'm back in action during the middle of the day when it's just too hot to be outside in North Carolina.

I decided to write about my experience in NC vs. my experience in Brooklyn, NY. It's amazing that even though I garden in both which share Zone 7, there is a huge difference in what goes well here and there and here and there.

Comparison of specific plants that grow well for me here (in my sunny hot location) and there (in my Brooklyn shade garden). Lest you say, aha, it's sun vs. shade, I know many of these plants growing in full sun at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in NYC and Reynolda Gardens here in NC.

Shasta Daisies.....totally a winner in NC and always a failure for my in Blyn.
Hydrangeas........totally a winner in NYC and not so hot for me here in NC
Oakleaf Hydrangeas.....the MOST beautiful flowers in my Brooklyn shade garden; just planted one here in NC....we will see. After all it's a native to the south east.
Day lilies..............totally a winner in NC and not so hot in NYC, except the NY Botanical garden where they have an extraordinary day lily collection
Hostas........I guess it depends on the variety as some do well here in NC but one which was spectacular in my Brooklyn garden did not do well as a transplant here. I tried seveal times iin the shadiest part of my garden; meanwhile,other hostas are doing great. Conclusion is that it depends on the variety.
Cercis canadensis "Redbud" ....Fabulous in NC, the woods are full of them blooming in the spring; a rarity in NYC
Crape Myrtles.....Fabulous and probably over used in NC; just beginning to be known and popular in NY.. Brooklyn Botanic garden has a terrific collection.
Balloon flowers....great in NC; never grew them in NYC
Lavender....Have great luck in NC with plants I bought in Long Island; never could grow them in NYC
Nepeta....Grows well here but really falls apart when it gets hot; much longer bloom time in NYC
Echinacea....They are fabulous in NYC and I wasn't able to get much bloom until this year, 3 years after planting
Rudbekkia....Great in both places
Lilacs...Unbelievable in NYC and very rare in NC. I've seen one this season.

Why these differences....Soil is VERY different. In NC it's clay and in Brooklyn, well it has more organic material and lots more rock. In NC the winter is about a month shorter so everything is at least two to four weeks ahead. Heat and humidity....higer in NC. Amount of rain; can vary totally. This year NC is having fair amount of rain and NYC is having huge amounts of rain. When I recently visited NY I can never remember, in the 40 years of living there that the tree canopy from the air was as green and lush as it is now.

Of course, the fall leaves are another topic as they are very different in NC and NY. Will wait for that until my October report. Meanwhile Ithink I'll go have a glass of sweet ice tea.

My organic roses

What can be more beautiful than the first roses of spring? These blooms, photographed on Mother's Day are my gift to myself. I am trying to use all organic practices....constantly enriching the soil, mulching, using organic spray, removing Japanese beetles by hand, organic fertilizers, etc. The proof will be as the summer progresses. I also water with underground irrigation and also my rain barrel collection. All of the collected water goes into my roses. I'm in Zone 7 in Winston-Salem, NC.

More later as the summer progresses and I get more photos. For more on roses, also see the post on my friend Kay's beautiful rose garden in Raleigh, NC.

Zephrin Drouhin....an heirloom French rose

Summer Bliss

Community Gardening Guidebook Goes into Second Printing!

 A much needed resource for starting a community garden or for learning more about it....Available from bbg.org and amazon.com. See sidebar for details about contents.  Photos alone are worth the price and tell the story.                                                                                

Installing a Rain Barrel Step by Step

Installing a rain barrel is great fun and terribly satisfying. We can collect 55 gallons in this barrel with less than 1 " of rain off our roof. See right hand column for all the steps to installing your own barrel. With a drip hose channeled from the barrel we can water our ten rose bushes with a steady slow watering for over an hour. Try it. You'll love it!