I hate moles because one winter, they ate all of the 250 tulips I planted.

When none of the flowers came up the following spring, I looked around to see if there were any really fat moles laying around on their backs, looking contented.

And I was out a bunch of money.

Now, I plant only daffodils, which are toxic to moles. You can guess what I am hoping for...

Sweeney's is hoping you'll write your mole story and send it to them.

The company is running its third annual "I hate moles because..." contest and the winner will receive a $500 Lowe's Home Improvement Gift Card.

 If you want to see the winning essays from the last two years --- the most aggravating mole incidents and the most creative solutions -- go to Sweeney's Web site. Contest details are there. This year, you can enter video versions of your story.

 And this is key: You don't actually have to have triumphed over your mole to enter the contest!

Posted by Susan Reimer at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden contests
        

There is something about the energy of youth that is, well, exhausting.

My garden column today in The Sun describes Eliza Toomey's Row-by-Row project in the Annapolis neighborhood of Murray Hill.

She will be planting a single crop in small garden patches located in the yards of 21 of her neighbors.

The 25-year-old middle school teacher, who will have more time on her hands when school ends for the year in June, hopes to go from garden to garden, hauling a garden cart behind her bike.

She will cultivate each garden - the homeowners will water and she welcomes their help with other chores - she will harvest the crops and then distribute them in equal amounts to her 21 new friends.

My friend Jane, who first told me of Eliza's plans, will have a watermelon patch in her backyard.

I will be checking back with Eliza throughout the summer, and I will let you know how her project is going.

And I told her she is welcome in my Annapolis neighborhood next year.

Eliza is also blogging about her project. You can read her updates and see her pictures here.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Vegetable gardening
        

Designing Container Gardens for Summer, Thursday, 7 p.m., Valley View Farms.

National Arboretum azalea collection tour, Friday, 10 a.m. to noon. Fee, $9. Registration required.

Patio Plants with Pizazz, Saturday, 9 a.m., Valley View Farms. Plant expert Cindi Fielder will show how to create containers using combinations of not just annual flowers, but perennials, tropical plants, trees, and shrubs.

Herring Run Nursery native plant sale, Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Herring Run Nursery, 6131 Hillen Road. Native shrubs and trees as well.

London Town plant sale, Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon, Historic London Town and Gardens. Native and exotic plants from the 8-acre grounds, plus 60 varieties of heirloom tomatoes and gently used gardening books. Free garden tours, activities for children and advice from Master Gardeners.

Mt. Washington Flower and Garden Show, Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. In the parking lot of Baltimore Clayworks, 5700 Smith Ave. Advice from Master Gardeners and seed packets for kids. Lots of plants for sale. Crafters, too.

A Year in a Rose Garden, Saturday, 11 a.m., Valley View Farms. Learn about the best varieties of roses to grow from Bradd Yoder of Star Roses.

Water Gardens 101, Sunday, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Willow Grove Farm. A Cromwell Valley Park program to help gardeners get started water gardening, plus a visit to the new pond in the children's garden. Reservations required.

National Arboretum Garden Fair and Plant Sale, Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friends of the National Arboretum only. Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., open to the public. Any remaining plants will be sold at bargain prices on Sunday, 10 a.m. to noon. New, rare and hard to find plants from specialty nurseries in the region. Also featuring the widest range of plant and vendors of any gardening event in the Washington area.

Photo credit: Valley View Farms Nursery

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Categories: Garden events
        

How deeply seated in the human heart is the liking for gardens and gardening. -- Alexander Smith

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Categories: Garden quotations
        

Guest blogger Joannah Hill on summer-flowering bulbs: 

Spring has barely begun and I'm already thinking about summer. Sure, tulips and daffodils are great, but I have to confess I only consider them a warm-up act for summer-blooming bulbs.

My foxtail lilies have already thrown out foliage and the allium schubertii have the beginnings of buds. I won't see either of those bloom until June, but it was incentive to start planting some of the other summer-blooming bulbs.

The earliest of the summer bloomers are ranunculus and anemones. But don't try to chew on those tongue-twisters; use their lovely common names instead -- buttercups and windflowers. I asked my little neighbors (ages 4 and 6) to help me plant and they got a lesson on which end is up with these funny-looking bulbs.

Windflower bulbs look like mini-meteorites, and figuring out top from bottom is a thankless task. Plant this one on its side -- or rather the narrow edge. This is actually a good rule of thumb for any perplexing bulb. Upside-down bulbs are a nonstarter. If a bulb is on its side, the shoot will find its way to the surface.

Buttercups are easier to figure out. The bulbs remind me of a jellyfish with its tentacles hanging down. Just remember toes down with this one. My young helpers had fun planting buttercups, plunging the bulbs into the dirt with a vigorous stabbing motion. Luckily the bulbs were sturdier than they looked and survived the enthusiastic planting method.

Freesia and gladiola are best planted after Mother's Day. Find a sunny spot for these bulbs. You can treat the sweet-scented freesia as an annual, as I do, or the bulbs can be lifted and stored in your basement over winter. I leave gladiolas in the ground and I've had some return beautifully year after year and others that produce a few strappy leaves and nothing else. I guess you plant your glads and take your chances.

Last, but not least, are my favorites -- the dahlias. Even though they are all over the garden centers now, do not be tempted to plant them in the garden yet. I usually wait until Memorial Day weekend to plant dahlias. You can, however, start them indoors in pots to jump start the season. The tubers can be lifted and overwintered indoors but I prefer to treat them as annuals. That means I can always try new varieties. I grow four or five heirloom dahlias each year and the plants flower through October. 

If you try only one dahlia this year, I recommend Bishop of Llandaff. The Bishop is an heirloom from the early 1920s and has deep red blooms and burgundy foliage. It's leggy and will have to be staked, which is kind of a pain. But all is forgiven, especially when I still have vases full of the long-stemmed flowers just as the leaves on the trees are beginning to fall.

Ranunculus photo credit: iStockphoto

Posted by Joannah Hill at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Flowers in the Garden
        

 Photo credit: Barbara Holdridge

Barbara Holdridge, owner of the historic Stemmer House in Baltimore County and a past winner of The Baltimore Sun garden contest, talks about her "vision" of her 28-acre property.

"I began gardening at this site in 1973, when there were only some big oaks and tulip trees and such. Otherwise, there were acres of fields, which challenged me to work my will on them.

"I always tell people to start planting the big stuff -trees, bushes and other long-lived ornamentals- as soon as they arrive. Years later, they will thank themselves for the major, majestic landscape they have created.

"I love water in gardens, too, in ponds, pools and fountains. I don't fill all open spaces, though; the eye needs them. So water and vistas are essential to me.

"The garden grows in increments, as I stand in a spot and 'visualize.' That's what I call it when I am in my glassy-eyed mode: 'No, there's nothing wrong, I'm just visualizing.' And then the visualizing becomes reality, and I have taken over one more part of the acreage, like Attila the Hun rampaging through wherever, but leaving long spaces between, for those eye-pleasing vistas."

We'd love to see your garden. Send pictures and write us a few words about why you like to garden or what your garden means to you, to gardenvariety@baltsun.com

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Categories: Your garden
        

And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden . . . You will find yourself a partner in the Glory of the Garden.-- Rudyard Kipling

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Categories: Garden quotations
        

EAT YOUR VEGETABLES: Carrie Lyle posts about vegetable gardening each Tuesday.

I’ve tended the same community garden plot since 2002. Over the years, I’ve become more familiar with the plot — how soon the soil can be worked in spring, which areas get the most sun, how frequently I need to water in the heat of summer. On the other hand, the more I work the same plot, the more seasons become a blur. Did I plant soybeans in the first or second bed last year? Which zucchini survived the squash vine borers?

Each spring, I plan my garden on a sheet of graph paper, marking vegetable varieties and when to plant and harvest. This goes in a pocket of my gardening tote for reference. By the end of the season, though, my plan is blurred by accidental waterings and smudged by dirty fingerprints. That makes it a challenge to figure out where to rotate my crops the next year.

This year, I tested two online garden planning tools in the hopes of finding a more convenient form of record-keeping. Here’s how they stacked up:

growveg.com
$20 for 1 year / free 45-day trial  

Growveg.com is simple to use — almost too simple. Beginner gardeners will appreciate the collection of informational articles in the GrowGuides section of the site. In addition, the planning tool has a menu that brings up basic growing information for each vegetable. However, I couldn’t figure out a way to list the specific varieties of plants I’m growing — the whole point, for me, of drawing up a plan online.

One nice feature is that you can look up the frost date for your ZIP code and automatically calculate sowing and harvesting dates. Then, you can set up automatic e-mail reminders. However, some of the information on the planting and harvesting chart was inaccurate. For example, according to the chart, carrots can be planted from mid-April through the end of June. I’ve found that they can be sown much later.

plangarden.com
$25 for 1 year / free 30-day trial 

Although the graphics are more attractive on growveg.com, plangarden.com wins when it comes to functionality. Its planning tool is similar to growveg.com, but more customizable. For example, the harvest chart can be adjusted to differentiate between a tomato that matures in 60 days and one that matures in 85 days. Also, you can create profiles for plants that aren’t included in the menu. It was fairly easy to create a customized soybean profile from another bush bean icon. The site does require you to calculate your own planting dates, though, and doesn’t generate e-mail reminders.

Another nice feature is the daily log, where you can keep track of things like the last time you fertilized or when the harlequin beetles started to attack the broccoli. Finally, there’s the social networking aspect. Members have the option of keeping a blog. Once you’ve created a plot, you can share it with other gardeners on the site and browse the gardens of others in your area or across the world. Or, you can discuss gardening techniques in the online forums.

Posted by Carrie Lyle at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Vegetable gardening
        

Courtesy photos

Gardeners love free plants.

And I am guessing gardeners love free tickets, too.

Garden Variety has three pairs of tickets to next weekend's Sugarloaf Crafts Festival at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium (valued at $16 a pair), and we'd be glad to give them to three randomly selected Garden Variety fans who post a comment today.

(Be sure to include your e-mail  so I can contact you for a mailing address. Don't worry, I won't share it with anyone else.)

Sugarloaf is famous for its eclectic collection of one-of-a-kind crafts, but there is also live entertainment and plenty of food. It makes for a good kind of family fun. Some of the master craftsmen will also be on hand to demonstrate their skills.

And some of the art at Sugarloaf has particular appeal to gardeners. Pictured above is the Kidera Bell, made by Woodbine resident Ed Kidera from the parts of old cars, trucks and farm equipment, and a nature-inspired wind chime by New York artist Bernard Scheffel.

The festival runs Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, call 800-210-9900 or visit sugarloafcrafts.com

Posted by Susan Reimer at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Garden contests
        

Earth is so kind, that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest. -- Douglas William Jerrold, A Land of Plenty.

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Categories: Garden quotations
        

Like the crack of the starter's pistol, the first of Baltimore County's summer street fairs comes to Towson on Thursday.

Towson Gardens Day, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., will be held along West Pennsylvania and Baltimore avenues, and it will encircle the Baltimore County courthouse fountain plaza with nearly 100 vendors, musicians and environmental educators.

For more information, check out the story by my colleague Mary Gale Hare in today's Sun.

And for more events, visit us here on Garden Variety on Thursdays, when we will give you a list of the weekend's activities.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden events
        

Today's lesson on Bug of the Week, the blog devoted to insects and written by the University of Maryland's Michael Raupp?

Millipedes don't have 1,000 legs, and centipedes don't have 100.

But they are great recyclers.

For more, including video (ewwwww), go to Bug of the Week.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden blogs
        

Guest blogger Joannah Hill on primroses:

Every year I find a new garden passion. Last year it was Japanese chrysanthemums; this year it may be primroses.

Last spring I bought two primroses at the 32nd Street Market. They looked so cheerful and the weather had been so gloomy. I put them on my kitchen windowsill. After they bloomed out, instead of composting them, I stuck them in a bare spot in the garden. To my surprise, they had a modest second bloom in the fall.

This spring, they've plumped out and are blooming like crazy. Naturally I've been buying more primroses, giving them as hostess gifts and forcing them on friends. I've also planted several more in my own garden. A plant I'd regarded as a throw-away has become a keeper.

Primroses come in seemingly infinite variety. The showy little plants found in grocery stores and nurseries are a perennial if planted in a slightly shady spot with well-drained soil rich with humus. Primula auricula, a hybrid of the common primrose, is the true diva of the genus.

I first encountered the auriculas a couple of years ago during a visit to the New York Botanical Garden.  In a clearing I saw a  small wooden theater with a tiered stage and a painted swag of curtain. Onstage was a dazzling array of primroses so perfectly formed and colored they didn't even look real. The ornate little theater was one of the most charmingly daffy things I'd ever seen.

There's a bit of history behind the little theaters, and unsurprisingly it involves those keen gardeners, the British.

Cultivating auriculas was a craze in 19th-century Britain. Grand estates would showcase the prize blooms in increasingly ornate theatrical settings. The love of the show blooms cut across all classes of British society. The delicate auriculas became wildly popular among coal miners in England and Wales, who also built elaborate theaters for the plants.

I doubt I'll be erecting a stage in my yard, but I'll keep adding to my small collection of primroses and look forward to their star turn in my spring garden.

Primrose photo credit: Algerina Perna / Sun staff photographer

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Categories: Flowers in the Garden
        

 Photo credit: Susan Reimer

This time of year, when the trees are still quite bare, they look like the work of giant tent caterpillars.

But they are not that at all. They are plastic bags. Windswept, ripped, grimey gray in color, caught in the branches of trees.

This is just one of the places the plastic bags land. They are also clogging storm drains and waterways and they are found in the nests of large birds and in the digestive tracks of fish.

But they are most noticeable when they are stretched across the barren trees, looking like mishapen sails.

Laws to ban plastic bags have been introduced in Baltimore City, Annapolis City and in the Maryland State Legislature. They have all failed.

Jeffrie Zellmer, legislative director of the Maryland Retailers Association, says his clients oppose any ban on plastic bags.

"The plastic bag doesn't jump up and litter," he said. "And these aren't bags from the large grocery stores. People take those bags into the house and unpack them.

"These are bags from the little convenience store on the corner. Somebody goes in, buys one thing and throws the bag down."

He says there is no evidence that the plastic bags take longer to decompose in landfills than paper bags. It isn't known how long it takes either one to disappear. 

And he says those that are recycled are refashioned by a company in Virginia into plastic decking material.

Soon enough, the trees will fill in with their canope of leaves, and the ghostly plastic bags in their branches will be invisible for another year, and maybe many more.

It isn't known how long it takes plastic bags to decompose in trees.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Garden news
        

Green fingers are the extension of a verdant heart. -- Russell Page.

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Categories: Garden quotations
        

Lorette Lough considers herself "something of a gardener."

Whatever her skills out of doors, she is dynamite at the typewriter.

The Ellicott City author has written 71 books, with two more due out this year and eight more in the pipeline.

Her romantic-suspense novel Love Finds You In Paradise, Pennsylvania, has just hit book stores, and she is the author of the "Suddenly" series of books.

She has contributed essays to Chicken Soup for the Chocolate Lover's Soul and Chicken Soup for the Wine Lover's Soul, so it makes sense that she'd be on the short list of essayists asked to contribute to The Ultimate Gardener.

Her essay includes a brief history of gardening, but it also describes the joy she finds in gardening with her twin grandchildren.

"I try to keep them outside and active and gardening is a natural way to do that," she said in a telephone interview. "They get so excited over every little shoot, they act like they put a man on the moon.

"I love their excitement. We have lost that as grown-ups."

The book has some expert advice, but Lough says its appeal is the "Every Man" nature of the contributors.

"There are doctors, lawyers, housewives. Everybody gardens, it seems."

Posted by Susan Reimer at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden books
        

The best place to seek God is in a garden. You can dig for him there. -- George Bernard Shaw.

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Categories: Garden quotations
        

Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there -- Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

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Categories: Garden quotations
        

This weekend's to-do list is another hefty one. Don't dispair. Soon the work of spring will be done and you can simply tour your garden each evening with a glass of wine and do a little dead-heading.

Well, that's what I tell myself, anyway.

These suggestions are from weekendgardener.net

• Lift, divide and replace chrysanthemums as soon as new shoots appear. Each rooted shoot or clump will develop into a fine plant for late summer bloom. Pinch the tops when the plants are about 4 inches high to thicken the plant.
• This is also the time to divide mint, chive, tarragon and creeping thyme, and to thin vegetables that were sown too thickly, like basil, carrots, green onions or lettuce.
• Label the clumps of daffodils that are too crowded, as overcrowding inhibits blooming. Dig up and separate them in July.
• Cut flower stalks back to the ground on daffodils, hyacinths and other spring flowering bulbs as the flowers fade. Do not cut the folliage until it dies naturally. The leaves are necessary to produce strong bulbs capable of flowering.
• Finish planting summer-flowering bulbs, like tuberose, gladiolus, dahlias and callas. If you are going to stake your dahlias, do it now so that you don't injure the tubers later.
• Buy a hose-end shut-off valve. These are available separately as part of a watering wand. This allows you to turn off the hose as you move around the yard. Also, when you are through watering, you can shut off the water immediately, rather than let the hose run while you hurry back to the spigot.
• And this advice from me: Take a couple of hours and clean off the garage shelves where you keep your gardening hand tools, chemicals and fertilizers. Get rid of the real bad stuff, such as Seven, or any other harsh pesticides. Empty the spray bottles you used last spring for fungicides and rose treatments and clean them out.
• And before planting your deck pots this season, empty them of last year's dirt, clean them with a bleach spray or a bleach solution, rinse thoroughly and let them dry in the sun. Use fresh bags of potting soil. This will help prevent the transfer of disease and pests from last year.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Weekend Chores
        

How fair is a garden amid the trials and passions of existence. -- Benjamin Disraeli.

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Categories: Garden quotations
        

For the first time ever, Baltimore County will host a two-day truckload compost bin sale on Saturday and Sunday,  from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

The Saturday sale will be held in the parking lot of IKEA Baltimore in White Marsh, 8352 Honeygo Boulevard (across from White Marsh Town Center).

The Sunday sale will be held in the parking lot of Franklin High School in Reisterstown, 12000 Reisterstown Road.

Both sales are rain or shine. The bins, valued at $100, will be available for the low price of $35 including tax. There is no limit on the number of bins you may purchase at this event and they will be sold on a first come, first served basis while supplies last. Both cash and checks are accepted (no credit or debit cards) and you do not need to be a Baltimore County resident to purchase a bin.

The bins come in two pieces and can fit in almost any vehicle. When assembled, the bins are 33 inches in diameter and 33 inches tall.

Composting is "nature's recycling program." Organic material (grass, leaves, bush trimmings, etc.) decompose into a rich soil enhancing material called humus. This material can be used to enrich the soil throughout your yard, reducing the need for fertilizer.

Composting your yard materials is much better for you and the environment than bagging them and placing them out for a collector to haul away. The average yard can produce more than 600 pounds of yard materials per year.

Though it is not necessary to use a commercial bin to compost, many people prefer the look of a bin compared to an open pile. Bins also provide additional benefits over open piles such as moisture retention and higher temperature.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 3:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Composting
        

The Growing Home Campaign is an award-winning tree planting program to encourage homeowners to plant a tree in their yard, and it is here in Baltimore, Baltimore County and Harford County.

The goal is to increase the tree canopy on private property, and 50 retail nurseries and garden centers have signed on to offer homeowner not only comprehensive information for planting a tree, but a $10 cash incentive as well.

Go to the Web site for the Growing Home Campaign and print out your $10 voucher (good toward the purchase of a tree worth $25 or more). You will also find lots of information about the value of adding trees to your propery, guidance for site considerations and tree selection and instructions on planning and maintenance.

Here are just a few of the reasons why it is smart to plant a tree in your yard.

• Trees make good neighbors—Trees add beauty to our individual yards and our entire community.
• Trees are cool—Trees cool the air, land and water with leafy shade and moisture and help save money on energy costs.
• Trees save tax dollars—Trees slow stromwater runoff and can reduce the cost of controlling stromwater, especially in urban areas.
• Animals need trees—Trees provide food and habitat for many kinds of species.
• Trees protect soil—By holding soil in place with their root system and adding nutrients each fall with their leaves, trees are crucial to sustaining and replenishing our soil.
• Trees help us breathe easier—Trees clean the air and return pure oxygen.
• Trees fight climate change—Planting trees helps offset greenhouse gases.
• Trees clean our water and air—From air pollutants to pesticided and fertilizer runoff, trees absorb many harmful pollutants.

April is National Safe Digging Month and the Common Ground Alliance reminds you to call 811, the national call-before-you-dig number, before you break ground on tree planting or any other outdoor projects.

The phone call alerts the utility companies of your intent to dig and they send locators out to your home to mark the underground lines so you don't accidentally strike them and cause serious personal or neighborhood damage. (Think gas explosion). More than 256,000 digging accidents occur in the country every year.

Remember. Before you plant your new tree - even a sapling - call 811. Here's a look at what happens when you call.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Garden events
        

The sun is out today, but it has been raining steadily for most of the week here in the Baltimore area.

They call it "farmers' rain," a slow, steady soaking of the fields just as farmers are getting ready to plant their summer crops.

It has done much to reduce the rainfall deficit we are running,  according to my colleague Frank Roylance, who writes the Maryland Weather blog for The Sun.

But we aren't out of the woods, yet. Much of the state is still registering near-drought conditions.

More than 4 inches of rain have fallen this month. That's more than 2.5 inches over the long-term average, according to Frank, and the first surplus rainfall since September. He says we should know more next week when better calculations are available.

Me? I am glad I put off my mulch delivery.

My gardens were as dry as dust when I started cleaning them up in March. I didn't think it made any sense to "seal" the ground with mulch when it was so dry. I bet on rain in April (April showers, and all) and I seem to have won.

Still, I am guessing we are going to be behind all season, so I am planning to step up my watering schedule. Unless May produces more showers than flowers.

Photo credit: The Sun/Jed Kirschbaum

Posted by Susan Reimer at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden news
        

Photo credit: The Sun/Glenn Fawcett

 Well, the knives are out on the topic of the White House vegetable garden.

And they aren't being used to cut up carrots.

President and Mrs. Obama are attempting to set a good example by planting a kitchen garden on the South Lawn of the White House. The news was immediately greeted with the same enthusiasm as the new puppy. Everyone thought it was a lovely idea.

 But this week, a columnist for USA Today wrote that it is tougher to plant and maintain a vegetable garden than people think.

Next up, the Wall Street Journal suggests today that it may cost more to put in a vegetable garden than you will save on your grocery bill.

 And then Adrian Higgins, the esteemed garden writer in Washington, added his two cents - writing in an open letter to the First Lady that Washington's heat and humidity could defeat the rookie gardeners.

Sounds like a free press at work in a democracy to me.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Garden news
        

This from the folks at Prevention.com:

 A 40-year-old woman can burn 30 percent more calories gardening for one hour than in an aerobics class for one hour: 392 calories versus 306 calories.

My question is this...what kind of aerobics class are we talking about? And what kind of gardening?

Photo credit: Dreamstime.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Garden facts
        

Designing a Patio Garden Retreat. Thursday, 7:00p.m., Valley View Farms. Lynn Poshepny returns to showcase various ways to create a garden retreat using proven design techniques and principles. By the end of the class, attendees will be able to apply these ideas to their own landscape.

Baltimore's Green Alley Tour. Saturday, 2 to 5 p.m., The tour busses will depart from Druid Hill Park' EcoFestival in front of the Baltimore City Recreation and Parks Administration Building at 3001 East Drive, and it will visit alleyways in the city that have been converted to little garden havens. Call Benjamin Nathanson at 410-925-0166, or e-mail him at greens@ashoka.org to reserve a spot on the buses.

 Earth Day Tree Planting, Saturday, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Double Rock Park. Join the Herring Run Watershed Association and the Gunpowder Valley Conservancy as they plant two acres of trees in Double Rock Park as part of Earth Day elebrations. Families welcome. No experience necessary.

Grow Your Own Vegetables. Saturday, 9 a.m., Valley View Farms. Grow spinach, tomatoes, beans, peppers, artichokes, heirlooms and much more this season in your own backyard garden. Learn about varieties, growing from seeds versus growing from transplants and about the cultural needs of each plant.

EcoFestival. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Druid Hill Park. Learn from hundreds of local green vendors.

Earthbox: An Incredible Gardening System for Everyone. Saturday, 11 a.m., Valley View Farms. Yes, vegetables can be grown successfully in pots. Kathy Sporenberg will demonstrate the incredible Earthbox system of growing vegetables on the porch, patio or deck. An Earthbox will be given as a door prize to one lucky attendee.

Herring Run Nursery Native Plant Sale. Sunday, Noon to 3 p.m., Herring Run Nursery, 6131 Hillen Road. Choose from a selection of native perennials, shrubs and trees. Expert volunteers will help you select the right plant for your yard. Take $10 off any tree with a Growing Home coupon.

Walking Tour. Carroll Park and Mt. Clare Mansion, Sunday, 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., 1500 Washington Blvd. Part of the colonial plantation of Charles Carroll the Barrister, these grounds are part of a series of tours to explore the legacy of America's first landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. Meet at 1:45 p.m. in the parking lot behind the mansion. $15 with a reservation. $18 on day of tour. For more information, call 410-235-9149.

Happy Earth Day! Tuesay, April 22, All day. Valley View Farms will have displays, demonstrations and speakers featuring earth-friendly gardening techniques. They will talk about green roof plantings, composting, rain gardens, rain barrels and more.

Photo courtesy of Valley View Farms Garden Center and Nursery.

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Categories: Garden events
        

On Friday, The Baltimore Urban Agricultural Task Force will host its first annual Urb Ag Gala at 2640 Saint Paul St., from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.  

The celebration will include local food, artwork and entertainment. It will be set in an old church transformed into a lavish green atmosphere.

Guests will have the opportunity to mark their gardens on a giant map of Baltimore. They can also sign up to speak about their growing project in an open-mic forum and song circle that will include local musicians.

Featured musicians include: Atom Fisher, Cityslides, Beans, American Folklore, Mother Nature's Son, MacGregor Burns & the VCR, Lands & Peoples, Pere Yorko, The Owls Go.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Garden events
        

 Photo credit: The Sun/Algerina Perna

There are more than farmers at the farmers' markets in Maryland, that's for certain.

There are pastry chefs, flower-sellers, a guy who makes products out of the wax his bees produce. There is a woman who sells sachets and home-made dried herb combinations. And there is a guy selling polished slaps of wood that make beautiful cutting boards. There is a woman selling hot dogs and fresh coffee. And a church lady selling sweet potato pies.

I go to the farmers' market with my money in my pocket. Maybe just a $10 bill some Saturdays, and when it is gone, it is gone. And I often get more than I can easily carry.

I stuff the green peppers I buy. I bake the eggplant. I wrap the cantelope in slices of ham and serve them to the guests on my deck. I buy boxes of over-ripe Italian tomatoes and make roasted tomatoes and freeze them, pulling them out when I need a fancy cocktail party treat. I slice the kernals off of ears of corn and make corn and scallop chowder.

I live all summer long on tomato sandwiches and fresh corn on the cob.

I have such a feeling of gratitude toward these farmers. Their hard work makes my life better and sweeter in so many ways.

Here's a link to a list of farmers' markets in Maryland.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Vegetable gardening
        

You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt. -- Author unknown.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden quotations
        

  When Jamie and Fred bought their Phoenix, Md., home almost eight years ago, it had an in-ground pool. But when they got the bill for repairs two years ago - $30,000 - they decided to it was time to give up the pool.

Jamie works at Ladew Gardens, and though not a gardener herself, she decided to create one where the pool had been.

A lot of fill, fencing and almost $10,000 later, this is the result. Fred did the heavy work and Jamie did the planting. Go to the end of the photos and read what Jamie has to say about her garden.

"Fred and I had never gardened before this, so if we can do it anyone can. There is such a level of satisfaction, not to mention perky flavor, when you sit down to a summertime meal that has grown from the bounty of your own backyard. Many nights last summer we enjoyed stuff like fried green tomatoes, steamed bush green beans, great salads with deep greens and red leafy lettuce, homemade salsa, snow peas, tomato sandwiches...all from just our little garden. PLUS a constant live flower arrangement on our table throughout late spring and summer that came from our perennials. And the wildlife!...butterflies, bees buzzing around, birds spashing in the fountain...it's a garden that makes you not want to leave home."

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Your garden
        

My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. -- H. Fred Ale

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Categories: Garden quotations
        

 Photo courtesy ASPCA.

Bo likes tomatoes.

That's the news out of the White House introduction of the First Family's new dog.

During Bo's first meeting with the press, the president told reporters that Portuguese water dogs like tomatoes.

"Michelle's garden is in trouble," the president said.

I warned them that puppies and gardens don't mix. But it wasn't because I thought the new puppy would eat the vegetables. I thought it more likely that he would just tear things up.

Now we hear that PWDs have a taste for tomatoes.

Let's hope it isn't a taste for tomato plants. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Web site lists the plant as toxic to cats and dogs. It can make them pretty ill.

While we are on the topic, I wonder how PWDs feel about fresh mozzarella and a little basil? And perhaps a drizzle of balsamic vinegar?

After all, the dog does have Mediterranean roots.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 4:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Garden news
        

My colleague Paul McCardell writes today on his blog, a Century in the Sun about victory gardens during World War II.

According to Paul, something like 50,000 Baltimore residents had gardens, and they planted them in school yards, parks and around businesses.

Paul has found some wonderful pictures in The Sun archives of those gardens, including the one above. Take a look, and a trip back in time.

And for more information about starting a victory garden of your own, check out the posts written by Carrie Lyle and Joannah Hill, Master Gardeners who chronicle the development of their own vegetable gardens every Tuesday here on Garden Variety.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 2:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Vegetable gardening
        

EAT YOUR VEGETABLES: Joannah Hill and Carrie Lyle post on vegetable gardening each Tuesday. 

A self-watering vegetable garden for $189. A pot of alyssum for $20. One gardener who crunched the numbers even wrote a book about the average cost of one tomato from his garden: $64.

Gardening can be expensive. But it doesn't have to be.

Some of our favorite cost-cutting tips are listed here. We'd also like to know how you save money in the garden or if you have a favorite source of free compost or bamboo. 

We will choose a comment at random from today's posts and send you a nifty Kitchen Garden Box of tips, recipes and seed storing envelopes from Mike McGrath of NPR's You Bet Your Garden. Just provide your e-mail so we can contact you for a mailing address. (Don't worry, we won't share it with anyone else.)

GENERAL TIPS
* Think small and be patient. Seeds are cheaper than seedlings, immature plants cheaper than mature.
* Don't bite off more than you can chew. If you plan a garden too big to handle, you may get overwhelmed. Better to concentrate on a small plot or a few containers to get the most bang for your buck.
* Do a cost/benefit analysis when deciding what to plant. Basil is $3 at the store but one plant at home provides fresh basil all summer long. For things like shell beans, which don't cost much, you may be better off just buying at the store.

TOOLS AND CONTAINERS
* Look for gardening supplies at a discount at the end of the season.
* Check garage sales for used gardening tools and plant pots.

PEST CONTROL
* You don't need expensive store-bought chemicals to control pests — try homemade solutions, like a teaspoon of dish soap mixed with a quart of water to kill aphids.

SEEDS
* Save seeds from the vegetables and flowers you grow this year.
* Share seed packets with friends. It's unlikely you'll use up a 50-seed packet of zucchini in three years, anyway.

PLANTS
* Get cuttings and plant divisions from friends. No need to pay for daylily, hosta, iris or cannas.
* Check the clearance table at big-box home-improvement stores. We've found roses, clematis and flowering quince for as little as $1. But choose carefully — break a branch to see if it's still green inside, or pull the plant out of the pot to make sure its roots are healthy — and be prepared to give it some TLC. 
* Many garden centers sell plants for up to 50 percent off in the fall.
* Check out plant fairs and local farmers' markets for inexpensive vegetable seedlings.

MULCH AND COMPOST
* Free mulch is available to Baltimore County residents at the Eastern Sanitary Landfill in White Marsh.
* Check with local horse stables to see if you can have free manure. You'll have to do the shoveling, and you might need to age it yourself.
* Check Craigslist or Freecycle for free you-haul-it mulch and compost.
* Compost your own food/yard waste. You don't have to have a bin unless you're composting food and are concerned about rodents. A pile somewhere inconspicuous works fine for yard waste.

Photo credit: iStockphoto

Posted by Joannah Hill at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Vegetable gardening
        

 Lulu, with garden glove. Photo credit: Susan Reimer

The Obamas have a new puppy, and they have a new vegetable garden.

What they don't know yet is, that's a tough combination. Ask me. I know.

I've spent a couple of sunny Saturdays babysitting Lulu, my neighbor Patty's new lab/golden puppy, while trying to work in the yard, and it was a complete comedy.

Lulu dug where I was digging, which was a help. Sort of.

But I was so worried about hurting her paws with the shovel that I gave up and got down on knees and dug with my paws, er, hands, too. But Lulu thought it was a game and she jumped all over me, nipping at my face and ears.

Lulu also ran off with the rose bush I was trying to plant, dragging it around the yard by the roots. I tried to chase her down, but she thought that was a game, too. Puppies think everything is a game.

She bit the heads off the daffodils. She rolled around in the liriope. She ran off with the new gallardia I was trying to plant, carrying it away by its plastic pot.

She -- ahem -- didn't tell me where she had left a calling card and, I very nearly stepped in it.

Lulu stole my garden glove. I got another pair. She stole another garden glove, and left them underneath the front porch, a spot just big enough for Lulu but too small for me.

Finally, I gave up any idea of gardening, and Lulu and I just rolled around in the grass together. I used the garden gloves, my third pair, to protect my hands against her sharp little puppy teeth.

And I was laughing like a toddler.

My advice to the Obamas is this: Leave Bo inside when it is time to work in the vegetable garden. And play with Bo in a spot far away from the vegetable garden.

The good news is, you will all be ready for a nap when the day is done.

Lulu and I certainly were.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Garden news
        

EAT YOUR VEGETABLES: Carrie Lyle posts on vegetable gardening each Tuesday.

Figuring out what fertilizer to use can be confusing. What exactly do those numbers on the package mean?

Gardeners have a saying about the nutrients essential to healthy plants: "Shoots, roots and fruits." Shoots refers to nitrogen, which promotes vegetative growth. Roots refers to phosphorous, which fuels root growth. And fruits refers to potassium, which promotes the quality and size of vegetables and flowers.

The numbers on a fertilizer package show the amount of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (N-P-K) it contains. A 7-4-5 fertilizer is composed of 7 percent nitrogen, 4 percent phosphorous and 5 percent potassium. The rest of the mix is inert filler.

The numbers themselves are not as important as the ratio — a 3-3-3 fertilizer has the same relative proportion of nutrients as a 1-1-1. Bigger N-P-K numbers don't necessarily make for a better fertilizer, though.

A fertilizer high in nitrogen encourages quick growth but, ultimately, produces a weaker plant. Slow, steady growth makes for a more healthy plant. Compost, which slowly releases nutrients over time, is a great general purpose fertilizer. Other excellent nutrient sources are blood, fish and bone meal and aged manure.

Photo credit: iStockphoto

Posted by Carrie Lyle at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Vegetable gardening
        

Photo credit: Glenn Fawcett/The Sun

So much competes for the attention of children - iPods, video games, computers and cell phone chatter - that it is hard to get them outdoors, let alone interested in the outdoors.

Charlie Nardozzi, writing for The National Gardening Association Web site, says that kids are instinctively fascinated by nature and you can jump-start their interest by introducing them to plants have really interesting features or textures.

Here are his suggestions:

Sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica)— Also known as the “tickle-me” plant, it has sensitive green, fernlike leaves and produces small “balls” of pink flowers in mid-summer. When touched gently, the leaves automatically fold closed, then eventually reopen.

Lambs’ ears (Stachys byzantine)—In early summer, the low-growing plant produces one-foot-tall spikes covered with small pink flowers. But its foliage is the main draw for kids. The leaves are covered with a soft, white hairy growth that, when stroked, feels like a lamb’s ear.

Ground cherry (Physalis pruinosa)—This easy-to-grow vegetable is in the tomato family, but has fruits that look like small Chinese lanterns.  Once the lanterns turn yellow, kids can pick them, tear open the covering, and discover the edible golden fruits inside.  Ground cherries are annuals and self-sow readily in the garden; grow them once and they’ll sprout up on their own in future years.

Peanuts (Arachis hypogaea)—Kids will be amazed to find this common vegetable growing in your garden. It looks a lot like a clover plant. However, it has yellow flowers that produce pegs (stem-like growth) after the flowers pass. The pegs grow into the ground around the peanut plant and a peanut shell forms at the end of each peg. Keep the soil cultivated and watered so the pegs can easily penetrate it. Once the plants start to yellow and die, invite your kids to pull up the whole plant—they’ll find peanuts dangling from the ends of the pegs.

Chocolate Peppermint (Mentha x piperita)—Mint plants are fun and easy to grow in the garden. They come in a range of flavors, including ginger, lemon, orange, and apple. A favorite for kids is chocolate peppermint. The leaves are tinged with dark coloring and if you close your eyes, it’s like eating a peppermint patty! Be careful: this low-growing plant can spread up to 3 feet and become invasive. It’s best to grow all members of the mint family in containers or in an area where you don’t mind it spreading.

How do you get your children interested in the garden? Send me a response and I will choose one of you at random to receive the book, "The Family Kitchen Garden." Remember to include your email address so I can contact you for a home address. Don't worry, I won't share it with anyone else!

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Kids in the garden
        

Burpee Home Gardens is asking Baltimore residents to share how a vegetable garden could change their life for a chance to win a dream vegetable garden makeover.

The winner of "Dream a Little Green" contest will recieve a professional dream vegetable garden assessment, on-site design with a Burpee professional, up to $1,000 in plants and installation of the garden in the spring of 2010.

There will also be five second-place winners who will receive $100 gift cards to Home Depot and 25 third-place winners who will receive a Burpee Home Gardens T-shirt.

Entries will be accepted until May 29.  

For contest entries, rules and conditions, go to Burpee Home Gardens.

Photo courtesy of Burpee Home Gardens.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden contests
        

 Gardens always mean something else. Man absolutely uses one thing to say another. --Robert Harbison, Eccentric Spaces, 1977

Posted by Susan Reimer at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden quotations
        

If it's in People, it must be hip and a trend.

The popular magazine has a feature this week on edible landscaping. It's the story of a pair of Columbus, Ohio, neighbors who tore up their grass and planted vetetables - beans, herbs, sweet potatoes, cabbage, brcocoli and cantalope.

People sites the most common reasons for such a big change: food prices and a poor economy. The magazine quotes statistics from the National Gardening Association that 7 million U.S. households - including that of the first family - plan to convert some of their grass to garden space, up 19 percent from last year.

The magazine also features several other homeowners who, tired of watering grass or paying for produce, converted their lawns, too.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Garden news
        

We continue the poetry theme here at Garden Variety....

This morning National Public Radio featured Stanford's John Felstiner, author of Can Poetry Save the Earth?, a collection of English and American poetry about the natural world.

The hosts asked Felstiner to choose one poem that would save the earth if everyone were to read it. He chose the folowing: The Well Rising, by William Stafford

To read more poetry from his collection, and to hear NPR's interview with the author, visit the NPR Web site.

The well rising without sound,
the spring on a hillside,
the plowshare brimming through the deep ground
everywhere in the field —

The sharp swallows in their swerve
flaring and hesitating
hunting for the final curve
coming closer and closer —

The swallow heart from wing beat to wing beat
counseling decision, decision:
thunderous examples. I place my feet
with care in such a world.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden books
        

Guest blogger Joannah Hill on poetry:

The Red Wheelbarrow
By William Carlos Williams

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

Since April is poetry month, I'd thought I'd share one of my favorite gardening poems. I suppose The Red Wheelbarrow isn't neccessarily a poem about gardening, that's just my take on it.  And it's more like a poem-ette. Or a jazz riff. Or a miniature painting brushed in words.

I've always liked its vivid imagery and it reminds me of my red wheelbarrow and what we accomplish together throughout the gardening season.

I found another wonderful poem titled Why Did My Plant Die? on Margaret Roach's Web site A Way to Garden. Roach reprinted the poem as part of a memorial for the late Geoffrey Charlesworth, a noted gardener and garden writer. I laughed out loud when I read the poem. It is a witty reminder that, even with the best intentions, gardening can go terribly wrong.

Photo credit: iStockphoto

Posted by Joannah Hill at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

You can make this easy.

Or you can make this hard.

After reading the volumes written on how to prune a hydrangea, that's my conclusion.

There's just so much information, I decided to make it easy on myself and just prune what isn't greening up.

There are buds on all my hydrangeas now, from the Oakleaf to the mopheads. And there are plenty coming up from the crown of the mopheads, too.

So I have been inspecting the shrubbery and pruning any wood that isn't showing signs of life, or pruning back stems to the point where the buds begin.

 Some of this is old wood. (And by this, I mean, really old wood. Not the branches that have been there since last season. They are also called "old wood," which makes things pretty confusing. But they are the ones that will produce the flowers this year.) And some of it is curling mishapen tendrils. But neither is budding.

Now is a good time to prune the mopheads. Not only because you can see clearly the unproductive stems, but you don't risk harming the "new wood" that is coming up from the crown and will hold next year's blooms.

I could leave it all go. And I have.

For the first couple of years, I didn't prune at all, out of fear that I would discourage growth and blooming.

 But my mophead hydrangeas suffer in the heat of the summer, even though they are in part or full shade, and wilt badly in the afternoon. So I decided I would do them a favor and give them less foliage to support on those hot days.

 I leave my Oakleaf hydrangea alone in the spring. It is best pruned in late summer, and I accomplish this by cutting blooms with a stem of about six inches. It is supposed to make the plant that much stronger.

 Here are a couple of other hydrangea tips I picked up.

• Hydrangeas like a slow-release fertilizer. I use Osmocote.
•  And super phosphate will give the plant a boost if it isn't blooming. The color - pink or blue - depends on the soil.
•  Blues are best in acid soil (5.13 Ph and lower) and adding aluminum sulfate in spring and fall will keep them blue.
• Pinks are best in alkaline soil (6.51 Ph or higher). Add horticultural lime in the spring and fall to boost the pink color.

For more information about pruning your hydrangea - and help determining what type you have - see this how-to article from Fine Gardening.

And speaking of Fine Gardening. I have a tote bag from the magazine that I would be delighted to send to one of you. I will choose someone at random from those who comment on this post. Please include your e-mail so I can contact you for a mailing address. Don't worry. I won't share it with anyone else.

Photo credit: Melissa Lucas/Fine Gardening

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Garden tips
        

In order to live off a garden, you practically have to live in it. -- Frank McKinney Hubbard.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden quotations
        

Even if you do not subscribe to the New York Times, if you are a gardener, you might know Anne Raver.

She is a regular on "Maryland Morning" with Tom Hall on WYPR (88.1 FM) on Wednesdays. And she is also a neighbor, of sorts.

Not long ago, she returned to her family's farm in Carroll County to care for her ailing mother. Now she and boyfriend, Rock, (is there a better name for the boyfriend of a gardener? I have this idea that he does all the heavy work) are working the farm and you can read about their exploits, plus Raver's other excellent reporting, in The Times. She is also working on a book about the history of her family's farm.

Raver has been writing about gardening for a long time, and a collection of her essays was published in 1995 under the title Deep in the Green: an Exploration of Country Pleasures.

(The book is also available in paperback and I have a copy autographed by Raver for one of you. I will choose a comment at random from today's posts and mail the book to you. Just provide your e-mail so I can contact you for a mailing address. Don't worry, I won't share it with anyone else.)

Raver's book of garden essays has long been one of my favorites and I return to it often. She has the gift of connecting life in the garden to life outside the garden in ways that are both surprising and comforting.

Raver's essays are practical and informative, but it is when she strays a little way from the garden that they are most provocative.

That is the true strength of the garden writer, I think.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Garden books
        

 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin. Matt. 6:28.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden quotations
        

I was working in the garden the other day and turned my back on the hostas.

When I turned back to them again, I swear the spikes had grown an inch and begun to unfurl.

That's how fast things grow in April in our Zone 7. A couple of warm days and you don't recognize your garden. My Japanese ferns have appeared out of absolutely nowhere!

Now there is just the garden tool I need to prove my point.

Elizabeth Licata, who blogs on the very popular Garden Rant, writes about a time-lapse garden video camera, and she describes it as a as a charmingly extravagant garden tool we'd love to have.

At $160, it certainly is!

Sold by Hammacher Schlemmer, it takes photos from as close as 20 inches, to show an individual flower develop, to as far away as a 54-inch field of view, to show your whole garden emerge.

It can take up to 18,000 pictures, every 5 seconds up to every 24 hours, for as long as four months. 

Go to the company's Web site, and you can watch a video of what I think is an African violet emerge.

Photo courtesy of Hammacher Schlemmer.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Garden tools
        

Those of us who confined to gardening in the shade outside generally face the same sun challenges indoors. To my delight, I have found three plants that will bloom in low to medium light, at least some of the time.

And in happy coincidence, several are in bloom right now. From top to bottom they are cyclamen, clivia miniata, and Old Faithful, a pink and white doritaenopsis.

 Has anyone out there had luck with other plants that will blossom in the shade? If so, what are they, and what conditions do they like? I dunno about you guys, but I can't have too many flowers.

Everyone is familiar with cyclamen, but I adore them because I can get five to six months of more or less continuous blooming beginning in the late fall, and lasting throughout the winter. I purchased the one in the photo a few days after Thanksgiving. Generally, cyclamens have a long first bloom, rest for 3-4 weeks, and then go into an equally lengthy and prolific second bloom.

There are two keys to cyclamen happiness: keeping them cool, and keeping the soil moist. Because I am "blessed" with casement windows dating from 1927, I can easily provide the former until about late May. This plant is in a tiny window facing northwest. Don't let the soil dry out -- the plants will droop, and immediately begin shedding blossoms and leaves.

 I also fertilize with a few drops of Miracle-Gro every second or third time I water. Once these plants go dormant, I generally discard them, though I hear they over-winter well. 

The clivia is even more low-maintenance, though it also needs a slight chill to produce a flower spike. I have it in a room that also faces northwest that rarely gets warmer than 68 degrees in the winter, and is even cooler at night. Unlike the cyclamen, it likes to get absolutely bone dry between waterings, and I fertilize only between April 1-Sept. 30.

This is a relatively pricey plant; last summer, I bought it out of bloom and for half price, and I still shelled out $35. But, I was thrilled when it bloomed so effortlessly the very first year. Not only do clivia like shade, they burn easily in the sun, despite their tough-looking, strappy leaves.

And finally, of course, there are orchids. My doritaenopsis prefers a bit more sun than the other two plants, but needs less than other types of orchids. It seems perfectly happy in an east (medium light) window. 

This little guy is short enough to fit on a windowsill, and will bloom for a good three months. I have my dorit planted in spaghnum moss, and don't water it more than once every three weeks. It seems to like being watered thoroughly, and then drying fully, but not staying dry for longer than a day or two at most.  I fertilize it with half-strength orchid fertilizer every second or third watering.

Dorits are relatives of phaleanopsis, and that means that they also need a cool spell to spike, where nighttime temperatures drop to about 55 degrees. I can achieve this in the winter simply by turning off the heat at night, but you can also try putting your plants outside in the spring or fall, in the shade. Like the clivia, their leaves burn easily.

Has anyone out there had success getting plants to bloom in low light in a warm house?

Posted by Mary McCauley at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

 Photo credit: Melanie McCabe, Homestead Gardens.

It isn't as difficult to get to work in the garden in April. The weather can be iffy, but it can also be warm and sunny. And the garden is starting to green-up and the perennials are emerging, so there is a reward waiting for you.

You know what you have left to do. But here are a couple of things you might not have thought about. Special thanks to the folks at Dayton Nurseries and to P. Allen Smith - the bulb trick at the end of this list is his idea, and it is a terrific one.

• Apply aluminum sulphate as directed in to blue hydrangeas to ensure a sky blue color in summer. Repeating this application in mid to late May is advisable. For pink hydrangeas, aluminum sulphate will turn the flower color to dark purple.
• An application of dormant oil as directed to all trees and shrubs will kill most insect eggs and scale insects waiting to hatch and come alive.  Spray only when plants are dormant and when temperatures will remain above freezing for a minimum of 24 hours after spraying.
• April weather can be fickle. Resist the urge to plant warm season annuals and vegetables until the last frost date has passed in your area.
• The best way to remove dandelions from your lawn, and the most earth-friendly, is to dig them out with a long forked tool. It’s important to dig out the dandelion’s taproot.
• Why spend another summer fighting with your garden hose? Before the growing season gets underway invest in quality hoses that won’t kink, crack or misbehave.
• Save a spot for fall bulb planting. Here is an easy way to hold a place for them in the border. Amid the spring plants, dig holes where you’ll want to later plant the bulbs. Make sure the holes are large enough to accommodate a good size plastic nursery pot that has drainage holes. Put the pots in the holes, and then refill the pots with the dug soil. In the fall, lift the pots, place the bulbs in the bottom of the holes and dump the soil over them.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Weekend Chores
        

They look like ghosts in the forest at this time of year. Or like brides.

Their white blossoms, which appear before those of dogwoods or apple trees, are in stark contrast to the evergreens and the grey/black trunks of the still naked trees around them.

They are Bradford pears trees, and they are everywhere.

Prized by suburban developers for their quick growth, their perfect shape, their spectacular (if stinky) blossoms in the spring and their wonderful range of leaf color in the fall, Bradford pears were a popular street tree choice after they were formally introduced in the 1960s.

But the tree proved a disappointment for two reasons. It has become invasive and it is fragile.

The fruit - more like hard little berries - that the tree produces is softened by frost in the fall and favored by birds, who have deposited the seeds everywhere you look, pushing out other native trees. You can see the evidence on your drive to work each morning.

Also, the angles of the branches off the trunk are so narrow - and the foliage so dense - that it is rare to see a Bradford pear that hasn't been split by a wind storm or shredded by an ice storm.

I confess to being one of those who purchased and planted a Bradford pear in the front yard of my new house 25 years ago, for exactly the reason developers liked them. They grew fast and their blossoms and foliage were beautiful.

But my husband and I returned from the movies one weekend afternoon - a storm had broken over Annapolis and we could hear it raging from inside the theater - to find our Bradford pear split down the middle as if someone had taken a mighty meat cleaver to it.

The half of the tree that remained upright eventually filled in. But it did not survive long. Another storm took it down.

It is rare, arborists say, to see a Bradford pear more than 25 years old. Ours did not make it that long.

Marc Montefusco, writing for the Frederick County master gardener program, suggests another cultivar, Cleveland Select, also known as Chanticleer or Stone Hill, which isn't as vulnerable to wind and ice.

Or choose another flowering tree, such as a crab apple, and feel free to go to the movies.

Photo credit: Susan Reimer

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden tips
        

For those of you who asked for advice about keeping various creatures from eating your vegetables before you get a chance to eat them, I recommend: Deer-Resistant Landscaping: Proven Advice and Strategies for Outwitting Deer and 20 Other Pesky Mammals by Neil Soderstrom.

It is available through Amazon.com

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden tips
        

Photo credit: AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

First Lady Michelle Obama and 25 students from Bancroft Elementary School went to work, planting the first crop of fruits and vegetables in the White House kitchen garden Thursday afternoon.

The First Lady told the students that during her and the president's recent European trip everyone "from Prince Charles on down," was asking about the garden, according to a White House pool reporter.

When the students were asked how much they thought the garden would cost to plant, one ventured the guess "$100,000." To which the First Lady responded that her husband "would go crazy" if it cost that much.

After a few more guesses, it emerged that the garden is going to cost about $200 to plant.

The work began with the First Lady saying, "Plant away, and get to work."

The work lasted about 40 minutes, with Mrs. Obama down on her hands and knees placing herbs in holes dug by a couple of students working with her.

Visit us on Garden Variety tomorrow, and we'll tell you what kinds of plants went in the ground ... and more facts about the First Family's vegetable garden.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 6:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Garden news
        

At least pollination won't be a problem.

On the same day that First Lady Michelle Obama and her fifth-grader friends planted seedlings in the new White House kitchen garden, White House carpenter Charles Brandts, who is also a beekeeper, lent his skills after a swarm of honey bees was found near one of the front gates at the White House.

Brandts carefully put the queen bee in a cardboard box and the swarm followed her. The box was sealed and the bees removed from an area very near where television camera crews set up for live shots from the White House.

Brandts explained to MSNBC that the bees had been "cast off" by another hive that had grown too large and that the swarm was the beginning of a new hive.

Honey bees do the much of the pollination work needed by America's food crops, but they have been mysteriously disappearing. Hives, or colonies, are "collapsing" as a result of what scientists believe is a virus.

I talked about this situation - and what home gardeners can do to help - in a column in The Sun a couple of weeks ago.

Photo credit PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images

Posted by Susan Reimer at 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden news
        

There have been a lot of questions here on Garden Variety about dealing with vegetable garden pests, particularly squirrels and rabbits.

But our readers aren't the only ones asking those questions.

Mike Hendricks of the Kansas City Star, who describes himself as an avid gardener, actually called the White House press office and asked what the First Lady planned to do about the squirrels in her vegetable garden.

"I went on to explain that, by squirrels, I was not referring to the White House press corps or Congress," Hendricks writes.

Apparently, Washington has one of the highest squirrel populations per square yard - or however you measure such things - in the country.

The Very Transparent Obama Administration got back to the interpid Hendricks and said, by way of background, that natural pesticides would be used, along with very fine netting, to keep the squirrels out of the garden.

Photo credit: Baltimore Sun staff

Posted by Susan Reimer at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden news
        

Plant it, and they will come.

But they might not get to see it.

The White House says the First Lady's new kitchen vegetable garden will not be part of the official tour of the mansion's gardens next weekend.

According to Jeff Zeleny, who writes for the New York Times politics blog, The Caucus, the tour will include the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, the Children's Garden and the South Lawn.

But the kitchen garden, the 1,100-square foot garden that is to be planted with 55 fruits and vegetables, will only be "viewable from a distance along the tour route," according to a White House announcement.

The tours are open to the public. The National Park Service will hand out free tickets at the Ellipse Visitor Pavilion, at 15th and E streets in Washington, at 8 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Jacqueline Kennedy Garden photo credit: The White House Museum

Posted by Susan Reimer at 2:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden news
        

Word from the White House press office was that First Lady Michelle Obama and her grade-school friends were going to be planting some of the vegetables in the new White House vegetable garden today.

Stay tuned and we will let you know if it happened. It would be a shame if it was postponed for some reason...such a beautiful day for planting.

My guess is, the White House will be planting cold weather crops now. Lettuces, spinach, peas, chard. It will be a while before it is safe to plant peppers, tomatoes and eggplant. They can't take the cold.

Meanwhile, The NDP Group, a market research company said yesterday that the White House effort to promote growing and consuming homegrown fruits and vegetables may reverse a decline in the number of such "eating" per American, from 95 in 1984 to 28 in 2008.

Apparently, the amount of homegrown fruit and vegetables that you consume is directly related to how much time you have on your hands.

According to the NDP report "Eating Patterns in America," married couples ages 65 to 75 eat the most homegrown fruits and vegetables of any household group.

Next is the 75 and older age group, followed by affluent empty-nesters and then dual-income couples with no children.

The worst group? Affluent singles.

"It appears that most gardeners do not have the distractions of raising a family and have time on their hands," said Harry Balzer, author of the report. "They have the luxury of time to tend to all the tilling, planting and weeding."

Good think Mrs. Obama has all those kids to help her.

UPDATE: The Associated Press reports that the First Lady and fifth-graders from Bancroft Elementary put some seedlings in the ground today in the new White House kitchen garden.

The students helped break ground for the garden last month, and returned today to put in the first of the crops - spinach, salad greens, herbs and berries. And they will return later in the summer to help harvest and learn to cook with the produce.

The garden covers 1,100 square feet of the South Lawn and will be planted with 55 fruits and vegetables.

The garden's harvest will be used to feed the first family and provide produce for official White House functions. Some of it will also be donated to local soup kitchens.

 Photo credit: Joyce N. Boghosian/AFP/Getty Images

Posted by Susan Reimer at 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden news
        

Beginning Tuesday, April 14,  Historic Annapolis Foundation will be bringing back its successful "Yoga in the Garden" series held outdoors on the terrace overlooking the gardens at the historic William Paca House.

Taught by yoga teacher Lara Bontempo of Good Times Yoga, it is open to all levels, including beginngers. 

The Paca House was the home of William Paca, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and its 2-acre gardens are among the most beautiful in Maryland. The historic home is at 186 Prince Georges St.

All materials and props will be provided for use or purchase.

Class meets weekly Tuesdays 9:30-10:30 for 8 weeks and cost $125, $100 for Historic Annapolis Foundation members. Drop-ins welcome for $20 per class.

Purchase in person with cash or check at first class attending or online at Historic Annapolis or by calling 410-267-8146.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden events
        

Want to know what to do with all that chickweed in your yard and garden beds this spring?

Try a little olive oil and garlic.

Chickweek seeds itself in the fall and flourishes during warmer, moister winter days and goes completely crazy in early spring.

It forms mats of shallow-rooted green matter with white flowers, and it is pretty easy to pull it out, especially when the soil is damp. If you let it go, it can choke out other flowers in your garden and grass in your lawn.

But instead of cursing it, you might try cooking it. Or rubbing it on your skin.

This weed is widely prescribed by herbalists as a remedy for both internal and external inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatism and eczema and psoriasis. It does a good job of relieving skin irritation, and can be used to relieve the pain of burns, insect stings and skin rashes.

It also has mild diuretic and laxative qualities and is often recommended as a fat reducer!

Claims include its use as a "blood cleanser," when cooked and eaten, and for soothing sore throats and stomach ulcers.

There are all sorts of chickweed recipes....as a pesto, in salad dressings and as a salad green and sauted in olive oil and garlic like spinach.

All of this makes chickweek a little less contemptible, but not any less annoying.

Photo courtesy of Scotts Miracle Gro

Posted by Susan Reimer at 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Garden tips
        

Today, 7 p.m. at Valley View Farms: Designing Container Gardens for Spring: Nancy Sostrin shares her knack for putting together annuals, perennials and bulbs, as she designs gardens in containers for use in window boxes, hanging baskets and patio pots. Admission is free.

Saturday, 9 a.m. at Valley View Farms: How to Build a Water Garden:  Get your feet wet and learn about water gardening from Tim McQuaid, Valley View Farms water garden manager. Tim will go over each step from placement of the pond to filling it with fish and plants. Learn about pumps, liners, filters and other elements for creating a successful water garden. Admission is free.

Saturday, 10 a.m. at Valley View Farms: Carrie’s Gardening Tips for April:  Plant expert and greenhouse manager Carrie Engel will give general planting tips for perennials, trees, shrubs, and cool weather annuals. She will also discuss fertilizer and mulch choices, lawn seeding and crabgrass and weed prevention. On the second Saturday of each month, Engel gives gardeners this open forum to talk about what’s happening in the garden and answers questions that may come up. Beginning and expert gardeners are encouraged to attend. Admission is free.

Saturday, 11 a.m. at Valley View Farms: Annual and Tropical Plants for Container Combinations: Jazz up spring and summer container gardens with the addition of unique and different tropical plants to add color, height, texture and interest. Nancy Sostrin from the Valley View Farms greenhouse will share some of her secrets for creating interesting combinations. Admission is free.

 

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Gardening classes
        

 Photo credit: Melanie McCabe, Homestead Gardens

Easter lilies aren't just for Easter.

If you receive one as a gift this weekend, you can plant it in your garden, where it will keep on giving.

Here is some advice on enjoying your lily indoors, and then moving it into the garden.

As the flowers mature, remove the yellow anthers before the pollen starts to shed. This helps the flower last longer and prevents the pollen from staining the flower.

In the house, Easter lilies prefer moderately cool temperatures, between 60 and 65 degrees during the day, with cooler temperatures at night. The lily will thrive near a window in bright, indirect natural daylight, but avoid glaring, direct sunlight.

Lilies prefer moderatley moist, well-drained soil. Water the plant thoroughly when the soil surface feels dry to a light touch, but avoid over-watering.

Once the lilies have finished flowering and the last bloom has withered, you can move the plant to a sunny location outdoors after the danger of frost has passed.

Prepared a well-drained garden bed with rich, organic matter and planting mix. Raise the bed with this material so the lily has plenty of drainage.

Plant bulbs at least 12 to 18 inches apart in a hole sufficiently deep so that the roots can spread out and down. Work the prepared soil in and around the roots, leaving no air pockets.

Water immediately and thoroughly.

After the plant dies back, cut the stems back to the soil surface. New growth will soon emerge.

Easter lilies are forced to bloom in spring for the holiday, but they bloom naturally in summer and you may get a second bloom. But you will probably have to wait until next June or July for the plant to bloom again.

Lilies like their roots in shade and their heads in sun. Mulching helps, but also consider planting a "living mulch," such as a low-growing, shallow rooted annual. Perhaps violas or primulas.

The bulbs are winter hardy, but be sure to provide a generous layer of mulch in the fall, removing it in spring so new shoots can emerge.

Information courtesy of Texas A&M University.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Plant Wish List
        

More lawn tips from Stuart Franklin of Lawn Care Simplified, a Web site that has all the information you will ever need about how to take care of your lawn. Franklin is also the author of Building a Healthy Lawn: A Safe and Natural Approach, available through Amazon.com

1. Start the season with a sharp blade.  Dull mower blades tear the grass instead of giving a nice clean cut. 

2. Give the lawn a light raking to remove debris and lift up matted grass and (in the North) snow mold damage.  Snow mold, a lawn disease, occurs on most Northern grasses, especially the creeping grass types.  It is worse when there has been alternating snow cover and warm periods.  Most snow mold will disappear by mid spring if you fluff it up a bit so air and sunlight can get to the soil.  Try to stay off the lawn as much as possible if the ground is soggy.

3. Seed bare and thin areas early. You want the grass thick before the weeds start sprouting. Use the correct seed type for your area and your particular lawn. 

4. Make your first short – as low as you can mow without scalping the lawn- perhaps 1 – 1 ½ inches high. Do this only when the grass is just starting to grow - not if it is already growing vigorously.  This short mowing cuts away some of the dead grass left over from the previous season (if you left it too high).  It also helps warm up the soil faster, stimulates growth, and allows more sunlight to reach the newly forming grass blades. 

5. Gradually raise the mowing height after the first cut.  Click here to visit our All About Mowing posts.

Photo credit: Scotts Miracle-Gro

6. Mow at least once a week in the spring. Try to “trim” the grass instead of “chop” the grass.  In other words, mow often enough so the clippings are short and so they can be left on the lawn.

7. Get your soil tested.  A balanced soil promotes a healthier lawn. Hidden problems like missing basic nutrients or poor pH can be affecting your lawn adversely. It can even prevent your fertilizer from working well.  Every state has an agricultural college that does soil testing. Many nurseries and lawn care companies will send samples out for you too. Or just google soil tests online and take your pick.  Make sure you get a complete test, not just the pH.

8. Aerate and bioactivate the soil. Instead of poking holes with a coring machine, and exposing weed seeds to sunlight, try liquid aeration with our Aerify PLUS.

9. If you had crabgrass last year, visit  All About Crabgrass.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Lawn care
        

Garden Variety wouldn't have much variety if it was just about one gardener.

It should be about you and your garden, too.

The first garden in our showcase belongs to Annemarie. Check out the amazing transformation of her Butcher's Hill backyard and read her story.

Oasis in the City

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Your garden
        

Gardening inspiration - and money, too!

Subscribe to Fine Gardening magazine and get a $25 gift certificate for plants at White Flower Farm. Visit this Web site for details.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Magazine rack
        

I know there are homeowners who are crazy about their lawns. I am married to one. To me, grass is just the blank canvas against which my flower gardens stand out so beautifully. 

But in the interest of fair play, we will occasionally address lawn issues here on Garden Variety.

Here is a question and answer session with the folks at Toro about your lawnmower.

One more tip from us - Do not decide to mow the lawn 30 minutes before your wife is expecting her dinner guests to arrive.

·      Check mower blades for sharpness.

·      Make sure the cutting deck is cleared of old clippings.

·      Check pull cords to insure they are not frayed and are in good working condition.

·      Check that attachments are connected and working properly.

What type of fuel do I use in my mower?

The most important thing is to use fresh fuel. Fresh is defined as fuel that is less than 30 days old.

Today's gasoline does not have the same chemical makeup as years ago. Testing has shown that significant deterioration can begin in as little as 30 days. The first sign that your gas may be old is it makes starting more difficult. This is because the most volatile components of the fuel - the ones that help an engine start easily - are the first to deteriorate.

The recommendation is to use a national name brand fuel with an octane rating as close to 87 as you can. Higher octane fuels offer no benefit for residential products. Do not use unapproved fuels such as E-85.

Where can I buy parts for my mower?

Authorized outdoor power equipment dealers and service centers offer a large selection of name brand mower parts. 

What type of extension cord should I use for my trimmer or blower?

Choosing the right extension cord is key to getting the best performance out of your electric equipment. When using an extension cord, use one heavy enough to carry the current your product will draw. An undersized extension cord will cause a drop in line voltage resulting in loss of power and overheating. Correct cord size depends on the length of the cord. If you are in doubt, use the next heavier gauge. The smaller the gauge number, the heavier the gauge.

Extension Cord Length: 100 Ft Minimum Wire Gauge (A.W.G.) at 100 Ft: 16

Extension Cord Length: 100-150 Ft Minimum Wire Gauge (A.W.G.) at 100-150 Ft: 14 

Important note: Always make sure your cord is in good condition. Do not use an extension cord more than 150 feet in length.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Lawn care
        

EAT YOUR VEGETABLES: Joannah Hill and Carrie Lyle post on vegetable gardening each Tuesday.

We love getting things in the mail. In the winter, there’s nothing more satisfying than to find a fresh crop of seed catalogs in your mailbox. And when those thick, padded envelopes and boxes marked "Fragile. Live Plants" start showing up in the spring, it’s sure to put a smile on any gardener's face.

You don't have to mail-order seeds or plants. It is generally cheaper to buy them from a local garden center or spring plant fair. But if you are concerned about using only organic, non-GMO seeds or are an enthusiast who loves to try something different, catalogs are a great way to go.

Over the years, we have sampled a wide variety of catalogs. We're sharing our favorites and a few that give us pause. If you are new to a mail-order source, check out its rating on Dave's Garden Watchdog.

BEST OF THE BEST

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
Last year I was thrilled to discover Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, which sells all-natural, open-pollinated heirloom seeds. Its catalog is gorgeous, with vibrant color photos of vegetables, often life-size. It's worth ordering simply for the unbelievable selection — by my count, 196 kinds of tomatoes — and obscure ethnic varieties. Owner Jere Gettle takes a strong stance on food politics. Be sure to visit the "I Dig My Garden" forums on the Web site for lively discussions as well as tips from other heirloom gardeners. What sets Baker Creek apart is its customer service. Every order, no matter how large, costs $3 to ship, and the company throws in a free bonus seed packet, too. One of the melons I ordered last year did not germinate well, and when I called I was immediately offered my choice of a replacement or a full refund, no questions asked. That's the mark of a good company. —Carrie 

Johnny's Selected Seeds
Johnny's Selected Seeds is the first seed catalog I ever ordered from. It is an independent, employee-owned company in Maine that is committed to safe seeds. Its selection of vegetable seeds is fairly comprehensive, with organic seed offerings clearly marked. The catalog is packed with growing information, and if you can't find an answer to your question in the catalog, the company's customer service is excellent. My favorite thing about Johnny's, however, is the option to buy pelleted carrot and lettuce seeds. It makes sowing those teeny-tiny seeds in rows much easier. — Joannah

Territorial Seed Co.
We are both fans of Territorial Seed Co. You could plan an entire vegetable garden from its catalog — from fabulous-looking Yin Yang shelling beans to heirloom tomato plants. Its reasonable prices, flat-rate shipping and super-fast shipping make it a hands-down winner. The company also offers cool stuff like mushrooms and berries and an array of kitchen gizmos like Mr. Pea Sheller. —Joannah and Carrie

BONUS CATALOG

Select Seeds Antique Flowers
OK, I know we're supposed to be talking vegetables here, but sometimes you really, really need antique flowers. I discovered this when I read Select Seeds' description of Sweet Rocket: "Prized by generations past, this biennial has escaped the garden to grow quite happily in damp thickets. The epitome of an old-fashioned flower; the evening scented blooms are redolent of clove and violet. ... Marie Antoinette was enamored of the double white, and while in prison 'the concierge daily brought her bunches of pinks, sweet rockets and tuberoses, an act of gentleness for which she herself was imprisoned but eventually released.' " Even though I do not possess a damp thicket, I had to have Sweet Rocket. The selection of heirloom flower seeds and plants is intoxicating. I have ordered a number of plants from Select — the heirloom heliotropes, pinks and fuchsias are my favorites — and all have arrived healthy and good-sized. If you have a question, the staff is knowledgeable and quite happy to talk flowers. —Joannah

AND NOW FOR THE REST

White Flower Farm
I was shocked to find pictures of vegetables on the cover of White Flower Farm's latest catalog. The grande dame of gardening catalogs was finally getting its hands dirty. Well, not really. Inside the 144-page catalog, only six pages were devoted to veggies, mostly in the form of "kits." The one-pot gardening kit featured four plants — tomato, pepper, cucumber and basil — in a self-watering container for a startling $189. I ordered plants from White Flower early in my gardening days and was sorely disappointed by the price-to-plant-size ratio. Nowadays, I leaf through the catalog and toss it in my pretty but impractical file. —Joannah

The Cook's Garden
Leafing through The Cook's Garden catalog used to be one of my favorite ways to pass a winter afternoon. It was more than a catalog; lovely woodcuts by Mary Azarian accompanied poetic descriptions of gourmet vegetables, and the catalog was filled with fabulous-sounding recipes. Then Burpee bought the company and replaced all the beautiful illustrations with photos, and it now looks like any other bland, run-of-the-mill vegetable catalog. The selection doesn't seem to have changed, and the recipes are still there, but somehow, all the character is gone. —Carrie     

Posted by Carrie Lyle at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Vegetable gardening
        

EAT YOUR VEGETABLES: Joannah Hill posts on vegetable gardening each Tuesday.

If you squint, you could say my vegetable garden is egg-shaped. Born in the footprint of a toppled oak tree, my garden does not support traditional, uniform rows of vegetables — the plants are sown in patches. When I plan my garden I tend to think more about what I’ll plant, rather than how it will look.

When deciding what to plant, two things to consider are time of year and companion plants. When to plant certain vegetables is fairly straight-forward.

Spring vegetables should be planted now and include asparagus, beets, fava beans, peas, salad greens and cole crops. Summer vegetables are the big stars. Tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, melons and all those zucchini can generally be planted after Mother’s Day. Fall crops like hard squash should be planted in the very late spring so they will be ready for harvest before the winter frost. Transplants of broccoli and cauliflower can be set out in late September. A little trickier is companion planting.

The notion behind companion planting in the vegetable garden is that some plants are mutually beneficial and some don’t play well with others. My vegetable garden suffered from a lack of bees last year and I’m hoping to remedy that by including flowers and herbs among the vegetables.

I’ve been looking through a classic gardening book, Carrots Love Tomatoes by Louise Riotte, as I plan my summer garden. After reading through the extensive, and occasionally confusing, information I can safely say carrots are the BFFs of the garden.

Carrots are thought to make beans thrive, promote the growth of peas, work with radishes to loosen soil, mix amiably with lettuce, tomatoes and the sometimes stand-offish alliums and on particularly hot, muggy days will weed the garden for you. I made that last part up, but you get the picture.

A combination of beans, eggplant and marigolds is recommended to fight off plagues of beetles. Radishes planted with tomatoes may chase away the two-spotted spider mite. Sage is touted as a repellent against carrot fly. Onions, garlic and aromatic herbs all must be carefully placed to avoid giving offense to certain plants.

Companion planting seems to be a mixture of common sense, science and lore. But I am happy to experiment and see what works. I do know this, when my basil was segregated in an herb garden it sulked. When I interplanted it with tomatoes and peppers, the basil made a remarkable comeback and rewarded me with plenty of pesto.

I’ll be spreading carrots around in the garden this season and would be interested to hear if anyone knows of any other beneficial plant combinations.

Photo credit: iStock

Posted by Joannah Hill at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Vegetable gardening
        

The news about the Chesapeake Bay last week wasn't good. The Bay and its fragile web of life is being choked to death by nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, toxic contaminants and oxygen depletion.

There is something gardeners can do about this. Become a Gardener for the Bay through the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

You will receive two Gardener for the Bay stickers, a pledge card with useful information, a free pair of gardening gloves, automatic enrollment in an e-mail alert system for important Bay issues and discounts on merchandise from the Foundation's on-line store.

Here are some things that the foundation asks you to do to help the Bay return to health.

• Conserve water by diverting runoff downspouts and paved surfaces to rain barrels, rain gardens, or garden beds.
• Plant with native, non-invasive species that are adapted to conditions in your area.
• Enrich your garden beds and lawn naturally with compost, leaf mold, or other organic matter.
• Eliminate the use of toxic chemicals (synthetic chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides).
• Reduce your lawn area by planting native trees and shrubs and enlarging garden beds.
• Encourage other gardeners to join the fight to protect and restore the waterways, farmlands and forests for the Bay Region.
• Speak out for decisive action to save the Chesapeake Bay, a national treasure.
• Remember to consult with your local garden center to find solutions that are environmentally best for your yard.

Photo courtesy of Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Garden news
        

Because we all love looking at other people's gardens, Garden Variety will unveil a new feature tomorrow: Your Garden.

Send us photos of your garden - before and after, at its peak, whatever you wish - and write a few paragraphs about how your garden came to be, what you like best about it, and perhaps what you are thinking about doing next.

E-mail them to gardenvariety@baltsun.com. We will post your pictures and your story on Wednesdays here at Garden Variety.

This is just like sharing pictures of the kids!

Photo of Mary Trotta's 2007 garden by Amy Davis, Baltimore Sun

Posted by Susan Reimer at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Your garden
        

 A single rose can be my garden, a single friend, my world. --Leo Buscaglia

Posted by Susan Reimer at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden quotations
        

This week's topic on our friend Michael Raupp's blog, Bug of the Week, is the Eastern tent caterpillar.

The University of Maryland entomologist says the blooming of the cherry, apple and crab apple trees means it is time for gardeners to inspect the limbs for the signs of the black egg pouches that will launch as many as 300 hungry larvae each.

The caterpillars build their tents to protect them from the elements and predators and then proceed to completely strip trees of young and tender foliage.

The caterpillars can be removed with a gloved hand on a cool day, placed in a bag and destroyed, Raupp writes. The old method of burning them out, he says, is not only a bit dramatic, but the flames can harm the bark of the tree.

For more on tent caterpillars, as well as more pictures and video, visit his Web site.

Photo courtesy of Michael J. Raupp.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden blogs
        

There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling. -- Mirabel Osler

Posted by Susan Reimer at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden quotations
        

When you garden, you are likely to step on a few blooms.

It looks like you can step on a few toes, too.

Mayor Sheila Dixon's decision to allow the city's Department of Parks and Recreation to plant vegetables ourside City Hall was met with delight from the folks at Our Daily Bread, who will benefit from the harvests.

But some noisy old crows came out to pick at the idea.

In a letter to the editor Robert Abramson implied that it was a waste of money, despite the fact that the seeds and most of the labor will be donated.

There was a real "fiddling while Rome burns," tone to his complaint.

City dweller Sam Sessa, who blogs on Midnight Sun, is convinced the pigeons will do all the harvesting as they did with his garden. And, in an e-mail to me, another reader said that the pollution in city will taint the vegetables and make the poor sick, and they will sue the city.

I am thinking that it is more likely that politics will taint this ambitious project.  I am afraid if it fails - in even the smallest way - a political reason will be found for its failure.

Let's lighten up, people. Cities all over the country are planting vegetables in public places, most often to benefit the poor. They will meet with varying degrees of success and the gardeners will learn from their mistakes. Even a handful of tomatoes and peppers can ease someone's hunger.

If you want to find fault with such a decent enterprise, you should wear a "curmudgeon" sign around your neck.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Baltimore's City Hall Garden
        

The Coastal Plain, which runs from the middle of New Jersey, down the Atlantic Coast, across Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, is one of the most abundant provinces of the United States, in terms of plants, shrubs and vines.

In this new field guide, Wildflowers of the Coastal Plain, author Ray Neyland profiles 535 species of native flora, with beautiful pictures and capsule descriptions of each.

Some of the descriptions include historical information, such as how the plants may have been used for food or medicine in the past.

And there is also a step-by-step guide in the back of the book that will help readers identify plants themselves, by simply starting with the color and working through a process of elimination until they know the variety they are observing.

There are line drawings of all sorts of plant structures, a glossary of terms and a lengthy index of plants using both common and lating names.

But the pictures are by far the best part of this wonderful new field guide.

Cost is $34.95 from LSU Press.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden books
        

 Some keep the Sabbath going to Church,

I keep it staying at Home -

with a bobolink for a Chorister,

 And an Orchard, for a Dome. -- Emily Dickinson.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden quotations
        

A friend who was going through a rough time said to me once that she could get through her days if she could have fresh flowers in her house. She bought them for herself, but at least she knew they'd be waiting for her.

Fresh flowers. That seems such an extravagance in these economy times. Even $6.50 for a handful of tulips seems careless and irresponsible.

There were never fresh flowers in my house growing up. They were reserved for formal arrangements - ones that usually arrived only at funeral homes.

But I have begun to believe that I, too, can endure these difficult times if there are fresh flowers in the house.

So on weekends I make a stop at my favorite grocery store where I am greeted by this wall of flowers, and I make my modest choices.

There is research out there - probably funded by the fresh flower growers of America - that indicates that fresh flowers can elevate your mood and, therefore, improve your health. That would be hard to argue with.

I am no flower arranger, although my friend Nancy has tried hard to teach me on the occasions when she has helped me create beautiful arrangements for parties at my house. I am content to have a single-flower arrangement in a pretty pottery jar on my kitchen table. A fistful of roses, daisies or tulips.

It makes me smile to seem them there. And it makes me feel like I can face just about anything.

Photo credit: Susan Reimer

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Categories: Garden inspirations
        

It doesn't have the charm of an Italian earthenware container planted with a mix of, say, cherry tomatoes, basil and peppers, but it could be the answer for patio gardeners who just want results.

It is the EarthBox, a plastic container with a refillable water reservoir, a special fertilizing procedure and covers to protect the soil from disease.

 It was developed by a Florida farmer frustrated by poor growing conditions and it has been so successful that the United Nations is distributed EarthBoxes in developing countries to help improve agricultural production.

It can be used to raise anything from herbs and lettuces to tomoatoes, peppers. eggplant and even corn -  just about any vegetable you'd grow in the garden. Flowers, too.

The kit, which costs about $60, comes with a growing medium that requires less fertilizer and yet is reputed to produce abundant crops. The box cover prevents evaporation and protects the soil from contamination. The box also rests on casters so you can move it in and out of the sun on your deck or patio.

It appears to be ideal for the condo or apartment gardener.

For more information, as well as a video demonstration, visit the EarthBox Web site.

Photo courtesy of EarthBox.

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Categories: Garden tools
        

The most noteworthy thing about gardeners is that they are always optimistic, always enterprising, and never satisfied. They always look forward to doing something better than they have ever done before. -- Vita Sackville-West

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Categories: Garden quotations
        

Volumes have been written about how to keep deer from destroying your gardens.

 Advice ranges from distributing human hair in the garden to erecting enormous, unscalable walls of netting.

My neighbor Ron has a rather simpler solution. "I shoot them."

"But not before he makes sure they have a balanced diet," says his wife, Betsy.

Ron maintains a hunting property southern Anne Arundel and he provides lots of shelter and plants lots of food for his prey. For the deer, he plants fruit trees.

I am trying to make sense of all of this, especially since the reason so often given for allowing deer hunting is that the creatures would otherwise starve to death.

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Categories: Garden humor
        

There is no end to garden chores....

Special thanks to the folks at Weekend Gardener for today's list of things to tackle this weekend.

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Categories: Weekend Chores
        

To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves. -- Mohandas K. Gandhi.

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Categories: Garden quotations
        

The economists are telling consumers that this is not the time to cut back spending. We are something like 70 percent of the economy and if we stop buying, eveything grinds to a halt.

It is also true that this is not the time to cut back on the annual investment you make in your lawn and gardens. If you ever want to (or have to) sell your house, it is important that it look good from the street.

 April is National Lawn Care Month and the folks at the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) offer a few tips to hold down expenses without sacrificing the value of - and the pleasure you get from - your yard.

• Protect what you have. Take a walking tour of your yard and make sure the big ticket items such as trees and shrubs are in good health. It costs a great deal more to remove and replace these things than it does to keep them healthy with trimming and fertilization.
• Look for tree and plant give-a-ways this month in conjunction with Arbor Day or Earth Day celebrations. Some jurisdictions also give away free mulch, compost, rain barrels or composters.
• Purchase small plants, trees and shrubs. They cost a fraction of what a more mature plant costs.

Photo credit: Baltimore Sun

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Categories: Garden tips
        

Tonight: 7 p.m. Valley View Farms. Join dscape designer Lynn Poshepny to learn how to create an entrance garden for your home. Lynn will explain the basic elements of design and how to blend plants, hardscaping and color to welcome friends and family. Free.

Friday-April 12: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. U.S. National Arboretum, Northeast Washington, D.C. Washington Chapter of Ikebana International will exhibit flower arrangements representing a variety of ikebana schools and styles. Master teachers will give free demonsrations on Saturdays and Sundays, from 12 to 1 p.m. Free.

Saturday: The Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens of Baltimore will hold a spring flower show beginning Saturday through April 19, Tuesday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be a special open house on Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m., with tours, children's crafts and more. The theme for the flower show is "No Rhyme or Reason," and there will be a special nursery rhyme garden, plus Easter lilies will be available for sale. The conservatory is located in Druid Hill Park at Gwynns Falls Parkway and McCulloh Street. For more information, call 410-396-0008.

Photo courtesy of Valley View Farms Garden Center and Nursery.

Saturday: 9 a.m. Valley View Farms. Create your own bonsai. Here is your chance to prune, wire and style a bonsai plant with Martha Meehan of Meehan's Miniatures. A Bonsai starter tree, soil, wire, pot and tools will be provided during the class. Fee: $35.

Saturday: 11 a.m. Valley View Farms. Herb gardening workshop. Valley View's "Herb Lady" Joann Weber will discuss planning and planting an herb garden. After the discussion, join Joann in a workshop to create your own window box herb garden with some of your favorite herbs. Fee: $35.

Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday 12-4 p.m. Camellia blooms of all colors and types will be displayed by expert growers in this judged show sponsored by the Comellia Society of the Potomac Valley. Free.

Sunday: 2-4 p.m. Mt. Washington Arboretum. Come and learn the basics of successful vegetable gardening. Fee: $10. Call 410-484-6699 for reservations.

Sunday: 3-4:30 p.m. U.S. National Arboretum in Northeast Washington, D.C. Dr. Margaret Pooler, a National Arboretum research geneticist, shares a behind-the-scenes look at how arboretum scientists create new varieties of flowering cherries with improved qualities. A brief walking tour of some of the trees will follow the talk. Free. Registration required. Call 202-245-4521.

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Categories: Garden events
        

A flower is an educated weed. -- Luther Burbank.

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Categories: Garden quotations
        

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's ambitious plans for vegetable gardens outside City Hall, outlined in my story in The Sun today, made me think that perhaps we should be planting edible landscapes around all our public buildings: libraries, schools, courthouses and firehouses - for the benefit of the poor or for those who work and learn in those buildings.

And it is evidence that the pendulum has swung from the 1960s, when Lady Bird Johnson inspired the nation to plant wildflowers along highways and on other public land. Beautification was the watchword then. Food safety and healthy eating are the anthems now.

Flowers vs. vegetables. It is an old rivalry. Especially since the ancients found so many uses - medicinal and food - for flowers.

I like what Roger Doiron said in today's news story. The edible landscape advocate said that these kinds of projects can make cities rethink their ability to feed themselves, that urban areas are not condemned to poor nutrition and hunger just because the earth is paved over there.

I wonder, too, if this sudden explosion in interest in vegetable gardening will make flower gardeners like me feel guilty. Like we aren't contributing to the common good with our hydrangeas and our coneflowers. Like we are wasting our land and the sun and the rain that feed it.

And I wonder how the nation might have reacted if Lady Bird Johnson had urged us to plant corn or soybeans along the highways and in the median strips, instead of waves of colorful wildflowers.

Photo courtesy of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

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Categories: Baltimore's City Hall Garden
        

Those nice folks at my favorite Annapolis Starbucks - the one in Harbour Center - know when it is spring.

I switched to iced lattes, and I beg for their used coffee grounds.

As a gesture to the community, some Starbucks will bag up their used grounds in a reuseable coffee bean sack and seal it with a nice stamp, leaving it in a bin out front for customers to take home for free.

I am not so picky. The staff simply knots off the top of the garbage bags in which they dump the grounds and hand them over the counter to me. By the time I am ready to put the mulch down, I will have spread hundreds of pounds of coffee grounds around my beds.

And I add pounds of coffee grounds to my compost pile and turn it thoroughly to heat up the pile  and jump start the decomposition.

Roses and hydrangeas especially like the grounds. And because it is so high in nitrogen, it is good for fast-growing vegetables, especially tomato plants. I have read that coffee grounds also retard tomato blight.

This year, I plan to put lots of grounds - and some crushed egg shells - around my hostas. I understand that will keep the slugs out. We will see.

I don't have azeleas, but I understand they love their coffee, too. And so do the worms.

It looks like I am not the only one who likes my coffee in the garden.

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Categories: Garden tips
        

The garden is no escape from the bad economic news, and everyone in the industry is worried that the first place homeowners will cut back is on plant material and supplies.

My friends at Old House Gardens, a Michigan mail-order company which specializes in heirloom flower bulbs, have found a clever way to address this. Their spring marketing campaign went like this:

"This isn't the first DEPRESSION our bulbs have faced," the ad says, referring to the age of some of their antique flowers.

"They'll make your yard so beautiful you'll say, 'Staying HOME is the most fun of all!'"

I hate to ask the question, because this could be a downer of a conversation, but are you cutting back in the garden this year? How?

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Categories: From the catalogs
        

• It couldn't have hit the newsstands at a better time: Thrifty Gardener, a special publication of Birds & Blooms.

It contains more than 350 money-saving gardening tips, plus lots of advice about creating container gardens and making over your own gardens on a budget. Among the tips: turn your garbage can into a low-cost rain barrell and your own grill into a potting table. And make your large containers lighter by using crushed soda cans at the bottom of the pot for drainage.

I could go on and on. One idea is cuter than the next.

• Some more good tips in Garden Gate: Evelyn Henry of New York suggests using plastic utensils to mark the places in you garden where bulbs are planted. Use clear utensils and they won't show.

And if you haven't got the mature trees in your garden on which birds can perch, reader Norma Berry of California suggests collecting old, long-handled garden tools, like rakes, spades or cultivators, and stick the handle end in the ground around a bird bath or feeder.

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Categories: Garden tips
        

Gardening is a kind of disease. It infects you, you cannot escape it. When you go visiting, your eyes rove about the garden; you interrupt the serious cocktail drinking because of an irresistible impulse to get up and pull a weed. -- Lewis Gannit.

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Categories: Garden quotations