- Author: Sharon L. Rico
I love garden art and our small garden is always changing as I add and delete items that add character. For 25 years a whispering garden angel has followed us from garden to garden as we've relocated.
Garden angels make me think of ruins, Botanical gardens and even cemeteries. The Metairie and Lafayette Cemeteries in New Orleans have the “Weeping Angel “, with many other unusual angel statues. These angels are guarding the grounds and adding a link from the ancient to the modern.
If angels are not your interest, faces are another garden accent that enhances collections of plants. A garden that was on a home tour five years ago had a huge face of a goddess that a tree branch had fallen on and broken. Half of the face remained, telling a story of life and change, man's struggles with weather and nature. The broken clay became a different garden decoration, a ruin.
In the 18th century, ruins were fashionably popular in the garden. Broken columns, moss or ivy covered statues or crumbling brick walls were a sign of the gardener's worldliness. Ruins added drama and focal points to the garden. In Europe most gardens from huge Botanical gardens to private gardens have ruins that evoke nostalgia and history. In England, a mock tower was designed to look old by building it with old broken bricks and planting vines to climb upwards. A family and their guests would have an impressive place to view the garden and surrounding countryside.
It's enjoyable to tour regional and Botanical gardens to view “real” ruins. One does not have to go to Europe as we have many gardens in North America that have ruins although medieval ruins are rare.
Looking around Northern California, you can locate stone, cement and clay architecture elements such as pediments, statuary, columns and obelisks. These can be found new or recycled.
If your desired piece is new and you want to make it look old there are several easy methods to age it. Or if you like the look of moss, you can create your own faux moss by several different techniques located on the Internet.
By being creative and aging your piece plus planting several ferns around it, you can create your own “ruin” to enjoy for years to come.
- Author: Lanie Keystone
Childrens' books are a wonderful resource. Often, when I want to know the core of a topic, be it science, history, or geography, I often turn to a well-written book for children to quickly seek information. The reductive aspects of these books often present the topic in a clear, concise, easy-to-understand but authoritative manner. (When traveling, it's a great way to learn about a foreign country without wading through dense explanations and examples!)
Farmer George Plants a Nation is one such book. Beautifully written by Peggy Thomas with exquisite paintings by Layne Johnson, one gets the tone of the times and the importance of agriculture and horticulture to Washington as he and the other Founders build our nation.
Ironically, I came across this wonderful book in our Vacaville Library on Presidents' Day! In it, we read about his life as a general and as the first president of the United States. But woven throughout these known careers, we learn that George Washington was an avid farmer who understood the importance of experimenting with seeds, tools and fertilizers. We gain insights into how he created plows, designed a sixteen-sided barn and plotted the location of each new tree that he planted.
The book, as well as his work as a gardener and farmer, begins simply and powerfully—(just as gardeners' across the ages begin): “George Washington dug his hand into the newly tilled earth and let the hard, dry clay crumble through his long fingers.” His story develops from there in an adventure that spans his life's endeavors. The author has based the narrative on his letters and diaries—through which we see how “his efforts to create a self-sufficient farm at Mt. Vernon, Virginia, mirrored his struggle to create a free [and thriving] nation.”
The most poignant aspect of the book is how Ms. Thomas enhances the narrative with direct quotes from Washington's writings—using them as effective “side-bars” to create texture, tone and authenticity. Two of my favorites taken directly from his letters and diaries are:
- Upon returning to Mt. Vernon after retiring as general: “Planted and Sowed…Six buckeye nuts, brought with me from the Mouth of Cheat River…and Six acorns, which I brought with me from the South Branch [River]. (1785)
- Shortly before becoming president: “For, in the present State of America, our welfare and prosperity depend upon the cultivation of our lands and turning the produce of them to the best advantage. (1788)
This is a special book for any gardener to read by oneself—or more wonderfully—to read together with children of all ages.
- Author: Jenni Dodini
Steve used to work for FEMA back at the time of the Northridge earthquake. Part of his job was to go out to do an overview of the damages on claims that had been submitted. As you can imagine, he had a LOT to report. Anyway, the initials, DSR, were a part of our conversations at the time. So, when we got back from San Diego, Toni had inquired as to whether or not we had sustained any damages from the storm while we were gone. Of course, the picture that I sent her of the damage to my honeysuckle is now NOWHERE to be found. The picture below is how it looked early last spring. What you can't see in the picture are the garden art big flowers on the top of the trellis.
Well, as you can guess, the strong winds broke the trellis at the junctions from which the "stems" of the garden art flowers arose. My dismay was complete when I saw the flowers face down in a big puddle and the honeysuckle stems bent and broken.
What is a poor Master Gardener to do? Research of course.
Honeysuckles are of the Genus Lonicera with approximately 180 species from the family Caprifoliaceae. All the honeysuckle species are native to the Northern Hemisphere with about 20 native to North America. They are a gardener's favorite mostly because they are so easy to grow, have a beautiful fragrance, and flowers that have a sweet nectar to attract pollinators. Most are deciduous and evergreen. There are many hybrids and cultivars available with L. periclymenum, L. japonica, and L. sempervirens being the most commonly grown in home gardens. My honeysuckle is a hybrid with beautiful pale yellow and white flowers. I also have a L. japonica growing in a pot by my entry steps.
What does one need to know in order to successfully grow a honeysuckle around here? As it turns out, very little, or mine would have been dead a long time ago. They will grow in almost any kind of soil and also in pots. They like well draining soil and to be fed regularly with a 10-10-10 fertilizer if in a pot. Mine is not so well fertilized, and still survives. The plant is in the ground. They do well in full sun and are heat tolerant. Mine are true to form and need regular pruning, and were due for a very heavy pruning because the stems had gotten woody and ugly because of the shade that the plant canopy made above them. Luckily, the big storm coincided with the proper winter pruning time, and we will see how they come back in the spring, hopefully quite nicely as the literature suggested. Just one other tidbit of information, the pesky underground creatures don't seem to consider honeysuckles to be a tasty morsel.
- Author: Mike Gunther
No Need for Spring Rain
Buds and Flowers are Popping
Get Ready Gardeners
- Author: Stan Zervas
Back in the end of October I planted my winter garden plot at the Avant Community Garden in downtown Benicia. Since I was a little late to the game I planted transplants of broccoli, collard greens, lettuce, Swiss chard, and direct seeded carrots and beets. I battled the slugs and weeds all winter and have eaten most of what was planted. I still have a few beets, carrots and Swiss chard to finish off before I can amend the soil and plant my spring/summer garden.
For broccoli this year I chose 'Green Comet'; (Brassica oleracea var. capitate) It is an early variety of broccoli that is known for producing numerous side shoots later in the season. As advertised I got nice moderate-sized heads of broccoli. And then it seems after every warm and wet period the plants produced a flush of small side shoots. I think I harvested 3 times. We will see if I can squeeze another round out of these plants, I bet I can get more if I control my urge to pull them out and plant warm-season veggies. Like most gardeners I tend to jump the gun and plant the summer garden too soon!
Benicia Community Gardens is now part of Sustainable Solano, more info about all their programs is at www.sustainablesolano.org