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National Garden Bureau announces its 2014 "Year of the" plants

Each year the National Garden Bureau selects one annual, one perennial and one edible as its "Year of the" plants. Each plant is chosen because they are popular, easy-to-grow, widely adaptable, genetically diverse, and versatile. National Garden Bureau has selected the following plants for 2014:
Annual: Petunia
Perennial: Echinacea
Vegetable: Cucumber

National Garden Bureau has selected petunia as its annual plant
for its "Year of the" program in 2014.  

 

Time for garden cleanup tasks

Time is running out to clean up your garden this fall. Here are some tips from Michigan State University Extension about what you should and shouldn't do to your lawn and garden.

Things to do
1. Remove leaves from the lawn.
2. Remove diseased flower or vegetable garden plants.

Things not to do
1. Don't prune trees and shrubs.

Removal and disposal of diseased plant material from
garden beds in the fall will help with disease control
next season.

   

What are going to be the hot colors for spring?

Pantone LLC, the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industries, has unveiled the "PANTONE Fashion Color Report Spring 2014," a comprehensive overview of designers' use of color in their upcoming collections. The report features the top 10 colors for women's and men's fashion for spring 2014.

Designers have taken a modern twist on the
traditional for spring 2014 by pairing soft
pastels with vivid bright colors.
 

 

What are the best cities for urban gardening? You may be surprised.

Nerdwallet reports residents of big cities without residences that afford space for a personal garden, have gardening options. Urban gardens are agricultural and horticultural areas within city spaces, often in unused or vacant lots. These urban gardens allow community members to plant, water and harvest, enabling them to create small oases amidst the asphalt and concrete.

To discover which are the best cities for urban gardening, Nerdwallet asked the following questions:
1. Are there community gardens?
Nerdwallet included the number of community garden plots per 10,000 residents in its analysis.
2. Does the city prioritize green space?
Nerdwallet assessed the city’s capital spending on parks and recreation per resident.
3. Is it sunny?
Nerdwallet looked at the average percentage of sunshine per year.

And the winners are.....

Washington D.C. ranked as the best city for urban gardening.
It offers 27 community garden plots for every 10,000 residents.  

 

Soil amendments can benefit bedding plant flowering

Most annual flowers prefer moist, well-drained soils. These plants have a very limited root system and require consistent soil moisture to survive. Roots need oxygen in order to survive and grow. If soil becomes too compacted or too wet, roots will die from lack of oxygen.

University of Georgia Cooperative Extension said soil amendments for clay soil should ideally help loosen compacted soil, improve soil drainage and increase soil porosity. Soil conditioners or soil amendments are not the same as potting soils, which are often blended with materials like peat moss and vermiculite that help retain moisture. Clay already holds plenty of moisture and has the highest water holding capacity of any soil in the world.

Most annual flowers like petunias prefer moist, well-drained soils.
Adding soil amendments to the soil can ensure the plants receive
consistent soil moisture.
Photo by Amanda Tedrow

 

Winners announced for All-America Selections Landscape Design Contest

The All-America Selections Landscape Design Contest has concluded its second year with a 20% increase in the number entries for the 2013 contest. The contest incorporates past and present AAS winners. Each contest participant is responsible for creating and executing the design, generating publicity surrounding the contest then submitting the photos, proof of publicity and an overall description of their design.

There were three categories, based on number of visitors to that garden in one year:

Category I: fewer than 10,000 visitors per year

Category II: 10,001 – 100,000 visitors per year
Category III: Over 100,000 visitors per year

1st Place Winner in Category III: Over 100,000 visitors per year,

was Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville, Wis. It also placed

first in Category III in the inaugural contest last year.

Photo courtesy of All-America Selections 

 

Webinar shows gardeners how to support honeybees

The free, hour-long webinar "Smart Gardening for Pollinators" gives background and tips for gardeners wanting to do their part to help save honeybees. Produced by Michigan State University Extension, the presentation provides gardeners with an introduction to gardening that can benefit pollinators, including some background on bee biology, what bees need to be healthy, and some simple steps that can be used to provide nesting and food resources for some of the key pollinators. The talk emphasizes taking small steps and gradually building a more bee-friendly garden.

The "Smart Gardening for Pollinators" webinar provides
information on how to build a bee-friendly garden.

 

Plants that showed early fall color could be stressed

The leaves of trees and shrubs that changed color before fall are likely indicating stress. Plants could be letting you know they are having problems and may need help.

Michigan State University Extension advises to pay attention to changes in plants, such as leaves turning color during the last couple months of the summer. These types of indicators are a red flag that needs attention.

Not all injuries can be corrected, but the impact of the stress can often be reduced by watering heat- or drought-stressed plants. Mulches can be used to help reduce water loss from the soil and also to protect roots from quick changes in soil temperatures. Careful inspection of plants may show insect damage that if caught early may prevent needless injuries.

Early fall color in landscape plants can be an
indicator of stressed plants.

 

To Plant or not to Plant a Fall Vegetable Garden

Fall is the perfect time in Southern California for planting perennials and non-deciduous trees. However, there is a debate in my mind if fall is the best time to plant a vegetable garden. I attempted a fall vegetable garden in the past, with mixed to poor results, despite all the advice my gardening books give to the contrary. Fall can be a great time to garden, as long as temperatures are cooler and more comfortable. But beware the Santa Ana winds; those devil winds bring miserable dry heat that makes yard work misery rather than a labor of love!

The logistics of a fall vegetable garden are very tricky. If you wish to start plants from seed for fall harvest, the seeds need to be started by mid-August and theoretically planted by mid-September.  But this means starting cool weather crops (root and leaf vegetables) during what is usually the hottest and driest times of the year. I often find that the hottest temps of the year occur in September or October, much to the consternation of our tourists. October starts exceptionally dry with Santa Ana winds blowing off the deserts, desiccating delicate plants, and aiding and abetting wildfires in the dry back country. This period can extend through November or end in early October depending on when the first wet season rains descend upon the region. This variability makes for frustrated attempts at cool season vegetables. I found that an early wet season tends to favor growth of cool season vegetables and extended heat and dryness stunts them or worse, kills them.

Pomegranates to be harvested

By early fall, I am usually spent, tried of all the responsibility of a vegetable garden, and am ready for the welcome respite of winter. I wind down the warm season crops: completing the final harvests of tomatoes, removing dying marigolds and other annual flowers, pruning perennial shrubs, and the general clean up that comes with preparing for winter. I also preserve the harvest: drying herbs, juicing and freezing pomegranate juice, making and freezing tomato sauce, and making and freezing fig jam. I still need to plant my cover crops (native wildflowers and crimson clover) after removing warm season vegetables from the beds. That is a lot to do and nurse tender cool weather seedlings through unforgiving weather!

Swiss chard

This year I successfully grew Swiss chard from seed for fall harvest. My poor kale plants are being eaten mercilessly by black beetles and white flies; they are going to end up a total loss. I started tomatoes later this year and have a later harvest because of the late timing. The wind down is taking longer this year, taking away focus from the broccoli, cauliflower, collards, and arugula that shriveled up and died as seedlings. My best advice for the fall is to focus on winding down the warm season, cleaning up the garden, and preserving the harvest. The cool weather crops can wait to be planted in late winter or early spring. Ultimately they prefer this timing, and weather conditions are more apt to allow them to grow and thrive.

Winding down the tomatoes - the 2 above photos are a Romanian heirloom we call "Corey's Grandpa." The one in my hand weighed almost 2 lbs! While the plants do not produce quantity, they produce huge quality fruits. This is one of my favorite tomatoes: gorgeous coloring, hug size, light, sweet yet flavorful taste - overall impressive on all accounts!

Communicate your community garden message

Michigan State University Extension advises community garden organizations to have their promotional programs and communication needs planned in advance. This contributes to an organization's long-term plan and promotes community within the group. Regular communications build trust, respect, cooperation and inclusiveness among community garden members. Regular publicity also draws in the greater community at large. Be sure to consider organizational goals when developing the community garden's publicity and communication plan.

Regular communication helps to build trust, respect, cooperation
 and inclusiveness among community garden members.

 

Clean up garden tools before storing them

If your garden season is winding down, this is a good time to inspect, repair and clean gardening tools before storing them for the winter. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension offers a checklist to keep garden tools and equipment in good condition and operating properly.

With proper care, garden tools can last for years.

 

National Indoor Plant Week starts Sept. 15

National Indoor Plant Week, Sept. 15-21, was established to increase public awareness of the importance of indoor plants and their many attributes. Annually celebrated the third week in September, it was established to promote and increase public awareness of the importance of live plants in interior spaces.

Numerous studies have shown that plants have a positive psychological impact on people. According to a recent study, employees exposed to interior plant settings demonstrated better attitudes, positive emotions such as happiness, friendliness and assertiveness.

National Indoor Plant Week was established to
promote and increase public awareness of the
importance of live plants in interior spaces.

 

Fig Fest!

Figs are the final burst of the summer bounty and in my mind, the ultimate form of food porn. I have never seen such a voluptuous and indiscrete fruit as the fig. Soft and tender on the outside and easily bruised, left one day too long on the tree and it is ruined by its own weight or marauding birds. Their delicate nature force customers pay dearly for them at the farmers’ markets or to purvey them in processed forms of dried fruit, preserves and jams, or dried-out cookies. If one can manage to find them, figs are best in fresh form, to better enjoy all their sensuous goodness.

The first fig of the season must always be enjoyed raw, unadorned, and in all its natural glory. But as with the dealing with this easily perishable fruit, nature in all her irony turns all the figs ripe at once, so time is of the essence.  Here are some of my favorite recipes:

Fig Pizza

This has to be Hubby and my favorite pizza. Better yet, it is very easy to make with pre-made dough. We head to our local Little Italy in Downtown San Diego to purchase pre-made dough, either from Assenti's or Mona Lisa's. Allow the dough to rise for a couple of hours then roll out into 2 thin pizzas. Transfer dough to pizza stone and cook in oven for seven minutes at 500 degrees. After seven minutes, pull dough out of oven to add toppings. First, smear goat cheese (not feta!) over the dough, then add sliced figs. Transfer back to oven and bake for ten minutes at 500 degrees. Remove pizza from oven (final time) and sprinkle arugula greens and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar over the figs. Buon appetito!

Fig Jam

A friend recently brought fig jam to an Afternoon Tea I recently hosted and was kind enough to share the recipe she found in the New York Times Magazine. It is so simple yet so unbelievably good! The key, as with all simple recipes, is to use only the best ingredients. (I used figs, fresh squeezed lemon juice, sugar, and 2 sprigs of thyme.) Please keep in mind that this recipe does not preserve the fruit, but rather, will last up to a week in a refrigerator. Hubby was in heaven in eating this recipe with cheese on toast. I offered to teach him how to make the jam, but he demurred, “a wife should always have her secret recipe; so her husband remains in awe of her.”

Healthy Fig and Yogurt Breakfast

Place 4 ounces of non-fat, plain Greek yogurt in breakfast bowl. Drizzle a natural honey over yogurt (to taste). Slice one large fig and add slices to yogurt. Add a tablespoon of slivered almonds for some added crunch. Just a satisfying as a doughnut, but so much healthier!

Figs with Goat Cheese and Prosciutto

Cut fig in half, add a dollop of smooth goat cheese (not feta) to empty pit of fig, then wrap the half fig in a thin piece of prosciutto, covering the cheese. How easy is that?! Now you can surprise your friends and family as a true gourmand!

Enjoy the figs while they last, for the won't last long!

Designing your "ideal" outdoor room

You can enjoy your outdoor living space by re-thinking your home’s landscape. Planting a few trees and shrubs along your home's foundation isn't going to cut it especially if you enjoy grilling and eating outdoors, bird watching or hosting guests. The outdoor spaces you desire need to be identified by “function” (e.g., grill area, flower garden, quiet space) first, then the design process can begin. Michigan State University Extension says that by combining basic principles such as scale, balance, repetition and dominance with artistic elements such as line, form, color and texture, you can create a beautiful landscape canvas to enjoy for many years to come.

To enjoy your outdoor living space may require
 re-thinking your home’s landscape.
Photo by Rebecca Finneran, MSU Extension

 

Create a four-season container garden

Have a decorative container that looks just too good to put away after the summer? The Chicago Botanic Garden offers some ideas on how to create a four-season container that can be enjoyed year-round. Miniature evergreens, low-growing perennials and ground covers can often survive winter conditions if they are heavily mulched.

The Chicago Botanic Garden suggests
rotating seasonal plants into containers
to reflect the best of the garden and to
extend the growing season.

 

Fall is a good time to upgrade garden beds

Fall is a good time to improve flower, shrub or tree beds by adding composted manure. Michigan State University Extension advises gardeners to remove mulch out of beds. Raking the bed helps to loosen the soil which may have become compacted during the summer. Add 2 to 3 inches of composted manure to the soil surface and replace the mulch. The soil on the bottom and the mulch above keeps the composted manure damp improving the habitat for beneficial earthworms and other soil insects. By spring the earthworms will have turned the compost into the soil. Also consider adding slow-release fertilizer which will be beneficial to the plants.

Adding composted manure to garden beds
during the fall can improve the soil for
plants and soil insects including earthworms.
Photo courtesy of Chicago Botanic Garden

 

The American Garden Award winners are...

The 2013 American Garden Award, now in its fifth year, featured four new flower varieties chosen by their breeders for their excellent garden performance. Once these new varieties were planted and put on display at 31 participating gardens across the United States and in Quebec, the public was invited to vote for their favorite variety. The votes have been counted and the three winners are:

Grand Prize Winner: Verbena 'Lanai Candy Cane'

 

Second Place Winner: Zinnia 'Zahara Cherry'

 

Third Place Winner: Impatiens 'SunPatiens
Compact Electric Orange'

  


 

 

Sept. 7 is National Planting Day

 The second annual National Planting Day, sponsored by Keep America Beautiful, will be held on Saturday, Sept. 7. The purpose of the event is to mobilize Americans to bolster local ecosystems by planting native species of trees, shrubs and plants. Through National Planting Day, Keep America Beautiful, its affiliates and partners are raising awareness about the importance of native species in restoring balance to local environments, while creating vibrant, more beautiful communities.

National Planting Day celebrates the value and power of native
species in restoring ecological balance to the environment while
creating greener, more beautiful communities.

  

Panzanella or Italian Bread Salad

One of my favorite recipes for end of summer tomatoes is Panzanella. It is so simple yet so good; the key is using only the highest quality ingredients. This is a dish that is both rustic and elegant, healthy yet a solid comfort food.

Ingredients:

4-5 large heirloom tomatoes (cubed) or 1-2 pounds of cherry tomatoes (halved)

One cucumber, seeds removed and sliced thin

One red or sweet onion, sliced thin

Fresh basil, cut in thin strips

Loaf of thick, rustic, crusty bread, slightly stale (cubed into crouton sized bites)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil – I reduce to 1/8 of cup to reduce calories

1/4 cup red wine vinegar – I reduce to 1/8 of cup to reduce calories

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Chop all vegetables using the above directions and place in large bowl (preferably one that can be sealed). Liberally salt and pepper the contents to taste. Remember – the salt brings out the flavor of the tomatoes! Add the oil and vinegars and lightly toss to mix. (I fill a quarter cup halfway with olive oil and the rest of the way with red wine vinegar. Do add the whole tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.)

I normally wait until a couple minutes prior to serving to add the rustic bread. It is supposed to be soggy with oil and vinegar, the key is to not let it get too soggy. Use slightly stale, thick rustic bread made from hardier wheat flour. This will hold up better than a soft, white flour baguette.  For a slightly crunchier texture, bread can be toasted in a toaster or under the broiler in the oven. Chop the bread in larger-sized croutons and toss salad again, making sure the oil and vinegars are evenly deposited on the bread. Salad will keep for up to three days – if it lasts that long!

Panzanella sans the bread