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

KNARLY SAGETORUS

Have you ever had a plant in your garden that your wife hates and won’t die?  I have one of those in my garden.  Here is what it looks like.

 

Sweet Tomato hates it and has hinted strongly on multiple occasions that she would like to see that ugly excuse for a plant taken out and relegated to kindling.  A strong hint in our house is just above an eye roll, but not as bad as the ‘glare’.  If a ‘glare’ is held long enough it can burn a whole clean through you.   My take on the Knarly Sagetorus is that it is kind of like a really old pair of boots or an old t-shirt.  Each of them has been around a long time, they are useful, and I am comfortable with them.  Sweet Tomato doesn’t like my old boots or t-shirts either.

You are probably wondering at this point why I refer to this plant as a Knarly Sagetorus.  I came across this old book at a garage sale many years ago.  It did not have a publishing date, but it looked older than me, and that is old.  It was something of a cross between a farmer’s almanac and a book of folk tales.  It even had a very strange story about a briar patch, a rabbit and a tar baby.  I don’t think the story would be much appreciated today, but I found it hilarious.  Also in this book was a description of the Knarly Sagetorus accompanied by a water color painting of the plant.  While the artist had attempted to depict the plant truthfully, it was still ugly as a three tooth witch after falling off her broom.  I never thought much of it until the sage plant I have in my garden had reached an age of somewhere north of a score of years.  That was when I went looking for that old book again to check the description and painting against the sage in my garden.  Sure enough, the painting and description matched my sage to a T. 

 

At the bottom of the page was a written description of the Knarly Sagetorus  and what looked like a warning or a curse if you believe in such things.  It went like this:

KNARLY SAGETORUS

Rare specimen of the sage family of the genus Salvia L. of the species Salvia knarly, no variety or sub species.  Not indigenous to any particular region, but able to survive long cold winters and hot dry summers.  Identified by its signature ‘knarly’ trunk and bark.  Also known and identified by extreme age and ugliness.  Legend says that anyone cutting down a Knarly Sagetorus will be inflicted with toenail fungus until the end of their days.

I have been able to find references to the Knarly Sagetorus in the famous online resource Zippipedia, but they referred to it as ‘Gnarly Sagetorus’ and there was no mention of the legend about cutting it down.  I am not an unusually superstitious person, but ugly as it is and even if it is disliked by Sweet Tomato, I intend to leave it alone.

Outdoor living continues to increase in popularity

Remodeling magazine reports that an increasing number of homeowners want to break down the barriers to their backyard just as much as they want to tear down walls to create open interiors inside. One San Diego designer told the magazine that his clients have always been interested in outdoor living, but now many of them want an outdoor space that is seamlessly integrated and looks like it was part of the original house.

Homeowners should consider the impact that outdoor
 features will have on interiors.

 

Provide support for top-heavy flowering plants

Blooms on late-summer flowering plants can become top heavy and their stems may not be able to support them. Dahlias, sedums, cannas and rudbeckia are just a few of the plants whose flowers may flop over. Michigan State University Extension suggests using inexpensive supports such as plant stakes and garden fencing to help eliminate floppy flowers.

Most annuals and perennials will stand up on their own. Over fertilization or lower light levels can cause plant stems to stretch. Plants that have been pinched regularly don't usually need staking because of increased branching.

Individual stems or top-heavy flowers can be supported with
a single stake and twine.
Photo by Rebecca Finneran, Michigan State University Extension  

 

Suntory Combo Designer app is free

If you aren't familiar with Suntory Flowers' Virtual Combo Designer website, now you can access this site by downloading a free app. Available for iPads and Android tablets, go to the Apple or Google Play online stores and search for Combo Designer from Suntory Flowers. The app can be used to design mixed container plantings with Suntory varieties.