Autumn and cool weather signify final chores in the garden. This time of year also brings out the hunting and gathering instincts that must be part of our genetic code. I feel positively squirrel-ish as I rush around gathering armfuls of luscious, colorful branches for one huge, finale of a bouquet. Somehow, I need to capture part of the natural abundance–before the inevitable denouement–and bring it inside.
The vessel for this bouquet must be ample no matter whether wicker, metal, pottery or crystal.
Go into the garden or stroll the nearest woods and fields. Have good pruners in hand. Gather branches from maples, oaks, blue beech and ironwood. Find rose hips, winterberry, bittersweet, viburnums and crab apples. Cut frost-tinged plants like yarrow, asters, ferns and ornamental grasses. Don't forget to add dried flower heads of the ubiquitous hydrangea.
And, as every good designer knows, include a foil whether in color, shape or texture. A stem or two of striking blue delphinium is perfection.
Tasha can find a glorious bouquet anytime, and in fall her porch holds masses of autumn leaves, delphiniums, crab apples, and hydrangeas. ~ Tovah Martin, Tasha Tudor's Garden
Depending upon one's bent, October in Minnesota heralds different activities–football games on Friday nights, grouse and duck and pheasant hunting, MEA weekend and Halloween. A highlight for me is a visit to an apple orchard.
Minnesotans are fortunate to be close to a world-renown, apple research effort. For more than 100 years, plant breeders at the U of M have been developing excellent, cold-hardy cultivars. Consider: Haralson (1922), Fireside (1943), State Fair (1977), Honeycrisp (1991), Zestar! (1999) and their newest introduction, Frostbite (2008).
Apples are delicious fresh from the fridge but also are irresistible when baked in crisps, crumbles and pies.
Good apple pies are a considerable part of our domestic happiness. ~ Jane Austen
Late September finds most summer annuals looking a bit ragged around the edges and, really, who can blame them? For several months the plants have given their all–flowering and flourishing–despite the cooler-than-normal temperatures.
But there's a time for everything and now it's time to redo container gardens. Newly planted pots should last well into November and, perhaps, until Thanksgiving if we're lucky.
In my column about a month ago I detailed more than 30 plants with outstanding fall features. With the exception of some tender annuals, all are terrific options for a fall container garden and, in addition, there is the bonus of using the plants later in the garden.
Listed below are additional design ideas for fall container gardens. • Plant frost-tolerant herbs like thyme and rosemary. • Consider small-sized woody trees and shrubs. • Try an evergreen (also easily transitioned to a winter container garden). A lovely and graceful plant with bright foliage is 'King's Gold' False Cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera 'King's Gold'). • A distinctive accent is a grouping of berried branches. Look for rose hips, cranberrybush viburnum, crab apple (love the cultivars with golden fruit), bayberry, glossy black chokeberry or bittersweet which also can be curled artfully about the pots. • Display containers with cornstalks, gourds or big, colorful pumpkins.
Early mornings find me on a routine walk with our Labrador and pointer. Normally as I round the west side of the pond, I admire the colors reflected on the surface of the water. Always there is the deep green of the aspen woods and, depending on the weather, various shades of blue and gray.
But on this crisp morning in early September, a frog jumped into the pond and startled me out of my usual reverie. I noticed a spider web. Then another spider web, then two more, then four more. Oh! I counted more than 30 spider webs, all things of exquisite beauty and artistry. The spiders used seed heads of bulrushes and bent-over cattail stalks for support. One web was strung horizontally and brought to mind a lovely, loosely knit hammock.
Each strand held dozens of bright drops of early morning dew. The light from the east struck it and made it all plain and clear. It was a perfect piece of designing and building. ~ Charlotte's Web, by E. B. White
In our part of the country, we're on the brink of a major change of season. Even though the autumnal equinox is several weeks out, the lowering angle of the sun and the sighting of scarlet foliage on maples and sumacs are harbingers.
Transitions can be tough, though, and this seasonal shift from summer to fall is the toughest for me. To know our days of warmth and sunshine are waning and many months of cold days and long nights loom ahead is daunting.
What's a gardener to do? Buy plants, of course!
Let's get the garden blazing this autumn by venturing beyond asters and ornamental kale, sedums and Russian sage. Let's seek new, exciting plants–whether annuals, perennials or woody plants.
Listed below are favorite plants I've grown and some I've recently come across. As you're rummaging about a far section of the nursery, no doubt you'll discover others worth a try in your garden.
In most areas of design–whether interior, architectural or landscape–an element of whimsy is essential. This element, or foil, can be in terms of color, size, shape or style.
In the garden, the best foils are funky, quirky, charming and make me smile.
Not every silly thing works, though. The cutout of the fat lady bending over and showing her petticoat is ridiculous. This year I have seen several attempts at whimsical garden art that do work: solar-powered dragonflies that, when the sun goes down, glimmer and shimmer in various bright colors; a yellow rubber duck that spouts water for a too-serious rock pile/water feature; and Mr. Flamingo, rescued from a garage sale, lording over the garden from his perch in the bird bath.
Sure, nurseries stock and catalogs tout the latest and greatest in perennial plant cultivars but there always should be space in the garden for a few old-fashioned favorites. Among the best are hollyhocks.
Hollyhocks (Althea rosea) are biennials, officially, but can live many years under favorable conditions. Their tall stature, 6 - 8' in height, is evocative of cottage-y gardens, especially when planted in the back of the perennial border or near the faded side of a barn. Even the common name, hollyhocks, is delightful.
Oh, I just love hollyhocks, but only the singles, mind you–I won't look twice at the doubles. My favorites are still the melon-colored seedlings. ~ Tasha Tudor
How rewarding is tending a fruit, vegetable and herb garden?
A batch of basil pesto mixed into good linguine is worth those spring hours planning and designing the garden. A platter of steaming corn on the cob is surely worth the soil test and soil amendments. The quintessential summer sandwich–the BLT–piled with thick slices of tomatoes is undeniably worth planting those tiny seedlings.
And, big bowls of fresh raspberries every morning are absolutely worth daily maintenance chores.
Apart from jam-making, it would be a crime to cook raspberries. Eat them raw, with or without sugar, with cream or cr?ɬ®me fraiche, flavored with a little liqueur, if you like. ~James Beard
July is a wonderful month in Minnesota. Summer has settled in and many take advantage of the gorgeous weather and head to lakes and cabins for their particular form of R&R.
Many area farmers markets will open for the season in July. In addition, July is the premier month for garden tours that are usually hosted by local clubs and organizations as fund-raisers. Both are not to be missed.
In the garden, high summer can still mean lots of work, especially if vegetable, fruit and herb gardens are part of the landscape. Weeding, watering and harvesting continue to be daily chores. In the perennial garden, though, July offers a different sort of opportunity. Much of the frenetic planting and dividing were completed in spring or now must until fall, so what's a gardener to do? Make time to find that bench or chair and, with a tall glass of something cool to sip, rest and relax.
Others agree.
Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. ~ Henry James
Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability. ~ Sam Keen
There are a few, truly eminent theme gardens. Vita Sackville-West designed a one-color garden, The White Garden, at Sissinghurst Castle. A fellow British garden designer, Gertrude Jekyll, created the first perennial border which was a whopping 200' long x 18' deep. Perhaps most beloved are two gardens conceived by Claude Monet at his home near Giverny, France. Monet designed The Grand Allee which practically dripped with climbing roses and his final masterpiece, The Water-Lily Pond (the original water garden?).
Here's my theme garden entry: The Cocktail Garden. Think about it. What a natural combination. Not only would fresh herbs add distinctive flavor to a drink but imagine the amazing aroma that would waft about the glass.
The Cocktail Garden isn't original to me but the notion resonated when I first read about a Mojito Garden in the October 2007 issue of Gourmet magazine. As we know, though, "everything old is new again." In 1510, French Benedictine monks dreamed up the clever idea to infuse alcohol with herbs when they created the liqueur, Benedictine. Now in the 21st century, bartenders all over the country are concocting herb-laced cocktails.
Here are several herb and drink combinations to sample. • lemon verbena: lemonade, gin cocktails • mint: juleps, lemonade, mojitos • rosemary: great with gin • sage: tequila, margaritas • tarragon: good with peach flavors and vodka • thyme: martinis, peach-flavored cocktails like a Bellini
Finally, ditch the olive or twist of lime as garnishes. Jazz up that Friday Night Cosmo. Float a fresh, edible flower like a nasturtium, lavender, violet or chive blossom in the glass.
June means the end of the school year. June promises fishing trips and weekends at the cabin. June brings to mind a nice barbeque to celebrate Father's Day. June signifies that summer has begun in all ways, both unofficially and officially, for on June 21, the summer solstice occurs.
And if one is a gardener with a penchant for perennials, June heralds the magnificent occasion of peonies in full bloom.
The fattest and most scrumptious of all flowers, a rare fusion of fluff and majesty, the peony is now coming into bloom… ~ Henry Mitchell, The Essential Earthman
If you ask me, the lovely month of May is made for one thing when it comes to gardening: trolling nurseries and buying plants. I have a pickup truck and I'm not afraid to use it.
~ Maria Rodale, Organic Gardening Magazine
I couldn't agree more.
Greenhouses and nurseries are open for the season and my vehicle keys are jingling. For the most part, greenhouses and nurseries are the source of all that will be planted in the garden this year. In other words, we can only buy and plant what they're selling. Ergo, we must visit.
Even though it's too early to plant tender annuals, vegetables and herbs, go now. You can plant trees, shrubs, woody vines, cool-season vegetables, rhubarb and asparagus. Besides, the nurseries are jam-packed and overflowing with vibrant flowers and lush greenery. Too, greenhouses smell good–fresh, earthy and, if one is lucky enough to brush by a flat of heliotrope or stock, sweet.
Every spring, a group of friends and I make a pilgrimage to various greenhouses and nurseries. Special provisions are made, vehicle-wise. Trunks are stripped bare. Miscellaneous debris and detritus are tossed. One memorable year, I drove our pick-up truck which has an eight-compartment dog topper. On the return trip, all eight of those cubby-holes were chock-full of plants.
Today's column is the third in a series on G.I.Y., or Grow It Yourself, one of my garden trend predictions for 2009. The idea combines compelling issues such as saving money in tough economic times, an increased awareness on quality of food (fresh food tastes better and is more nutritious) and the big picture of knowing where your food comes from.
Let's prepare the garden and begin planting.
Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. ~ Maria Robinson
This week is the second in a series on G.I.Y., or Grow It Yourself. The idea combines compelling issues such as saving money in tough economic times, an increased awareness on quality of food (fresh food tastes better and is more nutritious) and the big picture of knowing where your food comes from.
Last time we determined what to grow by creating a list of fruits, vegetables and herbs. The next step is Garden Planning and Design.
A vegetable garden is such a good thing, in so many senses, that it ought to be beautiful too, especially as one is bound to spend so much time there… ~ Joe Eck and Wayne Winterrowd, A Year at North Hill
In an entry dated February 11, I detailed my predictions for garden trends in 2009. Among them was GIY, or Grow It Yourself. The notion, for me, combined compelling issues such as saving money in tough economic times, an increased awareness on quality of food (fresh food tastes better and is more nutritious) and the big picture of knowing where your food comes from.
I think the idea is catching on.
Marion Burros, a writer for The New York Times, reported on March 19 that First Lady Michelle Obama is overseeing a project on the White House grounds to plant and grow 55 varieties of vegetables, fruits and herbs. Mrs. Obama said, "While the organic garden will provide food for the first family's meals and formal dinners, its most important role will be to educate children about healthful, locally grown fruit and vegetables…"
To own a bit of ground, to scratch it with a hoe, to plant seeds, and watch the renewal of life, -- this is the commonest delight of the race, the most satisfactory thing a man can do. ~ Charles Dudley Warner
Living vicariously for a short time can be educational, amusing, challenging and even transformative. It is among the many joys of reading and of traveling.
Imagine my excitement, then, at the opportunity to live, not vicariously but actually, for several weeks in northeastern Oklahoma during February and March. What a break for a gardener from Zone 3 to experience an early spring in Zone 6.
As did any good gardener in this part of Oklahoma, I recently attended the Garden Fair hosted by the Tulsa Garden Center.
On my way, I noticed a geometric pattern of deep purple and white in a planting bed in front of a commercial building. Still in my northern mindset, I mused, "What unfortunate taste. Who would use purple and white rocks as mulch?" I looked closer. Pansies!
Farther on I passed an expanse of the beautifully landscaped Woodward Park. Outstanding among myriad bare deciduous trees was one enveloped in a cloud of pink flowers. I immediately thought, "Redbud!" and had to stop. The tree was a cherry–fooled into early bloom by a week of warm temperatures. Fooled me, too.
The parking lot for the Garden Fair was almost full but I found a spot in the back corner. Rising above the tall stone wall were sturdy branches sporting large, fuzzy buds. Almost afraid to guess but hoping not to be wrong three times in a row, I murmured, "Magnolia." Ah, redemption.
The Garden Fair was wonderful. I met nursery owners and gardeners. I saw fragrant herbs, small containers of enticing young clematis vines and pots of forced daffodils and hyacinths. Invitations to join garden clubs and announcements of upcoming perennial sales abounded.
• Groceries and other purchases are put into "sacks," not "bags;" • Snow plowing isn't a consideration but two-lane roads seem dangerously narrow without shoulders; • The landscape is a patchwork of brown and tan as deciduous trees are still bare and turf grass is still dormant;
–but where pansies in purple and blue and yellow are blooming!
Sick of shoveling snow yet? Can't bear another 20 below night? Even if you adore winter, now is the time for one of the most enjoyable projects of the entire gardening year–planning for this year's garden. Every gardener is a dreamer at heart. All is possible.
So, let's plan the garden.
2009 garden trends. A key component of garden planning is consideration of any new ideas as well as re-evaluation of previous, significant trends. Here are my top seven trends for 2009.
GIY. Remember college days when parties were BYOB? And many years later when home improvement projects were breezily labeled DIY? Now there's GIY, or grow it yourself.
I've never had much luck growing fruits and vegetables–from my earliest issue of way-too-much rhubarb to the final fiasco of big, beautiful, inedible kohlrabi–but I'm going to plant a vegetable garden this year. How rewarding to turn that $1.29 tomato plant into endless BLTs!
Our serious weather continues unabated and I'm carrying on my winter activities of traveling, reading, cooking and garden planning. Let's discuss reading.
Reading. Reading isn't restricted to winter, of course, but whether due to the prolonged cold and darkness, or both, I devote more time to it. A stack of books is always on my bedside table and piles of magazines, newspapers, catalogs and more books are scattered around the living room–no doubt a high percentage of which are garden-related.
There are several ways to establish your collection of reading material. • Browse your own book shelves. Some should probably be re-read and a long-forgotten book might be re-discovered. • Visit the nearest library and either dawdle there or check out a nice selection of books and magazines. • Spend several hours wandering in a book store. Maybe pony up to buy a couple. • Get together with gardening friends–for certainly they have some you don't and vice verse–and share books and magazines (and perhaps a glass of wine!).
The winter months can be arduous for many gardeners but I relish the change in seasons and the shift in focus. (Plus I get tired of all that outside work!) Winter forces one to spend time on other, equally worthwhile endeavors. Among my favorites are traveling, reading, cooking and garden planning.
The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only one page. ~ St. Augustine
The winter solstice will occur on December 21. Yea! From now on–minute by precious minute–the hours of daylight will lengthen.
The winter solstice marks the first day of astronomical winter which will last until the vernal equinox on March 20. The meteorological or climatic winter, which is the coldest part of the year, occurs from December 1 to March 1.
I hope you didn't miss the recent Full Long Nights Moon on the evening of December 12. Due to this full moon's proximity to the winter solstice and the accompanying many hours of night, it is above the horizon for the longest period of time. In addition, because the sun is at its lowest point, this full moon has the highest trajectory across the sky.
Let's discuss trees, and specifically in deference to the season, Christmas trees.
The first–and last–time I wrote about Christmas trees was in 1977 when I was a columnist for The Ely Miner, a now-defunct, weekly newspaper in northern Minnesota. Our little paper wasn't very sophisticated and the first paragraph of my column proudly introduced Bill Schiltz's 'free farm." I'm still chagrined by that typographical error.
Hopefully, some 31 years later, I can redeem myself.
Christmas trees are among the oldest and fondest of holiday traditions. For me, they rank right up there with stockings by the fireplace and frosted sugar cookies.
But as with many subjects, the more one ponders them, the more complex they become–especially in these complicated times. Let's dissect the issue beginning with some hard facts about natural vs. artificial trees and moving on to much-needed clarification about pines and spruces and firs.
Thanksgiving is fast approaching……and what a wonderful holiday!
It's short and sweet. No anxiety, no pressure, no stress. No present-buying, card-sending or mounting of plastic Santas on rooftops. We simply gather with family and friends around a big table and savor traditional food.
Over the river, and through the wood, To Grandmother's house we go; The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh through the white and drifted snow.
Over the river, and through the wood Trot fast, my dapple-gray! Spring over the ground like a hunting-hound, For this is Thanksgiving Day.
Welcome to November! For many gardeners, November is a bleak month. Long gone are the riotous colors of spring bulbs and summer perennials. Even the dazzling display of crimson, orange and gold foliage ended weeks ago. Only muted shades of gray, brown and tan remain.
But I truly welcome November. I relish the change in seasons and am happy to come inside. It's time now for warm fires every evening, toasts with good Scotch, and roasts, stews and cassoulets for dinner.
November comes And November goes, With the last red berries And the first white snows.
With night coming early, And dawn coming late, And ice in the bucket And frost by the gate.
The fires burn And the kettles sing, And earth sinks to rest Until next spring. --Clyde Watson
This past week, while staying at Bowen Lodge northwest of Grand Rapids, I've walked through forest types at opposite ends of the successional cycle: a climax sugar maple/basswood forest (an unusual location but these trees grow hard by the shores of the vast Lake Winnibigoshish) and pure stands of aspen which sprouted from a clear cut about 15 years ago. Talk about being blessed by an embarrassment of riches.
While many would prefer the grandeur of the mature maple/basswood forest, I'll take the aspen. Despite its rather blue-collar reputation, the aspen is both interesting and important. Consider:
• Most widely distributed native tree of North America. • Clones older than 1 million years-of-age exist. • Plant is dioecious which means male and female flowers are borne on separate trees, i.e., separate male and female trees. • 500 organisms feed on aspen (see entry on Tallamy's book below) including deer, beaver, insects, fungi and viruses. • Common names: Quaking Aspen, Trembling Aspen, Popple. • Scientific name: Populus tremuloides.
But the attribute that most captures my fancy is a botanical anatomy thing. The leaf stem, or petiole, is flattened so the leaf can only move from side to side. Thus, leaves flutter, or tremble, in even the slightest breeze.
And how to describe the splendor of an aspen woods in autumn?
But it is in the fall when the aspen's leaves are masses of old gold and hillsides and islands are mirrored in a sea of blue that the days become enchanted and a hush lies like a benediction over the entire country. --Sigurd F. Olson, The Singing Wilderness
Autumn and cool weather signify final chores in the garden. This time of year also brings out the hunting and gathering instincts that must be part of our genetic code. I feel positively squirrel-ish as I rush around gathering armfuls of luscious, colorful branches for one huge, finale of a bouquet. Somehow, I need to capture part of the natural abundance–before the inevitable denouement–and bring it inside.
Sure, nurseries stock and catalogs tout the latest and greatest in perennial plant cultivars but there always should be space in the garden for a few old-fashioned favorites. Among the best are hollyhocks.
Our serious weather continues unabated and I'm carrying on my winter activities of traveling, reading, cooking and garden planning. Let's discuss reading. 
The winter months can be arduous for many gardeners but I relish the change in seasons and the shift in focus. (Plus I get tired of all that outside work!) Winter forces one to spend time on other, equally worthwhile endeavors. Among my favorites are traveling, reading, cooking and garden planning.
The winter solstice will occur on December 21. Yea! From now on–minute by precious minute–the hours of daylight will lengthen.
Let's discuss trees, and specifically in deference to the season, Christmas trees.
Thanksgiving is fast approaching……and what a wonderful holiday! 
Welcome to November! For many gardeners, November is a bleak month. Long gone are the riotous colors of spring bulbs and summer perennials. Even the dazzling display of crimson, orange and gold foliage ended weeks ago. Only muted shades of gray, brown and tan remain.
