greatgardensfall2013final
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In this issue you’ll find stories on the Memphis Botanic Garden and the hellebore collection at Yew Dell Botanical Gardens—both with tips from the staff for you to use at home. We’re also covering a small but productive NYC restaurant garden, again with helpful tips from the chef/gardener. And, this being fall, the magazine would not have been complete without a bulb story. There's much more, too. Enjoy!TRANSCRIPT
GREAT GARDENSIdeas for Smart Gardeners
WITH MAGAZINE
Plant 100 bulbs in 30 minutes
Sow seeds now for spring bloom
Grow a winter crop of kale
Favorite shrubs for fall color
F A L L 2 0 1 3
8
12
18
A Mid-South Marvel
Hellebore Heaven
The 30-Minute Bulb Drop
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05 EDITOR’S NOTEOur New Name
06 OUR FAVORITE THINGSGardening Gear & More
22 TIME-SAVING TIPSLove Those Bulbs
24 CONTAINER GARDENING A Long Winter’s Nap
26 COMMUNITY GARDENAn All-Inclusive Garden
28 KIDS GARDENSweet Concrete
30 SMALL SPACESStraight to Plate
32 PLANT PROFILESFeisty Fall Color
34 KITCHEN GARDENINGKale
35 QUOTE OF THE SEASONWB Yeats
PineLaura MasonLaura Mason explores the many ways pines have inspired and been used by people throughout history, providing a fascinating survey of these rugged, aromatic trees that are found the world over.CLoth $27.00
LilyMarCia reissFilled with striking illustrations of these gorgeous plants, Lily traces the flower’s cultural significance in art, liter-ature, religion, and popular entertainment throughout history.CLoth $27.00
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EDITORIAL
Community Leader Patty Dunning
Editor Meghan Shinn
CONTENT CONTRIBUTORS
Meghan Shinn, Maria Woodie
DESIGN & PHOTOGRAPHY
Art Director Christy Cotterman
Designer Elyse Schwanke
Managing Photographer Ric Deliantoni
Photographer Al Parrish
Associate Video Editor Philip Grosvenor
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Welcome to the fall 2013 issue of
Great Gardens—formerly known
as Gardeners On the Go!. Why did
we change the name? We feel that Great
Gardens describes what this magazine is all about.
It’s here to highlight great public gardens that you
can go visit—but also to offer advice for making
your own garden really great.
In this issue you’ll find stories on the Memphis
Botanic Garden and the hellebore collection at Yew
Dell Botanical Gardens—
both with tips from the
staff for you to use at
home. We cover a small
but productive NYC
restaurant garden, again with helpful tips from the
chef/gardener. And, this being fall, the magazine
would not have been complete without a bulb story.
We’ve got fun and fast advice from Tom Schipper
of Colorblends. And there’s much more within this
issue of Great Gardens. I hope you enjoy it.
Great Gardens describes what this magazine is all about.
— Meghan Shinn :: E D I T O R
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Bulb Drop The 30-Minute
A half-hour’s work this fall brings a big reward next spring
by Sally Ferguson photographs courtesy of Colorblends
8 | GREAT GARDENS
From meal preparation to workouts, 30 minutes seems to be the time that mod-ern Americans have to spare for any daily task. At many homes, the garden is lucky to get that much attention each week! Flower-
bulb expert Tim Schipper has devised a method to help homeowners plant a dynamite spring-blooming display in just 30 minutes this fall.
Tulips, daffodils and other spring-flowering bulbs must be planted in the fall. Happily, fall is a lovely sea-son to spend some time working outdoors. And who doesn’t have 30 minutes to spare if the result will be a display of colorful spring fireworks that inspires oohs and ahhs across the neighborhood.
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“In spring, color creates big excitement after a long cold winter,” says Schipper, a third-genera-tion bulb merchant and the owner of Colorblends, a Connecticut-based wholesaler that sells direct to land-care professionals and home gardeners coast to coast. “For a dramatic display of spring colors, start by planting a minimum of 100 tulips. It’s easy to do—anyone can plant 100 bulbs in 30 minutes, or even less.”
Here’s Schipper’s recipe for a quick and easy 100-tulip display:
1. Choose the right spot. Bulbs like sun-light, so choose a planting spot that gets at least six hours of sun each day. Remember, in spring, when the trees are leafless, you may have more light than you think. The spot must drain well, so avoid places with soggy soil where rainwater collects. Plan for five tulip bulbs per square foot. Using a bit of easy math, a planting of 100 tulips needs approximately 20 square feet. Since the area of a space is length times width, the bed could measure, for example, four by five feet or two feet by ten feet, depending on the look you want.
2. Keep it simple. Dig out the area you want to plant (about 15 minutes). Forget special bulb tools or trowels. They’re hard to use and time consuming. Just dig a shallow planting trench with your favorite shovel, first laying out some old plywood or stiff cardboard to put the dug soil on. Dig the trench about six inches deep for tulips and loosen the soil a bit at the bottom. No fertilizer is necessary: the tulip bulbs you buy in the fall come fully charged with stored food, plus the embry-onic flower inside that is ready to grow.
THE QUICK WAY TO PLANT CROCUS IN THE LAWN Tuck crocus bulbs right under the grass this fall to set the stage for a delightful springtime spread of low-growing, early-blooming color. Colorblends’ Hokus Crocus mix—pictured previous page—of purple, white and striped varieties is especially pleasing and a very good value. Plus, when they’re planted in sunny sites where soil drains well, crocus can naturalize and multiply over time.
“To plant into the lawn, a random effect looks best,” says Tim Schipper of the Connecticut-based, mail-order Colorblends. Here’s his favorite method:
Use a shovel to slice into the grass. Flip back a patch of turf to create a hole. Tuck in several bulbs, press the grass flap back down with your foot to leave the lawn surface smooth and move on to plant more.
This speedy technique is highly effective, he says, and the resulting spring blooms are fun and enduring. To encourage re-bloom the following spring, allow crocus foliage to mature after bloom for six to eight weeks before mowing.
“After bloom,” explains Schipper, “flower bulbs recharge (through) photosynthesis, (which) takes place in the leaves. Waiting to mow is simple—crocuses bloom well before lawns need mowing and their slim, blade-like leaves look like grass anyway.” For Colorblends Hokus Crocus three-color blend (100 bulbs for $24, 1,000 bulbs for $210) seecolorblends.com or call 888-847-8637.
Beds overflow with blooming perennials in a summer view from Red Butte Gardens.
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HOW DEEP TO DIG? In general, bulbs should be planted at a depth two to three times the height of the dormant bulb. This distance should run from the soil surface down to the bottom of the bulb. If you aren’t sure which side of the bulb is the top, bury it on its side; it will send its roots down and its stem up. Often if a bulb is planted too shallow, it will use its roots to pull itself deeper. And if bulbs are planted too deep, that may just offer them a bit of extra protection from wild-life and severe weather. Here are planting depths for the most commonly planted flower bulbs:
Crocus—3 inches
Grape hyacinth (Muscari)—4 inches
Tulips—6 inches
Daffodils—6 inches
Alliums—5 inches
Hyacinths—6 inches
3. Position bulbs, all at once. Now, posi-tion all 100 bulbs in the trench (5 minutes). Place tulips roughly three inches apart, pointy end up.
4. Refill the planting area with soil. Slide the soil back into the shallow trench to cover the bulbs (about 10 minutes). Don’t worry if some of the bulbs flip or turn sideways. Tulips are geo-tropic, which means they’ll right themselves as they grow. If the soil is dry, water thoroughly.
You’re done! Put your spade away and wait for the riot of color come spring.
Previous spread: Colorblends’ Hokus Crocus mix. Left: Colorblends’ Hakari blend includes a miniature daffodil and a species tulip that can be relied on for many years of bloom. This photo: Your Imminence is a mix of pink and purple tulips. Bottom right: Colorblends’ Roadside Yellow daffodils provide easy spring cheer.
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The earliest plantings at the memphis botanic garden were 2,500 iris rhizomes dug from the yard of Mrs. Morgan Ketchum and transplanted to a section of what was then known as Audubon Park in 1953. Since that
planting, the Memphis Botanic Garden has continually evolved and expanded, adding more gardens and buildings, with many plant collections and funds donated in honor of local citizens—a testimony of the importance of this horticultural jewel to area residents. The gardens and collections are not just exhibits of beauty, however; they also serve as excellent examples of what local gardeners can achieve in their own landscapes. A visit to the Memphis Botanic Garden will leave you with great appreciation for Mid-South plants and gardening style.
A Mid-South MarvelThe Memphis Botanic Garden
by Rick Pudwell and Jana Wilsonphotographs courtesy of The Memphis Botanic Garden
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A fountain serves as the centerpiece for the Memphis Botanic Garden’s historic Rose Garden, which includes mostly modern, antique and climbing roses. You’ll find roses in bloom from late March through Thanksgiving here.
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GARDEN HIGHLIGHTS The Memphis Botanic Garden includes 23 specialty gardens on 96 acres. Here are just a few highlights:
THE CONIFER COLLECTION Although many conifers do not thrive in the South, the garden has amassed an impressive collection of dwarf, needled evergreens that do survive well here.
THE HOLLY COLLECTION One of the most extensive collections at any public garden, these hollies include all major Ilex species plus many common and rare cultivars. It includes the personal collection of Barbara Taylor, a past president of the International Holly Society.
NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY GARDEN This unique garden was designed to attract wildlife and display plants to great photographic advantage. Design elements provide perfect views, making it easy to take impressive garden photos.
MY BIG BACKYARD This recent addition to the garden is geared toward the youngest visitors and their families. It includes dozens of features that engage children and spark active outdoor play as well as an appreciation for nature, plants and gardening.
SEIJAKU-EN The Japanese Garden of Tranquility includes both Japanese plants and locally native plants within traditional elements of Japanese garden style.
COMING UP AT THE MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN Head to the Memphis Botanic Garden in the evening this December to celebrate the holiday season with lights and snow in My Big Backyard. Many fun activities are available for families, including Mitten Toss, Tic-Tac-Snow, cookie decorating and more. See full details here.
Top, left to right: A child splashes in Critter Creek, just one part of My Big Backyard, the expansive new children’s garden that encourages kids to interact with nature in many ways. A swan graces Seijaku-En, or the Japanese Garden of Tranquility. The Blecken Pavilion sits adjacent to part of the Hydrangea Garden and makes a popular site for outdoor weddings.
Bottom, left to right: Fall is a beautiful season in Seijaku-En, with the season’s changing colors a fine complement to the traditional Japanese arched bridge. Boys play at the Lakefront Pavilion. My Big Backyard’s Treetop Adventure is another place where kids can explore and have active fun at the Memphis Botanic Garden.
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MEMPHIS BOTANIC GARDEN750 Cherry Rd.Memphis TN 38117901-636-4100memphisbotanicgarden.com
IN THE AREAPlanning a visit to the Memphis Botanic Garden? Here are just a few other attractions in the Memphis area. Click to visit their websites.
Memphis Zoo
Graceland
Dixon Gallery and Gardens
Mud Island River Park
Woodruff-Fontaine House
Metal Museum
TAKE-HOME ADVICE: SOW FLOWER SEEDS IN FALLIn many modern-day gardens, annuals are planted in uniform beds of one species, usually a low-growing selection. Think petunias, begonias, pansies, dwarf marigolds, vinca. This is a good look in many situations, but it can be a bit boring, and it’s certainly expected. For something different, try a cottage-garden style, which you can achieve with fall sowings of cool-season annuals, like bachelor’s button (Centaurea cyanus), larkspur (Delphinum gradiflorum), love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascene), California poppies (Eschscholzia californica), sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) and pot marigold (Calendula officinalis). All these species are at their best in cool temperatures.
There are several places in the landscape where this type of planting would work. Most of these plants require a sunny location, good drainage and average fertility. The edge of a vegetable garden or lawn, beds that line garden paths or blank spaces in perennial borders are all possibilities. Some cool-season annuals can be sown over spring-flowering bulbs, extending the blooming season of the bulb bed by many weeks.
The trick—if there is one—is to sow the seed late in the fall season, so germination occurs not in the fall but with warming temperatures in late winter. (In our area, for example, that would be around Thanksgiving to early December.) Do good soil preparation as you would for any seed bed. Sow or broadcast the seed according to species just as you would in the spring. If you are afraid of the seed washing away, cover the planted bed with a light mulch of pine needles. Thick mulch could smother the seed. Depending on the winter, you could see some germination as early as late February. In any case, you will have plants up and growing before you would be able to work the ground and do a sowing in the spring.
Just like planting spring-flowering bulbs, this is an act of faith by the gardener that spring will come. I’ll bet if you do it, you will be glad you did.—Rick Pudwell, Director of Horticulture at the Memphis Botanic Garden
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MBG FAVORITE PLANTS FOR FALL ‘NORTHWIND’ SWITCH GRASS This selected cultivar of Panicum virgatum, a clumping, perennial North American prairie grass, has a distinctly vertical form. The foliage is blue-gray; the large, airy flowering panicles move freely with the wind. Its height depends on soil fertility, but it can reach over six feet. In a large space this grass can look wonderful planted in a mass. In a smaller garden a single specimen can add a wonderful accent to the perennial border. Full sun. USDA Zones 5–9.
THREADLEAF BLUESTAR Amsonia hubrichtii, an herbaceous perennial, is worth growing for its foliage alone, though it offers a bonus of blue spring flowers. It forms a large clump of narrow leaves that resemble willow, only much more refined. The fall color is a wonderful canary yellow. It is a great foil for bright colored annuals and perennials and can be used in floral arrangements. (Its sticky sap may warrant gloves.) Full sun. Zones 5–8.
BLACK GUM Of all the trees native to the southeastern United States, Nyssa sylvatica is the one that you will not mistake for another species—once you have seen it in fall color. This large tree will reward you with the most magnificent ox-blood red foliage you can imagine. On a clear autumn day you can spot it from a great distance. Full sun. Zones 3–9.
TIGER EYES STAGHORN SUMAC Most people are attracted to the brilliant fall color of the common Rhus typhina, which populates difficult sites along ditches and roadways all over eastern North America. The cultivar Tiger Eyes has dissected compound leaves that start out bronze in the spring, change to green with glowing yellow varigation for the summer and finally turns a brilliant orange in fall. The rust-colored seed heads (the “staghorns”) are a bonus. Full sun. Zones 4–8.
‘WINTER RED’ WINTERBERRY Of all the deciduous hollies, Ilex verticillata is a favorite. At maturity it is a full, glossy-leaved, multi-trunked shrub 8 to 10 feet tall. Berries can start to color up in October, but this shrub really comes into its own after a hard frost and the leaves have fallen. Every branch is covered with large, brilliant red berries. (You will need to plant a male verticillata, like ‘Southern Gentleman’, nearby.) Full sun to part shade. Zones 3–9.
Above, top to bottom: ’Northwind’ switch grass in summer flower; ‘Winter Red’ winterberry holly showing its trademark berries; threadlea bluestar in summer foliage. Far left: Black gum’s fall foliage. Left: Tiger Eyes staghorn sumac, with rust-colored seed heads developing.
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Hellebore Heaven
Kentucky’s Yew Dell Botanical Gardens boasts a superb collection of these
off-season stars
by Maria Woodie photographs by Al Parrish
’Sunmarble’ is a sterile hybrid hellebore with evergreen leaves and flowers to five inches.
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Hellebores, with their array of colors and lengthy bloom period, are wonderful additions to “off-season” gardens. Their delicate flowers begin to appear in late fall,
add fiercely colored displays through the harsh winter season and often last into April. For one of the most impressive hellebore collections around, head to Yew Dell Botanical Gardens in Crestwood, Ky., just outside of Louisville.
“Hellebores work well as evergreen ground-cover,” says Yew Dell’s Executive Director, Paul Cappiello. “They are fabulous cut flowers during the winter, offer tremendous diversity in bloom color and they are very easy to grow.”
Working with private collectors and commer-cial growers, the garden has amassed a collection representing over 90 different species and culti-vars. The assortment includes both common and unusual varieties, many of which are hybrids, seed strains and clonal selections, in solid and multi-colored variations of pale and deep yellows, pinks, reddish-purples, creams and pure whites, in single and double forms. The Yew Dell hellebores shine alongside favored companion plants such as hostas, cyclamen, camellias and ferns. Most reside in the Secret Garden, though others are sprinkled throughout the 60-acre grounds.
Yew Dell’s hellebores are so impressive that they warrant their own special annual event, usu-ally held in early April. “Each year we host Helle-bore Day, a day-long celebration of this wonderful group of plants,” says Cappiello. “We offer tours of the collections, sales of unusual varieties, cultural information and related merchandise in our gar-den shop.”
For tips and advice for growing your own hel-lebores, go to the next page.
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YEW DELL BOTANICAL GARDENS6220 Old LaGrange Rd.Crestwood KY 40014502-241-4788yewdellgardens.org
IN THE AREAPlanning a visit to Yew Dell? Here are just a few other attractions in the Louisville area. Click to visit their websites.
Churchill Downs
Jefferson Memorial Forest
Belle of Louisville
Speed Art Museum
Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory
Farmington
HELLEBORE BASICSHellebores are known as Christmas rose (Helleborus niger), Lenten rose (H. ×hybridus) and stinking rose (H. foetidus), with many other species and cultivars available. For the most part, their care is the same: • grow hellebores in sun to part shade; in sun they will require more water • they thrive in moist but well-drained rich soils, though they also tolerate drought once established
• top-dress with compost annually to provide nutrients; other fertilizing is not necessary
• hellebore seed needs a cold period before it will germinate; sow it outside or store it in damp paper towels in the refrigerator for 12 weeks before indoor sowing
• it can take 3 years before a seedling blooms
• if seed/seedlings aren’t desired, snip off the flower stems (at the base) after the flowers fade
• hellebores are generally hardy in USDA Zones 4 through 9, depending on the species/cultivar
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Far left, top to bottom: A small portion of Yew Dell’s hellebore collection. Helleborus ×nigercors. An Ashwood Garden Hybrid. Above, left to right: ‘Sunshine Selections’. Heavy late winter bloom. Left: ‘Optimism’. Below: ‘Phedar Mix’; ‘Empathy’.
TAKE-HOME ADVICE: HELLEBORE TIPSFollow these tips from Yew Dell Botanical Gardens’ Executive Director, Paul Cappiello, to get the most out of your hellebores at home:
1. You can grow hellebores in containers successfully by letting them dry out between watering. Their roots will rot if they are kept too moist.
2. We always get questions about the best time to cut back the old foliage on the evergreen forms. They put out new leaves both in the fall and early spring. Although the foliage does not have to be cut back in order for hellebores to survive, the flowers tend to show best with all the old foliage cut away. Once flowers begin to appear, it becomes difficult to cut the foliage without damaging them. Therefore, check the plants early in the winter and as soon as there is a hint of flower emergence, cut back all the foliage.
3. Hellebores have a tendency to produce large crops of babies, making them a favorite pass-a-long plant for generations. If you’ve spent a fortune for a spectacular clonal form or well-selected seed strain, the ensuing crops of seedlings, which may not look like their parent, can over time crowd out your expensive purchase. Weed out the seedlings to keep the original plants distinct in the garden. Share them with friends!
4. Hellebores can be divided easily. Divide evergreen species in early fall, before the new leaves emerge. Those that are of ephemeral nature—with no summer leaves—should be divided after their bloom is finished.
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TIME-SAVING TIPS •
Love Those Bulbs5 bright ideas for success with
tulips and more
FALL-PLANTED BULBS CAN BE TRUE TREASURES FOR THE GARDEN. They’re planted at a time of few other garden chores, in blissfully cool weather. Their fresh foliage and colorful flowers ap-pear in spring, a true joy after winter’s bleak scenery. And it feels like magic—all that beauty from what is now just a dull-colored lump in the palm of your hand. To ensure the magic happens next spring, keep these five points in mind as you’re planting bulbs this fall:
Get a tulip reality check.Many tulips won’t per-form well past their first spring, so resolve to treat them as annuals. The best bets for repeat performances are tulips categorized as Darwin Hybrids, Single Earlies, Single Lates and Species Tulips.
by Meghan Shinn
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Pot up bulbs, then plant the pot. Bury it just up to its rim. When the bulbs sprout in spring, dig it up and set it anywhere for a showpiece container planting.
Skip the bone meal and fertilizer when planting. Bone meal will just en-courage animals to dig, and newly planted bulbs don’t need food. Add fertilizer next spring, af-ter they’ve bloomed.
Go for critter-resistant types. If you’ve had problems with squirrels, rabbits, deer and other animals, stick with daffodils, alliums, scilla and snowdrops.
Know how deep to plant. The packaging should say how deep to dig, but in gen-eral bulbs should be plant-ed in holes 3 to 4 times their own height. (For in-stance, a 1-inch crocus bulb goes in a 3- or 4-inch hole.)
The Vitamin SolutionOriginal
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CONTAINER GARDENING •
Here’s the process, for example, for Tropicanna® cannas, which grow from rhizomes (modified un-derground stems). The same steps can be generally followed with other underground plant structures that need a cool, dry, dark place in winter—like elephant ears (Colocasia, Alocasia and Caladium spp.) and dahlias:
1. Before a hard, killing frost, but after a light frost has turned the leaves dark, cut the top of the plant off to about four inches from the rhizome. Then move the container to a dim, cool (but not freezing) space (no colder than about 55–60˚F)—like a base-ment, garage, enclosed porch or seasonal sunroom. Your goal is to keep the roots cool (not cold), dry and dark. If the rhizomes get too cold, they could rot. When stored too warm, they may begin to grow prematurely.
2. Check your rhizomes periodically, keeping the soil barely moist with a sprayer. If the rhizomes start to shrivel, mist them with water and consider covering the pot with a plastic bag to help keep them from drying out. Remove any rhizomes that begin to soften or rot.
3. In spring, after the nights are 50˚F degrees or warmer and all danger of frost has passed, you can move the rhizomes back outside. Water and feed them with controlled-release fertilizer. Keep the soil only slightly moist until you see new shoots coming up, otherwise the rhizomes can drown and rot.
A Long Winter’s NapIt’s time to overwinter those tender bulbs
by Anthony Tesselaar
YEARS AGO, cool-climate gardeners would avoid tender perennials grown from underground struc-tures like bulbs, rhizomes, tubers and corms. They knew the hassle that would be involved: digging them up in fall and storing them inside till spring.
But over the years, gardeners living in those colder regions have caved. They’ve become too at-tached to the architecture, colorful foliage and exot-ic-looking flowers of these tropical plants. Now that such beauties are regularly grown in containers, overwintering often means little more than moving them— still in their pot—to the basement and back.
Sure, overwintering brings extra work. It also requires patience the following season. Let’s face it, it’s a lot easier to buy a leafed-out plant started early in a greenhouse than it is to wait for one that’s still waking up. But there are payoffs to overwinter-ing tender bulbs, rhizomes, tubers and corms. For instance, you can make more plants out of the ones you have, through division and offsets.
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After one to two years in the same pot, it should be noted, canna rhizomes will likely become root-bound as they reproduce (unless the pot is huge). In that case, instead of leaving the rhizomes in the pot for the winter, you might want to lift ev-erything—soil and all—out of the container and let it air-dry at room temperature (no less than 50˚F) for a few days before storing. Transfer the mass to a plastic bag, leaving it loosely open at the top or punching a few holes into it for ventilation and adding a small amount of water to keep the plants slightly damp. In spring, carefully break the rhizomes apart (better to break than to cut) and replant the best-looking ones in separate pots. (Choose rhizomes that look as healthy in appear-ance as a potato that you’d keep). Ditch the rest.
You can also pack canna rhizomes in a single layer in a bulb crate, cardboard box or paper bag, separated and covered by clean dry shavings, peat moss, perlite, or sand. The rhizomes shouldn’t touch each other if possible. The plastic bag method is ideal, however, if your storage area is very dry.
Anthony Tesselaar is cofounder and president of Tesselaar Plants, an
international plant developer that markets Tropicanna® cannas, Flower
Carpet® roses, Storm™ agapanthus, Volcano® phlox and other beautiful,
easy-care garden plants.
Opposite, top: Dramatic leaves of Tropicanna Black canna punctuate a mixed planting. Bottom: Winter storage options for tender canna rhizomes include (from left) a ventilated storage bag filled with peat moss, the container the plant was grown in and a ventilated storage crate filled with peat moss. This page, top: Tropicanna Black cannas sprouting in spring from stored rhizomes.
A practical and highly illustrated guide to all aspects of bulb growing.Paper $11.50
Distributed by the University of Chicago Press www.press.uchicago.edu
| GREAT GARDENS 26
Murphy, an award-winning registered Horticultural Ther-apist (HTR), first established TALMAR in 1998 in Howard County, Md. After several years, TALMAR moved to its current location in Baltimore, where it is nestled in the 365-acre Crom-well Valley Park. TALMAR fills 10 of those acres with its organ-ic cut-flower and vegetable gar-dens, two greenhouses, a few beautiful rustic barns and even a charming picnic area.
A vocational training center, TALMAR offers many therapeu-tic and recreational year-round programs designed to engage the mind, body and spirit while im-proving the physiological, physi-cal and social well-being of the people it serves.
Programs include Horticul-tural Therapy, a process that uses plants and plant-related activities—such as planting, wa-tering and propagating—to help improve skills such as balance, social skills and mobility; Com-munity-based Instruction (CBI), a program that runs field trips to the farm and greenhouses and was specifically created for
people with disabilities; and Community-supported Agricul-ture (CSA), where members of the greater community offer fi-nancial support in exchange for fresh produce throughout the season. Other programs include a specialty cut-flower program and subscriptions, floral design, organic agriculture internships and seasonal events.
These programs are run with the help of donations (monetary or supplies), by sales of produce and flowers and with the sup-port of local volunteers.
At the center of it all is TAL-MAR’s participants. Murphy explained during an interview with Tom Hall of WYPR’s Maryland Morning Show, “It is our job to figure out if they need adaptive tools, or do they need to be positioned a differ-ent way. What sparks their en-ergy? Where do they need to be? So that person can feel really good about themselves and the achievements they have made.”
That feeling is evident in the faces of the participants gar-dening at TALMAR each day.
An All-Inclusive Garden
Plants empower people at this farm
and garden
COMMUNITY GARDEN SPOTLIGHT •
by Maria Woodie
P E O P L E W I T H S P E C I A L N E E D S O R D I SA B I L I T I E S NEED SPECIAL PEOPLE to help motivate and encourage them and enrich their lives. One such exceptional person is Cate Murphy, founder and executive director of TALMAR, or Therapeutic Alternatives of Maryland. TALMAR Gardens & Horticulture Therapy Center is a nonprofit organization with an inspirational mission to help “all people of all ages and abilities.”
People with special needs learn to
work with plants in all seasons
at TALMAR in Baltimore.
BALTIMORE,
Md.
| GREAT GARDENS 27
KIDS GARDEN •
IT’S NO SECRET that starting plants from seed is a great activity for children. Arts-and-crafts has long been a go-to rainy-day pastime. Here’s a project that combines both!
With NativeCast’s “Cast Your Own” kits, kids can actually make a seed-starting pot using the company’s green concrete, a cement mix that includes shells, sand and pine needles local to its Delaware headquarters. NativeCast uses this same mix to craft beautiful planters and home and garden accents.
I created the Cast Your Own heart with my three-year-old daughter. In retrospect, she’s a little young to be casting concrete, though the seed-sowing part went great. I’d recommend this project for kids ages eight and up—and for any adult gardener, too!
The kit includes everything you need to make your own planter and plant it up. The instruc-
Sweet Concreteby Meghan Shinn
photographs courtesy of NativeCast
Cast a planter and start some seeds
tion sheet is basic—but so is the process! (You can also watch an online tutorial.) Really, all you do is add water to the concrete, mix it up and spread it all over the interior of the mold. There’s a wooden spatula—like the type that comes with Italian ice—you can use to spread the concrete, but I donned dishwashing gloves and used my hands. (As the kit’s label warns, concrete can be caustic, so avoid touching it with your bare skin. You may also want to wear eye protection, or at least take special care that the dry mix doesn’t puff up into your eyes. This is why I recommend the project for older kids.) Once I had the con-crete all spread, I then used the wooden spatula to smooth out and refine it. You may want to add a drainage hole or two. I simply poked my gloved pinky finger through the base of the planter be-fore it completely dried.
In a day or two the concrete will be dry and you can tear the mold off and start planting. The kits come with soil and herb seeds. The finished planter is quite small, and the instructions point out that it’s just for starting the seeds; you’ll need to soon transplant them to larger pots or into the ground. Don’t ditch the planter, though. We’ve found that ours makes the perfect home for a small, slow-growing succulent, whose rounded blue-gray leaves look great against the concrete.
Far left: NativeCast is known for its beautiful concrete gardening containers and decorations. They also sell “Cast Your Own” kits that let you make a pot in which to start seeds, which are included in the kit. Left: A finished planter and seedling.
| GREAT GARDENS 28
SMALL SPACES •
Straight to PlateChef Paul Gerard tends fresh ingredients behind his
NYC restaurant
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT NEW YORK CITY, you might picture ridiculously tall build-ings, high-end fashion and ir-ritating traffic. There isn’t much room for lush gardens, unless you find yourself on a stroll through Central Park. However, nestled behind Exchange Alley, a restau-rant located in Lower Manhat-tan’s East Village, is a small but robust edible garden. It’s full of tantalizing flavor that appears throughout the restaurant’s “Big Apple meets the Big Easy” menu.
When plans to turn the small space into outdoor seating failed due to zoning regulations, co-owner and chef Paul Gerard immediately decided to create an edible garden. Although he lacked gardening experience, he quickly learned that he had a nat-ural green thumb. With the help of his good friend and fellow chef Sisha Ortuzar of Riverpark (the restaurant with the largest farm within in NYC limits), he was able to start a thriving 25-by-50-foot garden. He grows vegetables and herbs in planters made from recycled shipping pallets, win-
dows and doors, milk crates and more.
Yet Gerard swiftly discov-ered that quantity doesn’t al-ways mean quality. “Last year I [planted] a huge variety of okra, grapes, squash, tomatil-los, chilies, herbs, tomatoes and lettuces,” he recalls. “It was too much. I didn’t get a big enough yield and I couldn’t sustain even a daily special.” So in 2013, the Brooklyn native narrowed it down to different varieties of herbs, tomatoes and chilies, with a little extra room for some arugula, red frill mustard and microgreens, and even some kale and rainbow chard for a few fall-harvested selections. “I planted kale last year and it was still coming up in Febru-ary,” he says. “It’s really nice to look out the back doors, past the snow-covered ground, and see me clipping some greens you’re about to eat.”
The small garden isn’t just full of plants, however. Gerard also has a knack for art, trans-forming old sinks, timeworn tubs and even toys into planters.
by Maria Woodie photographs courtesy of Exchange Alley
He also added a New Orleans–style courtyard filled with an-tique gas cans, old searchlights, mannequins and old watering cans and sprinklers for quirky appeal. (He worked in New Or-leans for 15 years, and while his food isn’t strictly of that city, it includes aspects of its cuisines.)
Since opening in 2012, Ex-change Alley has been off to a successful start, offering a unique menu filled with the freshest ingredients around.
“I utilize everything I have,” explains Gerard. “I am very herb heavy in my food. I love the freshness of herbs, and be-ing that they are usually very expensive, it’s great to have an abundance on hand. This isn’t even ‘farm to table’; it’s ‘straight to the plate.’ It’s picked, washed and served. Nothing is wasted, and everything is day-of.”
Read the transcript of Ma-ria’s interview with Paul Ge-rard—including his strategy for dealing with the city’s tomato-loving squirrels. Exchange Alley is located at 424 East 9th Street, NYC.
| GREAT GARDENS 29
VEG-GARDEN TIPS FROM PAUL GERARD
Don’t be afraid to water—especially in the summer months. I don’t ever water from above or during the hottest hours. I always run the hose gently and directly on the soil, preferably at dusk. (It also gives me time to have a minute to myself.)
Keep cutting your [tomato] suckers. Train your tomato plants up. I have tomato plants in the yard almost 10 feet tall.
Be careful not to trim herbs too far down. I learned this with a few basil pants. You always want to leave enough to allow photosynthesis and re-growth. Cutting too much will just stunt it and possibly kill it.—PG
Top photos: The garden behind Exchange Alley, a unique East Village restaurant with a New Orleans twist. Above left: Chef Paul Gerard learned to garden to provide his menu with the freshest ingredients. Photo by Sarah Keough. Above: The front entry offers a hint of the inherent horticulture.
| GREAT GARDENS 30
PLANT PROFILES •
SPICEBUSH (Lindera benzoin) takes on pretty
yellow hues in autumn. It too has fragrant flowers; they arrive in early
spring. Zones 4–9.
OAKLEAF HYDRANGEA (Hydrangea quercifolia) has large, coarse leaves that color bronze, purple and crimson in fall. Flowers occur in summer but can hold into autumn. Zones 5–9.
LITTLE HENRY SWEETSPIRE (Itea virginica Little Henry, or ‘Sprich’) makes a great alternative to invasive burning bush. It stays 3 feet tall and has fragrant summer flowers. Zones 5–9.
Feisty Fall ColorLeave it to shrubs
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WITCH HAZEL (Hamamelis virginiana) is a large
shrub with lovely yellow fall foliage. Spidery, fragrant flowers appear in
winter. USDA Zones 3–8.
by Meghan Shinn
| GREAT GARDENS 31
Even though we have changed our name
you can still access past Gardeners on the Go
| GREAT GARDENS 32
KITCHEN GARDENING •
KALE COMES IN A VARIETY OF TEXTURES, sizes and col-ors, with hues ranging from vi-brant greens to purplish blacks. With its tender, sweet-tasting leaves, kale makes the perfect addition to soups, stir-fries and other delectable dishes.
Kale is relatively easy to grow and very hardy. Although this nu-tritious vegetable can be grown in spring, it’s better through fall and winter. Cold weather en-hances the taste of the leaves and diffuses any bitterness.
When direct-sowing kale seeds or planting transplants, select a location exposed to lots of sunlight. Plant in late summer to early fall, or later in a hoop-house or other cover. Kale will prosper when grown in rich, well-drained soil high in organic matter, so mix a two- to four-inch inch layer of compost into the soil. Sow the seeds around a half an inch deep, spacing them 12 to 18 inches apart and leaving up to 2 feet between rows. Mulch around your plants and make sure to keep the soil consistently moist—up to 2 inches of water per week. You can fertilize kale around 4 weeks after planting to encourage more growth. In cli-mates with rougher winters, try to add thicker mulch, row cov-ers or plastic tunnels to protect the kale from damage.
Kale can be harvested as soon as leaves are large and rich in color—usually 2 to 3 months
A hardy, leafy veggie full of flavorful nutrition
TIP: Kale is loaded with vitamins A, C and K, all powerful antioxidants. It’s also a good source of iron and other minerals, plus fiber.
Leafy Kale & Potato Soup
I N G R E D I E N T S4 cups fat-free chicken broth2 large potatoes, peeled and diced1 medium bunch kale, stems removed, roughly chopped1 medium onion, finely choppedsalt, to tastefresh-ground black pepper, to taste
D I R E C T I O N S1. In a heavy 4-quart saucepan, combine the broth, onion and potatoes. Bring to a boil and season with salt.
2. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the pot. Cook until the potatoes are tender.
3. Add kale; stir well. Simmer 7 to 10 minutes longer. Season with black pepper and serve.
SHOPPING LIST
• CHICKEN BROTH
• POTATOES
• KALE
• ONION
• SALT
• BLACK PEPPER
Kale
by Maria Woodie
after planting. Select the older, larger leaves toward the bottom first, to keep the top of the plant producing new leaves for addi-tional harvests.
Homegrown kale’s tangy fla-vor beckons you to reach for seconds. Have a little extra—these nutritious, leafy veggies will leave you feeling guilt free and oh, so satisfied.
And pluck till time and times are done
The silver apples of the moon, The golden apples of the sun.
—WB YEATS, “”THE SONG OF WANDERING AENGUS”
next issue
Look for our winter issue, with visits
to more botanical gardens, tips for small spaces and containers,
plants with great winter interest and
much more.
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