greatgardenswinter2014
DESCRIPTION
Get tips on choosing, growing and displaying houseplants, starting seeds indoors and more, plus find a flower and garden show near you in 2014.TRANSCRIPT
GREAT GARDENSIdeas for Smart Gardeners
WITH MAGAZINE
W I N T E R 2 0 1 4
Houseplants make a healthy home
Plants for the eclectic interior
Best gardening books for kids
Spring flower show calendar
08
14
18
Plan On It
All Mixed Up
Bonsai Alive
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05 EDITOR’S NOTEWinter Joys
06 OUR FAVORITE THINGSGardening Gear & More
22 TIME-SAVING TIPSStart Your Engines
24 CONTAINER GARDENING A Houseplant for Every Home
26 COMMUNITY GARDENCabbage Patch Kids
27 KIDS GARDENFrom Pages to Planters
28 PLANT PROFILESBaring It All
30 KITCHEN GARDENINGPeas
31 QUOTE OF THE SEASONHoward Moss
Audubon Birdhouse BookBuilding, Placing, and Maintaining Great Homes for Great Birds
Margaret A. Barker and Elissa Wolfson with foreword by Stephen W. Kress and contribution by Chris Willett
Produced in association with the National Audubon Society, Audubon Birdhouse Book explains how to build functional bird
homes for more than 20 classic North American species. Each of the easy-to-build boxes within is accompanied by diagrams and step-by-step photography. This book provides the best tips on
design, materials, and more to ensure a reliable, well-built project.
LOVE BIRDS AND BIRD WATCHING? Wherever you live We’ve got the right book to identify the birds in your backyard.
Backyard Guide SeriesBackyard Guide • Watching • Feeding • Landscaping • Nurturing
By Bill Thompson III
EDITORIAL
Community Leader Patty Dunning
Editor Meghan Shinn
CONTENT CONTRIBUTORS
Kylee Baumle, Joan Casanova, Jenny Peterson, Meghan Shinn
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It’s often the case that a love for
gardening is handed down within
a family. In my own case the same can
be said for a love of houseplants. My mother
has always tended potted plants indoors, and I have
a clear memory of her making a beautiful terrarium
for our neighbors, though she says I could have
been only three at the time. My grandmother also
loved houseplants and kept quite an assortment in
the little sunroom at the back of her house. In my
teens and early twenties I
visited her each Saturday
morning to water her
plants and chat. I’d love
to be able to talk with her
again, but in the meantime thinking of her when I
water my own little collection makes me happy.
And how do you find joy in the winter as a
gardener? Houseplants? Starting seeds? Attending
a big flower show? This issue of Great Gardens
includes articles on all of the above, and more.
If we don’t love, we will be like plants without water. — Desmond Tutu
— Meghan Shinn :: E D I T O R
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BONSAI ALIVEThis ancient art persists in attracting new admirers and practitioners each year
by Meghan Shinn
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Bonsai is the art of pruning and training a tree, planted in a small pot, into a desired shape, with careful attention to scale and proportion. Both the roots and the top growth are clipped on a regular basis
to create a miniature replica of a full-size tree.
Bonsai, a Japanese tradition, stems from the Chinese arts of penzai (miniature trees) and penjing (miniature landscapes), which originated before 960 AD. Bonsai gained a foothold in the United States after World War II, when military and businessmen working in Japan took an interest in the local culture and design aesthetics and brought what they saw home to the States.
Today, bonsai—slow, small scale, low tech—doesn’t jibe with our popular culture, yet it remains a vibrant art. Membership societies exist on the national, regional and local level and serve seasoned artists as well as beginners. Botanical gardens across the country hold impressive collections or host special shows where bonsai enthusiasts display their own plants. It’s difficult for anyone to look at a bonsai and not be captivated by its miniature perfection.
First started in 1625, this Japanese white pine bonsai survived the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima during World War II. It now lives at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum in Washington D.C., having been donated by Masaru Yakami.
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NOTABLE PUBLIC-GARDEN BONSAI COLLECTIONS ARNOLD ARBORETUM The Larz Anderson Bonsai Collec-tion includes 35 impressive specimens, with 7 large hinoki cypresses aged 150 to 275 years old.
CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN 185 trees make up the collection here, with 19 bonsai coming as a donation from the personal collection of internationally known bonsai master Susumu Nakamura.
COMO PARK ZOO & CONSERVATORY A new wing of the conservatory, named the Ordway Gardens, was recently opened to showcase this Minnesota venue’s bonsai collection, the largest in the Upper Midwest.
THE GARDENS AT LAKE MERRITT The Golden State Bonsai Federation Bonsai Garden displays over 100 bonsai at any time. The trees are rotated in and out of the open-air display garden, creating an ever-changing attraction.
KROHN CONSERVATORY The John Carroll Bonsai Gallery displays beautiful trees that are all either gifts or loans from members of the Bonsai Society of Greater Cincinnati, one of the oldest bonsai clubs in the United States.
NORTH CAROLINA ARBORETUM The extensive collection here consists of both traditional Asian species as well as locally native plants treated as bonsai. The collection and the Bonsai Exhibition Garden show that bonsai can be individualized and reflect regional style.
UNITED STATES NATIONAL ARBORETUM The arboretum in the nation’s capital is home to the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, which displays roughly 150 plants, including many trees by American bonsai masters.
Top, near right: This trident maple from the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum is an example of penjing, the ancient Chinese art that led to Japanese bonsai. Penjing incorporates parts of the landscape besides the tree, such as the rock over which this tree’s roots are growing. Top, far right: The bonsai garden at the Gardens of Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif., includes this daimyo oak that was originally given to American diplomat Anson Burlingame in Japan in the 1860s. Bottom, near right: This grouping of atlas cedar is part of the Golden State Bonsai Federation’s collection at the Gardens at Lake Merritt. It was first styled in 1959. Bottom middle: This Japanese black pine is part of the collection at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum. This bonsai, started in 1936, is an example of bankan (twisted) style. Bottom, far right: In training since 1895, this Japanese zelkova at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum represents the “broom” style of bonsai—and the potential longevity of these tiny trees.
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Top: Bonsai are often trained to mimic the effects of the environment, as seen in this “windswept” California juniper on display at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum. Bottom: This Chinese banyan tree shows good nebari, or visible roots, which help ground and balance the scene. It is also part of the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum.
GETTING STARTED & BONSAI CARE 1. The best way to get started in bonsai as a hobby is to attend a meeting of a local bonsai society and/or take a beginner’s class in training and caring for a tree.
2. You can start with a “finished” tree from a reputable dealer, like BonsaiOutlet.com, or start from scratch with a young tree or shrub from any nursery. If you go the latter route, the best options are dwarf cultivars; species with busy, fine branches or naturally small leaves; and specimens with thick trunks, visible root flares above the soil line and branching that starts low.
3. Typically, bonsai are shaped once or twice a year, in late spring to early fall; fed once or twice annually, in spring and early fall; and root pruned and repotted every two to four years. Bonsai need special soil that’s very grainy and offers quick drainage and resists compaction.
4. Bonsai may need to be watered three times a day in the summer, since their small containers will dry out quickly. The old Japanese advice is to water once for the pot, once for the soil and once for the tree. Cooler weather lessens the need for frequent watering, but it should still occur at least once a week.
BONSAI RESOURCES AMERICAN BONSAI SOCIETY
BETTERBONSAI.COM
BONSAIEMPIRE.COM
BONSAI4ME.COM
LEARNING2BONSAI.COM
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www.gardenershub.com/downloads
has books, DVDs and digital downloads you can access with the click of your mouse.
CHECK IT OUT AND LEARN SOMETHING NEW!
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| GREAT GARDENS 14
’Sunmarble’ is a sterile hybrid hellebore with evergreen leaves and flowers to five inches.
Displays often include great details that make even a convention center seem like an intimate garden, like this water feature and garden created by Heimlich’s Nurseries of Woburn, Mass., for the 2013 Boston Flower & Garden Show. Boston’s 2014 show takes place March 12 through 16.
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In the midst of winter, spring can seem like a distant dream. Let’s face it—even in early spring, warm weather and colorful gardens can still feel a ways off! That’s where flower and garden shows come in. Take a walk through the display gardens at one of these special events and you’ll feel trans-
ported deep into spring or summer. Turn the page for a list of major flower shows across the United States in 2014. (And see the last list-ing for a key show in Canada.) The show names are linked to their websites for complete information on admission pricing, parking, scheduled speakers and more. Mark your calendar now!
Mark your calendar for a trip to a spring flower show
by Meghan Shinn
photographs courtesy of the Boston Flower & Garden Show
PLAN ON IT!
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ARKANSASArkansas Flower and Garden ShowStatehouse Convention CenterLittle RockFebruary 21–23, 2014
CALIFORNIACoronado Flower ShowSpreckel’s ParkCoronadoApril 26–27, 2014
San Francisco Flower & Garden ShowSan Mateo Event CenterSan FranciscoMarch 19–23, 2014The theme is Inspired, offering a refreshed and revised kind of garden show, with noted plantsman John Greenlee helping to redesign the main floor plan to emphasize plants and sustainable gardens.
Spring Flower Show, Garden Tour & Uncommon Plant SaleRedlandsApril 26–27, 2014
COLORADOColorado Garden and Home ShowColorado Convention CenterDenverFebruary 15–23, 2014
CONNECTICUTConnecticut Flower & Garden ShowConnecticut Convention CenterHartfordFebruary 20–23, 2014The theme is Backyard Paradise, with displays and seminars planned to show you how to create exactly that.
FLORIDAEpcot International Flower & Garden FestivalEpcotOrlandoMarch 5–May 18, 2014
Naples Flower Show & MarketNaples Botanical GardenNaplesMarch 28–29, 2014
GEORGIASoutheastern Flower ShowBuckhead Theatre
AtlantaApril 25–27The theme is Showing & Growing, and the three-day show will serve as a preview for the 2015 Southeastern Flower Show and the future.
IDAHOBoise Flower & Garden ShowThe Boise CentreBoiseMarch 21–23, 2014
ILLINOISAntiques & Garden FairChicago Botanic GardenGlencoe, Ill.April 11–13, 2014
Chicago Flower & Garden ShowNavy PierChicagoMarch 15–23, 2014The theme is Do Green. Do Good. Displays and activities will suggest ways to garden sustainably to the benefit of the greater good of your neighborhood, the environment, wildlife and more.
QCCA Flower & Garden ShowQCCA Expo CenterRock IslandMarch 21–23
INDIANAFort Wayne Home & Garden ShowAllen County Memorial ColiseumFort Wayne, Ind.February 27–March 2
IOWAIowa Flower, Lawn & Garden ShowIowa State FairgroundsDes MoinesMarch 14–16, 2014
MASSACHUSETTSBoston Flower & Garden ShowSeaport World Trade CenterBostonMarch 12–16, 2014The theme is Romance in the Garden, with landscape and floral designs depicting traditional and contemporary backdrops for love and romance.
MARYLANDMaryland Home & Garden Show
Maryland State FairgroundsTimoniumMarch 1–2 and March 7–9, 2014
MINNESOTAMinneapolis Home + Garden ShowMinneapolis Convention CenterMinneapolisFebruary 26–March 2, 2014
NEW JERSEYNew Jersey Flower & Garden ShowNew Jersey Convention CenterEdisonFebruary 13–16, 2014
NORTH CAROLINAHerb & Garden FairPoplar Grove PlantationWilmingtonMarch 29–30
Southern Spring Home & Garden ShowPark Expo and Conference CenterCharlotteFebruary 21–23 and February 28– March 2, 2014
PENNSYLVANIAPhiladelphia Flower ShowPennsylvania Convention CenterPhiladelphiaMarch 1–9, 2014The theme is ARTiculture, with displays showing how landscapes and gardens have inspired artists of every period. A major feature will use plants to represent famous works of art. Exhibitors will also demonstrate how working with plants is an art form in itself.
Pennsylvania Garden ExpoPA Farm Show ComplexHarrisburgFebruary 21–23
Valley Flower and Garden ShowAllentown FairgroundsAllentownMarch 7–9, 2014
RHODE ISLANDNewport Flower ShowRosecliffNewportJune 27–29, 2014The theme is Journey: Grand Vistas, with the show celebrating storied travel
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Above, top to bottom: New England Nurseries designed this child-friendly garden for the 2013 Boston Flower & Garden Show. For the same show, Ahronian Landscaping Design and Medway Garden Center teamed up to make an outdoor living space surrounded by shrubs, perennials and trees.
destinations of the industrial titans who summered in the historic mansions of Newport.
The Rhode Island Spring Flower & Garden ShowRhode Island Convention CenterProvidenceFebruary 20–23, 2014The theme is Vintage Gardens, combining America’s passion for gardening with its fascination with classic cars—which will be the centerpieces and inspirations for the display gardens.
TENNESSEEAntiques and Garden Show of NashvilleNashville Music City CenterNashvilleFebruary 7–9, 2014
Dogwood Arts House & Garden ShowKnoxville Convention CenterKnoxvilleFebruary 14–16
Nashville Lawn & Garden ShowTennessee State FairgroundsNashvilleFebruary 27–March 2
WASHINGTONNorthwest Flower & Garden ShowWashington State Convention CenterSeattleFebruary 5–9, 2014The theme is Art in Bloom, with display creators offering a tribute to art using the colors, shapes and textures of foliage, flowers and design elements.
CANADACanada BloomsDirect Energy CentreToronto, OntarioMarch 14–23, 2014The theme is Wild, a broad word that will encourage a diversity of interpretations, from natural to outlandish and more, from the garden designers.
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ALLMIXED UP
Editor’s note: This text is an excerpt of Indoor Plant Décor: The Design Stylebook for Houseplants by Kylee Baumle and Jenny Peterson. This book is a departure from other houseplant refer-ences in that it focuses on how to build houseplants into your favorite home-decorating style (or style your home around your plant collection). Each chapter describes a specific décor and of-fers guidelines for achieving the best mix of objects and house-plants. Here’s an excerpt of the chapter on “modern eclectic” style.
So many décors lean toward an eclectic aesthetic—a mix of styles that doesn’t fit neatly into any single category. It’s not that people are indecisive and can’t seem to choose one definitive style—it’s more
a sense of “Why limit myself when there are so many glorious pieces out there?” This is your style if you pair sleek pieces with rough antiques, or fuse traditional cottage elements with offbeat or contemporary colors.
People with a modern eclectic style tend to buy furniture or accessories because they simply love them and can’t resist—and they’ll find the perfect spot for them when they get home. (We know many people who garden this way, too.) Modern eclectic can be whimsical, artsy, even oddball—but it’s always interesting and intriguing.
How houseplants fit into
an eclectic interior by Kylee Baumle and Jenny Peterson
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ECLECTIC YET COHESIVE If you tend to be drawn to a great variety of styles, take some time to plan ahead. Although we hesitate to use the word “rule” for eclectic people—after all, it’s the ability to transcend hard and fast rules that draws them to eclecticism—we’d like to offer a few “guidelines” to help you create an indoor garden that looks pulled together and cohesive:
• If you adhere to a color scheme, it will make it possible to use items that seemingly have no relation to one another. You can mix styles of furniture, and even differently patterned fabrics, by keeping them in the same color family.
• A mix of textures gives a rich depth to your décor, even if it’s in a singular subtle color, like taupe or slate. If you choose to use neutrals, be sure to add a pop of color here and there, to avoid a ho-hum look. Modern eclectic should never make you yawn. Create your color pop with contrasting pillows on a sofa, a floor rug in an interesting shade (or pattern), or window treatments—all places where you can give your decor some energy.
• Conversely, neutrals can help balance things out when there’s too much color or a lot of design elements going on. These principles work with plants and their containers, too.
EASING PLANTS INTO AN ECLECTIC INTERIOR You’ll find that your indoor plant décor can be both style defying and stylish if you choose one or two colors to highlight, or similar container shapes to collect. Focus on a design element like form, color, texture or shape when gathering your plant, container and accessory materials; it will instantly pull your look together. Love every single type of plant, from cactus to fern? No problem—just plant them in similar warm-hued containers. Can’t get enough of all the creative containers you see at the nursery? Pair them with your succulent collection or a wide assortment of airy ferns.
What makes modern eclectic fun when it comes to choosing plants is that you can draw from a wide variety—ferns, palms, succulents, tillandsias, ivies. You name it, it will “go.” Since an eclectic décor makes use of a medley of styles, holding the number of plants in a single room to a very carefully chosen few will help keep everything from looking too chaotic.
If you find any of this pre-planning too cumbersome or you truly can’t be limited to reining in your design choices, all is not lost. You’re not destined to be nominated for hoarding shows if you keep one thing in mind: edit. If you have to have a little bit of everything, that’s fine; just avoid having a lot of everything. You know about the accessories rule of thumb in fashion, to look in the mirror and remove one item before you leave the house? Modern Eclectics will do well to look around their homes and remove a few things before calling it good.
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PLANTS FOR A MODERN ECLECTIC INTERIOR Using these plants will give your decor a decidedly modern feel:African violet (Saintpaulia ionantha)AgaveAloeBromeliadsCactiCast-iron plant (Aspidistra eliator)ColeusCrotonDesert rose (Adenium obesum)Devil’s backbone (Euphorbia tithymaloides)DraecanaFernsHerbsIviesKangaroo fern (Microsorum pustulatum)OrchidsPalmsPhilodendronPothosSnake plant (Sanseveria spp.)Spider plantSucculentsTillandsiasZZ plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia)
FURTHER READING Learn how to combine houseplants in all types of interior-design styles in Indoor Plant Décor by Kylee Baumle and Jenny Peterson (St. Lynn’s Press, 2013).
Top left: Unlike a traditionally decorated kitchen and dining area, this space uses a mix of different woods and wood finishes in its furniture, cabinetry and trim. A largely neutral color palette ties the pieces together so it doesn’t look busy. Meanwhile a select few crimson touches and colorful dishes provide a shot of energy. Bottom left: Planting each of these varied pots with the same kind of plant would show them off as an intentional collection. Above, top: Simple, uniform clay pots tie this assortment of houseplants together and let the plants’ colors and shapes shine. Above, bottom: The neutral colors of the flooring, carpet and couch might make this a boring interior, but colorful, differently patterned pillows and lively foliage plants shake up the scene. Right: Plants with personality, like this quirky peanut cactus, seem tailor-made for eclectic interiors.
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TIME-SAVING TIPS •
Start Your Engines5 tips to streamline your indoor
seed-starting projects
STARTING SEEDS OF VEGETABLES, ANNUALS AND EVEN PERENNIALS AND SHRUBS is a great way to wile away a dreary winter weekend. Once the seedlings have sprouted, you can count down the weeks to spring as you monitor their growth and tend to their needs. Starting seeds doesn’t need to be complicated or costly. Here are a few tips to keep it simple and successful.
Shop your recycling bin rather than going out to buy seed-starting con-tainers. Yogurt cups make great pots; clear, lidded food containers can become mini green-houses. Wash everything with hot, soapy water first and make sure to poke drainage holes.
by Meghan Shinn
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Soak seeds to speed them up. You can soak just about any kind of seeds in water for up to 24 hours then sow them, and this usually shortens the t ime it take them to sprout.
Test old seeds. Before sowing seeds leftover from the past few years, roll several of them in a damp paper towel and set it in a warm spot. Check for germination every few days. If a good percentage sprouts, the packet is worth sowing.
Keep the air moving. Set up a small fan to circulate air over the seedlings. This will stave off fungal diseases, which can quickly kill a crop, and strengthen the plants’ stems.
Skip transplanting to larger pots by starting with bigger pots in the first place. This holds true especially for quick growers and those that wi l l be moved to the garden within a couple weeks, not months.
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CONTAINER GARDENING •
culents, like agaves and aloes, plus coleus, polka dot plant and date palm for foliage. Flowering houseplants for direct light include bougainvil-lea, mandevilla, hibiscus and passionflowers.
If you can offer bright or filtered light, try chenille plant, cymbidium, dendrobium or pha-laenopsis orchids, African violets and cape primrose (Streptocarpus). Great foliage options are rex begonias, caladiums, spider plant, dief-fenbachia, piggyback plant and stromanthe.
Is the light limited in your home? Try plants with large, dark green leaves, including cast iron plant (Aspidistra elatior), peace lily and agla-onema, or different types of ferns.
TemperatureMany houseplants—especially those grown for their flowers—originate in tropical locations and therefore enjoy warm to hot temperatures. There are some houseplants, however that can take, or even prefer, cooler climes. When think-ing about the temperatures in your home, keep in mind that they may fluctuate. The bathroom may be very warm and humid while you shower, then cool for the rest of the day. Entryways may be cold or subject to frequent drafts.
If you have a room that’s consistently warm, try tropical plants like citrus, bougainvillea, ba-nana and mandevilla. If you blast your furnace, though, remember that the air may become quite dry and you’ll need to increase humidity for these plants by misting them daily or setting them on a tray of damp gravel.
If you keep your thermostat on the low side in
A Houseplant for Every HomeBest bets for specific situations
by Meghan Shinn
JUST LIKE GARDEN PLANTS, houseplants have specific growing requirements. Success with growing plants indoors starts with knowing the conditions of locations in your home, and choos-ing plants that match—just like in the outdoor garden. Here’s a brief guide to identifying your houseplant habitat, with suggestions for plants to try.
LightMost houseplants fall under one of two light requirements: direct light, which is akin to full sun; or bright/filtered light, which is a bit like dappled shade in the garden. Plants for direct light will thrive in a sunny window, where the light touches their leaves for most of the day. Plants for bright or filtered light do better in a window with a sheer curtain or positioned far-ther into the room, away from the window.
If you can offer direct light, try cacti and suc-
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the winter, look for plants that originate in tem-perate forests, like piggyback plant, fatsia, jas-mine, English ivy and Norfolk Island pine. Des-ert cacti and succulents can also do well in cool winter homes, where the lower temperature will keep them from putting on spindly growth in winter’s weaker light.
GardenerAt the end of the day, your choice in houseplants really depends on your level of enthusiasm and the time and effort you’re willing to commit to them. If winter gets you down because you can’t be out in the garden, high-maintenance or fin-icky houseplants like orchids or gardenia may fill the void—or simply build a large collection of easy yet diverse plants, which will keep you busy. If, on the other hand, you enjoy winter’s respite from planting chores or it’s your time to catch up on other commitments and hobbies, pick something that thrives on neglect, like suc-culents, sanseveria or philodendron.
Opposite, top: Filtered light will keep the highly textural rex begonia happy. Bottom: Weirdly wonderful passionflowers do best with full sun. This page, top: Succulents, such as this Haworthia specksii, usually like low water and strong light. This page, bottom: Easy-to-please spider plants often sprout baby plants that can be potted to increase your houseplant collection.
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end of the growing season, teachers select a class win-ner based on each cabbage’s size, appearance and maturity. That submission is entered in a state scholarship drawing. Each state’s Director of Agri-culture pulls a random winner from those submissions, and Bonnie Plants awards a $1,000 scholarship for education to the one winning student in each state.
As one of the first compa-nies to sponsor a national veg-etable-gardening initiative for kids, Bonnie Plants has deliv-ered over 11 million cabbage plants nationwide in the past 12 years.
“The cabbage program is a wonderful way to engage chil-dren’s interest in agriculture, while teaching them not only the basics of gardening but the importance of our food sys-tems and ‘growing our own’,” says Stan Cope, President of
Bonnie Plants. “The program also affords our youth with some valuable life lessons in nurture, nature, responsibility, self-confidence and accom-plishment.”
Why cabbage? Cabbages were the first plant sold by Bonnie, in 1918. The cabbages used for the third-grade pro-gram are the ‘OS Cross’ vari-ety, which is known for pro-ducing giant heads, making the process even more exciting for the children. The biggest cabbage grown in the contest weighed 65 pounds.
To participate in this free program, teachers should register at bonniecabbage program.com. Registration deadlines and delivery times vary by the school’s location. Anyone can visit the site for more information about the program, photos of past win-ning cabbages, growing tips and more.
Cabbage Patch KidsBonnie Plants gets
third graders growingwith free cabbage
seedlings
COMMUNITY GARDEN SPOTLIGHT •
by Joan Casanova
IN 2002, BONNIE PLANTS I N I T I AT E D T H E T H I R D -GRADE CABBAGE PROGRAM with a mission to inspire a love of vegetable gardening in young people. Each year, Bon-nie trucks more than one mil-lion free ‘O.S. Cross’ cabbage plants to third-grade class-rooms across the country. O.S. stands for oversized—these cabbages can grow upward of 40 pounds!
Te a c h e s d i s t r i b u t e t h e young, two-inch plants, along with instructions provided by Bonnie, to their students to bring home and grow. At the
A few state winners of the
2013 Bonnie Plants Cabbage Program:
(clockwise from near right) Kendall
Hastings of Texas, Olivia Yandell of
South Carolina and Jackson Brown of
Alabama.
ANY TOWN,
USA
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THE LITTLEST GARDENERS Engage infants, toddlers and preschoolers with these board books related to gardening: Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert Simple text and vivid illustrations teach about bulbs, seeds and colors, too. Planting Seeds by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace Paper-collage bunnies plant and tend a patch of carrots as the readers also learn to count to 10. Usborne Look and Say—Garden Each page depicts garden elements through Jo Litchfield’s clay models, stimulating babies and toddlers to recognize images and words.
KIDS GARDEN •
ASK ANY GARDENER how he or she became in-terested in gardening, and there’s a good chance the response will entail childhood memories of tending flowers or vegetables alongside Mom, Dad or a grandparent. Gardening is a great activity for children for a number of reasons. It can offer hands-on lessons in science and math. It teaches responsibility and builds both fine and gross motor skills. It can inspire healthy eating. Perhaps most importantly, it puts kids in contact with the magic of nature amid our increasingly electronic culture. As many a grown-up gardener will tell you, early experiences with plants make lasting impressions and a lifelong appreciation of the natural world.
Winter is the perfect time to plan spring and summer gardening projects with children, or start dabbling with seeds and houseplants. Here are some great resources to help:
Seeds! Seeds! Seeds! by Nancy Elizabeth Wal-lace Kindergarteners and young grade-schoolers can learn about seeds and their purposes as Buddy Bear builds a seed collection with the help of his mother and grandfather. The book tells a nice story while also teaching seed facts, and it includes art and science activities to try.
Good Growing by the editors of Klutz This
by Meghan Shinn
Books to interest children in gardening
book offers easy-to-follow instructions for a variety of projects to get kids gardening in all seasons, in-doors and outdoors. It includes packets of quick-to-sprout seeds and a seed-starting tray, too—great for new gardeners who are a little short on patience.
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney A true classic, this pretty fiction book tells the story of a little girl who grows up, travels the world and comes home to “make the world more beautiful.” It offers some lessons in nature along with power-ful inspiration.
The Book of Gardening Projects for Kids by Whitney Cohen and John Fisher This is a great guide for parents and educators looking to design a garden that’s welcoming and beneficial to children of all ages. The main text is geared toward the adult, and it’s helpful regardless of your gardening knowledge. The book also in-cludes 101 projects to do together, the majority of which are best for elementary school and up. This is a great book for those looking to make an edible and/or ornamental garden that’s central to family life.
Online resources For ideas, information and more resources, check out kidsgardening.org and urbanext.illinois.edu/firstgarden/.
From Pages to Planters
| GREAT GARDENS 28
PLANT PROFILES •
RED SNAKEBARK MAPLE Acer pensylvanicum ‘Erythrocladum’
has red-and-white-striped bark reminiscent of peppermint candy.
To 20 feet. Zones 5–8.
JAPANESE STEWARTIA Stewartia pseudocamellia sheds its bark to create a smooth patchwork of brown, red and tan. 20 to 40 feet. Zones 5–8.
RIVER BIRCH Betula nigra has pink to red-brown outer bark that peels to show lighter inner bark. Grows to 40 feet and larger. Zones 4–9.
Baring It AllTrees with beautiful bark
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PAPERBARK MAPLE Acer griseum spices up the winter
garden with its peeling cinnamon-colored bark. 20 feet tall and wide.
USDA Zones 4–8
by Meghan Shinn
| GREAT GARDENS 29
| GREAT GARDENS 30
KITCHEN GARDENING •
OF ALL THE VEGETABLES THAT CAN BE SOWN IN EAR-LIEST SPRING, the pea is per-haps the best. Not because of its ease-of-care, the beauty of its flowers or the taste of fresh-picked peas, though those are of course worthy of praise. No, the pea is the best for its sheer pluckiness. At the tail end of winter, nothing cheers a gar-dener quite like sowing a pack-et of roly-poly pea seeds and then watching stout and sturdy pea seedlings unfurl in the still chilly air.
Peas like cool weather, and seedlings can take light frosts. In temperate climates, March 17—St. Patrick’s Day—is the tradi-tional date by which peas should be sown. Another folksy guide-line dictates that one should sow peas as soon as it’s comfortable to stand on the bare ground in your stocking feet. (For those who prefer a number, sow peas about 30 days before your area’s typical last frost date.) They like fertile soil that drains well; if your soil tends to retain water, try growing them in large pots or raised beds.
There are different types of peas—shelling peas, snap peas and snow peas—and many dif-ferent varieties of each type. Some are categorized as early season, others, mid-season; the rest, late season. This refers not to when they should be sown, but to when they will be ready to harvest. Therefore you can sow varieties of each category all at the same time to create a long season of harvest—much
The magic word at winter’s end
TIP: Peas are a great source of vita-min C, vitamin A and dietary fiber. They contain unique phytonutrients that act as antioxidants.
Peasby Meghan Shinn
easier than the succession plant-ing that has to be done to ex-tend the season of other crops. All peas need some sort of sup-port to grow on, whether it’s a fence, trellis, teepee or other structure. This is best put in place at sowing time. Peas are a great option for small gardens, because they allow you to use your vertical space.
Pea seeds should be sown into the garden rather than started in-doors in pots, because peas do not like their roots disturbed. (If you feel you must start them indoors, use biodegradable pots that can be planted into the garden along with the seedling.) When sowing seeds in the garden, scatter them close together and cover them to one inch deep. Do not thin the seedlings once they sprout. Peas
are light feeders, so it won’t hurt them to grow in close competi-tion with one another, and by growing closely they can shade the soil, helping to keep it cool and moist. You can do your part to this end by applying mulch to the seedlings, which will also deter weeds. Water deeply and keep the soil evenly moist, espe-cially when the plants are flower-ing and forming pods.
Once your peas are ready to harvest, pick them frequently. This will prompt them to keep flowering and forming more pods. Be sure to pick even those pods that seem overripe and in-edible—except at the very end of pea season, when you can allow these pods to dry and then har-vest them for next year’s sowing.
Peas & Onions
I N G R E D I E N T S16 oz. shelled peas1 medium yellow onion, chopped1 C water or chicken broth1 T olive oil or butter½ t. minced garlic (optional)butter, salt and pepper, to taste (optional)
D I R E C T I O N S1. In a medium saucepan, saute the chopped onion and minced garlic in the olive oil or butter until it is soft.
2. Add the water or chicken broth; bring to a boil. Add the peas.
3. Reduce heat and simmer 5 to 10 minutes, until peas are tender.
4. Drain excess liquid, and serve peas with salt, pepper and/or butter to taste.
After the longMelancholy of the fall,One longs for the crispBrass shout of winter——HOWARD MOSS, “NEW HAMPSHIRE”
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