Chamomile

Chamomile

I decided to try to grow Chamomile this year. It's currently germinating very well in it's cute little peat pods. Since I've never grown it before I thought maybe I should learn a little bit about it!

There are both perennial and annual varieties of Chamomile. The perennial variety is heary in Zones 3-5. Chamomile is a part of the daisy family and is easily grown from seed. Chamomile prefers full sun and boasts dainty, sweet smelling daisy like flowers. Since it only grows twelve to twenty inches tall it is a perfect addition to container gardens.

Morning is the best time to harvest Chamomile, just after the buds have opened and once they are dry after morning dew. Simply pinch off the flower heads and place in a dry, dark, hot place to dry.

Though there haven't been very many studies on the actual effect of Chamomile, it's well known for it's use in tea as a sleep aid and to reduce stress. It is also said to help with tooth aches, stomach aches and help your immune system. German Chamomile and Roman Chamomile are most commonly used for medicinal purpses.

For Chamomile recipes, visit http://oldfashionedliving.com/chamomile.html.

Source links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamomile
http://gardenersnet.com/herbs/camomile.htm
http://oldfashionedliving.com/chamomile.html

Crazy Plant Names

Paging through seed and plant catalogues, you'll commonly find plants with names that you can't pronounce. They are derived from Latin or Greek or whatever whatever. As more and more plant varieties are created and introduced someone needs to come up with more and more names. Most plant common plant names refer to the color of the blooms or the foliage. Some, on the other hand, come from out of the blue. I suppose if you look at the plant in just a certain way or you're high they might make sense.

I'll give you my interpretation, and I would love to hear yours:

False Forget Me Not (Brunnera) - It's like an 8 year old trying to be clever. Forget me - NOT, oh wait, that was false, which means the whole thing is true. HA! Gotcha! (eye roll please)

Sunshine Superman (Coreopsis) - I picture Superman dancing through a field, skipping, and singing the old "sunshine, lollipops and rainbows....."

Pow Wow Wildberry

Pow Wow Wildberry (Echinacea) - This is not just any berry colored Cone Flower, folks, it's got a little sass to it, a little POW and a little WOW (sales pitch by Steve Carell aka Michael Scott).

Pink Poodle Echinacea - How excited will your friends be when you call them over to see your new Pink Poodle and they get this.

Dragon's Blood Sedum - Most likely named by the guy right next to the guy naming the Pink Poodle ~ Had

                         to prove something!

Beard Tongue (Penstemon) - Grizzly Adams sticking his tongue out???

Double Bloody Mary

Wild Thing Salvia - This is a very cool looking plant - bright red blooms - Aparently it gives your garden

                               party a little extra.

Double Bloody Mary Geum - Place stratically next to the Wild Thing Salvia for the Morning After.

Red Hot Poker - My personal favorite. Don't plant too far away from Wild Thing

                           and the Double Bloody Mary!

There are a ton more of funny names, many relating to animals. I think we will save those for another time!

Easiest Perennials to Grow in Northern Gardens



Many new gardeners unintentionally pick plants for their gardens that are doomed for failure. Even if the plant isn't doomed, the placement of it may doom it. They may be looking for the most unique plant they can find or simply the most beautiful. Unique plants are fun in gardens. They are conversation starters and allow for some serious bragging rights, not to mention the "ooooh" and "aaaaah's" from friends and family. Unless you are a seasoned gardener, however, I would start with the basics.

Generally speaking, the reason the plant may be unique is that it is either meant, in our wonderful climate, as an annual or patio plant, or they are so difficult to grow that they don't sell well. This is not to intend that you should not buy or grow unique plants, because that is simply the part of the fun of gardening. Just make sure you read the tags or do some online research before you plant them.

Some of the easiest plants to grow for Northern Gardens are also the most common. Makes sense, right? They are all beautiful plants, and when combined right they make an amazing Northern Garden. And you can always add your favorite annuals and exotic plants for the summer.

Echinacea

Commonly known as Cone Flowers

These prairie beauties add a tall burst of color from Summer through early Fall. Averaging about three feet tall, they should be placed in the back of the border or center of an island garden.

Echinacea are drought tolerant and drop their own seeds allowing them to spread naturally. They are easily splittable in the Spring or Fall and transplant well. If started from seed, they will bloom the second year, so don't get discouraged.

Most commonly found in classic shades of purple and pink, they are also available in more whimsical shades of green, orange, crimson, yellow and white. Even more varieties include Delight Coneflower, which has a "fluffy" top, Double Decker Coneflower, which has a small bloom on top of the main bloom, or Green Envy, which showcases thicker petals in green with purple accents.

Plant Echinacea in full sun.

Rudbeckia

Commonly known as Black Eyed Susan

Black Eyed Susans are actually a coneflower of a different genus. You will find Rudbeckia varieties along ditches and in undisturbed fields in the Plains.

The common nursery varieties are typically medium sized plants with dark centers and yellow petals. The "fun" varieties of Rudbeckia include Prairie Sun or "Green Eyed Susan," Cherry Brandy with it's burgundy colored petals, and Green Wizard which shows off a few thin green petals and a tall dark center.

Like Echinacea, Rudbeckia are drought tolerant, splittable and easy to grow from seed.  The are also full sun perennials.

Sedum

Commonly known as Stonecrop



Autumn Joy



There's no end to the variety available here. And they don't get any easier to grow than this. There are several annual varieties as well, so make sure that you read the tag when purchasing Sedum.

Because Sedum are succulents they are extremely drought tolerant. Their thick waxy stems and leaves hold moisture very well. The most common varieties, such as Autumn Joy bloom in the fall, while many of the groundcover varieties will bloom in the summer.

Foliage and flower colors vary widely. Some will do ok in part shade, but full sun is your best option for growing Sedum.

Here are some of my favorites:





Dragon's Blood













 











Postman's Pride













Green Mantle



Monarda

Commonly known as Bee Balm

Monarda is a member of the mint family and has a strong fragrance to prove it. Monarda will work very will in your full sun garden with Rudbeckia, Cone Flower and Sedum. There are several varieties available and in many colors. The shorter varieties are about a foot tall, while the stems of some of the taller varieties can reach up to three feet.                         

   From fucsia pink to pastel purple, you can easily find the color you need. Some varieties get double decker, triple decker or even quadruple decker blooms!

Bee Balm spreads quickly (but not quickly enough to take over), and is easy to split. The root system does not go terribly deep which makes them very easy to handle.

Other Trusty Perennials for the Northern Gardener

Need to add more?  Try Shasta Daisies, Day Lily, Iris, Hosta, and Coreopsis!

If there is another plant you'd like to know more about, simply leave a question in the question box on the right~!





Taking down a 200+ year old Elm :o(

This fall we had to take down a MASSIVE Elm Tree. The poor old dear got Dutch Elm. Part of what we loved about this yard when we bought our house four years ago was that Elm. My husband and I could not get our arms around it together. It looked like a mini-Swiss Family Robinson Tree.

I planted my first shade garden under it.

Just looking at that trunk, I'm sure it doesn't seem like much.

Here is the full view:

We knew by the end of last summer that it had to come down. I spent the last part of this summer digging and splitting and potting ALL of those mature plants. I moved a lot of them and gave away hundreds of splits. It's amazing how much more work it was to take out the garden than it was to put it in. And a lot less fun.

Our amazing neighbors and their families came to help with the daunting task. I can't quite explain how touching it was to have the whole neighborhood show up to help. They brought skidloaders and dump trucks and chainsaws. 

Pictures, in this case, are definately worth a thousand words: And the video even more:

 Frank was the Chainsaw Master!!!

Grandpa Bob scaring the living sh** out of us...

The Wedge comes out. Nice Job Matt!

And there it goes...The entire little town of Blooming Praire felt it.

A mid-winter on-line tribite to all who helped!  Thank you!

Minnesota Wild Flowers in Danger!

I would consider myself pretty in tune to perennials that grow well in Minnesota. I was unaware, however, of how many native Minnesota Wild Flowers are actually threatened or of "special concern."  Did you know there are Orchids that are native to MN wetlands?  I had no idea!

Here's the list from Wikepedia:

Short's aster Aster shortii (threatened)

Three-leaved coneflower Rudbeckia triloba var. triloba (special concern)

Northern gentian Gentiana affinis (special concern)

Soft goldenrod Solidago mollis (special concern)

Northern paintbrush Castilleja septentrionalis (endangered)

Floating marsh marigold Caltha natans (endangered)

Alpine milk vetch Astragalus alpinus (endangered)

Missouri milk vetch Astragalus missouriensis (special concern)

Slender milk vetch Astragalus flexuosus (special concern)

Clasping milkweed Asclepias amplexicaulis (special concern)

Narrow-leaved milkweed Asclepias stenophylla (endangered)

Prairie milkweed Asclepias hirtella (threatened)

Sullivant's milkweed Asclepias sullivantii (threatened)

Ram's head orchid Cypripedium arietinum (threatened)

Tubercled rein orchid Platanthera flava var. herbiola (endangered)

Western prairie fringed orchid Platanthera praeclara (threatened)

Western prairie fringed orchid Platanthera praeclara (threatened)

Small shinleaf Pyrola minor (special concern

Nuttall's sunflower Helianthus nuttallii ssp. rydbergii (special concern)

Lance-leaved violet Viola lanceolata (threatened)

Yellow prairie violet Viola nuttallii (threatened)

All of the above links and pictures are from Wikipedia. Another great resource for Minnesota Wild Flowers is http://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/page/home

Angel's Trumpet

                         Angel's Trumpet (Brugsmania)


Angel's Trumpet are one of the most amazing plants that I have grown. For several years I would page through plant catalogs and dream about ordering them. Though the plants are usually quite expensive to order. They are native to the subtropic regions of South America thus only grown as annuals or house plants in North America.

Last year I was lucky enough to find seeds available to order. Naturaly I did. I planted the seeds in my winter garden under grow lights. I wasn't sure that I was going to be lucky enough to actually grow them at first because they took over three weeks to germinate, but they did. They grow very slowly at first, but once they get going the grow incredibly fast. The three plants that I still have from those seeds are now taller than I am in less than a year~!

The buds are almost camoflouged within the large plant as they are exactly the same color as the foliage until they bloom. Their blooms could quite possibly be one of the most beautiful blooms I've seen. Thus, the common name of Angel's Trumpet. Their elongated bell shape can reach over a foot long on ten plus foot tall bushes, which typically are grown in tree form.

The seed pods that form after the flowers fade is equally amazing. Large round ball-shaped pods with thick spikes on them. Once the seeds mature the pod will burst, spreading the seeds. You can also propegate them by simply rooting a cutting in water!

All parts of the plant are poisonous and could be fatal so animals and humans, so use caution when growing around pets. I've seen it recommended to wear gloves when handling the plant.

If you have a safe place to grow and enjoy these plants I highly recommend them! They are quite the sight to behold.

Surviving a Minnesota Winter as a Gardener

Fall is a beautiful time of year in the Northern Zones. The leaves signal the beginning of a slightly cooler climate with bright reds, oranges and yellows. There are great things about every climate. This time of year, however, is the beginning of the end for every gardener in colder climates, particularly Zone 5 and above.

I put my gardens to sleep at the end of September, with exception of the Asters and Chrysanthemums expecting that we would have had a very solid freeze by the middle of October, which is about average. The first night of the season that dips below freezing is a dreaded night for gardeners in colder climates. The first hard freeze means five to six months before you can even dream of life in the garden. It's a wonder any of us venture on with our gardening with six months of dead time!

There are advantages and there are ways around it. When the glass is half full, the the garden is overflowing in color. The growing season in Zones 2-5 may be short, but it creates a sense of wonder and fulfillment that gardeners in warmer zones may never understand. It's literally like Christmas in July. Watching each small shoot of Shasta Daisy and Monarda emerge from the thawing ground is like a small gift after a long anticipation.

Ways around it require a true passion for gardening, not to mention an appetite for small scale adventure and a willingness to experiment! Starting seeds or propagating seeds in windows with the best southern sunlight can cause plants to become leggy. By using grow lights you can control the distance that your plants have to reach for the light.

There are so many grow lights on the market that it's horribly overwhelming. Though I have heard of people using regular florescent bulbs, healthy plants really require both blue and red light spectrum, just as they would get from the sun. You can find some good prices on line for grow bulbs which can be shipped to your home. If you really just want to get started, aquarium bulbs have both blue and red spectrum to support aquarium plants and are available at Walmart. They carry them in both spot light and florescent lights. The florescent light bulbs are generally 40 watt T12. Both Lowe's and Fleet Farm carry reasonably priced fixtures for both varieties.

Finding a space in your home to start your indoor winter garden can be as easy as designating a specific corner of your living room and a small card table. I have heard of people cleaning out closets to use as well. An unfinished basement works great and usually will give you plenty of room to expand if you choose, not to mention having your own private space away from kids or plants that may knock over your garden. Make sure you have a way to hang the lights at an appropriate level so your plants don't have to stretch themselves towards the bulbs. Jack chain and S hooks from the ceiling give you an easy and adjustable option.

When choosing plants for your indoor garden I recommend plants that are normally kept as house plants that you may take out to the patio or deck in the summer. You can also bring in your summer annuals in the fall and let them to continue to grow so that you can propagate them throughout the winter either by splitting or cuttings. Be cautious of when you start which seeds. Most perennials hardy to Northern Zones have a specific schedule to follow. Most seed catalogs and packets will give you the average time to germination and the average time to bloom for both annuals and perennials. Many perennials, however do not bloom until their second year.

It is worthy to note that growing under grow lights does not equate growing in a greenhouse. Do your research and harden plants off slowly in the spring. Move them to a greenhouse first if possible.

How it all Began!

Where did this passion come from?

It's hard to say how I became a gardener. My mom had a little garden in the front of the house, but I never helped with it. Once I moved out, I never had house plants nor did I pay a second glance to them when I saw them at other peoples homes.

In the Summer of 2000, I was pregnant with my second son and we bought our first house. It was just a little old rambler in an old neighborhood that needed some love. The people that owned it before us let their son use the front flower beds as sandboxes. They were small. There was one on each side of the door and they were very simply lined with old bricks half stuck into the ground. I must have felt very maternal or feminine, because I knew they could be much cuter than sandboxes – or dirt boxes.

I visited the local “big box” parking lot garden center a couple of times, trying to figure out what everything was and what I might possibly like, but I really had no idea. I did that a few times, but never bought anything. Finally, I lugged my big belly and swollen ankles back to the same little garden center with the mindset that I would just get whatever looked pretty, because I deserved flowers. I can't even remember what I picked out or how it looked. My mom brought over some orange day lillies and we put them in the back of the bed, just under my bedroom window, and that's all I remember. I'm sure it looked awful.

From there we moved a couple of times trying to find the perfect place to raise our two rapidly growing boys. We landed in what we thought was a small quaint town far enough out of the city to be a good place for a growing family. The house was old and had a lot of character. The yard was long, flat, and had no trees. After a full summer I decided it was time to try to garden again. I planted some Oriental Lillies under the Korean Lilac Tree. But I needed more. So I tilled a small garden in the very back of the lot. I planted some Daisies, some Dwarf Irises and a few other things I had never tried before. I wandered through the local nursery trying to figure out what I liked. I read plant tag after plant tag until I thought I had what I needed. I split some plants from my Day Care Lady, and before I knew it my small garden had spanned the length of the lot and was 40 feet wide all the way across. I added an arbor next to the shed, and a little path that led to a tiny patio with a bench.

I sat for hours looking at that garden. Observing what bloomed when, what did well where it was, what didn't. Hours and hours I sat. I moved plants around and learned how to split them. I wanted more. I subscribed to gardening magazines, bought books, and played on the internet researching plants and designs.

We decided after three years that it wasn't the perfect place that we thought it was. So, we ventured on to a much smaller town. I split and potted everything out of my garden that I could. I brought van load after van load of potted splits to our new home an hour a way. There was no garden for them. It was July and it was hot, but I had a plan, sort of.

The neighbor had his friend bring over his tractor tiller so that I could get my plants in the ground. I laid the hose out in a curvy shape stretching from the end of the small fenced arbor at the end of the front sidewalk. With my new neighbors, their friend and my husband all thinking that I was clinically insane, I had him till the exact shape as the hoses were laid. I plugged in what I had brought with me and hoped for the best.

That garden now stops people driving by on our quiet side of town. There's always something blooming and your eye is never bored. My neighbor started asking me to garden with her. In the three years that have passed since we've moved, I've also designed and added several more gardens on our half acre lot. Moving plants and adding pathways, expanding where I need more room. I collect seeds from annuals and split perennials, sharing whenever I can. I've gone as far as having our old rock basement lined with aquarium lights so that I can grow throughout the cold Minnesota winter.

So, how did the passion for gardening begin? I'm not sure. Sometimes you stumble upon things by accident and they become what you never knew you didn't have.