Some Kind of April Showers!
Mood:  surprised
Now Playing: Kieth Urban
Topic: Spring is in the air !
We are transplanting Joe Pye weed today.  I don't like to call it a weed because it is truly a flower that butterflies adore.  This photo shows it growing with Big Bluestem Grass in the background, a great shoreline holding combination I see on the Whitefish chain in Crow Wing County, MN.  This spotted Joe Pye was used by Native Americans as a treatment for Typhoid out east.  Joe Pye likes having wet feet but grows voluptuously along with Queen of the Prairie (Fillipendula rubra) on the South west corner of our main veggie gardenwith perennial "wings".  We will be transplanting Pansies and wild roses next.  It had better warm up soon as our three greenhouses are filling up fast!

Aga-what?
Mood:  celebratory
Now Playing: www.kaxe.org as usual
Topic: What's Growing On

I just got an E-mail from friend Bennie near Dallas.  She sent me a few pictures of the Montana street gangs: At least I don't have to worry about the Elks getting into our gardens, thank God!  When I speak for groups as I did in March for the folks at the Crosslake Chataqua, a sure question  is what can I plant that the deer do not like to eat?  Agastache foeniculum is always one of my first replies.  Aga-What they say?  Anise or blue giant hyssop has a bit of a licoricey flavor to it's leaves and flowers making it distasteful to deer.  They would much rather go down a row of hostas and munch munch munch.  Have you ever tasted a hosta?  In Japan where hostas came to us from, they are used as a wrapper to cook seasoned rice in to retain the flavor  while not imparting a flavor of its own. 

     Many Agastache are not hardy here in our USDA zone three gardens, and even the foeniculum is a re-seeding biennial.  This is not a true hyssop like the one mentioned in the Bible.   Maude Grieve's book A Modern Herbal first published in 1931  identifies the Hyssop of Scripture with Marjoram (origanum).  Dr.  J.F.Royle declares Bible Hyssop as a member of the Caper family, Capparis spinosa.  This Id is supported by Canon Tristram and others.  The true hyssop of the day is Hyssopus officinalis.  Distilled oil of H.  officinalis is more appreciated by perfumers than Oil of Lavender says Grieve.  That hyssop would probably deter deer as well.  Dwarf blue hyssop,hardy to -30 has a more bitter flavor than Agastach.  I like a licoricey flavored tea so it's Agastache foen.  for me.  Make sure to spend some time on the garden bench!

Basil Blessings
Mood:  lucky
Now Playing: I'm On Fire at www.kaxe.org
Topic: Time For Planting O Green

Basil Brightening!

The days are sweetly lengthening and all our spirits seem to be rising with the temperatures.  Don’t get too excited and jump the gun about starting seedlings until March first or later unless you have plant lights or a greenhouse.  If you are where your seedlings are all day and are very dedicated like my mom was as I was growing up, you may move the plants window to window as the sun moves East, South, West.

 

The first seedlings we start are the ones with the tiniest seeds.  Check out

 www.botanicalinterests.com for a timely chart of which seeds to start first.  Petunias, Lobelia, Celery, Coleus, Joe Pye , Monarda and Rudbeckia rank high on my list of flowers to start under our plant lights.  I always like to have some flowers in bloom for mothers day.  This year the Alysum, Dwarf Lemon Drop Marigolds, and Torch Mexican Sunflower will be started for early blooming.  I also start herbs like fifteen kinds of Basil.  (Yes, I am a Basil-aholic!)  Fisher-people eat Bass, Walleye, Perch, Northerns, etc.  and those are all different kinds of fish right?  No I really don’t need to justify planting that many kinds of basil.  I do it because like the mountain climbers say, because they are there. 

 

Check out www.richters.com if you would like to see just how many kinds of basil there are!  I used to plant just the basic sweet basil but then I found two very compact basils,  Greek Mini Yevani, and Spicy Globe .  Both are perfect to edge the beds I plant with Tomatoes and the interplanting or companion planting keeps the potatoes in the next bed safe from those pesky beetles besides!  Napoletano basil is so great for making Pesto and comes by its alternate  moniker Lettuce leaf , or Sweet salad rightfully as the leaves are huge.  Replace the lettuce you might want to put on your sandwich with this more flavorful variety.  Genovese comes from Italy and who can resist it on pizza or pasta.  Lemon and Lime basils give the afore mentioned fish a less fishy flavor.  Cinnamon, Sacred, Holy, Purple and Red Rubin are flavorful tea plants without caffeine I find myself more sensitive to as I get more advanced in years.  The other three basils are tasty for container growing and combining with flowers in beds or pots.

 

With travel being more expensive I have been planting more “staycation” plantings for our clients so they can just invite family to their own paradise gardens and stay home themselves cooking up a storm.  All these flavorful basils as well as other herbs make our gardens much more deer resistant too.  Don’t forget to spend some time on the garden bench! 

Sunshining Today
Mood:  bright
Now Playing: MPR story by James McWilliams The War On Pests
Topic: Root Cellar Ho!

Bright day with ice in the trees so why am I heading to the root cellar?

Because I have been gone visiting the Grand Girls inND for the last 5 days and everything is thirsty!  Everything the three catsin the house left not tipped over anyhow.  I am training the newest member of our critter family.   Jasmine, a Jack Russell/ Rat Terrier cross we got from Samya Peterson on Hermantown road near Duluth on Friday the 19th of December.More pups born Oct 13 remain to be adopted...  Barney, a JR terrier we only had for a month Nov 8 til Dec 8 when he went on a walkabout with adventurous big brother Cosmo.  Barney didn't come back.  Cosmo came back wet and icy.  I walked many miles following tracks and a leashed Cosmo's lead but no luck.Jasmine takes over in our hearts where Barney left off.  

Check out www.lymefighters.org and www.Igenex.com if you even remotely think you may have Lyme Disease and get treatment asap.

 Enjoy your seed catalogs and web sites but don't forget to take an inventory of the seeds you have left over from this and previous years.  That is another thing I will be doing in the root cellar this week.

Cheers!  Bonnie The Plant Lady

See you next year!

Fall Cursor
Mood:  blue
Now Playing: Yikes!
Topic: Tuesday Sept. 30th frost?

The evergreen  Balsam Fir  near the bedroom window points at the sky like our computer’s cursor points at the weather screen indicating a frost Tuesday night. There is a reason they call it a cursor... The tree is ever ready for chilling temps but as usual for this time of year, I am not.  As  I   race to spread row cover over the tender plants in anticipation of a long indian summer I gather yet more bowls full of the Cupid and Matt’s Wild Cherry tomatoes who were so obliging to gather the sun’s rays and store them for my fervent use. 

August Gardening in the Dog Days of Summer
Mood:  on fire
Topic: My Time of Year!

Are we done weeding yet?  Sorry, no we are not and I am beginning to wonder if we will ever be.  I was even out last night until 11 pm with a LED light onn my cap so it was cool and I was not out weeding a client's garden instead.  No matter when we weed be sure to kep yourself and your garden well hydrated.  If the garden area is watered well the day before you weed the weeds pull up more easily.  If you don't have the energy to pull larger weeds like the ones that were on the south side of the raspberry patch, just take your pruner out there with you and cut the offending invaders off at ground level.  This avoids uprooting your intended plants you wish to remain in the garden.