tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-234392956473772062024-03-15T18:09:42.559-07:00All the Dirt on GardeningGardening in Zone 7 USAMolly Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728709915410641970noreply@blogger.comBlogger2068125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-33177999127041622202019-08-22T12:42:00.000-07:002019-08-22T12:42:13.421-07:00Ruellia Short or Tall<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhLDrggjE8ILkNLbj6niHk9RZPDFoeM3ex-RtOn7p8BD0CXzDl_Op2yD7rVfwCu0jJIwW00ekvy_0-Eo01RPhLnHtLhT1fGWznIJgWezQUXnC4VtxKIlWxI3QRry_lAmpY18Jr4zVO_z4/s1600/ruellia+Mexican+petunia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhLDrggjE8ILkNLbj6niHk9RZPDFoeM3ex-RtOn7p8BD0CXzDl_Op2yD7rVfwCu0jJIwW00ekvy_0-Eo01RPhLnHtLhT1fGWznIJgWezQUXnC4VtxKIlWxI3QRry_lAmpY18Jr4zVO_z4/s200/ruellia+Mexican+petunia.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">n January, National Geographic reported that in order to ensure pollination, flowers make their nectar sweeter when they hear bees buzzing. “… within minutes, the plants temporarily increased the concentration of sugar in their flowers’ nectar. In effect, the flowers themselves served as ears, picking up the specific frequencies of bees’ wings while tuning out irrelevant sounds like wind.” (</span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://on.natgeo.com/2Mi6LLl&source=gmail&ust=1565566834697000&usg=AFQjCNEoZMDncczgsrBDwSVjtu9w63EOFg" href="https://on.natgeo.com/2Mi6LLl" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://on.natgeo.com/<wbr></wbr>2Mi6LLl</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEity7-dM-khc0leMvfeM-LjMwIjxwXEguz7vhO-06syIZcSUEeBJcjfOSE1dpzl4LTjUk7eIcpEIreFA53hBM1CjxUXadgp3fyRXHFq0B14d8RiqfKEg80jAyCCo6jhkhUqTHvS6BlYR7Y/s1600/pink+dwarf+Ruellia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEity7-dM-khc0leMvfeM-LjMwIjxwXEguz7vhO-06syIZcSUEeBJcjfOSE1dpzl4LTjUk7eIcpEIreFA53hBM1CjxUXadgp3fyRXHFq0B14d8RiqfKEg80jAyCCo6jhkhUqTHvS6BlYR7Y/s200/pink+dwarf+Ruellia.JPG" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">When you observe bees flocking to the large flowers on native plants such as Mexican Petunia, think about the sound of the flowers humming to make that happen.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Ruellias are beginning to bloom now when many other plants have surrendered to summer’s heat. We have the 14-inch tall purple Mexican Petunia and the dwarf pink R. britannia. Wild Petunia, Ruellia humilis, as it is often called, was first identified and named by the plant explorer Thomas Nutall.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The dwarf Katie/Southern Star series thrives as potted plants for zone 8 and are sold as annuals. But, when I started them from seed several years ago they were sold as perennials and indeed they come back every year from the root. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Native Petunias spread slowly to form a colony and this year I divided the dwarf variety so they are now blooming in 4 beds. The dwarf’s flowers are almost as large as the 2-foot tall variety. Ruellias are not bothered by insects or diseases.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Tall or short, Ruellia is easily started from seed. Prairiemoon.com offers Wild Petunia seeds and says the plant can become aggressive. I have read that in numerous places but it has been polite in our gardens.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Outsidepride.com offers the seeds of Southern Star/Kate dwarf Ruellias but only with white flowers. They call them Ruellia Brittiana Southern Star White and recommend direct sowing into the soil. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Ruellias are shade and drought tolerant but I have found that they bloom more in sun with water.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Ruellias was named in the 16th Century for the herbalist-physician to Francois I, the King of France, Jean de la Ruelle.</span></span>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-8921993572610450192019-08-11T06:38:00.003-07:002019-08-11T06:38:54.703-07:00Banana Cold Hardy is Musa basjoo<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfOmyd30wILxuKQipvSKnsBDc8DqMaUFxLhI3xzFMCunHn32vuW2Nr7Hlbaaqe5-zvjFPcQ6uLDnouDILiIRyIqpB2eO20UQlDgvL6rEp6i2mxaiVLv3yU4khCb8kMW95-nn-vr4VL6U4/s1600/Musa+basjoo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfOmyd30wILxuKQipvSKnsBDc8DqMaUFxLhI3xzFMCunHn32vuW2Nr7Hlbaaqe5-zvjFPcQ6uLDnouDILiIRyIqpB2eO20UQlDgvL6rEp6i2mxaiVLv3yU4khCb8kMW95-nn-vr4VL6U4/s200/Musa+basjoo.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The tropical look that Banana Trees, Musa Basjoo, give our gardens always gets attention from visitors. Also called Japanese Fiber Bananas, they are cold hardy to 20-degrees below zero, withstanding our winters quite nicely. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In warmer climates Japanese Banana will grow to 18-feet tall. Locally, they seem to mature at 8 to 10 feet with 4-to-6 foot long leaves. The new leaves in the photo that are still round are called cigar leaves until they unroll.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">If your plants flower and make fruit, remember that are not grocery store bananas so they are not edible. The flowers are self-fertile; there is no need to plant male and female plants.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Musa Basjoo spreads like a lily, by making offset pups that grow over the summer. To divide, wait until a pup is a foot tall, then remove the soil between the mother plant and the pup so you can dig it out with some root attached. You can plant the pups into containers and protect them over the winter or take your chances and just transplant them into a new garden location.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Give your Banana Trees full sun and regular water during drought periods and they will reward you will a gorgeous display to enjoy until the first hard freeze.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">When the leaves fall to the ground in winter leave them in place to cover the roots to protect them from a hard freeze. If you want to mulch the plants more, apply several inches of bark or pine needles.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Cold hardy Banana makes a great patio container plant though it will have to be protected over the winter as containers have colder soil than the ground. Some gardeners wrap the trunks with burlap or bubble wrap up to 2-feet before high the first killing frost, and prune off any damaged leaves and stem.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The pseudostem trunk is used to make clothing fibers in China. The plant genus, Musa, is named for a first century B.C. physician, Antonia Musa.</span>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-29167304702717987132019-08-04T06:19:00.002-07:002019-08-04T06:19:29.088-07:00Amaranth Adds Structural Interest<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Xb8GDcxmClncf-QD_1J-gY8rzin1sIIkttyWBrRhLcWxxZ4KnylKujS6L6ftHmPAh73lMiiEU_5zso3V44bCPZ0VdDUjevjrrcaoaCui84sKucf04AKPy9Np8750CN3-HdpmFL1FnJc/s1600/corn+amaranth+cucumbers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Xb8GDcxmClncf-QD_1J-gY8rzin1sIIkttyWBrRhLcWxxZ4KnylKujS6L6ftHmPAh73lMiiEU_5zso3V44bCPZ0VdDUjevjrrcaoaCui84sKucf04AKPy9Np8750CN3-HdpmFL1FnJc/s320/corn+amaranth+cucumbers.JPG" width="320" /></a>Amaranth is an ancient tropical plant that has a place in our summer garden every year. The tall varieties contribute architectural interest to a couple of large beds.<br />
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The common and colorful names for Amaranth varieties include Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate, Pig Weed, Goose Foot, Chinese Spinach, Gizzard Plant, Cock’s Comb and Chenille Plant.<br />
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Amaranth’s history began in India, Mexico and South America and its spinach-like leaves are still eaten worldwide. Because of their high value, 200,000 bushels of seed were required in payment by the Aztecs to Montezuma for their annual taxes.<br />
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Amaranth leaves are rich in calcium, iron, vitamins A and C and are added to soups and salads. The seeds are commonly used as a high-fiber protein source; and, when cooked, the seeds are 90% digestible.<br />
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Amaranth is a gluten-free seed rather than a grain and is considered a super-food. In the US, the seeds are used in bread, casseroles, as a rice-like side dish, popped and sprouted for salads.<br />
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In Mexico, the seeds are popped and mixed with sugar to make alegria (https://bit.ly/2yfqvcr) and roasted seeds are made into atole (https://bit.ly/2LN6dzy). <br />
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Some Amaranths grow six-feet tall with plumes of tiny seeds. To grow it, direct sow the seeds in the soil or start them early indoors for warm-weather (65-degree soil) transplanting into the garden.<br />
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The Red Garnet Amaranth in our garden has re-seeded itself annually for ten years. In the spring we simply thin the extras and move a few where they can show off their beauty. <br />
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Amaranth is fairly easily grown from a package of seeds but it rarely appears in garden centers as plants. Start the tiny seeds indoors in early spring in clean containers filled with sterile planting mix. Adding a little sand or vermiculite would help with the clean drainage they need.<br />
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The Asian varieties, such as All Red, Red Beauty, Red Garnet, Red Leaf and White Leaf are available from Kitazawaseed.com, a company I’ve used several times. Kitazawa has many other interesting Asian vegetables worth considering for next year‘s garden.<br />
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<br />Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-74301986660913598042019-07-28T12:20:00.000-07:002019-07-28T12:20:04.063-07:00Meadow Pink Texas Star Sabatia campestris Sabatia angularis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL9Fmk5DofhlfX3CJQvoVbjM_2256QWUuS458CNe3gzfLlWaZ0DMXDJBQEAjowynC6Fci-L4me8_CU6sOsDd9b34X8Vr6nwoXtvu4QPnixc2LVaNt12fHH8DSKfyQD4scRmnhNcdlsRFU/s1600/Sabatia+campestris+seed+capsule.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL9Fmk5DofhlfX3CJQvoVbjM_2256QWUuS458CNe3gzfLlWaZ0DMXDJBQEAjowynC6Fci-L4me8_CU6sOsDd9b34X8Vr6nwoXtvu4QPnixc2LVaNt12fHH8DSKfyQD4scRmnhNcdlsRFU/s200/Sabatia+campestris+seed+capsule.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi62a-beJsHxFmvkqQmt9oNfER-WamyLhFTaNmrbCumA4nxR0x4nlyP6ABY52abw2bZip5dVe8et9jw-DlU2Ye9pt19iNbjckuNrgIPjMbN9g-me0gUsVJaMQMylrwZ3SULhBxujekj_c0/s1600/Sabatia+campestris+flowers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi62a-beJsHxFmvkqQmt9oNfER-WamyLhFTaNmrbCumA4nxR0x4nlyP6ABY52abw2bZip5dVe8et9jw-DlU2Ye9pt19iNbjckuNrgIPjMbN9g-me0gUsVJaMQMylrwZ3SULhBxujekj_c0/s200/Sabatia+campestris+flowers.JPG" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Meadow Pink is a small, native, annual, pink-flowering plant found primarily in the southern US. Its other common names include Rose Gentian, Prairie Rose-gentian, Texas Star and Prairie sabatia. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The five-petaled flowers are an inch or two across and the plants are one to two feet tall. Meadow Pinks spread by seed to form colonies. The challenge is to leave them alone during spring weeding since the new rosettes pop up where you least expect them and are easy to forget from year to year.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Sabatia prefers dry garden soils that have good drainage; a sandy place would be perfect.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Sabatia angularis, Rosepink, is available from seed companies (www.prairie </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://moon.com&source=gmail&ust=1563995797108000&usg=AFQjCNFfCZ0HBDGTtQrOg2GR2Z8mgX39DA" href="http://moon.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">moon.com</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">). It is also a Gentian, sometimes called Marshpink, Bitterbloom, Rosepink and Rose Gentian. Sabatia kennedyana, Bog Sabadia for wetlands, seeds are available from </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://carniverousplantnursery.com&source=gmail&ust=1563995797109000&usg=AFQjCNGRc5lS5jltXm8tLKacU5_M_KUpFw" href="http://carniverousplantnursery.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">carniverousplantnursery.com</a><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Sabatias are biennials, They grow a rosette of leaves the first year, then have pink, gold and magenta flowers on multi-branched stems, followed by seed capsules. Their names are mixed together with references using Sabatia campestris and Sabatia angularis interchangeably.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">In the center of each flower there is a bright green star with yellow anthers. Sabatias are hermaphrodite; each flower has both male and female organs.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">They bloom very little during drought years unless supplemental water is provided. Plant seeds in spring or fall by pressing them into the soil surface in part sun. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Liberato Sabbati, an 18th Century Italian botanist and author of Hortus Romanus, provided the Latin name. One of my native plant references, printed in 1966, says that Sabatia had no common names at that time, but the author, Harold Rickett, identifies and describes 16 varieties that bloom across the south. Five more varieties have been located and named.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">The common name Bitter Bloom stems from when the plants’ leaves were used to make a medicinal tonic that was bitter to taste. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222;" /></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sabatias appear on endangered wildflower lists around the country and planting some could help turn the tide.</span></span></div>
Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-46548191805838182482019-07-21T04:32:00.000-07:002019-07-21T04:32:05.753-07:00Mother of Thyme for Garden and Kitchen<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNZKRVVX8aqnt9hMXS6VIuu0GauZraG9tALvDPp1wYsWnkXc6F5V4LjIasS6qQ8UGN1fIhtTpvGblpaQuSyckLXyp9x_UpEBA0XNfu2tc5tlBAqsp7H0QPvfBwZT2yJswurhvvTsfTkUA/s1600/Thymus+serphyllum.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNZKRVVX8aqnt9hMXS6VIuu0GauZraG9tALvDPp1wYsWnkXc6F5V4LjIasS6qQ8UGN1fIhtTpvGblpaQuSyckLXyp9x_UpEBA0XNfu2tc5tlBAqsp7H0QPvfBwZT2yJswurhvvTsfTkUA/s200/Thymus+serphyllum.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Thyme is valuable as a kitchen herb, feeds pollinators and makes a terrific ground cover. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Creeping Thyme, Thymus serpyllum or Thymus praecox, also called Wild Thyme and Mother of Thyme, is a European native. Cold hardy in zones 4-8, its wiry stems and woody trunk take most garden conditions. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Thyme from the grocery store, is probably Thymus vulgaris, but I use Mother of Thyme for marinades, cooking and canning. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The leaves are tiny, blue-green, opposite, and about 1/4th inch long. The stems that create the foliage mat, spread by rooting in soil or sand along their path.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The plants are covered with 4-to-6-inch tall stems of tubular flowers right now. Dozens of tiny bees and other insects cover them daily from now until fall. After the flowers are spent, the flower heads can be removed to re-shape the plants.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Mother of Thyme is easy to grow in dry to moist, well-drained soil, without fertilizer. We have it planted in four locations around the garden where the soil is dry or difficult and it does a reasonably good job of preventing weeds.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Our plants remain green until the first hard freeze. Late summer and in the spring, I prune them back and place the cuttings in a new location and gently press them into the soil with a bit of soil on top. Most of the time they root and slowly grow into a new mat that can be used to replace lawn, to fill in between stepping stones or to grow over walkways like our brick walk in the photo.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Bunnies and deer ignore scented plants and Mother of Thyme can even take foot traffic. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The genus name Thymus is from the Greek word thymos which is the name used in ancient Greece for the herb Thyme.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">There are many Thymus serpyllum cultivars with plants that range from creeping to upright and flower colors from white to red, pink and purple. Some cultivars have gold, variegated and dark green leaves.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">For seeds visit </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.thymegarden.com&source=gmail&ust=1563373713877000&usg=AFQjCNFEe_OhzI24-prhEyAg7T1_9lw4Dw" href="http://www.thymegarden.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" target="_blank">www.thymegarden.com</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">. </span>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-63216993712551408582019-07-14T08:57:00.001-07:002019-07-14T08:57:39.707-07:00Jewels of Opar Limon<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxlsW9sr0LvSiDkKjrC24FkUjf7nMwoIckKm-qxGD9UOS4o7CVgYCZUPhGZFZ4eVxR8pVtgYc_gCph-X39ZZfFZ7xi1b3por5x_Rk78HqJNY2EtCrX9nlE-sAIdsFwGTybKHdkBAHZ1qo/s1600/Jewels+of+Opar+Limon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxlsW9sr0LvSiDkKjrC24FkUjf7nMwoIckKm-qxGD9UOS4o7CVgYCZUPhGZFZ4eVxR8pVtgYc_gCph-X39ZZfFZ7xi1b3por5x_Rk78HqJNY2EtCrX9nlE-sAIdsFwGTybKHdkBAHZ1qo/s200/Jewels+of+Opar+Limon.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Jewels of Opar, Talinum paniculata, is a native Central and North American edible plant similar to summer or Malabar spinach. The leaves of the Limon variety are bright green and the flowers form a spray of pink above them on long wiry stems, leading some to call them Pink Baby’s Breath. When the flowers fade, they are replaced by tiny, jewel-like fruits that resemble precious stones. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Southern Seed Exposure first planted Jewels of Opar seeds in 2014 and much to their surprise, the tiny flowers fed pollinators and the edible leaves tasted “surprisingly” appealing (</span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bit.ly/2JmtDK1&source=gmail&ust=1562844741680000&usg=AFQjCNHYTfz_kNsIETDfBBVQWsPIuCYxZQ" href="https://bit.ly/2JmtDK1" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" target="_blank">https://bit.ly/2JmtDK1</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">). </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Jewels of Opar Limon is very easy to grow. We started with a single 4-inch pot 6 years ago and the seeds have made new plants every spring since then, with no effort on our part. They grow in full sun to part-shade and require minimal water. Almost any soil will do; rabbits, pests and diseases leave them alone except for a small nibble here or there.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Jewels of Opar is an old-fashioned garden plant. Edgar Rice Burroughs mentions Opar in 1913 in the second Tarzan book, “The Return of Tarzan” and then in 1916 he wrote “Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar”.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The seeds can be sown any time but are best sown in winter to early spring to get a cold snap in wet soil to break dormancy. Cover the seeds very thinly with sand to the depth of the seed size. They will come up in 6 to 12 weeks. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The green part of the plant grows two-feet tall and becomes shrubby in appearance, though the stems remain soft. The stems and flowers add another 18-inches to the height. Ours have moved around the garden but are healthiest on a sunny edge in front of Hydrangeas and Astilbe.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Also called Fame Flower, Talinum paniculatum Limon is cold hardy in zones 6-9 and is a member of the Portulaceae or Purslane plant family. Plant-world-seeds.com has seeds for $3.50.</span>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-77852705239879175162019-07-07T06:47:00.001-07:002019-07-07T06:47:46.815-07:00Norfolk Island Pine Tree tabletop holiday decor<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDKP4OPvKNXVteom4vzCUDk50Z_9hQ774c2wQgiYjnt6RRikM-RFFIGRc4-lHwuP_5LFLJAMOh6W5Gduz4vrC5-zU1AqOsSjk9I3ZScXL2fNNDIt-Ex5OciwGz7hMkRR1acCTClTBxL5c/s1600/Norfolk+Island+Pine.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDKP4OPvKNXVteom4vzCUDk50Z_9hQ774c2wQgiYjnt6RRikM-RFFIGRc4-lHwuP_5LFLJAMOh6W5Gduz4vrC5-zU1AqOsSjk9I3ZScXL2fNNDIt-Ex5OciwGz7hMkRR1acCTClTBxL5c/s200/Norfolk+Island+Pine.JPG" width="133" /></a>Captain Hook landed on Norfolk Island around 1772 and was impressed by the 100-foot tall evergreens that populated the coastline. When he sent specimens back to England, botanists gave them the Latin name of Araucaria excelsa heterophylla but their common name has always been Norfolk Island Pine.<br />
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The little Norfolk Island trees we grow as houseplants are actually slow-growing seedlings. They are not pine trees but acquired the name because they resemble pines. In Camarillo CA where they can grow outside all year, one tree measures 109 feet tall with a 65-wide crown. In our zone 7 weather they are grown in containers and brought inside before freezing temperatures arrive in early winter.<br />
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We keep our Norfolk Island Pine on the back porch in the summer where it receives bright, filtered light, then it comes inside for the winter where it doubles as a holiday tree decorated with tiny angels. It is an easy plant to take care of since it needs no pruning, but it does require bright light, regular water and fertilizer such as 9-3-6.<br />
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Half of the expert advice about Norfolk Pine says to mist them since their native habitat is a misty seaside but the other half say to never mist them or the tree will get scale and spider mites. The same is true of pruning advice: some recommend pruning and others say to never prune. Our tree is watered regularly but has never been misted or pruned.<br />
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As with many other houseplants, Norfolk Island Pine trees are fertilized during the growing season rather than year round. In the wild, they grow in rocky, sandy, slightly acid soil so when planting and re-potting give them soil with plenty of drainage by adding perlite or sand to your regular potting soil.<br />
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There are 18 species of evergreen, coniferous trees in the Araucaria genus. They are from zones 9-11 in tropical rainforests that have a dry season, including New Guinea, Australia and Brazil. Norfolk Pine can be grown from seed and cuttings.<br />
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Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-64462959689522350842019-06-30T06:00:00.001-07:002019-06-30T08:41:28.873-07:00Plants Saved WWII - Judith Sumner <a href="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9e9832_aecae0aefef14d90b26c5da83d512c61~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_420,h_590,al_c,lg_1,q_80/9e9832_aecae0aefef14d90b26c5da83d512c61~mv2.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for judith sumner" border="0" height="200" src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9e9832_aecae0aefef14d90b26c5da83d512c61~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_420,h_590,al_c,lg_1,q_80/9e9832_aecae0aefef14d90b26c5da83d512c61~mv2.webp" width="142" /></a>MUST-HEAR TALK Free and open to public<br />
Plants Go To War: A Botanical History of World War II<br />
July 8, 7 pm, Tulsa Garden Center<br />
Judith Sumner speaking<br />
Info Sandy Dimmitt-Carroll 918.693.9416<br />
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Today, many medications are manufactured in China but in the years leading up to the war, they came from Amsterdam. When Germany seized Holland, herbs were compounded as replacements. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMJCQpcZbLdqDI1xTdNjq10MkIzR7Ii3SZOm4VFNSPAT27BY0HZhqtqxA6SVGxQHiehZ_rFvQ9sMJAT4Se1GgmQoTT-gborO_IKS2DxNL2Imyc_ELCXP1hHDVDZF3OcE567BLG0ubWs4/s1600/Corn+Bi-Licious+Hybrid+in+our+garden.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMJCQpcZbLdqDI1xTdNjq10MkIzR7Ii3SZOm4VFNSPAT27BY0HZhqtqxA6SVGxQHiehZ_rFvQ9sMJAT4Se1GgmQoTT-gborO_IKS2DxNL2Imyc_ELCXP1hHDVDZF3OcE567BLG0ubWs4/s200/Corn+Bi-Licious+Hybrid+in+our+garden.JPG" width="133" /></a>During WWII small gardens were planted across the US and England to feed the people at home, resulting in 40% of Americans’ food coming from Victory Gardens. US-produced meat and crops went to the troops while vegetarianism soared to 95% on the home front. </div>
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In a recent telephone interview, author Judith Sumner talked about her new book, “Plants Go to War”. Sumner grew up hearing about plant compounds, rubber scarcity, synthetic tires, synthetic chewing gum for soldiers’ ration packs, and more, from her father who was an Army chemist.</div>
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Sumner’s book outlines WWII agriculture, from identifying war needs to the discoveries that provided food, farming practices, cookery, compounded medications and penicillin.</div>
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In England, Vegetable Drug Committees sent women and children into the countryside to collect and dry Valerian, Henbane, Chestnuts, etc. Children also collected milkweed floss that could be used as a kapok substitute.</div>
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The Army took up farming and instituted hydroponics, crop rotation, contour plowing and hybridized cotton and corn. They invented the idea of vitamins, and produced cookbooks with a slant toward soldiers’ southern food tastes, while scientists searched the Amazon for the rubber needed for tires and gas masks.</div>
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The Germans, on the other hand were not prepared to feed and clothe their people. The women prisoners in Ravensbruck concentration camp coiled rye straw to make boots for men at the Russian front; and, their people starved.</div>
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Tulsa Herb Society is sponsoring Sumner ‘s free and open to the public talk in which she will share how plants won the war. Her WWII history-hobbyist husband, Stephen Sumner, was her helpmate throughout the project.</div>
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Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-57517327763925989562019-06-23T04:49:00.000-07:002019-06-23T04:49:13.432-07:00Gooseneck Loosestrife or Icicle Speedwell or Culver's Root Light Up Shade<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXoeBxC1UVwA3evFQzI_EIWJZaoTQI4m8mnJIZshVHAbaEN4RrYsiSD09oy2qjmxqQn55bwXNdbZ8eeeeLHlIziSovJRXPIoCGqApst3VAcf0b2XWbXfF4XA3BL2G0XjjInv9DkbcwySU/s1600/Gooseneck+Loosestrife.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXoeBxC1UVwA3evFQzI_EIWJZaoTQI4m8mnJIZshVHAbaEN4RrYsiSD09oy2qjmxqQn55bwXNdbZ8eeeeLHlIziSovJRXPIoCGqApst3VAcf0b2XWbXfF4XA3BL2G0XjjInv9DkbcwySU/s200/Gooseneck+Loosestrife.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Gooseneck Loosestrife, Lysmachia clethroides, is one of those plants that generates an emotional reaction among gardeners, with responses ranging from appreciation to a level of dread akin to seeing Frankenstein on Halloween. This maligned Lysmachia came from China and Japan and loves the growing conditions in the US so much that it enthusiastically spreads out its rhizomes throughout the beds where it lives. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It is a perennial that disappears during the winter and returns double its size the next spring. The plants are 2 or 3-feet tall and have a characteristic plume of flowers in June or July, depending on where in its zone 3 to 8 range it is growing.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In a wild or difficult shady to part-shade location the white flowers light up the darkness and experienced gardeners understand that they may have to control its spread each spring by removing plants that stray from their intended spot. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">They prefer moist soil and thrive near ponds or wet meadows and naturalize there. They are less likely to be as aggressive if planted against a structure or in dry conditions.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In “Plant This Instead”, plant enthusiast Troy Marden urges gardeners to plant White Longleaf Icicle Spike Speedwell, Veronica spicata longifolia, and Culver’s Root, Veronicastrum virginicum, instead of Loosestrife because both are native plants that feed pollinators and are better behaved in the garden.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Icicle Spike Speedwell is hardy from zones 3 to 9, grows about 2-feet tall and has spikes of white flowers. Veronica’s flower spikes last a long time as cut flowers. The plants form bushy clumps that can be pruned mid-summer. They tolerate all soil types, part-shade or full-sun. Deer and rabbit resistant. Named for Saint Veronica.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Culver’s Root can easily be grown from seed as well as plants (prairie </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://moon.com&source=gmail&ust=1560893028827000&usg=AFQjCNHZgqDhRL6_o_r533uQB0-sPlvfwQ" href="http://moon.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" target="_blank">moon.com</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">). The plants can grow as tall as five-feet with their spikes of white flowers in summer. Happy in zones 3 to 8, shade or sun, with moist, well-drained soil. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The name of the plant genus honors the Macedonian King Lysimachus of Thrace (306 BC). </span>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-31520901065591686132019-06-16T13:51:00.000-07:002019-06-16T13:52:49.271-07:00Native Elderberry is Sambucus Canadensis<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">One plant resource calls native Elderberry, Sambucus Canadensis, a multi-purpose plant, and indeed it is. The flowers feed pollinators, the berries feed birds, the shrubs provide habitat and humans have used the plant in dozens of ways for hundreds of years. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Loaded with vitamins A, B and C plus some iron, the black, blue or red berries can be made into juice, concentrate, wine, jelly and medicinal concoctions. Although wildlife enjoys it, the raw fruit should not be consumed by humans. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Elderflower water was on Victorian women’s dressing tables. They used it for baths and to maintain a soft complexion. Elderflower tea was thought to calm the nerves, purify the blood, treat bronchitis and cure measles.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Commercially available Elderflower syrup is made from a flower extract. In Romania a beverage called socata is made by brewing the flowers with water, yeast and lemon, then fermenting it to create carbonation. Coca-Cola’s version is called Fanta Shokata.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Elderberries are made into syrup, jam, wine, chutney, fruit leather, salad dressing, muffins, and ketchup.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Driving around right now, large clumps of Elderberry Canadensis is noticeable along the side of the road because of the foot-wide flower heads. On sunny days the flowers are covered with pollinators from bees to butterflies. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The native plants grow into large clumps. They are pest free and mostly disease free. Thanks to DNA testing, Elderberries are classified as Adoxaceae, and no longer classified as being honeysuckle relatives.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The native shrub is tall and scrubby and mostly grown in a back corner of the garden. Dozens of hybrids have been developed that provide plenty of flowers and fruit without the imposing size of Sambucus Canadensis. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Online, the ornamental hybrids available include: York, Johns, Nourse, Samdal, Samyl, Lemon Lace, Black Beauty, Blue, Variegated, Scotia, Black Lace, Nova Adams, European Red, Acutiloba, Maxima, Nova 1 and 2. The new types are said to have more fruit, better form and more attractive leaves.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Native Sambucus Canadensis hosts plenty of wildlife in our yard. We share roots and prune it every year to manage its size.</span>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-54744860761349726242019-06-09T06:25:00.000-07:002019-06-09T06:30:34.383-07:00Crinum Lilies are Amaryllis<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4fFx-8ZJVOGo1Hug2RQEG7yqo_qhdCTbPM6ltM9792ZdxkUOWpbTpnyCxkYoBy_JOyt_fbm_f078RujqHlF8LkyLFuMmelnwXVvuIDyh1hFpCSfb5nobCQkG44dpC1RowaATSwzJsGS4/s1600/Crinum+Lily.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4fFx-8ZJVOGo1Hug2RQEG7yqo_qhdCTbPM6ltM9792ZdxkUOWpbTpnyCxkYoBy_JOyt_fbm_f078RujqHlF8LkyLFuMmelnwXVvuIDyh1hFpCSfb5nobCQkG44dpC1RowaATSwzJsGS4/s320/Crinum+Lily.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In some parts of the US, a Cemetery Lily is a Peace Lily but in the South, if someone talks about a Cemetery Lily they mean a Crinum Lily. Crinums stand up to heat, drought, rain and most soil types, all the while blooming for decades without care.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Like other Amaryllis, Crinums have strap-like leaves and produce multiple, fragrant flowers on each stalk. During their heyday in the 1920s and 1950s they were planted around homesteads and graveyards and many of those are still thriving. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Originally from Africa, Central and South America, they are only cold hardy as far north as zone 7 where we live. Even here they can be vulnerable in cold years so apply a protective layer of organic mulch. Crinums do not need to be divided, </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Bulbs planted now will bloom next year. I’m tucking some in this month to give them an early start in warm soil. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Crinum Lilies want full to part-sun. They do not need fertilizer but will not be harmed by receiving some nutrients if you are fertilizing an entire bed. Other than Swamp Crinums (Crinum americanum), most of them prefer good drainage.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">According to PLANTanswers.com/crinum.htm the best Crinum choices for our area are</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Crinum bulbispermum, Crinum moorei and Crinum powellii. Crinum bulbispermum is the most cold hardy and they can also be grown in containers and as houseplants. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Lilies have been grown for thousands of years, appear in Egyptian hieroglyphics, in several passages of the Bible, in Renaissance paintings, as part of the Anglican crucifix, and are the centerpiece of many occasions from weddings to being the symbol of a 30th anniversary. In Buddhism, lilies symbolize mercy and compassion.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I ordered from two companies this week. 1) Sign up for the newsletter at </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://jenksfarmer.com&source=gmail&ust=1559678727721000&usg=AFQjCNFWcdDMEN7mZE30zG6tpeuy_mhLKg" href="https://jenksfarmer.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" target="_blank">https://jenksfarmer.com</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> before ordering to get a discount code by email. They have bundle deal of 5 Cecil powellii Houdyshel bulbs. Jenks will soon offer a red and white Oklahoma Crinum. And, 2) At </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.longfield-gardens.com&source=gmail&ust=1559678727721000&usg=AFQjCNESIZOZDEnPlEfXVHfa2AzvHUk8Ow" href="http://www.longfield-gardens.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" target="_blank">www.longfield-gardens.com</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> the sale bulbs you order now will ship in the spring.</span>Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-39165660477879069042019-06-02T16:31:00.001-07:002019-06-02T16:31:46.587-07:00Old-fashioned Flowers from a Pack of Seeds<div class="gmail_default" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">When you first became aware of flowers they probably included roses, zinnias, wisteria, iris, pansy, snapdragons, and peonies. There are many hybrids now but the old-fashioned flowers are making a comeback because they are so easy to grow. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">In the 1950s, Cosmos were vegetable garden companion flowers that brought pollinators. Cosmos means harmony and balance in Greek, and to the Victorians they signified modesty. Their original single ray flowers may have been replaced by 40 new varieties (<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.swallowtailgardens.com&source=gmail&ust=1559322465664000&usg=AFQjCNEtgdp13mxRN0Ejsz2rmjVSoJckxg" href="http://www.swallowtailgardens.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">www.swallowtailgardens.com</a>) but the originals are still lovely.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Love-in-a-mist, Nigella damascena, is a European native. They have powder blue, dark blue, pink and white flowers with a mist of foliage in the middle. After they are visited by bees and butterflies, the seed capsule forms a little ball on a stem that is used in dried flower arrangements. Mediterranean native Love-in-a-mist is a long lasting vase flower. (<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.johnnyseeds.com&source=gmail&ust=1559322465664000&usg=AFQjCNETkPeIAngU7NyDTFam879wfVVXEg" href="http://www.johnnyseeds.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">www.johnnyseeds.com</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Spider Flower, Cleome hassleriana, has globes of airy pink and white blossoms on 4 to 5-foot tall stems. Native to South America, there are 170 Cleomes in their Caper family. Spider Flower makes a large plant that attracts butterflies, hummingbirds, hummingbird moths and bees. (<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.harrisseeds.com&source=gmail&ust=1559322465664000&usg=AFQjCNG3G5r7tFO2vOoSNxkSaj2y-29LiQ" href="https://www.harrisseeds.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://www.harrisseeds.com</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Sweet William, Dianthus barbatus, has clove-scented, red and pink flowers Their common name of Pinks comes from their petals being shaped as though they had been cut with pinking shears. (<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.dianeseeds.com&source=gmail&ust=1559322465664000&usg=AFQjCNFk-hwhCfMH9RTVFwRspSIiI_tI_w" href="http://www.dianeseeds.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">www.dianeseeds.com</a>).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Four o’clocks, Mirabilis jalapa has scented flowers that open as the sun is fading. The color choices used to be pretty basic but now they range from salmon to hot red. Their native range is North and South America and they were lost to cultivation for years. They are sometimes called the Miracle of Peru. (<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://parkseed.com&source=gmail&ust=1559322465664000&usg=AFQjCNESSkmAAPCmoZT-Gu2bZTB73Mv9bw" href="https://parkseed.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://parkseed.com</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">At one time Bachelor Buttons, Centaurea cyan, were found in every garden. They bloom from seed in a matter of weeks, putting out tall stalks of blue, purple, red and pink flowers. Plant them anywhere because Corn Flowers are happy with little care. (<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.jungseed.com&source=gmail&ust=1559322465664000&usg=AFQjCNE-hgvtrZXXVqmkvvR501Wgj3eUrA" href="https://www.jungseed.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://www.jungseed.com</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">All of these historic annuals are easy to grow from seed and many return the following year as seedlings scattered around flower beds.</span></div>
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Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-2013702883228982892019-05-29T05:28:00.001-07:002019-05-29T05:28:08.257-07:00Garden Tour and Plant Sale Muskogee 6.1.19<div class="gmail_default" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Master Gardeners Veggies and More Garden Tour, </span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">June 1, 10 to 3, $10</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Plant Sale at Honor Heights Park Papilion </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Tickets at Garden Locations</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Trudy and Sud Sudberry, 2701 North 64th Street West, Muskogee</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Pam and John Turnbull, 2906 North 24th Street, Muskogee</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Ruth and David Redding, 106 East Elm, Ft. Gibson</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The Muskogee County Master Gardeners Veggies and More Garden Tour next Saturday will have plenty of unique features to attract gardeners and plant lovers. The tour gardens have annual and perennial flowers, succulents, vegetable gardens and herbs to show and talk about. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">At the beginning of each hour there will be talks about gardening topics ranging from raised beds to irrigation and insect control.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The Sudberry’s garden is remarkable. A flower and herb garden hugs the house and shed. Down the hill, a fenced vegetable and fruit garden has raised beds, vines and fruit trees.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Along the sidewalks look for Hosta, Hydrangea, Azalea, Helebore, Solomon’s Seal, Begonias and Ajuga. As the path turns to the side of the house, there are Roses, Salvia, Penstemon, Aster, Monarda, Lillies, Iris, Rudbeckia, and more.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">In front of a repurposed chicken house there is a garden cart and a three-tiered, rock-wall, herb bed with Lemon Thyme, Sage, Rosemary, Chamomile, Catnip, Pineapple Sage, Parsley, Basil, Savory, Borage, Hyssop, etc.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The fenced vegetable and fruit garden has trellised grapes, raspberries, blackberries, hay bale planted tomatoes, dill, garlic, onions, greens and more.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">“We have gardened here for nine years,” Trudy said. “I spend an average of three hours a day in the gardens. Sud does the construction, mulch and tractor work, including the compost and the corn field. It’s a lot but when you get bushels of vegetables and fruit, it is worth it.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The Plant Sale will offer plants from member’s gardens grown from root division, cuttings and seeds. There will be flowers (perennial and annual ), succulents, herbs and more. The pricing will be from $1 to $5.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Muskogee County Master Gardeners will be starting a new class August, 2019. Information: Facebook <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.facebook.com/groups/184970331659258/&source=gmail&ust=1558941715675000&usg=AFQjCNEFEISiMZvmoavJBfoI36hA781gow" href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/184970331659258/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/<wbr></wbr>groups/184970331659258/</a></span></div>
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Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-69959537491470488222019-05-19T10:58:00.000-07:002019-05-19T10:58:06.829-07:00Garden Professors Investigate Myths<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9PFbyuiUYLFLMKo1-6WJxF9t6lDRC3jMR95ujjcmGbU_y9hEEDc2nlu9_fo640noVEz3vWtEA0YAaL5O_xiCS5AUkAEFVkjpgwWF1RIMpIRUluGF1dSn2g5pvIBLPEVnxMQdNGlGHvcA/s1600/snow+peas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9PFbyuiUYLFLMKo1-6WJxF9t6lDRC3jMR95ujjcmGbU_y9hEEDc2nlu9_fo640noVEz3vWtEA0YAaL5O_xiCS5AUkAEFVkjpgwWF1RIMpIRUluGF1dSn2g5pvIBLPEVnxMQdNGlGHvcA/s320/snow+peas.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The Garden Professors are a group of gardeners, extension agents and other scientifically minded gardeners who research and write about gardening, specifically, what is true and what is myth. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">One author quotes Will Rogers to explain their purpose. “It’s not what we don’t know that causes us trouble, it’s what we know that ain’t so.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Most of us have been unwitting victims of garden advice that was given to us with an authoritative tone of voice but without any scientific confirmation. Then, it is accepted as fact and repeated. The Garden Professors check out garden myths for us.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Examples of their projects at <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://gardenprofessors.com&source=gmail&ust=1558002602793000&usg=AFQjCNEYatkTzOiyRUwyvZbQIo5genU7zA" href="http://gardenprofessors.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">gardenprofessors.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Weed blocking fabric actually provides a great substrate for weed seeds to take hold. In addition, “all those pores in the fabric that supposedly allow water and oxygen to move through are soon filled with bits of soil.” Remove the weed cloth and replace it with wood chips. More information - <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bit.ly/1DgVejP&source=gmail&ust=1558002602793000&usg=AFQjCNEOaujpbtvs54Esgmle43MJWwBp_Q" href="https://bit.ly/1DgVejP" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://bit.ly/1DgVejP</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Epsom salts: Miracle, myth or marketing? Epsom salts are magnesium sulfate and gardeners swear by them for improving seed germination and overall plant health. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The studies that have been done on Epsom salts that show success, have been conducted on intensively produced crops that were actually deficient in magnesium. Magnesium deficiency can occur when excess water from rain or irrigation leaches nutrients out.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Excess magnesium can cause root disease, contaminate the soil and injure plants. More information - <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bit.ly/2WNUTW7&source=gmail&ust=1558002602793000&usg=AFQjCNGNmiIarUIdyvYH37jbfhh4UmpEjw" href="https://bit.ly/2WNUTW7" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://bit.ly/2WNUTW7</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The Myth of Companion Planting says that some plants love each other and others do not. It is accurate to say that diverse plantings attract beneficial insects, including predator and parasitoid species that help all plants in the area. Below the soil, plants whose roots entangle share mycorrhizal relationships, transferring nitrogen and aiding nearby plants. For example, nitrogen fixing plants in the pea and bean family take nitrogen from the air and store it underground where other plants can access it. More information - </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Get regular updates on gardening know-how at <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.facebook.com/groups/GardenProfessors/?ref%3Dsearch&source=gmail&ust=1558002602794000&usg=AFQjCNHWUAFBtQtQfla_RrnjHS09_2oYFg" href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/GardenProfessors/?ref=search" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/<wbr></wbr>groups/GardenProfessors/?ref=<wbr></wbr>search</a> and www.garden <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://professors.com&source=gmail&ust=1558002602794000&usg=AFQjCNEQ_eZ1R1FzPGta-7DQ03pWK045Jw" href="http://professors.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">professors.com</a>.</span></div>
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Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-81809745081382217722019-05-15T05:27:00.001-07:002019-05-15T05:27:43.300-07:00Spiderworts Love Shade<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Spiderwort flowers bloom for weeks at the base of deciduous tree trunks and shrubs, tucked among their roots. Each individual flower lasts only a day but there are several waves of little three-petaled flowers that keep the show going. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The most common Spiderwort is the American native Tradescantia virginiana or Woodland Spiderwort with blue and lavender-blue flowers. Tradescantia ernestaniana, Ernest’s spiderwort, or Red Cloud is native to OK, AL, AR, MO and MS. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Spiderworts are hardy from zones 5 to 9, with flower colors from rose-red to blue and deep purple. They share the same plant family, Commelinaceae, with 731 other so-called perennial dayflowers that originated in Canada and the tropics from the West Indies to Argentina.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Other Tradescantias with three-cornered flowers include Purple Heart, Tradescantia pallida and Wandering Jew, Tradescantia tricolor, often grown under trees as an annual groundcover.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Spiderworts are easy to grow in average, moist to wet, well-drained soil in part to full-shade in zone 7. In colder zones they can be grown in full-sun. We let ours grow without much attention but pruning the spent flower clusters will prolong the bloom period.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The flowers bloom in umbels (clusters) on top of stiff stems. At the end of flowering, you can cut the stems down for a more tidy appearance and just in case the weather allows for a second bloom in the fall. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Spiderwort can be planted in containers to prevent spreading and clumps can be divided spring or fall. If they are allowed to make seeds, the resulting small plants are easily transplanted or shared. Twenty years ago we had one cluster of blue-flowered spiderwort and now there are 10 scattered among the trees and along a fence. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Sometimes used medicinally and scientifically, spiderworts are not bothered by disease or insect damage. The leaves are eaten cooked and raw; the flowers are used as edible garnish.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Tradescantia is named for the botanists John Tradescant (1570-1638) and his son John Tradescant (1608-1662) who were the gardeners for Charles I of England. The Spiderwort name comes from the spider web-like substance that the stems secrete when cut.</span></div>
Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-17253056374645913352019-05-05T09:04:00.000-07:002019-05-05T09:04:28.368-07:00Daisies for Pollinators, Vases and Flower Bed Borders<div class="gmail_default" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqSAPCmsoZdilW6wduHk4vvYd0KIoTDe0c6cs9-8VMNCs8NdyvXaCu6fQ7FO2vIEHzWVMiF2VCXzepr7iO3_VIA9IEkaJuyzCa5e4uw2d5EreVx693IAZ-_OVHroBsMu3uP9X6MnLsINE/s1600/Juvenile+7+Spot+Ladybird+Beetle+Coccinella+Coccinella+septempunctata.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqSAPCmsoZdilW6wduHk4vvYd0KIoTDe0c6cs9-8VMNCs8NdyvXaCu6fQ7FO2vIEHzWVMiF2VCXzepr7iO3_VIA9IEkaJuyzCa5e4uw2d5EreVx693IAZ-_OVHroBsMu3uP9X6MnLsINE/s320/Juvenile+7+Spot+Ladybird+Beetle+Coccinella+Coccinella+septempunctata.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Daisies are among the most cheerful and reliable flowers for borders and cut flower beds. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Annual Marguerite Daisy, Argyranthemum frutescens, has yellow, pink and red flowers. They do their best when nights are 75 degrees F and below so when they fade with summertime heat, shear them back and they will return in the fall.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Annual Painted Daisy, Tanacetum coccineum, grow 2-feet tall in part shade. Remove the faded flowers and they will re-bloom in the fall. Pale pink Eileen May Robinson and James Kelway are easily grown from seed.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Gerbera Daisy, Gerbera jamesonii, are from Africa so they are frost-tender and enjoy summer heat with afternoon protection. Festival and Jaguar Series are multi-colored. Gerberas mature at 10-14 inches, do well in containers with regular fertilizer and water. Experienced gardeners may remember when Gerbera Daisy was called Pyrethrum, Painted or Persian Daisy.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Shasta Daisy, Leucanthemum x superbum is a garden workhorse that is a cross between native Oxeye Daisy and 3 other wild ones. Shastas thrive with 6 hours of sun, water in any week with less than an inch of rain and no fertilization. They bloom from spring to early summer and return in the fall.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Shasta Daisies are mostly white flowers with a yellow center disc. Cobham Gold and Horace Reed have double flowers; Horace Reed has an incurved center. Single-flowered Snow Lady blooms the first year from seed. Becky grows 3 feet tall and blooms from July to fall.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Sometimes Leucanthemum x superbum are tagged Chrysanthemum, so when buying plants, consider them all. Be sure to check plants’ roots in those pots. Slip the plant out of the container and look for good root development with no soggy mess from over-watering and no root death from inconsistent care.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">To plant from seed, loosen the soil 6-inches deep and work in 2-inches of compost. Plant seeds according to package directions and keep the area moist not wet. Thin seedlings to about 1-foot apart. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Everything’s coming up daisies speaks to their happy addition in landscapes and containers.</span></div>
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Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-57703348112736397382019-04-28T10:15:00.001-07:002019-04-28T10:15:23.656-07:00Arboretums for Learning and Walking<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpF-Q46q-6HyZSXZ2UpAoDFnAnnj0w4HbPzrOozWGEkBB96DE4QYpjf_rz7UtQxyTMp7dyzaHWGkEm-N-YoDmts8fAD2yGu_ToN03Qvn8S6DUpenyDlju5T3BhV_Ljz7pKg5J30dJm-98/s1600/C.+C.+Harrell+Arboretum+at+HHP+entrance.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpF-Q46q-6HyZSXZ2UpAoDFnAnnj0w4HbPzrOozWGEkBB96DE4QYpjf_rz7UtQxyTMp7dyzaHWGkEm-N-YoDmts8fAD2yGu_ToN03Qvn8S6DUpenyDlju5T3BhV_Ljz7pKg5J30dJm-98/s320/C.+C.+Harrell+Arboretum+at+HHP+entrance.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">There are dozens of beautiful places to walk and hike in the Muskogee area and the C. Clay Harrell Arboretum at Honor Heights Park is especially nice this time of year. The trees are filling out and many of them are in bloom. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">An Arboretum is a tree collection that is intended as a place to study trees. The first recorded Arboretum was in Croatia in 1492. If you want to add trees to your landscape, visits to an Arboretum provide opportunities to see many varieties at maturity, in flower, with fall color and their winter interest such as decorative bark.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixBLs7T8GiFfkKaFZ3iSkrOwzMpuHVYoxAHZ0bU6jo-6FS1oCq51GkQV8xVniJTK2YuX900O2JkH9gR63Ne9lwran8GEe0P5bS5eCrgRVAzu4aZimWxvoXzeagQkrTuWfxCqHX5QlqIqw/s1600/Amur+Maple+Acer+ginnala.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixBLs7T8GiFfkKaFZ3iSkrOwzMpuHVYoxAHZ0bU6jo-6FS1oCq51GkQV8xVniJTK2YuX900O2JkH9gR63Ne9lwran8GEe0P5bS5eCrgRVAzu4aZimWxvoXzeagQkrTuWfxCqHX5QlqIqw/s200/Amur+Maple+Acer+ginnala.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">A concrete, 3/4 mile path winds through the Harrell Arboretum and most trees are identified with signs. Recently there were flowers on Red Buckeye, American Smoke Tree, Flowering Peach and Amur Maple. The Crabapples are starting to form and the Japanese Maples have bright green new growth.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">City Arborist Tim Doerner said that Muskogee’s arboretum has 350-400 trees with only a few duplicates. Most of them were dedicated in honor of families, groups or individuals; there is a list of them at the kiosk.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Doerner said.,“ This year we planted a Royal Raindrops Crabapple, Cherokee Brave Dogwood, Arizona Cypress and Southern Magnolia in addition to a few oaks and pines from the OK Department of Forestry.”</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Each dedicated tree costs $300, including the original tree and a replacement tree if necessary, plus lifetime maintenance. New trees are watered by hand for at least a year.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">C. Clay Harrell was a teacher and principal, worked for the Corps of Engineers when Camp Gruber was built, served as Muskogee City Manager, worked on legislation to create the Port of Muskogee, and founded A More Beautiful Muskogee.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">On May 4 at 10 am join me at the kiosk for a 1-mile stroll through the Arboretum and around Swan Lake. May 4 is the first day of the Muskogee Wellness Initiative’s ‘Walk, Run or Ride the Trails’ week. The schedule of events is at<span> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bit.ly/2VWGw1b&source=gmail&ust=1556552356234000&usg=AFQjCNHrRb2LOKnu5rHr9Chehqm_2mLLAQ" href="https://bit.ly/2VWGw1b" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://bit.ly/2VWGw1b</a>.</span></div>
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Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-78364331131957097132019-04-21T12:17:00.001-07:002019-04-21T12:17:28.225-07:00Virginia Bluebells are Mertensia virginica<div class="gmail_default" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Any yard or patio with a bit of shade is a potential home for Native Bluebells. Mertensia virginica is a perennial gardener’s dream plant. They are cold hardy from zones 3 to 8 with pink-turning-blue flowers for two months, avoided by rabbits and deer, require zero care, and spread slowly to form colonies. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The oval leaves come up early spring, followed by the tiny pink flower buds and then the multiple clusters of 1-inch long, bell shaped, blue flowers. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Virginia Bluebells are ephemeral, meaning that after they flower and the leaves gather nutrients for next year, they disappear completely. Every year, I intend to divide our 10-year-old clump but spring is so busy that they are gone before good intentions become an action item.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Many gardeners over-plant their Native Bluebells with Hostas or Ferns but ours are just mulched, leaving their planting area empty the rest of the year. They mature at 2-feet tall and each plant is about 9-inches wide. They are happiest in part-shade, dappled shade or full-shade.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">When the flowers fade, they are replaced by 4-lobed fruits (schizocarps), with four, flat, brown nutlets or seeds per flower. Bluebells appear in native habitats such as floodplain woodlands, bottomland woodlands, along rivers and stream banks. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Virginia Bluebells’ 45 cousins include Borage, Forget-Me-Not, Lungwort and Comfrey. Butterflies, skippers, bees (bumble, mason, honey, long-tongued) and moths (sphinx, hummingbird) all enjoy their pollen. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">In Thomas Jefferson’s garden diary, he noted, “the bluish colored, funnel-formed flower in low grounds in bloom.” At that time, 1766, they were also called Mountain or Virginia Cowslip and Roanoke Bells. The roots were sold to British gardeners as early as 1730. The Cherokees used Bluebells to treat whooping cough and tuberculosis; the Iroquois used the roots in an antidote for poisoning.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The genus or plant family Mertensia was named for Franz Carl Mertens who was a Botany professor and there is a TX town named for him.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">PrairieMoon.com offers seeds and roots. SunFarm.com has deals on bulk root orders. </span></div>
Molly Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728709915410641970noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-91398260812922575292019-04-14T06:57:00.000-07:002019-04-14T06:57:02.308-07:00Dandelions, Taraxacum officinale have Many Uses<div class="gmail_default" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhec7KpRsyuMtZtQx6_xJf1_EYBYQXQdh79-tKrQy_PkB3cDmTXwy5EDshGn3f6-S_ORoXV0-ZeaGdn-cXP3kduG-elPh6hsJqr_B5ebEUTjX3ZGRih5vJMHw8L7sbiMflJw6NPd2ArCdg/s1600/Dandelion+w+Bee.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhec7KpRsyuMtZtQx6_xJf1_EYBYQXQdh79-tKrQy_PkB3cDmTXwy5EDshGn3f6-S_ORoXV0-ZeaGdn-cXP3kduG-elPh6hsJqr_B5ebEUTjX3ZGRih5vJMHw8L7sbiMflJw6NPd2ArCdg/s320/Dandelion+w+Bee.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Dandelions, Taraxacum officinale or T. vulgare, are a member of the Sunflower plant family and their spring flowers are a source of nutrition for bees as they emerge in the spring. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">When we were growing up in rural southwest Ohio, our grandmother sent us out to collect dandelion greens for her salad, calling them her spring tonic. By example, she taught us old-world nutrition (plus gardening, baking and yoga). </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Now that we have food science, it is widely-accepted that 1-cup of dandelion greens contains 25 calories, 500% of the daily recommended vitamin K and 100 % of vitamins A and C. They have been used medicinally for thousands of years. Today Dandelions are widely used in herb teas such as Pukka.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The roots are also roasted to use as a chicory coffee substitute and the greens are said to be good for cleansing liver, kidneys, and blood, improving digestion, lowering blood pressure and cholesterol. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The Sprouts Farmers Market chain sells dandelion greens in their produce department but they are the farmed or cultivated varieties with lettuce-size leaves. Eipcurious.com provides recipes for sautéed Dandelion greens, FineCooking.com has a salad recipe and dandelion greens are frequently added to smoothies.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Pickled dandelion buds are used as a substitute for capers. Dandelion Syrup is made by cooking and infusing the flowers with sugar, water and lemon juice. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">To grow them as a garden crop, collect seeds from your yard or purchase seeds from Burpee.com, ArtisticGardens.com, or Territorial Seed. Grow them in part-shade to reduce their bitterness. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The gourmet varieties include: Vert de Montmagny, Ameliore a Coeur Plein, and Arlington Dandelion. White, Pink and Russian Dandelion seeds are available from PlantGoodSeed.com.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Perennial Russian Dandelion, Taraxacum kok-saghyz, also called Rubber Root, is from Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan. Plant breeders at Ford Motor Co. and Ohio State University are researching it to replace synthetic car parts such as cup holders. In Europe they already have a prototype dandelion car tire.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Eat them, drink them or drive on them, dandelions are more than just a pretty face.</span></div>
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Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-17920544066536880782019-04-07T05:06:00.000-07:002019-04-07T05:06:41.815-07:0050,000 Daffodils at Bartlett ArboretumSouth of Wichita - A Must See Event<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Next weekend, April 13 and 14, historic Bartlett Arboretum will open for a tulip festival with 100 vendors. In addition to live music, art and good eats, there will be activities for children, including Teeny Tiny Town and Story Walk. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The gardens alone are worth the drive to Belle Plaine KS, just north of the Oklahoma state line and 30 miles south of Wichita. Dozens staff and volunteer groups have been working on the grounds to show off the 50,000 tulips that were planted last fall.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Bartlett has shade gardens, a lake with an original bridge, a creek-side walk, an historic home and train depot, outdoor concert amphitheatre with lawn seating and a new Victory Garden and hoop house.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Robin Macy and her husband Kentucky White bought the shuttered property in 1997 and have invested their hearts, energy, math teacher salary, and musician incomes into Dr. Bartlett’s 1914 home. Still active in their music careers, both played with the Dixie Chicks; Macy’s musical home now is the Cherokee Maidens. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Art in the Arb musicians include: Mike & Minnie Martin’s Irish Ceilidh, Hwy 55 Homegrown Country, Senseny Aerotones BigBand, ErinAllen Project, Side Car Royals, Dear Friends Bluegrass & Gospel and more.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">AmeriCorps volunteer, Kathleen Schulte joined Bartlett last year with a goal of providing locally grown produce from the Arboretum’s property. They already sell produce to Luciano’s Restaurant in nearby Mulvane KS; Schulte’s plan is to have a market on site during upcoming concerts and events.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">IF YOU GO </span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The Bartlett Arboretum </span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">201 North Line, Belle Plaine KS</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Art at the Arb </span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">April 13 & 14 </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.bartlettarboretum.com&source=gmail&ust=1554662226164000&usg=AFQjCNG8Zir7rfb7Lztyfy-pOTUdtlpjog" href="http://www.bartlettarboretum.com/" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">www.bartlettarboretum.com</a> <span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">thebartlettarboretum - Instagram</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Robin Macy on Facebook </span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Phone 620-488-3451</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">A video of Bartlett’s history at <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://bit.ly/1jh4rzP&source=gmail&ust=1554662226164000&usg=AFQjCNFj17BNt2yVngoDXIr_4DRpVS8jjQ" href="http://bit.ly/1jh4rzP" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1jh4rzP</a>) says that the first 40,000 tulips were planted in the 1930s.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The Brooklyn Museum’s “Georgia O’Keefe: Art, Image, Style” show will be at the Wichita Art Museum the same weekend. Wichitaartmuseum.org </span></div>
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Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-63095569960413313482019-03-30T18:22:00.000-07:002019-03-30T18:22:26.548-07:00Henbit is Blooming Everywhere!<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYBKp8ebx7KkETKZhxaoXFiihKrGN6lyeq_FTwK85hAbM-fBt4Jr-_CnHvPm6HOxGspRRZkEUY64rOGVAyXub61AYEBH8ObHa-u798WTv7DBMnxwlCIdyI0M_VyoA8dEwebC8XSDhqjDA/s1600/Henbit+w+stem.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYBKp8ebx7KkETKZhxaoXFiihKrGN6lyeq_FTwK85hAbM-fBt4Jr-_CnHvPm6HOxGspRRZkEUY64rOGVAyXub61AYEBH8ObHa-u798WTv7DBMnxwlCIdyI0M_VyoA8dEwebC8XSDhqjDA/s320/Henbit+w+stem.JPG" width="213" /></a><span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Wherever you drive now, you see patches of Henbit’s lavender and purple flowers on purple stems. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Henbit can be confused with Purple Dead Nettle (Lamium purpureum) though Henbit has heart-shaped leaves and Purple Dead Nettle has triangle shaped leaves that cluster in clumps. Both are winter annuals that get their start in the fall, form a small rosette of leaves in the winter and then have those carpets of flowers in the spring. Seed formation follows and the plants die in the summer.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Henbit leaves are high in iron, vitamins and fiber; it can be boiled, then cooked with butter, spices and a sour cream white sauce. Highly valued by foragers, Henbit and Dead Nettle are added to smoothies, cooked and eaten raw. Henbit is also eaten by some animals and can cause ‘staggers’ in sheep, horses and cattle.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Henbit’s Latin name is Lamium amplexicaule, with amplexicaule meaning clasping, or, how the leaves clasp the stems. Lamium is from Lamia, a Greek mythology creature name as such because the flowers resemble small creatures. The Henbit name is because hens enjoy eating it. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Spotted Deadnettle, Lamium maculatum, is widely sold as an ornamental garden plant, but it is just as weedy as its cousins.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">All of these Lamiums are used as pollen and nectar sources for long-tongued bees such as honey bees, bumble bees and digger bees. Many birds eat the seeds. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Henbit, Purple Dead Nettle and Spotted Deadnettle have the characteristic square stem that all mints have. Ground Ivy is also a mint (Lamiaceae family) but has pale blue tubular flowers. Henbit’s leaves whorl around the stem and the flowers form long tubes when they are fully open. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Whether Henbit, Spotted Deadnettle and Purple Dead Nettle are weeds, bee pollen, salad greens or free spinach is up to you but if you decide to eat them, limit your consumption since they are reputed to be an excitant, fever-reducer, laxative, stimulant and to induce sweating. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Resources: Eat The Weeds.com, Identify That Plant.com, Foraged Foodie.com and A Forager’s Life.com</span></div>
Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-42468933354510725302019-03-24T16:30:00.001-07:002019-03-24T16:30:27.654-07:00My Seed-Startging Tips<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">There are dozens of lists of seed-starting tips out there. Here are mine. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfqCP_NOhAMRlslsI5ZqunIWZsESO_q0sdkm1r1X6mIMeu1EvppTJaFhfeTAxj2rgJMg0TmQqhm4aVLS5-d8vkrz-xowntAMlAurXeHdk9dzR3RRxBRqKjqdn3UnMyYPwIOEjeFWGkwA/s1600/seedlings+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfqCP_NOhAMRlslsI5ZqunIWZsESO_q0sdkm1r1X6mIMeu1EvppTJaFhfeTAxj2rgJMg0TmQqhm4aVLS5-d8vkrz-xowntAMlAurXeHdk9dzR3RRxBRqKjqdn3UnMyYPwIOEjeFWGkwA/s320/seedlings+013.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Seeds packaged for the current year are most likely to germinate, or come up, with healthy sprouts. Planting instructions on the package indicate planting depth, sun requirement, soil temperature, how far apart to plant, etc. Many online resources such as <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://parkseed.com&source=gmail&ust=1553350597081000&usg=AFQjCNEhTFW4uU2bva9QPtTIc9Co-OmddA" href="https://parkseed.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://parkseed.com</a> have ‘Know Before You Grow’ tip sections.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">For best germination results, plant seeds in sterile soil in containers or in a well-prepared bed. We start seeds in those greenhouse-imitating, clear plastic, clamshell containers from strawberries or other fruit. Mark each container or row with seed type and planting date.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Soak or scarify large seeds, provide cold treatment, etc. according to the directions. Add no fertilizer; seeds have everything they need.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The first leaf or set of two leaves are called cotyledon. Grasses (monocots) have one; most other plants have two tiny leaves on their first stem. Gymnosperms (pine) can have 24 cotyledons. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The next set of leaves are called true leaves, Seedlings are not divided until they have one or two sets of true leaves. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Divide seedlings: Fill containers and moisten the soil. Let the soil drain while you make pencil-size holes in the center of each container. Use a popsicle stick to dig small clumps of seedlings. Hold single seedlings by the leaves, carefully untangle the roots, and plant, firming the soil around the stems. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Provide: 55 to 70 degree soil, 8 hours of light, and air circulation from a fan in order to prevent diseases such as damping off. Water the soil from the bottom and remove the water so the seedlings are never soaking or waterlogged. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">To harden off: When seedlings are established, put them outside on warm, sunny days to strengthen the stems. Keep them out of direct sun at first, gradually increasing sun exposure over time.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Many wonderful garden plants are available only from seed and entire beds can be planted for $5 or $10. There are few garden activities that are as rewarding and fun as growing from seed.</span></div>
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Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-74485151686634052052019-03-18T07:27:00.002-07:002019-03-18T07:27:34.654-07:00Grow A Scented Garden<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMLfSEGBdNKsVfiq8fD2YYo4LKPdXGlX0JOpQFdQc9HAGLXqAZUqnvHOCAwMk32uI_Ab-FpdbHFJQ4UjOX-VW1hERTXk0tFzZz8np2x2TltXLWl5HplAiDd57-pB-epCwjAo_st7XdfL4/s1600/mock+orange.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMLfSEGBdNKsVfiq8fD2YYo4LKPdXGlX0JOpQFdQc9HAGLXqAZUqnvHOCAwMk32uI_Ab-FpdbHFJQ4UjOX-VW1hERTXk0tFzZz8np2x2TltXLWl5HplAiDd57-pB-epCwjAo_st7XdfL4/s320/mock+orange.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Using plants with scented flowers, leaves and stems adds another reason to go outside, even on the hottest days. Of course, we think of Lilacs, Mockorange, Roses, and Flowering Tobacco but there are so many more that add to the experience of being out in the yard, on a patio, or in public gardens. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many annual, perennial, woody and herbaceous plants call out to be touched. It is irresistible to reach out and touch Basil, Borage, Lavender, and Parsley, or, to stop and smell Pine, Mint, Jasmine, Rosemary, Alyssum, Dianthus, and Thyme. And, the scent of spring bulb flowers such as Hyacinths, Daffodils and Fritillaria all make us bend to their height.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Several scented plants bloom only at night and are pollinated by moths. Datura is a favorite because it begins to unfurl late in the afternoon and will bloom while you stand there for a few minutes. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The visually impaired and children are drawn to a scented garden. Sometimes new hybrids of old fashioned plants lack the deep fragrance of the flowers from our memories. Nicotiana, Flowering Tobacco, and Heliotrope have new hybrids with larger flowers but very little scent. Look for seeds from heirloom seed companies such as Seedsavers.org.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Plants with aromatic leaves can also add depth to your walk around the yard in the evening. The aromatic essential oils are released when you brush by them or crush a leaf between your fingers. These have scent: Boxwood, Spicebush (Lindera benzoin), Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana), Pawpaw (Asimina triloba), Wax Myrtle (Myrica cerifera), Sassafrass, Citrus, and Eucalyptus.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scent from flowers evolved to attract pollinators so the fruiting cycle could continue. Plants such as Skunk Cabbage and Arum use offensive odors to attract their specialized pollinators, flies.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #073763; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Plant scented shrubs, flowers and herbs on a pathway and in containers where you sit or walk. A collection of scented Geraniums could include: Lemon, rose, licorice, chocolate, Citronella, etc. Mountainvalleygrowers.com offers 20 scented Geranium varieties.</span><div class="yj6qo ajU" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; cursor: pointer; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 2px 0px 0px; outline: none; padding: 10px 0px; width: 22px;">
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Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-86454898439794756362019-03-10T08:17:00.000-07:002019-03-10T08:17:19.136-07:00Herb Beds from Cuttings<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Fresh herbs contribute scent, flavor and flowers for our gardens and our kitchens. Whether they are in the ground or in containers, just give them soil that drains well and plenty of sun. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Common herbs can be purchased as small plants in the spring at many vendors but the plants vary in quality. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">With seeds and cuttings, an herb bed can be grown inexpensively. When planting from seed, remember that herbs need room to spread. Rosemary, Sage, and Oregano need 4 feet; Basil and Thyme, 2-feet; Cilantro, Dill, Chives and Parsley need at least one foot. Mint travels everywhere by rhizomes.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">To build your collection, ask fellow gardeners for cuttings so you can collect varieties that do well in your local weather and soil. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">These herbs are fairly easy to grow from cuttings: Lavender, Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, Mint, Basil, Marjoram, Sage, Savory, Scented Geranium, Monarda (Bergamot for tea and salad), Sweet Woodruff, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena and Pineapple Sage.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The three types of cuttings are: 1) Softwood is green and pliable, roots in water; 2) Semi-hardwood cuttings are bit pliable but turning brown, roots in moisture, sand or soil; and, 3) Hardwood from last year’s growth is unbendable, may need rooting hormone, soil or sand.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Example: To take Rosemary stem cuttings - A 10-inch stem will have Softwood on the top, Semi-hardwood in the middle and Hardwood on the bottom. Separate into three sections with clean shears.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Make a cut below a leaf and remove all but the top leaves. Stand the cuttings in a container of water, lightly cover with plastic and keep out of direct sun. Change the water weekly. In 2-4 weeks, rooted stems will be ready to transfer to potting-soil-filled containers and then into the garden when they are strong.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Take more cuttings than you need since some will not root. Grow extras for gift-giving and swapping with other gardeners. You never know what treasures you’ll receive in return.</span></div>
Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23439295647377206.post-2514290756817743632019-03-03T11:05:00.000-08:002019-03-03T11:05:34.936-08:00Save Native Bees - Plant Flowering Trees<div class="gmail_default" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHIrY7oP6gPKKzmWVWFFskJpSViknkCxdvnogZAZF9t5zaGHS34IPs-Itxzi3n_fZn77sqB0Rh6Wk5O-Z5816ne4wpXEeUb7Qzy7JoJzH8OuMkZGR6e2F4G9v-Q2Qz5R_8qIThmf9cUA/s1600/Plum+Tree+Flowers+March.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHIrY7oP6gPKKzmWVWFFskJpSViknkCxdvnogZAZF9t5zaGHS34IPs-Itxzi3n_fZn77sqB0Rh6Wk5O-Z5816ne4wpXEeUb7Qzy7JoJzH8OuMkZGR6e2F4G9v-Q2Qz5R_8qIThmf9cUA/s200/Plum+Tree+Flowers+March.JPG" width="133" /></a><span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The push to plant milkweed in home gardens to save Monarch Butterflies from extinction is working. Now it’s time to focus on saving bees.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">The flowers on native trees play a big role in providing food and habitat for endangered native bees. This cool weather is the best time to plant trees. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">These are some bee-favorites -</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">American Basswood, Tilia Americana, is native in the US from New England through Northeast Oklahoma and South Carolina. Basswood likes humid summers, cold winters and 20-40 inches of rain annually. The edible flowers produce high quality honey. Related to Rose of Sharon, Linden and Mallow. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Southern Magnolia, Magnolia grand flora, and Sweetbay Magnolia, Magnolia virginiana, are native from MA through OK and TX, especially in wet areas and swamps. These full sun to part-shade trees flower early summer. They mature at 30 to 50 feet tall with a 20 foot spread. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Cherry and Plum, Prunus species (Chokecherry, Prunus virginiana, Black cherry, Prunus serotina) are native here and make excellent hedges for pollinators and wildlife. Fairly easy to grow in full sun and loaded with flowers Also, the caterpillars of Red Spotted Purple, Hairstreak and Tiger Swallowtail eat the leaves. These trees colonize so allow plenty of room for them to spread.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Native Redbud, Cercis species, is commonly seen on shady, wet, hillsides and along forest edges. The spring flowers give bees some early pollen. Cercis Canadensis var texensis Oklahoma is an eastern Redbud bred for hotter climates. Sun to part-shade.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTBewzi56H1MgYLxsCF3WLYO6pQhdswpliXDyR13v8oswSOH8QwGAiADaCzIcH5Od1YRTuVgeyRQJENTT1ePzNtG72CTqCAvKtAlx6q6iuu4CUYiURkQ4yilJY_3LACdawJ6UxkxpzLHQ/s1600/12+Meadow+Serviceberry+new+planting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTBewzi56H1MgYLxsCF3WLYO6pQhdswpliXDyR13v8oswSOH8QwGAiADaCzIcH5Od1YRTuVgeyRQJENTT1ePzNtG72CTqCAvKtAlx6q6iuu4CUYiURkQ4yilJY_3LACdawJ6UxkxpzLHQ/s200/12+Meadow+Serviceberry+new+planting.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"> Serviceberry, Amelanchier, is an early-season pollen source for bees. In the summer the berries can be harvested for jam or left for wildlife food. Matures at 15-feet, has red leaves in the fall, needs no spraying.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Tulip Poplar, Liriodendron tulipifera, a significant source of nectar for bees. Matures at 60-90-feet. Prefers moist, well-drained soil and full-sun. Showy flowers, good shade tree, tolerates deer, clay soil and black walnut tree roots.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Visit the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://xerces.org&source=gmail&ust=1551584819609000&usg=AFQjCNGVY5k4iD6-oEB3ZwyYGlExt9-mqQ" href="https://xerces.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://xerces.org</a>) to learn more.</span></div>
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Mollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14402408713373180775noreply@blogger.com0