All the Dirt on Gardening

The Budget Wise Gardener has just been released by St.Lynn's Press in time for spring garden planning. It's a great little book that you will probably enjoy reading as much as I did. It's equally good for gift giving (think house warming, new gardener, birthdays, etc.).  The author, Kerry Ann Mendez is well-known in the gardening and garden writer community. The book's recommendations come from luminaries such as Joe Lamp'l, Tovah Martin, Allan Armitage and Adrian Bloom. Mendez gardens and consults in Maine so her plant recommendations are primarily for that part of the world (zone 5) and can, for the most part, do well in our zone 7 humid climate. Oakleaf Hydrangea As indicated by the title, the premise of this book is having a great garden that is easy on your budget. For example, when you are shopping for perennial plants, look for them early in the spring so you can buy the ones that the nursery grew over the winter and therefore have larger root sy...

Most of us experienced gardeners grow herbs and vegetables and and some fruits in our flower and perennial beds and now it's become a movement. I've tucked cucumbers on the fence behind the perennials, grown cantaloupe vines and grapes on chain link fences among shrubs and flowering trees, grown pawpaws in the daylily bed, etc. A new book "The Foodscape Revolution: Finding a Better Way to Make Space for Food and Beauty in Your Garden" by Brie Arthur tells us more about how to succeed and introduces new gardeners to the idea of mixing things up. If you enjoy videos, here's a link to her 25 minute podcast https://briegrows.com/2016/10/ "Getting Dirty in Your Garden", brought to you by North Carolina State Extension Master Gardener Volunteers. Arthur's How-to:  •Use the existing landscape • Utilize a an ornamental base • Work with HOA Guidelines • Think Outside of the Box • Select plants to create an engaging space • Full sun • High traffic a...

In our area, stones are a natural part of the landscape. In fact, it's impossible to plant anything here without removing rocks and stones of various shapes and sizes. On our slice of property in NE Oklahoma, we have made stacked walls, walkways and flower bed borders with the natural rocks we have unearthed and moved. There is a new, extremely worthwhile little book out called " The Spirit of Stone: 101 Practical and Creative Stonescaping Ideas for Your Garden " by Jan Johnsen. It's loaded with beautiful photographs will inspire your creative process. There are simple project designs that home owners can accomplish on their own or with friends and family pitching in In addition, Johnsen has plenty of more complex projects that you may want to hire a professional to do for your landscape. The photos include ideas you may want to use for a rock garden, steps, viewing spots, dry stream bed, walk, foundation, stacked rock art, edging, or art. There are char...

The new book, "The Scout's Guide to Wild Edibles: learn how to forage, prepare & eat 40 wild foods" by Mike Krebill is being released this month by St. Lynn's Pres s. The handy paperback format will make it easy to tuck into a coat pocket or backpack and it's 190 pages loaded with information and recipes. The author, Mike Krebill was an award winning middle school science teacher for 35 years so, while the book has plenty of detail, it is completely readable. For each of the 40 plants covered the common and Latin name is provided along with photos of the entire plant and details for identification. Additional information includes: range, habitat, positive identification tips, edible parts and preparation, when to harvest, sustainable harvesting and preserving the harvest. Krebill says that he wrote about the 33 plants and 7 mushrooms that are his favorites and are widely found across the US. He included 10 activities that can be used with individuals...

"Late Bloomer - How to Garden with Comfort, Ease and Simplicity in the Second Half of Life" by Jan Bills,  is just out this month from St. Lynn's Press . The author is a second half of life gardener, herself, She says in the introduction that this stage of life gardening is about simplicity, beauty and harmony, comfort and ease, celebrating life with food from your soil, relaxation and letting go, She is now a professional gardener! “It is not about keeping up with others,” Bills said. “It excludes memorizing botanical names and identifying every garden insect or noxious weed (that’s what Google is for). Rather, it is an ongoing relationship, with deep and lasting experiences. For me, it is an opportunity to bring what I love to the garden; it makes me feel alive, rejuvenated and well. Gardens are my blank canvas, the one place to be fully expressed without limitation or prejudice. A garden is where hope is restored and relaxation is practiced.” Three of Bills'...

STOP LOOK APPRECIATE OBSERVE REST BREATHE Whether you enjoy a cocktail, a cup of tea, or a meditation time viewing a green space,  C. L. Fornai's newest book, "The Cocktail Hour Garden: Creating Evening Landscapes for Relaxation and Entertaining" will support your goals. To make your "green hour" special for you and your guests, Fornai suggests attracting night life such as night blooming plants, sensory-pleasing textures, pollinator attracting flowers and scented plants to please the humans. Actea Fornai's Recipe for Success includes these elements: Identify places in your yard that you enjoy; Set up seating areas for one, two and more; Add a floor of hard surface for feet and furnishings; Be sure the entertaining space is close enough to the house for carrying trays; Eliminate undesirable plants; Add garden elements that would make the space special. It's still early spring and there is plenty of time to do all those things before summer ni...

Between hiking, wild-crafting expeditions, children on camping trips and a simple walk in the woods, it would help us all to know what is edible and what is not. Nandina, Heavenly Bamboo, berries are not recommended for human consumption Children and pets are especially attracted to berries they see in parks, back yards and in the wild. Curiosity and the impulse to try everything at least once, make the distance very short between a brightly colored berry and a mouth. To a certain extent, we can avoid all berries other than the ones from the market but not all wild berries are bad. When you can identify the good ones, berry hunting, picking and snacking can be fun. Plus, if your child or pet eats a berry outside you will know if it is a problem that needs immediate attention. The common plants that produce berries include: Yew, Hawthorn, Cotoneaster, several Viburnum varieties including Viburnum trilobum or American Cranberry, Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina), Autumn  Oli...

This book,  Duck Eggs Daily : Raising Happy Healthy Ducks, is a fun read even though we can't possibly raise ducks here. Lisa Steele's first book, Fresh Eggs Daily, gave readers an equally informative view of raising chickens. The duck book though, is one of a kind. Steele's YouTube channel has 43 cute, cuter, cutest video clips of their feathered friends. Ducks are a different breed of bird, and, while Steele assumed that they could be raised together, she found that they were better if given their own individual space. Most notably because ducks play in the chickens' water dishes! Chapter Four: "A day in a life with ducks" explains the ducks' need for routine and how to be sure they are comfortable if you have to be away from home. Facebook Duck Eggs Daily What fascinated me is their nutritional needs. In addition to feed, ducks should get grit, egg shells, oats, probiotic powder, seaweed/kelp, brewers' yeast, garlic, dried herbs (fennel...

Garden-pedia is a new little book of gardening terms from St. Lynn's Press this month. Garden-pedia The preface of 6 full pages of heartfelt recommendations by over two-dozen garden writers compels you to want to find out what lies in the rest of the book. And, what you'll find is sort of a Wikipedia for new gardeners - in short, an ideal gift for anyone who has been gardening for just a few years or is just starting out.  If you are reading along in a book or on the web and come across the word angiosperm, this little gem will tell you that it is, "A flowering plant whose seeds are housed within an ovary." And, that heading is followed by a couple of paragraphs that clearly describe angiosperm as the opposite of gymnosperm, plants "whose seeds are not protected in an ovary". Moving through the alphabet, you'll find bramble, compost, fragrant, ground cover, inflorescence, metamorphosis ... well, you get the idea. This one is an easy to hold ...

While some plants remain old fashioned, basil keeps moving ahead with the times. There are now over 60-types on the seed and plant market to choose from. Some have large leaves and are used in place of lettuce for a modern twist on low-carb wraps. As an addition to herb and flower beds, basil has something for everyone – tall, dwarf, bush shaped, columnar, anise, citrus flavored, spicy hot for Thai cuisine, sacred, African Blue, ruffled, red, and variegated. They are all Ocimum genus in the Lamiaceae or mint family, native to hot dry areas such as Africa and Italy. Give them full sun and a little water. The Dallas Arboretum named Basil Pesto Perpetuo and Basil Boxwood plants of the month for March. Last summer I grew a 3-inch pot of Perpetuo in a 5-gallon container where it grew 3-feet tall. The pale green, cream lined leaves have a fresh pesto scent. Boxwood grows to form a 12-inch tall globe. PHOTO-MY BASIL PERPETUO LAST SUMMER Gardeners preserve basil by drying it or making it into ...

St. Lynn's Press just published "Tomatoes Garlic Basil" the latest book by gardener and garden writer Doug Oster. List price is $19 and the online price is $12. It's a lovely read and I was able to go through it today from back to front because the stories were delightful. In honesty, it could have been called Mostly Tomatoes with a Pinch of Garlic and Basil. Tomatoes are the bulk of the story - to page 159. Garlic is pages 159 to 197 and basil is pages 197 to 227. Oster's writing style will carry his readers along, with nostalgic remembrances, up to the minute gardening tips and recipes for savory dishes. Since it's a tomato growing book, let's start there. You will find gardening information on seed starting, pruning, staking, seed saving, pests, diseases and soil. Plus, heirlooms vs hybrids, tomato varieties past and present. And, future tomatoes as well, since Oster explains how to hybridize your own tomato variety to get the characteristics you seek....