All the Dirt on Gardening

Alcea Rosea's everyday name is Hollyhock. There is nothing every day looking about its buds, flowers, leaves or seed pods. The old fashioned singles are still my favorite though there are doubles that look like peony flowers. Prairie Mallow is called a miniature Hollyhock but does not really resemble the 4-foot tall cousin that takes 2-years to bloom. The Streambank Wild Hollyhock is actually Iliamna rivularis - not an Alcea at all. The resemblance is their plant family, the Mallows. Another relative is Abelmoschus Medik. or okra which some people grow for its flowers and others grow for its fruit. Another significant collection of relatives is all the Hibiscus Genus including Hardy Hibiscus or Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus syriacus . This particular relative has a habit of spreading seed everywhere and is disliked by some gardeners because it takes its time leafing out in the spring. Althea L. marshmallow is widely used by herbalists for soothing the respiratory (coughs and so...

One native plant can make a huge difference in the future of butterflies, birds and humans. Photo Monarch larva are on milkweed in the yard during their migration through Oklahoma to Mexico last fall. Whether you grow a potted plant or a farm, everyone can help stop the extinction of American insects, birds and animals by planting one native plant each year. Tulsa Audubon Society annual tour is this weekend with six home gardens that are wildlife habitats. One vendor will be selling plants, birdhouses and other nature items at each location. Mary Ann King, owner of Pine Ridge Gardens ( www.pineridgegardens.com ) and Marilyn Stewart of Wild Things Nursery ( www.wildthingsnursery.com ) provided information about some of the plants they will have available for your garden. Zanthoxylum clava-herculis — toothache tree /prickly ash /Hercules' Club is a host plant for Giant Swallowtail butterfly and songbirds eat the fruit. Native of all the states in the southeast US. Aromatic, sm...

Children may not like broccoli because it doesn't taste like sugar. Most adults have never enjoyed the delightful flavor of broccoli fresh from the garden or produce market or farmer's market. And, there is a difference! One of the many email newsletters I receive is from the World's Healthiest Foods . WHF says that one cup of steamed broccoli has 200% of the daily recommended amount of vitamins C and K. Plus it is reported to have cancer prevention "phytonutrients sulforaphane and the indoles, which have significant anti-cancer effects. Research on indole-3-carbinol shows this compound helps deactivate a potent estrogen metabolite (4-hydroxyestrone) that promotes tumor growth, especially in estrogen-sensitive breast cells, while at the same time increasing the level of 2-hydroxyestrone, a form of estrogen that can be cancer-protective. Indole-3-carbinol has been shown to suppress not only breast tumor cell growth, but also cancer cell metastasis (the movement of canc...

The garden is pretty in early June despite the 1.5 inches of rain and 50 mile an hour winds of yesterday. Lots of tall plants ended up on their sides, including the larkspur, cosmos, corn and Brussels sprouts. The first photo is the orange Oriental Lily surrounded by purple larkspur. In front is a cosmos and in back there are snow peas (the edible pea pod type) growing on the fence. Around the corner in a nook this pink Oriental Lily is blooming. It stands about 4-feet tall. Many of the poppies are still blooming at the same time they are making seed heads. Have you seen those commercials for vegetable juice? The V-8 ones where they pop themselves on the head? I had one of those experiences today while cutting back iris leaves and flower stalks. I picked up a pair of pruners and set out to trim. The result was like they were chewing off the leaves and stems of the poor plants. So, I traded for the new bypass pruners . Once again the job was easy with a better tool. Seems like I...

Photo: Hollyhock buds The New York Times ran a piece around January listing and defining new words and their use. We all know what SPAM is - it's the junk mail in your email box. BACON is SPAM you requested so it is of higher value. BACON includes email newsletters, discussions, photos, notices etc. My question is which emails do you actually look forward to? Which ones do you open even when you don't have time to read everything in the inbox? I have a few favorites - some are garden related, others are not. Let's trade.

This new book from Chelsea Green Publishing presents a fascinating approach to preserving traditional foods: Get them back into the foodchain. Not all the foods discussed by the authors are plentiful enough to eat but many are. The extinct or nearly extinct ones such as flying squirrel have to be brought back off the edge before they can return to the table. Chelsea Green publishes books for people who care: Their titles include the politics and practice of sustainable living, renewable energy, green building, organic gardening, eco-cuisine, and simple living. "Renewing America's Food Traditions: Saving and Savoring the Continent's Most Endangered Foods" has an overview of the history and decline of specific foods for each area of the U.S. The sections of the country (and the book's chapters) are named Bison Nation, Chestnut Nation, Chile Pepper Nation, etc. Northeast Oklahoma covers two areas: Cornbread Nation and Bison Nation. Some of the foods that are in dange...

Make a garden of animal named plants Expressions such as “red as a beet” and “cool as a cucumber” are common ways to use plant names in everyday conversation. And on the other hand, for some reason, many plants have been given animal names. Several zoos and botanical gardens used this idea and planted children’s gardens with animal named plants. The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colo., provides a list of their animal named plants at http://www.cmzoo.org/plantswithanimalnames.html . Glasshouse Works, an online plant seller, offers plants in two categories: Tropical Zoo Animal Plants and Hardy Zoo Animal Plants at http://www.glasshouseworks.com/zooanimals.html. One California landscape company lists plants by animal names at http://www.elnativogrowers.com. Grandparents, parks and schools are using animal named plantings to help children learn science and math as well as giving them another reason to be physically active. In one season, a garden could be completely transforme...