All the Dirt on Gardening

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.  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. 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.  The visually impaired and children are drawn to a scented garden. Sometimes new hybrids of old fashioned plant...

One hundred ten days from seed to flower, Black Knight Ammi is actually a carrot that bolts to make a 4-foot tall plant topped with over a dozen mauve heads. Each flower head is up to 5-inches across here, though the seed companies say they are 1 to 3 inches across. Black Knight Ammi Umbels (parsley family) include: Bishop's weed, Large Bullwort, Caraway, Chervil, Fennel, Helmock, Laceflower, Greater Ammi (Ammi majus), Toothpickweed (Ammi visnaga). There are 418 genera and 3100 species so it is not surprising that there are so many that are unfamiliar to us. I bought the seeds a few years ago from Renee's Garden Seeds and planted them in pots, then into the garden. I had no idea they had dropped seeds or that they would return. Needless to say, they are welcome. Renee's doesn't list them anymore but Johnny's Selected Seeds does and they are sold out. These seeds are not easy to find so I'll have to save some for next year's garden. Now that t...

The Not So Humble Umbel There is a family that includes sweet, spicy and poisonous among its almost 3,000 members. Barbara Lawton, award winning writer and photographer wrote about this plant family in her book, Parsleys, Fennels and Queen Anne’s Lace. Here are a few items from the book to whet your appetite to learn more and then add them to your garden. The family name varies from umbel, Umbelliferae and Apiaceae, but includes the plant that Socrates used to commit suicide, hemlock, and one of American’s favorite vegetables, the carrot In a telephone interview from her home near St. Louis, Lawton said, Gardeners can just wander around the mint family planting any of them. That is not true of the Umbels-parsley family. People don’t realize how poisonous some of these plants, like hemlock, are. Hemlock and Queen Anne’s Lace look very similar. What would Mexican food be without cilantro or German food without caraway? Sausage has to have fennel and potato salad has to have celery. All ...