All the Dirt on Gardening

Thyme is valuable as a kitchen herb, feeds pollinators and makes a terrific ground cover.  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.  Thyme from the grocery store, is probably Thymus vulgaris, but I use Mother of Thyme for marinades, cooking and canning.  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. 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. 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...

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.  Common herbs can be purchased as small plants in the spring at many vendors but the plants vary in quality.  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. To build your collection, ask fellow gardeners for cuttings so you can collect varieties that do well in your local weather and soil.  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....

The verdict is in: Anise Hyssop is Herb of the Year for 2019 ( https://iherb.org/herb-of- the-year/ ).  This mint-family plant has a delicious French-Tarragon flavor for summer salads. Pollinators love it, too. In the photo you may be able to see the tiny bee on the left, flying toward Hyssop’s late-summer flowers.  Because of the leaves’ texture and scent, it is planted in children’s gardens and accessibility gardens. Also, since it is the same Hyssop mentioned in the Bible it is planted in meditation gardens. The first time I saw this Agastache in a botanical garden it had a place of prominence in a 10-by-10-foot bed surrounded by concrete sidewalk. The tag said Blue Giant Hyssop and I immediately ordered seeds. Other names include Fragrant Giant Hyssop, and Lavender Hyssop. We loitered there enjoying the colorful covering of pollinators.  Anise Hyssop, Agastache foeniculum, often survives the winter and scatters seeds so if the original plant dies, replace...

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...

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...

This lovely idea is fresh from the site of Portland Nursery and what a nice idea it is. There are so many edibles that are beautiful to look at. I always use sterile potting soil in hanging baskets and put in a few tablespoons full of water-retention beads. Be careful with those beads though. I've put in too many and the plants floated away. Soak them first and follow the directions for how much to use with which size container. Also, hanging baskets will have to be watered every couple of days when there is no rain falling. A mulch on the top will help the top stay moist. Basil is a great centerpiece for a hanging basket since it grows fairly tall. There are plenty of purple and red-tinged basils that would be pretty. A little garlic or green onions would be pretty there, too. And, what about a basket completely filled with assorted basil? Wow would that smell good and love sun all summer? Varieties abound . For fillers around the outside, parsley (flat or curly) would ...

Betony is more than reliable in my garden - it generously reseeds itself to the point that I pull out half or three fourths of the tiny plants every spring during cleanup. By March, the tiny plants are just a few leaves hugging the ground and are easy to remove as I'm taking off the leaves and last year's perennial stems for spring. Betony is easy to get along with - it has no special soil requirements and will thrive in sun or part-shade down to zone 4 cold winters. The flower spikes are at the top, then to both sides of an interrupted spike. The one in these photos spent the winter in the garden shed and is happily blooming and making buds. You can usually get unwanted plants from friends at this time of year. Most of my thinnings become compost. Established plants can be divided in the spring and they can be started from seeds. Many people use the leaves or the entire plant in many tea infusions and as herbal medicine, especially for headaches. The leaves are d...

If you ask a flower gardener about Sorrel they will describe lavender or pink-flowering, shamrock-like plants growing in their woodland gardens. Ask a vegetable gardener about Sorrel, though, and you will hear about a reliable perennial vegetable used to flavor salads, soup, sauces, seafood, and egg dishes such as spinach-sorrel quiche. A few gardeners call sorrel a weed that but they are usually  thinking of a different red sorrel, commonly called sheep’s sorrel or sour weed. Part of the problem is the confusion about identification. There are 200 dock and sorrel genus members including annual, biennial and perennial herbs, so it is easy to blame one or two for all the problems. The leaves of sorrels cultivated for cooking have a lemony-citrus flavor like kiwi fruit, that is loved by chefs. The leaves vary in shape and color based on variety, but they are all loose-leaf greens that tolerate more heat than spinach making them an ideal addition to the herb or veget...