All the Dirt on Gardening

Columbine is a lovely flower to see in sun or part-shade garden spots. The bell-shaped flowers are a gorgeous red-hot-pink with yellow center and anthers.  Mary Ann King at Pine Ridge Gardens said in Plant of the Week -  " Eastern columbine is native to Arkansas and all states from the Midwest to the eastern shores with the exception of Louisiana.  Zones 3-9.   There are several misconceptions surrounding this lovely native.  Most folks think it is delicate – and I agree that it looks fragile.  But let me tell you it is one TOUGH plant.   It will grow in the full sun, out between two rocks, or it will grow in the shade or anywhere in between.  I’ve seen it growing out of boulders where it has almost no soil.  It is certainly drought tolerant.   I think it probably wouldn’t like soils that are too wet.  Hummingbirds adore it.  Bumblebees as well.   Grows from 1 to 3’ tall.  After flower...

Pete Carson opened Carson Borovetz Nursery for his annual Poinsettia sales event. Native to Southern Mexico, Poinsettias, Euphorbia pulchenima, dominate holiday home and office décor to the tune of 80-million sold each year. This year we are offering four sizes and most of the colors available, said Carson. Shoppers will find over 2,000 plants in various sizes and colors at the nursery. Here is a rundown of the poinsettias choices this year at Carson Bororvetz. Casual observers never notice the Poinsettia flowers because they are so tiny. The colorful leaves or bracts that bring seasonal cheerfulness into our winter environment are not actually flowers. Carson pointed out that even before the bracts turn colors you could see what color they will be by looking at the petiole or leaf stem. All the plants have green leaves when they are growing in October. But the stem that connects the leaf to the main stems carries the eventual bract color. Look for red stems on red poinsettias. Carson ...

Tulsa Sustainable held a meeting this week with a speaker from Root Tulsa , a project of the Kaiser Foundation. (Root Tulsa is a great app for things to do in Tulsa, sadly available only for Apple customers.) With the holiday gift giving season here, these two organizations came up with dozens of ideas for our conservationist selves to consider. In order to share the presentation with you, here are pictures of several slides. One of the ideas, Keep it Local OK, is not available in Muskogee, but is across the rest of Oklahoma. Purchase or give a $15 gift card for card holders to receive discounts at over 300 Oklahoma restaurants, stores, personal service businesses, clothing outlets, movie theaters, etc. Here's a list of the businesses that sell and honor the card. The emphasis is on locally purchased, minimally packaged items that take as little as possible while giving as much as possible Green, sustainable, gifting builds your community rather t...

No matter what you call it, this lily is a spectacular summer flower to grow on a fence or trellis! These summer blooming vines are cold hardy to zone 7 so we are weather compatible. A word of caution: many garden sites say they are hardy only in zone 9. Of course, they need a sunny location for the best flowering. Gloriosa rothschildiana A plant guru recommended Terra Ceia Farms so I ordered mine through them. The bulbs are 3 for $10 and ship in March. There are color choices, of course but I wanted the one I saw growing at the Mobile Botanical Garden, which is Gloriosa rothschildiana, one of the red and yellow varieties. Leafari planting guide suggests planting them with open structure perennials, "With their vining habit and need to something to climb on; flame lilies partner well with open-form shrubs, roses and sturdy mid-size perennials. They want dry feet and average soil, "Average, moderately fertile soil with medium amounts of moisture will be fine f...

Because the weather has been so wonderful, I'm spending 3 or 4 hours 'out there' every day. There are lots of tasks to accomplish inside the shed and the perennial beds had grown out of control since I didn't do much out there last year. Tropicals re-potted The tender tropical plants that are in the shade outside in the summer were desperate for pruning, pup removal, fresh soil and larger pots. Some of the succulents I've been starting with a leaf were ready for pots of their own plus pruning.  Agastache Apache Sunset seedlings The tiny seedlings needed to be transplanted to six packs, separated in the 72 cell trays and checked for true leaves and root length.  Perennial beds Salvia Azurea  Outside, I've been working on two large perennial beds that had become overgrown with phlox and other well-intentioned plants that need to be thinned regularly. I can't put photos of everything here because of space issues, but you get...

Cuttings taken from cold hardy perennials strike roots in weeks or months after being planted in potting soil, perlite or vermiculite and kept moist. Their containers need drain holes and the plants need a protective top until they strike roots and begin to grow. Here are some examples from my garden shed which is minimally heated and lighted. The Plums are considered practically impossible to grow from cuttings but I had to try. Forsythia, of course, is easily rooted to extend a green row with yellow spring flowers. Fig cuttings are a 50/50 deal for me so I plant more than I need/want. Lavender is also fairly easy to grow from cuttings. These will be replacement plants. American Plum Tree cuttings taken three days ago and planted in a plastic clamshell with a lid  Forsythia shrub cuttings taken in April have foot-long roots in November Three Brown Turkey Fig tree/shrub cuttings were taken a few weeks ago On the left is a Lavender cutting and on the righ...

Prunus angustifolia has many names but is delicious both for wildlife and human consumption.  Fall in the Ozarks We drove over to Arkansas a few days ago to visit Pine Ridge Gardens and buy a few shrubs for our back acre where we have fruit and food for wildlife.  Native Sand Plums Sand Plums are a great source of jelly making fruit if you can get any before wildlife takes them all. Chickasaw plum plants grow 15 feet tall and wide in a twiggy form. The bark is black and the stems are reddish.  MaryAnn King and Candy Feb through May, small white flowers and little red plums appear. The flowers have five white petals with reddish or orange anthers. The plums are cherry-like and tend to be quite tart until they fully ripen later in the summer. Chickasaw Plums thrive in low water, loose, sandy soil with sun to part-shade. The ones I planted two years ago have died without forming clumps because the area became too shady. Native range Prunus angustifolia ...