Landscaping with Natives

 Virginia Master Gardeners have some archived webinars on using native plants in your landscape that are worth a look!

https://mgnv.org/reading-room/master-gardener-virtual-classroom/?amp

Pretty Menace

A couple of years ago, when I was waylaid by a health problem, I noticed this pretty plant popping up in my flower garden (the saga of my flower garden is a tale for another day). When I finally got around to IDing it (thank you Virginia Native Plant Society FB page), it had flowered and seeded.  It is purple fumitory, a non-native plant with invasive tendencies. I call it a type of "shot weed," you know, the kind of plant that shoots its seeds about when you pull it when the seeds are ripe (bittercress, another invasive does this, as do impatiens, I believe). This year, I have been staging an eradication campaign to root it up before flowering and have had great success, though need to have 'constant vigilance' (a la Harry Potter and The Dark Arts).  I make regular sweeps through the garden, pulling it up (alas, I did not get the main root when I pulled up the plant in the photo) and also squishing the tiny seedlings from last years "crop."  From this experience I have learned to ID strange new plants as soon as I note them, and remove whatever is an invasive bad actor.

What Happens in Our Backyard?

Want to know what happens in your very own back yard? Woods? Parks? I found a lovely podcast, Backyard Ecology.  I leaned about things I never thought to ask, for example: most lightning bugs (fireflies) don't eat as adults, some flash synchronously, some not. In one species, the males hatch first, climb a tree and latch onto the first female nymph they find so they can mate with her first.  This is a fun podcast, delivered in a conversational, non-jargony way, that opened my eyes even more to the world around me!

Find it at:

https://www.backyardecology.net/posts/podcast/

Book Review: Ken Thompson, Darwin's Most Wonderful Plants

 

This a delightful short book, describing Charles Darwin's fascination with plants and the many plant experiments he carried out at Down House...and some of these experiments were quite extensive!  The book starts with his experiments on twining, vining, and climbing plants and the way plants accomplish these behaviors (yes, behaviors! There is more to plants than meets the eye!). I sort of knew the difference, but still learned so much, about the strategies of honeysuckles, legumes, and Virginia creeper.  But the book also addresses pollination strategies, orchids, and the relationship between plants, nectar, and flowers.  The author fills us in with more recent research that often validates Darwin's explanations. I think this book will make me a more keen observer of what goes on in my garden!

PS If you are interested in repeating some of these experiments, esp. with kids, try this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Darwins-Backyard-Small-Experiments-Theory-ebook/dp/B01M4JOSRX

Ginger and Turmeric Update

 

Maybe I did start my ginger and turmeric a bit too early (mid-January)? The photo shows the size of the plants on March 5!  They have outgrown their dome cover. I am keeping them on a heat mat to provide local heat in my sometimes chilly sun room..fingers crossed! Target date to plant out is June 1. By the way, the ginger has the thinner leaves, the turmeric leaves are more rounded.

YIKES

I am sure you have all heard that seeds (and other garden supplies) are harder to find this year, as many people discovered the joy of gardening with their 2020 pandemic gardens.  Welcome to year 2 of pandemic gardening!  I have read that there are some strategies to use to get seeds: 

1. Check back with seed suppliers often, especially with smaller seed houses (not big ones like Burpee).  Smaller seed houses often have the seeds, but have limited ability to package them (limited packs to put them in and machinery to package them).

2. Be more flexible in terms of varieties.  The seed company doesn't have your preferred  summer squash? Read the descriptions and try another. You might find a new favorite!

3. Look at your older seed packs! Some seeds are viable for 4 or 5 years, like squash, eggplant, tomatoes, beans. Others are viable for two years- ex. basil and greens from the mustard family.  Others are not viable beyond one year- ex. lettuce and carrots.

4. Seed swap!  Join a local gardening social media page and swap away!  Seeds are inexpensive to mail.

5. See if your community has a seed library, either through Virginia Master Gardeners or your public library.

6. Look to non-traditional places to buy seeds, like grocery stores. 

I have recently hit a little bit of a wall in purchasing seed starting mix and peat pots.  Either the mix is not available, or the price has tripled.  If you have or can buy the components of a seed starting mix, you can DIY:

Seed Starting Mix Recipe:

- 4 parts compost 

- 1 part perlite 

- 2 parts peat moss*

Some recipes call for vermiculite, but I avoid this mined material. Perlite is not so great RE: the environment either, being a volcanic glass that is superheated.  You could try washed sand instead. *You can substitute ground coir for peat moss). (PS If you do find seed starter mix, try to avoid kinds with chemical fertilizers in them, like Miracle Grow. These harsh fertilizer salts are not good for tiny seedlings).

As for peat pots: I really like these, but in a pinch I can make a pot out of a few sheets of newspaper.  I curl it into a tube, staple the top together, and fold in the paper on the bottom to make a cup. You can buy specific molds for these, but I think you can DIY that, too.

Good luck all!

Seed Starting from the Williamsburg Botanical Garden (WBG)

 A very informative webinar from the WBG on seed starting is now on Your Tube: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_okQa3dUGC0