Shredded Leaf Mulch

Shredded Leaf Mulch

If you have a riding lawn mower you can have wonderful shredded leaf mulch. Shredded fall leaves, combined with grass clippings, will make rich soil conditioner that will retain water and return nitrogen into the soil that you can’t buy at any garden center.

This time of year, people are raking fall leaves and bagging shredded ones, then dumping them at our local composting station so let’s look at some options.

A standard pile of drying leaves that haven’t been shredded. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Dried leaves can be good garden mulch provided the leaves are fully dry and not still green, or yellow. The leaves that aren’t dry yet need to be dry before applying to a bed but both can be used if this pile is first run over by a riding lawn mower.

Bunched leaves holding moisture that haven’t bee shredded. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Here is another leaf pile, this from the inside of one of those paper bags. See the black spots on the leaves? I would be tempted to skip this leaf pile, those black spots are an indication of some kind of spores on the leaves I would rather not spread to my garden.

Shredded and unshredded leaves are a good combination. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Now we are getting somewhere, this is a leaf pile with both shredded and regular dry leaves. This combination provides good immediate garden cover with the shredded leaves and will continue to work as the new leaves decompose.

Dry shredded and unshredded leaves combined with grass clippings. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

A combination of dried leaves with grass clippings will also work as long as there are more dry leaves than clippings. Grass clippings will quickly remove nitrogen from the soil and generate heat so try to keep the mix at least even.

My favorite pile, shredded leaves and clippings. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

This pile would also make an excellent composter addition, a mixture of both “brown” and “green.”This is the shredded leaf pile I have been bagging and hauling home to add to new garden beds. A combination of shredded dried leaves with maybe a quarter grass clippings. I wear gloves as I pack the bags in case the mulch included poison ivy spores. Even so I still managed to get a long scratch on my right index finger.

I have also been raking my dried leaves in my garden and moving them to cover garden beds but this shredded mix is a real treat for my flowers and one that will keep on giving next year.

Charlotte

Homemade Bird Feeder Covers

Can you guess that this bird feeder top is homemade? (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Bird Feeder Covers

This doesn’t come under the heading of major world developments but it is an inconvenience for the birds visiting my garden feeders after a good rain, snow and ice storm. My sturdy metal bird feeders are rectangular in shape and don’t have protective covers to keep the seeds dry.

When I checked into the prices for plastic covers, I balked a bit at paying the $59.95 and more per cover. The $60 cover was the least expensive I found. Most of the plastic bird feeder covers were closer to $75 each with some fitting only custom bird feeders.

I headed down to one of my favorite local thrift stores, the Community Partnership Resale Shop, and found three potential bird feeder plastic top candidates for $1 each.

Three possible bird feeder covers to keep seed dry. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Two of these bowls started their life as some form of kitchen utensil. The third open wire shape was a hanging basket missing the hanging chains so I thought I could wrap plastic wrap around it if the other two don’t work. If the first two work out, I still have another hanging wire basket so it’s all good.

Using a half-inch drill bit to cut holes, the two plastic bowls were then attached to the top and caulked with what was supposed to be a clear caulk for bathrooms and wet surfaces.

Not exactly a clear caulk but it is keeping water out. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

After waiting a couple of days for the caulk to dry clear, I re-attached the bird feeder hanging rings and took them out for a test in the upcoming rain.

One of the plastic bowls now keeping bird seed dry. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

So far so good.

The bird feeder tops lift with the plastic bowls attached so I can easily refill them. On closer inspection, the bird seed seems to be staying drier with their plastic umbrellas. Now let’s see how these work over the cold and wet holidays and if the birds get used to their new bird feeder decor.

Squirrels like to visit my bird feeders, too, even with their new tops! (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Strange-looking bird!

A wren takes refuge under the bird feeder cover during a snow storm. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

A sure sign of whether these work was during our first snow storm of the season.

Birds were sitting in the bird feeders taking refuge and getting a snack so I’m ready to say this worked quite well, don’t you think?

Charlotte

This Rose Truly Offers Double Delight

Double Delight hybrid tea rose has a lovely spicy scent. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

This Rose Truly Offers Double Delight

I am so enjoying this last rose bud from my garden. This hybrid rose was introduced to the Rose Hall of Fame in the mid-80s and won the All-American Rose award in 1977.

That’s a long time ago and something I missed when buying this rose. I picked it up on sale without knowing what kind of rose it was, not a problem for me because I love surprises.

One of the better growing conditions for roses is sunny days and cool evenings, which we have been having. I didn’t expect to see any roses blooming until I passed this rose bush and saw this bud falling over. The sides had a splash of pink while the bud looked yellow, similar to the colors in this vintage roses twin quilt.

Once in a vase, I had to check for a scent. Wish you could smell this rose, it’s fruity and delicious, just the way one would want a rose scent to be!

Double Delight hybrid tea rosebud a day after I picked it. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Don’t know how much red color the rose bud will have at this stage but I don’t care, my nose will happily spend the rest of the season enjoying this wonderful scent!

The Double Delight hybrid tea rose finally fully open! (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Once open, the Double Delight hybrid tea rose looks like a creamy white rose and lasts about a week as a cut rose.

Charlotte

How to Get Poinsettias Red Again

Poinsettia color comes from leaves changing by light deprivation. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

How to Get Poinsettias Red Again

Poinsettias are starting to pop up where I live, a sure sign of the holidays and as traditional to have around as Santa Claus. The poinsettia colors are from their leaves changing from green to red, for example, after the plant was deprived of light.

The poinsettia flowers are actually the tiny yellow pollen-covered centers.

Poinsettia flowers are the tiny centers where pollen can be found. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

There are a number of guides on how to get a poinsettia to turn colors again and I can attest that it is very simple.

This is a gift poinsettia from last year. It spent summer outside in a shady corner of my garden, then came in around September.

A one-year poinsettia after spending summer outside. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

I have to confess, I wondered how much this plant would grow outside this summer. When I lived in Mexico City in the 1950s, I remember poinsettias the size of trees in our backyard. I half-mused what I would do if this gift poinsettia had a growth spurt.

The plant was placed in a window in room that doesn’t get evening light. I tried to remember to regularly water it but I missed it a few times because it’s not a room I have been in much recently. The neglect didn’t seem to hurt the plant.

See now what I see?

The leaves are starting to show signs of turning red, a sure sign that it has been deprived of light for the requisite 6-8 weeks that triggers the leaves to turn red.

I’m now hooked and regularly visit the plant during daylight to watch the transformation.

Interesting to watch the leaves turning color. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Looking forward to adding this plant to my holiday decorations, so glad it will be around a second year!

Charlotte

Raspberry Cedar Arbor

The raspberry cedar trellis borders the front of a soon to be raised garden bed. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Raspberry Cedar Arbor

Old gardening books recommend growing raspberries in home gardens because they are delicate to move and hard to keep fresh. I decided to grow them because I love the berries and have had some in my garden in the past.

Helping the vines grow in a semi-orderly fashion has not been very - well, pretty. The recommendations are usually to build a flower bed with tall wires or to grow them along a wooden fence. Since I don’t like either, I decided to build a raspberry bed using cut down cedar branches.

I was inspired by my friend Tom’s garden. As a gift last year, he gave me an air compressor with a nail gun, a must to easily shape the cedar branches into fences, arbors and gates.

Frankly the part that takes the most time is cutting and collecting the branches. For several weeks, my pile of cut down cedar branches looked like I was getting ready to start a huge bonfire in the middle of my driveway.

Cut cedar branches in a pile waiting to become garden arbors. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

At first I trimmed some of the branches, then decided to wait until after I had them attached. There is a bit of art and a good dab of carpentry skills to not nail my finger with the nail gun but it is not hard to do. I found the most challenging part was choosing cedar branches that best fit the openings between the vertical supports, similar to one of my Irish Chain quilt patterns.

Here is my finished raspberry cedar trellis, now installed in the center of what I have dubbed the “berry patch.” This is one of several beds in the area. Another bed has blueberries.

I started by making the two short sides, about 3 feet long. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Each piece was made to size and separately, then tied together in the actual berry patch.

The large center arch was finished in the berry patch to make sure we had it covered.

Next came the almost 10-foot back fence. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

You can add as few or as many cedar pieces as you want. I left an opening in the top to allow sun through.

This is the other short side of the cedar fence. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

My raspberry patch has milk jugs sunk into the soil to help keep the soil moist.

Cedar branches are woven inside the fence border. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Established raspberry plants now wind their way around the cedar arbor. I also added a couple new potted raspberry plants that should fill up the bed nicely next year.

A raspberry now fills the corner of the cedar arbor. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

It may take several years before I have berry-producing canes but I don’t mind, I ook forward to watching this berry patch grow!

Charlotte

November Gardening Chores

Bring in favorite herbs to winter over in a sunny window, this is a rosemary. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

November Gardening Chores

1. Not the highest item on my November gardening chores list but one I am looking forward to doing, which is getting my gardening books organized all in one place in my renovated basement library.  Even though it’s easy to assume all books are available online, that’s not true, especially the more scholarly horticultural books.

 Other gardening chores for this month include:

 2. Settling potted plants into windows that will give them the light conditions they need. Some potted herbs in particular need good sunlight over winter.

 3. Check the last of the garden center plant sales and bury the plants still in their pots into the ground. Make sure to water and mulch so they will successfully pull through winter.

 4. Dry leaves make good flowerbed mulch. Add a layer of aged mulch on top of leaves to develop a good protective layer.

 5. It’s been very dry so remember to water. An inch a week is a good measure, especially for woody plants, such as azaleas and evergreens. When watering, check for damaged branches and remove. Once winter ice moves in, the ice will cause more damage than necessary on those weak and damaged limbs. I take pruners with me so I can also trim out suckers and branches that are too long, especially along where I regularly walk. No point in putting that off until later when the ground is covered in ice and snow.

If you planted mums, remember to water them every other week through winter so they can get established. I planted this mum last fall and it nicely regrew on its own this year. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

 6. Empty most of your composters on asparagus and strawberry beds. This year I will also feed my new raspberry and blueberry beds.

 7. If you have newly-planted roses, mound 6 inches of soil around rose crowns and add a layer of dry leaves covered in mulch for extra insulation.

 8. If you haven’t saved seeds for next year, split the difference with your local birds and collect half of your seed supply to dry. The other half will give birds a nice winter treat.

 9. You should be on the downside of the mowing season. Make the last cut when you see grass has stopped growing. Let clippings lie where they’ve been cut to restore Nitrogen to the soil. Have fun mowing over the leaves to shred and move them to flower beds.

 10. Did you pull a poinsettia through the year from last Christmas? I have two. They are now sitting in a room that doesn’t get evening light hoping the bracts will turn color in time for this holiday.

 11. Which reminds me, if you want your Christmas cactus to bloom next month, this is a good time to place it with your poinsettia. Mine started blooming in September because they are temporarily staying in my dining room as we finish the basement work. I’m good with the splashes of color any time of the year.

 12. Update your garden diary with what worked well and what you want to try next year. I have found it’s easier to do it now than to try to remember details mid-January.

 Charlotte

Forecasting Winter

What does this wooly worm say to you about winter? (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Forecasting Winter

Shortly after moving to Missouri, one of my neighbors tried to explain the rules behind woolly worm forecasting. As I recall, all black means a rough winter ahead; honey brown bands mean mild periods where the bands are on the worm. If the woolly worm has spiky protrusions, watch for ice. If it’s well, “woollier” than normal, better bundle up.

If the first wooly worm I found in my garden a couple of weeks ago is any indication, we should have an above normal warm winter. The wooly worm was all brown, a sign that the winter will be milder than usual. I think.

Although woolly worms may be the most well known, there are other interesting forecasters in nature:

Higher and larger ant and termite mounds mean a colder than normal winter. If they’re rushing back and forth in straight lines, rain is coming. When they go in search of food in random patterns, the weather will be good.

About this time of year I think about this winter forecasting sign and say to myself I would like to meet the person who sat around watching ants and then comparing their behavior to winter patterns. Then again, maybe not.

Bees nests built higher than usual means cold weather ahead. They also cluster around, and in, the hive when stormy weather is approaching.

It’s true honeybees cluster – they don’t hibernate – inside a hive when stormy weather is approaching. As a beekeeper, it’s one of the ways I know bad weather is moving in. Bees also move up the hive through winter, eating the honey above them. My bees mid-September were already in their second of their three hive boxes so I moved them down to the first floor. That makes sure they have enough food for winter.

Is that a good predictor of weather? Probably not, it’s what bees do when daylight gets shorter.

If you need to know the temperature, count the number of chirps in a 14-second time span of cricket chirping. Add 40 to that number and you’ll be within one degree. In fact, many insects tend to be more active when it’s warmer, including the sounds they make.

If flies land and bite, rain is imminent.

When Katydids begin their chirping chorus, you can expect the first hard frost in 90 days.

Seeing more spiders than usual? That supposedly means abnormally cold temperatures ahead.

If spider webs are flying in the wind, there will be no rain. If a spider puts up a web, the upcoming weather will be fine. If the spider removes it, a storm is on its way.

There is also the Ozark tradition of opening a persimmon and checking the seed. A spoon shape inside indicates above average snowfall, a knife shape signals colder than normal temperatures and a fork shape means warmer than average temperatures.

My cats do a pretty good job of simulating this sleeping cat quilt and forecasting the weather for the upcoming day. If they don't get out of bed, I know it's cold outside.

Charlotte

Along Came A Spider

A Missouri garden spider weaving her zig zag web. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Along Came a Spider

It seems they show up all of a sudden, black and yellow garden spiders weaving webs in all sorts of inconvenient places.

I like spiders. One isn't charmed by E.B. White's "Charlotte's Web" without having at least a literary affinity to these amazing creatures. Did you know spider web silk is, weight for weight, stronger than steel?

Now that I have honeybees, I tend to patrol webs to release bees. I'm not always in time so a number of my bees have become stored food for baby spiders-to-be.

If you study any spider web, you will see they are not necessarily picky. Almost anything is fair game to get tangled in their web.

Spiders are the insect patrol and clean-up crew in gardens. According to Missouri Department of Conservation, spiders eat more insects than birds and bats combined. Because of this, spiders are a boon on agricultural lands, destroying huge numbers of crop-damaging insects. Since each spider in a field may consume a least one insect per day, their cumulative effect on insect populations is significant.

This wolf spider has set up her web outside my den door, look how hairy-looking she is. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Spiders, along with ticks, mites, harvestmen and scorpions, belong to the class Arachnida. Unlike insects, which have six legs, spiders have eight. They have no antennae, and they have two-piece bodies. A spider has silk-spinning structures called spinnerets at the back end of its abdomen, and it usually has eight eyes of various sizes and shapes.

On one of my visits to work in Washington D.C., I stopped by the Smithsonian to see the Orkin bug corner at the Natural History Museum. The exhibits included a very detailed ant farm - more like an ant mansion, behind glass - several exhibits of termites and the kind of damage they can do to wood; a cockroach home and, by far the kids' favorite, the tarantulas. Think furry garden spiders only 10 to 15 times larger and quick-moving, which is part of their gruesome appeal.

The day I was visiting, the docent was an older lady who reminded me of my grandmother. She also wore a white lace collar over her dress and those old-fashioned, flower button earrings against her bluish gray hair. All of a sudden I heard her say in her quiet voice "and then the tarantula uses its fangs to s-u-c-k the brains out, just like a milk shake."

"EEEEEWWWW" came loudly in unison from kids surrounding her. I'm sure they could be heard all the way down to the first floor by the mastodon elephant replica.

This hay spider is ready to welcome Halloween. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Scientists predict that as our climate gets warmer, snakes will grow as long as buses and horses may shrink to the size of cats.

Although I find them fascinating, I know way too many people who don’t appreciate spiders in their gardens. We need to rethink how we co-exist with these wondrous creatures.

Charlotte

How to Dry Zinnia Seeds

Zinnia flowers drying on newspaper before I store them for next year. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

How to Dry Zinnia Seeds

You can dry zinnia seeds through the growing season but there’s a tendency to do so in fall, maybe after the first frost.

I have been drying zinnia seeds for many years so I can attest it is easy to do. Start with picking off the dry flower heads, those have seeds that are already drying while still on the plant.

Spread the flower heads on a newspaper or paper towel on a tray in a dry space until all flower heads are dark and dry to the touch.

You can then store the flower heads as is so that you can plant the same zinnias in a patch. You can also remove the seeds and spread them out for a few days until they are all dry before storing.

If there is one annual in your garden, this is the one to plant. A variety of pollinators love it and they are so easy to plant. They will grow in most soils and require little water. Did I mention the bright colors?

One of my last zinnia bouquets for this growing season. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

I’m ready to plant these dried seeds, I’m going to save several seed heads so I can have patches of the same colored-zinnias. That way I can enjoy a different color each day of the week, like these flower days of the week kitchen towels!

Guess I need to get through fall and winter first…

Charlotte

Blue Dayflowers

Blue Dayflowers are one of the true blue flowers. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Blue Dayflowers

If you’ve ever looked for sky blue perennial flowers - or any blue flowers - you know they are few and far between. Unless you start paying attention to your garden “weeds,” where you may find one of the prettiest true blue flowers around.

Dayflowers tend to appear mid-summer in my mid-Missouri garden, a little pop of blue showing up among flower beds and borders. This native from Asia is now prevalent through Missouri and listed as a Missouri wildflower.

Part of the spiderwort family, Commelinaceae blooms May through frost. The plant is named after Jan and Kaspar Commelin, distinguished Dutch botanists. According to Edgar Denison in “Missouri Wildflowers,” there was a third botanist who died young. The two larger petals represent the two surviving brothers and the smaller one the botanist who died at a young age.

A group of blue dayflowers adding color to a garden corner. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

What I love about these flowers is that they require little water and easily grow in both sun and shade.

The stems will sprawl through a flower bed, nicely filing in an area with their leaves. I found myself adding starts all through my garden this fall hoping they will return next year.

Who can argue with an easy to grow perennial that easily adds a dash of true blue to a garden?

Charlotte

Volunteer Cantaloupes

This volunteer cantaloupe grew itself with a little help from an old wooden arbor.

Volunteer Cantaloupes

I was going to title this how to easily grown cantaloupes but decided I can’t take that credit, either. These cantaloupes grew themselves, my best guess seeds that inadvertently ended up in the compost I added to the garden bed.

For years I had head cantaloupes were hard to grow in Missouri. Anything is hard to grow if one is trying to raise plants where the most one grows is rocks and there is little to no soil. After building and amending garden beds, my challenge was to encourage soil production through composting and mulching.

There were no plans for much to grow in this particular area this year besides buckwheat as a cover crop. When I saw a few rabbits in the garden area, I took that as a sign the garden bed was getting close to being ready for planting. It can take several months to years for the soil composition to be right for plants.

When the first vines started to appear, the leading speculation was these were cucumbers from last year. Since I love cucumbers, I let them grow, adding an old trellis to keep them off the ground.

One morning, my handyman took a look at the vine and said if it was a cucumber, it was a mighty round one. A few weeks later the verdict was this was definitely a cantaloupe!

To make sure the cantaloupe bottom didn’t rot, I placed a small piece of cardboard under it. Good thing because once picked, there was a black spot on the bottom where the cantaloupe was against the cardboard.

Cardboard tucked under the cantaloupe kept it from rotting as it was sitting on the vine.

On the other side, a small crack had developed, about an inch long with a star-like pattern. A quick scoop of the knife and the spot was clean.

The other end had a 1-inch crack starting, which was easy to remove once fruit was picked.

Now to prepare the cantaloupe for easy eating access. I remove the peel, then cut slices into smaller pieces so the cantaloupe can be used as the base for a fruit salad or all by itself.

Cut up cantaloupe stored in refrigerator makes for a delicious treat any time of day.

You bet I save the seeds, only this time I will store them to deliberately plant them next year!

Charlotte

October Gardening Chores

Fall is a good time to scope out where garden structures will add support for nearby growing plants. I can’t relocate or kill this wild grapevine so now up it goes! (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

October Gardening Chores

It’s going to seem odd but it is now time to start enjoying garden bounty. With the longest 2018 spring in Missouri recorded history, produce is appearing in my garden. Finally.

1. From cherry tomatoes, onions, a variety of herbs and a volunteer cantaloupe, I don’t have much to gather this year but I will enjoy what I have. Besides harvesting, this is the time to freeze extras for later use.

2. Pick herbs before they have flowered to capture the full flavor. I also wait until after they have flowered and cut the new herb sprouts to dry for later use. Except for basil. A little packrat took all of my basil drying in my garage. I caught and relocated the pack rat and am now waiting for more basil to grow.

3. Start pruning and checking for any hitchhikers on plants that are coming inside for winter. To cut down on leaf drop, bring plants in a month before turning on the heat, which is usually early October.

4. For single plants in separate pots, consider combining them, watering well and the bringing them inside. Even if they only last for a couple of months, they will help to extend the growing season.

5. Water. Perennials, established trees, evergreens and azaleas need one inch of water a week. Water into the ground so the water hydrates plant roots. Keep watering until our first hard frost. For USDA hardiness zone 5d, that is usually around Halloween.

6. Stop fertilizing and pruning. Wait until January-February after the plants are dormant and you can better see their form.

7. If you have trees with fungus or other issues, collect those leaves and burn or bury into the ground. I leave most of my leaves on flower beds except for diseased ones, don’t want to spread that fungus.

8.If you haven’t cleaned up flower beds of spent plants, here’s your last chance to gather seeds. Birds will take the rest after frost. Leave the rest to clean up in spring. By then, most of the greenery will have broken down and become part of the garden mulch.

A volunteer cantalope grew in my berry patch this year, the vines weaving over an arbor. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

9. Plant spring bulbs. Add a little bone meal at the bottom of the hole to slowly feed the bulbs. Plant bulbs close together if you don’t mind digging them up in a couple of years to separate. If you would rather not, give them some space in between. Mark where you planted them so you don’t dig them up next year when planting something else.

10. Leave the falling leaves where they are. If you are worried about your grass, run the mower over them. 11. Plant trees and bushes; make sure to water daily until frost.

12. Leaves return Nitrogen to the soil and make a wonderful amendment to flower beds and help retain moisture.

13. Stop long enough to enjoy the beauty of fall as leaves turn, native plants bloom and temperatures turn crisp and cool. A hot cup of tea sounds good about now!

Charlotte

Visiting Spring Bulbs

Missouri bulbs gifted to my brother in bloom settled into their Virginia flower bed.

Visiting Spring Bulbs

The anticipation was exciting and it had nothing to do with Christmas. My brother in Virginia was doing some garden remodeling and asked if he could send back some of the daffodil bulbs I had gifted him over the years. That way the bulbs could visit "home" for a couple of years and once his new flower beds were ready, the daffodil bulbs could make the trip back to their new garden spot maybe with me in tow. Well, no maybes about it, I will be returning with the bulbs, our family loves nothing more than to spend time together in the garden.

Need you even ask was my original answer. Actually I brought a suitcase full back when I visited earlier in fall and already had those settled in. During that gardening time together, we had discussed whether I should set up a special garden beds for the bulbs.

After much thought, my brother said no, "I'll just go shopping when I'm ready," meaning he will browse my garden and pick out the daffodil bulbs he wants back when he's ready. I suspect he will also be checking out another favorite perennial, day lilies. He’s never been very interested in tulips, and neither have I. Mice tend to snack on the bulbs and most tulips don’t bloom well the second year except for one tiny patch that has now bloomed for several years in a row at the side of my driveway.

I didn't hear much for several weeks. then my sister-in-law broke the news that two boxes were heading my way, and they weighed 70 lbs.

How many bulbs in 70 lbs, I would ask. No one seemed to know including my gardening friend Tom. "Oh, you're in trouble now," was his only answer so I decided not to worry about it until the boxes arrived.

Two boxes of bulbs from Virginia weighing 70 lbs ready to vacation in my Missouri garden.

The boxes were intact and undamaged so I peeked inside the bags. Surprise, there were more than just daffodil bulbs.

The daffodil bulbs had decided to start growing.

Spring bulbs sprouting need to be planted in the ground so roots can keep bulbs fed.

Another bag has iris rhizomes so those will be tucked into a flower bed and heavily mulched until spring. After they get established, they will be moved to their final garden spots next fall.

To plant, I will add compost to the bottom of the planting holes along with bone meal so the bulb roots will have access to nutrients. They already have a head start since all bulbs have roots and some green shoots.

Although the green tops may be nipped once cold weather moves in, the daffodil bulbs should settle in for winter and continue to store food in the bulbs for use when they bloom in spring.

Settling daffodil bulbs in ground mixing soil with compost, then watering after they are covered.

The temperatures for the next week are forecast to be in the 60s so good time to get all of these visitors settled into their temporary accommodations.

Welcome home, daffodils!

Charlotte

Fake or Real Christmas Tree?

My favorite kind of Christmas tree, outside, living and covered in a blanket of snow!

Fake or Real Christmas Tree

When I married someone who wanted to go out into the woods to cut down a tree to decorate, I frankly balked. As a gardener who regularly planted trees, the thought of cutting one down for a mere few weeks didn’t make sense so we compromised. One tree could be cut down as long as we planted one to even the score.

Since then, there’s been an interesting shift in terms of what is considered to be environmentally friendly. Today using cut trees is considered eco-friendly because they are a renewable and biodegradable natural resource.

Real Christmas Tree Benefits

On average, it takes about seven years to raise a Christmas tree to marketable size. During that time, it is absorbing carbon dioxide and filtering the air and releasing oxygen. It is also providing watershed protection and habitat for birds and other wildlife. Christmas trees are also planted and raised as a crop by tree farmers. Unlike other row crops, a Christmas tree plantation remains green and growing year-round. If there was no market for real Christmas trees, that land would probably be developed for something else so there’s something to be said for keeping another piece of land in a green strip.

The artificial Christmas tree that stays out all year around, this time of year in my kitchen, surrounded by vintage salt shakers in the shape of dolls, teddy bears and trains.

In contrast, artificial Christmas trees are made primarily of metals and plastics, which are all non-renewable resources. The plastic material, typically polyvinyl chloride (PVC), is a potential lead source. The potential for lead poisoning is considered high enough that California requires a warning label on all artificial trees made in China, and an estimated 85 percent of artificial trees are made in China. Additionally, these trees must be transported 8,000-plus miles to their U.S. destination, which emits additional CO2.

On average, an artificial tree is used for seven years before it ends up in the landfill. Regardless of how many years it is used, it is still going to end up in a landfill far longer. In contrast, a real Christmas tree can be composted, submerged in ponds for fish habitat or made into wood chips.

I still contend a tree should be planted for every one cut down, even ones cut from tree farms.

Artificial Christmas Tree Option

Although these artificial tree use are national averages, they are not typical for my family or friends. Ou artificial Christmas trees have been used for closer to 25 years including surviving breaking in kittens and frisky cats. 

Now there are a couple more good uses for artificial Christmas trees. My 18-year old cat Margaret used to like to climb the family Christmas tree so she would get one all her own, without lights or ornaments, tied to a post. Somehow she knew it was hers and would spend hours underneath it napping or waiting for someone to walk by she could ambush with a paw, or jump on moving feet.

Now that she’s older she still likes to nap under the Christmas tree so artificial trees make nice cat toys. She’s no longer interested in climbing so the extra tree top is becoming a door wreath.

Margaret has also turned the tiny artificial Christmas tree I have in my kitchen into her equivalent of a dinner bell. When I'm not paying the attention she thinks she deserves, Margaret will climb on the stool next to my kitchen island and nudge the little Christmas tree sitting on the silver platter until it falls over. Do I think she does it deliberately? Now what do you think?

Artificial trees can also be made into swags, wreaths andgarlands, and you can hang one upside down and join the latest Christmas décor trend. Or let your cat do it for you.

Have a very merry!

Charlotte

Forget Something?

Because some days one just doesn't know what to do with a long white tail.

Margaret Cat Fall Cat Nap

Friends and family know Margaret cat well, she has been my life buddy going on 18 years now. An alumni from the local animal shelter, she was found as a kitten in a cardboard box on the side of a county road with her legs duct taped together so she couldn't get out.

She was smart even then. As the story goes, she saw the shelter dog mascot running around. She figured out how to open her cage so she could get out, too.

I adopted her minutes before she was scheduled to be killed because the animal shelter supervisor didn't like cats and was tired of trying to keep Margaret locked up.

At my house, her inquisitiveness and intelligence is encouraged. If she sees something out of a window, she will come to get me to let me know I should follow her and see what is outside. She wakes me up every morning, is the last one to tuck me in at night.

Margaret is part Siamese, which means she has long legs and that deep voice. And yes, she likes to talk. Sometimes she has a lot to say about life in general, or what the other cats have been doing, especially if I have been gone for any time. In other discussions, she is clear about something she needs, like an ear scratching. She is most eloquent when she decides its time to go outside for a walk around the deck; she prefers that I come with her so she can end the tour sitting in my lap. When I'm running late, she keeps my priorities straight and reminds me to feed her.

This particular day, I was starting to move my deck plants inside for winter. Some are large trees on metal caddies, a messy process dangerous to small animals with dangling appendages who like to stay close to me. Before I started, I tucked Margaret into her favorite napping basket in a sunny window and we discussed the schedule for the rest of the day. Napping was high on the list.

Once I thought she was settled in, I grabbed the broom and started to leave. Something made me turn around. 

That tail.

I suppose if I thought I was a little person in white fur, I might forget I had a tail, too.

Charlotte

December Gardening Chores

Hopefully by December we will have a hard frost and flower beds can be mulched to keep soil temperatures even. I pile oak and hickory leaves on mine, or let leaves fall where they may.

December Gardening Chores

The calendar says it’s the end of the year but it doesn’t seem like it yet, leaves are hanging on trees and I’m still sneaking tiny mum bouquets out of my garden.

As soon as a hard frost hits, it will be time to mulch, not before. Mulching maintains the soil at an even temperature. During winter, the point of mulching is to keep plants in hibernation. If you still have leaf piles, move those into flower beds, those will easily make good mulch.

I live in USDA's zone 5b, the growing belt of the US. To mulch trees, make a well around the tree trunk and leave an area the width of a tire between the tree trunk and the mulch. When mulching, don’t pile mulch up to the trunk or you will create an area for diseases. Leaving a little moat around the tree also reduces girdling.

Any broken branches and limbs? Get those trimmed before ice hits, or before someone runs into them visiting for the holidays. You know where they are but people knew to your property are bound to run into them.

Have empty pots, garden carts, rakes leaning against the side of the house? It’s time to clean them off and store them for the season. The rakes, in particular, you don’t want to step on the tines and hit yourself on the side of the head.

Leave the dry flowers for now. Birds will eat the seeds and the dry greenery will provide protection for the young shoots growing at the base of the plant.

Did you plant mums this fall? Remember to water mums every couple of weeks this first year. Once they make it through their first winter, mum roots will become established and won’t require regular watering through winter.

This is a great month to collect dried flowers for decorative outside wreaths. These gray additions are long-bracted wild indigo branches. (Photos by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

If you saved seeds, this is the time to make sure they are marked and stored in a dry, cool place. Some people store them in a refrigerator. I use an old ice cooler in my garage to keep mice from snacking on the bags through winter.

Still have trees you haven’t planted? There’s still time so get them in the ground and water well.  If you are getting a live Christmas tree, dig the hole now so you can pop it in the ground right after Christmas.

Let tap water settle overnight before using on house plants. Tap water can be too cold and may have additives that need to evaporate before being exposed to indoor plants. I fill my recycled milk jugs and let them stand overnight before pouring on inside plants.

Make sure to make notes in your garden diary for next year projects, I seem to remember them this time of year as I am putting things away.

Have bulbs ready to bloom through winter? Paper white narcissus, hyacinths and Amaryllis  are all good choices to bloom when it’s cold outside. The first two can also be permanently planted outside and Amaryllis are repeat bloomers. I love gardening, even in the middle of winter, don't you?

Charlotte

Saving Zinnia Seeds

Saving a few of my favorite annual flowers, zinnias, for planting next year.

Saving Zinnia Seeds

Missouri weather this November has been typically mercurial only more extremely so. Mornings with record lows, then afternoon temperatures are sunny and warm. Or one day it's no warmer than in the mid 20s and the forecast for the next day is in the mid 50s, as it is for this Thanksgiving.

As I was filing up the bird feeders with sunflower seeds this morning, wearing a winter jacket and gloves, I decided not to wait until it was warmer to collect a few seeds of my favorite annuals, zinnias. I planted these late again this year so they didn't bloom until early September but when they did, it was a wonderful addition of color to my fall garden.

Of all of the available annuals, zinnias are by far my favorite annuals to plant. They grow quickly in almost any soil, are hardy in most conditions and offer a wide range of bright colored flowers that are favorites of both butterflies and bees.

I found one of my zinnia patches tucked away to the side of one of my walking paths, the plants themselves already nipped by cold temperatures. I had my garden tool set with me so it was easy enough to cut off the seed heads to dry out for a couple of days in a paper-towel lined basket before storing in a marked paper bag in a dry cabinet for next year.

Do they all sprout again? No, but enough do get a start that it's worth saving a few. Besides, just having the seeds saved reminds me to plant them earlier and to be thankful for everything my garden gives me every year.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Charlotte

Frog Showdown

This large ceramic frog met her match with one of the Missouri's native green frogs.

Frog Showdown

Frogs are among the bell weather species. After years of working with biologists, I know that frogs in ecosystems, or the lack of them, are a sign of the health of that collection of plants and animals that depend on each other for survival.

If just the number of frogs in one area is any indication, my little corner of the world is very healthy. I have a lot of frogs living in my one-acre limestone hillside, especially around two small ponds I built to fill in holes that once held driveway concrete.

One morning, as I was heading out for a walk, I spotted the showdown between one of my green frogs and the newest addition to "Froggie Bottom," what I call the pond area in memory of one of the metro stops where I used to work in Washington D.C. 

The ceramic frog had sat at a garden center for years. Finally marked down on sale, I brought it home to keep my other ceramic frog company in the pond area, not giving any thought to how the real frogs would react to the new arrival.

As I rounded the corner, it appeared there was a stare off between the ceramic frog and my resident green frog.

Green frogs, Lithobates clamitans, look similar to a bullfrog but are smaller and have a ridge of skin along the sides of the backs, from behind the eyes to midbodies. Also according to Missouri's Department of Conservation, green frogs may vary from green to greenish tan to brown, with the upper lip and head usually green. There may be faint dark spots on the back, and the legs usually have indistinct dark spots or bars.

Adult males have a bright yellow throat.  The call is an explosive “bong” that sounds like a loose banjo string.

There are two subspecies of green frogs in Missouri. Northern green frog (L. clamitans melanota), described above, and bronze frog (L. clamitans clamatans), a smaller, brownish or bronze frog with yellow lip and head, which is restricted to the southeastern part of the state.

See the green frog now? I have dozens of them living in these tiny ponds.

Who won?

Well, the ceramic frog is still holding her ground.

Charlotte

Watch the Birdie!

This is a Bird of Paradise flower from a gardening friend who auctioned the plant off.

Watch the Birdie!

Earlier this year, I bid and won a Bird of Paradise plant, (Strelitzia reginae), also known as crane flowers, one of the most beautiful exotic flowers, from a fellow master gardener. Originally from South Africa, I remember seeing these striking flowers all over Honolulu, Hawaii when I worked there with the US Navy.

It can take 5 years before the plant has its first flowers, depending on growing conditions. This was a plant started from seed.

The plant I won needs to be cut apart so my gardening friend let me cut off one of the flowers to enjoy. Excited to have this lovely flower home the same week snow was in the forecast, I put it in a flower vase in my kitchen so I could see it while I was bottling honey.

One of the rules I have in my kitchen is cats, especially inquisitive, trouble-in-the-making yellow cats, are not allowed on the kitchen counters, including the center kitchen island. When I came back to the kitchen with my camera, guess who I found not only standing on the center island but giving the Bird of Paradise flower a closer look?

Shirley Honey where she should not be, on the kitchen island getting a closer look at the flower.

Shirley Honey likes to watch birds outside my living room window but this is not a good bird-watching spot, even if the flower is called a bird of paradise.

After moving her off the counter and finishing my dishes, I found her in her window seat in the den, looking forlorn. She's actually in her favorite spot ready to watch a bird, or lizard, or me go by.

This is a cat perch one of my brothers built out of PVC pipes and canvas. I added an old pillow sham for winter warmth for my 18-year old cat but Shirley Honey has claimed this as her favorite sunning spot.

Shirley Honey in her window seat waiting for a lizard, or bird to walk by.

Watch for the birdie from there, Shirley Honey!

Charlotte

10 Fall Bulb Planting Tips

Garden centers offer a wide variety of spring blooming bulbs for fall planting. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

10 Fall Bulb Planting Tips

Fall is the time to get spring-blooming bulbs in the ground. You will find a wide variety at your local home and garden centers from tulips and daffodils to grape hyacinths and crocus. The following are 10 fall bulb planting tips to make your bulb planting easier:

1. Check for spring bulb sales by early November. Many places want to make room for holiday items and start discounting packaged bulbs. As long as your ground isn't frozen, you can plant spring bulbs until mid-December. Most spring flowering bulbs need 8-12 weeks of cold weather conditions to set bloom.

2. Gently press through bulb bags before purchasing to make sure the bulbs haven't dried up. You want plump bulbs that have stored energy.

3. Pick up a bag of bone meal to sprinkle on the bottom of the area you have dug up to plant bulbs. Not easy to find, all of our retailers had packed their regular bone meal away. No need to buy the variety marked "organic," bone meal is a natural product.

4. Place bulbs in the hole at the appropriate depth - there usually is a chart on the back of the package. Crocus should be planted 3" deep, most daffodils and tulips 5-6," 

5. Place the bottom of the bulb at the bottom of the hole. If bulbs move and fall over or are planted upside down, the growing stalk will weave around and grow towards the sun but the flower may bloom close to the soil line.

6. Not sure where to plant? Take photos of your spring garden so you can look back and identify the possible areas to plant more bulbs. I also make notes to remind myself to dig up bulbs I want to move next spring.

I have photos of my garden in spring to remind me what is planted where.

7. Daffodils and tulips bloom in three main stages in USDA Zone 5b: early, along with crocus; mid-season, when the eastern Redbuds are in bloom and late season, when peony greenery starts to grow. Pick bulbs that will give you flowers through all three stages.

8. My experience is bulbs keep to their original blooming stages the first year or so. With our climate changing so rapidly and erratically, bulbs have bloomed at odd times these past few springs so it's hard to say for certain what will bloom when after the first year. I do know the pheasant eye jonquils are still one of the last spring daffodil-relatives to bloom.

9. When planting crocus and tulips, two of my personal spring favorites, plant where mice can't easily get to them, especially through mole tunnels. Moles don't eat the spring bulbs, they tunnel through gardens looking for grubs. Mice use the mole tunnels to access bulbs for winter food.

I have tulip bulbs now planted in raised flower beds not easily accessible by moles and had a lovely long tulip display earlier this spring. It inspired me enough to buy a couple more bags of mid-season tulips to add to the area for a little pop of red when my native wild columbines are in bloom.

There are more than 20,000 different daffodil species, all deer-resistant and hardy.

10. Have too many wildlife visitors? Then plant daffodils. There are literally thousands of varieties, all of them hardy and deer-resistant. If they can grow in my limestone-covered hill, they will grow anywhere!

What tips do you have for spring bulb planting?

Charlotte