How to Start Nasturtiums

One of my favorite summer flowers, nasturtiums, can be hard to get started. The round seeds have a hard cover, making germination difficult. One year out of a packet of 25 nasturtium seeds, only three sprouted.

To more easily get nasturtiums germinating, soak seeds in water for 1-2 days. Seed coverings will soften so that seedlings can more easily pop through. Once I started soaking seeds, I had 100% germination.

Why nasturtiums?

Besides being bright and pretty, nasturtiums are wonderfully edible, adding a spicy flavor to salads and desserts.

Pretty and practical?

Now that's my kind of combination!

Charlotte

To All of the Moms

It's Mother's Day, time to honor the wonderful women in our lives. Maybe a bouquet of flowers out of a garden, and a poem:

"On Mother’s Day I have written a poem for you. In the interest of poetic economy and truth, I have succeeded in concentrating my deepest feelings and beliefs into two perfectly crafted lines:

You’re my mother,

I would have no other!

~Forest Houtenschil

Happy Mother's Day!

Charlotte

Spring Sunset

I love sunsets. Spring ones are particularly pretty.

The Missouri countryside has turned green and there's a promise of so much

more fresh

still to come.

Since I live on a limestone hill, finding a sunset is relatively easy. The back of my house faces west so if the horizon is clear, I can sit on my deck and watch the sun setting. 

It should be required watching. So relaxing. So easy to get a new perspective on one's day.

No special equipment required.

Charlotte

Hoppy Easter

One of my professional colleagues lives close to our office. Sometimes on my daily walks, I cruise by her garden to see what she has growing.

We had a bad winter 2014-2015. Besides record cold weather, spring was late arriving, which gave us all a good dose of cabin fever and bad moods.

Not at Becky's house. This year, she added two visitors obviously celebrating the advent of spring and warm weather.

Another side view so you can better see the bunny shapes. These look easy to make from painted wood.

Anybody have an extra pair of sunglasses, or two?

Happy Easter!

Charlotte

Hello, spring!

"I love spring anywhere but if I could choose, I would always greet it in a garden."

                                       — Ruth Stout

I love the four seasons, each offering a new perspective on life if we are only smart enough to slow down enough to enjoy it.

Sometimes I think winter is the beginning of a new year, freezing temperatures and grey skies cleaning the landscape palette to make room for the anticipation, and expectation of sunny spring days.

Of all of the favorite garden flowers that mark the beginning of spring in my garden, the one I anticipate the most is the crocus.

In fall, I plant new stashes of bulbs along my garden paths dreaming of them popping up in spring with a burst of color.

The low to the ground imported bulb flowers are also honeybee favorites, a source of much-needed protein for baby bees soon hatching in nearby hives.

Charlotte

Bulb-Planting Tips

One got caught on my sweater as I dashed by, late for my “date” with Friends of Rolla, Missouri's Public Library’s semi-annual book sale. If you also have a bag, or box, of bulbs overdue to be planted outside, now is the time.

Most garden centers also have them, rows of boxes featuring spring-blooming bulbs ranging from little snowdrops to daffodils.  Daffodils make wonderful spring cut flowers as long as you let daffodils sit in water for a few hours, then give them a fresh drink. Daffodils produce a toxin that kills other flowers and discourages wildlife from eating them, which explains why my daffodils flourish in spite of all of the resident deer.

How to Plant Daffodils

Plant daffodils 3 to 5 inches apart, three times the depth of the bulb size, towards the back of a flower bed. That allows later flowering plants to cover daffodils as daffodil finish blooming and store energy in their bulbs through their yellowing leaves.

If you want immediate impact, plant bulbs closer together. The downside is they will get crowded sooner and you will have to dig them up and replant more frequently.

Over the years, my daffodils seem to have expanded around my garden on their own so spring is full of surprises. Or maybe I just forget where I plant them, which is also quite likely.

Be Cautious of Planting Tulips

At the same time that daffodils and crocus bulbs show up in stores, there are also a number of other spring-flowering bulbs, including tulips. Although I love tulips, they don’t survive field mice in my garden who use mole runs to access the edible bulbs.

They also didn’t survive a visit from my sister the year she was on a vegetarian kick and surprised me with sauteed tulips for dinner.

How Deep to Plant Spring Bulbs

To plant spring bulbs, read the directions and make sure they are planted at the appropriate depth.  If you plant bulbs too shallow, bulbs may be killed by cold. The plants will also fall over because they don’t have enough stem support so if you have to choose, go deeper than shallow.

Also plant the pointy end up, although that didn’t stop some of the bulbs our family dog dug up. My brothers replanted them but forgot to turn them in the right direction. They were late coming up but they eventually did on shorter stems because they had to grow around the bulb.

Select the Largest Bulbs

When choosing bulbs, pick the largest ones you can find; they should feel firm, like a good yellow onion. If the bulbs are squishy, in most cases their stored food is decomposing and they won’t grow. It’s okay if they’ve started to grow but that’s even more reason to get them in the ground as soon as you get them home. 

While buying bulbs, also pick up a bag of bone meal to add a tablespoon in the hole bottoms. Bone meal gives the bulbs extra food as they generate roots.

If you are not sure of what blooms when, pick up a flower or local natural events calendar. They will have average blooming dates for favorite flowers and other exciting natural events.

Charlotte

Happy spring!

"I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden." --Ruth Stout

What's happening in your spring garden?

Charlotte

Missouri's Native Columbines

If there's one Missouri wildflower that says spring to me, it's wild columbines.

I first came close to columbines on a Colorado vacation to Estes Park. Hummingbirds were all over the flowers so I decided I needed to buy seeds and grow columbines in my garden.

A few years later, after several unsuccessful attempts to raise columbines by seed, a friend gave me a start of Missouri's wildflower version.

These lovely red flowers with yellow accents look almost ethereal in early morning sunshine.

Charlotte

Best Time to Trim Lilacs

There are a number of wonderful, fragrant lilacs on the market but if you don't trim them at the right time, you will loose next season's blooms. In Missouri, USDA Zone 5b or 6, old-fashioned lilacs bloom in May. The best time to trim lilacs is immediately after they've finished blooming so you're not cutting off branches that will set blooms for next year. You'll know lilacs have finished their bloom when all their florets have unfolded and the flowers are going brown. If you want to keep your old-fashioned lilacs contained, cut out all new growth sprouting around the base; remove dead branches and cut top branches about 6 inches from where you want the plants to be next year. I have old-fashioned lilacs under my bay windows. I know it's spring when I can open the windows and welcome their wonderful scent!

How to Plant Daffodil and Jonquil Bulbs

Daffodils and jonquils are bulbs that store energy to become wonderful spring flowers. I love to plant them because they're easy to care for; wildlife won't eat them and more recently, now that I have honeybees, they're a favorite spring pollen source. Regardless if you're planting new bulbs, or ones that you've divided, the process is the same:

Dig a hole about 4-5" deep, allowing for 4" between bulbs.

If you don't mind moving bulbs more frequently, plant them closer. If you prefer them to be in their spot for several years, then give them more space. Apply bone meal to the bottom of the hole; bone meal is a good source of nutrients, which can be hard to provide from the top. Cover bulbs with soil; water. I would also pop a popsicle stick somewhere so you can more easily remember where you planted them. You can plant other plants that bloom later in the season on top of your bulb area as long as they are shallow-rooted.

How do Daffodils and Jonquils Multiply?

Daffodils and Jonquils, members of the Narcissus family, multiply by both bulbs and seeds. If you've moved daffodils, you've seen how daffodils multiply through bulbs. Those daffodils will be exact copies of their parent plants. Bulb hybrids come from pollinating flower stamens with different pollen, which will produce about 25 seeds per flower. Those flower heads are usually the narcissus part that is removed when flowers are dead headed. It can take a professional hybridizer 5 years to get a new daffodil bulb developed!

To Deadhead, or Not to Deadhead

If you like a neat garden and don't want more narcissus flowers including daffodils and jonquils,  then the answer is easy - off with their heads! By that I mean when a daffodil has finished blooming, it's time to remove the spent bloom so the bulb can save it's energy instead of making seeds. To deadhead daffodils, find the node at the bottom of a fading flower and either using clippers, or your fingers, pop the whole flower off. If you're uncomfortable breaking off the flower, remove the whole stem. Either way, this will re-direct the bulb's attention away from using energy to maintain flowers and seed buds and give you flowers next spring.

When to Divide Daffodils and Jonquils

Depending on where you live, these harbingers of spring should be finished blooming, which means it's a good time to divide them. Many gardening companies recommend planting bulbs close for best effect. What that means is that after a few years, bulbs have expanded enough to crowd themselves in the available space and they'll need to be divided and moved if you want them to keep blooming. One sure tell tale sign of a crowded narcissus bed is if when you look at the clump, there are only a couple of flowers blooming. Another tell tale sign is that there is little to no soil between leaves. Mark that flower bed with a stick or a piece of ribbon; then when the leaves have turned yellow and died back, that's the best time to dig them up and move them. You can also wait to dig them up and move them in the fall, if you can find them!

When to Divide Daffodils and Jonquils

Depending on where you live, these harbingers of spring should be finished blooming, which means it's a good time to divide them. Many gardening companies recommend planting bulbs close for best effect. What that means is that after a few years, bulbs have expanded enough to crowd themselves in the available space and they'll need to be divided and moved if you want them to keep blooming. One sure tell tale sign of a crowded narcissus bed is if when you look at the clump, there are only a couple of flowers blooming. Another tell tale sign is that there is little to no soil between leaves. Mark that flower bed with a stick or a piece of ribbon; then when the leaves have turned yellow and died back, that's the best time to dig them up and move them. You can also wait to dig them up and move them in the fall, if you can find them!

Recycle Milk Containers to Protect Plants

Whether you're putting out new seedlings or need to protect a young plant, recycled plastic milk containers make handy guards. Cut off the bottom; take off lid. Place container over the plant you want to protect. As temperatures get warmer, check container to make sure the protected plant is getting enough air. Great way to give seedlings a head start before your last frost date!

How to Remove Tent Caterpillars

Some friends tell me birds will eat eastern tent caterpillars if the web has an opening. Although I have a very active bird population in my midwest wildlife garden, I have yet to see any birds eat tent caterpillars. As soon as I spot the tents, I manually remove the tents with a stick. After making a hole in the middle of the web, I scrape the web off the tree, then check it again over the next few days. If I can keep the caterpillars from rebuilding the tents, they usually disappear. I still find the caterpillars in the garden, and sometimes on my roses; I just prefer not to "decorate" my yard for Halloween in spring!

What Are Those White Webs?

One of the signs of spring in the Midwest are eastern tent caterpillars. The first sign they're in your garden is a small white web in tree limb junctions. They're particularly fond of apples, cherries and roses. As caterpillars grow, so does the web, sometimes expanding to several tree junctions. Infested trees will look like something out of a Halloween scene for several weeks as caterpillars grow and feed. These caterpillars turn into red moths. Although they can defoliate trees and rosebushes, I've found mine grow back with little damage.

Save Cracked Egg Shells for Starting Seeds

I was delightfully-surprised to find how easy it is to use cracked egg shells to start seeds. My biggest challenge was to remember to save them instead of adding them to the compost. After marking empty egg containers on the outside, I started to save broken shells inside egg containers and storing them on one of my garage shelves.

I wasn't sure how well they would work with delicate seedlings so I started with tomatoes. After watering and keeping them warm, tomato plants sprouted easily, including growing through the shells when tomato plants became too big for the shell. To plant, I dug a small hole and put plant and shell in, then covered.