- Oh wait, that’s a line from a Bryan Adams song. Hmmm – wonder if I could get into trouble for using it? Well, Bryan, all I can say is if you’re out there reading this post, that was exactly how I felt when I was at the GWA Symposium in Indianapolis last week and laid eyes on the lobster claw heliconia that was in full bloom.
As many of you know, I am a tropical plant fanatic. In fact, one might wonder what I’m doing living in Indiana with its frigid winters. I guess the answer to that question is as much a mystery to you as it is to me.
If you’ve never seen a lobster claw heliconia in bloom, you don’t know what you are missing. I honestly can’t say that I’ve ever seen another plant that is so spectacular. The vivid colors of the bracts seem more like something you would see on a plastic flower instead of a real one, but believe me, the bracts – and the vivid colors – are very real.
In fact, a few years ago a dear friend in Puerto Rico shipped some banana flowers, gingers and heliconias to me for a garden club event. Everyone kept coming up to the table touching them unable to believe they were real. I guess those kinds of flowers aren’t something you see on a regular basis unless you live in a tropical climate.
Are you curious to see the bloom of the lobster claw for yourself so you can make your own decision? Well, about the best I can do is share one of the photos I took with you, so here goes – enjoy!
Filed under Tropical and Exotic Plants by on Sep 2nd, 2011. Comment. 
Sow seeds of radish and carrot inside of an area where a cold frame will sit as the weather cools down or inside a tunnel house.
Filed under Seed Starting and Cut Flower Production Calendar August by on Sep 2nd, 2011. Comment.
I’m back from the Garden Writers’ Annual Symposium – and what a great time I had. I’m armed with lots of vegetable seeds ideal for fall planting – lettuce, carrots, radish, peas and more.
Now that I have had time to unpack and sort the goodies I brought home, I felt I shoud get into the vegetable garden to weed, plant the fall garden and water the seeds in so they would get off to a good start. Remember, the secret to a successful fall and winter garden is making sure the plants are mature before the cold weather sets in.
I began with the easiest area – the small tunnel house. I had allowed the lettuce mixtures in it to go to seed, so it was simply a matter of removing the mature seed, removing and composting the dead plant material and then planting the seeds that I had collected.
The other side of the small tunnel house is still filled with cabbage. I intend to overwinter those in place so I can make fresh coleslaw all winter long.
In the main garden, I cleared two beds of dead plant material and weeds, leaving one large Late Flat Dutch Cabbage and a small tomato plant. This particular cabbage will be turned into saukerkraut once the temperatures begin to drop. Right now is the wrong time to pick it and my house is way too hot for it to properly ferment. October will be a better time.
Once the beds were cleared, I began to plant. Instead of planting loose cabbage, radish and lettuce seeds this time around, I used the Ferry-Morse Pre-Seeded Planting Strips. They were so easy to use. All I had to do was open the package, remove the paper strips, un-roll them, lay them on the ground and cover them with soil. I am hoping these planting strips make it harder for birds and other small animals to eat the seeds.
I also planted seeds of the Blue & Yellow Edible Pod Pea from Cook’s Garden. I used tomato cages for the peas to climb on, just as I did last year. It keeps them going vertical, keeps the produce cleaner and makes picking a breeze.
If you’d like to know more about planting a fall garden, please join me tonight on Twitter for the very first #homesteadchat.
Filed under Vegetable Gardening, Year-Round Gardening by on Sep 1st, 2011. 2 Comments.
Plant spinach and turnip seed outdoors. When light frost threatens, cover the plants with row cover. Protect plants with a cold frame before the first heavy frost or freeze.
Plant stocks in a heated greenhouse. They will bloom in time for Valentine’s Day.
Spicebush is an attractive native shrub that attracts the black spicebush swallowtail butterfly and the tiger swallowtail butterfly. The caterpillar of this particular butterfly are found on two plants – the spicebush and sassafras. The vibrant yellow flowers bloom in March and fill the early spring air with fragrance open, even before the leaves begin to emerge. The flowers are packed with abundant nectar that help sustain butterflies and bees when little else is in bloom in the garden. In the fall, the fragrant leaves turn a soothing yellow-gold.
Both a male and female plant are required in order for the female plant to produce the brilliant red berries that are a good substitute for allspice. Covering the bushes with bird netting, or another light weight material such as a row cover will help prevent hungry birds from devouring the berries before you have the opportunity to harvest them, but be sure to leave some behind since these berries are one of the best sources of energy for migrating birds.
Spicebush is an ideal shrub for wildlife habitats since it provides both an area for birds to nest and a place where they can seek cover.
Spicebush is deer resistant and an ideal choice for damp, shady areas. It will thrive in full sun or part shade. The mature height and width of the plant ranges between 6 and 10 feet. Spicebush is hardy in U.S. Department of Agricultural hardiness zones 4 through 9.
This spicebush was grown from seed and has not been pruned.
Filed under Bird and Butterfly Gardens, Plant Encyclopedia, Shrubs by on Aug 30th, 2011. Comment.
Filed under Seed Starting, Seed Starting and Cut Flower Production Calendar August by on Aug 17th, 2011. Comment.
Filed under Seed Starting, Seed Starting and Cut Flower Production Calendar August by on Aug 12th, 2011. Comment.
Filed under Seed Starting, Seed Starting and Cut Flower Production Calendar August by on Aug 11th, 2011. Comment.
Filed under Seed Starting, Seed Starting and Cut Flower Production Calendar August by on Aug 11th, 2011. Comment.
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