Plant Talk

Spring at the Sculpture Park

In that brief burst of lovely Sunday sunshine, I headed for the Olympic Sculpture Park to see how this very exposed site had weathered winter. Maybe the gardeners have already done lots of clean up, but it looks as if the native plants came through a very tough season unscathed.

No matter your opinion of the meadows and mostly native plant palette (and there have been more disparaging voices than I can understand) I think you'll be impressed at how the plants are doing, from the blaze of flowering currants (Ribes sanguineum) now in full bloom, to the 'Eddie's White Wonder' dogwoods that will be the glory of the park in a month or so. As the layers and grids of plants grow up and fill in you can really begin to understand landscape architect Charles Anderson's design.

Most of all, on a sunny spring afternoon, the sculpture park is one of the most successful public spaces in Seattle.  People were playing cribbage and chess at outside tables, chairs were filled with people basking in the sun, couples, kids and dogs promenaded the paths. I have to admit I spun in place to watch a stylish young couple with a brace of Standard apricot poodles strut past. It was such genius to make the park free, open, and so welcoming, especially when the sun comes out after weeks of rain. Enjoy the scene, and I'm sorry I didn't whip my camera out fast enough to capture those poodles...

The grove of alders

People enjoying the view and sun at the Olympic Sculpture Park on Sunday afternoon

Ribes sanguineum in full flower; one of the earliest bloomers to feed our native hummingbirds

The Prettiest Grass - Award-Winning Perennial

It's no easy task to call out a single fabulous perennial when there are thousands upon thousands to choose from. But the Perennial Plant Association is up to the task, as proved by their choice of Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' as the Perennial Plant of the Year for 2009. Native to Honshu Island, Japanese forest grass is famous for its bright yellow foliage striped in green. The effect is of a liquid puddle of sunshine, shimmering and undulating in the slightest breeze.

By summer's end the grass turns golden, then tinges pink and red with autumn chill. It can be used to great effect in containers,  massed as groundcover, or to trim a flower bed, walkway or border. Japanese forest grass prefers partial shade, moist soil, and turns to bleached straw in winter. Cut it back in March, and it'll quickly grow back into silky, golden mounds (below).

Previous year's award winners include:

2008 Geranium ‘Rozanne’
2007 Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’
2006 Dianthus gratianopolitanus ‘Feuerhexe’
2005 Helleborus x hybridus
2004 Athyrium niponicum 'Pictum'

For a complete list and photos, check out the Perennial Plant Association website.

Q & A- heirloom vegetables, feed trough containers

Question: Enjoy your columns very much - I noticed that you have some galvanized feeding troughs being used as large planters. I would like to know where you found them in Seattle.  Were they expensive?  And how do you like them?  How did you drill draining holes? 
 Thank you,
 Masayo

Answer: I love the feed troughs because the galvanized metal brings a glint to the garden, soil heats up faster raised up in metal, circle shapes look great in the garden, and they must be the least expensive option ever for such roomy containers. They come in several sizes  in round and bullet shapes, and you can find them at feed stores...I got mine at Cenex Skagit Farmer's Supply Store in Freeland, on Whidbey Island. The web page www.polocenter.com/health/feeduswa.htm has a list of all the feed stores in the state, by city. I'm sorry I can't remember the exact price, but I believe that the four foot round (the largest) costs about $80 (or anyway it did five years ago when I got mine). Just be sure and drill plenty of holes in the bottom for drainage;  we used landscape fabric inside the troughs to keep the soil from running out of the holes.

Question:   I just read your interesting article on smart nursery shopping, and I was wondering if you know of any local area nursery that sell heirloom vegetable starts?

Thanks – pray for sun!
Dave

Answer: Wouldn't a little sun and warmth lift our collective spirits? It has to warm up soon...doesn't it?

West Seattle Nursery carries heirloom vegetable starts and most nurseris have a good assortment of heirloom vegetable seeds. You'll no doubt find the best variety of heirloom starts at the Tilth Edible Plant Sale and the King Couny Master Gardener's Plant Sale, both held the weekend of May 2 & 3; see websites for hours, locations and details.

I learned in researching your question that even large nurseries like Swansons, Molbaks, Sky and Wells-Medina have little about vegetables on their websites and don't distinguish if they carry heirloom varieties. But that doesn't mean that they don't carry heirlooms.....it's certainly worth a nursery visit to find out....

Promenade au Jardin

Kick off the gardening season by visiting Langley on Whidbey Island, where MUSEO Gallery is hosting a garden art show during the month of April.

Art looks its best outside, placed where sun, wind, snow and rain perpetually change its aspect, and plants ebb and flow around it through the seasons. But it can be difficult to find quality pieces that work as a permanent focal point for the garden.

MUSEO owner Sandra Jarvis has invited thirty talented artists to turn their attention to the garden. Paintings will feature landscapes and botanical themes; sculpture and functional pieces will fill the gallery, all in celebration of the amazing gardens of the Pacific Northwest and Whidbey Island. Be sure and check out the lovely tall wire cages by local artist Carl Ulmschneider, ideal as a scaffold for clematis or runner beans in summer, and a garden ornament with real presence during winter.

The show opens with an artists' reception on April 4 from 5 to 7 p.m. - come meet the artists, sip wine, enjoy snacks and meet Langley locals.....If you can't make the opening, I'll be giving a talk about how to be an artist in your own garden at MUSEO at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday April 18... the show runs through April 26.

MUSEO gallery is at 215 First Street in Langley, right next door to the Clyde Theatre. It's open 11-5 Thursday through Monday; 360-221-7737; museo@whidbey.com. Langley is at the south end of Whidbey Island, a 15 minute ferry ride and 10 minute drive from Mukilteo.

 "Foxtrot" by DeLoss Webber wil be one the sculptural pieces in MUSEO's April garden art show.

Frost Date Addendum, Daffodils

University of Washington meteorologist Cliff Mass weighed in on yesterday's post where I suggested that we were coming up on the last hard frost date for the Puget Sound area. 

 "Be careful about saying April 1 is the last day of frost," wrote Cliff, "For many localities around here it is much later.  That is probably the average freeze data away from the water...half of the time it is later..This is another very cold spring...." 

We've noticed. But does he see any sun and warmth coming our way soon? 

His answer?....... "You don't want to know".

Here's one silver lining - if you love daffodils as I do, they'll bloom for many long weeks in this chilly weather....

Narcissus 'February Gold' (left) and 'Jack Snipe' courtesy of Great Plant Picks

It's Time To Plant Vegetables...well, some of them...

Spring is  a frustration of waiting followed by a frenzy of planting. And in this exceptionally chilly spring we're all wondering what to plant when. ...I haven't read Cliff Mass's weather blog so compulsively since the December snowstorms... I'm looking for warmer weather on the way, and there's little reassurance to be found.

Still, we need to get our crops into the ground...timing depends on where you live, how much sun your garden gets, and what kind of soil you have. You have to wait longer to plant in heavy wet soil; raised beds that drain more freely, especially if they're in the sun, can be planted weeks earlier.

We're coming up on the last frost date, which is usually about April 1, but depends on elevation, proximity of water, amount of sunlight in your individual garden.  Even though the forecast is for another week of rain and cool temperatures, now is the time to prepare beds for planting.  As soon as you can pick up a handful of soil, squeeze it, and not have water pour out, you can begin planting. I've already put leaf lettuce and peas in my raised beds.....maybe a little too early, but I couldn't help myself... 

Here are seven vegetables (and a few suggested varieties of each) most suited to early planting - go ahead and get them in the ground in the next  few weeks and you'll be on your way to harvest '09:

Beets: Bull's Blood, Golden, Chioggia
Onions: White Bunching, Walla Walla Sweet, Red Globe    
Peas: Sugar Snap, Sugar Sprint, Little Marvel
Radishes: Sparkler, Gourmet Blend, Champion
Carrots: Scarlet Nantes, Ingot, Little Finger
Lettuce: Red Sails, Gourmet Blend, Mesclun blends
Spinach: Tyee, Olympia

Chioggia Pink beets, photo courtesy of Thompson & Morgan

Urban Garden Share - It's Not Just About P-Patches Anymore....

Amy Pennington, of GoGo Geen Garden, is a food writer and garden coach who plants and cares for her clients' vegetable gardens.  She, however, lives in a Seattle apartment, so knows first hand that many people in the city don't have space to grow food. With a waiting list for P-Patches, many apartment and condo dwellers have limited space and sun...but would love to grow herbs, tomatoes, and lettuces.

So this spring Amy and some tech-and-garden-savvy friends hatched the idea of matching up gardeners without land and homeowners with unused garden space. Urban Garden Share was born.  The idea is that neighbors will share land, work, experience, and the harvest, with the goal of growing community as well as carrots and cucumbers. Go to the website to sign up  as a gardener, or to offer your garden. The site is secure - and the hope is you'll meet your gardening soulmate  and go on to harvest beautiful vegetables together. Or as Amy writes "Urban Garden Share pairs together eager gardeners with eager gardens. When neighbors come together and cooperatively grow food, dirt flies and good things happen....Dig it."

Amy Pennington harvesting beans - you can harvest your own crops this fall with Urban Garden Share....

Spring on Whidbey Island

Between bouts of rain and bursts of sun, a few signs of spring brought hope.  The frog chorus chimed in after dark despite the hard frost overnight. Here are a couple of rural  scenes, courtesy of photographer Debbie Loudon. The calf was born last autumn, and after a hard winter she's basking in her first spring sunshine....the little shed with narcissus and a rose just leafing out was spotted on our morning walk.

Spring Planting - Sweet Peas and Libertia

How better to welcome the first day of spring than by digging in the dirt? It took a good many hot tea breaks to brave the rain and wind (with a few sun breaks) but at least the temperature nudged up over 50 degrees here in Langley on Friday.

After digging in loads of well-composted manure, I planted an assortment of Spencer sweet peas starts, and seeded in uber-fragrant 'April in Paris' and the deep purple 'Zinfandel' to contrast with all the pastels. The starts should bloom by mid-June, followed by sweet peas grown from seed, which kick in later but bloom into September - if you pick every day or so. Doesn't it sound heavenly to pick sweet peas on a summer morning? Here's a photo of the babies, and a look at 'Zinfandel' in bloom (from Renee's Garden Seeds).

Then there are multi-colored little starts of leaf lettuce, that'll be the first thing ready to pick and eat out of the garden - I'm planting flats of them, ready to get out there and snip soft baby leaves in a few weeks.

I'm very excited about some new, striped  libertia - if you haven't grown these sword-like foliage perennials, you should check them out. Libertia look much like upright, wide-bladed ornamental grasses, they grow only a couple of feet high, and spread about politely into tidy clumps. Libertia's little, bright white flowers are followed by attractive sprays of seed pods which are great for flower arranging. New this year, to me anyway, is Libertia ixioides 'Taupo Blaze' which blazes in the winter garden with spiky foliage that changes from green to yellow/orange striped in burnt red. I'm also trying out Libertia 'Gold Finger' that has a more weeping form and yellow striped golden foliage. My rainy-day planting photo doesn't do justice to how showy libertia is once it forms a fat clump...but you get the idea....

Michelle's garden

We all needed a little good news on a rainy first day of spring - what a spirit-lifter to  learn that Michelle Obama is digging up the White House lawn to plant a vegetable garden. Isn't it absolutely amazing to have an administration that actually listens to the American people?? We've been asking, and now she's digging....

And Michelle is not only planting the first White House veggie garden since Eleanor Roosevelt's WWII Victory Garden, she's doing it right.  Here are a few highlights that struck me as particularly savvy...and worthy of emulation:

-The White House project began with the connection between cooking and the garden, with vegetables (55 different kinds!) chosen from the chefs' wish list. No beets - the President doesn't like them, but plenty of cilantro, hot peppers and tomatillos because the family loves Mexican food. 
-The garden is all organic & planted on the South lawn (or what used to be the South lawn...) where passersby can enjoy watching the garden's progress.
-Greens are easy to grow and especially nutritious - the Obamas are planting spinach, chard, collards, and a variety of lettuces, including red romaine and green oak leaf.
-They've livened up the garden with a berry patch for dessert and bee hives for honey.
-The garden will be planted in raised beds, which helps drainage, makes harvesting SO much easier, and contains the abundance of vegetables attractively within their geometric shapes.

No, not the Obama's garden - just my little raised bed garden in Langley....