Herb Garden
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Karen's letter to Fellow Gardeners
Herbal Spotlight: The Rugged
Rugosa
I'm so excited about spring this year! I'm not sure exactly why, fall is usually my favorite time…but perhaps this long period of depression created by so many worldly things that are beyond my control, has caused me to latch onto the things that signal a new beginning…
Each year as my seedling buddies begin to poke their little heads from the earth, (I can stand and look at my seeding table for hours. Yes, I know how the biological process works…I know how much of this and that is needed and when to apply the first little dose of nutrients…but) I consider each little guy that pops his head out of the soil a major miracle to be celebrated!
Anyway, we are working on the different collections of plants in the nursery to offer something new and exciting for 2002. With the many water problems that we seem to be facing, (explain to me why areas with no water continue to think in terms of development…can you say "the power of money and ignorance"?!) we are growing a new collection of winter hardy agaves and other water conserving plants. Agaves are fascinating and especially attractive for dry hot spots. (See a later article for more.)
We are nearly doubling our hosta collection with a number of specimens for eye-catching spaces, (check out the web site for a listing) and there's a new hibiscus from Texas, Hibiscus dasycalx, that is on the endangered list…4" white blooms with a raspberry center on a mound of wispy foliage…what a treat! We also continue to grow the native hibiscus Hibiscus coccineus or Scarlet Hibiscus with lovely maple-shaped leaves and brilliant red blooms.
Maybe it's my mood, but each day, something new attracts my attention and makes my heart say "thanks for letting me be here this moment." On a recent Saturday, Dana Jean Mabry, head of the art department at Surry Community College, stood and gazed at the large grouping of grafted pines huddled against the cold beside our tiny propagation room. She exclaimed…"this is what they need to see". She was referring to her students and her efforts to explain to them that there are many shades and nuances of green. "They want to mix up one shade of green and paint every tree with that color," she explained with bitten back frustration." I stood beside her and gazed at the lustrous dark green of the Thunderhead pines, the light green-white of the Horsford Dwarf, the intense blue-greens of the Contorted and Weeping White Pines and noticed that every shade in between seemed to be brightened by the chartreuse of the Winter Gold Pines.
For the artist, it is truly a study in color. I am fortunate. I walk by this masterpiece each day and absorb its beauty as a part of my daily life and breath. These are the things that make the hard work and shall we politely say "occasional lack of disposable income" worthwhile. Sometimes, I just need an art teacher to remind me! Thank-you Dana Jean.
I will be so happy to see each of you this spring.
Happy Gardening,
Karen
Everyone has a favorite bloom, and for many gardeners it stems from a previous experience...a hand-me-down from a grandmother's garden or simply a deep seated love for the look, color and feel of the flower of a particular tree or plant.
While I remember the daffodils from my grandmother's yard and the camelia japonica against the front of her house that was loaded with blooms each spring, I find myself eagerly anticipating blooms that are a little more unusual…blooms that seem to have a personality all their own.
One of the first each season is on a plant that is blooming now, the Edgeworthia chrysantha. This unusual Daphne relative produces beautiful, nodding, late-winter fragrant flowers of golden yellow from silky white buds that appeared the previous autumn. Narrow, tropical looking foliage will appear later along the rubbery, light-colored stems, the bark of which is used in the commercial production of Japanese rice paper.
Also on display early in the season is the Abeliophyllum distichum, commonly known as White Forsythia. Beautiful fragrant white blooms tinged with pink against mahogany twigs in late winter make this 4' shrub a standout early in the year. This shrub makes a great backdrop for perennials or can provide winter color in otherwise bare areas.
Next to the abeliophyllum, the flowering quinces are beginning to swell. For many, this familiar old stand-by is a hand-me-down plant, but I must admit that I look forward to the large, velvety blood-red flowers of 'Crimson and Gold' Quince with its startling gold stamens almost as much as any other spring flower.
Soon, we'll be enjoying the honey-scented fragrance of the white bottlebrush flowers of the Mt. Airy Fothergilla. These interesting flowers stop gardeners in their tracks as they approach the native plants area across from the greenhouse. You can smell the fragrance before the blooms come into view.
And among the trees, North Carolinians are blessed with the enchanting lavender-pink blooms of the native redbuds (Cercis canadensis). A Chinese form of redbud that I particularly favor is the 'Avondale' (Cercis chinensis). More upright in form than our sprawling native forms, the blooms are so thickly clustered along the branches, that the bark is nearly invisible.
Lew, my husband, prefers the unusual "flowers" that occur on a number of the oriental maples. The Full Moon Maple, or (Acer japonicum 'Acontifolium') has unbelievably purplish-red ½" diameter flowers that nod from the bare branches before the leaves occur in April. 1" fruit and winged seeds that follow only add to the seasonal appeal. Without doubt, this is another treasure among the most unique of blooms.
It's almost time for us to begin to enjoy the fresh harvest of broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage and asparagus again…I can hardly wait. Here are a couple of super recipes that we love…
Creole Cabbage 2 Tbs. butter 1 small head head cabbage, thinly sliced 1 medium onion, thinly sliced 1 medium green pepper, seeded and sliced 1 tsp. oregano ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper 1 cup Roma tomatoes, diced Salt and pepper to taste
• Melt butter in heavy skillet. Add everything except tomatoes. Cover and cook over low heat until tender. Stir frequently, but allow cabbage and onion to carmelize a little. Add tomatoes. Cook 10 more minutes uncovered.
Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad with Buttermilk Dressing (modified from Food & Wine, Feb. 2002)
1 large garlic clove Pinch of Kosher salt 2 tsp. olive oil 2 tsp. Dijon mustard ½ cup buttermilk ¾ tsp. herbes de Provence Freshly ground pepper ½ lb broccoli ½ lb cauliflower Oil cured Greek olives 4 oz. thick-slice bacon, chopped into small pieces 1 medium sweet onion - halved and thinly sliced ½ cup crumbled Roquefort or Blue Cheese• Press garlic clove and mash together with salt. Add olive oil and mustard, then pour in buttermilk while wisking. Add herbs de Provence and a dash of fresh pepper. Set dressing aside to blend for 30 minutes.
• Steam broccoli and cauliflower until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and spray with cool water to stop cooking. Drain and pat dry.
• Fry bacon until crisp. Drain. Toss together with other ingredients and top with cheese and olives.
Herbal Spotlight: The Rugged Rugosa
The rose, it is generally agreed, is the ultimate representative of beauty and fragrance. Its history is nearly impossible to trace, since it has been cultivated by civilizations since before recorded time. We know that roses came from Persia and China, and that Cleopatra's seduction of Antony involved a room knee deep in rose petals, and that John Adams was the first to plant roses near the White House, but to explore the origins of the the diversity of available roses and their introduction to cultivation would require volumes.
Roses have long been used in aromatic products such as perfumes, rose water, potpourri and sachets, but the lovely seeds or rosehips that follow the bloom are also superb resources for a number of reasons. The hips of the rugosas are high in vitamins C,B,E and K and can be used to make a wonderful, citrusy-tart tea. They are also used to make syrups, jellys, jams and wines because of their cranberry like texture and flavor. In China, the hips are recommended for kidney and urinary problems, while the flower petals are used in remedies for blood and liver tonics and digestive irregularities.
Because many of the hybrid teas and other roses are plagued by black spot and various fungal problems in our climate, I have long been interested in the rugosa shrub rose as an alternative, easy to grow choice. Who can truly enjoy a rose from the grave if they've contracted cancer from all of the sprays and chemicals used to protect and enhance their roses? The rugosas, possibly the most cold hardy of all roses, require no such care and maintenance.
Rugosas offer highly fragrant blossoms in both single and double-flowering forms on large growing, old-timey shrubs. Planted in full sun on a well-drained bank or corner where they can send arching branches one over another in a full 4-6' mound, these superb long-bloomers will offer years of performance, flowers and very large hips for harvesting. We usually prune our varieties back heavily (I mean really whack them) in February, to encourage lots of new growth and a more compact form.
The rugosa would make an excellent central focal point for the herb garden with a defined area of containment surrounding it. When it has reached desired proportions, new runners and shoots should be spaded out in spring. Here are the rugosas that we are offering:
Rugosa Shrub Rose-Large single deep pink/red blooms are deliciously fragrant and provide huge seed "hips".
Rosa rugosa 'Alba'-White Rugosa Rose - The kissin' cousin to the old timey rugosa, this is the single flowering form with pure white blooms. Bright yellow tufts of stamens provide a nice contrast.
'Pink Grootendorst' Rugosa Rose - Double rose-pink blooms. The blooms resemble carnations and occur in clusters on large plants that have unusual highly quilted grey-green leaves.
'Topaz Jewel' Rugosa Rose - Wow! A rugosa rose in a double butter cream yellow…what a find.
'Hansa' Rugosa Rose - Vibrant, violet-red double flowers are highly fragrant and followed by large orange-red hips. Fall color for the glossy, green foliage is an attractive yellow-orange. Form is a little more upright, so this is a good one for use as a showy barrier planting.
'Blanc Double de Coubert' Rugosa Rose - Double clear white blooms are saturated with fragrance and produced all summer.
Fierce, outspoken plants that were originally found only in the New World, agaves were also the universal source of materials and products of the early mesoamericans. They were used to produce paper, juice, , food, clothing, pulque, and later with the introduction of the European still, Tequila!.
There
are several hundred species of agaves. Popular for their form and water
conservancy, they are easy plants to grow when given adequate drainage and full
sun. A succulent rosette form, often clumping, they generally have a sharp spine
at the tip of each leaf, so take care, these guys rank right up there with the
cactus for anti-social behavior. Each rosette blooms after a number of years,
produces seeds and dies out…leaving both the plants that have developed along
the stem to be planted and the seeds from the flower stalk.
For maximum success, agaves will need good drainage. Many are sufficiently winter hardy in our area in terms of minimum temperatures, but they despise standing around in wet clay in the winter. Therefore, amending the soil to make water drain away from the roots greatly enhances success with this plant. These are terrific plants for the rock garden and they make super container plants. So far, our collection includes:
New Mexico Agave - Agave neomexicana - A truly hardy agave for our area, this rosette of grey-green leaves can be found in native habitats between 1400 and 7,000 feet on rocky limestone slopes or in grasslands. When it has formed a mature rosette, it will send up a 10' stalk topped with puffs of yellow flowers.
Harvard Agave - Agave harvardiana - Listed as hardy to 15 degrees F by one source and -5 by another.Time will tell. The darker blue-green upright form provides a nice contrast to the grey-colors of some other agaves. Flowers are greenish-yellow with a reddish tinge on a 12' stalk in summer.
Parry's Agave - Agave parryi var. parryi - Fat rounded grey foliage with red-tinted spines make this an early favorite in our collection. Listed as hardy to -20 and each leaf can reach up to 18" long and 5" wide.Mature plants start producing pups, then finally bloom with a 15' spike of flowers. The old rosette then dies, leaving his pups (and seeds) to carry on. Don't hold your breath. This process takes a while.
Striata Agave - Agave striata ssp. striata - In Mexico, the individual rosettes of Agave striata reach 2-3' in height and clumps form that can reach 9' across. But let's not get overly optimistic…be happy with the unique form of this narrow leaf architectural structure in a dry sunny spot in the garden. Flower stalks begin with blooms of a greenish-yellow shade that fade to a reddish purple.
(Photo above taken in Cuernavaca, Mexico, 1999)