In the Garden

July out at the 'Farm'

2011-07-25T15:19:00.000-04:00

I've been a bad girl and have failed to keep you up-dated on the progress of our 'Farm'. Almost everything planted has done amazingly well, especially the weeds, and we have started harvesting crops already. We had a good start with the zuchini, and got a bunch of them all at once, but one plant has died and I think maybe the heat has slowed down the other one. That's OK, we have enjoyed the ones we have eaten, and there will be more. Some of the brocolli have produced some yummy heads, the lettuce was delish. Last week I thinned out the beets and cooked up a mess of beet greens and baby beets that was wonderful!!! So much so that I just went out and bought more beet seeds for a second crop to fill in the spot where we lost 3 cabbages. I think I might try to slip in those pretty Swiss Chard Rainbow Mix seeds next to the beets too. The cabbages are getting big enough to start harvesting, so we'll be having some cole slaw for dinner pretty soon. Last night I picked three nice sized pickle cucumbers to add to some greek salad for dinner this evening.

Below are some photos I've taken as things progress out at the 'Farm'. You can see how fast things are growing! The bottom picture was taken just late last week, there is hardly room to walk down the paths to water and check the crops. There's a good set of green tomatoes on most of the plants, so any day now, we expect to start harvesting those. And the winter squashes!!! Sheesh! I swear they are trying to over-run the whole place. I have to keep steering the vines back into their designated area, otherwise I think they'd be out on Newburg Road

Al, diligently hoeing weeds

things are growing!

and growing

and GROWING!!!

I got another nice selection of seeds from the Seeds of the Month Club this month, and while I won't be able to fit them into this season, there is always next. This month I got some Garlic Chives, Salad Cucumbers, Okra, and Sweet White Spanish Onions. The seeds will keep until next summer, unless I see that yes indeed, I can fit in just one more crop. By then, I should have a really nice collection of wonderful new things to try, Mike sends such a great assortment every month.

The Seeds of the Month Club is distributed by Mike the Gardener Enterprises, LLC, who also administers the largest Vegetable Gardening page on Facebook.

Out at 'The Farm'

2011-06-14T14:01:00.001-04:00

Things are coming along nicely out at 'The Farm'. We got our plants in and our seeds planted just after Memorial Day, and spent the next several evenings making sure everything was well watered to ensure a good start. Before planting the beans, we constructed tee-pees of bamboo poles and twine for them to grow on, and set a sturdy tomato cage around each of our tomatoes. After a few days, we sprinkled on some 13/13/13 fertilizer for the plants, and decided to wait a bit to fertilize the seedlings, not wanting to disturb them unnecessarily.

Above, you can see the slightly raised beds I designed for our garden, keeping all foot traffic in the lower areas to keep the soil from getting compressed, making it easier to care for the plants, weed and hopefully harvest our crops.

We were out there last a couple of days ago and the seeds were all starting to emerge, the tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli and squash were all growing nicely, and we needed to weed! Boy do those weeds grow fast! Tons of little seedlings all over the place! Al made short work of them with a hoe, we watered again, and as the sun went down, we were on our way home. The weeds will be back I'm sure, but as long as we can keep them under control while the crops gain in size, we'll be OK.

I got another nice selection of seeds from the Seeds of the Month Club this month, and I sure wish I had a place to fit in some of those beautiful Swiss Card plants! Look at the color on those! I can plan on fitting them in next summer though, the seeds will keep until then, along with the Roma Tomatoes, Cilantro, and Eggplant. By then, I should have a really nice collection of wonderful new things to try, Mike sends such a great assortment every month.

The Seeds of the Month Club is distributed by Mike the Gardener Enterprises, LLC, who also administers the largest Vegetable Gardening page on Facebook.

Opening Day!

2011-06-02T11:12:00.000-04:00

Finally! After one of the wettest springs in my memory, the community gardens at Greenmead are finally open! We were able to check in with Brad, the head gardener there, find and mark our assigned 25 by 25 plot and plan on setting to work in it as soon as the weather and soil cooperated. When we checked in last Saturday, it was still too wet to work the soil- still some standing water, and muddy patches. Since the city never got to do the final plowing and disking, it was rough, and full of weeds, debris and a scattering of volunteer lettuce and dill. I could take my vegetable and herb plants out of the greenhouse and harden them off for planting! Woo-hoo!

Nice looking plants!

Our 'Farm'

Yesterday, I loaded up the car with tools and sett out to hoe all the weeds down and build the raised beds we would need to plant all of the veggies and cut flowers we intended to grow. An hour after arriving, I had hoed an area about 3 feet by 12 feet and the task looked daunting. So when a nice young woman came over and asked if I wanted the plot rototilled, I weakened, and then caved. Rototilling isn't really all that good for the soil, and churns up more weed seeds to grow more weeds, but it does make the weeds that ARE there easier to yank out. The rototiller made short work of the whole plot, so I spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon building the raised beds so we could start planting. I had rescued the wild lettuce scattered around the plot, so I stuck that back in on the edge of the squash bed- it will be a few weeks before that part of the bed would be overrun with squash vines, by then the lettuce would be eaten.

Getting it rototilled

Ready to plant

Later in the cool of the evening we hauled our tomatoes, cabbage and broccoli out to 'The Farm' along with the flowers and basil we also wanted to grow. The wind was pretty fierce, but we managed to get everything planted and watered in before the sun went down on the day. This evening we'll go back out and plant some seeds, cage those tomatoes, and make tee-pees for the pole beans we plan on growing.

Day 1 optimism

Just a footnote about my little Robins: Below is the last photo I got of them before they fledged. All crammed into the nest, pushing and shoving like little kids in the back seat. The next morning, only one remained in the nest all snuggled in. He seemed to be comfy there, almost saying "I've got my own room! Cool!" He stayed for another day, then seemed sort of lonely and left to go find his family. I took down the empty nest and put it in a tree in case Momma Robin wanted to use it again. Later that week I spotted two of the babies out in the woods waiting for Dad to bring them some food. It'll be fun to watch as the parents teach them where and how to fend for themselves as they grow into adulthood.

Bye-bye birdies

They grow up so fast!

2011-05-20T15:49:00.000-04:00

It seems like just yesterday that Mr. and Mrs. Robin built their nest on the porch light and dropped 4 perfect little eggs in the bottom. In no time the little ones hatched out and started to grow as momma and daddy brought them juicy worms and other insects. Follow their progress below as they triple and quadruple in size, grow feathers, and open their little eyes.

May 11

May 14

May 17

May 20

Momma and Daddy have learned to identify the 'paparazi' and fly at me whenever I am outside

It will probably only be a matter of days before the little ones leave the nest and follow their parents around learning to find food, I hope to grab a few more pictures before they do, but I really don't want to lose an eye.

Spring comes to Michigan! (finally)

2011-05-10T12:01:00.000-04:00

Finally! After a long, long, long winter, and a cold and wet early spring, it seems that finally we are in for some nicer weather. The trees are finally leafing out, and flowers are blooming.

New life has begun right under the front porch roof- a pair of Robins has started a family on top of the porch light, and while we could have removed the nest before they laid eggs in it, it seemed like a mean thing to do- it was so sweet and perfect, well protected, warm and dry for the little ones. From last year's experience, I knew it would only be a few weeks slight inconvenience before the eggs would hatch and the babies fledged. Within a few days, although the parents fussed at us whenever we left the house, the nest had three, then four beautiful blue eggs in it, being kept warm by two diligent parents. They got used to us coming and going, and while they would fly off the nest if we got too close, they stopped fussing and dive bombing us unless we reached up to snap pictures.

This morning, while working in the garage, I noticed one of the parents perched on the edge of the nest, rather than sitting in it. She seemed to be looking down into it, so I thought just maybe the eggs were hatching!

When I finished my work in the garage, I got out my ladder to snap a picture of the inside of the nest- the only way we can see all the way into the bottom. While they are far from cute yet, the two newly hatched chicks will be joined by their two siblings soon and in just a few days double in size, start to grow feathers, exhaust their parents in keeping them fed until they completely crowd each other out of that deep nest and are forced to fly off and explore the world.

It's been spring in my basement for a while now as all of my seeds have sprouted and are quickly outgrowing my shelves, some flats have even been moved out to the greenhouse on the deck- cabbage and broccoli like the cooler spring weather, and so do phlox and lobelia. The indoor shelves are crowded with tomatoes, impatiens, zinnias, and a few other things to plant around the condo, or out at our vegetable plot we are calling 'The Farm' or 'The Back .040'.

Last week, I got a new shipment of seeds from the 'Seed of the Month Club'. Italian Flat leaf Parsley, Black Beauty Zucchini, Cylindra Beets, and a packet of Mammoth Sunflower seeds. Some of them will be planted here- the parsley I can put in my herb garden, the beets and zucchini can be planted out at 'The Farm', but the sunflower will have to be saved for next year- it's just too big and tall. Some time in the next few weeks, we should be able to start planting, and I can hardly wait! If you are interested in The Seeds of the Month Club, there are links below to find out how to join.

The Seeds of the Month Club is distributed by Mike the Gardener Enterprises, LLC, who also administers the largest Vegetable Gardening page on Facebook.

Garden Dreams

2011-04-08T09:25:00.001-04:00

Counting down the days to gardening season, and I've been working on planning out my 25 by 25 garden plot I've rented for the summer growing season here in Michigan. We're in zone 5 or 6, depending on where you are in the state. Technically, I'd say I'm in zone 6, but I tend to work with the zone 5 info as far as frost free dates go, especially for really tender plants and those that really like warm soil before they are planted out.
There's still a month to go before the Community Garden will be ready to plant in, so that leaves out some of the crops that really like a cool season, like peas, lettuce and spinach. Those I could be planting right now, and as soon as the soil is warm enough, they'd be up and growing. They close the gardens up in mid October, so crops that mature really late and can be harvested well into November and December (up until a good hard frost) would be wasted. So, I wouldn't get a full harvest of kale, parsnips, and a late crop of brocolli.
On the other hand, the garden is in full sun, all day, and has plenty of room for all of those yummy summer crops we all love so well! Tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, beans, squash, and so on. To make it easy to maintain and harvest, I'm planning on setting up some raised beds in it, and doing some companion planting to maximize my harvest and have a great looking garden. I love cut flowers in the summer, so I'm including some of those amongst the vegies, and some of the varieties I'm planting will be pretty as well.
All around the perimeter of the 25 by 25 plot, we'll hill up raised beds about 30 to 36 inches deep, allowing two entry and working paths about 2 feet wide along the main pathway. Along the main path, will be planted some cabbages and dill. Along the left side, we'll put in a variety of different tomatoes, spacing them about 3 feet apart, with a basil plant in between each, toward the path side. I have a cage for each plant, and a good sturdy stake. Along the right side, we'll alternate Comet Brocolli, and a crossed variety called Purple Peacock that I wanted to try. There's a back section that we haven't decided on what to plant yet. Maybe more tomatoes, or just flowers. In all four corners will go some short sunflowers and a pretty variety of zinnia I found for cut flowers.
We'll divide off the large remaining section into different sized raised beds. Towards the back, we'll form a large square about 10 by 10, and in it will go 4 hills with 2 kinds of winter squash. To the side of that will be a 3 foot wide bed of bush pickle cucumbers- we hope to make some pickles later in the summer. To the front of those will go a long row of pole beans- a purple variety I love, and a coral runner bean- the combination of the two colors of flowers and beans should be very decorative. Purple beans turn green when cooked, and have a wonderful flavor. The runner beans are also delicious when picked about pencil size. We'll set up some sort of trellis for them to grow on. In front of the beans, we'll plant a row of carrots. The feathery leaves will look pretty along the path.
So, the planning is going well, in the next week or so I'll be starting some of the vegie seeds we plan on using, including some of the newest shipment of seed I got from the "Seeds of the Month Club". This month I got Thyme (I love thyme) Chantenay Red Core Carrot, Lincoln Peas, and Golden Acre Cabbage. Both the carrots and the cabbage will be put to good use in the garden, and I may try the thyme here in my herb garden if I can find some room.

The Seeds of the Month Club is distributed by Mike the Gardener Enterprises, LLC, who also administers the largest Vegetable Gardening page on Facebook.

New Gardening Adventures

2011-03-18T15:31:00.005-04:00

As some of you know, I moved last summer to a lovely condo with a whole lotta shade and no where to grow the veggies I love to grow every summer. It was OK going to the Farmer’s Market every week and picking up whatever I could find in season, but I sure did miss growing my own. At my old house I grew several tomato varieties, broccoli, pole beans and a lot of herbs. I love to cook, and using fresh herbs and veggies makes my dishes sing.

This year, in an effort to again have our own fresh produce to eat and share, we’ve obtained a community garden plot nearby, just a few miles away. Already, we’ve been planning what to plant where, what kinds of things to grow, and drooling over catalogues. Decisions, decisions!

In addition to again having plenty of space to grow things, I’ll have a garden to blog about! I’ll be writing about the process, the problems, and the progress as well as posting photos of all the yummy things we’ll be growing out there. What fun we are going to have! My partner Al has a bit of experience gardening and is very willing to work along side in helping with the planting and upkeep, so it should be very pleasant to throw our tools and the dogs in the car and do a bit of farming in the evenings.

A couple of days ago I found a fantastic opportunity that fits right in with this year’s gardening project. It’s the Seeds of the Month Club! I happened to find them on Facebook and checked out the process- it looked like fun to me, so I signed up. Mike the Gardener says:

From novice to experienced, millions of people around the world grow their own vegetables. Some do it for fun as a hobby but many do it as a means to put healthy, safe food on their family`s kitchen table for a lot less than what they would pay in stores. With a monthly Seeds Club subscription you can cut your costs even further to as little as $0.06 per day!

Signing up was really easy, there are different plans available and it’s really risk free. Every month I will get 4 new packets of vegetable seeds to try out (or can fit them in, in my case).

So today, in our mailbox was an envelope with four packets of seeds: Marketmore Cukes, Green Flesh Honeydew Melon, Paris Island Cos Lettuce, and Ace 55 Tomato. Way cool! We’re off to a great start on our vegetable patch, and whatever seeds we can’t use, we can share, give away, or save for next year’s garden. I can’t wait to see what comes next month! I invite you to check out the sites below, and join me in this adventure.

See you in the Garden!

The Seeds of the Month Club is distributed by Mike the Gardener Enterprises, LLC, who also administers the largest Vegetable Gardening page on Facebook.

Monsanto’s Roundup Triggers Over 40 Plant Diseases and Endangers Human and Animal Health

2011-01-19T08:19:00.000-05:00

I always thought that Round-up was an OK product to use both in the agricultural industry and in the home/hobby garden until this morning. This article by Jeffery Smith on the Institute for Responsible Technology web site shows that the product isn't as safe as we thought. After reading the article, I won't be using it directly in my garden any more, and will limit it's use to the weeds growing in the driveway cracks. I urge you to check the article "Monsanto’s Roundup Triggers Over 40 Plant Diseases and Endangers Human and Animal Health" out and spread the word. Thanks!

And they're off!

2010-06-10T19:41:00.000-04:00

This is the last photo I got of the baby Robins. It was taken a day or two before they all flew out of the nest on Monday when I returned home and attempted to open the door without disturbing them. Just look at how crammed into the nest they are, just a tangle of feathers and beaks. What an amazingly fast process! From egg to flight in under a month!

New arrivals!

2010-05-27T12:01:00.000-04:00

This morning I noticed that my mama Robin wasn't in her usual spot on her nest. I was worried that I had just disturbed her too much, or her nest had been raided and the eggs lost. Not to worry- she was just off finding food for these four little darlings! My goodness, they sure look hungry! I hope she's up to the task of keeping all those little bellies full. I just adore Robins!

New Beginnings

2010-05-16T17:08:00.001-04:00

Spring has sprung, the scent of flowers is in the air, and new life is springing up all around me. Several Robins are singing out in the yard, and a pair has even set up housekeeping just outside my door after losing their first nest by my neighbor's door. They seem to be getting used to my comings and goings, I can get quite close to them and still they remain on the nest of three beautiful blue eggs. They seem to know that I won't hurt them or disturb their nest.

As I write this I am resting after a session of digging up and potting the few plants I have grown attached to here- the lavender, chives, sage and oregano I planted my first summer here, the miniature rose bush that is a cherished gift from a friend, the day lily that is the only plant I have from my previous garden, and the assorted perennials that came in a mixed cut flower seed packet I scattered last spring. This place and garden has always been a temporary place for me, I never really set down any roots here, and now it's time to move on.

This time I get to move in the spring of the year instead of the dead of winter, and for a much more hopeful reason. It's a new beginning and not an ending. In preparation, I have tossed out, sold or given away things I won't have room or a use for any more and kept those things I really like or just can't part with. The next few weeks will be spent packing up all of my things and setting up a new household and a new garden, combining possessions and creating a new home.

The new garden will be considerably shadier, not enough sun for the tomatoes and vegetables I like to grow, but under the lovely flowering trees will be room for a variety of hosta, my favorite impatiens, and some perennials. There are some sunny spots to tuck the herbs into, and that will satisfy the chef in me for now. I can get all the fresh vegetables I want at the local Farmer's Markets, along with the fresh seasonal fruits and herbs I won't be able to grow at the new place. When you are only cooking for two, you don't need much.

Behind the place is a nice sized deck for my 'garden room' furniture, my barrel pond for my fish and some mixed planters. The deck and rear garden back up to an old growth strip of woods where the Trout Lilies, Wood Anemones and other woodland wildflowers are already done with their blooming for the year, and the undergrowth is now filling in. I look forward to the two of us sitting outside and enjoying the view of the garden and woods on a soft summer's evening. It's big enough beyond the shallow rolling lawn for a short exploration to discover what else may be growing in there and perhaps insert some additional woodland flowers along the edge to enjoy next spring. It will be nice to be able to see out into the woods from the sunny living room, dining room and bedroom and watch the wildlife and the seasons as they change. I really miss being able to see the garden from the house and having it entice me outside to see what's going on.

So this spring and summer are especially hope filled for me, with a new life and love, a new home and garden, and a new future to shape. There will be new adventures, new plants to try, new soil to work and a new way of life. Together. In a new nest.

See you in the Garden!

Ellen Leigh

Catalogue Choices

2010-02-15T13:48:00.002-05:00

So far this winter I have amassed a huge collection of seed and plant catalogues. I love to page through them, looking at all the gorgeous photos, reading the descriptions and trying to decide if this plant or that plant would be a better fit in my dream garden (I call it my dream garden because it only exists there, my real garden is somewhat 'limited in size').

Writing up all those blurbs about different plants and seeds has to be really tough work sometimes, I mean truly- the writer has to work really hard to come up with new descriptions for virtually identical plants, worded just the right way to entice the gardener into parting with their hard-earned dollars, and max out their credit cards on enough seeds and plants to fill two gardens. And much like real estate descriptions, you have to learn from experience what all those fancy key words really mean. Heaven help the novice gardener, faced with these choices, all of which promise to give them a garden showplace, worthy of a professional design mag layout. So here's a bit of help in deciphering just what all that jargon means:

Choice: We're overstocked, trying desperately to move this item off our shelves.
Rare and Choice: We can't even squeeze all these into the storeroom.
Common: Well known plants from our childhood, even the most inept gardener can grow these. Common plants are never offered in catalogues. This term is only used to describe a variety "Much improved over it's common ancestor" Common plants are described as "durable".
Exclusive: they've paid the breeder a big fat fee to only sell the item to them. You have to get it from them, no-one else has it. This season anyhoo- next season it will be half the price in every catalogue. Watch for 'Mail-order exclusive'. It's probably available on the groaning shelves at Wallyworld.
Limited Supply: You might want to rush right out and order this, but it's futile. It means that either (A) they've sold out the day before the catalogues went to press, or (B) they are hoarding the few they do have for friends, family and a few discerning favorite customers.
May bloom the first year: means it won't bloom the first year in my garden, or yours either. "If planted early enough" means plant it on New Years Day.
Hardy: will live through the winter...somewhere, but not in your garden. Hardy to zone 5 really means zone 6, but one person once got it through a zone 5 winter with unseasonably warm weather and plenty of snowcover. "Hardy with some protection" means it must be coddled more than a flu-stricken husband.
Light fragrance: You have to crush it and shove it up your nose to notice.
Vigorous grower: flashing red lights should be going off in your head. These are plants that will devour your house and yard in weeks. (Kudzu is considered a 'mildly vigorous grower').
Provides winter interest: extra boring the other three seasons.
Old Favorite: AKA 'Victorian Favorite' replaced by better varieties pre WWII, for good reason I might add, it will succumb to all kinds of maladies and even introduce you to a few new ones.
Tolerates light shade: Yeah- it'll survive, but it sure won't like it. Probably won't die, but will just get leggy and won't bloom.
A challenge: Will die. (in law, this is called a disclaimer)
Spectacular: Gaudy and tasteless.
For the discerning gardener: (A) The opposite of 'Spectacular'- you need a magnifying glass to see the flowers the three days it is in bloom. (B) Priced at twice it's worth.
Will reseed freely or Self-sowing: make sure you like this one, because it will spew seeds into the rest of your garden, your lawn and even the cracks of your driveway and defy any efforts to limit it's spread.
Mild: often used to describe tomato flavor, it means it will taste just like the sliced pale winter tomatoes on a diner salad.
Delicate in flavor: there is none, you'll need plenty of butter and garlic to appreciate the vegetable you spent all summer growing. Wonderful smothered in pasta sauce.
Prolific: You will have to leave these on your hated neighbor's porch under cover of darkness just to get rid of them. Often used in descriptions of Zuchini varieties.
Unique: Just downright weird looking, bordering on ugly, this is the most positive term they could come up with for this one. Some people like their flowers and vegies to look like something out of a science fiction novel or 'Star Trek'

So how do I know what these terms really mean? Because every year I fall for them, place those orders, and try something rare, choice and unique, available in limited quantities for the discerning gardener only, that's how.
See you in the Garden!

Winter Dreams

2009-11-30T10:36:00.009-05:00

The cold brisk days of winter are settling in now and I have a chance to reflect on the past growing season. Currently, I don't have as much gardening space as I'd like but I did make good use of it this past season growing tomatoes, herbs, and scarlet runner beans (really tasty if picked young with lovely red flowers) along with an assortment of annuals, just because I love flowers.

The seeds I like to save are put away until next March- impatiens, phlox, and blue lobelia among them. I'll probably pick up some seed packets too for some tomatoes, beans, and herbs along with perhaps some new varieties of flowers. March is when the growing season begins for me- moistening up the seed mix, filling the seed trays and scattering the seeds on the surface to start 'the watch'. In a matter of just a few days the miracle happens- first a little white root then a hint of green and before long, baby plants have sprouted and are shoving their way up towards the grow lights, shouldering aside their siblings in the tray. I can hardly wait!

In the mean time over the winter, perhaps I'll do some research on the possibility of designing a prairie garden. I had the opportunity this past summer to spend over a week traveling across the northern Plains states and spent quite a bit of time photographing and appreciating the vastness of an open prairie. We visited some Prairie preserves in western Minnesota and drove across both North and South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska and Iowa, stopping frequently to appreciate the beauty of the Great Plains.

I'm sure many of the same grasses and wildflowers also can be grown here in the wetter climate of Michigan and would certainly be low maintenance. Some of the plants I saw I've even used as part of a perennial border- Purple Coneflowers, Black-eyed Susans, Blanket Flowers and grasses. What we don't use here are the beautiful silver sages. If those aren't available, a Russian Sage could be a good stand in for that, along with a culinary sage for a different bloom time, leaf and flower form. Of course there will have to be a Prickly Pear Cactus here and there as well and some low growing Prairie Roses. And it won't be complete unless there are grasses to wave in the breeze and blend the flowers together to finish the composition.

The book I bought on the trip: 'Wildflowers and Grasses of the Northern Plains and Black Hills' will be thoroughly studied along with the multiple photographs we took. I can find sources on line for seeds and plants and make notes for a future time when I may have just the right spot for my 'Prairie Garden', dreaming of the day when I can turn the soil, scatter the seeds and find just the right spot for each of those special plants I want to highlight in the garden. And through the center of it all will be a grassy path leading to a rustic seat to relax on and remember the beauty of the prairie.

Happy dreaming, see you in the Garden!

Ellen Leigh

http://ellensgarden.blogspot.Com

Below are a few of the on-line catalogues I'll be checking out.

http://WWW.americanmeadows.Com

http://WWW.edenbrothers.Com

http://WWW.wildflowerfarm.Com

http://WWW.prairiemoon.Com

2009-11-15T15:18:00.001-05:00

I'm completely overhauling my professional Facebook page- it was too confusing to have my main identity and my business page have the same name (I am blonde after all). My apologies- but if you had already fanned me, you probably are gonna hafta do it again. I hope this clears up a few issues people have been having, and helps me to keep a better eye on which page has what on it and why.
The new page can be found here at Ellen Leigh Inteiors on Facebook.

A little friend

2009-08-13T19:28:00.002-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

Isn't he (or is it a she?) adorable? I found the tiniest of toads hopping around in my garden recently. Barely the size of my fingernail, I'm sure it will grow and help consume the bugs I don't like out there. He joins the other toads I've seen out there- some much, much bigger, some medium sized ones. They even hop up the steps and onto the deck looking for bugs to eat.
Late spring nights I can hear them singing in the weedy edges of the yard- I'm not far from a small lake- it's a sweet sound of one toad calling to another, looking for love. As a friend so nicely put it: "It's all about the nooky."

Summer Flowers

2009-07-22T19:27:00.005-04:00

I am really enjoying my little gardens this year. The above photo is of the herb garden outside my back door. With easy access to the kitchen, I can run out quickly and grab something to add to the evening meal or breakfast omelet. Last year's pineapple sage survived the winter snuggled in close to the house, and looks really healthy there in the back. Chives, lemon thyme, rosemary, basil, sage, plus lavender and some catmint for scent and color round out the herbs, along with some nasturtiums and pansies to add to a salad.

I love to decorate my garden with old furniture and impliments. The chair above sits alongside the parking area and holds a lovely mixed planter. My favorite blue lobelia, and a pretty coral pelargonium fill out the barely visible cobalt blue pot.

I can't tell you how many generations of impatiens I've grown from seed collected each year from plants I've started in the house. I never tire of saving the seeds, starting them in March, and patiently waiting to see what surprising colors show up each summer. Coral swirl is my favorite color, and there's one I'm especially fond of with spatters of dark burgundy on a coral background- very unusual!

Green Gardening- Making use of Recyclables

2009-04-06T13:08:00.003-04:00

Take a good look at this planter- it's an old chair, rescued from the trash, it's upholstery removed and replaced with chicken wire, a coir insert, and a terrific combination of bloomers!

The following is an article written by a guest blogger- you never know who you might meet on the internet, eh? Some great points are made, reinforcing the things we already know as Master Gardeners, ideas we can use, and things we learned about starting seeds outdoors at last month's meeting using recycled materials.

There isn’t a better way to enjoy the warm springtime weather while making a difference on the environment than with indoor or outdoor gardening. Not only are we adding a little bit of green to our home but we’re also lowering the demand for non-organic vegetables and herbs by starting our own supply of fresh food for our cooking and eating enjoyment. Once you take up gardening, you’ll soon find that you can make the space around your outdoor furniture even greener by taking up eco-friendly practices such as using recycled materials to aid in the growth of your garden and by creating a nutritious compost pile.

One of the easiest ways to get started on living a greener life is by creating a compost pile in a backyard area from grass clippings and dry leaves produced from past seasons. Compost piles benefit your garden by providing an organic fertilizer filled with an abundance of minerals and nutrients that will nourish your organic garden and allow you to recycle waste from your kitchen. Used coffee grounds and tea leaves can be added to your damp mulch pile and are the perfect addition to plants that thrive off of acid-based fertilizers. Adding sheets or shreds of old newspaper around your plants will help with weed control as this material decomposes and becomes part of your nutritious garden soil.

If you’re looking to get your garden growing, there are a number of materials that are normally thrown out in the trash but can actually be used to house seedlings for a young garden that is just starting out. Plastic yogurt containers as well as milk and egg cartons provide a great space for transplanting new seeds and plants while you’re getting your soil ready. If your garden is well underway and you’re looking for a way to use recycled materials, try tying old pantyhose or T-shirt strips around metal or wood gardening posts to keep your tomato plants upright and growing strong. Also, add a charming aesthetic by building a small walkway with reused pieces of concrete or stone leading to or through your beautiful garden.

New Garden Coach Directory

2009-03-12T14:20:00.002-04:00

It's a cold crisp day and I'm impatiently waiting for spring here, trying to figure out what to write about for this month. Well, sometimes the subject comes easily, and sometimes, like today, it just pops up! I no sooner opened this document when an e-mail arrived in my computer with an update to a site I joined a few weeks ago- The Garden Coach Directory ( http://gardencoachdirectory.wetpaint.Com/ ). It's a new version of the site I joined a couple of years ago that had grown to be too big for it's originator to handle. I've written about it before on my blog (August 3, 2007), set up a web site, and have even had a few clients since then.

As Master Gardeners we provide a valuable service to the public- educating, volunteering, caring for our environment, and hands on gardening efforts to show people the value of gardening as a whole. With the economy in such turmoil this year, I believe that there will be many people interested in learning how to grow their own food, and to care for their own landscapes and gardens as well as the environment as a means to conserve their own resources and even to nurture their own souls. We are all in a position to help them learn to do that.

There are a few ways to teach people about gardening available to us as members of the MGAWC. One is the tried and true "Let's Go Gardening" program set up years ago by Leo Blum. By volunteering on Saturdays in May at local nurseries, we can answer questions, advise on safe gardening practices as well as earn a bit of income for our organization. Another way is to direct people to the series of classes offered by our organization meant for beginning gardeners, the "Intro to Gardening" classes. Yet another is to man a booth at a local farmer's market and answer questions there. I predict that there will be a lot more people interested in taking advantage of our words of advice this year. I urge you to volunteer a few hours of your time to provide this valuable service. If that isn't enough for you, hang out a shingle as a Garden Coach as I have and provide the service right at the new gardener's home.

Visit the new Garden Coach Directory at: http://gardencoachdirectory.wetpaint.Com/ - it's growing quickly to be a valuable resource, user friendly, and a great group of gardeners all over the world dedicated to teaching about gardening. Each individual coach has their own page, listed in their home state- mine of course can be found in the great state of Michigan. It's absolutely free to join, and could be a great place to scatter your gardening expertise and help grow new gardeners.

See you in the Garden!

Ready, Set, Garden!

2009-02-12T11:53:00.003-05:00

I don't know about you, but I've had enough of winter. Seems like every time I turned around, I was shovelling snow, and as I write this a recent warm spell with record setting temps has melted most of the snow piled up out in the yard. More snow is in the forecast for the week-end. I am so ready for spring!

It's time to rev up the grow lights, get out the seed packets picked up or ordered in the dead of winter, and load up the seed trays. Warm everything up, get the timing just right on the lights, add a bit of moisture and stand back. Within days, a miracle happens and those tiny seeds send forth a tiny root, seed leaves and then sprout their first true leaves, reaching toward the bright lights set above them.

Last year, I didn't start too many different kinds of seeds- I don't have a lot of places to garden here, so I figured that I'd just pick up a few four packs of annuals somewhere. I was sadly disappointed with the lack of variety available, and sorely missed Clyde Smith's garden center. This year, I still don't have a lot of garden space, but have picked up some of my old favorite annual seeds that I missed having last year.

There's lots of shade here, so my impatiens did very well in pots on the deck, I saved some seeds from those. Along the driveway is enough sun for a few tomatoes, herbs and sun-loving annuals. I adore the little Star White Zinnias, so I picked up a packet of seeds for those, along with some Cinnamon Basil I had a hard time finding last year. I think I have some Phlox of Sheep seeds left, I'll try to grow those again this year, last year's plants did not do well at all and I really missed their beautiful colors.

The soil here is very poor, I have my compost bins working to try to rebuild some areas. I'm hoping that the leaves I left to rot in place will also help to improve the texture of the compacted areas along the drive. I'll expand the small garden area I dug out, and make that bigger, it's sunny enough for some annuals, but not sunny enough for vegetables. Vegetables are fun to grow, and taste great, but it's hard to only grow enough for one or two people, so it's not a big deal to not have them.

It's an exciting time of year- just before Spring- there are so many possibilities, so many choices. We take all the new information we learned from our gardens last year, and apply it to this year coming up. Doesn't matter if we've gardened the same one for decades, or like me, a brand new place. Things change and evolve- sunny areas grow shady, shady areas can be suddenly sunny. Every Spring is a chance to start again, try again with Hope for a wonderful new season. Can you dig it? Are you ready?

See you in the Garden!

The Outdoor Room

2008-06-25T11:13:00.000-04:00

Summer has finally arrived! I have the weeds well in hand here, and everything is planted, fertilized, caged and staked. The deck- my outdoor room- is all set up and decorated, so finally the garden feels like home to me. It must be pretty inviting out there- that's where all of my guests want to hang out.

With all of the garden ornaments, wide variety of furnishings, decorative items and plant containers available in the stores, markets and on the curb (my favorite place to shop) it is easy to furnish a deck or patio to create that outdoor gathering space. I have been collecting a lot of items for many years, so it's a simple thing to arrange and re-arrange the seating and decor to create an inviting look, and provide a lovely view of the garden (or in my case- the lawn and trees).

Setting up the outdoor room boils down to one word- VIEW - the room needs to be inviting from the inside of the house, and once out there seated, there should be something pleasant to look at both close up- mixed planters, small gardens, tellises covered with flowering vines, decor, etc, and a distant view. In my outdoor room, I have positioned most of the seating to view my neighbor's yard with stately maple trees, ancient lilacs, and an expanse of lawn with the sunset through the trees. My other views are the parking area of the driveway with my car parked in it, or my other neighbors overgrown and neglected yard with poison ivy thriving along the chain link fence and a rusted out truck (not a pleasant view at all). Easy choice for me there. I picked my car, and the stately trees and sunset for the long view, and arranged the furnishings to take advantage of it.

Once the bones of the set up is completed, then the close up views- decor, mixed planters, vertical elements like arches, trellises and shepherd's hooks can be included to frame views or mask unpleasant ones. It is very much like decorating interior spaces, except that instead of art on the walls, and windows to the outside, you frame pleasant natural views, and create walls of structures to support plants to appreciate. You can even add a bit of softness in the form of cushions and pillows, tablecloths and napkins for special gatherings. I store all of these items in a large plastic deck box to keep them handy.

We've worked hard on our gardens, enjoy the process of discovering new plants, finding just the right spot for them, and maintaining them, so why not go to the next level and create a space to relax and enjoy our hard work? Invite your guests out to appreciate what you do, create a room to relax in and enjoy this all too brief Michigan summer. Ready, set, decorate!

See you in the garden!
Ellen Leigh

New Discoveries

2008-05-12T19:26:00.001-04:00

As Spring moves along on it's way to summer every day that I go out and ramble around out in the garden I find something new. A lot of the property has been allowed to run wild, so there are some meadow wildflowers here and there, buckthorn of course , and weedy trees like box elder and silver maples. But also there are some things that will be interesting to watch develop- gooseberry bushes, apple trees, berry brambles and who knows what else.

There's tons of Garlic mustard out there- I'll be putting that Garlic Mustard cookbook to good use! I've tried just sauteing it, and it is really pretty tasty, so I'll try to find the book and check out a few recipes- there's plenty out there. I've never tried gooseberry anything, so I'm looking forward to testing out a couple of new recipe's there too.

Finally the weather and my schedule worked out so that I had the opportunity to spend some quality time prepping my little planting areas for seeds, finishing the removal of a few square feet of lawn for a flower garden, and actually planting some seeds this past Saturday. I opted for some really easy to grow annuals- Cosmos, Sweet Alyssum, annual Forget me not's, Johnny Jump ups, and some scented Nicotiana along with Morning Glories and Moonflowers in the trellised pots. If I get a few divisions of perennials, I'll put them in the new garden, but I think this year it will be mostly annuals, herbs and a few veggies here and there. Along the driveway, which faces south, I will have a small herb garden, the tomato's, cinnamon basil and nasturtiums for both color and to add to salads. I'll also try to grow some broccoli and lettuce- but the bunnies may find it tasty, so it may not make it to my plate.

The usual Phlox of Sheep, light blue trailing lobelia, and my special variety of Impatiens are growing well under the grow lights, so there will be some continuity in my new garden. As usual, I started way too many plants for my own use, so some will be looking for adoptive homes, along with a few tomato plants as well. I only have room for 4 different plants, but of course I have to plant a few seeds to ensure having a good plant to keep for me in each variety. The portable greenhouse is filling up with plants picked up at the MGAWC plant sale, and with those that I'm hardening off before planting.

My garden may not be large enough for a garden walk this year, but it will be pretty later on in the summer, so if you are out in the Plymouth area be sure to stop by, enjoy a glass of iced tea or lemonade and sit a spell on the deck in the shade. I may even offer you a piece of gooseberry pie!

See you in the garden!

Let the Gardening Begin!

2008-04-11T13:51:00.001-04:00

As you all know, I had to say goodbye to the garden I had spent 17 years creating and developing. Some of the trees, plants and shrubs I left behind had been grown from seed over 25 years ago and moved to the site, some were cherished divisions from family and friends, and many of the trees were planted in memory of loved ones who had passed on in years past. I have my memories, photographs, and a lot of the portable ornaments and pots from the garden, but left behind every plant.

Waiting for Spring has been hard, not knowing how I would fill the hole in my heart left by it's loss, sometimes remembering what early spring flower should be in bloom first, and visiting nearby gardens to see if someone else might have something green and growing to fill my heart.

Finally, the temperatures are warming up, and Spring has returned to the area. So on a very warm day this week, I spent the afternoon carrying furniture and decorations out of the garage, and arranged and rearranged everything on the deck and alongside the house to begin the process of once again decorating the outdoor room that will be my new garden. I have a lot of it planned in my head- what seeds to plant here, what pot filled with flowers will go there, the best spot for the herbs, the tomatoes, maybe some beans.

My fingers began to ache to be in the soil, and even though I haven't turned the flower beds yet and taken out the weeds, I celebrated Spring with the purchase of a six pack of brightly colored pansies, and a lavender plant to fill the chair/planter I put by my door to greet me and my visitors.

My garden this year will be much smaller, mostly in pots, and mostly annuals, but I have always depended on annuals to give me plenty of color all summer long. There is continuity in starting the seeds I saved from the Impatiens, Phlox of Sheep and Blue Lobelia I have been growing for years, and making plans to plant them all around my new deck here.

There's a lot of wildlife here- raccoons, possums, rabbits, groundhogs, and even coyotes, although I haven't seen one of those. Growing some things may be a challenge, but I'll give it a shot. There is a wide variety of birds that visit my feeders, and I'm sure there is a trumpet vine growing on the sunny side of the house, so maybe I'll have hummingbirds- I would love that!

So- I have made a start, my gardening heart is healing, and while it won't be the same garden, it will be my garden. In the coming weeks and months, I will keep you posted on how it develops, what works, what doesn't work, and post some pictures on the blog. I may even have a garden party or two to celebrate. Stay tuned!

See you in the Garden!

On the Edge of Spring Slideshow

2008-03-18T17:12:00.002-04:00

On the Edge of Spring

2008-03-18T16:32:00.002-04:00

It's been a long cold snowy winter, and at the moment we are just on the edge of Spring. I had the oppportunity to go out to Hidden Lake Gardens in Tipton, Michigan for a hike in the woods, and to check out the displays in the conservatories on a chilly Saturday in March. Tired of being indoors, and having the company of a good friend, off we went!

It was a grey day, chilly, but not windy. We hoped for a little bit of Spring to be found out in the woods, but if it was there it was still hidden by snow and ice. We took pictures of the beauty of the late winter landscape, bare branches agains the snow, bleached beech leaves still clinging to some of the trees, and green mosses on piles of boulders and fallen tree trunks. The hike was a challenge- the paths were still snowcovered and slippery, but the woods were so beautiful with the promise of Spring in the next few weeks. The woods were very quiet- just us two, the singing birds, and the one rabbit we scared up- not another soul around. There were plenty of tracks in the snow- deer, dogs, rabbits, squirrels, boot prints of other hikers, and some tracks from what must have been a huge wild turkey!

The conservatories held all of the glory of Spring bulbs, orchids, and a variety of blooming Amaryllis on display, some terrific cacti and succulents in the desert house, and of course the tropical house filled with huge trees and flowers.

We even took the time to look at the Dwarf Conifer collection- beautiful specimens showing their winter color still. What a great place to see some unusual varieties of trees and shrubs, along with some of the ones we all are so familiar with.

After a little outdoor picnic in the cold, we drove around the grounds looking at some of the other collections, but by that time my camera batteries had given up for the day, so I didn't get Pictures of the rest of the grounds for the slide show I made.

All in all a perfectly wonderful day, looking forward to the beauty of Spring, saying good-bye to a long cold winter.

See you in the garden!

Garden Design for Others

2008-02-14T14:29:00.002-05:00

I had the opportunity last season to work in several area gardens, either in starting to restore them, maintaining their good looks, or redesigning them for people eager to install and maintain a lower maintenance but beautiful garden. I'm sure I will be doing more of the same this season, and have plans to get started as soon as the weather permits. Perhaps this is something you'd like to consider doing for others, so I thought I'd write about the steps to take in designing gardens for someone other than yourself.

Initial contact- layout the steps that need to be taken to complete the design process. These include the initial consultation; the measure and photographing the outdoor space as-is, drafting and design of the garden as is, and projecting new planting areas to fit the client's needs and finally the presentation of the finished design to the client. The potential client at this time has probably seen a garden you have designed, either yours or someone else's, liked what they saw and wants one like it, or they wouldn't be calling you, so be prepared to quote fees for your time.For this initial contact, a fee per hour worked amount works, and a range of time from minimum to a high middle range of time will let the client know what they can expect. Alternatively, you could charge for the initial consult, and then quote a price to design the garden.

Initial Consult: Get to know the client- what do they like to do in their free time?, do they entertain, like to build things, have children or grandchildren? Pets? Do they travel a lot, or always stay home? Where do they like to go when they travel? What do they want to have in their garden, why do they want a garden? Go out and wander around their property with them, talking about what they like, what they don't like, what they've tried, what they'd like to see, and access what features are good, what needs to change, the amount of sunlight available in different areas, what the neighbor's yards are like. Look at the architecture of the house, the style of their interior, discuss colors, and possible plant budget. Roughly assess the soil- sandy, clay, loamy? Take lots of notes to refer to when you measure. My initial consultations are frequently in the evening, and I run out of daylight to measure, so I make arrangements to return for measuring and photographing the garden and property. I generally quote a price for doing the work, and collect an initial 1/3 payment to proceed with the work.

Measure: I bring a hundred foot tape, a 25 foot tape, a sketch pad, clipboard and my camera. All of the features of the garden are sketched out and measured- including any permanent features such as decks or hardscaping, buildings, fences, etc, the soil needs to be assessed, for drainage and quality,and samples taken for testing if necessary; Make note of overhead wiring, meters, anything ugly that needs to be screened from view, anything beautiful outside of the property that can be visually included in the garden. Make note of where compass north is for predicting shadows.

Drafting and design: I draw out the garden the old fashioned way- using a pencil and tracing paper on a drafting board using an architect's scale. There are computer programs available to do the layout, but in the end, it isn't the tools used to design the garden, it's the end result that is important. I draft out the garden as is, then overlay another piece of sketch paper to play around with the beds, their purpose and how they should look. I think about what plant material can be used in those beds to get the desired look and amount of maintenance and make note of that as well- doing some research if necessary to find the right plants. A final drawing is created, noting which plants are to be used, existing plants that will remain, any new hardscaping to be included, etc. Before the presentation, I have copies made of the design- 2 or 3, to make note of any changes that need to be made after the presentation.

Presentation: I bring a few books that have photos of the plant material, marked, the plans, and plenty of enthusiasm. The plans are laid out on a table and I 'walk the client through' the plans, discussing all the features, what purpose they serve, who benefits, what they will look like, why the plant material was selected, where it can be purchased and planted, and if the client is doing the work themselves- where they should start and how to start.

The gardens I design are generally for people who want to be hands on gardeners- they really want to do it themselves, but aren't knowledgeable enough yet to know what to plant where and why. They want a beautiful garden, but don't have a lot of time to spend on it, and they are willing to do an entire landscape if they knew how to break it down into planned sections that can be achieved over a period of years. Some of them already love to garden and know a lot about the individual plants, but don't know how to coordinate them all into a beautiful look. Others have a bit of basic knowledge, have made a few mistakes, and want to avoid making more in the future. That's where I come in- designing and painting with plants, making a potentially beautiful garden for people to enjoy working, entertaining, and relaxing in.

See you in the Garden!

Ellen Leigh

Starting Over

2008-01-10T10:22:00.000-05:00

I guess it's fitting that this is a new year. I am starting a new chapter in my life, in a new city, a new home and a new garden. After 17 years of gardening on a small suburban lot, creating what I considered to be my garden sanctuary from the world, I've had to move away. So, I've said my sad goodbyes to all of the treasured plants I had, from the tiniest irish moss, to the huge Apricot tree in the front yard, removed all of the markers showing which tree was planted in memory of which loved one, packed up most of my garden art, furniture and tools, and moved to a semirural area of Plymouth on a fairly large lot. It wasn't possible to move any of my plants, nor did I want to destroy that beautiful garden, so all of my plants remained behind.

I'm renting, so gardening this year will be limited- most probably in containers, or around the deck area, but the lot I am on is very large, several times the size of the old one, although somewhat neglected aesthetically. In many ways it reminds me of what my old garden looked like 17 years ago- it had been a rental property too, and so no-one really cared if it looked nice. On nicer days, the dogs and I go a bit further out into the yard and have a look around- they for animals to sniff out, I for recognizable plants besides weeds. I think I recognize a few trees, bushes and plants that will be pretty in the spring, and I'm sure there are more things out there than I can see right now in the middle of winter. There's a forsythia next to the deck that will be lovely in a month or two, huge spruces and firs, overgrown yews, and a vine growing up the house by my door that I can't wait to see in bloom- could be a trumpet vine! When spring arrives, you can be sure that I will be out there poking around- rear towards the sun- seeing just what that is that is coming up!

There are beds to plant in along the driveway and between the brick pavers and driveway, plenty of places to set pots, and a nicely shaded deck off the back of the house. My impatiens and Phlox of Sheep will be very happy next summer, I think. I was able to fit my seed starting shelves down in the basement, and although it is fairly cold down there, I'm sure I can get some seeds started for a container garden next summer. I may even extend the gardening strip over around the forsythia and blue spruce a bit and plant a few things there too. Keep me in mind next spring as you divide some of your perennials- that's one of the things I love best about gardeners- we all know plants are meant to be shared, and so we are always generous with our gardens.

I will desperately miss my old garden- I still tear up whenever I think of it, so this is the hardest article I've ever written. I know many of you loved it too, and I'm very glad that so many of you got to visit it last year at it's peak summer beauty- it was glorious, and will forever be one of my most fond memories of times spent in it's quiet beauty.

Stay tuned though- future articles will reveal the starting point for a new garden, what is here, the way it looks now, and how it will be transformed by midsummer to once again be my sanctuary from the world.

See you in the Garden!

Ellen Leigh

A new chapter, and a new garden

2007-12-17T12:01:00.000-05:00

I've moved! My personal life has taken a different turn, and I am starting a new chapter in my life. Part of November and December was taken up with a move to Plymouth, a new home for me, my business and my fourlegged kids. I have a great new studio, all set up now to create some great art, samples, jewelry and decorative items all more centrally located to most of my clients. So I have new opportunities to decorate a new place, and start a new garden and a new life.
I said my sad goodbyes to my old garden and will miss it sooo much, especially all of the trees I had planted through the years there. I had many wonderful years in that garden, and brought a lot of my garden accessories with me here to decorate a new, smaller version. Come spring, I may be looking for some new plants to landscape a new garden, so keep me in mind as you divide those favorite perennials!
I'll be making my way on my own, so your business and referrals are more important to me than ever, so please keep me in mind for all of your decorative painting needs, interior design consultation, garden design, and fine art.

Low Impact Gardening

2007-11-08T11:47:00.000-05:00

Is it just me, or did we have an unusual fall here in Michigan? Record high temps well into October, not much fall color, leaves staying in the trees well into November. It's early in November as I write this, and there are still impatiens blooming in a protected area of the yard! I haven't yet done a thing with the few leaves laying on the lawn and garden, since most of them are still up in the trees. Global warming? Is this how fall will be here in Michigan in the future? What will winter bring?

Last fall I tried something kind of new and low impact, and thought you might like an update on that. My theory was that if I left the sycamore leaves to pile up in the front yard, and merely chopped up the ones on the lawn and left them lay, that there would be no more leaves in the landscape in the spring than any other spring. Well- it seemed to play out that way- theory correct in this instance, so I'll be doing the same thing this year- that is, if and when those leaves ever come down! Additionally, the lawn did fine, I think I even watered less because of the extra organic matter tucked around the mixed weeds and grasses that are my lawn. Fertilizer was not in my budget, so it had to get all it's nutrients from the leaves too.

Sometimes I wonder where this practice of removing every leaf from our home landscapes came from. To me it's contrary to nature- in fall those leaves come down an tuck themselves under the trees and shrubs, blowing into piles and decomposing where they lay, enriching the soil, feeding micro-organisms and small critters, providing shelter, blanketting roots and seeds against extreme weather and temperatures. In spring as they continue to decompose, heat is created, they retain moisture and continue to break down making a wonderful seed bed, and allowing new plants to grow while keeping moisture even. People work so hard to have what they call a pristine landscape- removing the natural leaf mulch entirely, only to put down an un-natural covering of shredded wood or bark, or even small rocks! And to further prevent any wayward plants from volunteering in their planned sterile garden, under that heavy layer of mulch is a non biodegradable plastic fabric to keep that stuff from ever becoming one with the earth. I just shake my head at some of my neighbors blowing every leaf out from around their foundation plantings (can't possibly be called a garden in my opinion) to create that sterile look for the winter. I feel so sorry for their 50 year old meatball yews.

Another thing that doesn't happen if you keep a sterile landscape like that is you don't get interesting volunteers that blow in, or are pooped in by birds and small animals. In any season I can find something new that I didn't plant (yes, some of them are weeds, those get yanked out) that I allow to stay for a while until I decide if I should keep it or not. Right now there are maturing trees that I know just seeded into my garden, I recognized them as being something I might like to have, and allowed them to grow. One of them is a native white Dogwood, planted in the light shade of a red maple- large white flowers, great fall color. The other is a Pagoda Dogwood- interesting branch stucture, clusters of fragrant white flowers, berries for the birds, and great fall color. This year it looks like I may have a small privet bush that started in a planter box- I may or may not keep it, but it sure does have some nice shiny deep green leaves. I also found a tiny deep red Japanese maple seedling in one of my client's gardens- nurtured over the summer, it's tucked into my garden for the winter in a protected spot. Additionally, I know there are all kinds of perennials, bulbs and wildflowers that came here from elsewhere or seeded themselves in, that I would not have if I were a meticulous gardener.

I guess I'll just continue to garden in my own low impact way, and try to teach by example. I like to see things as God and nature intended, not sterile and contrived the way man tries to re-create things. I'm seeing the beginnings of a movement of some people towards a more organic low impact way of doing things, in our food supplies, stores, household products etc. and I can only cheer. I hope those same people are also 'going green' in their own portion of the world, their gardens. We all have a long way to go, but it's a start.

See you in the garden!

Edible Landscaping Interview

2007-10-22T11:34:00.000-04:00

Recently, I was contacted for an interview for an upcoming article about Edible Landscaping, so I was happy to oblige and answer a few questions. When the article comes out, if I am contacted, I'll post a link to it. Thanks Rachel!
1. Why do you do edible landscaping? I used to have the traditional vegetable garden, separate from the other gardens, plus a fruit tree or two, but the house that I live in is a small one on a small suburban lot with mature shade trees. I started fitting in fruit trees and bushes, herbs and vegetables wherever I could find enough sun, and included flowers (some of those are even edible) to pretty things up and have the landscape look fairly traditional. I used to watch a show on TV called the Victorian Kitchen Garden, that I just loved, and learned a lot from that, plus doing some studying on my own. Didn't really explain the why though, did I? I think I get a lot of satisfaction out of knowing how to grow my own food, even if I really don't grow enough to be self sustaining. I try to grow varieties that aren't usually available at the supermarket, or are super expensive to buy. The fruits I grow because by growing them myself, I get fruit picked at the peak of flavor, and I know exactly how clean and un treated it is too. There is just nothing like the flavor of a tree ripened peach or apricot!
2. What do you grow? When my daughter was younger (she's on her own now), and we needed more produce, I grew more vegetables, purple pole beans, purple broccoli, redbor kale, various lettuces, several kinds of tomatos, eggplant, and of course peppers, zucchini and summer squash all tucked in here and there among all the other plants in the back yard. Additionally I have currants, rhubarb and ever-bearing raspberries along with June-berries (the birds eat most of these- but they are delicious as a snack). In the front yard, I have strawberries, blueberries, white peaches, nectarines, apricots, and sour cherries, along with herbs such as sage, chives, thyme, oregano, lavender and basil, and I found that red lettuce makes a very attractive edging plant. I still have most of the fruit trees in the front yard, along with the blueberries and herbs, and have added an espalliered sweet cherry next to the driveway. Things have gotten very shady now at the back of the yard, too shady for vegetables, so I grow those in large pots right on the driveway- four pots of tomatos, two with pole beans (green this year). Each pot is under-planted with flowering annuals and my favorite cinnamon basil, or a variegated nasturtium (also edible) I also tried summer squash in pots this year, but it was not all that successful, in my opinion. A couple of years ago, I grew a red variety of sweet corn in pots, and got some really nice ears, on some very attractive looking plants!
3. Are there any challenges to this type of gardening? The same as any other gardening, it's always a challenge to keep it looking it's best, weeded, fertilized and somewhat pest free. When growing food- most of the food producing plants really require an adequate amount of sun to produce well, so placement is very important. For the fruits- there is an art to pruning and maintenance, a routine that really must be done on a yearly basis for good fruit production too. It's not difficult work, anyone can do it really, you just have to learn how, when and why.
4. Is it a "pretty" landscaping or just more functional? Mine is actually very pretty. I have simply replaced some of the traditional decorative shrubs and trees with food producing alternatives. Instead of a variety of flowering crabs, I have a huge wonderfully fragrant white flowered apricot tree, and a pink flowered peach. The flowering cherry has been replaced with a sour cherry, and a June-berry. The burning bushes were replaced with blueberries- they also turn bright red in the fall, plus have pretty little flowers in spring. Whenever possible, I try to find an attractive low maintenance food bearing alternative to use. The veggies always have flowers tucked in at their roots, or I simply plant unusually colored varieties- the purple pole beans for instance have stems and leaves that have a purplish tinge to them, lavender colored flowers and deep purple beans. The purple headed brocolli had the same blue leaves as some hosta, but with purple veins and stems, and the heads are a lovely shade of purple. Calendula triangle flashback (a soft yellow with a deep rose color reverse to the petals), looks outstanding combined with those two, and calendulas are an edible flower. Alaska Nasturtiums and cinnamon basil along with some annual phlox and trailing lobelia look gorgeous at the base of the tomatoes, and looked stupendous with the red corn- the red corn had red stems, red tassles and silks on the ears, and red veins on the normal green leaves- just a beautiful combination.
5. Overall, do you think it is better environmentally... I.E., not using water just to keep the grass green. In my particular instance, it is better, I think- I practice organic gardening techniques, so chemicals are very seldom used here- I have a real balance of nature, trying to attract beneficial insects to come take care of the damaging ones, use compost, keep the leaves from my shade trees to use as mulch and leafmold, and grow varieties that are disease resistant. I probably use less water growing my edible landscape than I would having more lawn- I actually have very little lawn at all, it takes about 15 minutes to cut all that I have. Another way to look at it, is that some of my food didn't require a truck to get it to my table, I didn't have to drive my car to go buy it, and it arrives with all of it's vitamins and nutrients intact at the peak of flavor.
A short interview, hopefully I gave some answers she can use in her article, and fun to be contacted, although, I am by no means an authority on the subject- I find it fun, and a bit more productive than growing ornamentals.

Favorite Tools

2007-10-11T11:13:00.000-04:00

One of the best things I ever bought- my portable greenhouse

Everyone has their absolutely favorite tools, I'm sure. You know- the ones that you always grab first when heading out to the garden. The Felco pruners, beat up garden gloves, a favorite hand cultivator- that sort of thing. I sure seem to collect a lot of different gardening tools- the latest fad, or nifty gadget- my garage is full of them, some in nearly new condition, and I bet yours is too. There are some though that I just can't do without, I use them frequently, take them with me if I am working on someone else's garden, just in case they don't have the things I find are easiest to use. I have found that gardeners tend to buy pretty good tools, but sometimes non-gardeners buy cheesy cheap tools that just don't cut it, and I'd rather have my own.

Pruners- Felco, gotta have 'em. I have others, some are rusted shut, some barely cut, and I have a pair just for cutting flowers and harvesting veggies, but the Felco's are one of my prized tools, they have their own holster with a pocket clip, and I keep them sharp. Felco Store

Trowel with serrated tip- great for fitting a plant into an established garden, especially under a tree, dividing perennials or slicing through tough soil to break it up. A.M. Leanard has a soil knife that I like, comes with a scabbard for it, but I prefer the one that has more of a scoop shape that I found a few years ago. A.M. Leonard

Hand cultivator- almost a no-brainer, my favorite has a claw, triangle hoe combo head. Two tools in one, I mostly use the cultivator, but the hoe is right there handy for making a furrow for seeds, digging a hole for planting annuals, or to use the side of to bang the soil off of a clump of grass or weeds before tossing it into my 5 gallon pail.

5 gallon pail- available free from a bunch of places, or you can buy one for a few dollars- great for weeding, holding potting soil, transporting those divided perennials to a new bed, or even as a planter with the addition of some drainage holes. Empty ones not put away sometimes make a great rain gauge.

Winged weeder- this is one I seldom use at home, but insist on taking to other's gardens. It's a hoe with a triangle shaped tip that you slide under the surface of the soil, slicing off and uprooting weeds with a backward and forward motion- very low impact and easy, wonderful for garden maintenance if things aren't too tightly planted. Winged Weeder

Adjustable rake- I've had mine for years and years and I love it! Very gentle, the width is adjustable for raking a wide area, or quickly can be changed in width to get into a tight space, or make the tines tighter to rake smaller debris. It takes the leaves off the ground-covers without ripping it up, doesn't displace any soil, shred the lawn, or get completely jammed with leaves. Adjustable Rake at Garden Coverall

Watering wand- This one you probably have- I generally have a couple of them around. Great for watering pots, some have adjustable heads, adjustable sprays, triggers, extensions for gutters, padded handles- you name it, it's on a watering wand- I love them! They are terrific for getting the water right to the root zone without bending or stooping. Homestead Helpers

Portable Greenhouse- Great for hardening off plants outdoors, simply close it up if a frost threatens. The one I have sets up in minutes- it's like a clear plastic tent really. Equally easy to take down and stores in it's own carry bag. Will last for years, and is fairly inexpensive. Terrific if you simply don't have the room or the dollars for a 'real greenhouse'. Various designs and configurations are available, from low cold frame styles like mine, to large walk-in and lean-to types. Portable Greenhouses mine is like this one

Other tools like a shovel, trowel, edger, etc, are also important, but are pretty basic, available just about anywhere, and are pretty much all the same. These items I've listed are just ones I've found to be the most used by me as making things easier, faster, and more efficient. Here are a couple of places I found on line to take a look at tools- I haven't purchased from them yet, but probably will when I need new toys, ER, I mean tools:

All Greenhouses.com

Clean Air Gardening

Homestead Helpers

Gardeners Supply

See you in the Garden!

Ellen Leigh

Gardening for Wildlife

2007-09-14T14:58:00.000-04:00

Tiger swallowtail on a purple coneflower blossom

Wildlife in a garden is inevitable- as people move further out of the cities and suburbs into what used to be woodlands and farm land, wild animals that have been displaced become less and less afraid of people and come closer and closer to our homes. Much of the vegetation that we like to surround ourselves with becomes dinner for deer, brunch for bunnies, vittles for varmints.There are tons of articles on the subject of trying to prevent your landscape from being munched, some work, some don't- a starving animal will eat just about anything when they are hungry enough. About all we can do as gardeners is try the suggestions and see what works.
Some of us that live in older human saturated areas away from wooded areas don't have a lot of problems with the larger wild animals, and still like to see a bit of wild life in our yards. I know I enjoy seeing a variety of birds, especially hummingbirds, butterflies, beneficial insects, spiders, toads and those smaller animals that I've invited to visit my garden.
Since I don't use any insecticides in my garden at all, it has a wide variety of insect life in it and some very interesting spiders as well. This year I had a big aphid population, but it went away without resorting to chemicals- birds, ladybugs and other beneficial's took care of them for me. This year for the first time, in addition to the several species of butterflies that always frequent my garden, I had hummingbirds! I've been trying to attract them for years with plants alone- the feeders are just to labor intensive for me. It was wonderful to watch them hovering about the garden, early in the morning moving from honeysuckle to impatiens, to phlox, to monarda.
Likewise with seed eating birds- I don't put out seed anymore. My neighbor has several feeders and a large flock of pigeons (I call them rats with wings) that frequent her yard. The minute I put seed out, they flock to my yard looking for a little change of menu and a more unique dining experience. The more polite birds that come to my garden are there for the natural foods that I provide for them- flower seeds like purple coneflower, hosta, and cosmos are loved by finches. Robins and thrushes absolutely adore Juneberry fruit, and I can get quite a number of them weighing down the branches, all at once. Of course they also like the raspberries, cherries, blueberries and currants in my yard but sometimes I get to harvest some of these myself. Cardinals, finches and sparrows like the cedar seeds on the huge hedge on the west side of my garden and happily much away on those as they ripen, and all through the winter.
Butterflies visit the wide variety of flowers in the garden- phlox, salvia, swamp milkweed, catmint and catnip, sedum, monarda, feverfew, dill, and others. A lot of beneficial insects prefer some of the same flowers- hummingbirds too. The honeysuckles I planted on the arch saw a lot of action this year- the hummers really seemed to enjoy those, plus the monarda and impatiens. A small bird bath provides fresh water for the wild life in the garden, as well as two small water features who's trickling sounds mask some of the jarring noise of the outside world.
Shelter is important too- my cedar hedge always has a few birds nesting in it in the summer, and tons that take shelter in the winter months. I leave seed heads in the garden and the berries of the Cranberry Viburnum and crab apple for them to eat during the cold too. Since I'm never very thorough with garden clean-up- there are lots of places for insects and spiders to overwinter too. I'm thinking maybe, just maybe, I'm inviting some insect or bird into the garden that just loves to eat slugs. Could be true- I don't really seem to have a lot of those, in spite of all the decaying vegetation I leave in the garden. Or maybe after years of garden in a low impact way, I've gotten things to balance out a little bit.
What more could a wild thing ask for than food, water and shelter in a naturally clean and chemical free environment? It's a great thing to see the balance of God's creation in your own back yard.
See you in the Garden!
Ellen Leigh

Growing with Master Gardener's Conference

2007-08-24T14:28:00.000-04:00

If you are local, check out this conference on Saturday September 22nd put on by the Master Gardener Association of Wayne County: Click Here (download a pdf file of the brochure and print it off to attend) It's a day long event, with some great keynote speakers, a wide variety of classes, lunch and a garden marketplace to boot, and all for just $40.00! Did I mention door prizes? Where else is Bat Guano considered a coveted prize?
There are classes for every level of gardener, from beginner to advanced, I either attend or volunteer every year- sometimes both! It's always a great day, every speaker is terrific and incredibly knowledgeable, and it's just a wonderful thing to hang out with gardeners for the whole day.
Hope to see you there!

Busy Summer

2007-08-09T10:30:00.000-04:00

Last spring and summer I spent travelling all over, seeing other gardens, visiting friends and family. This year, I mostly stayed home, gardened on a budget (I spent a grand total of $12.30 on seeds and plants, how about that?) and had tons of visitors come to see my garden. I also made use of my gardening skills helping a few people get their gardens in order for parties and visitors, designed new gardens for some budding gardeners, and started a new gardening business! It's been a really busy summer!

The season started out with a series of plant and garden art sales that were well attended and lots of fun too as I sold off my extra annuals from my own collected seeds (the woman who bought a flat of my very special impatiens loves them and wants two flats next year!). The woodland wildflowers and perennials went too, plus some of the garden art. The garden was open for strolling around, and the dogs acted as tour guides sometimes. Although it was a lot of work for weeks before potting up plants and getting ready, I had a good time, so I may do it again in a couple of years, maybe even next year.

Lets not forget the MG garden walk in July! It was terrific to see some of you and enjoy your company wandering around the garden sipping iced tea. It was great fun if you missed it! The annual 'Phlox of Sheep' were the big hit of the evening- they were just spectacular, and since I had planted almost four flats of them wherever I could fit them in (a bumper crop that weren't really in bloom for the plant sale) the garden was very fragrant! It's a variety of annual phlox that I've never seen at the nursery, lovely shades of cream, peach, coral, pink and soft yellow in a very pretty combination. I save the seeds from my plants and start them indoors every spring along with the impatiens. I used to buy the seeds at Franks- Thompson and Morgan carried them, and luckily had started just saving the seeds to get a bigger crop when we lost Franks.

I almost feel like I had a bed and breakfast here this summer. First, an internet friend passed through here on her way from Minnesota to Pennsylvania and stayed for a couple of days on her way there, then on her way back too. We spent a lot of time sitting on the deck, or out in the driveway sitting area just enjoying each other's company and the flowers. Then the first week-end in August, we had two gentlemen stay with us for a few days as part of a large choir touring the area from Cornwall, UK! It was one big party from Thursday to Sunday, as we hosted some small dinner parties for 7 or 8 out in the garden and relaxed out on the deck. We fed them out of the garden, enjoying fresh homegrown peaches over ice cream, tomatos, cucumbers and herbs on a salad, green beans and summer squash.

This summer, besides trying not to spend any money on gardening, I experimented with a couple of new things that you can try in your own garden. At the MG plant sale in Belleville, I did a mixed planter demo, and showed how to plant in a basket lined with newspaper, so I planted a few of those here too to see how well that worked. Both the baskets and the newspaper lining are holding up well, and when I dump the baskets out after the first heavy frost, the liner can just go in the compost with the contents- no plastic to pick out. I also am growing summer squash in five gallon pails with drainage holes in the bottom. That seems to be working OK, I think extra fertilizer is required- growth is slowing down and getting smaller, so I just added some 12/12/12 to the pots. Yield is probably not quite as good as plants in the garden, but summer squash tend to overwhelm the gardener, so I'm OK with that- there's just two of us here. In fact the entire driveway pot vegie patch is doing really well, thanks to watering every other day, additional fertilizer and lots of sun.

And lastly, the new business! It's really just a new name for what all of us as Master Gardeners do all of the time- educate the public, and help people learn to enjoy gardening. It's been seen on CBS this morning, and in the Detroit Free Press on August 3, 2007 and elsewhere in the country in other papers. Someone has given it a label- Gardening Coach- and started a kind of movement! Suddenly there are great gardeners all over the world putting out a shingle, setting up small businesses and showing homeowners how to garden right in their own yards. I've set up a web site you can visit here called Garden Coach-Ellen Leigh and over in the side bar, and have more information about the trend with links to other sites on my blog in other recent posts below. While I don't expect people to come beating down my door, it does lend some structure to something I do anyways in my spare (LOL!!!) time.

Gotta go now- dead heading and weeding, watering and fertilizing to do!
See you in the Garden!

Garden Coach Web Site!

2007-08-08T12:21:00.000-04:00

Check out my new Garden Coach web site: Ellen Leigh Garden Coach. I'm pretty excited about this new trend, hope you take a look at my new site- it's a subdomain of my mural artist web site, so it's not a replacement for my art- it's in addition to everything else that I'm already involved in. How do I keep it all straight? Not really sure on that one- I guess I was just blessed (yup, another gift from God) with the ability to keep organized and a lot of creative energy!
So the site is up and running, still have a few bells and whistles to add to it later today or tomorrow, but it's a start! Check it out and let me know what you think!

Garden Coach- a new job title!

2007-08-03T13:52:00.000-04:00

This morning I opened my morning paper to find an article: "HELP ME MAKE MY GARDEN GROW- green thumb coaches provide support, encouragement" you can read it here. What a revelation! I've been a Garden Coach for years, and didn't know it! Every so often, a friend will yell for help, sometimes literally: "I have this weed, I don't know what it is- can you come and tell me how to get rid of it?" or "We really want a nice looking garden, pretty to look at, but really don't know where to start, what to plant, or where, and don't really have a lot of time to take care of it- can you help with that?" and even "We just bought this house- the previous owner planted lots of stuff, we don't know how to take care of it-HELP!!!!" Ellen to the rescue! I'm glad to help someone learn about something that I am passionate about, absolutely love doing, and help them to enjoy their own lovely garden as much as I enjoy mine.
I checked out the link in the Detroit Free Press to The Gardening Coach web site and put a link in my side bar to Susan Harris' site. I also asked her to include my contact information there too, so I can reach more than just my friends. She has a great site, and a list of other Garden Coaches, both local and out of state. I invite you to read the article and check out her site and the other links in the article. This is so exciting! I have a new title! Garden coach!
Want to find out more? You can contact me here to find out my rates and availability.
See you in the garden!
PS! Susan has now added me to her ever growing list of gardening coaches! check it out: Click Here!

New Web Site

2007-07-17T09:29:00.000-04:00

I've been hard at work lately- not in my studio, but in my office, completely revamping my web site, one of my other blogs- Inspiration, and adding some different links in to this blog, Creativity and Bea and Byrdie my dog's blog. I'd love it if you could take a look at the web site, and let me know what you think- good or bad. I've added a few things, changed it A LOT, hopefully made it easier to navigate, friendlier, and lighter. I've added a guest book for comments and contact information too, so let me know you visited!
I had a lot of fun re-doing the site, so I'm thinking of creating a garden web site next- what do you think?
And now I'll get back to the garden- if you came to last week's garden walk (more on that later, and pictures too!) you know I have a ton of phlox to water!

Interview with a Gardener

2007-07-11T20:28:00.001-04:00

I found the following at a Blog I visit every now and then called Create a Connection. The questions looked so interesting, I thought I'd give it a shot- the idea is to answer them, then post a comment with a link back here.

Getting to Know You Day
Hi everyone it's holly here again, armed with some more Getting to Know you questions. My questions today were inspired by a web page sent to me through the Link Latte at Artella. This website full of art using gorgeous and fantastically coloured bugs made me think back to my own childhood. I was a true nature freak, I often trekked through the creeks, woods, thickets, and beaches catching whatever creatures I could get my hands on. I was most fascinated with insects, particularly praying mantis. As I thought back upon my childhood explorations I remembered an article about children today suffering from "nature-deficit disorder" which isn't really a medical condition, more of a social condition. Children today don't get a chance to explore nature as in the past. The thought made me shudder and terrified me that children aren't encouraged to explore the world around them. My questions to you today are:
1) What are some of your memories about the "great outdoors?" (games played outside, camping, hiking, bike riding, running in the rain)
I remember being outside most of the time when I was a kid- exploring the garden, playing games, riding my bike, swimming, camping, all kinds of weather, just loved being outside- still do. As a child I did a lot of the same things you did!
2) Do you spend a lot of time in the outdoors, or have you lost touch with nature?
Yup- still spend loads of time outside- all year round! Even in the winter, I still go out into the garden to see what's going on out there- some seeds sprout in the coldest weather! Plus, having two dogs, we get all bundled up and take some pretty long walks around the neighborhood just for exercise.
If you've lost touch with it, how could you incorporate more of the outdoors in your every day life or would you want to?
I'd have to say I haven't lost touch with nature at all, and continue to learn more every day.
3) What small thing can you do (or are you doing) to ensure that the earth and all it's bounty will be here for future generations?
I garden organically as much as possible, my garden is a great place for butterflies, birds, spiders and beneficial insects. I grow some of my own food- love to grow fruits and vegies! We have curbside recycling and use it a lot, and we use things up, rather than throw them out, or give them away to someone who can use them.
4) Can you share one or two links that showcase the great outdoors or some way to help heal the earth?
Check out the links in my sidebar, and read some of my articles.
5) Feel free to share a picture of you in your environment, enjoying the outdoors and just plain having fun.

This is me riding a horse at my brother's farm last summer

On the Web

2007-06-13T18:47:00.000-04:00
Got blog? I hope you know by now that all the articles I've written for the MGAWC Grow Info Newsletter have been up-loaded here on this blog should you ever need to look up any information, or get bored sometime. Why did I do it? It's an easy way for me to keep track of all of the articles, and refer back to them in future articles, and it makes them easier to share with people on line. Garden blogs are certainly not new- there's tons of them on line- both good and bad, fun and serious. I've always felt that gardeners are among the most generous people on Earth, sharing plants and information, and now even their thoughts. Check out these blogs and web sites for a taste of how people garden in other parts of the country and the world, maybe learn something new and be inspired to try something different- who knows, maybe you'll be inspired to start your own blog, just for fun- let me know- I can put a link to your blog from my blog! And let me know if you find any great blogs you'd like to share!

Garden Voices GardenWeb's Garden Voices is a directory of great garden writing from around the Web.

Savvy Gardening
Started by Jennifer Hall, a Tulsa, OK gardener, Savvy Gardening has some good informative gardening articles and tips. It's also becoming a worldly community of gardeners and the photos posted recently have been wonderful.

In My Kitchen Garden
This is an offshoot of the popular FarmGirlFare blog. Farm Girl loves good food and gardening and talks about both in an off hand, chatty way that makes you feel like old friends catching up with one another. And she has some very good advice to offer after starting and running a farm for over a decade - with no prior experience.

Heavy Petal - Gardening from a West Coast Urban Organic Perspective
You have to be intrigued. Andrea Bellamy is based in British Columbia and Heavy Petal’s mission is "to demonstrate that gardening isn't just for the suburban, the aged, or the hopelessly unfashionable." There are some really good conversations about what things people have tried and what really works. And if you're into guerilla gardening...

The Inadvertent Gardener
You have to love the title. This is a city girl's odyssey into becoming a gardener. She shares things through a fresh eye as her very patient, experienced gardener boyfriend paves the way.

The Garden Blog (of a gal growing Southern)
Blogger 'Nelumbo' writes like someone who has just come in from the garden, with first hand accounts of successes, frustrations and many questions. And there's always an interesting comment or two to take the idea further.

Life in Sugar Hollow Gardening from the Hip- recipes, and various musings, beautiful photographs from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

Black Star - Gardener, Herbalist, Artisan Tennessee

Gardening and Yardening Jeff Ball and Nancy Szerlag's blog- packed with local information!

This Garden is Illegal tons of links, coupons, information, how to's and other cool stuff

Garden Porn Is that a pistil in your calyx or are you just happy to see me ? Just darn entertaining.

The Renegade Gardener The lone voice of horticultural reason

You Bet Your Garden Mike McGrath- remember him?

Garden Rant Uprooting the gardening world Lots of links to lots of blogs and web sites, lots of links to answers to questions- best place to bookmark

In the Garden On Line Lots of local stuff, updated several times a week, tons of links to more stuff!

Dig in Dirt a list of garden blogs, if the above don't fill your need to read.

The most efficient way to check out these sites is to gJust click on the hyperlinks above that I've put in the name of the blog you just have to click on the blog's name in the article, and your computer will do the rest! Just the thing to do on a rainy summer day.

See you in the Garden!

Ellen Leigh

Plant and yard art update!

2007-05-31T18:31:00.000-04:00

Boy do I have a lot of great stuff here! A wide variety of healthy divisions, some annuals, herbs, perennials, hosta, even a couple of trees that volunteered to grow to a nice size in my yard (an oak and a black cherry plus a fragrant white lilac start). Plus there's lots of nifty hand painted and distressed junk (I mean yard art) to decorate your porch with some colorful decor. (check back next week for pictures of the yard art)

It was brought to my attention that my last sale date June 17, is Father's Day, and my prescence is needed elsewhere on that day, so cross that date off for shopping! Everything (at least all the good stuff) will be gone by then anyways.

If you are in the area, be sure to drop by for a garden tour (check out the slide show above for a sneak preview), a bit of shopping, some refreshments, and we'll talk plants for the afternoon. Contact me for directions.

Miscellaneous Musings

2007-05-09T18:56:00.000-04:00

Spring is a busy time of year, and like everyone else, I seem to be running in several different directions at once. It was tough to find a single topic for this months article so I think I'll just ramble!

Remember that Garlic Mustard Cookbook? (From Pest to Pesto- a Culinary Guide- see the post in August 2006, Summer Travels ) Tis the season! I hired myself out to do some much needed weeding for an acquaintance of mine and found some garlic mustard in the woods along the creek behind her home. I didn't have any of the ingredients for any of the recipe's in the book, but had harvested enough to saute it up in a little olive oil, just to see what it was like. Pretty tasty! If you like greens like kale, spinach and swiss chard, you will also like Garlic Mustard, I'd have to say. I used the tender tips including the flowers, and stripped the leaves off the bottoms of the plants, washed them a bit, and drained them before tossing them in the pan for a quick stir to wilt them well. Olive oil, salt and pepper were the only seasonings I used. Now I need to select one of the recipe's to try out, since I really liked the flavor. The cook book is only $5.00 and is available through the MGAWC, I recommend picking up a copy and heading out to the woods to do double duty- getting this pesky weed out of where it doesn't belong, and adding a tasty new vegetable packed with just harvested vitamins to your dinner table.

Tough Spring! Unfortunately, my Apricot tree had just started to bloom when the temps turned deep cold again, and the poor flowers just never recovered from it. Those that made it through, didn't get pollinated, so it looks like no Apricots this year. The flowers were damaged on my sweet cherry too, so no fruit there either- still waiting right now in early May to see how the peach tree and sour cherry did with the cold snap and quite possibly a lack of bees.

Garden Art and Plant Sale! (Blatant self promotion) I've been really busy out in the garden the last few weeks- things have started to get a little bit over grown, and in need of renovating, so I've been dividing and potting. I've just about run out of room in my small garden for the extra plants. I have also acquired an assortment of odd chairs in need of a garden quote and some decorative painting, some are minus their seats, some not- but all are looking for a new home on someone's porch or out in the garden to make a lovely accent or place for a combination planter as soon as am done making them pretty. There are a few other things I've made too and those will be available too as unique accents for your garden and home. Some of the items will be available through my blog Creativity .
I'll have several different varieties of hosta, from very tiny to big and blue, woodland wildflowers, some of my unique annuals, daylilies, herbs, and whatever else I find that someone might want. They will be priced to move, so this is your opportunity to get some great deals on plants and art. The garden will be open for strolling, of course, so even if you don't find something you want, it's worth the trip.
Sale dates are June 9 and 10, and June 16 (Please note the change of sale dates- June 17 is Father's Day, so I made other plans and can't continue the sale on that day, besides, all the good stuff will be gone by then I'm sure!) from noon until 4 at my home by invitation (let me know if you'd like to come by, and I'll send you directions).

See you in the Garden!

500 Hours!

2007-04-10T14:26:00.001-04:00

I've been a Master gardener since 1995- that's when I took the course through the Wayne County Extension Service. 10 weeks of 4 hour classes on Tuesday nights, then 40+ hours of volunteer work over the next year to be certified as a Master Gardener. Every year after that, more education and not quite so many hours of volunteer work are required of MG's to maintain their status, and if you do enough of those things in a two year period, you get to call yourself an Advanced Master Gardener- I did that a couple of years back too, and got a new name badge and a certificate to prove it (somewhere around here). Well, I made a new achievement this year and finally received my 500 hour pin! Got another certificate too- so I thought I'd share them both with you all. (OK, I changed the name, call me paranoid, but everyone doesn't need to know my full name here on the world wide web). It's a really nice pin, and I'll be attaching it to my name badge for all the world to see!
See you in the Garden!

Help Me Bloom

2007-03-29T15:38:00.000-04:00

Just found this video on you tube and I just love it! the song is sung by the artist, and I'm sure every gardener will appreciate it!

Creativity

2007-03-27T19:18:00.000-04:00

Creativity is such a part of my life that it really can’t be separated out- as a professional Mural Artist painting and artwork surely are my means of making a living, but for sheer joy of creative expression for it’s own sake, I choose gardening and garden design. I love finding new plants, new colors, new styles, rearranging, dividing, building things to display plants, making spots to just sit and admire the garden, and helping other people to learn to garden too.

When I have the time and weather permits, I can be found out in my garden, working with the perennials, annuals, trees and shrubs, weeding, deadheading, pruning and maintaining my small city lot. It is filled with all kinds of plants, from large mature shade trees to fruits and vegetables, as well as the ornamentals I love. If I am not out there physically, I am gazing out the window at it, and it beckons me to come out and be amongst the flowers, sitting in one of several different shady spots set up to relax in, and drinking in the sight and scent of the garden. It seems to change every day, especially at this time of year as the spring ephemerals come out to greet the warm sun, the trees and shrubs bloom and leaf out and some begin to bear the promise of a fruitful summer.

Some of my earliest memories are of poking a seed into some soil and patiently waiting for the small plant to emerge, grow and bloom. I still take great joy in that- saving seeds from favorite plants, and starting another generation of uniquely colored flowers for another summer’s garden. Every year is a little different, and a completely unique garden emerges as plants grow, bloom , live out their lives and die, and are replaced with perhaps something new and unique. It's exciting to me to save just the seeds from the flowers I found to be the prettiest and strongest, and set them aside for the winter until March when they are scattered onto seed flats to start the cycle over.

As an Advanced Master Gardener, I like to share my love of gardening with the public, writing about gardening and sharing my thoughts with others. I've joined some wonderful on-line garden groups who share my love of gardening, design as well as photography. My camera records the changes in the garden, the beautiful flowers and plants in every different season, so that over the long cold Michigan winter, I can remember the year before, plan for the seasons to come, and share my garden with all my friends.

See you in the garden!
Ellen Leigh

Expectations

2007-03-23T10:43:00.000-04:00

I belong to an artist's message board that chooses a weekly topic for members to post on their blogs about. This week's word is Expectations, and I think that is a great word for how I feel about Spring.
Last week I cleared off my shelves and started up the grow lights in preparation for starting some seeds (you can learn how to build your own- in this post). So on March 15th, I filled 3 seed flats and planted the Multicolored Impatiens, Phlox of Sheep, and Cambridge Blue Lobelia seeds I saved from my garden last year. In a matter of days, they were all up and growing well, as usual. I fully expect that I will have flats of pretty flowers to fill planters with, tuck into my garden, and to give away.
Things are starting to warm up here in Michigan, and I have the wonderful expectation that soon the crocuses will give way to tulips and daffodils, the apricot will bloom, then the peach and cherry trees, the juneberry and the crab apple. Even though it passes quickly here in Michigan, it is a beautiful season, full of promise for a wonderful summer. And I have full expectations that I will get to enjoy it in my garden.

Clyde Smith and Sons 1834-2006

2007-03-08T18:03:00.000-05:00

Spring is here finally, or will be soon as I write this in early March. This year it won't be quite the same for me, nor for a lot of other west side gardeners. This year we have lost one of our better sources for gardening supplies, outstanding variety in plant material and a champion in the advancement of gardening as a whole. Clyde Smith and Sons Farm Market has gone out of business.

A family owned business, Clyde Smith's was in the same location on Newburg Road south of Joy Road in Westland for 172 years and until recently was a thriving concern covering a huge area filled with greenhouses, an open air landscape plant area, glass greenhouse, gift shop, fresh cut flowers, gardening and landscape supplies, tools, garden decorations, and seed supplies. In the summer, they had farm produce, pumpkins in October, Christmas trees and greens for the holidays, and then closed down for 3 months vacation and regrouping every winter. They would reopen every first of March and do it all over again.

Not this year though, this year the greenhouses are all virtually empty, only a few things are still in the glass greenhouse while they wait for the final auction. Gone are the huge variety of geraniums, flats of pansies, petunias and impatiens that they grew from seed and cuttings every year. Gone too are the many employees, some of them local high school kids, thrilled with their first job. Gone are the schoolchildren, scout troops and Junior Master Gardeners getting a tour of the facility, learning how to plant flowers and care for plants. Gone are the gardeners loading up their carts full of tomato plants, marigolds, and snapdragons. Gone will be the 'Let's Go Gardening' table that was welcomed every Saturday in May. Gone are the peacocks, the roosters, rabbits and emus in the barn for the children to see and try to pet. The land has been sold, the buildings, hundred year old houses and barns will be torn down, and yet another subdivision of homes or condos will be put up.

Since I have lived just a few miles away for all of my life, Clyde Smith's was the place to go every spring and summer for anything I needed. As a child, I went with Mom or Dad to find just the right flowers and plants for the garden, and as an adult, I looked forward to the gift certificate my brother would usually give me for my birthday, so I could go find something really nifty for my own garden. Fruit trees, hosta, perennials of all kinds, annuals in colors not usually found at other garden stores, good, healthy, family grown plants, not mass produced in some plant factory out of state and shipped in. I even met one of my favorite clients there when she spotted my 'rolling billboard' (my fancy painted van) and asked about my business. Every time I went over there to shop, I would meet someone I knew doing the same thing. I have so many great memories of trips to explore all of Clyde Smith's.

I could speculate on the causes of their downfall- competition from big box stores with mass produced low priced loss leader plants, long term poor local economy, too much competition from every other store in the area, maybe all of the above. We may never know for sure, the family could not be reached for comment, nor did I want to impose on them too much. This was a family owned business, and had been for 172 years. For 172 years they have lived and worked in the area, making some major contributions to not only the local economy, but benevolences, schools, churches, gardening programs, children's programs, and who knows what else. They are in mourning, so am I, and so should you be, for the death of this gardening icon. 172 years is a good long life, but as far as I'm concerned it wasn't long enough, and I will miss them terribly.

See you in the garden,

Ellen Leigh

I've been Published!

2007-02-23T13:49:00.000-05:00
Check it out! One of my Garden Photos is in the local paper:
Click here to see the article
How exciting is that? The article is about the series of Beginning Gardening classes the Master Gardeners have scheduled for this season- I hope they are a great success!
Ellen Leigh

Spring Fever

2007-02-08T15:26:00.000-05:00

It's February as I write this, there's been a severe cold snap this week, and the groundhog has seen his shadow- I'm not sure exactly what that means, but it does signify the halfway point to winter! From here on out, spring is edging closer and closer, and soon those flowers planted as bulbs last fall will be peeking out of the soil ready to burst into bloom! Indeed, I do think I saw some daffodils, crocuses and snowdrops poking up before the deep cold hit. Now they are nestled under a thin layer of snow, enough protection I hope against the most bitter cold.

Eventually though it will start to get warmer and spring will come, it always does, doesn't it? Of course it never seems to come soon enough for us gardeners, and we will try to get out there as soon as the first warmish day arrives and start poking around finishing up that fall cleanup we didn't quite get done (that would be me) and looking for new things growing, and plants that didn't quite make it through the winter or perhaps were nibbled by the local rodent population. The dogs caught a vole in the yard last fall, so I will be looking for vole damage. I don't know about you, but I tend not to mourn over the loss of a plant, to me a dead plant is a good reason to get a new plant. The catalogues are coming in steadily, and there are so many new, gorgeous or tasty things that can be grown here in Michigan.

Soon it will be time to prune the fruit trees, and bring a few branches inside to force the flowers in a vase. I usually wait until early March to do this chore- it's a big undertaking on the Apricot tree, and I spread it out over 3 or 4 days. It's right about the time this article will be printed in the March Grow Info, so if you'd like a bunch of fragrant Apricot branches to bring inside, just let me know and c'mon over and get them.

The Apricot tree blooms very early in the spring- about the time the early crocuses bloom and it's a sight worth seeing too. I had a friend that would ask me every Sunday in March at church how soon the tree would bloom, just so she wouldn't miss the fragrance and beauty of the tree. I think of her now every spring when the tree does it's spring thing. It comforts me to know that her ashes and those of her husband, another gardener, have been scattered in the church's beautiful Memorial Garden that we designed together many years ago. The hundreds of daffodils that we planted together still bloom there every spring.

Mid March is just the right time to start some seeds inside too- last year I wrote up some directions for building your own seed starting shelves - I wonder if any of you tried building those and started your own seeds. Let me know if you did. I find that it really helps with my spring fever, just to see those tiny seeds sprout and grow. I love the feel and scent of the moist seed mix and potting soil as I fill the seed flats and four packs and scatter the seeds. Right now though those shelves are filled with other things that I need to find storage places for before I can replace the light bulbs and get my supplies in order. Uh-oh- I think I'm feeling the beginning twinges of Spring Fever! I probably caught it from the seed packet display at the hardware store. Frankly, it's my favorite sickness- you too?

See you in the Garden,
Ellen Leigh

Gardening with Pets

2007-01-11T13:31:00.000-05:00

As some of you may know, I am a pet owner. Two geriatric cats, two Shetland Sheepdogs, and four goldfish. One of the cats, and both dogs are frequently found out in the garden with me whenever I go out there, and actually spend much more time out there than I do, so I do have to take them into consideration as I design and plant every season. They are great companions, and good teachers too.

The dogs- Bea and Byrdie, absolutely detest squirrels, and will spend a great deal of time and energy keeping them out of the yard, or at least up a tree, so there are certain spots and pathways that I have given up on trying to get anything to grow, and have just spread bark mulch to make a nice pathway or a finished look to the base of a tree. If their preferred pathway happens to be over a prized specimen, I put an interesting garden ornament behind it, so they have to go around. This creates an obstacle course in the yard, especially behind the garage, where the wear on the pathway around the trellised center bed is actually becoming steeply banked on the end, and they've worn a rut into the pathway just by chasing that squirrel up on the wires. I've learned to adjust to changes.

If I am out in the garden, they will follow me around, wanting to help in some way, chasing the rake, barking at the mower and the wheel barrow, chasing the balls I find while weeding,and playing tug 'O war with the hose. Where-ever I am, they want to be. Everything is fun, everything is a game- dogs are like that. They remind me to have fun in the garden, play ball for a bit, to play in the dirt.

As spring turns into summer and fruits and vegetables start to ripen, the dogs love to follow me as I harvest, waiting to sample whatever I've picked that day, and sometimes help themselves to whatever they can reach. They absolutely love the raspberries, cherries, blueberries, strawberries, tomatoes, peaches and apricots that I grow- Byrdie has even learned to pick only the ripe cherry tomatoes. I do wish she'd leave some for me! Bea politely waits for me to offer one. I've learned to share the harvest and enjoy the flavors of just off the vine produce.

The cat Minnah is at least low impact, she likes to stroll around the garden, snoozes under the larger Hostas, and has her favorite catnip patches here and there, so is frequently stoned out of her gourd. She is also quite the little hunter, and keeps down the mouse population in the area, along with the occasional sparrow. She also reminds me to take a break every now and then by rubbing around my ankles and strolling over to a bench or chair, inviting me to sit for a while and pet her on my lap. Even in the winter she will sit in the sun on a bench, showing me how nice it is to sit in the sun on the deck on a warmer winter day- sometimes I will even join her out there for a bit. From her, I've learned to take time to relax.

I do believe she thinks the deck is 'her' deck. Several years ago, I started to feed her out there- putting a small dish of food out under the shade umbrella on the table just for her. I had grown tired of letting her in for a quick nibble, then letting her out again to hang out in the garden. Now there is one of those metal structures on the deck, canvas covered in the warmer months, and she enjoys that even more. As soon as the weather starts to warm up in the spring she wants her dish out there and the cover put on the frame. She is usually right about the arrival of spring and I follow her advice, and start arranging the garden for spring and summer. I've learned it's never to early to start thinking about spring.

Soon after the deck furniture is set up, I put my small water feature (a half whiskey barrel with a hand-pump that trickles water) out there too and allow the water to warm a bit before moving the goldfish out to their summer residence. They winter in a tank in the house, but really seem to prefer the darker shaded water in their barrel. Even though their homes are only 20 gallons each, they have grown to be about eight inches long, and their colors are very pretty in the dark water. They are my second set of fish- the first set became raccoon dinner one night a few years ago. I've learned not to name goldfish. The running water of the hand-pump can be heard in the house, in the two back bedrooms and the family room, and creates a very relaxing atmosphere out there.

And that's where you'll find me most fine summer evenings- out on the deck, sipping a nice cold beer, reading a book, cat on my lap, dogs at my feet, sitting next to the fishpond, relaxing after a great day in the garden. Care to join me?

See you in the garden!

Ellen Leigh Niemisto

My own store!

2007-01-05T20:20:00.000-05:00

I've opened up an On-Line Store! Check it out over to the right- there's already some pretty garden inspired merchandise available in there, and more designs will follow as time goes by. To keep informed about what new in the store, specials and other new stuff, be sure to sign up for the e-mail newsletter over on the right too.

This is just one of the new original designs I'm offering!

On line Photo Album

2006-11-09T14:57:00.000-05:00
Over to the right, I've added a photo album that I will be adding pictures to from time to time. Simply click on it to go there and take a peek as some of my pictures.

Leaving well enough Alone

2006-11-09T14:53:00.000-05:00
December is almost here! The last of the leaves have fallen, and hopefully have been composted or ground up into mulch to snuggle the garden in for the winter. I took a new tack this year with the sycamore leaves in the front yard. It seems that every year no matter how well I clean out my landscaping of excess leaves- by spring, more have blown in and I have another big job in the spring removing the extras. I never really clean the beds out totally, feeling that those leaves will all break down and add organic matter to my very sandy soil as they also help to keep the moisture from evaporating. This year- I'm going to leave the leaves in the beds and just mow over the ones on the lawn and leave them lay. My theory is- my landscape can only hold so many leaves- when it is full- the excess will blow over to somebody else's yard, and I will still have the same amount of leaves in my landscape as I've had every other spring- no more, no less. I'll let you know how that works out.

Now this might not be a good idea in every yard- I have sycamore leaves, nearly every house on my street has a sycamore tree, so the majority of the leaves blowing around out there all winter are sycamores. Huge thick and fluffy- they absolutely will not mat together in a soggy clump like maple leaves do, nor do they just crumble up like a lot of other leaves do. Even when shredded up into quarter sized pieces, they take a year or more to break down- thus they make an excellent mulch for landscaping. Now if I had a maple tree on a street full of maples, the leaves would smother my garden and lawn if I left them piled up all winter, but they wouldn't blow around all winter either having fallen all at once, been raked up, collected and mulched or composted.

I read a recent study in the newspaper that showed that ground up maple leaf mulch on lawns acted as an herbicide specific to dandelions and it's effectiveness varied from variety to variety. Other studies have shown that leaf mulch is quite beneficial to lawns, cutting the need for fertilizer. If you've been to my garden, you know I'm not a huge fan of lawns, to me they just serve as a place to walk on to get from one garden to another, and make a nice foreground for the real stars of the show, the flowers! I put very little effort into my lawn- I fertilize it, and water it to keep it green, mow it and that's about it. Does it have weeds? Absolutely! Do I care? Nope. They are green and I mow them. I'm thinking that this nice layer of leaf mulch on my lawn will help to keep more moisture in the soil, especially over the winter, and add nutrients to the soil as well, so I'm hoping I won't have to fertilize as much.

Fall was lovely with it's changing colors and drifting leaves, and I've been about the busy-ness of a bit of fall clean-up, removing frosted leaves, leaving attractive hosta seed heads and Sedum Autumn Joy flower stalks to catch the snow, arranging pots of various evergreen boughs to decorate visible areas on porches and decks, rearranging outdoor furniture for use on a warm winter day, and festively decorating the gazebo for winter celebrations with garland and twinkling lights. All during November I keep an eye peeled for discarded evergreen boughs, berried branches, and pretty colored twigs and throw them in the back of my car to fill out my pots. Add a couple of weather worthy bows, and the arrangement looks wonderful until spring. I even haul out a couple of old sleds to prop up by the doors, festoon them with bows and some signage and snowmen. Winter is long- no need to look out at an unattractive expanse of brown if we fail to get a lovely blanket of white.

I hope during the past year you have worked on planning for some fall and winter color in your garden to truly extend the beauty of gardening for all seasons- maybe added some evergreens, plants with lovely fall color or seedstalks and flowers that look great all winter, or some tall grasses to catch the snow. Add some seasonal decor and you have a pretty picture to look out at while you sip a cup of hot cocoa and mark up the pages of the seed and plant catalogues that will be arriving soon.

See you in the Garden!

Edible Landscaping

2006-10-12T15:54:00.000-04:00

At our September meeting I aquired something I had been wanting for some time- Paw paw trees! Now I need to find a good place for them. Right now they are just seedlings and can be stashed somewhere I can keep an eye on them for a couple of years as they grow bigger. Paw paws are a fruit tree native to Michigan, have good size yellow fruit that is supposed to be pretty tasty, and a lovely fall color. My research reveals that they get to be about 30 feet tall and are an understory tree, in open shade, so they should fit just fine somewhere in my yard.

If you've been reading these articles of mine for a while, you may already have come to realize that I like to grow a lot of different fresh fruits and vegetables in my garden. I just seem to get some kind of particular joy out of eating something that a moment ago was still attached to a tree or plant. Those of you who have a vegetable garden, I'm sure know what I mean. There is an incredible variety of edibles that can be grown in this area, and so much variety even in the same family! Different colors, shapes, sizes and even flavors of everything from Artichokes to Zuchini. They always seem to taste so much better than grocery store produce too.

When I am going to add something to my garden- I look to something that provides food first. If I can't eat it, then it provides food for birds or beneficial insects, while it provides food for my soul by just being pretty. Flowering trees are nice to have, so why not one that provides food as well? Peach trees have lovely pink flowers in spring, and the fruit ripens in late summer usually, but can vary by variety. Apricots have fragrant white blooms, and also summer fruit just before the peaches. Juneberries have strands of white flowers, tasty red fruits that mostly the Robins get to eat, and are absolutely lovely in the fall. Cherries bloom white and fragrant, and have their fruits in June. I find that these plants take no more care than their non-productive counterparts other than the necessity of doing something with the harvest. They get pruned for shape and optimal harvest, pests are dealt with (generally in an organic way) and cared for just as the rest of the garden, with water, weeding and fertilizing.

Herbs are another thing that fits in well in the edible landscape. Many of them come in several colors and scents- tricolor sage, different shades of lavenders, and basil- well basil comes in so many different colors and scents! My favorite is Cinnamon basil, and this summer I saw a variegated basil I will have to find seed for this winter, but there are also lemon, lime, and purple basils. Pineapple sage is a pretty scented plant with red flowers in the fall if you are lucky, but I prefer the Honeydew sage- looks almost the same- maybe more rounded in shape, but it flowers starting in late August- lots of red flowers, and I think it smells more like Vernors Ginger Ale than honeydew- very nice to rub and sniff. Next to it is Lemon verbena- the flowers aren't significant, but the leaves smell heavenly- like lemon drop candy. Chives are of course in lots of gardens- I think the flowers are lovely, and also make a great addition to a salad, along with johnny jump-ups and viola flowers. And don't forget scented geraniums! They can add another dimension to any dish! Dill, garlic, lemon balm, mints, catmint, catnip, perilla, a variety of thymes, oregano- all these look lovely in the landscape and smell and taste great too.

I don't just like to grow edible plants- I like to grow them in un-conventional ways. I mix them in with the rest of my landscaping, tucked in here and there among the perennials, shrubs and trees like jewels. There is a row of blueberry bushes in the front yard (yes, the front yard) that not only have pretty little white flowers in spring, but provide loads of blueberries, are low maintenance, and right now are flame red almost as bright as the burning bushes they replaced. And then there is the purple broccolli that is just now starting to head up- lovely bluegreen leaves and a large deep purple head. Also tucked in here and there are red currants, alpine strawberries, Fallgold raspberries, and Heritage red raspberries. (those last hardly ever make it into the house- I just eat them in the garden out of hand) Four different varieties of tomatos are grown in decorative planters, with 8 foot bamboo stakes forming a support teepee for them. Flowers for butterflies and bees are planted at their bases, along with 'Alaska' Nasturtiums to add spice to a salad. Herbs are planted near gateways and along pathways, so that their scents can be enjoyed as I stroll through the garden.

So as you dream about what new things to grow next season, consider adding in some edibles in your landscaping- maybe try a variety of fruit, vegetable or herb not usually available at the supermarket. Create an Edible Landscape- food for the body and the soul!

See you in the Garden!

Ellen Leigh

Change is in the Air

2006-09-14T11:16:00.000-04:00

I've been out all during September collecting seeds for those annuals I like to start in the house next spring, and this year I'm trying to separate out one particular color of Impatiens that I like very much. It's a completely unique combination of red, coral and a nifty spatter pattern of white thrown in. Has to be seen to be truly appreciated. I'm thinking next year I'll plant those impatiens in the boxes on the edge of the deck- it's gotten too shady there for the geraniums and Star zinnias I usually plant.

As my yard grows shadier now year by year as my young shade trees mature, some changes will have to be made. Some things will be taken care of this fall, like removing the daylilies that aren't blooming well any more- the Apricot and rhododendrons are shading them out. They will be going home with a gardening friend of mine, and I'm sure will be very happy there. A couple of trees I've allowed to sprout up in the 'Hell Strip' in front of my house, one a small oak, the other one that Bradford Pear I mentioned last June, will have to be moved. If I allow either to get much bigger- it will be tough to move them- right now they are under four feet and their trunks are still pretty thin. They'll be going to my parent's condo, where all of the ash trees along their fence line have been taken out. I also have a small white pine I nursed back from near death- a give-away that almost didn't make it home- that needs to move a few feet away from it's current spot under the Japanese Maple.

The area behind my garage has gotten shadier as well. I used to be able to grow vegies back there- it was pretty sunny, but in recent years my neighbors have allowed weed trees to grow up in their fences, just out of my reach, and those trees are shading out my crops. My own mature red maple provides the rest of the shade. This winter I will have to think about something interesting to do back there. A Secret Garden maybe? Hosta nursery? Woodland wildflowers? There is already a small oval pathway with raised beds on the sides and in the middle, might be nice to do something wild, and add a small seat somewhere, and a small tree, or arbor. That will be something to plan over the long winter, perhaps do some of the plant moving this fall.

Some changes are sad, such as when a favorite tree dies or is blown down by winds. Around 9 years ago, two mature trees in my yard were blown down by strong winds- turning my deeply shaded back yard into a mostly sunny one. I happily installed a lovely butterfly garden where there was once shade, including some future shade trees. It will be a few years yet before they mature to provide much shade- but they are getting there.

My yard is getting shadier, but other's gardens are getting sunnier, due to the amount of ash trees dying out. A previously shady spot is perhaps way too sunny now to grow those shade tolerant annuals and perennials that used to thrive under the lovely boughs of an ash. Such is the problem my parents face as the lovely 100 year old ash that shaded their deck at the lake is taken down. Guess who gets to design the new sunnier garden? I'm sure I have some plants here that would like to be in a sunnier spot. I have all winter to think about it!

I hope you were able to really look at your garden as it grew this summer, took some notes and thought about ways to improve things, add things, or just change things around. Maybe your garden is much sunnier than it used to be, or like mine- getting steadily shadier. That's one of the things I love most about gardening- changes! Mostly the changes are natural ones- the seasons, the cycle of life, progress- but it is also lots of fun to make some changes yourself- to grow as a gardener, to help another gardener grow by sharing both what you know and what you have grown. Fall is a great time to move things around, take things out and share them with somebody else.

See you in the garden!

Ellen Leigh
http://ellensgarden.blogspot.com

Sunday in the Garden PhotoShow

2006-08-31T10:40:00.000-04:00

Summer Travels

2006-08-10T20:09:00.000-04:00
I had the opportunity this summer to do quite a bit of travelling and I decided I really like it a lot- I gotta go more often! My garden suffered for it a bit though- in July I was gone for a whole week- a very dry week- and some plants really didn't fare well in my abscence. Oh well- it was a very worthwhile trip and they'll either come back or they won't. "A dead plant is a good reason to get a new plant" is what I always say!
I drove to Itasca, Illinois for a mural artist's convention in mid July- spent four days in a nice hotel, then drove down to Mokena, Illinois to meet a very dear friend I had met on line and visit with her for a day Before continuing back over to Michigan to spend a couple of days along the Lake Michigan shore with my daughter. Mokena is near Joliet, and we took off for a beautiful park near there in the Joliet Park District http://www.jolietpark.org/- driving in her adorable red convertable PT Cruiser. What fun driving through this climax forest on one way roads, following a beautiful river! The trees were so huge! We stopped at the Nature Center in Pilcher's Park http://www.jolietpark.org/facilities/pilcherpark.shtml and looked at all the displays and I found a terrific little book I just had to have: "Garlic Mustard From Pest to Pesto" Most of the recipes look delicious, I'm going to have to try some of them- like the Wild Garlic Mustard and Potato Chowder or Sauteed Chicken Breast with Garlic Mustard Pesto -don't they sound really good? The book was printed in Kalamazoo, Michigan from the Kalamazoo Nature Center there- perhaps we'll try to get some copies sent to us here at MGAWC.
There was also a lovely greenhouse on the park grounds http://www.jolietpark.org/facilities/greenhouse.shtml called the Bird Haven Greenhouse, with some absolutely gorgeous tropical plantings in it and cages with birds inside, and a huge hummingbird garden outside, with the Horticultural Center http://www.jolietpark.org/facilities/horticultural.shtml. We had an absolute blast visiting all these places, seeing the beautiful gardens, the birds and the forests, walking a little bit of trail, too. Many thanks to my good friend Cris for showing me that lovely place!
Later that same week, I went on Margot's bus trip to Applewood and Dow gardens. Wow- what a great trip! Margot is the best at getting things organized and making sure everyone is taken care of. We had plenty of water, snacks and food on board for the entire day on the bus, and even some entertainment in the form of a DVD for the trip back! And the gardens! The gardens were fantastic, I walked my legs off trying to see everything and took loads of pictures. I made a short PhotoShow (a kind of slide show set to music) with some of the pictures and it can be found on my blog site here sometime around the end of August. Next time you have the opportunity to go on one of Margot's trips, GO! You won't regret it!
My travels are over for now, back to the watering schedule, the weeding and deadheading in my own garden, harvesting the peaches, tomatos and raspberries and sitting on the deck in the shade dreaming about where I could go next!
See you in the Garden!
Ellen Leigh
PS- if the links above don't work- copy and paste them into your browser to take a look.

A New Arbor

2006-06-28T18:39:00.000-04:00
I sure had fun earlier this spring making a new arbor to replace an old cheap one that had rusted apart. The new one is made of copper tubing and plumbing joints from the hardware store all soldered together. It wasn't hard to make, although I did have to get soldering lessons from my Dad. The best part is, it will never rust, and will weather to a nice rich color over time.
The honeysuckle looks great draped over it, and was in bloom when I took this picture- you could smell it all over the house!

Ellen Leigh

Volunteers

2006-06-27T12:38:00.000-04:00
Well, here it is Summer already! I just came in from a stroll around my garden, trying to decide what to write about. I restrained myself from doing the container watering that needs to be done today and only yanked a couple of weeds and deadheaded the geraniums and roses that looked a bit ragged. For the most part, the garden is lovely right now. Further weeding and grooming can wait for a bit. I came out for inspiration and didn't really have to stroll very long before I found it. Volunteers.

You see, I am not a careful weeder, uprooting every plant that I didn't physically place in that spot. I delight in Nature, the process of life renewing itself and how plants manage to find their niche, grow roots and multiply. Some of them, of course, do it all too well and do get removed in favor of more desirable species. If I let every seedling grow, I would have a yard full of various maples, elms and other trees, poison ivy, etc all growing like weeds on crack. On the other hand, since I do try to look out for that small seedling that is different from the rest, I have two different dogwood trees, a tigerlily, several meadow wildflowers, and a tree that I think might be a Bradford pear, all brought here by nature.

Some annual and biennial flowers naturally self sow themselves around the garden, weaving a lovely tapestry of color around the perennials and roses- foxgloves, larkspur, poppies, columbine, nigella and annual phlox among them. Salvia and nicotiana also reseed themselves here and there, in driveway cracks, or on the edge of a bed. Sometimes the perennials do this too, which is how I came to have a large swamp milkweed growing up in the concrete next to my driveway gate, and chives in a seam by the front porch.

Some of these self-sowers I collect seeds from and start in flats in the house for earlier bloom, and as a result, I've noticed that the plants are healthier, and the flowers larger than their commercial greenhouse grown counterparts or seedpacket plants. And every year, they get bigger and better. There is a variety of phlox I grow that originally came from a seed packet called "Phlox of Sheep", that has become difficult to find in the packet. Since I collect the seeds and grow them under lights each year, I can continue to have those pretty soft colors in my garden. This year I had an equal number of plants volunteer in my larger containers- huge, healthy sturdy plants, just loaded with gorgeous flowers.

This year I am nurturing several different Hosta seedlings I discovered surrounding the diminutive Hosta Venusta I allowed to keep its seed stalks over the winter. Probably nothing too exciting- they have larger rounder leaves, and a deeper color mostly- but one sent up a flowerscape long before any other hosta I grow, and one that sprouted in between some bricks has the tiniest chartreuse leaves that are holding their color really well so far. The whole plant has about a dozen leaves and is only about an inch and a half across. It is so tiny, I had to move it out of the path and into the bed itself to keep it from being trampled into oblivion.

The trick is to really observe those small seedlings and plants. Learn to recognize the newly sprouted seedlings of desirable plants and tell them apart from the true weeds. Let some of those small plants grow for a while until you are able to figure out what they are. You can always pull them out later if they turn out to be undesirable. If you like what they turn out to be- you can leave them there or move them to a more pleasing place. If you really like the plant- let it go to seed for more flowers next year. This season it will have cross pollinated with another color or size of plant, combining their genetic material together in your unique growing conditions to create plants perfectly suited to your garden. At the very least you have free plants, bushes and trees. Isn't that wonderful?

See you in the Garden!
Ellen Leigh

Luziana Postcard

2006-05-12T14:04:00.000-04:00
How y'all doin'? OK, so I am back from my trip. Let me just say it was an amazing experience, I'm very glad I went, and would go again in a heart beat. Now the tough part- how to relate that experience to this column about gardening.
I guess I just have to look at all the instances during the trip where I was amazed by nature. All the way down- driving through Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana I got Spring on fast forward, and also saw some spring wildflowers not usually seen in Michigan- Spiked Lobelia, Golden Asters, Fire Pinks, wild Azalea and some I haven't found names for yet. In Louisiana, about a hundred miles north of New Orleans, we started to see the effects of the hurricanes. The area we were headed to was about 57 miles south of New Orleans, Houma , 'Luziana' as they say down there, to be exact and Chauvin, where we worked, was even further south by 15 miles.
Down in Luziana, as we drove around to our work sites and around the bayou, I was amazed by the beautiful gardens some people had around their homes. Their homes may still have blue tarps on the roof, but everywhere flowers were in bloom. Lilies, mimosa, bouganvillia, and especially the beautiful southern Magnolia. Nature is an amazing thing- capable of weathering the fiercest storms and coming back stronger the next year. Sure, there were plenty of areas where trees were heavily damaged, uprooted and lots of destruction was still apparent, but there were also plenty of signs of regeneration too. The beauty of nature brought a smile to my heart.
I worked all week on one man's home with a group of about 9 other people. It was a very poor area, heavily hit by Hurricane Rita- everyone's home was heavily damaged when the water rose to about six feet deep. Almost everyone was living in a FEMA trailer and trying to repair their homes. Across the street was a small family, a young couple- Steve and his wife, their young daughter Dixie and Steve's mother. Steve is working to both rebuild and raise up his house all by himself from the 2 feet off the ground it is now to about 5 feet off the ground that the new codes require. He doesn't have a lot of tools- he is a small guy, in stature at least at about 5 feet tall, but stronger than any man I have ever met. He is rebuilding with his bare hands. He has to, he doesn't have a choice, there was no insurance.
In the mean time, they are living in a small FEMA trailer together. It is parked right next to the house, and I had been working across from it for a couple of days before I noticed that on the other side of the trailer was a small flower garden in full bloom. I asked the woman sitting outside if it was her garden and she told me no, it belonged to the little girl- Dixie. I asked Dixie to show me her garden and tell me about it. She had planted it so that she could have flowers to give her teacher. Although it was small, it was lovely, and filled with marigolds, asters, petunias, dahlias and lots of other pretty things. She was really proud of it and was happy to show it off. And I was very happy to have taken the time to make friends with these people.

I was amazed at the spirit of this family, and of the Cajun people in general, that despite all they had been through, that their whole community had been through and is still being affected by, they were smiling, generous and strong. And they were very happy and grateful that we had come to help. It's not easy work, we really only helped a few families out of the thousands in that small area that need help, and there are still signs of tremendous damage. It will take time and lots of it, but they will be back, just as strong as before, and just like the magnolia will bloom again.
There is still lots of work to be done, recovery will take years and anyone interested in doing anything to help, from just making a donation to volunteering or even just to ask questions, can come and see me for more information. You can also go to; http://rgpckatrina2.blogspot.com for more pictures and stories about our trip.
See you in the garden!
Ellen Leigh

The Garden Workout

2006-04-12T12:51:00.000-04:00
What an amazing month April is! It starts out dull and dreary, with the promise of things to come just peeping out of the ground through the remnants of last fall's leaves, and ends up in full glorious flower, soft warm rains and sunny days bringing all those lovely bulbs, shrubs and trees into full flower for May.

As I write this, it is still April, some of you will be reading it in April (on the web site or my Blog), and some won't see this column until May (in Grow Info), and I will be back from my week long trip to the deep south. I certainly will miss my garden while I am gone, but expect to return to find things a lot further along than when I left. I've been working furiously getting my April work done before I leave.

Raking, mulching, cleaning up sticks and debris, carrying hoses back out and hooking them up and putting out the deck furniture again, not to mention washing the deck and sweeping are great forms of exercise. Who needs to belong to a health club when you have a garden? Between working out in the garden and walking my dogs a couple of miles every day, plus my work as a painter, I get a complete work out!

This year, more than any other I have been conscious of what great exercise gardening is. You see, the trip I am taking to the deep south isn't a vacation, it's a Mission Trip, and I will be spending a week down in Louisiana with 47 other people, helping to rebuild homes destroyed by last season's hurricanes. I expect to work very hard, sleep in a tent, shower outdoors, and come home exhausted, but with a huge grin on my face.

I expect to come home to a different garden than when I left, and I also expect to come home a somewhat different person too. I am traveling to a place I have never been before, and helping people I have never met, and may never see again. I will also see first hand the devastating effects that hurricanes have had on these people's lives. And I will have had the chance to really demonstrate what kind of a Christian I am.

Next month expect a few stories about the trip, and possibly a picture or two. More information and pictures can be found on the Blog site set up about our trip at http://rgpckatrina2.blogspot.com which will be updated with pictures and stories while we are down in the bayous of Louisiana.

And now, back to my workout- see you in the Garden!
Ellen Leigh

Staying Organized

2006-03-09T14:39:00.000-05:00

Spring is finally here! The seeds are up and thriving, all those bulbs planted last fall are showing up and giving a bit of color to an otherwise brown landscape, and the buds are swelling on the trees. Somehow the very air just smells different. Time to hit the ground running with all that we have spent the winter planning for our garden room.

Before you do though, take some time to make some notes about those bulbs that are sprouting up in your garden, make notes about places where it seems there should be something growing and where you'd really like to see something coming up in the spring- remember, bulbs can be layered with really early ones like snow drops making way for mid to late spring crocuses, and then the summer bulbs coming up through the tulips for some summer blooms. You know when those bulbs show up on the shelves at the garden store in the fall that you won't be able to resist! You'll have an idea what to get, and where to put it if you make some notes.

Do you have a place to keep all of those notes together? How about getting an old three ring binder and some pocket dividers, maybe some of those old magnetic photo album pages. The pictures you have torn out of magazines can be put into the magnetic album pages- they're not much good for archiving photos, but great for clippings and ideas. Even scotch tape and looseleaf paper works to keep those ideas in order. Label those pocket dividers for the different seasons and stash those clippings in the pockets until you really decide which ideas you want to use- not every idea works for every garden, or they could be used to hold some seed packets or empty bulb packages and plant tags. I would use mine to hold directions for building structures for the garden.

If you've found a nice thick binder, you could also make yourself a Garden Journal very simply by adding in enough looseleaf paper to put all the days of the year at the top of it's own page. Keep track of the year in the left margin, and write about what's new in your garden, what's blooming, what birds you've seen, what the weather is like- maybe just to make note of the extremes, whatever is important to you. It can be very interesting to see how different years compare. Divide those days up into seasons with those pocket dividers, and magnetic pages, maybe even add in some scrapbook pages for photos from your garden. The whole thing doesn't have to be fancy to be useful, but you could make it really attractive and special enough to leave out on the coffee table if you wanted to.

I started a journal many years ago to keep track of when I started seeds, how long it took for them to sprout, when they started blooming or were ready to eat. Also included are what was blooming out in the garden in the spring and summer and when I did some of the garden chores, and when I planted new things in the garden. I found that after a few years, patterns emerged- some spring plants bloomed on the same day every year, indicating to me that they were timed with the sun, but others seemed to be more tied to weather and would wait for ideal conditions before performing. I also found that it wasn't necessary to write every day, or even every week- just when I felt like it, or had something to jot down. I seldom get fancy either- just a list of what is blooming, or sprouting, weather temps or extremes, when I sight the first Robin of spring or if I see a different kind of bird migrating, or a new butterfly. By using the larger looseleaf paper and stacking one year's entry over the previous year's it can be interesting to see those patterns emerge. It's also a great way to remember those exciting gardening moments too, the first home grown peach, that sighting of a Cerulean Warbler passing through, or even the biggest earthworm you've ever seen.

Spring is the start of a whole new gardening year, I'm for getting organized and putting some of those great ideas I've accumulated into one convenient place so I don't waste valuable gardening time looking for all my notes and torn out pictures. Great rainy day project, don't you think? I think I'll go get started on a new Gardening Journal-

See you in the garden!
Ellen Leigh

Spring is coming!

2006-02-09T11:13:00.000-05:00

Spring will be arriving later this month, are you as excited as I am?

Spring is when I start a few varieties of annuals to plant out later in pots and in the garden. The seeds I saved last fall are lovingly planted according to their needs for light and temperature and watched carefully for signs of sprouting, and are watered and nurtured until it's time to harden them off and plant them. Since I save seeds from flowers that I have grown myself for several generations, I believe I have my own open stock varieties now, perfectly suited for my conditions. The flowers are larger, the seedlings are hardier with less damping off, and they germinate at an amazing rate of speed compared to their cousins in the seed packets. If you have some grow lights or a greenhouse, I highly recommend starting some seeds that you saved yourself from your favorite flowers- it's a great way to garden full circle. I built my own plant shelves and grow lights- it's not hard, and this is a great time to build a set up if you have a place to put it.

Here is how to build one if you have the inclination: You will need a set of storage shelving 48 inches wide by 18 to 24 inches deep with wood or fiberboard shelves, with 4 to 5 shelves, six or seven feet tall. I got mine from a store that was going out of business, but they can be purchased at Lowe's or Home Depot too. You will need two 48 inch two lamp fluorescent shop light fixtures for each shelf you want to equip, the kind that use 40 watt bulbs and have a cord longer than a few inches. The shop lights hang from their chains from the underside of the shelf about 15 to 18 inches above, so get some screw in hooks to hang them. The lights are then plugged into a surge strip on the edge of a shelf or on the wall. You can put up to six shop lights on a surge strip. The surge strip is plugged into a timer set to be on for 16 to 18 hours a day, and the timer is of course plugged into the wall.

I have three shelves set up, and don't see the need for more than that. I replace the bulbs every year even if they aren't burnt out (I just use them in other fixtures) and sometimes I have to replace the fixtures themselves, but other than that it is a very low cost, low maintenance set up. With these three shelves, I grow about 16 flats of plants- four flats fit on each shelf, and I have things timed so that some of the plants go outside to be hardened off at the same time that I am starting some new flats of more quickly maturing seedlings.

Seeds are such amazing things. Inside each tiny little shell is every part the plant needs to grow into a mature specimen, be it a simple marigold or a mighty oak. Given just the right conditions that little plant emerges, thrives and grows, matures, and produces more seeds, continuing it's species. Much of the varieties I save seeds from and start again every spring are ones that left to their own resources will just come up in the cracks in my driveway or along the paths in the yard, so I figure, why not collect the seeds, and produce some plants that I can put in the spots I want them in?

In late winter and early spring, I go out into the garden almost every day, to see what's new out there. It is so astounding sometimes how quickly seeds sprout, or the wildflowers and bulbs start to emerge from the ground and burst into bloom. In some parts of my garden I have woodland wildflowers planted that can only be seen in the spring. They come up as soon as the ground starts to warm, they bloom and then they disappear just as the leaves on the trees start to fill out. And those seeds, those amazing seeds, start to sprout right in my driveway. Spring is so awesome, isn't it?

See you in the Garden!
Ellen Leigh

Waiting for Spring

2006-01-11T20:02:00.000-05:00

Any signs of Spring yet? Did you plant some early spring bulbs where you can see them from your favorite spot in the house? Another great place to spot signs of spring is by your entry doors. Along about this time of year is when I start looking for green bumps poking up from the ground seeking the warmth of the sun. Usually, I am disappointed until the end of January or first part of February, when the snowdrops start showing up, closely followed by the crocuses and early pastel violets.
The stores are starting to put their spring and summer garden decor out on display. Now is a great time to shop around and see if there is something that will add a bit of sparkle, whimsy or structure to your garden. There's always somethng new that can replace something that has seen better days. If you wait too long, all the really neat stuff is gone and all picked over, and you are so busy planting, you don't have time to shop for decor. Get out there and find those decorative items to accessorize your themed garden, be it flamingoes or classical statuary.
The catalogues are still trickling in, all hoping that I will place an order with them this year. There are some neat looking new varieties out there, so I just might. I will need to decide soon, if I can figure out where to put the new stuff if I buy it- now where did I put my plan?
Do you keep a notebook, or file folder full of plant information for your garden? I'm not that organized- most of it is in my head. I do save the plant tags, but not in any sort of system, just a kind of pile. There is something to be said for being organized, and if any of you have a good system, I'd love to hear about it. I know a couple of organized people who have a page for each plant, it's tag, a photograph of it in their yard, and notes about when it was purchased, how to care for it, it's history of any diseases, problems, bloom time, divisions, and any other bits of information they can put down. Martha Stewart probably does that.
Martha doesn't do my gardening- its a good thing.
I keep a sort of mental list of things that need to be done in late winter or early spring before the growing season even starts: buy new fluorescent light bulbs for the grow lights, make sure all the fixtures work, get seed starting mix and potting soil, inventory seeds and get more if necessary, clear non plant stuff off the shelves, figure out when to start all the seeds so they are the right size for their outdoor planting time, but not too big, when they get hardened off, try not to start too many seeds, try to keep the house plants alive, stuff like that. How many of you like to start your own seeds in the house or have a greenhouse? It might be fun to compare notes sometime.
On nicer winter days, I go outside and besides looking for those spring bulbs showing signs of life, I do some pruning and training. You may know that I grow several kinds of fruit trees, all require some sort of pruning, sometimes quite severely as in the case of my Goldcot Apricot tree, sometimes just a little bit to control the growth pattern, like the Northstar Cherry and the Early White Giant Peach must be pruned yearly too for best fruit production. A fine day in mid winter is a great time to prune a fruit tree, although if I wait until the flower buds show signs of swelling, I can force the blooms indoors for a breath of spring. Apricot flowers especially are incredibly fragrant. And almost everyone knows how to force forsythia into bloom- one of my earliest memories is of helping my mom cut a few branches in time for forcing into bloom for Easter, then hanging colorful styrofoam eggs on the branches.
Already the days are growing longer, Spring is approaching slowly, almost imperceptively. Suddenly it will arrive, seemingly overnight (as it always does in Michigan) and burst into glorious color! Are you ready?
See you in the Garden!

Apricots part 2

2005-12-09T18:24:00.000-05:00

A while back, when I was writing about and searching for 'The Plant of the Month', I wrote about one of my own favorite trees- the Apricot (June 2003). It was and still is one of my favorites. In the spring it is the first tree on the block in full bloom- weeks before any of the crabs, and cherries, has a glorious scent that can be enjoyed for several hundred feet before you even notice its tremendous size and beauty. In the winter, it has a lovely full shape- much wider than it is tall, with lovely reddish brown bark. In the fall it's leaves turn golden and orange, with a bit of red here and there. The summer foliage is a soft green heartshaped leaf, glossy, and pest free. Fruit is uncertain, some years, there is not much to speak of, late frosts causing most of the fruit to drop off before it even gets a chance to develop. The rest of the fruit may be ruined by squirrels, birds and riddled with insects. But some years, there is a full, absolutely amazing crop of fruit, so much so that the branches brush the ground they are so heavy. So much so, that even after throwing away a good part of the crop, damaged by vermin or molds, there is an astounding amount of fruit. This was one of those years.

The tree bloomed as usual this year, and was enjoyed by all- some, having heard of the tree's beauty coming from miles around just to see it and smell it. I thought for sure that since we had such a long very cold spring, that this would again be a year that the fruit would be ruined, and the crop insignificant. This standard size tree has grown and flourished in the front yard for 14 years, has reached a height of about 20 feet by about 30 feet wide, and has only had one crop of fruit in all of those years. And so, I didn't bother to spray, and considered it a lost year. It was disappointing after seeing all of those beautiful branches just covered in white popcorn flowers, and the petal fall that resembled snow that followed. When it actually did snow a couple of weeks later when everything else was in full bloom, I thought for sure, there would be no apricots this year.

So, you say to yourself, what's the big deal about Apricots? They're not that great, I've bought them at the grocery store, not much flavor there. True- a store bought Apricot is bland and mealy, pretty small, over priced and has no flavor. But a tree ripened Apricot, one that has spent it's full time on the tree, until a slight tug and twist releases it's hold, is a little bit of heaven, all wrapped up in a soft golden orange skin. The flavor is astoundingly sweet and wonderfully juicy, with just the right amount of tartness. Mmmmmmmm!

Two years ago, when the tree last bore some usable fruit, I was amazed and delighted to have six feet of my kitchen counter buried in large Apricots. This season, I had nearly that amount of fruit Every Day for two weeks! I lived, breathed, ate, and dreamed Apricots 24/7. I'm not kidding. There are very few recipes that call for fresh apricots, so after I made a couple of batches of jam- which by the way only used about six cups of fruit, I had to start making up recipes. When I read the list of ways I used them, I begin to sound like Bubba, the shrimp guy, in Forest Gump: Apricot Jam, Apricot Cobbler, Apricot Pie, Apricot Crisp, Apricot topping, Spiced Apricots, Sliced Apricots, Frozen Apricots, Plain ol' Apricots, fresh out of hand Apricots, Canned Apricots, Dried Apricots, Apricot Ice, Spicy Apricot Rosemary Sauce, and Apricot Salsa. I gave away Apricots, sold Apricots to a market vendor, let the dogs eat Apricots, and begged people to try Apricots. People walking by would take Apricots home, their children would pick Apricots, and Margot came over several times and took Apricots home too. Roughly, I estimate that there was easily 25 gallons of usable Apricots harvested this season, quite possibly a lot more- I know I wasn't very accurate in measuring- there just wasn't time.

So that's the story of how I spent two weeks of my summer. It was quite an experience, and I only hope that the dozens of containers of Apricots now in my pantry and freezer are gone by the time next July rolls around, just in case. Oh, and if you have been thinking of getting an Apricot tree for your landscape- get a dwarf one. Trust me.

Apricot

2005-12-09T18:21:00.000-05:00

If you are looking for a beautiful wide, round shaped landscape tree, one that blooms reliably, with fragrant white flowers that cover the tree like popcorn early in the spring, has lovely shiny green leaves all summer long, turns a pretty shade of gold in the fall and has striking branch structure and form in the winter, look no further than the Apricot (P. armeniaca). Add in that an Apricot bears gorgeous golden orange colored, absolutely delicious fruit that you just can’t buy from any store and you have a near perfect tree. Near perfect because they do require some shaping and pruning and pest management for quality fruit. And actually getting fruit in Michigan because of our unpredictable springs is sometimes iffy. I consider the fruit a bonus if I get any.

Several years ago, I purchased my one and only Apricot tree from the Stark brother Catalogue - variety “Goldcot”. It was little more than a 30” stick when I planted it in a large berm in my front yard about twelve years ago. The Catalogue said it would be hardy and bear fruit in Michigan, and loving Apricots, I went for it. It grew very quickly into the beautiful 25’ by 25’ specimen it is today. Last summer, for the first time, due to some spraying for insects the year before, and a cooperative spring frost wise, I had a bumper crop of beautifully huge delectable Apricots! I had so many Apricots that the ones I kept covered about 6 feet of my kitchen counter in a huge deep pile. I gave a lot away, but made several Apricot cobblers, a couple of batches of jam and butter, gave some more away, ate a bunch fresh and gave some more away. They were fantastic!!!

I highly recommend using fruit trees as landscape trees wherever you can fit them in. Most fruit trees come in standard (like my Apricot), or dwarf sizes and some come in patio sizes as well. Stark Brothers carries a large variety of different fruits for the home landscape and there are other sources as well.

5 Planning for Spring

2005-12-09T17:58:00.000-05:00
Your Garden Room- Planning for Spring
Ellen Leigh Niemisto

The seed and plant catalogues are pouring in, jam packed full of new varieties and colors of flowers, vegetables, fruit trees, ornamentals, bulbs, annuals, and perennials. The catalogues started filling my mailbox in mid November, and are still coming in. As each one arrives I just drool over the possiblilities, and know that I could easily have a list that would total into the hundreds of dollars if I had places to plant all of those gorgeous plants, and unlimited funds. I have neither. Bummer. I gotta make some plans.

Hopefully this past fall, you took some notes about some things you wanted to change, things you wanted to add, maybe you've already started a new garden in your yard, ready to plant next spring. Terrific! You're ahead of the game! Let's make a plan.

The best way to plan a garden is to draw it out on paper. Any old paper will do, but if you have a hard time with envisioning scale, I recommend getting some graph paper with a 1/4 inch grid. On this paper 4 squares equals one foot, or two squares can equal one foot if you have a big garden, so you can sketch out your new garden, or your existing one, pretty much to scale. Make notes on it about the sun direction (or where north is), nearby buildings and structures, the main viewpoint (the angle you want it to look the nicest), any trees or shrubs, etc. Make note of anything that needs to be moved to another part of the garden, or yanked out mercilessly.

If you can visualize it, try to think about what kind of plant material to fill it with, not anything specific yet though. Something tall and blue in the back, some short yellow flowers in the front, a vine on a trellis at the back maybe with white flowers, a mid size bushy plant with coarse leaves and orange flowers somewhere in the middle- that kind of thing. Draw in bubble shapes that are roughly six to eight squares (if using the four square scale) wide that will represent plant material, and make notes in the bubbles.

If you have a color scheme you want to use, or favorite colors, start inserting those colors into your plan. It helps to take an eye catching color, like white or yellow and repeat it in a zig zag fashion through out the garden to pull the eye through and make it notice certain features. The viewer's eye will jump from yellow to yellow or white to white from front to back. Avoid placing these focal plants in a straight line to each other- make the eye bounce around along the path you have selected. Cool, darker colors, like purple and blue are noticed last and will make the background look farther away if placed there- so if you have a small garden or yard, using those colors at the back will make it seem a bit larger. Warm colors, oranges, yellows and reds seem closer and are noticed sooner than the cool colors. White is a good buffer between colors to soften and helps bright colors seem brighter without clashing. Start filling in some of those colors in those bubbles.

Don't forget different shades of green too. A plant with yellow foliage looks great next to one with bluish foliage for contrast. Grey foliage adds a certain something to the garden as well. Spread out the textures of flowers and foliages too, using fine, coarse and medium textures. Some plants are more linear, like lilies, iris, daylilies- others are more rounded shapes or freeform, still others are just loose and spreading. Make notes of those properties also on your plan.

When you think you may have the plan the way you want it- make some photo copies of it. If you are feeling creative, color it in with some of your old crayons or colored pencils (this is my favorite part, of course), or cut up last years catalogues and paste some pictures on your plan (kids like me love to do this). Either of these will give you a better idea of what your garden could look like. Make a list of plants to look for: A tall upright plant with blue or purple flowers, something low, fine foliage, pale yellow flowers, bushy with medium blue green foliage, pink flowers- you get the idea. There! Now you have a plan!

Now when you open those catalogues, it becomes easier to figure out what you should order and where you can put it, avoiding both spending too much money (ha!) and buying plants you don't have a place for. The catalogues can help you decide exactly what plants will fit those descriptions you put on your plan. Add those names to your list and on your plan, and you have a real tool for placing those orders or going to your local nursery in the spring.

Oooo! I hear the mailman! See you in the garden!
Ellen Leigh

4 Fall and Winter Decorating

2005-12-09T17:04:00.001-05:00
Your Garden Room- Fall and Winter Decorating
Ellen Leigh Niemisto

Last chapter, we discussed taking a fresh look at our gardens, walking around and seeing it from different vantage points. I hope you are continuing to do this as we head into fall- fall is a great time to restructure the garden, take notes, and start any new beds we may want to put in. In the fall, it is relatively easy to either kill off or smother any lawn in the area, layer on mulched up leaves and topsoil, then in the spring, just plant right through this enriched mix. We can spend the winter pouring over all the catalogues that come in, dreaming about all the new plants we heard about at the 'Growing with Master Gardeners' conference, and figuring out where to plant them for great plant combinations.

Autumn is a wonderful time to find out what plants look really great in the fall, and which ones really fizzle out and detract from the picture. Personally, because my garden is so small, there really isn't room for anything that doesn't look good for at least three seasons. Some plants I keep around because they really pick my spirits up in the spring, when I need it most, and they just fizzle out and disappear the rest of the year, like the spring bulbs and etherials, but at least they don't detract from the garden the rest of the time.

Fall is also a great time to get a jump on spring by cutting back perennials, cleaning things up, applying a mulch of chopped up leaves, or compost, and decorating the garden for winter. Don't be too hasty to cut back all of your perennials though. Some plants look absolutely beautiful with a fresh dusting of snow, like Hosta seed pods, and sedum 'Autumn Joy. Some seedheads and berries are great for attracting birds to the garden as well, and should be left for them to enjoy. Goldfinches like cosmos, purple coneflowers and black eyed susan seeds. Other birds like berries in the winter too- and berries can also create fall and winter interest, porcelainberry vine is gorgeous in the fall, with its aqua, blue and purple berries and some vibernum varieties have lovely red berries, and lovely fall foliage as well.

Find a few places that you can see as you come and go, or from your favorite window, and plant some spring bulbs there- plant a few different kinds- some early and some late. It really only takes a few to really pick your spirits up early in the spring after the long cold winter.

If you have large planters that you use for mixed annuals in spring and summer, you can also use these to decorate your garden in the winter as well. Look for evergreen prunings on trash day around town, or take some cuttings off of your own, use a variety of textures and colors, simply poke the branches into the potting soil to hold them, add in some branches of red or yellow twig dogwood, milkweed pods, teasles, some red berried branches, like hawthorn, add a bow if you like, and it will be pretty all winter long. I usually fill several planters full to overflowing in this way, and simply discard the cuttings in the spring when the soil thaws out. It's a great way to decorate your entry ways and nearer parts of the garden.

I leave out a sturdy and weathered wooden chair in my favorite spot, and have been known to use it on a nice warm winter day, just to be outside in the garden. Put a garden bench or chair on your porch and decorate it with an old plaid blanket, and a pile of wrapped packages decorated with greens and pinecones.

Besides decorating for fall with the usual scarecrows, pumpkins and corn stalks, there are loads of interesting decorative items to hang near your entry ways. And for the winter season, how fun is it to lean an old sled or pair of wooden skis and poles by your door, perhaps wiring on some greens and a sign about the season that appeals to you. My favorite sign has a snowman on it and reads: 'Will work for freezer space'.

So don't despair over the end of the growing season! Take down some notes about things you want to think about changing in the spring, maybe start those changes now, so you have someplace to put those plants that you will be ordering after the holidays. Put in some spring bulbs for early spring blooms. Decorate your garden for the fall and winter season so it looks pretty when the snow falls. And then find a cozy spot by your favorite window, curl up with those catalogues and spend the winter dreaming of the season to come.

See you in the garden!
Ellen Leigh

3 Design and Structure

2005-12-09T17:04:00.000-05:00
Your Garden Room- Design and Structure
Ellen Leigh Niemisto

So, you've thought about what style your garden should be, formal or informal and what theme would be most attractive based on your lifestyle, home architecture, and things you enjoy doing or seeing. Now it's time to think about how to design or re-design the garden to fit those ideas together. You probably already have a good start on a garden (duh!), but here are some ways to look at it in a new way and perhaps make it really spectacular.

Use Fresh eyes. As gardeners, we tend to just care for our plants- water, weed, prune and deadhead. We walk around looking down, and frequently can be seen with our butts higher than our heads. Walk around your garden with a set of fresh eyes. Don't take any gloves or garden tools- take a cool drink , a notepad and pencil for notes if you like and just wander, like you were on a garden walk. Walk to the back of the garden and look toward your house, walk to the side of the yard and look over at the other side. Take a stroll down that pathway and turn around and look back up the path. Looks different doesn't it? Is there a spot or spots where you really like what you see? Is there a really special combination of plants forming a lovely picture? This spot might be the perfect spot for a garden bench or a couple of chairs and a little table to set down your cool drink. If it's really sunny there, and you want to sit in the shade, you can add an umbrella, or a gazebo, or arbor, whatever fits your style and theme. A little trickle of water is nice too, if you want to work in a water feature. Think about several seats if you want company out there, and maybe a patio to set everything on. This might be the perfect spot for a hammock or swing.

Take a folding lawn chair to your spot and sit there a while. Just take in the garden, really look around from your chair, sip your drink a while. Now get up and walk over to the entry to your garden and look back to the chair. Does it invite you to come back and sit there again? Can anything else be added, plant wise, to dress it up a bit? Perhaps a pot or three of colorful annuals? Can you visualize some sort of shade structure if you need it, and what that would look like?

Go back to your new resting area, and look around the garden. Do you see any other areas where you can add plants, take a way plants or add some architecture? Is there a path that opens up to a lawn that perhaps could have an inexpensive arbor arched over it and a lovely vine covering it? Perhaps the side of your garage (or your neighbors) or shed is a huge plain slab of wood, brick or siding and could use a trellis or a small tree , or even a mirror with a window box under it. Look over to your neighbor's yard- is there anything you'd like to block out? (Like everything in there?) Fences can be expensive, but vines can be rained to cover just about anything- be creative! Espalliered trees can make a living fence too, or block a view and create a sense of privacy.

Re-access. Things are winding down at this time of year, and maybe starting to look a little worn out and ratty- or disease and insects have taken their toll. It's a good time to take another walk around with your nice cool drink and remember when certain plants were in full bloom, what they look like now, and decide whether they were worth the trouble or not. It may be better to replace some plants with ones that perform well in two or more seasons rather than ones that are only pretty in one season and detract from the other plants the rest of the year. There may be another variety of that plant that is more disease resistant, or one that is similar in appearance and structure that offers more seasonal interest. Maybe there are some real stand-outs in your garden that could be divided and placed in other locations to carry the eye around your garden. Fall is a great time to divide and move things around. You could put your favorite plants where you can see them from your new leisure spot.

Inside out. Go back inside to refresh your drink, and look out your favorite window into the garden (if you have one- if you don't, think about putting one in). Can you see your leisure spot? Can the view be framed with an arched trellis, or a pair of lovely flowering trees? If your view is blocked, can the view be opened up? If not, is there a really attractive spot where you can place a piece of art, or interesting structure, or even a large mixed planter (whatever works with your theme)?
Look out other windows as well. A lot of gardens are designed to just be around the house itself, and can't be seen from inside the house. That's great for curb appeal- that's important too, but what a shame if your front picture window doesn't have a picture to look out at. Think about extending your garden out to where you can see it from inside the house, even out to the side walk and beyond.]

Write down all of your ideas so you can think about them over the winter. Lots of garden accessories are marked down in the fall- it could be the perfect time to add some things to your garden. Now you know what to look for and have a place to put it. If you are thinking of adding new gardens, or extending your existing garden, fall is a great time to take some measurements, make a list of plants you have that can be divided and think about what plants need to be obtained either locally or by mail order. You can make a list of plants that fit with your theme if you have one. If you find some plants in the fall, they can be heeled in for the winter and installed next spring.

This fall, spend some leisure time out in your garden- invite a friend to join you, sit back, relax, have a cool drink, enjoy what you have created while you dream about ways to make it even better.

See you in the garden!

Ellen Leigh

2 Themes

2005-12-09T17:00:00.000-05:00
Your Garden Room-Themes
Ellen Leigh Niemisto

How do we go about deciding what sort of theme to have in our garden and why?
There are almost as many ways to go about it as leaves on a tree. The architecture of our home can give us some cues, our lifestyle, the places we like to visit, how much time we have available to care for it- all of these things can tell us what sort of garden theme will appeal most to us.

Architecture. A traditional style of home- say Queen Anne Victorian, with lots of gingerbread, a Colonial or even a Bungalow style from the early 1900's will lend itself better to flowing lines and overflowing beds packed full of color. A more contemporary style of architecture from midcentury and into the seventies and eighties will be a terrific backdrop to bold blocks of color, texture and shape, clean lines and unusual combinations of plants and structures. Is your home and interior decor traditional or contemporary? You will most probably prefer your garden design and decor to be similar.

Life style. Who shares your life with you? Young children? Pets? Toxic plants and delicate ones should be avoided, and think about plants that are fun to touch, or smell terrific, or are tasty if you have children. Maybe edible landscaping is for you. Plants with interesting , fun names can interest children in gardening- like toadlilies, foxgloves, johnny-jump-ups and forget-me nots. You can even make your garden more fun for your pets by allowing them to create pathways to meet and greet the neighbors, cool places they are allowed to nap or dig, a great tree to climb and a little catnip for a cat, or low bushes to jump over for a dog. Are you hardly ever home, or only in the evening? Think about an evening scented or all white 'moonlight'garden. Entertain frequently? Have lots of friends who drop in spontaneously? Plan in lots of spaces for mingling, sitting spots, dining areas, perhaps a shelter that can be lit up in the evening. Love to sit in the shade and read a good book? Think about a comfortable sitting area, with a table for your iced tea, and a place to prop your feet. When you are home, do you like to retreat into your own little world? Then you might like to create a wall of flowering shrubs to create the privacy you desire. If you make a list, you can create spaces and rooms outdoors to fit any and all of these parts of your lifestyle and more.

Favorite places and things. Love to travel to tropical places? There are lots of tropical looking plants, and plants in tropical colors. Up North beckons to you? Think wildflowers, pine trees, and a nice natural looking pond. Just adore antiques and old junk? Stash a few sturdy pieces out in surprising places in your garden. Have a yen for anything Oriental? Do a little research, and you can create the feel of an oriental garden. You've been to Tuscany (or just want to)? Your art collection won't fit in your house anymore? Your friends all say you have a very unique sense of humor? You live for Star Wars, Star trek, and anything having to do with 'Space, the final Frontier'? The answers to these questions will often give us ideas for accessories, plant material and a design direction, and give personality to your outdoor rooms. All of these things can and should have an impact on the theme of your garden. Do a little research, and look at lots of pictures of your favorite places and things, and you may see how they can be incorporated into your garden to truly make it yours and very individual.

Start thinking about your favorite things, the way you like to spend your leisure time, and the style or architecture you like, and you will see how to make your garden as individual and unique as you are. You can make it not just a collection of plants you couldn't live without, but a wonderful garden room to come home to- one you love to care for and spend time in after all the work is done.

See you in the Garden!

Ellen Leigh

1 Personal Style

2005-12-09T16:57:00.000-05:00
Your Garden Room - Personal Style
Ellen Leigh Niemisto

Lets think about the garden as another room, an extension of ourselves and our home. True- here in Michigan it's a room that we don't get to use much for a few months out of the year- but during that time it is still visible to us and sometimes everyone else who passes by. It is a reflection of our personal style, our outlook on life, and how we feel about others too. If you think about it- a garden can tell you an awful lot about the person or persons who live behind it. Frequently it's the first impression someone gets of us. Our houses are usually more a private extension of our personalities, and our gardens- especially the parts visible to the street- are more public and very readable.

Take a tour of your neighborhood and see if you can guess something about the homeowner behind the garden. What sort of person lives behind the weedy overgrown bushes and uncut semibrown lawn? Who lives in the house behind the solid green lawn, clipped hedges and alternating red and white impatiens lined up like soldiers against the wrought iron fence? What can we tell about the person who has alternated every plant with every yard ornament available at the discount store? Now how about the people with the lush garden with softly undulating edges where something is always blooming, or developing full of color and texture, even when a fresh snowfall decorates the branches and still standing dried flowerheads? Do you think the inside of their houses look pretty much the same? How about their personalities and personal style?

What is your personal style? Think about how you like to dress, decorate your home, arrange your desk at work or home, your calendar, your life. Do you prefer things neat, tailored, balanced, scheduled, separated, in their own place, clean and tidy? Then a formal garden style may be for you. Perhaps you like things soft and loose, comfortable and flowing, surround yourself with all your stuff, like things spontanious and unpredictable. I'll bet your garden is pretty much the same way- informal.

A formal garden has a certain balance to it, it's shape is more geometrical, sporting straight lines and perfect curves with plantings that are usually symetrical punctuating the space like soldiers. A formal garden frequently is traditional in design, often historic, but can be quite contemporary as well, depending on the hardscaping and plant materials used in it's construction. Visualize in your mind clipped hedges and topiaries, wrought iron fences, espalliered trees, rows or blocks of flowers or plants all in one color or texture, patterned brick paving, large sculptures, precise stone work and iron structures.

An Informal garden has flowing lines, few straight lines at all, and should be balanced visually, but not necessarily symetrically. Plantings can be separated from each other or piled loosely on each other, but are arranged in a more haphazard manner. An informal garden can also be either contemporary or traditional in design depending on the plant materials and accessories as well as hardscaping used. Picture in your mind curving pathways of loose stone or bark, plants flowing over the edges in a tapestry of color and texture. Perennials and annuals are intermingled with trees and shrubs that grow to their natural shape. Hardscaping such as fences, structures and containers are usually made of natural materials such as wood or un-cut stone.

Look back at those neighborhood gardens now. Can you tell who has a more formal style and informal style? How about who has no style? Now take a look at your garden the way it is now. Do you think it is more formal or informal? Are you more formal or informal? There is no right or wrong answer to any of these questions, they are only to help you if you feel the need to rearrange your garden to more reflect your personality. And maybe your garden already reflects your personal style and you didn't even know it. It doesn't matter what plants are in your garden, how much you spend on it, or what size your garden is. It's a just an interesting place to start and something to think about.

See you in the garden!

Ellen Leigh