The Growing Edge » Flowers

Pricey Plants Pilfered At Yale University

Tom Alexander — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:05:50 +0000

Thieves stealing expensive plants is a phenomena that is happening all over the country. Some people are waking up to find that loved and well cultivated rare plant or tree in their front yard was dug up by plant thieves overnight. Garden art is also susceptible to thieves who think free is a very good price.
Lindsay Gellman of the Yale Daily News reports,

David Garinger knew something was awry as soon as he arrived at Yale’s Marsh Botanic Garden on the morning of Sept. 24.
The large, humid Greenhouse No. 2, which is part of the complex located near the Yale Divinity School, houses a panoply of different plants, some hanging from the roof, others protruding into the aisles. Immediately upon entering, Garinger — the curator of greenhouse plant collections at the Garden — noticed a large trash can was missing, and the trash inside it had been dumped on the floor. Confused, Garinger looked around and noticed the empty spaces usually occupied by 10 valuable desert cacti.
“They’re my kids,” Garinger said of the stolen plants. He said he felt “violated.”

Click HERE to read the complete story. Photo credit: Sean Fraga/Yale Daily News

For The Love Of The Garden

Jeffrey L. Griswold, Jr. — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:05:26 +0000

Would you give up a dream job, your house, your entire life to work for free? Well, that’s exactly what this woman has done, giving up her own business to garden in a garden she fell in love with on a European garden tour. It was love at first sight.
Elizabeth Murray, upon coming across Monet’s Garden in France could not resist. All these ideas formulated in her head about how she could contribute, thoughts that would not subside. She just had to be there to see the changes of the seasons, the beauty of this evolving landscape. Listen as she talks to NPR’s Dick Gordon of The Story. The interview can be found HERE (click listen on the left hand side). A book that chronicles her time there with many photographs can be found HERE.

Photo credit: France Monthly

Botany Of Desire Documentary On PBS

Tom Alexander — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 04:16:24 +0000

I received an advance review copy of the PBS television documentary of Michael Pollan’s book, Botany of Desire. Just as the book was, the television show, narrated by Pollan, is a very interesting two hours, exploring how four familiar species of plants; the apple, the tulip, marijuana and the potato, evolved into their interactions with humans satisfying our yearnings for sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control respectively. A half hour is devoted to each of the species, covering their history and how they traveled and evolved into what they are today. Surprisingly, the plants have shaped us and have used us to travel the world.
The most controversial plant, marijuana, has been in the news lately, with speculation that it is going to be legal within the next few years, so everybody can grow its beautiful flowers in their garden without the threat of arrest. It truly is a beautiful flower in many colors.
The program airs nationally on Wednesday, Oct. 28 on your local PBS channel at 9pm. You can purchase a copy of the program HERE. It is well worth it.

Duke Gardens In Raleigh, N. C. In Pictures

Tom Alexander — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:07:25 +0000

At the end of the second day at the recent Garden Writers Association’s annual symposium, the daily garden tour and dinner was held in the beautiful Duke Gardens adjacent to the Duke University campus. The gardens were extremely peaceful and most beautiful. I didn’t even get to see all of the garden areas since dinner and free flowing booze started calling.
Some students were hanging out studying and relaxing, even with over 660 garden writers walking and mulling all about. Gardens like Duke Gardens is one of the reasons I keep going to the GWA gatherings—getting to see first hand the beauty of the private and public gardens in another part of the country.
This group of pictures don’t do the gardens justice, so if and when you are in the Raleigh, N. C. area, you should check it out.

The Origin Of Flowers And Many Other Plants

Tom Alexander — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:38:19 +0000

From The New York Times article titled, Where Did All the Flowers Come From?

“Throughout his life, Charles Darwin surrounded himself with flowers. When he was 10, he wrote down each time a peony bloomed in his father’s garden. When he bought a house to raise his own family, he turned the grounds into a botanical field station where he experimented on flowers until his death. But despite his intimate familiarity with flowers, Darwin once wrote that their evolution was ‘an abominable mystery.’
Darwin could see for himself how successful flowering plants had become. They make up the majority of living plant species, and they dominate many of the world’s ecosystems, from rain forests to grasslands. They also dominate our farms. Out of flowers come most of the calories humans consume, in the form of foods like corn, rice and wheat. Flowers are also impressive in their sheer diversity of forms and colors, from lush, full-bodied roses to spiderlike orchids to calla lilies shaped like urns.”

Photo credit: Nganguyen

To Multiply Perennials, You Must Divide

Tom Alexander — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 23:14:53 +0000

Autumn is the perfect time for simple garden math: dividing and multiplying. Dividing perennials invigorates overcrowded plants, and it’s an inexpensive way to multiply landscape plantings without spending a lot of money at garden centers or nurseries. Although you can find some good bargains on perennials at this time of the year—I have seen up to 75% off, especially at big box stores. Last year, I bought some five gallon potted apple trees for $5 each at Lowes.

Another hat tip to David H.

For video examples on perennial plant division

Dividing the herb thyme:

Dividing daylilies:

A Front Yard Neighborhood Community Garden

Tom Alexander — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:43:12 +0000

Anne Davis had already ripped out her backyard lawn and put in a flower garden. This year, she decided to take out the front lawn too and replace it with a vegetable garden. Except, she wanted to share it with the neighbors. So she decided to create a neighborhood community garden in her front yard.

Photo credit: Andy Cripe/Corvallis Gazette-Times

Wilt Or Blight? Aerated Compost Tea To The Rescue

Tom Alexander — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:42:10 +0000

This garden writer tells her story of past gardening seasons with blighted tomatoes and wilted flowering impatien baskets which were treated numerous times with aerated compost tea purchased at a garden center. She can’t be sure it was the aerated compost tea that kicked the blight or the wilt, but regardless, now she swears by it. She is like me. I don’t need the scientific proof that it works, I know it works and that is all I need to know. I will leave the scientific data and know how to Dr. Elaine Ingham and my good friend Jeff Lowenfels, all I know it just works.

Photo credit: Collin Andrew/The Register-Guard

Invasive Weeds Hitch A Ride On Nursery Grown Container Ornamentals

Jeff Lowenfels — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 05:52:53 +0000

It may be a study from Alaska, but it has applicability to you… watch out what you put into your garden. Nursery grown, container stock can contain nonnative invasive weeds. According to a study in Alaska by the USDA Agricultural Research Service, “significant numbers of nonnative weeds species were hitchhiking across the state in the same containers as ornamental flowers and shrubs.”
Introduced from out of state nurseries, these weeds are taking hold in Alaska. Beware in the lower 48 states. This research is applicable to you too.

Photo credit: Crinklecrankle.com’s Flickr.com photostream

Following A Farm—Before, During And After A Saturday Farmers Market In Corvallis

Tom Alexander — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:40:04 +0000

Shopper’s at all farmers markets, stroll around leisurely finding their produce of choice, and it is not work but a relaxing experience.
For farmers staffing the booth, it is work not only growing the produce but picking it the day before, loading the trucks, stocking the booth, staffing the booth and tearing the booth down when it is all done.
My local paper, Corvallis Gazette-Times, ran a great text and photo journal documenting the twenty four hours of a farm at a farmers market, both behind the scenes and at the market. It gives great insight as to how hard a farmer works to make the farmers market a reality. Satisfying but a lot of hard work.

Photo credit: Andy Cripe/Mid-Valley Newspapers