Plant Life

Our granddaughter Bridget asked me to help her plant a fairy garden as a present for her seventh birthday on June 10. Here are ideas to create your own fairy garden, whether for a child in your life or for the child within you.

Fairy gardens can be small or big depending on the space available. Some can even be created in containers or boxes (remember to use those with drainage). The only limitations in creating a fairy garden are those imposed by our own imaginations. Never fear, fairies are quite forgiving and they’ll enjoy any kind of sanctuary you can create for them and for yourself.

Fairy gardens are magical places where imaginations can run wild. When local gardener Denise Johnson’s children were still young she created a fairy wonderland for them in her garden. Fairies like sparkly things so Denise placed sparkly beads and bits of polished glass into hollow glass blocks and then incorporated the blocks into stairs in the garden. Some of the blocks had openings on the side where the children could leave notes for the fairies. The fairies would leave little treasures in exchange for the notes.

Use small pebbles to create tiny pathways for fairies. It would be fun to have children paint and decorate the pebbles. Don’t be afraid to use some glitter in the design. Remember to watch for fairy dust sprinkled overnight in your garden once it’s completed. Hint for parents: this magic dust looks like glitter.

Fairies sip on flower nectar and enjoy the same flowers as butterflies and hummingbirds. Plant leaves become parasols to shelter fairies from spring rain or summer heat. Fairies love sun so summer is the best time to spy one. Remember to sit very quiet and still.

Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla) and other flowers with large leaves collect water making perfect pools and bathtubs for fairies. Lamb’s ears (Stachys bysantina) serve as blankets and towels for fairies and their babies. Nasturtiums and other cup shaped flowers provide perfect cribs and cradles.

The following plants are just a few recommended for fairy gardens: Rosemary (Rosemary officianalis); Hydrangea, Japanese maple (Acer palmatum); Magnolia; Flower Carpet Roses; Clematis; Nasturtiums; hardy fuchsias, Rudbeckia, Echinacea, Calendula, Columbine, Hosta, Feverfew (Chrysanthemum parthenium); Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla); Ferns (look for rickrack fern and button fern); Cosmos; Balloon Flower (Platycodon) and Campanula. Use thyme, violets and other smaller plants for fairy gardens in containers.

An age old favorite set of books on fairies is the flower fairy books by Cecily Mary Barker created in the 1920s. These books have been reissued by Penguin Press. Look for: “Flower Fairies of the Spring;” “Flower Fairies of the Summer;” “Flower Fairies of the Autumn” and “Flower Fairies of the Winter.” Each page features a poem and illustration with a fairy nestled in the plant described in the poem. Nearly all of the plants named will grow in our area.

I found a wonderful Klutz book/kit called “Fairies – Petal People You Make Yourself” at Liberty Bay Books in Poulsbo. It has instructions and all the materials to make a “dozen blooming buddies.” The author is 13 year old Rachel Haab. I ordered an extra copy for our other granddaughter, Maireid so she and Bridget can make fairies to decorate Bridget’s fairy garden.

Country Nursery and Gardens at 2075 Seabeck Highway offers classes on creating and planting mini fairy gardens. The nursery has abundant containers, plant choices and a host of tiny tempting accoutrements to decorate and enhance fairy gardens. Grandpa Pat and I succumbed to several of these temptations.

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Don’t miss the Bloedel Reserve Premier Plant Sale and Open House on Saturday April 16 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission to the Reserve is free both days. There will also be lectures by Dan Hinkley and Kelly Dodson.

For complete details visit www.bloedelreserve.org.

Plants at the sale have been propagated and grown at Bloedel Reserve and by these premier Northwest growers: Dan Hinkley, Hardy Fern Fundation, Sundquist Nursery, Far Reaches Farm, Naylor Creek Nursery, Desert Northwest, Steamboat Island Nursery, Keeping It Green, Mesogeo Garden, Chimicum Woods, Bambu-U, Dragonfly Farms, and Rhododendron Species Foundation.

This is a not to be missed event. You will also have the option of strollng the Reserve. It’s a lovely time of year to dodge the rain and enjoy the charm of the Bloedel Reserve and the verdant plantings throughout this treasure right here in our own backyard.

For a list of other upcoming plant sales see my Plant Life column dated April 16, 2011 in Saturday’s Kitsap Sun.

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I don’t know about you, but for me it’s been challenging to go out and garden during this very very damp and wet and rainy and monsoony weather. I have an idea, let’s all stay inside for a few hours each Thursday from March 31 through May 5 and learn about becoming volunteers in the WSU Extension/Washington Sea Grant Beach Naturalist Program. More than half our Beach Naturalists are gardeners too and one of our class sessions talks about seaweeds (aka algae) one of the original plants in our world.

Kitsap has nearly 300 miles of salt water shoreline and even more miles of fresh water streams.  If you’d like to help people enjoy and learn about our marine shorelines and streams the Beach Naturalist course just might be for you.  Classes are on March 31, April 7, 21, 28 and May 5 at the Norm Dicks Government Center in Bremerton, with two sessions available:  from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 6-9 p.m..  In addition we’ll have the opportunity to learn first hand at 5 scheduled Beach Walks on: April 7, 9, 21, 23, and May 21.

The course covers seaweed (algae), fish, invertebrates, clams, crabs, anemones and other sea critters; marine riparian hatitat and conservation, beach etiquette and beach walk coordination.  In order to graduate and receive a certificate, badge and hat, each Beach Naturalist must attend 4 of the 5 classes and 3 of the 5 beach walks; plus volunteer 25 hours each year in educating the public.

The Beach Naturalist Program is sponsored by SSWM (Surface and Storm Water Management, Kitsap County) and is a program of WSU Kitsap Extension and Washington Sea Grant.  Staff coordinators are Peg Tillery (WSU Extension) and Jeff Adams (Washington Sea Grant).  There is a materials fee of $55 but scholarships are available. 

To sign up for the course please contact Lisa Rillie 360-337-7157 (Ext. zero) or email lrillie@co.kitsap.wa.us – she will send you the registration form and volunteer application papers to fill out and return. The Registration deadline is March 25.

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In my blog post and column about slugs I cited a book by David George Gordon. That book is now out of print, but do no despair. David has a new book out called “The Secret World of Slugs and Snails: Life in the Very Slow Lane. ” Here’s a link to his website:  http://www.davidgeorgegordon.com/biography.html 

David George Gordon will be here in Kitsap County at the Poulsbo Farmers Market on June 18th, sponsored by Liberty Bay Books in Poulsbo.  David also is the author of the “Eat a Bug Cookbook” – yum, tasty (well at least to some). Now if he can just come up with a cookbook to help us rid our area of knotweed I know a Noxious Weed Coordinator (Dana Coggon) who’d love that one.

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Slugs
     Contrary to popular belief, we really can live peaceably with those slimy mollusks in our gardens. Slugs start sneaking and sliding around our gardens each spring when the weather begins to warm.
     The “Western Society of Malacologists Field Guide to the Slug” by David George Gordon, published by Sasquatch Books says, “You’ll never be able to eliminate all of the slugs in your garden—as proved by one English zoologist who systematically removed 400 slugs from a quarter-acre garden each night for several years without any observable effect on the population.”
Slugs can live from one to six years. Their eggs are less than one-fourth-inch in diameter and resemble fertilizer beads. Eggs are laid in clutches of 3 to 50; some species lay as many as 500 eggs per year. A slug’s mouth has a tongue like organ called a radula covered with up to 27,000 teeth. Our mucous covered mollusk friends are distantly related to oysters and squid. Slugs moved onto land, developing a lung. The hole on their right side functions like a nose bringing in air.
     The slime absorbs water, keeping slugs moist. Alice Bryant Harper in “The Banana Slug: A Close Look at a Giant Forest Slug of Western North American Forest,” by Bay Leaves Press, says, “Water absorbency is why you can’t wash slime off your hands; you have to rub it off, as you would rubber cement. Slime probably has a scent that helps slugs find other slugs. Slime of our native Banana slugs acts as a nitrogen rich fertilizer.”
     Locally, find “Rainy Day Slug,” a delightful children’s book by Port Orchard writer Mary Palenick Colborn and illustrated by Sumner resident Lorie Ann Grover. This story is about a very cute and colorful banana slug who wends his way through a home.
     Banana slugs are good slugs and we want to cherish them in our woodlands and gardens. If you find any, please try not to kill them. Nudge them back into the woods.
     According to wildlife biologist Klaus Richter, our pesky brown, black, grayish non-native slugs “are annuals like our annual plants. They die in the winter. Only their eggs survive. You won’t want to bait for slugs until a problem occurs.” Then when you find munchings eradicate the slugs with an environmentally friendly product or method.
Conscientious gardeners avoid baits with Metaldehyde which can lead to nervous system damage or death in humans and other animals. Slugs feeding on these baits become dehydrated but they can and do rehydrate when it rains so you’re not really killing many of them. Read every bit of the labels for baits containing this chemical, including the hazards section before deciding to purchase these baits. If you have any Metaldehyde products left over in garages or sheds, take them to the Kitsap County Hazard Waste Site for disposal.
     A more satisfying and efficient product, out on the market for several years, is iron phosphate, commercially sold as “Worry Free” and “Sluggo.” Other products become available yearly containing iron phosphate. It will not harm plants, humans, other critters or our furry pets. Iron phosphate also works as a fertilizer. It can be a bit pricy but a little bit goes a long way. Use iron phosphate around your prized plants and then let the slugs munch judiciously on other plants. Determine your own tolerance level for slugs.
     Please don’t use salt or ammonia to kill slugs. There are too many slugs for this method to be useful. An abundance of salt or ammonia is not good for your plants. Sharon Collman, WSU Extension Educator (now in Snohomish County) is a slug and insect expert. When she explains how slugs will literally turn themselves inside out writhing in pain from salt exposure it changed many gardeners’ minds about using this method ever again.
Many of us do take perverse pleasure in the slice and dice method of slug control though. Go out early in the morning and evening to find slugs. Slice and dice, using a knife, clippers or scissors. Slug family members will come and cannibalize the carcasses. (Yuck!) Several gardeners strategically place flower pots turned upside down around choice plants. Early morning and evening they upend the pots, harvest the slugs and dump the slugs in soapy water to melt them. Alas, the gardeners didn’t explain what to do with the slug gunked soapy water. Perhaps you’ll avoid this method too.
     Another way to reduce slug damage is eliminating slug hiding places. Cut back all overgrown grassy and weedy areas near your vegetable or flower gardens. Pick up and compost all rotting garden debris. Plant extra flowers and vegetables so you’ll have some left to enjoy. Believe it or not, there are quite a few plants slugs don’t even nibble: herbs, scented plants, evergreen plants, prickly plants. Ask your gardening friends and nursery staff to recommend plants ignored or avoided by slugs.
     Sluggo works on snails too. Our area is getting more and more dry land snails. These pesky critters hitch-hiked in on nursery stock. Use the same methods of control as you would with slugs. When purchasing new plants for your garden look for snails and slugs on the bottom and rim of the containers. Scrape them off and leave them behind. Avoid bringing them home to visit.

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Potatoes
     Have you ever tried to grow your own potatoes? They’re an ideal plant for children and adults to try. They can be grown directly in our gardens and in containers. Ciscoe Morris even grows some of his potatoes in a hole-perforated garbage can.
     Traditionally, gardeners plant potatoes on or around St. Patrick’s Day. Purchase seed potatoes from your favorite nursery or at a feed store. Some gardeners even buy organic potatoes to plant in their gardens. The non-organic potatoes are often treated with a growth inhibitor, so you won’t want to use those for your potato starts, they won’t germinate.
     Cut the potatoes into sections making sure to leave one or more eyes for each section. Allow several hours or overnight for the sections to dry out and callous over. Some of the smaller varieties will need to be planted whole, rather than in segments. If you’re using the Ciscoe garbage can method, you’ll keep all the potatoes whole.
     Potatoes grow from tubers (what we know of as eating potatoes). The plants grow from these tubers. When the plant reaches about six inches tall, cover up the stem and most of the leaves with soil or straw, leaving one to two inches exposed. Each time the plant grows taller, cover up more and more of the stem, always leaving a segment of stem with leaves sticking out. Do this several times. It’s called “hilling up.” Covering up the stems allows the plants to produce the potatoes to harvest. The potatoes are growing in the dark all along the covered up stems. Continue until the plant reaches one to three feet tall, depending on the variety. You’ll be watering the plants regularly (at least once a week, and more in the dryer summer months). You’ll also fertilize the plants at the beginning.
     New potatoes are harvested earlier in the growing year. Mature potatoes are harvested anywhere from September through November. Some gardeners leave their potatoes in the ground through the winter, harvesting them as needed.
     The only drawbacks to growing potatoes is they’re often hard to uncover. You may discover plants popping up and growing in unexpected places year after year. The only problems potatoes encounter is blight (a rarity here in our area) and scab. Scab is more unsightly than harmful to the potato. Scab can be managed. Avoid potato blight by rotating vegetable crops.
     For more information about planting and growing potatoes call the Extension Office at 360-337-7157. For Ciscoe’s potato planting method visit www.ciscoe.com/archive/spuds.

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Trees are one of the most beautiful creations in the plant world. Unfortunately we human beings have a way of pruning the bee geebies out of them on a regular basis. What is it about us that makes us think we need to prune (think massacre) all the life out of our trees? Especially trees lining our city and county streets.

I drive from north of Poulsbo in to Bremerton to the Extension Office Monday through Friday and all along Kitsap Way and 11th Street I see trees that have all their limbs whacked back. None of these trees is under, near or in the way of power lines, nor are they blocking any views, but still every year some “landscape” company, and I use the term very sceptically, comes in and prunes off all the trees branches and limbs until the tree looks like a coat rack. 

Why do they do that? Why do businesses hire them to do that? There are so many reputable companies in the landscape and arborist business who would do the proper job. What makes it even worse is these poor brutalized trees were fine as they were and there was no reason to prune them at all.

In a minute we’ll talk a bit about proper pruning techniques but first while we’re on the subject of trees my other pet peeve is trees that have been planted and staked.  The stakes and wires are left on for years, compromising the tree’s ability to grow strong and be anchored. Quite often the wires are so tightly wrapped around the tree that the tree’s bark grows around the wire and eventually the tree dies because it’s natural circulation of water and nutrients from the soil can no longer travel up through it’s vascular system. The tree is essentially strangled for lack of a better way to describe what happens.

I’ve often thought we should start a group called “Release the Trees” and we could go around the county in the dark of night pulling out the wooden stakes and removing all the wires around tree trunks of all the staked trees. Don’t get me wrong, it’s sometimes ok to stake a tree but no longer than 6 months tops.

When a tree is planted without stakes the action of the wind and weather moves the tree back and forth. In response to this, the tree anchors itself firmly into the soil. The tree’s roots grow properly and the structure of the tree becomes healthy and strong. Proper staking (when necessary) is only used as a gentle support and the braces and wires are removed within a few months.

This is also the time of year when many people decide to prune trees. Fruit trees do need pruning and the months for that are indeed from now through early March. Here’s a helpful free fruit tree pruning publication to download http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pdf/pnw/pnw400.pdf

Pruning is used to remove diseased, dying or dead plant material. It’s best done on a yearly basis before the branches get too large in diameter. Pruning is also a way to train young trees. Visit our local libraries or bookstores to find “Guide to Pruning” a very helpful book by Cass Turnbull, founder of Plant Amnesty.  Also check out Plant Amnesty’s website http://plantamnesty.org for information on what, when, where and how to prune woody shrubs and trees. You’ll also see Cass’s hall of shame trees (aka the bad pruning gallery) – images of how no tree or shrub should look.

Also look for “The Pruning of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers” by George E. Brown, edited and enlarged by Tony Kirkman. It’s the second edition of this book which was first published in 1972. Brown was a famous arborist and founder of the Arboriculture Association and many changes have come about in arboriculture since the first edition of this book. Kirkman revised the text to reflect current practices and has added 50 new images. Trees are listed by genus and species with tips on estimated size at maturity, when to prune for the best health of the tree and at what age the tree will flower or fruit.

Copies of a short DVD video tutorial on tree pruning can be purchased at the WSU Kitsap Extension Office for $7.50. Call 360-337-7157 or email lrillie@co.kitsap.wa.us for details.

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This year’s Grow Your Groceries Organically class taught by WSU Kitsap Extension Master Gardeners begins on Saturday January 8 at the Norm Dicks Government Center in Bremerton.  It’s a series of classes designed and taught by WSU Kitsap Master Gardeners to help you create your own backyard organic vegetable garden. Take one class for $45 or all four for $150.

Here’s the class list – sign up for all or any combination depending on what you’d like to learn.

Saturday January 8 – Organic gardening principles; cover cropping and composting; soil and compost properties.

Saturday January 22 – Garden planning; successful garden strategies; small fruits and berries; bee pollinators.

Saturday Febraury 5 – Seeding and planting; garden management; fertilizers, irrigation, crop rotation and season extenders.

Saturday February 19 – Organic pest control; harvesting and seed saving; preserving the harvest.

For more information:  360-337-7157 or ogcourse@gmail.com

Download a registration form at: http://kitsap.wsu.edu/Organic_Gardening_2011.pdf

The course includes a notebook, the publication “Gardening in the Maritime Northwest” and a CD full of useful information and resource materials.

This course is a partnership with WSU Kitsap Extension and Kitsap County Solid Waste Division.  Scholarships are available.

Contact Peg at ptillery@co.kitsap.wa.us

Visit http://kitsap.wsu.edu for a host of information on all the programs and classes offered through WSU Kitsap Extension

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     This is the perfect time of year to garden indoors. There’s always room inside our homes for a few well-chosen plants. Studies have even shown that houseplants help reduce stress in humans. Additionally, they are a great source of oxygen. Some plants are even called “air scrubbers.”
    The outdoor plant maxim “right plant, right place” applies to selecting houseplants too. Try to find out how the houseplant grows outside in its natural environment, which is usually in much toastier climates than our northwest affords. Nearly all the houseplants we purchase are grown in environmentally controlled greenhouses now, but originally they grew in a desert, rainforest or somewhere tropical or hot.
    How do you select the right houseplant for your needs? Before choosing a houseplant do some window-shopping through a few good houseplant books at your favorite bookstores or library. Check out several websites.
    As you read up on houseplants, jot down the names of some that especially appeal to you. Besides texture and color of foliage, also notice the flowers and the shape of the plant. Imagine how it would show off your own home décor or blend in with the designs and art in your home.
     If a friend or family member has a houseplant you particularly admire discover how they found their plant. Determine how often they water, fertilize and repot their plant. These questions will give you an idea of how much work you may have to put into a similar plant in your own home.
    Missouri University Extension suggests these “durable” houseplants: Sansevieria (snake plant or mother-in-law’s tongue); Philodendron cordatum (heart-leaf philodendron); Pathos (devil’s ivy); Dracaena massanageana (corn plant); Peperomia obtusifolia (Peperomia); Aspidistra (cast iron plant); Collinea (dwarf palm); Aglaoenema (Chinese evergreen) and Chlorophytum (spider plant). Durable is perhaps the perfect word for these houseplants. They all thrive on neglect, withstanding both over-watering and under-watering. You could even neglect them for several weeks. They can stand lots of light and also thrive in very low light conditions. If you’ve never had any luck with houseplants try any of these for success.
    More houseplants die from too much watering than they do from not enough watering. When selecting a container for your houseplant make sure there are drainage holes and try to find a container with a separate saucer included. The pots with attached saucers often don’t hold enough water when the pot overflows leaving water spots on furniture. Ideally you might want to place your plant in a sink for watering, letting it drain in the sink for a while. A few plants thrive on humidity though and will appreciate sitting on a saucer full of pebbles with water just barely covering the pebbles.
    Our local nurseries, grocery stores and home centers often carry houseplants on a regular basis, especially this time of year. Try to select a plant with a care tag included. Hopefully the care tag will also list the name of the plant and you can do some research about its growing conditions. Check to make sure the plant’s soil has not dried out too much. If the soil is very dry (except cacti), consider the plant dead because it may be soon. Stressed plants often croak.
    Jiggle the pot or tap it firmly to see if any critters fly away. If that happens, find a bugless plant instead. Check stems for scales (little hard bumps). Look for tiny red spider mites and webbing. If you see white powder spots or what looks like small white blobs this is usually whitefly, so avoid that plant too. You want to avoid purchasing plants with these conditions, especially if you have houseplants already. It’s a good idea to isolate your new houseplant for a few weeks until you know it is disease and bug free.
    Some houseplants get dusty after a while. If the leaves are smooth you can take the plants into a bathroom for a shower (literally) using tepid water. Let excess water drain out before returning them to their usual resting place. African violets and fuzzy leaved plants do not appreciate this hygiene though. You won’t want to use waxes or milk washes on leaves although some gardening lore suggests these tips.
     Many people receive a grouping of plants as a gift. Usually these groupings combine light-loving and dry seeking plants with shade-loving and moisture seeking plants. You can enjoy the plants as they are for a few weeks or months, but eventually you’ll want to find out their individual growing conditions and repot them separately moving each plant to the light and soil it prefers.
     During these dark dreary winter days I’ll post info on some of my favorite houseplants along with photos. I have to find where I’ve saved the photos on my computer first though. But I promise I won’t take weeks and weeks before the next posting.

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Cover crops are often called “green manure.” Just as aged manure and aged compost are good for vegetable gardening, so too are cover crops (green manure).  Cover crops can be seeded in our gardens from September through the end of October. The earlier the better is a good rule, but many of us this year waited until the beginning of October and, according to plant experts, we can still sow the seeds through Halloween at least.

Seeds need 60 to 70 degrees to germinate so the trick during these cooler temperatures is to select cover crop seed that will germinate in the cooler temperature ranges. In my garden I chose crimson clover and annual rye (often called either winter rye or fall rye). I planted the raised beds shown in the photo below only about 3 weeks ago.

Cover crop seeds can be found at local feed stores and at many of our local nurseries. If you were to ask any vegetable gardener you’d find they all have their own favorite blends. Some love fava beans, vetch and rye; othes swear by only crimson or white clover and still others like only rye. It’s up to you to choose your cover crop. All will work.

winter rye & crimson clover

These cover crops serve three main purposes: when it rains these vegetative masses will keep the soil in the garden plots; they also out compete the weeds; and lastly in the spring cover crops return nitrogen matter and tilth to the soil.

Winter rye forms a dense green mat

Some cover crops come in bulk; others come in prepackaged bags or boxes. The labels or nursery staff can tell you how much seed is needed per square foot. Pull up all the weeds (if there are any) in your garden beds; rake the soil to rough it up a bit. Sprinkle the seeds and then lightly rake the soil and seeds to smooth out the bed. Lightly water it all in. We’re receiving enough rainy days so you will probably only need to water this one time. Then let nature do its thing and viola in about a week you’ll have lovely green vegetation in your garden beds.

In early spring when the weather first starts warming up (anywhere from February through the end of March) weedwhack or use clippers to cut back the cover crops. Leave the clippings in the bed.

Allow a few days for the greenage to start decomposing. Then take a shovel and start turning it all over. Let this turned over soil and vegetation sit for a few days and repeat the digging up and turning over process at least one more time, sometimes two or three times is needed. You will be ready to plant in April at least if not sooner.

You’ll be amazed at how quickly it all blends in and becomes good nutrient rich soil. The greenage literally decomposes into compost in the garden beds.

Only one caveat, even though the seeds are quite hardy and genetically programmed to germinate in cooler weather, in the first week or so while you’re waiting patiently for the green shoots to emerge you’ll want to throw a floating row cover over the beds at night in areas where it’s already starting to frost.

I’ve interspersed photos of my 3 raised garden beds and the cover crops (green manure) in this article. In the spring you’ll be glad you did some cover cropping this fall. If you’d like a copy of more information on cover cropping email lrillie@co.kitsap.wa.us and she’ll send you a cover crop information sheet produced by Master Gardener Kim Schleis.

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