Bring on the Bugs!

Well it's officially Spring, so of course, Winter Weather has arrived...that's New England.  We know we only have to wait, Spring will return.  The upside is I  saved some money on sunscreen and dealt with less hat hair this week.  My first group of seedlings all have 2 sets of leaves.  I've thinned them down to 1 per cell and have started fertilizing with an organic  2-4-1 fish fertilizer, half strength.  Getting ready to sow my 6 weeks before last frost date(!) seeds next week.  Last Fall, in hopeful anticipation of all the beautiful plants I'll grow from seed, I started some new beds.  I turned over the sod and layered newspaper, leaves, compost and pine boughs over the area.  This week I cleaned out the grass roots, took out anything that didn't break down over the Winter-That-Wasn't, and added more compost.  These beds will be ready when the seeds are.
 
Last week's post attracted some interest in wildlife habitats and beneficial bugs.  As luck would have it the latest issue of Mother Earth News (April/May 2012) has a great article on attracting beneficial insects (predators is what they are, but that sounds gruesome) to your garden.   Did you know that some plants have the ability to produce and release a chemical signal when they are being munched on by the bad bugs?  This lets the good guys know where to find a meal.  I never cease to be amazed by how smart plants are...like the weeds that choose to grow right around cultivated plants that look an awful lot like them.  The article describes the Top 10  Beneficial Bugs (from Braconid Wasps to Trichogramma Mini-Wasps), tells what the larvae and adults eat, and the best plants to attract them.  You can't see it in the photo above, but when I took this picture, there were hover flies on the daisies and the alliums were covered in beneficial wasps.  (I know they were the non-stinging beneficial wasps because I've been stung by the other kind... Very Mean Bugs. These ones were only interested in nectar.)  Plants in the daisy family (cosmos, aster and yarrow are the number one good bug favorites.  The carrot family (parsley, dill, fennel and cilantro) come in second.  Alyssum made the list to my delight.  I had read years ago that alyssum is one of the best plants to attract beneficial insects because the leaves contain nectar as well as the flowers. I plant them every year.  It flowers from Spring to frost, is very easy to grow from seed and will often reseed.  (Free Plants!)  It's a lovely low border plant for around your vegetable or herb garden.

Purple coneflowers (members of the daisy family) attract a variety of benefical insects.  Many of the insects you want to attract are predators in the larval stage and pollinators, in search of nectar and pollen, as adults.

A note about butterflies.  Yes, butterfly larvae do eat your plants.  But the adults also pollinate and both serve as very important parts of the food chain, feeding birds, reptiles and amphibians.  Many species are endangered and many are not as plentiful as they were just years ago.  It would be a crime to lose such beautiful creatures.  So let some wild violets grow in your lawn to feed the fritillary larvae.  Plant a little extra dill, parsley, or fennel.  You won't miss it and you can have swallowtails in your garden. 

One bit of information surprised me.  I have read many times that in order to encourage diversity and provide a habitat for beneficial wildlife, the back of your garden should be left a little wild, (ie. let some weeds grow).  But it has been found that these areas are habitats for insect pests as well.  Well-tended areas, called hedgerows, of flowers, grasses, shrubs and trees (with a healthy dose of natives in the mix) attract fewer pests and more beneficials to your nearby crops and vegetable gardens.  Something to think about.

A word of caution about organic pesticides.  Even all natural, plant-based insecticides can kill beneficial insects.  Use only as a last resort and never spray when bees are present.  Or don't use them at all...leave those pests to  the Good Guys!

 HAPPY GARDENING! 

For more information:  www.MotherEarthNews.com/Beneficial-Bugs
                                      www.nativeplants.msu.edu

A Place for Wildlife

Very busy week.  The 50 or so tender perennials that overwintered in the sun room are outdoors basking in the fresh air, gradually being relocated from full to part shade to part sun and so on... New growth is already appearing as the somewhat Winter-bedraggled plants respond to the increased light and amazing warmth of this very unusual Spring.  With the temperatures due to drop this week they will be quite surprised when they are suddenly whisked away from Paradise and shut into the shed, the cold frame and alas, even back into the sun room.  Just about 100 seedlings have emerged and are under lights in the sun room, as another 80 or so seedling pots are being meticulously surveyed several times daily for signs of life. I'm not sure where I'm going to put them all when I sow my "6 and 4 weeks before last frost date" seeds.

Painting garden structures, planting a new section of rock garden, raking leaves ...AGAIN...and lugging compost, brush, bricks and rocks from here to there are filling up the days.  There are also business matters that need attention:  seller's license to be renewed, sales tax account to set up, business cards to order, should I purchase a designated business phone?  But it's so hard to come inside to deal with those things.  At least as I'm lugging piles from here to there, I get to stop and take a look at all the beautiful things coming up out of the Earth!

Not too much time to read this week, but I did come across 2 magazine articles that gave me something to think about other than my aching back.  The National Wildlife Federation has a program to certify backyards as National Wildlife Habitats.  We were certified years ago but I had become a little skeptical about the whole thing.  It was just too easy to become certified and there was the  junk mail and free gifts with donations thing... An article in their latest issue (April/May 2012, www.nwf.org ) gave me a chance to rethink my dissatisfaction.  "Certified Success" describes the beginnings of the program in 1970 by 2 US Forest Service researchers in Massachusetts who proposed that suburban backyards could be converted into mini-habitats for wildlife by following the same principals used by wildlife managers.  Provide food, water, cover and places to raise young and they will come.  In 2010 a researcher spent the Summer finding out if certified backyards actually did provide habitats to wildlife not available in noncertified yards.  She studied 50 certified properties, 50 noncertified properties adjacent to these, and 50 randomly selected  noncertified properties.  The researcher recorded 51 species of wildlife (ranging from common to rare to endangered) in the certified yards.  In the adjacent noncertified yards only 14 species were recorded and in the other 50 noncertified yards 21 species were observed.  Conclusion:  the program works (I guess I'm not taking down our Backyard Habitat sign!).

The other article deals with a topic near and dear to Paul's heart.  "Where are the peepers?" he moans, "Why can't we hear the peepers anymore?"  Save the Spring Peepers (Country Gardens Magazine, Spring 2012 Vol.21, No. 2) tells us all about it.  For those not familiar with "peepers",  they are frogs that inhabit seasonally wet meadows and woodlands...and they sing (!) at dusk and into the night.  The author describes the childhood wonder of tracking the frogs' song to their habitat in hopes of catching a glimpse of the peepers.  Then returning home for a visit years later to find the song had been silenced.  Frogs and other amphibians are especially sensitive to pollutants in the environment.  Pesticides and herbicides are contributing to a worldwide population decline.  We can do something about it.  Working with your community to reduce the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, constructing a pond or rain garden on your property, and planting native grasses and trees will provide frogs with a healthy environment for their young.  You can contact your local state department of  natural resources or fish and wildlife service for more information.  Other resources:  US Geological Survey's North American Amphibian Monitoring Program ( www.pwrc.usgs.gov/haamp ) and the North American Reporting Center for Amphibian Malformations (NARCAM) at  www.nbii.gov .

But before you do that, go outside and count the wildlife in your yard.  Happy Gardening!

Things To Do In Spring!

1.  Go to the Rhode Island Spring Flower Show

2. Cut down ornamental grasses

3.  Repair a stone wall

4.  Cut down clematis vines

5.  Situate the cold frame

6.  Start seeds and cuttings

7.  Unplug the Winter birdbath and set up the Summer one,  8.  Make sure birdhouses are clean and in good repair,  9.  Start pulling back mulch in garden beds, adding some compost and organic fertilizer, and remulching (That's going to take awhile!) And 10.  Most important of all, Take a walk through your garden everyday to see what's coming up!  Happy Gardening!!!

Texture in My Garden

Like many gardeners, in the beginning, it was all about flowers.  Starting with impatiens and marigolds, moving on to cosmos and zinnias, the desire to fill my garden with the colors and shapes of flowers dominated my seed searching and my sometimes weekly visits to the nursery.  Then, in my mom's garden,  I discovered perennials!  You mean they come back every year?  Soon daisies, coneflowers and black-eyed susans usurped a good portion of the best spaces in my garden.  I think the discovery of perennials, which are not in flower the whole season, made me look at foliage more closely.  There were thousands of plants out there with foliage that could bring beauty to the garden when the flowers were not blooming...just waiting to be discovered! The more difficult (shady) areas of my garden got the first big dose of texture.  Hostas and ferns suddenly looked more interesting and beautiful. And were soon followed by tiarellas, cimicifugas, and solomon's seal.

Textured plants and "garden art" make good companions.  Piggy looks so comfy!

A pot adds another textural element as well as space for more plants.

There are many textured plants for sun.  Thyme, zebra grass and sedum fill up hot, dry, rocky sites beautifully.  These plants are all drought tolerant.

There are fewer long-flowering choices for shade, so texture is a must.  Hostas come in nearly every combination of size, shape, color and texture you could hope for.

Contrast is key.  Tiny foliage, strappy foliage, dark foliage, a few flowers, some rocks and mulch. Suddenly you have a little piece of living art. 

So what is texture?  I suppose flowers do have texture, but when I think of adding texture as a garden element, I think foliage.  The size, shape and feel of a leaf is what gives it its texture.  Canna leaves are large and sword-shaped.  Boxwood leaves are small and shiny.  Leaves can be unbelievably soft and fluffy like lamb's ears or a bit rough and sharp like those of irises.  Hosta leaves are described as rounded , pointy, smooth or textured to such an extreme that they resemble corrugated cardboard.  Some of my favorite plants have lacy foliage:  ferns, cimicifugas (actaea), bleeding hearts, and sambucus.  Color is important because it makes the contrast in foliage texture stand out:  Imagine a burgundy leaved canna surrounded by the tiny, golden leaves of creeping jenny.  Or a rounded-leaved golden hosta amid  purple and silver lacy-leaved Japanese painted fern.  So whether designing a new garden bed or just adding a few new plants to an already gorgeous garden this Spring:  Think Texture and Enjoy!