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Editor’s Note: The following are bonus photos from a profile of Jim and Kathy Mikuska’s garden featured in the July/August 2021 issue of Michigan Gardener. To read the full story, pick up a copy of Michigan Gardener in stores or see it in our Digital Edition, which you can read for free at MichiganGardener.com.
Harvesting herbs seems to be something of a mystery to many gardeners. We have become so accustomed to buying them in the grocery store, either fresh or dried, that we are at a loss as to how to pick them out of our own garden to use in the kitchen.
There are a few basic rules to follow. To use them fresh, pick as needed. To dry them for winter use, the plants are large enough in summer for cutting and ready at varying times. The earlier in the summer that you can gather them, the sweeter the flavor. Plus, fewer bugs will have had a chance to dine on them. Cut only one half of the plant at a time, so it will have enough strength to continue growing. Cut only on warm, dry days in the afternoon when the dew is gone and the plants are very dry. Use a rubber band to secure small bunches of the herb and hang in a dark, dry place until crispy dry.
We cannot stress this next step too much: label the bunches. When thoroughly dry, package the whole leaves in jars and store in a dark cupboard away from heat. The flavor will stay wonderful for about one year—just in time for a new harvest next summer.
There are decorative ways to dry and hang the bunches in your kitchen. Our favorite method is to make a vertical swag by tying the bunches on a raffia braid that will hang in the kitchen to dry, where they will be convenient for use in the winter.
We start with the braid and begin by tying the first fresh bunches of herbs at the bottom with a single, thick piece of raffia. The bottom bunch is usually a coarse-leafed variety like lovage. We add one bunch at a time, alternating foliage types and even adding some herbal flowers to add visual appeal. Make sure that the bunches are not too large; otherwise the leaves will get moldy before they dry, and ruin the whole thing. The bunches should contain 8 to 12 stems of herbs and be about 6 to 8 inches long. Add a bow of ribbon or raffia at the top. You can tuck garlic bulbs or hot peppers into the bow if you want to. Label the bunches as you go so you won’t forget which one is which after the leaves dry.
Many of the herbs in our gardens lend themselves to a kitchen herbal swag. We have already mentioned lovage, a large plant with leaves that look and taste like celery. It dries well and holds its flavor. The young stalks are round and hollow; when picked fresh from the garden, they can be used as straws in tomato-flavored drinks. Yum! The plant reaches a height of five feet, so there is always plenty to pick throughout the summer.
French tarragon is another herb that dries and holds its flavor well for the winter. Nice in the swag, it is good in salad dressing or poultry. Sage, with its lovely silvery leaves, looks good in the swag, and the flavor holds all winter for use in poultry stuffing and herb mixtures.
Mints are valuable with their sharper flavors and fragrances, and their flowers are frequently pretty too. The leaves become crispy and break easily after drying, but they are still good to use. Basil is similar to mint, and basil flowers look attractive when they dry. The dark opal basil is especially pretty in the swag, and is tasty on salads all year.
Chives do not dry well, becoming tough and stringy, but the flowers dry and hold their lovely mauve, adding a touch of color. They are edible and can be used in salads or as a garnish on soup. If you want to preserve the chive leaves for winter use, freeze them in a foil wrap. Oregano flowers dry well too, and are pretty in the swag. The leaves and flowers can be used in spaghetti or lasagna dishes. Thyme has tiny leaves and is usually the last or top bunch that is added to the swag. Lemon thyme invites you to use it on seafood, where it is especially appealing. Bay leaves and rosemary are flavorful additions too and have wonderful leaf textures.
Another type of swag that you can make for the bedroom, bathroom, or a room that needs freshening is one made of fragrant herbs. It is made the same way as the kitchen swag, substituting herbs that are aromatic. Instead of using a raffia braid as a backing, you could use a bunch of long artemisia—the silver varieties would be especially appropriate. Or, try a braid of sweet grass with its vanilla fragrance.
Bee balm (Monarda), with its soft and soothing mint fragrance and pretty flower heads, would be a good addition for both color and fragrance. Of course, lavender flower stalks offer a great fragrance that both calms the nerves and repels bugs at the same time. Hyssop, with both pink and purple flower spikes and rarely even white, has a musk smell that many people find enjoyable.
The scented-leaf geraniums have leaves that come in a dizzying array of fragrances. Some are rose scented, some smell of citrus or other fruit, some mimic mints, and some remind us of almonds or walnuts. All of the leaves dry and retain their fragrance and are welcome additions to the swag.
Fruit-scented sages like pineapple or honeydew are pleasant. Santolina flowers look like golden buttons and are sometimes used in moth-repelling mixes; they would add a rich color to the swag. Lemon verbena would be a delightful aroma to add as well.
After finishing your herbal swag, hang it immediately on your wall out of direct sunlight and enjoy the wonderful aroma as it dries naturally. If you have labeled your bunches, you will be picking off the swag during the winter and enjoying a great recipe with herbs.
Jean and Roxanne Riggs operated Sunshine Farm and Garden in Oakland County, MI.
by George Papadelis
Gazania are a multi-purpose plant with high-performance dose of both attractive flowers and showy foliage. They are one of the most durable annuals available for full sun, lots of heat, and minimal water. Gardeners in New Mexico and Arizona have made this one of their most popular bedding plants along with other heat tolerant annuals like vinca, verbena, and zinnias. Gazanias have brilliant 3- to 4-inch daisy-like flowers in shades of yellow, orange, brown, pink, red, and ruby. The individual petals are pointed, sometimes curled, and may be more than one color. The base of each petal may be uniquely marked by a completely different color such as olive, brown or black. Others, like the variety ‘Daybreak Red Stripe,’ have bright yellow flowers with a red stripe the full length of each petal. The flower centers of most gazanias are shades of gold. These bright color combinations and a history of low maintenance have made this African native popular.
The foliage of gazanias is also very attractive. The long, thick leaves of most varieties are blue-green on top and silver on the bottom. This silver sheen makes gazanias extra attractive even when they are not in flower. One variety called ‘Talent’ has flowers that are multi-colored and leaves that are very silvery on the top and bottom. In fact, they are so silver that plants that are not in flower are often mistaken for the completely silver annual called dusty miller. I love using this 10-inch tall variety as a silver ribbon to plant in front of blue annuals such as heliotrope or mealycup sage (Salvia farinacea). The gazania foliage and flower combo makes it perfect for containers when planted all by itself or with a cascading blue partner such as fan flower (Scaevola) or miniature trailing morning glory (Convolvulus sabatius).
Those of you searching for interesting annuals to help add color to perennial plantings may want to consider gazanias. The silver foliage of plants like gazanias can be used to combine and soften other colors in your perennial beds. Some varieties can be found with flowers of separate colors. The Daybreak series, for example, has flowers available in yellow, orange, pink, white, bronze, as well as the red-striped variety. The Chansonette series is available in six colors as well. These work well in both perennial plantings and annual combinations. Try a yellow variety with red salvia or an orange variety with purple petunias.
Gazanias have an interesting trait that should be considered before planting. If you would like to enjoy your gazania flowers in the evening, you may need to resort to a photograph. Gazania flowers close when the sun sets and reopen each morning. They also stay closed when it becomes cloudy and when it gets too cold. Therefore, if you need flowers 24 hours a day, gazanias may not be for you. On the positive side, gazanias are both frost and freeze tolerant. They can be planted in mid-April when few other annuals will survive. In fact, some parts of the country call this plant a perennial (it is hardy to zone 8).
Gazanias are extremely low maintenance. Once established, watering will rarely be necessary. Individual flowers last for several weeks so spent blooms will seldom need removal. Take advantage of this plant’s durability, versatility, and ease of care. Try it in your perennial beds, annual plantings, or containers. Even in your sunniest, hottest, driest area, its flowers and foliage promise to provide an interesting and showy display long into the fall.
Common name: Gazania
Plant type: Annual (a tender perennial)
Plant size: Height: 8-10 inches, Width: 10 inches
Habit: Low-growing, with basal leaves and long-stalked flowers
Flower colors: Yellow, orange, red, pink, white, bronze; flower centers can be gold, olive or brown
Flower size: 3-4 inches across
Bloom period: Early summer to frost
Leaf color: Blue-green on top, silver on bottom; ‘Talent’ series is all silver
Leaf size: Length: 4-5 inches, Width: 1/2 inch
Light: Full sun
Soil: Well-drained, light, sandy; tolerates dry, hot soil
Uses: Annual beds, containers, perennial borders
Companion plants: Salvias, petunias; other drought-tolerant plants (verbena, vinca, zinnia)
Remarks: Needs minimal water; flowers close in the evening; attractive foliage
George Papadelis is the owner of Telly’s Greenhouse in Troy and Shelby Township, MI.
Related: Gazania at Missouri Botanical Garden
Editor’s Note: The following are bonus photos from a profile of Sally and Jim Jarvey’s garden featured in the June 2021 issue of Michigan Gardener. To read the full story, pick up a copy of Michigan Gardener in stores or see it in our Digital Edition, which you can read for free at MichiganGardener.com.
By Christine Jamieson
When I first started to garden, I wanted everything: a pond; a fountain with plumes of water flashing in the sun; arches covered with fragrant roses, honeysuckle and clematis; pleached allees made of hornbeam; an arboretum (albeit a miniature one); garden “rooms”; a rockery; trough garden; alpine house; fruit trees; plus every perennial that would grow in Michigan and many that would not. No vegetables though, I couldnʼt deal with the glut. At one point I was ready to order two silver-leaved senecios (variety ʻSunshineʼ) and plant them in gigantic tubs at my front door, but even I was daunted by the difficulties of housing them over the winter in our small ranch. Garden features like sculpture and benches always appealed to me, but my primary interest was, and is, the plants.
An early entry in my garden journal reads: “Had a stunning idea in the middle of the night to make a dry pool where the small circular bed of tulips is. I am going to put a grass in the middle, either plume grass (Erianthus ravennae) or a thinner one (Miscanthus sinensis ʻGracillimusʼ perhaps), to be a fountain. My water is going to be lamb’s ears (Stachys byzantina ʻSilver Carpetʼ), and Iʼm going to edge it with two layers of those flat stones and drape creeping phlox over the edge to give foliage contrast.”
Initially, I started in a small way with a winter garden bed in front of the family room window and filled it with Japanese holly, American holly, leucothoe, bulbs and hellebores. After that I never looked back. “Youʼll be sorry,” my mother said to me one day as I was digging up yet more lawn—and she was right. Eventually I had no time for proper maintenance, which just goes to show we should always listen to our mothers.
I decided to create a large “room” edged with evergreens in the middle of the lawn. I tried yews, but they were so slow that I moved them to the back of the yard where they eventually grew into a splendid hedge. I finally settled for roses—tough, northern-grown ones. By now I was so enthusiastic that I joined the Lily Society, the American Horticultural Society, the Primrose, Daffodil and Rose Societies, the English Hardy Plant Society, and subscribed to several gardening magazines.
My first passion was bulbs—I planted several thousand the first year, never again, but it was worth it the following spring. I had snowflakes (both the spring and summer leucojums), several varieties of hardy cyclamen, hardy gladioli, real English bluebells, fritillaries, plus the more ordinary tulips, daffodils and crocus, and all sorts of alliums. I fell in love with Oriental poppies and Siberian, English, Dutch, Japanese and Louisiana iris, lilies, and then dwarf evergreens. I remember searching for Christopher Lloydʼs favorite arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis ʻRheingoldʼ) and then lo and behold the following year gardening had become the number one leisure pastime in the country and it turned up at a local nursery.
Of course it wasn’t long before I was trying to grow difficult stuff. One evening I was at a party full of avid gardeners and my friend from the Lily Society said, “Guess what Iʼm trying to grow?” “Himalayan blue poppy,” I replied promptly. “How did you know?” he asked stunned. I knew because it is an irresistible flower and I had just been having a go myself, but it hates Michigan weather and who can blame it?
One year I planted green flowers. “Ugh, green flowers,” my rude friends said and then fell about laughing, but there was something so exotic about bells of Ireland (Moluccella laevis), stinking hellebore (Helleborus foetidus), green coral bells, green zinnias, and the odd-looking snake’s head iris (Iris tuberosa) with its black velvet and green petals. Black was another color I liked—except in tulips—and when my first black pansy flowered I called my friend and she rushed over to admire it. What she actually said was that she had been expecting something the size of a dinner plate, whereas this was only small and very disappointing. Not to me though—I loved its soft kitten face with the yellow eye at the center; it grew prolifically and re-seeded itself year after year.
After this I entered my snob stage—the more minuscule and unusual the plant, the better. I tried all sorts of saxifrages and other rock plants, particularly rock roses (Helianthemum), which are very beautiful with their bright flowers and delicate foliage. That didnʼt last too long—eventually I preferred stuff that would grow well and could be seen, particularly tree and herbaceous peonies, Japanese anemones, hostas and pinks (Dianthus). I also love flat-faced flowers like yarrow and sedum. Yellow is a favorite color and it looks lovely combined with soft, dusty pink as well as the more usual blue.
Eventually I bought some fruit trees—apples that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson had grown, an old apricot variety, a couple of peaches, a cherry and a wonderful gooseberry called ʻPoorman.ʼ My piece de resistance in fruit trees was a Smyrna quince with golden fruit the shape of a gigantic pear, but covered in a soft downy skin. Its flesh can be made into a lovely pink preserve which tastes rather odd, but is eaten with meat in the Middle East.
I used to be rather scathing about annuals but now I rather like them—so cheap and cheerful and utterly reliable. One plant I can do without is devil’s trumpets (Datura); for some reason I find it incredibly sinister-looking.
However, thatʼs my taste, and what makes gardening such fun is that you can do whatever you want on your own patch of land. At the moment I am into container gardens. I found two marvelous copper preserving pans in a junk shop and filled them with bulbs for spring and annuals for the summer. I put all kinds of pots on the patio and am trying all sorts of things in them, from geraniums to ladyʼs mantle (Alchemilla mollis), lilies and dwarf evergreens. One day I discovered an abandoned cast iron bath tub in a derelict house which I desperately wanted to make into a trough garden, but I couldn’t work out how to get it home, not even with the help of the family.
So for what it’s worth, my advice is to plant what you like, dream dreams, and enjoy yourself. I wonder if I should buy a greenhouse and grow orchids…
Editor’s Note: The following are bonus photos from a profile of Carol Gagliardi and Dave Flesher’s garden featured in the May 2021 issue of Michigan Gardener. To read the full story, pick up a copy of Michigan Gardener in stores or see it in our Digital Edition, which you can read for free at MichiganGardener.com.
The rose is the queen of the flowers. With proper planning and a little loving care, you can be rewarded with beautiful rose blooms year after year. Here are some springtime guidelines to make sure you get the most out of your roses.
Perhaps no other aspect of rose care is as misunderstood or feared as pruning. It’s actually quite simple.
Rule Number 1: Prune your roses in the spring, usually in April or May—never in the fall. How much you prune is another matter, which brings us to Rule Number 2: You can’t kill a rose with improper pruning. You might give it a bad-looking season, but you won’t kill it. Some pruning practices for specific roses:
Repeat-blooming roses, such as miniatures, hybrid teas, floribundas and shrub roses, bloom best on “new growth.” You create new growth by cutting back these roses by 1/3 to 1/2 early each spring when the forsythia blooms.
Climbers bloom best on “old wood.” So, in late April, prune out just the winter-killed or damaged canes. You don’t want to prune them back too far; knee-level is good. You won’t kill the plant if you prune it further, but you won’t see its best bloom either. Wait until late June to perform major size reductions if needed.
Rugosa roses are repeat bloomers, but like climbers, it’s best to wait until late June for major pruning. In early spring (like April), all you need to do is clip off any winter-killed tips. Note that rugosas are slow to wake up in the spring, and the dormant canes are often gray and look dead—don’t worry, they’re not. So wait until they are leafed out before pruning.
Once-a-year blooming antique roses and ramblers perform best if you wait until late June, after their spring bloom, for major pruning. In April and May, just prune out the winter-kill and damaged canes, then stand back. You’ll be treated to massive and wondrous June blooms that isn’t matched by other roses.
The first rule here: use a quality pair of bypass pruners. The second rule: keep them sharp, and learn how to sharpen them properly. Pruning practices to help you get started:
Before discussing fertilizers, let’s start with your soil. Get it tested. Contact your Michigan State University Extension (go to www.MichiganGardener.com > “Resources” > “Garden Help”). MSU will provide you with a form to complete and return to them along with your soil samples. On that form, point out that the soil will be used for growing roses.
Now on to fertilizers. Question: what do roses and teenagers have in common? Right! They both consume enormous amounts of food. Like teenagers, roses require a continual supply of food during their growth and blooming periods. This is especially true with repeat bloomers.
In general, roses perform best when you use a well-balanced fertilizer. There are several commercial blends that contain natural materials like bone meal, fish emulsion and blood meal. These organic blends help improve the soil structure in addition to providing nutrients. If you have a yearning to be unique, you can make your own home blend of organic fertilizer. Include a variety of components to your mix, not just one or two. Like people, roses need a well-balanced diet to be healthy. Whatever organic fertilizer you use, remember to apply it 3 to 4 times a year, starting in late April.
You can also augment your granulated fertilizer applications with a quick-acting liquid fertilizer. This kind of fertilizer should be used as a supplement to your regular applications, rather than an alternative. If you decide to use a liquid fertilizer, I suggest using it at half the recommended strength.
Whatever fertilizer you select, avoid granular products that contain systemic insecticide. While they perform well as a fertilizer, the insecticide component poisons the soil and kills the desirable earthworms. Further, their insecticide components are not all that effective.
To thrive, roses need five things. Look around your yard and find where nature will amply provide two of the essential ingredients: 1) sunlight, and 2) air. You provide the other three: 3) water, 4) fertilizer, and 5) love.
Specifically, plant your roses where they will receive at least six hours of direct sunlight daily, and where the air circulates freely to prevent disease. Keep in mind that roses love water and lots of it, but not standing in pools. So, select a site that offers good drainage. Be prepared to supplement nature’s rainfall with regular waterings of your own. Also reward your roses with fertilizer, and they will reward you with dazzling blooms.
One more thing on site selection. Choose a place that is easily visible from your home. Not just so you can enjoy the full display of brilliant colors, but so you can readily see and react to little problems that may occur before they become big ones.
Growing roses is fun and very satisfying. You soon may be answering the question from friends and neighbors alike: “How do you grow such beautiful roses?”
Nancy Lindley is the former co-owner of Great Lakes Roses.
RELATED: Maintaining climbing roses
RELATED: Why Are My Roses Changing Color?
Does garden work make you sick? Literally? Or is there someone else in your life who can’t breathe freely in the presence of plants and other garden materials? If so, give yourself or that other a break. Change your plant choices, planting arrangements and work habits now to reduce your garden’s allergy irritation quotient.
A sizable portion of the U.S. population suffers from allergies. Many of the afflicted are children, but adults are learning, to their surprise, that these conditions can develop even late in life. To some of these sufferers, their allergies are only low-level nuisances. Others face more serious symptoms. Every one pays some cost and makes compromises to get by.
The word pollen comes from the Latin for “dust.” When it’s airborne, pollen can be a potent allergen. However, not all plants produce pollen and not all pollen floats in air. People with hay fever are wise to look for pollen-free flowers and heavy-pollen plants.
Pollen-free flowers are not common. Pollen is essential for seed formation, so in the natural course of things, every plant species produces these yellow, orange, or other-colored grains on stamens—the “male” portion of a flower. The important thing here is that in some species such as holly, mulberry, kiwi and ginkgo, some individuals in the group make flowers without stamens. These “females” are the seed-bearers of their species, and they are ladies a person with allergies can appreciate. (See sidebar with female and male plant lists: “Battle of the sexes.”)
The worst kind of pollen is from wind-pollinated plants—”anemophilous” species. Such grains float so they’re easily inhaled, plus the species that produce them tend to go overboard when it comes to amount. Less troublesome is sticky and heavy pollen, produced by plants that rely on insects and birds to carry it around. These heavy pollen “entomophilous” plants also make less pollen than wind-pollinated species. They don’t need clouds of the stuff when they can rely on hungry pollinators to race directly from one flower to the next.
There are several ways to distinguish between wind-pollinated and heavy pollen plants. One is to check lists such as the sidebar in this article: “Most common culprits in pollen allergies.” Another is the shake test. A third involves learning to recognize what bugs and birds find attractive.
The shake test is simple. Shake plants to see where pollen clouds form. Ask someone who does not have pollen allergies to walk your yard every week or two from early April through late June—the months when pollen counts from trees and shrubs are highest—and rattle your plants. Where this raises puffs or clouds of “dust,” you should doubt that plant. Is it one you are allergic to, or a close relative? Is it one many people are allergic to? You might want to replace such a plant with something more innocuous.
When doing shake tests, don’t focus on plants with obvious bloom. The plants most often responsible for pollen allergies—certain trees, grasses and wind-pollinated weed species—have flowers so inconspicuous or so different from typical florist flowers that we may think they have no bloom at all. Where birches or pines overhang a patio and coat it with pollen, people who live there often fail to connect plant to powder. Gardeners who bump branches while clipping juniper bushes in spring are often shocked by the puffs of yellow pollen this stirs.
Not all airborne pollen is problematic, and some is much worse than others. Knowing which to look into is a big first step.
The third way to recognize airborne and heavy pollen involves looking at pollinators, flower sizes and form. If you see that many bees or other flying insects visit a particular kind of flower, chances are good that the only way that plant’s pollen moves is on the legs and body of a carrier. Even before you see insects, if you keep in mind that they follow visual clues in looking for food you’ll start to recognize the plants they service—those with big blooms or many small blooms in showy, large clusters.
Some people are allergic to bee stings, and might want to focus on bird- and butterfly-pollinated plants. These generally have flowers shaped like or equipped with deep, narrow funnels where nectar collects as the blooms ripen.
Although fewer people are allergic to molds and fungal spores than to pollen, these can trigger allergic reactions too. They rise up by the millions every time you rake leaves, turn the compost or disturb a mulch layer.
So hire a helper to rake leaves, or wear a mask when you do that chore. Work on a cool, still day after a rain, when the air is less likely to carry allergens. Let your city or township compost your leaf litter and other yard waste—don’t pile it and mix it in your own yard.
Eliminate or reduce your use of organic mulch such as bark. Switch to gravel mulch, which allows spores, mold particles, and dust to fall down into the spaces between stones. That’s better than having it rest at the surface where it can take off in the breeze that also caresses your window.
Organic matter tends to build up in stone mulch over time, so its ability to absorb troublesome particles decreases over time. Sprinklers splashing on its surface can raise the settled particles, too, so consider trickle irrigation or weeper hoses.
Also, weed seeds settle into that organic build-up, and can be difficult to eradicate without the use of herbicides that you probably should avoid. So plan to replace stone regularly.
If periodic removal and replacement of gravel is beyond your budget, try a triple thickness of newspaper as mulch, held in place with a thin layer of Turface or another of the gravel-like soil conditioners. When such products become gummed up with organics, they can be covered with a new layer of paper and clean Turface. The original layer will mix gradually, harmlessly into the soil.
When you remove troublemaking pollen producers, replace them with species that produce less pollen and are pollinated by insects or birds. Double-flowered varieties are often good choices, since what’s been lost in developing those extra petals on a double rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) or snowball viburnum (V. opulus ‘Roseum’) are the pollen-producing stamens.
Be sure to learn the mature size of each new plant you consider, and place your additions where they can grow without pruning. Pruning is a branch-rustling, mold-raising chore that allergy sufferers should bypass.
Two more things to aim for as you place new plants are high contrast and massed effect, so that you can enjoy your landscape even from afar or through glass. Try clumps of red foliage plants near yellow, big-leaf plants in front of lacy leaf or needled species, distinctly shorter items at the feet of taller individuals, and combinations of varieties with distinctive, no-prune shapes.
Focusing on the distance may help you free up the foreground too. Take vines and shrubs away from your windows where they have a greater potential to contaminate your air.
Whenever you can, place windbreaks between yourself and problem plants upwind in your neighborhood that you can’t eliminate. This calls for using binoculars or imposing a little on neighbors as you do more shake tests to identify the plants that may be causing you trouble. The potential pay-off makes it worthwhile. You don’t have to account for the whole neighborhood—tree pollen can carry a long way but most falls within about 50 feet of the source.
Hedges and fences can serve as windbreaks, slowing wind speed on their lee side for at least ten times their own height. Place a windbreak so that it is at least five feet upwind of any place where you plan to sit or work, because the space just downwind of a hedge receives fall-out as the wind slows and is forced to drop its load of particulate matter and pollen.
Do all you can to reduce your yard work. Throw a garden party twice a year and invite sympathetic friends to help. Have all the materials lined up and ready, and bring your hired help in that same day.
Mowing spells allergy trouble, so hire that chore out, and replace lawn where you can with no-mow groundcovers. Have the lawn aerated and treated annually with slow-release fertilizer in the cool, still days of late fall so that turf will be fuller and healthier, less likely to harbor weeds such as ragweed.
Choose plants that are well suited for your site, and not susceptible to pests so that they will be healthy without application of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. All of these products are potential trouble for people who have already developed sensitivity to pollen, mold or dust.
Finally, decrease your risk by working on cool, windless days, and after every air-cleansing rain. Avoid warm, dry, windy days when pollen counts are highest.
While you’re out, cover your arms, legs and neck. Wear a mask if you mow or rake. When you finish working, undress in the garage and leave work clothes and shoes outdoors—one gram of soil may contain thousands of pollen grains. Shower after working, so you won’t transfer pollen grains, mold or spores into your clean clothes or bed. We can love our plants without sleeping with them!
Of 250,000 flowering plant species, only about 100 species have pollen that causes us trouble. Pollen allergy, also called hay fever, rose fever or allergic rhinitis, is most often caused by tree, grass and certain weed pollen. Here are some chief irritants, with the worst in bold.
Trees: alder, ash, aspen, birch, box elder, cottonwood (the pollen, not the fluff from female trees!), elm, hickory, juniper, linden, locust, maple, oak, poplar, sycamore, tamarisk, willow.
Grasses: Bermuda grass, bluegrass (Kentucky bluegrass), Johnson, orchard, redtop, sweet vernal, and Timothy grass.
Weeds: artemisias (including sweet Annie), clover (Melilotus species), cocklebur, curly dock (Rumex species), pigweed, plantain, ragweed.
Don’t count on numbers to gauge allergic impact
It’s not the number of pollen grains that causes trouble but their type and an individual person’s response to that type. A similar number of pollen grains—several million—may fall from one male pine cone or one dangling birch catkin, but fewer people react to pine pollen than to birch. An oak’s tassel-like flower may produce at only half the birch’s rate, and a grass plume releases just 1/20th of the pollen, but those grains have a major impact on the person whose body reacts to oak or grass.
Allergic to one, allergic to a group
When we react to pollen it’s actually a response to particular proteins on the surface of that pollen grain. A body allergic to a particular pollen protein often reacts to that protein in other, unrelated substances. For instance, birch pollen is a very common cause of hay fever. People allergic to birch often have food allergies involving hazelnut, almond, walnut and apple.
Wind-pollinated flowers give themselves away with their inconspicuousness and dangle. Most lack petals, which would interfere with the wind reaching the pollen grains. Most dangle from the plant’s top or upper branches, the better to be caught by a breeze.
Insect-pollinated plants tend to have visually attractive blooms—brightly colored, large or clustered. Pollinators such as bees, flies and butterflies home in on the ripe flower’s color and form. Wide petals or clustered flowers afford the insects a landing pad. Examples: apple (crabapple and other fruit trees), aster, daisy (and many of its relatives), mint (and many of its relatives), rose (and its family), tulip, and yarrow.
Hummingbird- and moth-pollinated flowers are tubular or have narrow nectar-collecting spurs at the bases of their petals. Many require a hovering approach. Bees can’t squeeze into the flower, their tongues won’t reach to the depth of the nectary, or they can’t hover long enough to sip their fill. Examples: beautybush (Kolkwitzia amabilis), butterfly bush (Buddleia), columbine, coral bells (Heuchera), fuchsia, hibiscus, horse chestnut (Aesculus), impatiens, lantana, salvia, trumpet vine, and weigela.
Plants with separate sexes
Examine the plants below while they’re in bloom and you’ll find that the flowers on some never form pollen. A gardener with allergies might choose* those “female” forms and shun the pollen-making males.
* Look for a sex-indicative variety name on garden center labels, or the presence of seeds or fruits (telltale of a female). If these signs are lacking, the only way to know the sex of the plant you are growing or considering buying is to inspect its blossoms for the presence or absence of pollen.
Some female, pollen-less varieties of separate-sex species:
Some male varieties sold as pollinators or ‘seedless’ forms:
** These species’ males are not the worst of the lot, as their pollen is heavy, rather than wind-borne.
Article by Janet Macunovich and photos by Steven Nikkila, www.gardenatoz.com.
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by George Papadelis
For hundreds of years, trillium and its name have been used to symbolize purity, simplicity, elegance, and beauty. The name trillium has graced the marquees of restaurants, country clubs, resorts, software companies, consulting firms, and numerous other businesses. Every spring, thousands of Americans journey into the woods to admire the showiest of our spring woodland flowers.
In Ohio, where all 88 counties have masses of wild trillium, it was selected as the state’s official wildflower. Its flowers have twice graced a U.S. postage stamp. Even our Canadian friends across the bridge have declared white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) the official provincial flower of Ontario. Other parts of the world share our passionate admiration for this plant. In Europe, where trilliums are not found in nature, gardeners dedicate vast amounts of time and money acquiring them, especially rare species. In Japan, a cult-like interest has developed. Gardeners have fervently established collections and written numerous publications describing them.
The most readily available species is white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum). This has large, pure white flowers up to five inches across. These develop in great abundance throughout the northeastern United States, including Michigan. Its flowers usually fade to a dull pink and sometimes red.
Red trillium (Trillium erectum) is a much more diverse species, with flowers ranging from red to purple to yellow-green and beige. It also grows wild in the Northeast and Michigan.
Yellow trillium (Trillium luteum) is the most common yellow species. It originates from areas around eastern Tennessee. One of its most notable features is the beautiful dark green leaves decorated with pale green markings. The flowers are relatively small.
Prairie trillium (Trillium recurvatum) bears maroon-purple to clear yellow flowers with strongly curved petals. Several other species and a few named varieties are readily available. Most varieties grow about 12 to 18 inches tall once established in the garden.
Trilliums typically bloom in late April or early May when dozens of perennials and bulbs are available as companions. Several spring-flowering bulbs will tolerate shade, and a few flower at the same time as trilliums. Try them with daffodils, tulips, Siberian squill, grape hyacinths, summer snowflakes, glory-of-the-snow, and Grecian windflower (Anemone blanda). Pansies and violas planted the previous fall or in early spring will offer the largest color range to coordinate with your trillium flowers. Early May-blooming perennials for shade include snowdrop anemone (Anemone sylvestris), foamflower (Tiarella), fern-leaf bleeding heart, leopard’s bane, and the beautiful blue-flowering perennial forget-me-not (Brunnera macrophylla). Several other woodland plants such as woodland phlox (Phlox stolonifera) and yellow dogtooth violets (Erythronium canadensis) should also be at peak bloom.
Trilliums are North American and Asian natives that typically thrive in moist, woodland settings where rich, acidic soil is prevalent. Gardeners with some shade can create this type of soil by incorporating organic soil amendments such as aged pine bark, Canadian peat moss, leaf mold, composted manure, or compost. During dry spells, plants may require some supplemental watering.
As gardeners, many of us have developed questions (or fears) about growing this somewhat mystical plant. It doesn’t help that the typical garden center only sells tiny, flowerless plants that show little promise of ever coming to fruition. Perhaps the most important aspect of appreciating this plant can be expressed in one word: patience. These small plants are much more durable than they appear. Most species will eventually develop into clumps of flowers that are quite persistent even in less than perfect conditions. This clumping process often takes 2 to 4 years. At least it’s faster than growing them from seed. If the seed germinates, it may take as long as ten years to bloom.
Another perplexing aspect of growing them is the short period of time plants are visible in the garden. The “root” is really a sort of underground stem called a rhizome. This rhizome stores food all winter until temperatures rise in spring. In early May, the rhizome sends up branches that typically support three leaves and a single three-petal flower. The short time during which leaves are present is the plant’s only chance to gather energy from the sun. Therefore, picking flowers and leaves will diminish the plant’s ability to produce food. It won’t kill a healthy plant, but frequent picking will eventually reduce flowering. The number of flowering branches depends on the age of the plant, the size of the rhizome, and the overall energy stored in the rhizome.
Next comes the strange part. Just a few weeks after blooming, the branch and leaves wither away with no visible signs of life. The rejuvenated rhizome will await winter dormancy, which is mandatory for next year’s bloom production. Many woodland plants and spring-blooming bulbs (such as tulips, daffodils, crocus, etc.) enter an early-summer dormancy. These plants, like trilliums, are described as spring ephemerals. If you are thinking of shopping for a potted trillium in summer or fall, visually evaluating a plant’s vigor is almost impossible. However, a gentle probing of the soil to locate a firm, sleeping rhizome should do the trick.
Two species are currently on the U.S. threatened and endangered species list. Trillium persistens and Trillium reliquum only occur naturally in very small areas of the southeastern United States. In Michigan, one species, Trillium undulatum, is on the endangered list. This means it only exists in a few sites and is at great risk of becoming extinct in our state. Three varieties are on the Michigan threatened plant list: Trillium nivale, Trillium sessile, and Trillium recurvatum. Threatened plants only exist in a dozen or so sites and are at great risk of becoming endangered. All of the threatened and endangered trillium cannot be collected under any circumstances. All other trillium in the state of Michigan are protected in the following way. The only way these can be collected is by owning the land from which they are harvested, acquiring a permit to collect them from the Department of Natural Resources, or by acquiring a bill of sale from the property owner. All trillium located in national forests are also not collectible.
Since it is legal to collect unthreatened and unendangered trillium that are located on your own land, “nurseries” can own land from which they may legally collect wild trillium. Fortunately, responsible commercial collection of trillium has had little effect on most species. Almost all trillium have developed stable masses in their natural habitats, and more and more nurseries are offering wildflowers that are propagated on site. As gardeners and stewards of our environment, we should seek out these sources and avoid plants that are illegally collected.
The biggest two concerns for the sustenance of their populations are animal grazing and urban development. Repeated grazing from deer can eventually weaken plants and wipe out large areas. In regions where deer populations have increased, trilliums have often disappeared. A deer repellent would be a wise investment if deer browse in your trillium bed. In cases where a plant’s habitat is limited, populations are also suffering from commercial development. Clear cut lumbering and urban sprawl have an enormous impact on all wildflowers. In cases where development is unavoidable, the proper agencies should be contacted to save important plants. A great source of trillium is one that has a permit to rescue plants that would otherwise fall victim to bulldozers.
Trillium are available from many garden centers as spring-flowering plants in small containers. These can be treated just like any other perennial. More and more retailers are selling them packed in plastic bags with some peat moss. Make sure the rhizomes are firm and try to plant them before the leaves emerge. Bury rhizomes horizontally about 2 to 4 inches deep in the moist, rich soil that most woodland wildflowers love.
Remember to be patient—good things come to those who wait. In time, your little plant should form colonies that you and your garden’s admirers will enjoy for years to come.
Plant type: Perennial
Plant size: Most are 12-18 inches tall and 12 inches wide
Habit: Clump-forming
Hardiness: Most are zone 4 or 5
Flower color: White, red, pink, yellow
Flower size: Up to 3 inches wide
Bloom period: Late April to early May
Leaf color: Green, sometimes mottled with pale green, dark green, or maroon
Leaf size: Up to 8 inches long and up to 6 inches wide
Light: Dappled shade to shade
Soil: Moist but well-drained, rich in organic matter
Uses: Woodland garden, shady border
Companion plants: Spring-flowering bulbs (daffodils, tulips, grape
hyacinths, etc.), spring-flowering perennials (foamflower, fern-leaf bleeding heart, perennial forget-me-not, woodland phlox, etc.)
Remarks: Patience is a must: trilliums take time to become established; the plants go dormant in summer (stems & leaves wither away)
George Papadelis is the owner of Telly’s Greenhouse in Troy and Shelby Township, MI.
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How long can vegetable seeds be kept? A year ago I purchased many vegetable seeds in hopes of starting a garden last spring. My plans were interrupted and now the garden is scheduled for this spring. The seeds are all dated 2011 and have been kept in their original packaging and stored in my basement. Will these seeds still be viable this spring?
Properly stored seed remains viable for different lengths of time depending on the type of seed. Be aware that seed companies may store seeds up to the number of years of their viability prior to selling them. If you purchased your seed from a reputable catalog or nursery, you can call them to find out what their company protocol is.
Since all your seed was purchased in 2011 and dated as such, you have a fair chance that the unopened packages will be viable. Most vegetable seeds are good for two years with some, like lettuce, viable up to six years. If they have been kept dry and cool in your basement, those conditions simulate dormancy.
To test for germination, sprout seeds between moist paper towels; if germination is low, either discard the seed or plant enough extra to give the desired number of plants. You will know quickly which seeds need to be repurchased.
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