Franklin County (PA) Gardeners

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

The Art of Japanese Landscaping and Bonsai

Gardeners around the world appreciate and cultivate natural beauty in many forms, whether in formal French or Italian styles, the casual riot of colors in English cottage gardens, rainbows of Dutch bulbs, informal wildflower meadows, or neat rows of edible fruits and vegetables.

However, interest in Bonsai and Japanese gardening is gaining popularity worldwide, in part because it seeks to capture and celebrate the splendor and variety of the universe in a microcosm, recognizing that everything- plants, people, even inanimate objects like stones and mountains- contain a dynamic, spiritual essence. And each element is symbolic of the whole and a worthy subject of respect and contemplation.

Japanese techniques do not imitate nature so much as they idealize it. By severely limiting its scope, one carefully pruned Bonsai tree can appear ancient and venerable, symbolizing all life in one tiny tray.

On a balcony or in the smallest courtyard, a well-chosen rock becomes a mountain, surrounded by skillfully placed gravel that seems to flow like water.

The serene stillness may be broken by the sound of running water, reminiscent of a waterfall, reminding us that nothing remains the same, that time is passing, and we live in a world which is impermanent, imperfect and incomplete. Understated elegance, simplicity, austerity, reduced scale, asymmetry and use of empty space combine to close out the hectic material world, focus attention on solitude, and the importance of living in this moment.

Join Master Gardeners Sylvia Kremp and Barbara Petrucci to experience a multi-sensory demonstration of these techniques and learn how to incorporate them into your home, creating a personal space for tranquility and transcendence.

Registration fee is $10 per person. Please call the Penn State Extension Office at 717-263-9226 to register.
Saturday, February 16, 2013 9:00 a.m.-11:00

Snow Date: February 23

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Plants With Winter Interest-Part 11 - Corkscrew Willow

Corkscrew Willow in Eckhart Blue Ridge Summit Landscape

Inspired by Jerry's Coral Embers Willow, and Carol's Contorted Hazel posts, here's another plant with Winter Interest that has connections to both - Corkscrew Willow, or Salix matsudana.

Corkscrew Willow is a small to medium-sized, upright spreading tree of about 30 feet in height with a 15-foot-spread, the main ornamental feature of this plant is the contorted and twisted branches and twigs. Branches arise from the trunk at an acute angle and grow up almost parallel to the trunk before they curve back to the horizontal. The winter branch pattern is most interesting and probably accounts for the popularity of the tree.

Corkscrew Willow in Eckhart Blue Ridge Summit Landscape

It is native to China and hardy to zone 5, and the warmer parts of zone 4.

The cultivar
'Tortuosa' was introduced into North America in 1923 when Arnold Arboretum received a cutting from China, it was named the next year and entered commerce during the 1930s.

Corkscrew willow grows best in full or partial sun, and tolerates multiple soil conditions including clay, sand, loam, acidic and alkaline. And, like all willows is more tolerant than most plants to "wet feet" conditions. More information here.

Corkscrew Willow in Eckhart Blue Ridge Summit Landscape

Pollarding is a method of pruning that keeps trees and shrubs smaller than they would naturally grow (a practice generally not recommended for most trees), but in this case, it can enhance the contorted effect in winter landscapes.

The best time to prune, or pollard, is late winter.

Corkscrew Willow Branch used as Decoration

The added bonus is that the trimmings can be used in dried arrangements, or as support structures for climbing vines in container gardening.

This one, decorating the entranceway to my home, became available after male deer (bucks) used it to rub off the velvet from their antlers, and to mark their territory, girding the whole branch.

Thoughts and Meditations on Gardening - 1

Book Cover Picture from Amazon
Bäume. Betrachtungen und Gedichte , (Trees: Reflections and Poems)

Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life.

~ Herman Hesse

Originally from Wandering. More here.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Happy Groundhog Day!

Via MG Jane Krumpe and our MG Facebook Page, a shared picture from National Home Gardening Club's Facebook Page.

Early Spring Predicted.

Video.

Fun Facts posted last year.

A Catalytic Catatonic Catastrophe

Stop the Madness!

Friday, February 1, 2013

2012 Harvest 4-Health in Pictures

Fall, 2011

Green Tomato - How Cool is That?

Maybe not so Cool

MG Bill Dorman and Fall Scallions

Fresh Fall Radishes

Spring 2012

MG Janet Sharp Shows How to Pot Up the Tomato Seedlings the Class Started a few Weeks Earlier

They get the Hang of it

And Get to Take Them Home

Weeding is Lots of Fun!

Maybe not for Everyone

Peppers are in!

Squash, Cukes and Zukes

And the Tomatoes

Radishes Coming Up

Now Grow!

June, 2012

We Have Strawberries!

Look for Them Under the Leaves

Things HAVE Grown

Let's Plant Some Seeds for Fall

Carefully Place your Seeds

I Can Do It!

We All Can!

What the Heck is a 'Stolon'?

It's the Runner from the Mother Plant that Will Give Us Strawberries Next Year

Gotta Keep Weeding

We Dug up Some Fingerling Potatoes

September, 2012

Sampling Day - Taste What Was Grown
(Supplemented from MG Gardens)

MG Ruth Coe (And Professional Reading Teacher)
Fills in on a Rainy Day

Meanwhile, inspired by The Green Apple Day Day of Service, teachers, volunteers, and parents at Ben Chambers Elementary School, took on the challenge of cleaning up an abandoned garden for a 2013 planting:

Before

After

Mrs. Thomas’s 3^rd grade, pictured here with Barbara Aldrich from PSU Extension 4-H, Katie Kough and WWC from Wilson College, and some classroom moms, plan to use and maintain the garden for various projects and inspiration going forward…along with any of the classes at Ben Chambers. The strawberry patch was retained and the other 3 beds will be replanted with ????????? (They have ideas!)

Many thanks go to Barbara Aldrich, long time Penn State Extension 4-H Educator here in Franklin County, who went on to greener pastures at the U.S.D.A's Farm Service Agency in October, 2012.

Congratulations to the whole team: Bill Dorman, Janet Sharp, Ruth Coe, Ray Eckhart, Charlie White, and Mike Kusko, with some side help from Sylvia Kremp and Colleen Johnson.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Winter Vegetable Harvest

Carrots and Turnips in Gary's Winter Garden

Via MG Gary Ankney's Facebook Page, comes this picture of carrots and turnips dug from his garden on Wednesday, January 30, 2013.

Picked these today - who says gardening stops in the fall? And if you've never tasted winter-sweetened carrots and turnips, you don't know what you're missing.

The MG's at the Universtiy of Maryland's Grow it! Eat it! Blog are celebrating 2013 as the Year of Root Vegetables.

All year we'll be celebrating the crops that grow edible parts below the ground. Some of them, in fact many of them, grow edible parts above the ground too. But think roots, tubers, rhizomes, corms, bulbs, etc. - we will try to talk about them all!

I plan to follow along. Their blog address is on the list to the right, as well as in the link above.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Grooming Brooming

Witch's Broom on Norway Spruce
Picture courtesy of Garden Professor Bert Cregg

A commenter over at the Garden Professor’s Facebook page linked to this article about Witch’s Broom, and the intrepid conifer enthusiasts who climb trees, risking life and limb to harvest them, with the hope of finding a source for the next great dwarf cultivar, so beloved of Railway, and Fairy Garden enthusiasts, and even home landscapers wanting a slower growing, denser leaved, and smaller specimen for their landscapes. From the article:

Hermsen and Larson are part of a tiny group of plant fanatics — they estimate they number about 200 nationwide — who traipse through forests collecting witch's brooms. The term, which dates to the Middle Ages, refers to tree mutations made up of dense masses of shoots growing from a single point. They look like balls of twigs woven together and can grow to several feet across. Each is the only one of its kind in the world. They are genetically unique.

They were dubbed "witch's brooms" in Medieval Europe because it was believed witches placed them high in trees, and even rested in them.

Intrigued, I started googling around, and found some interesting stuff about Witch’s Brooms.

Here’s Garden Professor Bert Cregg:

Witch’s brooms are growth anomalies that occur on various trees, most commonly conifers, Brooms can be caused by a variety of factors including diseases, aphids, environmental stress and random mutations. In some cases the growth defect is only present when the causal agent, say, a pathogen is present. In others, however, the growth mutation can be propagated by grafting scion wood from the witch’s broom onto a regular rootstock. In fact, this is the origin of many forms of dwarf and unusual ornamental conifers. Because of this, brooms are often a prized commodity and ‘Broom hunting’ is an active past-time for conifer enthusiasts such as members of the American Conifer Society.

Here’s his Fact Sheet on Spruces, and some of the cultivars originally gleaned from a naturally occurring Witch’s Broom.

‘Nidiformis’, the Nest Spruce, which itself was a witches’ broom that had been found on a Norway Spruce. Photo Credit Bill Barge

Whenever someone walks through a collection of dwarf, contorted, drooping, variegated, or otherwise unusual conifers such as the Harper Collection at Hidden Lake Gardens, one of the first questions is “Where did these trees come from?” In a few cases the trees represent relatively rare species that we don’t see often in this part of the world. However, in most cases these unusual trees represent genetic mutants of otherwise common conifers such as Pinus strobus, Picea glauca, Picea abies, Tsuga canadensis or other run-of-the-mill species. The trees we see in collections that are prized by conifer connoisseurs are the result of genetic mutations that result in unusual color or variegation, extremely slow growth rate, or loss of apical dominance. The mutations usually happen one of two ways: seedling mutants or witch’s brooms. Seedling growers that grow tens of thousands of seedlings from a given species will occasionally find individuals with unusual growth characteristics such as variegated or weeping form. Scions from these trees can be grafted onto other seedlings to propagate trees with the unusual trait. Likewise, mutations can arise within an individual tree. These are called witch’s brooms or “sports”. The unusual trees are propagated by grafting scions from the witch’s broom onto seedlings. If the mutation results in a weeping form, different forms of the tree can be produced depending upon where the scion is grafted. Grafting high on the normal tree (or standard) results in a weeping form, whereas grafting at ground level results in a prostrate or low growing form.

It’s not just conifers, either. The spotlight specimen in the Gass Garden, is a Vine Maple, Acer circinatum, first described during the Lewis and Clarke Expedition.

Witches Broom of Vine Maple - Photo Credit Harold Greer for Oregon State University

There’s a dwarf cultivar of A. circinatum named ‘Little Gem’ that was originally discovered as a witch’s broom.

A. circinatum 'Little Gem' - Picture courtesy of Oregon State University

Serendipitous web surfing can be very enlightening.

2013 Herb of the Year™ Elderberry

Tree/shrub
Perennial
Growth: 4-12 ft.
Culture: Sun to partial shade; moist area w/good drainage
Flowers: White, May blooms
Fruits: Dark purple/black berries early September
Hardy: Zones 3-9 (Franklin County is Zone 6)
Native - Wildlife
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Selected by the International Herb Association, Sambucus spp. [SAM-boo-cus], or Elderberry, is the Herb of the Year™ for 2013. This is a description of Sambucus nigra L. ssp. Canadensis – the American Black Elderberry. The common name "elder" is from the Anglo-Saxon "ellen," meaning fire-kindler, most likely referring to the dry, pithy stems.

This perennial shrub or tree is native to the lower 48 states as well as Canada and is hardy across all zones in North America.

The shrub grows 4-12 ft. with fragrant white flowers in spring and blue to black-purple berries in late summer. This is a good, mid-size plant and excellent as a hedgerow or in a property border. This plant is often used in riparian (stream or river bank or pond edges) restoration.

It tolerates poor soil, likes sun to partial sun and does well in moist areas but with good drainage. It is shallow rooted and gardeners should use care when weeding under it. Propagation is best through seed germination but grafting and layering are also used.

Elderberry’s wildlife habit value includes food for over 50 species of songbirds and upland game birds. It provides nesting cover for small birds and the flowers provide nectar for pollinators.

Squirrels, bears and other browsers eat the berries while deer, elk and moose will browse the stem and foliage. However, the USDA notes that new growth of American elder contains a glucoside that can be fatal to livestock.

Elderberry is used in over-the-counter medicines, primarily to boost the immune system and it is a significant source of both vitamins A and C. The berries are also used as dye and food colorants.

Elderberry is cultivated commercially for the fruit. The berries are used in cooking with the most popular uses being elderberry wine, juice and syrup along with pies and candy.

Berries are harvested in late August and early September when they are dark purple. The red berries of other species are toxic and should not be eaten. Full clusters of berries are harvested and removed from the stems. If not used immediately, they should be stored in a cool dry area.

The wood from the elder plant is hard and has been used for combs, spindles and wooden pegs. The hollow stems are used for flutes and arrow shafts while the pith makes good fire tinder.

Elderberry is an excellent native plant to add to your landscape. Examples can be seen in the Native Plant demonstration garden at the Franklin County Extension Service.