R&R Five Six, Pick Up Sticks

Five Six Pick Up Sticks
One thing that stands out for me this gardening year has been the  number sticks and branches that have fallen from my trees. Tarp full after tarp full have been picked up, dragged from back yard to front (uphill for me I might add) and placed near the street for pick up. I guesstimate that I have had spent the better part of five days cleaning up after various storms this year, the last being tropical storm Harvey and, like Sisyphus and his rock, just when I get them picked up another storm blows through and there are more sticks, or so it seems. The familiar nursery rhyme alluded to in the title

was first heard around 1780 near Wrentham, Massachusetts. The main purpose of the song is, obviously, to teach children how to count. Originally the song might describe a regular day of lace makers who were traditional workers in the 17th and 18th centuries. One, two buckle my shoe would mean the that workers are getting dressed to go to work; three, four shut the door- the workers have arrived at the lace shop; five, six pick up sticks getting their tools ((wooden sticks were tools used at the lance making machine at this time). Of course, all this is just a guess as the original meaning has been lost over time.


Catalogue Time


Hyacinthiodes hispanica

Fritilleria inperialis

 

Today, I placed my fall bulb order. I've ordered Hyacinthoides hispanica, Spanish Bluebells and Fritillaria imperialis, Fritillaria Maxima Lutea a yellow flowering Fritillaria. This will be the first time for me with these bulbs. There are great number of interesting bulbs (besides daffodils) that can added to the landscape this time of year. The Minor Bulbs are a group of bulbs that bloom in January, February and March that can be planted this time of year. Chiondoxa, Ipheion, Crocus, Scilla siberica, and Galanthus are just some of the opportunities to plant now. Another interesting, though little used bulb, Lecojeum also can be planted this time of year. Besides bulbs this is the perfect time to add trees and most shrubs to your landscape. Trees and shrubs planted now don't have the stress of our summertime temperatures and November is usually fairly rainy in the mid-South so nature makes sure the plants get the water they need. There are some shrubs, Gardenias come to mind, that are best planted in the spring, so check with your local nursery person before purchasing. Here's a short poem by Emily Bronte about the wind and it has a little Halloweenish in it; rick or treat.

The Wind was Rough which Tore
The wind was rough which tore
The leaf from its parent tree
The fate was cruel which bore
The withering corpse to me

Emily Bronte

We wander on we have no rest
It is a dreary way

What shadow is it
that ever moves before (my) eyes
It has a brow of ghostly whiteness



A Different Kind of Soil Test

Last Saturday I attended the Sierra Club's annual Community Environmental Conference. The conference was packed with interesting sessions on topics related to how human activities and choices affect our environment and often endanger the our planet. Among other things, I learned about mountaintop removal to mine coal in West Virginia and how it not only destroys the beauty of the land but also contaminates drinking water distant from the removal site. I also learned some frightening things about nuclear waste disposal, including, the fact that Tennessee received or produced at least 75% of the nation's low level radioactive waste, as well as radioactive waste shipped here from Germany. Did you know that the only facility in the nation where radioactive steam generators from pressurized water reactors are taken for processing is right here on President's Island? 

Like most conferences, this one included a number of vendors. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry was conducting a soilSHOP, (the name stands for Soil, Screening, Health, Outreach and Partnership), and they were testing soil. No, not the kind of soil test that we gardeners usually think of but tests for lead and other nasty things we definitely don't like to think about being in our gardens, especially our vegetable gardens. They were also talking about safe gardening practices as they relate to soil contaminants.

Unfortunately, I did not know about the soil testing before I arrived at the conference so I did not have a sample to be tested. But I learned that lead and other chemical elements we fear are found in all soil but the important question is to what degree. Apparently, these chemicals do not readily move from the soil into plant tissue (this varies somewhat depending on the type of plant), and the greatest danger is the contaminated soil itself. I asked one of the gentleman working at the booth if they had other events planned for the Memphis area and he indicated they did not but could possibly set up one if there was sufficient interest. 

This made me think about what a great thing this would be to offer to local gardeners at a venue like Spring Fling.  Many of us are growing a few vegetables in flowerbeds and who knows what chemical elements are in there . . . ? And this may be even more relevant to community gardeners and school gardeners, who may be growing plants in soils previously used for commercial or industrial purposes.

Click here to find out more about this agency and soil contaminants.

Fall Planting

I wandered into Dan West Garden Center the other day looking for inspiration for this blog post where upon Kenneth Mabry reminded me that "fall is our best planting season". That comment stirred my thinking about how to make the most of our tree, shrub and even perennial purchases.

As all our local garden experts
seem to agree, this clay soil we garden
is a force with which to be reckoned!

Digging a hole and putting the plant right into it, is much like stuffing it into a clay pot without drainage. The roots will suffer, being submerged in water. Kenneth says, dig the hole deep enough and twice as wide. Essential to his formula is amending the soil and setting the plant a little above the level of the dirt to allow for settling and drainage.

A handout I have from Diane Meucci at Gardens Oy Vey is quite clear about pine bark mulch being a soil conditioner and not really a mulch at all. so she recommends mixing three inches into three inches of the soil in which you are planting.
 Her website is quite helpful and includes
 these planting instructions.
and making it friendly
for the new plants roots.
After all, a plant is only as good 
as its roots.


I was instructed
when purchasing
a trio of Farfugium
to think of my "hole"
more as a saucer than a cup,
and to build the soil
up to the level needed. 
The plants have certainly thrived!


This brings me to a little recent story in my gardening life...As I set out on a walk, I observed a spot under an oak tree that would nicely accommodate several azaleas. So, as I walked, I began planning. The thought of how to DIG under this tree, with its formidable roots, however was a hurdle. I had not gotten far into my daydream/walk when there on the curb for trash pick up were five lovely old azaleas, dug up for me and free for the taking! Heading home in high gear, I rounded up some help, rescued the azaleas and in about thirty minutes had set those plants about 3 or 4 feet away from the trunk of the oak tree and shored them up with bagged top soil left over from another project. I had nothing to lose and so far four of the bushes are thriving. Maybe next spring they will be blooming.