Carolee’s April E-Newsletter

     What a magical month April has been so far!  I can’t recall another April when the spring bulbs and flowering trees and shrubs have been so lovely.  Normally, as soon as they open their blossoms a freeze shrivels the petals or a storm blows them away, but this year we’ve had week after week of breath-taking beauty.  The redbuds and magnolias have been especially pretty this year, the daffodils and narcissus were gorgeous, and now the lilacs are magnificent.
     These beautiful days have allowed us to get an early start tidying the gardens and moving hardy plants outside.  We’ve been able to move a huge number of new varieties to the cold frame the past two weeks, and that has created a bit of space to transplant more seedlings and pot more cuttings in the greenhouse.  Abundant sunshine has made the plants grow more quickly than usual, so I’m hard-pressed to keep up with labeling.  We’re making up colorful bowls of pansies, fragrant alyssum, and stock and several culinary baskets and planters for Mother’s Day gifts or just to brighten a patio or porch.  The heirloom tomatoes are growing by leaps and bounds and the cold weather vegetables are hardened off and ready for the garden. 

     It has been fun to welcome back customers after the winter.  Everyone is in good spirits and eager to see the new offerings and the early blooms.  The Cottage Garden has been especially pretty this spring and the Moonlight Garden has hundreds of white spring bulbs.  The Enchanted Forest has been filled with color and the Fairy Garden is delightful.  There is starting to be color in the Butterfly Garden and we’ve already had a few winged visitors there.  Come see it!

Spring Open House & National Herb Week Celebration---May 8th
     National Herb Week is just around the corner.  We’ll be celebrating at the farm on Saturday, May 8th with dill (the Herb of the Year for 2010) recipes and presentations at 11:00 and 1:00.   There is no fee for either presentation.  Get a free herb plant (with purchase only) to celebrate National Herb Week.  You might also win a door prize!  Pansies, violas, alyssum and stock will be on sale.  Plant them in partial shade for beautiful color and soothing fragrances.

It’s Hummingbird Time!
     Get out the feeders!  We’re getting reports of hummingbird sightings!  There are coral bells, red honeysuckle, American columbine, and other hummingbird favorites already blooming in our gardens.  The hanging baskets of nasturtiums are showing their first blooms and they are truly hummingbird magnets.  Plant cardinal flowers, red nicotiana, coral nymph salvia, or any other salvia to make them happy!

A Rough Winter for the Honeybees
     Our long, cold winter was especially hard on area honeybees since they were unable to have cleansing flights in January or February.  In normal winters, there is usually a spell of weather in one of those months when the temperature is above 55 degrees and the sun is shining.  That’s when the bees are able to leave their hives for a cleansing flight, to relieve excrement, get a drink, and a bit of fresh air.  Worker bees use that time to remove dead bodies and clean the hive.  However, our long, cold winter kept the bees inside.  Without a cleansing, it is hard for a hive to remain healthy.  In addition, the extended cold period caused some hives to consume more food than normal.  They are coming into spring in a weakened state and desperate for food.  If you can, plant extra nectar and pollen producing plants:  hyssop, anise hyssop, lavender, thyme and sages are especially good for honeybees.

Speaking at Honeywell House
     I’ll be showing “Favorite Gardens of Europe,” a slide-presentation with commentary at the Honeywell House in Wabash, Indiana on Thursday evening, May 13. 

Workshops
     There are still spaces in every workshop as of this writing, but don’t be disappointed.  Mail your registration today, or register on-line.   

Garden Gallivanting Again!
     I took two days off this month to attend the Garden Writers’ of America Regional Meeting, and it was really worthwhile.  Seeing other people’s gardens does me a world of good, as my grandmother would say.  Of course, I come away with a terrible case of plant envy, but I also come away with lots of ideas, especially since I have finally hit the stage where I am actually ready to design and establish some gardens at my home.  

 After a visit to the Cincinnati Botanical Gardens, I now have a list of fantastic flowering shrubs and “backbone” plants to create the “back wall” of my new garden.  If you’ve never been to the gardens (located at the Cincinnati Zoo) put it on your “go to” list.  Of course, having a guided tour by one of the horticulturalists was a great advantage, but even a garden novice can’t help noticing 93,000 tulips and the amazing variety of trees and shrubs there.  The Rain Garden was especially well-done and the new Green Gardening area is very informative.
    

Spring Grove is a national treasure.  This park-like cemetery has an outstanding collection of trees, many over one-hundred years old.  I was especially fascinated by the efforts they are required to make to eradicate the euonymus vines that entirely choke out mature trees!   Note in the photo how squares of the vines are cut away to expose the tree’s bark.  It’s a painstaking process, but the only remedy to save the old, magnificent trees.  I’m convinced!  I’ll never plant euonymus in any of my gardens!
    

The Cincy Nature Center also has a massive collection of daffodils that were part of the original Krippendorf gardens.  The photo shows the “Herb Garden,” which features herbaceous plants, not herbs as I had hoped!
    

We also visited two interesting private gardens.  One featured over 1,000 varieties of daffodils and many unusual conifers, besides this lovely patch of brunnera behind the barn.  Another massive private garden featured many bog and soggy-soil lovers.  It gave me a bad case of primula envy!

Our last stop was the Cincinnati Flower Show, which is a large outdoor (and tent) show featuring display gardens by local landscape companies and nurseries.   This little front garden was overflowing with purple-shaded plants.  Like many things, the show is hard-pressed in this economy, having lost all corporate sponsors.  Without the efforts of hundreds of volunteers, the show couldn’t take place.

Garden Tips
                The rule in gardening, never forget….is sow dry, and set wet!    
     Other garden tips:  Deadhead daffodils and tulips as soon as flowers have faded so the plant will put its energy into making more bulbs rather than trying to produce seeds.  Also remember that these plants must retain their leaves until they are totally brown and dried up, so don’t mow them or pluck off yellowing leaves.
     Don’t prune spring flowering shrubs until right after they bloom.
     Check your iris….the borers are likely  to be unusually prevalent this year since we had a “mild” winter temperature-wise.
     Clipping asters, mum, and sedums when they are about 6” tall to about 3” will make them more dense, and less likely to flop later in the season.  It will also produce lots more blooms!
      Putting a pinch of “Soil-Moist” in the planting hole of water loving annuals (like begonias, impatiens, petunias, etc.) and mixing it in well before setting in the plant will greatly reduce watering later in the summer.  This is the same product we use in all our containers and hanging baskets, so we don’t have to water them as often.  Saves time and money! 
      Pinch off the bottom set of leaves of tomato plants and set them deep enough that those spots are underground.  The plant will develop a set of roots where the leaves were, giving it lots more roots to produce food & water for the plant, thus more fruit for you!
      Harvest those ball-shaped rosy-purple chive blossoms!  Tear them up into salads or omelets.  Or, make an herbal vinegar by placing them in a jar, covering them with white vinegar, and letting them stand for a week or two.  Strain out the flowers and you’ll have a lovely pink vinegar to use in salad dressings.  If you don’t harvest them, they will self-seed abundantly—everywhere!

Oriental Beef Soup
     In a large kettle:  Place ½ lb. chuck steak in 2 c. water with 1 stalk celery, diced; 1 carrot, sliced; ¼ c. chopped onion.  Simmer until meat is tender, about 30 min.  Remove meat and dice into 1” pieces. 
     In a second large kettle, heat 1 T. oil.  Add: ½ c. onion, chopped; ¼ c. garlic chives, snipped small.  Sauté until onion is tender, about 4 min.
     Add:  1 c. snow pea pods, stringed and broken into 1” pieces; 1 ½ c. bok choy, sliced thinly; ½ c. red or orange bell pepper, diced.  Cook over medium heat about 4 min., stirring occasionally.
     Add:  beef broth, meat and vegetables from first kettle; 2 T. soy sauce; 1 T. finely chopped peeled fresh ginger.  Heat just until everything is hot; bok choy and pea pods should still be crunchy.  Garnish with a sprinkle of chopped fresh cilantro.  Serves 4.

Upcoming Events:
May 8--Spring Open House & Herb of the Year (Dill) Celebration; free refreshments, planting demos, door prizes.  Sale on pansies, violas, stock.
May 22---Hedgehogs & Hollyhocks Day-free refreshments, talks on Hedgehogs & Hollyhocks at 11:00 and 1:00.  See the display of darling hedgehogs for shelf or garden décor.  Door prizes.
Sat, June---Bountiful Basil Day!  Talks, demos, basil refreshments and more!  Sale on basil plants.
Sat, June 26 & Sun. June 27-- A full day of  speakers, vendors, educational garden tours and more!  U-Pick in the lavender field, lavender refreshments, and lots of free aromatherapy!

That’s it for April…just in the nick of time!  It has been a very, very busy month for gardening, opening the farm, and meeting the manuscript deadline (April 30th!) for Herbal Choices, the sequel to Herbal Beginnings.  Watch next month’s e-newsletter for information to reserve your copy!  Hopefully, the May E-newsletter will be sent in a more timely fashion, before I head to the HSA National Conference in Nashville, TN!  Herbal Blessings, Carolee

*******************Carolee’s April E-Coupon****************************
 Buy two bars of our fragrant soap from France and get one bar free!  One coupon per customer.  Valid through May 20, 2010.
 
*******************Carolee’s April Plant E-Coupon***********************
     Annual statice….pick bouquets of flowers from your garden all summer to use fresh or dried.  Buy one pack, get the second free.  (Limit 8 packs purchased.)   Produces best if planted in late April to mid-May.  Valid until May 30, 2010 or while supplies last.   Limit one coupon per customer.

*******************Carolee’s Cottage E-Coupon***************************
20% off any country lamp displayed on our Herbal Country Cottage.  Choose from many designs, sizes and styles.  One coupon per customer.  Valid through May 15, 2010.