I don't know how many people out there have an interest in going to a flower show. The closest one that I know is in Syracuse at the fair grounds. This is Feb. 27, 2008 to March 2, 2008. the website is http://www.cnyblooms.com/. Its not large but it is a nice break in mid winter. Tickets are $9.00.
   The one that I love is the Philadelphia Flower Show. It starts March 2, 2008 and runs thru March 9, 2008. This will defiantly get you thinking of spring. This is the largest flower show in the world. The theme this year is Jazz so their displays will play off that. Its a bit of a drive from the Elmira area but well worth the trip. There are many tour buses from various areas so you may wish to look around and see if you can find one. I prefer to go during the week when it is less crowded but it will always have a lot of people. Early morning and dinner time is when the crowd is smallest. Tickets are $22.00. Website is http://www.theflowershow.com/home/index.html.

   Yesterday and today the sun has been out a bit. Most of the snow is gone, so I took advantage of this time and walked through the garden. Its a great time to do this. It is easy to see where you might want to put something, it is also a good time to tell when things might need dividing in the spring. I noticed that some of the yuccas could be divided. This time also allows you to try and visualize any changes you may wish to make. With most of the plants gone it is easy to see what size the garden really is and if there is a better way to grow or display something. Of course once you do these things you may want to write them down so that what you discovered you will remember in the spring
    The top few inches of soil are soft here at the moment which means its easy to grab a small weed here and there too. This allows you to at least feel you are gardening. It was near 40 degrees yesterday and I saw some little bug flying around. I saw a spider on the snow the other day. Just because its cold doesn't mean everything stops. They say evergreens are always growing. I looked at some evergreens the other day and they looked larger, not a lot, just a little. Maybe because nothing else is around them at the moment to compare them to. I have felt in the past that young pine trees do grow a bit in the winter, maybe wishful thinking.
   No matter what you do, get out and enjoy the fresh air on the nice days. The little visit that you spend in the garden will inspire you and give you renewed hope for what spring will bring. It also helps you to decide what to order form the seed catalouges or what to seek out next spring.
   Enjoy!

   I hope that everyone had a nice Christmas. A few things are keeping me from posting here yet but maybe by this afternoon or tomorrow I can spend some time here. Hope all of you are well.

  Been to busy with parties and friends and family to get here to post anything. Trying to get the last things done before Christmas, however I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I should be back on right after Christmas. I need to be serious about seed starting then. Take care and enjoy.

Caring for Poinsettias and Making Them Re bloom


Poinsettias, are often thought of as "throwaway" plants. Rather than buying a new plant each December, you can make your poinsettias re bloom.

Poinsettia plants enjoy indirect sunlight for at least six hours each day. They prefer to be slightly on the dry side. While the plant is flowering it should not be fertilized, but after the plant has finished blooming an all-purpose fertilizer may be applied.
 
Your poinsettia should be cut back to about 8 inches in late March or early April. It can be fertilized about once a month, and by late May new growth will begin to appear.

Once night temperatures are above 55 degrees F, move your poinsettia outdoors for the summer. Fertilizing should be done every 2-3 weeks during the summer. Transplant your poinsettia into a pot that is just slightly larger than its original pot in early June.  Be sure to use a well-draining potting soil.

When temperatures begin to cool in late summer, bring your plant indoors. Longer nights will cause poinsettias to set buds and produce flowers during November or December. To encourage your poinsettia to bloom for Christmas you must carefully control the amount of light the plant receives.

To do this your plant must be kept in total darkness for 14 hours each night during October, November and early December, along with 6-8 hours of bright sunlight. This can be
accomplished by moving the poinsettia to a dark closet each night or cover your plant with a box. A little light can upset the whole process. Its best to keep your poinsettia between 60 and 70
degrees. Warmer or cooler temperatures can delay flowering. Continue fertilizing monthly until the blossoms appear.

Follow this schedule of daylight and darkness for 8-10 weeks and your poinsettia will reward you with a colorful holiday display!
 
I have had a plant re bloom by just simply leaving it in an unused bedroom window. However the time that it bloomed was not in sync with Christmas and I lived in the country with no street lights. This is a bit of work but if you are avid plant plant grower it may be a fun experiment.
  Take care and enjoy the season.

   We just wanted to let everyone know I have been changing the website around a bit. We have changed the look also. Sometimes a new look is what we need to motivate us. This applies in the garden also.
   Even though perennials are permanent plants or at least ones that survive several seasons, if they are not located in the right spot in your garden move them. I have been told and read that there are a number of perennials that because of their tap roots being long do not like to be moved and will die if you try. No plant likes to be moved, it always disturbs the roots. The correct time and method is what makes the process a success. Digging deep enough around the roots and watering  enough after the plant is moved are the key things needed to make a plant survive.
   Many sources will tell you to shade a plant after it has been moved. Shading a plant will help protect the plant from having so much moisture loss until the roots are reestablished in the ground. Hot sun beating down on the plant causes more moisture to be lost through the leaves. Any roots lost during transplanting will affect moisture absorption there by causing a shortage.
   Now for the twist on shading a plant. I do agree that this does work good for a lot of plants. I also must say that again many plants can be moved and do fine without this type of extra care.  The key thing needed in moving any plant is to make sure that it gets enough moisture. If you move a nice sized root ball, plant it as quickly as possible, water it well, and then mulch it, you'll have great success.  
   My belief is that any plant can be moved from spring till fall as long as you supply enough water. If you are willing to water that plant, and keep watering it...it will usually survive. Spring and fall are the best times to move plants because most people don't really have the time or want to devote the time needed to keep those newly moved plants watered. In the spring and fall we have a lot more rain, there by helping us. Hope this helps a bit.
   Thanks, Have a great day.

   I have pointed out how well our weather persons do, even they made comments today about needing to make adjustments about what they predicted. We received 2 inches of snow, some sleet and some freezing rain. We did however receive wind not mentioned until later in the forecast.
   Today I would like to give you a few folklore tips on how to predict the weather. Some sound silly, and who knows, some may have some merit. We can all try and predict the weather a bit, and maybe these tips will help.
   I took these from a book called Nature Lovers Guide  by Scott Weidensaul  published by Mallard Press, copyright 1991, page 67.
  
                                      Weather Folklore

   "A ring around the moon means rain or snow. High altitude ice particles cause the ring, which forecasts precipitation about half the time.

   Fog before seven, fair by eleven.  In high pressure, morning fog usually means a fair day.

   If wild animals are feeding heavily during the day in winter, expect a snow.Animals can sense falling atmosperic pressure, which often sparks a flurry of activity.

   No morning dew in summer means rain.

    A full moon brings frost.Meterologists say there is no connection, but farmers get nervous during the full moon.

   Mare's tails and mackerel scales bring rain.High cirrus clouds (which often resemble flowing horse tails or fish scales) precede lows.

   If bubbles in a cup of coffee join in the middle expect fair weather; if they make a ring around the cup rim, expect rain."
   
   The ends the weather forecasting part from the book but there is one more tip I want to add from the book. This one is a temperature tip. 

   "If you don't have a thermometer handy, you can still tell the temperature by listening to the chirps of a cricket. Count the number of chirps in 15 seconds and add 37 to determine the temperature - at least where the cricket is sitting - in Fahrenheit. Why does it work? Because the cricket, being a cold-blooded animal, functions at a pace directly tied to the air temperature."

  And you thought I had nothing to blog about......LOL. Take care!

  

   Its important when having a perennial garden or just in general landscaping that you include plants to add winter interest. This usually can be done by adding evergreens to the garden. Not cutting back all of the plants, especially grasses, can add a lot of interest as well.
   I added two pictures to the left of this blog that look out  the kitchen window. The evergreen one looks worse in this picture than in real life,  some of the deciduous shrubs making it appear a bit messy. Some other plants have been left also for seeds for the birds. It is much nicer to see something out there besides just snow.
   Second storm is to hit this weekend starting tonight and ending Monday morning. With this storm they are predicting at least a foot of snow and some sleet, freezing rain and possible plain rain. It will be interesting to see what this one gives us. The last official record for snow fall for Elmira for the storm a few days ago was 7 inches.
   I was thinking this morning of what plants and how many to have for the nursery in the spring. I think of this everyday. I hope to have a good mixture with some started from seed, and because of limited time this year, some will have to be purchased. I have stated that many times I am looking at catalogues and I still am. If anyone can think of anything they would like to see next spring, please let me know and I will see what I can do. Now off to get some things ready for the storm and just getting ready for Christmas. Take care and I'll be back soon. Thanks!

   Today is officially the first real snow storm according to our weather persons. We are supposed to get 6 to 10 inches with a possible Nor Easter this Sunday. It will be interesting to see what comes about. It is snowing now and has been for almost an hour, we just have a light dusting at the moment. The snow flakes are getting larger. 
   I have planted some Trifolate Orange tree seeds. These were often used for hedges from what I have read, the reason being is that they have thorns that are up to 2 inches long. They look and act like a citrus tree except that they are hardy to our zone 5. They produce a small orange looking fruit, that has many seeds and is not edible.
   I feel that it would make an interesting tree that is not usually seen in this area. I will plant it along the edge in the back so as not to be near anyone coming here to look at plants but hopefully will deter deer and other creatures. I will keep you updated on my progress.
   I love to grow things from seed because number one it is a lot cheaper and number two you get more than one. The disadvantage is the delay in gratification of having a large specimen. Some things are worth the wait, others are not and require a purchase. 
   The only thing needed for seed starting is soil, a container, water and warmth. There seem to be some exceptions to the warmth though. Maple tree seed requires a cooling period or stratification of the seed. This is usually achieved with getting the seeds hard outer shell moist and then exposing the seed to a cooling period. This is usually done by nature by having winter. So some seeds take very little and some require a great deal of work. I have read you need to start your maple seeds 100 days before you want to plant them. I have been told by many I am crazy because I will spend the time doing these things. I already have some seed in the frige....hehe. I figure I will start them around Jan. 1, wish me luck.
   I have purchased some seed for Himalayn Blue Poppy also. I paid almost 4 dollars for 25 seeds. Now if you have ever planted poppy seeds or eaten anything with poppy seed on it, you know that 25 of those little seeds is not much. I hope to get a few plants from my 25 seeds. 
   The fact that I went to Longwood is what is making me think this way about seeds. The more I see plants the more I am driven to have a huge garden. The fact that we are about a month out from the growing season just ending also helps. I think these thoughts as I look out the second story window here at the garden and watch the snow pile up, while the squirrels empty the bird feeder. 
   Okay everybody...think warmth spring like thoughts today. better yet get the seed catalogues out and start planning next years garden. Leave the seed growing to me and just come get a plant next year is always an option too. Take care.  

   I added the picture of the Winterberry from Longwood at the bottom left hand side of this page.

   I spent Monday and part of Tuesday at Longwood gardens in Kennett Square, PA.. The gardens were created by a member of the Du Pont family. It is amazing what money , time and a large staff of individuals can do. If you get the chance to check out the gardens there it is worth the trip. It was part of the Christmas display that we saw and it in and of it self is beautiful. I will post some pictures of it on this site and tell you where they are.
   One of the main plants that they used indoors and was found through out the gardens was Ilex Verticillata, Winter Red. It is a holly that looses its leaves in the fall exposing its many red colored berries which birds love. It is amazing the color and interest it can add to a winter garden. The variety Winter Red appeared to be the most common one used at Longwood, at least as far as I could tell.
  I did a little reading up on it after I got home last night. It is a plant that likes moisture and can grow on the waters edge. It states that it becomes thicker and more apt to sucker if planted in a moist spot. It also does well in average garden soil, preferring an acidic soil. Usually seen as a shrub but it can grow to a small tree in size. Does best in full sun.
   I intend to place a few along the edges of the woods here. The interest because of the berries against the snow should be great. It was also used in several arrangements through out Longwood. Please if you get a chance look for their website its http://www.longwoodgardens.org/. It is beautiful it appears, anytime of year.

   Scotch Thistle  (Onopordum Acanthium) is a plant I have been growing for many years. It was introduced to this country in the 1800's as an ornamental. It was used for cancer treatment, the fur on the leaves has been used for pillow fluff and in Europe the seed has been pressed for the oil it produces.
   I believe we all have our likes or dislikes about a plant. I know what a problem Purple Loosestrife has caused this country. This also was introduced as an ornamental but it has taken over a lot of wetland areas forcing out the native plant species that some of our wildlife eat. It has no natural predators here. There is a beetle that was being tested for release, from Europe I believe, that feeds primarily on this plant. I do not know what has happened with those results. I will try and research it and see if I can find out.
   I still see some people growing this in their yards and have for years. I believe there is a strain that does not produce viable seed now. The yards I am talking about though are the ones that are growing these plants from years ago or have found some and dug it up and have it in their flower beds that are being fertilized. I personally do not grow this plant. I see it all over the place in the summer when I am driving so I can see the impact that it is having here.
   The scotch thistle is also listed as an invasive species, and I believe out west they are having problems with it in their pastures. I read the seed is viable for up to twenty years and spread by birds, animals, man and the wind. It is technically a biannual ( takes two years to go from seed till it produces seed), it has also been shown to grow longer than two years or in as little as one year before producing seed.
    Scotch Thistle is a statuesque type plant growing from 6 to12 feet, with leaves up-to 4 feet long and a foot and a half wide with white fur and spines. It is almost grey in appearance or blue grey. Looks great in the back of a border or as a specimen. It is not a plant you want to spend much time working around because the spines are nasty.
   The purple flower heads look like a regular thistle head but are larger, loved by bees, and produce a large amount of seed that birds, especially gold finches seem to love. The dropped seed will start if allowed to, and grow where it is dropped. This is if it can find the room in my experience. I do not find them growing in my lawn unless it is an area that did not have anything growing there and seed happen to be dropped there. The seed requires light for best germination.
   So hear in lays the problem, yes it does reseed here, I have had upto a hundred baby thistle plants start in an area I grow it in. However, a slight hoeing of the area and all the unwanted plants were quickly yanked from the ground and tossed in the compost heap. The plant does form a long tap root of a foot or more if left to grow to maturity. So is this a plant that I should not grow? I can control the unwanted plants quickly and easily here. It still grows in my garden and will until I see it as a problem or someone can convince me of it otherwise.
   Temp was 16 when I got up, went down to 7 before I went to bed last night. High today is supposed to be 32. Yesterday was only 27.

   I have been trying to find out more about web pages and the workings of web sites. This is a poor excuse to not keep adding here but it is all I have at the moment. I will try and do better and get this site running better.
   The low temperature this morning was 7 degrees and the high today was supposed to be 32. The last time I checked it was 25 degrees and the sun is going down so I believe we won't make that temperature. There is a dusting of an inch or so of snow on the ground, which like mulch has a way of insulating the plants. The idea as I mentioned before is not to protect the plants from freezing but to keep them from repeated freezing and thawing. This causes them to heave from the ground and then that is usually what kills them. Hopefully we will have a little bit more warm weather before the real cold of winter sets in.
   The seed search still continues. I keep finding more and more web sites that have seeds that look like they might be fun to try. The main problem with doing this is that every time you order from someone different you have to pay again for shipping and handling. This does get expensive. So if you can, ask a gardening friend to share the cost with you and order together.
   I wish to get a lot of plants planted in the back this year, it reminds me of a moon landscape at the moment with its emptiness. The first thing that I wish to get planted though are the trees and shrubs. These are the anchors or frame for the garden, they are the things that give the garden some age if you will.
   I have heard from one person who suggested that I add plant information to the plants in the plant gallery. I can't really add it to that page but I can and will add it to the plant list page. Please remember that this is not a complete list on either page and I will be working on this through out the winter. I am going to try and add a few plant descriptions for plants tonight on the plant list page so people can see them. Please if you are looking for info. and I haven't posted it yet, drop me an email and I will see what I can do.
   I like to think that if I count the months till I can get outside and really work in the ground it doesn't seem as long. I consider that the garden year is six months. The other six months are winter, winter begins in October and ends in March. April thru September I can be out in the garden and working. You can a bit in October but it does push it sometimes. Usually in October I am trying to make sure everything is taken care of. This all being said, we are already down two months in my calender till Spring/Summer. Only four more to go before the flowers start coming up. There is that time when things are to wet and cold in the spring to do anything ( usually April) but I don't want to add another month onto winter. When April comes so don't the daffodils, crocus and other spring flowering bulbs.
  Enjoy, please keep rreading and sending comments. Thanks!

   The temp. today is 24 but the winds are up to 30 mph.. Not fun for man nor beast out there today, let alone a plant. There is a small amount of snow on the ground which does help to insulate the plants. The way the weather has been in the past few days makes me wonder what the rest of the winter will be like. In the past it always seems that it gets cold in December and then in January there is a bit of a thaw then right back to winter till March. Burr...makes me cold thinking about it.
   This is cookie month, family tradition in most families that I know, is to make cookies for the holidays. My sister and three nieces and two great nieces get together one day in December to do this. This past Sunday was cookie baking day at my sisters. I of course being the good person I am, went and cookie taste tested. It is a rough job but someone must do it. Just for the record all the cookies past my taste test. I took some of my sisters recipes and I will post them on this website. Though cookie recipes aren't really plant related, they are an opening to other recipes of things we can make using the plants we grow in our gardens. If anyone has any that they would like to see here please send them along.
   We now have two new bird feeders in the yard. I have not seen either one be visiited yet but I am sure it is only a matter of time. The squirrels will love them I am sure. I mentioned before that leaving plants that produce seed help to keep our feather friends around all year. Birds are a great pest control also. Evergreen plants and trees are a great cover for birds and small animals also, plus they look great in the garden when all else is brown or covered by snow.
   Winter is the best time to prune most trees especially fruit trees. If you have a tree that has not been pruned in several years you should plan on bringing it back into shape with a three year plan. It is best to never trim more than 1/3 of a plant back at a time.  Older lilacs can be rejuvenated the same way.
   With lilacs, cut back any stems that are crossing or rubbing together. Then cut any broken branches. Remove a few of the oldest branches close to the ground, remembering the 1/3 rule. New branches will start from the bottom of the plant, some call these suckers, these will take the place of the older wood that has been cut back. It may take a few years for these to flower. Remember that when you cut back your plant you are removing next years flowers, this is another good reason for cutting it back gradually. Good luck!

   I did not mean to stop where I was this morning but I went away and I hit save and so I saved to the web. Guess I'll know better next time. Freezing rain now by the way. The high was 30 today, supposed to warm a bit during the night, a few degrees. Not sure if I mentioned it was only 19 this morning.
   So there is not much to be done outside anymore. Actually not much can be done at this time due to the weather and cold. I will continue to add to the compost heap through out the winter, but I will not turn it. Compost can be made the labor intensive way or the lazy mans way. I usually choose the lazy mans way. If you keep adding to a pile it will start to breakdown and if left on its own it will all eventually decompose. This is the lazy mans way. The other way is to turn the pile every few days. I usually build a large pile and then start a new one. After a year or so I want the decomposed material on the bottom of the first pile (the compost) so I try and dig that part out, thereby actually turning some of the pile under in the process. Still not the most energetic but at least it does get turned a little. It does decompose much faster if you are turning it.
   I used to read Organic Farm magazine along time ago. There was a women who wrote for them with some frequency, I believe her name was Ruth Stout, I am almost sure that was her name. I am sure if I googled it I could find out but I am busy doing this at the moment...LOL, hows that? Anyway, her form of gardening was quite unique in the fact that she really never seemed to do much in her garden but put more straw down. She stated that you always needed at least 6 inches on straw down to keep weeds from growing and keep the moisture in. If you do this in any area long enough, the bottom layers will break down and a rich soil will develop after a period of time. I am sure she added other nutrients at times but this is what I remember most about her articles. If she saw a weed she took another handful of straw and covered the weed,  blocking the sun and thereby killing the plant. She was old when she wrote those articles, so I am sure she has passed on by now. I would have loved to have seen her garden.
   I love to see other peoples gardens. Some people want to see whats on the inside of someones house, I want to see whats in their backyard. There are all sorts of gardeners and all types of garden styles. I believe that I like cottage gardens because they are free and look as though they are random. To some extent this is true, but most every gardener that I have met that gardens this way will be out there pulling plants that have reseeded themselves and moving them or adding them to the compost pile so that there is some balance. I have met a few people who have sown their garden and then all their plants to do whatever, this is usually obvious. I'll end on those people now.
   There is also formal gardening which I also love. I love to see the gardens in Europe that are all surrounded by boxwood, both in the vegetable garden as well as the flower garden. My White garden has  a lot of boxwood in it and I will always have boxwood in my gardens. Every garden needs some evergreen anyway and this is one that can be trimmed and do quite nicely here in our zone 5 area. I am looking forward to planting the back part of the property,  already I have some boxwood picked out and waiting to be placed in the garden.
   There are also collectors. There are some who collect a single plant variety and every variation there is of that variety. I like to many plants to do that. Some collectors just collect shade plants, or perennials or any other type of specific plants that have the same requirements. There are others who have to have the newest and most exciting.
   Whatever type of gardener or garden you like to keep, I am glad you are here. My cousin informed me via an email that she has started to read my blog. She also has stated that she is not a gardener. I am sure just because she is a relative that this is the reason she is here, but maybe I will be able to touch upon enough things that others will come also. I can only hope. So drop me a line if you wish, ask a question and I will try and find an answer, but thanks for stopping.

   We had our first real snow last night. We have 2 to 3 inches now and possibly more on the way. We did have one previous snow that was listed as 3 inches however it did not cover all surfaces.
  

   Cold today with a chance of snow flurries and snow and sleet tomorrow. Guess I need to get a few last plants sunk into the ground and mulched. The ground is starting to freeze now so it requires a sharp tool to break thru the top crust. I know that it is late to get things in the ground but there always seems to be something left or a really late purchase made on my part. These are plants that I bought at a local DIY store and they were greatly reduced.
   I have found that if plants are placed in the ground, even if its in their pots and the soil is brought up level to their pots, and preferably mulched, they will usually survive the winter. I would only do this with cold hardy plants, I would not try this with a marginally hardy plant to our zone.
   A plant hardy to a zone warmer than ours can sometimes make it through our winters by placing the plant in a more sheltered spot. I have seen rosemary plants grow for two years here by placing the plant up against a building. I mention this just because it can be fun to try things that we want that are not normally hardy to outr zone.
   So I am still unsure do I keep putting tips here or things that happen to me, or do I just write about what I am up to. The seed blog for yesterday is nothing like I expected to write. I expected to mention that I need to locate all the seed I have already ordered for next year, evaluate what I have and decide what I need to order and from whom for the spring. If any one reads this and has any input, please let me know.
   I wish to start making a seed starting bench with lights in the basement to start some seeds extra early this year. The greenhouse as it stands now has no heat and I am not ready to start heating it real soon. My goal is start somethings inside and have them growing for a month or two and then move them to the greenhouse, which by that time I will have figured out how I wish to heat it. I used to have a bench that I had made before that I was quite successful with. I have a friend that loves artichokes, so I used to start them inside in the winter so they would produce fruit in the summer. This again is growing things not normally  grown in this area but it is fun to experiment. I will grow some artichokes this year, I have another friend that loves them.
   Okay, thats it for today. I think it may be time to work on outside Christmas decorating. Drop me a line if you read this and have any ideas.
    Temp high is 28 and low said 26 but it is only 19 now, weatherman have interesting jobs.