Don’t pull out the myosotis

Don’t Pull Out The Myosotis

I was out in the gardens today doing some spring cleaning, and I came across a patch of Myosotis(Forget-me-nots),and had thought about how many times someone would tell me that they thought they weeded out their myosotis, and would ask me to show them what it looked like. Since spring cleaning is starting in the northeast, I thought that I would share with those who are unfamiliar with the spring foliage of these wonderful little plants. As you can see, they are easily confused with weeds.

Myosotis can reseed far away from where it was planted the prior year. This is a good time to move the renegades to other parts of the garden. I’m going to move some to a bare patch around my pond where pink and white Phlox subulata are growing. Myosotis starts blooming from late April to June. A big mistake people make is removing them before they fully go to seed. You can always plant around them to hide the ugly foliage. After they turn brown, lift them and give them a good shake, or take the whole plant and shake it on some other part of the garden. The seed is very expensive to purchase.

When I sold commercially, I would dig up clumps from my stock and pot them up to sell. I would have to say that even though I grew over 1000 varieties of plants, myosotis would always out sell the others. If you’re having a plant sale in May, don’t forget to pot some up. Forget-me-nots are always big sellers, because they’re always getting weeded out.

 

 

 

How to grow two nice alpine columbines from seed

Aquilegia bertolonii (Bertolonii columbine)and Aquilegia flabellata (fan columbine)are two wonderful cultivars of columbine to add to your early spring garden. Both look lovely growing in a rock garden or an open garden.
Bertolonii columbines have large, deep blue-violet flowers. Grows 4-9″ tall. Blooms April-May, and are found in Southern Europe from the Appennines to the Maritime Alps. Zone 5-10.
Fan columbines have large, blue with white tipped flowers. Grows 4-6″ tall. Blooms April-May, and are native to Japan. Zone 4-9.
How to Grow Aquilegia from Seed
Columbines are easy to grow from seed, and this may be the only way you’ll be able acquire these two beautiful dwarf varieties.
For best germination, refrigerate seeds for a few weeks before sowing. Use a soiless medium for sowing seeds, and do not cover seeds with media. Light helps germination. Columbine like 80 degree days and 70 degree nights germination temperature. You should get about 50 percent germination from purchased seeds. This is not unusual.
Many wildflowers can be sporadic germinators, so you have to be patient. If after removing the seedlings that germinated, do not dispose of those that did not germinate. You can place the soil with the ungerminated seeds in the garden(mark the spot)to let Mother Nature take care of them, or hold the pot over in a cold frame over the winter.
How to Winter Sow Columbines
A preferred method for growing is to winter sow. Store your seeds in the refrigerator until you are ready to sow, because they’ll loose their viability if left in a hot area. Get your pots ready in the fall, and in early to late winter sow your seeds and hold them over outside. Place your pots on the ground, so they don’t dry out. Cover with leaves or straw. If there is concern that they might get disturbed by an animal then put a protective cover over the pots. Remove all coverings in the spring, so the seeds can be exposed to the sunlight. There will be no need to bring them inside, because they’ll start to germinate as soon as the weather warms. A cold frame is always an excellent solution for growing plants for winter sowing. There are many ways to germinate seeds, and everyone has their own technique. The challenge is to find the one that works for you.
List of Companion Plants
It’s always visibly pleasing to have a collection of plants growing together that have similar habits and conditions. This is a short list of the showiest plants that will be blooming at the same time as the dwarf columbines. All these perennials can be grown from seed.
Arabis alpina “Spring Charm” (Rock Cress)
Dicentra spectabilis (Bleeding Heart)
Myosotis (Forget-me-nots)
Alyssum saxatile compactum
Phlox divaricata (Woodland Phlox)
Join a Hardy Plant Society or Rock Garden Society. They always have an excellent selections of seed available for their members. Growing any plant from seed is rewarding, and you’ll treat these two dwarf columbines like jewels in your garden to be treasured.

The best pecan pie that I ever tasted

 

My husband Lou got this recipe from his good friend. He is a French chef and past owner of the Golden Pheasant Restaurant. He usually makes them times six so he can give them away

 

PECAN PIE (1 PIE)

 

1 cup sugar

1 cup dark corn syrup

½ cup butter

4 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups chopped pecans

1 9 inch unbaked pie shell

 

In a saucepan, place sugar, corn syrup, and butter.

Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat.

Remove from heat,

 

In a bowl, beat eggs well. Continue beating and add syrup mixture in a steady stream. Stir in vanilla and pecans. Pour into pie shell.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven.

Cook 40 to 50 minutes.

Cool

 

Cheflouie@comcast.net

Some nice rustic garden structures

Some nice rustic garden structures from

Mohonk Mountain House on the Shawangunk Ridge in Ulster County, New York.

Happy Sunday Have a Beautiful day

Lily season has come

 

July is the season for Asiatic and Oriental lily’s. They make the best cut flower arrangements. Long lasting and some are fragrant,

Happy Birthday America

Two favorites for the yellow Swallowtail butterfly

Carpenter Cup plant and the Butterfly BUSH seems to be the favorite flower of the Yellowswallowtail butterfly in my garden.

2018 Update on my strawberry bed

Last year I made a post of my new strawberry bed. https://theherbladyblog.wordpress.com/2017/06/29/new-strawberry-bed/ So far in 2018 I have picked 12 quarts of berries and there is still more to come. My husband remembered a story I told him about how my grandmother went away for the day and forgot to lock up her geese. When she returned they had eaten every strawberry from her 100 x 100 patch.   I Won’t have to worry with my plastic goose

Total yield for the year 2018. 20 quarts. Not bad for a small 3 x 10 foot bed and we haven’t had to weed it once. A great groundcobrt.