Join us for a Wine Tasting at Old Line Fine Wine, Spirits and Bistro in Beltsville this Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. Our Marian Parsley will be there with plenty of herbs and information on growing your own herbs plus coupons for your next visit to the garden center.  While you’re there, Old Line’s spirits experts will introduce you to a select group of liquors and ales made with different herbs, and the tasting is FREE. Good times!  Old Line is located at 11011 Baltimore Avenue in Beltsville, just south of Behnkes.

Or if you’d rather read about herbs and alcohol than taste them, Amy Stewart has a “hot off the press” book on the subject called, appropriately, The Drunken Botanist.  When not writing books, Stewart blogs on the popular blog Garden Rant with Susan Harris, who also blogs for Behnke’s.

Artemisia absinthum with B&B and Chartreuse

And all this has me thinking about Herbs and Alcohol…

Although it sounds like a boutique brewer’s latest experiment, herbal-flavored alcoholic beverages have a long history.  Of course hops offer the bitter flavor and characteristic aroma in beer, and craft beers and ales often distinguish themselves by the amount and types of hops they use.  May Wine, from Germany and Belgium, was traditionally flavored with Sweet Woodruff, Galium odoratum.  (Apparently no longer. Wikipedia says that it is now artificially flavored because the natural, organic wholesome, traditional ingredient is, well, poisonous.  Herbs often walk a fine line between whether they are edible, medicinal or deadly so you always want to do your research.  If an herb was dried and been placed in drawers to kill fleas, it might not be the best thing to sprinkle on your pasta. Just sayin’.))  Sweet woodruff is a popular shade ground cover in our perennial sales area.

Artemisia absinthum, a perennial related to sagebrush in the Western US and to ornamentals like Artemisia ‘Silver Mound’ and ‘Powis Castle’, is the flavoring ingredient of Absinthe, which is again legal after many years as a banned beverage.  My favorites are the herbal liqueurs that were originally developed in European monasteries “for medicinal purposes.”   Similar in spirit (no pun intended) to Coca-Cola, if not in flavor, they have secret recipes handed down over centuries, the exact components of which are known to only a few.  One of the formulations of Chartreuse is a lovely green color, and the color is named after the beverage, not vice-versa.  Chartreuse itself is named after the French Carthusian order of monks  who created it in the 1740’s .  Very strong, very expensive, very complex with 130 herbs in the mix.  I was going to say something similar about another favorite, Benedictine, except that Wikipedia (Killer of Dreams) has burst my bubble and says that the story that it was developed by Benedictine monks was a wee marketing ploy. Regardless: it’s good, if a bit sweet.  Benedictine and Brandy (B&B) may be more to your taste.

Posted by Larry Hurley.   Artemisia photo credit.

Ever heard of Dendranthemas?  Me, neither.  They used to be one of the types of Chrysanthemums but that genus was split in 1961 and now we have this new term for them.  Other terms include “perennial chrysanthemums” and “garden mums,” as opposed to what are sometimes called “florist mums.”

I became interested in this new name and the plants behind them after discovering them in the Behnkes Perennial Department the other day.  From the photos on the signs, they resemble daisies and indeed daisies used to be in the same genus before the “splitters” of  the hort nomenclature world got hold of them and declared them something else.  (They like to keep us on our toes.)  Other dendranthemas have double flowers and that look exactly like the mums we’re used to seeing this time of year.

All of these tough perennials are deer-resistant, great for cutting, and bloom from early fall until frost on 3′ tall bushes.  The plant can be made shorter and bushier by cutting them back half-way or even sheared to the ground (advice varies) in early summer – before July 4.  They can also be kept at their best – and shared with friends – by dividing them every three years or so.

They’re on sale - 1/2 off – and there’s a nice choice:

- Clara Curtis, a favorite of horticulturist Carol Allen, has single blooms in a salmony pink.

- Cambodian Queen has single pink blooms, sh own below left.

- Brandywine Sunset has single peach-colored blooms.

- Mei-kyo has double lavender blooms.

- Venus has single pale pink blooms.

- Yellow Sheffield has single yellow with pink overtone.

About those “Florist Mums”
But how about the common mums we see everywhere in the fall, the ones that are so often tossed, grown only as annuals?  I asked Carol Allen about them and she swears that they come back every year for her, so come to find out, they’re perennial, too.  In subsequent years they won’t be quite as short and full as they are when you buy them because they were carefully raised to look that way, but if you cut them back once or even twice before that July 4 date, they’ll do very well in your perennial garden.

Just a few of the color choices available right now.

Posted by  Susan Harris.

I moved from Takoma Park to Old Greenbelt almost five months ago and though my house and back yard are still messy, dirty construction sites, I finally have something  to show off – the front* garden.  I could show you a “before” photo of it but trust me – it was all lawn, nothing but lawn.

So, here’s a good view of the new flagstone patio, in two connected rectangles – that’s the construction project that had to be done before I could start planting.  So finally!  I love sitting in the garden and a landscape architect friend suggested this flagstone patio because the color complements the gray building.  And what the heck – flagstone is beautiful.  We made it large enough to be connected to the front door and still extend out into the yard where the sun is in the morning.   Surrounded by humongous oaks here in Old Greenbelt, I feel lucky to have almost full sun on this side of my house, which I’ll enjoy even more with the help of an easy-crank market umbrella, for when the sun is too much.

In the foreground of the photo are the three Invincibelle Spirit Hydrangeas (H. aborescens or smooth, Annabelle-type hydrangea) that I’m excited about.  It’s a bit shorter than Annabelle, reportedly on stronger stems that are less likely to droop, and it’s PINK.   I’ve never grown this type of hydrangea before but it’s native to our region, blooms a long time, and likes the partial sun/shade I could give it here in this spot.  On the right is another view of the Invincibelles, shown behind the Japanese Carexes that do a great job creating filler in a new garden.  These rather dull but very useful plants are from my old garden, where they won’t be missed, as they’re just three of dozens of divisions from the original plant I bought 25 years ago.

Back to the hydrangeas – notice I bought three of them?  Despite the smallness of this garden, I’m trying my best to avoid the dreaded “onesies” – the tendency of plant-lovers like myself to buy one of everything.  You know the look – interesting, but kinda chaotic?    Even in tiny spaces, massing of plants is essential for the type of garden I seem to like best, so that’s the goal here.

Above is another example of massing – this time of the chartreuse-leaved Spirea ‘Ogon’ that you see in the foreground.  It’s one of several light-colored Spireas that breeders have brought to the market lately and they add enormously to the garden all season, long after their blooms have faded.  (This one has white blooms in very early spring.)  They’ll grow quickly to about 4-5 by 4-5 feet.  I bought five and am considering buying two more to complete the short hedge they’ll eventually create.

The simple black bird bath was chosen it because it matches the black patio furniture and it’s so new, I notice it still has the price sticker on it (from Behnkes).  Around it are other bird and butterfly-attracting features – some Agastache (the best plant I’ve ever grown for attracting hummingbirds), some ‘Red Husker’ Penstemon and a dwarf, sterile butterfly bush called ‘Blue Chip’.    I’ll be adding more plants to fill out the space and attract still more critters for me to watch from my patio and kitchen window.

From another angle you see, in the foreground right, the Fothergilla ‘Mount Airy’ that’s so new I haven’t even planted it yet.   I think it’ll be happy in that shadier side of the garden, where it’ll grow to 5 x 5 feet.  Also native to this region, Fothergillas are becoming very popular, and this recent introduction by Michael Dirr is proving to be a big hit.  Here’s Rick Darke’s excellent article about Fothergillas, one of his favorite plants.

Also in the foreground are some Solomon’s Seal that were given to me by a former neighbor (because once you’ve grown this plant a few years, you always have extras to give away).   It may be serving only as temporary filler – if I can find something that fills in that space year-round.  Solomon’s Seals disappears altogether in the winter, so I’ll be looking at bare ground there by November.

On the right is a closer look at the stunning Japanese Snowbell that’s technically my neighbor’s but the view and the fragrance are mine to enjoy.

Above you see the five Apricot Drift roses that I’m very excited about.  Like the extremely popular Knockout family of roses, Drifts bloom repeatedly throughout the season and are virtually (or literally) disease-free.  These guys will spread a bit to fill in, but won’t get any taller than a foot and a half or so.  True groundcover roses.

In front of the roses are a few Lamb’s Ears that a neighbor gave me, along with the weedy-but-beautiful Rose Campion (a weed to some, a beauty to my eyes), and a bunch of annuals that I’m hoping will make a big splash here this year, making up for the newness of all the shrubs and perennials, which won’t make a big splash until their second and later years.

In the pots are more annuals – especially Salvia, Petunias and sweet potato vine.   They’re SUCH great performers, I’ll be growing them even after the rest of the garden mature.

Above is the view as I step out the front door.

Here’s a view of the foundation plantings, with some empty spots still to be filled in; e.g., in front of the old (existing) azaleas on the left.  This is the northwest side of the house, so foundation plantings get just an hour or so of late afternoon sun.   To the right of the door are three ‘Burgundy Wine’ Nandinas I just bought, chosen because the red foliage matches the red of the large Japanese maple nearby in my neighbor’s yard.  In front of them I’ve planted some of my favorite Euphorbias – E. amygdaloides.  It prefers almost complete shade and best of all, is evergreen.  I had lots of it in my last garden and the current owner was kind enough to give me a few.

'Goshiki' Osmanthus and 'Burgundy Wine' Nandina

On either side of the front door are two brand-new ‘Goshiki’ Osmanthus – and here’s a close-up.  I’ve admired one growing along the north side of the Brookside Gardens Visitor’s Center, where it brightens up an otherwise dark spot, and finally have the perfect spot for two of them.  They’ll grow slowly to 4-10′ by 4-10′, but can easily be kept within bounds with a little pruning.

Finally, the view from a second-floor window.

How to Make a New Garden without Breaking the Bank

I’ve used the garden-starting techniques that I recommend to my garden-coaching clients all the time, so I’ll summarize them here.

• First thing – buy the shrubs (and trees), all the ones you think you’ll ever want.  To save money, buy them small, but get them started asap!
• Then buy as many of the taller, substantial perennials as you can afford, filling in the rest of the garden with as many passalong plants as you can beg off your friends and neighbors.  Pass up nothing – even the dullest, plainest of hostas are better than bare ground.   After all the new perennials grow up and start spreading, you can get rid of the filler plants you don’t really like – or maybe you can afford to buy more of the plants you love in subsequent years.
• Again because most new perennials take a season or three to really strut their stuff, use high-impact annuals to create wow for the first season or two.

Plant List, so Far:

Shrubs: Invincibelle Spirit Hydrangea (H. aborescens), Apricot Drift Roses,  Nandina ‘Burgundy Wine’, Spirea thumbergii ‘Ogon’, Osmanthus ‘Goshiki ,  Fothergilla ‘Mount Airy’, ‘Blue Chip’ Buddleia.

Perennials: ‘Pink Pop’ Agastache, ‘Husker Red’ Penstemon.  From my  old garden or neighbors: ‘Morning Light’ Miscanthus, Euphorbia Amygdaloides,  Solomon’s seal, ‘Goldstrum’ Rudbeckia,  Evening primrose, Plumonaria,  Celandine poppy, Japanese Carex.

Groundcovers:  Sedum sarmentosum (also known as Sedum acre) and Sedum takesimense.

Annuals: Petunias, Sweet Potato Vine ‘Sidekick Lime’, Alyssum ‘Deep Rose’, Salvia ‘Black and Blue’,  Angelonia Serenita ‘Lavender Pink’, Begonia babywing ‘Bronze Leaf White’, Osteospermum ‘Aldia White’.

*Here’s a historical anomaly about the “New Deal Utopia” that is Old Greenbelt.  It was designed to be accessed by interior sidewalks, not by car.  So what we think of now as the back side of the homes, facing those interior sidewalks, is architecturally the front and officially called the “garden side”.   And what we now think of as the front, because it’s how visitors arrive from the parking lot, is where the garbage-can closet is located and so to this day is called not the “front” but the “service side”.  Quirky, huh?

Posted by Susan Harris.

Jim with a sprig of his beloved Lady Banks climber.

Jim Dronenburg is a long-time employee of Behnkes who also runs the Four Seasons Garden Club and is a certifiable plant nut and amateur rosarian, but claims no formal training in roses.  To my mind, he’s grown enough different roses – at least 40 varieties – over enough years that I want to hear what he recommends, which he did the other day at a seminar at our Beltsville location.

Species Roses

Dog rose

First, I want that Lady Banks climber Jim’s showing off in the photo above!  If only I had a large country garden like Jim’s to give it enough space.  Lady Banks is a species rose that produces flowers like crazy but no thorns, so handling it doesn’t endanger the gardener (like the “horribly thorny” ramblers do).  What it’s missing is scent.  Its scientific name is Rosa banksiae, which you can see from these images is a lovely muted yellow.  Lady Banks roses are remarkably disease-free.

Another species rose, Chestnut Rose, produces pink double flowers, and is slightly fragrant. (It’s shown here.)  Another is the Dog rose, or Rosa canina, which Jim wants, despite its flowers being “nothing to write home about.”  Well, I beg to differ – just look!  Not something for the vase, sure, but hundreds of these simple, single flowers on one old shrub is something I’d love to see.

 Modern Roses

'Blue Girl' hybrid tea

Modern Hybrid Tea roses are the type of rose we’ve come to expect in vases, those big double flowers that come one on each upright, stiff stem.  Not only are they perfect for cutting, but they’re what Jim calls a “massive improvement over once-bloomers” because yes indeedy, they rebloom.  And while once-bloomers have their fans – lots of them – most homeowners now look for roses that bloom throughout the season.   The popular ‘Blue Girl’ shown on the left is, you’ll notice, more pinkish lavender than actually blue.  But then blue roses are the Holy Grail that breeders have been seeking for many decades.

Floribunda roses are also popular, with similar reblooming characteristics to hybrid teas, but the blooms come in clusters on each stem.

Speaking of reblooming, Jim warns us not to expect constant blooming – that’s something different, and maybe only annuals can boost that accomplishment.  It takes the plant three to four weeks to gear up for each subsequent rush of blooms, of which there are perhaps six throughout the season.

Knockout Roses

Knockout Roses at Bethany Beach, with Daylilies

This very modern landscape rose was released to the market in 2000 and is now the best-selling rose in the U.S.  That’s because it blooms abundantly until December in our region, with almost a total lack of disease.  I’ve grown them myself and never seen a single speck of blackspot fungal disease, even late in the season.  The Knockout has won awards and many regard it as having single-handedly brought rose genetics from the 20th Century into the 21st Century.  Knockouts are now available in these colors:  red and double red, pink and double pink, rainbow, blush (very light pink) and the lovely yellow called Sunny.

Knockouts grow to about 4 by 4 feet, a perfect garden size, and I recommend them to almost all my garden-coaching clients.  For shorter shrub roses I love the ‘Flower Carpet’ and dwarf ‘Drift’ roses (photos coming soon of my new ‘Apricot’ purchases).

But back to Jim.  He likes Knockouts, too, remarking that they can take “enormous abuse” and are “indestructible”.

David Austin's 'Teasing Georgia'

David Austin’s “English Roses

Also in a category by themselves are the modern roses developed by the English breeder David Austin.  He developed them in response to hybrid tea roses that had lost their scent, with upright forms that are harder to incorporate into mixed gardens (as opposed to stand-alone rose gardens).  And Austin’s roses are indeed are fuller, more shrub-like than hybrid teas, and they have amazing blooms, like the ‘Teasing Georgia‘ variety you see here. The bloom is beyond double – it’s quartered, according to Jim, with “zillions” of layers. And don’t you love that subtle apricot color! David Austin roses are also pretty good at resisting disease.

An important point about David Austin roses grown in our region is that they can be substantially larger than claimed – because our climate is so much warmer and sunnier than most sites in England.

Got Fungal Disease?

Jim doesn’t mind a bit of blackspot himself and claims that his roses look like Bill the Cat by the end of the season but if you prefer a more robust look, he recommends using two different fungicides and spraying them alternately so the plants don’t develop a resistance to any one product.

Like Cut Roses?

Jim does, and that’s why he grows his own for cutting.  To disabuse you of the very notion of buying just any old cut rose, he recommends reading Amy Stewart’s Flower Confidential.  I’ve read it, too, and agree that finding out what’s sprayed on the typical cut flower makes for some scary reading.  (Full disclosure:  Amy and I blog together at GardenRant.)

When it comes to flower arranging, Jim is of the “cram school” himself, choosing the informal look over the more studied, formal one.  So the less formal shrub roses are great for Jim’s arrangements – no stiff hybrid teas are needed.

Cooking with Roses

Finally, true rosarian that he is, Jim also cooks with roses – think jams and jellies.  He also makes rose wine and says it’s easy, but according to his own mother, it’s “undrinkable.”  She compares it to drinking cologne.  (Okay, I’ll pass.)

Text by Susan Harris.  Dog rose credit.  Blue Girl photo credit.

Daffodils and crocuses – just enjoy!

Vegetables and Herbs

Nonwoody Ornamental Plants

• This is a great time to plant cool-season pansies, Dianthus and snapdragons for color, but remember not to set out tender annuals (impatiens, marigolds, petunias, salvia, etc) until after the last frost date – the first week in May for the DC metro area.
• If you still have unplanted bulbs from last fall, they may still be worth planting. Inspect them carefully and only plant the best quality. Many may be in bad condition and not worth planting. If they were stored where it was warm, they likely will not flower this year but once getting established should do well next year.
• Time to clean up your ornamental beds!  Cut back your ornamental grasses and the stems of last year’s perennials.  Remove dead leaves, weed, and you’re ready to apply 1-2 inches of mulch this month, or later in the spring if you choose.  Don’t let garden debris (like dead leaves) stay on top of groundcovers and short perennials, as this can cause foliar diseases in the spring. Trim back English ivy that is invading walkways, turf and garden beds.  You can divide perennials as they poke up from the ground this month.
• If you start ornamental annuals from seeds, you can start them indoors in March -  5-6 weeks before they are planted outdoors.

Ponds

• You may be asking:  Hey, where are all the fish in my pond?  If so, watch out for Great Blue Herons, which can see the sun’s reflection off the water from a long way off.  Bird netting will keep them and any leaves out of the pond.  Our Larry Hurley reports that once he removes the leaves from his semi-shaded pond, it’s no longer bothered by the herons.
• So, use a net to remove leaves and debris with a net. This will help reduce problems with algae. Small ponds can be completely pumped out, cleaned and refilled. The sooner you can do this the better, because by April many species of amphibians will lay their eggs in the pond and you don’t want to disturb them. If eggs have already been laid be very careful and gentle when cleaning the pond to avoid harming them.

Lawn

• Now is the second best time to seed your lawn to cover thin or bare spots.  (The best is late August through October.)
• Also, spring is not the best time to apply fertilizer to lawn unless it’s weak and thin and you didn’t feed it last fall.  Fertilizing in the spring encourages rapid succulent growth that is more susceptible to attack by insects and disease.  If applied, use slow-release or organic fertilizer only.
• If you had a crabgrass problem last year consider applying a pre-emergent herbicide later this month when the forsythias are in bloom.  They tend to bloom about the same time that the soil is warm enough for crabgrass seeds to germinate.  Best control of crabgrass is achieved by splitting this herbicide treatment into two applications – first in mid-March in late March and the second half in mid-May.
• Chickweed, dead nettle, henbit and other broadleaf winter annual weeds are starting to grow again at this time – they germinated last fall and were dormant throughout the winter. They can be treated with a labeled broadleaf weed herbicide when they’re more actively growing later this month or throughout April. Small infestations can be pulled by hand. However, fall herbicide applications when these weeds are germinating often produce better control.
• Don’t do any aerating of your compacted lawn during the wet spring conditions; digging and disturbing the soil then will just make it worse.  Wait for it to dry out.
• This is the time to sharpen your lawn mower blades and service your mower. Dull blades tear turfgrass and can lead to damage and disease problems. Remember to sharpen your mower blade a few times throughout the mowing season.

Indoor Plants

• Now is a good time to begin re-potting and dividing houseplants that are outgrowing their containers, moving them to the next-larger pot.  Use only lightweight soilless potting mixes, never garden soil.   If a houseplant is already in a very large container and you can’t move it up to a larger one, you can remove the plant and prune its roots. Fill the outside with fresh potting medium. Pruning some of the roots may set the plant back a little but it will recover and it will have more space for the roots and improve pot drainage.
• As new growth appears, resume fertilizing houseplants on a monthly basis.  Also gradually increase watering to the regular spring-summer amount, remembering that overwatering is the most common cause of houseplant death.
• Keep an eye out for signs of pests like spider mites, mealybugs, and scale insects. If addressed promptly, these nonchemical methods work: spray of plain water, insecticidal soap spray, or with the most tenacious (like mealybugs) sometimes an alcohol swab and Q-tip.

  

Wildlife

• Empty bird boxes of old nests.
• Many birds are now actively scouting our landscapes for places to nest this spring, so this is a good time to put up a birdhouse (nest box) to encourage nesting. Some bird species that use birdhouses (nest boxes) are bluebirds, purple martins, tree swallows, and wrens.
• Apply deer repellents as your perennials begin to grow. Deer will begin to switch to their warm weather feeding patterns (from shrubs to more tender plants), and repellents applied early on are the most effective.

Final Words from Larry Hurley

• If you have pathways that are mulch covered, March is a good time to add more mulch.
• And his favorite tip?  “Call in sick on nice days, and spend time in the outdoors. Shop first.”

Photo credits: daffodils, crocus,  pansy,   tree swallow.