Plants for Readers: Collards

from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee:

Early one morning as we were beginning our day's play in the back yard, Jem and I heard something next door in  Miss Rachel Haverford's collard patch. We went to the wire fence to see if there was a puppy--Miss Rachel's rat terrier was expecting--instead we found someone sitting looking at us. Sitting down, he wasn't much higher than the collards. We stared at thim until he spoke:

"Hey."

"Hey yourself," said Jem pleasantly.


"I'm Charles Baker Harris," he said. "I can read."

(Image Source)

Collard greens  are staples of Southern cooking and, were even grown in ancient Greece and Rome (Aggie Horticulture).  Rich in vitamins, it is generally a winter crop harvested after the first frost for best flavor.   Considering how many crops are not in season during our short Houston winters, it is nice to be able to grow a variety of leafy greens during our colder months. The leaves grow up to about two feet long, giving us some idea of how small Charles Baker "Dill" Harris actually is.

If you find yourself eating collards at a Southern restaurant, you will likely have them the traditional way: boiled a little longer than necessary and flavored with hamhocks, pork fat, or bacon. Not perhaps the healthiest way to serve them, but certainly very tasty.

They can also be used in soups, or boiled served with a little salt and pepper and olive oil, and maybe some vinegar.

Some people who like edible landscapes find that leafy green winter crops such as collards and kale make decent ornamental annuals, as well as good eating.

For Houston area residents, Bob Randall recommends planting collard plants between early October and early November.  The Aggie Horticulture website suggests seeding and even planting as early as September.

Further Reading:
Plant Profile at Floridata
Marinated Collard Green Salad
Southern Collard Greens
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Grow Your Own Potpourri?

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal provides tips for making your own:

In fact, the garden is a perfect place to start in thinking about fragrances for the house. Potpourri today is largely a failure of the imagination: rose and lavender. ("Vapourri," or sprays, and plug-in air fresheners are also big on things like "pound cake," popular with the diet-weakened.)

But if you have a space to grow, why not begin in the garden, in conceiving original dried blends: meadowsweet, verbena, bergamot, gardenia, tuberose, thyme, honeysuckle, sage and violet. The list goes on. A variety of mint: orange, blackberry, apple, pineapple, chocolate, in addition to peppermint.

Scented geraniums like rose, lime and nutmeg; grasses like gingergrass, lemongrass and vetiver. There are 400 kinds of artemisia, including southernwood and tarragon, all pungent, and ready to plant. And fragrant ingredients to gather too: oak moss, cedar and bamboo. (If Antoine Du Piney de Noroy, writing in an herbal published in 1561, thought stuff like this could cure hair loss, how hard could scenting your home be?) (Read the entire article.)

The article includes recommendations for collecting and combining ingredients to obtain balanced, pleasing scents.

Of course, one will have to remember that this article was not written with our subtropical climate in mind. At one point, he recommends gathering herbs on warm, dry days. While our climate here near the gulf coast enjoys plenty of warmth, dryness is a bit rare in this part of the atmosphere. However, with our almost constant use of air conditioning keeping our indoor humidity down, it is still possible to dry plants indoors during more humid seasons.

It is also important to check the watering and soil requirements of the plants listed in this article before using them. Gardenias, for example, are best planted in very high raised beds with acidic soil, as our local soil is alkaline.  Local gardening expert Randy Lemmon finds Gardenias to be so high maintenance in this region,  I have heard him suggest not planting them at all on his radio show. Many people find bamboo is a little too happy here, and have difficulty getting rid of it after they plant it.

The good news is, Many fragrant herbs do quite well here, especially in slightly raised beds and containers.  As citrus is very popular in Houston area gardens, those who like the scents of orange and lemon peels should be able to make use of those when the fruits are in season. It may even be worth experimenting with citrus blossoms, if one's trees will still produce sufficient fruit even after the loss of a few flowers. 

So, if you are looking for a natural and fun way to scent your house, this could be a fun and useful experiement! Ask around at your nearest locally-owned nursery, and see what fragrant plants they stock that you might be able to use for potpourri.

Trowel Tip to: Elena Maria Vidal of Tea at Trianon.

Edible Landscapes: Keeping You Fed and Out of Court

If your city or friendly neighborhood Homeowners Association have strict rules governing the appearance of your front yard, but you still want to maximize your space for growing edibles, you might be interested in a recent story in the Daily Mail, which is certain to attract the attention anyone who favors real food or private property rights.  A Michigan woman is actually facing a trial and possibly three months in jail because of raised vegetable beds in her front yard:

Julie Bass of Oak Park Faces Misdemeanor Charge for Vegetable Garden: MyFoxDETROIT.com

Are we really to believe that the  Oak Park legal system has nothing better to do with its time and funding than enforce bland conformity in suburban neighborhoods?

The Daily Mail column notes that the sky high prices of organic produce were part of Ms. Bass's motivation for planting her garden in the first place. This is certainly a widespread concern in the face of increasing food consciousness and decreasing income across the country.  Raised beds such as the ones she uses are a favored method of planting, especially for those of us with gumbo soil.

Fortuntately for those who wish to avoid fines, tickets, jail, or angry HOA letters, it is possible to incorporate edible crops into ornamental landscapes.   Raised beds do not always have to look like squarish boxes.  With a little creativity, some planning, one can create a landscape at which even the local city planner can't sneeze.  By arranging one's fruiting trees and shubs, leafy greens, and herbs in the same way one would arrange non-edible ornamental plants, one can generate stunning results. But where to learn about how to do this?

Fortunately there are many books and websites that address this topic. There are, for example, some lovely pictures of ornamental edibles at RosalindCreasy.com.

County Agricultural Extension offices and gardens, locally owned nurseries, and botanic gardens are also great places to look for information and inspiration. Here in the greater Houston area, one can view examples of highly attractive gardens incorporating edible plants in parts of the Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens. 

For books with specific guidance on what to grow when, I highly recommend Bob Randall's Year Round Vegetables, Fruits, and Flowers for Metro Houston, which can be purchased from Urban Harvest. Brenda Beust Smith's Lazy Gardener's Guide is also useful for those who like low-maintenance ideas.



 Trowel tip to: The Healthy Home Economist