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.

Gardening in a Drought

What we consider a drought here in in the greater Houston area is rather similar to a normal year in many parts of my native California.  The difference, of course, is that in California they are used to it.  So how do they deal?

Bougainvilleas look their best in dry conditions.

Drought tolerant plants

Natives are ideal, but introduced drought tolerant plants can be useful as well.   If you can, observe areas near you where plants are growing wild. What is doing well? What isn't?  Choose these to replace plants that are unable to survive the current dry spell.


Smart grouping

Keep plants with similar watering needs together. This allows you to use your water more efficiently



Drip irrigation

This can provide a more constant supply of water to your plants. The slow flow of water allows more moisture to stay where it is needed, rather than running off into the gutters.


Watering Basins

Using the soil, create a basin around plants that require deeper waterings. This minimizes runoff and gives water time to seep down to the roots of the plant. These are especially useful for trees and shrubs that require deeper watering.  My grandfather, an avid plant collector who loves tropicals and has been gardening in California for decades, has these around almost every plant in his Southern California garden. This page at Learn2Grow.com features a picture of a watering basin around a newly planted rose.

Rain barrels

While they can be expensive, these can allow one to make better use of runoff from the roof between rainstorms. This is especially useful if your neighborhood is under water restrictions, as you have an alternative source of water on days when you can't use your hose or sprinklers. 

Mulch

Mulch insulates from cold in the winter, and also aids moisture retention in dry weather.


Minimize Lawn Space

While they are attractive and simple landscape features, lawns require a great deal of water, and can begin to look ugly when they do not get enough. Consider replacing part or all of your lawn with something with less demanding water requirements such as drought-tolerant beds, a low-growing ground cover, gravel, or pavers.

John Paul II Rose

Jackson & Perkins John Paul II Rose

In 2006, Jackson and Perkins released a variety of gorgeous white hybrid tea rose named for Pope John Paul II.

Often called John Paul The Great by his admirers, he was loved throughout the world by both Catholics and non-Catholics.  One of the distinctive features of his pontificate was his frequent travel throughout the world. He made more pastoral visits than any pope before him.  When totaled, the number of miles he traveled equal three trips to the moon and back! Along with President Ronald Reagan, he is largely credited with ending the cold war. He is also known for his humility and his gift for encouraging young people to live holier lives.

Pope John Paul II will be beatified this Sunday. (Click here for a definition of beatification.)

While I enjoy the many plants that grow well here on the Gulf Coast, I miss hybrid tea roses. They do quite well in gardens in California and the Pacific Northwest (Check out the rose gardens in Portland, OR).  But, in the subtropical humidity we have here, they quickly succumb to fungal disease.  That is why most rose lovers in this region are so fond of disease-resistant antique roses.

If you live in coastal California, bare-rooted hybrid tea roses are generally available at locally owned nurseries and garden centers in the fall.  In colder regions where there is danger of frost, late winter and spring are better times for planting roses, as new plants should not be allowed to freeze. 

Since this particular rose is owned by Jackson and Perkins, you will want to look for it at establishments that feature their products. If they do not carry it, ask! Small, locally owned nurseries are particularly likely to be willing to help you get your hands on what you want, even if they do not have it in stock at the moment.  Their employees are also most likely to know exactly how to care for hybrid tea roses in your particular climate.

If you live in a region that is friendly to hybrid tea roses, and want to commemorate the occasion of John Paul II's beatification in your garden, consider planting this rose.

New idea for old jars

I grow some herbs in containers on my back porch, but it would be very convenient to keep some in the kitchen.  Some need to be replanted after they are zapped by winter freezes or fried by our summer heat.

The problem is,  my cat is an indiscriminate eater of houseplants, and I want indoor herbs for human consumption. I needed to find ideas to help me keep them out of reach of my curious kitty.  The internet seemed the natural place to look for catproof indoor gardening methods.

I found this idea posted by Tammy at CraftAwl.com (Complete with instructions):

It's a floating herb garden!

I've totally got to try this. 

I'm thinking I might use those water-absorbent polymer crystals instead of just filling the jars with water. I think they'd be more attractive than soil, and probably more convenient, since I'm pretty terrible at remembering to water things.  I haven't found any information on whether those are safe to use for culinary plants, though.

Of Pecans, Allergies, Alligators and Groundhogs.

Whether we watch groundhogs, or we just feel it in our bones, we all have our ways of deciding when Spring is here.  (By the way, Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow this year.)

Since moving to this area, I have noticed that my allergies always pick  up when a new season arrives.  My nose is itchin', so I guess that means it agrees with old Phil the groundhog.

A year or two ago, someone told me to watch the native pecan trees to see when we were past all danger of winter freezes.  Trees seem to take seriously the Entish motto "Don't be hasty," however. They still have yet to leaf out in my neck of the woods.

If you are looking for another indicator, maybe one from the slightly more hasty animal kingdom,  there is a post over at the Lazy Gardener on the habits of alligators and what this means for gardeners.  Basically, when the alligators get hungry, spring is here.  Big Al, the 1,000 pound 'gator living in Gator Country near Beaumont is hungry, and he has a record for 100% accuracy.



As it seems unreasonable to argue with a hungry 1,000 pound animal with sharp teeth,  I suppose I'd better start planting.

Gardening for your health:

Regular, moderate, sun exposure helps us avoid Vitamin D deficiency and is also useful for combating symptoms of anxiety and depression (seasonal and otherwise). Exercise is also beneficial for one's mental and physical well-being. Gardening provides some of both. How cool is that?

Budding hope, or wishful thinking?

Well, things have been so busy, it's been quite some time since I've had the opportunity to do much out in the garden. I finally got out there to water things today. I'm amazed at how many of my plants handled so much neglect. I've hardly touched them in about a month. The container plants sheltered in my greenhouse have done amazingly well with the exception of my air potato vine , which now appears completely deceased. Rosemary, it appears, also has its limits.We'll see if I can nurse that back to health.

Which reminds me, my persimmon tree did not fare well in hurricane Ike, being almost completely broken off just above the graft. I stood it back up and bound it with grafting tape, giving it additional support by tying it to several stakes. That's pretty much where I left it, having become so busy shortly after that I hardly had time to even think about doing anything else with it. I'm not sure, but I think I may have seen some new buds while I was inspecting it today. I could be completely wrong, of course, but I am curious to see what will happen in the spring. In the meantime, I still haven't ruled out trying to replace the tree entirely. I missed the Urban Harvest tree sale this year, and won't make the Fort Bend County one either, so it may be awhile before we see a new persimmon here!

At this point, I'll just be glad if I can clear the weeds from my unplanted beds and get my roses pruned next week!

Christmas lights

While I have yet to put any up for decorative purposes, I have them strung around the inside of my greenhouse to create a little extra warmth. I am also using them on some plants that are outside of the greenhouse. So far, they have proven to be both pretty and useful, especially during our recent and unexpected snow!

When Life gives you a lemon...

...You get out the cookbook and see what you can do with just one!

Yes, not much going on in the garden lately. Very busy times these days. Several potted things have dried up from neglect, but the strong are surviving, thanks to a few well-timed rain showers.

I got one meyer lemon off of the tree today. The other two aren't quite ripe yet. The little Miho Satsuma orange tree has six more this year. Last year it produced six as well, but three of them were stolen (I presume by hungry fruit-eating critters of the non-human variety), leaving us with very little. Better luck this year I hope.

Fort Bend County nurseries re-opening!

Enchanted Forest has been open since Tuesday.  When I went in earlier this week they were still without power, but they were still smiling and happy to help. 

Caldwell's is open as well. CayDee and her staff were also busy cleaning up, but still happy to help. I dropped by for some grafting tape and was quite happy to find that they stock it!

Calling your locally-owned nursery ahead of time can be a good idea, since some of them may be out of certain things that are in high demand after a storm. If they are still without electricity, cash is usually much appreciated. 

If the local places do not have what you need, the big box stores are also open.  If you need fencing material to stake your trees, Lowe's of Richmond/Rosenberg is well-stocked with u-posts.  Home Depot's selection is usually not as good as Lowe's anyway, and this week it has been even worse.  If you need anything sturdier than a bamboo stake for your trees, save yourself the trip.  

Posting Post-Ike

Looks like most of the other Houston area gardeners whose blogs I read have made it, even if some of their plants didn't!

Brenda Beust Smith
Nancy
Herself
Scott Head

Taking Stock after Ike: We're very fortunate.

Well, the important things came through fine (husband, house, cat, electricity, running water).

Some of the fun stuff, not so good. No cable. Which means no internet. Which means I had to find a public place to use the web and e-mail relatives to let them know we haven't been sent tumbling off to Oklahoma by any hurricane force winds.

Most of the damage in the garden was minor. Potted plants were all sheltered and/or turned on their sides, so nothing in containers blew away.

Treewise, things are a little more interesting. Our larger trees (the ones that would be really dangerous if they fell) appear fine, having only dropped a few small to medium-size branches. Amazingly, none of these damaged the house. Other people in our subdivision did not fare so well. Some have similar-sized trees that fell on their homes.

My little trees are interesting cases. The Methley Plum is still shorter than I am, and planted in a protected area, so it appears untouched. The fig and the pomegranate were slightly uprooted, so fixing them should not be too difficult.

The worst damage was to my Saigo (Saijo?) Persimmon tree, which was snapped like a toothpick just above the graft. It was not broken off entirely though. About half of the trunk is still attached. Even though it is nearly four days after the fact, it still looks alive. The rootstock appears fairly healthy, and (as I was told at the plant sale where I got it) has pretty good structure. I hate to let even part of a good plant go to waste.

I have no idea what to do about this. Stand it back up, and see if it heals? Take cuttings and re-graft? (Which means I have to learn how to graft, and fast.) Call a tree expert? Go back to the plant sales and replace?

Since the next major plant sale around here isn't till January (and will likely be very crowded, since I'm sure many people lost fruit trees to Ike), I figure I have nothing to lose by trying.

I just wish I knew what to try.

Ideas, anyone?

Preparing your landscape for a hurricane

Here is a useful article from the Corpus Christi Caller-Times with some advice that makes sense:

http://www.caller.com/news/2008/jul/19/have-a-landscape-plan-in-case-of-hurricane/

At this point, all of the potted plants that I can pick up and carry, along with several ornamental items have been moved into the garage. Those that cannot be moved easily are under our covered porch or in other sheltered areas.

Here in Fort Bend county, we are starting to see more cloud cover, and more breezes. Nothing major yet. I'm sure time will fix that.

Stay safe, everybody.

Y-Ike-s!

It looks to be headed straight for us:

Image source: Weather Underground

We shall see how it goes for those of us southwest of Houston.  Keep an eye on Nancy's blog for news of what's happening to the north.

Looks like I'll probably need to shelter some of my more delicate potted plants. Our more experienced neighbors are planning to ride it out, as are we, with a disaster supply kit for ourselves and our kitten at the ready, of course.

Do it yourself Rain Barrels?

It's getting tempting...



I have looked around for ideas for a do it yourself rain chain as well, but unfortunately tools I do not have, and some I'm not even sure I should use (blowtorch, anyone?) are usually involved. Rats. Gotta keep looking.

Sunny skies!

And a few (slightly curvy) wisps of cloud and a light breeze over here southwest of Houston. Our little kitten Chico is sitting on the windowsill by my desk as I type, birdwatching.

As predicted, Gustav is directing most of his fury at the residents of the Louisiana coastline. Keep them in your prayers!

Just a spoonful of sugar...

Or is that a spoonful of raindrops?

That's about all I got from Edouard in my rain gauge today.  Almost exactly one inch in 24 hours. 

I feel like Ben Stein in the Clear Eyes commercial.

Wow.

Looks like I'll still be doing plenty of watering this week.

On the bright side, no flooding!

So far, so good over here.

Things are still pretty quiet southwest of Houston. Plenty of rain, very little wind.

Nancy has been seeing 

more action from Edouard today.  She has posted twice so far. Here, and here. See all of Nancy's Tropical Storm posts.

Not nearly as bad as Tropical Storm Allison, which stuck around dumping rain long enough to turn this:

Photo Source

Into this:

<

Photo Source: Rice.edu

Photo Source: http://www.srh.noaa.gov

That's right.  Full up to the top. This was before I came out here.  Just gives you an idea of the possibilities, though.

Edouard, however appears to be moving at a decent enough pace to avoid repeating this.

Smells like rain...

Lots of it. And Wind. Nasty wind. 

Never been through a tropical storm, so this will probablly be an education.

I'll be bringing many of my lighter weight plants and my outdoor furniture into my garage tonight so they don't get too blown around.

The containers that are too big for me to move will just have to wait it out, I suppose.

Oh yes, and the wind chimes? They're coming in too. 

Hopefully the new little trees I planted last winter will be okay.

Hopefully the big trees won't drop anything on my house.

Tomorrow, definitely staying inside.

On the upside, at least we need the rain.

Post-storm thoughts to be posted later.

Texas may be hot enough for this..

..but I am not.

Therefore, in the interests of the general public good, and of protecting myself from sunburn and insect bite, I shall not be participating in next year's World Naked Gardening Day (If you follow Ljmacphee's link in her post, be aware that the official site has pictures).

This takes natural gardening to another level.