 Photo and article by Donna Iverson As the snow melts and the temperatures rise, I find myself scanning the ground for any sign of a bloom. First come snowdrops, crocus, and then hyacinth. The colors unfold in shades of white, blue, yellow and purple. Barely noticeable unless you look for them, these small spring flowers push up from the ground when everything else is still weeks away from budding. They have all the look of wild flowers and emerge from bulbs and corms planted in yard or garden in the fall. The regal dark purple Dutch or common garden hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) blooms in March before the trees bud or the grass turns green. It is one of the easiest spring bulbs to grow and its flowers are so fragrant that the French incorporate it into their perfumes. When the Dutch got their hands on it, they bred over 2000 cultivars from this Middle Eastern native. In addition to dark purple, Dutch hyacinth comes in shades of blue, pink, yellow and even red. It is not partial to soil pH, needs no fertilizer and lives about three to four years. Squirrels and rodents love it but if you plant near daffodils, which they avoid, it may be protected. It is also a popular bulb for forcing on your kitchen windowsill in the spring. While the Dutch hyacinth is the most recognizable and popular, there are three other varieties that are less well known. They are the Wood hyacinth (Hyacinthoides hispanica) , the Grape hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum) and the wild hyacinth (Camassia scilloides), which is native to the Great Lakes region. According to my gardening Twin Lake cousin, squirrels devour her Dutch hyacinths while leaving her favorite Wood hyacinths alone. Found in open woods and along streams, the wild hyacinth is a member of the lily family unlike her cousins which are members of the asparagus family. But like her cousins, the wild hyacinth attracts pollinators including bees and butterflies and is heavily scented. Lucky the hiker who crosses its path in one of Michigan’s many woods and state forests.
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 Photo and article by Donna Iverson Two of the first spring flowers to emerge in March are snowdrops and crocus. As one of the first signs of spring, they make a welcome appearance, and are much heralded by pretty much everyone despite their diminutive size. After a long Michigan winter and a frigid February, crocus emerges while there is still snow on the ground. And although they look delicate, they are the hardiest of flowers, comfortable in temperatures well below zero. And once planted, naturalize in yards and fields, covering the ground with a blanket of white, pale lavender and iridescent blue blooms. Crocus bulbs are available in nurseries and garden centers in the spring. Officially called corms, the bulbs are best planted in early fall. If planted to naturalize in a grassy lawn, gardeners should resist mowing in the spring until the crocus leaves have turned brown. Once established, crocus will return year after year in larger and larger numbers. Deer, squirrels, and rabbits will leave them alone. As for pollinators, they are bee friendly. When planting avoid deep shade areas, but otherwise the corms can be planted just about anywhere in the garden or yard. A member of the iris family, crocus are native to the Alps, the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Middle East. According to Wikipedia, there are 90 species of crocus including the snow crocus which is the earliest to bloom. Unfortunately, they are poisonous to people and pets. So no nibbling. Recently, a Farmers Almanac article mentioned crocus in an article about phenology, the art of looking to nature as a planting guide. Following the phenology principles, the best time to plant radishes, parsnips and spinach is when the crocus are in bloom. Wait till the forsythia bloom to plant peas, onions and lettuce. When daffodils bloom, it’s time to plant beets, carrots and chard. Potatoes are best sown when the dandelions flower. Not surprisingly, crocus symbolizes rebirth, new beginnings and the cycle of life. It brings joy and cheerfulness to its many admirers. In Greek myth, a young man named Crocus was granted immortality by the gods who turned him into the crocus flower. Check out the many crocus myths at https://www.atozflowers.com/crocus-flower-meaning-and-symbolism/ Garden note: consider not cleaning up your yard and garden until temperatures are consistently about 50 degrees. Butterflies and other pollinators are wintering over in leaves, dead plants and twigs. Removing the debris could mean their demise.  Photo and article by Donna Iverson While I’m a dedicated community gardener, I’m a forager at heart. Any outdoor space is game, even the local farmers’ market. So recently when I spotted this odd looking vegetable in a farmer’s market bin, I inquired of the vendor, “What is this?” “Celery root,” he replied. Say what ?? Searching my memory banks, I realized that I had heard of it but had never actually seen it. And I didn’t expect it to look like a rotted turnip. The farmer proceeded to extol its virtues and how it could be diced and roasted, added to soups, or grated into a winter salad. He didn’t have to sell me. I was sold at first sighting. Although it is biologically related to celery, it is not the root of the common celery plant. Neither is it native plant, but rather it is indigenous to the Mediterranean basin. Harvested in winter, its closest veggie relatives are carrots, turnips and parsley. And while it requires a long growing period of about 120 days, celeriac root can be grown from seed in Western Michigan. Baker Creek Heirloom seed catalog describes it as a “moisture loving Old World crop grown since antiquity. In the early 1900s celery root was the third most popular item in New York City restaurants,” the catalog reads. The first most popular items being coffee and tea. Celery root (Celeriac) requires preparation before cooking. Begin by scrubbing the bulb from top to bottom and then remove the outer brown skin. While online directions recommend the use of a veggie peeler, I found that I needed a sharp paring knife. Then depending on the recipe, you can slice or dice it before cooking, or grate it for a salad. As it is low in carbohydrates, it can be mashed with potatoes or used as a mashed potato substitute. I cubed it and added it to homemade vegetable soup which gave it a unique and pleasant flavor, vaguely reminiscent of celery, apples and walnuts. As for storage, it can be kept for six to eight months in a cool dry place, like a basement. Chef Rick Martinez of Bon Appetit calls it his “favorite vegetable. And if you can get by its ugly appearance, it is beautiful on the inside.” As for me, I doubt I will be growing it in my community gardening bed, but will definitely purchase it as often as I find it at my neighborhood farmers’ market.  Michigan's State Tree: The White Pine Photo and article by Donna Iverson
It’s the annual statewide tree sale in Michigan, including at the Newaygo Conservation District in Fremont. Up for sale are many conifers including jack, red and white pines and red and white cedar, all of which are native to the state. White pine is the state tree, chosen back in 1955. The white pine covered most of Michigan until the lumbering era in the 1800’s saw the cutting down of 99 percent of the stock. A major route for logging ran down the Muskegon River from Newaygo to the Muskegon lumber yards. From there, the logs were shipped across Lake Michigan, mostly to Chicago So here’s a chance to help restore the natural habitat. Wildlife and birds will benefit too. The white pine provides shelter for beavers, hares, porcupines and squirrels as well as nesting for woodpeckers, grackles, nuthatches and chickadees. For information on ordering, go to http://www.newaygocd.org/order-form-and-tree-information.html There you will find a downloadable order form with information and prices on the trees for sale. Newago conservation offices are located at 940 Rex St in Fremont. The office may not be open due to the pandemic so you may want to call ahead to make an appointment if you wish to speak to a conservation officer in person. The phone number is 231,924.2060 x5. If you prefer email, it’s newagocd@macd.org Based on the information provided, it sounds like delivery is possible for approximately $20. Almost all the conservation districts in the state are holding an annual spring tree sale, so if you don’t live in Newago, check out your local county’s conservation district website.  Photo and article by Donna Iverson During February with its polar vortex temperatures, a lot of us are thinking spring, including me. Visions of daffodils, snowdrops and forsythia dance in my head. Some time next month, if we have a warm spring, you can snip some forsythia branches, bring them inside and put them in a vase. Soon bright electric yellow flowers will appear. All you need is a forsythia bush. Or access to one. Forsythia is not difficult to find or identify. Pretty much everyone knows forsythia when they see it. It is naturalized all over the USA to the point that most people think it’s a native plant. Indigenous to Japan, the forsythia was first identified in 1784 by a Swedish botanist named Carl Thunberg. He thought it was a yellow lilac and so described it in his book, Flora Japonica. ( A student of Carl Linnaeus, he missed the boat on this one.) A hundred years later, it was introduced in Europe and then named in honor of the Scottish botanist, William Forsyth, who was one of the founders of the British Royal Horticultural Society. By 1940, it was on display in the New York Botanical Garden, and quickly spread across the country. On the pollinator front, forsythia provides nectar for bees and butterflies in early spring when little else is available. It also provides cover for small birds during snowy cold spring nights. Forsythia is readily available at garden stores or can be easily grown from stem cuttings. It likes six hours of sunlight daily so a sunny spot is needed. It is not particular about soil type, requires little maintenance and is noninvasive. If a hedge is desired, plant forsythia about four to six feet apart along the border. You won’t have to wait long, forsythia grows at the rate of about two feet a year. A word of warning, deer like to nibble. As for foraging, forsythia is used in Chinese medicine to treat inflammation. Forsythia fruit extracts can be found for sale on the Internet although there is no Western scientific evidence that the plant’s fruit has been medically tested as beneficial. Although forsythia is categorized as non toxic. If you want more information on growing and caring for forsythia, check out www.gardenerspath.com  Photo and article by Donna Iverson Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful. That is the comment most people make on seeing a hydrangea bush in flower. The flowers are large, fragrant, showy and, well, beautiful. As many of you already know, the flowers come in many colors including pink, white, lavender and white depending on the soil PH. Alkaline soil produces the pink color while acidic soil turns the flowers blue. Gardeners often alter the soil PH to get their preferred shade. Lime makes the soil more alkaline and aluminum sulfate acidifies it. Although if you want to go the natural route, add coffee grounds and egg shells for acidification. Are hydrangeas native to our area, I wondered ?? Of five types of hydrangeas, two are native to North America: the smooth heart-shaped leaf or wild hydrangea (arborescens) which can grow to 7 feet tall and look like a tree and the oakleaf (quercifolia) variety. The other types mostly originated in Asia, including the French, panicle, and climbing hydrangeas. Hydrangea bloom from spring to fall and are usually planted as a hedge in home landscapes. They prefer morning sun, afternoon shade and lots of water. Deer will eat them if they are very hungry. But deer eat any plant if they are hungry. The plant is a long lived plant, lasting 50 years or more. An old fashioned plant, hydrangeas make an excellent addition to a cottage garden and will grow in containers on your patio or deck The flowering shrub is definitely becoming more popular and was named plant of the year in 2018 by the Royal Horticulture Society in the UK. A pollinator plant it is not and will not attract bees so if it’s pollinator plants you are seeking to add to the yard or garden, hydrangeas won’t cut it. Hydrangeas do have a long history, dating back 64 million years to the time of the dinosaurs. But it wasn’t until 1739 that the plant got its name from a Dutch botanist named Jan Frederik Groconius, who thought the flowers looked like an ancient water pitcher. . For more information on how to buy and care for hydrangeas, check out the https://americanhydrangeasociety.org. The American Hydrangea Society offers Zoom meetings for enthusiasts. “A fascination with the hydrangea in all of its forms is the common thread that unites the members of the AHS,” says their website.  Photo and article by Donna Iverson
Whether you have lived here all your life or are a recent transplant, getting acquainted with the native plants in the Newaygo-Muskegon river watershed is worth the effort. And adding some native plants to your home landscape or garden brings many benefits. Such as: Restoring habitat The Newaygo-Muskegon watershed was once covered in white pine. And the flora along the Muskegon River was acclimated to a wetland habitat. In fact, in Ojibwa, the name Newaygo means “much water” and Muskegon translates as “swamp.” Today white pine is making a comeback after it was almost logged to extinction by the turn of the 20th century. In 1955, in response to letters from school children, Michiganders made the eastern White Pine the state tree. As for the watershed flora, it is also endangered due to the toxic dumping during the logging era. But like the pine tree, the native plants in our watershed are making a comeback. And that’s thanks to conservationists and gardeners. Interest in native plants have been growing over the last decade, and many nurseries and garden centers now offer a native plant section. But be careful. Ask if the native plants were propagated at the nursery to be sure they weren’t removed from the wild. Whether you are interested in planting a native garden or just want to add a native plant or two to the existing gardens, here are some suggestions: milkweed, coreopsis, delphinium, coneflower, sunflowers, liatris, primrose, lupine, bergamot, goldenrod, obedient plant, aster, spiderwort, ironweed, and rudbeckia, otherwise known as Black-eyed Susan. If you are a beginner, rudbeckia is probably the easiest to grow from seed. While restoring habitat is enough reason to choose native plants, there are other advantages. Attracting pollinators If you want to attract pollinators to your property, native plants are the way to go. Hybridized flowers may look impressive with their large flowers and showy foliage. But because they have been bred for flower size, they have lost their scent. And with their oversized double petals, pollinators are not able to reach the nectar. Native plants, on the other hand, are indigenous to the same region as the pollinators that feed on them. Native plants usually have single flowers with nectar easily reached by bees, butterflies, moths and hummingbirds. They are strongly scented and brightly colored adding to their pollinator attraction. Low maintenance In addition to restoring habitat and attracting pollinators, native plants are low maintenance. They require very little water, no pesticides and are not invasive and will thrive where planted. To learn more about landscaping and gardening with native plants, check out the Muskegon Conservation District which sells plants native to Newaygo and Muskegon counties. They are located at 4735 Hilton Road in Twin Lake and have regular sales of native plants. You can sign up for notices at https://muskegoncd.org/projects-programs/native-landscaping/  Photo and article by Donna Iverson January has arrived along with snow, cold, and seed catalogs. The first to arrive in my mailbox this new year was from Seed Savers Exchange located in Decorah, Iowa. Their 2021 catalog offers untreated, organic, non-hybrid, non-GMO seeds. When gardening seems a distant dream, seed catalogs like Seed Savers Exchange, offer a tangible promise of garden beds filled with veggies, scented herbs and colorful flowers. In addition to the many pages of seed offerings, especially enjoyable were the inspiring stories of gardeners who shared insights into their favorite growing experiences. For example, Kirsten Shockley of Oregon wrote of growing peppers from rare seeds like Jimmy Nardello’s and Carmen. “I am always surprised how mostly the same species can produce such variants in beauty, flavor and color,” she wrote. After reading the many gardening stories, I found myself impatient for spring and longing for something green growing in the winter months. So the next day, when walking by my local yoga studio, I notice potted aloe plants sitting on the window ledge. And they were for sale. The inspiration lightbulb went off in my head. They would make for a perfect windowsill garden, checking off a lot of my favorite gardening boxes: aesthetic, herbal, medicinal, cat proof, and low maintenance. Researching the internet, I find that aloe is also edible but that’s a reach too far for me. Aloe Vera has an otherworldly quality, a spare beauty that speaks of desert sand and hot days under a blazing sun. Yet it seems perfectly happy in a sunny window with snow piling up outside. As experts say that most of us now spend 80 to 90 percent of our time indoors, plants like aloe offer an opportunity to bring nature inside. The point is that your windowsills offer many gardening opportunities. Whether it’s planting seeds in early spring to transport to the outside garden, or growing culinary herbs for flavoring your favorite dishes, or maybe some germanium plants to lift your spirits. You can start with plants purchased from local garden shops, or buy seeds from your favorite gardening catalog, arriving now. If you do decide to go the catalog route, order early as last year many seeds sold out as people found gardening both a way to relax and grow food during a pandemic. The same is expected to happen this year. Add to that predictions that the seed catalog may soon become a thing of the past, as more and more customers are ordering online. There is no time to delay. Seed catalogs being a ray of sunshine in January. Provide inspiration and news from fellow gardeners. And can be saved and used almost like a gardening encyclopedia the whole year around. And the stunning photography makes even the most unlikable vegetable look delicious.   Photo and article by Donna Iverson
I am what the French call a flaneur, someone who indulges in the art of strolling. I enjoy walking the neighborhood streets checking out people’s yards, gardens, window boxes, and potted plants. Occasionally, I encounter a real person and indulge in a short chat, at a safe social distance, of course. This fall and into the winter, my curiosity was drawn to what looked like colorful cabbages in flower pots along a city sidewalk. The snow was falling but these bright pink centered orbs seemed oblivious to the cold. On doing a little research, I found out that they were not cabbages at all but flowering kale. Although the difference between flowering kale and ornamental cabbage is only detectable by the shape of the outer leaves..... kale being curly and cabbage smooth. While the other flowers sharing the pots were withering and looking frozen, the flowering kale was thriving in December, in Michigan. And not only thriving but looking down right defiant. A member of the plant family Brassica, flowering kale is indigenous to Europe and is not a North American native. But doubt we have to worry about it becoming invasive. Seeds of flowering kale were first offered for sale in seed catalogs in 1936. It is best grown, by buying plants at your local garden store or nursery. It is hardy to zone 2, tolerating winter temperatures down to 5 degrees. While it thrives in containers, it is also a good edging plant in your landscape or along the borders of gardens. It grows to be about 12 to 18 inches tall and looks more like a flower then a vegetable. And although you can eat it, it is bitter compared to its culinary cousins, regular kale and cabbage. Flowering kale comes in a variety of shades, including red, pink and purple. Unfortunately, both deer and rabbits love it. It likes a lot of sun and is not fussy about soil type. A biennial, decorative kale flowers the second year so most people grow it as a summer annual.  Photo and article by Donna Iverson Before the end of the year, 35 million poinsettia will be sold for holiday decorations in this country, As the Christmas season approaches, poinsettias will grace home tables, porches, hospital rooms, nursing homes, TV sets and church altars. Indigenous to Central America, its bright red flowers are easily recognizable from a distance as they seem to shout out for your attention. But in our great grandparents' day, it wasn’t the poinsettia that was cherished as a Christmas flower. It was the small diminutive lily of the valley with its dainty bell-like white flowers and sweet scent. Back around the turn of the last century, white flowers were favored during the winter holidays. In addition to lilies of the valley, there were cyclamens, white chrysanthemums, and violets. These plants contrasted nicely with red-berried holly branches. A woodland flowering plant indigenous to Northern Europe, lily of the valley found its way first to New England and then to the Midwest. There it was sometimes called May bells, because that is when it bloomed. Today however, it sometimes blooms as early as March during mild winters. Once established, it spreads readily by rhizomes, and will grow under trees and in the shade. As a child, I loved its intoxicating scent whenever I visited my grandmother who had planted it along the side of her house leading to the back door. Christian Dior also valued the scent turning it into one of his best selling perfumes, introduced in 1956. A long lived cut flower, lily of the valley was often used in sweet-smelling bridal bouquets. Reportedly, it was also woven into wreaths and wrapped around the necks of passengers boarding the Titanic. Mentioned in the Bible many times, lily of the valley pops up in folklore where it is often associated with bad luck and death. And in fact, it’s red berries are highly toxic to humans and animals. A member of the asparagus family, lily of the valley kits are sold today in many holiday catalogs. There you can purchase kits to force lily of the valley plants to grow inside your home. The kit usually comes with a pot, soil medium and pips, which are planted, watered and placed on the window sill. It takes about four weeks for them to sprout and blossom. It is a real floral treat in the middle of a long Michigan winter. In the spring the plant can be transplanted outdoors where it will grow in your garden. Of course if you already have lily of the valley in your yard, you can dig up some pips, plant them in a pot and place on your window sill and accomplish the same thing for free. |
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