Especially Seductive, Especially Elusive Winter Light [ December 31, 2003 ]
One week has passed since the solstice, and as the days begin to lengthen, my first instinct is to focus on the closest green plants at hand. These will actually begin to slowly pick up speed, waking from the long nights, as each day's photoperiod sends them irretrievable signals...
The First American Christmas Tree [ December 17, 2003 ]
There is a tomb that stands on Madison Hill in Wooster, Ohio. Outside its door each Christmas stands a lighted tree as a tribute to August Imgard, the man credited with introducing the Christmas tree to America. This nineteen year young German immigrant missed the tradition he was familiar with in Bavaria...
A History of Christmas Trees. [ December 3, 2003 ]
Contrary to some reports, the Christmas tree was not a Victorian invention of the 1860s. Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in winter. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce and fir trees, ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. In many countries people believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits and illness...
A Mues Anniversary Plant. [ November 19, 2003 ]
This column is my "first anniversary" column. One year ago the first 'Garden of Ed' appeared in the Towne Crier, Nov. 19, 2002 (coincidentally). I'll attempt to provide a little personal history that will focus on my passion for plants. I hope what follows will help to explain why my favorite bumper sticker reads "I Dig Plants"...
Using New Tools - Not from the Shed. [ November 05, 2003 ]
As astute growers, we can measure and record much of the same environmental phenomena as our conventional calendars, but we don't need to rely on time as the measuring stick. "What's that?" you say...
A You Do, Honey Do, We Do List That Heaps Rewards [ October 22, 2003 ]
As promised in my last column, I will continue to suggest fun, energetic and satisfying projects, small and large, that will enhance your property, your health, and your enjoyment of both...
It's Autumn: Reconnect with Our Earth Again [ October 8, 2003 ]
Cooler temperatures and lots of sunshine are invigorating. It's likely for most of us that a frost or two has touched our gardens. This is nature's signal to shift gears. Invigorated, we might consider a number of pleasant things to do around the home. What follows is a suggestion box of hints, tips, and chores, which are healthy, fun, challenging and help us renew our connection with the earth and our inner spirit...
The "Stinking Rose", Isn't a Rose. It's a Lily! [ September 24, 2003 ]
It's garlic time! The harvests are in. It's time to taste and think about planting. What a great opportunity. Taste ten, twenty, thirty garlics and purchase the ones you can't live without and bring them home to plant. How does the commercial go? "Priceless"...
The Power of Plants Has Influence over Us All. [ September 10, 2003 ]
I have often written about the power of plants. Knowing I'm due to give a horticultural update, I thought I'd approach it from that point of view. Most of what follows is recent news. Plants from their beginnings have had the power to survive...
The Lure and the Lore of the King of Shrubs. [ August 27, 2003 ]
The first plant of its species was collected, classified, named, cultivated, and offered for sale in the mid-1600s. Not long afterward, the search for more and varied specimens led to expeditions that continue today, especially to the nether regions of the Himalayas and Southwestern China. Everywhere on the planet is "game". What scientists and botanists and commercial growers are seeking is new plant material of the Ericaceae, the Heath Family, in particular Rhododendrons...
An Ounce of Prevention Pays Big Dividends [ August 13, 2003 ]
We did set a record for the most rainfall in over 100 years for the month of June. This issue's column is about vegetable garden health: How to achieve it and maintain it by preventing diseases from getting a foothold. We all know gardening is not a breeze, but like so many other things, a bit of effort can yield great pleasures...
The Fruits of Summer Are Soon among Us [ July 30, 2003 ]
A recent phone conversation with Tom Backus of the D.E.C.'s Land and Forest Division confirmed some very good news I was hoping to hear. Aerial surveys of Sullivan and Ulster counties' woodlands reveal only very light populations of both Gypsy Moth (an import) and Forest Tent (a native) caterpillars...
Horticulture Tops Charts in Farming Growth [ July 16, 2003 ]
At the end of my last column I promised a horticulture update. If you cultivate soil and produce a crop you're in the horticulture audience. The soil can even be in a container or behind a window. The crop you harvest might be saw timber or edible flowers, nuts or fruits or Christmas trees. Maybe you grow mushrooms or vegetables or herbs or houseplants...
... with a Little Help from Our Friends [ July 2, 2003 ]
Friends. You gotta love 'em. Where would we be without them. They motivate, enervate, celebrate and aggravate us, all in keeping within the bounds of what we expect, by definition. Within the past weeks I have been blissed (mis-spelled intentionally) with a flood of things to do, simply because I love to do these kinds of things, so, I'm led to believe...
Defining Organic Gardening [ June 18, 2003 ]
A recent issue of The New York Times contained a brief article informing readers that Delta's economy carrier airline, Song, will sell food including yogurt, freerange chicken wraps, Caesar salad made with organic lettuce, and organic cookies. On another page was an ad for all natural veal that read "Hand-raised and fed only top quality protein with no hormones"...
A Full Plate for Gardeners This Month [ June 4, 2003 ]
From the Latin word "hortus" we get the word "garden". June signals the real onset of our growing season here in the Catskills and every aspect of gardening begins to demand our full attention...
A Nod to Pruning, an Ode to Dandelions, and Other Plant Talk
[ May 21, 2003 ] Three pieces of news: The National Garden Assn. just reported that in 2002 the garden industry outpaced the U.S. Economy, growing 8% to the economy's 5%. On a similar note, Time Magazine reported on May 5th that container gardening is increasing annually at a rate close to 20%. Why?
In May the To-Do List Starts Growing [ May 7, 2003 ]
I have to believe that some of you, maybe one or two, have developed a quasi- plan for this season's planting(s). This would not come as a great surprise since eighty-seven percent of Americans participate in some form of gardening.
In Planting, Five Points to Ponder. [ April 16, 2003 ]
We are now on daylight savings' time and real spring is almost at our door. So, sure we all want to do some planting. But, before you grab your checkbook and head for the nearest garden center, take a little time out to consider... Why, When, Where, What, and How.
Wintry Confines Soon to End. - with "Calendar". [ April 9, 2003 ]
A new plant hybrid created by an observant German gardener gives off an odor that you and I aren't bothered by but repels cats, dogs, groundhogs and foxes among others with a keen sense of smell. I expect deer, too...
Edibles and Visuals Are Better as a Team. [ March 26, 2003 ]
If you're looking to add some pizzazz to your landscape, flower beds or borders, take a bold step and introduce some vegetables and herbs. Many have very ornamental characteristics and can confer a bounty of advantages over keeping your food plots separate from your decorative ones...
Horticulture News Update and a Garden Calendar. [ March 11, 2003 ]
The thaw that often comes in January eluded us this year , but on February 21st the temperature in Sundown rose to 53 F. The moths and other insect activity told me spring was near. The woolly bear I found on the road told me. The delicate pink/green of the catkins on my hazelnut bushes told me...
New Batch of Master Gardeners Sprouts, and a
Late-Winter Work Calendar
[ February 25, 2003 ] I recently had the privilege of attending a closed session of public presentations, the final stage of training and evaluation for an elite group of new Master Gardener Volunteer candidates. After many weeks of intensive, research based instruction in all areas of horticulture under the direction of Cornell Cooperative Extension, I am happy to report the following people will graduate and share their education with the greater community...
For Indoor Blooms, May the Force Be with You [ February 11, 2003 ]
The first Valentine's Day cards published in America dates back to the 1870s. Esther Howland created elaborate lace-trimmed cards for the extraordinary price of $5 to $10 each. With even more elaborate ones bringing up to $35. That's huge money for the times...
Bahamas for You, Bathtub for Plants. - with "Calendar".
[ January 28, 2003 ] The recent deep freeze sure makes some of us long for a winter vacation. Here are a few pointers, if you have house plants that you'll leave behind. A bathtub or shower with a curtain can serve as a self-contained greenhouse for short term care of house plants. Three weeks is definitely within serviceable limits...
Things Look Different in Winter. [ January 14, 2003 ]
The nature lover in all of us relishes the opportunity to dive into an aesthetically altered world shrouded in profound silence. This fulfills a deep spiritual need and connection with the earth and its offspring.
