Herbal Teas from My Garden November 29, 2008

 

I finished making the tea blends from the herbs I harvested and dried from my garden.  I’m quite pleased with them and plan on gifting several boxes to loved ones over the holidays and sell a few others online.  It’s a line of business I hope to continue to grow by putting even more tea herbs in my garden next year. 

 

Update: I sold 19 boxes of tea for a premium price.  Due to this success, the proposed design for my garden next year will change yet again…the tea herb garden is doubling in size! 

 

 

Below are listed the blends I made this year.

Deck the Halls November 29, 2008

 

First Snow November 22, 2008

Today it snowed a good inch and made the gardens a wonderland… 

Bulbs are here! November 20, 2008

I got my shipment of bulbs from the Netherland Bulb Company late last week.  In the order were 65 Drumstick Alliums (late spring bloom), 65 Purple Sensation Alliums (late spring bloom), and 40 Purple Prince Tulips (early spring bloom).  I also just got my order from Brent & Becky’s Bulb Company, which contains 50 Hair Alliums (late spring bloom), 5 Shubertii Alliums (late spring bloom), 10 Deirdre Tulips (mid-spring bloom), 10 Tinka Tulips  (mid-late spring bloom), and 10 Omnyacc Tulips (mid-spring bloom).  In addition to standard spring bulbs, I planted 5 Eremurus stenophyllus, which bloom in early summer.  I also supplemented the blub orders with a handful of early- and mid-spring blooming free unidentified narcissus and tulips leftover from the blubs planted in Longwood. All told, I will have over 300 bulbs planted for my spring display.

  

 

Photos from Brent & Becky’s Bulbs website

 
My design plans for the bulbs has changed drastically as I have run into so many problems with the logistics of my current garden layout, my anticipated layout come spring, and what annuals I plan to direct sow in my garden come May when all the alliums are going to be in their prime.  As a result, I’m doing something perhaps a little unorthodox, but I think it’ll be a great learning experience for me.  I am planting at least 85 percent of my bulbs in containers that I’ll leave in a cold frame over winter and then have the luxury of arranging as desired in the spring once I get a better handle on my garden design for 2009.  I’ve not grown bulbs in containers before (or at least not bulbs I started myself) so this could be a huge hit or a huge flop but I like the challenge and the flexibility of this plan.  I’ll plant some containers with a mix of bulbs and some will just have one variety in them.  Since I also want to use many of my bulb blooms in cut arrangements, the container system will allow me to replace containers that I cut heavily from with new blooming containers as needed.

Christmas is in the air – Literally! November 19, 2008

The past several weeks, all Longwood staff have been racing around and preparing for Christmas decorating.  One of the projects I helped with was a large wreath-turned-chandelier to be hung in the loft treehouse.  Yesterday it was hoisted into place.  I documented the process as I found the carpenters’ system interesting.

 

Winter Container Planting November 18, 2008

 

As part of our garden assignments, I needed to put in a winter container planting to sit out in the harsh exposed landscape of my frozen plot from December to March.  Eeegads!  I have to admit I was stumped for inspiration, both in plant material and design.  A couple conversations with some other horticulturalist and an internet search for images of winter containers pushed the grumpy design cogs in my head to start turning.  I came up with the idea of creating this two-tiered planter to 1) keep the scale appropriate for my small tree by putting it in a smaller container within the large container we’re required to use and 2) add some vertical height and drama to the overall design. 

 

My rought sketch (l) and the finished product the day it was planted (r)

From there, I wanted some hardy/evergreen grasses and went searching in particular for Ophiopogon nigra, which proved to be a difficult plant to track down in late November.  I did find one pot of it, and I love the way the dark violet black of the leaves really makes my red accents pop.  To bring this red color to the container, I got some red twig dogwood branches and funky woven red balls I found in the Christmas aisle. 

 

 

 ”Front”                                                                                  “Back”         

I planted the container this afternoon and overall I’m very pleased with the outcome.  I am curious to see how it holds up over the next few months though.  Apparently winter container gardening is tricky since the pots tend to dry out quickly for lack of atmospheric humidity.  My final plant list includes:

• Festuca glauca ‘Elija Blue’
• Ophiopogon sp.
• Ophiopogon nigra
• Juniperus chinensis ‘Parsoni’
• Juniperus conferta ‘Blue Pacific’
• Arborvitae ‘Emerald Green’   

 Whimsy and color contrast to brighten up dull winter days

Update 1/19/09:  Another touch I added to the container a week after planting was a large ball covered in pinecones and other natural materials nestled into the juniper branches.  The textural contrasts are nice.  I also recently removed the white branches and replaced them with red dogwood stems that blend better with the fanciful red balls.  The plants are doing quite well, even now in mid-January.  I swear the Festuca has even grown a little bit, though I can’t imagine how with the soil frozen. 

 

Work in Plant Records November 14, 2008

This month I’m working with the plant records office where I picked up a special project, making my job this month the best in the world.  I get to walk around the garden taking photos of the highlights each week and put them on the Longwood website.  Here’s a few of the more beautiful shots of Longwood in the fall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vitex agnus castus November 4, 2008

 

Today I was working for the curitorial staff, putting out labels on plants around the gardens, when I ran across this shrub/small tree.  Commonly called the Chaste Tree, it is like Butterfly Bush on steroids with similar flowers and a magnetic pull on bees and butterflies.  However, what I especially liked about this plant was the seeds it had here in November: beautiful panicles of subdued purple.  They would be perfect for fall arrangments.  After a little research, I also learned the seeds have herbal properties for tea making (the tincture is reported to help lactating mothers) and can be used as a peppery culinary seasoning. A multipurpose plant: music to my ears.  And if I wasn’t sold enough already, Vitex is suppose to be ridiculously easy to grow and very pest-free.   I plan to put some seeds I gathered in my cold frame to see if they’ll sprout in the spring.