Seed Heads

Posted on February 3, 2016 by admin

: Clematis pitcheri

: Clematis pitcheri

: Hibiscus dasycalyx

: Hibiscus dasycalyx seeds

I’ve had these seed heads on my desk since the summer. I collected them while working in various gardens. The first seed is Clematis pitcheri, commonly called purple clematis, purple leatherflower, or bluebill. Here’s a link to photos of the lovely nodding purple flowers. This clematis is a climbing, twining vine that begins with purple flowers that turn into fluffy Dr. Seuss-looking puffs and then into these stunning seed heads. The star shaped head is fragile, with the individual paddle-shaped seeds breaking off the stem.

The second seed head is from the Hibiscus dasycalyx, or the Netches River Rosemallow. It is a hibiscus that is native to Texas, and is protected because it is only found wild in 3 places along the Netches River. It has beautiful white flowers with red centers. You can see photos here. It grows in wet conditions. The seeds are sweet fuzzy teddy bears and I’m officially scared of screwing up their propagation.

I also saved some Asclepias purpurascens that I’ve put in the fridge to stratify. They are over year old, so I’m not too hopeful. Reference pictures here. I love milkweeds and always try to propagate and distribute them to fellow gardeners.

Is it obvious that I’m dreaming of Spring?

Oakleaf Hydrangea

Posted on December 3, 2015 by admin

Here is a lovely native plant that deserves a place in any garden with a little space. The fall color is striking, the bark looks like cinnamon sticks and the shrub produces clouds of white flowers.

Clematis

Posted on June 4, 2015 by admin

My new favorite clematis. ‘Diamantina’ Flowers range from a cool purple to this amazing purple/pink mixture. This on view at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Oodles of Milkweed

Posted on May 4, 2015 by admin

If you were following me around last summer you might have seen me reach into various gardens and swipe some milkweed seed pods. You might also have seen a mortified 10 year old girl with me. Poor kid. She didn’t get a normal mom.

After taking a propagation class this winter, I was inspired to set up my lights and heat mat at home. While the Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed) and the Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed) sprouted easily, the Asclepias purpurea end (purple milkweed) did nothing.

I moved the tiny seedlings out of their initial trays into roomier pots I made out of newspaper. These are easy to make (I guess a tutorial is in order) and are great because you can plant them directly into the soil.

I have enough of these guys to have a mini plant sale. Anyone interested in some native plants that are the host plant of the monarch butterfly?

Plant Propagation

Posted on February 9, 2015 by admin

My latest class towards my horticulture certificate is plant propagation. We are learning many different ways to grow new plants from existing ones. In addition to the lecture portion, we have hand’s on work in the greenhouse.

We have learned about the different growing requirements for seeds. We’ve made leaf and stem cuttings. And last week we learned about grafting branches and buds onto different plants called rootstock.

Besides all of the great information, I’ve been able to pick some fun plants from the greenhouse at the Brooklyn Botanic garden (aka school) to bring home to propagate. I have many different succulents, a couple of geraniums, African violets, begonias and a dogwood.

The class has inspired me to set up my grow light and heating mat again. I mist the little cuttings several times a day while they are trying to establish roots. My setup is big enough that I’ve put some other plants under the lights. Already my pitcher plants and Venus fly trap look much happier.

Beauty is Not Enough

Posted on February 9, 2015 by admin

Here’s a great article, which highlights how important and beautiful designing gardens with native plants can be.

Pruning Workshop

Posted on January 22, 2015 by admin

Yesterday I attended a pruning workshop given to gardeners at Brooklyn Bridge Park. It is an exciting place to be a gardener as everything is so young. When trees are young, your pruning is crucial in the shaping (or destroying) of the trees. Mistakes you make now can cause weak limbs, and even the eventual death of a tree. The more acute of an angle the branch is to the tree, the weaker it is. The more branches you prune affects how the tree is able to photosynthesize and feed itself. The way you cut a branch can affect how it heals. It was clear that they take this responsibility very seriously and limit who is allowed to prune trees (no volunteers!). It was also clear that they love the fact that they haven’t inherited old trees with years of possibly bad pruning practices.

After the lecture portion, we went outside to look at some trees and assess what issues we saw that should be addressed, or left alone. Many of the trees are still suffering/recovering from Hurricane Sandy. There is also a tremendous amount of large-scale building going on down there, which is shading out some trees. And of course large delivery trucks parking often break branches facing the street.

Another factor that I hadn’t really considered before is the psychology of pruning in a public space. Leaving tree limbs that you would normally prune to block people from entering a bed. Or pruning a branch in a way that makes it uninviting for kids to grab on to and swing on. And of course pruning branches that are about eye-level in pathways.

The photo is the view of the sunset through the classroom window.

Urban Gardening

Posted on January 15, 2015 by admin

Finding unusual things while gardening today.Like this skull. I was cutting back herbaceous perennials today and stumbled upon this. No body attached. Probably a victim of Santeria. Likely a lamb. I’ve heard of people finding roosters nailed to trees in Prospect Park, but until this haven’t seen any sign of animal sacrifice.And I found this unusual egg case/chrysalis/whatever strung between branches of an azalea. Any idea what it might be? There were a couple and they all had a long tightrope with the case somewhere towards the middle. Not terribly well camouflaged. The size is less than an inch.

Soaking in the color

Posted on November 22, 2014 by admin

Our fall foliage has pretty much come and gone. The days are getting shorter and colder. I can still find bits of color here and there and am trying to soak in as much as I can before the monochromatic days of winter. Here are some photos from the Osborne garden this week.

Planting Bulbs

Posted on November 21, 2014 by admin

Here’s a glimpse of the tulip bulbs I helped plant in the Osborne Garden yesterday. Check back in spring for the big show of flowers.

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