Ink & Penstemon
Observations on plants, gardening, & nature from the Great Basin steppe in the American West.
If you get mired in something, click on the Penstemon barbatus 'Elfin Pink' image.
Search
More Info
Follow I&P On Twitter
Tweets by @InkandPenstemonFInd me on...
On Tumblr
-
That “Old Book Smell” Is a Mix of Grass and Vanilla
Photo: David Flores
Smell is chemistry, and the chemistry of old...
-
It’s Nature Photography Day!
Whether your backdrop is the simplicity of the Möbius Arch in California’s Alabama Hills, the majestic expanse of the...
-
High elevation beauties from BLM-Colorado.
-
Head up to the mountains of BLM-Wyoming to check out this month’s plant of the month! Growing in moist areas of alpine and subalpine regions,...
-
The Lavender Labyrinth, Cherry Point Farm and Market, Michigan. Upper photo: Barbara Bull. Designed by Conrad Heiderer....
-
-
My First Wilderness Experience
I started my hike from the Wire Pass Trailhead, heading towards the famous Wave formation. Initially, I was... -
-
Crested anole (Day’s Edge Productions)
-
Tag Results
4 posts tagged indoor gardens
Garden Craft Burnout
I’m getting a little weary of all the garden craft I’m seeing everywhere. It comes out in force during the holidays, usually starting around Halloween. I worry people become so obsessed with how things look that they forget or ignore that they are supposed to be stewards of a living organism. I got a magazine the other day showing a man who had tucked all sorts of forced bulbs into bookshelves and dark corners for effect when they were clearly in a pre-flowering phase and they needed light. Most of them were paperwhites, which most consider to be a throwaway bulb. Regardless, it really bothers me that he is using them as ephemeral accessories, kind of like people who put goldfish in tiny bowls at wedding receptions and parties giving no thought with what they will do with them afterwards.
As found on Etsy. Very crafty, not very plant considerate.
I tend to seek out greenhouses for my “I need something green & growing” fixes in winter. Those who maintain them have invested a large amount of money into creating an environment that is ideal for plants rather than people and that is refreshing. Rather than seeing pots tucked into dark bookcases and plants squeezed into glass coffins it’s satisfying to walk along mossy gravel paths and breathe in moist, warm air infused with the earthy smell of happy plants. Not all of us can afford greenhouses, but most of us can find plants to grow in our houses or provide conditions for them to grow happily. The only way we’ll stop botanical abuse is through awareness. Give a plant a chance.
The Most Interesting Paperwhites in the World*
Holiday chemical warfare.
I recently bought a large bulb tray for forcing Paperwhites this winter. Little did I know it would hold 36 of them. We are going to be gassed out of our home by eau du ‘Ziva’ in about 6 to 8 weeks. It should look spectacular, at least. I’ll put up pics. Why didn’t I buy some Narcissus ‘Geranium’ or some other tazettas instead? Maybe I still will and pot them up when these are finished.
Many of you are probably looking at the tray and thinking, “That’s an awfully shallow tray; I hope she’s going to put some supports in there so they don’t flop.” Normally, I would except I’m banking on an experimental method developed by Dr. William Miller of Cornell University’s Department of Horticulture where Paperwhites are forced in a water solution that’s 5% alcohol. The theory behind it is that water stress in the bulb produces stunted foliage and stems without affecting flowering. You have probably heard it referred to as “pickling” your Paperwhites. You can go to “The Bulb Project” for the wiki. Apparently, you can use any old type of liquor, but I’m sticking with rubbing alcohol as it’s cheap, although a bit smelly. If I did this again, I might consider buying generic cooking sherry since that will smell better in the Paperwhite’s cocktail. I’m also not going to cover the bulbs with more gravel until they root so I can keep the water level just right. In the meantime, we’ll see how these do. Stay thirsty, my bulbs.*
*Apologies to that Dos Equis guy.
Monthly Garden Report for October
The pictures in the photoset say it all, don’t they?
October this year was officially the month of having a long list of things to do and me managing that list by ignoring it. Some years this works out, this year, obviously not. Snow in October isn’t rare here, but it never fails to catch you off guard. The skier in me is happy, the gardener, not so much.
Some people are great prognosticators of the weather; they don’t even need to look at the weather reports to know when a storm is on its way. I won’t pretend to be one, but maybe my sudden and strong urge to make a terrarium and to refresh my indoor gardens should have warned me this was coming. And, I was prompted to go get my neighbor yesterday and help her pick her apple tree that we bagged this spring. The apples would have been ruined if we had waited any longer. We got a respectable harvest of a couple of bushels, more than enough for one refrigerator drawerful for me as a neighborly “thank you.”
And, while I didn’t get all my bulbs planted, I only have 5 ‘Limelight’ daffodils to get in the ground and 10 or so Tulipa ‘Lady Jane’s, which is well within the range of being potted up for next spring if the weather doesn’t improve in time. It’s a good thing I didn’t order many this year. I did intend to move a clump of Allium ‘Ambassador’ in the corner and move them to another bed; maybe it will dry out enough to make this possible. Right now I feel foolhardy ordering a Sorbus scopulina yesterday to fill the hole left by the presciently timed transplant of the Acer palmatum ‘Hubb’s Red Willow.’ Still, the ground isn’t likely to be frozen just yet, so I may still get it in the ground.
I suppose I’m not all that bad off despite my procrasination. Of all the work that needed doing, I got most of the really important things done. I planted the rare (code for expensive) bulbs first, and in preparation for the Abies lasiocarpa transplant in December, the critical plants I wanted to save got moved. The grass got torn out north of the driveway, and I got all of the plants in the ground except for one Rhus tribolata ’Gro-low’ and an unnamed lavender I picked up off the marked-down table at the nursery. And, as a landscaper friend of mine brings over a big bucketful of pine needles each day, it’s almost all mulched over to protect against the real snows. All that remains to be done is to store the furniture away, tear out the Alberta Spruce, and remove the deck. There I go, leaving the most onerous chores for last—again.
In the end, I suppose we’re doing well despite the early snow. It still doesn’t mean I’m ready for it. Still, waste not want not; I’ll go get my ski gear out of storage.
Okay. I caved, Kris.
Oh, I will eat crow for all those times I bagged on making terrariums when you posted about making them on the Blithewold blog, saying they had too much of a seventies aura about them. I’ve gone and got me a dwarf Sarracenia and made a carnivorous plant habitat. I guess I’ll have to crochet a macramé plant hanger now.
I also must give thanks to Barry Rice and his site, sarracenia.com, which is, hands down, the most hilarious botanically oriented site I’ve ever found. It is also by far the most useful site on growing carnivorous plants. Based on his FAQs, I’m still doubtful I have enough light for these creepies, and I think they were a bit brutalized by the transplanting experience, but I remain hopeful. At least the Tillandsias should pull through.
