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grEen News
from Smithfield Gardens
September 2010
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Dear Friends,
This past summer was certainly one for the books. Earlier we were afraid that none of us would have anything left alive in our gardens following the drought and the record breaking heat. But rain did fall (in some cases a month's worth fell in a matter of hours), and now things are not looking so dire. However, the combined distractions of weather, vuvuzelas and live footage of crude gushing from the sea floor have kept many of us out of the garden. Now would be a good time to head back out, access the situation and see what you might want to add. After all, fall is the best time to plant.
The week after Labor Day we will have a good selection of cell-pack pansies with the larger 6" pots arriving later this month. It would also be a good time to get your fall vegetable garden planted, and we have a good assortment of broccoli, cabbage, collards, Brussel sprouts, spinach and more. Colorful mums will be opening soon which will look good with the corn stalks, hay bales, gourds and pumpkins that Margie has coming in. She has also gotten a fabulous selection of other fall and Halloween decorations, but get yours early as they will likely sell out. Les has a new shipment of trees scheduled to arrive later this month, including locally grown fruit trees.
Finally, we would like to ask you to mark your calendar for our annual Fall Festival which will be Oct. 2nd and 3rd. We will have more information about this event in the next issue of grEen News, but hopefully you will not wait until then to come see us.
Happy Gardening!
Your friends at Smithfield Gardens
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Upcoming Events and Classes
at Smithfield Gardens
Each Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Naturally grown, local produce will be available for sale in our parking lot from Batten Bay Farms. You won't find much fresher unless you grow it yourself.
Easy Propagation Techniques
Sept. 11th (Sat.) 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
One of the wonders of gardening is that you can grow many plants from one. These can then be added to your own garden or given as a special gift to friends and family. Come let Ann Weber show you how easy this is.
Beyond Mums - Fall Bloomers
Sept. 18th (Sat.) 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
There is so much color available for your garden in the fall that some people refer to this season as second spring. Ann Weber would love to share with you some of our favorite fall blooms, and she may even mention the "M" word.
What To Prune & When To Do It
Sept. 19th (Sun.) 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Prunning is perhaps one of the most confusing of garden topics, and there is a lot of misinformation floating around. Come let Les Parks set the story straight.
Composting for Beginners
Sept. 25th (Sun.) 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
One of the most valuable additives that you can amend your soil with starts out in your kitchen and in your yard clippings. Making your own compost is one of the greenest things you can do. Come let Ann Weber make you a convert.
Garden Basics for Beginners
Sept. 26th (Sun.) 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
If you are new to gardening or even just a little confused, this class is for you. Many of the problems gardeners face can be avoided with a little forethought and by knowing a few hints. Les Parks can help you get started on the road to garden happiness.
Our Annual Fall Festival
Oct. 2nd and 3rd (Sat. and Sun.)
Join us for two days of classes, food, great information, good bargains and fun. On Sat. the folks next door at Governor's Pointe will be having their Virginia Market Day as well. More information will be forthcoming as the date approaches.
Would you like to save 10% on your purchases at Smithfield Gardens? Monday is Military Discount Day and active duty military, Coast Guard, police, fire and rescue all are entitled to a discount. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are Senior Days. Also, anyone who attends one of our free classes is entitled to a discount on the day of the class. All of our discounts apply to any item not already on sale and can not be used towards landscaping services or bulk materials.
Other Events:
Urban Gardener Lecture Series at the Fred Huette Center in Norfolk
- Ornamental Grasses, Tue. Sept. 7th at 7:00 p.m.
- Native Perennials, Thu. Sept. 16th at 7:00 p.m.
- Square Foot Gardening, Tue. Sept. 21st at 7:00 p.m.
- Plants for Fall and Winter Interest, Thu. Sept. 30th at 7:00 p.m.
Monthly Nature Walk
Sept. 18th (Sat.) 9:00 a.m. Weyanoke Bird and Wildlife Sanctuary at 1501 Armistead Bridge Rd. in Norkfolk's West Ghent neighborhood. Call 625-1907 for more information.
Flying With the Monarchs
Sept. 25th (Sat.) 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
The Monarch Butterflies are about to make their way to Mexico and some will be tagged at this event led my Barb Dunbar at the Williamsburg Botanical Garden.
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A Late Summer Treat - Mexican Bush Sage
If you are a fan of salvias you probably already grow Salvia leucantha or Mexican bush sage. Even gardeners who claim not to know this tall perennial may actually have seen it featured in Southern Living magazine and will no doubt recognize it from the photographs in late summer issues of that magazine. It's a favorite of garden writers and garden designers who want to extend a garden's season of interest. This sun-loving salvia is native to Mexico and Central America and its square stems place it in the Lamiacea, or mint, family.
This salvia is all about the "anticipation factor" in a garden design. Though it provides a reliable shrubby presence throughout the late spring and summer months, Mexican bush sage doesn't start blooming until late summer or early fall. The showy purple calyces (these hold the flower on the stem) are more noticeable than the small white flowers, but there definitely is a bi-colored effect on this perennial. I think the entire plant has an interesting velvety appearance. Butterflies are drawn to this salvia as a late, much-needed nectar source and hummingbirds visit it, too. Deer reportedly leave this aromatic perennial alone.
After last winter's cold temperatures our Mexican sage in the display garden was quite late to emerge. Many of us thought it might have died, and a few customers even inquired about their "no-show" plants as late as May. I recommended that they just be patient. (Ours did eventually return in the display garden.) Some local gardeners have had better luck planting Salvia leucantha in the spring so that it has the largest possible root system going into the winter. Consider getting yourself a small size Mexican bush sage off the herb bench next spring since, by the time it blooms, it will have grown quite a large root system. Good drainage, especially during our wet winter months, is also essential.
One site that I checked for information as I wrote this piece suggested a bold plant combination for late season interest: red-flowered pineapple sage, Mexican bush sage and a lime sweet potato vine. One of my coworkers likes his Salvia leucantha with Amsonia hubrectii and 'Fireworks' goldenrod. One local garden designer used to pair these velvety purple flowers with the cheerful yellow Helianthus angustifolius, and she also found that one thriving salvia plant was adequate in most average sized gardens. Visit us soon to see this perennial, and the companion plants mentioned, as they do their part to brighten up our fall gardens.
Ann Weber |
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Figs: A Gift from Eden
One of the oldest cultivated plants is the common fig (Ficus carica); in fact some scholars believe that humans were growing figs long before they grew wheat. Figs are mentioned in the Bible many times, from Genesis (where its leaves were sewn to hide Adam and Eve's nakedness) through the New Testament. There is an entire chapter in the Qur'an named for the fig, it is mentioned in Hindi texts and there are several stories from Greek and Roman mythology where figs have a role. With such a lofty and exotic history, you may be surprised that figs are perfectly at home in Tidewater Virginia.
Fig trees are fairly easy to grow. They prefer full sun, but are tolerant of light shade. The soil should be high in organic matter and drain well, though they are adaptable. They benefit from a yearly application of well-balanced fertilizer in the spring and a good layer of organic mulch should cover the root zone. Figs have few pest or disease problems (other than hungry birds or raccoons) and require no chemical spraying. One thing figs do not like is extremely cold winters, and on very rare occasions when temperatures dip into the single digits, damage occurs, but they will come back from the roots and produce fruit the following summer. Gardeners who live north of here go to great trouble to over-winter their fig trees, often building elaborate structures to protect them. Fortunately we don't need to do that.
The foliage alone of fig trees would make a nice addition to the landscape with its large dark green leaves, almost tropical look and handsome growth habit. However, most people grow it for the fruit, which is actually a modified flower with a small opening at the bottom to allow the fig wasp to come in for pollination. Figs ripen in the summer, with many varieties bearing two crops per season. I think they are best eaten fresh off the tree, in salads or even cloaked by a piece of thinly sliced Smithfield ham. Figs are self-pollinating and usually produce a large crop. This abundance makes them good candidates for preserves, being dried or even canned.
There are numerous fig cultivars and perhaps the best known among them is 'Brown Turkey' which gets about 10' tall and produces an ever bearing crop of purple-brown fruit. This variety is also considered one of the most cold hardy. 'Celeste' figs are super sweet and are great for desserts. Their fruit is brown to purple and the tree only grows to 6-10' tall. Many of today's figs are Italian in origin, including 'Lattarulla' which is known as the Honey Fig. This 12-15' tall, twice-bearing fig has greenish-yellow fruit with amber colored flesh. If you prefer a larger tree for the landscape, you may want to grow 'Kadota' which can get up to 15-25' tall and has greenish-yellow fruit in late summer. There are many other figs available, and we generally have our best selection in the spring, but we will have several coming in this fall as well. Figs bear at a young age, and if you plant them now you should literally be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor next summer.
Les Parks |
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The Coming of the Deer
Many people in greater Tidewater are fortunate enough to live in areas that still maintain some degree of rural charm. However, we take the good with the bad; along with the wonderful peaceful scenery there is a huge deer population. It doesn't seem to matter which part of the area you call home, the deer are there. Over the past decades there has been a large building boom, and often this means that wildlife (including deer) has its natural habitat destroyed. Since everything must eat, your yard becomes an unfortunate buffet. I may have a few tips that can help you with this problem.
There are many repellents on the market that will give you some relief if deer are coming to visit. One of the best is Liquid Fence, which our landscape department uses in many of our customer's gardens. Liquid Fence was developed by a retired chemist in Pennsylvania who happened to have a serious deer infestation in his own garden. This is an organic mixture heavily based on garlic oil. Though the initial smell is strong to the human nose, it does dissipate, but not without remaining very strong to the deer and rabbit nose. I will say that the label instructions must be followed to the letter since rain can affect the strength of the product. IMustGarden has come up with a similar product that does smell better to humans but is just as effective on deer. Egg solids are at its base, but cinnamon and clove oils have been added to help not only with the repelling of deer but with the smell. Repels-All is another product that has a good following. Available in liquid or granular form it is easy to use and very effective. This product will help repel a multitude of pests, so it may be something you would like to have on hand just in case you develop problems with other animals.
Another way to deter deer would be to use deer fencing, which may not be the most attractive option, but it is prettier than ravaged plants. An unusual way to deter deer is through the use of automatic water sensors. These are motion activated, and spray a surprising blast onto startled deer, usually sending them on their way. If all the spraying, fencing and sprinklers sound like too much trouble, consider planting deer-resistant plants, and hard as it may be to believe; deer don't like to eat everything! We have a list of plants that they turn their nose up to, so come by and pick one up. If you need any further information, or have any questions about the products I have discussed, please come talk to me.
Margie Cooper |
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