Welcome to the first issue of In the Garden, a newsletter for gardeners in Stamford, Greenwich, Norwalk, and surrounding areas. Some of our regular features debut in this issue, others will appear for the first time in the April newsletter. For March, enjoy these features:
In April, you’ll see our first Interview with a Gardener—we’ll be featuring Mary Jo Bridge Palmer of Sam Bridge Nursery, the eldest child of founder Sam Bridge, Jr. with over 35 years of experience in the horticulture industry.
You’ll notice multiple authors throughout the newsletter. We invite you to submit short articles, trivia, quizzes, photos, and advice to the newsletter for possible publication. It’s always fun to have diverse perspectives in these pages!
Happy Spring gardening!
Editors
Monica Hemingway
Kirsten Clark
Please email us—we’d love to hear from you.
Almost all of us have free growing dandelions in our yards (or, to sound more sophisticated, Taraxacum officinale). The name dandelion comes from the Old French ‘dent-de-lion’ (meaning “lion’s tooth”) which describes the deeply toothed, long, lanced-shaped leaves. And it has a shaggy blossom on top that resembles a lion’s mane.
Do you get upset whenever you see these little lions pop up in your yard? Well, maybe it’s time to stop cursing them and instead – eat them! As long as you don’t use any chemicals on your lawn you can eat away. They are best when the leaves have just emerged in Spring and even better for the second harvest in the Fall just after the first frost. Eating them after they’ve flowered will give you a much more bitter leaf so the younger, the better.
And don’t be nervous, there are no poisonous look-alikes. The closest looking other plant is chicory, which is also edible, but more bitter. A good way to tell chicory from dandelion is to remember that chicory is a “chick” with hairy legs. Really, feel the underside of the leaf. If you feel tiny hairs along the rib line, she’s chicory. If it’s smooth, it’s dandelion.
To harvest, simply clip off the leaves, these are the most commonly eaten part of the plant. Mix them in with other sweeter lettuces to create a European salad. Or boil them (changing the water once or twice to boil out the bitterness) and then sauté with some butter, salt, onions, and dash of wine just like you would with any other green. They’re also great when cooked with some sweeter veggies, like carrots and parsnips. And you can always pick out the yellow center parts of the flower to use as a garnish on your salads, rices or stirfries. Just avoid the green sepals underneath the flower as they taste rather unpleasant.
Finally, you can also make wine with the flowers. There are lots of recipes on the internet to do this fun home project.
Nutritionally, the dandelion is a powerhouse. The leaves are higher in beta-carotene than carrots. The iron and calcium content is phenomenal, greater than spinach. You also get vitamins B-1, B-2, B-5, B-6, B-12, C, E, P, and D, biotin, inositol, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and zinc by using a tasty, free vegetable that grows on virtually every lawn. The root contains the sugar inulin (not to be confused with insulin), plus many medicinal substances.
So enjoy what nature is about to Spring on you next month. Harvest those dandelions as they appear and eat them in good health!
The American Horticultural Society has announced the winners of its annual garden book awards. These six books are definitely worth reading!
Hardy Succulents: Tough Plants for Every Climate by Gwen Kelaidis (Storey Publishing, 2008).
Plant-Driven Design: Creating Gardens That Honor Plants, Place, and Spirit by Scott Ogden and Lauren Springer Ogden (Timber Press, 2008).
The Heirloom Tomato: From Garden to Table: Recipes, Portraits, and History of the World's Most Beautiful Fruit by Any Goldman (Bloomsbury USA, 2008)
Native Ferns, Moss, and Grasses: From Emerald Carpet to Amber Wave, Serene and Sensuous Plants for the Garden by William Cullina (Houghton Mifflin, 2008).
Special Merit Citations went to two others:
The Garden Primer: Second Edition by Barbara Damrosch (Workman Publishing, 2008).
Herbaceous Perennial Plants: A Treatise on Their Identification, Culture, and Garden Attributes by Allan M. Armitage (Stipes Publishing, 2008).
Tough Plants for Northern Gardens: Low Care, No Care, Tried and True Winners, by Felder Rushing
By Kathy Purdy of Cold Climate Gardening
Quite a while back I cast aspersions on the ability of a southerner to write a book about northern gardening. I take it back. Felder Rushing has done an excellent job writing Tough Plants for Northern Gardens: Low Care, No Care, Tried and True Winners. Mr. Rushing, sir, I apologize.
Turns out the man has done a lot of traveling, and what's more, he was paying attention and taking notes the whole time, or, as he puts it, "While looking for real gardens in the older parts of town, I have spent more time backing up for a second look than going forward." (p. 23) As you might expect from a man who also wrote Passalong Plants, Rushing is not interested in pushing the latest patented hybrids. He is writing a book for those who sorta think they might like to garden, but feel intimidated. He wants gardening to be as common sense and matter-of-fact for these people as it was for their grandparents or great-grandparents. And isn't that where we all start, no matter when we started? We stuck a plant or seed in the ground; it grew, and we thought to ourselves, "Gosh, even I can do this."
Rushing goes out of his way to avoid jargon, and is never patronizing, though he is often funny. He states that the book covers the Northeast and moister parts of the Midwest, roughly Zones 4 to 6. And in case you're still not sure if he's covering your region, he provides a list of "Other ways you can tell that you might be a Northern gardener":
This list did more than anything else to convince me that Rushing knew whereof he spoke, because every last one of them is true. Not only was I grinning, I was thinking, "Wait--you mean not everyone has to do that?" Only someone with one foot on each side of the Mason-Dixon line would know the little quirks that distinguish the two regions. And it's clear he doesn't hold that statue against us.
If you're a veteran gardener, you'll recognize his "Best for Beginners" plants as the ones you cut your gardening teeth on. They're easy, hardy, and familiar, and I bet you've still got quite a few of them growing in your garden. So you don't need this book for yourself, though if you need cheering up, it might be just the ticket. However, if you've ever had a friend or relative wander through your garden, sigh wistfully and say, "I wish I could grow plants like you do," this is the book to put into their hands. Before you know it, they'll be swapping seeds with you and asking for a piece of great-aunt Sarah's favorite rose bush.
You may have noticed a relatively new entrant in the “ergonomic tools” market – it’s hard to miss the big “O”-shaped and bright green handles of the NRG gardening tools. Radius Garden Products introduced the NRG line of hand tools several years ago but only recently brought out digging and long-handled tools. Out of curiosity, I bought the NRG Digging Spade at the CT Garden and Flower show last month and have been pleasantly surprised with its comfort, strength, and ease of use. “NRG” stands for “natural radius grip.” This is the large “O”-shaped handle that allows your wrist to be held in a more natural position while the large muscles of your arms can use their full strength and power for gardening. The large size of the handle, with four times the gripping surface of traditional tools, also means that you’ve got many options for hand positions and you don’t have to squeeze so hard to hold the tool. While I’ll admit that it does look a little odd at first, I noticed immediately that my carpal tunnel problems were greatly minimized using this innovative handle design.
One of the other features I really appreciate is the bright handle color - it’s hard to misplace a tool that practically glows in the dark! In addition, the extra large steps are set relatively high and fold forward (rather than backward, which is what you find on most shovels or spades) which makes it easier to get your foot fully on it and put more weight into driving the spade into the ground. The stainless steel spade has a steel-reinforced, resin-encased shaft and seamless socket, and like the other NRG Pro digging tools, is guaranteed for life. After snapping a shovel in half last fall (and almost impaling myself on the shaft), it’s good to find a tool that will dig up my Joe Pye Weed without turning me into the latest casualty of under-strength gardening tools. Simply put, it’s easier to dig deeper and faster with the NRG Digging Spade than with any other spade I’ve used, and I don’t feel as tired afterwards.
The NRG Pro line includes a digging spade and fork (for heavy digging, ground preparation and harvesting), a smaller transplant spade and border fork (for lighter work such as digging borders, transplanting perennials, and working in close quarters), a shovel, a bulb auger/planter (the teeth easily penetrate soil to quickly create multiple 3-1/4" dia. holes for bulbs or annuals), an edger, and a weeder.
NRG Tools Earned the Organic Gardening Editor’s Choice Award for 2007.
"Designed to relieve arm, hand, and wrist stress, the Radius (mid-length) tools won over all of our testers (male and female). With stainless-steel working ends, a unique handle design, and generous stepping edges, these tools proved both comfortable to use, and strong enough for every garden task."
Where to find NRG tools locally
Darien—Ring's End Lumber, The Gardner 's Center and Florist
Stamford—Designs by Lee
Norwalk—Stew Leonard's
Wilton - Ring's End Lumber
To keep your fountain from getting funky, add a cup of vodka to the water. It’ll smell like a bar for just a few hours or so (until some of the alcohol evaporates) but it will slow down the growth of algae and bacteria that cause slime and smell. Just don’t do it if you have fish or inquisitive, thirsty small children, although aquatic plants shouldn’t be bothered by the nip. And hey, don’t we all need a drink now and then after a hard day in the garden?
Until March 31—March Mud Sale: Hunter boots and Muck shoes 25% off at Young’s Nurseries.
Weekend of April 18th—Grand Spring Opening at Young’s Nurseries. Storewide sale and raffle.
Saturday, April 18—Earth Day Celebration & Recycle Fest at New Canaan Nature Center, noon—4pm. Recycle alkaline batteries, fluorescent bulbs, printer cartridges, cell phones and more. ComputerFox will dismantle and recycle old computers. A paper shredding company will shred all personal document to help you prevent identity theft. Free for members, $25/family for non-members.
May 7—9 (Mother’s Day weekend) Sam Bridge will be holding a Lilac Festival. The festival includes special pricing on lilacs and lectures given by Mary Jo Bridge and Chris Hart. Also during Mother's Day weekend they will be holding a special class for children. The class allows kids to make a Mother's Day basket,fee is $8 and it is a great activity for kids and Dads.
After 10 years of trial and much error, we have a good running list of plants that the groundhogs (also called woodchucks) do not like to eat. This is not an exhaustive list, but should give you a good selection to choose from so you can ignore your furry friend for another year. We’ve included both edible and ornamental plants, perennials and annuals. To keep it simple, we’ve used the common name for most of the plants. Time to start planting and convince that groundhog to find lunch elsewhere.
alliums of all varieties
basil
bleeding hearts
clematis
coreopsis
crocus
crocosmia
dahlia
daffodils
day lilys
gailardia
geum
grape hyacinth
helenium
honeysuckle
hosta
hyacinth
iris
kniphofia
lambsear
lilies of every sort
montauk daisy
mints of all kinds
monarda
morning glory
mountain pinks
nasturtium
catmint
pansy
parsley
passion flower vine
peony
primulas
rosemary
roses
russian sage
salvias of all sorts
snowdrops
sunflowers (f you can keep the critter away until the plants are at least 6 inches tall)
thymes
tomatoes
tulips
yarrow
Do you have suggestions for pest-proofing your garden? Let us know!
Compost is a gardener’s best friend. Even if you produce your own, you probably still need more each spring to spread over your beds as fertilizer and mulch. Did you know that you can get it for free? The city of Stamford provides free compost to residents at the Scofieldtown Road Recycling Center (corner of Scofieldtown and Rockrimmon Roads in North Stamford). Just pull up your SUV, truck, or car and fill it up with as much composted yard waste as you can carry (must show proof of residency). Yard waste drop-off programs are also in place in Greenwich (at the Holly Hill Recovery Station) and Norwalk (at the Public Works Center, 15 South Smith St.).
In the Garden is a publication of The Gardeners’ List, a website created specifically to serve gardeners in lower Fairfield County, CT. www.thegardenerslist.com provides information and resources of interest to gardeners of all types, from first-timers to those who have been gardening their entire life. The website includes listings and reviews of local gardening-related providers, a plant exchange forum, and information on everything from invasive plants to Master Gardening programs to soil testing, growing from seeds, and green gardening. If you’re not sure where to find something for your garden, just look at The Gardeners’ List!
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