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The Eastern Redbud Tree

I read this quote this morning in 365 Tao:

 “Even on the road to hell, flowers can make you smile.”   

“How true” I thought.  No matter how good or bad things may seem sometimes, most of us cannot help but be lifted by a flower filled scene. And what better place to experience such splendor than Charleston, SC where every season offers something in bloom.  Although I admire the winter camellias whose bold colors defy the harshness of the season, there is one flower that brightens my heart even more.  Cercis Canadensis, aka the Eastern Redbud.

With its delicate vibrancy of pink blossoms, the Eastern Redbud tree stands alone against the gray skies of winter promising better days ahead.  

This native tree grows 20-25 feet on average with an equal width, although most of the time, it seems taller than wide because it is used an under-story tree around oaks and pines.  Slow to start, a sapling may take 5-7 years to fully flower but then it will shoot up much quicker bursting forth each spring in what seems like a cloud of pink blossoms.  If you’re patient, you can purchase these trees from the National Arbor Day Foundation for pennies but most nurseries sell semi-mature trees that are 8-12 feet tall so you can immediate blooms.  Immediately after blooming, it covers itself in green heart-shaped leaves that turn reddish or bronze in the fall.

Easy to grow, requiring very little care, this is a very popular tree among Lowcountry gardeners and landscapers. But here are some facts about this native tree that even your landscapers may not know:

~Buds and blooms are edible

~Native Americans ate the flowers raw or boiled as well as the roasted autumn seeds

~Southern Appalachian residents use the green wood to season game and named it the Spicewood tree

~The chemical that makes them pink is called anthocyanins,  a powerful anti-oxidant

~Only long-tongued bees (carpenter, bumble bees) can reach the nectaries. 

~The reddish color is a natural sunscreen. Like most new winter growth, the red color protects against the extreme winter sun.

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Butterfly Gingers

Hedychium coronarium - White Butterfly Ginger

Butterfly ginger, those intoxicating flowers of the Hedychium family, are in full bloom this month. Following the natural order, they bloom right when the butterflies are migrating through and the sphinx moths are mating. Most Charleston gardeners have at least one small stand of these flowers in their shady yards because they are easy to grow, bloom profusely and fill the air with a perfume that is quite agreeable. In fact, unlike other strongly scented flowers (lilies of the valley, hyacinths, etc.,) I have yet to meet one who does not like the smell of this flower.

But here are some fun facts you may not know:

• Butterfly ginger flowers are edible! You can add the buds to stir fry dishes or salads.
• Flowers can be steeped into a very fragrant tea.
• Although native to China, white butterfly gingers are the national flower of Cuba.
• The rhizomes can be cut into small pieces to share with friends.
• Chinese herbal medicine practitioners use the leaves to treat arthritis and the roots to treat tonsilitis.

Happy Day,

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Four o’clocks

Walking around this morning I wandered past the four o’clocks, still open at 6:30AM.  A better name for them would be “all-nighters” since they open in late afternoon and remain that way until full daylight. Like many of my college friends, they take a little nap before getting up to do it all over again.

For many Southerners, four o’clocks (Mirabilis jalapa) invoke fond memories of childhood, Sunday dinners at grandma’s house and endless walks in sunlit woods.  For me, they’re just nice plants to have around.  Easy to grow, almost impossible to kill, hummingbird magnets by day and sphinx moth magnets at night.  Their scent is strongest in the evening, filling the air with a heady sweetness unlike anything else.  Chances are if you walk in the evenings, you will catch their perfume but never know where it comes from.

That's a 6 foot fence behind them

Although originally from South America, they can also be considered a native of tropical North America, growing anywhere the seeds fall. Up North you can reseed every year and grow four o’clocks as a colorful 2 foot annual but down here it’s more of a perennial shrub, dying to the ground to return with renewed vigor.  In my yard, the first year it grows 2-3 feet. The second year, 4-6 feet, spreading itself just as wide. 

Recently a friend saw four o’clock tubers for sale at a local flea market.  I didn’t realize at the time but came to research that yes, they can grow from tubers, dug up and replanted wherever you want them.   Dave’s Garden says they are heavy feeders but they will tolerate whatever they get.  Full sun to partial shade, 10-10-10 fertilizer or nothing.  They come in all colors and variegations but pinks and reds seem to be the hardiest.

So whether you’re a master gardener or a novice, four o’clocks can be a happy addition to your garden. Plant them where you can enjoy them best in the evenings. Like children, the more nourishment you give them, the more they will prosper, but even if you ignore them, they still seem to make it just fine.  Need seeds? Come help yourself to my fuschias.

Happy Day,

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Got parsley?

Often when people walk around my garden they comment on the beautiful Queen Anne’s Lace and ask how I get it to grow in Charleston.  I just smile and tell them, “that’s parsley.”  

In this area, most herbs can be grown as small shrubs or large outdoor plants.  Rosemary makes a gorgeous hedge. Marjoram and Oregano are beautiful full-sun mounded specimens. Thyme will easily creep along a paving stone pathway or gracefully spill over a wall or hanging pot.  Basil will fill in all of the sunny spaces between your tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.  Mint, well, mint will take over any damp space in your yard. 

I grow and use all of these herbs and more, but by far, parsley is one of my favorites.  As a biennial, parsley grows leaves the first year and sets flowers and seeds the second year.  After seeding, the original plant dies off and new babies sprout up around it.  Most people treat it as a garnish but I use it in everything, adding leaves to salads, soups and vegetable dishes.  Sprinkling seeds on salads and adding them to breads.   

Here’s why:

• Parsley has more vitamin C than lemons, oranges or any other fruit
• It also supplies Vitamins A, B, E, K, Beta-Carotene, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Manganese, Sodium, Potassium and Calcium
• Research has shown that parsley aids digestion, stimulates the appetite, neutralizes strong odors like garlic and onion, stimulates the liver, spleen and endocrine organs.
• Believe it or not, parsley seeds are an aphrodisiac, enhancing the sexual glands, stimulating fertility.  They are also known to protect the brain against the side effects of alcohol and brain tumors.

Aside from its status as a super food, Parsley enhances the flavors of other vegetables and herbs, which is why it is so often combined with other herbs in recipes. It also helps the body absorb the nutrients of other foods. 

In the garden, parsley is also a butterfly magnet.  It’s tender leaves are host to at least 20 different caterpillars and its flowers attract butterflies,  sweat bees and beneficial wasps.

Add parsley to your butterfly garden, your herb or kitchen garden and any full sun to partially shaded spot.  For those of you who hate the taste, try the flat leaf variety over the curly variety.  It has a much milder taste and contains all of the same benficial qualities.

For more information go to http://www.liveandfeel.com/medicinalplants/parsley.html

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The Secret to Colorful Hydrangeas

So many of you emailed me about the white Hydrangea that today I am sharing the information with all of you.  I must confess, I didn’t know this.  I had to ask.  But isn’t that the benefit of Garden Club?  You really don’t need to know.  You just need to know who will know and how to ask. 

 Surround yourself with happy, knowledgeable people and you will live well.

Today’s Expert: Sue Lawley of The Garden Club of Charleston  

This will usually work on most plants — sometime the “special” varieties developed won’t change, but try it and see.  I wouldn’t recommend using on French hydrangeas (lace caps).  They tend to be blue in acid soils and pink in alkaline soils.  A more neutral soil produces a purple bloom for these specimens. 

For blue hydrangeas, dissolve 1 tablespoon of aluminum sulfate in a gallon of water and drench the soil around the base of plants in March, April and May. (Aluminum Sulfate is available at most garden centers.)

For pink hydrangeas, dissolve 1 tablespoon of hydrated lime in a gallon of water, and soak the roots in April and May.  Avoid getting the lime mix on foliage.  It will cause the leaves to have spots on them. (Hydrated lime is also available at most garden centers.)

If you want white hydrangeas, plant selections such as ’Annabelle’ smooth hydrangea (H. arborescens ‘Annabelle’), ‘Snowflake’ oakleaf hydrangea (H. quercifolia ‘Snowflake’), ‘Tardiva’ (H. paniculata ‘Tardiva’), or ‘Le Cygne’ French hydrangea (H. macrophylla ‘LeCygne’).

Fertilization:  top dress plants with a granular 10-10-10 fertilizer in early spring.  Hydrangea will let you know when they are dry.  If they wilt in the afternoon, they are usually okay, but if they’re flagging early in the morning, they need a drink. 

Propagation from cuttings:  Cut a 12-15 inch piece off a non blooming branch (July or August).  Cut the clipped stem in two or more pieces, making sure that each section has at least two nodes that can be placed in the potting soil.  Strip the foliage, except for the top few leaves of each cutting.  Pour rooting compound into a small container and dip the bottom end of the cutting into the compound.  Make a straight hole in potting soil.  Slide the cutting into the hole and gently pull soil up around it (make sure that the two leaf nodes are buried).  Water thoroughly, drenching the soil.  Use a plant tag and print the name and date on it.  Set plant out in a shady location and keep soil moist.  Leave the cutting in the pot for a year or two to establish a fibrous root system.  Some of the vigorous selections will be ready in a year.  Cuttings may be left outside unless temperatures drop into the low teens.  If this happens, find a protected place to put them until temperatures come up (a sunroom, garage, greenhouse, etc.).  I usually don’t bother bringing my cuttings in because the area where I have my “nursery” plants is protected by evergreens and a fence.

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