Garden seed catalogs aren't just for buying seeds anymore.  They offer so much more!

 

They are great for learning about garden plants:  their history, their growing habits and needs, and great pictures for identification purposes.  Some catalogs even print recipes!  Here are my favorites.

 

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds has beautiful pictures and descriptions of rare heirloom plants.  The owners are worldwide seed collectors, and they give historical background of the plants.  In past years they've had good recipes for garden vegetables.   www.rareseeds.com

 

Heirloom Solutions has good pictures and large print!!  Ya gotta love that.  They also share a little philosophy, from a grandfather's Christian perspective on sharing the garden with the next generation.    www.HeirloomSolutions.com

 

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange has good descriptions,  PLUS extensive explanations for growing every kind of garden plant.  They also offer mushrooms and HOW to grow them.  And they are in Virginia, almost in our zone.  www.SouthernExposure.com

 

Territorial Seed Company is out of Oregon, not our zone, but they offer very good information about HOW to grow each type of garden plant:  how deep to plant, how much fertilizer to use, insect and disease problems, harvest and storage.  www.TerritorialSeed.com

 

 Sow True Seeds is my new favorite catalog and planting guide.  They are located in Asheville, really our zone.  So when they tell us what to expect, it's from a very realistic perspective.  Like, day length, average temperature, frost dates, etc.  This catalog also tells us each plant's needs, including companions and antagonists.    It offers mushroom plugs and culture information.  It even discusses seed saving for each type of plant!!!    www.sowtrueseed.com

 

All these catalogs promise GMO-free seeds.  They offer heirloom and organic seeds too.  And best of all:  all that information that helps us become more successful in our gardens.   

 

So even if you aren't growing your garden from seeds, you still need the information on how to do it, so go ahead and read these cool catalogs.  I've given the web addresses for each one.  They all offer free catalogs.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!!

 

Jon just came in and said, "Have you seen what's growing in the compost bin?"

 

 I thought he was referring to the squash seeds that have sprouted in there.  I saw them yesterday, and was pretty excited about free squash plants.

 

But NO!!!  Today this was growing on the top layer.  YAK!!!  So I looked up 'fuzzy yellow mold'.  You can find everything on the internet!!!  Well I found this. 

 

Its name is Fuligo septica.  But wait!!!!  The common names are even more unattractive:  Scrambled eggs slime mold, and Dog vomit slime mold.  OK.  That's GROSS.

 

But the good news is this:  It's not harmful to the compost or the garden.  It spreads by spores and grows in really wet places.  So keep the compost bin DRY, and don't freak out when you see it.  It won't hurt YOU.  Except NOW whenever you see it you'll think about dog vomit.  GROSS!!!!!

 

That's my cheerful contribution to your morning read.  Sorry.  ;P 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!!

 

Yesterday we went up to Brasstown Bald, and hiked up the trail from the bottom of the road.  We had only gone a short way when we started seeing Ladyslipper orchids!!!!!!

 

It is a fairly common wildflower, but it takes my breath away every time I see one.

 

They grow in colonies in pine-dominated forests, and are dependent on microorganisms that live in the soil.  So they don't transplant well.  I've seen people selling them at the flea market:  but save your money;  they probably won't survive transplanting.  Just enjoy them in their native habitat.

 

They are just starting to bloom now, so you should be able to see them for a couple more weeks.

 

You don't have to drive up the road to the parking lot;  just park at the bottom and walk up the hiking trail.  In about a half mile you will see hundreds of them. 

 

Be prepared to be amazed!!!!!

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Sandy Bradley sent me this picture today.  It is one of her grandbuddies shucking black beans that they grew in her garden.  Her message said....if you know how to pick em, you NEED TO KNOW how to shuck them beans.

 

Thank you, Sandy for training the next generation:  how to grow and harvest REAL food.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Karen finally found something that the deer won't eat!!!   YAY! for you!!!!!

 

Bearded Iris are beautiful perennials named after the Greek Goddess of the Rainbow.

 

The best time to plant iris is early spring, to give them a chance to establish their roots before blooming.  Late autumn planting doesn't offer this, and they don't grow as well.  Be careful not to bury the rhizome; it could prevent the plant from blooming.  Iris also doesn't like mulch;  I guess the roots want to "breathe."

 

When they become overcrowded they don't bloom as well, so they need to be divided.  It is usually done after blooming, by lifting out the entire clump, and cutting it into individual plants.  Each rhizome will have a fan of leaves. 

 

This is the time to replant, or share with your friends and neighbors.  Everybody loves Iris.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Rhododendron calendulaceum, better known as Flame Azalea.  They have brilliant yellow to orange flowers.  I've seen several different colors.  All beautiful!!

 

They are native to our Appalachian mountains, and range from New York to Alabama.   They grow in deciduous forests and on the edges of the forest.  

 

Flame Azaleas are blooming all over our neighborhood right now, so be sure to notice them in your travels.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

In this area, clematis is a perennial vine.  There are many varieties, some native, others cultivated hybrids.  All beautiful vines.  We've had this clematis for over ten years!!  And she blooms like this every spring!

 

There are too many rules about growing clematis to remember them all, but the best one is this:

 

In general, clematis likes its feet in the shade and its head in the sun. 

 

So we planted ours under the deck, and let it climb the 4 x 4 posts up through the top deck railing.  I use garden string for it to latch onto, and guide it a little as it goes up.  You can see that I extend the string up the sunburst railings.  It doesn't grow that high every year, but when it gets big enough, it fans out.  

 

You know how grapevines have tendrils?  Well, clematis uses a tendril-like stem on its leaves that twists around the support.  In this case, the garden string.  Of course, it has a mind of its own, reaching for the sunlight, so I try to guide it the way I want it to go.  Sometimes it's very tidy, and some years it's all over the place.  

 

But it's always beautiful!!!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

How cute is he!?!   Doing an excellent job of guarding the garden.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

The tulip poplars are leafing out!!  See how the leaves look like tulips?  Pretty soon they will be blooming.  I'll post a picture when that happens.  The flowers look like tulips too!  

 

I've seen several Tiger swallowtail butterflies lately.  They lay their eggs on the tulip poplar;  they use it as a host plant for their caterpillars to feed on before they make their chrysalids.  

 

We should have lots of butterflies judging by the number of tulip poplars!!!!  I love them both!!!!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Look who's blooming!  Columbine.  

 

I brought one plant with me when we moved here.  That one plant continues to reseed itself...everywhere!!!  Every year it blooms and produces seeds.  And some of those seeds get blown by the wind to other places.  So we have this beautiful columbine growing all around the original plant, and beyond!!

 

My North Carolina Gardener's Guide says....'This species behaves like a wildflower, throwing seeds by summer that soon germinate in every nook and cranny of the garden.'   Boy, is that ever TRUE!!!  It would be a great addition to a rock garden, planting itself among the rocks.  Just check out Jim and Roxanne's f!ower beds.  They have purple ones.

 

It likes sun and partial shade.  So if you have a place for some columbine, I'll have seeds to share next month.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!