PEONY TIME!

So we went shopping today to find peonies that will hopefully be in bloom come Sunday for the Seattle Chinese Garden's peony event!

 

Notice that I'm speaking that afternoon!!  I hope you can make it!

So while we're crossing our fingers for flowers, guess who's blooming at Landwave:

 

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Gardening: A Career to be Damn Proud Of!

I can't help but get kind of teary-eyed that I'm not anticipating a flight to the UK and taking in the Chelsea Flower Show in person this year. I think by not going, it's really hitting me that I really did it; I fulfilled a dream and experienced an aspect of my career that truly helped define it. Part of me wants to relive it very badly, but reality is setting in and, in a way, I've got to earn that next trip.

With social media in full swing at these types of events, I get updates on the progress of the show gardens and relevant links on the RHS Facebook Page.

One of those links was this awesome video they posted about how valuable and fulfilling a career in horticulture is! Yes, there are cultural differences and a long tradition of gardening in the UK, but they address some of the same issues we deal with here in the United States. Horticulture is deemed as a career for those who failed to excel in school or the image of a gardener as "a grumpy old man coughing in a potting shed".




You might remember the garden designer I profiled last year, Sarah Price. She is designing a grand garden for Chelsea (for the Telegraph) and also took part in designing landscape elements for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Here's a video of her as crunch time nears for the great flower show and the plants are kinda temperamental:

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The RHU to the BARB! A gorgeous, yet edible plant!

A few weeks ago during my excursion to Jello Mold Farm with some friends, we carpooled and met up at a home with a most cozy and inviting garden that yielded some of the best rhubarb I've ever witness in person. I say "best" simply based on appearance as I rarely eat the thing, but the bright red stems were absolutely GORGEOUS!

 

   

 The gigantically lush, deep green foliage, which you DO NOT EAT!, were held up by their luscious ruby red stalks that were generously harvested for all of us to enjoy. The foliage contains oxalic acid which can cause kidney of bladder stones and while it takes like 10 pounds of leaves eaten in one sitting to cause death, it's still recommended that the foliage be removed prior to processing.

I've always grown Ornamental rhubarb for my perennial borders for their massive size, but the edible "pie-plant" appears just as striking, but with the added benefit that the stems are wonderful in pies, crumbles/crisps, and savory sauces. So I had to find a recipe for the bundle I was given that lovely afternoon.

Rhubarb and strawberry are a classic pair so I decided to make a pie with a oatmeal crumble topping:

Here's a recipe from All-Recipes.com that I modified a but, but it's simple and, yes, I cheated and bought a pre-made crust to make it a pie and not just a crumble.

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups sliced fresh strawberries
• 3 cups diced rhubarb
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup rolled oats

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix white sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, strawberries, and rhubarb. Place the mixture in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. Mix 1 1/2 cups flour, brown sugar, butter, and oats until crumbly. You may want to use a pastry blender for this. Crumble on top of the rhubarb and strawberry mixture.
4. Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until crisp and lightly browned.

Then I wanted to try something savory using a sauce to compliment roast pork or chicken. Here's a recipe from EatingWell.com:

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1-1 1/4 pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed
• 1 large sweet onion, sliced
• 2-4 tablespoons water
• 2 cups diced rhubarb
• 1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup minced fresh chives

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Mix 1 teaspoon oil, coriander, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the mixture into pork. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook, turning occasionally, until brown on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast the pork until an instant-read thermometer registers 145°F, 15 to 17 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing.
3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons water; continue cooking, stirring often, until the onion is soft, 5 to 7 minutes more, adding water a tablespoon at a time if necessary to prevent burning. Stir in rhubarb, vinegar and brown sugar and cook, stirring often, until the rhubarb has broken down, about 5 minutes. Spoon the sauce over the sliced pork and sprinkle with chives.

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VANDALS!!

I'm always hoping for horticulture to make it in the mainstream media, but for some reason, when it does get mentioned or covered, it's always BAD NEWS like what happened to us at the UW Botanic Gardens's Washington Park Arboretum.

This was absolutely devastating. I got a call from David early last week and informed us of what had happened and immediately, we had a guess as to who may be responsible as right about the same time last year, we endured some vandalism and theft over at the Center for Urban Horticulture where I work part time.

In Defense of Camellias

A fellow "next generation gardener" in North Carolina shared this video that I just have to share with you all.

I met Brienne Gluvna at the Garden Writer's Association symposium a few years ago that took place in Raleigh. I was thrilled to meet someone that was fairly close to my age work intensely and know so much! It was refreshing and, obviously, we clicked!

She's given me tips on propagating and I've also ordered some fantastic plants from Camellia Forest Nursery. Absolutely wonderful stuff and worth having a look! Their plants are really excellent and well grown!






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There's always room for J-E-L-L-O and seasonal cut flowers!!

It's been somewhat of a dismal past few days, but I have to share a highlight of last week as I ventured out with some friends up to Mt. Vernon. We skipped the so called "Tulip Traffic" at this time of year up there in the Skagit Valley, but instead, we paid a visit to a place that will be getting a lot of press and attention thanks to a fantastic new book written and photographed by two wonderful friends, Debra Prinzing and David Perry.

Their book is "The 50 Mile Bouquet: Seasonal, Local, and Sustainable Flowers"


On the gorgeous cover, an abundant farm was featured along with its proprietor: it's Diane Szukovathy of Jello Mold Farms (on the right). I met Diane in person at the Hardy Plant Society of Washington's lecture series last year where she spoke and shared her knowledge, enthusiasm and undeniable passion for the work that she does. She just FLEW through the lecture and you were totally with her if you knew your plants. Hahaha. She was so excited and kept everyone so engaged! LOVED IT!

I've been meaning to pay her a visit, but the push to make the appointment came about when a volunteer of mine at the UW shared that she and a classmate of hers were starting up a small business doing landscape design and custom floral work. She expressed such a deep interest in using locally grown and produced materials and I thought it would be a perfect field trip for her to meet Diane and also see where some of her future "cuts" may come from.

Diane kindly welcomed us and gave us a tour of her fields and growing production. While there weren't acres and acres of fantastic flowers just yet, we saw the roots and foundation of a successful and productive flower crop.

 

Rows and rows of dahlia cuttings rooted and hardening off, beds of one of my favorite, self seeding annuals, Cerinthe, the sweet peas beginning to climb up their trellises. It looks like so much hard work, yet it was compelling to witness just how it all works and grows.

Diane with a luscious tree peony just starting to open

A tree peony bud almost ready to pick.

  

The greatest thing about small cut flower farms like Jello Mold is the emphasis on diversity. They freely experiment on what makes a great "cut" and use such a wide assortment of varieties so nothing goes to waste. They compost, use biological controls, no chemicals and everything is able to "go back to the earth".  From the young shoots of ornamental grasses to the colorful abundance of fruits in the fall and winter, designers are blessed with a plethora of plant selections and it forces them to really think outside of the box in assembling their creations. It truly is fascinating!

Diversity begins inside a simple greenhouse where she sows an array of different varieties along with some customer requests.

Hellebores make a good cut as well, but you have to harvest them after the stamens fall of.

A flat of seedlings hardening off with Jello Molds behind. =)

What's most remarkable and noteworthy about Diane is her work ethic and commitment to her craft. I could not believe that she runs that farm with very minimal help and she also does landscape work in the Seattle area just to keep the farm going! She is full force, smart, and absolutely A HERO wanting to make a positive change in our world by sharing her world of responsibly grown flowers to brighten our spirits.

I must come back and visit this summer when everything is burst into blooms!


For more information on Jello Mold Farm and where you can get their flowers, Visit their website:

www.jellomoldfarm.com



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Riz and 'The Giant'

The last two weekends have been such a whirlwind of wonderful experiences and stories I want to be able to share, but it's that time of year where I'm overwhelmed, overworked, and, often times, OVERDOING IT!


One story deserves special recognition as it relates to a post I wrote several months ago about my
"Plants That I Want" list, based on the Plant Delight's Nursery catalog.

So, at the recent Hardy Plant Society of Oregon Spring Plant Sale down in Portland, Oregon, I happen  to run across a plant that I've been so intrigued by and been very tempted to just cave and own.

It's an Epimedium dubbed, "The Giant" being offered by extraordinary plantswoman, Diana Reeck of Collector's Nursery in Battle Ground, Washington. She had only 5 plants in one gallon containers all from a division she received from Epimedium authority, Darrell Probst, who discovered and collected it in China about a decade ago as an unidentified species. It was first offered for $500 for a small division, then it came down to $300, then Plant Delights has it for $150 for a small division.

Diana with 'The Giant' in full flower tempting every plant collector who admired it and aggravated whether or not it was worth it.

And looking at the price tag, I knew there was no way I'd be adding it to my humble box of luscious goodies from other vendors even thought it's the cheapest I've seen it.

Already, three had sold or been picked up leaving this and another specimen for me mull over and wonder if I can justify its purchase and addition to my collection.

I agonized about it all day. I was even trying to pollinate it with another Epimedium, I was so obsessed.!!

I talked to other growers and sought their thoughts and opinions and I even posted the photo above on Facebook, which totally drew up so many hilarious and serious comments about this one-of-a-kind plant.

 

    You get it and setting for mac and cheese for the rest of the month for meals.

     You buy it and then give it to me :) 

    Get 10 friends to buy in, like on Lotto and then "decide:" how to divide it up!!!

    Thats a sale price for that! in 5 years they will be at home depot for 7.99

    This wasn't on April Fool's Day that you saw this by any chance?

    Buy them all here is my wife's credit card number: 8907 4568 93345

    security number?

    or--support The Hardy Plant Society and suggest they hire you as a speaker, this plant in payment

    Buy it and never look back.

    802

     

    Around here it's beans and cornbread if we overspend on plants in the winter. In the summer I don't worry so much because the veggie garden will feed us.

    

    ok CONFESS! what happened in the end?....

    He would have spent the money on something anyway...oh and just in case you did buy it, have I told you lately how gosh darn handsome you are? Why you are just the nicest person... (thinks to self, he might have some babies in that pot...never hurts to grease the wheels...)

    Did you buy it Riz ?

      

    Sing a song, Riz! You will lure other shoppers to their table to see where that amazing 'voice' is coming   from and help build their sales up. Then they should offset your spontaneous concert with a mark down on the Ep and it could be a win-win

    Think of it as an iEpimedium.... It's easier

     

    So, Riz, did you?

 

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So, I kind of left people in suspense to this point. A few have claimed that I did get it, but.....

Sigh..... here are photos that have been circulating around the online forums so you can see just how REMARKABLE this Eppie is: Photos courtesy of Mr. Philip MacDougall.

Double sigh......


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