Garden Design News: February 2010

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Friday, February 19, 2010

Monday, February 8, 2010

Pennsylvania’s official celebration of Ground Hog Day began on February 2, 1886. Although it was on February 4, 1841, from Morgantown, Berks County (Pennsylvania) a storekeeper reported, “Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate.”

The tradition originally came from the Germans. When they arrived in the 1700s, they brought with them a tradition called Candlemas Day. It came at the mid-point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. Superstition held that if the weather was fair, the second half of the Winter be stormy and cold.

(Groundhog.org)

So, from 1886 to our present 2010, Punxsutawney Phil, “Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators,” (Groundhog Day movie,1993) and Weather Prophet Extraordinaire, a groundhog named after the settlement Punxsutawney, which is named after the Native Americans who lived there, reports the weather.

The report for 2010: Phil saw his shadow and went back in his burrow to sleep for another six weeks of winter!

Which means that although we have had some break-through days between storms where the temperature actually reached 60 degrees, winter is not over! Thus, it is not time to start planting. This is the time to plan what you are going to plant in your garden. Seed catalogues abound, and I would like to recommend one that is an excellent source as well as being totally organic: Seed Savers Exchange. It offers Heirloom seeds, books and gifts, and an amazing variety of seeds. You can go to www.seedsavers.org or phone: (563) 382-5990 for a catalogue. You can also sign up as a member and receive a quarterly “Yearbook” or magazine and also save 10% on purchases.

the Home and Landscape Expo 2010

One of the features that I had in our booth at the Home Show was a sculpture: a little dog made of stone. This little dog seemed to be the highlight of the booth...countless people stopped to look at and inquire about the dog. One fellow suggested I name the dog “Roxie”! This wonderful creature was created by Mary Ellen Garcia, or The Rock Lady (see my previous post). She also creates cats out of stone, turtles, birds and people. If you’d like to get in touch with her you can call her at (530) 363-3081; and, you can make an appointment to visit her studio in Pollock Pines!

I love my little dog. On the first day of the show I told it to “stay” - and that dog did not move an inch for the entire three days!

“Humans tend to look at gardens as an expression of nature.

Nature looks at gardens as an expression of humans.”

-Perelandra Garden

I wish you all happy dreaming and visualizing of your spring gardens!

I Have Worms!!!

At the Home & Landscape Expo that took place on January 29th, 30th & 31st, I met Lara who owns Urban Worms. In our conversation I learned quite a bit about “vermicomposting,” the practice of using earthworms to turn your kitchen scraps & other organic material into a rich soil amendment for your house or garden plants.

I have been interested in this type of composting for quite a while. After meeting Lara I was thrilled to be able to purchase my own home composter...which came with 1,000 red worms. It’s very easy to maintain and does not have any unpleasant odors. A medium-sized worm bin can process more than 5 pounds of food waste each week!

According to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, “Earthworms are the intestines of the earth.”

One of the most comprehensive resources on vermicomposting is Mary Appelhof’s by Worms Eat My Garbage, which is in it’s second printing after selling 100,000 copies.