GARDEN PROJECTS FOR 2016

Solanum mammosum, or 'Nipple Fruit', an ornamental egg plant, is used in China as one of the plant materials used in the creation of New Years Trees, used because of its auspiciousness ( it's gold color, good for prosperity in the coming year)

Image from Bluebalu - Living in Hong Kong.

Here is a long list of some Garden Projects I am currently exporing as potential candidate for my 2014 growing season. So many of you responded with nice things to say about these prokjects, many of you mentioning that it was your favorite part of my blog, that I want to amp up my explorations. These step-by-step projects are fun to do, yet they require some prep work, so I am sharing this unedited list first to get some responses, and other ideas if you have them.

Note: In the past, here are some other projects I attempted ( projects are in-depth challenges where I may grow as many selections of varieties of a plant, or start a collection, or try something to grow that few of us ever seem to try in our gardens, in an attempt to inspire others).

In the past, I've shared these:

My Sweet Pea Project

The Annual Poppy Project

Globe Artichokes
Exhibition Chrysanthemum Project

Achimenes
1802 Heirloom Melon Project
Beligian Endive, growing and forcing

Exhibition Tuberous Begonias

Japanese Grass Orchids

OCA - Oxalis tuberosa 

I've been more than a little curious about primitive varieties of veggies ( which is why I experimented  with Green Oxacan Corn last year). Today, many are proposing that heirloom and 'lost crops' are worth growing for either nutrition or flavor, so as seed catalogs start to promote more of these heirloom varieties of potatoes and other root crops, I could say I am concerned about healthy alternatives to big, baked potatoes but let's be realistic - I only have nine raised beds, and there is no way that I am going to live off of my garden. OK, honestly, the real reason I want to try this particular crop is because it is a tuberous oxalis and if you have ever visited me, you would know that I am a collector of tuberous oxalis.

 You may have seen Oca in specialty markets ( often at some Whole Foods in the fall in the US), yet in its native country of Peru, the Oca tuber is a staple food product, and in many South American countries, it comes second only to  potatoes.  I am following many of the techniques and advice outlined a blog I found on growing Oca called: Growing Oca by Ian Pearson. You may wish to check out this post too on Oca Testbed, for some sneak peeks on what this crop could look like. I am still gathering information from these sites, but don't worry, I won't be watering mine with diluted urine as he did.  Oca plants are available from Territorial Seed but I am on the look out for other sources of tubers - I would appreciate and sources you may find as I would like to grow a wide variety of selections.

Fermentation Projects -  Kombucha to Kimchi

There is this idea 'fermenting' in my head - call it a 'gut response' (sorry). Pickling with natural fermentation is something that my parents did when I was growing up in the 60's and 70's, something I considered so normal that I thought everyone did it, maybe because many of our neighbors also fermented veggies. This neighborhood that I still live in was once composed primarily of Eastern European immigrants, from Poland, Lithuania and Russia, and pickling was a common as cabbage. I found my grandfathers sauerkraut directions typed on some cards upstairs, and he died at 99 years old back in 1986, apparently while trout fishing ( well, he DID take up smoking at age 90).

Naturally fermented foods and my home here have many connections, and it's time to explore this in depth, which should be easy since we still have all the crocks in the cellar, stored in the 'store room' with the old cork door on it. To be honest, I thought all pickles were vinegar pickles, since I only helped my parents slice cucumbers and onions or shred cabbage rarely paying attention to the details later on in the process.

To be honest, this natural pickle project is a response to recent writings and talks that I have heard about gut flora and microbiota cultures inside of us, all thanks to author Michael Pollan; and this landmark article published in the New York Times earlier this year. This article has him still making appearances on NPR and heath programs, speaking about gut biomes and bacteria communities, and how essential they really are for good human health. He also promotes  the Human Micro Biome Project, and the Human Food Project, (visit their site) and their American Gut project - which is attempting to sequence the gut communities of thousands of Americans. Another related topic I may cover as elegantly as I can.

I admit that I am heavily swayed by this particular selection called 'Chatter's Doubles" available from the German seed company, Jelitto. Swoon worthy Hollyhocks in chestnut, chamois, peach and cinnamon. 

A  Hollyhock Project 

Join me as I rediscover the joy of old fashioned Hollyhocks on this two year journey, which may include a few other biennials like Foxgloves and campanula, not always the easiest to raise from seed. We rarely see the stately Hollyhock anymore. So I think it's time that we rediscover this fine, tall biennial - a classic in New England cottage gardens, old English cottages, fairy tale cottages and in the front gardens in those paintings of candle-lit cottages by Thomas Kincaid  . I am often asked about cottage gardens, and since biennials are key components of the more iconic cottage garden scheme, I think I should start with more projects involving the culture of true biennials, as I know that they are challenging for many people to master, so this might be a good step-by-step topic to cover.

Biennials are rarely seen today because of a very simple fact - in order to grow them well, they must be planted (sown) during the previous year, then wintered over and then allowed to grow to blooming size in their second growing season.  If one is lucky, they will set seed, and resow where they really want to grow. It is because of this very habit, that we rarely find them available at garden centers. You may find plants in-bud, and one may assume that some well intended nurseryman did all of the hard work for you, but these pot grown specimens are always a shadow of what they could have been.

This also could change, since I really was excited about hollyhocks two weeks ago when I began this post, but now, in mid-February......meh. I still need to find one flower where I can grow ALL of the selections available, and for some reason, I keep going back to old fashioned nasturtiums. So common, and yet, when do we ever see all of them arranged side-by-side in a comparison study?

A collection of Lithops grown by Tony Phan

A Lithops Collection

I have a friend who boasts about having the world's second largest collection of conophytum. I also have a friend who boasts about having a serious collection of most every species of Haworthia. The same goes for a collection of Dykia that I know.  These collections are amazing when arranged together for viewing, and I have been envious everytime I see them in local Cactus and Succulent Society shows. There is something about seeing a collection of like species or species within a genus arranged side by side, so that one can study and appreciate the nuances between them all.

I am seriously thinking about starting a collection of lithops, and Conophytum species ( all grouped as living stones), which will need to be sown by seed so that I can collect most of the species available, but a few can be purchased.  I plan on collecting as many of the Living Stones, or Lithops (and related genus/species) starting with 2014. I imagine this collection as more of a botanic collection than an ornamental one, displaying the seed raised containers in tidy rows, with lables showing proper identification. I have at least 65 named selections ordered, and I may order some prestarted species to fill in gaps. I feel the urge to add another serious collection to the greenhouse.

Dahlia Trials part 2

Yes, I plan to try dahlias again this year, as it has been 5 years since I last attempted a trial of dahlias. In that year, the results were spectacular, as I composed a palette of violet, purple, magenta and lavender dahlias.This year I think I am ready to try more, but I just need to find the right place to grow them as they require sun, high fertilizer and lots of water.  I was planning on growing another trial of Chrysanthemums ( the exhibition type) but one of the country's only sources Kings Mums, has had a tragic and catastrophic disaster, with plant losses causing them to shut down for one year. So Dahlias ( or tuberous begonias?) it is.

The High Alpine Rock Garden Project - Crevice to Scree

I have a few rock garden projects planned for this year. First, I will be continuing our crevice garden planting near the main entrance to the studio, a project I started five years ago when we had a few influential rock garden enthusiasts stay with us while touring the country on speaking tours ( Josef Halda among them). It's time to continue with my long term planting scheme, and add another 200 sq feet of rock, placed vertically, end upon end, in this newly introduced (from the Czech Republic) style for creating a rock/alpine garden. Halda shared some secrets with us which I would like to share, and with my growing passion for alpine and high elevation plants, I feel the need to build more rock gardens around the  property once again.

A formal garden planting - maybe culinary herbs 

I admit that have been thinking about designing a formal culinary herb garden,  perhaps planted behind the house where our golf putting green used to be ( I know- so snooty - a"golf green". right? But yes, there was a bent grass putting green in our garden for at least 70 years - a long story for another post).  I have allowed the lawn to grow out, and I am still deciding what to plant there. Maybe a boxwood parterre, maybe a formal peony garden, or even a Fletcher Steele inspired garden ( see below). Or a rock garden. I need to address this issue soon, so here I go with some ideas.

I do grow many herbs, but they are placed throughout the garden, in spare spaces in the perennial borders, along walks or planted en mass in the vegetable gardens, usually in rows, which is the most practical way to grow herbs, as I can feel free to harvest large bunches as needed. In veg garden, I have both annual and perennial herbs: annual seeded herbs such as 3 of 4 dill varieties ( some grown for seed heads for flavoring pickling spices, and other as fresh green dill for salads, egg dishes and most everything else one needs dill added to. I also grow a wide selection of Basils, summer savory for summer squash dishes and sages, but I always wanted a culinary, or even a more traditional New England style cottage herb garden - the sort one would have seen in the 17th century, with a selection of essential kitchen herbs as well as medicinal herbs.



A Fletcher Steel Inspired Border
This summer I will be presenting a couple of talks about my experiences as a gardener at a Fletcher Steele garden ( the Stoddard Garden) once again. I've been surprised by the interest in this subject, and I am just beginning to realize or appreciate the gift that experience gave me back in the late 1970's and early 1980's when in college. I remember so much, exactly what was planted in each border, the exacting detail required for proper maintenance of everything from a planted tufa rock wall with a large collection of encrusted silver saxifrages, to how to maintain a collection of gentians. I really want to recreate a few of the perennial plantings that I remember so well, and I think that this may be the year, as even scholars who study this most well known of American landscape architects, have lost many of his planting schemes, those very schemes which exist in my brain. I think it's time that I exercise some of that knowledge.

Another Fletcher Steele idea which I have been eager to visualize is a shrub border composed of primarily golden leaved shrubs. That may be more realistic.

Pansies on display at the Chelsea Flower Show, where growers showcase a display of as many varieties as possible in massive, tiered displays. I am still thinking of what I could grow this year - ideas are welcome. Zinnia? Nasturtium? Marigold? Gladiolus? Tuberous Begonia's again?

A Floral Audit  Collection like Chelsea
OK, in the past, I grew every variety of sweet peas that I could find, I covered how to grow annula poppies growing all of the Shirley poppy varieties available, or Japanese Chrysanthemums - and then documenting the process with images. I admit that I am influenced by the displays in the growers tents at the Chelsea Flower Show, were one can view a selection of  varieties, side-by-side, but I am not sure yet what flower I will grow this year.  I am open to ideas. I've been playing around with more common annuals, like nasturtiums or marigolds, as we rarely see these all grown together, and displayed in ways that would make us want to grow them in our own gardens.

Please share thoughts on what I might grow as my Chelsea Floral Audit this year.

Greenhouse Cucumbers and Tomatoes
Another project that I have been wanting to do for a while.  A few years ago, I grew heirloom and gourmet melons in the greenhouse, when I realized that all of that space was going to waste during the summer. This year, I am exploring growing English and Asian cucumbers, and a few tomatoes ( even a crop of Chinese Yard Long Beans, all possible crops for a summer greenhouse.

Tuberoses
I failed in growing a crop of tuberoses last year ( inspired by a few of my 18th and 19th century books), but I am learning, and will try again. So my Tuberose project continues once again.Especially as some breeders have introduced colored selections of tuberoses.

A Cutting Garden of Woody Plants
Another project that I keep pushing out, but maybe this is the year. I imagine a cutting garden for shrubs and small trees. Each winter and spring, I want to cut many branches to force. quince, plum, forsythia and other force-frendly shrubs so that I will not damage specimens near the house. It makes sense to plant such a luxury, as indeed, it is a luxury, but I have the space and the means, so why not? I also would like to plant lilacs, as they are horrible garden specimens, as maybe a few rows of cut flower perennials like peonies and roses. A serious, long term cutting garden, planted way out back where my mother had her cutting garden of peonies and poppies in the 1950's and 1960's.

Auspicous Asian Plants

I continue to be curious about the many traditional, and very ancient flower festivals and celebratory elements about plants in much of Asia, in particular, China and Japan. In China, for instance, plants are used which they believe have auspicious meaning to them, often due to their gold color or associated value, and how that may contribute to good luck and prosperity throughout the coming year. Take for example the plant we now are starting to see sold as a rare heirloom eggplant here in the states often called 'Nipple Fruit'. In China Solanum mammosum is used to create New Years trees ( more typically created with oranges). 

Then there is the Ground Cherry or Japanese Lantern plant, a weed in many of our gardens, as rampant as many species of Lysimachia, in Japan, its used in a festival called Hozuki ichi, the Ground Cherry Festival held in July. Whenever I am in Asia, I discover something new. The Aoi Matsuri or Japanese Hollyhock Festival in Kyoto is a good example. One may think that this festival is another floral one, similar to the Umi Plum Festival or the Cherry Blossom Festival we are all familiar with, but in reality, it only celebrates the leaves of the Hollyhock, as they are believed to ward off natural disasters. So interesting.

Hops

I thought about growing hops and then making my own beer, but I think I will hold off on this project until next year. I may give in, if I can figure out where to grow them, but then I should grow barley too, right?

Also on my radar.... Fuchsia? Geraniums/Pelargoniums? Streptocarpus? Gloxinia? True Lilies, Trillium, a traditional English Cottage Garden, Heirloom Winter Squash, Sunflowers... Ugh, I need to stop.

Oh, and thanks guys for telling me that my side bar links are all screwed up! Now, at least, I have something to work on at night next week while babysitting my dad while Joe is in NYC at Westminster where our Irish Terrier is competing ( I know, I feel like an Olympic parent at home).