As the country begins taking stock of the damage caused by hurricane Ophelia and works to restore power to much of Scotland and Northern England, gardeners throughout the country are lamenting the destruction of their gardens.
24.07.2023 - 12:17 / hgic.clemson.edu
You may not have heard of the hyporheic zone (HZ) or be able to see it, but it’s an integral part of our freshwater ecosystems and has a lot to do with keeping our streams healthy! The HZ is a transitional area where groundwater and surface water meet. It’s made up of sediments, large and small, but is porous enough to allow the exchange of nutrients, dissolved oxygen, and water. The main movements through the HZ are upwelling and downwelling. Upwelling occurs when water from groundwater moves upward, while downwelling is the movement of surface water toward the groundwater. But water doesn’t just flow through the HZ briefly back and forth; water and its associated materials have a specific residence time in the HZ. This allows pollutants and nutrients to be removed, protecting water quality. Many of these processes are performed by bacteria. Besides bacteria, small invertebrates live in the HZ. Aquatic species like mites and small crustaceans like isopods and amphipods hang out here. And when things get rough in the stream during drought, flooding, and temperature extremes, it becomes a refuge for many species.
What can we do to make sure the HZ continues to do its job and support beneficial bacteria and invertebrates? Just like anything, the HZ has its limits and can only process a certain amount of pollutants before it is at maximum capacity. Please do your part to prevent pollutants like fecal bacteria, excess nutrients, sediment, and pesticides from entering stormwater runoff and making it into our streams. That means picking up after your pet, only applying the recommended amount of fertilizer, and maintaining a wide area of native plants adjacent to the stream to act as a buffer. To learn more about healthy stream
As the country begins taking stock of the damage caused by hurricane Ophelia and works to restore power to much of Scotland and Northern England, gardeners throughout the country are lamenting the destruction of their gardens.
Homegrown cabbage is a garden treat and planting it in your vegetable beds means you can enjoy it at peak quality and flavor. The vigorous plants form tightly packed heads with layers of crisp, sweet leaves that are delicious raw, cooked, or fermented. While cabbage is fairly easy to grow it’s important to harvest the heads at the right time. If you wait too long they can split. Harvest too early and you’ll miss out on the main crop. Below I’ll highlight how you know when to harvest cabbage types including green, Napa, savoy, and even miniature varieties. Keep reading to learn more about timing the cabbage harvest.
The North of England Horticultural Society (NEHS) is over 106 year old and has been the premier gardening and horticultural charity supporting the north of England through out that time. It is independent of the RHS! The NEHS is not to be confused with Northern Horticultural society 1963-1988 or The Northern Horticultural society 1988 – 2009 which were subsumed along with Harlow Carr gardens by the RHS. Their magazine ‘Northern Gardener’ was replace by RHS publication The Garden.
For something a bit different this book on botanic art covers some of the unusual colours from black flowers, plants and seaweed like strange green, blue and puce pink.
Modern tea gardens may seem to be a contradiction but since the 15th century the wabi tea ceremony has influenced the tea gardens purpose and design. Originally when tea plants (Camellia sensi) were introduced into Japan from China in the 6th century they were the prerogative of the ruling classes and used expensive ingredients and equipment.
A pothos at Patch Plants
Chrysanthemum Morifolium is a popular flowering plant that cane be a fantastic addition to bring a dash of colors to homes and gardens.
St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, is a popular celebration in the United States, due to the number of Americans, 10.5%, with Irish heritage. One million Irish emigrated to North America, Australia, or other parts of Great Britain in the mid-1800s because of the potato disease now known as late blight. Late blight, caused by the water mold, Phytophthora infestans, destroyed the Irish potato crops in 1845 through 1849 and caused the Irish Potato Famine. Another one million people died from hunger or disease.
I don’t know about you, but I love a product that can be used in a variety of ways and has staying power, especially in the home and kitchen. I recently discovered fall/winter squash and the varieties and versatility that they provide. I knew about the typical winter squash that you see in the grocery store like Acorn, Butternut, Spaghetti, Pumpkins, and decorative gourds, but have been introduced to other varieties like Honey Nut, Kabocha, Carnival, Turban, Banana, Red Kuri, Sweet Dumpling, and Buttercup.
I’ll be roaming the Northeast in the early going, in places as close to home as the Berkshires of Massachusetts and the Hudson Valley of New York, but also across Massachusetts and as far as New Hampshire, Maine, New Jersey and coastal Connecticut. Events here in the garden will begin again in April; stay tuned for a fuller schedule of those, with just the first couple mentioned below.What’s planned already:Saturday, February 19, 2 PM: Lecture to benefit Berkshire Botanical Garden, Monument Mountain Regional High School, Great Barrington, MA.Thursday, March 3, 7 PM: R.J. Ju
If you said Heuchera, you’re right. Perhaps you’re going to reshuffle some shady beds this spring, and know that Heuchera, with their great foliage, can help make garden pictures work–but wonder which ones, and how best to use them. I invited George Coombs, trial garden manager at the must-visit Mt. Cuba Center in Delaware, with 50 acres of native-plant display gardens and 500 acres of natural land, back to the radio show to help make the best choices and grow them to perfection.George knows from Heuchera, having trialed 83 varieties side by side (the exhaustive results are in this pdf). “I say to people, ‘I’m doing Consumer Reports for plants,'” he explains. Though there are countless varieties on the market, many are duplicative in appearance or just not distinctive. “I can honestly say that when it
EXPLODING Eremurus, why vulnerability is good for us, and the answer to why bird poop is white—all, and more, in the latest collections of links I’ve loved lately while staring into my computer screen (which I alternately do between long gazes out the window). Five links worth exploring: