My friend Barry brought these weekly gardening newspapers back from a recent trip to the UK (Wales and London). And look, each issue has a free packet of seeds affixed to the cover. Okay, so I would not sow any of the seeds that came with these three issues in my own garden, but still — FREE SEEDS!
Here’s a peek inside if you’re curious about content.
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This morning I took advantage of the mild weather to get some chores done in the garden. As I kneeled on the ground planting garlic I thought about my recent trip to Georgia. I arrived in Atlanta the day before the State was set to execute Troy Davis. I’d been following the case through online news outlets, but it wasn’t until the morning of my talk that I realized that the time was set to correspond with the moment I got up to speak at the botanical garden.
This threw me into a tailspin. Should I recognize the moment? In my personal life I would. Yes, people around the world die every minute of everyday, but State sanctioned murder is not the same. Here I was in the place where it was about to happen and at that very moment. Not saying anything felt like intentional avoidance or denial, yet at the same time I was a guest from another country — people had come out to hear me speak about growing food and I did not want to send them home feeling badly, or worse still, judged.
Over the last month or so there had been some online chatter about the role of garden writers. Several people said that garden writers should stick to plants and pretty things and that there is no place for politics. I have already stated my opinion on this topic and find it interesting that it was only a short time later that I was in a position in which it was tested. Where is the line between our personal and professional lives? For me it is very fuzzy and I would not have it any other way.
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The last of the tomato crop are racing to ripen on withering vines. The roselle is showing signs of cold damage and gaping holes are appearing in the garden beds where warm season annuals were once lush and thriving.
I feel blue. The garden season is winding down and while various contraptions will be employed to keep the food coming for some time yet, and even though several plants will join me indoors, creating a lush jungle in my office and the cold “greenhouse” out front, it’s just not the same.
Winter is not summer.
When I think of the months ahead, I can’t seem to get down with huddling up indoors plotting next year’s plan, nor can I anticipate the look of my new garden’s first winter. They are nice ideas, but I could do without them. Instead, I imagine myself cautiously traipsing into the garden in my bare feet to pick fresh herbs for dinner. I recall the heavy, smell of the sweet smell of the nicotiana flowers at night and rescuing the last head of sorghum from the squirrels. I don’t want that to end. I want it to keep going year-round. I want the roselle to get their chance to bloom. I want to cut back the hot peppers and the tomatoes and start anew. I want to be greeted each morning by a lush scene from my kitchen window and the promise of some new magic to discover.
I don’t want the long, cold break. I don’t want the slow, dark days and the blanket of winter to cover it all up. I don’t want to rest. I want to keep going.
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Every botanical garden has their forte, their special something that sets them apart from the others. Prior to any trip that includes a stop at a botanical garden, I tend to scour websites in anticipation of the sort of plantings I will see. However, before my trip to speak at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens last month, I decided not to do any research before hand. I thought it might be more fun to be surprised and wowed without the anticipation that comes with knowing what to expect.
Sure enough, I was absolutely giddy to discover that one of the garden’s claim to fame is their carnivorous collection! I have lots more to share with you, but first is a project that can be achieved at home.
Venus fly traps (Dioneae muscipula) are probably the most well-known carnivorous plant, and are widely available as impulse buys in big box stores and supermarkets. Yet, few of us get to really experience them beyond one small plastic shell packet in a cardboard counter display. The plants are marketed as an enigma, tend not to last long in our dry winter-heated homes and are a little bit intimidating as a result.
They’re a temperate-warm climate plant that prefers high humidity and can withstand short freezes, but can not survive the killing frost we experience here in the North. Venus fly traps love Toronto’s hot, humid summers, but require a chilly, but not freezing, winter dormancy period that fluctuates around the 50 degrees F mark. For this reason I have grown them as an annual in miniature bogs like the one shown above (photographed at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens) through the summer months, but tend to abandon them once the winter comes. In the right climate you can easily achieve the sort of mass planting shown in this bowl as the plants do reproduce readily and will even set seed.
Soil:
I’ve had a lot of luck using a mix that is 1 part sand, 1 part peat (substituting coir), and 1 part perilite.
Planting:
It wasn’t clear to me if the bowl (shown above) had drainage holes or not. In my experience, I have had best results growing venus fly trap outdoors in a pot with holes with a deep, water-filled saucer placed underneath to keep the soil moisture high, yet also allow for drainage through periods of heavy rainfall.
When drainage is not offered, I line the bottom of the bowl with gravel and keep the pot in a sheltered spot where I can control the amount of water it receives. Venus fly traps like wet conditions, but they can still become water-logged and rot if left permanently submerged in water.
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I cover growing a carnivorous bog in my first book, You Grow Girl: The Groundbreaking Guide to Gardening, and if you’d like to learn even more on growing all sorts of carnivorous plants, I highly recommend The Savage Garden: Cultivating Carnivorous Plants by Peter D’Amato.
The Carnivorous Plant FAQ has an detailed section on growing venus fly traps, including a few tricks for dealing with dormancy.
Leave a commentFans of musician George Harrison, best known as one of The Beatles, will be interested in George Harrison: Living in the Material World, a documentary that is airing on HBO tonight and tomorrow. The film, directed by Martin Scorsese, is a look at George’s life, music, beliefs, and his place within the popular band.
“I’m not really a career person. I’m a gardener, basically.” – George Harrison
Did you know that George Harrison was also a lifelong gardener? I’m a fan of his music, but it’s his passion for gardening that I am most interested in hearing more about. Roger Ebert recently wrote a review of the documentary for the Sun Times that touches on this aspect of George’s life. According to Mr. Ebert (I have not seen the documentary so I can’t say how much of this is covered in the film) George was “…obsessed by the physical act of gardening, working with his land every day that he could.” He speculates that were we to get a better sense of this private man, “…we should visit his gardens.”
Sound familiar?
Clips as well as further information about the documentary is available on the George Harrison website.
I don’t subscribe to cable TV, in fact my analogue TV no longer works period since digital television was regionally instated, so I’ll have to find some other way to see this documentary. If you see the film tonight and tomorrow, please come back and tell us about it!
Here’s a link to my favourite song by George Harrison.
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