Plants for Winter Interest - Miscanthus

Sun Perennial Demo Garden-Jan. 2021

Tall grasses add structure and interest to the winter garden. Most common is Miscanthus which has approximately 20 different species. The name comes from the Greek mischos meaning “stalk” and anthos, “flowers.” This refers to the tiny flowers on its tall plumes. There are a variety of sizes and foliage that can fit in most landscapes. Miscanthus sinensis [miss-KANTH-us sih-NEN-sis] is also known as Maiden Grass.

Miscanthus sinensis 'Zebrinus'
CC BY-SA 3.0 (N. Nagel)

Allowing frost-killed grass to remain throughout the dormant season, its buff-colored foliage, stalks, and airy, plumed seed heads provide striking winter interest. The plumes shimmer in winter sunlight and the slightest breeze will add movement to the landscape. Tall varieties are excellent for mass planting and screens that last into winter. The plumes are excellent in dried flower arrangements.

The plant prefers full sun, tolerates moist soils and is relatively pest- and disease-free. It is highly salt tolerant which makes it an excellent choice along sidewalks, driveways and roadways. It is important to note that Miscanthus can become INVASIVE. Some cultivars produce many seeds and heavy mulching helps prevent germination and prevents the plant from becoming invasive. 

Arriving in late summer, the  airy, plumed seed heads endure from August until late January or longer. Cut foliage down in late winter or early spring before, or just as, new blades appear.

One variety, Miscanthus giganteus, a perennial grass hybrid, is being researched at OHIO UNIVERSITY as a possible option for a bio-fuel. 

[ https://www.dispatch.com/article/20160318/NEWS/303189757  ]  

More information on Miscanthus sinensis at NORTH CAROLINA EXTENSION

[  https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/miscanthus-sinensis/ ]

~ Carol Kagan, Master Gardener

Identifying Backyard Birds

Are you getting ready for the Great Backyard Bird Count? Start identifying the birds you are seeing in your yard. Don't forget you can also participate while on a hike or visiting beyond your backyard. Be sure to take a notepad to record your sightings.

See if you can ID the birds on this page.  Answers at the bottom.

Middle 1

The Merlin Bird ID and Audubon Bird Guide app can easily be downloaded on phones on tablets.  Not so easy on a desktop computer. 

Here's a free online resource with easy to find ID. BIRD WATCHER'S DIGEST:   [https://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/]

There are plenty of books for identifying birds available through the Franklin County Library System. They are offering curbside pickup. Go to their webpage for CURRENT GUIDELINES for checking out books at this time. (http://www.fclspa.org/reopening/). Use the topic Bird identification in the Search box.

Middle 2

My favorites books are:

* Sibley Field Guide to Birds - This has drawings of male & female plus juvenile & breeding plumage on some.

* Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds
* Peterson Field Guide to Birds East of the Rockies 

 If you want a great bird song ID book get BACKYARD BIRDSONG GUIDE EASTERN AND CENTRAL (Cornell Lab of Ornithology). [  https://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Birdsong-Guide-Eastern-Listening/dp/0811863425  ]  It has the sounds of seventy-five unique birds from Eastern and Central North America at the touch of a button plus short descriptions of each.

🐦 🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦

Plants for Winter Interest - Lavender

Bright gray mounds of Lavender stand out- Jan 2021

Lavender (Lavendula sp.) is usually thought of as a seasonal perennial, prized for its beautiful and fragrant blooms. But checking the Franklin County Herb Demonstration Garden in January I discovered that the bright gray, over-wintering plants in our Fragrance Bed are quite the eye-catchers.

Basket of Lavender flowers (Photo: B. Petrucci)

Lavender needs sun and a well-drained site to thrive. Our herb garden is in raised beds in full sun all day so it is a perfect site for lavender. It is especially important, when planting, to consider the winter conditions. Snow will provide water to the plant, but excessive amounts can waterlog it. Don’t place it where the shovel or snow blower will cover it. Consider what sun it will receive in winter.

During the growing season deadheading after first bloom can promote re-blooming. Use this as a chance to start to shape the plants into rounded mounds. A rounded shape will  minimize damage by snow and ice. As summer comes to a close, stop harvesting. The plant will go dormant, but the silvery foliage will remain and stand out.

~ Carol Kagan, Master Gardener

Are you interested herbs? Check out the Herb Sampler at this Blog  POST : [  gardenandlifenotes.blogspot.com/2021/01/herb-sampler-my-book.html  ]

The Second Edition Herb Sampler (2019) is available through Amazon at this LINK. [ https://www.amazon.com/Herb-Sampler-Second-Carol-Kagan/dp/1482067463  ]

GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT -2021

It seems being stuck at home there is much more birdwatching going on, at least on the Facebook pages of my Friends and others that I visit.

With that in mind, I'm thinking this year's GBBC will be highly successful utilizing many more citizen scientists to gather and report bird data. You just need to spend at least 15 minutes at a location. If you can spend more than 15 minutes, you’ll get a better sense of which birds are in your area. If you’d like to do more than one count at the same location, or counts at several locations, just  submit separate checklists each time you do so.

Here's some links to help you understand how this works.

Counting Instructions 

Bird Counting 101   This article gives you clear information about counting and is helpful if you are new at this.  Ex, "If you see a male Northern Cardinal in the first five minutes of your walk, and then see a male Northern Cardinal in roughly the same place on your way back you would count one." 

Bird Counting 102- At the Feeders This is the article that I review each year. 

Help Id'ling Birds  This link provides online reference sites, several with FREE apps to download.

The Merlin Bird ID and Audubon Bird Guide app can easily be downloaded on phones on tablets.  Not so easy on a desktop computer. 

Here's a free online resource with easy to find ID. BIRD WATCHER'S DIGEST:   [https://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/]

There are plenty of books for identifying birds available through the Franklin County Library System. They are offering curbside pickup. Go to their webpage for CURRENT GUIDELINES for checking out books at this time. (http://www.fclspa.org/reopening/). Use the topic Bird identification in the Search box.

e-Bird Data Entry

Yes, you will need to set up an e-Bird account to enter your information; however, it is only once and they don’t ask a bunch of personal information (name, email, user name and password). Having an account ensures that your data will be associated with your efforts, allowing scientists to quantify participation to aid in analyses. It also enables you to keep track of your personal bird records and lists. 

You can also enter observations at other times of the year and because a location is not associated with your account, at different locations. Go to this link to set up the eBird Account. Once set-up, you can use the sign in information (User name and password) to participate in NestWatch . 

NestWatch is a nationwide nest-monitoring program designed to track status and trends in the reproductive biology of birds. Participating is easy and anyone can do it.

The Cornell Bird Lab has an abundance of online educational resources that may be of interest to homeschoolers and teachers with online education responsibilities. There are FREE downloadable lessons, clubs and citizen science programs for K-12 and information for Undergrad and Grad students, too.

HERB SAMPLER - My Book

In 2012, I finally self-published the first edition of the Herb Sampler. It sold well on Amazon but much better from my inventory to friends, neighbors, relatives and visitors to herb classes, fairs and festivals. It is small and was published as a paperback. Barbara Petrucci, my friend and also an artist, provided art sketches for most of the book. 

The idea for the Herb Sampler began when customers at the Master Gardener plant sale herb table wanted to know what to do with the herbs they were buying. This book was written to provide a sampling of information about herbs and herbal uses. It encouraged readers to check the Webliography and Bibliography for other resources and books with additional information.

Since the 2012 publication of the Herb Sampler, and working with the Penn State Extension Master Gardeners in Franklin County, Pa., I have learned so much more about herbs, especially about their uses and care. Helping to oversee the demonstration herb garden has added practical experience that has improved the information included in the Second Edition. Both books are excellent for beginners and the more experienced. 

As a Master Gardener representing Penn State I use research-based information to answer questions and present programs as well as working in the demonstration gardens. The information presented in the book has been researched.

In this Second Edition I have added more sections such as Selecting Herbs, Making Ingredients,
Edible Flowers and more ways to Preserve Herbs.  I learned a new, convenient way to dry herbs and this method of refrigerator drying is described as well as the use of a dehydrator. Barbara has, once again, contributed many art sketches throughout the book. 

There is updated and additional information plus new recipes, many courtesy of our Herb Team and their creative use of herbs for refreshments at classes and events. 

What the book does not include is detailed information about individual herbs. Look for updated references for both print and on the internet as well as an Index.

The Second Edition Herb Sampler has grown from small paperback to a Trade Paperback with my photo of Sage and Rosemary.

#     #     #

Interested in herbs? Looking for Gardening Gifts?

 Check out the Herb Sampler  description on this Blog  

SPECIAL Price reduction on Amazon. Click here. 

The Second Edition Herb Sampler (2019) is available through Amazon. 

January: Time to Go A-Wassailing

"Health to thee, good apple-tree,

Well to bear, pocket-fulls, hat-fulls,

Peck-fulls, bushel-bag fulls.”


Evening Wassails may include bonfires (Finniver Farm &Cidery)

This song was sung during ORCHARD-VISITING wassailing (rhymes with fossil-ing), not to be confused with HOUSE-VISITING wassailing. The orchard wassail tradition is typically done on Twelfth Night (January 17 on the old Gregorian Calendar). It refers to visiting apple orchards to thank the trees for the past year and promote a good harvest in the coming year.

Wassailing is an old tradition, dating back to the 14th century, with lots of variations in communities. It means “to your health” in Old English.  Many communities in England still regularly hold January wassailing events.

Pennsylvania is the fourth highest U.S. apple producer and Franklin, Adams and York counties have ample apple orchards. Sadly, there're no local wassail events but the tradition is interesting. Terhune Farms in New Jersey holds annual wassailing as does Linville Orchards in Media, Pennsylvania.

Originally, the wassail was a drink made of mulled ale, curdled cream, roasted crab apples, eggs, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and sugar.  It was served indoors from large bowls. After partaking of cider (wassail bowl has alcohol) and cake, people would go out into the orchard carrying an earthen-ware cup of cider and some cake. 
The cake is soaked with cider and left in the tree branches for the birds. (Perhaps drunken birds sing louder and make the trees happier.)

Tying bread crumbs in a tree to honor the robins (Finniver Farm & Cidery)

 Cider is then poured around the tree roots and various songs sung such as 

 

“Here’s to thee, old apple-tree,

Whence thou may’st bud, and whence thou may’st blow,

And whence thou may’st bear apples enow

Hats- full! Caps- full!

Bushel-bushel-sacks full,

And my pockets full, too, huzza!”

 

 

In some variations the aim is to wake the apple trees and scare away evil spirits. Shouting, noise makers and musket shots can be part of the ritual. Other variations  include a wassail King or Queen to lead a processional through the countryside, visiting a number of orchards.

A folktale from Somerset reflecting this custom tells of the "Apple Tree Man", the spirit of the oldest apple tree in an orchard, and in whom the fertility of the orchard is said to reside. In the tale a man offers his last mug of mulled cider to the trees in his orchard and is rewarded by the Apple Tree Man who reveals to him the location of buried treasure.

In modern times the wassail tradition has been used to promote a good harvest or good growth of other plants besides apples. Is there something in the garden or yard you need to give a little boost for the coming growing season?

 

Should you wish to make some wassail and bundle up to go into the garden, Colonial Williamsburg provides this recipe:

 

WASSAIL

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon apple cider
• 1 large can unsweetened pineapple juice
• 3/4 cup tea

Place in a cheesecloth sack:

• 1 tablespoon whole cloves
• 1 tablespoon whole allspice
• 2 sticks cinnamon

This is great cooked in a crock pot. Let it simmer very slowly for 4 to 6 hours. You can add water if it evaporates too much. At your discretion, alcohol may be added to taste. Serves 20.

~ Carol Kagan, Master Gardener

Plants for Winter Interest: Coral Embers Willow

 

Coral embers willow (Salix alba ssp. vitellina 'Britzensis') - nothing special in the gardening' world, just a fast-growing, hardy, colorful shrub for a large area - is a real delight this time of year.

When the leaves fall in autumn, it shows off its branches for the winter: yellow, orange, red in varying degrees all over...and it really stands out in a winter landscape.  Add some snow and you will really appreciate it.

It's inexpensive to buy, it's vigorous (grows 2-3 feet a year), gets large (my 9 year old specimen reached about 13 feet this year), gets woody (you need to trim it back), serves as a great nesting place for all kinds of wildlife (I've seen it all), and looks really cool when it snows especially.

It serves as a great screen shrub, and you can pick it out in the winter from quite a distance (if you happen to have trouble finding your house).

Important:  it needs to be trimmed back as far as possible into the current year's wood EVERY year, or it gets very large.  So, in Feb-Mar, before leaves start to come out, go out and trim everything but an inch of the colorful stems off.  The new growth will start from here, and the further you cut it back, the more colorful it will be the next winter.

Here's a way to propagate: Put your cuttings in a bucket of water and once they root, plant them in the ground, and they seem to do just fine.  They are not fussy about soil, like sun, and after a year will start giving you a colorful winter backdrop.

Captured from a previous post by Jerry Lewis, Master Gardener (January 2013)

CKagan, Master Gardener