Author Archives: tomkarwin

Farm Policies Affect Everyone

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Last week’s 33rd Annual Eco-Farm Conference, primarily an information-feast for organic farmers, included sessions of relevance for home gardeners and others who buy groceries, i.e., everybody.

The conference included eight-to-twelve workshop sessions at a time, so one can’t attend all sessions of interest. I sat in on sessions on public policies relating to farming. These sessions included updates about the federal farm bill and the GM labeling initiative that Californians voted on in November of 2012 (and did not pass).

Every five years, Congress reviews, revises and updates the farm bill, which is the federal government’s primary tool for agricultural and food policy. This omnibus bill addresses a wide range of matters under the purview of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including for example, food stamps, food safety, direct payments (subsidies) to farmers, crop insurance, and many other programs. The most recent farm bill, called the Food, Conversation and Energy Act of 2008, authorized $288 billion in federal expenditures. By any measure, the farm bill is major legislation.

The farm bill was to be renewed for 2013, but it became caught up in Washington’s current debate over the fiscal cliff. Congress couldn’t completely ignore these important policies, so it approved a nine-month extension.

Congress extended—but did not fund—several relatively small programs that support progressive agriculture: one that defrays some costs for farmers who convert to organic, one that helps communities launch farmer’s markets, one that funds research on organic farming, and one that helps minority farmers. Still, Congress approved $5 billion for farm subsidies, even though the agricultural lobby had agreed to their elimination. Go figure.

The organic farming community hopes for approval of funding for progressive agricultural programs, and even a modest increase of support. Both optimists and pessimists were at the conference.

The GM labeling initiative would have required food producers to label products that contain genetically modified foods. Consumers supported the initiative strongly, but major food producers and agricultural chemical companies spent lavishly in opposition and the initiative failed by small margin. The supporters of GM labeling are already planning another initiative and confident in its eventual success. Many other states are pursuing legislation or initiatives to require GM labeling.

A potential issue in this campaign is the casual use of both “genetic modification” and “genetic engineering” to mean the same. Meanwhile, some commentators insist that GM includes natural and human-controlled hybridization, a constructive practice that has been followed for centuries. Voters respond badly to ambiguity!

The unique Eco-Farm Conference attracts farmers and other advocates of organic farming and gardening from throughout the United States. It provides great distinction for the Monterey Bay area.

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Interesting article: The Threats from Genetically Modified Foods

Grocery shopping advice: How to Avoid Genetically Modified Food – Real Food

Lots of information on GMOs and the labeling initiative is on the website of labelgmos.org.

The farm bill is controversial in several respects. Click here for Wikipedia’s relatively neutral article on the farm bill. To follow the debate, read the newspapers!

Exploring Edible Gardening’s Larger Issues

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Gardening is usually an individual, contemplative activity. Sometimes, we engage in planting, pruning, weeding and other tasks with a friend or a group of friends.

Countless gardeners have pursued this satisfying work for millennia, unconcerned by the larger context of advances in agricultural technology, political and economic struggles and growing concerns over sustainability.

Such issues abound in the world of ornamental horticulture, but are more intense and consequential in commercial farming.

These issues are the focus of the 33rd Annual Eco-Farm Conference, which happens next week at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove. This event, organized by the non-profit Ecological Farming Association, is about educating, networking and celebrating. It combines joyful commitment to farming organically, sharing ideas and successes in the field, and exploring concerns over policies and practices that favor so-called “conventional” farming.

In fact, “conventional” farming depends on synthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and employs practices that have been introduced since World War II. Many advances have made large-scale agriculture more efficient and productive, but too often those advances also generate social impacts: fewer natural food choices, declines of taste and nutrition and long-term damage to the environment.

Such alleged problems of course are debatable. We cannot treat them fully in this brief essay, but the Eco-Farm Conference supports valuable in-depth discussions.

Many of the Conference’s sixty workshops are designed for professional farmers, but here are some sessions that relate most directly to consumers.

  • GMO Labeling: Capitalizing on the Momentum of Proposition 37: That recent initiative lost narrowly by 2%, but it catalyzed a national conversation about the deceptive, untested, and novel proteins added to the American diet.
  • Teaching Farming and Gardening in Waldorf Schools: Topics include garden-based woodworking, herbal studies, growing and processing grains, and integration of classroom math and science lessons.
  • The New and Old of Organic Insecticides: Improved methods for managing insect pests using organically approved natural materials.
  • Fresh Rx: A Prescription for Improving Healthy Food Access in Low-Income Communities: Strategies to improve community access to fresh produce, including farmers’ markets in low-income areas, CSA programs, community gardens, nutrition education, cooking demonstrations, and produce distribution by food banks.
  • Preparing for Climate Change: Thinking about and preparing for climate change, water scarcity, and extreme weather.
  • Farm Bill Update– What’s In It and What Does It Mean to You?: Update on the status of the Farm Bill and the standing of key organic and sustainable agricultural programs, including conservation, organic certification cost share, and others.

The Eco-Farm Conference runs from Wednesday, January 23rd to Saturday, January 26th. For more information, visit the conference website: http://ecofarm2013.org/.

This conference presents a positive vision of the future for all consumers and home gardeners. It is gratifying that it happens in the Monterey Bay area.

Books of Gardening Essays

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Compilations of newspaper garden columns make enjoyable books. After a garden writer has generated weekly garden columns for several years, he or she often realizes that those columns could be redefined as essays and republished in book form.

Newspaper garden columns usually are time-relevant, and books based on them are almost always organized with reference to the four seasons.

Another characteristic of such compilations is their breadth of topics, ranging throughout the multi-faceted world of gardening, with each essay only seasonably related to those that come before or after.

Thirdly, books of garden essays present the author’s personality or attitudes more clearly than garden books that focus on a single genus (e.g., the rose) or a select group of garden-worthy plants (plants for shade), or a gardening technique (pruning).

Some compilations of essays are not organized seasonally, but have some other structure. One example is Green Thoughts (1981) by Eleanor Perenyi, and reprinted in 2002 for the Modern Library Gardening Series. Her book includes seventy-two essays listed alphabetically, from Annuals to Woman’s Place, an eloquent and impatient perspective on women in the history of gardening.

Compilations based on newspaper writing occasionally achieve the status of classics of the genre. Examples include Vita Sackville-West’s series of four books: In Your Garden (columns from 1946–1950); In Your Garden Again (1951-53); More For Your Garden (1953-55); and Even More For Your Garden (1955-58). Her columns, written for England’s The Observer, are marked by her extensive knowledge, deep enthusiasm and lively writing style.

Another classic of this type is Washington Post columnist Henry Mitchell’s The Essential Earthman (1981), which was followed by One Man’s Garden, and Henry Mitchell on Gardening. His works are beloved for sharp observations, humorous adventures and shrewd horticultural advice.

A new book of newspaper columns on gardening is Carolyn Singer’s The Seasoned Gardener: Five Decades of Sustainable and Practical Garden Wisdom (Garden Wisdom Press, 2012). Her essays, which are organized by month, bounce through an extraordinary range of gardening topics. Indeed, many essays touch on several related topics. A thorough index supports searches for topics of current interest.

Ms. Singer’s essays were written originally for The Union, the newspaper for Grass Valley, California. She is also the author of the award-winning Deer in My Garden series. Her writing style conveys her personal love and deep knowledge of gardening, and presents solid facts with a light and readable tone.

The Seasoned Gardener serves well as both a practical reference and a satisfying wander through many aspects of home gardening. Reading a randomly chosen chapter for pleasure could very well inspire the reader to pursue a new idea in the garden. That provides a reliable measure of quality for a gardening book.

Fruit Trees in the Garden

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The New Year marks the season for planting bare root roses and fruit trees. What inspires you to add a fruit tree to your garden? Perhaps you have an excellent location for a tree, plus the need for a visual feature. Or, you have fond memories of fruit tree blossoms in the spring, and want to recreate the scene. Or, best of all, you would enjoy eating a favorite fruit from a tree in your own garden.

These are all good reasons for visiting your local garden center to choose a bare root fruit tree for the New Year. Dwarf varieties are readily available, so just about all gardens will have enough space for a new tree.

Preparations begin with site selection. As the first consideration, the site should have good exposure to sunlight, with eight hours per day being preferred.

Also, consider the appearance of the tree as a feature in the landscape. Visualize it as a full-grown specimen from all angles to confirm that it will always be an asset and not obstruct a viewshed or a pathway.  There should be easy access for cultivating and harvesting,

When space is limited, consider an espaliered tree. A side yard with southern exposure could be a great location for an espaliered tree.

The step is choosing the particular fruit for your garden, based on personal preferences. As with many other plants, the Monterey Bay area provides a fine climate for a wide range of fruit trees.

A first priority should be to select a fruit that you will enjoy eating, but as with other garden choices, consider unfamiliar varieties that are not commonly available.

An important issue is the tree’s chill requirement, which is measured by the number of hours of temperatures below forty-five degrees. Apple and pear trees, for example, need more chill hours than peach trees, and fig trees require only a few hours. Garden centers will offer only trees that are suitable for growing in the local area, while mail order nurseries will list trees for all areas.

For more information:

Seminar: All About Fruit Trees, Saturday, February 16, 10:00 – 11:00, Griggs Nursery, 9220 Carmel Valley Road.

Short Course: From Planting to Harvest, February 8–10, UCSC Farm and Garden. For information, visit Brown Paper Tickets.

Book: Fruit Trees in Small Spaces: Abundant Harvests from Your Own Backyard, by Colby Eirman (Timber Press, 2012)

Garden Center. The McShane’s Nursery website offers a detailed list of available trees and other related information.

Non-profit Organization: The California Rare Fruit Growers provides extensive advice on fruit tree selection and cultivation.

Planting a bare-root fruit tree would be a positive step into the New Year, and the beginning of years to enjoy future harvests in your garden.

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For details on chill requirements for various fruit trees…and much more…visit the University of California website, The California Backyard Orchard. 

What is Blooming Now

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If today’s walk through your garden yields satisfaction, congratulations!

If it tilts toward disappointment, a good time for seasonal planting would be now.

Many plants need a dormant period to prepare for the spring, but many other plants will bloom while most are dormant. We can’t turn winter into spring, but with a bit of planning we can enjoy color in the garden at any time of the year.

The moderate climate of the Monterey Bay area supports year-round color possibilities that are elusive or non-existent in many other areas.

Here are examples from my garden.

Salvias originate from several parts of the world, and some species from Mexico are in bloom now.

S. wagneriana (Wagner Sage) stands as one of my favorite blossoms, with pink corolla and white calyx. This large shrub does best in partial shade, and tends to sprawl in full shade.

S. karwinskii (Karwinski’s Sage), another large plant, displays pink-coral and green blooms from fall to spring.

S. holwayi (Holway’s Sage), our third example, grows only about three feet high, but spreads to cover an increasingly large area. Its small blooms are red and purple, and prolific.

Aloe arborescens (Torch Aloe) produces numerous vibrant red-orange inflorescences (called racemes) about eight-to-ten inches long. The plant grows easily and can rise to nine feet tall. In South Africa, where it is endemic, it is called called Krantz Aloe. The Afrikaner word ‘krantz’ means a “rocky ridge” or “cliff,” indicating its natural habitat, but it thrives in deep fertile soil.

Helleborus argutifolius (Corsican Hellebore) comes from the Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sardinia. It grows in sun or shade and produces many seedlings that germinate readily. (I have many plants in a growing swath.) It grows to four feet tall and wide, and produces many pale green flowers from late December to March. After flowering, it can be cut to the ground to stimulate a new cycle of growth.

Daphne odora “Aureo-marginata” (Winter Daphne), which comes from China and Japan, is  appreciated for its evergreen, gold-edged foliage, and prized for its beautiful rosy-pink flower buds that open to white, sweetly fragrant flowers in winter and early spring. The flowers grow on the stems, so they are not useful in arrangements, but can be brought indoors to float in water.

Edgeworthia chrysantha (Chinese Paper Bush) is a relative of the Daphne odora (both from the family Thymelaeaceae) and another sweetly fragrant winter bloomer. To be quite honest, both the Daphne and the Edgeworthia in my garden are in bud at the moment, but they will be in flower in January through March.

It is always a pleasure to have flowers in winter. Still, many conifers and succulents provide foliage with much visual appeal.

Enjoy your winter garden.

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Several garden writers have listed plants that bloom in each season of the year. One of the better books is The Perennial Garden: Color Harmonies through the Seasons, by Jeff Cox and Marilyn Cox (Rodale Books, 1992).

A book that I refer to often for various purposes is The California Gardener’s Book of Lists, by Catherine Yronwode, with Eileen Smith (Taylor Publishing, 1998). Among its other treasures are lists of “Perennials that Bloom in Winter” and “Shrubs That Provide Winter Interest.”

 

 

 

Gardening for the Future

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During a period of cold and rainy days, and holiday season attractions (and distractions), it may be difficult to focus on gardening priorities and attend to necessary tasks. On the other hand, this could be a very good time to plan future directions.

In this column, we consider resolutions for the coming year.

Our resolutions often address immediate needs, e.g., weeding in a more timely and consistent manner, upgrading the landscape design, removing a tree or shrub that has evolved from asset to liability, or installing a long-overdue drip irrigation system.

Each avid gardener could develop his or her own list of resolutions that are certainly worthy and not to be dismissed. Today’s goal is not to discourage productive actions but to suggest the importance of the long view.

This column is inspired by a recent report that chemical pesticides are used more extensively in the United States now than ever before. See below for a link to “Pesticides: Now More Than Ever,” by Mark Bittman, New York Times, December 11, 2012. The author cites research evidence of the link between pesticide exposure and certain cancers and other health problems and negative impacts on the environment, and states that genetically engineered crops are leading to dramatic increases in the use of pesticides.

These data are particularly troublesome, given the recent defeat of a state proposition to label genetically modified organisms (fruits, vegetables and meats). This proposition lost 47% to 53%, when multinational food corporations spent $46 million in a campaign that claimed falsely that the proposition was “flawed” and would be costly to consumers. The Organic Consumers Association, an advocate of that proposition, points to several similar initiatives in other states, begins preparing for another vote in California, and insists it is only a matter of time before GMO labeling becomes law.

Residential gardeners can resolve to support reduced uses of chemical pesticides by applying only organic methods in their own gardens, buying organically grown groceries and supporting the labeling of GMOs, when another vote is scheduled.

So-called “conventional” gardening, which relies upon chemical fertilizers and pesticides, was introduced in the early 1940s, during World War II. Americans are only beginning to recognize its threats to human health and the environment.

Organic gardening methods originated hundreds or even thousands of years ago. These methods are attuned with nature, inexpensive to apply, and proven to be effective.

For more satisfying gardening in the short term, a good resolution is to bring new-to-you plants into your garden regularly. Countless options are available in garden centers, catalogs and websites. New horticultural treasures can add learning opportunities and rewarding experiences to your gardening activities.

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If you think that pesticides are simply a good thing in the garden or the agricultural field, read “Pesticides: Now More Than Ever,” by Mark Bittman, New York Times, December 11, 2012.

For a good introduction to organic gardening methods, read Organic Gardening magazine which is available from magazine stands or the Organic Gardening website. This publication has been a leading advocate of this natural approach to gardening for decades. It offers its magazine, online information and several authoritative books from various publishers. Rodale’s Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening is a classic in the field.

Guidance in purchasing organically grown foods is available from The Daily Green, which lists “The Dirty Dozen” (foods with the highest pesticide residue), beginning with apples. When these foods are grown with so-called “conventional” methods, they will have relatively high concentrations of pesticides. If you want to eat these foods, buy only  produce that has been certified as organically grown. Federal regulations require that foods that are labeled as “organic are grown without the use of pesticides.

Consumer demands to label genetically modified organisms are sure to continue on a state-by-state basis, until such initiatives force federal requirements for such labeling.To follow the political battle, visit the website of the non-profit Organic Consumers Association. This is one of several organizations that are pressing this issue, with determination to succeed in the long run.

The Organic Consumers Association seeks to persuade the Natural Products Association to stop calling GMOs “natural.” The term “natural” when applied to foods has no federal definition or standard and should not be mistaken for “organic” foods.

Late-season New Growth on Roses

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At this time of the year, ordinarily, roses have entered dormancy. This status, characterized by stopped growth above ground, protects the rose from winter freezes and provides a rest period that supports the plant’s longevity and productivity. Hothouse roses subject to year-round harvesting of blossoms have shorter lives and fewer blossoms, compared to the typical garden rose.

During dormancy, the rose reduces its metabolism, holds its fluids and nutrients away from the stems and stores them the core of the plant. This is the rose’s defensive position, designed to avoid a possible freeze of liquids in the stems.

The plant continues to develop below ground: root growth continues during the winter months and is important for newly planted roses.

Gardeners in the world’s colder regions worry that an unusual warm spell in the late winter or early spring might cause their roses to “break dormancy.” The plants could produce new growth that would be killed by a late freeze.

In more temperate climates, such as the Monterey Bay area, roses could show new growth of leaves and buds in the early winter for the same reason: an unusual warm spell. The National Weather Service, reports that the Monterey Bay area is having such a warm spell this year: November’s average high temperature was about five degrees above the historical level. When the NWS reports December’s data, we might well see the same pattern.

In such cases, gardeners need to either let their roses develop such new growth, or proceed with seasonal pruning. Here are three issues.

First, the new growth might not survive the winter cold. If that happens, the plant will have wasted energy producing the new growth, but suffered no lasting harm. A rose has two inactive dormant buds at the base of each leaf that can activate to grow new canes or leaves.

Second, if the new growth survives, the rose will miss its opportunity to rejuvenate. This could have long-term negative effects on the rose’s life and blossom production.

Finally, a break from dormancy means that the plant is sending fluids into the stems, making it vulnerable to a freeze that would expand the fluids and cause splits and tissue damage.

The preferred response to a broken or delayed dormancy, then, is to help the rose to enter dormancy. The gardener can do this by removing all leaves from the plant. This action will halt photosynthesis and encourage dormancy.

Once the plant becomes dormant, the gardener could accomplish seasonal pruning during the dormant period, which will continue to the early spring, after the last date when frost is expected.

Scientists are virtually unanimous in agreement that human-produced carbon dioxide emissions are causing global climate warming. This change is having countless effects, and including new issues for gardeners.

Fortunately, roses are tougher than they appear.

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As part of my research into rose dormancy, I visited the website of the American Rose Society, which has great information on many aspects of rose growing. I didn’t see discussion of the late-season new growth growth issue, so I clicked on the link, “Ask a Question About Growing Roses,” and asked my questions.

I received a quick response from AIS Master Rosarian Karl Bapst, a self-described “Rosenut.” His own website http://www.rosenut.com/ has a wealth of rose-growing information that I expect to visit often in the future.

I even quoted Karl (without attribution!) for the closing line of my column.

Rather than trying to summarize his detailed information, I am including our e-mail dialog below, with minor editing.

KARWIN

Roses in this area (USDA Zone 9a) should be dormant now (mid-December). Some people have started winter pruning, only to discover that their roses have new leaves, due to an unusual warm spell (possibly global warming) in November. This new growth probably won’t survive the colder weather in January, but what harm might be done to the plant by pruning when new growth is showing? Also, what harm might cold weather cause to a rose with spring-like new growth in December?

BAPST

In your area, I doubt your winter temps will drop down far enough to damage any new growth. New growth has lots of sugar that acts as natural antifreeze. In my area, zone 5a, mid-spring temps can drop to the mid to low 20s and new spring growth is seldom affected. If it is affected, new growth occurs to replace it.  Keep in mind there are two inactive dormant buds at the base of each leaf. If that new leaf should die, one or both of the buds activate growing new canes or leaves. So, should any new growth be damaged by temps below the mid 20s, it’ll soon be replaced.

We often have new growth before we prune in spring. The rose bushes do just fine. I’ve pruned as late as late April and early May (due to inclement weather or illness) after the bushes are leafed out with no bad results. The roses even bloom at their normal times.

Roses are tougher than they appear.

KARWIN

I have sent in my column today with recommendations based on your advice, but I have a follow-up question. Last night, a Consulting Rosarian recommended responding to this new growth by defoliating the plant to encourage dormancy and completing seasonal pruning. (Most people around here prune between mid-December and mid-January.)

Comments?

BAPST

In warmer growing zones where there may not be natural dormancy, removing the leaves will promote a period of dormancy when the daylight shortens and temperatures moderate as we approach the winter solstice. Roses don’t naturally go dormant and will grow all year if conditions are right.

Modern roses bloom best on new wood, pruning promotes new wood so one gets more and bigger blooms. In my zone 5, winter’s cold and gloomy overcast skies, freeze and kill the leaves. Most stay on the bush until new growth or pruning removes them. The frozen soil and canes causes all growth to stop until conditions improve in late winter or early spring. Summer cutting of roses is pruning. You’ve noticed that cutting a bloom in summer causes a new cane to develop, usually from the base of the leaf under the cut. This occurs after your December/January pruning but on a larger scale.

Should you fail to prune or cut back then, any blooms produced on the un-pruned bush will normally be smaller and fewer on shorter canes. You’ll notice, though, any blooms will come from those short new growth canes. Even blooms that grow from the old cane tips will be on new growth.

In my area, we have no choice. When removing winter die-back or damaged canes, we force new cane growth. Often, especially on hybrid teas, which are naturally very winter-tender, removing die-back requires pruning almost to the ground. These bushes will bloom in late May/early June and will have grown to full size by July.

Understand, Old Garden Roses (OGRs, once-a-year blooming roses) bloom on old wood and buds are set the previous fall. Pruning on OGRs is done after they bloom or these buds would be removed when pruning. Should you get any questions from people asking why their roses don’t bloom it’s usually due to them pruning too early on Old Garden Roses.

KARWIN

I read a variety of online material in preparing this column, and found various pieces of relevant information.

For example, here’s an interesting point for the eHow.com website:

“Most rose plants that are capable of dormancy will not naturally initiate this process in response to cold weather. Most rose plants which are domestically grown in North America are hybrids with breeds of plants that evolved in Asia (most roses are Asian and are crossbred for their desirable characteristics, such as smell and appearance). Asian winters are not as harsh and, thus, dormancy in Asian roses is an evolved response to a lack of light. This can create problems for such roses in North America, where a cold winter can still supply enough sunlight to encourage the plant to keep growing.”

Such subtleties can be challenging for a garden writer with a deadline, and impossible to explore in a single column. I made no effort to explain the role of winter light in promoting or discouraging dormancy.

More Gifts for the Gardener

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Last week, we explored the “Upscale” category of gifts for the gardener and planned to explore three more categories: Kitsch, Junktique, and Living.

To some, Kitsch gifts might be seen as tasteless, aesthetically deficient, and excessively sentimental; the flipside of this category is “cute” or perhaps “charming,” depending on individual tastes. This is the category found in many garden centers and garden catalogs, with few exceptions. We mind find cartoon-like pottery figures of animals, gnomes and pixies, whirligigs, clever signs and labels (“So many weeds, so little Thyme”) and the like. Visit ongardening.com for current kitsch-links.

Kitsch-y items typically lack the enduring appeal of fine art. That quality might be seen as a shortcoming, but by encouraging turnover it serves the popular thirst for new experience.

The Junktique category includes recycled items, primarily. This is where we find items like bowling balls and wine bottles as garden decorations; discarded boots, children’s wagons, sinks and toilet bowls as plant containers; bicycles and ladders as focal points.

The best-known junktique in the garden is the bottle tree, created by mounting bottles (wine, usually) on a branched apparatus of some kind. The practice of displaying empty bottles in the garden originated centuries ago, when some believed glass bottles would trap the night’s hostile spirits, which would be destroyed by the morning light. Reportedly, African slaves brought the practice to North American.

We are still searching for the dramatic histories of other garden junktique.

Finally, the Living category focuses on plants and personal services. When gifting plants, consider these guidelines:

  1. Avoid the commonplace (garden centers display ornamental kale in the fall, but there are other options, really);
  2. Respect the recipient’s priorities (it’s helpful when gardeners mention their horticultural cravings);
  3. Offer to install larger plants (even a bare-root fruit tree will thrive under a friend’s helping hand).

For some gardeners, an offer of timely assistance will be the ultimate gift. Here are suggested guidelines.

  1. Offer services that you are qualified to perform (all aspects of gardening require knowledge and skill, and the garden owner rules in setting standards)
  2. Offer services that the gardener wants. (Hauling will be welcomed; plant selection probably not; weeding is great if the giver recognizes weeds)
  3. Deliver the promised services on time.

Visit ongardening.com for more about gifts for gardeners, and additional categories, e.g., useful tools, books for reference or inspiration, and artworks to enhance—or compete with—the natural environment.

People reveal themselves through their gardens, which will show if the owner values great craftsmanship, short-lived “stuff,” frugality, exceptional plants or meticulous care. Let such revelations guide the gift-giver.

Their gardens also will reveal if they are not gardeners, in which case the gift-giver might consider other categories of gifts.

Enjoy this season for garden rejuvenation and development, and for gift giving.

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Your favorite gardener will appreciate and value a gift of your time and horticultural talents. Such gifts respond to the spirit of the season, uniquely supportive of personal relationships, and good for the garden as well.

Still, there are many other gifts that most gardeners will desire and welcome. If your gardening friend is making do with worn-out tools or without the right tools for the task, a well-chosen, well-made tool might be exactly “on target.” Visit your local garden center or shop on line to find tools that meet the recipient’s needs and fall within the giver’s budget.

Many excellent gardening books also are available. Again, this is a gift category that succeeds best when it aligns well with the recipient’s informational needs and reading preferences. A good strategy for selecting a gift book is to visit the website of the American Horticultural Society to review its recommendations. The AHS itself has published several very good books, recognizes the best books of each year, and lists  the 75 Great American Garden Books.

In the Kitsch category, visit the Blue Fox Farm website, which presents a list of “Funny Quotes for Rustic Garden Signs.”  These sayings are not available as garden signs, but the website includes information on how to make your own signs with the saying of your choice (scroll to the bottom of the page).

 

Gifts for Gardeners

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This is the season to make your favorite gardener happy.

We will explore gifts for a gardener in these four categories: Upscale, Kitsch, Junktique, and Living.

Upscale depends on what the recipient would find enduring in appeal and impressiveness. This is not the same as “expensive,” but alas upscale items tend to be costly.

The Kitsch category is often defined with negative terms, e.g., tasteless, aesthetically deficient, and excessively sentimental. Never mind! One person’s “kitsch” is another’s “cute.” This is hazardous territory for the gift-giver, unless his or her taste reflects that of the recipient.

Items that may be considered Junktique are often old, but the essential concept is that they are recycled: their use is the garden is not the same as their original purpose. (A friend collects antique gardening and farming tools, but those belong in a category of their own.) This is where you find a discarded bed frame with a new life as a “garden bed.”

Finally, we have the Living category, the principal members of which are plants and personal services. This category might also include certain fauna (a nice koi for a friend’s pond, for example) but does not include feral mammals or herbivorous insects. That would be whimsy gone overboard.

Watch for next week’s column for an exploration of the Kitsch, Junktique and Living categories. For today, here are examples of the Upscale category. (I have no financial interest in any of these items, but am available for field-testing!)

  • Bronze garden tools are stunning in appearance, quite durable in use, and suggestive of the Bronze Age (late to arrive in the Americas). Find them at www.implementations.co.uk.
  • Hand-made, heirloom-quality garden tools are American made and exceptionally rugged. One source is www.fisherblacksmithing.com.
  • How about a high-grade shovel, engraved with the gardener’s name? Find it at the Best @ Dianne B: www.diannebbest.com/shovel.php.
  • Nicely designed, and well-made garden pots, statues or decorative art pieces will be welcomed, especially if they echo the style of the recipient’s garden. A Gothic urn wouldn’t belong in a contemporary garden, for example, unless one could call it eclectic. Many choices are available at www.haddonstone.com (click on “Garden Ornaments”).
  • Decorative corners for raised beds, available from www.outdooressentialproducts.com, combine an attractive appearance with a necessary function. A gift set of four corners could be complemented with the lumber for a sizable raised bed, a desirable asset in most gardens.

The Upscale items listed above can be ordered online; early decision-making would provide time for timely delivery.

In all cases, evaluate a gift you are considering by asking if you would be an appreciative recipient. That works best when you are a gardener yourself!

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This essay lists the website of the British maker of bronze garden tools, but these tools are in fact available closer to home. Harley Farms Goat Dairy, in Pescadero, California, contacted us to report that they can supply the full range of these tools, “along with goat cheese and other high quality hand made products.” In fact, I saw these impressive tools at the Harley Farms booth at the 2012 San Francisco Garden Fair, but then misplaced their contact information! The website has photos of the tools.

Cacti of the Sonoran Desert

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After a few days in the Sonoran Desert, my head is filled with thoughts of cacti.

I attended the annual meeting of the Garden Writers Association, attended by writers from many parts of the United States. This year’s meeting convened in Tuscon, Arizona, which is within the upper part of the Sonoran Desert’s 120,000 square mile area, most which is in Mexico.

We locate Tuscon in our southwest; Mexicans see it in their northwest.

The meeting included talks to inspire writing or teach up-to-date written and multimedia communication, numerous awards for outstanding writing, photography, videography and graphics, many exhibits by garden-related vendors, and bus trips to twelve public and private gardens in the Tuscon area. Visit ongardening.com for more of my travel notes and photos.

For me, the primary effect of this occasion was exposure to the distinctive plant life of the area, especially the Cactus family, almost all members of which are native to the Americas.

The most prominent local cactus is the stately Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea), which grows in the wild only in the Sonoran Desert. I saw specimens of about thirty feet high, but it can reach up to fifty or seventy feet.

Other cacti widespread in the area include the Cholla (Cylindropuntia spp.), Beavertail (Opuntia basilaris), Hedgehog (Echinocereus spp.), Fishhook (Ferocactus wislizeni), Prickly Pear (Opuntia spp.), Night-blooming Cereus (Peniocereus spp.), and Organ Pipe (Stenocereus thurberi).

According to Sunset’s Western Garden Book, these cacti could be grown in the Monterey Bay area, but we see them infrequently. This presumably reflects local gardeners’ preferences: with such a wide range of plants that thrive in our moderate climate, gardeners have many spineless horticultural options.

There are, however, important environmental conditions other than temperature that affect the growth of plants. Plants that grow in the harsh conditions of the Sonoran Desert have evolved to adapt to the desert climate, characterized by a biseasonal rainfall pattern (late summer and early winter), and daily temperature ranges of about thirty degrees.

The Sonoran Desert also includes plants from the Agave, Palm, and Legume and other families. The large Legume family includes many varieties of peas and beans, plus alfalfa, clover, lentils, lupins, mesquite, carob, soy peanuts, Locust trees, wisteria and the green-trunked Palo Verde (Parkinsonia aculeate), which grows throughout the Tuscon area.

I have had no cacti in my garden, but the friends who hosted my visit gave me two specimens: a hybrid Echinopsis ‘Los Angeles’, which will grow to about eighteen inches, and produce pink flowers in late spring and early summer, and a Echinocereus morricalii, which also will grow to about eighteen inches and blossom in May in bright magenta.

Many cacti would not fit easily in my garden, but these small plants will fit fine and provide gorgeous flowers. Travel could broaden our gardening tastes!

More to come