May 2010 Bloom Day

The last couple of years, early May has been rainy, dreary, and chilly. This year is no exception. Although parts of the Chicago area have seen frost this month, there has been no frost or freeze in our south suburban garden since late March or early April. To be safe though, most of our tender and tropical plants, and warm-season veggie seedlings are waiting in the basement 'greenhouse' for another week or two.

Blooming outdoors besides those in the slideshow, are impatiens

that self-seeded in a few pots in the basement over the winter, and dragon wing begonias that overwintered down there. Celandine poppies are still blooming too.

New garden transplants and divisions, and direct-sown cool season veggies are thriving with the rain and cool temperatures. Warmer temperatures and sunshine will return. Keeping up with clients at this busy time with all the rain we've had recently can be challenging. Still, I'm grateful we haven't been impacted by flooding or other severe weather conditions as other areas of the country have been. In the meantime I enjoy catching up with errands and indoor activities on days when rain interferes with gardening plans.

What's blooming in your garden this month? To see more blooms from gardeners everywhere, please visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

Good-Bye My Friend

At the end of each day, the sun sets on us all leaving behind bright color and the feeling of serenity. Meg left us with that same sense of peace and the reminder to see life in all its beauty. Meg's legacy of love and light will remain as an inspiration for each of us to seek creativity and meaning in our lives.

How blessed I feel to have had such a singular friend who makes saying goodbye so hard.

My dear friend Meg, there is no poison ivy in heaven, and wasps don't sting. The garden up there will be even more beautiful than ever before with you there to tend it.

I'll miss you, my friend.

I Don't Remember, I Don't Recall

Last year a number of columbines were added to our garden - a few red and yellow Aquilegia canadensis included in a native plants order from Possibility Place, Colorado blue Aquilegia caerulea, Aquilegia chrysantha hinckleyana 'Texas Gold' started from seeds received at Spring Fling - thank you Renee and Pam - and three (unknown varieties) self-sown seedlings culled from a client's garden. I have no memory of planting this pretty columbine.

Only the seedlings from the client's garden bloomed last spring. The rest were planted later, some not until fall. This pink and white one was by far the largest and most vigorous of all, and was inexplicably the only one unaffected by leaf miners.

All summer I thought this plant was one of the native red and yellow Aguilegia canadensis - in fact I was sure of it, and wondered how it managed to grow so large when the rest of the columbines were similarly-sized and much smaller.

Columbines are known to self-sow easily, and to be fairly promiscuous in their cross-pollinating habits. I supposed it's possible this one actually is one of the ones that had been labeled canadensis as I remember, and came from a canadensis parent that was pollinated by another columbine. Wherever it came from, it's really lovely, and as you can see, it's blooming like crazy - a very nice surprise in a garden that never fails to surprise and delight me.

Sad

With no frost or freezing temperatures here since early April and none in the forecast for the next ten days, I put these sad-looking, leggy "Spitfire" climbing nasturtiums outside this weekend. It makes me wonder how well nasturtiums will do even in a sunnier spot in our mostly-shady garden, since the basement light that grows beautiful veggie seedlings did such a poor job for these pathetic-looking plants.

I hope they'll be happier outside, but for extra insurance I planted several more seeds in the pot. If the new ones sprout and are sturdier, and these don't look alot better by then, they're going into the compost!

Never having grown nasturtiums before, and not knowing what climbing nasturtium seedlings are supposed to look like, I wasn't sure if these were typical of young nasturtiums. But after seeing Diane's winter-sown nasturtium seedlings, I can see that mine aren't quite right. I love experimenting in the garden, especially when my experiments turn out well. Frankly, I'm relieved that they're not supposed to look like this, and hopefully the second batch will be much nicer. In the meantime, I've resolved to avoid starting nasturtium seeds in the basement in the future!

I'm growing Nasturtium "Spitfire" for the GROW project. Thanks to Renee's Garden for the seeds.

And the Winner Is . . .

Last weekend while K, her new daughter, and I attended a wild foods/medicinal plants seminar, Monarda fistulosa was serendipitously announced as the winner of this year's One Seed Chicago votes.

Wikipedia says Several bee balm species (Monarda fistulosa and Monarda didyma) have a long history of use as medicinal plants by many Native Americans. . . who recognized the strong antiseptic action of these plants, and used poultices of the plant for skin infections and minor wounds. A tea made from the plant was used to treat mouth and throat infections, and is the source of the antiseptic Thymol, the primary active ingredient in modern commercial mouthwash formulas. The Winnebago tribe used a tea made from bee Balm as a general stimulant. Bee balm was also used as a carminative herb by Native Americans to treat excessive flatulence. An infusion of crushed Monarda leaves in boiling water has been known to treat headaches and fevers.

Although somewhat bitter, due to the thymol content in the plants leaves and buds, the plant tastes like a mix of spearmint and peppermint with oregano, to which it is closely related. Bee balm was traditionally used by Native Americans as a seasoning for wild game, particularly birds. The plants are widespread across North America and can be found in moist meadows, hillsides, and forest clearings up to 5,000 feet in elevation.

While I voted for nodding onion, One Seed Chicago provides compelling reasons to be happy bee balm is the winner: "The past few years have seen an interest in the health of insect pollinators as a sign of a breakdown in our agricultural systems of production," says Michael Thompson, Farm Manager of the Chicago Honey Co-op. "Providing habitats with nectar forage for pollinators is a positive way to help with the decline in pollinating bees and other invertebrates."

"Native plants attract native birds and insects and help to increase biodiversity in your garden," says Jennifer Davit, Director and Horticulturalist at the Lurie Garden at Millennium Park. "Our native plant friends are more adapted to their local surroundings and can handle the Chicago area's fluctuations in climate and weather."

It's not too late for Chicago-area teachers and residents to request a free packet of bee balm seeds. Please consider participating with us in this community effort and help our native bees by planting this pretty, beneficial plant in your own home and school gardens. For more information and to request seeds, please visit One Seed Chicago.