Sweet Potato Vine; I discovered it flowers!

I’ve had a long love affair with sweet potatoes. As a child, I stuck a regular sweet potato with toothpicks and submerged it halfway in water in a clean pickle jar, then set it on my windowsill and enjoyed watching the green vines grow to frame the window during a long Ohio winter. Later, restaurants served delectable sweet potato chips, and after that our children’s Montessori teacher served raw sweet potatoes as an in-school snack.

About 10 or 12 years ago I came late to visit the UGA Summer Flower Trials in Athens, Georgia. I found everyone gone, but there was still a truck piled with free samples, including a brand new but totally wilted yellow ornamental sweet potato vine. Never dreaming that such wilted cuttings would survive, nevertheless I took a couple and stuck the cut ends in my water bottle for the drive back to Atlanta. By the time I was home, the vines were perky and the leaves all stood erect. They went on to root and grow into a wide mat in the garden that year.

Marguerite sweet potato vine is the chartreuse variety that turns almost yellow in full sun, and takes the hottest sun and abuse, dry, south-facing window boxes, hell strips, or containers set on hot concrete paving, and yet grows luxuriantly. Though wilted in the hot afternoon sun the 6 foot container (left) will be refreshed in the morning, or sooner if it gets some water. 

Marguerite’s original partner, Blacky, (right) had dark, purple-black leaves and has been joined by a new cut-leaf black version called Midnight Lace that was sent to Garden Writers and widely marketed in 2009.

Then this year, imagine my surprise to find some Ipomoea morning glory-type flowers on my Blacky vines! Though small and pale pink, they are the same, familiar, trumpet-style, Convolvulus family flowers. 

Have I been unobservant? I never noticed any flowers before this. What about you? 

Tansy, a Controversial Herb

On my trip to the Rockies I was attracted to a beautiful yellow flower growing alongside a dumpster, and recognized Tansy from herb gardens in Atlanta. My Colorado friend cautioned me that, yes, although it was Tansy, it is considered an invasive exotic weed and not welcomed in the West.

Common Tansy, Tanacetum vulgare is a European herb documented in medieval herbals as a medicinal and culinary plant used as a cure for intestinal worms, aid to rheumatism, digestive problems, fevers, used to heal sores. Meat was frequently rubbed with common Tansy to repel insects and prevent decay. More recently, common Tansy has been cultivated for its insect repellent, disinfectant and preservative effects.

Known for its flat-topped clusters of bright yellow buttons, the disk flowers of Tansy have no ray florets so it looks like the center of a common daisy. Thriving in full sun and well-drained soil, the leaves of common Tansy (or the even more beautiful leaves of fern-leaf tansy) are lovely and can take the place of a fern in a sunny garden.

About 20 years ago I got a recommendation to plant Tansy to repel ants, so I did plant it in an Atlanta herb garden, and confusingly had a large anthill grow up around it. Furthermore, Tansy is toxic in large quantities and is not used medicinally nor for culinary purposes today.

Like Purple Loosestrife, in northern and western regions of the US, common Tansy has escaped from gardens and is considered an invasive exotic weed, even listed as 'noxious' in some states because its many tufted seeds are dispersed by wind and water, while new plants form from even the smallest root fragments, making it hard to eliminate.

I guess it just goes to show that one man's ceiling is another man's floor.

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Top 7 Benefits of Garden-Related Travel

This week I'm writing live from an anniversary trip to Colorado, and I've been struck by the many impressions of travel. 

New plant hardiness zones  Upon arrival, Colorado’s huge population of blue spruce jumped out as the most outstanding plant feature of the landscape. Sweet peas and columbine are still blooming in the gardens; long since past in Atlanta.

New ecosystems  High plains grassland vegetation is so different from the familiar mixed conifer forest of my home in Atlanta. The Denver Botanic Garden has devoted a section to the native grassland, in bloom in mid August, mixed with bright daisies and coneflowers. Was that tumbleweed rolling amidst the solar farm at the Denver International Airport?


New permutations of old weeds It struck me that both the Shepherd’s Purse and Ragweed were small and stubby compared to luxuriant examples of these weeds at home, and there were slightly different species of bitterweed and yellow composites from the familiar ones in the SE US.

Breathtaking New Sights Off to the west the mountains appear extraordinary. A trip to Red Rocks and Dinosaur Ridge outside Denver produced a totally unfamiliar natural scenery. Traveling expands the mind and creates new memories.


Different culture Check out the intriguing native motif of tile mosaic on the floor of the Denver International Airport, the paintings and prints of wild mustangs hanging throughout and continued influence of the wild west filtered through several generations. 


Activity So much to do, so little time. The demands of a 20 hour day, from an early rising at 3:45 am Atlanta time to dinner with friends ending around 10 pm Denver time, is more than I typically put in at home. Traveling really gets the blood flowing.

Stress relief benefits of traveling The luxury of a departure from the ordinary; of renewing friendships with old friends; of sleeping in; of seeing things you have only read about; are all quite a thrill. 

Vining Hummingbird Magnet for the Garden and Landscape

Garden  Debut® offers a Trumpetcreeper that is a hybrid between the rampant-growing, native Campsis radicans and the showy-flowered Chinese Campsis grandiflora. Madame Rosy® exhibits the best features of both. (Campsis x 'HOMR' PP18394 Madame Rosy®) is a beautiful hybrid that begins blooming in late May and continues through September. Flowers are rosy colored and exhibit a somewhat flattened trumpet shape, 2"-3" across, much larger than the native version. The trumpet-shaped flowers are big and beautiful and attract hordes of hummingbirds from miles around, since it produces quantities of nectar-rich blossoms all summer long. 

The vine grows best in full sun, but light shade and cool temperatures enhance the rosy color. These abundant flowers are produced in terminal racemes 12"-24" long on new growth all summer, and continuous flowering is guaranteed because the vine produces no seedpods. This well-mannered trumpet vine is adaptable to a wide range of soil and climatic conditions. Madame Rosy® is hardy in USDA Zones 6-9.

Because the aerial roots use a powerful adhesive substance to cement themselves to supports, Trumpetcreeper is not recommended for planting near structures but makes a great addition to fences, trellises or arbors. These attractive flowering vines are strong, reaching 10'-15' in 4 to 5 years.

Trusty Garden Knife Divides Plants

Well-used serrated knife 

Today I am writing in tribute to the indispensible knife I use in my garden. It started life as a serrated bread knife originally purchased 20+ years ago at a discount store for $3.65, and it has served me well for all these years.

Division is economical and quickly yields a modest increase of plants for the garden. One caveat: hundreds of beautiful plants can be legally propagated, but when propagating by division, be careful to respect the plant patent rights and trademark rights of others.  If a plant is patented or trademarked it cannot legally be asexually propagated. Check the nursery label. 

large clump of daylilies

The primary use for my garden knife is the form of plant propagation known as division. Division is the dividing or breaking up of a large plant clump into multiple smaller segments, each with a shoot and some roots. These segments (known as divisions) are then replanted and each one grows into a new plant identical to the original one.

The photos illustrate plant propagation by division using an old clump of tall, maroon daylilies I'm planning to share with a friend. 

Determine where to cut

For example, if I need more Hosta for a new location, I choose an overlarge clump, carefully dig the plant, loosening the roots and lifting the plant from the soil.  I shake off extra soil so I can see the separate shoots, but I do not advise washing off the soil in water, as that turns into a muddy mess. (The hardest plant I ever divided was yellow flag Iris pseudacoris growing in the water at the edge of a pond; it was huge, heavily rooted, wet and muddy.)

slicing through the crown & roots

While some Hostas separate readily into divisions and can be teased or broken apart with my hands, others have a solid crown. With these I use my trusty garden knife to saw through the crown of the plant, creating three or four smaller sections to plant in the new spot.

Crown (white spot in soil) cut in half

Another reason to lift and divide perennials is if they become overgrown, lose vigor or produce fewer flowers. Vigorous growth typically occurs on the outer edge of the clump which has grown into new soil, while the center of the plant languishes. If I notice my daylilies are performing less well because they have gotten too crowded, I carefully fork them out of the ground, remove the soil and separate them into new divisions imagining myself to be a master surgeon. 

Trim away half of leaf surface

None of those old directions: “split apart the main clumps with a hatched, or with two spades inserted in opposite directions” for me. I -refer to investigate where the shoots arise from the crown and consider the optimum placement for each cut. Old growth from the center of the clump is generally discarded. Leaves are trimmed off to reduce water lost to transpiration.

4 vigorous divisions from original clump

Sometimes outside segments of a plant like summer garden Phlox paniculata can be removed and replanted without disturbing the rest of the plant. 

Potted up for future planting

A good rule of thumb is to divide fall-flowering perennials in spring and spring- and summer-flowering perennials in fall, after bloom. And ornamental grasses are best divided in spring because they prefer a long hot period to re-group.

Success! Now I have four strong plants in a large nursery pot to share with a friend who just bought her first house. 

What’s on with the American Community Gardening Association?

In addition to woody ornamentals and flower gardening, I’ve been interested in garden vegetables (and eating them!) since I can remember—planting lettuce seeds and seeing the tiny chartreuse cotyledons against dark brown Ohio soils at ~age 4 ½. I grew up with gardening, but many haven't. This weekend the American Community Gardening Association (ACGA) held its 31st annual conference in ATL, so I applied for a scholarship, was granted a partial one, and off I went. The conference was filled with folks dedicated to being a force for good. What’s not to like?


The program was densely packed with tours of community gardens across Atlanta and with a great variety of educational sessions. Programs ranged from childhood obesity, rainfall retention, biointensive gardening, school programs to raising chickens and goats in community gardens, and from healing gardens to how to preserve the harvest by canning. Several classes addressed the problem of losing garden land, while fundraising and grant writing were not neglected.         
             
First Lady Michelle Obama addressed the group via video message as did the Secretary of Agriculture, Ferry-Morse attended and gave away wheelbarrows of free seeds to community gardeners representing 37 states and 6 countries. There were plenty of both networking and fresh vegetables on the menu. All in all it was a great conference. Thanks to ACGA for my scholarship and thanks to the local planning committee for their hard work.
 
Author's photos of Sugar Creek & Oakhurst Community Gardens.  

Atlanta August Gardening Calendar for City Cafe' on WABE-FM

I had a real treat this morning. I was invited to chat with John Lemley about gardening at the NPR affiliate in Atlanta. The WABE-90.1 FM studio is only one half mile from my garden. Another bonus is that it was taped in advance (today) and producer Kate Sweeney promised to make us sound g-r-e-a-t! So I'm posting the notes I made prior to the interview on gardening during the month of August.

For warm climate gardeners the month of August brings a second chance at growing a garden especially if you can garden in the relative cool of the morning. There are plenty of gardening tasks for August that will keep your flower and vegetable gardens going longer. Midmonth is the time to think of cool weather crops.

Grow-Your-Own-Veggies / Locavores

Reasons to grow food in the garden: Save money, enjoy gardening, cut carbon footprint, veggie gardens are beautiful, don’t want salmonella or pesticides on the tomatoes

Summer crops like tomatoes, squash, cukes that were planted when it was still raining regularly should be coming in now. Pick squash, cucumbers and okra regularly. One over-ripe vegetable (with mature seeds inside), left on the vine will stop bloom production.
Therefore, make arrangements for neighbors to harvest and water your garden while you are on vacation.

Too many zucchini? Cook the blossoms before they turn into squash! Dunk Vidalia onion rings, squash-, daylily- or elderberry blossoms in tempura batter to make delicious fritters.

August 1st is not too late to plant more hot weather summer veggies that will allow time to mature before frost: Tomato starts, cucumbers, squash and snap bean seeds. Choose quick-ripening ones.

Still plenty of time to plant container-grown veggies- compact varieties but still need lots of water. Check on GA Governor Perdue's watering restrictions- no watering between 10 am and 4 pm.

tomato Problems we are seeing in August:
Buds but no tomatoes = too hot at night must be lower that 68-70 degrees F for fruit set
Yellowing, rotting or cracking tomatoes = too much rain
Blossom end rot = drought

Fragrant & Culinary Herbs
Cut back herbs like basil, mint and oregano by a third or a half, to prevent them from producing seed and keep them producing more fragrant leaves. 2 stems will grow after each pruning cut so the plants get bushier.

Plant small container-grown herb plants from the nursery any time: Add lime, plant in containers, in flower beds, in pine islands. Keep watered while establishing, and harvest leaves frequently

Native Rabbit-Eye Blueberries are nearing the end of their run. Pick-your-own, or make a note to plant some shrubs in your garden this fall for fruit next summer.

Prune Figs lightly now, removing the tall shoots in the middle of the bush. Fruit on horizontal limbs will dwvelop best. Water plants for plumpest figs.
Next month (September) plan and plant your cool season veggie garden with crops like lettuce, arugula, radish, carrots, kale, parsley, cilantro. (still too early for peas, sweetpeas, garlic)

Ornamentals/Flowers / Woody Shrubs

Hydrangeas, cut off faded pink and blue flowers and cut back stems by 1/3. The new growth that occurs between now and winter will produce next summer's blooms. (Everblooming varieties like PennyMac or Endless Summer can bloom on new wood from same season)

Crape myrtles are lighting up Atlanta in full bloom now! There are many sizes from low-growing 15-inch tall Rosey Carpet Crape Myrtles from Garden Debut(R) to 40-foot tall Natchez varieties.
Plumleaf azalea = red azaleas! now beginning to bloom (logo of Callaway Gardens) Rebloomers too.

Check the houseplants you've stationed outdoors for insect pests. Use soapy water to wash off insects if you find any. Fertilize houseplants. They are getting much more light now and can use the food to grow bigger, but hold the fertilizer as the days grow shorter.

Dead-Head faded flowers from salvia, zinnia, coneflower, annuals and especially petunias to encourage bushiness and the production of more flowers.

Still time to plant seed of marigold, cosmos, cleome, zinnia and dwarf sunflower. They'll make a spectacular flower show in six weeks: mid-September.

Receiving Bulb Catalogs now, writing my “Wish List”. Order spring-flowering bulbs in soon: narcissus, tulips, hyacinths, small bulbs, but plant in Oct/Nov (except for daffodils and true lilies which shouldn’t stay out of the ground longer than necessary) Trumpet Lilies crossed with Oriental Lilies = Triumphator

Pruning: Last Call to severely cut back overgrown shrubs – new growth will ripen before cold weather

Cut back mums, ironweed, swamp sunflowers, dahlias to half their height. Fertilize and water the plants now to produce a crop of late fall flowers.
Bring bouquets of garden flowers in from the garden!

Lawns

Sharpen blades of lawnmowers- so they slice the leaves of grass and clover rather than tearing them.

Zoysia / Bermuda lawns—warm season lawns; dormant throughout winter. Add lime in August, and it's still the optimum time to lay sod for a new lawn because grass grows quickly in the heat.

Fescue lawns-- cool season lawn; stays green and grows throughout winter; best in early spring- wait another month and reseed Sept 1, fertilize Oct 1.

I wonder which of our topics will make the cut, down from an hour interview to 3 or 4 minutes on air? It is due to run on City Cafe 90.1 FM on Tuesday, August 10 around noon.

photo credit open source for zucchini blossom fritters