All posts by Jan Nelson

I am a landscape designer and consultant in the Santa Cruz mountains in California. I write a weekly gardening column for the Press Banner newspaper. I am also a Calif. Advanced Certified Nursery Professional and managed The Plantworks Nursery in Ben Lomond, Ca. for 20 years.
Being thankful

Happy Thanksgiving

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 Soft magenta clouds streak the sky as the sun sets over the valley and a full moon rises over the eastern  ridge.    The clouds are as dramatic as the geological formations found here.  Desert holly, mesquite and creosote are as common as redwood trees are to our area.  Botanically speaking, I couldn’t be farther from the Santa Cruz mountains.   I’m in Death Valley exploring an area whose growing season is from September to May due to the extreme summer heat.   There are 1200 springs throughout the valley and surrounding mountains  supporting wildlife and plants.    There’s water here but in isolated areas.

 
 After returning,  I’m struck with the lushness of our subtropical home.  You probably get this same feeling when you get back from a vacation.  We live in paradise.  Whether you live in oak woodlands, chaparral, or a redwood / mixed evergreen forest we are blessed  to live here.  We are thankful for our neighbors and community, our flora and fauna, our wonderful climate and our gardens.     I came across this poem of Thanksgiving and thought you might like it, too. 

BE THANKFUL

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes.
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary,
because it means you’ve made a difference.

It’s easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who
are also thankful for the setbacks.

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
and they can become your blessings.

~~Author Unknown.~~

 

holiday gifts, plant care

Gift Ideas for the Holidays

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 It’s not too early to start planning for gifts to give for the holidays.  You might be putting together something quick to give to the hostess on Thanksgiving or planning ahead for Christmas presents.  Here are a  couple of ideas to consider:

 Colorful chard, kale, lettuce and spinach are not only nutritious and delicious, they’re also beautiful.  With food prices going higher and higher ,  plant up of pot of living greens in a container  to give as a gift.  Choose a container at least 12" wide and fill with potting soil.  If you plant from cell packs now they’ll be full next month to give  but even if you put a couple of herbs or veggies in a pretty pot  now they’ll be appreciated.  Bright Lights chard would look great by itself in a glazed pot.

These leafy greens can be harvested over a long period of time by gently tearing off the outer leaves and allowing the center to continue growing.  With food prices going higher and higher,  even someone who has never grown veggies before will appreciate a gift like this.  Plant up a couple for yourself, too, to have by the kitchen door.

For those of you that have a cool season veggie garden already in progress, it’s time to fertilize them to increase production.   

Give a bouquet from your garden to dress up a Thanksgiving table.  Right outside your door you can find plenty of fall leaves and berries and even a couple of flowers if you’re lucky.  Mexican bush sage are still blooming as are lion’s tail,  maybe a few cosmos, Japanese anemones and asters. Ornamental oregano holds up well , too, especially the variety Santa Cruz.    Foliage can be a key player and might be found from smoke bush, ornamental grass, purple hopseed, crape myrtle, Chinese pistache, oaks, maples and liquidambar.   Dogwood leaves would be beautiful as would ornamental pear.  Berry accents are a staple for a fall bouquet and you might have nandina, cotoneaster,  hawthorn,  dogwood or  crabapple in your garden.  Go out and fill a brown shopping bag with whatever strikes your fancy to create a beautiful fall bouquet to give or dress up your own table or entry.  Your arrangement should last about 4-7 days in a moderately cool room. 

I like to start hyacinth bulbs in the refrigerator in pretty colored hyacinth jars to give as gifts.  Make sure the water barely touches the bottom of the bulb or it may rot.  It usually takes 6 weeks or so for the jar to fill with roots before you bring it out and place in a bright spot gradually so it can acclimate to the light.  Their fragrance is incredible.

Forcing narcissus bulbs is simple and make a classic gift that  can perfume an entire room.  Flowers take 4-6 weeks from the time you plant them to set buds so start them now.  You can plant them in a shallow pot filled with potting soil or nestled slightly in pebbles or sand in a water tight jar.   An interesting container from the thrift shop would make your gift unique.

Allow the plants to grow under cool, bright conditions to keep their stems compact and strong.  Stake flower stems if they start to flop over or you can give them a diluted solution of alcohol to keep stems and leaves 1/3 to 1/2 shorter than those growing in plain water.  The key thing is to let the bulbs develop roots in water and stones to anchor the roots as usual until the shoots rise 1 to 2 inches above the top of the bulb.  Then pour off the water and replace it with a solution of water containing 4 to 6% alcohol such as gin, vodka or rum. To get this percentage from an 80 proof distilled spirit, you would need 1 part liquor to 7 parts water.  This  yields a 5 percent solution. 

Use this alcohol-water combination when you need to add water to the bowl.  Cornell scientists say rubbing alcohol also works but because it is typically 70 percent alcohol, less is needed,  just 1 part to 10 parts water.   I wrote about this interesting method last year but thought you might want to be reminded abut this handy tidbit of information if you’re going to start for yourself or to give as gifts.

 

Deer Resistant Plants, fall foliage, trees,shrubs,vines,perennials

My Top Ten Favorite Plants for Shade

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 Some of us live in mostly  shade and some of us in the sun.   The choices for sunny locations are many but those of us who garden in shady or partially shady places have a tougher time finding good, reliable plants. 
Looking back over the years, I find that time and again I use one of the following plants in a design for a shady garden.  Sure, every garden is different;  different look, different soil, different degree of shade, but it’s surprising how often one of these plants plays a starring or supporting role in a vignette or border. 

I call them  Jan’s Top 10 Plants for Shade.

#1    Loropetalum chinense or Fringe flower.  This handsome evergreen shrub comes in two versions: green foliage with white flowers or burgundy foliage with raspberry flower clusters. Flowering is heaviest in the spring but some bloom is likely throughout the year.   I place this plant in the foreground where you can appreciate it’s graceful shape.  It looks great as an accent or in a raised bed.   The burgundy form would add color to a woodland garden and they even do well in a container on the patio.   You can prune it to any size but please don’t turn it into a tight ball and ruin it’s shape.    Another plus is that it is not attractive to deer.

#2    Liriope or Lily Turf.     Another deer resistant perennial I use a lot as a ground cover , at the edge of a path, or in a mixed border.  Evergreen grasslike leaves form tufts 18" tall.  They do well along streams or garden pools and compete well with the roots of other plants like at the base of trees or shrubs.  Flower spikes, usually purple, are quite showy.  ‘Big Blue’ is a popular variety that does well in dry shade.  ‘Silvery Sunproof‘ has green strappy leaves with gold stripes that age to white and can take sun.  In shade they stay golden, which is really pretty.

#3    Heuchera or Coral Bells.  There are so many varieties of this perennial these days I hardly know where to start.  Whether native or a hybrid their flower spikes are a hummingbird favorite.  Colorful foliage,  often ruffled or variegated,  can be silver, amethyst, caramel or lime green.   Combine a tawny variety like ‘Caramel‘ with the chartreuse foliage of ‘Citronella‘ in front of taller perennials or as a border edging.  They make good container plants, too.    Plant them where they get a little afternoon shade and they’ll be happy. 

#4    Pieris japonica or Lily of the Valley shrub.  An evergreen shrub with year round interest, this plant blooms early in late winter though early spring , and is covered with little bells for several months.  Starting in fall , when reddish flower buds appear, through summer as new foliage emerges with a red tint there is always something attractive happening with this plant.  Deer resistant also.

#5    Dryopteris erythrosora or Autumn fern.  If you’re looking for brighten up a shady area, this is the fern for you.  New fronds emerge a coppery color unlike any other fern.  Although they appreciate regular water, they will tolerate dry shade in a pinch.  Deer don’t like ferns either.

#6    Hydrangea quercifolia or Oakleaf hydrangea.  Huge showy leaves resembling oaks, turn bronze or crimson in the fall.      White flower clusters , 8" long, bloom in late spring and early summer, turning pinkish as they age.  They  are attractive if left on the plant  for the rest of the season.   This deciduous shrub grows to 6 ft tall and can also be grown in containers.

#7    Hakonechloa or Japanese forest grass.  The most widely grown and I think the most beautiful variety is ‘Aureola‘.  Use this graceful, chartreuse colored grass to lend a classy touch to containers or as an architectural accent to a border or along a path.  In cool weather, the leaves turn pinkish and blend with your other fall foliage.

#8    Nandina or Heavenly bamboo.  Not a true bamboo, this hardy, easy to grow shrub, comes in many forms.  Some are ground covers, some hedges, some narrow accents in restricted places.  Many have bright orange-red foliage in the winter and deer don’t like them. .  It can grow in dry areas and you can harvest the sprays of berries for a holiday wreath. 

#9    Cornus florida or Flowering dogwood.  Check out ‘Cherokee Chief‘ to provide vivid red fall foliage color to your garden as well as scarlet fruit that hangs on the trees in the winter.  This variety bears deep rosy bracts that nearly cover the tree in spring.  Use this small handsome tree as a focal point in the garden.

#10    Acer palmatum or Japanese maple.  ‘Bloodgood‘ is probably the brilliant deep scarlet red maple you’re seeing around town.  In the spring and summer foliage is deep red but in the fall- look out -it turns neon red.  Growing to only 15 ft, this small tree can be placed anywhere , even in a container.

 There are many other great plants that come to mind that I also use and like.  Pacific coast iris, campanula, bush anemone, to name a few.  This is a good time to add some new plants to the shady spots in your garden.