by GardenLover | May 27, 2012 | Good eats
By Debra Knapke
It is difficult to find time to sit down at the computer and compose articles about food as I am so busy in the garden planting, weeding and spreading compost, all the while salivating as I dream of the riches to come. One “fruit” that we are harvesting now is rhubarb. It is strange to call the stem of a plant a fruit, but we tend to call our sweet foods fruits and our savory foods vegetables. And, this is definitely a sweet ending to a meal.
The first time I tasted rhubarb in a palatable form was in a pie made by my mother-in-law. It was difficult not to ask for thirds. It is now the pie of choice in our house in May and into June. Our children assume that rhubarb pie will make an appearance on the Mother’s Day and Memorial Day weekends. It’s non-negotiable.
As a plant, rhubarb makes a bold statement in the garden, and the bloom is gorgeous. Once it sends up the flowering stem, you need to stop harvesting. First, you need to stop robbing the plant of its leaves. Secondly, the stems will become very sour which is a sign that the oxalic acid content has increased past the point for safe eating. Never eat the leaves or roots. Some sources recommend that you not eat rhubarb stems after July. I find it to be too sour by the end of June.
Rhubarb Cream Pie
Based on a recipe from my mother-in-law, Mary Knapke
Your pie crust of choice for a 9” pie pan. My preference is a butter-based pie crust that I create in my food processor. You do not need to pre-bake the crust.
Filling:
3½ to 4 c. of rhubarb, cut into 1” pieces
1½ c. sugar; to deepen the flavor use: 1 c. white and ½ c. brown or half white and half brown
3 TBS flour (2-3 more if rhubarb is very juicy–usually at beginning of season and if we have had a lot of rain)
1 TBS butter, melted
2 eggs
Blend sugars, flour and butter. Add eggs and beat until smooth. Pour over rhubarb in a 9” crust. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes (the middle should barely wiggle when done).
by GardenLover | May 23, 2012 | Gardens to Drive
By Michael Leach
Peonies make the humblest garden look rich. Their grand dame appearance is a combination of belle-epoque Paris and Chinese paintings. Peonies look like prima donnas but are tough as work horses. They need little more than full sun and decent soil to add grandeur for generations yet to be born.
I suppose that’s why peonies are a part of so many Midwest gardens. Once established, they blossom every year, just as spring turns into summer. All but one of the peonies in my garden are family heirlooms. I bought Sarah Bernhardt a few years ago. An admirable addition, she’s the only one I have a name for. My favorite I know only as Aunt Mary’s peony, actually a great aunt. Her namesake is a deep, wine-red flower with satin petals and lush scent.
My dirt-dabbling ancestors probably began growing peonies in Victorian times. Like family memories and legends, they were passed down from generation to generation. Both sides of my family added to the collection here at the family home place, where one of my grandmothers was born in 1890. My parents moved into the house in 1952 and probably planted peonies as soon as they could pause in house rehabbing.
Unlike the old house, little work is needed to maintain the peony legacy. If time allows in busy spring, I tie cotton string around the stems to reduce their tendency to flop after a thunderstorm. I cut off the faded flowers. After the plants begin looking dowdy in autumn, the plants are cut to the ground and their remains placed at the curb for municipal composting. I want to reduce the potential of botrytis in my compost pile and on the ground around the plants. The fungus can keep the flowers from opening.
The effort is worth it. Life is too short to miss a single peony flower.
by GardenLover | May 21, 2012 | Books Notes
The Edible Front Yard: The Mow-less, Grow-more Plan for a Beautiful, Bountiful Garden by Ivette Soler, 2011, Timber Press. Retail: $19.95
Reviewed by Debra Knapke
Front lawn perfection has been an obsession of American homeowners since the late 1940s, but a revolution has begun as gardeners explore options for the front yard. The Edible Front Yard is a reworking of the ages old idea of growing one’s food. If you think that food-based gardens are ugly, the pictures in this book will change your mind. It’s time to be bold! Proudly display your vegetables and fruits out front. Don’t hide them behind the house.
The majority of the pictures are from warmer climes – Southern California, Texas and Seattle – but nearly all of the plants listed in the Front Yard Plant Palette are grown in Midwest edible gardens. This slim volume is overflowing with “how-to” information ranging from design to plant selection to implementation of your edible garden, and it is general enough to be applicable to most of the United States. One caveat is that edible gardens are not low maintenance. The time spent with maintaining it, and harvesting and processing the bounty may surprise gardeners who are unfamiliar with this garden style. But what could be better than growing some of your food?
Beginner gardeners will be inspired to jump in and just “do it”, while more advanced gardeners will enjoy exploring a different way of thinking about the front yard.
by GardenLover | May 19, 2012 | Trendspotting
By Teresa Woodard
In today’s landscapes, beauty is no longer enough. Gardeners are transforming their landscapes from simply tasteful to really tasty. According to Ros Creasy, author of The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping, people of Renaissance times started the idea of separating utilitarian plants (food) from non-utilitarian flowers. Upper-class people saw growing only flowers near their home as a way to show off their wealth and power. They were so wealthy they could use their land to grow plants simply for pleasure and hide the edibles somewhere else.
While gardeners followed this model for years, many now appreciate the pollination and pest resistance benefits of growing the two side by side. Besides, today’s gardeners are looking for ways to elevate the use of their resources, like the idea of growing their own food and are having fun experimenting with new fruit and vegetable varieties.
If you’re looking for ways to use more vegetables and fruits in your backyard, try some of these ideas:
- Plant ever-bearing strawberries in hanging baskets, well out of the reach of hungry bunnies.
- Mix attractive vegetables like ‘Bright Lights’ Swiss chard, ‘Gretel’ eggplant, ‘Redbor’ kale and ornamental peppers with your perennials.
- Add edibles to your containers. Garden centers are selling “salad bowl” containers filled with a variety of leaf lettuces. I tried ‘Baby Bibb’ with pansies in the spring. Another landscaper is filling his clients’ containers with dwarf blueberry bushes, known for their colorful fall foliage. He says with containers, it’s easier to adjust the soil acidity (4.0-5.0 for blueberries).
- Grow edible flowers like nasturtiums, violas and pansies to spruce up your salads.
- Don’t relegate edibles to the backyard. Tuck ornamental ones like rhubarb in the front beds, replace a groundcover with creeping thyme or swap out a purely ornamental tree for a fruit tree. Just imagine harvesting apples from an espaliered apple tree grafted with three varieties.
by GardenLover | May 12, 2012 | Books Notes
Decoding Gardening Advice: the Science Behind the 100 Most Common Recommendations – Jeff Gillman and Maleah Maynard, Timber Press, 2012.
Reviewed by Debra Knapke
Gardening is a blend of art and science. Art is in the eye of the beholder – and gardener. Science is based on experimentation, observation and outcomes. And, there are a lot of outcomes in the garden from chlorosis to chomped leaves to patchy lawns to blossom end-rot on your tomatoes.
There are times when the amount of information on how-to-garden is overwhelming. Just when you are ready to give up, a reference appears that presents a rational way to evaluate old wives tales, “common” knowledge and scientific “fact”. Jeff Gillman and Maleah Maynard offer three ways to look at garden advice that you have read or heard: good advice, debatable advice and advice that is just wrong. Gillman’s and Maynard’s responses show that the authors have done the research and also have personal garden experience.
One of my soapbox topics is the way we use and misuse mulch in the landscape. On this topic, Gillman and Maynard state:
Good Advice – Keep mulch away from the crowns of ornamental plants and the bases of trees
Debatable Advice – Use landscape fabric to control weeds
Advice that is Just Wrong – Always add extra nitrogen to the soil when wood mulch is used
Read the book to find out the reasoning behind the categorization of these common recommendations and many others.
This book is the third for Jeff Gillman that looks at the way we garden and how to understand the science of gardening. His first two: The Truth About Organic Gardening and The Truth About Garden Remedies, set the stage for Decoding Garden Advice. Much of gardening can be intuitive, especially when you observe nature and seek to understand natural processes in the environment. But when you are confronted by several conventional, organic or home remedies for a problem in the garden, it’s nice to be able to understand the cause of the problem and to wisely select a solution. Gillman’s earlier books are excellent references that are valuable for both novice and experienced gardeners.
And, did I mention, all this serious information is mellowed with humor? It will be difficult not to smile or chuckle as you explore gardening information and techniques through the pens of Gillman and Maynard.
By Debra Knapke
Blend sugars, flour and butter. Add eggs and beat until smooth. Pour over rhubarb in a 9” crust. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes (the middle should barely wiggle when done).
