June 2 blooms

William Guinness columbine. I love the dark color of this!

Bearded irises that smell like grape kool-aid. Delightful.
This iris is known as orris root and the aged, dried rhizome is used as a fixative in potpourri.
Bleeding hearts are very late to open this year due to the very late frosts and freezes we have had. I love the look of the blossoms against the rocks here.

It has been a spring that has been cold and dry. Although February and March were some of the wettest on record around here, April and May have been some of the driest. And May was very cold. In fact, last week we still had a morning temp of 29 degrees. So, the last few days saw us finally planting tomatoes, peppers and such. And the lilacs are finally blooming and the rhododendrons are just opening. Plants would pop up and then get hit by freezes, time and again. Very strange spring!

In the Very Merry Month of May

Can't believe it has been a month since I posted. It's been pretty busy around here with teaching crazy quilting and teaching the herb study program. I also hosted my soon-to-be DIL's shower, been babysitting grandkids and spending 10 hour days in the garden. Speaking of which....the 500 lavender plants we ordered arrived. Possum Creek Herbs did a fabulous job packing their beautiful, healthy plants. There were 14 boxes and I had started unpacking when I thought I should take pictures.


And here is a close up of some of the plants. They need to get acclimated to our northern climate (having come from TN) and we are still not past our last spring frost yet. Danny is working hard on getting the field ready for them. It will be a space 125 feet by 50 feet. In about 3 years, we should have blooming lavenders like crazy. I've grown several varieties the past few years, getting a feel for the hardiest ones. We are planting Munstead. That variety has been very hardy for us.

Here are some dwarf irises that are blooming today. They were a gift from a cq friend of mine, Boston Laura, who now lives in Seattle.
And our apple tree is blooming heavily. The rest in the mini orchard in the back are just putting on growth. The peach trees that I started from pits, given to me by a dear friend from Iowa, are getting bigger and should produce fruit this year.
Goldenseal is also blooming. As are Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Forget-me-nots, Sweet Cicely, and barberry. Lilacs are a little behind this year as it has been so cool and dry. But, they have tons of buds and should be opening up next week. Last week we also received our order from Raintree Nursery and planted out tayberries, currants, heirloom apple, more raspberries, a quince, medlar, a tall mountain huckleberry, another lingonberry, a filbert hedge, more rugosa roses and a few other goodies. Ah spring! I've already harvested violets and the first batch of nettles. Also got some arborvitae branches from what we trimmed to make room for the new deck off the sliding glass doors. This will be the entrance to our "herb room" where we will be able to sell some of our herbal products. We will be open Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2-6 p.m. this year - May 27 through Labor Day.

Glorious Spring

We have enjoyed a string of beautiful, warm days here in Zone 5. Plants are popping out of the ground. Here are a few that are up:

This is Maral Root, Leuzea carthamoides

This is Pasque Flower (Anemone pulsatilla)


And here is a Double-flowered bloodroot I just bought at Well Sweep Herb Farm in NJ:
I will be adding it to the patch of single bloodroot I have established in the woodland area of the garden.

There are lots more showing their faces: sweet violet is blooming in the south facing beds, trillium leaves are up, hepatica is up and lily of the valleys are just pushing up through the earth. Dong quai (Angelica sinensis polymorpha) is there, as is Korean angelica, Dahurica angelica and angelica archangelica. True French sorrel and bloody dock are about 4 inches high. Catnip and lemon catnip are starting to grow again. Comfrey (Russian, white, yellow and "regular") are saying hello. Lovage, tarragon, coneflower, sages, licorice, osha, monarda, etc. are all happy and welcoming spring. There are lots, lots more and I'm like a 3-year-old clapping my hands every time an herb shows up again. There is true joy in gardening.

Spring has Sprung or at least the snow has melted

Ahh, finally a few days of warmer temps strung together. 50s and 60s for a few days wakes up plants. I hear from a lot of people that they don't know what herbs look like when they emerge from the ground. So, I've snapped a few pictures of some herbs that are poking up now.

The first picture is Valerian (Valeriana officinalis). The leaves will turn greener as they grow. Valerian root is used as a sleep inducer. The flowers smell of cherry pie. The root smells of feet and butt! What a dichotomy.

The next picture is Celandine (Chelidonium majus). The yellow-orange sap of the plant removes warts. This works pretty well. There's a folk tale that says swallows use the sap to clear the eyes of their newborn chicks. Humans, don't try that! The tree swallows return around here when the celandine starts growing in the spring. Sure enough, I saw the first tree swallow 2 days ago.

The next plant is Angelica (Angelica archangelica). This lovely perennial is good for a number of things, one of which for protection. The candied stems are delicious. Various plant parts are used medicinally.

Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfare) is next and is the first blooming wildflower around here. Coltsfoot is
also known as son-before-the-father because the blooms are first, followed by leaves later. Often, people mistake coltsfoot for dandelion. As the Latin name tells you, coltsfoot is useful for coughs. However, NEVER use coltsfoot without the guidance of a competent herbalist.

Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) is the last picture above. A great anxiolytic and useful for some heart problems as well. Again, make sure you have the advice of a competent herbalist before using this.

On Ginger

A few weeks ago, I got a call from Joanne McFadden, a reporter for the Schenectady Daily Gazette. This is the same reporter who was assigned to do our story on becoming a Botanical Sanctuary. She asked if I knew anything about ginger. Well, a little! Here's the link to the article that came out in today's paper.

http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2008/apr/02/0402_Ginger/

I'm off to teach downstate for two days. So glad the snow has finally melted around here!

black pepper

I'm all atwitter - my black pepper plant (Piper nigrum) is actually blooming! I grow it as a houseplant here in zone 5 in New York state. I've had this plant for a few years and was wondering if it was happy. Growth hasn't been stellar. It lives outdoors on the porch in the summer and comes inside for the winter. But, noticing the blooms, I believe it is adapting well to this climate. Hopefully, the blooms will lead to peppercorns. You can bet dinner spiced with that black pepper will be a special occasion!

The ground outdoors is still completely frozen and any sign of spring and growth is cause for celebration. Right now, green growth is the houseplants and the seedlings I have been sowing indoors. I use a grow light and my south facing windows. Right now I have seedlings of ginseng, tomatoes, white sage, bupulerum, hot peppers, hyssop, lemon balm, ashwagandha, adafetida, roselle, angelica (archangelica and sinensis) and a lot more. When you are a plant nut, it's amazing how a little seed can bring such happiness.

Talking About herbs

I teach crazy quilting and herbs. Maybe a strange combination, maybe not. I also write articles about each subject. In January, my article on calendula appeared in The Essential Herbal.
I will post it on the Green Spiral Herbs web site now that the next issue has arrived. Make sure you check out and subscribe to this grass roots, exciting magazine.

Today, the United Plant Savers Journal of Medicinal Plant Conservation arrived and it has our progress report about our Botanical Sanctuary in it. Go to United Plant Savers to read the update.

Another project which I am quite excited about is the start-up of an absinthe company in the Catskills. Why am I excited? Well not just for the taste of absinthe (however yummy that is)...the owner, Cheryl Lins, has asked us to grow many of the herbs she will use in this mythic, mystic concoction. We met with Cheryl a few months ago and gave her samples of our herbs and she was impressed with the quality of what we grow. She wants to keep as much as she can "in the Catskills". We agree! Here is a link to a newspaper article written about her last week:
Absinthe. Oh yeah, I'll let you know when bottles of this fine beverage will be available. You may have to come to the Catskills to get it though!

In the meantime, it's another frozen day here. Spring is still some time away, but seedlings in southern facing windows have sprouted and red-winged blackbirds have arrived in the yard. Not so very long now til my hands can get in the earth again.