Moxie Gardener

Easter Lilies will grow and bloom if planted outdoors.

Easter Lilies, Lilium longiflorum, are native to the islands of southern Japan. Easter Lilies were originally brought to the United States by a World War I soldier who lived in southern Oregon. Prior to this, Japan shipped virtually all Easter Lily bulbs to this country. When the supply was cut off in World War II, farmers in the area around southern Oregon began producing the bulbs. Today, 95% of all bulbs for Easter Lilies are produced in this area.

Lilies are prominent in religious and mythological writings. It is said they sprang up and grew in the Garden of Gethsemane wherever Christ’s sweat fell to the ground. Ancient mythology tells us that lilies sprang from the milk of Hera, wife of Zeus, King of the Gods.

While potted and growing indoors, remove the yellow anthers from the flowers before the pollen sheds. Cut off wilting flowers promptly. Keep them at temperatures in the low 60s during the day and slightly cooler at night. Avoid excess heat from heating ducts or fireplaces. They will thrive in bright, indirect natural light, but avoid strong, direct sunlight.

Water when surface of soil feels dry to the touch, but don’t over water. Do not allow the plant to sit in water drained from the pot; remove from its decorative foil wrapping to water. After excess water has drained, then replace in foil.

After the flowers fade, plant your Easter Lily outdoors in a sunny location with soil rich in organic matter. Easter Lilies like to have their heads in the sun and their roots in the shade. Plant bulbs 12 to 18 inches apart in a hole deep enough to accommodate its root system. Place bulb so its top is about three inches below the surface of the soil. Once you’ve buried the bulbs, hill up an additional three inches of soil above it. Water well immediately after planting, then mulch well.

Cut stems back to the surface when the foliage has died back. It will begin to grow again soon—you may see another flush of bloom later this summer. If not, expect it to bloom the following June or July.

Easter Lilies are somewhat hardy if mulched well with a generous layer of straw, leaves, pine needles, or other organic matter. Remove mulch in early spring as soon as shoots appear.

Easter Lilies can be the foundation of a work-in-progress all white garden. Every spring, add your Easter Lily. Every summer, enjoy its haunting, sweet fragrance.

Florence fennel grows luscious bulbs for salads or roasting.

In Greek mythology, the gift of the knowledge of fire came to man in the form of a fiery coal tucked into a fennel stalk.

In Medieval times, fennel was used to treat disease and was considered sacred. It was hung from rafters to bring good luck to the household and put in keyholes to ward off ghosts and evil spirits.

Fennel was one of the “meeting” seeds of the Puritans; it was chewed to stay awake during church meetings and most often given to quiet fussy children.

Foeniculum vulgare is regular garden fennel grown for its seeds and herbal foliage; Foeniculum vulgare azoricum is the Florence fennel that grows the licorice flavored bulb eaten as a vegetable. Both varieties are perennials grown as annuals in much of the Northern Hemisphere.

Plant fennel in early spring as soon as the ground can be worked. Because they have a deep tap root, fennel doesn’t like to be transplanted. Direct seed where they are to grow.

Don’t plant fennel near beans, tomatoes, cole crops, coriander, or dill. Fennel is said to exude a chemical from its roots that adversely affects the growth of these crops.

It grows 3 to 4 feet high; plant near the back of the herb garden.

Sow seeds in garden about 1/8 inch deep and 4 to 6 inches apart. Thin to stand about 8 inches apart. Keep well watered until established, then do not over water.

When Florence fennel bulbs are egg sized, hill soil up to blanch them. You can begin to harvest about two weeks after that. Harvest leaves for use as a seasoning at any time. Regular garden fennel produces seeds in mid to late summer. Harvest seeds when they turn brown, before the plant scatters them.

Florence fennel bulbs are delicious roasted with a little olive oil and then sprinkled with Parmesan cheese during the last few minutes.

Fennel leaves’ delicate licorice flavor pairs nicely with fish or cheese. The seeds find their way into sausages, breads—particularly dark pumpernickel rye—cakes, cookies, and pies.

Fennel is an all purpose herb that adds its fragrance to cosmetics, soaps, liqueurs, and potpourri mixes, as well as culinary uses. Medicinally, it is said to aid digestion.

Fennel is a cold hardy vegetable that deserves to be grown more often in the home garden. Seed collectors will love it; fennel is a prolific producer of seeds.

It fits right in with one of my gardening concepts: buy it once, collect the seeds, grow it free for life.

Last year's kale survived overwintering and is struggling to grow this spring.

Just a quick update on the kale I covered up to overwinter. I wrote about it here and again here. Then I finally conceded defeat in this post.

Was out expanding the garden today (more about that later). I happened to smell cole crops. I investigated a little further, then determined that while the kale plant I took pictures of earlier (see links, above) was indeed dead, there was another, smaller one that most definitely was not. The stems were still purple, and it looked like some new leaves were trying to unfold.

I got out my camera and took the picture above. At first I could really smell the cabbage, but then it became overcome with an onion smell, after I smashed the chives trying to get a close up of the kale.

I just may get an early spring mini-crop of kale from the lone survivor.

About the garden expansion: my son and friend today moved some of the monolithic stones that outlined my vegetable garden plot, thereby increasing its size by about one third.

(Note to all: the garden was pre-formed and outlined with monoliths when I inherited it a couple of summers ago. It hasn’t exactly been an award-winning producer, but I plan to change that this summer, providing I don’t break my arm again. But I digress.)

The garden is larger. Instead of three sides bordered with monolithic stones, there are now only two. One side borders a fence, and the other is wide open to the yard.

One of three kale plants I covered up to overwinter managed to survive into mid April.

The spinach seeds I planted a couple weeks ago in an old twelve gallon crock are germinating.

Lettuce seeds I planted last fall to overwinter came up and survived a late season snowstorm without my covering them.

I poked around the tarragon and found at least one bud at ground level trying to reach through the leaves toward the sunlight. I’ll leave the mulch of dried leaves on it until the nights reliably stay above freezing. I’d hate to have it survive winter, only to die from a late spring freeze.

I imagine the rest of my fall-sown greens will begin to germinate after we get some much needed rain.

Hyacinths are easy to grow outdoors and easy to force indoors.

Hyacinths are thought to originate in the eastern Mediterranean near Turkey and Iran. They were brought to Europe in the 1500s, when the Dutch discovered they had the perfect climate for growing them. By the 1800s there were over 2,000 cultivars growing in the Netherlands.

Hyacinthus orientalis, commonly called Dutch or Garden Hyacinth, are sometimes associated with rebirth. They symbolize sport or play in the Victorian language of flowers.

Hyacinth bulbs are reliably hardy to USDA Zone 4, although some varieties are hardy through Zone 3. They bloom during March and April.

Plant hyacinth bulbs in fall, about six weeks before your first expected fall frost. Space  bulbs about 4 to 6 inches apart. Plant in groups in a mass hole about 6 to 8 inches deep. Set the bulb with the pointy end up, then cover with soil and firmly press the soil down.

After the blooms fade in spring, cut the flower stalk off but allow the leaves to die down on their own. This helps the bulb store energy to bloom next year.

Hyacinths produce a large, showy flower the first year after they are planted; in subsequent years the bloom size decreases and the flower stalk grows longer. Some gardeners plant new bulbs each fall, they re-locate one year old bulbs in perennial borders and use new bulbs each year for “feature blooms” in highly visible locations near the house.

Hyacinths are one of the easiest bulbs to force indoors during winter and they will even grow in plain water. Special hyacinth glasses are available. They have a thin neck to hold the bulb out of the water in the bottom of the glass, where the roots happily grow.

Hyacinths need a chilling period in order to bloom; I’ve had success forcing them by putting a bulb into a hyacinth glass, adding water up the the level of the bottom of the bulb, then putting the whole thing into a large plastic bag. After a couple of months on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, they bloomed in just a few weeks when set out in a sunny spot at room temperature.

Hyacinths are one of the most fragrant spring bulbs. A single bloom can scent an entire room, even to the point of being overpowering. Don’t put hyacinths on the dinner table, put them on the vanity in the bath or on a table in the entryway. That way you can enjoy their sweet scent, but you and your guests won’t be overpowered by it.

These chives unexpectedly survived a Minnesota winter unprotected in a window box. Photo taken April 7, 2009

Chives are always one of the first plants to break ground in my garden. I can’t count the number of years I saw their green shoots peeking through the snow. Even late season snowfalls don’t set them back. Conversely, in the fall they are one of the last, if not the last, garden plant to succumb to frost.

The use of chives is first documented by the ancient Chinese back in 3000 BC. Marco Polo is credited with bringing them back to Italy from the Orient. Roman armies helped to spread them across the rest of Europe. Chives now grow wild throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere.

A member of the onion family, chives are a hardy perennial known as Allium shoenoprasum.  They are thought to originate in Siberia and the temperate regions of Southeast Asia.

There’s also garlic flavored chives, Allium tuberosum. It’s easy to tell regular chives and garlic chives apart: regular chives have round, hollow leaves and their light lavender flowers bloom in spring; garlic chives have flat leaves and their white flowers bloom in fall.

The easiest way to grow chives is to dig up a clump, break it apart, and plant the parts separately. Virtually any gardener who has chives will be more than happy to donate a clump of chives to a budding gardener.

If you want to start them from seed, toss a small handfull into a 3 inch by 3 inch square of your garden. Water well. In a week or so you’ll notice slightly thick, grass-like shoots. During its first summer, cut chives sparsely so most of its energy is put into growing a strong root system. Cover them with leaves or straw their first winter, although they probably will live without it.

They bloom in mid to late spring on erect stalks that hold the blooms above the rosette of leaves. Their light lavender flowers are actually many little flowers radiating out from a central point.

The flowers are edible. They have a rather strong onion taste, so pull the small, individual “flowers” off and toss them into spring salads.

Chives are such a perfect finishing touch to so many dishes, I don’t think I can name them all. Their mild onion flavor is almost never overpowering, if used with a light touch. Sprinkle on salads, or garnish a bowl of soup. Mix with cottage cheese and allow the flavors to blend overnight. Ditto for cream cheese. And let’s not forget the classic sour cream and chives baked potato.

Chives freeze well. Chop or snip them into small pieces and toss in a zip lock plastic bag. The pieces don’t stick together when frozen, so you can just grab what you need.

Once you grow fresh chives, you’ll always grow them. Every year when they come up I imagine our ancestors eagerly looking forward to their first fresh greens of spring. In many cases it may well have been chives.

What a way to wake up your tastebuds after a long winter.

Baby spinach leaves.

Spinach comes in three basic varieties: smooth leaves, curly leaves, or semi-curly leaves. Almost all “baby” spinach sold pre-washed and packaged in the United States is the smooth-leaved spinach. It’s not necessarily “baby” spinach; many are varieties that don’t grow any larger.

Spinach originated in the Middle East and was spread throughout the ancient world by Arab conquerors. To this day, it is still referred to as “Persian greens” in China. It became more popular in Europe after Catherine de Medici brought it with her when she married the King of France. Ever since, dishes containing spinach are known as “Florentine,” referring to her home in Florence, Italy.

Known botanically as Spinacia oleracea, spinach is a cool-weather vegetable that is fairly hardy, considering its origins near the deserts of the Middle East.

Plant spinach seeds in early spring as soon as the ground can be worked. For a continuous harvest, plant every two weeks until late spring. When hot weather arrives, spinach will bolt, sending up a seed stalk and becoming bitter. Plant again in late summer for fall harvests. For summer sowing, chill seeds in refrigerator for a week or so; you’ll get better germination rates.

Sow seeds about an inch apart in rows 12 inches apart; for intensive gardens, space seeds 2 to 3 inches apart in all directions. Thin plants so they are about four inches apart for either method. Don’t waste any spinach plants; the ones you thin out are sweet and succulent. Many mesclun mixes include spinach seeds to be harvested when immature, along with the rest of the mix.

Spinach needs a lot of moisture and a fertile, well-drained soil. They shouldn’t need any additional fertilizer unless growth is slow or if plants are a light green. In this case, side-dress with high-nitrogen fertilizer.

Spinach is also a good crop to seed in late fall for overwintering. Even if the seeds germinate before freezing weather sets in, they’ll most likely survive if you mulch them well with straw or leaves and remove as soon as weather begins to warm up in spring.

I planted spinach last fall to overwinter, and also planted seeds in an old crock earlier this spring. Due to our continued freezing temperatures, snow, and downright lack of warm spring weather, neither patch has germinated yet. I’ll let you know when they do.

As a gardener, of course, I remain ever hopeful.