Exotic Flowers in Boston

I walked outside this morning and felt the warmth of the sun that is steadily indicating the summer growing season is near.  New Englanders understand this elation all to well since we patiently wait through six months of chilly weather until we can be reunited with our gardens.  It doesn’t seem fair that states such as Texas, Florida and California can pretty much tend to crops almost the entire year while we have to suffer the harshness of annual blustery winters. 

 

 Or is it? 

We northerners have managed to come up with a trick or two when it comes to stretching our growing period.  Professionals within the agricultural industry have passed on a few tips including the manipulation of imperative essentials such as temperature, fertilization, zone guidelines and light distribution.  It seems really complicating but by adding a few alterations to your anticipated gardening plans, you’ll be able to jumpstart your green thumbs at little extra cost. 

 

Starter Seedlings

Starting your seeds inside before the suggested date can not only add months to your hobby but also strengthen the specimen allowing it to become hardier and more resistant to environmental changes.  You can place seeds in special indoor pots sold by Home Depot and Lowes or simply use an empty egg carton.  Once the soil and seed have been prepared, place near a window with maximum sunlight.  If you’re worried about cold drafts, place a clear sheet of saran wrap over the containers, which will create a greenhouse effect.  Perfect starter seeds include peas, cucumbers, marigolds and tomatoes. 

 

Early Protection

If you have taken the leap and planted your goodies prior to recommended planting season, hopefully you have put them in a raised bed since the soil will warm faster than the earth beneath the ground.  Keep a steady eye on the weather forecast and if a frost pops up as a possibility, cover your plants with heavy plastic or tarp.  If the area is nestled within trees or a heavily shrub area, you might even be able to get away with laying newspaper on top, which will also keep them warmer. 

 

Pruning

Now that we’ve talked about the preseason, how about we come up with something for the post season?  Pruning can add extra time to your favorite flowers once the fall threatens to retract their beauty.  Keeping the stocks strong can be done simply by taking off the dead heads of past blooms and shortening the length of the stem.  Water continuously and don’t forget to protect with a layer of plastic if the cold begins to creep in!

Songs to Sing to Flowers

 

The other day I was thumbing through some books in the children’s department of our local public library.  As I was making my selections of Mo Willems and Eileen Christelow, the door to the story time room opened and a dozen or so smiling six year olds piled out holding their crafts of pea pod seeds planted in a Dixie cups.  Parents greeted their kids with “Wow, what did you make?” salutations and with heart felt appreciation, thanked the librarian who read books about gardens and then proceeded to teach the enthusiastic group how to grow their own.  Taken in by the pleasant commotion, I glanced over at the gleeful scene grinning at the fact that our library resources maintain the ability to not only encourage literacy and enrichment education programs but also provide the push for creativity.  That’s when I saw her, a little girl still standing inside the reading area, holding her cup and by the looks of it, whispering to the contents.  Compelled to learn more, I stepped closer for a better view when the group facilitator turned to me and said, “She’s singing to her plant!  Isn’t that amazing?”  Nodding my head, things got more interesting as another classmate joined her friend and also began humming a tune.  Pretty soon, children were gathering one by one and singing sweet notes to their projects with the intention that they would grow stronger and faster if encouraged with a hymn.

 

                                                photo credit: Flower Factor

That amazed me.

 

It wasn’t that the scene was just adorable to say the least but most of all, it was inspiring as well.  We have all heard the old wives tale about talking to our plants but what if there is actually truth to the suggestion that higher nurturing of our harvests really can be attained by human voice?  Maybe these small children were on to something?  If they are right, the power of music can in fact increase the viability of All living things.  Intrigued by this unfounded hypothesis, I searched to find the best songs for our kids to sing to their gardens, not only improving the plant’s prosperity but allowing our children to connect with nature in a whole new level.  I liked this one the best so give it a go and get your flowers blooming with music!

 

April Showers

To the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell"

 

Dark clouds gather outside,

The wind begins blow,

A raindrop falls and then another --

April showers!

 

I am not afraid.

The rain is very good.

It softens the earth and helps the plants

Make May flowers.

Animals are true companions for many people and hold a dear place in our hearts.  We take care of them, watch them grow and receive their affection and attention when we need it the most.  Pets come in all shapes, sizes and breeds including cats, dogs, goldfish, parakeets, gerbils, hamsters, lizards, frogs and just about any creature that we can think of who walks or swims the earth.  We treat our fuzzy loved ones with the utmost care because we realize they are more than just an animal, they are our friends that truly solidify themselves in our households as one of the family.   Psychologists reason that it is important to include pets within our lives, particularly for children because they teach responsibility and fellowship.  One factor that is also said to hold positive learning influences for kids who have animals is the hard lesson of accepting life and death.  No one likes to see our beloved animals pass but there is significant research that shows losing a pet prepares the young in a healthier manner than a child who grows up in a pet-less environment.  

 

Several months ago, my family lost our Siamese cat that not only filled our home with warmth and humor, but also taught my two boys the feeling of mourning.  It was hard, tear-jerking and at the very least, sad but I still believe that this first experience of death allowed them to understand and process their feelings in a better way than if we had no furry loved ones at all.  The question came later as to how we should honor little Ricky so that he would still remain close to our family’s hearts.  After some time spent brainstorming, we came up with a way that not only honored the cat, but would reflect his true spirit in nature.

 

Ricky was an unusual breed who was half seal point and half chocolate point.  The two varieties were interesting in his genetic make-up giving him a head that resembled a seal from behind and a beautiful gray brown coloring that was seen throughout his silky fur.  We kept these two qualities in mind when we came up with an idea that would properly memorialize the cat in a way that would represent both his beauty and character.  Being a family who loves the outdoors, particularly backyard living, landscaping and gardening, we thought what better way to keep his memory alive than to plant a tree thematic of these attributes? 

 

You might be thinking you’re overdoing it but really, it’s a very sweet and environmentally protagonist approach to handling the bereavement of a pet who’s passed on.   During the selection process, our family had to keep in mind of the physical attributes of Ricky including his texture, shading and personality.  After mulling over ideas of cherry and magnolia plantings, we finally came to the perfect conclusion- a pussy willow tree.  The buds of the willow are incredibly similar to the smoothness of his coat and the gray chocolate tints that bless the blooms are also a beautiful match to his silky coat.  The pussy willow is eccentric (another trait of the cat) having a posture that hangs down and winds its branches in and on top one each other.  Standing with a slender trunk, the overhang bends down looking similar to an umbrella.  We felt that the dynamic architecture of the willow was a fabulous match to our out-of-the-box kitty who talked loudly whenever excited, danced in circles chasing his tale and possessed a royal appearance with his bright blue eyes and stunning fur coat.  If your bereaving the loss of a pet, you might want to plant a tree in his or her honor too!  You’ll be proud of the memory you’ve erected and feel blessed to watch it bloom every spring. 

  Suzie Canale, Westwood, MA 

As temperatures begin to rise here in Boston, gardeners are wondering what the next trends for group plantings will be this summer?  Window boxes, raised beds and patio pots are all part of your home’s landscaping design so be sure you are ready to plan an attractive design that properly accentuates your property.  Although these creations should show individuality to your tastes, experts have devised a framework to ensure your summer flower’s best performance efforts.  For instance, color, texture and size all effect the final presentation of the plants whether they are being hung from an arbor or rooted within a larger garden plot.  Other factors that are crucial to measure are the specimen’s longevity throughout the season and ability to acclimate in different weather patterns that we know makes New England gardening sometimes a challenge.  As I start to sift through seed catalogues and local nursery websites, I will try to keep these few suggestions in mind in order to build my successful raised garden beds this June. 

 

Its not always easy choosing the right flowers suitable to the areas those are available to you. Some varieties prefer moist soil while others desire a drier plot, which makes it crucial for you to read the care instructions before buying anything.  Don’t let desire get in the way of your selection process because no matter how much you love a perennial or annual, if you don’t have the proper environment for it to grow, the selection will fail to thrive.  In some circumstances you can manipulate the soil such as making wood or plastic draining containers where you can fill it with the proper material that will enable a wider variety of options for you.  In this case, its smart to get the opinion of a home improvement specialist or florist to help you decide on the material you’ll need for construction. 

 

Deciding your color palette is really important to pre-planning gardens because it will aid to avoiding an uncomfortable clash once the plants have been plotted.  You don’t want all of that hard work to go to waste on a messy arrangement that will be unattractive in your yard.  One way to develop a blueprint is to get out your paints and start trying out different shades and their combinations with others.  This will allow a large spectrum of diversity and you’ll be able to match most outcomes with the products your greenhouses will have available.  Years ago I met a floral designer who swore that adding white into a brightly mixed assortment of color only worked to separate the flow of the other flowers.  His advice was to keep whites in their own plot to ensure a visually stimulating and appealing presentation.  Other pros encourage a mass array of dark and light blossoms because it illuminates a spectacular burst of flowers, which is exactly what Mother Nature has offered to all of us!

 Suzie Canale

Westwood, MA

 

Doctors say to get outdoors if you want to be healthy and you know what, they’re right!  Studies show that an increase amount of time spent walking in the woods, combing sandy beaches or playing on the lawn with your kids can actually help eradicate illnesses, stress and ailments.  Believing this to be true, I set up an experiment to see if this actually would help my lack of flexibility and backaches that I had been experiencing.  To my surprise, there was no doubt that taking an extra fifteen minutes a day to participate in my favorite outdoor activity actually did wonders for these common problems felt by many.  What was that activity you ask?  Well, gardening of course!  Through a period of six weeks, I not only noticed a clear change but also developed a few tips for others who might be going through the same predicament.  Without strenuous positions or exhausting tasks, flexibility in muscles and depletion in upper and lower framework afflictions can be attained by following a few easy suggestions when enjoying a planting session of your favorite begonias. 

 

Before bending down to reach for your flat of plants, take a deep breadth from the diaphragm and release the air slowly from your lungs.  It’s sounds strange but professionals reveal that in general, people do not breath enough throughout their day, which can actually cause heightened anxiety and stress.  Think of it as your warm up exercise and you’ll notice right away the decrease in tension within your body.  Once you’ve done this your ready to fully emerge yourself in the “health” of gardening.

 

                                           photo credit: globalgardensgifts.com

Next you’ll want to get going with your potting and digging so remember when kneeling to do this very slowly as to avoid pulling or tearing of the joints.  When bending for multiple plants, bow at the knees instead of a full frontal curve of the back to the ground.  This will ease your way into the motion and give you toning as you repeat this movement throughout your session.

 

If you aren’t into kneeling by your flowerbeds and you’re not afraid of grass stains, sit your bottom right down on the ground and extend your legs in front of you.  While you are preparing the soil, take a second to stretch your arms as far down across your legs as you feel comfortable doing.  After you get the hang of this, try folding one leg behind you while still keeping the other leg straight.  You will feel a bit of tightening that means that the quad is stretching.  Other positions that are helpful for flexibility include laying your hands behind your back and forming an arch or lifting your arms straight above your head for a complete lengthening of shoulders, biceps and triceps.

 

                                photo via aberdeenflorist.com

Get out there and sample these ways to heighten flexibility and decrease back pain without ever having to leave your backyard.  You won’t believe the difference a good gardening day can do for your flowers and your body.

 

I’m looking at the thermostat hanging on the deck and can’t believe my eyes…  It’s almost fifty degrees out in Boson and the sun is shining!  The change in weather is calling me to begin organizing my garden tools in the shed and plan my list for what I’ll need at the garden center.  Rakes, trowels, mulch and other odds and ends will have to be bought but this year due to all of the snow, I’m going to need to replace a few things in the yard.  One fixture that will be at the top of my spring chores is rebuilding the several raised beds that unfortunately couldn’t take the severe winter that just passed.  Pre-made box gardens can be extremely expensive and can range in cost anywhere from fifty to several hundred dollars.  For me, it’s just not worth the expense so I prefer to pick up a hammer and nail and create them myself. 

Without becoming anxious about the task, I’ll make sure that I design an accurate blueprint of what supplies will be needed and a clear list of steps for construction so I’m not wasting precious time that I could be spending elsewhere.   If you’re like me, you might be in the same predicament but don’t worry.  It doesn’t matter if you’ve never been a do-it-yourself kind of a person because there is an easy and affordable method that I’ve found.  See if this works for you, too and soon you’ll be planting and weeding before you know it!

 

                    photo credit: awaytogarden.com

Visit a trusted home improvement store in your area and grab a cart to make selection and transportation of the materials simpler.  To make one raised bed, find the lumber department and browse the different varieties of wood that are in stock.  Depending on your green thumb’s tenacity, pick a length that will suit your needs.  My previous boxes measured at eight feet long, which provided ample space for a large variety of flowers and vegetables.  The height of the lumber reached six inches that might seem too short but worked well once the soil was added.  The width of the wood was cut much shorter than the length, which was half in size at four feet.  The rectangular shape was perfect and enabled me to make a pretty pattern with three other boxes erected in a square allowing me to set up a table and chair in the center.  Now I bet your asking what type of wood should you buy?  Well, there are a lot of options including cedar, oak, pine and reclaimed wood.  Keep in mind that the price will fluctuate with the variety you choose so be sure to ask a salesperson what the total will be before you bring them to the register. 

 

Once you’ve bought your wood, take the pieces home and arrange them in the size and shape that you would like the beds to be in.  Then take a four-inch nail and attach the corners of the sides in a ninety-degree angle.  You will need two nails per corner, one for the top and one for the bottom.  Once they have been constructed, place in the location that you want them to be displayed.   After they have been filled with soil, you wont be able to move them so choose wisely.  The last step is to fill them with an earth friendly soil mix and begin planting!

Suzie Canale

Westwood, MA 

So most Boston gardeners are looking out their windows and getting a little depressed by the visions of six foot snow banks still covering their flower beds.  I know it’s a bit late in the season for us to be seeing this but really, it’s not so bad at all!  Just because the winter precipitation hasn’t said its farewells yet doesn’t mean that we wont have a fabulous summer garden.  In actuality, if you look at things in another light, it means just the opposite!  Sure, our time will be cut a little short being able to prep and plant but a longer snow fall really does help our green thumbs in the long run.  Here’s how…

 

Snow might seem cold and uncomfortable to us, but to our gardens, a multitude of white snowflakes can act as a warm blanket that works to protecting the root systems from the harsh elements of ice and wind.  Perennials and herbs particularly respond well to an increase of accumulation and often aid the plants to grow larger and healthier when the hibernation season finally ends.

 

Although the snow falls in flaked form, all it really is in warmer climates is water, which we all know is an asset for gardens.  You might think that it isn’t possible for the snow to hydrate the plants when its frozen but the slow melting effects become its own watering system that benefits the roots that are lying dormant.  Once the snow disappears, gardeners will be thrilled to learn that their gardens have really been watered all throughout the cold season, blooming a better specimen than what you had in the beginning. 

 

If you’ve planted new trees or shrubs this past fall, you’ll be pleased to know that the record breaking snowfall that was recorded helped nurture your landscape additions by anchoring the base to the ground.  Many times, a winter with less precipitation and more wind can damage the tree so badly that a replanting is needed the following autumn.  Things might look frozen but at least things have stayed intact and well kept together!

 

The slimy things that crawl beneath the soil are really important to keeping our gardens healthy because they churn the earth and keep things moving with hydration and food.  If there isn’t anything to protect these creepy crawlers, then they die with the rest of the garden once the warmer season is over.  If there is a warm blanket of snow to protect them, then they can keep on doing what they do best year round! 

 

Suzie Canale, Avid Gardener

Westwood, MA

So there’s still a lot of snow on the ground but things are starting to heat up around here in Boston!  Pretty soon, the gutters will stop leaking, the ice on the driveway will melt and our shovels will be put away until next winter but guess what else will be changing soon?  Our gardens!  Yes, my fellow New Englanders, I promise you there’s actually life in the works happening right below those last few feet of blanketed snow.  You may be looking out your window in disbelief, but it’s a fact that a snowy winter can actually be beneficial to our flower and vegetable beds.   This is because the snow acts as a warm cover and becomes its own watering system long after the fruit and blossoms have reaped their seasonal harvest.  Herb gardens can do particularly well within this case, benefiting varieties such as rosemary, sage and thyme.  New plantings of basil and some types of parsley can be expected, but all in all your herbs will thank old man winter for his snow fury.  So what should we expect to see bloom first in our backyards after the clean up has occurred?  Here are some beauties to look forward to until spring officially arrives…

 

Crocuses

Crocuses are probably the number one flower that appears first in most New England gardens.  Originating from the iris family, crocuses bloom from what are called “Corms”.  The ability for the heads to extend through colder weather and even snow make this a desirable plant for garden lovers as well as their beautiful colors that include purple, violet, yellow, white and even striped.  Another bonus of including crocus in your plantings is that they are very hard to kill and will spread and multiply over time. 

 

Tulips

If you haven’t planted tulips in your yards quite yet, here are a few reasons to get you motivated.   Grown from a bulb, Boston soil is ideal for cultivation because they love cold winters and dry summers, which holds common to this area.  Native to southern Russia, these beauties are ultimately bred in almost every color imaginable including black, blue and multi-colored.  A tulip head can have one or double petals surrounding its center often resembling a stunning silk cocoon.  The perennials are perfect as edging for garden borders or placed in clumps to present a beautiful floral display. One thing to be mindful of if you live near a wooded forest area, deer absolutely love to eat this perennial and will chew the heads clean off if not guarded by a gate. 

 

Hyacinth

Hyacinth is another spring season starter, arriving soon after the crocus and right before the tulips.  The plant is tied to Greek mythology believed to hold the blood of one of Apollo’s victims killed in battle. The shape of the hyacinth resembles a skinny beehive with several bell-like buds that run up and down the thick stem.  Available in shades of pink, white, lavender, yellow and dark blue, the flashy bulbed plants possess a sweet smell that will fragrant your home or garden.  Cuttings are remarkably durable so don’t forget to utilize hyacinth in spring bouquets and centerpieces! 

 Suzie Canale

Westwood MA

she had hundreds of bulbs to her home in Westwood every year.