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Articles from Francis Rosenfeld | Selfgrowth.com
- About soil pH - by Submitted on Jan 17, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldSo, since I brought it up, a little more information about soil pH. The alkaline soil is quite easy to recognize, it’s usually clay, heavy, and out in the open, away from any large trees and shrubs, whose annual leaf drop helps acidify the soil. It tends to dry out on the surface, but deep down ...
Views: 594 - Color for the heart of summer - by Submitted on Jun 24, 2015 from Francis RosenfeldI must start with a confession: I'm not really fond of daylilies. They are ever present in generic plantings, in places that don't really belong to anybody but still need to look presentable. They owe this dubious reputation to the fact that once planted they really require no care. I grew up ...
Views: 594 - More About Lemon Verbena - by Submitted on May 03, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldI know, when you think cooking herb, lemon verbena is not the first plant that comes to mind. A lot of people, especially here, up north, where it is not winter hardy, may not be familiar with this wonderful plant, so I'll do the honors. It has the fragrance and taste of lemon zest, with just ...
Views: 594 - Rose Care for the Winter - by Submitted on Oct 25, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldWhether rose pruning is best done in the fall or spring is a matter of preference. I usually leave it for spring, for some reason I feel the plants will fare better over the winter if they keep the growth from the previous year. If you do choose to prune before winter, do so, keeping in mind ...
Views: 593 - Achenes, capsules, pods and pomes - by Submitted on May 24, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldHere is next year's garden, well, at least part of it, anyway. The seeds will go into labeled little bags and wait for spring. The peppercorn look-alikes are four o'clock seeds, the tiny grains spilling from capsules belong to nicotiana, the red fruit is a "Hansa" rose hip and the rest is a ...
Views: 592 - Jack in the Pulpit - by Submitted on Apr 10, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldI know that Jack in the Pulpit is not the only living thing that changes genders in order to adapt to its circumstances, but I still think it is a cool enough fact to mention. The plant starts out male and if in time it finds its location accommodating and its nutrient supply adequate, it ...
Views: 591 - Perennial garden challenges - by Submitted on Jan 05, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldThe most important characteristic of perennial flower beds is tough soil. Their residents, once established, don't take kindly to being disturbed, and as much as you try to dig around their roots, the dirt tends to get much harder than it would in an annual border. This is both a good thing, ...
Views: 591 - Pumpkin, the big round fruit - by Submitted on Mar 07, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldMost suburban dwellers don't have the space and the sun exposure required to grow pumpkins, the big round fruit has a sprawling growth habit and an unruly disposition that doesn't endear it to its tamer vegetable companions. If you still want to grow pumpkins, here is how: pumpkins ...
Views: 590 - Easy Shade Garden - by Submitted on Dec 12, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldA shaded corner isn't usually the gardener's dream, but the challenge of creating abundance in an otherwise barren and uninspiring spot is impossible to resist. Fear not, eager green thumbs, for the effort you put forth into finding out what would grow in less than ideal conditions brings with ...
Views: 588 - Medicinal foods - by Submitted on Apr 18, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldStinging nettles are quite amazing plants, full of qualities both medicinal and nutritional, but who cares when their blistering touch burns like judgment and brings you to tears? Setting aside the fact that in the old days people allowed themselves to be whipped with nettles as a folk remedy ...
Views: 588 - Waiting for Halloween - by Submitted on Oct 16, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldI got the candy, and the pumpkins, and the scary ghoul costumes, we're all set for trick or treat. The garden path decorated itself in expectation of little guests. Well, technically I was too idle to clean up the fallen leaves, but I recently renewed my committed to a positive outlook on life ...
Views: 588 - Potted Basil - by Submitted on Mar 05, 2018 from Francis RosenfeldI always have a few pots of herbs on the balcony, which get to bask in the sunshine all summer long. Contrary to my expectations, herbs are not the kind of care free plants that will forgive you if you forget to water them, not even the drought friendly rosemary. They may require a little ...
Views: 587 - All Summer's Glory - by Submitted on Aug 29, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldThere is a time around the middle of July when the garden looks absolutely resplendent. It feels like every flower is in bloom, competing for attention. The late spring blooms haven’t faded yet and the some of the late summer ones decide to show up early, so there is a surreal mix of seasons ...
Views: 585 - Meadow treasures - by Submitted on Oct 20, 2015 from Francis RosenfeldSpeaking of wonders of the plant world, how amazing is it that a Pennsylvania Smartweed, a plant that only thrives in boggy sites, decided to pick the drought summer of them all to beautify my garden. Graceful and delicate, it keeps good company to the broad leaved nicotiana that undoubtedly ...
Views: 585 - Loops - by Submitted on Sep 28, 2015 from Francis RosenfeldTalk about unbounded, here is to the endlessly growing morning glory, swirling around supports and draping over hardscape, deceptively strong with its springy vines weaving an intricately detailed and highly redundant veil the color of the sky. The braided loops that clamber trees shy away ...
Views: 584 - February Sowing - by Submitted on Jan 30, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldIf you thought February is when the gardener has nothing to do but wait for spring, that would not be correct: February is planting time. Every year in the middle of winter my otherwise serene living room turns into a wild jungle, and for two blessed months I live inside a miniature ...
Views: 583 - Morning Glory - by Submitted on Sep 01, 2018 from Francis RosenfeldI plant morning glory every year. Always in the same spot, always the same variety - Heavenly Blue. I forget about it after I plant it, it is slow to start in spring and its foliage gets lost in the jumble when the mid-summer growth takes over the flower beds. Come August, its growth ...
Views: 583 - Country Garden Favorites - by Submitted on Jun 20, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldThe country garden relies on scent just as much as it does on color and texture. Gertrude Jekyll popularized this garden design, praising the care free style of cottage perennials. Old country favorites don't always enjoy the extraordinary blooms worthy of flower shows, but they each have ...
Views: 582 - Summer Night Rain - by Submitted on Jul 19, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldThe rain started right before midnight, with a soft, somewhat tentative thunder announcing it from afar, almost as if it was asking itself whether or not it had the right time. I listened to it for a while, reliving a memory. The sounds, the scents of rain, removed from sight, speak to the ...
Views: 582 - Itinerant snapdragons - by Submitted on Sep 23, 2015 from Francis RosenfeldMy lovely itinerant snapdragons! Anticipating their next location is one of my favorite gardening activities. I am not sure why this particular plant likes to change its location, but it does so with a fluid path of movement devoid of the randomness of tomatoes or nicotiana in its slow ...
Views: 581 - Mauve des Bois - by Submitted on Sep 04, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldIf you were wondering what the color mauve looks like, exactly, it's the color of French mallows. We know that because this flower, mauve des bois, gave the color its name. The flower has many other names, the oddest of which is cheeseweed, inspired by the tightly packed configuration of its ...
Views: 581 - The Three Years Rule - by Submitted on Jun 18, 2018 from Francis RosenfeldThe peonies would have bloomed by now, the buds have been ready to burst for more than a week, but it is so unseasonably cold, weird May weather! Temperatures in the fifties, I almost have to question the wisdom of moving the basil outside, it looks miserable. Peonies are the object lesson ...
Views: 581 - A Celebration of the Sun - by Submitted on Apr 30, 2019 from Francis RosenfeldThere are many traditions, myths and folk tales associated with the summer solstice, many of which involve the herbs and plants that bloom around this time and whose medicinal and aromatic properties are said to be enhanced when gathered on the eve or morning of the solstice. I remember an ...
Views: 580 - The Garden that Keeps on Giving - by Submitted on Jan 23, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldIf you have established perennials, they are a readily available source of new plants for your garden. Most herbaceous perennials can be propagated by division. In spring, for fall blooming perennials, and fall, for spring blooming perennials, dig up the clump, break it up into smaller ...
Views: 578 - Little Miracles - by Submitted on Feb 13, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldThe amount of time I spend contemplating the fresh seedlings in the starting tray would probably irritate an action oriented person. I would likely have some difficulty explaining to that person the wonderment of seeing the first set of leaves emerge, or the excitement of watching the tiny ...
Views: 577 - More About Jack in the Pulpit - by Submitted on Aug 07, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldI can’t get over how beautiful these flowers are, and am so happy and proud to have them in my garden. Their eerie hooded flowers, decorated with elegant stripes that make them look like custom wrapping paper are, indeed, the packaging, called the spathe. The inflorescence, which contains male ...
Views: 576 - Sun Exposure - by Submitted on Aug 01, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldEven though the three basic sun exposures are full sun, part sun and shade, the last one comes in so many variations, all with their own little quirks, that it deserves a full chapter all to itself. Full sun exposure means eight hours or more of direct sunlight a day, without any large elements ...
Views: 576 - Treasured heirloom roses - by Submitted on Jun 29, 2015 from Francis RosenfeldUs hopeful rosarians have to admit that roses are not just another pretty flower. There is something very special and noble about them, the older they are the more rare and valued their flowers and often the more persnickety they get. Here are some cultivars to test your rosarian mettle. ...
Views: 576 - Bulbs for Summer and Fall - by Submitted on Oct 10, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldToad lilies are the last flowers of the year, at least in the garden. They start blooming mid-October, to keep company to the already brown seed heads of the sedums, and they stay in bloom until November, braving the first frosts. People tend to associate bulbs with spring, and ignore their ...
Views: 575 - Magic Beans - by Submitted on May 08, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldIf I knew how much I would enjoy purple beans, I would only have planted those to begin with. Besides being an attractive feature in the garden, they taste better and are not stringy at all, which is a blessing. Of course the purple color turns green in the pot, but that's beside the ...
Views: 575 - The Memory Herb - by Submitted on Sep 12, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldRosemary is the memory herb. This is both a fact and a metaphor: the smell of rosemary improves retention and concentration, and its stems were traditionally offered as tokens of devotion, especially between lovers who were driven apart. I don’t know if it works for memory and concentration, ...
Views: 575 - Bugleweed - by Submitted on Dec 05, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldAjuga reptans, bugleweed, is a fail proof groundcover for any sun exposure or soil type. I started with its Latin name because I always thought it sounded more patrician and better suited to this plants' sophistication. I love bugleweed, it is a versatile plant which helped me bring back to ...
Views: 574 - Confused in the Fall - by Submitted on Oct 18, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldBetween the forty five degree mornings and the eighty degree afternoons, I don't know if I'm coming of going anymore. So much so that I had to look at the calendar to remember it is almost time to plant spring bulbs. Or not. Good gardening practice advises to plant them after October 15, but if ...
Views: 574 - Herbs for Clay Soils - by Submitted on May 13, 2018 from Francis RosenfeldI know gardening wisdom says that most herbs thrive in poor soils, category that always includes clay for some reason, but in my experience that is not true. Many ‘poor soil’ herbs can’t be bothered to last a whole season in clay, not to mention come back the following year. For instance, ...
Views: 574 - The Flowers of Fall - by Submitted on Aug 14, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldI'm always in awe of the energy that propels fall bloomers to spring forth flowers, often weeks or days before the first frost. There are so few of them, and understandably so. I'm not talking about the frost tender plants from warmer zones that act as annuals in cold climates, those whose ...
Views: 574 - Opal basil - by Submitted on Mar 15, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldSpeaking of purple plant pigments, the ones in opal basil are responsible for turning aromatic vinegar a beautiful shade of rose, I always look forward to preparing some during the summer. For all of us who enjoy this lovely herb it will come as a shock that the Greeks believed it to be ...
Views: 573 - Green Tomatoes - by Submitted on Sep 20, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldEvery year the generous tomato plants bless us with an overabundance of fruit that doesn't have the chance to ripen before the first frost. Tomatoes take their sweet time to figure out how to bear more and more fruit and their best and most abundant yield goes so far into the fall they don't ...
Views: 572 - Pampas Grass - by Submitted on Apr 25, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldI honestly can't warm up to this plant; I appreciate its warm and golden chenille panaches at the beginning of fall but loathe its unbelievably depressing wet hay appearance in spring. It looks pretty for exactly three days, right before the velvety seed heads open, and then it turns into fluff ...
Views: 571 - Coniferous, Woody and Citrus Scents - by Submitted on Feb 28, 2021 from Francis RosenfeldConiferous and citrus scents are refreshing, restoring and revitalizing. Their smell shakes the doldrums of drab days and brings a little sunshine to your outlook on life. Coniferous scents like pine, cypress and especially balsam fir, are healing and restorative, both for physical ailments, ...
Views: 570 - Perennial Gardens - by Submitted on Apr 22, 2018 from Francis RosenfeldA perennial garden is an aggregate entity, not a discrete collection of plants. There is a surprising amount of inter-dependency that needs to develop between the neighboring plants, an adjustment that takes years and happens mostly underground. By the time a perennial garden gets fully ...
Views: 568 - Summer Garden Maintenance - by Submitted on Nov 01, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldSummer garden maintenance usually goes unnoticed, masked by the fervent activity of the plants themselves at the peak of their vegetative cycle. Because this is the season when a lot of the perennials rush to bloom, you don’t notice any glitches in the life of the garden unless you happen to ...
Views: 565(1 vote) - Bee Trivia - by Submitted on Aug 26, 2018 from Francis RosenfeldThere must be a hive somewhere in the neighborhood, because bees visit my garden very often, to gather nectar from their favorite flowers. Sedums produce an abundance of it, and their small flowers make an insect's work a little easier. Did you know that a worker bee lives just forty days over ...
Views: 564 - Grasses - by Submitted on Aug 09, 2020 from Francis RosenfeldI felt kind of guilty to see that the grass had gone to seed on my lawn, but then I saw it ripen in a lot of other places and relaxed, it seems the combination of warmth and plentiful rain gave it the oomph to grow wild this year. Because we're used to seeing it in its domesticated form - the ...
Views: 562(1 vote) - Roasting Marshmallows - by Submitted on Dec 12, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldMy son had to stay home from school. Since the reason was a tummy ache he was required to rest for the day and not engage in his regular activities, all of which involve some kind of computerized device. After a long drawn discussion about being unfairly deprived of the activities he had been ...
Views: 562 - Eighteen and Snowing - by Submitted on Jan 08, 2018 from Francis RosenfeldI woke up this morning to a wispy snow flurry, the thin and icy kind that comes about when temperatures drop too low. Eighteen degrees, to be precise. It settled, unsure, in a thin, powdery layer that still lets the ground show through. I almost hesitated to disturb the pristine cover when I ...
Views: 561 - Love Story - by Submitted on Jul 30, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldPeople ask gardeners all the time why they waste so much time and effort on a pursuit that at any scale smaller than a farm yields so little benefit? Green thumbs may be blindsided by the question, shrug their shoulders and keep on with the activity they were engaged in, for how can one quantify ...
Views: 561 - What's in a name - by Submitted on Mar 31, 2015 from Francis RosenfeldBeing vague in gardening often yields hilarious results. I will apply myself to relearning horticulture basics next season, and heed the experts' advice to be specific about what I'm planning to plant. Here are a few lessons I learned this year. Paying attention to the correct Latin ...
Views: 560 - Yarrow - by Submitted on Jun 01, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldA resilient weed, native to the Northern Hemisphere, yarrow grows wild in open fields and along the sides of the roads, and had only recently acquired the privilege of being cultivated in flower gardens. Don't judge this humble herb to be ordinary, Achillea millefolium is a well documented ...
Views: 560 - Magic Beans - by Submitted on May 21, 2018 from Francis RosenfeldI plant scarlet runner beans for their flowers - all the beauty of sweet peas with none of the high maintenance. Of course they are not fragrant, but nothing in this life is perfect. If you plant them as a crop, and during favorable years they do produce, don’t pick them green, you are not ...
Views: 557 - Toad Lilies - by Submitted on Oct 10, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldThe summer is officially over, both in the garden and on the calendar, we just passed he point when the day becomes shorter than the night. The light shifted, a soft but impossible to miss change that always precedes the beginning of fall. As usual at the end of September I'm excited to welcome ...
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