GB 080 Wildflowers, Pres. Gardens 2653
SPEAKERS
Debbie Flower, Marina Laforgia, Marta McDowell, Farmer Fred
Farmer Fred 00:03
Welcome to the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast. If you're just a beginning gardener or you want good gardening information well you've come to the right spot.
Farmer Fred 00:15
At some point, you're going to get the urge to start a wildflower garden in a spot in your yard. But before you begin scattering seeds, take a listen. We have tips from a wildflower expert. What's the easiest, safest way to clean a backyard fountain or bird bath? Our favorite college horticulture professor (retired), Debbie Flower, applies some elbow grease to that question. You know, wouldn't it be nice if you moved into a rental home that other people would pay to have you redesign the garden? Well, that's one of the perks of getting a four-year lease at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC. We talk with Marta McDowell, author of the book "All the Presidents' Gardens" about many of the interesting horticultural changes the various residents brought to that famous yard. And we help you unwind from working at home with a regular daily commute to your happy spot. And that just might be your garden. How a fake commute can boost your physical and mental health when you're working from home. It's all on episode 80 of the Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast. And we'll do it all in under 30 minutes. Let's go.
Farmer Fred 01:28
We tackle everything in your garden here on the question and answer segment of the Garden Basics podcast. We're talking with Debbie Flower, our favorite retired college horticultural professor. And Debbie, Luann has a new fountain and she wants to keep it clean. And she found a bottle of something called fountain clarifier that she started to use, just a few drops every few weeks. According to the label instructions, she says, the active ingredient is cupric copper ions. The label said it was safe for pets, birds and non aquatic plants. But she says when I used it, my hydrangea, which gets splashed from the fountain, suffered some burn. This was in the summer, the hydrangeas are in the shade. So I don't think it's sunburned from the water. So it makes me nervous about the birds who take baths in it. And also my chickens who drink from it. I've stopped using it but my fountain got so algae written, I had to get a service call. Is there truly a non-toxic fountain clarifier that I can use; or, are hydrangeas, copper sensitive? Sounds like what you need to buy is some elbow grease.
Debbie Flower 02:40
She has a fountain which is a wonderful addition to a garden. It adds noise, a pleasant sound. And it makes for a nice place for people to gather, and keeping it clean would be a priority. Number one, though, is that drops of water on plant leaves do not cause sunburn. There's the old idea that a drop of water will act like a magnifying glass does on the sidewalk, and will concentrate the sun's rays and cause spots on the leaves. Water sometimes does cause spots on the leaves. But it's when the water is cold. And the plant is warm. It has nothing to do with the sunlight.
Farmer Fred 03:19
So does it have anything to do with the chemical composition of the water? There is a lot of municipal water supplies with lots of chlorine in it.
Debbie Flower 03:27
Yes it does. And when there are micronutrients at high levels, micronutrients or plants mean that they are needed only in small amounts by the plant, and at a high level is anything above what they need. If you get that on the leaf in a droplet of water, yes, it can harm the plant. And so the spots she's seeing on the hydrangea I suspect are from too much copper on the leaves. And it's coming from splashes out of the water fountain.
Farmer Fred 03:55
Well I guess you could build a wall between the fountain and the hydrangea but I guess that's not practical.
Debbie Flower 04:01
Well, you never know. Hardscapes have been created for all kinds of reasons in people's landscapes. I suppose. I don't know if there's something that is more copper tolerant than a hydrangea. I don't think of them as particularly copper sensitive but it sounds like something would have to be particularly copper tolerant to survive that but I would say get away from the clarifier. Clean the fountain regularly. One thing that can be used but it's very dangerous to plants is bleach. That will harm plants definitely. So it would have to be a process done away from the plants. Vinegar, as you suggested, could be used and a good scrubbing. You may need to get some bottle brushes to get into some of the little orifices that a fountain would have, and clean that out. So, just physical cleaning. That's what I do with my bird bath. Physically clean it with a brush and water and drain it and make sure all that gunk is gone, and then just refill it.
Farmer Fred 05:03
That's also the advice from the Audubon Society that suggests as you say, changing the water frequently, scrubbing the fountain with vinegar and water, emptying that and refilling it with fresh water.
Debbie Flower 05:14
There you go.
Farmer Fred 05:15
So there you go. Elbow grease is the answer, Luann. Good luck with the fountain and the hydrangea plant. And thank you once again, Debbie Flower for helping us answer some garden questions.
Debbie Flower 05:27
You're welcome, Fred. Always a pleasure.
Farmer Fred 05:35
One thing beginning gardeners always love to do and that's to scatter seed, perhaps start a wild flower garden. But there are some tricks to having successful germination of native wild flowers. You can't just plant by the calendar, you have to consider the weather. We talked with UC Davis wildflower expert, Marina Laforgia, about some tips and tricks for getting wildflowers started.
Farmer Fred 06:06
How can gardeners increase the chances of germination of wildflower seeds?
Marina Laforgia 06:12
Well, first of all, I think it's important to keep a relatively clean yard. And I know me personally, my yard can get covered with exotic plants that by the start of the next season, there's just thatch everywhere. And so clearing out that thatch and creating a nice layer of clear soil, or at least cleaning up the yard a little bit, will probably enhance the chances of germination. And also just just sprinkling the seeds right on top of the soil is probably good enough, they don't really need to be buried, some will get buried naturally. And then they might germinate at a later date. But I think one of the most important things that I've personally found is, is to seed right before the start of a big cold rainstorm. Pretty often in September or early October, we might get these rains that are still kind of warm, but might not really be indicative of the onset of winter. And so you don't you don't want to plant them because the seeds won't germinate. And then you're just kind of leaving this buffet of seeds out there for you know, your birds or your ants or whatever ground dweller wants to come and eat them. And then you're just losing a whole bunch of seeds. So you want to plant right before the onset of the rains. And make sure you're doing it in through a nice clean soil area.
Farmer Fred 07:32
So that first big cold rainstorm might might not be till November. Yes. Okay, so maybe people have been planting their wildflower gardens a little too early, because generally, the common advice has always been sow them in fall, well, maybe it should be modified to mid to late fall.
Marina Laforgia 07:50
Yeah. And I mean, the, the stronger the dormancy, the later they'll germinate too, very often. So a lot of the species might need a little bit of priming beforehand, which can get a little tricky because you want to put them out there so that they're exposed to that natural variation in temperature, because that might help break dormancy down over time. But you don't want them to be sitting out there for so long that they're just going to get carried away by a hungry ant. I've tried boiling legumes.
Farmer Fred 08:20
And how do they taste?
Marina Laforgia 08:23
No actually boiling them to break the seedcoat and then planting them.
Farmer Fred 08:28
How long did you boil them for?
Marina Laforgia 08:29
I think I just that I didn't even really boil them if you pour boiling water over them and just let them soak in boiling water for five to 10 minutes, and then let them dry out again and put them out there. That could be one method to try. I got to be honest, I tried it with my field study I was doing also out of McLaughlin, and I didn't get very high germination. Another trick that people use as they they use sandpaper, if you just put a bunch of Lupine seeds between two pieces of sandpaper and just kind of scratch at the seeds that can really help break the seed coat down to try and induce germination. But it's really as long as you do something to break that seed coat that'll really help ensure that they germinate.
Farmer Fred 09:14
And I imagine there's nothing wrong with overseeding wild flowers on a yearly basis.
Marina Laforgia 09:19
I don't see anything wrong with that if you want to go for it. Just planting a variety of flowers from the ones that are you know, more drought tolerant to less drought tolerant, you know and be patient with them. It might not show up this year, but they might show up next year.
Farmer Fred 09:35
We've been talking with Marina LaForgia, she's with the Plant Sciences department at UC Davis and has been conducting a study on the drought tolerance of wildflower seeds and it's amazing how much control those little seeds have to know when it's a drought year and be able to sprout in a wet year. Marina. Thanks for a few minutes of your time today.
Marina Laforgia 09:55
Thank you.
Farmer Fred 09:56
The Garden Basics with Farmer Fred podcast has a lot of information posted at each episode: transcripts, links to any products or books mentioned during the show, and other helpful links for even more information. Plus, you can listen to just the portions of the show that interest you, it’s been divided into easily accessible chapters. Plus you’ll find more information about how to get in touch with us. Leave an audio question without making a phone call via Speakpipe, at speak pipe dot com. it’s easy, give it a try. And you just might hear your voice on the Garden Basics podcast! If you’re listening to us via Apple podcasts, put your question in the Ratings and Reviews section. Text us the question and pictures, or leave us your question at: 916-292-8964.916-292-8964. E-mail: fred@farmerfred.com . If you tell us where you’re from, that will help us greatly to accurately answer your garden questions. Because all gardening is local. In the show notes you’ll find links to all our social media outlets, including facebook, instagram, twitter, and youtube. Also, a link to the farmerfred.com website. And thanks for listening.
Farmer Fred 11:29
A few years ago I had the opportunity to talk with garden writer Marta McDowell. At the time she authored the book, "All the Presidents' Gardens: Madison's Cabbages to Kennedy's Roses, How the White House Grounds Have Grown with America." It is a beautiful book, well illustrated, but it's also a powerful reflection of American trends in gardening. In the book you'll find out about Abraham Lincoln's goats, Dwight Eisenhower had a putting green and of course, Jacqueline Kennedy's iconic rose garden. But there's been a lot more. Many of our earliest presidents were also farmers and gardeners of note. So let's delve into the history of the White House gardens. You might pick up some gardening tips.
Farmer Fred 12:17
Since your first sentence says all gardening is local, I have to ask, Why the heck did they ever choose to situate Washington DC on a swamp?
Marta McDowell 12:26
Oh, well, you know, I guess that was available. probably wasn't the best farmland. And it was really convenient. You know, it had good access from water with the Potomac. And it was really close to George Washington.
Farmer Fred 12:46
Yeah, that was the thing. It's like 15 miles from his residence, and I could see why he was for it. But what I found interesting was the story you have in the book of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, basically spending a drunken night together and deciding that Washington DC would be located where it is.
Marta McDowell 13:04
Well, you know, Hamilton really wanted a central bank. And so they made a deal. They made a deal. And Hamilton got his bank. He You know, he took on all the state's debts. And the Virginians got the Potomac location for the federal city, as the playwright Lin Manuel Miranda says in the play Hamilton, "no one was in the room when it happened". No one else was there. So we don't really know. But that's the way it turned out.
Farmer Fred 13:41
Now what is interesting about the people who have lived in the White House, they're basically renters, and yet they have free rein as far as what they can do with the property. They can add and subtract as they please. Now, Washington, it was his baby. It was his design. He was a farmer. And how did he lay out the grounds?
Marta McDowell 14:00
Well, he had an architect, Peter Woeful, but Washington decided that he wanted the house sited up on the hill, where it would have a beautiful view of the river. And certainly it would be able to be seen there. It's a lot like Mount Vernon in that regard. And so he's the one who put it up there, and it is up on a little rise. So it looks down onto these really big grounds. And of course, at the time, it was fairly wooded. And then there was also pasture land there as well.
Farmer Fred 14:36
Washington also had an interest in citrus trees, didn't he?
Marta McDowell 14:39
Oh, yes, Washington actually had an interest in all sorts of trees. And he ordered lots of them. And we think he was sort of trying them out for planting around the president's house and around Washington, but a plant you know, lots of native trees, but not just from around Virginia. all the way up, up and down the eastern seaboard,
Farmer Fred 15:03
and like a lot of us, he was very fond of going to nurseries, wasn't he?
Marta McDowell 15:08
Oh, yes, yes. You know, we think of him always, you know, out being a soldier or then being a politician, but he took time to go to nurseries, both in Philadelphia and on Long Island. He corresponded with lots of people. Got seeds, plants, he just loved to plant anything.
Farmer Fred 15:27
He had some sense about him, though, even though he was bringing in some plants that he knew were not native to the Washington DC area. He made accommodations for them. Didn't he build a big glass house for the citrus trees?
Marta McDowell 15:40
Oh, yes, yes, absolutely. He had, you know, the equivalent of an orangerie. You know, a, brick and glass (structure), where he could have things that were tender. So he definitely, you know, knew a lot about, about growing things. And it wasn't, wasn't shy about taking a chance on something he wasn't sure about. And he probably got good advice, too. Oh, no doubt.
Farmer Fred 16:07
But when you're president of the United States, you can pretty well decide for yourself what you want to grow on the grounds. You have the story in there, of Teddy Roosevelt and Richard Nixon both deciding to plant coast redwoods from California at the White House.
Marta McDowell 16:23
And both times they died. Yeah. Well, you can imagine, you know, Teddy Roosevelt was so involved in the national parks, and then, you know, the preservation of lands and, you know, he loved the west. So, he tried a giant Redwood. And then of course, Richard Nixon being from California, he wanted one as well, but you know, they're just some things that you can't legislate, or, or be the executive of where trees want to grow was one of them.
Farmer Fred 16:54
Among the presidents who were the most active gardeners?
16:58
Well, let's see. So I really expected Thomas Jefferson to be one of the ones out there, you know, really digging in the gardens at the president's house. And it turned out that that wasn't true. He was, you know, it was a little too soon, it was still really under construction. James Madison certainly planted a lot. But the one where I was really surprised about is John Quincy Adams, because he's out there and dug in. He kind of learned to garden while he was president. The head gardener at the time, John Ousley, really taught him how to garden. Quincy Adams mentions in his diaries that he called John Ousley his nomenclator, meaning that the person who taught him all of the botanical names for plants. He picked up acorns or walnuts or hickory nuts, and then bring them outside to the garden at the White House and planted them. He planted apple seeds. And he actually kept propagation records. So going through his diaries, I found these wonderful entries, some of which had little drawings of these seedlings and the dates when he planted them. And when they came up, and it was really wonderful.
Farmer Fred 18:17
I was amazed at the notes that a lot of the Presidents took that you have illustrations of, including one Thomas Jefferson had of when vegetables were in season and available at the local market.
Marta McDowell 18:32
And I was astounded, not just at the completeness and neatness of this table that he did by hand, but also the number of vegetables that were available to him in the Washington markets, you know, through the year, much more than I would have expected at the time, right. This is the first decade of the 1800s. So don't really have a lot of people growing a variety of vegetables.
Farmer Fred 18:59
Another president who surprised me, he gets short shrift in elementary school history classes, but I think he did a lot to promote the gardens at the White House was Rutherford B. Hayes.
Marta McDowell 19:10
Yes. So now I remember Rutherford B rhymes with tree because he loved tree planting, both at his home in Ohio and then when he came to Washington, he really got that process of commemorative tree planting going. The other thing about the Hayes, so Rutherford Hayes and his wife, Lucy Webb Hayes, are temperance supporters. And they cut out all alcohol at the White House, which as you might imagine, wasn't entirely popular with with the Washington crowd. There was one gentleman I think he was the secretary of state. And he said something like, you know, about of their parties. It was a brilliant affair. The water flowed like champagne. So instead the Hayes would take the guests through the glass houses, there were all of these conservatories attached to the west side of the White House at the time. And they even extended them, you know, during their administration.
Farmer Fred 20:17
And then Teddy Roosevelt came around and tore them down.
Marta McDowell 20:21
Yes. Well, you know, Teddy Roosevelt had a big family, lots of children, who is I think, the youngest president ever inaugurated. He has a big family. And, you know, the West Wing didn't exist then. So the President was expected to live and work in the accommodations of the house. And TR decided now he needed more space. So he called it an architect. And, you know, he decided the conservatories have to go. And so all of the plants were moved out to other propagating greenhouses that we're down near the Washington Monument. And so went the glass houses at the White House. Kind of sad.
Farmer Fred 21:00
Yeah. What plants have survived all the Presidents since every president has put their mark on the grounds as far as plantings or designs or, or whatever. Are there plants that have been grown over the whole timespan of the White House?
Marta McDowell 21:17
Not too many. So the rose has been growing the whole time. And so it's, you know, sort of positive proof that Americans love roses. Ronald Reagan made it official that the rose is the official flower of United States. American Holly Ilex opaca, the horse chestnut surprisingly, because sometimes they struggle. And then once they pick a half dozen different native trees, things like maples and tulip poplars, beeches, Elm, Redbud, and maybe the American ash
Farmer Fred 21:57
And certainly no coast redwoods.
Marta McDowell 21:59
No coast Redwood, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I was born in California, too.
Farmer Fred 22:06
It's a wonderful book. I recommend it highly. It's by Martha McDowell, the name of the book is "All the President's Gardens, Madison's Cabbages to Kennedy's Roses, How the White House Grounds Have Grown with America." Martha McDowell, thanks for spending a few minutes with us.
Marta McDowell 22:20
Thank you, Fred. It was a pleasure.
Farmer Fred 22:31
It's been a strange year for most of us. Schedules have been upended. Many of us are working from home. And the question arises, do you now have a home-based office? Or do you have an office-based home? Hopefully, it's the former and not the latter.
One thing that has been missing from many of our lives is the daily commute. And there may be some psychological advantages for that commute. Recently, the Washington Post pointed out that of all things that work-from-home employees might miss about pre pandemic life, commuting might not seem to register very high on the attention meter.
The Washington Post has pointed out that that commute is actually very good for you, your life and your brain. They talked to an assistant professor of Business Administration in the organizational behavior unit at Harvard Business School, who said that commuting provides a temporal and spatial separation between all the different roles we play, it's a buffer that eases the transition from one identity to the next, a consistent dose of in between time to reflect and reset.
The average commute, back when many of us commuted, was about 38 minutes each way, on a national basis. Employees have lost that buffer. But they've also taken on more work too. About 48 extra minutes per day. They're also dealing with more Zoom meetings and more communication that spills into the off hours.
So it's obvious that if we don't psychologically detach from work, we risk becoming exhausted and burning out a lot sooner. We need some time for ourselves.
So how about establishing a fake commute? It can help you reclaim that precious transition time and re-establish the boundaries that have been blurred by working from home.
My favorite way to fake commute, to clear my head, is riding my bike. I like to ride my bike. It really does clear your head out and also gives you some new ideas.
But that can work against you, as well. Because how many of you, when you take a break from work, you're actually not taking a break from work? You still got that phone in your hand, you're checking emails and texts. So you may want to turn off your phone or silence notifications in the name of getting better physical, mental and emotional health. You're better off riding that bike or taking a walk.
So let's talk a little bit about taking that walk. If you're a gardener, there are a lot of benefits to taking a walk. You're going to get some new, good ideas for your garden. Just take a look at the landscapes you pass, you're going to see plants that intrigue you. And since you're probably walking in your own neighborhood, those are probably plants that would work in your own yard. If you're fortunate enough to be able to carry on a conversation with the person who lives there, you might find out more information about that plant. And you know, if they're gardeners, they might offer you a cutting. Another reason to make friends with the gardeners in your neighborhood. And what a great way to turn your mind off to work and turn your mind on to gardening.
Maybe you don't want to take a walk, how about just going into the yard and spending time with your own garden, do a little commute into your backyard? Look at the plants. Morning is a beautiful time in the garden. And it's also a great time for taking pictures of your garden.
Now it's easy, as you gardeners know, that you can get distracted very easily by little chores that seem to pile up on each other when you're out in the yard. You start pulling one weed, and the next thing you know, you're pruning your roses or planting something or moving pots around. But if you limit it, to say 30-35 minutes, well, that's a good commute. You've cleared your mind from all that work-related material. You're helping yourself out physically, psychologically, emotionally.
So start that fake commute. Maybe it's just your yard, maybe it's just your garden. That's okay. You'll feel better.
Farmer Fred 26:27
Garden Basics comes out every Tuesday and Friday and it's available just about anywhere podcasts are handed out. And that includes Apple podcasts, I Heart Radio, Spotify, Stitcher and Google podcasts. And for Northern California gardeners, it's the Green Acres Garden Podcast with Farmer Fred. It's also available wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you for listening, subscribing, and leaving comments. We appreciate it.
