Ep 144. Festive Partridge Berry-Terrarium Basics

Seeking beauty amongst the muddy dreariness, I came upon Festive Partridge Berry amid a tapestry of moss, making me feel like a troll in a miniature forest lurking amongst a carpet of fur.

The charming trailing plant decorates terrariums, leading to a story of an event at A & J Messina Greenhouses in Blairstown, NJ, where guests enjoyed building a Terrarium - a Mini Gardening Warmup.

Related Stories and Helpful Links:   
Partridge Berry
Terrariums- a Mini-gardening Warmup
Enjoy Elisavet's Poem under Comments on Berries for Winter Beauty and Wildlife
History of Troll Dolls per The Troll Hole Museum

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 I'd love to hear about your garden and nature stories. And your thoughts about topics for future podcast episodes. You can email me at AskMaryStone@gmail.com. Thanks so much for tuning in.

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Episode web page —Garden Dilemmas Podcast Page

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Mary Stone, Columnist & Garden Designer

                                        AskMaryStone.com

More about the Podcast and Column:

Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.

It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.

Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
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Transcript

Ep-144 Festive Partridge Berry - Terrarium Basics

Sat, Jan 20, 2024 1:01PM • 10:48

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

terrarium, berry, succulents, garden, moss, plants, planting, partridge, gardens, buckeye, terrariums, red berries, enjoy, dilemmas, pilfer, mary, trolls, troll, gardening, mini, mary stone, garden, nature, inspiration

SPEAKERS

Mary Stone

Mary Stone  00:00

Hello fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary Stone and welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights and Discoveries. It's not only about gardens, it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about. 

Mary Stone  00:26

Hello there, it's Mary Stone, and I am bundled up like you would not believe because it's in the teens in terms of temperature. It's so cold but so pretty because we have a four-inch dusting of snow. I guess that's more than a dusting- enough to ski on in the yard, which as you would bet, I have done and I'm enjoying it very much. And there are crystals on the Windows - how much I adore the art of Mother Nature. 

Mary Stone  00:52

Thanks to those that reached back about last week story, Sowing Treasures of Buckeye Seeds. My dear friend and design colleague Marty Carson wrote, thank you for the lovely article about bottlebrush buckeye. It's always been one of my favorites. And in addition to all the other attributes, it's deer resistant. And she's so right about that. So of course, I added that to the column. And there's a side note here, Marty and I go back over 20 years. When we first met, I had my first year at the garden show called Spring-Fest which is like a mini–Philadelphia Flower Show. I'm sad that the show retired but we remain such great friends and I learned so much from Marty. Over the years she has such a depth of plant knowledge. In fact, she introduced me to bottlebrush buckeye. 

Mary Stone  01:45

I also wanted to mention that you may recall from last week I had invited Elisavet to share her poem about winter berry featured in the story Berries for Winter Beauty and Wildlife. And she did and she said something in the little note to me. "In my city walk I came across these and I wish I had known their name. I call them red berries instead," which is the name of her poem. And I added it to the blog post. I'll put that link in the show notes. And I loved what she called the uplifting finale. I don't want to spill the beans for you. So please visit the link in the show notes and take a read of her beautiful poem.

Mary Stone  02:25

 Speaking of red berries, I look forward to sharing a story about Partridge Berry that leads to a chat about Terrariums-A Mini Gardening warm up you'll enjoy, and it starts like this. 

Mary Stone  02:39

Hello fellow listeners and readers. What a rainy start we've had for the new year or I should say the continuum of the rainy growing season. It's worrisome really as our ground is so saturated. Please freeze the ground Mother Nature before bringing on the snow so beautiful trees won't topple. The story by the way was from five years ago and it mimics recent weeks. I'm so grateful the ground froze before this recent snow. 

Mary Stone  03:05

Last week I roamed the property looking for the beauty amongst the dreary skies, muddy lawn and lack of frosting. Along Jacksonburg Creek where I'm blessed to live there's a welcome swath of green, a carpet of moss I always admire. Sadly, we have downed trees on each side of the brook that fell during last winter's trifecta. Some have moved down river and the heavy rains the creek has swollen to 35 feet wide. It does look like a river. 

Mary Stone  03:34

I noticed a charming little red berry as I crouched down to appreciate the many kinds of moss that had gathered to create a magnificent tapestry. Attached to it are dainty dark green leaves with veins in pale yellow. I've seen this little beauty on hikes along the Appalachian Trail, but never noticed it creeping around the moss. Partridge Berry, which is Mitchella repens is a native woody evergreen perennial that trails along forest floors and riverbanks and shady areas. It roots from the nodes - where branches and leaves sprout from the stems - and form thick colonies, making a delightful ground cover. Its vine like though it meanders not climbs. It does not propagate easily from seed instead by cuttings, but please don't pilfer unless you have permission. 

Mary Stone  04:21

Native plant nurseries have them for sale and it looks festive with deep green with scarlet berries. So, Partridge Berry is often used in holiday pots and terrarium. Speaking of terrariums – As  I took photos of this little cutie and the moss surrounding her, it felt like I was a troll in a miniature forest lurking amongst a carpet of fur. It made me feel small in comparison to the world around me. Yet big amongst the moss. 

Mary Stone  04:51

Native American women made the leaves and berries into tea and drank it during childbirth. The little berries are edible too. They say they take I just like sweetish-tart cucumbers, but I didn't nibble. Let's leave them for the wildlife and admire them amongst the moss and the trees. Garden Dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone.com. 

Mary Stone  05:13

Speaking of trolls, I have to tell you in the blog post is a photograph of, of course, the patch of moss with the Partridge Berries meandering through, and I put a troll doll wearing bright red boots. It's a Christmas troll that I gave to my mom long ago. And anyway, it's a very cute photo. Do you remember trolls as a kid? I was looking them up because I know they've been around for a very long time. In fact, they originated in Denmark in the 1950s Thomas Dam started the Danish company after his wife encouraged him to try selling the wooden dolls. He had been carving for his children. He called them good luck trolls, and they quickly became popular. Thomas sold the wood dolls door to door for a while but by 1956 the demand became so high, he opened a factory and switched to a rubber body stuffed with wooden shavings to keep up with the demand. And that story, although I've modified it a little bit is from the Troll Hole.com which is the website for the Troll Hole Museum and Alliance Ohio. Apparently, it's in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most trolls. I don't know. I always loved them as a kid and I used to call my mom a troll when things didn't go my way. It became a standing joke as I grew up. She thought they were ugly, and I thought they were cute. Which is probably why the troll gift to mom came back to me.

Mary Stone  06:38

 Anyway, again the Partridge Berry is a staple in terrariums and reminds me of an event I attended -  a Terrarium, a Mini Gardening Warmup. Just before a garden kicked into gear I had the privilege of dropping in on a succulent event hosted by A and J Messina Greenhouses in Blairstown, New Jersey, serving as a mini gardening warm up with a lively group of over 70 guests learning how to make a terrarium. Trays of succulents and houseplants filled the center aisle. Sparkly lights adorned the sides and tables of glass vessels with open tops and bowls of planting mediums set the stage as if we were attending a banquet. And we were. Attendees could bring a beverage of choice to enjoy by building there are many gardens, so many bottles of wine.

Mary Stone  07:28

I missed the intro when the hosts Angela, Bob, and Chris Messina plus lead coach Barbara Stiehl shared the protocols of terrarium planting but here are the basics of how to.  First a layer of pebbles for drainage. Then a layer of horticultural charcoal for the houseplant terrariums to help eliminate odor. Next, a layer of Spanish moss on the bottom and sides. Then comes the potting soil for the house plants or a sandy soil mix for the succulents. Then comes the planting. 

Mary Stone  08:00

Each guest planted three succulents or three tropical plants, ensuring that each plant had the same light and water needs as you would in your outside garden. Bob coached folks on loosening up the root ball as you would when planting annuals, perennials, shrubs, and trees to be sure the roots can quickly take off. Mom used to call it tickling the roots, which still makes me giggle. 

Mary Stone  08:24

Carefully tamp down soil to eliminate air pockets and then you can adorn your miniature garden with moss pilfered from the woods, bits of bark pebbles or funky shaped stones. Some added miniature creatures, Cardinals, a turtle, even a twig chair, turning theirs into a fairy garden. Barbara walked around with her marvelous terrarium samples, guiding guests if they were planting too full or too high. They need room to grow. Plants will flourish in the greenhouse effect by planting in the middle of the glass vessel. 

Mary Stone  08:57

Barbara advised watering succulents on an average of every two weeks and weekly for terrariums planted with houseplants ensuring glass enclosures are not in the direct sunlight, which can burn the plants. She demonstrated how to water using a squirt type ketchup bottle to spot water around the plants rather than wet the leaves. The same advice for your outside gardens that I always give to prevent foliar disease. Don't water their little faces mom used to say when she was watering plants especially her beloved African Violets

Mary Stone  09:31

So anyway, I've so enjoyed this reflection of the terrarium and the partridge berry and the trolls and making me think of my dear old mom who gave me my gardening start. I would enjoy hearing from you who gave you your interest in gardening or your love of nature. Please email me at Ask Mary Stone@gmail.com It's always such a delight to hear from you. It warms my heart, which is especially gratifying on cold days on the screen porch like today. And I also appreciate all of you that are subscribing to the podcast, so it magically appears in your feed and as you know that is free to do so if you haven't done so already. Please do so more can join us and learn and grow in the garden of life. Thanks so much. See you next time on the screen porch. 

Mary Stone  10:18

You can follow Garden Dilemmas on Facebook or online at Garden Dilemmas.com and on Instagram at hashtag Mary Elaine Stone. Garden Dilemmas, Delights and Discoveries is produced by Alex Bartling. Thanks for coming by. I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch. And always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden of life. Have a great day.