The Frugal Gardener

Spooky Black Plants for Halloween and Beyond

 

(Aeonium arboreum) ‘Zwartkop’ and purple leaved oxalis

    Black hued plants are a horticultural phenomenon. No wonder, because their leaves and flowers offer boldness and drama in the garden. Black plants are extraordinary when placed next to contrasting orange pumpkins and autumn decorations. Because of their recent popularity, expect to find many entrancing varieties of black plants to haunt your garden.
Gardeners drawn to the novelty of this color should look for the stunning black elder (Sambucus nigra) ‘Black Beauty’ or ‘Black Lace’ at a plant sale or local nursery. Are you wondering if black is for you? Then look at the silky petals of ‘Nigra’ the black hollyhock and you will fall for black’s magic.
    Karen Platt in her book, Black Magic and Purple Passion, wrote, “Black plants are dressed to thrill and seduce. They possess a come-hither quality.” Besides for being spooky and mysterious, black is sexy. Indeed most lingerie is black. Black is a stable in closets because it sets off other colors and flatters figures. Although there is nothing to slim in the garden there are plenty of colors that black will compliment.
    There are a couple of tricks to using black in the garden. The secret is to place plants where they stand out, not buried in the back of the border where their hues disappears. Black is always dramatic but such a dark color is best offset by contrasting foliage plants. Try a backdrop of bright gold, grey or chartreuse foliage. Such hues, not only highlight dark colors, but in turn their brightness is balanced by black.
    For a more subdued combination team dark plants with pastel colors like lavender, pink or peach. White flowers and silver foliage contrast well with black. Even ordinary green looks it’s best when paired with black.
    To add some black color in the fall without a complete garden makeover, try two wee plants in the viola family. Look for ‘Bowles Black’ Johnny-jump-up (Viola tricolor) and ‘Black Magic’(Viola cornuta).

The latter is a pansy, meaning it has larger flowers that are about an inch across. These flowers are truly black with a tiny yellow eye in the center. Additionally ‘Black Magic’ is more heat tolerant than most pansies so it continues to flower late in the spring. ‘Bowles Black’ has petite flowers common to all Johnny-jump-ups, also called violas. The flowers are a shiny eggplant color and grow in generous mounds.
    To grow all types of violas and pansies, place them in morning sun, but out of the scorching afternoon light. Space them about six to ten inches apart in well draining soil because pansies don’t like soggy roots. Every time a pansy dries out and wilts, the plant is stressed and won’t flowers as well. Prevent this stress by regular watering, especially on hot or windy days.
    Andean Silver Leaf Sage (Salvia discolor) has black flowers that bewitch. This woody shrub gets large about three feet by three feet. This shrub forms a big mound without any pruning. The leaves are beautiful all year with velvety, grayish white on the underside and a muted green top. Moreover, this plant attracts hummingbirds, tolerates poor soil and gets by with little water.
    ‘William Guiness’ (Aquilegia vulgaris) is a beautiful, double columbine with flowers in deep purple and white. The purple is so dark that it looks black and contrasts enchantingly with it’s white corollas. The flowers rise two feet over beautiful, bluish green, delicate foliage. Combine with yellow flowers or golden leaves for a hauntingly lovely show. These perennials benefit from fall planting in warm climates, and like pansies need morning sun and afternoon shade.
    This is just a tiny sample, sort of like eating a mini Halloween candy bar, of the numerous black beauties you can grow. As Karen Platt summed up, “Black plants are sexy, fantastic, mysterious and utterly stunning with a velvety quality found in few other colors.” Turn on the black light in your garden this Halloween!

Seven Black Flowering Plants and Seven Black Leaved Plants:
(Aeonium arboreum) ‘Zwartkop’
(Euphorbia amygdaloides) ‘Purpurea’ Wood spurge
(Heuchera) ‘Chocolate Veil’ Coral bells
(Ipomoea batatas) ‘Blackie’ ornamental Sweet potato
(Ophiopogon planiscapus) ‘Nigrescens’ black Mondo grass
(Oxalis regnellii triangularis) Purple-leaved Shamrock
(Pennisetum setaceum) ‘Purpureum’ Purple fountain grass
Flowers
(Alcea rosea) ‘Nigra’ hollyhock
(Aquilegia vulgaris) ‘William Guiness’ Columbine
(Canna) ‘Black Knight’
(Salvia discolor) Andean silver leaf Sage
(Scabiosa atropurpurea) ‘Ace of Spades’ Pincushion flower
(Viola cornuta) ‘Black Magic’
(Viola tricolor) ‘Bowles Black’ Johnny-jump-up

 

Holiday Time In My Garden 2012

I usually get a live Noble fir tree, but this year I got an additional tiny, flocked tree. I save any trimmings from holiday trees to make swags and to decorate in the garden. This year I also topped the birds cage with a garland made from clippings and I stowed branches in a cement urn with decorative balls.

To make a holiday swag, gather your trimmed branches into a fan. Then, take smaller trimmings to lie on top of the fan and cover the ends of the branches. Think of this part as a mini-fan shape to cover the ugly branch ends. Bind securely with floral wire and add a bow.
The above swag shows how adding a simple ornament can change the look. I placed a ceramic bunny made by Julie Whitmore. Appropriately, it now adorns my bunny's cage. Save all your trimmings to make swags for the garden or for your friends.

I still have some blossoms in my garden, no hard frost yet. These pansies seem to like hanging on a shepherd's hook from a macrame hanger I bought on Etsy!

I am excited about the new raised bed my husband built me. I have red lettuce, calendula, nemesia, sweet peas, daisies and foxgloves. I have already made a salad from the lettuce. In the raised bed, the lettuce stays clean and pest free.

If you cut back each loose head, make sure and leave a fan of the leaves. I leave about an inch and then the lettuce regrows. This method is referred to as "Cut and Come again."
I also have peas almost ready to harvest in another older raised bed. More reasons I love raised beds: less snails or slugs, I don't have to crouch to weed and I can control the soil.

I went Salt Lake City, Utah recently. I thought I'd share my photo of the temple to wish you a joyful holiday and happiness in your garden and in your life!

Holiday Cheer

Winter-Time
 
Late lies the wintry sun a-bed,  
A frosty, fiery sleepy-head;  
Blinks but an hour or two; and then,  
A blood-red orange, sets again.  
  
Before the stars have left the skies,
At morning in the dark I rise;  
And shivering in my nakedness,  
By the cold candle, bathe and dress.  
  
Close by the jolly fire I sit  
To warm my frozen bones a bit;
Or with a reindeer-sled, explore  
The colder countries round the door.  
  
When to go out, my nurse doth wrap  
Me in my comforter and cap;  
The cold wind burns my face, and blows
Its frosty pepper up my nose.  
  
Black are my steps on silver sod;  
Thick blows my frosty breath abroad;  
And tree and house, and hill and lake,  
Are frosted like a wedding-cake.
by Robert Louis Stevenson

Although there is frost and chilly weather,  a few brave flowers cheer the garden.

 “The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live,” said comedian George Carlin. My favorite Christmas fairy looks as though she could be mischievous!

"Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home!" By Charles Dickens

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” By Marcus Tulles Cicero

“Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead.” By Oscar Wilde

15 ~ Minute Ratatouille ~ The Taste to Temper the Official End to Summer

                       Tastes like summertime
This recipie was adapted from Chez Nous by Lydia Marshall (1995)

    This recipe was given to me by Dot Gerek, who taught me that fabulous food can be easy and still taste gourmet! After all these years, ten or more, I continue to use many of her wonderful recipes (cheesecake, Blanco pozole) and her hints for preparing food in a stylish yet easy manner.

  

Ingredients:
1/4 cup good olive oil
2 medium onions chopped
4 garlic cloves grated (the smaller the pieces of garlic the better it is for you, according to recent nutrition reports!)
1 pound ripe tomatoes (about five big ones, and it never hurts to add a few more)
1/2 pound of eggplant (about two small or one large)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoon salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 cup packed, julienned, fresh, basil leaves

Directions:

1. In a large deep skillet (use one that has a lid, or you will be scrambling around for one later) heat the olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and cook over medium heat for five minutes.
2. Add tomatoes,sugar, salt,cayenne, and basil. I added one small diced Serrano pepper, and, of course remember to remove the ribs and seeds. Stir, then cover with the skillet lid for five minutes on medium heat.

3. Open the lid carefully and tilt to allow the condensed juices to flow from the lid into the skillet with vegetables. Add the eggplant and stir. Then, cover and cook for 5 more minutes. Voila! You are done. Make sure the eggplant is soft.Eat hot, or at room temperature. This dish can be stored for one week in the refrigerator.

Serving thoughts:

I put ratatouille over pasta, or on top of thinly sliced bread, like Ciabatta, or any artisan, local bread you prefer. You can use it to fill an omelet,or mix ratatouille with beans and couscous, or quinoa.  grilled chicken breasts are wonderful if you pour warm ratatouille over them and grate sharp Parmesan on top.
     Truthfully, I like it best the next day, after it has cooled in the refrigerator and all the tastes have become best friends. I toast thin slices of the previously mentioned bread, and rub a garlic clove over the slice. In a 350 degree oven, pop a cookie sheet filled with the bread slices kissed by the garlic. Toast until they are lightly crispy and barely tan. Scoop room temperature ratatouille over warm bread, and savor the taste of your summer. Serve with a nice, light, white wine, like Pinot Grigio. Add some fall flowers and you are set!

Savor this long, luscious week end, the last of summer. Soon the nights will be cool enough to make soup. Happy Labor Day weekend.

Egg-citment In The Garden

    Spring has arrived spreading her cloak of fresh green over gardens. Primal feelings surge inside the gardener’s psyche. Spring fever has hit and gardeners want to incorporate the icons of the season into their gardens. One such symbol is the egg, which symbolizes springtime, renewal, and rebirth.
  This year, to signal springtime in your garden, why not dye eggs from things you grow? Nature’s dyes come in an array of hues which are distinct from the chemical based, garish mass-produced dyes. The resulting eggs fit naturally in the garden, tucked into statues, perched inside nests, or embellishing an empty birdbath. Another plus of is this project is ideal for children of all ages.
How To Dye Eggs Naturally
    The easiest way to make natural dye for eggs is to boil plants, fruits, seeds, or hulls that have been cut up or crushed. Use a food processor, or a blender to macerate berries, carrots or any tougher treasures. Then, take at least two cups of the raw material and cover all the ingredients with water. Be sure to use a stainless steel, so you don’t stain the pot. Boil the brew a few minutes, then simmer for one half an hour.

    The resulting liquid is the dye. Strain the liquid through a colander or sieve, and place into large bowls, or jars.

  Add one teaspoon of     vinegar for every cup     of the the liquid dye to help set the color. While the dye is still hot, drop in hard-boiled eggs, and then refrigerate them overnight in the dye. For a beautiful sheen, rub the finished dyed eggs with vegetable oil.

   

The result is eggs that have a unique appearance, and each natural dye produces a different result.

The longer the eggs soak, the more solid the hue becomes, and some dyes just seem to make a more solid color. Onion skins in particular create a smooth color wash. However, the look from most berries is mottled, and uneven, almost like a bird’s egg or a stone.
    Get kids involved on picking items to create the dyes. To get shades of red and pink, use cooked beets, raspberries, or strawberries. Brown dye results from using yellow onion skins, ground cayenne, or coffee grounds. Blue and purple hues can be concocted from red cabbage, blueberries, cranberries, and grapes.

Yellow and green stains are the most difficult to obtain. Try grass clippings, yellow flowers, ground turmeric, or asparagus stems, and let the eggs stew longer. For intense green or yellow the eggs may need to steep in the dye for 48 hours.
    For longer lasting eggs, blow the inside liquid out before dying. Use a long needle and make a hole in the top and bottom of the egg. Breaking the yolk first makes the blowing out process easier. Blown eggs can stay outside, making them ideal for creating garden vignettes.

Extra Fun With Dyed Eggs
    These springtime eggs can have a surprising second life fighting snails. Just crumble the shells and mound them a half inch high in a circle around plants to repel snails and slugs. Additionally, decomposing shells add calcium to the soil. Seasonal displays, snail protection,and a fun project for children, do you need more incentive to begin?
    When you have several dyed eggs made, the creative fun begins. Hang blown eggs with fishing line so they dangle from trees, add eggs to wreaths, tie them onto gifts, or hang a few from masses of ribbon over the back of chairs. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket, instead use your imagination.

The Greenest Choice for a Holiday Tree

      Holidays are a joyful time, but environmental concerns can put a damper on decorating your home.  Especially difficult is the tree decision. Is it better to go artificial, or have a cut tree? This can be a perplexing decision, but hold on for cheerful news.  The best option for the environment is to buy a living tree.  And, this is good news because there are so many wonderful options of holiday trees to buy, and there are also great choices that are not even trees at all.
    Think beyond pines, and firs, and look for something else that is fragrant and showy.  Topiaries made from herbs, like rosemary or lavender, can be turned into a wonderful tabletop arrangement. 
Simply add tiny ornaments or tie large bows onto the trunks.  Then, when the holidays are over they can go into your garden.  One caution, these herbs don’t enjoy being indoors.  Accordingly limit the time spent inside to two weeks. 

   
    Even more fleeting, but quite dramatic is a floral design shaped like a tree.  Craft stores have floral foam trees in several sizes.  Use long-lasting flowers like amaryllis, or carnations to cover the form.  Place form in a shallow bowl which can hold water.  This allows the foam to take up the moisture the flowers need to stay fresh.  Expect your theatrical design to last a gorgeous week.
Do you want something longer lasting?  Then, get a live tree.  Since most of us have small gardens, or garden in containers, a dwarf pine or fir is an excellent choice. (For details on varities and care instructions go to my 2009 december blog entry). Most will remain in a large container for many years before requiring transplanting.  Nothing adds spirit and scent to holiday decorating like a real conifer.
    To keep a live tree healthy, limit the time spend indoors to a week or two at most.  Additionally, place the tree in bright light and away from heat sources.  Plan to pick up your tree as soon as possible for the best selection, because local nurseries usually only get one delivery of live trees right after Thanksgiving.
Have a green Christmas!