Re: gardenwriters Digest, Vol 60, Issue 2

**C* W* B* <b*@mchsi.com>**

Re New Year's Day Plant Count

Hi Saxon, 

You handed out a big dose of plant  and climate envy!  Here in Iowa, the
only things blooming are all the Signatus ?both species, republicanus and
democratus?popping up on  people's lawns . Obviously the seeds were sown
last summer. What is amazing, is that whether growing on lawn, clay, or at
the edge of woodlands, their size range is incredible - from 12" high to
more than 60" high and up to 8' wide!!! They grow well in urban, suburban,
and country areas, full sun to full shade. They thrive in cold weather, and
generate enough heat to come up through a foot or ore of ice and snow.  They
are at peak bloom now; their numbers have been multiplying for the last two
months. h. The most common colors are red, white, and blue, but there are
more rare green and yellow varieties. It's currently zero  degrees here, and
the temperature's dropping!!

I no longer have a garden; my landlords have put in a lawn (the ultimate
insult); fortunately it's covered with snow so I don't have to look at it!!
My neighbor, David Clem ( a GWA member) has a fine crop of frozen
collards...we'll see if they really do taste better after a freeze.

My first shock when I moved to Iowa more than 10 years ago (time flies) was
that there was nothing in bloom for 5 months or more...having been used to
cyclamen and witch hazels and hellebores ringing in the New Year in my Long
Island garden.

My consolation for enduring the current frigidity, is that I get to come to
California next week; for three weeks;  I'm working with Ros Creasy on her
Edible Landscaping book.

Happy New Year everyone!

Cheers, 
Cathy

Cathy Wilkinson Barash
Freelance writer, photographer, editor
Author of Edible Flowers from Garden to Palate, Evening Gardens
753 17th Street
Des Moines IA 50314
Phone; 515-282-5172
Fax: 515-243-5353
Email  bloominggourmet@mchsi.com

> From: <gardenwriters-request@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Reply-To: <gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Date: Tue, 01 Jan 2008 20:31:54 -0500
> To: <gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Subject: gardenwriters Digest, Vol 60, Issue 2
> 
>> Fellow garden writers:
>> 
>> Inspired by a Janet Sanchez, a garden writer friend, I am doing a New
>> Year's Day flower count in my garden and writing about it on my
>> Gardening Gone Wild blog http://www.gardeninggonewild.com/ .  It would
>> be fun to see what others have blooming.  I know I am blessed in zone 9
>> and those in cold climates may have zero to report but it still would
>> be interesting to see what else is happening around the country.  Maybe
>> we can make this annual event.
>> 
>> This is not a competition just a unscientific survey.  What is in your
>> garden today?  Answer off line on the blog, not on this list.
>> 
>> Saxon Holt
>> Saxon Holt Photography
>> Gardens and Ornamental Horticulture
>> www.saxonholt.com
>> Library  - www.photobotanic.com
>> 415.898.8880

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