Connecticut Garden Journal

One of the benefits of speaking at the Connecticut Flower and Garden Show last month was having time to listen to other speakers. One, in particular, caught my attention. Adam Wheeler from Broken Arrow Nursery in Hamden spoke about deer proofing your garden.

Adam has been trying to thwart deer for years both at the nursery and home. He mentioned the usual deterrents, such as a 7 foot tall fence, electric fence and repellent sprays. He also has used fishing line strung at 1 and 3 foot heights in paths the deer use to enter the nursery. This seems to have confused the deer so they don't challenge the line and move on.

The most interesting part of his talk was the shrubs and trees deer seem to avoid. Of course, if deer are hungry enough they'll eat anything. But there are some plants they seem to avoid. Certainly, plants with fuzzy leaves, such as lambs ears, plants with thorns, such as barberry, and plants with an aroma such as mint, are less desirable. He mentioned shrubs, such as witch hazel, beauty berry, boxwood, lindera and butterfly bush as also relatively safe. One technique he's had success with is mixing highly desirable plants, such as hosta and yews, with plants deer don't like. This seems to confuse them and the don't munch on them. One deer proof plant I didn't know about is the Japanese plum yew. Generally, yew (Taxus) is like candy for deer. But the Japanese plum yew (Cephalotaxus) has avoided major damage. It looks like the other yews and grows 2- to 6-feet tall and wide.

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One of the joys of growing your own vegetables is fresh garden peas. Fresh peas are rarely found in grocery stores, so it's best to grow your own. Luckily, growing peas is easy, if you follow a few guidelines.

It's best to sow peas in the ground while it's still cool. They like to mature early to avoid the summer heat. Once the ground has dried out and temperatures are above freezing, sow pea seeds in two rows separated by a trellis or fence. We grow ours in raised beds. The soil dries out and warms up faster so we get better seed germination.

Another consideration is varieties. Garden peas are either shelling types, such as 'Tall Telephone', snow peas, such as 'Oregon Giant', and snap peas, such as 'Sugar Snap'. The big revolution in peas is different colored types. You can now plant yellow podded or purple podded snow peas, such as 'Golden Sweet' and 'Royal Snow'. And you can plant golden snap peas, such as 'Honey Snap II' and purple types, such as 'Royal Snap'. This adds a whole new color range to these tasty treats.

Before seeding, soak seeds in warm water overnight to hasten germination. The killer of pea seeds is cold, heavy soil, so the faster the germination, the better. Consider planting lettuce or other greens around the pea rows. Peas are legumes and fix atmospheric nitrogen into a form other plants can use. The lettuce benefits from being a pea companion. After harvest, chop up the plants, add compost and sow a fall crop such as kale, carrots and Swiss chard.

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One of the best perennial flowers for blooming from mid-summer to fall is the tall garden phlox. Phlox paniculata and other tall species have colorful blooms, and depending on the selections, are great pollinator plants. However, they can be plagued with powdery mildew disease during our humid summers.

The solution is variety selection. Mt. Cuba Center is a Delaware public garden that has been trialing various perennial flower varieties in their zone 6 to 7 gardens for years. One trial they did a few years ago was on the tall garden phlox varieties. Mt. Cuba uncovered some of the best phlox varieties for home gardeners.

Phlox 'Jeana' is hands down the best lavender-pink flower colored variety. It produces tons of flowers from July to mid-September, on a 3- to 5-foot tall plants that are drought tolerant, grow in part shade and are powdery mildew resistant. An added bonus is 'Jeana' had the most butterflies of any phlox variety in the trial.

The top rated phlox that is not lavender-pink flowered was 'Glamour Girl'. It has coral-pink flowers on 3 foot tall plants that bloom July through August. It's a vigorous grower with lush foliage and little powdery mildew. If you like white flowers, try 'Delta Snow'. This paniculata type has white flowers with a pink center. It is one of the best varieties for powdery mildew resistance.

Finally, for a phlox from a different species, try the lavender colored Phlox amplifolia. It's unique for its 2 foot height, ability to grow in dry soils and its proclivity to spread by underground rhizomes making it a great meadow plant.

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We love to grow zinnias. This Mexican, annual flower creates loads of color from mid summer to fall and is a magnet for pollinating bees and butterflies.

There are many types of zinnias. Most fall in the Zinnia elegans species. They range from a few feet tall to 5 feet tall. We like the old fashioned 'State Fair Mix' and 'Benary Giants' for big, gaudy, colorful flowers. If powdery mildew is an issue in your garden try the 'Oklahoma Series'. If you're looking for shorter zinnias, check out the 'Profusion' and 'Zahara Series'. These have white, pink, red and yellow selections on 1 foot tall, mounding plants that flower all summer. They're great in the front of a border or in containers.

Zinnias come in different flower shapes as well. The cactus flowered zinnia has long, curved and twisted petals, like a chrysanthemum, on 3 foot tall plants. The newer 'Queeny Series' features a mix of colors, such as orange and lime or red and lime, with 3 inch diameter flowers. The blooms are semi double and make great cut flowers.

If you're looking for a more wild zinnia, try the Zinnia haageana species. Known as the Mexican zinnia, this 2 foot tall plant produces small, colorful, double blooms. 'Persian Carpet' and 'Jazzy Mix' are favorites for us.

Start zinnia seeds indoors about 1 month before transplanting into the garden to get a jump on the season. Don't rush to transplant as they like the warmth. Give them plenty of room to grow, especially the large flowered types. You can top them when small to induce bushier growth.

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Growing a pollinator garden has become very popular. But many gardeners don't have room for yet another garden. Another way to approach supporting pollinators is to find places in existing gardens to grow plants they love. One neglected group of plants for pollinators is ground covers.

Growing ground covers between trees, shrubs and perennials not only creates a more natural look and adds color, but also provides a source of pollen and nectar for these essential creatures. 

Here's some ground covers to tuck between your plants. Wild and alpine strawberries are favorite pollinator friendly ground covers. We have them planted throughout a winding border filled with shrubs and perennials. They bloom in spring and then, off and on, all summer and we get some berries, too. Rock soapwort, or Saponaria, is perfect for a sunny flower garden. It grows 4- to 8-inches tall, tolerates dry soil and has fragrant, pink and white flowers in early summer. Strawberries and soapwort are deer resistant.

We love growing the perennial geranium as a ground cover. It grows 1 foot tall, and slowly spreads to fill in part shade areas between large perennials and shrubs. The pink flowers bloom on and off all summer. Clover is a great groundcover for areas between shrubs , trees and tough perennials. The white flowers are favorites of pollinators and they bloom all summer. For a more colorful treat, try growing the purple leafed variety Altropurpureum. It stays 4 inches tall and has purple leaves with green edging. It's less vigorous than the green leafed versions but still flowers and adds a splash of color to your garden.

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Have you noticed? The days are getting longer and the sun is getting stronger. Spring is coming! I'm getting ready to start a whole variety of vegetables and flowers for transplanting into the garden this spring.

But we don't have to wait to enjoy all those tasty veggies. With the longer days and stronger sun, we can start growing vegetables indoors in a sunny window. The keys are full sun, warmth and the right greens.

While the days are longer, it's important that where you grow your greens gets as much sun as possible. That means at least 4 hours a day. If you don't have that amount of sun, try using grow lights to supplement your light. Also, place the seedings in a warm room with few cold drafts. I place a clear plastic cover over my grow light set up to keep the air warm and humid. You'll also want to use a heating pad under the seedlings to get them to grow fast.

The best greens to grow indoors now are ones that can take lower light levels and cool temperatures. Mache, spinach, arugula, mustards and winter lettuces are the best bets. Mache and arugula are quick germinating and mature greens with a mild taste, if not stressed. Mustards are fast growing with a little bite.

Grow greens in a tray or large pots. Sow seeds and keep the soil moist. Thin and harvest when the greens are young, or let them grow larger for a bigger yield. By harvesting just outer leaves, many of these greens will continue yielding right into spring.

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We know about GMO foods. Commodity crops, such as corn, rice and wheat, and some vegetables and fruits, such as squashes and pineapples, are genetically modified. But these varieties are available only to commercial growers. Now we have a GMO tomato that's available for home gardeners to grow.

Recent news reports discuss a new, 'Purple' cherry tomato developed by the Norfolk Plant Science Group in England. They've worked for 20 years to move the purple gene trait from snapdragons into a cherry tomato. The result is a purple tomato with high levels of anthocyanin, an anti-cancer and anti-inflammation compound. These anthocyanins are in some tomato fruits already, but at low levels. 'Purple' tomato increases the levels and the potential health benefits. While many like the idea of the health benefits of nutrient dense vegetables, there are concerns about what happens in the environment when these plants are grown such as the controversy around GMO corn harming butterflies and pollinators.

This GMO Purple tomato is making headlines, but it's also good to remember that traditional breeding can also create healthier varieties of edibles. The 'Indigo Rose' purple tomato that I've grown has been bred to have more anthocyanins in the fruit as well. In fact, the whole Indigo series of tomatoes has more than 50 varieties with this benefit that have all been bred traditionally.

Trying to introduce a GMO tomato variety to home gardeners may be tough due to public perception of GMOs being bad for the environment and our health. But Norfolk Plant Sciences hopes to change the conversation. We'll see if it gets accepted.

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Houseplants can be fun and fulfilling to grow. You always should grow the right houseplant for your room, but another fun way to choose houseplants is to select them based on Zodiac signs. Zodiac signs can correspond to your personality traits. For example, if your Zodiac sign is Aries you may have a lot of fire and like to stay active and busy. Then perhaps a snake plant or ZZ plant, that requires little care, is best for you?

If your Zodiac sign is Taurus, you may find yourself to be hard working, tenacious and see things through. Maybe you should try a more difficult houseplant that requires extra care, such as a fiddle leaf fig or orchid.

Capricorns tend to be very practical, serious people. That's why growing herbs and edibles indoors in a sunny window or under lights would suit this sign perfectly. The Pisces sign symbolizes intuition and luck. The money plant is an easy to grow houseplant loaded with good fortune and prosperity symbolism.

Some plants equate to Zodiac signs because of their names. Peace lilies resonate with Libra which is ruled by the love planet, Venus. Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter, is known for big, grand gestures. Why not grow a big, grand houseplant such as Monstera or rubber tree? Cancer is ruled by the moon which a closely associated with fertility. Why not a houseplant that reproduces easily such as a spider plant?

You could go on and on looking for plants that associate with a zodiac sign. It's a fun way to get friends interested in houseplants and the symbolism they hold.

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Succulents can make great houseplants depending on your space and light levels. Many gardeners love picking up some of these small plants in winter to add some greenery to their indoors. But it does matter which succulents you grow, and where you grow them, in your home.

For high light windows that get at least 3 to 4 hours of direct sun a day in winter or if you have a grow light, light-loving succulents are best. Echeverias, sedums, cacti and sempervivums or hens and chicks, all love the bright light.

For darker areas that may only get an hour or so of direct light, but still is a brightly lit room, try Haworthia, aloe, snake plant, ZZ plant and jade plants. They can tolerate the lower light levels and not get leggy.

The other consideration is space. Many succulents can be purchased in small, 2-inch diameter pots, but they can grow big over time. Consider places in your home where you can grow larger succulents or grow some that stay small such as Haworthia. I've seen very large aloe, jade and agave plants in homes that are striking as long as they have room and sun.

Succulents are best watered once the soil is dry. Slowly pour water into the pot so it drains out the bottom. Or place pots in a basin with a few inches of water and the soil will naturally soak up the water.

Some succulents grow small pups or baby plants next to the mother plant. Create more succulents by separating the babies from the mother and potting them in their own containers.

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As I finish touring India, I'm reminded of the power of urban gardens. India is the most populated country in the world and it's impressive how they garden in such a crowded place.

We also can garden in small spaces in our towns and cities, but there can be challenges. Here's a few tips for urban gardening.

Urban settings can have poor or even contaminated soils. It's best to do a soil test to make sure the soil is safe to grow in. Building raised beds and adding organic matter and topsoil can help plants grow better. Consider trying straw bale gardening and community gardens as well. Of course, containers are sometimes the best option for a small gardening space and don't forget using hanging baskets, railing planters and vertical trellises to grow plants.

Try to locate your beds and containers where they'll get the most sun. That may change throughout the summer due to shade from nearby buildings and trees, so move containers as needed and grow plants adapted to low light in shady spots. Also, place gardens close to a water source and check local zoning ordinances about building gardens in your yard.

Because you have limited space, select flowers and edibles you really like. For a big bang for your efforts grow edibles such as cherry tomatoes, greens, zucchini, bush beans and cucumbers and annual flowers such as impatiens, zinnias, geraniums and petunias.

 Plan for animal pests such as cats, dogs, raccoons and mice. Fence the raised beds, add screening for bird and squirrel protection and use animal repellents.

Learn more about the benefits of urban gardening at the Connecticut Horticultural Societies' Zoom talk at cthort.org.

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