“People often ask me what one thing I would recommend to restore relationship between land and people. My answer is almost always, “Plant a garden.” It’s good for the health of the earth and it’s good for the health of people. A garden is a nursery for nurturing connection, the soil for cultivation of practical reverence. And its power goes far beyond the garden gate—once you develop a relationship with a little patch of earth, it becomes a seed itself. Something essential happens in a vegetable garden. It’s a place where if you can’t say “I love you” out loud, you can say it in seeds. And the land will reciprocate, in beans.” - Robin Wall Kimmerer
In this episode, we talk with Dr. Richard Olsen, director of the U.S. National Arboretum,all about Ancient Plants. The plant profile is on the Gladiolus and we share what's going on in the garden as well as some upcoming local gardening events.
Show Notes:
1:19 Meet Dr. Richard Olsen, director of the U.S. National Arboretum!
2:17 Dr. Olsen talks about gardening as a child in Wisconsin and North Carolina
4:33 Working outside over sitting in an office at a desk as a career
6:03 PhD in plant breeding
8:06 Joined the USNA directly out of PhD program
10:00 Dr. Olsen explains growing meadow plants in his home garden with prairie like environment
14:27 Some mosses, grasses, etc have been around for 500 million years
14:37 Ferns are some of the earliest vascular plants
15:37 Cycads are one of the earlier families that are still extensive in gardens today
17:57 Ginkgo trees are an early seed plant that saw its peak 150 million years ago that is now relegated to one species
19:09 Cycads and Ginkgos are primitive and intertwined in our earth’s biological history
20:42 Extinction of Ginkgo in Northern Hemisphere from last Ice Age
23:00 “Stinky ginkgo”
24:03 Paleobotany: study of ancient plants
24:55 Pollen stays well-preserved in fossils, while other parts of plants fall away
25:20 “Potomac Group” is one of the most important historic fossil records
26:00 Genus of angiosperm named “Anacostia marylandensis” after this area
27:00 Evolution of conifers
28:30 Waterlilies are from a lineage dating back to the dawn of flowering plants
32:28 Chloranthus has 14 species only found in East Asia but the Arboretum houses some!
33:40 Chloranthus lineage unclear
35:01 Magnolias are also an ancient family with pollination structure based on beetles
37:30 Calycanthus aka Sweet Betsy is also considered an early angiosperm
38:24 Dinosaur-themed gardens
40:20 Boxwood family is very primitive
42:05 U.S. National Arboretum as a research institute with long history of plant breeding
44:10 29,000 accession plants at the USNA
45:05 Visitors are important and valued to the USNA community
45:50 700,000 visitors per year
47:58 Get in touch with the U.S. National Arboretum through their website and with Dr. Olsen via email or call the front desk!
49:24 Learn all about gladiolas in this week’s plant profile!
50:41 New this week in the garden: lots of rain, strawberry harvesting, flowers on the snap peas, thornless blackberries are abundant, self-sowing zinnias and celosias, peony blooms, cutting flowers, and more!
52:08 Summer garden reading recommendations
53:33 Local garden events: Valley View Farm Q&A Garden Book Party, Patuxent Nursery talk by Kathy Jentz
If you liked this episode, you may also enjoy listening to:
~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 85: Camellias
https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2021/12/gardendc-podcast-episode-85-camellias.html
~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 94: Magnolias
https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/03/gardendc-podcast-episode-94-magnolias.html
Google Podcasts at this link (note that currently, this link will only work on Android devices.)
We welcome your questions and comments! You can leave a voice mail message for us at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/message Note that we may use these messages on a future episode.
And be sure to leave us a 5-star review on your favorite platform so other gardeners can find us too!
This week is a bit of a limbo time at the community garden plot as we transition from cool weather to warm weather crops, but the ground is so oversaturated from recent rains that I am holding off planting anything. There are areas of our garden that are a literal mud pit! Thank goodness for the woodchip paths around my plot that are keeping things fairly tidy.
I've been harvesting strawberries and weeding a tiny bit. I need to check if the scapes have formed on the garlic as they usually appear by now. The carrots seem to be increasing, but I will wait a few more weeks before pulling another one to check.
The big news is the flowers on the purple podded snap peas are finally blooming and that means peas aren't far behind!
Also, the thornless blackberry has really hit its stride. It is covered in green fruits and I suspect that as soon as it starts to ripen I'll need to move the netting off the strawberries over it.
I also found a few self-sown zinnia and celosia seedlings where I am prepping a bed for tomatoes. I'll transplant those to a better spot soon.
What are you growing and eating this week from your edible garden?
About Fenton Friday: Every Friday during the growing season, I'll be giving you an update on my community garden plot at the Fenton Street Community Garden just across the street from my house in zone 7 Mid-Atlantic MD/DC border. I'm plot #16. It is a 10 ft x 20 ft space and this is our 11th year in the garden. (It opened in May 2011.) See past posts about our edible garden by putting "Fenton" into the Search box above.
Carolina allspice (Calycanthus
floridus) is also known as
Sweetshrub. It is native to the Eastern United States and is known for its
fragrant blossoms in mid to late spring.
The roots and bark also have a scent when injured or rubbed
that is similar to camphor.
The flowers are a dark burgundy color and the leaves are
deep green that turn light yellow in the fall before dropping off.
It can grow from full sun to full shade and tolerates most
any soil type. Though it prefers moist ground and to be positioned in dappled
shade as a woodland understory plant.
This shrub can get 8 feet wide and high, so plant it where
it can attain its full size and it will not need pruning.
It occasionally sends out root suckers and you can cut those
off or dig and pot them up to gift to another gardener.
Carolina allspice is deer-resistant and has no major pests
or diseases.
There is also a West Coast species, Calycanthus occidentalis, and a Chinese
sweetshrub (Calycanthus chinensis). Popular
Calycanthus floridus cultivars
and hybrids include ‘Athens’, which has chartreuse flowers; ‘Venus’, which is a
compact grower that has white blooms with a banana scent; and, ‘Aphrodite’,
which has bright red flowers with a citrus-y fragrance.
Carolina allspice: You Can Grow That!
The video was produced
by Washington Gardener Magazine as part of our Plant Profile
series for Mid-Atlantic USA gardeners.
Audio, video, and text by Kathy Jentz
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For our May 2022 Washington Gardener Reader Contest, we are giving away five sets of Beyond Peat samples (prize value: $20).
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To enter to win one of the five sets of Beyond Peat samples, send an email by 5:00pm on May 31 to WashingtonGardenerMagazine@gmail.com with “Beyond Peat” in the Subject line and in the body of the email. Tell us what your favorite article was in the May 2022 issue of Washington Gardener Magazine and why. Please include your full name and mailing address. Winners will be announced and notified on/about June 1.
UPDATE: Congratulations to our 5 winners! They are:
Show Notes:
1:20 Meet Augustus Jenkins Farmer III (Jenks Farmer), owner of Jenks Farmer Plantsman!
3:50 Jenks talks about life in his childhood home with wood heat
5:00 “I was ready to see the big, bold world.” — Jenks
5:45 From Zambia to Seattle then back to South Carolina!
8:00 Rain and heat in South Carolina similar to DC for gardening conditions
10:50 There are hardy crinum lilies for USDA Zones 6 and 7
11:45 Pittsburgh zoo’s gorilla exhibit has crinums!
12:25 Orange River Lily (Crinum bulbispermum) is the most cold weather hardy variety
13:57 “Imagine Christmas amaryllis on steroids.” — Jenks
14:28 These lilies have more of a fountain-like flower formation
17:10 Jenks talks about selling the lilies as cut flowers called “Chicken Feet Flowers”
18:00 Cut the entire plant down to the ground, throw away the top foliage, and it will come right back!
18:40 The farm became fully organic 10-12 years ago
19:42 The lilies can have bulbs underground that are as big as volleyballs!
20:25 Field peas, sun hemp, cornflower/bachelor’s buttons, and assorted veggies are cover crops for the lilies
21:39 Nematode issues in South Carolina
23:12 “World’s Largest Bulb” controversy
25:39 400 pound clumps once the bulbs are rooted!
25:24 Aquatic crinums are one of the most popular aquarium plants
26:50 Great plants for flooding, which allows them to be used in parks in Savannah and Charleston
29:35 Crinums are “nocturnally fragrant”
30:00 Moths are attracted to the flowers since they can detect the fragrance at a high level
31:41 Nitrogen is essential for egg production which could be enticing to moths
32:42 Lots of medicinal uses for crinums
33:13 People with pets should be aware of crinums, but not too concerned
34:32 Leaf rust is a bigger concern for Jenks’ farm than pests
35:10 Jenks’ new book (https://amzn.to/3RhjZsK)* talks all about his absolute favorite crinums
37:04 Crinums are easy to grow from seeds
37:52 One of the problems with crinum breeding is how long it takes to grow
39:04 Coloration of the bulb indicates the color of the bloom
42:11 Crinum history revolves around maritime and slave trade
43:13 By 1900, crinums fell out of favor and only recently regained it
45:53 Crinums are known to be pass-along plants
47:18 Lots of crinums imported from India
47:57 Crinums have a very long lifespan. Jenks has one that’s over 70 years old!
49:16 Jenks recommends growing plants that love your climate
50:00 Find Jenks on social media and his website!
51:22 Learn all about Carolina Allspice bush in this week’s Plant Profile
53:18 New this week in the garden: heat wave in DC, flowers are blooming, Japanese snowbell tree, May issue is out now, and more!
54:30 Local gardening events: online talk for Brookside Gardens by Kathy Jentz, Homestead Gardens hosting chat and book signing with Hilton Carter, and Plant Sale Fundraiser
If you liked this episode, you may also enjoy listening to:
~ Gardening with Bulbs
https://washingtongardener.blogspot.c...
~ Daylilies -- the Perfect Perennial?
https://washingtongardener.blogspot.c...
Google Podcasts at this link (note that currently, this link will only work on Android devices.)
We welcome your questions and comments! You can leave a voice mail message for us at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/message Note that we may use these messages on a future episode.
And be sure to leave us a 5-star review on your favorite platform so other gardeners can find us too!
We welcome your questions and comments! You can leave a voice mail message for us at: https://anchor.fm/gardendc/message Note that we may use these messages on a future episode.
And be sure to like/follow/subscribe/share this video and this channel, so that other gardeners can find us too!
Episode Credits:
Host and Producer: Kathy Jentz
Show Note: Tori Vandergriff
*This post may contain Amazon affiliate links. If you order after clicking these links, we may receive a few pennies, but it will not impact the price you pay at the Amazon site.
