Horticulture July/August 2019

AMONG THE FEATURES in this issue of Horticulture you’ll find two visits to private gardens. These gardens are essentially quite different. One, the garden of Fred and Linda Lipton of Salem, Mass., employs subtly repeated shapes and a strict color scheme, resulting in a tidy, organized space in which Fred and Linda love to spend their time and entertain guests. The other, the garden of Ryan and Joan Moyers of Cincinnati, Ohio, collects the colors, plants and objects that catch Joan’s eye, resulting in an offbeat, whimsical space . . . in which Ryan and Joan love to spend their time and entertain guests! I love the juxtaposition of these two very different gardens because they demonstrate how gardening can be such a personal art. Both the Liptons and the…

CONSIDERED THE WORLD’S most expensive spice (by weight), saffron is surprisingly easy to grow in a home garden. Saffron is produced by the saffron crocus, an autumn-blooming plant with showy lavender-purple flowers. Each flower yields just three orange-red stigmas, the wispy threads that are saffron spice. You can grow saffron at home by following five easy steps. First, pick the right spot. Saffron thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, preferably sandy or loam based. If your soil is clay based or generally less than ideal, consider planting the corms in raised beds, which offer improved drainage. Dig in compost before planting. Plant at the right time: late summer through early autumn. Plant the corms three to four inches deep and three to six inches apart. The plants typically flower…

Plant! It’s time to consider late-summer, autumn and even winter harvests. I plant my winter carrots and fall peas in late July, along with seedlings of cabbage, kale and broccoli. If summer heat is intense, use shade cloth or row cover suspended above the bed to provide shade and encourage good germination. Water! Summer is the thirstiest time in the vegetable garden. Consistent moisture is necessary for high-quality crops. Stay on top of watering and use organic mulches to retain moisture and reduce the need to water. Build! Have you been thinking about adding a cold frame, greenhouse, polytunnel or other type of season-extending structure to your garden? Summer is a great time to get started on a building project so that you still have time to seed vegetables in…

THE BLACK CURRANT (Ribes nigrum) is chockablock with welcome features, making it like the botanical equivalent of a shmoo. (Don’t know what a shmoo is? You have a treat coming if you Google it.) A black currant has loads of rooting hormones, so cuttings from one plant can become a hundred plants in just a few seasons. Its fruit is highly nutritious. A handful supplies 450 percent of an average person’s daily requirement of vitamin C; the berries have twice the potassium of bananas. It makes an impenetrable hedge when closely spaced. And yet plants are well-behaved in the garden, growing into pretty four- to five-foot shrubs that can be worked into a fence row or ornamental flower bed. (Why not nibble fresh black currants while you’re deadheading your roses…

If your state is not listed here, there are no restrictions on the planting of any of the Ribes species in commerce: black and red currants, gooseberries and jostaberries. Delaware—Black currants are prohibited; a permit is required for all other Ribes species. Maine—Black currants are prohibited statewide. Other currants and gooseberry plants are prohibited in the following counties: York, Cumberland, Androscoggin, Kennebec, Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox, Waldo, Hancock and parts of Oxford, Franklin, Somerset, Piscataquis, Penobscot, Aroostook and Washington. Massachusetts—Black currants prohibited statewide. Permits required for other Ribes species. Michigan—Black currants prohibited statewide. New Hampshire—All Ribes species prohibited statewide. New Jersey—Black currants are only allowed under special permit. Other Ribes species are allowed except in the following municipalities: Montague, Sandyston, Walpack and Vernon townships in Sussex County; West Milford, Ringwood Borough…

By all means check with your local nurseries to see if they have black currants, but if you can’t find them, go online to Raintree Nursery (http://www.RaintreeNursery.com) of Morton, Wash., which has 15 cultivars for sale, including some rare Russian and Byelorussian stock. Additionally, Stark Brothers (http://www.starkbros.com) carries the popular ‘Consort’ variety and two compact cultivars, ‘Ben Lomond’ and ‘Ben Sarek’. The W. Atlee Burpee company (http://www.burpee.com) carries ‘Consort’ and ‘Ben Sarek’.…