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Curated News

How to Harvest and Dry Flowers & Herbs From Your Garden | The Nerdy Farm Wife

This is an excellent post by Jan Berry. Here's an excerpt:

"Some flowers, such as dandelion, chamomile, calendula and lavender can be dried whole. The petals from larger flowers, such as roses and hollyhocks, should be separated from the flower head before drying. 

I dry flower clusters, like elder flowers and lilacs, upside down on a towel as shown above, to help preserve some of the shape. Small branches of leaves that easily lay flat when placed on a surface, such as elderleaf, can stay together while drying. Leaves that cluster together, like lemon balm and mint, often do best if you detach each leaf before drying."

 

It's National Rainier Cherry Day.

Rainier cherries were bred at Washington State University by crossing Vans and Bings.

They are one of the most delicate and challenging cherries to grow because of one big drawback: their thin red-yellow skin. This makes them super sensitive to the elements, and they bruise easily.

Even if a grower can address these challenges, they still must contend with the birds.

Birds LOVE Rainiers and can eat as much as 1/3 of the cherry crop before the harvest arrives. Watch what happens if you add a few Rainier Cherries to your bird feeder.

 

Deadhead to Encourage More Blooms

What happens if you don't deadhead?

You might miss out on valuable time that your plant could use to create that second flush of blooms.

Plants to deadhead include coreopsis, blue and white clips, geraniums, and dianthus.

Another reason is to encourage more blooms the following year.

Dead flower heads become seed pods, and that takes energy from the plant. So be sure to deadhead peonies, roses, iris, and lilies.

As a general rule, when any plant looks leggy, it will benefit from deadheading or plain ol' pruning.

Botanical History On This Day

1857 David Prain, the botanist who rose from modest beginnings to direct both the Royal Botanic Gardens of Calcutta and Kew, navigating labor disputes with fairness and shaping Kew’s modern legacy.

1938 Charles Joseph Sauriol, the beloved Canadian naturalist, wrote of his pansies—a “garden of enchantment”—grown from seed in glorious abundance.

1941 Charles Sumner Lambie, the civil engineer–turned–orchid breeder, was profiled for his meticulous orchid records, careful greenhouse tending, and his namesake family orchid.

1950 Hippeastrum traubii, a rare dwarf amaryllis collected in Peru, survived a frosty journey and was nursed back to life by Dr. Hamilton Traub, who was honored in its name.

Unearthed Words

Summer hymns to the linden tree—from Bryant’s woodland “concert” to Clampitt’s honey-scented “hanging, intricately tactile, blond bell-pulls of bloom.”
Poems on the Linden

Grow That Garden Library™

Read The Daily Gardener review of Kathryn at Home by Kathryn M. Ireland

Buy the book on Amazon: Kathryn at Home

Today’s Botanic Spark

1936 Clarence Henry Dennesen Turns 103, the Danish botanist and adventurer whose remarkable life spanned wars, world travel, shipwrecks, royal pupils, and—ultimately—111 extraordinary years.

Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener

And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.