Bees & Germander

by Michelle L. Dauberman

The plight of the bee is getting more and more serious if you ask me.  I’ve been doing my best to support them in the vegetable garden and in the landscape by providing the plants, shrubs and trees that they love to visit but here’s a small shrubby plant/herb that I’ve overlooked:  Germander (Teucrium).

Germander is quite hardy and can handle a variety of garden/landscape situations including poor soils and drought like conditions.  It can tolerate part-sun but prefers full-sun.  The lavender flowers that the bees find so appealing form on spikes, July through September.  A bonus of this plant is that there are evergreen varieties so, if you’d rather use it in your landscape as a low laying hedge rather than in the herb or vegetable garden, have at it.  You’ll have something green to look at while everything else is dormant. 

These are tense days for the bees so think about using this non-native (yes, I said not native) small sub-shrub as a compliment to your other native pollinator friendly plants, shrubs and trees and bring on the bees!

If you’d like to take a look at this plant in action visit the PSU Edible Demonstration Garden at the Horticultural Center, in the beautiful Fairmont Park, right here in Philadelphia.  I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Pineapple Sage

By Stephanie Rukowicz

For the past two years I have been in charge of planting and maintaining the herb bed at my community garden. The varieties are typically predetermined by a group vote at the beginning of the season. This year, in addition to the usual suspects, a new garden member suggested pineapple sage (Salvia elegans).

He planted a 3” pot in early spring and the plant grew as quickly as he described. In just one season this sage grew quite large, taking over its corner of the bed and spilling out into the walking path. Unlike common sage that flowers in Spring, this sage variety flowers at the end of the season (photo taken in mid-October).

Pineapple sage grown from 3" pot in Spring, now enormous and flowering end of season (mid-October).

The tubular red flowers are quite decorative and delicious. I can see why some gardeners use them in salads. The community garden member who planted this salvia recommended using its leaves for tea. I brewed a cup using 4-5 leaves in boiled water, steeping about five minutes. I find it quite tasty.  

Herbal tea made from pineapple sage leaves. Brewed and consumed hot.

What a great idea this author had to use it in a container planting. With pretty foliage all summer long, and then beautiful red flowers give the container Fall interest (and Fall food for pollinators) as well.

The extension information available through Penn State also note another use: in ornamental wreaths. The foliage would be fragrant and beautiful.

Uses:

• Culinary
• Cut Flowers
• Containers (foliage throughout summer, flowers in fall)
• Pollinator food in Fall (hummingbird, honey bees, butterflies)
• Ornamental wreaths
• Dry to use for potpourri 
• Teas 

Bonnie Plants answers the question:

“Is pineapple sage used the same way as my other sage?

Pineapple sage and common sage are related. They are both salvias. Here the resemblance ends. They don’t look alike or grow alike, and they certainly do not taste the same. Consequently, their uses are different. While common sage is well known for its contribution to sausage, poultry dishes, and herb blends, pineapple sage is appealing in fruit and sweet dishes. It has a pineapple-like scent. In addition, the autumn flowers give it an ornamental role in the garden.”

News from the Edible Landscape Demonstration Garden

Cardoon in bloom

This past week brought the judging panel from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's City Gardens Contest to the garden. It was a beautiful, sunny morning and the garden looked splendid -- not a errant weed, nor a feasting harlequin beetle in sight! The weeks of attentive care by the Master Gardener volunteers were obvious to the four knowledgeable judges, one of whom was a retired Penn State Extension horticulture specialist. We silently chuckled when even she was unable to identify the cardoon in bloom! Winners will be notified sometime after Labor Day. Stay tuned for the update!



Black Turtle and Great White Northern Beans

The shelling bean harvest has begun -- Black Turtle, Great White Northern, Calypso, Whippoorwill -- all are at their height of production. These beans are excellent choices for freezing shelled in small freezer bags. Adding them to homemade soups in the winter adds extra flavor, texture and nutrition.

The first planting of cucumbers have finished fruiting and have made their way to the compost pile. 'Pickle Bush' is a very prolific producer. Our small number of plants produced enough cucumbers for salads, soups and a dozen or more pints of 'bread and butter' and 'spicey ginger' pickles.

The herb beds are in their glory right now. The eight different cultivars of basil are a sight to behold .Summer or winter savory combined with rosemary,sage, thyme and sweet marjoram are ready for drying and making Herbs de Provence. Please stop by after this Saturday's (August 10, 2013) workshop -- Culinary Herbs: Fragrant, Flavorful and Festive Foods -- at the Horticultural Center, N. Horticultural and Montgomery Drvie, Philadelphia, PA 19131. 9:30 am registration. The workshop begins at 10 am. $10 registration fee. For more information: 215-471-2200, ext. 116 or
e-mail at PhiladelphiaExt@psu.edu

Creating The Demonstration Edible Garden Green Wall

Submitted by Megan Bucknum and Michele Sokoloff

How do you change an unassuming chain link fence into a marvel that supports plant life?  It’s not difficult .  .  . Make a Green Wall, a Vertical Wall, a Hanging Wall.

The Philadelphia Master Gardeners who tend and nurture the education-focussed edible garden at the Horticulture Center in Fairmount Park wanted to demonstrate one type of Green Wall. The plan was to construct this wall to use viable, unused space and be the home to culinary herbs. One of the Master Gardeners, Alyssa Van Alstine, asked her mother, Kathy Lose, if she would sew the material to create this vertical garden. Kathy, a professional seamstress, enthusiastically agreed.

Our green wall, or vertical garden, is constructed out of fleece fabric that was sewn using double layers to insure stability and strength. A plastic mesh was sewn on the inside of the fleece to contain the soil. The size is 6 feet by 4 feet. There are two rows of deep pockets across the fabric with four 14-inch high pockets from side to side. Grommets were placed every few inches along the top and sides to secure the structure to the fence using long plastic ties.

Each pocket is filled with 5 inches of perlite, a mix of worm castings and good potting soil. And then the herbs!

The Vertical Wall serves as a functional way to expand the “arable space” of the garden, while simultaneously hiding the chain link fence.  The gardeners also planted other vegetables below and around the wall making the total area serve more purpose than just a boundary.  Currently parsley, basil, dill, cilantro, thyme, oregano, marjoram, fennel, curry, and scented geranium are planted in the Green Wall. We installed an irrigation drip system which uses gravity to help water each pocket. This reduces the reliance of the gardeners to keep everything alive and well.

For an excellent list of possible herbs and their uses,

check out www.culinaryherbguide.com

History of Green Walls

Although this Green Wall is a new addition to the Philadelphia Demonstration Edible Garden, it is not a new concept.  In fact, the first living roofs and walls originated in ancient times. The famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the first recorded examples of such structures.

               

Now Green Walls (also called  vertical gardens, hanging gardens or living walls) can be found throughout the world in both small and large installations.  To get a glimpse of some impressive large installations, visit  Patrick Blanc’s website, who is one of the most famous vertical wall designers in the world.  For a closer-to-home look, visit Drexel University’s Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building -- on Chestnut and 33rd in West Philly -- which has a beautiful 80 ft. tall wall with over 1,500 plants. Drexel University

You can create your own green wall in your own personal space by sewing, constructing, or purchasing one of the following products:

Woolly Pockets are fabric vertical hangers that can be placed on an outdoor, or indoor, wall and then planted.  

Lastly, Bright Green is a company that sells vertical planting systems that are divided into “cells” that hold different plants.  Visit their website for more information.

For a succulent vertical wall, visit the Succulent Gardens website to see their handmade wooden frames that hold a variety of succulents.  They even sell the succulents online and will ship them.  City Planter in Northern Liberties, Philadelphia has some succulents and is a  place to visit for inspiration.