Park Seed Memories

Beautiful Bay Takes Herb Society Crown

While reading The Gateway Gardener, a fine publication from the St. Louis area, I saw an item from an old friend of ours, the Herb Society of America (HSA). I first got interested in the HSA when I found out that they were celebrating their 75th anniversary the same year that Park Seed Company celebrated our 140th anniversary.

At that time, I learned that the folks at HSA select one herb each year to honor as the Herb of the Year. You may remember that for 2008, the winner was calendula. According to the Gateway item, the Herb Society folks have selected Laurus nobilis, also known as Bay laurel, as the 2009 prizewinner. This lovely plant is the source of Bay leaves, which are used in cooking--especially cuisine from Bay laurel's original home, the Mediterranean.

According to my trusty copy of Park's Success with Herbs:
"Bay leaves formed the orignal Laurel wreaths used to crown poets and scholars. They are still used for decorating winners of the Boston Marathon and honoring athletes and symphony conductors. Sweet Bay is a bit different from other leaf herbs. While most herbs give off all their flavor in a short cooking time, the Bay leaf enriches a soup, stew, or long-cooking dish for a number of  hours. That is why Bay leaves go in at the start of the spaghetti sauce and the Basil or Oregano at the end."

If you are interested in learning more about Laurus nobilis, you will enjoy the vast information provided by Bay: An Herb Society of America Guide, which you can view on their website.

Do you have a great recipe that uses Bay laurel? Or tips on growing it in your zone? Or pictures of your lovely herb garden? I love hearing from you and sharing your thoughts here. Just email your materials to me at ckuhl@parkseed.com.

As If You Needed Another Excuse...

There are a million great reasons to plant a garden and researchers from the University of Bari in Italy have just given us another one: looking at beautiful things actually helps reduce sensations of pain! I ran across a blurb about this in my Arthritis Today magazine. Then, with a little digging, I found a more in-depth article.

Apparently, researchers put electrodes on the heads of some volunteers, who then looked at either beautiful artwork, ugly artwork, or a blank screen. While they were looking, someone would zap their hands with a laser.

As it turns out, when people were looking at something beautiful, their brains registered less pain--a third less than when they were looking at the ugly art or blank screen!

How did the scienctists know? The paper says the electrodes detected "a clear inhibition of the P2 wave amplitude, localised in the anterior cingulate cortex." Ah--of course!

Huh?

Anyway, I would think that looking at beautiful flowers and garden scenes would surely have the same efect. After all, we already know that playing in the dirt releases natural antidepressants. Likewise, looking at flowers increases feelings of happiness and lifts moods.

So...if you were hesitating at all about cracking open your Park Seed and Wayside Gardens catalogs to start getting ready for spring planting, you can stop worrying and start gardening. It's good for what ails ya!

What's your favorite reason for gardening? Fun? Fresh air? Safe food? Cheap entertainment? Quality time with the family? Educational experience for the kids? Email your reasons and garden photos to me at ckuhl@parkseed.com, and I'll share them here.

Creativity Abounds in Harvest Decor Contest

Fall is traditionally the time of year when we celebrate the bounty and beauty of the harvest. And this fall--through the month of November, to be precise--my friends in the Park Seed eCommerce Department challenged their customers to participate in a Harvest Decor contest. They invited gardeners to create a decorative display featuring the fruits of their gardening labors and then send in a photo to compete for a $100 Park Seed gift certificate. The gorgious photo above is just one example of the amazing entries we received.

I tell you, it gets harder and harder to choose winners for these contests!

Still, we did manage to narrow the field to one winning entry. To see all the photos that were submitted, please visit the 2008 Havest Decor Contest photo album at left. And when you get to the very last photo, you'll find out who won. Enjoy!

Even though the contest is over, you can always send me photos of your gardening glories! Just email to ckuhl@parkseed.com. I look forward to harvesting more imaginative images!

More Fun with Felines: Fluffy in the Greenhouse

Nevermind that you can't grow cats with catmint seeds, nor puppies with poppy seeds--we've still been having big fun with pets at Park Seed lately. When we bemoaned our poor luck with getting any employee cats to sit on a Bio Dome, one reader wrote in with the step-by-step instructions we should have followed:

My advice:
(1) Warm the top -- e.g. put a lightbulb inside
(2) Make it clear to the cat that you do not want it to go anywhere near it. Then leave the room for awhile.
Cindy

Thanks, Cindy--clearly, you know and understand how cats think! And all of the cat-lovers here got a big laugh just picturing what our cats would do.

Also, when I alerted Buddy's Mom, Patty, that her kitty was featured in my blog, she wrote back to say that another of her feline friends also has a fondness for gardening. Or Park Seed gardening accessories, anyway! Here's what Patty wrote:

Bless your heart! Thank you! I do a prison ministry, writing to about 70 inmates across the US. I've printed off your newsletter, with Buddy's picture, to send to a few of them.  I have a picture of Fluffy, on the Park heating mats, with the seedlings. (We adore our kitties 4!)

The Bio Domes are on Park Seed Heat mats. Whenever I opened the door, Fluffy scampered in, and stretched out on the back of the heat mat. As the seedlings grew and were transplanted into 2x2 pots, she became very indignant with me, as "her" heat mat space disappeared! She started walking through the seedlings, looking for a place to lie down, so I had to ban her from the greenhouse!
Patty

If you look closely in the pictures, you can see Fluffy peeking through the seedlings (above left) and lurking behind the Bio Domes. Poor Fluffy--ousted from her cosy spot by those pesky plants!! And not a catnip seedling in the bunch, either.

Cindy and Patty, thank you so much for your wit and wisdom. And the photos! If your gerbils are gnoshing your garden greens or your dog is digging up your daisies, take a picture and send it along to me at ckuhl@parkseed.com. After all, pets are part of the gardening family, too!

Proof at Last--Park Seed Bio Dome Supports Cat Naps!

Months ago, someone contacted us at SuccessWithSeed.org, asking whether the Park Seed Bio Dome was sturdy enough to support a 10-pound cat. The writer was eager to set up a seed-starting station, but suspected it would be a temptation to the family pet, who is partial to perching on any and everything in sight. Needless to say, we took this as a challenge!

First, we quickly proved that the Bio Dome easily supports ten pounds--a pair of my workout weights solved that. But the more interesting question remained: how would an actual cat interact with our beloved Bio Dome?

  I immediately rushed home with a brand new Bio Dome and tried to entice my cats, Megan and Sean, to sit on it.

  As you can see here, neither the cats nor our dog, Brogan, did anything more that take a quick sniff and walk away. I suspect they might have been more interested if I'd had something actually growing, like catnip. Or Milk-Bones.

Next, fellow eCommerce Director, shutterbug, and pet-lover Christa tried to get her cat, Scamp to participate. But as documented elsewhere, she had the same luck I did. As in NONE. In fact, not one of our employees succeeded in luring their felines into a photo-friendly pose vis-a-vis the darn Dome. Finally, we invited our newsletter readers to join in the fun.

And the result?

That spectacular, unposed shot of Buddy the Cat (top), lounging on top of not one but TWO Bio Domes! We are most grateful to Patty Backman for sharing this fabulous image! Here's what Patty told us about her photogenic feline, Buddy:

"He was about 8-9 months old, then. He and his 2 brothers just showed up, last October. When I went in to start cleaning up and getting ready to plant, Buddy just made himself at home. There were 2 Bio Domes, side by side. He is stretched out across the top of them."

Thank you SO much, Patty! At last, we can all rest easy, knowing that Park Seed provides a patented pet perch that doubles as a superior seed-starting system.

Do you have any photos of your pets swatting at your seedlings, galloping throught your garden, or otherwise being adorable in proximity to your plants? Send them to me at ckuhl@parkseed.com. We love to share pictures and stories of what's growing in YOUR garden!

Old Friends, New Friends on the Web

I'm really on the run these days with some new special projects. So since I don't have the luxury of writing a long story for you today, I'd like to link you to some other interesting items on the Web that I think you will enjoy!

First is a link to a photography site where our new friend Brian Scott has posted some very nice photographs he took around our part of the state. And if you look closely, you'll even find a collection he took right here, in the Park Seed Trial Gardens!

Next, a Google Alert alerted me to a fascinating blog that focuses on vintage items. This blogger obtained a 1936 Wayside Gardens catalog in one of her expeditions, and she shared some images from that book, along with some thoughtful and encouraging words. Please enjoy visiting "My Vintage Soul."

And my last item today isn't actually a link, but rather follow-up on a post from the beginning of last year. I found and wrote about a heart-warming press release and photos describing how Park Seed partnered with a young man named Patrick Elms to share garden seeds with the citizens of war-torn Sarajevo, Croatia. I was thrilled to receive an email from a gentleman who knows Patrick, and who may be able to get an update from him. I'm hoping perhaps he'll share tales of his 1994 rescue mission, or perhaps talk about his latest humanitarian efforts. As an avid Rotarian, I'm always so happy to share stories about people who are working to make this old world a happier, more beautiful place!

Send your stories and photos to me at ckuhl@parkseed.com. I'm always eager to hear from you!

Following Up with a New Friend

One reason that it's fun to be part of the "blogosphere" is that you get to make new friends via the Web. I've had a response from a new friend that I blogged about in September, and thought you'd enjoy her note, too!

On September 9, we had a charming letter from Laura Peterson commending the eCommerce folks on their "Grandmother's Heirloom Treasures" newsletter. In her letter, Laura says, "Some of those in the newsletter, like the double hibiscus, were not developed in grandmother's day." As it turns out, newsletter copywriter and gardening whiz Denise found out that the double hibiscus actually originated in 1846. I emailed that info to Laura, and received this lovely note back, along with her permission to share it here:

"Dear Claire,
Of course you have my permission to use my email note in your blog. As an older lady, I have trouble sometimes understanding blogs and all that electronic stuff, so I just write to you. But of course, feel free to use it,and thank you--I am flattered.

I did not know the double hibiscus was so old. In Northern Ohio where I grew up, no one I knew had ever even heard of hibiscus because then they were not cold hardy. We did have hollyhocks and Rose of Sharon, which are similar in shape. Exotic Southern flowers were the exclusive province of the greenhouse, which most could not afford.

When we moved south, I was thrilled to learn that at last I might grow these exotic lovelies! Alas,my beloved lilacs had to stay behind. Here we have crepe myrtles, though, which are so fancy and lacy--a good substitute.

I like to study your seed catalogues. In those pages I first saw hibiscus, the famous Disco Belle. I saw a living one once in South Carolina, and it was amazing for size, color, and beauty. I learned the names of many new plants and of the roses.

This does not help you folks any, because in my situation, I usually don't buy much. But I sure do enjoy those catalogues! My son gets them now, and he buys plants, then passes the catalogues on to me so they are not wasted. He has a beautiful home with gardenias, camillias, honeysuckle, and, of course, roses of many shapes and colors, so he is keeping the tradition alive.
Thank you,
Laura Peterson"

Laura, you may not "get" the blogsphere, but you certainly get the glories of gardening! Thanks again for your emails. I surely hope to hear from you again. And don't forget to send pictures! Laura, you and anyone else with a great gardening story or memory to share can always send them to me at ckuhl@parkseed.com. It's a joy to hear from you!

Flowers, Fireworks, and The Fourth

Hooray for holidays and long weekends! Because holidays are a good time to kick back and have some fun, I'm going to share with you a little game that we play at Park Seed/Wayside Gardens. Plant developers often get very creative in naming their new cultivars, and we get a kick out of making up stories using those clever names. So to celebrate the Fourth of July, here are some plants with names appropriate to the event.

First, let's take a moment to honor important people from America's past. Benjamin Franklin, inventor, wit, author, and diplomat, is represented by Franklinia alatamaha. The story goes that in 1777, a Georgia gardener named this beauty after his life-long friend, Benjamin.

The roster of remarkable presidents features Abraham Lincoln quite prominantely, as does the flower world. I do suspect, however, that our esteemed national hero would prefer to be associated with the Mister Lincoln Rose than with the Lincoln Leek!

Of course, the Fourth would simply not be THE Fourth without pyrotechnics! Happily, you don't have to put your fingers in your ears to enjoy these:

Hosta Fireworks (left)

Firecracker Flower (right)

Dahlia Fireworks (below left)

Brazilian Fireworks Maracas (right)

To conclude festive celebrations of the birth of our nation, most Fourth of July programs fire up an orchestra and a few cannons to perform the 1812 Overture by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky. Odd, given that the piece celebrates the victory of the Russians over Napoleon's invasion and has nothing to do with the USA whatsoever. (Still, it's very popular! Back when I made my living as a musician, I remember playing the 1812 at three different concerts with three different groups on that single day!)

Fortunately, most bands and orchestras follow the 1812 with a much more suitable American signature tune: The Stars and Stripes Forever! And so in similar fashion, I'll conclude this little Independence Day post with the lovely Stars and Stripes Amaryllis.

Have a wonderful and safe holiday!!

Eating "Green" Doesn't Have to Cost Lots of Green$$

With my dear husband away on his annual May fishing trip, I'm finally getting caught up on reading some of my magazines. Wednesday it was Arthritis Today. Last night, it was Newsweek.

An article in Newsweek by Keith Naughton caught my eye last night. The premise of the piece is that while people love eating organically grown foods, the rising costs of those items may be putting them out of reach for consumers. Also, some farmers are rethinking the profitability of pursuing organic production methods.

Of course, from my Park Seed perspective, I immediately thought about how increasely cost-effective it is to simply grow your own organic vegetables, so you know exactly how your food was grown and where it's coming from. And the cost of seed is amazingly low, compared to the value of the produce you produce from it. Our own Queen of Seed, Stephanie Turner, was recently quoted in an article in one of the larger newspapers, talking about the lively interest we're seeing in seed buying these days.

Another compelling reason to grow your own veggies is the whole locavore movement that has sprung up. As gas prices climb, anything you can do to reduce the distance that food has to travel to reach your plate creates savings. And while you are saving money, you are also contributing to saving our planet. Always a plus! Naturally, there's a bit of sweat equity involved, but gardeners will tell you that that's the best part!

Finally, when you grow your own vegetables, you may just find that you get larger, better quality produce that you can find anywhere else. The pictures here are photos that Park Seed customers have sent us through the years. From top left, we have a giant bell pepper grown my Tom Conners, a supersized melon grown in Ohio, and two huge tomatoes grown by Richard Wedell.

If you have photos of ginormous fruits and vegetables that you've grown this year--or any time--email them to me at ckuhl@parkseed.com so we can all admire your gardening prowess. And if you have tips for saving money while living green, we'd love to collect those, as well. It's always a joy to hear from you!

Hip-Hip-Hooray--Gardening for EVERY Body

One year ago today, my arthritic right hip was replaced with a spiffy new titanium model. It's made a wonderful difference in my life, and I recommend it highly to others dealing with hip joint pain. In a timely coincidence, Arthritis Today magazine's May/June issue contains a helpful article on how folks with arthritis can continue to enjoy gardening. The article inspired me to offer some tips here on gardening for people with mobility issues and other physical challenges. And to ask you to send your best "enabled" gardening suggestions to me, so that I can share them in a future post.

One classic strategy to make gardening easier on the back, knees, and legs is to bring the garden up to you, so that you don't have to kneel, crouch, or squat down to it. Using raised beds and tall planters are popular strategies. In fact, container gardening in general provides a lot of flexibility for your planting...which is good when you're not so flexible yourself anymore! Put pots and containers on shelves, outdoor walls, or wherever you can easily reach them. You can even grow vegetables on your patio this way.

Another fun idea is to use hanging bags or "flower tubes" to grow your plants at an altitude where you can comfortably tend them and enjoy them. I know of one scientist who hangs growing bags full of strawberry plants all around her greenhouse to expand the number of  plants she can use for her research.

Some folks also struggle with upper body challenges when it comes to gardening. It makes a big difference to use ergonomically correct tools that are shaped to minimize joint stress. Tying up plants may be difficult if arthritic or swollen joints limit your dexterity. Velcro or foam ties can make that task much easier. Likewise, if handling small seeds is a problem, seed mats and tapes eliminate that challenge. Gloves are important, too, to protect sensitive hands.

Of course, you don't have to be dealing with specific health or aging issues to appreciate the benefits of taking good care of your body when you garden. My buddy Thomas recently talked about the importance of stretching before beginning a gardening "workout" in his blog, the Park Seed Journal. 

The important thing to remember is this--if you love gardening, find ways to keep doing it, because it's good for you and for our home planet, too!

Got any good tips for making gardening easier, especially for those of us with physical limitations? Are you a seasoned senior gardener, with pictures of your handiwork? Please send them to me at ckuhl@parkseed.com so that we can share them here.