Posts

Posted on

Plants for a Grave

Grave Daffodils by evinrisca

TheGardenLady received this question from Lynn.

An older lady at my church needs appropriate plants to use at her husband’s grave. Can she call you? She does not use computers.

Cemeteries have different requirements on what is allowed to be planted on graves. More and more cemeteries do not allow permanent plantings because they do not have the manpower to care for plants. So first, your friend should discuss with the people at her cemetery to see what is allowed. If they allow plantings, perhaps they would give your friend some suggestions of what they want planted.  See here.

If, after discussing with the people at the cemetery, they give you permission to plant something but don’t recommend anything, TheGardenLady would recommend plants that are easy to raise and easy to maintain. After all, if your friend is elderly, she might not have the energy to care for plants after they are planted.

She might consider planting some bulbs like daffodils that will naturalize. TheGardenLady would not recommend tulips because tulips do not always return year after year so that many gardeners treat tulips like annuals. Daffodils will return for a long time.

Hostas by Dr. Farnsworth

TheGardenLady would recommend planting Hostas. They come in such variety and colors of green and leaf patterns and they would make the graveside look like a lovely meditation area. And though Hostas are usually not raised because of their flowers, they do have flowers. Hosta Plantaginea has some of the largest flowers with fragrance.  See here. TheGardenLady would recommend dwarf or shorter Hostas so that the plants don’t become overgrown.

Your friend might overplant the daffodil bulbs with the Hosta plants so that there is a long period with flowers and then the Hostas hide the dead leaves of the daffodils. Plant the daffodil bulbs much deeper than you plant the Hostas.

Another easy to raise plant that might look pretty in a cemetery would be the Hemerocallis or daylilly. These bloom all summer long and one has such a wide range of choices. Choose dwarf or short daylilies.  See here.  Again,daylillies can be planted over the area where the bulbs are.

One doesn’t want to hide the gravestone so TheGardenLady would not plant too many plants on the grave or plants that grow too tall. Therefore, the short or dwarf varieties are best.

Please let your elderly friend know what TheGardenLady recommends. Sorry, but I do not take telephone calls.

Posted on

Helping an Avocado Tree Grow Branches

Avocado Tree Flowering by TaranRampersad

TheGardenLady received this question from Athena.

I live in Greece and I’ve grown an avocado tree from a seed. It is growing in a pot, it has thorns (I didn’t know they did) and it is growing tall as a signal stem. I read somewhere that if it grows too tall to fast, it will bend and die. What should I do to help it become a tree with branches?

The important thing is to stake the tree with a long enough stake so that it doesn’t bend. Then you may want to prune the avocado tree. Depending on whether you want the tree to be an indoor or outdoor tree will determine your pruning. A few good sites to see photos of staked trees and the pruning of avocado trees are here and here and here.

For pruning avocado trees to be kept indoors, check out this and this.

Posted on

Dead Heading Gardenias

Gardenia: dead or alive by wiccked

TheGardenLady received this question from Annette.

My gardenia bushes were so full of blooms this year – they were glorious. The blooms only lasted a few days, about half of them yellowed and started to fall off.  I deadheaded them as they have some more buds. Did I do the right thing?

You absolutely did the right thing in dead heading the dead gardenia flowers.  See here.

Posted on

The Medicinal Power of Lemon Grass

Drops – Cymbopogon Citratus Staupf by J.Gil

A long time ago, TheGardenLady received an email asking about plants that help medically. Today TheGardenLady read an article that said that after a five year study Australian scientists have scientifically proven the lemon grass plant Cymbopogon ambiguus may be as good as aspirin when it comes to treating headaches. They knew that lemon grass has been used by indigenous Australians as traditional medicine for the treatment of headaches and migraines. It may be as good as aspirin in the treatment of headaches.  See here.

Cymbopogon citratus, Gramineae by EthnoFlora

There are 56 species of Lemon grass. Cymbopogon citratus, not C ambiguus, is the lemon grass that is usually grown in herb gardens. Whether C. citratus helps headaches and migraines, TheGardenLady doesn’t know. But it also seems to have good medicinal properties. Many websites claim that Ben Gurion research on Cymbopogon citratus found that it causes cancer cells to “commit suicide. ” See here.  Since TheGardenLady can not find this original research online, but only sites that are selling the product as an alternative medicine, she does not know the validity of this statement. But there is lots of information that the lemon grass Cymbopogon citratus does have medicinal use for digestive problems in children and minor feverish illnesses and can be used externally for ringworm, lice, athlete’s foot, arthritis and scabies. So one might want to grow it in your herb garden and use it in your cooking or creating your on salve to use externally.

C. citratus likes well-drained soil in sun with moderate humidity. You can sow seeds in the spring or buy plants or if a friend has it, divide the plant and plant it in the spring.  This  site has some interesting recipes using lemon grass.

A vegan recipe for it can be found here.

Posted on

Mini Iris Problem

Mini Iris by jamesrjohnson

TheGardenLady received this question from Debbie.

My favorite “mini” purple irises have very little blooms this year? Do I need to expose the roots? More sun perhaps?

From the sounds of your letter, your favorite “mini” purple irises have bloomed for you in the past. You don’t mention if the plant seems healthy or not. I hope you checked to see if there is a problem with the plants’ health. If the plants look healthy, then we will make other suggestions.

If the irises bloomed before in the same location they are in now, then the roots were planted at the proper depth. ( You didn’t say if you had moved them to a new location. If you had and they are not blooming, you might have replanted them too deep.)

How many years have you had them in the same spot? Has the location gotten darker because of a tree that might be shading the irises? I find that my irises bloom much more profusely in the sun than in an area where there is shade.

Did you cut the iris leaves after they bloomed last year? You must NEVER cut off any leaves. You must ALWAYS leave the leaves after blooming to enable  the plant to build up the energy it needs to bloom the following year. But you should have deadheaded the flowers – cut off the stem where the flowers died so that they don’t set seeds. This is a minor type of pruning and encourages more flowering the next season.

Continue reading “Mini Iris Problem”

Posted on

Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air (Video Clip)

Hummingbirds are amazing little creatures, so fast and ephemeral.  Yet they are also so difficult to see for very long with the naked eye.  This YouTube video is a clip of a PBS Nature program called Magic in the Air, which gives us more than a fleeting glimpse of these captivating animals.  See the full video here.

Ann Johnson Prum is the cinematographer and as you learn in the video she uses hi-speed computer-controlled cameras to capture these tough-to-capture energetic hummingbirds.  It’s beautiful to watch.  Enjoy.

Posted on

Wine and Roses Weigela

Wine & Roses Weigela by Cheezylu

TheGardenLady received a question from someone named Nicky who lives near TheGardenLady and who has seen TheGardenLady’s garden.

You have a beautiful specimen in your garden that is in bloom with lovely pink blossoms and dark leaves (reddish). It has the general size of a flowering almond, but seems to be a different specimen. May I ask what this is.

The plant that Nicky was asking about is the Weigela called Wine and Roses.

The Weigela is a pretty shrub that makes an excellent hedge or it can be a specimen plant, as TheGardenLady has. Besides the pretty flowers that hummingbirds and butterflies are supposed to like, Wine and Roses is especially interesting because the of the purple color of the leaves. The plant was named after the German scientist Christian Ehrenfried Weigel and doesn’t seem to have a common name.  See here.

The Weigela is an easy shrub to raise. It will tolerate some shade, though Wine and Roses prefers sun to get the darkest purple leaf color. It is a low maintenance shrub that seems to have few pest or disease problems and is deer resistant. The deer had nibbled on my Wiegela when it was a baby, but doesn’t seem to be bothered by anything now that it is larger. Still to be on the safe side, I give all my plants a spray of Liquid Fence.  See here.

The Wiegela is easy to propagate by stem cuttings, so if you know anyone who has the plant, ask for a branch or two to start one for yourself.  See here.

Wine and Roses Weigela by Rosie’s Whimsy

Posted on

Roses in TheGardenLady’s Garden

Welcome to TheGardenLady’s garden. I will be posting some photos of plants in my garden. I had hoped to send you photos as each plant flowered. But the season is passing quickly and so many of the flowers, like my Jacob’s Ladder-Polemonium and bleeding hearts-dicentra have already finished blooming in my yard. So I am posting photos of some of my roses.

This year TheGardenLady’s roses are blooming their heads off. They are so lush with flowers that the branches can barely support them.


There are two Knock Out Rose Rosa ‘Radrazz” and the Pink Knock Out Rose, Rosa ‘Radcon’.  I have had these roses for a few years. The last two years I have pruned these two rose bushes in early spring. I mulch the bed they are in with aged horse manure. I see that the roses get water if there is a heat wave or drought. When I water I let the hose run near the roots and soak the roots. I do not spray water over the leaves.

Continue reading “Roses in TheGardenLady’s Garden”

Posted on

Downloads of Nature Walks

What can you do when you can’t get out into your garden?

Our friends at How to Cope with Pain wrote this week about a website Peaceful Walks, which offers downloads of nature “walks” for sale.  As How to Cope with Pain says, these won’t replace getting out into your garden or the outdoors, but they are beautiful photography and relaxing to watch.  Here is a review.