Boston Ivy puts on a show

Boston Ivy on a brick apartment building in south Minneapolis. Stunning!

The classic look of ivy covered walls really comes to life in the fall, when adorned with Boston Ivy.

Boston Ivy is a long-lived, rather fast growing perennial vine, and a great choice if you want the ivy-walled look. It’s perfect on this brick apartment building a happened upon in south Minneapolis. I wouldn’t recommend it if you have a wooden structure, as the tendrils will eventually damage the wood and make paint jobs even more of a pain in the neck.

I do have a patch growing on my six-foot privacy fence in my backyard. It softens the appearance of the fence and is fairly easy to control with a rip and a tear here and there.

Alas, all these green tomatoes in the garden

Green tomatoes in a box

Weather rumor has it (isn’t that about all a weather forecast really is?) that tomorrow night will host a killing frost. The scramble began today to save what is worth saving in the garden.

I moved in the rubber tree that had been summering on the patio corner (and about doubled in size) and moved in the Meyer Lemon Tree that was the thriller in a summer container. I also potted up the Swedish Ivy that I plan on bringing back out next summer.

And all the green tomatoes. Experts have told us that a tomato must have at least a hint of a rosy blush if it is to ripen indoors, or at least a slightly-soft bottom. From my experience all but the rock hard little ones will eventually come around.

My favorite method is to line a cardboard box with a grocery bag (nice use for the odd-sized ones) and add a layer of the tomatoes. You can add a gingerly-placed second layer of the smaller ones.

Place the box in a dark, slightly moist area (my basement is perfect) and let them be, checking daily for rotting or moldy fruits. The ethylene gas released by the little red devils will help the mass ripening, but you can also add ripening bananas to the mix to promote the process.

A taste of summer for at least another few weeks.

Dusty Miller saved my gardening butt this summer

Dusty Miller fills a pot.

An accent plant that has always bored me a little worked its way into my heart this past summer and I now declare “I love Dusty Miller.”

Botanically speaking, its Senecio Cineraria. Native to southern Europe (but with less attitude), it is a perennial to zone 9, but an annual up in these parts. When it is grown as a perennial it flowers in a lovely, little yellow way its second year. But I will have to take the southern gardening books word on that one.

Dusty Miller is a nice brightening, focal point in the shade garden.

I think it works so well in the landscape pallet because it has the brightening, highlighting aspects of a white plant, but toned down enough to not over-pop. I used it in a pot in my sunny perennial border when celosia I had planted petered out. I loved how it filled in and added a nice texture.

Over in the shade, pond area, it acts as a lovely focal point; an unexpected spray of featheriness. And it is great in my planters that flank my French doors (one side gets sun, the other-not so much). It gets just a little leggy when it doesn’t get a lot of sun. But just a bit.

Dusty Miller works well in a shage container.

Dusty Miller works great in arrangements and guess what, it is reported to be deer-proof. You can root cuttings of it and it dries nicely, so try bringing in cuttings of it for a fall arrangement. When dried, it actually looks exactly as it does when it is alive and growing.

Dusty Miller, you have elevated above the other hoop house spikes and vinca vines. You are a star.

Heart Stump

This stump gives a bit of hope

My dad once said “There is nothing sadder than a sick or dying tree.” Walking around the neighborhoods of Minneapolis, you can get pretty sad these days. The “Ulmus Americanus” are being felled pell mell. We learned our lesson, hopefully. Diversity of tree varieties is a good thing.

I was out walking and happened upon this tree stump. It caught my attention and offered a bit of hope, as if the tree was saying “I’m okay. My spirit will go on.”

Dutch elm disease is a deadly fungus carried by the Elm Bark Beetle. The wood chips from a fallen Elm cannot pass on the fungus, so the chips are one way to carry the trees legacy on.

Kiss my aster

Purple perennial asters pop in the fall border

I could kiss my perennial aster I love it so much.

I am not sure of the particular variety , but I believe it is ‘Purple Dome.’ It is hardy to zone 4 and was purchased at Home Depot when it was in bloom. All the tag gave me was “Hardy Aster.” I used to poo-poo all the blooming perennials that are pushed at you in the garden centers, but they do help you plot your progressive blooming if you pay attention.

Asters are great additions to the perennial border. They are easy to overlook because you need to wait to September for the payoff, but its a big one. A couple shots of their royal purple help to pick up the dappled bits of purple throughout the garden and bring the whole plot to life.

They also bring out the bluish tones in the fieldstone path and complement the blushing red rouge of the Sedum ‘Autumn Joy.”

Run out while the getting is good and plant yourself some asters. You could also plant them in a pot and and wait to get them in the ground by October 1.

Anyone can have a pond in their backyard

A diminutive pond makes a nice splash by the patio

If my diminutive back 40 can support an aquatic ecosystem, anyone’s can.

My patio pond area started with a store-bought, maybe 25 gallon pre-formed container that I dug (and dug!) a hole in the ground for. Then I added water and stirred! The fountain is an old cistern pump from the farm I grew up on. It is rigged simply with a pump and piping from Home Depot. This really is a do-it-yourself project for anyone and any space. The field stones came in handy in hiding the edge of the container. And the plantings soften the stones.

Part of the success of my pond is the dappled shade it resides under. An Emperor I Japanese Maple (hardy to Zone 4) canopies the space. The shade helps to keep algae at bay (no pun intended) big time. I think the shade also pops the color that occurs in the area.

As far as the plantings, can you ever go wrong with a tuft of impatiens. The coleus ‘Sedona’ is a delicious focal point and backdrop and the Creeping Jenny naturalizes the area. Hosta abound and a cup of duckweed purchased in the spring spreads prolifically throughout the season and I love the lime green and the little circle created by the spitting stream of water. The duckweed also keeps the water shaded and clear.

Anyone can have a pond. Shade is the key to keeping it clear.

This is our dog Uli… she eats cucumbers in the garden

Our dog Uli who loves cucumbers

And we’ve given up trying to stop her. I figure, there are worse things a dog could eat. And they don’t seem to upset her tummy. As a matter of fact she looks great and she has so much energy.

I grow the cucumbers up a trellis in my small space vegetable garden, which works great, however this season, I couldn’t get some of the vines to climb. So, I have some crawling on the ground and some going up the trellis and over the fence. The climbing ones are safe.

Cucumber on the vine

Last night I made my favorite marinated cucumbers. After peeling about half of the skins off to give a little visual interest, I sliced them on my mandolin (almost paper thin) and salted them to draw the water out. I added about half of a sliced onion.

Half an hour later, I drained them. I whisked together a dressing of apple cider vinegar, Splenda, a little olive oil, and pepper. They are marinating as I write this.

I can’t get enough of them this time of year.

Basil Hay Day

Basil in the vegetable garden

Whenever I see a bouquet of basil at the grocery store for $5, I say a little thank-you prayer for my stand of it out back in my veggie garden.

I will always overplant basil. Undoubtedly, some will bite it on that first killing frost, but even then, it is rather like freeze-drying a batch. I just pull the crunchy bits off the stalks and lightly crumble into jars to keep in the pantry.

This year we have the lettuce leaf and Genovese (named after the famous mafia family, I am thinking?) fighting to send up their little flower heads. We are thinking that next year we will go with just the lettuce leaf. It is easier to deal with…maybe a little less spicy tasting.

But for now…it is pesto, pesto, and more pesto. When you have a small field of basil, you start making pesto at every meal. I just leave the food processor on the countertop during this season and rinse off the bowl and parts after each use.

I’ve adapted my own recipe, which might actually be more of a dip to some, but a person can add more olive oil to make it into a sauce. I also use sunflower seeds in place of pricey pine nuts. Here is my recipe (roughly):

1/3 cup sunflower seeds
about 5 big cloves of garlic
1 medium green tomato
Process in food processor on high speed ’til nicely chopped

Throw in a generous handful of basil and process ’til it is incorporated. Sprinkle in about 1/3 grated parmesan and add oil until it all comes together (doesn’t take much oil). Salt and pepper.

This is a lighter, lower calorie and lower fat pesto. As I mentioned, add more oil if you wish.

Sometimes we make pesto-brie bites. Slice off a bit of baguette, put a small piece of brie on and top with a dot of pesto. Put under broiler for about a minutes. Divine.

I love this season!

Late Summer Garden Memories of the Minnesota State Fair

Late Summer Garden with Garden Goat

Do you have an iconic garden image or landscape design that sticks in your head, maybe even inspiring a plan that you have incorporated into your own home?

I hold memories of a late-summer garden that was installed by the Minnesota State Horticultural Society at the Minnesota State Fair, sometime in the very late 1990s. Designed by Lynn Steiner, Northern Gardener contributing writer, former Northern Gardener editor, and author of the Landscaping with Native Plants of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan series, it was yummy.

Backed with ‘Karl Foerster” grass, ‘Goldsturm’ Rudbeckia and Russian Sage, it was peppered with purple coneflower, liatris, and ‘Nearly Wild’ shrub rose, and dotted with bergenia, salvia, and sedum ‘Autum Joy.’

Damn…it was late summer in Minnesota. It was inspiring to Minnesota gardeners as they stopped and scribbled down the details. This combination of northern gardening favorites is often-used today, but this was one of the first times I saw it realized.

When planning a back bed in my own yard, I drew inspiration from this bed. I added ‘David’ white phlox and backed the whole affair with an Annabelle Hydrangea. A ‘Pavement Purple’ shrub rose replaces the “Nearly Wild.” The bees love it as they plants bake in the sun.

Do you have a classic design that sticks in your mind?

To catch a butterfly photo

A yellow monarch on a "Firecracker" Zinnia

Have you ever chased a butterfly around the garden in attempts to capture just that perfect garden photo?

I danced with this little fellow around the zinnia patch for about ten minutes and he was having a lot of fun with me. I was tickled that he flirted as long as he did.

Capturing that perfect garden shot, especially when it involves a flitting creature, can be a crap shoot. There is a chance you won’t get the shot. But about 30 attempts could land just the right one.

The best bet is to keep the camera close at hand and snap a series whenever you get a visit in the garden.