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Articles by Francis Rosenfeld

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319 articles by Francis Rosenfeld · showing 50

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By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Spring Cleaning

It doesn't really look like spring in the garden until the spring cleaning is done. I rushed through it for a few hours between rains, so I didn't have a chance to pay close attention to the perennials that were already out. The sprucing up attracted a few visitors from the wilde ess - a robin who kept me company for the duration of the cleaning and a couple of bunny rabbits who frolicked through the grass, encouraged by the warm temperatures.r

Primary topic: Gardening

401 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Green Tomatoes

Every year the generous tomato plants bless us with an overabundance of fruit that doesn't have the chance to ripen before the first frost. Tomatoes take their sweet time to figure out how to bear more and more fruit and their best and most abundant yield goes so far into the fall they don't have time to finish it. For any of the tomatoes that started ripening even slightly, just keeping them on a countertop in your kitchen for a few days will turn them into salad fare. They may not be as tasty as the ones that ripen on a vine, but will still be juicy and delicious.

Primary topic: Gardening

628 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Fairy Circles

What an exciting find! I’ve heard about this phenomenon, but it is the first time I got to see it in person. It’s called a fairy circle, or ring, and there is a very simple scientific explanation for why it occurs. The spores of a mushroom extend radially around it and even though the center eventually dies, the offspring propagates, forming a circle, or an arch. That is not to say that the sight of a fairy ring is for the faint of heart, especially since, like most fungi, they have the tendency to pop out of the ground over night after the rain, fully grown and with no warning.

Primary topic: Gardening

664 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Sweet Cherry Pie

I have become very fond of vintage cottage garden flowers in the last few years, a sentiment which stemmed from the realization that my idea of a cottage garden is significantly different from my grandmother’s. Sure they share some staple plants, without which neither a modern nor a vintage cottage garden would be complete - roses, daisies, delphiniums, hollyhocks, but the list of similarities only goes so far. Eager to experience the gardens of old I did some research and found some gems, which are lovely and fit in the perennial border like they’ve always been there:

Primary topic: Gardening

532 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Bells of Ireland

Have you ever had this sinking feeling, when you want to try a plant you’ve never grown before and you look at the beautiful photos on the seed packet, that there is absolutely no way this botanical wonder will ever grow in your garden? I’m not one to dismiss instinct, it is usually based on a lot of fast logical reasoning and processing of already stored information that goes on in the back of your brain while you’re minding your daily routine, but that doesn’t mean it’s always right. Fortunately for me, it wasn’t this time, because they did sprout, and root, and grow big and strong.

Primary topic: Gardening

590 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Wild Roses

The wild roses, the species and the rugosas, are what comes to mind when you think rose hips. Their fruits are large, in bright hues of red and bright orange, and their thorny shrubs provide them in abundance. The best known species variety is the dog rose, an ancestor of the old garden roses, still used today as understock for grafting modern varieties because of its vigor and disease resistance. Another, more poetic variety is the Eglantine, with pink flowers and apple scented foliage.

Primary topic: Gardening

484 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Valerian

There is a whole list of plants I feel like I know well because I encountered them in literary works, but most of which I haven't actually seen until recently: hyssop, heliotrope, verbena, wallflower, camellia, primrose, jasmine, heather, wolfsbane. The list is actually much longer, but I'll stop here. After years of gardening curiosity got the better of me and I started searching for these plants so that I could plant them in my back yard if the climate allows. That's how valerian ended up gracing the herb border.

Primary topic: Gardening

671 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Cold Front

The winter arrived, somewhat tentative but for good. Yesterday it snowed with the large and fluffy kind of flakes which form when the air is still warm. At least the garden is ready: the flower beds are mostly cleared of leaves, the bulbs are in the ground, the trellisses and the pots are cleaned and stored. Believe it or not, if the spirit moves you to spend time in the garden despite the cold, you might still find some stuff to do. Winterize Empty and store water hoses, mulch the perennials to give them some extra warmth during winter.

Primary topic: Gardening

480 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Purple sophistication

If you haven't grown eggplant before you probably don't know that the flowers boast the same unusual color as their glossy fruit. Eggplant flowers are the most beautiful of all bushy vegetables, deep lavender with a bright yellow middle.

Primary topic: Gardening

803 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Growing tuberoses

Aah, the queen of fragrance, Polianthes tuberosa, a joy to gardeners and perfumers alike, probably the most fragrant flower ever. Its heady perfume is sultry and intense, a single flower stem can saturate a room with fragrance. Tuberosa is a hot climate bulb, and much like show chrysanthemums and long stem roses it is easier to get it as a cut flower than to enjoy it in your garden. Growing these in a pot on the balcony is an extra special indulgence for a northern gardener.

Primary topic: Gardening

695 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Old Bourbon Roses

The quintessence of romantic imagery, the Bourbon rose! There is an unspoken consensus among rosarians that roses are the crowning glory of botanical creation. No other plant was capable of achieving this status and no one ever will, even though many classic perennials, such as peonies, clematis and chrysanthemums have their fair share of fans.

Primary topic: Gardening

621 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

More About Lemon Verbena

I know, when you think cooking herb, lemon verbena is not the first plant that comes to mind. A lot of people, especially here, up north, where it is not winter hardy, may not be familiar with this wonderful plant, so I'll do the honors. It has the fragrance and taste of lemon zest, with just a hint of green herb, and it can be used in any recipe that asks for lemon flavor, from meat stews and salads to fish dishes, candy or sophisticated desserts.

Primary topic: Gardening

658 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Salves and creams

The difference between a cream and a salve is that salves always contain beeswax and they are a lot firmer (think lip balm). A salve is a blend of oil and beeswax in proportion of five to one more or less. Salves are often made with infused oils that extract the medicinal qualities of herbs directly into one of the basic ingredients.

Primary topic: Gardening

1,704 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Mauve des Bois

If you were wondering what the color mauve looks like, exactly, it's the color of French mallows. We know that because this flower, mauve des bois, gave the color its name.

Primary topic: Gardening

640 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Plant Based Dyes

Long before the dawn of synthetic dyes, the world of textiles was enchanting us with warm brick reds, stunning fuchsias, royal purples, electric blues, moss greens and bright yellows. The art of fiber, yarn and fabric dyeing has hundreds of years of history, much of which was abandoned since chemical processing provided a much easier way to mass produce textile coloring and patterns. Plant based dyeing is a cross between cooking and painting: there are hundreds of recipes and plant combinations that will allow one to obtain virtually any color and at any intensity.

Primary topic: Gardening

674 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

The Garden on the Window Sill

With not even half of the winter behind me I have no choice but to concentrate on the miniature garden on the window sill. Fortunately for me, the indoor plants are generous with their flowers. The African violets, the lovely ruffled cyclamens, the amaryllis, the dark begonia, even the Christmas cactus have started to bloom again.

Primary topic: Gardening

478 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Bundled Indoors

Snow arrived, as promised, and blanketed a rather drab decor with a fresh coat of white. I’m bundled indoors, cozy next to the fireplace and a thick pile of flower catalogs: the summer bulbs are here. What’s featured in the glossy pages? Gladioli, every breed of lily in existence and tuberoses, but the best pictures are of dahlias, the giant kind, which grows the size of a child’s head, in every color imaginable. Their colorful tapestry looks unreal compared to the view out the window, white on white, with white accents.

Primary topic: Gardening

512 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Keeping roses healthy

Having healthy roses is more about prevention than it is about cure. Give the shrubs plenty of space to prevent moisture from sticking to their leaves, make sure they have at least six, preferably eight hours of full sun a day, plant them in well draining soil with plenty of organic matter and try to water only their roots without touching their leaves. That being said, even after the best of efforts, diseases and pests sometimes get the better of them.

Primary topic: Gardening

689 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Container Gardening

Container gardening sneaks up on you. You start with one potted plant and pretty soon the entire patio or balcony is covered in them, looking almost indistinguishable from the adjacent flower bed. If you have lots of plants in pots, keep them grouped. That way the containers get some protection from drying out and they are easier to water if they are all in one spot.

Primary topic: Gardening

577 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Charming Tangle

If you want a real cottage garden, don’t tame it, it is supposed to be wild, messy and overgrown, sort of jumbled together without too much focus on height hierarchy and perfect color schemes. Many of its traditional plants are tall, broad and thick and spill over railings, fences, trellises and retaining walls with reckless abandon. Hollyhocks, giant delphiniums, bell flowers, lupines and snakeroot can and frequently do grow taller than six feet.

Primary topic: Gardening

472 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Mushrooms

Everyone is familiar with this weird characteristic of mushrooms: they spring out of the ground ove ight, fully grown, whenever they get a good rain and enough warmth to trigger their development. You go to sleep with a lawn and wake up to a mushroom hatchery.

Primary topic: Gardening

485 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Eighteen and Snowing

I woke up this morning to a wispy snow flurry, the thin and icy kind that comes about when temperatures drop too low. Eighteen degrees, to be precise. It settled, unsure, in a thin, powdery layer that still lets the ground show through. I almost hesitated to disturb the pristine cover when I went out into the back yard to put seed in the bird feeder. It doesn’t feel cold, though, I don’t know why, just eerily quiet and still, like it is in winter sometimes, as if the thin layer of snow absorbed all the sounds.

Primary topic: Gardening

617 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Daffodil Gardens

I’ve only seen daffodil gardens in public parks and plant conservatories, gardeners usually grow these lovely spring bulbs in mixed borders, where their fading foliage can be concealed by the fresh growth of the summer perennials after they are done blooming.

Primary topic: Gardening

493 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Freezing Rain

How does one use freezing rain in a sentence without spoiling everyone's mood? I heard it, early in the morning, while it was still dark outside, the sound you can't mistake for anything else other than maybe sandblasting. Ice pellets. Nice! With that the last of the annuals abandoned the fight. The perennials are still trying to put a good face on the end of the season, even as they are, buried in dead foliage, but alas, the fall garden is a mess no matter how you're trying to look at it.

Primary topic: Gardening

534 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Coniferous, Woody and Citrus Scents

Coniferous and citrus scents are refreshing, restoring and revitalizing. Their smell shakes the doldrums of drab days and brings a little sunshine to your outlook on life. Coniferous scents like pine, cypress and especially balsam fir, are healing and restorative, both for physical ailments, like chest colds and congestion and for emotional ones, like exhaustion, anxiety and feeling worn out. The smell of pine reminds people of the holidays and it is an instant pick me up.

Primary topic: Gardening

684 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Plant Catalogs

If you are a dedicated green thumb, all you do after winter begins is sit around and wait for it to be over. Two long months of dreary weather later, the sight of spring catalogs gracing your mailbox is a hopeful sign of better days to come. Some people go by the buds on the trees, others by the first crocuses, I go by the arrival of spring catalogs. Be happy and joyful, my fellow gardeners, I already have six of them, spring is nigh!r

Primary topic: Gardening

603 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Attar of roses

Imagine an open field of roses extending as far as the eyes can see, an eighty mile long garden. Hundreds of thousands of bushels of rose petals get picked, boiled and distilled, and re-distilled, and purified, until out of one thousand pounds of petals five ounces of precious attar of roses are extracted. A perfume so strong that it is too much for a person to bear undiluted. You can't extract the quintessence of a sunset but you can concentrate scent to its purest form. Every time you take the lid off the little bottle, an eighty mile long rose garden comes out.

Primary topic: Gardening

770 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

The Scent of Heliotrope

There is something very sweet and nostalgic about this plant, with which I got acquainted in literary works before we met in real life.

Primary topic: Gardening

538 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Buttercups

Guess which were the first flowers to bloom this year? Spring finally made up its mind, not before one last fluffy snow. Despite this desperate attempt, winter lost its power and the wet blanket swiftly melted to provide the plants with welcome moisture.r

Primary topic: Gardening

693 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Yarrow

A resilient weed, native to the northern hemisphere, yarrow grows wild in open fields and along the sides of the roads, and had only recently gained the privilege to be cultivated in flower gardens. Don't judge this humble herb to be ordinary, Achillea millefolium is a well documented medicinal plant, astringent, anti inflammatory and tonic, but above all it has a special gift: it is a hemostatic agent.r

Primary topic: Gardening

576 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

And More Perennial Gardens

One of the myths of gardening is that once you planted a perennial border it is set in stone and it will come back, year after year, exactly the same. That is not true at all, I look through pictures of my garden through the last few seasons and it is almost unrecognizable from one year to the next. Just because a plant is labeled perennial it doesn’t mean it will be there forever. Some, like delphiniums and columbines, only live four or five years, even in ideal conditions, while others, like hostas, garden phlox, hellebores and cone flowers will be with you for decades.

Primary topic: Gardening

509 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

For the Love of Athena

I don’t think the goal of traveling is to see places and learn things, often you get better images and information from photography catalogs and travel guides. The goal of traveling is to get immersed in the spirit of a place. The longer you stay in Greece, the more it becomes clear to you why this mountainous peninsula swept by winds witnessed the birth of modern civilization. There is a sense which permeates everything that the people of this culture are afraid of nothing, curious about everything and always eager to try something new.

Primary topic: Gardening

399 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Soil Types

At the most basic level there are three types of soil: sand, loam and clay. Most soils are a combination of the three, in various proportions. Every soil type has qualities and defects. Sandy soils drain very well, they are easily tilled and provide optimal conditions for the development of root vegetables. They are nutrient poor and dry up easily. A variation of this soil is silt, which is the worst of both worlds: it has the small particle size of clay and the looseness of sand, all the defects and none of the qualities. This soil is practically unworkable unless amended.

Primary topic: Gardening

661 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Meadow treasures

Speaking of wonders of the plant world, how amazing is it that a Pennsylvania Smartweed, a plant that only thrives in boggy sites, decided to pick the drought summer of them all to beautify my garden. Graceful and delicate, it keeps good company to the broad leaved nicotiana that undoubtedly protected its roots from the scorching heat.

Primary topic: Gardening

648 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Caring for Bulbs During the Cold Season

When you plant bulbs, whether that happens in fall or spring, don’t forget to mix in a good measure of bone meal into the dirt, to help them set in and give them some food for the first year. Other than that, bulbs don’t need a lot of care. Because they are usually sprinkled among other perennials, they benefit from the regular feedings and waterings that happen throughout the summer. Don’t cut off their unsightly yellowing leaves after their bloom is spent, they still need them to feed the roots for the following season.r

Primary topic: Gardening

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By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Companion Gardening - Planters

Finding good companion planting is even more important when the plants are stuck together in a container. I watched the denizens of assorted pots fight for dominance many a time and more often than not one species brazenly asserts its rights over the sun, water and nutrients and ends up owning the planter by the end of the summer. If you don’t want to end up with a monoculture, here are a few compatible flower combinations.

Primary topic: Gardening

448 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Lilies

My Triumphator lilies bloom for only a few days at the height of summer, and I often miss their splendid flowers altogether, busy with other things, but some days the morning garden is blessed with a light that looks simply surreal. That being said, the most common lily varieties are almost as different among themselves as they are from the day lilies and Belladona lilies, and it is important to evaluate your expectations before planting a particular breed.

Primary topic: Gardening

695 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

The Fullness of Summer

A rose garden at the height of summer is a breathtaking sight. At this time the June roses haven't faded yet and all the repeat bloomers start their flowering season.r

Primary topic: Gardening

484 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Garden Textures

The difference between planting and landscape design comes from paying attention to seemingly unimportant details and one of them is texture. Its impact is even greater in the shade, where very few plants bloom. A well balanced shade border will have all of the following: Broad leaved plants, both deciduous and evergreen. If the leaves are variegated and have different indentations, that is even better. A few good examples are hostas, elephant ears, hellebores, rhubarb and chards. Succulents.

Primary topic: Gardening

596 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

How to prune roses

Pruning is a simple and necessary part of keeping a rose healthy, strong and blooming. If you prune the rose wrong, you may not get a lot of flowers the following year, or none at all, but there is no wrong way to prune that will kill an established rose. If anything, if you can live with a couple of years of no flowers, the rose will get a lot of rest and renewed energy for new growth. Why prune roses There are four reasons to prune roses: remove old and diseased canes to make room for more growth, allow air movement, shape the bushes to your liking and encourage blooming.

Primary topic: Gardening

730 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Gardening Superstitions

When you grow up around gardening activities you're sure to internalize a few old wives tales. Some of them are backed up by science, but most are just taken on faith and passed along from one generation to the next without any reason or explanation. Here are a few. If you want a plant cutting to root successfully and thrive, especially if it is a rose, you have to steal it.r

Primary topic: Gardening

507 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Misconceptions about Spring Bulbs

And here I thought that crocuses didn’t like my garden! To be fair, I never tried the yellow ones before, but I also thought the lack of acidity in the soil didn’t agree with them. Apparently I was wrong. I’ll take the opportunity to clear up a few misconceptions about spring bulbs. Shade tolerance

Primary topic: Gardening

593 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Toad Lilies

You have to get really close to appreciate toad lilies' blossoms which are small but unbelievably detailed. I don't think there is a flower in this part of the world that so closely approximates orchids. They are hardy to zone 5 and bloom in the shade, the last flowers to bloom in the garden after the trees have shed their leaves, the sedums have gone to seed and even the all suffering calendulas succumbed to the cold.

Primary topic: Gardening

758 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

A Breath of Humid Air

The air has been steadily humid for a month now, cool and humid, it reminds me of foggy mornings in the mountains or tropical places in winter, it’s almost too cool for August, not that I’m complaining, mind you. Every now and then I catch a break between raindrops and get out into the garden to breathe in the wet air that coats the lungs like a balm. Add in the green fragrance of flowers and foliage and you got yourself instant aromatherapy.

Primary topic: Gardening

514 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Opal basil

Speaking of purple plant pigments, the ones in opal basil are responsible for turning aromatic vinegar a beautiful shade of rose, I always look forward to preparing some during the summer. For all of us who enjoy this lovely herb it will come as a shock that the Greeks believed it to be driving men to madness. It is associated with the basilisk and folk tales say one needs to curse and rant when planting it, in order for it to grow, because it is an herb of hatred and anger, born of the scorpion's poison.

Primary topic: Gardening

628 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Love Story

People ask gardeners all the time why they waste so much time and effort on a pursuit that at any scale smaller than a farm yields so little benefit? Green thumbs may be blindsided by the question, shrug their shoulders and keep on with the activity they were engaged in, for how can one quantify that feeling of achievement, that inner knowing that one's own hands have helped, even if in a very small way, bring out life from the depths of the earth?

Primary topic: Gardening

620 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Hepatica

Hepatica has been considered a medicinal plant in the past, but this is one of the cases where scientific reasoning needs to override lore: the plant belongs to the Ranunculaceae family, just like the buttercup, and contains the same toxic compounds, albeit in much smaller doses. Hepatica is poisonous in large quantities. It is occasionally used in homeopathy, but this is definitely not something safe to do at home.

Primary topic: Gardening

762 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

For the Love of Athena

I don’t think the goal of traveling is to see places and learn things, often you get better images and information from photography catalogs and travel guides. The goal of traveling is to get immersed in the spirit of a place. The longer you stay in Greece, the more it becomes clear to you why this mountainous peninsula swept by winds witnessed the birth of modern civilization. There is a sense which permeates everything that the people of this culture are afraid of nothing, curious about everything and always eager to try something new.

Primary topic: Gardening

486 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Fall Schedule

If only a little late in the season, here are a few things for the fall gardener’s schedule. I haven’t even started most of mine yet, sadly. Mid-fall is the best time to move, divide or plant spring and summer blooming perennials. Fall perennials can be moved and divided at this time too, if you really feel like you must, but as a rule, this is an activity best left for spring.

Primary topic: Gardening

605 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Catmint

I got catmint for its pleasant scent, a blend of peppermint and pennyroyal, and its pale lavender flowers, a very refreshing sight on hot summer afte oons. It is one of the coveted perennials that bloom at the end of summer and it requires very little in terms of care.

Primary topic: Gardening

748 views

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