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Growing Gratitude! By Cynthia Brian

Posted by

Editor on November 21, 2016

âGratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.â Henry Ward Beecher
Are you grateful for the simple things in life? This is the perfect time of the year to reflect upon our blessings and gifts. I am so thankful for all of you who read Digging Deep, Gardening with Cynthia Brian. Your interest and questions are always appreciated. Thank you, also, for so many of you who have hired me to help you with your planting needs or garden desires. Itâs magnificent to grow with you.
Every day I am very grateful to be a gardener to witness the beauty, bounty, and endless diversity of Mother Nature. Our landscapes are ever changing. Whatâs here today may not be here tomorrow, nor, the next year. Seeing the cows grazing in the hills, breathing our clean air, enjoying peace, safety, and serenity that only comes from living in this semi-rural environment makes my heart sing with gratitude.
Wild turkeys have moved into Lamorinda territory, immune to the possibility of becoming a holiday main dish! A big Tom waddled across my driveway as two-dozen of his hens toppled and gobbled the berries from the top of my Chinese pistache. As annoying as they can be, Iâm happy to co-exist with the wild things. You may want to collect a few of the beautiful turkey feathers as I do to add to your holiday bouquets!
Persimmon trees are bursting with orange tangy fruit, ready for our holiday puddings. Fall is still showing off its brilliant robes of reds, yellows, and gold, yet there is a nip in the air reminding us that winter in a little over a month. Pumpkins and gourds are still a seasonal favorite. Native to North America, pumpkins are a vegetable, not a fruit, genus Cucubita, species pepo or maxima. They are a type of winter squash and the really weird, ugly ones are the most delicious. The blue-green pumpkins you are growing or have purchased are derived from New Zealand. Cook them as their golden-yellow flesh boasts a sweet, mild aromatic flavor. Were you repelled by the warty pumpkins you saw in markets this year? Donât be! Those ugly growths are actually sugar secretions. The more warty the pumpkin, the smoother, creamier, and sweeter the flesh inside. Make a pumpkin puree for dinner, or a scrumptious pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and youâll be hooked!
As we soon bid farewell to fall, let us all keep gratitude in our hearts as we look for the fertile joys that sprout with simplicity. Believe something wonderful is about to transpire.
Grow and glow in gratefulness.
Cynthia Brianâs Mid Month Garden Reminders

PLANT Woodland Herbaceous Peonies, a separate species of herbaceous peony that thrive in the shade. Naturalizing in a deciduous woodland area with the early spring sun and summer shade, they will grow to 1.5 feet tall and self-seed as a ground cover. . Woodland peonies provide three-season appeal with delicate white flowers in early spring, lush green foliage throughout the growing seasons, and dramatic indigo and scarlet seed pods in the fall. http://peonysenvy.com

LOOKING for a pre-planned garden selection. High Country Gardens offers deer and drought resident plants that have color, texture, and curb appeal. http://www.highcountrygardens.com

PRUNE those thorny creepers, bougainvillea, now to remove old flowers. Cover with burlap if exposed in an area that gets frost.

COLLECT turkey feathers to add to bouquets to wreaths for Thanksgiving.

PICK persimmons. Fuyu persimmons can be eaten like apples but the hachiyas must be mushy ripe before eating.

PUREE warty pumpkins for the sweetest, smoothest, most delicious pumpkin dish youâll ever taste. Obviously, donât puree the skins!

CUT branches from liquid amber or Japanese maple trees to use indoors for a punch of end of fall color.

PLANT your spring bulbs now through January to enjoy a meadow of continuous flowers next year.

PICK up pansies to plant for winter. 2017 has been named The Year of the Pansy.

ADD a cover crop to your garden to fix the nitrogen and make green manure for spring.
Austrian winter pea has delicious edible pee shoots. Other great mulching cover crops include clover, mustard, and vetch.

DISCOVER a tree to climb with your kids. Itâs that time of year!

CULTIVATE ornamental grasses for low-maintenance and drought tolerate plantings. Maiden hair grass, blonde ambition grass, feather reed grass, and silky thread grass are a few of the lesser known but easily propagated species.

TRAIN rambling and vining plants on a trellis or tall support for a spectacular vertical garden wherever space is lacking.

SOW wildflower seeds that will attract pollinators, hummingbirds, and beneficial bugs.

PRUNE all perennials when finished blooming. Add the stems and spent flowers to the compost pile.

FERTILIZE lawns.

GIVE thanks every day for something. Keeping a gratitude journal alongside your garden guide is a great tool for remembering to be grateful.

Thank you, thank you for being my special gardening gang. I am humbled to be your guide on the side. There is no such thing as a brown thumb, just one that hasnât turned green yet!

Happy Gardening and Happy Growing! Happy Thanksgiving and Turkey Day!

Â©2016
Cynthia Brian
The Goddess Gardener
StarstyleÂ® Productions, llc
Cynthia@GoddessGardener.com
www.GoddessGardener.com
925-377-STAR
Tune into Cynthiaâs Radio show at www.StarStyleRadio.net
I am available as a speaker, designer, and consultant.

Color Me Happy! By Cynthia Brian

Posted by

Editor on November 4, 2016

Empowerment

âI feel like a warm, red autumn!â Marilyn Monroe

My favorite part of a November autumn is looking out from my bedroom balcony to the kaleidoscope of colors dotting the landscape in the valley. Trees are cloaked in hues of magenta, sienna, umber, gold, russet, umber, purple, red, pumpkin, and a variety of greens. Wherever I walk or drive, the picturesque autumn foliage of Northern California rivals the forests of the Eastern seaboard. We are indeed fortunate to live in a climate that harks four seasons.

November of this year brings us an election as well as Thanksgiving. Since politics is not my favorite subject, I prefer to focus on what needs to be done in our November garden before turkey day. Autumn is the best time to plant because the soil is still warm and the rains are imminent. To find trees bursting with colorful leaves, visit your local nursery. Japanese Maple, pistache, liquid amber, crape myrtle, and many fruit trees put on quite a spectacular show this time of year. Buy them now and plant them where they will grow, thrive, and enhance your landscape.

Information on Grass Seed and the Rain
When it rained this past week, I ran outside to plant seeds of my hundred year old plus heirloom hollyhock seeds as well as sunflower seeds. The drizzly weather also posed the most auspicious moment to re-seed my lawn with Pearlâs Premium lawn seed and fertilize with an organic cover. My new grass is already sprouting.

Several emails have arrived asking for more information about my experience with Pearlâs Premium. Iâm not paid to talk or write about this product (although I probably should be on the payroll because Iâm so passionate about this seed). Being a believer in oneâs right to have a lawn for enjoyment, Iâve been on a mission to find the grass seed that will remain green while using less water. With my first summer of using Pearlâs Premium behind me, I offer you my personal experimental results.
1. Grass remained somewhat green with brown and bare spots where the irrigation missed the mark.
2. Pearlâs Premium definitely choked out the majority of weeds.
3. I watered twice a week in twelve-minute segments per station using 34% less water over the previous year.
4. The lawn was mowed once a week and grass clippings were left on the lawn at least twice per month to add nutrients.
5. Although not a lush green in the summer, the grass did not die.
6. With just two rainy days, the lawn has emerged as emerald. I still have a lawn!

As noted, I am re-seeding my lawns with the expectation that next spring and summer will have even better results as the instructions on the Pearlâs Premium label do indicate that it can take a year for proper establishment. According to Jackson Madnick, the founder of the company, Pearlâs Premium is not sold at retail establishments here in our area so you will need to purchase online at www.PearlsPremium.com. He is currently installing seven acres of his grass in Palm Desert. The seed is drought tolerant. As promised, for all of you Lamorinda lawn lovers, I will continue to update you on my experiences. For now, I am happy with my green!

Cynthia Brianâs November Gardening Guide

â« TIME to fall back! Set your clocks back one hour on Sunday, November 6th. Itâs going to be dark in the mornings to be advantageous for early garden chores pre-work day. Bummer!
â« HEAL by looking at nature. For over thirty-two years since the journal Science published the study by behavioral scientist Roger Ulrich, we know that just viewing trees and the outdoors enhances wellness and speeds healing.
â« GATHER guavas that have fallen to make a jam or other guava treat.
â« SOW these vegetable seeds for a bountiful early winter harvest: lettuce, Asian greens spinach, arugula, chard, chicory, kale, radish, cabbage, beets, and cress.
â« DONATE to Be the Star You Are!Â® charity as it ships books to the most devastated areas in Hurricane Matthewâs path in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia. Go to www.BetheStarYouAre.org and click on Operation Hurricane Matthew Disaster Relief.
â« FERTILIZE your lawns with an organic mixture and re-seed during the rains. Cover the grass with mulch or screens to keep the birds from eating the seeds.
â« SPREAD seeds of hollyhock along fence lines or at the back of your garden as hollyhock can grow to 12 feet or more.
â« HELP the birds settle in for the upcoming winter by cleaning nesting boxes and providing plenty of seed to their feeders.
â« DECORATE your waterfall, fountain, or front door with a variety of odd shaped pumpkins and gourds.
â« COLLECT acorns, leaves, and nuts to add to your festive kitchen or dining room table fall tableau of squash, gourds, and pumpkins.
â« COLOR your world by planting bushes that boast fall and winter berries including cotoneaster, holly, and pyracantha. (Pyracantha plants have sharp thorns. Plant in low traffic areas. Pyracantha donât have berries, but pomes.)
â« MULCH by shredding the raked leaves from the deciduous trees adding grass clippings, dried plants stems, and trimmings all which provide water conservation, better drainage, and nutrients to the soil.
â« PLANT your spring blooming bulbs now including daffodils, crocus, freesia, ranunculus, hyacinths, Dutch Iris, tulips, and other favorites. Youâll be able to continue planting bulbs through January. Mark the location with plant tags or wooden paint sticks.
â« BUY trees with fall color at your local nursery or garden center including Crape Myrtle, Pistache, Liquid Amber, and Japanese Maple.
â« COVER patio furniture and move potted frost tender plants under an overhang or bring indoors.
â« ENJOY the warmth and the beauty of this annual autumn fashion extravaganza.
â« CAPTURE the moments with your smartphone to compare your garden to next years show! Itâs amazing how much our landscapes change.
â« VOTE on November 8th. One person does make a difference.

Color me happy!

Happy Gardening and Happy Growing!
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Hang Time! by Cynthia Brian

Posted by

Editor on June 30, 2016

Empowerment

“Flowers and fruit are only the beginning. In the seed lies the life and the future.”â¨ Â — Marion Zimmer Bradley,

Fruit, luscious, juicy, tantalizing ripe fruit! There is no better nor satisfying delicacy than the fruit you grow in your own backyard. Whether itâs a pot or a plot, growing your own is the way the rock it! With our long warm summer days at their height, fruit and vegetables are ripening quickly awaiting plucking for our feasts. Apricots, plums, prunes, mulberries, loquats, tangelos, and tangerines are just a few of the gems hanging from my trees right now. Soon there will be mouth-watering peaches, pears, apples, guavas, nectarines, and figs. Tomatoes have taken up the space left by harvested greens, while beans, eggplant, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, and tomatillos are racing to the finish line. Itâs a virtual Farmerâs Market in my garden and this is exactly the way I like to eat. Every day I walk into my potager to fill baskets with crunchy deliciousness for our supper. I never know what Iâll be creating in the kitchen until I see whatâs ready to harvest.

I continue to sprinkle lettuce and arugula seeds in the empty spaces to extend my summer, fall and winter crops. My recommendation is to sow rows of bush beans, carrots, and radishes or any other vegetable every three weeks to satisfy your cravings for freshness. Remember to continue to replenish the soil with nutrient rich compost to keep productivity high.

Did you know that that average home gardener only spends $359 per year on gardening supplies and plants as reported in a study conducted by Money.com? That seems ridiculously low when you consider that growing your own tomatoes will save you an average $9.50, cucumbers $8.00, peppers $3.60, green beans $2.50, and carrots $3.50. Â And that doesnât include the spectacular taste, increased vitamins, and the fact that you actually know what you put into your soil! Â When it comes to homegrown fruits and vegetables, I am a garden to table snob. The finest, healthiest, most cost efficient source of nutrients is waiting for you in the garden. Dig in!

With the barbeque season in full swing, delight guests with grilled stone fruit. Cut peaches, nectarines, or apricots in half, remove the pit, brush with olive oil and drizzle a bit of honey. Grill for a minute or two on each side. Serve with goat cheese, arugula, or as a side dish. Fresh, surprising, and oh, so deliciousâ¦a burst of sweetness with your 4th of July fare. About those pitsâ¦if you want another fruit tree, plant in potting soil in a container and watch the new life grow. Itâs hang time.

Cynthia Brianâs Fresh Ideas for July

MULCH before the heat of summer begins. If you can use an entire truck-load of wood chips, tree service companies are happy to give you free chips. Mulching keeps the soil cooler while decreasing the weed population.

COMBINE arugula, mint, and sage in a food processor with a splash of olive oil and pepper for a mouth-watering variation on traditional pesto. Add the grated cheese of your choice to use over pastas, in soups, or whirled in an omelet.

HYDRATE yourself with fruits from the garden including watermelon, peaches, cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries, and corn. A slice of watermelon provides you with at least ten ounces of water while a medium peach will give you five ounces of H20.

RELIEVE anxiety and stress by cutting a bouquet of lavender, then crushing the flowers in your palms. Inhale the healing fragrance before bed for a restful slumber.

WATCH for snakes! Gopher snakes and King snakes have been slithering through my grass. Donât be alarmed, snakes eradicate rodents including gophers, moles, rats, and mice.

SHOWCASE your horticultural talents by mixing textures, colors, and sizes in your garden, always being away of water, sunlight, and soil PH needs. A lemon-lime nandina paired with a black adder phormium and a purple salvia are spectacular bedmates.

PEPPER your garden by throwing seeds of Love in a Mist and California poppies. The colors look smashing together and both re-seed. Plus Love in a Mist seedpods make fantastic dried flowers.

WANT a lush landscape? Embrace the beauty of leaves. Foliage plants have dramatic impact, especially when grouped together. Hosta, heuchera, coleus, and variegated plants are showstoppers, specifically in shaded areas.

PLANT gladioli bulbs for summer drama with long stalks of trumpet shaped florets that are considered hummingbird heaven.

COVER an unsightly fence with clematis. Read the tags to learn the correct sun exposure, then let the explosion of blooms blow your mind. Clematis make great cut flowers too.

TUCK succulents in between other plantings. Most succulents shoot up spires of blooms as an added bonus. Of course, succulents are very drought tolerant and an excellent choice for our gardens. To get a better idea of the variety of succulents that fare well in our area, visit The Ruth Bancroft Gardens in Walnut Creek.

GRILL vegetables (as well as stone fruit) on the barbecue. A variety of zucchini, peppers, and corn are always excellent choices. Donât shuck the husks on the corn to keep the nutrients and flavor inside. Slip basil or cilantro inside for added flavor.

THINK about what bulbs and rhizomes you will want to buy to plant in the fall. Do you want more daffodils, tulips, Dutch iris, anemones, or something more exotic? Catalogues are a great way to get your lists started.

THANKS to everyone who has emailed me with positive notes about these columsn. I do appreciate all of my readers and want you to be the best gardeners ever!

CELEBRATE the Fourth of July by dressing up in your sparkly red, white, and blue to HANG out in your personal paradise.

Let the fireworks fly! Happy 240th Independence Day.

Happy gardening. Happy growing!

Holiday Feasts, Green Prints 25th Anniversary, November Garden Guide

Posted by

Editor on November 25, 2014

Cynthia Brian’s Gardening Guide for November By Cynthia Brian

Posted by

Editor on November 15, 2014

Categories

Cynthia Brian’s Gardening Guide for November By Cynthia Brian

âThere is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky.â Percy Bysshe Shelley

With the approach of Thanksgiving, it is finally feeling like autumn with cooler and crisper air, changing of the leaves, and chrysanthemums blooming. I picked my first bouquet of narcissi of the season on October 10, a full month earlier than last year. Our climate is changing and as gardeners we struggle to keep pace. November is the best time to begin planting spring blooming bulbs. Once the ground chills to about 55 degrees, start the process of planting naturalizing narcissi as well as other bulbs in well-drained sandy loam where theyâll receive at least six hours of sunlight daily. With our dense, nutrition lacking clay soil, we need to amend with sand, peat moss, and compost before digging the holes. All flower bulbs require neutral PH soil around 7.0 in order to develop a strong root system that supports flowers. Mother Nature is busy spreading her wild seeds via the wind, birds, animal fur, and even our stocking feet. Most flowers need the next few colder months to rest and germinate. Before the geese head south, walk around your yard to ponder what youâll want to improve, include, edit, or change for the spring. Our year of outdoor work is winding down as our celebration of gratitude approaches. Get ready for a respite!

â« PROTECTÂ plant roots by mulching your garden.

â« GRINDÂ fallen leaves with a mower to reduce particle size and increase decomposition time.

â« TURNÂ the soil in your vegetable garden, pull out any unwanted growers such as mint, add buckets of compost, and plant a nitrogen rich cover crop like fava beans or clover. Blanket the ground with straw and continue mulching until planting time in spring.

â« SUPPRESSÂ weeds while enriching the soil by laying newspaper (three or four sheets) on your bare earth. The newspaper will biodegrade and the zinc in the inc adds nutrients to the mulch. Cover with straw, leaves, or wood chips to continue adding nutrients.

â« DIGÂ up bulblets of mother bulbs with numerous offshoots. Separate and replant in other areas.

â« SOAKÂ ranunculus and anemone tubers in tepid water overnight or for at least three or four hours before planting three inches deep and six inches apart in well-draining soil in full sunlight.

â« PLANTÂ spring bulbs beginning this month. Tulips and crocus need to be refrigerated for at least four weeks before being dug. Make sure to remove all fruit or vegetables from the fridge to discourage rotting from ethylene gases. Keep all bulbs away from sunlight and in a dark place before planting. For blooms that last throughout the spring season, stagger planting days for daffodils, Dutch iris, muscari, scilla, and galanthus.

â« CHECKÂ out an attractive alternative to downspouts with the solid copper Rain Chains. With several styles and sizes to suit every home, you now have the ability to direct water to your garden and at the same time enhance the beauty of your exteriors. VisitÂ www.rainchainsdirect.comÂ or call855-843-7246Â for more information.

â« FORCEÂ hardy flower bulbs of amaryllis, freesias, and paperwhites for Christmas blooming by potting them in sterile, neutral PH potting soil in an area where they will enjoy a temperature of 72-82 degrees Fahrenheit with good air circulation and low humidity. Give them a big drink of warm water, tamp down the soil, do not water again until green sprouts. Amaryllis sprout spectacular shows within eight weeks.

â« DEERÂ proof your bulb garden with a collection of allium, fritillaria, English Bluebell, brodiaea, narcissus, crocus, anemone, hyacinth, and peony for a floral display that lasts from April through July.

â« CUTÂ stalks of peonies to ground level and discard the cuttings as they are not good for compost. If your peonies didnât bloom, they may be planted too deep. Dig them up this month, rework the soil, and replant Â½ inch higher than soil level.

â« WASHÂ patio furniture, pads, pillows, and accessories before covering or storing to avoid mildew, mice migrations, rust, and rot.

â« GROUPÂ gaillardia and chrysanthemums along with grasses in a barrel for fabulous fall color. The National Garden Bureau has named Gaillardia âtheâ perennial to grow for 2015.

â« LOWERÂ mower height as lawn growth slows. Reduce irrigation time, but continue to water until the rains arrive as grass needs the strength to be healthy for winter. If you didnât fertilize in October, fertilizer now with an organic fall blend.

â« GUARDÂ against an unexpected frost by watering deeply and covering susceptible shrubs with burlap, fabric, or blankets the afternoon before the cold arrives.

â« COLLECTÂ rainwater in barrels or large garbage cans to use on your plants. (Fingers crossed that it does rain soon)

â« REDUCEÂ your garden work out by seeking out plants that are identified as âcompactâ. Look for tags that say dwarf, patio, knee-high, tiny, or baby in the variety name. If a plant tag says âperfect for cut flowersâ it will grow to be too large for a small space.

â« ADDÂ artistic value to your landscape with hanging baskets, mirrors, lighting, antique wrought iron furniture, statuary, and water features.

â« CELEBRATEÂ a month of gratitude with an arrangement of roses and anemones in warm sunset shades.

â« DECORATEÂ for Thanksgiving with pumpkins around your outdoor seating areas.

Happy gardening and happy growing!

Cynthia Brian

Read article at Lamorinda WeeklyÂ

Cynthia Brian

StarstyleÂ® Productions, llc

The Goddess Gardener

StarstyleÂ® Productions, llc

Cynthia@GoddessGardener.com

www.GoddessGardener.com

925-377-STAR

I am available as a speaker, designer, and consultant.

Tag Archives

Growing Gratitude! By Cynthia Brian

Color Me Happy! By Cynthia Brian

Hang Time! by Cynthia Brian

Holiday Feasts, Green Prints 25th Anniversary, November Garden Guide

Cynthia Brian’s Gardening Guide for November By Cynthia Brian

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