Human Flower Project
Gardening Triumph < 10 Words
How about a little help from our gardener-readers? And we do mean little—keep it brief!
Remember to plant and before that remember…
Photo: Human Flower Project
1. Don’t
2. Forget
3. To
4. Plant
5. Your
6. Ranunculus
There you have it – Gardening advice as sound as any we’ve ever gotten, and succinct enough to remember. Ellen Zimmermann heard this from dear friend and renowned Austin herbalist Dorothy Cavanaugh every fall. Four years ago she shared the wealth of wisdom.
Ranunculus 4/8/05, planted the previous November
Photo: Human Flower Project
We listened and followed through in 2004. Come the first week of April 2005 here was a fine stand of blooms.
The next autumn, we planted more corms in a different spot and were gloriously rewarded. This photo was taken March 28, 2006.
In the spirit of tried and true—and flower-producing—we’re soliciting more pithy gardening advice. Do you know any reliable rules, like “Prune roses on Valentine’s Day”? It’s memorable if rather place-specific (keeping the rosarians of Tyler, Texas, on schedule).
Please send us your best gardening nugget. And in the interest of utility, can you keep it to 10 words or less? Mnemonic devices are welcome: “The first year they sleep, the second year they creep, and the third year they leap” (Better, maybe, than “Quit griping! Perennials take awhile to get established.”)
Clematis growers know “feet in the shade, head in the sun,“ a maxim that Carol (May Dreams Gardens) has pared down beautifully: “warm head, cool feet.” Aren’t there some hollyhock adages, iris truths?
Ranunculus 3/28/08
Austin, TX
Photo: Human Flower Project
The leaves on the elm are turning yellow. The equinox is tomorrow (9/23). Ellen taps us on the shoulder as Dorothy’s whisper hangs in the air: “Don’t forget….”
We learned that in Central Texas, it’s actually best to plant ranunculus corms in early November; otherwise they can sprout too early and get pinched by a late frost. For the last two years, we dawdled once autumn arrived.
Don’t do that!
By the time we got serious about planting, the ranunculus had sold out all over town. Shopping four stores, we came away with just one shriveled up sack. The 2008 crop was feeble. So here’s another gardening maxim, an extension of Dorothy’s, that still makes it under the 10 word limit (drama kings and queens, add a terroristic modifier if you like).
1. Don’t
2. Forget
3. To
4. Buy
5. Your
6. Ranunculus
7. Corms
Comments
Handy advice on growing Camellias, Azaleas, Hostas, Clematis, and Tulips in College Station:
1. Don’t
2. Try
OK, OK, I just need to find some and get a new bed going at my new house! Say, while you’re at it, what else does ranunculus require?
Most excellent maxims, Monique and Margaret! Taking both to heart….
Pam, Corm package says “full sun to partial shade.” I planted in beds under high trees. Seems a very forgiving plant here in Austin, carefree as poppies or larkspur but packs a bigger wallop of colors.
TODAY!
I will buy them TODAY!
(Rico looks handsome)