bringing nature, nurseries and gardeners together Nov 29, 2018
Nursery notes: Barton Springs Nursery reports the arrival of
a huge shipment of cyclamens (priced between $8 and $13).
25% off all citrus starting tomorrow. (Rumors abound of a 50 -
70 % hike in citrus prices next year due to new regulations.)
Lindheimer muhly: $1 for 4" pot. 1 gal almond verbena and hot
lips salvia: $5. 20% off all clumping bamboo. Starting tomorrow
over at The Natural Gardener a 20% sale on all plants. On Dec.10
this increases to a 25% sale, and goes up to a 30% discount on
Dec 17.
____________________________________________________
Latin plant names: Ageratina havanensis, Eysenhardtia texana
For an amateur gardener it can be a little intimidating when rubbing
shoulders with professionals who sometimes love to fill their speech
with complicated Latin names. But writer James Wong urges us to
relax and join in 'and say them how you like.' The Guardian ❦
Furniture Orchard: Full Grown is a unique English company
that (literally) grows beautiful furniture - chairs, tables and
lamps - on their land in Derbyshire. Gavin Munro, the design
genius behind the project, thinks of it as 'organic 3-D printing,'
and they are currently accepting orders for 2024. The price:
$6,500 a chair. You Tube, Full Grown ❦
____________________________________________________
The Austin Garden is sponsored by Hays Free Press
____________________________________________________
Central Texas Gardener: on tour a visit to La Flaca urban farm,
and in the studio a conversation with Marissa Lankes (ACC) about
how to boost tired-out soil after a hot and arid summer. Saturday
4 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. KLRU ❦
The Noble Bay Laurel
by Chris Winslow
One of the most versatile of the small evergreen trees or large
shrubs is bay laurel (Laurus nobilis), also known as true laurel
or sweet bay.
This evergreen can be grown in full sun, part sun, or even in the
shade. One of its greatest and most useful attributes is its delight-
ful aromatic leaves which have a great culinary history.
Dating back ancient Greece and Rome, heroes and scholars were
crowned with wreaths of bay laurel. Artists would often draw
Apollo wearing a wreath to represent victory in sports. In ancient
Rome, laurel wreaths were symbols of military victories.
The bay laurel grows across the Mediterranean region, from Spain
to Greece. Because of its distinctive flavor and fragrance, the leaf
of the bay laurel is often used to flavor soups, stews, gumbo, fish,
Cajun beans, and a whole host of Mediterranean dishes.
This beauty is easy to grow and can get well over 8 feet tall. It
makes a nice entry plant or a striking specimen plant if you grow
it in a terracotta pot. It produces small white flowers and occasion-
ally seed.
Its leaves are a dark green and dense, making this plant a good
candidate for an evergreen screen. The bay laurel does fairly well
during our dry summers but certainly would appreciate some
afternoon shade in July or August. In terms of soil, it will flourish
in almost any type, as long as there's good drainage.
Also, with Christmas not too far away now, you can take the bran-
ches to weave an attractive bay laurel wreath for your front door.
At our nursery some years ago, my wife Diane ran some workshops
on Sunday afternoons in early December, where the old house/gift
shop was turned into a hive of activity as 10 or more 'young and old
Thymers,' gathered around tables, intent on weaving their pretty
bay laurel branches around some mustang grape-vine wreaths. The
results were stunning. (see photo above) Good times ; - ) Happy
Gardening everyone! ❦
