The winter red beauty of blueberries can make a dramatic statement in your garden of edible plants. In early spring, I will be moving these delicious Southern Highbush 'Sharpblue' blueberries out of their current large containers to my front border garden this spring. 

 

Blueberries are easy to grow, have few pest issues, but do require certain conditions:

1. Buy blueberry cultivars that are recommended for your area.
2. Blueberries need to have acidic pH levels of 4.0 - 5.5 for healthy    growth.
3. Blueberry plants should have at least 4 - 5 hours of sunlight and good air circulation.
4. Fertilize blueberries with 8-4-8 in April, June, August, and October.  Sunniland's Azalea + Camellia Fertilizer is an excellent fertilizer formulated for Florida's soils.
5. When your blueberries are mature, (3 - 5 years) do not be afraid to prune (top) your blueberry bushes by 1/4th, so that there are no canes that are older than three to four years old.   
6. No need to overwater, blueberries need 1" - 1.5" of water a week during the summer.  If no rainfall, provide supplemental irrigation.

Check out new Southern Highbush cultivars for Florida at the Florida Foundation Seed Producers, Inc.

University of Florida's Blueberry Gardener's Guide.

Blueberries as Ornamentals in Edible Landscaping

More University of Florida Blueberry research on cultivars

Making Your Bath More Luxurious

Creeping Rosemary, Rosemary officinalis 'Prostratus'

Studies have proven that not only is working in the landscape good for your mental health,  but you can also relieve stress and help your skin with the herbs grown in your garden. Taking a steamy, relaxing bath every night, especially after digging in the dirt all day, is part of my "getting ready for bed" ritual.  Adding different plants, herbs, and flowers can be added to your bath to help clean, soothe and revigorate your skin and bath recipes are easy to prepare. 

You can use fragrances you enjoy the most singularly or combined with other herbs. This is where a little bit of this and some of that works for anyone.  You can be as creative as you like.  Add ground oatmeal to your herbal concoctions to help defoliate dried skin cells, soothe irritation, and reduce inflammation of sunburns and insects bites.
Warning:  Check with your doctor before ingesting any herbs for medicinal purposes.

Flowers, foliage, roots, and seeds that can be used in your beauty routine:

• Artemesia ~ Baths
• Basil ~ Baths
• Catnip ~ Potpourri, baths
• Calendula ~ Astringent, highlights hair
• Chamomille ~ Astringent, highlights hair
• Comfrey ~ Reduces skin irritation and inflammation
• Dill ~ Baths, facials
• Elder ~ Baths,
• Eucalyptus ~ Baths, facials
• Fennel ~ Astringent, baths
• Geraniums, Wild ~ Astringent, baths
• Hops ~ Baths, soporific
• Hyssop ~ Cleanses pores, used with thyme and rosemary in baths
• Jasmine ~ Baths, muscle relaxant, relieves inflammation
• Juniper berries ~ Baths
• Lady's Mantle ~ Astringent, baths
• Lavender ~ Baths, used as a vinegar helps oily skin
• Lemon Balm ~Astringent, baths, skin
• Lemon Verbena ~ Energizes
• Marjoram ~ Energizes
• Mints ~ Baths
• Oatmeal, Baths, soap, facials, cleanses pores
• Oregano ~ Baths, muscle relaxant
• Nettle ~ Baths, hair conditioner, facials for oily skin,
• Parsley ~ Facials for oily skin, hair rinse for dark hair
• Peppermint ~ Astringent, freshner and energizer
• Rose ~ Astringent, skin hydration
• Rosemary ~ Baths, soaps. energizer, facials for oily skin, hair rinse for dark hair
• Sage ~ Astringent, baths, muscle relaxant, conditioner for dark hair
• Rose Geraniums ~ Baths
• Thyme ~ Antiseptic, baths, energizes
• Valerian ~ Baths, soporific
• Violets ~ Soaps, Facial steams
• Willow ~ Baths, relieves pain and inflammation, muscle relaxant
• Yarrow ~ Astringent, baths, facials for oily skin

Combine your favorite herbal scents with oatmeal or powdered milk in a muslin  or cheesecloth bag, tied with rubber band or pretty ribbon.  Place in your bath water as it fills or hang from the bath faucet to allow the warm running water to release the fragrances.

To make an infusion for your bath: Mix 4 cups of boiling water with 4 tablespoons of fresh or dried herbs and flowers, soak for 20 minutes, then strain through cheesecloth or sieve.  Add to bath water. For hard organic materials such as bark, seeds, and roots, boil ingredients for 20 minutes then strain.

Mexican Sage, Salvia longistyla

Here's a great recipe for adding Kama Sutra mint potion to your bath, courtesy of our friends at Top Tropicals Nursery.

Harvest 1 cup of fresh leaves. In a large thermos, mix the leaves with 4 cups of boiling water and. Seal the cap tightly and let sit for 24 hours, then pass the decoction through a sieve, squeezing the most you can out of the leaves. Add juice of one freshly squeezed lemon to the mint concentrate - it is an essential part of the recipe that keeps active ingredients of Kama Sutra Mint at most effective level and helps making your skin smooth and velvet. Add 1-2 table spoons of your favorite bath gel, stir. Fill a bath with cool or slightly warm water. Add mint/lemon potion.

References:

Culbertson, Molly ed.. Book of Herbs. 1st. Des Moines, Iowa: Meredith Corporation, 1994.

Tolley, Emelie, and Chris Mead. Gifts from the Herb Garden. 1st. New York, New York: Clarkson N. Potter Inc., 1991.

Top Tropical Nursery, Retail Garden Center located at 300 Center Road, Ft. Myers, Florida  http://www.toptropicals.com/

Edible Landscapes: So Good You Could Eat Them Right Up

The latest trend in landscaping is to create landscapes that sustain us. Instead of buying all of our fruits and vegetables from a grocery, we are now being encouraged to grow our own food in our own backyards.  Growing your own food in times of war is not a new trend. The first wartime gardens were created in the 16th century.

"Carrets are good to be eaten with salt fish. Therefore sowe Carrets in your Gardens, and humbly praise God for them, as for a singular and great blessing; so thus much for the use and benefit had in the commonwealth by Carrets. Admiot if it should please God that any City or towne should be besieged with the Enemy, what better provision for the greatest number of people can bee, then every garden to be sufficiently planted with Carrets."
~ Richard Gardiner - 1597

During the 19th and 20th century in the United States, community gardens brought people together.  Victory gardens were a patriotic must during World War I and II. Even in urban cities, children and adults harvested everything from artichokes to zucchini year round from their yards.

How can you create your own edible landscape that will help put food on your table but is also attractive?

Assess your site for the correct gardening zone and growing conditions. Select a site that will get full sun, and good drainage. If you are creating an entire landscape for harvesting, an efficient irrigation system is required. Add soil amendments if your yard has sand or soils that don't percolate well.  Your local county extension office can help you determine what type of soil you have and if there is a need for additional amendments.

When deciding on what fruits and vegetables to grow, create multiple areas of interest with height, depth, and dimension.  Consider how tall and wide your shrubs and trees will get.  It will be important that your plant material does not have to compete with other plants for nutrition and water, so proper spacing is important. Select plants for every growing season throughout the year.  Remember, that some fruit trees and shrubs are deciduous during the winter, so you could plant evergreen shrubs, perennials, or fill in the area with annuals for color and a look of fullness.

I wrote an in-depth article on Edible Landscaping for Green Builder magazine on "Edible Landscaping 02" pages 31 - 37.

Spring budding and blooms.

African Blue Basil - pollinator.

'Anna' Apple blossom

More 'Anna' blossoms

'Sharp' Blueberries

Espaliered 'Sunraycer' Nectarines

First peach of the season.

Newly installed 'Tropic Beauty' peach tree.

'Tropic Beauty' peach blossoms

Espaliered 'Gulf Blaze' Plum

Cabbages and roses at neighboring yard.

Edible Landscaping - Florida Style

UPDATE: Read Teresa's an in-depth article on Edible Landscaping for Green Builder magazine on "Edible Landscaping 02" pages 31 - 37.

The International Builders Show in Orlando January 12th - 15th will be showcasing two demonstration homes, Green Builder's Vision House and ReVision House 2011.   (You can see the homes in detail in Green Builder magazine, January, February, April 2011 issues.)

These homes will feature technology and trends in green construction. Using products that will help homeowners conserve energy, water, and provide better air quality is important in these tough economic times. While current costs for this new technology may be more expensive at the onset, homeowners will reap benefits in reduced bills, lower maintenance costs, and better health.

The Vision House is urban-techno farmhouse introducing vegetables and low maintenance into the Orlando infill city lot. This landscape is perfect for busy professionals, having reduced turf areas, small raised garden beds, and patio containers of fruits and vegetables. In the same College Park community, the ReVision House showcases a Napa Valley Florida-style landscape for homeowners who have more time to be outdoors and are gardening enthusiasts. The larger lot features an edible landscape with nut trees, small orchard, berries, and herbs in containers and as ground covers. The home is situated in a cul-de-sac neighborhood and has full sun in the front yard with shade in the backyard.

Both landscapes have incorporated soil amendments of Sodcaster and Turf Pro in the garden beds and turf areas which will improve moisture retention and decrease the need for fertilizer. At the ReVision House, the compost comes from a more refined technology! BCR Environmental donated organic nutrient-rich, odorless compost of biosolids that  have been incorporated into the soils.  Lechuza, elegant self-watering containers are used indoors and outdoors at both houses, saving the homeowners time and money worry about watering and replacing plants that get neglected.

Landscape species were selected based on proper site conditions and mature size that will allow the landscapes to grow naturally and create a biodiverse urban sanctuary for wildlife.  Proper placement of the shrubs and trees reduce the amount of pruning and future maintenance allowing the plants to grow healthy without water and nutrient competition.  The specially selected plant species at the Green Builder demonstration homes - after establishment - will be able to survive on normal rainfall, supplemented by efficient irrigations systems that will be used during droughts. The maintenance of these yards will be minimum with less mowing, less fertilizing, and less pruning - reducing their susceptibility to pest issues. Both of the homes will be certified Florida Water Star, water-conserving indoors and outdoors. The Vision House 2011 receives SJRWMD's highest Gold certification, while the ReVision House 2011, a renovated home earns the Silver certification.

Sponsors of the Vision and ReVision House 2011

Vision House:

Irrigation: Clearwater PSI

• Lechuza, a division of Playmobil - Self-watering containers
• Lake Jem Farms - Zoysiagrass turf supplier
• Sunniland - Soil amendments, stone mulch
• Davey Tree Experts Company - Tree Pruning
• Florida Water Star Certification

ReVision House:
Irrigation: Bruce Hage Irrigation

Landscaping: 

• Chestnuthill Tree Farm - Berries, grapes, fruit and nut trees
• Lechuza, a division of Playmobil - Self-watering Containers
• Lake Jem Farms - Zoysiagrass turf supplier
• BCR Environmental - Compost/Commercial fertilizer derived from biosolids
• Sunniland - Soil amendments
• Davey Tree Experts Company - Tree Pruning
• Landscape Design, Florida Water Star Certification - Teresa Watkins

Being grounded in saving dollars and making sensible decisions regarding our natural resources will certainly become more important in the coming years. Growing your own vegetables, fruits, and herbs is an easy way to start an edible landscape and  take advantage of Florida's warm weather and abundant rainfall.

Both homes will be featured in the January and March issue of Green Builder and on DIY and HGTV.  You can visit the Green Builder Vision and ReVision 2011 homes during the International Builders Show Jan 12th - 15th from 10am to 4pm.

Teresa's article on Central Florida edible landscaping: Edible Landscaping: So Good You Can Eat Them Right Up

Cameo Queen Puts On Spectacular Appearance More Than Once

As most of my gardening listeners know I'm not a tropical enthusiast except for the 'no-shoveling-snow' routine. But I do incorporate tropicals into my garden when they touch my soul. I have to find a balmy bed in the dirt somewhere in my garden so that I can visit them as I walk around my garden paths.

Out of the four Hibiscus rosa-sinensis spp. bushes I have in my yard, my favorite is my 'Cameo Queen' also known as 'Ruffled Giant.' Ruffled it is and it does become giant! Growing in a rich, organic oak litter soil in partial sun, it stretches up nine feet tall. And that's in partial sun! It blooms its heart out midway up the shrub and on up to the top, but deep dark, large green leaves from the ground. More about no blooms at the bottom further.

Unlike hibiscus spp. in sandy soils, the 'Cameo Queen' has survived nicely during the drought, not getting a lot of water without rain. I chalk that up to the composted soil, oak leaves, microbes, and earthworms around the roots. I don't fertilize it often plus I don't overwater it. I make it be as responsible for its own survival as possible. No welfare assistance here.

It helps to have the 'Cameo Queen' in partial sun as well. It also stayed green and does not lose any leaves in our subtropical zone of 9b. Again, the microclimate is helped with the assistance of a 6" fence and oak trees in between two homes.

Do you know what variety of hibiscus you have in your yard? Here's a great way to identify it without hauling your plant to Hawaii or Australia. More pictures and expert advice on how to grow hibiscus.

Now for the reason my hibiscus doesn't bloom within 3' feet of the ground. The blooms are edible. Our 11 year old brindle Scottish terrier, Maggie loves to pull the flowers off lower shrub branches (much like cows strip lower leaves off tree limbs) and devour them. She doesn't even ask me if it's okay. I think that's why she doesn't lose weight. She's obviously an omnivore (and in need of a summer haircut).

Hibiscus are easy to grow but do have some pest issues. Even up north, you can grow these tropical beauties because hibiscus do extremely well in containers. Just move the plant in and out into a sunny area as the weather changes. It will be more important in the northern climes to have at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight a day.

Hibiscus flowers always have multiple appearances during the year, but this 'Cameo Queen' will be the star of your garden.