Friday on Garden Gossip our guest was garden designer, chef and author, "Skip" of cosmic soup. Sunday is the first day of the Chinese New Year and being a bit of an Asian aficionado Skip filled us in on some of the traditions of the holiday. And, since it is also Valentine's Day weekend, we heard from the "zesty" Jill of Cali Bressan chocolates of Carpinteria http://www.ChocoCaliBressan.com. Her husband, Jean-Michel Carre is the chocolatier of this wonderful shop. In fact on our way home, we visited Jill and took home a bag of Valentine's treats for ourselves.
We talked about planting Bamboo in your garden, maintained properly, it is a wonderful addition to a tropical garden. Skip's garden is planted with 32 varieties of Bamboo, so we consulted him on the proper care of this plant. First of all, there are two general types of Bamboo, that represent the way in which the plant grows. There are clumping and running varieties. As the names denote, the clumping types are easier to control and maintain and are less likely to "take over the world". But Skip gave us the key to controlling Bamboo.
Starting in April, the Bamboo starts sending out its new sprouts, if the shoots appear where you don't want them, snap them off by hand, like you would Asparagus, and the Bamboo will stop spreading in that area. They key is that this is a DAILY activity. If the new shoot gets too tall you won't be able to snap it off. The Bamboo continues sending up new shoots until June at which time you get a break until next year. Another maintenance tip from Skip, the fallen leaves from the plant are important to leave on the ground as they provide the nutrition the Bamboo plant needs. (thought you'd like to see a photo
of Skip's beautiful garden-see below)
And what about Name that Plant? In honor of the New Orleans Saints win of the Super Bowl, our plant is most famously associated with New Orleans. A native of Europe, it was brought to the US in the 1700s. The leaves can be eaten, the root dried and made into a beverage which is thought to be effective in cleansing the blood and improving the health of the liver. This plant was mentioned by the Roman poet, Horace as being part of his diet. It's flowers are blue and open and close at precisely the same time every day. It has been used for hundreds of years as a supplement for both animals and humans for its efficacy in eliminating intestinal worms.If you haven't guessed by now, the answer is Chicory. Join us next week for another rousing game of
Name that Plant! Until then, fill your garden with joy!
Chris and Lisa
