The Inside Dirt @ iloveplants.com for May 2006

iloveplants.com - YOUR ONLINE RESOURCE FOR THE BEST GARDENING INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET!

In This Issue:
* Featured Website: National Gardening Association
* Featured Flower: Petunia
* Featured Vegetable: Tomato
* Featured Herb: Fennel
* Garden Folklore: Three Sisters Garden
* Garden News: The Pope John Paul II Commemorative Rose
* Garden Wisdom: Drought-Tolerant Plants for the Landscape
* Garden Bargains: Save on Flower Collections
* Garden Blog: Kenny’s Veggie Gardening Tips Blog
* From my Garden...

Greetings fellow gardeners and a warm welcome to all of our new subscribers!

As the gardening season gets into full swing, we’ve got lots of great gardening information for you this month. Our featured web site, the National Gardening Association, offers something for every gardener. It is a great starting point for anyone who loves to garden. Learn more about growing a couple of America’s favorites – the petunia and tomato, as well as the less familiar fennel.

We’ve also included information on a collector’s rose offered by Jackson & Perkins, which contributes 10% of net sales to assist those who live in sub-Saharan Africa. Read about the Three Sisters Garden technique created by Native Americans, learn which plants are drought-tolerant, and save money by purchasing plants collections from White Flower Farm. All veggie gardeners will enjoy visiting this month’s garden blog, which includes a ton of advice. And don’t forget to visit my garden blog to see what’s blooming in my zone 9 garden.

I hope you enjoy this month's newsletter and that it contains some helpful gardening information. Drop me a line anytime you like with requests for future information or just to say hi and let me know what's growing in your garden. Susan

"Horticulturally, the month of May is opening night, homecoming and graduation day all rolled into one.” - Tammy Mossman

FEATURED WEBSITE: National Gardening Association
The National Gardening Association’s website offers a ton of information from articles, how-to projects, pest control, plant care guides, weed library and plant finder. You will also find message boards, seed swaps, regional reports, national news, a kid’s gardening section and much more. Visit the National Gardening Association website for a bounty of gardening information.

FEATURED FLOWER: Petunia
Petunias are a classic vintage garden flower. One of those stand-up performers that add a bright splash of color to the garden or a subtle delicate cottage-style look depending on the color you choose. New introductions of petunias offer the gardener more options for use in today’s garden. Click here to read Growing Petunias by Deborah Brown, University of Minnesota Extension for information on varieties, soil requirements, fertilize, watering needs and planting tips.

FEATURED VEGETABLE: Tomato
The tomato is without a doubt one of today’s most popular homegrown vegetable. Who doesn’t look forward to the first bite of a homegrown, fresh picked tomato. This healthy vegetable, high in vitamin C, is easy to grow in containers, which makes them perfect for balconies or patios. Click here to read Growing Tomatoes in the Home Garden by Marianne Riofrio, Ohio State University Extension for soil requirements, fertilizer, recommended cultivars and growing tips.

FEATURED HERB: Fennel
All parts of fennel (seeds, leaves and roots) are edible. This herb has a unique and tasty slightly licorice flavor when cooked. It originated in the Mediterranean and in medieval times was thought to ward off evil spirits. It is a great food source for ladybug larvae and a beautiful plant specimen in the garden growing 4 to 5 feet tall with sprays of yellow flowers. Click here to read about the history of fennel, as well as information on cultivating this herb at Botanical.com.

Gardening With the Moon
Full Moon – May 13th
New Moon – May 27th

PLANTING DATES: Flowers & Above Ground Vegetables: April 27 – May 13
Flower Bulbs & Root Vegetables: May 14 – May 26

GARDEN FOLKLORE: Three Sisters GardenNative Americans created the Three Sisters Garden technique, which consists of planting corn, beans and squash together. The three crops benefit each other. The corn provides a support for the beans to grow on. Bacteria, lives on the roots of beans and helps them absorb nitrogen from the air and convert it to a source that all three of the crops can use. The large leaves of squash shade the soil and reduce the number of weeds that grow. This unique companion planting technique is beneficial to all three crops and is a fun project for kids in the summer garden. Click here for guidelines on Creating a Three Sisters Garden” from kidsgardening.com.

For more information on companion planting see the Vegetable Companion Chart at GardenGuides.com.

GARDEN NEWS: The Pope John Paul II Commemorative RoseJackson & Perkins introduces the world premier of The Pope John Paul II Commemorative Rose. This unique collector's item is available on a limited basis - only 2,500 are available this year.The collection includes a Pope John Paul II bareroot rose, cast aluminum marker to place alongside the planted rose in your garden, an embossed keepsake which holds a signed and numbered certificate of authenticity, a full-color photograph of the rose and one of the late Pontiff's homilies.Ten percent of this rose's net sales benefit the poor of sub-Saharan Africa, one of the late Pontiff's closest concerns. Visit Jackson & Perkins for more information on the Pope John Paul II Commemorative Rose.

“A dry May and a leaking June, make the farmer whistle a merry tune.” – Old English Rhyme

GARDEN WISDOM: Drought-Tolerant Plants for the Garden If you’re adding new plants to your home landscape, you may want to consider including a host of drought-tolerant plants. These plants will reduce your watering time and will thrive during the heat and dry periods of summer. Visit Lowes.com for a list of Drought-Tolerant Plants.

GARDEN BARGAINS ONLINE: Save on Shade, Sun & Cutting Flower Collections
White Flower Farm makes designing a flowerbed easy with their successful plant collections. There is a plant collection for every garden. Choose from their Sunny Garden (16 plants of 7 varieties), Shady Garden (15 plants of 6 varieties) or Cutting Garden (21 plants of 7 varieties). What could be easier! Visit White Flower Farm for more information on these beautiful plant collections.

Visit Garden Bargains Online for more discounts and special offers.

GARDEN BLOG: Veggie Gardening Tips by Kenny PointIf you love growing your own vegetables, you will love Kenny’s blog. He generously shares his successful vegetable gardening tips, which include labor-saving techniques for gardening without pesticides and reaping a bounty of fresh healthy vegetables. You can even sign up to receive Kenny’s free gardening secrets e-newsletter. This is a guy who has created a simple, productive gardening method and is eager to share his experiences and love for gardening with others. Visit Kenny’s Veggie Gardening Tips blog.

FROM MY GARDEN..
I have now taken to the cultivation of my own garden blog. Please visit Simply Susan! to see what’s happening in my zone 9 garden and please be sure to leave your footprints by posting a comment. I would love to hear from you! Click here to visit Simply Susan!To create your own free garden blog visit LiveJournal.com.

“Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May.” - William Shakespeare

For more great horticultural websites, please visit iloveplants.com – your online garden resource!