The Big Dipper Farm News-ette is an occasional gardening e-newsletter for discussing new plant introductions, gardening tips, quotes, poems, ‘things-to-do-in-the-garden-now’, seminar reminders and much more.  It’s free, kept private, spam-less and fun!     Share it with a friend.     Happy Gardening!    

-Deidre Finley, Big Dipper Farm

 

Unto those who turn the soil-even though it is turned wrong
-and plant the seed -even though it may not be planted exactly right
-comes creeping in a tide of knowledge more wide and engulfing than any words in books.   

author unknown

 

A Passion for Pussy Willows!   

This must be a chick thing huh?…  Men will give you a blank stare, they just don’t get it.  Women and children love pussy willows! 

What cut branch works better in more different arrangements than these charming little fluffy wonders? One of the first things we can bring indoors while winter is still blowing to put in some water and watch the magic. The vase life is long and they work just as well as a dried cut. You can help the catkins hold their shape with a little hairspray.  Wreaths made entirely of pussy willow stems are absolutely gorgeous.

These plants love moist or even wet growing conditions and you get longer stems and larger catkins if you give them a prune after they flower. Prune for shape or cut back to a six-inch trunk but the ‘pussies’ form on new growth every year. You’ll get more buds in full sun but they can tolerate partial shade. Excellent plant for erosion control along stream and pond banks. Hardy in zones 4-8.  Pussy willows can be invasive so site carefully. Willows contain an aspirin-like compound. Native Americans used willow as a medicine like we use aspirin today.

Make your own cuttings for new plants and you’ll be selling bundles at the farmer’s market in a couple short years.  These are also a must for children’s gardens.

Salix chaenomeloides  -  Giant Pussy Willow

Catkins the size of a rabbit's foot! The large dark red flower buds on mahogany branches develop into exceptionally large, silky gray catkins with a lovely pink tinge on upright red stems. Heavy pruning to the ground as soon as catkins begin to drop and leaves are emerging stimulates more vigorous growth and larger catkins.

Salix caprea 'French Pussy' 

Multi-stemmed large upright shrub grown for its silver pink catkins. Cut back yearly to produce long shoots. Can be invasive, use caution on site choice.

Salix gracilistyla 'Melanostachys'  -  Black Pussy Willow

The Black Pussy Willow.  Rich purple-black catkins and dark stems make this a great cutting plant and conversation piece. Bright green summer foliage. Cut back yearly to produce more shoots.

 

Website work is being done this weekend so I cannot provide photo links.

Just click on ‘Salix’ from the catalog page.

 

How the Pussy Willow got its name

According to an old Polish legend, many years ago, a mother cat was crying at the bank of the river in which her kittens, while chasing butterflies, had fallen into and were drowning.

The willows at the river's edge longed to help her, so they swept their long graceful branches into the waters to rescue the tiny kittens. The kittens gripped on tightly to their branches and were safely lifted to shore.

Every Spring since, goes the legend, the willow branches sprout rows of tiny furry buds (cat-kins) where the tiny kittens once clung.

 

 

Hi, friends, I've never seen such wonderful roots on mail order plants--and the tops are pretty great, too.

Everything about embarking into business with you has been a delight,

the only real problem being how to refrain from ordering everything you have.  Such a dilemma.  :-)

Best to you, and many thanks--  Rebecca B. - Tennessee, Illinois

 

 

Event Reminder – Tomorrow!

May 21st  – Saturday 1pm            Big Dipper Welcomes back Marianne Binetti !

Marianne will be here to discuss "Cool New Plants for Hot Summer Color"

Always a favorite here at the farm, Marianne's latest book is "Best Garden Plants for WA and OR" and includes the best trees, shrubs, vines, herbs, perennials annuals and roses.  Bring your questions and a notebook for answers, tips and the great new ideas she always brings. Open to all and Free!

 

Every Saturday through Spring from 10am - 2pm                

Master Gardener's Clinic!

These volunteer gardening experts are available to answer questions, diagnose pests and diseases and recommend treatments. Numerous handouts and lots of problem-solving literature. The clinic will be at the farm every Saturday from 10 to 2 all the way through June! Bring your samples and questions.   Free  

 

A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness;

 it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust. 

- Gertrude Jekyll

 

 

Naturally Native – Amazing American of the Month

Mountain Avens  -  Dryas octopetala

This charming Washington alpine native only gets about 3'' tall and is a slow spreading groundcover. Incredibly cute white flowers have a bright yellow center and are held about 6 to 10-inches above the foliage. A heavy Spring bloom is followed with light blooming all summer. Flowers are followed by feathery seed heads that stay attractive most of the summer. Leaves are shiny green with scalloped edges and are evergreen turning black in extreme cold.

Zones 2-7  -  foliage 2-3 inches tall

Website work is being done this weekend so I cannot provide photo links.

Just click on ‘Dryas’ from the catalog page.

 

Hi, just wanted pass along a big thanks for the wonderful plants

I received today. I ordered 3 Itea's and 3 Spiraea and got them planted today. 

I will definitely recommend you to my friends.

 -Brian H.,   Desoto, Texas

 

Deutzia gracilis 'Chardonnay Pearls'

A totally new look for an old garden favorite. Attractive, crisp, lime-yellow foliage provides season long garden color long after the spring blooms have faded. Pearl-like buds open to fragrant white blooms – a lovely combination with the chartreuse foliage. This compact deciduous shrub fits easily into the perennial garden or at the front of the shrub border. Highly effective in containers or cascading over a low wall. When any of the deutzia are in bloom, it’s very hard to keep them in stock. Truly charming, eye-catching and easy to grow little shrubs!  Zone 5  -  20 to 36 inches tall  -  Full sun, part shade.

Website work is being done this weekend so I cannot provide photo links.

Just click on ‘Deutzia’ from the catalog page.

 

 

We can complain because rose bushes have thorns,
or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.
-  Abraham Lincoln   

 

The Rugosa Rose  -  Rosa Rugosa

This one brings the term ‘carefree’ to a whole new level. Highly prized in the landscape for its beautiful flowers, foliage, and bright red rose hips! The shiny 1-inch hips are deep red and fleshy, ripening in late summer and look like cherry tomatoes. These were grown and sold as edible fruit. They are very sweet, make wonderful jams and jellies and are very high in Vitamins E & C.

This charming plant has a wild, shaggy feel to it that will soften and naturalize the landscape.  Extremely easy to grow, being picky only about its need for perfect drainage. Salt, sand, poor soil, shade, sun, it doesn’t care as long at it’s well-drained.

These are one of the hardiest plants you can grow, but it can get away from you. When kept in bounds with occasional pruning, the foliage stays attractive. Makes a great hedge, growing at about 2 feet per year and the birds love it!

These bloom all summer long until the first hard frost. The flowers can range from white to dark pink, and they never lose their timeless appeal!  And… oh yeah, they’re intensely fragrant. Sweet, pleasant and carrying for yards. Sometimes the yellow, orange and red fall color can be quite surprising!

Zones 2-9     Height 3 to 8 feet

Website work is being done this weekend so I cannot provide photo links.

Just click on ‘Rosa’ from the catalog page.

 

 

 

I am writing in the garden.

To write as one should of a garden one must write not outside it

or merely somewhere near it,

but in the garden.

-Frances Hodgson Burnett

 

Big Dipper Farm 
360-886-8133
www.BigDipperFarm.com