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plants in power W W W . P L A N T S I N P O W E R . G A R D E N F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 1

S O C I E T Y F O R H O R T I C U T U R E A N D G A R D E N I N G

A “powerful” voice

promoting the love of

gardening, civic and

environmental

responsibility,

advocate sustainabil-

ity and conservation…

education and

exchange of

ideas...and love of all

things horticulture.

in this issue:

• sweet heart

Gifts ideas for your

‘sweetheart’ gar-

dener on

Valentines Day • heart felt Traditions and his-

tory of Valentine’s

Day

• heart break

New seasonal

roses

• heart land grdening

Seeds for the

season

• heart beat Heart health in cold

Lamprocapnos spectabilis, bleeding heart, is a species of flowering plant in the

Papaveraceae (poppy family), native to Siberia, northern China, Korea and Japan.

Ph

oto

—O

ld Farm

ers Alm

anac

For most of us in the Pacific Northwest, Dicentra specta-bilis, February is a bit early for the lovely heart-shaped blooms. The attractive foliage is just peaking out of the garden bed this time of year and are in full glory early spring. I find growing the ‘heart’ very simple. Shade loca-tion for the warmer southern zones, I have had success placing along my protected boarders sun or shade here in zone 7b (really more like zone 5-6 due to micro-climate changes), soil moisture consistency, and good organic soil amendments produce amazing results that often last into the summer. For a change, look for the White Gold or Gold Heart Di-centra, with its chartreuse foliage and stunning heart-shaped blooms in early spring. In other News! Plants in Power is heading into the “Season” and we will be combining our Newsletters for March/April/May and then June/July August, so we can spend more time in the Garden! Thanks, Lori Fowler

P A G E 2

Sweet heart...capture the ‘heart of a gardener”

P L A N T S I N P O W E R

Red Roses traditionally speaks without words...I

Love You and that makes it the most popular flow-er sent for respect, romantic love, and even con-gratulations.

White Roses sends the message “I am the one for

you!” They symbolize true love, purity, innocence, reverence, humility, youthfulness, and charm.

Red and White Together “We are a great

match” and signifies unity.

Pink Roses expresses “Thank You” They show ap-

preciation, grace, perfect happiness, admiration, gratefulness, and gentleness.

Orange or coral Roses “I want you in my life”

Orange lets the receiver know that you are passion-ate about them. The color means desire, enthusi-asm, and fascination.

Peach Roses “Let’s make this a memorable Valen-

tine’s Day color symbolizes intimacy—“Let’s get together”

Rose Stem Symbolism It is not enough to simply choose the color of the Rose to convey your innermost thoughts, your message is also sent through the number of stems or the type of rose you choose.

A bouquet of roses , which

represents innocent love,

says "you're forever young

and beautiful,"

A thornless rose says

"love at first sight"

The tea rose says

'I'll remember you always”

For most every sentiment and feeling...there is a

color of rose and sending roses of a certain color can

say more

Yellow Roses state “we are friends and I care about

you”. Yellow stands for joy, gladness, friendship, delight, new beginnings, welcome back, and remem-brance.

Yellow with Red Tipped Roses “I’m falling in love

with you” the beautiful sunset roses let that new person in your life know that you want more than friendship— they symbolize falling in love.

P A G E 3

If you are looking for the unusual this year

to treat yourself or your Valentine...take a

peak at Etsy. A global market for unique and

handcrafted goods chocked full of seasonal

ideas for the gardener.

...capture the ‘heart of a gardener”

gifts from your garden Unless you live ‘down under’ your the garden is still coming out of the winter mode and can offer little in the way of gifts like starts or trans-plants (with the exception of sedums). I do have a few suggestions, however, if you are inclined to the homemade gift of love in this season. Perhaps the easiest gift for the gardener would be to gather seeds from your favorite flowers or vegetable plants to share. Place them in a color-ful or printable seed packet or maybe in a cute container or pot. If your gift is for a non-gardener, I suggest giving dried herbs from your garden or perhaps you can seasonally—homemade jellies, jams or relishes make a beautiful and welcome gift. Putting together starter or ‘kits’ for the young gardener as inspiration to learn about the plant world in a fun and active way. I suggest a kit for building a homemade terrarium. You will need:

• Container

• Sand, small stones or aquarium gravel

• Soil

• Collected mosses, small sedum and plants from your winter beds

• Small figures or cake toppers add to the fun!

I

P A G E 4

Heart felt...the dark history of Valentines Day

The highly commercialized

modern Valentine’s Day is all

about love and romance and

taking the time from our busy

lives to spend with those we

love and respect. Flowers,

chocolates and tokens of

affection are exchanged.

The history of Valentine’s

Day is very different and in

contrast to our romantic

notions today , it was actually

bloody and violent by todays

standards

P L A N T S I N P O W E R

Traced back to the 6th century B.C. , Lupercalia was an annual festival, observed in the city of Rome, between the 13th and 14th of February, to avert evil spirits and purify the city - promoting good health and fertility. It may only be a coincidence of calendar, but speculation about this festivals fertility rites add to the idea that it is the origin of Valentine’s Day. Warning...this is a bit shocking…. Priests of Lupercal would remove their clothes, sacrifice a goat and a dog in the Lupercal (the cave that Roman legend held to have been the location where city founders Romulus and Remus were nursed by a wolf ) cut the hides into strips and run through the streets beating girls who were lined up. Some historical accounts claim the beatings were brutal and others describe the beatings as symbolic, not sadistic.

“The festival was to enable or facilitate fertility,” says Kresimir Vukovic, a postdoctoral fellow at the

Catholic University of Croatia who has studied Lupercalia. “If you were struck by a Lupercus, one of the

priests, it was considered that you would give birth to more children”. This was followed by a lottery in which young men would draw to be matched with a woman for the duration of the festival—and if the two were a “good match” it would continue after the festival ended. In his book America’s Favorite Holidays: Candid Histories, Bruce David Forbes writes “Although there probably was wild partying, there is no reliable evidence that it involved a ritualized time when men drew the names of women, or that it involved the pairing of lovers. “ Whether the ritual was an initiation or ritualized ‘play ’ marking a transition into adulthood is unknown. Scholars have different theories about the practice and there is evidence that even the Romans themselves were puzzled by the naked priests’ behavior.

GREENMAN PRESS

R. Bruce Fowler contributing editor and author Plants in Power.

Valentine...by any other

name… Rome is linked to Valentine's Day in the third century when Emper-or Claudius ll put to death three men, named Valentine. The Cath-olic Church honored their mar-tyrdom by declaring February 14th Saint Valentine’s Day—Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni. The Catholic Encyclope-dia speaks of the third Saint Val-entine, who was martyred in Afri-ca, but little else is known about him.

For several hundred years , there is really no substantial evidence of Europe celebrating the Romance of Valentine until the late fourteenth century when Geoffry Chaucer (c.1343-1400),made the association in his poem ‘The Parlement of Foules’. The poem features a parliament (assembly) of birds, which have gathered together in order to choose their mates.

‘For this was on seynt Volantynys day

Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.’

I am not convinced that this is the start of our romantic traditions! Chaucer may have popularized Valentine as a day of love and romance, but it is a stretch to say he invented it!

Heart felt...Valentine traditions

The giving of flowers on Valentine’s Day goes back to the 17th century, but what of other traditional gifts…

Greeting Cards Originally made by hand - it wasn't long before manufacturers began to make them by machine. Although love poems and messages have been sent since the written word was used, the first Valentine card of record was a poem written by Charles the Duke of Orleans to his wife from his prison cell in the Tower of London in 1415. By the 16th Century the exchanging of cards was growing popular and by the early 19th Century a Valentine card was the most commonly given gift. Today millions are sent and not just between lovers. Children exchange them at school to teachers and classmates, and we exchange them with family and friends. Chocolate...After chocolates introduction in the 17th century from Spain to the New World, it has been a favorite! Many con-sidered it to be an aphrodisiac which may be why it is associated with Valentine’s Day.

Photo—wall paper flare

P A G E 6

Heart break...new roses for 2021

P L A N T S I N P O W E R

We desire them...we deserve them...be prepared for temptation! The

San Diego Union-Tribune recently gave us a peek at the beauties for

2021. With bare root season here, many of us

will opt to purchase the tried and true, but

one look at these roses and you may want to be

the first in your neighborhood to have them.

“Perfume Factory” is a Tom Carruth hybrid

tea introduced by Weeks Roses. The clas-

sic, spiraled lavender-pink blooms have a

strong fruity and spice fragrance. The bush

is medium-tall, and its glossy, green foliage

has good disease resistance.

A Christian Bédard floribunda, also in-

troduced by Weeks Roses, is the “Silver

Lining”. It has a classical, large spiraled

silver –lavender bloom on medium stems

and has good disease resistance.

The novelty factor of this rose lies in the

unusual bloom color, which holds ell. Sweet

Rose of Mine Floribunda by Jackson & Per-

kins has light pink buds to cute cuppy flowers

with soft pink centers and white outer pet-

als. Generous cover the crown fully and re-

peat quickly. A light fruity fragrance - clus-

ters of old-fashioned blooms

heart land gardening

The Gardeners year

begins in February!

Anything that you can

do to warm the soil

this time of year is

good. Low tunnels or

cloches will help clod,

water-logged soil dry

out and begin to

warm. Black or clear

plastic can be pinned

over beds to raise

the soil temperature

higher in the lead-up

to planting

A hard decision to make each year is where to purchase my garden seeds plants and supplies! Especially when so much is now available online. I have several favorite garden seed cata-logs and suppliers, and I update my list every January.

Renee’s Garden has grown into one of the most trusted suppliers of seeds for organic and heirloom varieties… So if you crave a little history with your salad, this is the spot for you!

Amazing photography, arti-cles and information on the history paired with high quali-ty heirloom seeds and selec-tion for the garden and you coffee table!

Seed savers is a non profit com-pany that is a wonderful source of information on heirloom and open pollinated seed, as well as one of the top suppliers for such seeds.

Harris Seeds is my choice for profes-sional propagation seeds. They are high quality and organic. I appreciate that they are packaged in vials for proper storage.

P A G E 8

Heart beat...

P L A N T S I N P O W E R

During winter, cold weather can put an extra strain on your heart. Low temperatures can cause blood vessels to narrow, restricting the flow of blood around the body so reducing the amount of oxygen reaching the heart and your heart has to work harder to continue pumping blood and oxygen through your body. It is important to stay active and maintain fitness level and if heading outside to garden for outdoor chores, be sure to wrap up warm with several layers and stay hydrated.

plants in power

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plants in power

photo for

February

from Wendy

Fowler of

O'Fallon, IL.