Garden Detective

I'm sick. And tired. But I had quite a productive weekend, with aching muscles to show for it. I'm walking around like Tim Conway's "Old Man" character from The Carol Burnett Show today -- a grim reminder that my sedentary lifestyle has taken its toll over the winter and that some simple pulling and lifting has the power to cripple me.

I mustn't be alone in this, as June 6th is National Gardening Exercise Day. The holiday, promoted by Jeffrey Restuccio, author of Fitness the Dynamic Gardening Way and proponent of "aerobic gardening," is new to me. I like the thought of viewing garden work as exercise. At least when I'm done I can feel a sense of accomplishment and revel in the fruits (and vegetables, and especially the colorful blooms) of my labor. What enjoyment awaits me when I step off the treadmill?

Restuccio has some interesting charts on his website that show the number of calories expended during various gardening activities. For instance, according to one chart, an hour of weeding burns 364 calories versus, say, sitting quiety, which burns only 80.

I moved one of the big euonymuses (nearly killed myself in the process), trimmed some needled evergreen groundcover (scratched myself severely in the process,) moved some irises and a beautiful azalea from the backyard to the front (both without incident,) and weeded three-quarters of the front bed. After reading the calorie charts, I estimated I must have burned more than 1,200 calories over the weekend.

As I'm still suffering from a nasty cold (DAY 9,) which has rendered me weak, all the bending and rising while weeding left me dizzy to the point of near unconsciousness. You might have noticed me lying on the grass -- flat on my back -- periodically throughout the day, had you been walking by.

At one point, John, who was axing some old tree roots, looked over with concern. "Hey, are you O.K.?"

"Don't worry about me -- I have a system." And a good one, too: Bend. Rise. Lie down. Repeat.

Mulch comes tomorrow.

Happy spring.

1. True four-season interest. Not just evergreen trees scattered about. I want a Harry Lauder's Walking Stick and a Red Twig Dogwood or three.

2. I want plants to look full and mature the day I plant them. I'm forever tormented by deciding between allowing the recommended space between plantings to allow for air circulation and growth, and packing them in for immediate gratification.

3. An end to weeding. I recently put the new Black & Decker garden cultivator to the test, and boy -- did that baby perform! And with such ease! I'm actually waiting for more weeds to grow so I can use my new toy again. It's my new best friend. (Black & Decker did not pay me to say that, by the way.)

4. A big, strong man at my beck and call who'll do all my digging and hauling without complaining. And then I could just sit down and point, occasionally muttering things like "over there," and "a little to the right."

5. I want not to have to get a new cesspool next week. Not only will the process raid my already meager savings, but it will rip up my garden and make a muddy mess of the backyard.

6. A hot tub.

7. A hose that won't tangle, is feather-light but sturdy, and will recoil on its own. Anybody know of one?

8. Instant compost.

9. More Knockout roses.

10. And most of all, I want world peace, an end to hunger and equality for all. That, and an unsolicited massage at the end of a long day.

What's on YOUR wish list?

• Begin to harden off vegetable and flower seedlings the third week of April. They'll be ready for transplanting in the garden in a week or two. How to harden off seedlings

• Transplant cool-season vegetable seedlings, like lettuce, broccoli and cabbage in the second half of the month. Generally, the last frost date on Long Island falls around April 15 (Tax Day,) but it's probably wise to wait a bit longer. (Be sure to harden off seedlings before planting outside.)

• Clean up garden beds if you haven't done so already. Rake out leaves and cut back last year's perennials to make way for new growth. Start a compost pile with the debris.

• Sow hardy annual seeds outdoors.
  
  
• Prune established roses and plant new ones.

• Plant herbaceous perennials at the end of the month.

• Join the Garden Detective Long Island Seed Exchange!

Natalie Goldfeder of Whitestone has pulled off an amazing feat. She's not only managed to keep a 40-year-old orange tree alive in New York, but it's actually yeilding fruit!

"The tree came from Florida about 40 years ago and was given to my mother by her friend. After about 25 years living in her house it went to my sister's apartment and lived there for about 8 years," Goldfeder says.

"Now it is in my apartment and I would not part with it for a moment. All of my friends are telling me to throw it out because it takes up so much room. I thought of donating it to the Botanical Gardens but the thought of parting with it sickens me. I know that I will be the only person that would take such good care of it. "

Goldfeder says the tree produces fruit, but the oranges are small and too sour to eat. Nonetheless, the fuit lends a tropical feel to her home. In the summer, Goldfeder has the tree relocated to her apartment complex's pool area, where all her neighbors get to enjoy it. The folks from the Queens Garden Center tend the tree from June through September, fertilizing and pruning it during its outdoor vacation. After Labor Day, it returns to its home beside a wall of windows in Goldfeder's living room.

Sesame Street's Kermit the Frog laments his lot in life in his song, "It's not easy being green."

1. Plant, Plant, Plant!

One of the simplest ways to give back to the planet without breaking your budget is to plant something. “Just plant something, anything," McCoy implores. "A single tree, shrub, bush or container will help the environment... Imagine if we all planted jut one new plant every year!” Trees and other plants remove CO2 from the air during photosynthesis, which cleans and oxygenates the environment. Plants also help prevent soil erosion, control water cycles, and moderate temperatures.

2. Start with Healthy Soil

Pesticides and fungicides aren’t safe for people, pets or even the planet. Eliminate the need for harmful garden chemicals by pampering ur plants with healthy, nutrient-rich soil from the get go. “Healthy soil, rich in minerals, nutrients and ’good bugs,' maximizes a plant’s own healthy immune system to let it naturally resist pests and diseases,” says McCoy. If you don't compost your own, look for organic potting soils like Organic Mechanics, available at Whole Foods stores this spring.

3. Reduce Fertilizer Use

Overfeeding isn't healthy for your plants, and all those extra nutrients end up polluting streams, bays, rivers and other watersheds. “Plants can only absorb so much fertilizer before the excess nutrients runoff into the groundwater,” says McCoy. Fertilizer runoff contaminates drinking water, kills fish and other sea creatures and causes problems like Red Tide. Reduce overfeeding by using environmentally responsible feeding practices, like the new slow-release fertilizer Dynamite. The 9-month plant food releases nutrients to the plant when the plant needs it most, and doesn't over- or under-feed, so they're maximum benefit and minimal wate and runoff. Plus, it’s low in phosphate, which makes it a nutritious, yet earth-friendly, plant food option.

4. Water Responsibly

If you don’t need to water your plants as often, you’ll save gallons of time and money, plus you'll conserve water. “Substitute older cultivars with new and improved varieties bred 'to drink responsibly',” advises McCoy. “Updated versions of classic plants like Knock Out® shrub roses require much less water than older cultivars."

5. Be Grass Green

“Most gardens have lawns, and in some cases the lawn IS the garden,” notes Ethne Clarke, garden editor of Traditional Home. She suggests mowing less frequently and cutting the grass longer so the top growth protects the roots, and watering less frequently to force the roots to grow deeper, which keeps them cooler and less susceptible to drought damage. She recommends using cornmeal or diatomaceous earth as an insecticide and pulling weeds before they set seed. For tough lawns, use a soil conditioner with good micro-organisms and aerate to encourage soil health.

6. Be Kind to Flora and Fauna

After pouring blood, sweat and tears into your garden, you don't want to wake up one morning to find that nocturnal visitors have made a midnight snack of your plants. All-natural repellents such as Deer Stopper reportedly are just as effective as their synthetic counterparts. To safeguard our children, pets and water supply, McCoy suggests organic and all-natural animal repellants such as DeerStopper from Messina Wild Life. Other products offered by the manufacturer of 100 % organic repellents work to keep geese, groundhogs, moles, mosquitos, rabbits and squirrels away.

Photos from the EPCOT Flower & Garden Show

My entire family has abandoned me for sunnier climes. My sister and her family relocated to Florida in 1990, and my parents followed a few years later. Though John probably would jump at the opportunity to escape the rat race, there are too many things about New York that I couldn’t possibly leave behind. So every year, usually in February, we pile into the mini van and drive the 20 or so grueling hours through eight states – with an obligatory stop at a Cracker Barrel restaurant – to the Sunshine State.

This year, I timed the annual pilgrimage to coincide with the 14th Annual EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival, a Disney treat that has eluded me in the past because it doesn’t usually coincide with school vacations. Because of the extraordinary number of guests that visit EPCOT solely for the festival, it has been extended to 60 days with the extension tacked on to the beginning of the event and just in time to overlap with our region’s Spring Break.

I hooked up with Eric Darden, the Festival’s horticultural manager, and Heather Wills-Browne, horticultural manager of Walt Disney World Nurseries, Tuesday afternoon for a preview tour of some pretty intense horticulture. I think it’s obvious to any visitor to any WDW theme park, property or event, that the company mantra is probably something like, “Quality or Bust.” Everything from the most luxurious resort down to the humblest snack stand is first rate. The attention to detail is breathtaking, and the EPCOT festival is no exception.

Nearly a full year in the planning, creative renderings for the displays were done last June and then structural engineers set to work creating the topiaries, which weigh between 1,000 and 1,500 pounds apiece. Fabrication happened in September or October, and just last night some 30 workers – electricians, irrigation specialists, gardeners, crane operators and others – set the festival’s focal point in place just inside the EPCOT entry gate.

Beginning on April 5 and until the festival ends on June 3, visitors to EPCOT will be greeted by the realistic pirate ship with multi-hued Peter Pan, Captain Hook and Tinker Bell topiaries on board. And the largest character topiary this year is Pirate Goofy, standing 14 feet tall.

Because the event has begun earlier than usual this year, Disney gardeners have had the opportunity – and the necessity – to experiment with cooler season plants. The vibrant violas, however, won’t be long lived; they will have to be replaced by warmer season plants in two or three weeks.

There are other ‘firsts’ to behold at the festival this year, too. Temporary playgrounds throughout the park are among the first-ever installations anywhere of the revolutionary EVOS play systems. While most jungle gyms are structured, EVOS encourages creative play. You’ll likely be seeing them pop up in school playgrounds over the next few years.
Minnie’s Magnificent Butterfly Garden is enclosed in a revolutionary “Aluminette” fabric. The screening, invented in Israel, allows only the sun’s “good” rays to penetrate, while filtering out harmful ones. The 500 butterflies in the house would be lethargic from the heat and wouldn’t flutter about without it. My guess is that with temperatures being unseasonably warm, even for Florida, visitors wouldn't do much fluttering about without it, either. Immediately upon entering the screen room, I noticed a welcome temperature drop of about ten degrees.

“This is the best time of year to bring kids to EPCOT,” Darden said. “If your kids are four to five years old, they need a place to run around. The play areas are nice and shady.” While kids might need to run around, parents, to be sure, will need to rest. I noticed each play area has mercy benches for mom and dad.

There are other things for mom and dad at the festival, too. The Flower Power concert series will feature thrice-daily shows by stars from the 60s and 70s such as Paul Revere and the Raiders, Herman’s Hermits, Davy Jones, The S.O.S. Band, The Guess Who and Tony Orlando. On Mother’s Day, each mom will receive a flower. And the Art of Outdoor Living Garden offers lots of inspiration for creating an upscale outdoor living area. Every Weekend, visitors will have the opportunity to learn from the pros by attending the Great American Gardeners Series. Paul James of HGTV’s “Gardening by the Yard” will appear April 5-8. Other garden personalities to appear include Patricia Lanza, author of “Lasagna Gardening,” TV and radio personality Gary Alan and renowned wilderness photographer Clyde Butcher. My invitation to appear must have gotten lost in the mail. I’ll be sure to update Disney with my proper mailing address for future events, as I’m sure they’re disappointed.

Throughout the festival (and no doubt in my place) Disney experts will be on hand to share tips and secrets that you can use in your own garden.

I give a lot of credit to the gardeners, who not only worked hard but worked smart, using creative touches throughout the displays like palm fiber for Beauty and her Beast’s hair, dried statice to decorate Pirate Mickey’s black flag, and an air plant called tillandsia to cover Tinker Bell’s wings. Other plant materials used to create and define features of the topiaries include pink and red begonias, dusty miller, palm seeds, ficus and lichen.

After touring the park, which is dressed up with 300,000 bedding plants, 70 topiaries (including the revolving royal couple Cinderella and Prince Charming,) and 30 MILLION blooms in total, I had to wonder where it all would go after all the hoopla has faded. Secretly conspiring to do some dumpster diving, I inquired about the fate of those gorgeous plants at the end of the festival. “They all get composted,” Wills-Browne told me with a straight face. Oh well, most of them wouldn’t grow well on Long Island anyway.