Astrantia or Masterwort
If we could choose only a handful of plants for our garden, Astrantia would be at the top of our list. There's something about her that's both elegant and cottage-like allowing easy transition into many different garden settings.
Palmately shaped foliage is coarse and deeply divided with ragged, serrated edges lending an interesting texture to the semi-shade garden. Flowers sit well above the basil foliage and are sometimes described as pincushion-like, but rest assured, she's so much more than that. Tiny clusters of nectar rich flowers are backed by light green and sit within a nest of pointed bracts that echo the color of the flowers they surround. Astrantia boasts an exceptionally long flowering period and can be found in shades of white, green, various shades of burgundy and purple.
She prefers a semi-shade location with consistently moist soils, but we've found she does quite well in some of the drier sites on our property. Varieties range from 24" to 30" tall and wide and are hardy from zone 4-7. Check each variety for hardiness). Makes an excellent, long lasting cut flower and dries very well.
Pair it up with Astilbes, Ferns and Epimediums for a sensation shade garden.
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Q: I'd like to prolong my lettuce harvest into winter. What can I do short of building a greenhouse?
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A: Raising your own food is a satisfying and rewarding endeavor and lettuce is one of the easier crops to grow. Since lettuce prefers cooler temperatures, it is an ideal late season crop. To get started, make sure you have fresh seed. Plan to sow seeds in mid to late September while the earth is still warm and the day temps range in the high 50's to low 70's. Seeds should germinate quickly allowing the plants to put on some respectable growth before it gets cold. As temperatures begin to dip into frost territory, protect your lettuce crop using a row cover, which can be found at most nurseries. This lightweight, white material allows light transmission during the day while protecting your plants against light freezes at night. hoops made out of old metal coat hangers will keep fabric up off of plants. Keep fabric in place with large stones or bricks placed along edges.
For an even longer season, a simple cold frame will do the trick. This easy to build structure captures the suns energy during the day and keeps the soil slightly warmer through the night. A heavy blanket place over the frame on the coldest nights will further protect your crop and prolong your season by many weeks. Though your plants will probably stop growing at some point, they'll have a good start for spring when temperatures begin to rise and days become longer.
Cold Frame Basics:
The frame is a bottomless box, usually constructed from cedar, with a slanted, tightly fitted top made of old windows or other transparent material such as plastic or fiberglass. A typical frame is approximately three feet wide and six feet long, with an 18-inch-high back that slopes down to 12 inches high in the front.
-The dimensions will depend upon the type of lid being used--an old storm window is ideal, but anything that lets in light and keeps cold air out will suffice.
-After box has been built, choose a south facing position and bury halfway into ground.
-You can either use the existing soil as your planting media or dig out 6-8" of it and refill with a yummy organic soil and compost.
-Inside temps can get too hot for plants so keep a brick or rock handy to prop open lid on the sunniest days. Just be sure to close lid before the sun sets to trap some of that warm air overnight.
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