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Authors Posts by Ellen Barcel

Ellen Barcel

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Above, a birdhouse made with the library’s 3D printer peeks out among the hydrangea bush and impatiens. Photo by Heidi Sutton

By Ellen Barcel

Tucked among the quaint shops on East Main Street in Port Jefferson is an urban oasis.

A community garden came to Port Jefferson this past growing season. The new garden is located in front of the 1812 Captain Thomas Bayles House, right next to the Port Jefferson Free Library on East Main Street. The former home of the Scented Cottage Garden gift shop, the historic building was sold to the library last year. Erin Schaarschmidt, head of teen services for the library, said “there are no plans just yet” for the future of the building, and “public input is needed” with suggestions for its future use, but the front lawn of the property was quickly put to use.

Teens pick vegetables in the community garden to donate to a local food pantry. Photo courtesy of PJFL
Teens pick vegetables in the community garden to donate to a local food pantry. Photo courtesy of PJFL

The idea for the community garden came from Anthony Bliss, youth services librarian. Bliss, who works with children and teens, wanted something that the younger children could do. “And teen volunteers are always clamoring for community service,” said Schaarschmidt. “The teens started the seeds in the teen center in spring [which is across the street from the main building]. Then the children came with their families to plant [the seedlings]… the teens have been weeding it to keep up with it.” Even when school started, teens have been coming in the afternoons after school. Commenting on the dedication of the teen volunteers, Schaarschmidt noted, “The teen volunteers even came when it was 90 degrees or more and in the rain. It really was a labor of love.”

Teens weed the community garden during the summer. Photo courtesy of the PJFL
Teens weed the community garden during the summer. Photo courtesy of the PJFL

The garden featured several types of tomatoes and peppers in raised beds. Welcome Inn, a soup kitchen in Port Jefferson, was the recipient of the bounty. But vegetables were not the only plants raised in the community garden. Lots of annuals including sunflowers, impatiens, zinnia and salvia, many in colorful planters decorated by a local Girl Scout group, filled the garden, as well as herbs such as basil and mint. There was even an aquatic garden with water hyacinths and a fountain. Painted rocks placed carefully along the beds completed the picture.

The brightly colored birdhouses that adorn some of the larger perennials in the garden, such as the beautiful hydrangeas, are embossed with the letters PJFL. But what is more unique about them is that they were made using a three-dimensional printer that the library owns. A 3D printer makes objects from a digital file. So instead of printing out a photo of a birdhouse, the 3D printer produces the birdhouse itself. Using PLA, a type of biodegradable plastic, the teens created the colorful additions. The library owns the printer, but currently it is used only for special programs. “It takes one to two hours to print each thing,” said Schaarschmidt, so the process is time consuming, but “in the future [the public] will be able to use it.” She noted that the library is working out details, including the cost.

Now that autumn is just about here, plans include putting in a fall display of mums and corn stalks. Noted Schaarschmidt, “The Friends of the Library will be having a small sale of pumpkins to raise money for the library on Oct. 22.” She added, kids will be able to have their photos taken. “It will be a family event.” Check the library’s website, www.portjefflibrary.org, for specifics, or call 631-473-0022 closer to the date.

Community gardens have so many benefits: produce for those who can’t afford it, service for local volunteers and, of course, the beauty of the plants themselves. They increase local property values and they cut down on the distance food must travel, helping to control pollution, to name just a few. For further information on community gardens, especially if you are interested in starting, or taking part in one, can be found at the American Community Gardening Association website: www.communitygarden.org.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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The firethorn plant produces gorgeous cluster of yellow or orange berries in the fall.

By Ellen Barcel

Last week we took a look at a number of trees that you may consider adding to your garden, and how important it is to do research, to make sure that the trees’ qualities match your preferences and requirements. This week, let’s take a look at some perennials and shrubs.

Perennials and shrubs

Deer love hostas (as well as many other plants). Hostas in general don’t do well in sunlight. You may be willing to spend a lot of time watering them and putting up with the crispy edges most develop in strong sunlight. Personally, I just put hostas in the shade in the back yard, away from deer.

One of the biggest mistakes I frequently see is planting rhododendrons in front of windows. That two-foot-tall baby plant, may grow up to 10 or 12 feet tall totally covering the windows. Always check out the variety and its mature size when selecting it, unless, that is, you have a nasty view from a window and wish to block it out.

Wisteria is an aggressive vine that needs a fair amount of pruning to keep it in check
Wisteria is an aggressive vine that needs a fair amount of pruning to keep it in check

Oriental varieties of wisteria are very aggressive. Unless you are willing to tame this beautiful but aggressive plant, avoid it. It climbs up nearby trees, spreads along the ground and roots easily. If, however, you wish to cover a gazebo and are willing to take the time to keep it pruned back, it makes a beautiful privacy screen.

Most, but not all, varieties of holly need a male plant in the area so that the female plants will produce those beautiful red berries. If you buy holly, make sure you have the male plant as well. It will generally be smaller than the female and will not produce red berries itself. So plant it where it can pollinate the female plants but not where you expect a beautiful display.

Firethorn (Pyracantha) is a woody shrub that produces lovely flowers in spring and gorgeous clusters of yellow or orange berries in fall. The tall shrub (six to 16 feet) makes a lovely specimen plant or as part of a hedge. The evergreen plant is hardy in zones 6 to 9 (Long Island is zone 7). However, as its name implies, it’s filled with thorns. So, grow this beautiful and relatively carefree shrub knowing that the thorns can get you.

Devil’s walking stick (Aralia spinosa) is native to North America. So it can be found growing wild but not usually on Long Island. Some people like the unique plant (or small tree) with its white flowers in spring, which are followed by purple-black berries, and go out of their way to plant it. However, its name should make your aware of its nasty qualities, namely the horrible thorns along its stems. If you must add this to your garden, plant it in a remote area where no one can come in contact with those spines. Or, better yet, don’t plant it at all.

Research

With such easy access to information on the internet, no one should be making these, and other, gardening mistakes. Go to your search engine, type in the name of the plant in question together with a phrase such as “negative qualities” or “pros and cons.” Then check out the information and find out if you’re willing to live with the negatives. It may be worth it.

Mulberry is a weedy tree that drops fruit seemingly everywhere.
Mulberry is a weedy tree that drops fruit seemingly everywhere.

You may be willing to put up with the spiky seed pods of the sweet gum, or the long string beans of the catalpa, or the fruit dropping from a mulberry tree. You may like the fact that certain plants are slow growing and won’t take over your garden. Or you may want a fast growing plant to block out undesirable sights quickly. Make sure you know the final size (height and width) of a tree. Don’t plant a tree that easily spreads to 40 feet across right up against your house. Both the tree and the house will suffer.

Note that websites with extensions like .edu (colleges, universities, etc.) and .org (organizations) are most likely to give accurate, well-researched information. So, do your homework before you hit the nurseries. Then, ask them for their opinions. They may know, for example, that local deer love the buds of Montauk daisies, despite the fact that most websites say the plant is deer resistant.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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The tree of heaven, a.k.a. the stink weed tree, has a bad odor. It’s also on the Do Not Sell list. Photo by Ellen Barcel

By Ellen Barcel

Many people think of gardening as outdoor work: mowing a lawn, fertilizing, watering, planting, pruning, etc. And while this is true, doing your homework, i.e., research, before you select plants will make life a whole lot easier for you.

Fall is an ideal planting time. For one thing, it’s cooler so you’ll use less supplemental water. For another, you are getting a jump start on next year’s gardening. It generally takes three growing seasons for a new plant to settle in and flourish. If you plant in fall, that counts as the first year, a year where it will be accustomed to its new home. Next spring it will grow a more extensive root structure; and the third season you’ll have a gorgeous, healthy plant.

But, remember, no plant is perfect. So, you need to know each plant’s pros and cons before you plant. Here are some examples:

Trees

Maple trees have an extensive root system near to the surface that can play havoc with your lawn. Norway maple also puts out a tremendous amount of seeds, meaning seedlings are everywhere. That means doing a lot of weeding. Yes, they’re on Suffolk’s Do Not Sell List, but friends or neighbors may offer you some. “No thank you” is the perfect reply.

Ginkgo trees (the female ones) produce a lot of foul smelling fruit. Most nurseries will sell only male trees, but, you really need to make sure. Unless you plan to use the fruit, as some Oriental cooks do, you really don’t want a female tree.

Sweet gum trees produce spiky seed pods that seem to land everywhere. While this is a lovely shade tree and the seed pods are really interesting to look at, do you want to spend time cleaning them up from lawns, walkways and anything else that is near them? If you want the sweet gum and have a large enough piece of property, plant it near the back of your garden, away from walkways, etc.

Black walnut trees have the reputation of killing many plants near them by putting out toxic (to the plants) chemicals. This is known as allelopathy. They’re beautiful shade trees, which produce great nuts for eating, but are you ready to deal with this problem?

The Bradford Pear is a beautiful tree with burgundy leaves in autumn but has a habit of splitting as a mature tree. Photo by Ellen Barcel
The Bradford Pear is a beautiful tree with burgundy leaves in autumn but has a habit of splitting as a mature tree. Photo by Ellen Barcel

Ornamental pear trees have the nasty habit of splitting or having large chunks of the tree break off as the tree matures and grows older. They’re fast growing trees, with lovely white flowers in spring and burgundy leaves in late fall. Yes, they’re beautiful trees, but you need to be aware of this potential problem.

Native dogwood (Cornus florida) can develop the fungal disease anthracnose, which can actually kill the tree while it only makes maples look ugly. So, if this is a concern, grow another variety of dogwood, such as Kousa dogwood (which blooms about a month or two later than C. florida).

Tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) is considered a weed. It seeds itself everywhere and has a foul smell — hence its nickname “stink weed tree.” This is also on the Do Not Sell List because of its invasive nature but easily found growing wild.

Weeping willow trees have a shallow root system and can easily be blown over in storms. I lost two that way and decided to replace them with other trees. Also note that willow wood doesn’t have a nice aroma used in a fireplace. So, if you lose the tree in a storm, you can’t even use the wood. The roots also have the reputation of heading for water sources, potentially damaging structures, so shouldn’t be planted by pools, etc.

The dawn redwood, once considered extinct, is a lovely coniferous tree. However, it has one quality that you may not like — it is deciduous. Yes, this is a unique specimen which loses its needles in the fall. If you are looking for coniferous trees to create a year round hedge or screen, then the dawn redwood is not for you. Next week: researching perennials and shrubs.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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Depending on the variety, irises bloom late spring to midsummer. Photo by Ellen Barcel

By Ellen Barcel

Autumn is the time to plant your new spring flowering bulbs. They can be planted up until the ground freezes, usually in December. Buy the best quality you can afford and you will be rewarded with a great garden next spring.

Snowdrops. Photo by Ellen Barcel
Snowdrops. Photo by Ellen Barcel

• Don’t overlook the tiny bulbs. They’re not as showy as tulips and daffodils but are ideal in small areas and rock gardens. Crocuses, of course, come to mind, but I have windflowers in my garden coming back for decades. Other small bulbs include the super early white snowdrops, just four to six inches high, and anemone with their daisy-like flowers. There are also tiny varieties of the standards. ‘Lilac Wonder’ is a miniature tulip, lilac and bright yellow in color. ‘Pipit Daffodil,’ another miniature, is white and pale yellow. A unique, and small, daffodil is ‘Golden Bells,’ which produces a dozen or more flowers from each bulb. It’s just six to eight inches high and blooms in late spring to early summer.

• If you’re looking for very fragrant flowers, consider hyacinth. Although, like most spring flowers, the bloom is short-lived, their perfume is exquisite. ‘Gipsy Queen’ is a soft apricot color, ‘Jan Bos’ is a carmine-red, and ‘Woodstock’ is maroon. Some daffodils are also very fragrant. Check the package or the catalog description.

Daffodils. Photo by Ellen Barcel
Daffodils. Photo by Ellen Barcel

• If you do go with daffodils and tulips, consider at least some of the more unique ones. ‘Mount Hood’ is a daffodil that has gigantic white flowers, and ‘Green Eyes,’ also a white flower, has a green cup. ‘Exotic Mystery’ is almost completely a pale green while ‘Riot’ has reddish-pink cups. Among the tulips there are double flowers, a wide range of colors and even stripped ones. ‘Ice Cream’ is a really unique tulip. It has white center petals, surrounded by deep pink and green ones. It’s really exquisite. ‘Strawberry Ice Cream’ resembles a peony flower, in deep pink and green.

• Try some new (to you) and unusual bulbs. For example, ‘Candy Cane’ sorrel (oxalis) has white flowers tinged in red. They bloom in spring and even into summer. Another really unusual flower is the dragon flower. The bloom is maroon with a spathe that grows up to three feet. This is a big one and really unusual.

Tulips. Photo by Ellen Barcel
Tulips. Photo by Ellen Barcel

• Remember that certain bulbs are very attractive to squirrels, particularly tulips. There are several ways of handling this problem. One is to surround the tulip bulbs with daffodils. Squirrels don’t like daffodils and will generally stay away from them and the tulips they surround. A second way of dealing with this problem is to plant the tulip bulbs in wire cages. A third possibility, one I heard a planter recommend, is to overplant, that is, plant many more, possibly up to 25 percent more, bulbs than required. That way, the squirrels get some and some survive to grow in the spring.

• If you miss this planting window and the ground is frozen, there are several things you can do. The usual recommendation is to put the bulbs in the fridge until the ground thaws enough to plant them. You could also try planting them in pots and storing the pots in an unheated garage.

• The bulbs you plant this autumn will produce gorgeous flowers next spring. This is based on the professional growers’ treatment of the bulbs. They’ve grown them under ideal conditions, watered and fertilized them. To have them flourish in future years there are several things you need to do. One is to leave the green leaves on the bulbs after the blooms have faded. This is providing food for next year. You also need to add some fertilizer, again to help the bulbs for the following seasons. Make sure you water them in times of drought, even though by midsummer the leaves will have disappeared.

• Because spring bulbs basically disappear from the landscape by midsummer, they are ideal for beds where you intend to plant annuals. Plant the annual seeds in spring and by the time the bulbs have bloomed and faded, the annuals will have started to thrive.

• While you’re planting your spring flowering bulbs, consider also planting lilies, daylilies, peonies and hostas. All are perennials and will reward you next growing season.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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Hydrangeas need plenty of water to survive. Photo by Ellen Barcel

By Ellen Barcel

If you’ve checked lately, you’ve seen that in some of the prime growing months (March, April, June and July) we’ve had less rain than we usually get. June in particular registered just over one inch at Brookhaven National Laboratory, while the average is almost four inches. This situation happened last year as well. The U.S. Drought Monitor (www.droughtmonitor.unl.edu) noted that as of the end of July, central Suffolk is in a severe drought and the rest of Long Island in a moderate drought. Riverhead Town has even asked residents to cut back on water use.

On average, Long Island gets about four inches of rain per month. On average, it rains once every three or four days. This is generally ideal for most plants grown here including lawns. But, we could get a week of rain followed by three weeks of virtually no rain. On average, we’re doing just fine but many plants will not make it through those three weeks of drought. So, gardeners need to be aware of not only the current weather but their plants’ requirements.

10 things to consider:

1. Is this a time of even mild drought? If it is, you need to make sure you water plants as needed. Follow local restrictions and recommendations on when to water.

2. Sandy soil lets excess rain drain quickly — if all the rain comes at the same time, there will be days or weeks when your plants are drying out.

Hydrangeas are literally “water vessels,” growing natively where they receive plenty of water. In times of even mild drought, they dry out quickly. Photo by Ellen Barcel
Hydrangeas are literally “water vessels,” growing natively where they receive plenty of water. In times of even mild drought, they dry out quickly. Photo by Ellen Barcel

3. Consider what are the ideal conditions for the plants you have selected. Geraniums are very drought tolerant, for example, while hydrangeas are not.

4. Native plants are more adapted to changing conditions. They are more accustomed to heavy rain or times of drought. This doesn’t mean that you can ignore them completely, but if you are away for a week or two, you don’t need to worry that your garden will be burned to a crisp when you return. Nonnative plants with similar requirements should do well here as well.

5. Lawn sprinklers don’t always give enough water for shrubs and trees. I have several hydrangeas that don’t get enough water from the sprinkler system. So, I need to be aware of when it rains (then all plants get watered). If it doesn’t rain for a few days, I start checking these hydrangeas and may need to hand water them even if the sprinkler was on. After all, hydrangeas are, quite literally “water vessels.”

6. Drip irrigation systems bring water to the roots, keeping leaves dry and therefore less likely to get fungal diseases. Also, less water is lost to evaporation, which can happen with sprinkler systems.

7. Plants with taproots (oak, catalpa, dandelions, etc.) do better in times of drought than plants with more surface roots. These taproots reach way down into the soil, where there’s more likely to be water.

8. Unless you have clay soil, you generally don’t have to deal with a situation of too much water. Long Island’s generally sandy soil drains quickly. If you do have a spot where water collects, consider a rain garden there, that is, plants that tolerate standing water.

Geraniums are drought-tolerant plants. Even in containers they need less water than most plants. Photo by Ellen Barcel
Geraniums are drought-tolerant plants. Even in containers they need less water than most plants. Photo by Ellen Barcel

9. Plants grown in containers need special consideration. Small pots dry out quickly. Clay pots dry out more quickly than man-made materials like plastic. If you’re going to be away on vacation, you probably need someone to come in and water your containers and hanging baskets at least every few days. Moving them out of the direct sun can also help. Look for self-watering planters that have a large water reservoir that you can fill up before you leave. Use watering crystals, which hold excess water and then release it as the soil dries out.

10. The leaves of plants grown in containers can act like umbrellas over the container’s soil. So, even if it’s rained a lot, check those pots to make sure that the rain penetrated down into the soil. I’ve seen bushy plants in containers easily dry out, even after a heavy rain. Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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By Ellen Barcel

The term monoculture is generally used in agriculture to refer to a farmer raising only one variety of a particular crop. There are benefits and disadvantages to monoculture. The benefit is that a farmer can select the best, most well-adapted plant, a plant that will produce the biggest harvest, etc.

The disadvantage of monoculture is that if that particular plant is attacked by an insect pest, fungus, bacteria or virus to which it has no resistance, the entire crop can be wiped out. This happened in the 1800s when only a few strains of potatoes were raised in Ireland. When they were attacked by a blight to which they had no resistance, the Irish potato famine was the result. Had they grown a broader variety of potatoes (and other food crops), this wouldn’t have been as big a disaster.

The same concept can be applied to gardeners when they plant virtually all of the same type of plant. When an insect pest or some sort of disease strikes a particular variety of plant, then their garden is wiped out.

Current situations to keep in mind

Oak wilt has been found in Central Islip recently. It’s a fungal disease that blocks the water-conducting vessels of a tree. Without water, the tree dies. At present there is no cure for oak wilt. The trees must be removed and destroyed so the disease doesn’t spread. This potentially could be a problem on Long Island since we have so many oak trees growing here naturally.

Southern pine beetles have been found on Long Island. The southern pine beetle bores into healthy trees, eventually killing the trees. The Department of Environmental Conservation has been fighting this forest pest, and recently New York State provided grants to local communities to help control it by cutting down the infested trees and destroying them, again, the best method of control.

The Asian longhorn beetle is a pest that particularly attacks hardwood trees. According to New York State Department of Agriculture, it was first discovered in North America in 1996 in Brooklyn. The beetles were detected in Islip in 1999 and eradicated in 2011. They were also detected on Staten Island in 2007 and eradicated in 2013. Recently, an infestation of the beetle has been found in West Babylon. Check your pool filters for these pests and check your hardwood trees for signs of infestation such as bore holes.

Some helpful strategies

◆ Check your trees more frequently. Look for anything out of the ordinary: fungus, unusual deposits of sap, holes in the bark, etc. Call in an arborist if you see anything you don’t like. The sooner a problem is detected, the easier to control it and prevent its spread.

◆ A broader solution is to avoid monoculture. Plant a variety of trees and shrubs that do what you want a particular plant to do: provide shade, provide a living fence, provide a specimen plant, etc. That way, if a pest or disease attacks one species, you have a chance of keeping at least some of your carefully tended plants.

◆ Look for disease- or pest-resistant plants. For example, the Irish potato famine was caused by a fungus that also attacks certain tomato cultivars. This was a problem on Long Island just a few years ago. Check plant tags and catalog descriptions. This is particularly true for new trees being added to your property. It’s easy enough to try a new variety of tomato plant each year, but trees take many years, decades in some cases, to reach maturity.

◆ Lastly, support organizations that are working to develop disease-resistant plants. For example, The American Chestnut Foundation is working toward developing disease-resistant plants. The American chestnut tree was nearly wiped out by a fungal disease known as the chestnut blight in the early 20th century. The tree was native to much of the eastern part of North America. Visit www.acf.org for further information on its work.

For further information on the above and other garden pests and diseases, go to www.dec.ny.gov, www.na.fs.us and www.agriculture.ny.gov.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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Above, variegated azalea grown from a sport, but the azalea is ‘reverting to type’ growing some solid green leaves. Photo by Ellen Barcel

By Ellen Barcel

Recently, I received a U.S. stamp with a couple of bright red pears pictured on it. The paperwork that came with the stamp noted that pear trees, along with apple trees, are noted for putting out sports.

Botanically, sports are genetic mutations that arise naturally in plants. And yes, pear and apple trees do put out sports, which can lead to new varieties of plants being developed. On a pear tree, which normally produces green pears, you may see a branch that has reddish pears. Or on an apple tree, you may find a branch that has larger or different colored apples.

Now, I’m not talking about trees that are grafted to produce more than one variety of fruit — you can see these advertised in magazines and gardening catalogs — but a tree that naturally produces one or more unusual branches and fruit. This is referred to as “throwing a sport.”

Certain plants are more prone to produce these genetic mutations than others. For example, hostas easily produce sports, leading to the literally hundreds of varieties of hostas on the market today, from tiny to enormous, variegated, bluish, etc.

When these sports are propagated, the new plants will resemble the sport, not the parent plant. Propagate the unusual hosta and you now have a new cultivar. Propagate the red pear sport and you now have an entire tree filled with those red pears.

But sometimes, these sports are not stable. They “revert to type,” that is, they revert to the genetic makeup of the original plant. It’s usually not the whole plant that reverts, but a small part of it. A branch will grow, for example, that looks just like the original plant.

This dwarf Alberta spruce is reverting to type. Note the unusual branches growing out of the top of the tree.
This dwarf Alberta spruce is reverting to type. Note the unusual branches growing out of the top of the tree. Photo by Ellen Barcel

Dwarf Alberta spruce (Picea glauca var. albertiana f. conica) is a lovely, slow-growing, compact coniferous evergreen, which as its name implies stays very small. It makes an ideal decorative plant and easily grows in tubs. Many people like them decorated at Christmas. The dwarf Alberta spruce is a naturally occurring mutation of white spruce. Yes, it can revert to type. A couple of years ago, I saw a walkway lined with them; and yes, there growing from the top of one was a branch that had reverted to type.

So, what do you do if you find a sport on one of your plants, or, a plant grown from a sport reverts to type? That depends on whether you like the appearance or not.

Ignore it. If you find that the sport, or the reversion, is pleasing, you can just ignore it. That’s what I did when my variegated azaleas began to revert to solid green leaves. The flowers are the same gorgeous ones on all the branches, and the reversion actually has larger green leaves than the variegated ones.

Remove it. If you don’t like the sport or the reversion, find it ruins the plant etc., you can simply prune it out. I could have done this with my azaleas, but as I said above, it didn’t affect the flowers and made the overall plant larger.

Propagate it. If you absolutely love the sport, you can attempt to cultivate it. Usually vegetative propagation is the best since a sport is a mutation, a change in the genes. For hostas, this usually means digging up the plant and dividing it, detaching the different variety. Make sure you have the roots with the division. Replant the original plant and plant the sport in a different location, giving it a new home. Commercial growers sometimes use tissue culture, but this is really a specialized group of techniques that is beyond the home gardener. If the plant with the sport is a woody one, you can try to take woody cuttings. Use rooting hormone and sterile soil for best results.

You can, of course, collect the seeds from any flowers that form on a sport and try to grow the sport from seed. Chances are that if the seeds are not sterile, you will get a wide range of results from the original plant to the sport. Growing from seed, however, is time consuming as many plants can take years of growth before they mature. Plants like the dwarf Alberta spruce generally don’t produce cones and, therefore, no seeds. So, growing from seed is very iffy.

Note that if you find a really different branch with totally different flowers, on say, a rose bush, trace it back to its origin. Chances are you will find that the branch goes all the way back to the ground. Chances are that this is a grafted plant and that those roots are sprouting, rather than the graft. Usually grafted plants are made up of a common root stock with a beautiful plant on top. Unless you absolutely love what’s growing on the root sprouts, remove them at the soil level, below the graft (the large bump on the stem just above soil level). This will send the energy of the plant into the beautiful graft rather than the common root stock.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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'Into the Blue' by Mindy Carman

By Ellen Barcel

It was just about two years ago that Mindy Carman stopped into the Port Jefferson Village Center to ask about showing her work at the center’s gallery. She was surprised to find out that, first of all, the center was booked two years in advance. Second, the gallery is so large that a group show was suggested to her.

It didn’t take long for Carman to reach out to some of her artist friends and put together Celebrating the Beauty and Spirit of Long Island, a show of approximately 75 pieces that will run from Sept. 2 through Sept. 28. “Two years went by so fast,” said Carman who is now getting ready for the opening.

While the group’s common theme is the beauty of Long Island, each local artist approaches the theme in a very different way. Of the five artists, Carmen herself is a photographer. “Nancy and Charlie are my best friend’s parents,” referring to photographer and watercolorist Nancy Kapp and steel sculptor Charlie Kapp. Rounding out the artists showing their work are Mary Jo Allegra, landscapist in oils, and Moriah Ray, a watercolorist.

'Lobster Pot' by Mindy Carman
‘Lobster Pot’ by Mindy Carman

Carman noted she “mainly concentrates on capturing the beauty of our everyday surroundings [showing] us amazing images we take for granted living here in the coastal and agricultural towns of eastern Long Island.” This is evident in “Lobster Pot” an ordinary object found along the shore but seen from her very unique perspective.

Carman, who minored in photography in college, graduating from Stony Brook University, added, “capturing the moment in time, there’s something super-neat about that … It’s very gratifying when someone buys [a piece of my work].” She uses both film and digital media to capture that special moment in time. “I put pictures in old boat port holes as a frame,” said Carmen, noting that she also works in multimedia. “I design with sea glass and then pour resin on it.” There will be several of these multimedia pieces in the show as well as her photographs.

'Floral Study, Avalon' by Moriah Ray
‘Floral Study, Avalon’ by Moriah Ray

Ray, who grew up in Port Jefferson, attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She returned to Long Island with a master’s degree in art. A professional artist who works in art restoration and conservation, Ray will have approximately 15 of her watercolor paintings in the show. “I just love watercolor. It’s my favorite medium,” she said.

Ray did studies of wildflowers in Avalon Park in Stony Brook for some of her works. “I try to keep the light in there, keep it the way the flowers are in the landscaping,” she added. A palette knife is Allegra’s tool in creating her abstract landscapes. Usually a palette knife (a thin, flexible, blunt blade) is used to mix colors of paint on a palette. But some creative artists use the knife to apply paint to the canvas. Allegra, who is an art teacher at Friends Academy in Locust Valley, also teaches children’s and adult’s workshops during the summer in her Sun Porch Studio at her home in Stony Brook. Allegra attended Pratt Institute for undergraduate work and Columbia for a master’s degree in teaching and works primarily in oils.

The paints “move like butter, spreading across the canvas,” with the knife, she said. “I have a love affair with color and shape and how colors relate to each other.” She added, “The shapes in nature are an armature for applying color … I’ll mix a whole variety of colors that appeal to me … a palette of colors I’m attracted to. I let colors decide where they’re going on the canvas.” She added that the personality of each color “changes depending on who they’re hanging out with.” Quilters, stained glass artists and other artisans can relate to this, knowing that colors appear differently depending on what other colors they’re paired with.

Allegra’s canvases are small, in the six- to eight-inch range. Approximately 10 of them will be in the show. “I’m a playful person and my art definitely illustrates that. My hope is that when the people see my paintings they feel that,” she added.

‘The Wandering Star’ by Nancy Kapp. Photo from Milinda Watson
‘The Wandering Star’ by Nancy Kapp. Photo from Milinda Watson

Nancy Kapp, of Sound Beach, once worked in her husband’s ironworking business in addition to her photography and watercolors. “Photography has been my passion my whole life.” Her watercolors “are from my own photos — they’re all original.” Long Island, she said, “that’s my inspiration, the beauty of the area.” Kapp added, “My husband and I, as a couple, are boaters and skiers and that’s reflected in our art.”

Charlie Kapp, an ironworker by profession, “started the artistic side [of ironworking]” just a few years ago. “He does some freestanding work, up to about three feet,” but for the show, only pieces that can be hung on the wall are included, his wife said. “It’s something he always wanted to do.” She added that some of his work is also in a gallery in Vermont.

Ray summed up the show when she said, “Everybody’s pieces are so different. Long Island has such a rich culture.”

An opening reception, to which all are invited, will be held Friday, Sept. 2 from 7 to 9 p.m. The Port Jefferson Village Center is located at 101A East Broadway and is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is free. For further information, call 631-802-2160 or visit www.portjeff.com.

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Lavender has long been used for its strong scent. Photo by Ellen Barcel

By Ellen Barcel

Every garden is a reflection of the tastes of the gardener: a children’s play area, fresh veggies, grapes for homemade wine or jam, a place to read and relax in the extensive greenery, privacy around a swimming pool, etc.

While some plants have little or no scent, or an unappealing one, many have a sweet or pleasing scent. Depending on your preference, you may want a very fragrant garden; or, if you’re allergic to sweet scents, you may want to know which plants to avoid. Here’s a rundown of some very fragrant, sweetly scented plants that will perfume your garden and your home.

Lilacs are known for their beautiful scent. Unfortunately, most only produce flowers in spring. Depending on your other choices, you may want to plant them as part of a whole plan — a number of fragrant plants blooming throughout the growing season. There are some varieties that are billed as rebloomers. The second bloom is usually not as lush as the first.

Roses should be selected by reading the tags or catalog descriptions carefully. Some roses have been cultivated to be beautiful but have little scent. Research your selections carefully so that you get exactly what you want. ‘Double Delight’ has a fruity or spicy scent, while ‘Julia Child’ has the scent of licorice and ‘Fragrant Cloud’ has a sweet perfume.

Honeysuckle is very sweetly scented, but note that some varieties are on the Do Not Sell List because of their invasive nature. Honeysuckle is native to the northern hemisphere, including North America, Europe and Asia. The plant is particularly popular for its intensely fragrant white flowers.

Mints are herbaceous perennials with a strong aroma. They can be used in cooking (jams, jellies, iced tea, etc.) or just enjoyed in the garden. Brush against the leaves and you release the wonderful scent. Lavender is in the mint family. Lavender is not native to the Americas but has been grown here since colonial times. It has been used as an insect repellent, to freshen clothes, to flavor foods and to scent cosmetics and soaps.

Lily of the Valley is a woodland plant that is very sweetly scented. Another benefit is that it does well in shady areas. But, be careful here, as the plant is toxic. As with all plants you are considering adding to your garden, make sure that no little children or pets can ingest it.

Bee balm is also a member of the mint family. A native of North America, it has even been used to make a tea. Flower colors range from red to purple.

Gardenias are extremely fragrant, but must be grown as a house plant on Long Island — they are cold tolerant only to zone 8. Yes, they can be moved to the outdoors in the summer and they will certainly add to the fragrance.

Jasmine is so strongly scented that some people avoid it as a result. Jasmine does well in zones 6 through 10 and requires full sun. Blossoms can be used to scent water in indoor arrangements and can also be used to scent tea.

Viburnum is a woody shrub that can easily reach 10 or more feet tall. Some species have flowers that are strongly scented. The white flowers are followed by bright red berries.

Mock orange is a woody shrub that does well in zones 4 to 7. It blooms in summer with lovely white flowers and an orangey aroma.

Flowering tobacco (Nicotiana) has sweetly scented, tube-shaped flowers available in a variety of colors: pink, white, red. It is usually grown as an annual but don’t be surprised if it survives a mild winter.

Hyacinths are spring blooming bulbs with a very strong sweet scent. Plant them in autumn before the ground has frozen. Like all spring flowering bulbs, after the flowers have died down, allow the green leaves to continue growing to provide food for the bulbs for next year. By summer those leaves will have disappeared.

Ellen Barcel is a freelance writer and master gardener. To reach Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County and its Master Gardener program, call 631-727-7850.

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‘Catching the Tune,’ 1866, oil on canvas by William Sidney Mount. Image courtesy of Long Island Museum

By Ellen Barcel

The Long Island Museum in Stony Brook revealed its newest exhibit, Drawn from Life: Objects and Stories from William Sidney Mount’s Paintings Aug. 12. Mount was an early 19th-century genre artist who lived from 1807 to 1868. Born in Setauket, Mount spent much of his career in Stony Brook. He is buried in the Setauket Presbyterian Church’s Cemetery.

'Mount House' 1854, oil on canvas, by William Sidney Mount
‘Mount House’ 1854, oil on canvas, by William Sidney Mount

Julie Diamond, director of communications at the museum, noted that the William Sidney Mount house, located on the corner of Route 25A and Stony Brook Road in Stony Brook, is preserved to this day. Mount had his studio in the third-floor attic of the house, which was built in 1725 and became a National Historic Landmark in 1965.

The Long Island Museum has the largest collection of Mount’s work and memorabilia in the world. His paintings show ordinary people doing ordinary things: washing laundry, dancing to the music of a violin, fishing, trapping, etc. He was a contemporary of the Hudson River School of painting.

The exhibit is curated by museum assistant curator Jonathan Olly. New to the LIM since February, he earned a doctorate in American studies just a few years ago from Brown University. Although this is his first major exhibit at the LIM, he knew he wanted to become a museum curator back when he was a summer intern in Washington, D.C., at the National Museum of American History. “I’ve been working in museums since 2001,” he said.

One of the really unique paintings on view is the portrait of Robert Morris Russell. According to Olly, Mount painted it in 1832 along with a portrait of Russell’s wife and mother. The painting has not been on display “in over 40 years.” It needed conservation, which was provided through a Greater Hudson Heritage grant.

Russell “died that year, a victim of the cholera epidemic in New York.” Olly continued, “He was a merchant in New York [City]. His wife, Ruth Amelia Smith Russell moved the family back to Long Island after he died.” Since both his and his wife’s portraits are on display, this “is the first time they are reunited in public since the 1970s.”

Olly noted that in assembling the exhibit “we also drew on our textile collection to outfit mannequins.” An 1830s black dress and a man’s black waistcoat are paired with these two portraits.

While some of the objects paired with each particular painting are of the period, a few are actually the items Mount painted. One of Mount’s original easels is on display, along with one of his violins. The 1857 instrument, one of the Cradle of Harmony violins he designed, was unique in that it had a concave, instead of a usual convex, back in order to “create a larger sound in a crowded room,” at a time when there was no electricity — no amplifiers. “He used and played the violin himself, but there was never any interest in manufacturing it,” said Olly. The violin is paired with “Catching the Tune,” showing a fiddler holding that actual instrument.

In the portrait of Mount’s sister Ruth, she is shown with her child, Charles. The original dress that the baby is wearing in the painting is on display as well.

‘Dancing: Children’s summer programs, 2006,’ photo by Julie Diamond
‘Dancing: Children’s summer programs, 2006,’ photo by Julie Diamond

Six paintings are paired with current photos of the same locations. Most of these were taken by Olly, including that of Patriot’s Rock in Setauket. The photo of the barn, shown above, was taken several years ago by Diamond. “The doorway of the barn frames the image that Julie took of three kids, in programs,” held at the museum. The barn is the Williamson barn, believed to be the one Mount painted in “Dancing on the Barn Floor,” below, which was moved to the LIM property for preservation. Olly added, “it’s amazing that these places still do survive,” after more than 150 years.

‘Dancing on the Barn Floor,’ 1831, oil on canvas by William Sidney Mount
‘Dancing on the Barn Floor,’ 1831, oil on canvas by William Sidney Mount

Seniors age 62 and over are invited to visit the museum (free admission) on a normally closed day, Sept. 13, to take a self-guided tour of the exhibit from 10 a.m. to noon as part of the museum’s Senior Tuesday program.

The new Mount exhibit will be used in the museum’s children’s programs as well, including Meet the Museum: A World Without Cars (with a focus on carriages), Meet the Museum: Through an Artist’s Eyes (with a focus on art) and The New Nation: The World of William Sidney Mount (focusing on business and transportation). Detailed teacher’s information is available for download on the museum’s website.

The Long Island Museum, 1200 Route 25A, Stony Brook will present Drawn from Life: Objects and Stories from William Sidney Mount’s Paintings through Dec. 31 in the Art Museum on the hill. The museum, a Smithsonian affiliate, is open Thursdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. For further information, call 631-751-0066 or visit www.longislandmuseum.org.

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