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Letter to the editor

Backyard cuttings: The story behind fruits of the Holy Land

By Judy Stark, Times Homes and Garden Editor
Published November 17, 2007

Holiday gift suggestion for gardeners on your list: Figs, Dates, Laurel, and Myrrh: Plants of the Bible and the Qu'ran, by Lytton J. Musselman (Timber Press, $24.95). The Holy Land and its geographic neighbors are an area of olive oil and honey, grapevines, fig trees and pomegranates. In 80 chapters, with many color photographs, botanist Musselman tells the stories of the fruits and grains, flowers and trees of ancient lore. Garrison Keillor contributed the foreword.

Time to get with it in the garden

What's in and out for gardens, according to the Garden Media Group: Eco-chic, small-space gardens and multitasking gardens are in. (Multitasking means helpers such as slow-release fertilizers or plants that work in the garden or as house plants.) Out: gardens that are shabby chic, chemically needy and flower-only.

Feathered winter guests are coming

Winter residents aren't the only ones headed into Florida these days. Migratory birds are passing through en route to their winter homes. Keep your feeders filled and the birdbath full to provide a nourishing pit stop for the birds, floridagardener.com recommends.

Spread the scent of eucalyptus

Bring the outdoors into your bathroom. Eco-activist Danny Seo suggests hanging a new sprig of eucalyptus in your shower stall (from the showerhead, or from a hook on the wall). The steam activates the essential oils in the eucalyptus and makes the whole bathroom smell terrific.

Keep your holiday greenery fresh

As we start thinking seriously about buying a tree and greenery for the holidays, remember these tips from gardening expert P. Allen Smith: Spray your tree and cut boughs with an antitranspirant (Wilt-Pruf is one brand) to help them stay fresh and minimize water loss. Once the tree is up, give it plenty of water to drink. Easy way: just drop a handful of ice cubes in the water container and let them melt.

Grocery flowers, deconstructed

Disassemble a supermarket bouquet and create several small arrangements in a variety of containers: a teapot, pitcher, champagne flute, demitasse cup.

[Last modified November 16, 2007, 11:56:58]