Groundhog Day 2025

 I must admit, I love groundhogs! While it probably has to do with my birthday being near Groundhog Day, and I don't have groundhogs getting into my garden daily, I love the critters. All the critters. But groundhogs, deer, etc. are garden-eating machines.

 

Will he see his shadow this year?

Herbs work great as repellents, but no repellent will work 100% of the time. We say, "deer repellent, not deer proof." If your critters are hungry enough, they will eat it.

 

As he grows, this 4-foot fence won't keep him out

Some of the best advice I have ever heard is that if they know that food is there, they will go to it, so you must break the habit of them going to it. Start with this:

 

Animal Stopper has a lovely herbal scent

1. Use a repellent. My favorite is Animal Stopper because it smells like herbs. But I've also had success with Liquid Fence and Bobbex. Other options include fencing, netting, decoys, and motion-sensing sprinklers.

 Be consistent with using the repellent and switch every year or two so they don’t get used to it. Break the habit of the animals using your garden as a buffet.

Do we have animal repellants? The answer is a resounding yes 

 

2. Plant "resistant" plants. Again, no plant is animal-proof, but texture and scent play a big part in deciding what is edible and what is not. Herbs work great! Lavender, rosemary, sage, mint, chives, basil, oregano, thyme…in fact, most herbs will work as a resistant plant. The same smells that attract us repel the critters. 

Many herbs are perennial, coming back year after year. 

Most herbs prefer sunny spots with well-draining soil. Some herbs, like mint and oregano, can handle some shade. Determine if the light the area will provide will be enough for the plants. You can mix the ornamental plants with resistant plants to help protect them. 

Sage, Thyme, and Rosemary

 Stop in and pick up a copy of our Deer Resistant Plants handout, and this year, let’s keep the critters out of our gardens.

Jen KostickValley View Farms 

 

The Lunar New Year: Good Luck Plants

 The Lunar New Year begins this Wednesday, 1/29/2025. In many cultures, plants symbolize good luck, prosperity, and happiness. A gift displayed in your home or given to a friend is a way to bring blessings for the years ahead. Here are some popular choices currently available in our greenhouse at Valley View Farms:

Anthurium, Lucky Bamboo, Money Tree

Lucky Bamboo, Dracaena sanderiana, can be grown in soil, pebbles, or water. Lucky Bamboo symbolizes strength, resilience, and good fortune.  Grow 3 stalks for happiness, wealth, and long life, or 5 for wealth. 

Moth Orchid

Orchids represent fertility, abundance, and refinement. Bright colors, especially red, purple, and pink, are the most sought-after. 

Money Tree

Money Trees, Pachira aquatica, sold all weekend. It must be that they are associated with prosperity and wealth. Most have braided stems to symbolize stability and growth. 

Money Plant

Another plant, Pilea peperomioides, nicknamed the Money Plant, symbolizes wealth and prosperity with its rounded, coin-like leaves. 

Miniature Orange

Calamondin orange trees are symbols of wealth and good fortune. The more fruits that are present, the better. 

Red Bromeliad

 Red decorations are important elements for celebrating Lunar New Year. Red symbolizes happiness. luck, and, celebration. Red-blooming houseplants including Bromeliads, and Anthurium, could also celebrate the holiday. Red pots are another way to bring luck to your home. 

In this Chinese Year of the Snake, consider bringing good luck to your home with some beautiful houseplants!

2025 Herb of the Year

 

The International Herb Association has chosen Chamomile as the 2025 Herb of the Year.

Chamomile, Matricaria chamomilla, is native to southern and eastern Europe and western Asia. Over time, it has naturalized in other meadows and fields adjacent to those areas. Chamomile is derived from the Greek chamos and melos, translating to ground apple as the leaves and flowers have an apple-like scent. 

Chamomile, Matricaria chamomilla

Chamomile's history: Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks used chamomile as a medicinal herb prized for its effect as an anti-inflammatory agent. It has been used to treat various skin conditions, digestive issues, and allergies. Chamomile has been used in salves, lotions, vapors, and compresses but is known mostly as a tea. 

Daisy-like flowers attract bees, hoverflies, and, ladybugs

Chamomile flowers are a much sought-after tea ingredient to aid in sleep and anxiety-filled dreams. I remember it as the primary ingredient in Celestial Seasoning's Sleepy Time tea. Making a cup of tea was a part of my nightly ritual for years.  

Blend other herbs and spices for delicious and soothing teas

Chamomile has many other uses according to a fact sheet from the Herb Society of America. Chamomile oil, a blue color, is used in shampoos to bring out highlights to blonde hair. Flowers can also be used to create a yellow-brown fabric dye. 

Harvest

The petals are edible and can be used in foods and beverages. Use chamomile to make sleep pillows, potpourri bath blends, and other craft and cosmetic uses. 

Botanical drawing

In the Victorian era, the small, bright white daisy-like flowers symbolized patience in adversity.

Chamomile is grown as an annual in our area. According to the Strictly Medicinal seed packet, "the plant prefers full sun and cool soils for germination. Prepare a fine seed bed, mix fine seed with sand, strew on the surface, and press in hard. Sow in early spring for flowers in early summer. It is unnecessary to thin the plants, they grow fine in close association." 

Recipes for teas, syrup, a sleep pillow, and soothing bath tea are from the Herb Society of America website.

Our seed selection is HUGE

Chamomile and other herbs

Visit our store where we sell Chamomile seeds from Strictly Medicinal and Southern Seed Exchange. We will have herb transplants available this spring. 

Plant of the week: Stephanotis floribunda

 The first thing we noticed was the fragrance. We had just unloaded and priced flowering plants from one of our growers. The Stephanotis was in beautiful bloom, its bright, white flowers adding an amazing scent to the greenhouse. Like jasmine, the smell was intoxicating. 

Stephanotis floribunda, commonly known as Madagascar Jasmine, is a tropical plant native to Madagascar. It is a favorite flower for bridal bouquets for its symbolism of love and marital bliss.  

Its vining growth habit allows Stephanotis to be grown on a trellis or hoop. Ideal growing conditions will allow spring and summer blooming, and growth up to 10 feet or more if properly supported. 

Light: Provide bright indirect sunlight.

Temperature: Like most tropical plants, it will thrive in warm, humid conditions. It is sensitive to cooler temperatures below 50F. 

Soil: Use a well-draining potting mix. 

Watering: Keep consistently moist while flowering, allowing the top of the soil to dry out a bit between watering. Provide good drainage. 

Humidity: Loves humidity; consider growing in a pebble tray in dry homes. 

Fertilizer: Feed with a well-balanced fertilizer 1-2 x a month.

Prune after flowering to maintain and encourage shape and new growth.

Stephanotis can be moved outside after all danger of frost is gone. Keep it in light shade. Bring the plant back in when nighttime temperatures are in the 50's.