TIPStricks

Crocuses and Snowdrops Bring Color Under Trees and Shrubs

Winter gardens: boring? No way! Naturalizing bulbs, like crocuses and snowdrops, can brighten things up in places where other plants won’t grow. Snowdrops and crocuses often grow in wooded areas and around old country houses. Both are naturalizing bulbs that grow beautifully under deciduous trees and shrubs. They get less rain and light there in winter because of fallen leaves. Flower bulbs like it this way during the cold season. This is why they bloom abundantly and profusely in these spots. After flowering, the bulbs draw nutrition from the leaves to prepare for the next season. This is why the foliage needs time to die off properly. Once the trees and shrubs grow their leaves again, the foliage of the snowdrops and crocuses disappears and the bulbs go dormant. The leaves of the trees and shrubs then keep the bulbs nice and cool during the hot summer months.

Crocuses bring a real riot of color to the garden in February and March. These early-flowering color bombs symbolize spring and joy. If you take a closer look at them, you will discover there are some spectacular varieties. The colors vary from intensely deep to cheerful pastels. The most popular varieties are blue and purple, but they also come in white, yellow, and lilac tones, as well as striped. Both the frivolous largeflowered and delicate small-flowered crocuses are like little gifts growing out of the soil. After initial planting, an ever-increasing carpet of flowers develops each year thanks to naturalization. Not many flowers will flower in February during the long cold winter, but crocuses are one of the first varieties to start flowering at that time. They are a wonderful source of nectar and pollen. This makes them a favorite among bumblebees, honeybees, and some solitary bees. While enjoying these flowers, you also help these important insects.

Snowdrops (Galanthus) arrive on the winter scene very early. They put their bell-shaped white flowers on display in January and February—they even grow above the snow. The petals of snowdrops appear white, but are in fact colorless. When you squeeze a petal, it becomes transparent. This is because the air bubbles that reflect the light are then gone. Snowdrops are available in several varieties, including double flowers, with green or yellow dots or markings on the petals, and with small or large flowers. Did you know that snowdrops can produce heat, up to 50°F? As a result, the snow around these flowers melts. They also spread a delicious scent of honey.

Would you like to know more about flower bulbs? Take a look at www.flowerbulbs.com. o

Crocus ‘Golden Yellow’ photo courtesy of FlowerBulbs.com. Pennycress plants come out of their dormant stage after the snow melts and enter their reproductive phase where they will first flower, and then set seed. Photo by Zenith Tandukar.

Pennycress Serves as Viable Alternative to Traditional Cover Crops

To help protect the health of soil, one of the first methods farmers might turn to is planting cover crops in their fields. A recent post to the Sustainable, Secure Food Blog identifies several ways pennycress is a great alternative to traditional cover crops. The benefits of the use of cover crops on agricultural land have been known for decades. However, the total acreage using these crops is extremely small. The main reason is that cover crops generally don’t turn a financial profit, so it is costly for farms to implement this great resource. According to blogger Zenith Tandukar, pennycress bridges the gap between harvest for one year through to planting in the second year. While it grows, it actively provides benefits like other cover crops. It protects the soil against erosion, nutrient leaching, and early season weeds. It also acts as an attractive option for pollinators in early spring when other flowers are rare. While pennycress serves as a living cover on otherwise fallow croplands, it also produces oil-rich seeds. The crops also can be used to make bioplastics and are an inexpensive source of plantbased proteins. With proper infrastructure and supply chain optimization, using pennycress as a cover crop followed by harvesting can substantially increase farm profits for U.S. farmers. Pennycress has enormous potential in sustainable agricultural intensification because farmers use the same amount of land for more output, while helping the farm profits, protecting the environment, and promoting soil health. To read Tandukar’s full blog post, visit https://sustainable-secure-food-blog. com/2022/10/07/why-is-pennycress-agood-cover-crop/. o