The Green Thumb phrase is familiar to gardeners and non-gardeners. Figuratively speaking, it means a person who likes gardening and has a gift for growing plants. Historically speaking, the Old Farmer’s Almanac suggests two possible sources:
During the reign of King Edward I of England, he kept half a dozen serfs working to grow his favorite vegetable — green peas. A prize was rewarded to the serf with the greenest thumb, no doubt stained from hours and hours of shelling peas.
Another possibility is the fact that repeatedly handling clay pots encrusted with algae will cause a green stain on a gardener’s thumb as well as his fingers.
Other sources report that green thumbs were acquired by tobacco farmers when the flower was removed from the crops in order to increase the size and weight of each leaf.
This procedure was known as “topping” and is still practiced today. In colonial America, when tobacco was the major cash crop, farmers would hand-pick the flowers using their thumbnails to cut the stem. After a while, the thumb would be stained green.
It is easy to impulsively choose plants at a nursery based on color, attractiveness and health of the plant. The Green Thumb gardener considers additional factors, i.e. will my choice of plant be a companion to my existing garden; does it have similar water, light, drainage and growing zone?
Companion perennials
As a specialty grower of bearded iris, the question regarding suitable companion plants has been asked.
Oriental poppies and herbaceous peonies, like iris, are drought-tolerant with low maintenance.
All flourish in full sun and well-drained soil. The flowering season can be extended by choosing reblooming iris as well as miniature, dwarf and border bearded iris.
The foliage of iris will hide bare spots as the foliage of poppies withers. An added benefit is all three plants are deer- resistant.
Both oriental poppies and peonies may grow to up to four feet high and feature an oval habit form. The leaves of both feature finger-like foliage.
Poppies bloom in a variety of colors: orange, red, pink or purple.
Peonies are suited to the back of the border and bear large blossoms in white, pink, coral, red and sometimes yellow.
Summer blooming favorites
Russell lupine, another perennial, can also accent the planting mix and can usher in the summer bloom season. Other favorite companion flowers can include purple coneflower, alliums, black eyed Susan (Rudbeckia), Gaillardia, penstemon and tall border phlox.
Mixed Plants for Continuous Bloom
The Green Thumb gardener will arrange groups of plants to provide a sequence of bloom. The guiding phrase “right plant, right place” suggests careful observation to sun, shade, dry or damp soil and bloom season.
Carefully read labels on plants and determine the plant’s location. Invest in perennials and bulbs for a long- lived garden. Follow these suggestions and you too will have bragging rights about your own green thumb.
Carolyn Melf is a passionate gardener, a former president of Paradise Garden Club, a Master Gardener, and a member of Butte Rose Society. Living in deer country requires lots of trial and error. For more than 35 years,?Melf has been?acquiring deer-resistant plants. Her tried-and-true favorites are iris and peonies, which are the main plants?at Iris Spring, her hobby nursery. Fellow gardeners are invited to visit the two-acre garden in bloom season, usually mid- April?to mid May. Check her website, irispring.com.
