Kim’s Corner

Kim Slava is Kristin's husband and a driving force in the experimental garden that is their yard.

Kim Slava 3/27/26 Kim Slava 3/27/26

Lingonberries

Lingonberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) - “Vaccinium” puts them in the same family as blueberries and cranberries.

We bought four lingonberry starts…what?…maybe 4 years ago and planted them under a pagoda dogwood tree. One of the starts died while the other three have been hanging on, but only just…they haven’t grown much at all. It’s late March (2026) and I cleared some of the leaf litter away to take these photos. While doing so I found two of the plant tags and stuck them back in the ground for the photo. As you see, the variety is “Koralie”. During the growing season I periodically clear out the creeping Charlie so it doesn’t overwhelm the lingonberries. After 4 years of little or no growth I doubt that they will ever thrive and produce berries. Oh well…so be it. I believe they need acidic soil, perhaps we’ll try some acidic fertilizer?

Kim Slava 3/26/26 Kim Slava 3/26/26

Rhubarb

Rhubarb (Rheum Rhubarbarum) - One of the earliest harbingers of spring…first the Snowdrops and Crocuses, but the Rhubarb starts peeping out of its “nest” before the daffodils and tulips.

March 26, 2026 - Ruby red sprouts swelling up from under the leaf litter.

Kim Slava 3/22/26 Kim Slava 3/22/26

High Bush Cranberry

High Bush Cranberry - (Viburnum trilobum) As you might expect from the name, the leaves generally have three lobes.

Not really a cranberry, though the fruit sort of looks like cranberry. It is native to North America - the upper Northeast and the Great Lakes region of the U.S. (probably Canada too).

While self-pollinating (has both male and female parts), it can be wind pollinated, but it mainly relies on the help of insects like bumble bees to aid in pollination.

I am told that the fruit is eaten by birds like cedar waxwings (2020 bird of the year), robins, ruffed grouse, and pheasants, as well as mammals such as deer, moose, foxes, raccoons, and beaver.

Initially we thought the berries were not edible for humans, but it turns out that …“the tart berries are a good source of Vitamin C and are often processed into jams, jellies, and sauces.”

Even growing here on the north side of our house here in Wisconsin, under the roof eaves, where it gets 75% or more shade during the day, it grows rapidly and will need to be pruned down every year to keep it lower than the eaves of the house. It does lean towards the light and away from the house.

May 2025 - By autumn the branches will have grown tall enough to press against the soffits (underside of the eaves) and extend up higher than the gutter.

September 2025 - High Bush Cranberry fruit

March 21, 2026 - Having made it through winter, pruned in February and ready for spring.

Kim Slava 2/19/26 Kim Slava 2/19/26

Purple Lovegrass

Purple Lovegrass….not sure I love the name, but it is easier to say (and remember) than “Eragrostis spectabilis.” And it is descriptive…it is purple and most everybody loves it. And there’s much to love about it.

Prairie Nursery describes it:

Showy and low-growing, Purple Lovegrass is an excellent native grass for dry sandy or gravelly soils where few other plants can survive. Eragrostis spectabilis makes a stunning statement in the late season landscape, turning a brilliant purplish-pink at summer's end. If you have sandy soil that is too dry to support a lawn, plant a field of Purple Love Grass for a late summer show.

Host plant for the Zabulon Skipper butterfly.

Purple frothy mound, 1-2 feet high.

Here’s a couple of summer photos:

A couple Autumn photos:

And finally, winter:

Kim Slava 2/5/26 Kim Slava 2/5/26

Horseradish

Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana)-

Not many vegetables are perennials…the only two that come to mind are horseradish and asparagus (not including fruit). And while horseradish is not native, it is a hardy perennial.

To save you the trouble of looking it up in Wikipedia, horseradish is described thus:

“Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana, syn. Cochlearia armoracia) is a perennial plant of the family Brassicaceae (which also includes mustard, wasabi, broccoli, cabbage, and radish). It is a root vegetable, cultivated and used worldwide as a spice and as a condiment.

“Horseradish grows up to 1.5 meters (5 feet) tall, with hairless bright green unlobed leaves up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) long that may be mistaken for docks (Rumex). It is cultivated primarily for its large, white, tapered root.The white four-petalled flowers are scented and are borne in dense panicles. Established plants may form extensive patches and may become invasive unless carefully managed.

“Intact horseradish root has little aroma. When cut or grated, enzymes from within the plant cells digest sinigrin (a glucosinolate) to produce allyl isothiocyanate (mustard oil), which irritates the mucus membranes of the sinuses and eyes. Once exposed to air or heat, horseradish loses its pungency, darkens in color, and develops a bitter flavor.”

And this is interesting:

“Allyl isothiocyanate serves the plant as a defense against herbivores. Since it is harmful to the plant, it is stored in the harmless form of a glucosinolate, separate from the enzyme myrosinase. Once the herbivore chews the plant, the noxious allyl isothiocyanate is produced. Allyl isothiocyanate is also responsible for the pungent taste of horseradish and wasabi. It can be produced synthetically, sometimes known as synthetic mustard oil.”

I assume this is why when you grate fresh, raw horseradish root you can only wait a few minutes before you add vinegar. The longer it sits before you add vinegar, the stronger it gets. Bonus points if you know what a panicle is. I sure didn’t.

Horseradish might be the first of this blog’s “Plants That Seem Alien to this Planet”

We planted the horseradish in 2018. I don’t have a photo from then, but here it is in April 2019

And below, here it is a year later, May 1, 2020

On a hot summer day, when it is blooming and the sun hits it square on, it releases some of its volatile mustard oil… you walk by and think, what is that smell!? Yes, it’s horseradish.

A friend of ours asked me what is the right type of soil in which to plant the mighty horseradish. Below is what we planted it in:

It is nothing but backfill that was unceremoniously dumped there when the house’s foundation was poured…about 50% gravel and 50% sandy dirt. It’s porous enough…it has that in its favor. But it don’t make no nevermind to the horseradish which seems happy enough right where it is. It has eastern exposure to the morning sun, but it’s right up tight to the house so it gets shade half the day and doesn’t get much rain. Despite all that the leaves do grow almost tropically large.

And below, a photo showing horseradish “bolting” or flowering.

It originally shared a bed with hostas and Bleeding Heart (Dicentra). The horseradish has taken over the bed.

Here it is in full leaf from last year, May 12, 2025

Below are a few photos while I was processing some horseradish root out in the workshop instead of in the kitchen so the fumes wouldn’t force the evacuation of the house:

It’s great with beef. This is “prepared” horseradish which is pretty much straight up horseradish with vinegar and salt. Don’t confuse it with “horseradish sauce” which has sour cream or mayonnaise or some other creamy stuff added. In case you haven’t tried horseradish, it has the same sort of zingy, hot, sharpness as Japanese Wasabi (which is a different type of horseradish?) If you haven’t tried either…well, it might be time to expand your culinary horizons. It’s pretty potent…a little dab’ll do ya.

The recipe I used for “prepared” horseradish is missing/misfiled? Next time I make horseradish I will go back to this blog entry and append the recipe. If you care to send us your favorite recipe please do so [SedgesandCelery email link here]. And take it easy on me…the simpler the better. And I’m not looking for “creamy” horseradish sauce (though I do like that too 🙂 ).

Kim Slava 2/1/26 Kim Slava 2/1/26

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)

I have a particular affection towards Jack-in-the-pulpits (Jacks-in-the-pulpit?) in general and this one in particular which grows in our back yard. I first saw this plant growing wild on my grandparents’ farm in Central Illinois 60 years ago. Much of the property was in corn, but a good portion was wooded with fairly old, established trees. In addition there was a creek that ran through the property, and also a spring that welled up from the ground. That was 60 years ago, but just six years ago a Jack-in-the-pulpit mysteriously appeared in one of our raised vegetable beds, sharing space with tomatoes and cucumbers. I didn’t think it would reappear after the first year, but it made it through the winter and re-emerged. So, with some trepidation, I replanted it under the shelter of the Larch tree (aka Tamarack) we planted in the back yard. That spot must have suited it because it has returned every spring for the past 6 years

Aug. 28, 2022 - Berries turning red. You can see some Larch branches.

I experiment with getting the seeds to grow. After I cleaned the berry pulp from the seeds [Note: Wear latex gloves], I stratified them over winter in the refrigerator and planted them in pots the next spring. They germinated and grew some 4 or 5 inches high. But, alas, they languished and died. I don’t think they liked being in pots. I may harvest the seeds and try again this coming Fall. I read that they can be propagated by digging up and dividing the root or corm. I hesitate trying for fear I’ll kill the plant.

Shown below, Gardeningknowhow.com has a great description of jack-in-the-pulpit sexual propagation :

“As mentioned, jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) reproduces both vegetatively and sexually. During vegetative propagation cormlets, lateral buds, rise from the parent corm to form new plants.

During sexual propagation, pollen is transferred from male blooms to female flowers by pollinators via a method called sexual hermaphroditism. This means that any plant may be male, female, or both. When growing conditions are prime, plants tend to produce female blooms. This is because females take more energy since they will form brilliant red berries or seeds for propagating future jack-in-the-pulpit plants.

Come spring, a single shoot emerges from the soil with two sets of leaves and a solitary flower bud. Each leaf is made up of three smaller leaflets. When the bloom opens, a leaf-like hood called a spathe appears. This is the ‘pulpit.’ Inside the folded over spathe is a rounded column, ‘Jack’ or spadix.

Both male and female blooms are found on the spadix. Once the blossom is pollinated, the spathe shrivels up revealing a cluster of green berries which grow in size and ripen to a brilliant crimson color. “

AI tells me:

“Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) is primarily pollinated through deception by fungus gnats (families Sciaridae and Mycetophilidae) and specialized thrips, which are lured into the plant's hooded spathe by a fungus-like odor. Male plants allow trapped gnats to escape, covered in pollen, while female plants trap them, often resulting in the insect's death after pollination. “

Not as picturesque as butterflies and bees, but better than Pawpaw:

Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) flowers bloom with a, dull purplish-red color and produce a faint odor of rotting meat or decay, specifically to attract flies and beetles for pollination rather than bees. To increase fruit set, some gardeners hang rotting meat, fish, or chicken liver in the branches during spring to attract these pollinators. [A. I.]

That was enough to steer us clear of planting Pawpaws.