rose

Who knew? The International Herb Association has chosen the rose as its 2012 Herb of the Year. Meanwhile, nurseries and garden centers expect edible plants to remain popular.

Roses - the hips and petals - have a multitude of uses, from candied and crystallized petals, vinegars and teas to essential oils for cosmetics and medicines.

But take heed before you start serving up petals, warns Kitty Morse, author of Edible Flowers: A Kitchen Companion: "Make sure flowers you choose have been grown naturally, without the use of pesticides." For this reason, most fresh-cut flowers from florist shops and nurseries are unacceptable. Instead, Morse suggests harvesting chemical-free roses from your own back yard. And since many fragrant heirloom roses are susceptible to pests and disease, this means growing easy-care landscaping roses like the Flower Carpet line (Amber shown above), which is naturally pest- and disease-resistant (read: no chemical treatments needed).

"My mother used to make rose jam and tea and sugared rose petals back in the '50s," says Colorado garden blogger Becky Dziarnowski. Now, she makes tea from the hips of her Amber, Yellow and Scarlet Flower Carpet roses, crushing two or three hips and then steeping them in a tea ball for five minutes. "The Amber petals are sweet," says Dzarnowski, "like a super-ripe cantaloupe."

Rose petal ice cream is a favorite of Denise Schreiber, author of Eat Your Roses … Pansies, Lavender and 49 Other Delicious Edible Flowers. After removing the white bitter part from the bottom of each petal, Schreiber dries them on a shelf or in an oven warmed to 200 degrees, then shut off. She mixes a quarter cup of the dried, crumbled petals into a half-gallon of French vanilla ice cream and boosts the rose flavor with a teaspoon of rose water and 2 tablespoons of rose syrup (available at most Middle Eastern groceries or in the international foods section of some supermarkets). The garnish: a sprinkling of fresh rose petals.

"Generally, the darker the color, the deeper the flavor," advises Morse. Born and raised in Morocco, where roses are regularly used in cuisine, Morse recommends harvesting roses early in the morning, washing them and then laying them on paper towels to dry. She likes making rose syrup lemonade with rose petal ice cubes and also adds a splash of rose syrup to champagne before serving it in flutes: "It's very refreshing; it cleanses the palette in between courses."

So dare to be different this year, and eat your roses! You might just find yourself a new a culinary favorite!

It sounds weird, but one of my favorite times of the year, gardening-wise, is January.

That's when I look forward to seeing all the new mailorder gardening catalogs in my mailbox. It's also when I make my "Plants I Want" wish list. And it's also the time when I repot indoor plants and mark the coming year's master calendar with seasonal gardening chores.

I know, it sounds anal. Perhaps I'm overcompensating for my ADD, which has turned me into somewhat of a calendar junkie:  If it's not on the calendar, it just doesn't get done.

Anyway, one of the chores I'm putting on there now is pruning. Without it, my front and side yards quickly become overgrown in summer and crowd out all the light, air and space. I at least need to go and trim all the dangling and dead branches left in the wake of all the winter wind storms we have in our area.

Pruned Flower Carpet roses with tete-a-tete daffodils in early spring

Late winter is a great time to prune deciduous trees and shrubs, although in cold climates like my Zone 6ish garden. Here in western New York, I usually prune on or around St. Patrick's Day. It's an easy way to remember it, anyway.

When you do prune deciduous trees and shrubs, make sure to remove diseased, damaged or close-crossing branches, but take special care not to spoil the plant's natural shape.

For magnolias, forsythias and other spring-flowering woody plants, delay pruning until just after flowering. Summer-blooming shrubs such as hydrangea and hibiscus are best pruned in winter or early spring, just before growth gets going. 

March and April are big months for pruning roses. My Flower Carpet roses are the easiest to prune: I just take a sharp pair of hedge sheers and reduce their volume by about two thirds. A more conservative approach is needed for traditional bush roses: Aim for an open vase shape, making cuts about a half-inch above an outward-facing bud. Old-fashioned roses that flower once in early summer shouldn't be pruned until just after flowering.

For more information on pruning Flower Carpet roses, check out the video "How to take care of Flower Carpet roses in spring" by Dave Epstein of Growing Wisdom.

Whenever you prune, always use clean, sharp pruning tools. Mangled, unclean cuts can lead to disease. And don't put diseased material in the compost bin. If Jack Frost strikes, avoid removing any frost-damaged growth, as this helps protect the plant from further frost damage.

I know it's hard to wait till spring, but try to enjoy some garden dreaming and planning. And don't forget to put pruning on your calendar!