Angel's Trumpets (or Brugmansias) are large shrubs or small trees native to subtropical regions of South America. The dramatic and pendulous flowers that hang in a living shower of white, yellow, pink, orange or red give them their name, and they have a delicate scent most noticeable in the early evening. Angel Trumpet plants need to grow to about four or five feet before blooming, but their variegated foliage makes it a pleasure with or without its trumpeting blooms.

Angel’s Trumpets grow especially well in containers, but need significant room for their roots. YART grows Angel’s Trumpets in the Dome and offers rooted cuttings for sale. The plants will grow quickly from 4-inch pots to a 1-gallon pot to its permanent home in a five- to seven-gallon bucket. The more soil they have, the better. You will know it is time for them to move to a bigger home when you can see white roots at the bottom of the smaller pot. Herbaceous and fast-growing plants that they are, they are greedy with their water consumption and prefer seasoned water or rain water to water straight from the tap. (To season your water, just let it sit outside in a container for a few days before applying it to a plant.)

Because we have pronounced winters in Taos and Angel’s Trumpets are subtropical, their container growth is well-suited for winter transport to an area protected from frost. You can store them someplace where the temperature remains between 41° and 50° F in near darkness and their hardy roots will happily spring forth again in spring as long as they never freeze.

In cool winters, outdoor plants need protection, but the roots are hardy and will re-sprout in April or May. Less light is necessary if the plants are stored at lower temperatures. However, the best way for the Angel’s Trumpet to winter is in a small greenhouse so you can enjoy its company year-round. Regardless of how you choose to overwinter your Angel’s Trumpet, it is best to leave the plant as large as possible, cutting back only what is necessary for storage purposes, so that it will reach blooming size quicker the next year. Remember, the best time to relocate your plant from its winter home is when the outside temperature matches that of its winter location.

Angel’s Trumpet Trivia
• All parts of the Angel’s Trumpet plant are toxic. Keep them away from pets and children.
• In the wild, Angel’s Trumpets are most often found where the earth has been disturbed by landslides or other means. They also commonly grow in areas affected by humans—along roadsides, in dumps, or at the edge of a field of crops.
• Never use homemade remedies that contain sugar or tobacco on Angel’s Trumpets (either Brugmansia or Datura).
• Ritualized Angel’s Trumpet consumption is an important component in the cosmology and shamanic practices of Indigenous people of western Amazonia and the Urarina people of Peru.

For more information, visit Brugmansia Growers International at www.brugmansia.us and the American Brugmansia & Datura Society at www. abads.net.

Summer ends this month with the Fall Equinox, when the day and night become the same length and the nights begin getting longer. There is still plenty to do before we hibernate for winter (or keep warm in the greenhouse), so don’t hunker down quite yet.

flowers

trees and shrubs

veggies!

lawn and houseplants

Zucchini Stuffed with Ricotta

SERVES 6

6 medium zucchini (about 2 lbs.), halved lengthwise
7 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 medium tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped
2 cups homemade or store-bought ricotta
3/4 cup grated pecorino
3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
3 tbsp. finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 tsp. dried mint, crumbled
2 tsp. chopped fresh oregano
2 egg yolks, beaten
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Using a small spoon, scoop out and discard pulp from each zucchini half, leaving a 1/4" rim around the edges. Heat 3 tbsp. of the olive oil in a 10" skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onions; cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 6 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 4 minutes more. Remove from the heat and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the ricotta, 1/4 cup of the pecorino, 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs, the parsley, mint, oregano, and egg yolks. Fold in the onion mixture and season with salt and pepper. Set the filling aside.

3. Arrange an oven rack about 7" from the broiler element and heat. Rub the insides of the zucchini with 2 tbsp. of the olive oil and season lightly with salt. Place zucchini cut side up on a foil-lined baking sheet and broil for 5 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven and fill each zucchini half with enough of the ricotta mixture that it mounds slightly but doesn't spill over the edges of the zucchini. Sprinkle each stuffed zucchini with the remaining pecorino and bread crumbs and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Broil until the zucchini are soft and the tops are lightly browned, 10–15 minutes.

This recipe was first published in Saveur in Issue #113

september calendar

1   Labor Day
4   Henry Hudson discovered the island of Manhattan in 1609
     Taos Plaza Live! 2008
7   National Grandparents’ Day
9   Chrysanthemum Day (Japan)
11 Taos Plaza Live! 2008
13 Taos Public Library Book Sale
14 Full Moon
15 Agatha Christie’s birthday (1890-1976)  
16 The Episcopal Church in the U.S. approved the ordination       of women priests and bishops in 1976.
      Town of Taos Regular Council meeting
17  Taos Entrepreneurial Network (TEN) Meeting
18  Greta Garbo’s birthday (1905-1990)
      Taos Plaza Live! 2008
19  New Zealand became the first country to grant women        the right to vote in 1893.
21  22nd Annual Taos Trade Fair
23  The first day of Autumn and the Fall
24  F. Scott Fitzgerald’s birthday (1896-1940)
      Jim Henson’s birthday (1936-1990)
25  Taos Plaza Live! 2008
26  T.S. Eliot’s birthday (1888-1965)
      Taos County-wide Tour of Visual Artists' Studios (through       Oct. 5)
       Annual Taos Fall arts Festival (though Oct. 15)
28   YART’s own Jane Glenn’s birthday
30   San Geronimo Feast Day

Whether we move across town, across the country, or simply need to drop our plants off at the plant-sitter’s house while we go on vacation, sometimes we need to move our plants out of the house. Here are five tips to ensure your houseplants travel safely.

1If you're going across town, just pack your plants in open boxes or crates, cushioning the sides of breakable pots with newspaper or towels. At that point, all you need to do is load them up and go.

2 Very tall plants travel best with sphagnum moss stuffed into the top of each pot, and their pots wrapped in plastic and secured. Then you can lay the plant sideways so it will fit in the car without losing its soil.

3 If transporting plants in the winter, wrap plants well with newspaper before taking them outside to the car, because even a few seconds of extreme cold will injure them. If you have an attached garage, your problem is solved.

4 When traveling long distances with plants in a car, treat your plants as you would your pet and don't let them get too hot or too cold, water them sufficiently, park in the shade in warm weather, and leave the windows in the car open slightly when parked.

5 If you’re moving a long distance and are thinking of having your plants shipped by land or air, remember that it is expensive and there are no guarantees. It’s best in this case to pick out three of your favorite plants and give away or sell the rest. If you sell them, you can use the money to buy new plants on the other end of your journey.

Welcome
to our new
yartists :

David Loveless : Taos
{featured art in photo left}

Phyllis Weitman : Florida