From Our Gardens to Yours
The beauty and the magic of the Longue Vue gardens are such that Edith Stern was not content to keep them to herself, her family, and her personal guests: In 1968, Edith opened the gardens to the public so the entire community could experience them. Our job today is simple: Continue sharing Edith’s gardens with new audiences, from expert horticulturists to neighborhood families. Below we offer seasonal advice, details about our design and resources, and images of what you will find in bloom when you visit Longue Vue.
Ask a Gardener
Ask Director of Gardens Amy Graham about the Longue Vue Gardens, or for seasonal tips about your own garden: agraham@longuevue.com.
Ask About Pest Control
Ask Integrated Plant Care Gardener and Longue Vue newsletter columnist Simeon Benjamin about all of your natural pest control needs: sbenjamin@longuevue.com.
Did you know? We do insect identification and rescue!
Send photos to our Director of Gardens, Amy Graham at agraham@longuevue.com to get an identification or drop off unwanted specimens at the Gate House.
Confronting Citrus Canker
Citrus canker is a common disease in New Orleans gardens, caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas axonopodis. The illness appears as lesions on fruits, leaves, and stems, causing defoliation. It causes early fruit drop, fruit reduction, and sometimes a total cessation of fruit production. Canker’s favorite trees to invade are grapefruit, lime, orange, and lemon, with kumquats being the least susceptible.
Canker was discovered 1910 in Florida and quickly expanded to seven Atlantic and Gulf Coast states, including Louisiana, by 1914. Since 1940, the pathogen seemed to have been vanquished from Louisiana – until it reappeared on June 28, 2013.
Canker enters plants through wounds or stomata. It spreads through wind transmission, splashing rain, hurricanes, landscape equipment, transport of infected citrus, and even on people’s clothing and hands. Because canker is not curable, infested fruit should be composted on site and damaged trees should eventually be removed.
Strategies to reduce canker spread:
- Manage citrus trees when leaves are dry; wet foliage increases spreading.
- In citrus orchards of any size, decontaminate hands and arms before going to new trees by washing 20 seconds with soap and hot water to remove bacteria from the skin.
- Following care or harvesting of infected trees, change and wash all clothing before handling new trees.
- Regularly clean all tools with soap and water.
Jakilah Mason, Gardener-in-Residence
Artist Statement: Jakilah Mason is a child of Africa who is learning to find their way back home. A lifelong learner and researcher, the Afro Garden is part of their continuing study of gardening, plant medicine, culinary arts, and African diasporic cultural practices. They received their MLIS degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 2014, and their Bachelor’s degree from New College of Florida in 2012. In addition to the residency at Longue Vue, they also work as a groundskeeper for the NOCCA Institute Press Street Gardens. Jakilah would like to thank their mother, Jacquelyn Mason, who fortunately for them was kind enough to share her gardening and cooking talents with her progeny. To connect with Jakilah over gardening or their other interests (including writing, music making, and genealogy) email them at jakilah.mason@gmail.com.
The Afro Garden’s goals are: to educate the public about African Diaspora culinary and medicinal knowledge, to demonstrate applications of this knowledge through cooking and medicine making, and to emphasize both the wide variety influences on African Diasporic cooking and its prominent influence globally.
