Flowers

Busy.

Jun 08

Oh, hi. I’ve been busy gardening, and now the big spring push is done. I’ve re-planted a couple beds, cleared another of lily-of-the-valley and got the vegetables in.

The freshly weeded seating area

I absolutely love this time of year. Not much has gone wrong–there’s been no time, really–and all the plants are small and perfect, with even more perfect futures ahead of them. My beets and chard will sprout and grow unmolested by rabbits. I will certainly never forget to water the pots: no wilted gerbera daisies this year! The sickly dahlia I managed to step on will nonetheless grow tall and hardy with countless blooms.

The garden in miniature

Ok, a few things have gone wrong. The daisies have already wilted.Slugs have razed the lungwort. I began seed-starting late and the tomatoes plants were all of 4″ tall when I planted them a week before Memorial Day. (That went right! It was early.)

I finally found the right ocmbo for this tough spot

I finally found the right combo for this tough spot

But holy cow, check out my peas–planted in what is usually the dead of winter, March 18th. They will be put into a spicy rice noodle and beef concoction this week.

Naturally, I meant to get these tied up....

What are you most excited about this year? Are you growing anything for the first time, or looking forward to old favorites?

The seating area with Geranium 'Biokovo' in full flower with Tradescantia--spiderwort--doing back-up

Happy Memorial Day!

May 28

Remember those artificial poppies that veterans used to sell for Memorial Day? I loved those. The delicate feel of the red crepe paper, the crinkled round petals and dark centers that I still adore.

When I was a kid it seemed those poppies were everywhere this time of year. My mom would always let me get one – just one – and I’d wear/play with the thing until it disintegrated.

As an adult, I couldn’t wait to plop some poppies in my garden. I’m crazy about my orange Oriental Poppies and purple Icelandic Poppies. But in honor of the holiday I picked up a packet of the traditional red Corn Poppy that started it all for me.

I never see the poppy-selling vets around anymore, so I’ll be growing my own. Happy Memorial Day, everyone!

A few more late season bloomers

Aug 23

Butterfly Weed

I planted some butterfly weed early in the summer and it has totally taken off. It is thriving in dry, sunny soil. Unlike my other praire plants, the rabbits don’t seem to like it one bit.

Autumn Joy Sedum

Oh, Miss Autumn Joy. Everyone has at least two of you in their gardens. I vow to replace you in the spring, but your pink blossoms are a wonderful in fall.

Liatris, at last!

Aug 21

Do have a plant in your garden that never seems to bloom? You know, that one perennial that gets eaten by rabbits, destroyed in a hale storm, or run over by the lawn mower?

Rough Blazingstar, Liatris aspera

Meet Liatris aspera, a native prairie plant known commonly as Rough Blazingstar. I got this beauty from a Greengirls plant swap in 2009. Due to a series of unfortunate circumstances (see above), this late bloomer never got a chance to bloom. In fact, it never got more than six inches tall.

This year, whether by luck or by pluck, I finally outsmarted the elements (okay, I caged it with chicken wire). Now I have four foot tall stalks with some pretty fantastic blooms. Bees and butterflies can’t get enough of this plant.

In Minnesota, late bloomers at wonderful interest to a garden, but can be really frustrating for the gardener who needs instant gratification (eh hem, like me). The other native species of Liatris in my rain garden (Liatris mucronata, Texas gayfeather), bloomed two months ago.

So, what late bloomers do you have in your garden? How do you protect these plants all season so you can enjoy them?

Purple Poppies

Jul 22

With our recent humidity wave, I’ve temporarily traded in my garden gloves for A/C. Although it’s been nice on the inside, I’m starting to miss the garden… and I’m a little curious about what I’ll find out there.

I’m hoping it’s a sweet surprise like this one from two weeks ago: purple poppies.

Delicate purple poppies

I planted these beauties from seed last year after being inspired by the oriental poppies across the yard. They didn’t bloom their first season and I nearly mistook them for weeds. Luckily, something inside told me to spare their frilly blue-green foliage.

I’m so glad I did, because this year I was rewarded with scores of delicate purple flowers. They even traveled across the yard to pretty up our weed patch. Nice!

Garden Mysteries: Tiger Lilies

Jul 13

While walking around my garden the other day I noticed something strange.

Yellow lilies stick together

My asiatic lilies, which I planted last year in a random pattern of red, orange, and yellow, this year are all clumped together by color. First yellow, then all orange, then all red.

Red Lilies do not mix with others

A few years ago the woman who runs the coffee shop in my work building told me (out of the blue, we had not been talking about lilies – but perhaps that is a mystery for another day) that lilies will cross-pollinate and all turn orange if you mix them. But that doesn’t seem to be happening here, as there are equal amounts of each color.

Orange Lilies coordinate by color and also delay blooming together

Googling “cross-pollinate lilies orange” doesn’t turn up anything either although it seems that there are some folks experiencing this phenomenon over at gardenweb.

I know plants can do amazing things but… uprooting and re-organizing by color seems beyond the abilities of even the most clever plants.

Brugmansia watch

Jul 12

One month ago, I shared this picture:

And now, almost exactly one month later, check this thing out!

This plant is now officially taller than me. I can’t wait for it to begin blooming, filling my yard and home with its heavenly scent.

Mock Orange and Butterflies

Jun 27

When I moved into my house a few years ago, there was an enormous bush in front of the house. I had no idea what it was but in the spring it had the most fragrant, beautiful flowers on it that smelled like oranges.

These smell amazing!

Some research told me it was a mock orange, but it was so overgrown that only the very tops of the branches (about 15 feet tall) had blooms. It was also horribly infested with some buckthorn that had taken root at its base.

I still have to fight the buckthorn regularly (and the leaves are similar so sometimes it’s a tough call) but this beautiful bush has rewarded us for our efforts. Last year we pruned it down to about 6 feet tall and worried that we might have cut it back too far.

We were in luck! The hard pruning caused the bush to sprout new branches from its base, and it quickly shot up to 10-12 feet again. It’s blooming now, and it’s a sight (and smell) to behold.

Mock Orange, in full bloom

The butterflies love it too, a few days ago we were visited by two swallowtail butterflies, aren’t they amazing! They were so drunk off the mock orange nectar that they didn’t mind when we got close to take their pictures.

Black Swallowtail Butterfly

Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly

Brugmansia watch, mid-June

Jun 09

A few weeks ago, we hauled this giant plant up out of the basement. I gave it a nice long drink of fertilized water to wake it up and then braced myself for the amazing growth of this tropical giant! If you recall, this is what the plant looks like dormant:

And here it is, after just 3 weeks in the sun:

This plant will grow to be over 6 feet tall with giant tropical blooms that smell heavenly. It’s an incredibly rewarding plant but requires serious maintenance: daily watering and weekly fertilizer. I love it, though, for making my deck feel like the tropics and adding an exotic element to my garden.

All kinds of Daffodils

May 22

My partner has a saying about food: “I like stuff in my stuff!” I’m pretty much the same way when it comes to the garden. I love trying out different versions of the same thing. We’ve all seen the ‘King Alfred’ daffodils: the yellow big-trumpted ones. They’re early and reliable. Also, boring. Yeah, I’ve got some, inherited from previous owners, and I’ve done enough coddling that sixteen years on, they still do their thing.

'Dreamlight' comes with a pretty scent

But then the real fun starts. And it really starts months prior. Each fall, I read my journal entry from the spring (yep, I’m that kind of gardener) and lose myself for hours in the bulb catalogs to find stuff to fill in the empty spots I noted five months earlier. I’ve grown split-cups, miniatures, small-cupped, triandrus….

Hawera' with Tulip 'Lilac Wonder in the background--the daffs are 1" and adorable!

I’ve found daffodils do die out; I’ve never had much luck with naturalizing.

'Serola' (Lighter cup) and 'Ceylon' made a pretty pair

It’s fun to mix the varieties together and with early perennials or other bulbs.

'Sorbet' with Tulip 'Pink Impression'--I'll be choosing a better tulip for next year

For next year, I’m already planning to fill in the ‘Serola’ and ‘Ceylon’ mix with some orange lily-flowered tulips. Then there are the ‘Quail’ jonquils I saw at the Arboretum, and this year I’m really liking the white-petal-yellow-cup varieties. Just as well they don’t naturalize–this way I get to pick out new stuff for my stuff every year.

'Thalia' and Fritillary meleagris--one of my favorites of spring

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