Super Plants

Had a (non gardening) co worker a few years ago who just moved into a different home. It was a primarily shady yard, and they could tell it had been fashioned into a garden, even though it was winter when they moved in, they could see there were lots of little plant markers in the yard with names on them. It was soon discovered that the previous owners were of my ilk, i.e., "plant maniacs"! When Jim wrote down some of the names and showed me, i immediately recognized most of the variety names ~ they were all Hostas!

Spring arrived, as She always does, and the Hosta, along with many other perennials, awakened from their Winter sleep. It was not long before Jim came in to work and asked me if i wanted some (or all!) of these Hostas, because they wanted a low maintenance yard. Now, much as my heart leapt when i heard "Do you want these plants?", i did the right thing and told Jim that if he wanted a "low maintenance" yard, NOTHING would be LOWER maintenance than those Hostas! Especially established, well taken care of Hostas! i told him not to mess with them. Alas, (she says, grinning evilly) they still did not want the plants, so i borrowed my husband's truck (WITH the husband) and made a couple of trips there to load up said truck! Jim and his wife did decide they liked several of the plants, and wanted to keep them, but still let me cut divisions from those, also. It was a situation ALL plant maniacs hope to run into at least once in their lifetime! AND it just so happened that we had cleared out a space that Spring under the flowering Crabapple, and it was a perfect spot for Hostas! i believe i came home with at least 25 plants that year.

But I digress ~ my description of my SuperPlants list *** 1) Comes back reliably every year 2) Does not need pruning or shaping 3) If they DO flower, it does not take a lot of time to deadhead them 4) Looks good throughout the season 5) Needs little or no cutting down before winter and 6) Is NOT invasive!

A small disclaimer ~ there are no plants that are NO maintenance! Once in a while your Hostas may be eaten by slugs, moles dig up your Poppies, the deer wipe you out, and the most well behaved plant may absolutely LOVE the spot you have it in, and takes over your yard! But ~ dem's da rules, folks!

1) So Hosta are the first on this list. Very cast iron plants! i even have shoved a division of Hosta through a piece of Styrofoam and floated it in my pond with the roots floating free, and they thrived, even after i left them frozen in the water thru the Winter!

2) Next are the Sedums ~ they can grow in sandy or poor soil, can take hot sun, some are tiny and creeping, some are upright and can be 3 ft tall,

and it's very difficult to PREVENT from thriving!

3) Hardy Spring bulbs are very carefree, although some people make more work for themselves by cutting back the leaves sooner than they need to (or braiding them ~ what's with that?) If you wait until the leaves dry out, they will easily come off when tugged.

 

4) Heucheras ~ i love these guys! Compact, a great variety of colors, looks good (a lot of them THROUGH a zone 5 winter). See my "Collectable Plant" post about Heucheras for more photos.

5) Poppies ~ Comes up in early Spring, blooms, fades away. No problem.

There ARE more! Will post soon.

One Day Closer

...(But not close enough) to Spring, but there ARE signs...

The peppers on my Pumpkin pepper plant are STILL bright! No, didn't want to eat them (guess i should've tried them, at least) Maybe this year, because I intend to plant more of them! The only color in the landscape all winter! I highly recommend them.

Managed a couple of walks in the nearby park, and found a few nice shots...

The deer are thick in that park,as they are in all of the parks around here!

 My "neighbors" are out and keeping me company, as they have all winter!

If you look very closely, you can see the Winter Aconites are nearly in bloom

 And the "Blue Eyed Blonde" looks healthy and ready to go! 

See ~ wasn't kidding~ she IS a Blue Eyed Blonde!

Ooo! One more ~ the Butterbur is beginning to show itself, too!

My Garden Interview - Part 1

***i'm currently reading an older garden book titled, "Gardening From The Heart - Why Gardeners Garden" by Carol Olwell. The reason for this book is interesting, because, as she points out, gardening is hard work,

considered pretty much low grade manual labor, and is rarely lucrative -

so why do we do it? She compiles the story of many gardeners who were interviewed for this book. i am barely past the introduction, but i feel compelled to put into words how i myself came to be a gardener, and why....***

Q: How did you become a gardener?

N: First of all, i need to point out that it was never really a conscious decision to "go forth and garden!"

i never knew my grandparents on my father's side, but i do know they were avid gardeners, so i'm thinking i had it "in my blood", since i sure as heck know it wasn't thru my parents! They didn't even like to be outside! i think Mom took me to the park several times when i was young,

and they liked to sit out on the porch in the evenings in warm weather, and THAT was probably only because we didn't have air conditioning back then, and it was the only way to stay cool! We had a fairly large and swampy back yard- (this is the Black Swamp area, after all) , but except

for some hideous foundation plantings of evergreens, one Poplar tree, one rose bush and one white Spirea, that's all there was in the whole area! Being an only child with few neighbor children, i spent many long

days in that backyard on my own, getting hundreds of mosquito bites and black bare feet from the muddy yard - how i didn't end up with Hepatitis or some '60's equivalent of the West Nile virus is beyond me.

Anyway, we were visiting my uncle's house one summer day, and my cousin and i walked into one of the farm fields surrounding their property. She told me that they knew the owners of the fields, and that they were

allowed to pick some of the produce out of the fields if they wanted (whether that was true or not, i never really knew...Being 12 and very naive, i didn't question it ). She picked a tomato right off the vine

and handed it to me, and actually had to instruct me to eat it right there, as i just looked at it for a second - i had only seen tomatoes in salads before that (yes, i had an extremely sheltered childhood!). When i bit into that beautifully ripe, warm tomato, standing in the middle of

that field, that experience it was so awesome that i had an epiphany of sorts - and actually changed the course of my life! i did not immediately know what to do about this new feeling, but within about 2 years, i had a small vegetable garden plot in our backyard.

i did have somewhat of a social life in my late teens, so of course with other things on my mind, i didn't have as much time to garden. Until after i was married - and for a few years we lived in an apartment, so except for the 40 or so houseplants i acquired, i did not do much gardening. i tried to keep my plot going at my parents' house, but they wanted to stay inside when i was there and expected me to sit inside and visit with them! So that was not feasible for very long.

CONTINUED SOON

i used to have quite the T shirt collection. Radio stations, comic book characters (still have my "Elfquest" shirts!), rock bands, etc. Of course, that included my gardening interests, too - but i didn't go for " Happiness is Gardening" or "Gardeners Have The Best Dirt" - noo..my humor is a little different...

Don't know if this company's even still in business, but i loved the shirt! i don't really wear it much anymore - my "tomatoes" don't really line up! LOL

...And from my favorite nursery, Plant Delights, came this funny ( but sensible) play on words. If you're not sure, an 'annual' is a plant that lives only one season and dies. A lot of folks in my area spend tons of money on flat after flat of 'tunias and marigolds (for "color"), and do it all over again the next spring. Hey, i buy 'em too - after all, that's how most nurseries make the majority of their income - but i also use a lot of perennials (that come back in the Spring) so i don't have to buy everything yearly!

But, whatever you gardening humor, or no matter how i feel about it, just plant SOMETHING!

Amour In The Garden

Today, my wedding anniversary, got me thinking about several plants (or cultivars) i have in which the names involve "love" themes. These are a few i have:

i grew Cardiospermum halicacabum, AKA Love In A Puff or Heartseed Vine, for the first time last season, thinking it was perennial. Well, it didn't come back, but the seeds i saved sprouted slowly but easily for me, so i do still have it. I was impressed by this little (up to 8 feet) vine.The leaves are a very elegant shape, and the seedpods are three sided puffballs.

The flowers are not so great - tiny, delicate, and white, but it didn't really bother me. Then when i saw the seeds! - well, i didn't research this one well, i figured the name came about because of the seedpods' shape, but that wasn't all! The seeds are about 4mm in diameter, very dark, nearly black, except for a white HEART shaped mark on each one!

That clinched it - i will be growing this one for a long time!

Then there's Love In A Mist (Nigella), which has that elusive sky blue color of blossoms seldom seen in the garden. (There are also pinks and whites available, but the blue is all i want!) This is what i call a "perennial annual" because, even though each plant is annual, it seeds itself so enthusiastically that you'll never be without it again! This, like Perilla, doesn't bother me with its reseeding. It is easy to pull out and shows up in places like pots and flower beds where i leave it until after it blooms.

The foliage is so ferny that it does look like mist, and then when the seedpods form, they look like little striped hot air balloons, thus the reason it is also sometimes called "Love In A Puff". The dried seedpods are used a lot in floral arrangements.

First grown in the United States by Thomas Jefferson, Kiss-Me-Over-The-Garden-Gate,(Polygonum orientale), is also an annual old cottage garden favorite, but the plant is not found in cultivation very often.

Of course, when i first heard the name, i had to find it! It is, of course, growing by the garden gate, where it reaches heights of around 8 feet, and droops its long clusters of bright pink flowers above my head. It also reseeds, though in my experience not a whole lot, just enough to keep it going.

i also want, though have not been able to find, the Hosta cultivar "Illicit Affair". Is it an outstanding variety? Not so much - just want to tell visitors, "I wanted to have an Illicit Affair in the garden, and all I got was this stupid Hosta!"

A Spring Garden Stroll

...A garden friend....(who i painted, naturally!)

..An 'artsy" shot!

                                         ...Although i really hate the Cottonwood tree across the street, the "fuzzies" falling, backlit by the sun, are pretty (i guess...)

The variegated Kiwi vine actually is showing its white and pink splashed foliage for the second year in a row!  

First Waterlilies in bloom

We've had a lot of rain this Spring ~ and my Hostas love it!

"Sweet Kate" Tradescandia is one of my favorites. Those colors are almost blinding in bright sun!

Never had a lot of luck with Penstemons, but they're doing great this year!

....And, of course, the sky blue of an Amsonia (If you've gotten any emails from me in the past, "Amsoniared" has been my email name for many years! Hey, 'Amsoniablue' was taken!)

RANT ~ Hardy, My A**!

Went to a well known, local department/general store yesterday. It's a family run business that started out as a general store catering primarily to farmers. It's much bigger now, and despite my impending rant, i still feel that it's a well run, upstanding company, therefore i'm not naming names! i'm sure if you live in my area, you'll figure out where i mean.

Anyway, they have a fairly large plant/garden area, and is always one of the stops in my "Spring Hunt For Plants I Don't Have Yet" trek. Now, this isn't the only place i have seen this happen, but was a little disappointed that this store, the one i have known most of my life, is now carrying perennials that are NOT hardy in my area! *(A perennial is a plant that should live thru the winter - outdoors - and continue to grow for many seasons)* Not just borderline - a full 2 or 3 zones off from ours! Now, i live and breathe plants, so i know to check the tags before i fall in love with a particular cultivar, but most folks just want a nice plant, and will assume that if a local store is carrying this plant that says "Perennial", that of course, it would mean it's a perennial HERE, in zone 5, not (as the tag reads) in zone 7 (which is GEORGIA, not Ohio!).They do have a 1 year guarantee on perennials, but i don't know if they would honor that or just say, "Well, it's not hardy here, so the guarantee doesn't apply". i have a feeling they WOULD honor it, so then what? - then they lose money, guaranteeing plants that had no chance to begin with!

And it may not be the store's fault at all - are the buyers for the store given the correct information, or are they just told the plants are "perennials"? As i said, this is not the only place i've seen this happen, but i'd like to know where the fault lies....

***Oh, i have tried many plants not considered to be hardy here to try and stretch my luck, but that is MY decision, backed with the knowledge that it very well could die! As Tony Avent of Plant Delights Nursery likes to say, " I consider every plant hardy until I have killed it myself...at least three times!" (by the way, Tony, I'm still waiting for my Tetrapanax "Steroidal Giant" to try to kill!). By the way, i would love to work there - after reading their catalog, i'm convinced everyone there is mentally unbalanced (i'd fit right in)! Here's their website ***

But i digress... no, the plant tags attached to these plants i refer to do NOT lie - they ARE perennial - almost ALL plants are perennial somewhere, if the situation is right. i get tired of watching "House Hunters" when the hunt is in the tropics, and my tiny houseplants (here) are 20 foot outdoor giants THERE! Saw one home and garden show a while back, the homeowners had a problem with a 25 ft. Bird of Paradise plant (no..colony)(no.. TREE!) that was taking over their front yard - they actually had to bring in heavy equipment to dig it out! LOL - that's what they get for living in Paradise - serves 'em right!

But, please, if you're new to gardening or not, pay attention to those plant tags - know what hardiness zone you're in and match it up to the plant tag info (note: if you're in zone 5, plants hardy to zone 3 or 2, etc. are fine - that just means the plant is good in even colder areas than yours, and should do great).

This is a fairly simple map, but you can Google for more detailed ones online.

*Collectable Plants* ~ Heuchera

When i like a genus of plants, i usually want every cultivar there is of that particular plant. One of my favorites is the Heuchera (Coral Bell) family. When i started gardening (way back in the ancient times), there were just Coral Bells - a reliable small perennial with nicely shaped green leaves that bloomed in summer with tiny, delicate lily of the valley shaped pink (or coral) flowers up and down long stems.

 Then came "Palace Purple", with large dark purple leaves that glowed when the sun shone thru them! One drawback - the flowers were a sickly greenish cream color instead of the coral!

                                            Palace Purple

That happens often in the plant breeding world - new foliage shape / color results in loss of flower interest or new flower color or disease resistance results in loss of fragrance, as in our modern roses.

But we gardeners fell for the pretty new leaves (and the blossoms themselves never really were that interesting to me), and wanted more!

The breeders got going, and these days, i swear they come out with at least a dozen new leaf colors every year!

i just walked around my yard last night, and this is a list of the Heucheras (HEW-KER-AHS) I currently own:

Cappuchino

Peach Melba

Creme Brulee

Amber Waves

Midnight Rose

Mocha Mint

Velvet Night

Autumn Bride

Green Spice

Lemon Lime

Citronelle

Caramel

Cherries Jubilee

Crimson Curls

Palace Purple

Lime Rickey

And Sunspot
 (Actually she's a Heucherella - a cross between a Heuchera and Tiarella, looks very similar to a Heuchera, but the flowers are a little "foofier".)

                                                      Sunspot

...On top of that, Heucheras are long lived, well behaved, hardy, and evergreen (or whatever color they happen to be), and the flowers (pink or not) attract hummingbirds! Can't go wrong!