Flower Buddies
Posted on February 8th, 2010 by Em
Daylily ‘Dallas Star’ behind daylily ‘Ida Miles’:
Em’s Garden
A little slice of country in the city…
Nicotiana ‘Avalon Bright Pink’
Posted on February 5th, 2010 by Em
With Nicotiana ‘Avalon Bright Pink’ you get a big display in a petite package. The plants only grow 7 to 10 inches tall, but they practically explode with clear, pink blooms.
The spectacle lasts for several weeks, but then comes the one caveat. The poor little plant practically poops itself out trying to please you and needs to be cut back before it will bloom again. That usually takes about 3 weeks in my garden. With taller nicotianas this isn’t as much of a problem because you can cut down individual stems as they finish flowering so the plants are in bloom all summer long. ‘Avalon Bright Pink’ stems are so tightly packed together that it’s just easier to give the plant a shave and wait for the second act.
‘Avalon Bright Pink’ is a 2001 AAS winner. I start my plants indoors from seed 9 weeks before sticking them in the garden. I’ve never had any disease problems with nicotianas, and the only pest that seems to enjoy them occasionally is aphids which are more of a nuisance than harmful.
Some annuals demand full sun for best performance, but ‘Avalon Bright Pink’ and most of the other nicotiana cultivars flourish in part-shade. The pink flowers look particularly charming with purples like ageratums and salvias.
Garden Winner: Daylily ‘Passion For Red’
Posted on February 4th, 2010 by Em
You can’t ignore daylily ‘Passion for Red.’ This stunner lures in anyone within shouting distance of its gigantic scarlet-red blooms.
The 7-inch, colorfast flowers—and there are lots of them—are buoyed by some of the sturdiest scapes I’ve ever seen on a daylily.
I’ve been growing ‘Passion For Red’ for several years now, yet I still get excited every time a new flower opens up.
‘Passion For Red’ grows 27 inches tall and blooms mid-season. It looks particularly nice with yellow or gold flowers. Daylily ‘Mary Todd’ would make an excellent long-blooming companion.
One Gigantic Pair of Rose-Colored Glasses
Posted on February 2nd, 2010 by Em
After the garbage truck passed by yesterday morning, I ran outside to retrieve the cart. I started to drag it up the driveway, but stopped for a moment when I heard a cardinal singing his spring breeding song.
The temperature was 15 degrees with snow on the way. Who needs a stodgy ol’ groundhog when you’ve got that kind of optimism?
Zahara Zinnias
Posted on February 1st, 2010 by Em
I’m always on the lookout for new annual cultivars. This year I’m particularly excited about Zahara zinnias. I photographed some of them at the AAS test garden at Boerner Botanical garden in 2008. It was late in the summer, but the plants still looked very hearty and healthy.
Zahara zinnias grow 12 to 18 inches tall which means they will help solve the height problem I’ve been battling for years—the lack of annuals in the 12 to 18-inch range. There are plenty of choices from 6 to 12 inches, and even more from 18 inches all the way up to 5 feet, but that middle zone is a veritable black hole (unless you are obsessed with marigolds).
I plan to grow the 2010 AAS winner ‘Zahara Rose Starlight’ as well as ‘Zahara Scarlet’:
I’m glad I photographed ‘Zahara Coral Rose’ in person because the photos in the seed catalogs are rather washed out, and I probably would’ve taken a pass on that one had I not seen it with my own eyes:
The one I did skip for now is ‘Zahara Yellow’. The plants I saw at Boerner were robust, but the flowers are a very pale yellow and I like brighter colors. ‘Butter’ would’ve been a better name. You can also purchase seeds for ‘Zahara White’, ‘Zahara Fire’ and a mixture.
Zahara zinnias are resistant to powdery mildew and leaf spot and thrive in hot, dry conditions. If they sprout well from seed for me, they could very well become my new favorite zinnia series.
Flower Buddies
Posted on January 29th, 2010 by Em
Dayily ‘Grey Witch’ flanked by dayily ‘Wayside Painted Lady’:
Creeping Through Winter
Posted on January 28th, 2010 by Em
I’ve counted birds for Project Feederwatch for 15 years now, but last week was the first time I was able to include “Brown Creeper” on any list. I usually see a bird or two each year in April or May (once the counting period is over), but never in January. The sighting isn’t unusual. Southern Wisconsin is part of the bird’s winter feeding range.
Brown Creepers eat insects and spiders which means they have to work a little harder in winter to keep their bellies full. I’m sure my pathetic apple tree is full of creepy crawlies and will make a great Brown Creeper restaurant.
And an interesting tidbit about this little camouflaged bird… if you’re like me and lie awake at night worrying about all the used (or not-so-used) spider egg casings in the world, fear not. Brown Creepers ingeniously recycle them to create the base for their nests.