The Trio

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Em

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Sticking to the Schedule

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Em

I bought some seed-starting supplies at the garden center yesterday, and I had a conversation with the clerk about our unusually warm and relatively-snow-free winter. She took a walk over the weekend and saw a number of crocuses popping up in her neighbor’s yards. Usually we see crocuses in late March and early April in southern Wisconsin.

So far I haven’t seen anything coming to life in my flowerbeds (except crabgrass, but that stuff is invincible), but some of my evergreen daylilies look a little too perky for my tastes.

It would be tempting to start my annuals (sprouted indoors) a few weeks early, but I’ve seen this production before. Assuming we escape March and April without record cold or a chain of freak snowstorms, there’s still no guarantee that we won’t have a chilly, frosty spring.

As much as I’m chomping at the bit to exercise my green thumb again, I’m going to stick with my usual schedule.

 

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Bee Balm ‘Pink Lace’

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Em

Last summer I tried a new bee balm (Monarda didyma) called ‘Pink Lace’:

‘Pink Lace’ is a compact variety. The plants grow only 16 inches tall and are loaded with pretty, bright-pink flowers in the summer.

I didn’t notice any problems with powdery mildew on my plant, but I must admit that once the temperatures hit the mid-90s last July I didn’t spend as much time in the garden as I usually do.

I will be interested to see what the plant looks like when it pops up in the spring. Will it wander all over like most bee balms, or will it appear in a nice, tidy clump like my beloved ‘Grand Parade’?

I love the rich the combination of pink and purple, so I planted ‘Pink Lace’ with Geranium ‘Rozanne’ (Daylily ‘Double Cutie’ is in the foreground):

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A Bevy of Blooms: Daylily ‘Starman’s Quest

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Em

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“Fowl”-weather Friends

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Em

I was humming along pretty well in the birdwatching department once we got some cold and snow in January. I saw many more juncos, woodpeckers, nuthatches and finches. At one point I counted 33 goldfinches which means I had to refill the thistle feeders about every other day to keep up with demand.

But now that the mild weather has returned and I can see patches of brown in the lawn, the birds have once again disappeared.

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Ageratum ‘Tall Blue Planet’

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Em

Ageratums are carefree, easy-to-grow annuals. With the exception of a handful of white and light-pink varieties they are mostly available in shades of blue and purple.

I love them because they don’t have any disease problems, and they aren’t at all attractive to my main garden adversaries—Japanese Beetles and rabbits.

I’ve been partial to a number of cultivars over the years, but my current favorite is ‘Tall Blue Planet’:

The flowers appear in clusters on plants 24 to 30 inches tall. They bloom all summer for me if I keep them deadheaded.

Ageratums grow slowly from seed so I start them indoors 12 weeks before I plan to tuck them into my flowerbeds.

I’ve grown them with just about every color imaginable, but my favorite companion is red salvia.

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Double Dose: Rose ‘William Shakespeare 2000′

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Em

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Flower Ideas: Show Me…Something Dark

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Em

Ornamental Pepper ‘Black Pearl’ is an annual with purplish-black leaves. ‘Black Pearl’ grows 18 to 20 inches tall and sports clusters of little black (hot!) peppers that mature to bright red:

‘Jungle Beauty’ is a dormant daylily with blackish-red, 5.5-inch flowers on 30-inch-tall scapes. You can really set off the dark flowers by planting them with yellow daylilies or other yellow flowers.

Heuchera ‘Blackout’ has almost-black leaves. This perennial grows 6 inches tall with 10-inch cream-colored flower scapes that appear in early summer:

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Celosia ‘Spiky Purple’

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Em

Last year I tried Celosia ‘Spiky Purple’ for the first time. I sprouted the seeds indoors. Their germination rate was excellent, and the little plants that grew were sturdy and well-behaved.

‘Spiky Purple’ grows 12 to 16 inches tall. The wine-purple flowers appear in clusters like a candelabra. In the garden the plants had no disease or pest problems, and they bloomed until frost.

I was so pleased with the variety that I’m going to grow them again this year. But I’m going to make one little adjustment based on a note I put in my garden journal. ‘Spiky Purple’ has embarrassing chicken legs!” I’ll be sure to plant them behind something bushy like Profusion Zinnias to cover up those scrawny gams.

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Up Close and Personal: Daylily ‘Lavender Blue Baby

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Em

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