A Change Of Heart

After moving into my house around twenty years ago, it was obvious that past owners had been gardeners. Although it was a used rental when I got my hands on it, there were several plant specimens of note around the grounds from better times of previous owner-occupants. Daffodils, azaleas, iris, roses, and holly were found hidden among the overgrown jungle.

But, each plant had some inferior quality to it. The bearded iris (iris germanica) was a small flower, with light lavender falls and bland colored upper petals. It was a shorty at only 2-feet tall (60 cm.) I did not find its likeness in any iris catalog. I ripped it out, along with many of the other substandard "heirlooms." (The red azaleas and the daffodils were kept.) But, I did not get all of the plants, and some gradually came back. I let them grow.

I appreciate my inferior no-name iris more these days. I see them as "subtle." Either my taste and attitude evolved and matured, or the irises evolved over the years. I do not remember them as this attractive.

For The Record:   • Heavy clay soil with no organic amendments   • Full sun   • No fertilizer   • No pest or diseases Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: nicotiana, bachelor buttons, alyssum, rose, hollyhock, spiderwort

Ain't No Rhodie Kill

After purchasing my house, the hybrid rhododendron Roseum elegans was one of the first plants bought for the yard when my gardening journey began, back in 1988. An older hybrid from the 1830's, it was also one of the few 'first plants' that survived my horticultural learning curve.

There were actually two planted in the corners of the rear yard, back when a diseased apple tree and a neighbor's overgrown crabapple trees blotted out the sun. Over the years, my dogwood and muscular star magnolia grew to provide the shade that disappeared when the apple trees were cut down. Both rhodies grew in the deep recesses of the back, but one died out about a decade ago from some mysterious die-back disease.

Growth slowed over the years, but the sole survivor bloomed each spring, with some years more exuberant than others. Summers revealed occasional winter die-off or diseased sections that needed amputation, yellowing leaf and drop, chomping bugs, vitamin deficiencies, or 'white fuzzy bugs.' But the plant always pulled through.

Then in winter of 2010, our town was hit with two record 24-inch snowfalls close together [2010.02.19]. The spring thaw revealed that the grand old lady had been flattened. My recent master gardener classes taught us to let the plants be and allow them to bounce back on their own. Remarkably, most branches did that, but some required pruning off.

This year the plant is taller than ever at about 6-feet (1.8 m), albeit with a bit of a scraggly appearance from the previous winter damage and pruning. And the 6-inch (15 cm) lavender blossom balls are numerous.

As evidenced by the photo, birds love hanging out in the dogwood tree above and providing fertilizer. This spring, I will need to rescue the rhodie from the invading azalea hordes nipping its base, and maybe prune to restore its shape. The survivor deserves better care after being in the dark forgotten corner of the 'back woods' for so long.

For The Record:   • Moist soil with acid and organic amendments over time   • Light to heavy shade   • All sorts of diseases but they never kill it off Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: dutch iris, iris, salvia, hollyhock, rhododendron, alyssum, geranium, macrorrhizum geranium   • Transplanted outdoors: peppers, tomatoes

A Clearance on Clarence

With four varieties of iris in the yard, why would anyone want a fifth? Because none of the four are a true bearded iris (iris germanica) with a true blue iris color - (my Dutch iris is blue, but it is Dutch.) I selected Clarence, a blue one from the gazillion varieties at Shreiners based on photos and descriptions. "Highly recognized for its dependable rebloom, this light blue bitone has quickly risen to prominence."

I never ordered Clarence, although I did search for it when I ran across iris plants for sale at local stores. Then in late spring of 2009, I was at Walmart, the discriminating gardener's source for high end plant material. (I was frantically searching every store for vegetable plants still left on the shelves for garden procrastinators). While browsing the offerings the store carried, I spotted Clarence iris on the clearance rack for around $3. But, there were only leaves - no blooms to verify that the label was correct. I succumbed to the sale price; I took a chance.

Expectations were high in spring of last year after coddling my prize during the previous summer. But alas, there were no flowers. What went wrong? Was this really Clarence or a Walmart dud? After another summer of cosseting, Clarence is finally blooming this spring.

The flowers are huge and well proportioned, at 5-6 inches wide and high (15 cm). Light colored standards ease into a creamy yellow beard, and cream colors ease into the blue falls. And the 3 foot high (1 m) stalks stand up. For comparison, my Invitation Iris [15.5.2009] needs crutches now, even through it is not yet blooming.

I finally got a proud blue iris.

For The Record:   • Clay soil with gypsum & organic amendments   • Full sun   • Small amount of fertilizer   • No serious pests

Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: azaleas, Clarence iris, ajuga, salvia, allium, macrorrhizum geranium, muscari

My World Is Blue

It is that time of the year when most of the spring blooms are finished and the summer perennials have not yet come on. In recent years, I tried to collect some plants for the cottage garden that can fill in this period with some interest and activity. This spring, these plants are blooming, but I see an accident. All the plants are blue or purple. Oops.

This is the result of never coordinating plant colors, other than to keep pink things (which I don't have a lot of) away from yellow things. This combination makes me nauseous.

Filling in two rear yard beds, the ajuga is blooming. These were planted as a shady ground cover last year, so their spring blooming is a welcome surprise - much taller than I expected. Leaves are green, but turn a dark maroon in the summer.

The side yard has a new blue iris, blue muscari, along with some late-late show pink tulips. I waited two years for this particular iris to bloom. The pink tulips are leftovers from last year, and looking good considering that they are repeat bloomers.

The front has blue 'May Night' salvia and magenta drumstick alliums. The salvia and allium could do a better job of coordinating their colors. Blue and magenta are too close to each other. I wish foliage on the alliums would last until after they bloom, instead of dying off as they start to bloom. This allium is supposedly 'Persian Blue,' but their color says the nursery lied.

Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: azaleas, Clarence iris, ajuga, salvia, allium, macrorrhizum geranium, muscari

Two Spring Favorites

Although these two spring bloomers have been highlighted in previous posts, I include a few additional notes about them this year. The Narcissus poeticus or poet daffodils were first planted for spring 2007 [8.4.2007]. These bloom a bit later than others, and have a distinct fragrance. And they have easily multiplied in the garden. Here are a few more tidbits about them:

• Poet's Daffodils are cultivated in Holland and southern France for their narcissus oil, one of the most popular fragrances used in perfumes. Narcissus oil is used as a principal ingredient in 11% of modern quality perfumes, resembling a combination of jasmine and hyacinth.
• The fragrant Narcissus poeticus has also been recognized as the flower that Persephone and her companions were gathering when Hades abducted her into the Underworld. This myth accounts for the custom, lasting today, of decorating graves with these flowers.
• While all narcissi are poisonous when eaten, Poet's Daffodil is more dangerous than others, acting as a strong emetic and irritant

The Beauty of Apeldoorn tulip [24.4.2009] is a Darwin hybrid. Nothing seems to represent warm spring like red and yellow tulips. I prefer those that have some interest (such as this two-tone color scheme with black base) over solid color tulips.

New bulbs were planted last fall along side those left in from previous years. This spring, the new bulbs produced larger flowers, but they bloomed later than those left in the ground from previous years. And of course, not all of the old bulbs produced flowers. Planting new bulbs mixed in with the existing ones may be a way to extend the bloom time of a tulip bed. (As long as you don't accidentally slice and dice the old bulbs left in the ground when planting the new ones, like I seem to do.)

Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: grape hyacinth, poet daffodils, peony & Darwin tulips,    snowflakes, ajuga

Overwintered and Underwhelmed

As stated previously, a few annual plants are overwintered on a window sill and given a new life in spring. This is the second winter I tried this, and hoped to improve on last year by using larger pots and taking more cuttings. So far, the results are mixed. I am not convinced the additional effort was worth the results.

Coleus Dark Chocolate (Solenostemon scutellarioides)
In winter 2009, one cutting was made. It rooted in water and was planted in a small cup. In spring, after almost no growth over winter, it was planted outdoors. It grew last summer, but never reached the original size it was when purchased. Last fall a few more cuttings were taken. All but one died off. The survivor was potted and a second cutting was taken from it last month. The plants are no different than last year's at this stage, although there are two.

Coleus Kong Red (Solenostemon scutellarioides)
My other coleus had similar results during its first winter. Although both cuttings survived, they stayed small during winter and did not grow much during the summer. This winter, three cuttings were taken and potted. A fourth was started from one of these midway through winter. All are doing well. Plants in the larger pots are larger than last year's overwinters, so the pots made a difference here.

Pesian Sheld (Strobilanthes dyerianus)
Two years ago, two cuttings rooted and survived the winter in their small pots. When planted outdoors, they grew well into respectable plants. This year, five cuttings were taken. Two were placed in larger pots than the others, but all appear to be the same size at the moment. Apparently, size (of the pot) doesn't matter.

Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin)
This plant was picked up at the end of summer sale at a local nursery, and has stayed in its pot during winter. It has prospered indoors, doubling its size and looking forward to a season of outdoor growing.

Sorry Cocoa Say What?

The white forsythia [10.3.2009] and crocus are usually the first in the garden to awake in spring, announcing the beginning of a new growing season. This year there is a new addition to the early show. The Sweetbox (sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis) began blooming recently, beating the white forsythia by about a week.

While beginning my garden journey many years ago, I began scouring garden catalogs to learn as much as possible about the multitude of nursery plants available for Virginia. Many were new and strange to me after moving south 2 zones from New York. This one with the weird name sounded interesting - evergreen, shade, early, and fragrant.

Two years ago, I purchased two sarcococca (not sure of the plural) from Lower Marlboro Nursery and planted. Now in its third year, the plant began producing fragrant flowers last week, and finally began showing signs that it is ready to begin spreading.

Lower Marlboro Nursery, 60 miles away (95 km) in Maryland is another story itself. The nursery was essentially one person (Mary) who's mission was to promote and provide native species for the small gardening community who could not find them elsewhere. She propagated, grew, and sold them from her front 'yard' forest. I was a yearly customer. Last year, she decided to call it quits, since the supply and variety of natives is now more bountiful from mainstream garden suppliers - mission accomplished. (Sarcococca is not native here, but she sold it.)

This particular sarcococca is native to the Himalayas, and spreads slowly so I guess it is not at home in my 'invasives' garden. Dark, glossy evergreen leaves are only bothered by an occasional yellowing at the tips and are not harmed by any pests. The tiny flowers go almost unnoticed- resembling shards of hanging fingernails. When they came out last week, I am sure the squirrels and cardinals were amused - me on my hands and knees attempting a sniff. But yesterday, the blossoms became fragrant. They resemble lilacs to my nose. I left plenty of space to spread into a ground cover and continue to patiently wait.

For The Record:   • Heavy clay soil with occasional organic amendments   • Full shade, average water   • No pests   • No fertilizer

February 2011 Bloom Day

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day
What's blooming in the garden on the 15th of the month.

A second Strobilanthes on the window sill just flowered, but I caught the photo a day too late. The Christmas poinsettia is still impressive, and waiting patiently to be planted outdoors and to continue as a summer annual foliage plant. The hyacinths started indoors in early November are now blooming, about a month later than expected. This light blue one is 'Sky Jacket.' I can't believe the amount of roots they put out!

Find other garden bloggers' February bloom days at the blog May Dreams Gardens.

Strobilanthes dyerianus		Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima)
Hyacinth 'Sky Jacket'

Tropical Surprise for Winter

Two years ago, I ran into (literally) a stand of 6-foot tall (2 m) Persian Shield [22.9.2009] (Strobilanthes dyerianus) plants at the Atlanta Arboretum. I was impressed with this hedge enough to research their use as a decorative hedge in my back yard. I soon discovered that growing this tropical plant in Virginia as an annual means a maximum height of only 3 feet (1 m) during the summer. I will guess that the arboretum used some super fertilizer or took advantage of their greenhouse.

However, in my research, I discovered that the plant is noted for easily rooting from cuttings. I started a few plants from fall cuttings, and kept the 2-inch high (5 cm) plants alive on a winter windowsill until spring let me plant them outdoors. The purple color disappears in the winter as leaves turn green, but the intense purple comes back when planted outdoors in the spring. Last summer, the two survivors grew well.

This year, I started a few more in autumn with the hope of getting them to actually grow in the winter, and to give them a healthier head start when transplanted outdoors this spring. Much to my surprise, one of them just started blooming. With the plant only 4-inches tall (10 cm), the flowers arrived. They are not fragrant or extremely large. Still, how many gardeners can actually say their strobilanthes bloomed?

The pots are on an east facing window sill receiving morning sun in a room that is not heated. I must assume the plant flowers in the winter in its native habitat, when weather is cooler and/or days are shorter. One web site states the plant blooms in spring and early summer, while another gives fall as bloom time. Maybe I should report "winter" blooming, so that all seasons are covered and really confuse the heck out of amateur gardeners like myself.

For The Record:   • Indoors: Unheated second floor room of the house   • Indoors: Full sun on windowsill for 2-3 hours   • Outdoors: Mostly shade, moist soil   • No fertilizer

N-Ice

On January 18, a misty rain began after sundown and slowly continued through the night. By morning, a glistening coat of ice christened the garden and yard. While waiting for the car to thaw out in order to leave for work, I grabbed the camera and took some shots in the front yard.

The white forsythia buds (Abeliophyllum distichum) were still snug in their wrappings and undamaged awaiting spring. A closeup of blades on the front lawn provides evidence that crackling and crunching sounds on grass were made while walking. I believe the light foggy mist that fell created the ice.
   

Holiday Plants On The Door

The first Nandina (Nandina domestica) was picked up from a neighbor at a plant swap, but died in the winter (the plant, not the neighbor.) Next year, not wanting to be known as a failure, I picked up another and planted. This one survived and this summer produced two small clusters of berries for the first time. The berries started out white and gradually ripened to red in early December.

After years of using holly for holiday decoration, I was anxious to try out the Nandina berries. Holly berries always seem fall off their display onto the floor, roll around to a place you cannot find them, and eventually get squashed. I have not seen Nandina used at Christmas, so was expecting problems.

The two clusters were placed on the front door wreath which ended up more staid and less exuberant this year. The outdoor location exposed the berries to the cold, potentially preserving them longer; and any berries falling off would most likely end up outdoors and not inside on oak floors.

Three weeks later, I am happy to report that the all berries are still together. Other than slightly shrinking a bit, the berries retained their color and attachment. For holiday color, they have the added benefit of numbers over holly berries which are not so numerous.

The other wreath material consists of Fraser fir branches and "pigmy" pine cones. These were picked up decades ago in my upstate New York hometown and brushed with 'White Out' for the snow effect.

Nandina is a poisonous plant, but birds are not affected by the berries. It is also considered a non-native invasive. As a result of underground runners, I now have two new plants waiting for the next plant swap.

Blooming After The Frost

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day
What's blooming in the garden on the 15th of the month.

The frost came on Tuesday morning of this week. There was no warning - the temperature forecast was for lows above freezing, but upon waking in the morning, there was frost on the grass and on the cars. This was not heavy, and plants near the house and in the backyard with a bit of tree cover were not harmed. Still, it was time to continue with the fall cleanup.

There are a few hardy souls still blooming and loving the cool weather. Rudbeckia with its large blossoms makes great cut flowers for indoors at this time, and punctuates the barren side yard where annuals have left.

Nicotiana is now on its third blooming cycle (or is it fourth) in the back. The plants are now enormous with leaves large enough to resemble real tobacco. I would not be surprised to find them there come spring if we have a mild winter. This has happened in the past.

The Coconut Lime echinacea, I am happy to report, has bloomed consistently throughout the summer after being deadheaded. The foliage is none too pretty in late fall, but new blooms still appear, albeit smaller. The plant ends up shorter than its native parent, at only about 1-foot tall (30 cm), but the blooms extend above the plant well.

Last, and certainly enjoying the coolness as always, is the calendula. This roughneck will stay blooming into December. Frost doesn't affect it, although a hard freeze will. As with the nicotiana, the plants will sometimes overwinter and fully bloom in early spring. Otherwise, new spring seedlings germinate and begin to bloom in later spring.

Overall the fall has been mild and dry, but not hot. The cool temperatures are coming gradually.