Arkansas Blue Star and Strawberries

Today I planted 3 bareroot Arkansas Blue Star (Amsonia Hubrichtii) and 6 Sweet Kiss strawberry (Fragaria) plants. The Amsonia arrived from Bluestone Perennials last week on Thursday or Friday, but since I didn't have time to plant them right away, I moistened them a little and kept them in the  plastic cling wrap which protected them from drying out during transit. I saw them at the Van Vleck gardens in Montclair this summer and thought that their graceful and airy form would screen the cars in the driveway.

After I thought I had my hands full with the Arkansas Blue Star and was wondering when I would have time to plant them, the Sweet Kiss strawberry plants arrived this week from Park Seeds. I'm looking forward to trying these. "Fire-engine Red & Candy Sweet" is how these were advertised on Park's website. I don't normally like fruits because they usually do not appeal to me, but the Alpine strawberries, although not plentiful, were sweet enough that I actually enjoyed eating them. I'm hoping that these won't disappoint! I planted these near the backdoor next to the Alpine strawberry plants. Hopefully they will be OK there since it's not the sunniest spot in the garden. I'm thinking of adding a raised bed in the front where I can grow Nice Things to Eat. Once that is done, I suppose I can move the plants there where they can get more sun.

I also removed the Lily-of-the-Valley plants I managed to grow in a pot from bareroot this spring. It seems that for some people they grow like weeds, but I seem to have the most difficult time getting them to grow - probably because I want to them grow so badly, lol! Maybe I'll have better luck this time since they have some leaves and their roots have also filled out.

The yellow orange daylilies are going strong since it hasn't been too cold in the evenings.

No pictures today since I was busy trying to plant everything before the shipment of tulip and daffodil bulbs arrive from Colorblends. Although they have sent me catalogs in the past, this is my first year ordering from them. I feel like a kid looking through a toy catalog when I look at their selections. So many colors and forms and such beautiful color combinations! Which one(s) to pick?! Good Lord, do I even have enough time to plant them all!

It's not easy trying to keep on top of everything so that I don't have an overwhelming pile of plants that I need to get into the ground before it gets too cold. Over the years, I've learned to pace myself better during the planting season. I don't buy as many varieties for the season anymore, but I now try to order at least 3 plants where it makes sense to do so.

I think next year, I'll concentrate on bed in the front of the house. We had the porch newly painted earlier this month and that bed has been neglected while I concentrated on the back entrance, which is the entrance we use most often.

Brussels Sprout: Hestia Hybrid

Started some Hestia Hybrid Brussels sprouts today in my Jiffy setup. Not sure if it too late, but with our current state of global warming, there may still be time to grow them.

Some facts about this brussels sprouts:

• Germination in 8-10 days
• 3-4 weeks before planting outdoors
• 100 days from setting out transplants until harvest 
• up to 3 feet high and 2 feet wide
• can take some frost (which should sweeten flavor)

I've usually not had much success with the Jiffy peat pellet system, but since it is convenient, I'm giving it another try and will just take care to watch for new signs of growth before removing the cover to let the seedlings air out.

Hellebore Pink Frost - Part 2

I finally got around to taking the picture of the two new Pink Frost hellebores...

I circled the three so that they are easy to see. They are surrounded by a badly eaten hosta, some Polemonium reptans (Jacob's ladder) and new pachysandra terminalis that was planted about two months ago this year. The Polemoniums (Polemonii?) seems to do well for me and seems to spring up in different places. 

Hellebore Pink Frost - Part 1

Received my shipment of 2 Pink Frost hellebores from White Flower Farms today. Not wanting to keep them around hanging around too long, I decided to plant them right away since I have more plants coming my way. The larger of the two seemed to be a bit root bound. It was a bit difficult to get out of the container and I had to pry some of the roots away from the center of the root ball in an attempt to have the plant extend its roots outwards once in the soil. The smaller one was loosely packed in the pot and was easy to extract. Hopefully they will do as well as the one that is already established in the yard. I did not have my phone with me, so unfortunately no pictures to post tonight, but I'm hoping that I'l have time to document them tomorrow.

Groundcovers Galore

Last week a shipment of 50 bare root Pachysandra terminalis (Japanese Spurge) and 50 bare root Liriope spicata (Creeping Lily Turf) from Classy Groundcovers arrived. They arrived in a box and were well packed with moist newspaper and moss inside a black plastic bag. Knowing how important it is to get bare root plants in the ground as soon as possible and since it was a warm day, I overcame my feelings of laziness and planted them right away. Some of the pachysandra looked slightly limp and sad, but after a few cloudy days, they began to look much better. These were planted near the doorway, where I've been having problems finding something that will grow there. It's partly sunny there and usually there is no supplemental water. Since it is also under a tree, it can be a bit dry as well. Hopefully these will take off. I've also just order two Pink Frost Hellebores to add to the one that is already there.

A new planting of Japanese Spurge (Pachysandra terminalis)

I planted the Creeping Lily Turf near the mailbox where the ground seems to be much drier and it is difficult to get much of anything to grow which might be due to the nearby pine tree. They are also looking good so far. I was thinking of maybe adding a rose bush there. I imagine that holly would look nice there - especially with its branches loaded with bright red berries in the winter, but I'm worried that it won't do well due to lack of moisture, but I suppose maybe I can give it a try. 

Creeping Lily Turf - Lirope spicata

Helleborus - Gold Collection Pink Frost

For a couple of weeks now, I've been searching through my e-mail to find the name of the Helleborus that I planted some time ago. I must have brought it locally because I can't seem to find an e-mail receipt. I also thought that I listed it in this blog somewhere, but could not find it here either.

It seems to grow well enough in my garden that I'm feeling comfortable about buying a few more. Since it seems that they can cross breed, I wanted to make sure that I buy the same one in order to maintain the look of the current one I have.

I finally spotted the one I think I have in the White Flower Farm catalog. It is called Pink Frost and and I am notating it here for reference. The name seems very familiar, so judging from that and the picture in the catalog, I'm pretty sure that this is the one I have. Unfortunately, they are sold out for this year, so maybe next year I'll plan for some more.

Here's a picture taken at the end of February 2017 of my Helleborus Gold Collection Pink Frost:

It's about mid April now and there are still some flowers despite the weather warming up. During the summer it looks like a nice enough ground cover and is one of the few plants that seem to do OK for me.

Tequila Sunrise, Lily-of-the-Valley, Liatris Spicata

Quickly threw some Renee's Garden Heirloom California Poppies, Tequila Sunrise (packed for 2016) seeds on the ground yesterday and potted up some Lily-of-the-Valley and Liatris Spicata bareroot plants from Walmart today.

Hopefully the poppies will take, even though they were packed last year. Supposedly  they will take about 7-14 days to germinate, so by April 14th, I should see some signs of life if they are going to do their thing.

Planning on adding some snowdrops around the hellebore in the fall. It was an idea I got from this Garden Design article about hellebores with comments by Jerry Fritz of Linden Hill Gardens. I should probably add more hellebores too!

Plumeria Flowers!

End of August

By now, the Echinacea are past their prime and the Back Eyed Susans are on their way out. Harlow Carr (rose) managed to put out a few blooms. With nothing to really look at, I'm thinking of maybe a mass planting of lirope which are currently in bloom and looking good this time of year.

Today I discovered a surprise on my plumeria - an inflow! From far away, I thought it might be a bug or a cocoon of some sort, but upon further inspection, I was happy to see signs of flowering! Since it is already September, I wonder if there is still enough time. In the spring, I repotted it from a pot that was approximately 8" in diameter (its first pot from two years ago) to one that is about 14" in diameter and kept it in the shadier part of the garden.  Now that there are signs of flowering, I will move it into the sunnier part of the garden where it might be happier. Looking forward to seeing what the flowers look like!

Lily

Early Summer

The Crown Princess Margareta rose that I potted this year seems to be doing well, but is tilting to the left. It might be bending towards the direction of the sun. Will try to turn the pot around and use a bit of twine to train it to the trellis. There are some holes in the leaves as well, but hopefully, it will be OK since I'm not a big fan of spraying chemicals on plants. The Jackmanii clematis has not blossomed yet, but there are flower buds on the stem, so I am hopeful that they will cooperate with each other and put on a nice show.

Also planted some Santo Cilantro and Tequila Sunrise Poppy seeds:

Somehow, I was fortunate enough this year to have a Foxglove growing out of nowhere. I've always admired them, but never had any success with growing them from seeds. Also, since I prefer to grow plants that will survive normal conditions, I usually do not supplement with additional water apart from the rain which with Mother Nature blesses us. Unfortunately, due to dear hubby's too over zealous use of the edger, my beautiful flower was cut down. I was SO disappointed! Thoughtfully, he offered to make it up to me by purchasing 4 new Foxgloves to replace the one that perished. I'm not confident that they will grow since the area doesn't seem to usually hold enough moisture, but am willing to give it a try. 

Spring Cleaning

It was a beautiful day on Sunday, so I decided it would be a great time to start cleaning up the garden. First, I repotted the Crown Princess Margareta climbing rose so that the bud union is under the soil instead of inches above. I had first potted the plant in haste and didn't realize until later, when it started to rain, that it was not planted at proper depth. I also planted a Jackmanii clematis behind it. I hope that the orange of the rose and the purple of the clematis will be a knockout combination.

Next, I attacked the half moon bed in front of the garage. There was a bit of weeding to do and C helped me cut down the large overwintered fountain grass with our nifty electric hedge trimmer.

Before:

After: 

The peony that was transplanted a year or two ago has sent up some shoots. I am hoping that it will flower this year. 

Most of the Russian sage were hand trimmed, as well as the lavender. The Autumn Joy sedum and the Artemesia seem to be doing well. There seems to be signs of Rudebeckia and Echinacea Prairie Splendor as well. The scented lilies which can be seen in the background in the image above seem to be multiplying too. I'm pretty happy about that since they are so fragrant!

 The sedum were planted in front of the house in a bed created by the walkway which is usually filled with weeds. I don't normally like sedum, but they look better than weeds! I only had two flats which I cut into eight 5" x 5" pieces. I definitely need more if I want to cover that area!

Next, I cleaned up some of the catmint and planted some marigolds next to them, thinking that the purple and orange combination might be pleasing... hm... that would be similar to the rose and clematis combination I have in the back. In the picture, there are also irises and an Eremurus (foxtail lily). I had originally planted more than one, but since their roots are so fragile, it seems only one survived. I really should plant some more. Their height and foxtail-like flowers make statement in the bed.  Fortunately, there are two more that I planted a year or two earlier, a little further back. 

At the other end of the bed above, I was happy to see that Achillea millefolium 'Oertel's Rose' (yarrow) is coming back strong and has even spread a little. I planted some more of the marigolds nearby to fill in some of the empty space. Originally daylilly Stella d'Oro were planted there, but they didn't seem to take off.

A picture of the overall bed from the south before the cleanup:

After the cleanup - a view from the west:

Next project - the bed in front of the house. Thanks for reading! :)

Bluebird House Workshop

Just took the Bluebird House Workshop led by Tom Sheppard, Chief Park Naturalist of the Hunterdon County Parks & Recreation department. The workshop was informative and Tom Sheppard was very helpful and attentive in helping everyone build their birdhouses. I definitely enjoyed the class!

Flowers, flowers

The coneflowers have started to bloom as well as the orange day lilies. The white oriental lilies are getting ready to open their buds. Something ate their flower buds last year, so this year will be the first year that will be able to smell them and I'm looking forward to it!

Almost the Last of the Fall Shipments

I finally planted Calluna "H.E. Beale" (Scotch Heather) and Calluna vulgaris "Winter Chocolate" as well as 2 Grand Canyon Sunset tall bearded iris rhizomes. One of the Lavandula Hidcote Superior which looked a bit ragged and sad seems to be doing okay... there is new growth at the base of the plant, so I'm relieved.

The Geranium Lancastriense and are still alive and are, hopefully, settling in. The Summers Memories Mix  Hollyhock are also looking good. The one that I started from seed still has green leaves. I wonder if it will flower next year...

Achillea Oertel's Rose has also put out some more green growth... a good sign.

Now to find time to plant the Stella de Oro Daylilly!

Pictures!

Here are some pictures of the work that was done on Sunday...

Catmint, Purple Bearded Irises and Foxtails planted

Broom, Lavender and Sedum Autumn Joy

Achillea mill. Oertel's Rose in front of Ornamental Grass

Cleaned up the semi-circular planting bed too...

South side:

Echinacea Prarie Splendor and Primroses were added in the Spring

North Side:

Lavender was also added this year; the primroses look more lush on this side 

Middle of the Bed:

It's a bit hard to tell from here, but you can see the sad looking
transplanted peony between the sedum and Russian Sage

Cleopatra Foxtail Lilies

Planted 3 of the Cleopatra Foxtail lilies which came in the mail last week yesterday. I snuck in an allium bulb and planted some purple bearded irises next to them. The catmints were moved up to the front of the planting bed. It now has a more prominent place along the new path and looks good there. The broom, which never bloomed, was moved next to the new lavenders as well as the sedum which is currently in bloom.

Here is a before picture as well as my plans. I won't be planting the daylily since the catmint is taking up more room than expected. I'll post an update picture later!

Update

I forgot to mention that C and I also moved some peonies planted by a previous gardener to the half round bed in the back, in front of the garage. It was sitting under the pine tree near the mailbox and had bloomed only once after C cut down a couple of young shade (weed?) trees. I am hoping that moving it out to a sunnier area will help it to rebloom in future springs to come.

Geraniums and Lavender

Planted 3 Geranium Lancastriense and 3 Lavandula Hidcote Superiors today, as well as weeded a bit. Move 3 of the half eaten lilies to the back of the house, by the driveway. I accidentally shattered one of the bulbs while digging it out. I left the lily cloves in the front. Maybe they will grow into lily plants later.

Also visited Peddler's Village. They always seem to have nice landscaping with lot of flowers. I'm thinking that maybe I should create a new bed with salvias and some other nice low growing flowers in the front.

September 2014

This week, I received a shipment from Bluestone Perennials for some plants:

Achillea Oertel's Rose (3)
Geranium Lancastriense (3)
Lavandula Hidcote Superior (3)

Today, I was able to plant the Achillea before it started to rain. While doing so, I discovered that there was not much depth to the soil due to some underlying asphalt (the previous homeowners used the front of the house as a parking area). For now, I installed them and will come back and maybe throw some compost them later. I'll probably move the plants again later if they seem to be struggling. Some shallow-rooted plants might be a better idea.

In the garden, the Echinacea and Russian Sage are still in bloom and the Sedum have started to turn pink. There is also an abundance of weeds all around. Lots of work to do!