Evening Primrose

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Mexican Evening Primrose, Showy Evening Primrose 'Siskiyou'

Oenothera speciosa

This plant is a showy but a fairly aggressive spreader in my garden. There are people that say it could take over the world. I continually tell it not to go past the brick edge. (I don’t talk to my plants very often. Ah, maybe I do.) I pull, dig, and hoe the plants that get on the wrong side of the tracks - I mean bricks.

The blooms started in the beginning of June. They still look good today. The pretty pink profusion of blooms has found a way into my heart.
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New York Botanical Garden

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New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY - 250 acres of trees, gardens and every manner of plant and shrub. I can’t shake the image - green oasis in a concrete jungle - trite but true. http://www.nybg.org/

My view of the gardens:

Enid A. Haupt Conservatory – A Victorian-style greenhouse filled with plants from 11 distinct habitats. The rain forests’ gentle mist only rarely reached our skin. The flora is well marked and signs explain each environment. It was hard not to bump into people while looking open-mouthed at the overwhelming amount of plants. Moss covered rock walls and never-seen-before cacti stand out in my memory. It is a great place to linger as you try to take in the all the extraordinary plants. The outdoor water lily pond is full of koi and other fish. Tour guides are available. Our guide was a personable volunteer but not a knowledgeable plantsman.

Everett Children's Adventure Garden – This large area includes winding paths, mazes, clever topiaries, and delightful surprises. We followed a short winding path and found a wooden and glass display of seeds. Questions printed on the display were answered by opening wooden doors. I wonder what secrets are on the paths we didn’t follow. The colorful caterpillar topiaries surprised us in several areas.

Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden – An excellent flower and vegetable garden planted by children and adults grows in well-tended rows. In a children’s area, bright, colorful hand-painted signs with each child’s name demonstrated pride of ownership in the healthy tomatoes, lettuce, beans and corn.

Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden – Over 3000 roses arranged by color created a spectacular show. Hybrid teas, floribunda, antique roses, and shrub roses crafted into a profusion of color in a formal setting. Lots of oohs and ahs from me. It’s hard not to be impressed by the sheer number of roses.

In the Jane Watson Irwin Perennial Garden, there were many examples of plants that go well together. Plants for sun with complimentary colors. Shade plants with different textures and heights. It’s a good thing there wasn’t a plant sale nearby. My Visa would have been as tired as my feet.

The formal herb garden was not in the best shape when we visited but we got the idea. I missed the rock garden, but I heard it was spectacular with lots of small plants and evergreens.

250 acres requires a lot of walking and energy. A tram runs every 20 minutes but is sometimes full and not always on time.

It was an exhausting but fun day – hot in the sun, cool in the shade. I could have spent days there. I would love to sneak into the plant-science labs and greenhouses for a closer look.


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(Photo credit. My camera died before I ever got to take a picture. Many thanks to my friend and fellow visitor, Gretchen, for the pictures here.)

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Rose

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"Won't you come into the garden? I would like my roses to see you." ~ Richard B Sheridan 1751-1816


The first blush of roses is ending. It signals of the end of spring and always makes me nostalgic.

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I’m on my way to New York Botanical Gardens today with the Lehigh/Northampton County Master Gardeners. I’ll be sure to post my impressions on Wednesday. Please share your impressions of Gardens you have visited.

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Gardening – Four Feet at a Time

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This year I can’t seem to catch up in my garden. Everything needs to be done at once – weeding, mulching, planting, dead-heading, watering, trimming, composting, edging, clean-up, and did I say weeding.

I am frequently in a panic so I run all over the garden trying to catch up. Or it becomes so overwhelming that I do nothing – stuck not knowing where to start.

A good friend gave me some advice. Don’t think of what needs to be done in the entire garden. Each day you work in the garden, work on 4 feet at a time. Great advice I thought.

In the last two weeks, I worked through 100 feet.

Only 260 feet to go. But I won’t think about that.

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Rhododendron clarification. On the large flowered rhododendron, new shoots will grow on the sides of the spent bloom. If you decide to deadhead your rhody, be careful not to break off the new shoots. The picture (above) shows the collar with a new light green shoot growing out of the flower base (below my thumbnail).

Ciscoe Morris, King County Master Gardener:
”The best time to prune your rhododendron is within a couple of weeks after flowering is finished. Soon afterward new growth will emerge, and by early summer, next year's flower buds will form at the end of newly grown branches.”

“If you wait too long, pruning can interfere with the budding process and reduce the number of blossoms you'll get to enjoy next spring.”

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/nwgardens/361204_ciscoe01.html

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Rose Rootstock

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Some roses are very well behaved. (picture above)

Most of my roses are grafted on to a hardy rootstock. This method of propagation assures that the rose will be hardy in the winter freeze-thaw cycles in Pennsylvania. Also, that the roses I buy will be true to type. (Picture left shows two different types of rose on the 'Don Juan' climber.)

From C. Colston Burrell, M.S. http://home.howstuffworks.com/tips-for-growing-roses.htm , “Many hybrid tea and floribunda roses are grafted on the extra-vigorous and disease-resistant roots of other species such as multiflora or rugosa roses.”

Two of my roses have sent up shoots from below the graft. The climber ‘Don Juan’ is a tangled mess. I’ve trimmed it a bit but it is full of roses on canes that are coming from below the graft. I saw this happening the last few years. I did nothing. This year I see only one cane of the original rose.

According to Kevin C, http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070809060835AAKj0qC who is, “By day, … a mild-mannered landscape consultant and horticulturist...” “Keep cutting those 'suckers' down. They can eventually kill the graft if you don't.”

It may be too late for my ‘Don Juan’.

If you’re going to do it, do it right away – as soon as you see the rootstock sprout. Or you will most likely end up with a tangled mess like mine – or worse.

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Neglected Garden

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The last two weeks have been very hectic. I haven’t had much time in the garden. And, the weather has been oppressively hot and humid – heat index in the 100’s. I thought I’d share a few plants living in my garden. They seem to thrive without any help from me.
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Astilbe – nurtured for years and now on its own
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Snapdragons – re-seeded from plants I bought several years ago.

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Mock Orange – came with the house but barely alive. Sweet smell and memories.

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Red Hot Poker – a gift from a friend I’ve lost contact with.

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Asparagus – gift from a neighbor delivered by birds or wind.

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Bethlehem Garden Club Flower Show

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A total of 222 design exhibits, horticulture exhibits, vignettes, table arrangements, educational exhibits and more comprise a hall full of garden material.

The Bethlehem Garden Club Flower Show “Garden Party” - Friday and Saturday, June 6 and 7 - is going on at Advent Moravian Church, 3730 Jacksonville Road in Bethlehem.

“Stunning”, “spectacular”, “fantastic”, “amazing”, “beautiful” were words I heard to describe the exhibits on the first day of the show. Four panels of judges selected the best of the best.

This is the first local flower show I have ever attended. What a pleasant surprise.

Great exhibits
Perennials and annuals for sale
Raffles on everything from garden center gift cards to canvas prints
Even cookies and lemonade

- A lot of fun with no admission fee.

The show continues today 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. If you’re interested in sale or raffle items, get there early. Everything is selling like hotcakes at great prices!

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Deadheading Rhododendron

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After the amazing bloom of a large rhododendron, the spent flowers look messy.

According to the American Rhododendron Society (ARS) http://www.rhododendron.org/pruning.htm :

“It is desirable, with the large flowered rhododendrons, to remove the withered flower clusters after the blooming season. This is fairly easily done as the central axis of the cluster, usually called a truss, will break free from the plant with a quick snap of the thumb pushing on the side.”

It’s a simple, although tedious, job. I just snap the spent flower at the brown-ringed collar with my thumb and forefinger. Sometimes deadheading is impossible on a large shrub (without a ladder and arms like a gorilla).

I don’t stress about deadheading and I do as much as I have time to do.

ARS says, “Dead-heading is usually done to make the bush look more attractive, to reduce the prevalence of fungus and to prevent a heavy set of seed. If it is not possible to remove the old flowers, it is usually not too detrimental, but flowering the next year may be reduced.”

So, every time I pass the rhodys I stop and break off as many spent flowers as I can.

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Peony

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Another beautiful but brief spring display is put on by the herbaceous peony.

The full bushy plants look good all summer but bloom time is quite impressive. It’s a plant that doesn’t get a lot of attention until it produces that spectacular bloom.

According to Clemson University extension http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/hgic1170.htm
“Peonies have few pests or diseases. The most frequently occurring problems are the fungal diseases Botrytis blight and leaf blotch. To help control diseases, cut off all peony plants level with the ground in the fall. Do not add the old tops to your compost pile. Avoid overhead irrigation.”

A heavy rain adversely affects the seasonal peony bloom. Magnolia and Iris are also bashed by heavy spring rains some years. This year we’ve been lucky. Most of the spring blooms have not been spoiled.

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Iris

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Iris is a brief but stunning flower of spring.

Although there are re-blooming irises, the conditions for re-bloom seem to be dependant on weather, location, soil conditions and fertilizer. I don’t know anyone who has re-blooming iris. If you do, please let me know your experience and zone by commenting to this post.

All that I have read affirms that iris is one of the easiest perennials to grow. http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1240.html

In my experience, it’s true. I cut off the spent bloom stalks when they finish blooming in spring. I cut the fans back to about 6 inches in late summer. Then I clean up all the yellowed or dried leaves. Some years I’ve put a light layer of mulch over them for the winter.

My iris grows in full sun, in a sheltered spot next to the garage on a very slight slope. I think I got lucky with the placement.

Our neighbors’ irises all are planted in full sun. Each spring it’s an amazing show of color.

Easy to follow directions for dividing iris are found in Better Homes and Gardens “How to Grow, Maintain, and Divide Bearded Iris.” http://www.bhg.com/gardening/flowers/perennials/how-to-grow-maintain-and-divide-bearded-iris/?page=2

Personally, I’m just too lazy to divide mine. When they get crowded some of the rhizomes may rot. Usually they are full again in a year or two. I’m not sure that all varieties would put up with this kind of neglect.

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More about container planting

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Doug Green’s e-book “Container Gardening” http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/container-gardening-ebook.html is full of successful container-gardening tips. I wish I had read it before I planted my containers.

Over the years I’ve had some container success. The sun coleus ('Pink Chaos') pictured above looked good all summer. The tall zinnias looked good in July but were a sad sight in August.

If you are interested in planting good looking containers that last all summer, Doug is doing a free online seminar series.

Doug says, “We're going to cover how most folks design containers and how we designed them at the nursery to make those big garden magazine-looking ones.”

I believe the seminar details will be in the free newsletter. To receive the newsletter http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/gardeningnewsletter.html and click on “Newsletter” then enter your email address. The following link to Doug's blog will get you to the sign-up page for the seminars (May 22 post) http://blog.douggreensgarden.com/ The seminar will start in about a week.

If you really want to learn how to do containers from an expert, tune in to the seminars. It should be fun.
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Container Plants

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The containers are finally planted! ¾ of the cuttings are in the ground. A week of rain has made trying to plant anything somewhat of an adventure.

Speaking of rain, the big yellow iris is completely schmooshed. The picture was taken a few days ago when the rain-schmooshing was just beginning. It’s sad that we won’t get to enjoy them this year.

I planted some vegetables in containers again – pole beans (Kentucky Wonder) and bush cucumbers (Bush Champion). Last year we had loads of beans. The bush cucumbers got mildewed and didn’t produce much after the first crop. (see 9/8/07 post) It will be interesting to see what happens this year. I'll try less plants to reduce crowding - 2 instead of 4.

I bought two Drip-It Pro watering devices from Gardener’s Supply. Hopefully, they will help keep the plants watered during the summer. I’ll let you know how they work out.

Zinnia (Burpee Candy Cane and Giant Flowering mix) and sweet pea (Burpee Streamers) seeds were planted in the large patio pot. Several other pots got various coleus, impatiens, cana, diamond frost and dusty miller.

The porch pot is a red, white and blue combination – Impatiens ‘Dazzler® Red Star’, Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost®’ and a pretty blue plant that was a gift from a friend. I don’t know the name of the blue plant. It reminds me of lobelia. There won’t be much color for Memorial Day but I’m hoping to have a pretty pot by the 4th of July.

I mix the soil in a wheelbarrow and either wheel the soil to the pot or carry it in a bucket. Even though I put a few empty soda cans in the bottom, the pots are too heavy to move when full. Wooden plant dollies are under the pots on the deck.

I use whatever garden/potting soil I can find on sale. I add some soil from my dirt pile, a little sand and a bag of perlite. The mixture is usually light and fluffy.

I’ll be fertilizing with fish emulsion if it ever stops raining. I wish I could save some of this rain for August.

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Felicita Garden Resort & Spa

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Garden Resort AND Spa! Does it get any better than that?

When we visited with the Bethlehem Garden Club last week, azaleas and viburnum were in full bloom. The Rhododendrons were just coming into bloom. The property covers 800 acres including a golf course, California spa, lodges, dining and banquet facilities and the gardens.

Located 10 miles from Harrisburg, Felicita Garden is owned by PA Attorney and Mrs. Richard Angino. Mr. A, as he is known by the staff, marks plants to be moved or areas for a water feature and the staff takes care of making it happen. Mrs. Angino plans most of the gardens near the house. The gardens are not regularly open to the public, but tours can be arranged.

The Japanese garden near the house is a secluded and tranquil spot with a great views and spectacular plantings.

The Monet Pond’s design had the help of a professional designer as did several other areas on the property. But mostly, the unplanned look is the result of Mr. A’s eye for what looks good, quite a remarkable feat considering the expense of moving huge trees and shrubs and building large water features. Last year Felicita Gardens spent about $100,000 on new shrubs and trees.

Check out the gardens in the attached link. Picture 11 is a view of the formal Grecian Gardens. It is huge (7 acres) and quite amazing. This garden is used for parties, weddings and other formal affairs. http://www.felicitaresort.com/?View=Tour&Tour=Gardens

“From 2002 to 2005, the Anginos added five new gardens, including Butterfly, The Park, Perennial, The Secret Garden, and The Great Lawn. In 2006, two more gardens were added plus the new Nature Trail Gardens and par course opened, featuring 30 acres of mature hardwoods and pines underplanted with dogwood, red bud, hawthorn, birch, magnolia, rhododendron, azalea, mountain laurel, viburnum collections, ferns and mosses.”

A buffet lunch was served on the patio of the colonial style golf club. Perfect weather and good company completed an enjoyable tour.

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Busy Garden Days

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This week is crazy. There are seeds to plant, pots to fill, annuals to put out, weeds to pull, community gardens Blumenplatz and Burnside to plant. And, we’re going to our first Iron Pigs AAA baseball game tonight.

I got to run away from it all yesterday and visited Felicita Gardens in Harrisburg. I’ll post some impressions on Saturday.

The spring garden is exciting. The lilacs and azaleas are at their peak. The re-seeding garden is full of forget-me-nots, cleome, snapdragons, sweet alyssum, red poppies and portulaca. It’s exciting to see what has seeded from last year’s plants.

It’s not so exciting to plan removing and moving the seedlings. Gravity makes the seedlings end up in the path or too near the edge of the garden. I’ll need to move some and remove others. The removing is easy. I can remove a lot of plants in the wrong place with my hoe. The moving takes a little time. The seedlings are too small to move now but, in a week or so, I’ll start my annual – dig them out here and put them over there. Then I can mulch the area and wait for blooms.

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