Mears Garden news- Fall week 9- November 19, 2009

The picture contest will start any minute now, but I have a few things to show and tell about the last month.
We took a trip to the east coast in October and stopped again at Longwood garden, about 30 miles west of Philadelphia. I posted pictures 2 years ago, being impressed at the time. Well, the second time around did not disappoint. Some things were their splendid selves, remembered from before. The outdoor water lilies were going strong, even late in October. The hibiscus house was amazing.
Here are pictures.





Then there were the chrysanthemums. I do not grow these plants. You have to draw the line someplace. I have never even particularly liked them. I am reconsidering that position. They were amazing.
First there were the giant spidery flowers.



Here is this one plant with lots of grafts so that it had about 40 different flowers blooming on the one plant.

Then there were the constructions. There were topiaries.


Finally there were these constructions. They were wire frames into which the single plants grew, I assume for a long time. Apparently however the plant, presumably a perennial, had put on all this growth in not much more than a year. The plant was trained in various directions so that individual stems grew into the frame, creating these wonderful presentations. Here is a surprise. The idea comes from Japan. From the country that gave us bonsai you get these creations.



That’s it for now. The winter picture contest will start before the end of the month.
Philip

Mears Garden news- Fall week 3- October 12, 2009

Hello again. It is time to write again, and not just to give the garden an obituary. We did have our first hard frost the last few nights. The annuals are gone. The house is full of plants. I have some bulbs that are in the garage. It seems like a normal October. There will garden “clean-up” for as long as I want. The garden can always provide one with something to do.

The garden still has interest. The occasional fall crocus emerges, defying the frost. Certain plants will continue with foliage display for quite some time. Pulmonaria and heucheras (coralbells) are perhaps the best such plants. I have put in pansies here and there and should get color, perhaps till Thanksgiving. Ornamental kale is truly amazing.

Let me show you some pictures.

First here is this lovely white crocus. If you plant these fall crocuses in September the bulb companies will usually send them prechilled. That means they will come up and bloom tight away.

While we are talking crocuses, here is a purple clump.

This is another September gem, the Japanese anemone. I keep getting more of these plants. They bloom from late August to October in several colors, some single and some double.

Vegetables can be quite ornamental. I don’t know if there are many plants more attractive than a white eggplant. I do not have enough sun for vegetables. It is just a fact. I content myself with several plants in pots sitting on the steps up to out kitchen. I have found that peppers can do well in containers. This year I tried this habanera pepper plant that just exploded with peppers. They really are like Christmas tree ornaments.

Finally here is an orchid that regularly blooms this time of year. I am slowly learning to grow orchids. Some are easier than others. Sometimes they cannot put up with the inevitable neglect that a big garden imposes. I just can’t fuss over them all the time. This one is called neofineta falcata. It loves it outside, hanging on a plant stand in the high shade of the backyard. It puts up its bloom stalks in September, with no less than four stalks this fall.


So tell me which you liked this week. In the last post, which was some time ago the icicle euphorbia was the favorite. There is a group of you out there that really like euphorbia. They are good.

This will be the last post until November, when the picture contest will begin. We are off to recharge our batteries on the east coast for an entire two weeks. It has been a long year.
But with the garden closing down there was something that occurred that I would like to tell you about. It happened as I was bringing in the plants for the winter, (We say winter to minimize the length of the inside season. I checked and that season is really about 6 months long. We sometimes wonder why people want to live further south.)
I grow orchid cactus plants. About 6 years ago I bought some seed for a white one on ebay from Germany no less. I don’t normally do that. (buying on ebay) A few weeks later the seeds arrived, all 3-4 of them, and I planted them. Several sprouted. I just have a smallish plant at this point. It has never bloomed. I figured it was still too young. Well as I was bringing it inside I noticed that it had 3 buds. Sure enough this plant is going to bloom. What a surprise. What a joy to have a plant you have grown all that time from seed be about to bloom. That is the one of the reasons why I garden. Now I only hope that it will wait to bloom until I get back from the east coast.
See you in a few weeks.
Philip

Mears Garden news- Summer week 11.5- September 1, 2009

As the month comes to a close I would like to say a few words about the August garden, both mine and in general. We used to go away in August. That was a time when you could take vacations, before school started but after most summer programs were finished. We are no longer limited to that schedule. For that reason we have seen the entire garden month for several years in row now.

If the goal of a gardener is to have an interesting garden from start to finish (and it should be the goal) August is the first of the tough months. The daylilies are done, mostly. The heat and sometime lack of moisture usually have taken their toll. Where do you find color, interest and excitement?

1- There are a limited number of perennials that can be counted on in August. Black Eyed Susans and the hearty hibiscus are two that come to mind as I drive around and look at people’s yards. We have a new neighbor down the street who has started an ambitious garden from scratch. All the plants are new. I think that the Black eyed Susans are the biggest, almost to the point of division already.
Turtlehead, also called chelone, seems to bloom in August, in addition to having a charming name. Phlox seem to be everywhere. I sometimes think of them as a bother. They do appear on their own. They are a good color contrast with their pinks and purples. The hybridizers have been busy with different colors and more mildew resistant varieties.
As I walk around the neighborhood I see gaillardia and rose of Sharon (even though it is probably a bush).
Then there are hosta flowers. Some are interesting. I mostly do not think about them. Hosta is foliage, not flowers.


2- There are some perennials that bloom in the fall. The early varieties will start in August. Japanese anemones and toad lilies are two in my garden.

3- There are annuals. Little zinnias, a variety called Profusion, seem to be a keeper from this year. In a previous post I have mentioned morning glories, as an exciting annual that at least this year is just starting in August. There are always impatiens, nasturtiums, and Persian shield, and coleus. (What is the plural of coleus?)

4- I suppose there is the category of non-hearty bulbs. This would include caladium, which I treat as an annual and is an absolute must for the shady garden. If you have sun, I really like dahlias.

So I guess that is a start. August, particularly when there is adequate moisture and you can stay ahead of the weeds can be good. Over the top? I don’t know about that. Good should suffice for the time being.
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How about some pictures…..I decided to put even more in the poll this week.

Here is the last lilium in the garden, a species variety called speciosum var. rubrum.










Then there is this blond elephant ear, called Lime Zinger, that is finally getting good after 3-4 years. Elephant ears are in the category of non-hearty bulbs. They just get bigger each year. You do have to take them inside, when finished for the season. There is this one set of elephant ears over on Clark Street which must be ages old at this point. They are on both sides of the sidewalk in front of the house and are 5 feet tall. I do not exaggerate.











This is the center of a Japanese anemone. The center remains the same, and usually gets a picture. It is just like some art piece in a museum.














How about some more morning glories? They are glorious.










Another visual fixture this time of year is the castor bean seedpods. Castor beans are another annual that I really like. You can see them well from the street.










Finally there is this euphorbia, called Icicle. It just keeps coming back, reseeding itself. Like a poinsettia it is sometimes hard to tell where the flower begins.










That’s it for this week. I just couldn’t narrow the field so you get more voting choices.
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In last weeks double poll, as to the pictures, the Toad lily just edged the water lily close-up. As to your chosen sign of fall “chill in the air” won over “school is open”. On that last note these last few days I have had my sweater out of the closet for the first time in months.
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In the bonus world of pictures:
There is the first fall crocus, just emerging, one of the aforementioned turtleheads, the anemone in the close-up above, a picture of a daylily seedlings, ready to go into the ground. There is also another picture of the same lilium. Interestingly some flowers are real curvy, like the one in the poll picture, and some are flatter, like the one in this picture. Finally there is this nice rudbeckia.














































Enjoy September.
Philip

Mears Garden news- Summer week 10.5- August 27, 2009

There are many signs that fall is here. I might even put up a second poll this week about your favorite.

School is open, both in the neighborhood and also at the University. Parking is more difficult. There are more obstacles downtown of an evening.

Football is on the television, even if the games don’t yet count. Before you know it Saturday morning will echo with the distant sound of the marching band.

There is a chill in the air. It is going down to 44 degrees next week, according to the alarmist weather forecast.

Then there is the fact that the daylight has disappeared, particularly in the morning. This morning was cloudy. It was still dark at 6 o’clock. I guess that is because sunrise is not until about 6:30. And it is still August.
Then there is my biggest and most certain sign of fall. The leaves have begun to fall. In our yard they fall for months. The buckeye tree is first. The leaves have to fall so that the nuts (buckeyes) have a clear shot at falling on someone’s head. Those leaves have been coming down already. That is to be expected in late August. This year the big elm tree in the front yard is losing its leaves already. I think that is early, but I do not really keep track of this.
We will have leaves coming down until the sycamore tree finally lets go of its leaves in December.

What do you think? If the poll doesn’t cover your favorite sign of fall, tell me what that is.

So how about some pictures. There are still some good ones from the garden.

First here is one of the first toad lilies of the fall. There should be toad lilies for several months. They are the jewels of the fall garden.













Here is the mysterious inside of another water lily. The world of the miniature is something special.















This is one of the last daylilies. It is all the more appreciated, as it is almost alone.















Finally here is the white brugmansia blooming, dangling in a way to frustrate the passing bee. Every once in a while I see one who sometimes can’t quite figure out how to get into the blossem.













So what do you like this week? Last week you liked the morning glory. I should really see how that picture would turn out if printed on 12 by 18 paper.

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In the bonus pictures there is butter art. We went to the State Fair last Friday. Everyone knows about the butter cow. It is there every year. This year, to commemorate the moon landing, there was a butter Neal Armstrong. Here is a picture of the butter TV console with the real picture of the moon landing inside.





























There are also pictures of a few odds and ends from the garden, including a daylily seedpod, still on the vine, and one that has opened, revealing the daylily seed.












































Enjoy the cool temperatures.
Philip