Mears Garden news- Spring week 11- June 10, 2009

There is so much going on in the garden it is hard to know where to start. Spring is almost over, and at this point the last remnants of bluebells and daffodil foliage are ready to be cleared away. I am waiting for the arrival of the caladium to mark the formal beginning of summer. With the occasional temperatures still in the forties at night, the caladium pots still sit mostly idle, waiting for the buzz of the air conditioners to mark the arrival of warm enough temperatures.

The orchid cactus and poppies have been dominating the garden as the Siberian iris have faded. The first Asiatic lilies bloomed this week and of course the hosta keep getting bigger and bigger. I sometimes wonder about getting some anti fertilizer, which would make the hosta stop growing at some point. I particularly like space in between hosta, which gets more difficult every year.
I watch my hosta in a maniacal way to decide which hosta will just have to go away. Some will have to find a way out of the garden, either to someone else’s garden or to the great recycle bin run by the city. Actually the city had a sample of its compost at the farmer’s market this past Saturday. I was impressed. They say that they get it hot enough, 130 degrees, so that seeds are killed and most of the bad chemicals burn away too.

How about some pictures. It was another good week.

Poppies are always a sure thing to make good pictures. First there is the Royal Wedding oriental poppy. They don’t last long but they are photogenic in all of their stages.












Next is an unusual picture for this blog. It is a flower arrangement. I put the picture up as I think that cut flowers are the best use for peonies. If you have nice peonies, cut them and put them in your house or office or maybe even your car. Give them to your friends. They will just look much better there than they will after a few days outside. You should also not be shy about cutting an occasional hosta leaf for an arrangement. It may even be a way to keep the hosta from shading out the little hellebore that was planted far enough away from the hosta, you thought.













Then of course here is another Iceland poppy. The little clump by the end of the sidewalk is just starting to bloom. Go pastels.













Finally here is cypripedium reginae, also known as the showy lady slipper. This is the state flower of Minnesota . I got this plant as a seedling in the fall of 2006. It is blooming for the first time this week. It was worth the wait.











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Last week there was just about an even split in your choices for the poll. The red poppy and the orchid cactus tied for the top with both of the other pictures garnering considerable support. I think you will see most of those pictures this fall in the contest.


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There are just a ton pf bonus pictures this week. The centers of the poppies always make for good pictures. The orange flower is a clivia. Like the amaryllis if you keep the clivia dormant and dry for most of the winter they will bloom right after you put them out in the spring. At some point it does make you feel like a plant abuser.


































The yellow flowers are a primrose we call sundrops. They spread very nicely and will fill in an area with yellow color right about now. The dark purple lily is a martagnon lily, the first one to bloom in the garden year.



























Enjoy the week.
Philip