The Garden Buzz

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: October 15, 2011

This Bloom Day caught me by surprise! It's a chilly, breezy autumn day in Minnesota, feeling normal after a year of unseasonal, atypical (but, hey, what's typical anymore?) weather.

A quick and cold tour of the garden finds dribs and drabs of color and hangers-on sputtering out a final attempt at carrying on the species. 

Time to put our kayaks away. Long shadows and golden light.      The Garden Buzz

Pee Gee Hydrangeas take on that antique shade of rose               The Garden Buzz

Shasta Daisy "Becky" flutters in the breeze

The rugosas have recuperated from Japanese Beetle damage

A lone delphinium defies the windy weather                   The Garden Buzz

Last of the dahlias                        The Garden Buzz

Hydrangea "Incrediball" aging into vintage green

This snapdragon looks unfazed by anything

Backlit seedheads of Joe-Pye Weed shining bright

A sleepy bee clings to the last of the zinnias                               The Garden Buzz

Winterberry "Red Sprite" hints of holiday things to come               The Garden Buzz

Always a melancholy mood in the garden this time of year. 

Thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for the one and only original Garden Bloggers Bloom Day!

Bob Saget? No, Bog Sage, Really.

Still wit gathering, but you can get a bit of the 'Buzz' over at Herb Companion magazine. I've just added this beautiful herb with the unfortunate name to my herbal wish list. Click and read all about it.

Mexican Sunflowers: Carrying a Torch for Tithonia

I'm always stumped when asked to name a favorite flower. It's usually whatever is blooming at the moment. Of course, it's kind of like being asked to name a favorite child. And just for the record, I love both of mine equally for their equally different charms.

Mexican Sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia, "Torch" with bee       The Garden Buzz

However this year, my choice is simple. The Mexican Sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia, wins hands down, for ease, color, form, foliage and wildlife value. This bright beauty is a member of the daisy family, but it's more bodacious, with flaming orange flowers and striking green foliage. Depending upon your height preference there are three varieties from which to choose; "Torch", the tallest at 4-5 feet, "Sundance" at 3-4 and finally "Fiesta del Sol" at 2-3 feet. There's even a yellow Torch available now.

Potato-leaf shaped foliage is attractive too.

Tithonia is an annual flower that's easy to start from seed, growing best in full sun. It makes a great cut flower or container specimen as well. 

Artsy image of black swallowtail and tithonia                The Garden Buzz

Beyond it's dramatic beauty and statuesque shape, the greatest thing about Tithonia is what it brings to the garden...butterflies, bees and hummingbirds! Not many flowers draw all three in such numbers. And don't forget the goldfinches that perch on its sturdy branches to munch on the attractive seedheads.

Sturdy stems with raindrops

Plant Tithonia and I guarantee you will have a garden buzzing with lively visitors.

Another swallowtail visitor on Tithonia "Torch"         The Garden Buzz

 

Welcoming wildlife into your garden is so rewarding, you might want to check out my latest Star Tribune article, Planting for Pollinators, for more tips toward making a wildlife haven. 

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: August 15, 2011

I'm going to go off the garden path this Garden Bloggers Bloom Day and do it a little differently. Usually I'm guilty of the same game the garden catalogs play, lots of colorful closeups and no full length views of the subject at hand. It's tempting to go in tight for the beauty shot. Maybe get out the macro.

I thought you might appreciate it a little less edited this time. I won't show all the warts and weeds, but you'll get a better idea of this garden I'm trying to make my own out here in the water, woods and wetlands.

My "office chair" on the porch

Across from the porch, I watch butterflies and hummingbirds on these zinnias

 Pee Gee Hydrangea blooming with courtyard beds in the background

Oops, I couldn't resist, Zinnia "Cool Crayon Colors"

Looking back towards the porch, Nodding Onion blooms attract bees and butterflies

Alliums along the path looking out to docks

Pole bean tower in the "hot mess" garden; a freeform, oft self-seeded veggie potager including Italian parsley, nasturtiums, signet marigolds, kale, beets and strawberries.

Beyond the beans, Joe-Pye weed blooming

Over the fence, the blooms of aquatic Duck Potatoes

Purple elderberries on the path by the pond

Further along Rudbeckia "Herbstsonne", phlox, and fading blooms of Invincibelle Spirit hydrangea

 Hang in there, we're halfway through!
Lots of bees browsing native Culver's Root

Reliable beauties, Annabelle hydrangeas with Nepeta Souvenir D'Andre Chaudon

Clethra "Ruby Spice" smells sweet

Swallowtail on lily

 

Black swallowtail on Mexican Sunflower, "Torch"

Rudbeckia "Cappuccino" started from seed with ornamental millet

 Warm sunset colors 

Out front, the blank canvas where my pine trees stood before a violent windstorm felled them. Check out my funky new stone wall. I'm studying the spot while I wait for it to "speak" to me and tell me what to plant. Any ideas?

 

 Uncommon annual, Cerinthe with blue-green foliage and dangling blue-purple buds

Not blooms but a beautiful combo, maidenhair fern and coleus

(Note the large mosquitos on wall above the container, it is Minnesota after all)

And finally, the blooms of Persicaria "Firetail", Joe-Pye Weed and Rudbeckia planted just outside my son's bedroom so that he might glance up from his laptop and perhaps see a hummingbird or butterfly. What a nice mama he has.

Hope you enjoyed the tour!!!

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: July 15, 2011

Whoosh! That's me shifting gears right now for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. From foliage to flowers, that is. I just spent the morning interviewing a talented landscape consultant and scouting photos in her incredibly clever garden. Rather than relying on bursts of bloom to carry her design through the season, she employs a wide variety of foliage from perennials, grasses, shrubs and even veggies that exert a steady and beautiful influence on her yard.

But back to blooms.

Bouncing between heat waves and thunderstorms, my garden is both suffering and thriving. Here's a smattering of what's happening...

Zinnias, the essence of summer bloom, with the frothy seedheads of Deschampsia "Hair Grass" in the background. Having fun with my iPhone camera for this shot.                    The Garden Buzz

Marigolds, old summer standbys, look fresh and new next to lemon thyme  The Garden Buzz

A little Martagon Lily peeking from out of the hydrangeas

Insects on False Spirea shrub.                   The Garden Buzz

Trial plant: Campanula "Viking", compact, non-invasive and hummingbird-friendly

Trial plant: Rose "Candy, Oh", a sweet rose bred by a sweet guy, Dr. David Zlesak       The Garden Buzz

A different sort of catmint, Nepeta "Souvenir D'Andre Chaubord with bigger, looser flower spikes that draw hummingbirds        The Garden Buzz

Hydrangea "Let's Dance Starlight" blooming big this year!

Bumblebee in the background of Asclepias incarnata, Swamp Milkweed, milkweeds are the sole larval plant of the Monarch butterfly

Alien pod, or macro shot of a blueberry?

A thick carpet of Chameleon Plant, Hottuynia cordata, attractive but aggressive to somewhat invasive in my garden.

Trial plant: Proven Winners Leucanthemum "Daisy May" emerging from where the mesclun bed is bolting. I'm a sucker for a good daisy.

On the other hand, invasive Oxeye daisies, that I allow to bloom on a limited basis in my garden, love the high meadow look.

Another macro shot, a painterly image of Dahlia "Mystic something or other"

And finally my little green visitor...

Happy National Pollinator Week!

Celebrate National Pollinator Week by planting trees, shrubs, flowers, herbs and fruits that attract and support these vital forms of wildlife. It's what puts the buzz in The Garden Buzz!

Check with your local extension office for lists of pollinator-friendly plants for your region, it's easy.

I've posted this article link below recently, however I'll repeat the link since it provides an emphasis on pollinators and their behaviors, along with plant information.

http://www.herbcompanion.com/gardening/attract-pollinators-to-your-garden.aspx

 

 

 

Holiday Giveaway: We Have Winners!

 
Bee on Bottle Brush Shrub               The Garden Buzz

Some bloggers use "random generator" software to determine their giveaway winners. I think it's fun to hold my own old-fashioned drawing. After printing out the entries, I cut them into strips of paper, put them in a container and pick them by hand. This year we put them in the big orange mixing bowl, then my daughter closed her eyes and picked out the winners. How more random could you get?!

Congratulations to the following ten readers upon winning a North American Bee Calendar...Michele, Marija, Shelley T, Johanne, Sharlene, Mickey, Bella, Bernieh, Maureen and Elsie, who have all been notified of their good luck.

If you still would love to have a calendar, they can be ordered from the Great Sunflower Project. The proceeds go to bee conservation efforts through this great "citizen scientist" project.

Thanks to all readers who submitted entries. Next giveaway should begin in February. Stay tuned.

Last Minute Shopping: 8 Great Gifts for Gardeners

If you already have your holiday shopping done, you probably don't need this list. However, if you've been waiting for divine inspiration or panic to spur you on, maybe I can help.

If I only had to shop for gardeners, gift-buying would be a giddy, fun-filled spree skipping through the internet and multiple garden centers. I think, as a group, we are a grateful bunch, a group that's easy to please.

Just be glad you don't have to shop for my husband; good, all-around guy but not a gardener. His mother and I brainstormed on this gift topic recently but only came up with headaches.

I'll be the first to tell you that we bloggers get lots of samples and goodies. They come from generous and well-intentioned people hoping that we will find them delightful and/or useful, and then write about the wonders of their product. I'll admit right up front, that a few of my suggestions might spring from this, but mostly they are practical things that I myself would be happy to receive, any time of the year for that matter. So here we go...

1. Gloves: We can never have enough gloves. We lose them, we poke through them, we lend them. A collection of gloves would be good; heavy goatskin for rose-pruning, rubber-coated for digging damp soil and thin, stretchy for delicate seedling work.
2. Plant Journal: While some of us will never be so organized as to actually use one, we'd like to have one just in case. There's an online plant journal called Plant Jotter, that takes garden planning and recording to a whole new level.
3. Mason Bee House: Beyond bird feeders this is the perfect gift for habitat gardeners. Mason bees use the bamboos tubes inside the cute little shelter to lay eggs and store nectar and pollen. Mason bees are 20 times more efficient than honeybees, and they don't sting.
4. Dibble: What? A dibble or dibber is a sharp, pointy tool with a T-shape handle, an old-fashioned tool that makes for fast planting of seeds, bulbs and young plants. A life-changing tool for me, it's great for what I call speed-planting. You can find them in garden stores and online catalogs.
5. Camera: Whether it's a point-and-shoot or a big, fancy digital SLR; a camera can bring so much to your gardening. Photographing your garden makes you see it in a whole new way; recording your growth and bloom times, helping with design issues, seeing seasonal interest not to mention lots of pictures to pull out and show off to your friends. For the real geeky gardener, go one step further with a macro lens for bug closeups. Yes, I have one and no, it wasn't free.
6. Tools: Trowels, pruners, weeders, shears, etc. You can't go wrong with iconic red-handled Felcos, however Corona tools are making a big push with their new line. They've put a lot of thought into ergonomics; scaling them to fit feminine hands. I love Oxo tools in the kitchen and now they are coming out with garden tools too.
7. Garden Magazine Subscriptions: Hey, when we aren't gardening, we like to read about gardening. Right now publishers are practically giving away magazines, just to keep readership during the tough economy. I recommend anything that Better Homes and Gardens does, Fine Gardening, Birds and Blooms, Garden Design and Horticulture. If you live in my neck of the woods, buy local and give a year of Northern Gardener.
8. Seeds: We love seeds. Seed packets give us hope and something to hold in our hands during the long winters. Lots of catalogs are out before Christmas with yummy photos to dream over. Give a gift certificate for spring or pick out some and personalize the plant. Try purveyors of unique and heirloom seeds like Renee's, Seeds of Change, Seed-Savers,Johnny's and Baker Creek.

Let me know if you have suggestion too. Otherwise, what are you waiting for? Get shopping!

 

 

 

 

Garden Video: Helianthus "Lemon "Queen" - Ya Gotta Love This Plant!

Weird weather. Funny fall. Whatever you call it, right now I appreciate the absence of weather while I'm on the road. I'm in Columbia Mo, where my daughter is a journalism student and set to graduate in a month.

Tomorrow we'll be flying/driving/flying to Savannah Ga where she'll be attending grad school come January. During this quick apartment-hunting trip I probably won't have much time for blogging, but I promise to post pictures of any pretty gardens I might come upon.

In the meantime enjoy the last of the "Ya Gotta Love This Plant" videos. This last video features Helianthus "Lemon Queen", a great fall-blooming, carefree native perennial that brings sunny color to your garden while providing food for the bees. I know that it's probably too late to be plant shopping, but put it on your 2011 wish list for sure.

Putting this third video together was more difficult; I learned what they mean by "losing the light" as the days grow shorter. In addition, my sound quality is somewhat spotty. The upside is that I learned so much more about communicating the garden story in a new medium.

Don't be surprised if I take it up a notch by next year. Until then...

 

Garden Video: Pink Turtlehead "Hot Lips" Ya Gotta Love This Plant

Don't worry. I'm not switching to all video. I'm just trying to get three videos "in the can" before the garden goes kaput! I've been granted the chance to do this courtesy of what the weather forecaster is calling "Septober".

We've had a whole month of Indian summer here in Minnesota. So I've been taking advantage of it to shoot three trial videos to see if it's a good way to add value and interest to The Garden Buzz. So far, the comments have been positive.

Shooting these little mini-films has me looking at my garden in a whole new way. I like to think that I always practice mindfulness in the garden. Yet, this has opened up even more avenues through which to enjoy the garden and all it has to give. Not that I haven't considered sound and movement before; still when it plays back, I hear and see what I might have been missing.

It's not all good. There are airplanes, pool pumps, car engines and such that I usually tune out. On the bright side there is water splashing, grasses rustling, insects buzzing and subtle birdsong that I need to notice more.

So without further adieu, here is the latest video featuring a favorite fall-blooming perennial...

 

Take a moment to go out in your garden. And just listen.