The Garden Buzz

The High Line Revisited; No Head Injuries This Time

So, almost a year ago to the day, I veered off the path of a corporate spouses outing to see The High Line in NYC. Designed by famed Dutch landscape artist Piet Oudolf, the High Line is urban/public gardening at its best, taking an abandoned elevated railway and turning it into a shining example of repurposing, native plantings and social promenade.

If you read last year's account, you know that no sooner had I stepped onto the first landing, than I had tripped and fell flat on my my back hitting my head. This visit has gone much better.

I'm back here in NYC helping my daughter settle in as she undertakes a fall internship at Martha Stewart Living Ominimedia, specifically working for their Everyday Food publication. Until she moves into her place in Brooklyn, we are staying in Chelsea just a literal stone's throw from The High Line.

It's interesting that there now stands in the crevice where I caught my foot, a statue of a man about 18 inches tall. I wonder if he has been placed there to alert people to the hazard? If only he had been there last year, I would have been saved the two subsequent MRIs and numerous strange symptoms that could be related to the fall. Oh well.

Here's a quick tour of what I've found so far. 

Autumn shows off Oudlf's beloved grasses at their best

Lots of seedheads for the birds that flit amongst the plantings

Wild roses bloom everywhere

A leafy path through they city

The plantings supply a counterpoint to the many murals and ads on surrounding buildings

Abundant rose hips on Rosa glauca

The play of shadows adds another design element

A very cool and cooling water feature

Wildlife habitat amid the skyscrapers, lots of bees even in the chilly weather

End of the line at the southern tip

Waves of grasses set into the tapers

And the tiny man guarding the deceivingly dangerous crevice at the river overlook.

WATCH YOUR STEP!!!

Is it National Pollinator Week Already?

Doesn't it seem like you just took down the Christmas lights? And here it is National Pollinator Week already!

Bee on thistle                                             The Garden Buzz

How do you plan to celebrate? What you say, you think the true meaning of Pollinator Week has been lost amid all the commercialism and marketing? And you go round and round the mall but just can't find the right gift for your favorite pollinator?

I suggest you take a quiet moment and remind yourself that every third bite of food you eat is there because of pollinators. Those beautiful wildflowers along the roadside, ditto. The list goes on.

Hummingbird visiting Giant Purple Hyssop    The Garden Buzz

You don't have to spend a bundle at the garden center buying shiny new flowers for pollinators. You can do a few simple things at home and garden...

Leave small piles of sticks and hollow stems from garden cleanup for nesting locations.

Dig small areas for puddles and leave some bare ground  for nesting as well. These muddy places also contain needed salts and minerals.

Refrain from using harmful garden chemicals. When necessary, choose to spray when insects are not out foraging.

Consider evergreens, they protect many insects and birds from harsh weather. 

If you're a softy for such important holidays and decide to budget bigger for National Pollinator Week, native plants are best adapted for pollinating insects and birds. Otherwise check plant tags for bee, butterfly and bird-friendly blooms.

Butterfly foraging on red bottlebrush               The Garden Buzz

And no holiday is complete without dessert. Treat your self to a piece of blueberry pie or lemon cake, but just remember a pollinator made it possible. 

 For more information on National Pollinator Week, click here. 

 

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...

Summer Window Box Recipe with Coralberry Punch

Coralberry Punch sounds like just the refreshing beverage I need during these dog days of summer...but more about that in a bit.

I'm always on the lookout for lovely window box combinations. I see them in magazines and vow to remember and repeat them in my own creations. I even photographed bunches of them for future reference in Charleston while I visited that charming city.

But I seem to forget them once spring arrives and I'm at the garden center. So many choices, am I the only one who gets overwhelmed by them all?

My window boxes are a nice shade of terra cotta that contrasts well with the taupe-y stucco and stone trim of my home. That is, until you go to plant them. Any pretty shade of pink acquires the characteristics of a plastic flower next to the oranges tones of the box.

I learned this the hard way. Yellow doesn't do much better. Last year I played it safe and stuck in a melange of coleus that blended better but not great.

I knew I wanted to try a wine/lime color scheme; using various foliage shapes and colors. I needed a filler flower with prolific small blooms to bring it all together. Wandering through the nursery I spied the new Proven Winners Superbells "Coralberry Punch" that turned out to be just the ticket.

This Calibrachoa hybrid sports peachy color petals with a dark red flare and yellow eye, offering lots of shades to play off of when combining plants. This new plant doesn't need deadheading which works for me, since I don't need to climb up into these beds for that chore on a regular basis.

They've filled in even more since I took this quick iPhone photo.

Best of all, it doesn't clash with my window boxes. And as a bonus, hummingbirds love the tubular blossoms. They were buzzing within inches the moment I started planting them. As Miley, would say, "Pretty cool".

Window Box Recipe 

Superbells "Coralberry Punch" (Calibrachoa hybrid)

Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa macra) "Aureola"

Big Leaf Ivy

Beets "Bull's Blood"

Coleus "Red Wizard"

Golden Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia) "Aurea"

 

Don't limit your window boxes and containers to just annuals. Look around your own garden and see what perennials and even small shrubs can be used to perk up your pots. I dug up and divided the forest grass and creeping Jenny from areas of my yard. The big leaf ivy was mostly from last year's containers that I overwintered as houseplants. When fall comes I'll replant the first two and once again overwinter the ivies, making this a more economical and interesting solution to filling my window boxes every year.

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

 

 

 

Turkey in the Straw, Literally

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING from THE GARDEN BUZZ!!!

After the Storm: A Lament for My Lost Pines

I thought I knew the subject of my next blog post. Yet Mother Nature had other ideas.

A historic storm of massive proportion, described as an inland hurricane, blew into town on Tuesday with harsh and sustained winds that tested roofs and toppled trees. By 9pm three of my majestic white pines were uprooted and lying across the drive.

My sad trees the day after the storm                  The Garden Buzz 

With as many as 22 states affected by this storm, I'm not alone in my loss. Driving around today I saw numerous downed trees; most evergreens dragged down by their non-deciduous bulk.

The white pines that stood by my driveway were a social hub of sorts; a gathering spot for the chickadees where they nabbed seeds from the feeder taking them over to the dogwoods for a nibble. Nuthatches scurried up and down the length of the trunks searching for insects and stealing a bite in between. Wrens made an annual home in the house that hung on a stubby limb. Cardinals flew in and out adding color and song.

 

The chickadees offer year-round entertainment in the pine trees

When we first moved in, the pines were just generic evergreens to me. As I got to know them, I learned that they actually did whisper with their soft needles and sigh from their uppermost branches. While they provided privacy they still allowed a little peek between the airy fronds. They sheltered and shaded us, and made us just a little mysterious.

 

 Last year on Christmas Eve the trees were so picturesque

The tree guys came and cleared the driveway leaving the rest of the sawed-off trunks saluting at awkward 45 degree angles, with the roots tilted from the earth. When they come back to clear them out completely, the yard will feel bare and exposed. Each time I drive in I am surprised at the new view of our home without the frame of evergreens. Looking out, the view of the neighboring houses seems strange after being half-hidden in the woods. It will take awhile to accustom myself to such a sudden transformation.

I know I should have respected a suitable period of mourning for my trees. Yet even in the very hour they fell, while the storm was still wailing outside, the gardener in me was considering the opportunities of a new landscape. I admit a little thrill ran through me...just think..full sun.

 

 To see the real impact of this change, check out my garden video featuring Pink Turtlehead; the pines are behind me in the last scene.