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!

Coffee No, Cappuccino Yes, Rudbeckia That Is

I'm not at all about coffee, no matter how macchiato, but I'm all over this new perennial, Rudbeckia "Cappuccino". 

Rudbeckia "Cappuccino"                                                  The Garden Buzz

Every year Renee's Seeds offers a selection of free seeds to garden writers, it's a generous gesture with no strings attached. They do hope if we find something that wows us, we will write about it. Well here goes...

I planned to get back into seed starting in a big way this year. Going back to my roots you might say. As life has gotten busier and more complicated, I've turned to nursery-grown plants more and more. Yet I missed the thrill of coaxing tiny seeds into beautiful flowers and vegetables.

I asked my husband to construct a simpler version of my old seed starting set-up. He put together an inexpensive metal shelf with flourescent lights and voila, I was back in business.

Of course, I tried to restrain myself but as always my eyes were bigger than the time and space I had in the garden. This is nothing new to gardeners growing from seed. Furthermore I had to leave town several times and ask my son to water the seedlings. Although he watched over them faithfully some suffered from overcrowding, but this Rudbeckia was unfazed. 

In the meantime, the place I had planned to plant "Cappuccino", a new berm, wasn't finished yet, so as they grew bigger, stockier and full of buds, I put them in temporary holding pots that received sporadic care while other life-y things happened. 

With more traveling to do, I decided not to do any fall containers. But a trip to the nursery for shrubs found me wandering into the discounted tropical plant area, you know, those 75% off, sad-plant, orphanage-like, no man's land populated with crispy bougainvilleas and yellowing ficus trees (I bought one and now it's thriving).

Looking perfectly healthy and happy, some Heavenly Bamboo with alternately blue-gree and apricot foliage beckoned to me, and I could swear I heard them saying, wouldn't we look great with those rudbeckias and that millet you bought too many of too?

Cappuccino with friends                    The Garden Buzz

I had never bonded with my large summer entry containers, so I was easily swayed. Keeping the helichrysum and huecheras, then adding the bamboo, millet and rudbeckias, gave me a late summer to autumn transition that makes me smile each time I pull in the driveway now. And eventually they will get planted in the new berm.

The point of all this:

Rudbeckia "Cappuccino" is a gorgeous large-flowered rudebckia that comes in a mix of lovely russet, gold and mahogany with a chocolate brown center. The compact plants are dominated by the prolific blooms. It is drought tolerant, and in my yard, even neglect-tolerant, holding up to wind and less than regular watering. Butterflies love it. Best of all, they are in the easy category for seed starting, and that isn't always the case with perennials.

A much better value than Starbucks and calorie-free to boot.

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...

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: June 15, 2011

Just like the heart in that Titanic song, my garden will go on, without me or not. While I spent two weeks in Savannah GA helping my daughter close up her little college carriage house and generally larking around, my garden just kept going in my absence.

We visited family and meandered through the south on a mini-literary tour of sorts seeing the home of favorite writers; Harper Lee, Truman Capote and William Faulkner, on our way home to Minnesota. Imagine our surprise when we blew back into the Twin Cities on a hot wind soaring to 103 degrees. I pulled into the driveway and grabbed a hose.

The tree peonies dared to flaunt their ruffly skirts before I returned. I managed to salvage one bloom for a jelly-jar bouquet.

 

White peonies with yellow intersectional "Bartzella" peonies.

The white alliums are still blooming...

Along with the catmint (Up north's answer to "lavender")

But I missed the purple ones by the viburnums 

I am seeing the first flowers of Cosmos "Sunshine MIx" I started from seed

And the rabbit-chewed clematis have returned!

I'm pleased with the iris I planted to fill in bare spots for spring

More along the dock path...

Weigela blooming like crazy

Weigela "Wine and Roses" too

Honeysuckle climbing up to my bedroom window...hummingbirds I hope?

Amsonia shows its face after my great amsonia rant of 2010! I've made peace with it though.

Dianthus "Firewitch" is a bright spot in the landscape

I wish I could say this was my peony, but it's just down the road. Wow.

Garden2Blog: Hanging Out with P. Allen Smith

It's not everyday I get to hang out with a celebrity. But first, P. Allen Smith would gently correct me; he considers himself foremost a teacher, and shies away from the glossier term, that has indeed made so many of his garden visions a reality. 

I was lucky to have a chance to spend a few days with about two dozen other bloggers for the first of hopefully many Garden2Blog events with the noted garden designer and personality. Here's just a little of what I experienced!

The mighty oak in front of the Garden Home Retreat

I hate to use the phrase "boyish good looks", but can't find a suitable substitute to describe him. In his trademark blue, he presents a disarming southern charm with the smallest touch of weary aloofness. It's forgivable as you see him work, constantly on for the variety of cameras that record his every word and move.

P. Allen Smith talking about water features and garden geometry for Garden2Blog

He delivers his lines with a believable freshness and good timing, as when he relates that his grandmother told him the P in his name stood for "potential". And he's not above poking fun at his fame, when he calls out in a nasal tour guide impression, "New Dawn Rose Alert", as we frequently pass huge masses of the ubiquitous, blushing pink climber that he introduced to Little Rock. 

New Dawn roses at the Arkansas Governor's Mansion in Little Rock

This is no garden variety-type HGTV star, there's a gravitas behind the brand. Coming from generations of nurserymen, he has the hands-on knowledge combined with the historical depth and breadth from his study of classical gardens in England. 

An allee of alliums at P Allen Smith's Garden Home Retreat

As he shows you through the home it becomes quickly obvious that the myriad books artfully placed on round tables are not for looks. Weighty tomes covering garden design, politics, culture and history among others inform his living and gardening. His concept of Garden/Home integrates indoor and outdoor living spaces in such a way to increase your enjoyment of both by blurring the lines.

One of many library tables laden with books at P. Allen Smith's Garden Home Retreat

I found myself thinking while following him through the gardens at his "Garden Home Retreat" on Moss Mountain in Arkansas that is was perhaps a little like being able to peer into the thought process that went into the making of Jefferson's Monticello. In fact, there are nods to the horticultural hero at every turn, like the octagonal pavilions flanking the strolling gardens. His twist being the vegetables and fruit trees sitting upfront with ornamentals.

Looking past the art studio to the pavilion and orchard beyond

I found it especially fascinating to see the holistic approach to design throughout, even the tool sheds were a thing of beauty. Interior and exterior colors, like tinner's red, butter yellow, lichen green with deep dark brown bark all reflect the surrounding environment for a harmonic feeling.

Small kitchen gardens fronting the tool sheds where we sheltered from a few storms

Sustainability is evident in all aspects of his farm and gardens, however it's pragmatic rather than nostalgic. Composting for soil amending is a given. While heirlooms are grown, he feels that hybrid plants that perform well with the least intervention are in keeping with the mission. Even the breed of sheep and poultry that forage picturesquely in the pasture are chosen for production and hardiness.

Buff Orpington poultry sharing the pasture with Dorper sheep

As he looks to the future, the next garden goes back in time and then forward. He is developing a historical rose garden featuring a time line of American roses, from the Charleston legacy of noisette varieties that he cherishes  all the way to new low-care Knockouts. 

P. Allen Smith with rose garden plans

During the entire time we were tested with dangerous to merely annoying bad weather. Allen shepherded us through all the event with a gracious and unflappable ease. We were treated to fabulous food including many of his recipes and even eggs from the farm. His staff, and they are many, were efficient and helpful too.

I ducked out of dinner for a moment to look over the bluff to the Arkansas River after the storm

Putting faces to names of all these talented bloggers was a great experience. So many backgrounds and so many different angles! .

Anxious to increase his exposure and presence with social media, I like to think that he's making an effort to partner with and harness the power of bloggers. In fact, he's now blogging too. I didn't feel any pressure to put a face on anything I didn't agree with. I felt comfortable with the information I was given and will be sharing in the future. It's not going to be all P Allen all the time of course, but I'll be posting more pics and tips from the event.

Let me know if you have any questions about or for P. Allen, post them in the comments section and I'll do my best to answer!

Careful partnering with sponsors like Corona, Proven Winners, Garden Safe, Bonnie Plants, Stihl, Berry Nurseries, Jobe's Organics and Laguna Pond Pumps has made the construction of this Garden Home Retreat possible, only proving that he is an astute businessman in addition to artist, interior designer and chef.

P Allen Smith with the Berry (yes, that's their name)representative offering blueberry tips and treats

Meanwhile I didn't so much drink the Kool-Aid as the blueberry lemonade. I've tried hard not to gush, but it's hard not to admire P. Allen Smith for the Renaissance man that he is. 

 

 

Landscaping with Native Plants: A Book Review

Checklist before leaving on vacation tomorrow:

1. Pack for all weather possibilities but hopefully WARM weather, woo-hoo.
2. Put houseplants in bathtub with instructions for hubby to water.
3. Get Henry dog bathed and take him to "boarding school" to learn better impulse control (not going ape-crap around unfamiliar people and pets) and general manners reminder. More peaceful and safer (ice ice baby) dog walks to follow, yea. 
4. All that other pesky pre-trip stuff
5. Write that book review for my blog.

Here's #5...

This book is targeted for Minnesota...HOWEVER I'm going to share some of the valuable non-regon specific advice it contains for those of you that don't live "up north".

First let me recommend this book to Minnesota and cold climate gardeners already growing or thinking about growing native plants. "Landscaping with Native Plants of Minnesota" (second edition) by Lynn Steiner is a thorough but easily digestible volume with lots of great information that identifies Minnesota's native plants and plant communities while showing home gardeners how to use them effectively.

Lynn Steiner is a longtime gardening editor,writer and photographer with more than twenty years of extensive gardening experience. She knows her stuff.

Landscaping with native plants has often been regarded as a messy, lazy method of gardening; looked down upon by neighbors and city councils alike. Lynn's tips can help you to design a landscape that is pleasing for humans and habitat. Here are a few...

• Maintain at least a small area of turf
• Use a buffer of grass or mulch between planted areas and sidewalks/streets so plants don't flop onto paved areas, making visitors uncomfortable
• Add embellishments such as sculpture and benches to make it look more like a garden and less like a field of weeds
• Use natives that are "more controllable" in their growth habit; these tend to be the clump-forming plants rather than spreaders.
• (Natural gardens have curvy lines, yet) Install some straight edges, either around garden beds or in the form of fences and paths

Along with real-world landscape photos (one of my friend's gardens is in the book) and comprehensive plant profiles with instructions for cultural and maintenance requirements, the book includes ideas for landscape placement and design concepts often lacking in other books on the subject. 

If you've been hesitant to work with native plants or if you're just starting to flirt with the idea...I highly recommend Lynn's book. If you already garden with native plants...send a photo, and I'll try to use it with a follow-up post.

Here's a few favorite natives from my garden...

Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)                The Garden Buzz 

Large-flowered bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora)        The Garden Buzz

 

Serviceberry tree (Amelanchier laevis)        The Garden Buzz

 

 Wild ginger (Asarium canadense)             The Garden Buzz

 Red baneberry (Actaea rubra)                                     The Garden Buzz

Happy Valentines Day from The Garden Buzz!

You never know where you might find a beautiful heart...

 

Epimedium rubrum                                          The Garden Buzz

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.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: October 15

This year October 15 is a busy day...Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, Blog Action Day 2010...and National Grouch Day.

However there's nothing to be grouchy about in the garden. I can describe it with lots of other g-words like great, glorious, gorgeous, and gratifying. Can you think of any more?

So here we go..

 
"Greenish Blue" Butterfly visiting Helenium "Mardi Gras"      The Garden Buzz

These little guys surprised me as there have been no other butterflies for at least a week. That's the common name for this tiny butterfly, Plebejus saepilous. Note that Mardi Gras is still partying on.

 

Salvia guaranitica "Black and Blue"     The Garden Buzz
I hope that B & B doesn't let fame go to its pretty head after recently starring in my very first garden video!

 
 Salvia elegans "Honeydew Melon Sage"      The Garden Buzz

This shorter version of pineapple sage blooms earlier, way earlier, than the original. The flavor and scent are not as strong, but it's better than nothing for us 'up north' gardeners.

 
Chalone lyonii "Hot Lips"        The Garden Buzz

Pink Turtlehead is looking forward to her screen debut in my next "Ya Gotta Love This Plant" video series. She's just glowing with excitement.

 
Helianthus "Lemon Queen"               The Garden Buzz

This beautiful cultivar of native sunflower is quite poplar with bees right now. Rumor has it she might be up for a featured role as well. Stay tuned.

 
Single bloom on volunteer nasturtium                               The Garden Buzz

 
Lady beetle inside Cobaea scandens                 The Garden Buzz

Sometimes known as Cathedral Bells, also Cup and Saucer, this vine started blooming late, the partial shady site to blame. But the few blooms have been delightful, as well as the purple tendrils.

 
Rhododendron "Purple Gem"        The Garden Buzz

I'm no expert on rhodies, but I don't think it should be budding out in October. Hmmm.

Thanks to Carol of May Dreams Garden as always for hosting Garden Bloggers Bloom Day!