The Garden Buzz

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

 

 

 

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.

My Tomato Planting Technique: Does It Measure Up?

P. Allen Smith measures the tomatoes that Garden2Blog garden bloggers planted in his vegetable patch during the various competitions. Here's mine!

The Garden Buzz

A Little Something About Alliums

Was it Eisenhower who said that "plans are useless but planning is indispensable"? And what does it have to do with alliums?

You can plant allium bulbs next fall wherever you might have a bare spot, or you can plan ahead to place them where they really count. It's only taken me years to figure this out, but you can start now. It's not foolproof but take note, northern gardeners, what's blooming right now.

And then think if it could use a little punctuation to perk it up. That's one way I think about alliums, they're like upside down exclamation points. Some people think of them as lollipops and in England I've heard them called "posh onions". 

My favorite color combination is Purple Sensation with my orange Mandarin Lights rhododendron, so bright it almost seems subversive. The same alliums growing with blue salvia, veronica and iris blend into the monochrome spring mini-meadow in the courtyard. I'm anxious to try them with chartreuse foliage like I saw at P. Allen Smith's Arkansas farm earlier this spring.

Purple alliums play off the golden foliage of Caryopteris "Sunshine Blue" at the Garden Home Retreat    The Garden Buzz

I also like how alliums draw the eye upward while the rest of the garden is filling in and still a bit thin. I keep adding alliums every year, from little drumstick varieties to the ginormous Globemaster. And while I love alliums, the deer and rabbits aren't fond of the oniony flavor. 

For the greatest selection of allium bulbs at bulk prices along with good descriptions and solid growing information I like Scheeper's catalog as well as McClure and Zimmerman. Make a note to order now or at least by August while the more unusual varieties are still available.

 

Allium "Purple Sensation" with Rhododendron "Mandarin Lights"      The Garden Buzz

I loved how these unidentified lavender alliums glowed with yellow strawflowers at the Herb Farm restaurant in Washington state last summer            The Garden Buzz

White alliums liven up the blue catmint along my driveway            The Garden Buzz

Street Cred: Sidewalk Containers of Savannah

Yes, I'm back in Savannah.

 While my daughter was finishing classes today, I took a walk down some of my favorite Savannah streets for a final photo shoot before summer sends us away. We'll be heading back to Minneapolis, seeing family and familiar places along the way. 

It's fun to find new scenes and revisit others in another season. Here's a selection of sidewalk container gardens, Savannah style. 

 

 Gates are often adorned with these charming baskets

Giant strawberry pots contain ivy and rosemary here 

This ambitious container garden never fails to delight

Eggplants mix with zinnias and salvia

Lots of great foliage for lasting, reliable color in the heat and humidity.

Hydrangeas are popular for urns.

Caladiums glow in the late afternoon

Hot tropical colors make this intense street garden pop

With all the edibles growing right on the sidewalk, these street eats are tempting. Hannah loves to snitch a sweet tart kumquat from this tree. Fortunately her neighbor who grows lemons and rosemary in her front yard and boulevard allows her to pick, guilt-free.