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It sounds like the name of a cute cafe or perhaps a quaint kitchen shop but it happens to be one of my favorite combos from the kitchen garden this season:
One of my favorite vignettes in the kitchen garden this year, a combination of cauliflower 'Vitaverde' and red 'Moulin Rouge' zinnias planted through a row of butter beans in the spot where an earlier planting of peas had finished. Bush type beans don't usually have a lot of visual pizazz but these are taller and have little pale yellow (butter yellow) blossoms held high on their stems. I even spied a hummingbird sipping on one. Yes, that is another name for Lima beans. I am hoping the tender young homegrown ones will live up to their buttery name. I can't say enough about those red zinnias (available from Renee's Garden Seeds), don't be afraid of red flowers, they are such a cheerful addition to this edible landscape, and so, so popular with all of the pollinators. The blue-green foliage of the cauliflower and then the chartreuse heads are an eye-pleasing treat as well. Next up roasted cauliflower!
But that’s where it ends for many gardeners. Red in the garden can be considered old-fashioned or fuddy-duddy. It’s been poo-pooed as gauche or vulgar by refined plantspeople. Sure they’ll go for wine-stained coleus or Bonfire begonias. And folks get giddy over chocolate cosmos in shades of Marsala, the bloody-brown 2015 Pantone Color of the Year.
Chocolate Cosmos is a sophisticated shade of Marsala
Yet you might say pure red is the equivalent of a horticultural stop sign. But hey–ho, hummingbirds love red flowers! Relax!
I decided to test out a few fire-engine red flowers this season. I wanted to see if they did indeed draw in the hummingbirds as advertised. The results were mixed.
Petunia 'Exserta'
Petunia 'Exserta', a wild petunia from Brazil
A wild petunia from Brazil, it’s said to be the only petunia naturally pollinated by hummingbirds. Exserta is unusual with its reflexed petals and a distinctive yellow corona. Images of hummingbirds snarfing nectar from the matte red flowers abound. Alas, the bees loved it but I never saw a single hummer on the abundant blooms of this one in my garden. There’s no accounting for taste, no really, different birds in different regions do exhibit certain flower preferences. (Perhaps Exserta is too spicy for Minnesota birds…just kidding.) Annie’s Annuals was my original source but it has re-seeded so much that I might question the “rare” species designation.
Zinnia ‘Moulin Rouge Red’
Swallowtail on Moulin rouge zinnias
These heirloom cutting zinnias are over my head, literally, six feet tall and bursting with blooms. Singles, doubles, spoony-shaped petals and so on; it’s a mixed bag with full-on red as the common denominator. Popular with bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. In fact I witnessed a hummingbird harassing a Monarch while it foraged on one of the blooms. There were only about 20 more flowers available but the tiny bird wanted that one. Interesting to note that a nearby patch of Zinnia ‘Benary’s Purple’ was hardly touched by any of the large number of pollinators present in my garden. (Note: I received these seeds free from Renee’s Garden Seeds to test in my garden.)
Salvia coccinea, Texas Sage
Morning light on Texas sage
Dangerously similar to grandma-style red bedding salvias, it’s saving grace is a taller stem and looser blooms. Proving quite a hit with the bees, only a few hummingbirds were intrigued, in spite of being the perfect shape and color. It has self-seeded with abandoned and now pops up all over the kitchen garden. The other day the sun was rising low in the sky and focused a single beam on the sage plant. The little flared blooms seemed to catch fire. I ran to catch it but lost the light.
In garden design red is a color that appears to recede, sometimes sucking the life from beds or borders. It needs a deft hand to make it work. In my garden I was lucky that the red blooms played well with the orange/gray/red stripes of my patio umbrella.
Last thoughts: Yes, hummingbirds like red flowers. But while I was experimenting with these wild scarlet specimens, the hummingbirds in my garden were going gaga over a light pink/orange hyssop, Agastache ‘Summer Breeze’ (also from Annie’s), tropical bloodroot (technically half yellow-half red), Black and Blue Salvia and a white verbena. Go figure. The takeaway: Plant lots of flowers and observe the activity in your garden and those of your neighbors to find the perfect hummingbird bait.
Hummingbird browsing on Agastache 'Summer Breeze'.
People have mixed feeling about this little blue flower. Lots of people love to see its cheerful blooms rise above the snow this time of year, especially those who share the same weather with its Siberian origins. Popping up in lawns where they readily naturalize; they're a sure sign of spring. Other folks fear its invasive quality after seeing it form thick colonies in local woodlands. In town it serves as an early source of much needed nectar for early emerging native bees.
Type: Bulb
Habitat Function: Nectar plant for native bees
Attracts: Bees
Landscape Use: Mass plantings, naturalizing, spring bulb displays
Hardiness: Zones 2-8
Color: Deep blue
Native: To Russia
Light: Full sun for best bloom, tolerates partial shade
Soil: Prefers somewhat acidic, loamy soil
Water: Average
Size: 3-6 inches tall
Did You Know? You can tell when bees forage on scilla by the steely blue pollen they carry on their bodies.
I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date! So much going on in the garden but you'll excuse me for missing GBBD by two days due to wedding anniversary #29.
Without further ado...
Ajuga 'Chocolate Chips', cute as the name
Iceland poppy 'Champagne Bubbles', great coral color
Texas sage blooming in the kitchen garden along with Redbor Kale
Pea blossoms promise sweet, tasty peas in a pod
Echium 'Red Feathers' with spikes of pinkish-red flowers
Echium 'Red Feathers' with handsome spikes of reddish-pink flowers
Window Box with succulents, gomphrena and portulaca
Windowbox succulents paired with Gomphrena 'Fireworks' and rock rose
Honeysuckle 'Mandarin'
Mystery allium, can't remember what I planted, can anyone ID?
Salvia 'Purple Sensation' overhead view, spot the bee
'Crazytunia' trial plant from Viva! Plants, each bloom is a little different
For every BIG botanical garden, be it the Huntington, Longwood, Chanticleer or Biltmore and more, there are hundreds of local, lesser known gardens. They may be smaller, but their efforts just as worthy. These gardens still need weeding and watering by hard-working volunteers.
Tucked away in a residential area off the main road, it is a charming collection of themed gardens; rain forest, bromeliad beds, cactus garden, butterfly garden, fantasy garden, tea garden, you get the idea. It's an ambitious undertaking, delightfully designed under the arms of spreading live oaks.
And there's a nursery too!
While I'm on the road, enjoys these photos from the Nature Coast Botanical Garden...and help identify these tropical beauties I don't encounter up north.
Bromeliads under live oaks
Tiered fountain of succulents
Is this a type of philodendron or dracena or what? Help!
Very tall red pentas
Beautiful tiles on a patio area
Part of the rain forest area
Tea Garden with Torii Gates
Ginormous staghorn fern
These pink tipped bromeliads catch the light, so pretty
This plant has thready things hanging down, what in the heck?
Purple on pedestal
This island and pond is surrounded by a model railroad
Down the path
Nopal cactus starting to bloom
The spreading arms of live oak reach across the gardens
Consider volunteering or supporting your local botanical garden!
A lot of folks would say I'm certifiable. And they're right!
You may be too.
I just filled out the online application for certifying my yard as a Monarch Waystation. The last stones in the patio are being laid as we speak but it's not too soon to designate my beautiful new landscape as a waystation. Think bed and breakfast for butterflies.
I made sure to include numerous nectar plants and a generous amount of host plant Aslcepias tuberosa (butterfly weed) in my new garden for the exact purpose of helping the Monarch butterfly survive in spite of extreme weather, habitat destruction and pesticide threats.
A monarch visitor from yesterday lights on a lantana flower
Gardeners everywhere have noticed the low numbers of monarchs visiting our gardens this time of year when once they were present in great numbers while on their arduous migration. More than just a tough year, the monarch population is down 80% by some estimates.
Certifying your yard doesn't require a huge investment, You can purchase a waystation seed kit from Monarch Watch (the University of Kansas program that promotes and oversees monarch research and conservation) or you can buy plants at your local garden centers to fulfill the requirements necessary for certification.
Asclepias syriaca pictured. There are many varieties of milkweed suitable for your garden.
If you're like me, my past two gardens have qualified on the spot due to my interest and action in making sure they were butterfly-friendly. Perhaps your garden is a monarch waystation already. Officially certifying your garden costs $16, however the money is put to good use at Monarch Watch.
The sign draws attention to Monarch conservation
In addition you can purchase a small sign to place in your garden that lets other people know of your good intentions while educating them to the plight of the monarch and what can be done to save this fascinating and gorgeous creature. Who knows? Maybe you'll start a movement in your neighborhood or town. Monarch waystations can be contagious.
I planted the window box outside of my upstairs laundry room today. The small windows have wonderful screens. The spacious counter is extra deep. My Ikea farmhouse sink sits in the middle. It wasn't easy.
Sitting on the counter removing the screen Planting a second story window box sometimes requires a different strategy. Do you go up a ladder Chevy Chase-style, certain to fall? Or do you lean out from above? Do you drag a bag of potting soil and all your plants up the stairs?
Inserting a coir liner into the window box
Our new house isn't finished but we've already moved into it. We had been renting the house next door to our building site, but our time was up. The late snows and rainy spring has our exterior languishing in the last stages and well, my garden is just bare dirt and a dream. Nothing can happen until the concrete driveway and sidewalks go in and more rain is on tap this week.
Petunias: Shock Wave and Easy Wave Medleys
And wouldn't you know it's plant sample season and every day brings a new box of beautiful goodies begging for a place to grow.
Temporarily taping the coir to keep soil inside
The Shock Wave Medley and Easy Wave Medley Petunias from the Harris Seed Trials were just the thing for this window box, These saturated colors like Coral Crush and Wave Denim, Coral Reef and Wave Violet will look great with our dark gray/green house color (Benjamin Moore "Quarry Rock") and black trimmed windows.
Wave petunias are also weather resistant and self-cleaning, a big plus since I don't want to be leaning out the window to deadhead.
These bright colors will attract butterflies and hummingbirds too.
After several false starts and forgetting the fertilizer, I began this odyssey with a little help from Hannah, my daughter who's visiting but probably wishing she would've stayed home.
Watering through the window
At first I was the only one sitting on the counter with my feet in the sink. However I couldn't do the same twisty maneuver for the other side with my sore back, so Hannah hoisted herself on the other side and we commenced to plant.
Silliness--sitting in the sink together.
Love this Wave Denim color
The samples are small for now but they'll soon fill in, mound up and spill over for a great window dressing fashion statement.
I can only describe my 81 year old father this way; he's a crusty ex-Marine with a soft, gooey center.
At one time he liked landscaping and plants but that is long in the past. Now his yard is simply something he maintains with the help of friends from his church. It is a typical Florida front yard, a scraggly lawn dotted with anthills, a few azaleas, a crape myrtle (that has been crape murdered), a few palms and one live oak tree that provides a kind of constant mulching with its continual leaf-dropping, all surviving on a thin sandy soil.
There's the neighbor's grapefruit tree that grows over the backyard fence. It's an old tree that produces old-fashioned, not-ruby-red-inside, globes of fruit that taste good even though they are dusted with a sooty, fungusy, but not-quite-fatal condition. He saves the ripe ones that are within reach for his friends since grapefruit is forbidden with his medications.
On this visit my daughter and I followed our usual routine with my dad; breakfast at Panera's, a few handy(wo)man projects he can't do any more, sharing of photos, family history discussions, and poking around his stuff. On our way out to the shed I noticed something I'd never seen before.
A Collage of Lichens
Two sides of the backyard are surrounded with relatively new popsicle-stick shaped boards. But to the other side there is an aging stockade fence. Arranged on this fence as only nature can, is an assortment of lichens and moss that would put any Jackson Pollack painting to shame.
These lichens grow in a subtle collage of grays, greens and silver with a small splash of sulfury yellow against the weathered red wood. Viewed singularly they are like a carefully styled still life, from afar a beautifully blended tapestry.
Lichens Still Life
The fence reminded me of my father. At times blunt and abrasive with a complicated and compassionate soul hidden just beneath the surface.
My dad
After a quick search on lichens, well that's not possible, turns out there are hundreds of them, I did identify a few of the lichens yet not down to their scentific labels. Some lichens will only attach to stone, some to wood/plants and some to both. They can be an indicator of air quality with some sensitive to nitrogen and others not. Fascinating stuff!
At first I figured the pale green beardy growth was an another epiphyte (air plant) similar to Spanish moss that also grew in sprigs on the fence. However it is called usnea, or "old man's beard". It is a fructiose lichens. Crustose lichens are the flatter kinds and foliose varieties tend to be leafy in appearance. They "bloom" in all colors. Lichens are a composite life form combining a fungus with an algae. Beyond that I'm still in the novice category but curious to learn more.
Bearded, leafy, scaly, lots of lichens
The Garden Buzz
That leads to questions. Do we consider this part of the garden or just collateral nature since it's not intentional? Can we encourage and tend lichens in order to give our gardens an aged patina? Do they harm other plants and hardscape? Are they a symptom of other plant disease?
How about you? Do you have lichens in your garden and how do you regard them? Let me know in the comment section...
I guess it was bound to happen. See enough beautiful camellias and even though you know they're out of your zone, you start to wonder, what if?
During my "winter break" I love to look at the camellias blooming all over Savannah, in the squares, in courtyards, on traffic medians, just about everywhere. Until recently I've managed to remain detached. I've maintained a "this is an exotic treat to be appreciated only here" attitude.
Soft pink camellia in Savannah
But in the meantime I meandered through the Camellia Trail at the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens (at the Historic Bamboo Farm) while researching a story for Savannah Magazine. So many colors and shapes, such welcome color in winter. With their silky petals and golden centers they are very much like peonies for southern folk.
Although camellias weren't the topic of my article, I found myself doing a little quick self-taught camellia course, just to satisfy my curiosity. At least now I know the difference between the two most popular species; Camellia sasanqua and Camellia japonica.
Bright pink camellia with prominent yellow center
Camellia sasanqua blooms first from fall to early winter, and tends to have smaller blooms and a looser habit, while Camellia japonica blooms in winter to early spring, with bigger, bolder blooms and a stiffer, upright stature. Both are broadleaf evergreens with handsome dark green foliage.
Camellias in historic Charleston cemetery
The flowers of Camellia japonica fall off the plant whole when they're done. It's not only a tidy attribute, the spent blooms carpet the ground below make for an attractive mulch of sorts.
Around Savannah you'll see where people have placed these blooms for display in unusual places. Often when I pass by the courtyard of the Gordon Low home (he was father to the founder of the Girl Scouts) I see tht someone has placed a bloom upon every step leading up to the stately home. At other times you'll come upon a few flowers simply sitting on a stone bench. So southern, so Savannah.
Camellias on bench
And then I read two things that made me think, hmmm...perhaps I might grow a camellia in Minnesota.
--Turns out plant breeders have been working on cold-hardy camellias, Monrovia sells Ice Angels, 'Winter's Snowman', 'April Remembered' and 'Spring's Promise'. Only hardy to zone 6, they won't work for me where zone 5 is only a safe gamble sometimes. Darn.
--Reading a NY Times review of Tovah Martin's new book, The Unexpected Houseplant, I was struck by something she said, that any plant (within reason) could be adopted as a houseplant given the right conditions. Conservatory-grown camellias flourish, so why couldn't I grow one outdoors and bring it in just as it's about to bloom?
Sounds possible, but several sites say that camellias don't like change (well, who does?), and will drop their buds when moved or if conditions vary even a little. I'd love to hear of anyone's experiences with this idea?
What's a trip to Savannah without a quick jaunt to Charleston? Our excuse this time to check out the Heirloom Book Company, located at the memorable address of 123 King Street, a store devoted to cookbooks both old and new. Yes, ma'am, forget fiction, surely we're not the only ones who curl up with a good cookbook?
Stylishly spare in decor with food photography on the walls and bits of kitchenalia interspersed between the latest culinary tomes and vintage cheeky titles like, "Saucepans and the Single Girl". The subtitle is even better, "The cookbook with all the ingredients for taking that light-hearted leap from filing cabinet to flambe".
And what's a trip to Charleston without a run down Meeting Street and then a foray into the alleys and lanes for some serious window box gawking. By now they're lush and overflowing from all the sunshine and rain. Here are some new ones and a couple re-visits, after a few trips you cotton on to who plants the best ones. Enjoy...
Just coleus and begonias, but how lovely
Coleus, dragonwing begonia, torenia, impatiens, fern and Spanish moss
Green and white, always a winner, caladium, petunias, penta and licorice.
Mandevilla climbs the shutters on this signature home, note the little pig.
Red and yellow dominate these window boxes with matching urns, sedum and sword fern supply texture to croton, coleus and geraniums.
My how these have grown, almost touching the sidewalk now.
Flanking the Japanese maple, with colorful foliage and a few blooms.
This courtyard is what they call a jewel-box garden, so many points of interest but never busy. More color than the usual southern garden which relies on evergreen structure in the hot climate.
Longitude Lane where it narrows, see the woogedy cobblestones I endure for the most popular photos on the blog!
White blossoms against black shutters, so fresh even in the heat.
These were mere sprigs on my last visit in February.
