Hoot Owl Hollow

Computer Trouble - again!

2009-07-15T08:48:00.002-04:00

A perfect little double daylily. I wish my computer was this perfect. Unfortunately, the modem stopped working (again) and it's off to Toshiba. I'll try to keep up with posting, but no promises until my main computer is back home again. No time anyway since with these cooler temperatures come much longer gardening days. Lots of weeding and pruning getting done and some long neglected sections of the gardens are becoming lovely(er) again.
Jane

Ajuga - the rest of them

2009-07-11T06:59:00.008-04:00

Since I had mentioned Ajuga in my post on ground covers, I thought I'd post a few more pictures to show the variety that is available.
This first on is my favorite (well maybe one of my favorites), at least in the spring when it is in bloom. I just love the baby pink flowers on Ajuga 'Pink Torch'. There is, or was, a version with smaller pink flowers, but I don't see it on the market any more and it has died out here, so I imagine that it wasn't very robust. The color is actually a bit darker pink than this photo would indicate.

This one is Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip. I moved some of it last year because it was in too much shade and the colors weren't showing up like they should. In eough sun, this one has shades of brown and deep burgundy along with several shades of green. The leaves are less ajuga-like and and skinny. Much more slowly spreading than most of the others.

Ajuga 'Mini Crispula' is one with very wrinkly krinkly leaves and always seems to stay as a small clump, though it does spread slowly. It is one that definitely needs sun. I lost my original clump when that garden filled in and had too much shade. I replaced it this year, putting it along the walk up to our door so I can enjoy it more often.

Ajuga 'Planet Zork' was available for several years and you either loved it or hated it. It had puckered upright leaves and looked like a real mutant. It had the bad habit of reverting to a plain green ajuga. Ours eventually died out and I won't replace this one.

This is Ajuga 'Rainbow'. We had a rather large area with this but it got too shady and then it was eaten by the deer and never recovered. I haven't seen it offered recently but would replace this one if I could. It definitely added a different color to the garden that most people weren't expecting in a foliage plant. And yes, this is the true color, not retouched in any way.

'Silver Beauty' likes some sun, but is also happy in shade. Another one that deer seem to find tasty, but I have enough of it in different places so I don't think they'll be able to totally do it in. The color is a mistly sort of grey/blue/green with some white edging. It is a bit more vigorous than some of the tempermental ones, but not to the point of being invasive.

Ajuga 'Tricoloris' should probably be more like multicoloris for all of the shades of red/burgundy, green and gold. It needs some sun to bring out the colors.

This last one probably has a name, but don't know what it is. It was a gift from a friend and came with out a name. I'm not sure I've seen a white flowered version offered in catalogs, but it is thorought hardy and spreads sort of quickly. It will always have a home here.

Ajugas are mostly easy to grow except for a few tempermental ones and most are well behaved. Bloom is in the spring when the low growing mat of leaves suddenly is covered with 6 inch tall or so spikes of flowers which are pretty long lasting and good as cut flowers in small bouquets. I don't remember any scent to the flowers. These increase mostly by runners like strawberries. This time of year you will see a large parent plant with a ring of babies all around. You can move the babies elsewhere as soon as they have roots, leave then where they are, or just compost or give them away if you've reached your quota on ajuga. At any rate, they are a quite versatile and useful plant in the garden and not worthy of theor sometime reputation of being a garden problem.

Jane

Ground Covers

2009-07-09T06:21:00.007-04:00

I'm off to town really early this morning, so I'll not have time right now to finish this post. Enjoy the pictures and I'll tell you all about them while I eat lunch.
Jane
Never got back to the computer during lunch, just ate on the run. Anyway, now I have time to comment on these photos. This first one is Saxifrage stolonifera. It is a lovely ground cover for shady places, and as the name indicates, it increases by stolons - just imagine a strawberryplant where a runner starts out and forms a new leaf/plantlet on the end that takes root and then that one makes another plant and another and another. This on runs along bricks edging a bed near my outhouse and covers quite an area near a pond by my root cellar. It is not invasive and never seems to bother other plants. It seems to intertwine with a running Tiarella I have very nicely.

This one is Hydrocotyle 'Crystal Confetti'. Not all of the Hydrocotyles are well behaved. Some of the larger leafed kinds can be quite invasive, but this one is tiny, only an inch or so tall with leaves smaller than a dime. It needs dappled light and doesn't do well in either full shade or full sun. Average garden soil that is neither too wet nor too dry will keep it happy.
Lysimachia numularia 'Aurea' (hope I got that right and spelled correctly) is known around here as Golden Pennywort, thought I think there is another plant also known by that name. It will grow in sun or shade and even in pretty damp places. If in sun, be sure it is not too dry. The more sun, the brighter the gold color. It is bright. This one will kind of creep all over the place, but is easily kept under control and doesn't seem to bother things even when it grows right up close to them. On mild winters it is evergreen here in our garden. Even when it dies back, it regrows so fast in the spring that it doesn't matter.

This cute ground cover is a real miniature with leaves and orchid-like flowers only about an eighth of an inch across. It would probably be good in a garden of miniature plants, but pretty just about anywhere with it's sky blue flowers in the spring and early summer. It crawls over rock walls or just on the ground. We have it in a place with morning sun and dappled afternoon shade and it is quite happy.

This last one is Ajuga 'Caitlin's Giant'. Ajugas are a bit invasive, but make great groundcovers and have spikes of blue, pink or white flowers in the spring. Most are blue. The leaves come in a variety of colors and shapes also. It likes shade or sun, but too much shade is detrimental to some varieties. Caitlin's Giant seems to be the most hardy of the bunch and the largest. Ajugas also increase by runners, though I think they sometimes seed also since I sometimes find patches in new spots.

There are tons more ground covers out there, but these are some of the better behaved ones and pretty easy to grow. Avoid Ivy and Vinca right up around plants because they are not good neighbors except for larger trees. They make excellent ground covers, though, for shady spots where you want to cover a bank or have something spilling over a wall. Vinca now is available in several varieties with variegated leaves and with either the familiar blue flowers or white.

Off to weeding and pruning and potting and digging and planting and ...

Jane

Galeobdolon argetatum

2009-07-08T07:22:00.002-04:00

Another lovely groundcover, this one probably about 8 inches tall and wonderfully green and silver. It gets intense yellow flowers in the late spring. It forms a dense mat through which no weeds will grow and loves shade, even under trees where the ground is pretty dry. This makes it a perfect thing for problem spots. Unfortunately, it can create it's own problems. Once established, it is difficult to remove since it makes crowns and can't just be pulled out unless the soil is very loose. You end up having to dig it out - just ask me all about getting rid of some. I guess I should have suspected this, since no weeds grow through it, but it seems to kill off anything it is growing around, so it really has to be in it's own spot. It crawled around a Blue Angel Hosta, one that was at least 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide - a really big hosta. This year it is barely a foot tall and wide. I have removed the Galeobdolon from around it and it seems to be recovering.
I think this used to be lumped in the the Lamiums at one time and it is reminiscent of them, just with quite a bit larger leaves and a more upright habit - actually more like a Lamiastrum.
Despite its drawbacks, it is a wonderful plant for a problem spot and for that reason, a good bit of it gets to live at the fringes of the gardens.
Tomorrow - some friendlier ground covers.

Aegopodium podagraria 'Variegatum'

2009-07-07T07:08:00.002-04:00

A lovely plant with a now as lovely Latin name, though it is known around here as Snow on the Mountain. There is also at least one other plant that also goes by that common name, so I don't know it everyone everywhere calls it that.
Its color is a blue/green/grey and it has chalk white edges. Height is about 8 inches. It sometimes blooms with a rather undistinguished flower, but not always, and it spreads primarily by underground runners, not seeds. It is quite a standout. Its one drawback is that is spreads. Its one strong point is that it spreads. Not really a contradiction. It you are looking for a ground cover that will spread rapidly and cover a shady hillside to help stop erosion, this could be just the perfect plant. If you are just looking for a nice garden perennial that will be well behaved, you should probably look at something else.
Hank planted some years ago, long before we met, and I am still keeping it under control. Short of ripping out the entire garden and starting over, that's the best I can hope for. Since I can't get rid of all of it and because I really do like the looks of the plant, I opt for just keeping it in a small patch and ripping out the rest. Not a perfect solution, but it's working for now.
Tomorrow - more groundcovers to beware of.
Jane

Daylilies - Peak Bloom

2009-07-06T07:21:00.002-04:00

This is the time of year when the garden goes from green with a few splashes of color, to color everywhere. Dayliliy season is at its peak. This photo is taken the top of the hill to the west of the gardens. Where I was standing is about 200 feet above the barn (rusting roof in the picture), though it is hard to tell in the picture. The daylily beds continue off the the left for quite awhile, but it is impossible to get them all in the same shot, and no photograph will do justice to the riot of color present. It's one of those things where you just have to be there. And no matter how much I like this view, my day always includes a walk through all of the daylilies sometime during the day to take pictures and just enjoy them. I don't rush and it usually takes me about an hour. On sunny days I walk early in the morning before the heat and sun fade the flowers. On cool or cloudy days I often wait until late afternoon when I don't feel the press of other things to do and can truly take my time and just enjoy the garden.
In addition to taking pictures, I usually carry a large, flat bottomed basket into which I put daylily blossoms. One of the nice things about daylilies is that their bloom last one day whether they are on the plant or off, so I pick just the blooms and leave the scapes with the buds remain on the plants. The blooms then get put on my kitchen windowsill where I can enjoy them when I am cooking and washing dishes - or if I get carried away and pick too many, they might find their way to almost any place I can enjoy them for the day. A note if you do this - be sure to add them to the compost pile in the evening before you head off to bed, because no matter how good they still look and how hard it is to trash what look like perfectly good flowers, by morning they will be no more than limp puddles of used-to-be flowers and will be just a mess to clean up. Better to remember them in all of their beauty and to wake up to dead, mushy blooms.
Jane

Red, White and Blue

2009-07-04T06:42:00.011-04:00

As a sort of 4th of July themed post this morning, I'm putting up pictures of some of my favorite red, white and blue flowers. Most are perennials, though a couple are dependably self seeding annuals.
This first one has got to be one of my favorite clematis, a bright red flowered one, Clematis texensis. It is a species and pretty carefree. I never trim it or do much of anything to it except be sure that it is climbing up it's support and not covering eveything on the ground near it. The species clematis are not as fancy looking as some of the others, but they just bloom and bloom. I also have ones that look similar in yellow and blue.

I'm trying to stick with things that are blooming now (which is why you don't see any peony pictures even though they fit the color scheme) and the yarrows are in their glory in this midsummer heat. Achillea 'Paprika' is, I think, the best red. It is always what used to be called fire engine red - before fire engines stopped being red. It will grow in full sun or light shade, though its preference is definitely for more sun. It tolerates a bit of drought, especially after it blooms. This is good as a dried flower, but will loose a bit of the color and by the darkest days of winter, most achilleas are more of a beige.

Monarda, Bee Balm, is also blooming all over the garden right now. This one is 'Cambridge Scarlet', the first one I got and which I brought here from West Virginia when I moved to the farm here. It will also grow in both sun and light shade, and like the yarrows, is happier in a sunny location. Bees (and butterflies) really do like it. I like working around it because of the lovely minty scent when you rub against the leaves.

Nicotiana sylvestris is an annual, though I have never been without it even though I first planted it at least a dozen years ago. The seeds were a gift from a friend and I always think of him when it blooms. This is a big plant, as tall as I am on a good year, and has sweetly scented blooms. It has a tendecy to overseed and so I need to think the seedlings. It doesn't bloom until late summer and is just coming up now. No chance of this one being bothered by late spring frosts.

Another annual that self seeds happily here and which blooms from late spring until frost is Tanacetum parthenium. I actually started out with the gold leaf form, but over the years most have reverted to green, but the flowers are the same cheery white balls and are a staple in my flower arrangements. These are about 2 feet tall, so I have to selectively think the seedlings so they don't overwhelm their neighbors.

The last white flower for this morning is Phlox paniculata 'Delta Snow'. There is the slightest bit of pale pink in the center of the blooms, but you have to be close to see it so the overall effect is definitely white. These aren't quite blooming yet, but will be soon and will have flowers into the fall.

I think that my all time favorite blue flower is just the Chicory that grows by the side of the road. You can't beat the color. Proper name for this one is Chicorum intybus. I've never tried transplanting it into the garden, but might do so since the county has gotten so efficient in mowing the roadsides, that we don't have much near the house any more.

Blooming now is also the Baptisia australis. The blue is deeper than the chicory, but about the same shade. These are tall, and though they are covered with seed pods, I've never had them self seed here, though I'd sure like a few more. They are tall and easily seen above other plants. Full sun and at least a bit drought tolerant.

Last is Forget-Me-Not. I've written about this one before, but it remains one of my favorite blue flowers and would be even without the history behind my plants. It will be covered with blooms in late spring, but will continue to bloom all summer and fall until frost, though there won't ever be quite as many blooms as the initial flush of bloom in the spring.

I know there are many more red, white and blue flowers in the garden, but this is just a sampling. Today I know there will be a lot of red and white daylilies out there.

I hope you'll all enjoy a relaxing day of picnics and friends and family (and flowers).

Jane

James Biaglow

2009-07-03T06:16:00.003-04:00

Another of our Ohio hybridizers, the late James Biaglow, was a backyard hybridizer who created some pretty spectacular flowers. I only grow 3 of his introductions, but they are some of my favorites.
This first photo, and the first of his that I added to the garden is 'Raptor', a dark purple with a slightly lighter eyezone and quilled sepals.
This next is 'Ghost Dragon' and this picture, as the one of 'Raptor' just doesn't do it justice. It is a large flower and the color is lighter while the eyezone is darker. I'll try again for a better one as soon as it blooms.

The last is 'Cinco de Mayo' and you couldn't ask for a brighte bloom. It is tryly visible from a distance. There are lots of eyed and edged daylilies out there, but this coloring is pretty unusual for one, most being either white, cream or yellow when they have a red eye.

Sorry to have not written for the past 2 days, but, as my ISP is fond of saying, "We are having connectivity issues". With a limited time to write in the mornings, if they're not working right, I just have to wait until the next day.

The weather here has been wonderful for gardening - cool and cloudy with occasional sprinkles. The plants just love it and we've been able to transplant some things to better locations in addition to getting a whole lot of weeding done. It's amazing how much more work you can do at 70 degrees than at 85.

Jane

Steve Moldovan - Part 2

2009-06-29T06:51:00.012-04:00

I started this post yesterday - got all of the pictures chosen and put up, but then Hank needed helf with something and I never got back to the computer.
This is the continuation of the daylilies of Steve Moldovan. This first one is 'Strawberry Swirl'. It has just the faintest darker pink eyezone.

'South Seas' is always a favorite of visitors to the garden. It is just so loud. This picture just doesn't do justice to how loud the color it, virtually glowing most days.

Next is 'Solar Crest', an older one. Just yellow, but a very nice, creamy yellow with ruffled edges and a green throat. I always like green throats on daylilies. (they also come in yellow and orange) On a yellow daylily, any color throat seems all right, but on a deep colored red or purple, the yellow or orange just is kind of glaring, at least to me.

'Salieri' is a deep purple and difficult to photograph and get the color right. This is one of those purples with a yellow throat. Imagine it with a cool green center and you'll see what I mean about the difference throat color can make.

'Rose Tattoo', not sure where the name comes from - I wish hybridizers had to tell how they came up with the name on the registration papers since some names are just peculiar. A lovely pink, anyway.

'Pewter Lake' has always been one of my favorites (I know, I say that a lot) because of the color, which is not ever captured on film in the same way you see it in the garden. It is lavender, but grey and misty. I don't know of any other daylily with the same color.

Not an especially good picture of 'Mountain Majesty', but the color at least is right on this one. Daylilies can be a bit misshaped sometimes due to weather or insects or being recently transplanted. Even cool weather can keep them from opening properly.

Lots of pictures this morning because I just couldn't decide which ones to leave out - and all of these flowers are too prety to skip. This one is 'Mightly Mogul', one of the first ones I planted when I moved here. I still like reds, though pinks and purple are probably my favorites at the moment.

'Mephistopheles' is a difficult flower to open and get to look really good. I'm still trying for a perfect picture of it. The color is a darker purple than shows here and the throat has more green (you can see some of it at the base of the throat). It has a tendency to have some spots where the base of the petal (the white) shows through the color layer, especially on the sepals (the 3 back petals). I think this can also be weather related.

Last is Mariska. Pretty name for a pretty flower. This one is always perfect. I can't get too close to it now because it is at the base of a pole with a bird house on top and bluebirds have babies there now. I like watching them flying in and out bringing and endless supply of food for the babies. Baby birds everywhere now, especially cardinals and rufous sided towhees. They seem to be everywhere. The various finch babies are all grown up as big as their parents so we can't tell them apart any more. The cutest are probably the various woodpecker babies, almost as big as their parents, but still demanding to be fed.

Steve Moldovan - Part One

2009-06-27T07:19:00.007-04:00

The late Steve Moldovan was one of Ohio's most prolific hybridizers, with nearly 500 introductions over a period of 30 some years. He gardened in northern Ohio and worked with hostas as well as daylilies, though his work in daylilies is much better known. Among other goals, he was trying to create a blue daylily, a quite elusive quest since the gene for blue doesn't exist in daylilies. He came quite close, with almost blue eyezones, but never quite reached his goal.
This first photo is of 'Jade Star' , an older introduction with just a hint of a white edge.
Next is a lovely red, 'Imperial Guard'.

Another older cultivar is 'Gideon'. These are all in the older 'traditional' form which was the norm when I first started collecting daylilies, back when spidery ones and very round 'fat' ones were not consdered pretty or desirable.

This is 'Empress Seal', one of many purples he created. I tend to like his purples and lavenders best of the ones I have.

'Daydreamer' is a lovely peach.

And 'Caviar' is one of his darkest purples.

Part Two tomorrow since I have so many of Steve's daylilies that I like.

I expect peak bloom in our daylily gardens to be starting next weekend and continuing to the weekend after that, so if you were thinking about visiting to see the daylilies, this is the time.

Jane

Crintonic Gardens

2009-06-26T07:13:00.010-04:00

One of our best known Ohio hybridzers, Curt Hanson, operates Crintonic Gardens. Curt has been at ths a long time, over 20 years now, and has nearly 500 creations to his name. Here are only a few or my favorites. Curt is known for his quirky and sometimes controversial names. I don't seem to have pictures of any/many with really odd names. The daylily society (American Hemerocallis Society) website has a database of registrations. If you want to see more introductions by any of these hybridizers you can to there and just type in their last name under hybridizer.
This first one is 'Unfolding Paradox'. It is a rather odd thing, being not quite symmetrical. Each flower is a slightly different shape.
This lovely pale pink one is 'Temporary and Eternal'.

'Spiritual Corridor' has been in the garden for quite a few years. It took it a long time t settle in and for the colors to be right - some daylilies are like that. It is now gorgeous and just covered with blooms for many weeks.

This is 'Primal Scream' which is one of my all time favorite's of Curt's. The color can be seen from quite a distance and it is a rather large flower.

This is 'Notify Ground Crew' which looks like a simple yellow flower in the picture. If you notice, though, I am looking up at the bloom to take the picture. It's the only way I can do it since it is taller than I am. We have it growing under a redbud tree and in years when the deer are bad, they usually miss the buds on this one because they are up in the branches and they just don't see them.

'Nosferatu' is really quite a darker color than this picture indicates, but it is the only one I have until it blooms again this year. Dark flowers are often hard to photograph.

'Gunsmoke' is an older one.

We got 'Game Theory' two years ago and it is a lovely lavender/pink/not sure exactly what color. Different in different light and at different times of the day.

Last for this morning is 'Bela Lugosi' which is one of the darkest ones in the garden. It is always velvety and doesn't fade in the sun like to many of the dark ones do. Daylilies are always best first thing in the morning before they have to put up with the heat and sun, but then again, the blooms only last one day, so they don't have to be able to put up with all that much. New ones appear day after day for several weeks.

Off to weeding and pruning and potting. Not many changes in the routine this time of year.

Jane

Ashwood Gardens

2009-06-25T07:19:00.006-04:00

Richard Norris's Ashwood Gardens is about a half hour drive from us, right here in Athens County Ohio. I wish we could get out there more often to see his plants, but unfortunately, when you have your own nursery, the time to visit other gardens is also the time people are visiting yours, and when there is so much work to do, that we rarely get to see other's gardens at their peak, and with daylilies, unfortunately, peak is the only time to see them. That's probably my only complaint with them (other than that the deer see them as a free lunch), that when they're not blooming, they don't hold much interest, whereas hostas are pretty all season long. I even know people who cut off the bloomscapes from their hostas because they think it detracts from the look of the plants. I happen to like the blooms and they also make good cut flowers.
Off track a bit there - sorry.
Richard has been hybridizing for awhile and since he retired has done some wonderful things with daylilies. Ths first one is Regal Shield.
Next is Kermit's Scream, one of his wide and flat ones which come out of his breeding with Lights of Detroit, a very wide flat yellow. I like how the darker color is almost hidden as the petals curve around.

This one is Flight of the Raven and is the first one of Richard's daylilies we got. It was registered in 1999 and was one of the first, if not the first, he registered. The color is often darker than this in the garden, with a correspondingly darker eye, but is always lovely.

These last two photos are in the 'Ashwood' series. This first one is Ashwood Still night...

and this is Ashwood Dark Side. Both are lovely dark blooms that don't see to fade in the heat and sun of the day and have increased to large clumps here.

Enough with these 90 degree temperatures. We can have summer and lovely flowers and delicious vegatables at 80 degrees just as well. No point in frying the gardener with this heat. Most of my real gardening is taking place before noon now and the vegatable garden has to be tended pretty much before 9 when the sun gets around there. Shady gardens are just getting lovlier and lovlier as my time is spend there rather than in the sunny spaces. Pretty normal for July, but this is only June . . .

Another Ohio hybridizer tomorrow.

Jane

Heavenly Gardens

2009-06-23T07:12:00.006-04:00

All gardens are heavenly, but this is about Jamie Gossard's nursery outside of Columbus Ohio. I had a picture of one of his creations yesterday, and since I didn't see any daylilies that really caught my eye when I was taking pictures yesterday, I thought I'd just put some more of his up and highlight one of our Ohio hybridizers.
This first flower is one of my favorites, Tahoe Snow Blizzard. The shape is always perfect and the color is sort of a light french vanilla rather than a pure white. The shape is call and Unusual Form.
This next one is Startling Creation...

followed by Radiation Biohazard.

Heavenly Curls is another of his unusual forms ...

As is Heavenly Angel Ice. Quite a few of his over 200 introductions are Heavenly 'Something' after the name of his nursery.

Last is Brown Exotica, a bit different from the others I have from him. It's still an unusual form, but the color is a bit dark and mysterious looking. Much more subtle than the others.

Since I got started on this, I think I'll continue with some of the other Ohio hybridizers for the next few days. In a few weeks there will be a tour of the gardens in Ohio so I guess this is a good time to promote them.

Hot this week, so most of my heavy duty gardening will be done in the morning. Beans to plant this morning and then weeding. Afternoons when it gets like this are for weeding in shady places - which will at least partly explain why my shade gardens are always so much more weed free than the sunny places. Then again, I have a stack of books to catch up on, but that usually waits until August when even mornings get difficult for gardening.

Jane

Great Red Dragon

2009-06-22T07:04:00.002-04:00

Yesterday's star in the garden was 'Great Red Dragon', a Jamie Gossard daylily. It's going to get harder to pick a favorite as more things bloom, but yesterday was easy. This is last years picture and this year the blooms are even better - thinner petals, and they look like they were cut out of oilcloth. I guess you'll have to be somewhat older to picture oilcloth, but that's what it reminded me of. Jamie is one of our Ohio hybridizers. He's been at this awhile and his flowers just keep getting better. His new introductions aren't cheap, but patience will get them in a few years when they will be just as pretty for a more reasonable price. As I've gotten older, I've learned more patience than I thought possible, and since I always love a bargain, most of the 'new introductions' in my beds are now added when they are a few years old. Still gorgeous, but within my budget. As you all know, plant collecting can be an expensive hobby, but as many people have said, there are lots of worse ways we could be spending our money and gardening keeps us out of trouble - too busy weeding during the day and too tired at night to go out. Then again, maybe it's just being old that keeps me out of trouble.
Jane

Daylily season has begun

2009-06-20T22:05:00.002-04:00

Actually, daylily season started a month ago. It starts here very gradually with the earliest of the earlies always at least a month before the rest start. A bloom here, a bloom there. There are over 1500 named varieties and probably the same number of seedlings in our gardens. The one pictured, 'Wings of Chance' was the first non-yellow, non-small flower this year. It is actually a darker yellow than this picture looks here, at least on my computer. The peak of our daylily bloom season will be in about 2 weeks, I think. It promises to be a good one since at least so far the deer have done very little damage. I promise a lot of new pictures as the season starts.
A little about daylilies. They like full sun, or at least 6 hours a day. Otherwise they are quite undemanding plants. Keep them weeded and add some compost occasionally for mulch and they will reward you with lots of bloom. Our total season runs from mid May until frost since we grow extra early bloomers and everything else up to very late bloomers. Each blossom only lasts a day, but there will be hundreds and thousands of them in the garden over the next month or so. I hope some of you are close enough to visit. I'll let you all know when things get really 'blossomy'.
Jane

Spirea 'Lemon Princess'

2009-06-19T07:20:00.002-04:00

A small spirea with little lemon colored leaves is 'Lemon Princess'. Just now it is covered with pinky lavender blooms. It was new here last year and has definitely found a home. Quite a pretty thing. It is now about 2 feet tall and I think it won't get much bigger - though I've been promised a dwarf plant before only to be surprised by it's eventual size.
A quick post this morning because I have weeding to do before it is 90 degrees out there or raining cats and dogs.
Jane

Pictures from Yesterday in the Garden

2009-06-18T07:30:00.005-04:00

We had visitors here from the Dayton area yesterday to tour the gardens and had just a wonderful time visiting with them. I wish more of you could visit so we could show you the gardens in person rather then just by these pictures I post here.

The picture above, is a Japanese or Ensata Iris. Pure white except for the small bits of yellow. I think its name is Snowy Hills, an older variety, actually from 1954. The Ensate Irises are just now putting on their show and they are much better than last year when we were so dry. They like moisture, though not being too wet. I expcet that the Louisiana Irises will be good this year too since they don't mind wet feet.

This next picture is waterlily 'Almost Black'. It is actually a bit darker than this photo shows, all of the petals being more like the ones in the center. It had gotten quite cloudy and the camera insisted on using the flash, so I got some reflections on the outside petal. this one is a really dependable bloomer and spreads quite a bit, mostly taking over a 12 foot diameter pond at this point.

The Papaver somniferum have started blooming. These are always a favorite, especially among those visitors who haven't seen them before. They are annuals, but come up readily from seed. You have to plant the seed just as soon as it is ripe in late summer. It doesn't come up until spring, but needs to be planted right away, if only to keep it from just dropping where it is (or being eaten by birds). We have way too many of these this year since Hank just spread seed everywhere last summer.

I love these Peruvian Daffodils (not sure of the botanical name right now - I'll remember it eventually) that I have growing in a pot. I've had them in the pot for about 10 years ever since I received them as a bonus plant with a hosta order. Odd bonus since they aren't hardy here, but they have been happily increasing ever since and bloom several times a year, outside and in the greenhouse.

Last is a full picture of the blue flowered plant I am trying to identify. It starts out with a basal rosette when it first comes up, but once the bloomscapes grow, the leaves seem to be more on the stems. I sure hope this picture helps someone to recognize it. I've looked in all of my books and found nothing. That's the trouble with mixed packets of seed. You can get lovely things that you have absolutely not idea what they are.

Off to weed out more thistle until it gets too hot.

Jane

Sagina subulata 'Aurea'

2009-06-17T07:00:00.002-04:00

Although I have a very large garden by anyone's standards (about 10 acres) I have a special fondness for tiny plants. Back in West Virginia I used to win blue ribbons at the county fair for my miniature flower arrangements. This one is about as tiny as you can get. Sagina subulata 'Aurea', Golden Irish Moss, is neither Irish or a moss, but despite that, it is a lovely plant for light shade, filling in between stepping stones or crawling over rocks. The flowers are extremely tiny and white, but because of their sheer numbers, turn the carpet from gold to gold and white when they bloom. They are on short stems, just above the moss. It can take light foot traffic. There is also a 'plain' version, the green form, but I find that this one is so much more attractive since it lights up the shady spots where I grow it. If you want to divide it and start a new colony, you just take a knife and cut out a square (which will fill in quickly and never look like it had been missing) and kind of press it into moist soil in its new location. Couldn't be easier. Too much sun or drought will not be to its liking, but it does seem to recover well once the rains come again. Even a light misting during dry times will be enough to keep it looking good.
I use a lot of thymes in the sunnier spots as a ground cover, but depend on Sagina for the shadier places.
Jane

Malva sylvestris

2009-06-15T22:05:00.004-04:00

Malvas are great garden plants, happiest in full sun, but tolerant of light shade. They can be anywhere from 8 inches tall to probably 3 feet. Flowers are up and down the stem and they will bloom off and on from early summer until frost. They are perennial and also will seed. I grew them for the first time about 25 years ago and dug some up and brought them with me when I moved to Ohio. The one above is one of those, Malva sylvestris ' Zebrina'. It was the only one I grew for many years, at least until I discovered some seed for 2 other varieties.
The one below is 'Mystic Merlin'. Not all that much different from the one above, just a bit more red in the purple. Flower size and every thing else is quite the same.

The third one I grow, or grew (maybe), since it doesn't seem to be up yet and blooming although the others are, is 'Primley Blue'. I think this one might be my favorite. It is even more blue than shows in this picture.

As far as a source, Thompson and Morgan carries the seed. I'm not sure if anyone is selling plants, but when they are so easy from seed, it is a much more economical way to have some.

Jane

A Floral Mystery

2009-06-15T07:14:00.002-04:00

This lovely blue flower came from a packet of mixed seeds a number of years ago. We had no idea if it was an annual or perennial, and since it was in an out of the way place, not likely to be noticed if it were an annual that would self seed, and definitely wanting to perpetuate this one, we transplanted it to a place where we could keep an eye on it. It has reappeared for several years, a much larger and healthier plant than the first year, probably about a foot tall. We still don't recognize it and so I was wondering if anyone out there might know what it is. It has a permanent place in my garden for as long as it wants to stay since it is well behaved and long blooming. I would just like to know who it is. Any ideas?????
Jane

Tradescantia

2009-06-13T06:36:00.013-04:00

The Traescantias, also called Spiderworts or Snotweed (for the mucous-like sap) are scattered all around the gardens. Although we have bought many named varieties over the years, not all of the ones in the garden today are named because these hybridize so freely. They are bee or small insect pollinated and new seedlings just pop up all over the place. When I first started to grow them, I was told they were a shade plant, but I find they do much better in the sun, or at least half a day of sun. Most are about 15 inches tall and will rebloom if cut back after the first late spring/early summer bloom. Colors are white, blues of various shades, purples/fuchias and even a pink. They are easy to divide and transplant, though they will wilt and sulk for a few days after being moved. It is probably easiest to move them just as they're coming up in the spring while the foliage is still only a couple of inches tall.
This first one is Tradescantia cerinthoides 'Varietata'. I know it looks like a tender houseplant, but don't worry. Although it dies to the ground in the winter and doesn't come back from the roots, it self-seeds and comes true from seed, so once you have this one, it will pretty much always be there. You just need to weed out any stray all green ones because they will just take over. The flowers on this one are a bright, clear blue.

The next is 'Hawaiian Punch'. The picture here might not be the exact right color, but in person the color is just that of a glass of Hawaiian Punch - do they still make that??? I know I drank a lot of it when I was little.

This one is 'Concord Grape'. The flowers are pretty grape-juicy, but what I like most about this one is the foliage that is a deeper grey/green rather than the color of all of the other ones I grow.

'Litle Doll' has a full sized flower, but the plants are considerable shorter, probably not quite a foot tall.

'Sweet Kate' has a blue/purple flower (quite a bit more purple than the picture) but it's distinguishing characteristic is the gold foliage. It will occasionally revert to make a green eye or two, but just remove them. If you don't they will eventually take over the plan. We have this one growing in a dry space in full sun near daylilies, at the edge of a pond and in a semi-shaded garden and it does well in all three places.

'Bluestone' is a light, clear blue. We have other blues, names long since forgotten, but this one is probably the best.

'Bilberry Ice' grow at Lake Amanda and has made a huge clump over the years. This is another shorter one and has slightly darker foliage.

This last one is 'Osprey' and is a pure white with blue in the center. It grows in a number of places since it is one of my favorites.

If you haven't tried these, you should look for some. I don't think you'll probably find them at a big box store, but better gardening catalogs have plenty of choices. One word of caution. Many catalogs list Tradescantia 'Maiden's Blush' as hardy. It isn't. It is a lovely plant but is a tropical - zones 8-10. I grow it for it's wonderful green, white and pink foliage, but it needs to be a house plant that summers outside, not an outside plant. One way I can tell if a catalog is put out by a nursery that actually has someone who knows the plants as opposed to a nursery that just buys a bunch of stuff to sell is if they list Maiden's Blush as hardy to zone 6. If they do, I tend to have some suspicion about any other plants they list as far as the descriptions being accurate. I can't believe that they've been doing this for so many years and haven't corrected it. People must have demanded replacement plants or complained about it not coming back.

Sunny day so far. Lots to do.

Jane

2009-06-13T06:21:00.002-04:00

This is Irvin and Ethel Pott, Mary Pott Unger's brother and sister-in-law. I know you can't judge the year it was taken strictly by the cars in the upper left corner, since people didn't buy new cars as often back then, but judging from the clothes, it was probably in the early to mid 40s. I think it was taken at the farm, looking from the house across the road. I don't know much about either of these people, though I vaguely remember them still being alive when I first met Berry, though I'm not totally sure about that. I don't think I ever met either of them, though I'm sure they lived around Reading since I don't know of any family members who moved away.
Big day today with the Hosta Club tour at noon. I made all of the cookies, actually an extra batch since one of them came out really badly. The chocolate ones with the Hershey kisses in the center were supposed to stay as round balls that you rolled in confectioner's sugar. Unfortunately they ended up as flat things with little lumps in the center, kind of reminiscent of the drawing in the beginning of The Little Prince of a boa constrictor that had swallowed an elephant. I had forgotten about that until I started reading it in French. Anyway, I just have to make the pizza bread and the lemonade this morning and set everything out. Leslie will be here at 10:30 to help get organized before they get here. Not sure if she'll have too much to do while we're giving the people the tour since I don't expect too many customers again until the daylilies are in full bloom in a week or 2, but she's working in exchange for 6 daylilies and lunch, so not a bad deal for either of us. For the 3 hours, she ends up making about $12 an hour for potentially doing absolutely nothing but eating chocolate cookies. Good work if you can get it.
Love,
Mom

Wednesday in the Hollow

2009-06-11T07:21:00.007-04:00

I love Forget-Me-Nots. I got my first pot of them when my late husband and I sent to Charleston on my birthday back in the 80s. We always did that since April was a good time for plant shopping and I always got some new things for the garden for my birthday. These will grow in sun or shade, but are happier in shade. They bloom a lot right about now, but will continue to bloom sporadically until frost. The dainty blue flowers really brighten up a shady spot. It does spread and does seed around, but a patch here and there is a good thing.

This next one is Acanthus 'Snow Angel'. (at least that's the name I remember) It is very similar to the Acanthus we grow in the garden, but is only hardy to zone 7 so it lives in the greenhouse over the winter. I haven't seen it bloom in the 3 years it has been here, but with leaves like this I guess it doesn't have to bloom. It can take quite a bit of sun.

This is a Columbine that is native to the midwest, Michigan I think. It is a prolific self-seeder, but I love it anyway. I just sell the extra or move them to a better place. It is a tall one, probably 3 feet and blooms over a long period of time. Full sun or part shade.

We have 2 Weigelias in the yard, one with variegated leaves and pink flowers and this one with gold leaves and hot pink flowers. This is my favorite. It is a large bush and is easily seen from a distance, especially when it is in bloom.

It's a little hard to see, but there is a velvety burgundy clematis growing in this dogwood. We have clematis growing up lots of trees, but this is one of the best combinations. I don't think anyone passes this one by without commenting on it.

An unusual plant here, though you may be somewhat familiar with it as it has been featured in a number of catalogs lately. It is a Paris. We have had it for 4 years and this is the first time it has bloomed. The plant is still just one eye so I think this is not something for those who need some sort of instant gratification. It starts out with a whorl of 6 leaves and then the 4 leaves form on top. After that a small red center appears and finally the 3 spikes which start out small and take over a week to extend. I think from the beginning of the flower starting to form until it was fully out took at least 3 weeks. Since this was the first year it bloomed I had no idea it would take that long and faithfully checked it every day to see if it was out yet (and took a picture just in case something ate it before it was in full bloom). I think this is what we get for a bloom and though the red is not as pronounced as in the catalog picture when I bought it, the shape and size seem right.

Rain today so I need to get my daily weeding done early. We got lucky yesterday and were able to get a lot done - including picking the first strawberries of the season. I going to cover them with mesh this morning because the bird pecked holes in a few. I don't mind sharing, but I wish they'd just pick out one berry and eat the whole thing instead of tasting 3 or 4.

Jane

More Pictures

2009-06-10T06:19:00.006-04:00

We waited quite a few years for this Lady Slipper Orchid to bloom. The bloom seems to be quite long lasting, at least a week, and just lovely. We also have a yellow flowered one, but it didn't bloom this year. These are hardy orchids that like a woodsy setting. My mother remembers when they still grew in the woods/park behind their house. No longer, unfortunately.

This is iris 'Enfant Prodge'. Besides the lovely color, it is tall, long blooming and multiplies very rapidly. We have it growing in several of the small ponds and will have it in several other places soon since it needs to be thinned again.

This one is a species iris, Fulva, and also primarily a water iris, though we do have it growing in a place that is merely damp. This is the species from which the red in all other iris cultivars was originally obtained. There is also a creamy yellow form.

Poppy 'Patty's Plum' has to be one of my favorite poppies. It was difficult to establish, but now has made a large clump and is quite a dependable bloomer.

Last for this morning is iris colchesterii. Very few people who see this in bloom and have a pond or wet place to put it leave here without a clump of this one. Another rapid multiplier, we fortunately always seem to have enough to divide.

Yesterday was August in June - hot and humid. A thundershower cooled things off a bit mid-afternoon, but for most of the day it was just too hot to do much. We managed to weed in the shade for the morning, but after lunch photography was the only things we could manage.

A note for those who are coming to see the daylilies in the garden this year. We have scapes everywhere, so plan on peak bloom in about 3 weeks, at least that's my best guess. I'll keep you updated. All of my potted daylilies will be $5 this year. I've potted up a lot of new things so there should be a good selection of colos and types for everyone. Prices on those I have to dig will be the prices published on the website catalog, so the already potted ones can be a real bargain. I think there are a couple of $25 ones included in the mix.

Jane

New Photos

2009-06-09T07:48:00.008-04:00

I'm not done with the peonies, but it's taking a bit of thought and research and since I want to do it right, I'll keep working on it and post when I have it done. In the meanwhile, here are some pictures I took yesterday when it was too hot to do much except take pictures (and maybe a little hot for that too in the sun).
First is an Anemone which is from a bulb we planted this spring. They were assorted colors and this was the first to bloom. I don't think the other colors can be any better than this.

Next is the first bloom on Calycanthus 'Venus'. The smell on this one is definitely heavenly. This was a hard plant to find to buy and hard to get started, but I think it's happy now.

I don't know the name of this rose, and it's been in the garden forever, but I think this was the most perfect bloom it has ever had. It grows in the middle of a daylily bed that started out life as a rose bed.

The Dragon Arum has just opened its bloom. It is quite an amazing thing and though lovely to look at, is one of those things that smells really, really bad since it wants to attract flies to pollinate it and so smells like something died and is rotting in the garden. Always a conversation piece on garden tours. Unless the weather is terribly hot, the bloom will be out for about a week, I think.

This is Blue Eyes Grass. I tried planting a fancy version of this once, but without success. This is one that planted itself and is quite happy. We have it in several places in the garden. It is tiny and dainty with the flowers only about a quarter of an inch across or less.

Iris 'Chance Beauty' will grow at the edge of a pond or bog or just in the garden. It is a tall one, probably close to 4 feet tall.

The cactus flowers are starting and this one was just lovely yesterday. We also had a tangerine colored one, a red and a yellow in bloom. Their season is just starting and will go on for a few weeks. The winter was hard on come of the cactuses, but most seem really covered with buds.

I'll try and take some more pictures today to share. So much is blooming right now it is just nice to wander around the gardens.

Jane