29 April 2024
We have a new camera for stellar photography but while we're wait for the skies to clear it can be used with great effectiveness for terrestrial photography. This is Dianthus 'Telstar Pink,' a relative of the carnation used for bedding. I'm planting this in the butterfly garden and the redbud/magnolia garden. It's supposed to be uninteresting to bunnies and deer but alluring to bees and butterflies We shall see.
20 April 2024
The step garden inhabits a space between the west patio garden and the stone steps leading down to the greenhouse and points beyond. This spring everything is emerging at once, augmented by some purple nemesia and pink bacopa (Sutera cordata): hostas, liriope, Japanese sedge, ajuga ('Parrot Paradise' and 'Black Scallop'), hydrangea, and daylilies. It's amazing how quickly this part of the garden wakes up. Two weeks ago it was still in hibernation.
13 April 2024
We have magnolias called 'Ann' and 'Susan' as well as roses called 'Dainty Bess' so it seems almost normal to have an azalea called 'Karen.' These are winter-hardy varieties that grow happily in cedar planters on the south patio, functioning like two sentries on either side of the wicker chairs. They need no special treatment or feeding, they just bloom like crazy.
12 April 2024
The pelargonium 'Empress of Russia' has been one of my favorites for years (and a rare one at that). Categorized as either a Regal or Martha Washington variety, it's not currently in commerce, for reasons I can't fathom. To me it's intoxicating. I had a sudden fear earlier this year that I had forgotten to bring in my four plants from the outside garden to the greenhouse for the winter and that they'd all died. As it turned out, this fear was unfounded. All four plants were happily thriving in the greenhouse and this one was in bloom. Warm weather is coming and soon they can go outside for the season.
20 March 2024
There are only a few yellow-colored clivia, one of which is a light lemon color called 'San Mateo Yellow.' This one may be that variety. I brought it from California, where it grew in a pot outdoors, and put it in the greenhouse for year-round cultivation. This year it's been particularly floriferous. Last year I repotted the clivia with new potting soil and this appears to have contributed to the cheerful display this season. For those with sharp eyes, you'll note that a pink oxalis has volunteered itself to share the landscape.
13 March 2024
It's still a little early to be planting bedding plants outside. We had a night down to 24 degrees earlier this week and almost as cold temperatures due next week. But pansies, violas, grape hyacinths, and primrose seem to be able to handle a little nip of frost, and their blooms cheer up the landscape.
Some rain, some hail, some tornado warnings, but on the whole it definitely feels like spring is on the way. Not a moment too soon, in my opinion. More plants are on the way via mail order.
16 February 2024
February looked as though we might be ready for an early spring and early planting...but no such luck. Today's snowstorm is still ongoing, about 3 to 4 inches. The butterfly garden is buried and the maple trees are going to wait a few weeks before budding out. I had such a nice dream about planting lobelia, too. Must wait now!
18 December 2023
It's December! The garden is supposed to be sleeping and the weather is cooperating by helping it slumber. A light dusting of snow hasn't bothered the liriope, ajuga, and lavender, all of which are persevering in spite of the cooler weather. We're still planning for spring.
2 November 2023
The hybridizer of this shrub rose named this variety after her granddaughter and also after the song in "The Music Man." 'Lyda Rose' is a great performer, works well in containers as well as well prepared beds, and brings forth sprays of light pink to white single blossoms, even in late fall. There are lots of antique roses that look like this one, but none as disease-free and floriferous throughout the season.
3 October 2023
The last few years have resulted in a plethora of of heuchera varieties, highlighting leaf colors and textures, even more so than the delicate white to pink to red sprays of bello-shaped flowers. This silver-hued variety gives extra focus to the garden during the autumn months when bigger flower displays are shutting down for the season.
10 September 2023
This butterfly garden was planted with flowers that delight all kinds of pollinating insects. Echinacea, asclepias, roses, veronica, species geranium 'Rozanne,' and catmint (Nepeta 'Walker's Low'). It works! We've had monarchs as well as colorful moths, carpenter and honeybees, even hummingbirds. The flowers need no special care and come back every year after winter has made them sleep. It's a nice addition to the landscape.
21 August 2023
Most azaleas and rhododendrons bloom only in springtime but the 'Perfecto Mundo' strain is bred to bloom twice a year, a true evolution. This orange variety is hardy down to USDA Zone 6B and will put forth a second set of blossoms in August and September, making it a welcome addition to any garden. There are white, red, and pink versions of this variety as well.
1 August 2023
The west patio has sun from about 1pm through 3pm during the summer months due to the light patterns through the sugar maples. It's enough to make these two varieties of coleus very happy. They're growing in a container at the base of a Japanese maple (also in a pot) and do well with minimal care. They brighten up the landscape.
12 July 2023
One of the most flavorful cherry tomatoes is 'Sungold,' a sweet orange-colored cluster variety that blooms and fruits in containers and produces all season long. These plants were sown as seeds in January and set out in May. During the season we could pick a couple dozen every few days. They're great fresh, even better sautéed in oil and served over pasta.
30 June 2023
The front garden is doing well this year. Pink veronica, purple astilbe, blue sage, hostas, and a few 'Fireball' marigolds to light up the dark corners. The potted rose is a single shrub variety called 'Miracle on the Hudson.' It performs well and has no evident diseases. A great rose for garden color!
15 June 2023
White hostas, liriope (lilyturf), and golden ajuga make a lovely collection in the west garden bed. This bed is lined with local limestone and native soil (augmented by compost) and also includes hydrangea, daylilies, and Japanese sedge. Depending on the time of year I'll also include spring bedding plants such as pansies or begonias.
22 May 2023
Last season we planted a rose hedge along the stone path leading to the greenhouse, alternating with two David Austin varieties, 'Vanessa Bell,' and ivory shrub rose, and 'Princess Anne,' a deep pink tea-style rose. 'Vanessa' was the first to open this spring, with multiple blossoms and nearly disease-free foliage.
Planting was late in the season last year so they didn't bloom then, but this year they've settled in nicely and have numerous buds. They even managed to withstand an unusually cold winter, where one day the thermometer registered minus nine degrees Fahrenheit. That's well into Zone 5 weather, while Bloomington is designated Zone 6.
Companion plants include lavender in between each rose ('Phenomenal' and 'Munstead' varieties), Geranium phaeum 'Samobor,' ajuga 'Burgundy Glow,' and sedum 'Blue Elf.''
10 May 2023
It's hard to find 'Grace Seward' these days, an enchanting miniature rose, but Burlington Roses in Visalia still grows it for commerce.
Burlington's website is a little wonky so it might be best to phone or email them if you're interested in their roses. I have a hunch that they took over the late Ralph Moore's nursery because some of the stock looks a lot like his varieties.
'Grace Seward' grows about two to three feet tall and has lovely single white blossoms with pink anthers and golden stamens. It's hardy down to USDA Zone 5B, although I'd feel more comfortable storing it in a heated greenhouse in colder winters.
29 April 2023
After this area of the south patio was finished we were able to put in an azalea and fern garden.
There are three varieties of azaleas, all hardy enough (so it's claimed) to handle our midwest winters. Also included is a Pieris japonica 'Cavatine,' and three types of hardy ferns ('Ostrich,' a tall one, and smaller 'Japanese red' and 'Crested surf,' the latter with a silvery-green leaf.)
I'm also using this space for liriope, hostas (Hosta mukayama 'Purple Flamingo' from Edelweiss Nurseries in Oregon), ajuga, and some species violets, mainly 'Queen Charlotte.' There are some volunteer daylilies too that I don't have the heart to tear out. They seem so happy there.
The garden is surrounded by Missouri limestone walls and borders the south patio which is now filled with pansies and rhododendrons ('Florence Parks') in pots. It's shaded by sugar maples, walnuts, and sassafras trees as well as a mature white pine. It's a beautiful place to sit and read with a cup of tea and should be wonderful to watch the azalea garden mature throughout the year.
20 April 2023
No lie, this patio wouldn't have existed without the insight of the company we hired to build it, Thrasher Landscaping. Their vision is well worth the investment. We knew approximately what we wanted, just not how to do it ourselves. Thrasher came up with the plan: turning an otherwise unusable hill covered with lawn into a brick-paved seating area with limestone accents. Bonus: a new stone-bordered bed!
It also gave a special home to our primary fountain (doesn't everyone have a fountain or two?) which we brought out tenderly and carefully from California. It creates an immediate focal point around which we placed caladiums and bedding plants.
The lower bed includes hostas, liriope, ajuga, hydrangea, daylilies, and heuchera, with a scattering of annuals such as pansies and marigolds. Except for the annuals, which must be replaced every year, the perennials handle the winter just fine and are emerging into spring.
We added a Japanese maple tree in a square cedar pot to create some height and contrast. It's surrounded by pots of petunias, marigolds, alyssum, and lobelia. We may be pushing the season a bit prematurely with overnight temperatures in the low forties and even high thirties on occasion, but waiting for full-on springtime is hard. On with the show!