I did a bit of web searching on the very popular Clematis on my side yard. I’ve included some photos for you. This seemed to be the hit of the Garden Tour and many were interested in its name. During my web search I’ve discovered Clematis heracleifolia. There seems to be a few varieties so I suggest you search Images and choose the one you like best. I’m still unsure of the variety of mine. The bloom seems to match “Jouiniana” however the foliage doesn’t seem to match exactly. This information however may give you a head start to find this prolific bloomer.
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Clematis heracleifolia
Posted in Uncategorized on August 19, 2012| 3 Comments »
Rakers Display Gardens Open for Viewing
Posted in Uncategorized on August 13, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Here’s a post from Jennie Stanger. This sounds like a great daytime place to visit.
Rakers is a large wholesale greenhouse operation near Litchfield, MI. It does a huge annual display garden that consumers can visit in August. You can see some photos at http://trialgardens.raker.com/ Several major seed suppliers like Syngenta and Jelitto pay the grower to trial their newest varieties and to plant a large, designed raised bed to show off their combinations, plus Rakers has some demonstrations of their own. I got to go along with the Milan Garden Club for a scheduled tour last week and it was well worth the trip. Besides, we visited Hillsdale’s small college arboretum and a neat succulent place all in the same day.
The greenhouse tour reminded us of Four Star except they grow more plants from seeds. Some of the points we found interesting were the need for stripping media from the roots of cyclamen seedlings when transplanting, so that the forming tuber can be placed atop the next container where it gets exposed to light; the air-conditioned “editing” room where machines and people fix plug trays by plucking out empty cells and replacing them with plants from another tray; the FEDEX shipping containers shaped to fit into an airplane fuselage and carry boxed plants from Rakers around the world; and of course the lush irrigated plants on display.
In this bed at Rakers’ hot colors prevail. In the second photo a new Echinacea “Pow Wow Wild Berry” is a little overwhelmed by its neighbors and you can see the features that made it an All-America selection this year: compact stature with intense flower color on wide petals. It probably would be better in the front of the border and the designer may have been thinking of more normal-sized coneflowers.
Coneflower
Posted in Uncategorized on July 17, 2012| 2 Comments »
I have a small collection of Echinacea commonly known as Coneflower. Thought I’d share a few of the photo of those in bloom now. They’re about the best flower for adding color to the garden during this heat wave.
The images include Hot Papaya, Coconut Lime, and the common Purple. It’s best to cut off the blooms the first year you plant from the nursery. I know, it’s a hard thing to do, however, the result of letting it build a great root system
will reward you next year. Many people think they’re hard to grow for that very reason. The plant puts so much of its energy in the bloom and not the root that they often don’t survive. They are easy to grow. Coneflower is known to get black spots (botrytis) and powdery mildew at times. If you find no petals on the bloom or the foliage is yellow then it’s probably aster yellows which has no known cure. It’s spread through leafhoppers. These pests hop from plants when disturbed sucking from the stems.
Every year a few new hybrid introductions are made. I’ve been loving the “Orange” and Hot Reds that have been introduced the past few years. Planted a few more this year, but cut off the blooms to let those roots grown. Guess you’ll have to wait till next year for those.
FotoFriday May 25 2012
Posted in FotoFriday, Uncategorized on May 26, 2012| 1 Comment »
This week we have two very different kinds of garden photos. Linda sent in a fitting entry – a Memorial Day garden theme incorporating an eagle, stars, and poppies. Linda, you never cease to amaze me with your ideas! Our other photo comes courtesy of Diane, who captured (photographically speaking) a baby bunny nest while working in the demo gardens. Yes, I know that rabbits can be a garden pest, but you have to love looking at the babies!
Pallet Project
Posted in Uncategorized on May 23, 2012| 2 Comments »
I certainly can not take credit for this creative idea and don’t really know where it originated from. I saw a photo on the web and thought this is perfect for me to do for the class I’m giving this evening on Vertical Gardening at Riverside school.
FotoFriday – May 12, 2012
Posted in FotoFriday, Uncategorized on May 12, 2012| 2 Comments »
FotoFriday is a day late this week due to computer gremlins, but is it ever worth the wait! Linda sent photos that demonstrate using plantings and hardscape to create a motif. Colors and textures balance and unify to create a visual theme. These images are sure to bring out your own creative landscaping mojo!
Favorite Garden Tools
Posted in Uncategorized on May 1, 2012| 1 Comment »
We all have one or two all-time favorite tools. (You know, the ones you don’t loan to the neighbors because you know you’ll never get them back.) As we all burst into spring gardening chores, we’d like to know your favorite tools, brands, best price, why they are your favorites, etc. For starters, what are people’s choices for bypass pruners?
I remember Jennie showing us her scuffle hoe in a master gardener class. The closest I’ve found to it is the Flexrake CLA110 Classic Triangle Weeding Hoe that I found on Amazon for about $30. It seems very well made, has a nice feeling wooden handle, and works well. I just bought it last year so I can’t endorse it yet for longevity. I’ve also heard people raving about the Hori-Hori knives, but I’ve never seen one. I found a youtube video comparing them to a similar, less expensive tool.
What are your favorite tools? What are are your likes and dislikes? How expensive are they? Where can we find them?
FotoFriday – April 28, 2012
Posted in FotoFriday, Uncategorized on April 27, 2012| 1 Comment »
With my daughter’s wedding taking all my attention the past several weeks, I haven’t been able to work in my beds. The past few days I was able to at least walk around and re-discover what is growing. It is amazing how much pleasure seeing a few lovely things can bring! I took a few photos of some of those simple pleasures – little surprises that caught my eye. Not high art, but they made me happy so I’ll share them. (Click on the photos to view large.)
My flowering crab was shedding blossoms on my hostas. Something about them reminded me of a zen garden.
I liked the repeating vertical lines created by my ajuga against my wood fence.
Little surprises, simple pleasures – just about all the excitement I need for the time being!
FotoFriday – April 20, 2012
Posted in FotoFriday, Uncategorized on April 20, 2012| 2 Comments »
With spring well and truly here, it’s time to take off the lens covers and get ready for another season of FotoFriday! I think we were all hoping for some exciting winter scenes — but this was not to be.
Hey, Mr Postman ---
I have a rather interesting fall rural mailbox scene from a farmstead just down the road from Jennie’s . This farmer also likes to gussy up his barn with simple planters that never look out of place in the country.
Thanksgiving feast for a hungry squash borer.
Sue will be back in the director’s chair next week, with possibly some very interesting nature scenes from her recent time in Mississippi. In the meanwhile, please send her your apple and cherry blossom and other springtime photos. She can “fix” just about anything from a wedding reception to fuzzy photos — so don’t be put off if your snapshot isn’t of magazine quality! We want to see what interests you, and what’s in your garden.
Ornamental Kale
Frank.
Simplifying the Northeast Sidewalk Plan – by Jennie
Posted in MC Demonstration Garden, Perennials, Uncategorized on April 13, 2012| Leave a Comment »
(second in the Cutting Back series)
Click Here to See the Current Area Map
Joan Otter and Karen Bender met me at the demo gardens today and we worked through very cool breezes with a spatter of snowflakes, on cleaning up the northeast side groundcover area that they have decided to adopt, and pulling a few dozen clumps of garlic mustard here and there. We discussed a plan for changes but did not want to disturb the iris/violet combination blooming at its peak just now. Some of the pink daisy mums were dug to move but more are available for adoption as are the remaining plants listed for removal.
The groundcover areas frame the entrance to the building, so they are very noticeable. They get only morning sun, and due to the overhang, very little rain in summer, so the plants growing there are very drought-tolerant. Still, few survive right next to the building. Another stressor is the salt from the sidewalk and parking lot applications. Since about 1995, we have removed more than half the old overgrown and badly pruned junipers from the area and tried to keep the remaining ones pruned regularly and well. Since those hardy shrubs thrive, cover ground and provide winter interest, we should hesitate to remove the last few. Some of the groundcover plants thrive as well, crowding weeds out of their areas and requiring little maintenance. Lately we have tried to let them fill their spots and decrease the higher-maintenance plants. 2011 was the first year we have mulched those beds because our goal was to cover the ground with living groundcovers. Realistically, it is too dry and difficult an area to do that well, particularly along the building. Mulched spaces between the remaining groups will conserve water and moisture and avoid the weedy look.
On the other hand, a coarse mulch of wood chips makes some of the groundcovers more difficult to maintain by shearing them back after flowering, which they need badly, so those should be eliminated. Maintaining some of the perennial groundcovers where tulips and daffodils are planted will help camouflage the bulb foliage as it dies back.
Plants to be removed from this area in 2012: mother-of-thyme, lamb’s ears, blue fescue, silver mint.
Plants to divide and replant in a different spot; dwarf iris and violets, Herman’s Pride false lamium, coralbells, Korean mums. The Andorra juniper was pruned rigorously and if it doesn’t improve in appearance, it may be removed.
Plants to be added; perhaps the dwarf reblooming yellow iris and ‘Happy Returns’ daylilies from the rain garden; try some “hens and chicks” along the building wall near the container.
Maintenance: Deadhead lungwort and bergenia by May 1. Moved plants are likely to need occasional watering in summer. More mulch may be needed after plants are removed.
Monroe County Master Gardener Association 