Tara Nolan
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Category: Home & Garden
Home & Garden | ReportWire publishes the latest breaking U.S. and world news, trending topics and developing stories from around globe.
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Coleus Varieties: Favorite picks for gardens, borders, and pots
Coleus Varieties: Favorite picks for gardens, borders, and pots
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Have You Visited the Garfield Park Conservatory? – FineGardening
The winter doldrums are a reality in the Midwest, especially for gardeners, but an immersive plant adventure at your local conservatory is a sure way to lift your spirits. Fortunately, midwestern cities and towns are blessed with many gardens under glass where visitors can experience the warmth and color of the growing season any time of the year. For me, an annual winter trip to the Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago, just a two-hour drive from my home in southern Wisconsin, is the perfect way to get my plant fix and keep my sanity.
With two acres of indoor gardens, Garfield Park is one of the world’s largest conservatories under one roof. While I’ve been to dozens of conservatories throughout the United States and abroad, Garfield Park Conservatory continues to be a favorite. With its mission “to change lives through the power of nature,” this conservatory ticks all the boxes as a welcome winter destination, and the surrounding landscape is exceptional in every season.
The Desert House displays a gracefully arranged collection of water-wise plants from around the world. Nestled within the 184-acre Garfield Park on Chicago’s West Side, Garfield Park Conservatory has two acres of naturalized landscape gardens under glass and 10 acres of outdoor spaces that include a sensory garden, a demonstration garden, and a play-and-grow garden for kids.
The Fern Room immerses visitors in a landscape designed to evoke the plant communities that could have existed in prehistoric Chicago. The conservatory, which opened in 1908, was designed by the famous landscape architect Jens Jensen to be the world’s largest conservatory under one roof. Still one of the grandest glass houses in the world, it has persisted through trials, tribulations, and weather damage over the years, with the most recent restoration in 1994. Funded by the Park District of Chicago and the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance, the conservatory’s mission is to exhibit “landscape art under glass.” Admission is free.
“Persian Lillies,” an installation by glass artist Dale Chihuly, is part of the conservatory’s permanent collection in the Aroid House. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Garfield Park Conservatory features eight indoor show houses and is open to the public throughout the year. The Palm House is the largest room at 65 feet tall and 90 feet wide, but the Fern House and the Desert House are my favorites. Over 250,000 annual visitors, including many schoolchildren, enjoy the conservatory and its surrounding gardens.
Flower shows bring in beautifully curated layers of seasonal color that enhance the permanent collections. The conservatory typically presents five dynamic flower exhibits per year, as well as extensive education opportunities, events, programs, cultural performances, and demonstrations. Check out the website, garfieldconservatory.org, for directions, hours, and more information on this amazing destination. Reservations are encouraged in advance of arrival. I’ll be making my next trip soon, and I hope you will also seek out conservatories in your area this winter. It’s worth it!
Picture-perfect palms grace the largest room in the conservatory, the Palm House.
Mark Dwyer is the garden manager for the Edgerton Hospital Healing Garden in Edgerton, Wisconsin, and he operates Landscape Prescriptions by MD.
Photos: Mark Dwyer
For more Midwest regional reports, click here.
In the mood for some virtual garden travel?
Mark Dwyer
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What Happens if My Plant Has Early Blooms? – Garden Therapy
From cherry blossoms in December to spring bulbs in January, I’ve seen some flowers bloom exceptionally early. If you’ve also seen some early blooms, you might be worried about how this will affect your plant when it inevitably gets cold again. Here’s what you need to know about early blooming flowers.
It’s been a weird winter here in Vancouver. For a while, we had a very, very, cold snap. Then quickly, it warmed up and turned bright and sunny…only to get cold again.
I saw cherry blossoms in December—which doesn’t usually happen until late February.
I’m confused. The plants are confused. We’re all confused.
All across the world, we have been seeing extremes. So it’s no wonder I’ve been seeing lots of questions from gardeners about what will happen to their plants if they see early blooms.
If you’re concerned about early blooming flowers, join me as we look at the plant’s life cycle and what will happen to your plants should they sprout a wee bit early.
Why Are Plants Blooming Earlier?
It’s getting harder and harder for some (I won’t name names) to deny that the climate is changing. We will see very unusual things happening with the weather, and the plants will respond to it.
Some areas are seeing more prolonged periods of drought, while others have heavy rainfall. We may have a cold, severe winter, but they’re getting less frequent as these mild winters creep up on us.
Because of these temperatures, we’re seeing longer growing periods with an earlier last frost date and a later first frost date. In the US, the growing season has increased by more than two weeks compared to the beginning of the 20th century in 48 states. In the UK, flowers bloom an average of 26 days earlier than in the 1980s.
The plants are getting the message loud and clear. They’re responding to the climate the best way they know how, one of which is early blooms.
As the climate changes, the plants are also changing. Anything that’s a perennial, like trees, shrubs, perennials, and bulbs, will continue to evolve. The strongest plants will be the ones to survive this.
The next generation of plants will create their future. The plants will become hardier in these conditions as the climate changes. The weaker ones may not make it, but the stronger ones do.
Apple trees are one of the first trees to blossom in the spring. A Plant’s Life Cycle
It’s always important to consider the plant’s life cycle, like what we do in pruning. Most plants go dormant in the winter by dropping leaves, stopping flowering, and devoting their energy to the root system.
That goes for most plants, like perennials, trees, bulbs, and even our edible vegetable plants.
When shoots come up early, remember that very little of the overall plant energy is above the soil line.
If it cools down again and there’s damage to the plant, most of it is still safe under the soil. There may be some damage to the above plant material, but the rest should be fine.
There may be some gnarly leaves and fewer flowers. She may not be looking her best. But know that she’s looking beautiful beneath the soil and will survive just fine.
Place your trust in the plants. Observe, but try not to worry. You can’t do much—it’s in the plant’s hands!
What Happens to Perennials Blooming Early?
Perennials can pop up early when they see the cues of spring. But once it freezes again, the plant’s energy will retreat to the root system.
The plant isn’t fully developed above the soil, but it can still withstand some damage to the upper part of the plant. It’s rare that any of that damage will go down to the root.
Soil is very insulating and will help maintain a temperature the plant is hardy to. If you planted it in the right space, that is.
Snow on top of rhododendron leaves and buds. Early Blooming Flowers on Trees
Generally, the leaf buds will be okay on trees. Trees send out many leaf buds early in the season when it’s cold. If they lose some, the tree will be okay.
Flower buds, however, tend not to bounce back as easily.
This year, we had cherry blossoms blooming exceptionally early in Vancouver due to a mild winter. I anticipate that they aren’t going to flower as prolifically this spring. Since they tried to flower early, they likely won’t set out a second flowering.
Cherry blossom trees in Vancouver. Early Blooms from Flower Bulbs
Bulbs are very used to this seesaw of warm and cold temperatures. Bulbs store all their energy under the soil. Within the bulb, there is enough energy for the plants to grow before there’s much spring sun.
The shoots will begin to pop up when it feels right. Generally, most bulbs don’t mind the cold. Some, like snowdrops and crocuses, even thrive in the snow. Bulbs have very strong root systems that help them bounce back in cold conditions.
The shoots may die off when it gets cooler again. But that’s fine. In the end, you could end up with fewer bulbs that are less robust and not as strong. This is more likely if there is a late freeze and most of the plant has already sprung up.
Crocus bulbs thrive in cooler temperatures. Dealing With Vegetable Plants That Freeze
Some vegetables don’t mind cool temperatures. Imagine you didn’t cover your Swiss chard or kale, and it froze so much that it wilted and died back instead of getting sweeter (which we all hope will happen).
Those vegetables tend to grow back again. They might not grow back as much as before, but anything under the soil will be okay.
So your root vegetables, like parsnips, beets, or carrots, will be doing great underneath the soil, even if the cold damages the leaves above the soil.
Swiss chard is quite hardy compared to other vegetables. FAQ About Handling Early Blooms
What happens if my garlic blooms early in the fall?We plant garlic in the fall (I always do so around Halloween). Sometimes, you can plant it a little too early or have a warmer-than-usual fall, and the garlic will send up shoots in the fall.
When it freezes, the garlic will die back. But don’t worry; the garlic will start the whole process again in the spring.
You can even plant garlic with shoots growing on it, like when you buy them a little late. This won’t affect your garlic overall.
Yes, there is a gold standard when it comes to garlic. Garlic growers won’t want shoots affected by the freeze or provide any stress to the plant as that can affect the overall robustness of the plant.
But will you still get garlic? Absolutely.
What happens if it’s a late freeze?Let’s say it’s late spring and starting to get to summer, and we suddenly have an unexpected freeze. In this case, the plant’s chance of survival would drop.
At this point, most of the energy the plant is expelling is now on the upper part of the plant and not beneath the soil where it is protected.
Most perennials will bounce back, but the damage may be more significant if they are further down in their seasonal growth.
How are bees affected by earlier flowering plants?Rising temperatures and earlier springs will mean that bees will wake up earlier. It’s estimated that they wake up five days earlier than twenty years ago.
With more species blooming at the same time than in the past, there isn’t such a continuous, even supply of flowers for the bees. This mismatch between when the flowers and bees are active could threaten the bees looking for food sources.
This will also reduce plant pollination and their ability to reproduce and yield crops. Rising temperatures may also mean the bees come out earlier, but they need their timing to align with the flowers to avoid being affected.
Why do some plants bloom earlier than others?Each plant (or seed or bulb) will respond to different environmental factors, such as temperature, amount of sunlight, light quality, and more.
As these conditions change, chemical production inside the plant triggers the growth. In response, the plant will begin to sprout new growth.
Many plants start growing when temperatures get warmer or the days get longer. Each plant will have specific responses, some needing higher temperatures or more light before growing. Others require less.
Likewise, cooler temperatures can tell the plant to redirect the energy back to the roots, set seed, and die back for the fall.
More Information on Changing Weather
Stephanie Rose
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Orchards vs. Vegetable Gardens: Why Not Combine Them? | The Survival Gardener
[ad_2] David The GoodWe often erect a mental wall between planting an orchard and planting a vegetable garden. Either you have neat rows of trees, or you have neat rows of vegetables.
Here’s an orchard:
And here is a vegetable garden:
The former is a long-term investment that takes years to pay off. The latter is a quick return with more fertilizing, weeding, and daily effort.
Of course, if you’re a bit more free-spirited, you might go for a food forest instead, with various trees and perennial vegetables together.
Over 12 years ago, we planted this food forest in South Florida
However, let’s go back to the common vegetable garden/orchard divide. Getting fruit in an orchard may take 3-6 years, but then you get yields that can last for generations. Vegetable gardens provide quick and abundant harvests, yet you have to plant again every year.
Yet you don’t have to choose between having an orchard or growing a garden. And if you grow both, you don’t have to plant them separately.
You can combine them, particularly in the early years of an orchard.
Thus far, we’ve had good luck incorporating orchards and vegetable gardens together, getting the quick yield of annuals with the long-term yields of trees.
In our Grocery Row Gardens last year, we managed to grow 163lbs of cucumbers, over 150lbs of sweet potatoes, 760lbs of watermelons, 18lbs of Jerusalem artichokes, 10lbs of okra and about 40lbs of potatoes in between our fruit trees.
Grocery Row Gardens are multi-layered polycultures with trees, shrubs and veggies
The vining crops acted like ground covers through growing season, with cucumbers dominating in spring, then being surpassed by watermelons, and then finally the watermelons being supplanted by sweet potatoes into the fall.
Our trees gave us nothing in yields as this was our first year; however, we still got over 1,000lbs of food from the system!
If you have an orchard, why not plant fast-growing crops between your trees? This works especially well in young orchards where the trees haven’t blocked much of the light yet. By the time your trees get big and start producing bushels of fruit and nuts, you will have already harvested tons of food from the space. Think pumpkins, sweet potatoes, watermelons and other ramblers, which you can start on hills and let run. Or get more intense and plant potatoes, corn, or other crops in beds between the trees.
Just something to think about. Our little backyard orchard/vegetable Grocery Row Garden system is outlined in this handy little booklet.
Even if you don’t plant a Grocery Row Garden, you can really up your game by adding some annuals to your orchard or food forest, particularly in the early years of establishment.
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150 best rock puns and rock jokes to make you laugh – Growing Family
Welcome to a compilation of hilarious rock puns that’s sure to rock your world!
The best rock puns and rock jokes
Whether you’re a seasoned geologist or simply someone who loves a good chuckle, these rock jokes are bound to deliver a good laugh. Get ready to rock and roll with these puns, quips, and geological gags.
Family-friendly rock jokes for kids
1. What do you call a rock that never goes to school? A skipping stone.
2. Why did the rock become a musician? Because it wanted to be a little boulder.
3. Why are rocks so cheap? Because they’re always on shale.
4. What do you call a dubious rock? A sham rock.
5. Why do tectonic plates always argue? Because there’s too much friction between them.
6. What did the stone want to be when it grew up? A rock star.
7. Why did the miner stop digging? He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
8. Why did the rock take confidence lessons? To help it feel boulder.
9. Why did the rock and the stone break up? The trust in their relationship eroded.
10. Why didn’t the stone get back together with the rock? He had too many faults.
11. Why did the rock shower every morning? It wanted to start with a clean slate.
12. It takes a boulder person to read through this list of rock puns.
13. Where do you take an injured rock? To the Rocktor.
14. What happened to the rock after continuous hours of interrogation? It finally cracked.
15. Where do wealthy rocks live? Rockefeller Street.
16. What kind of rocks are sour? Limestone.
17. Why was the gemstone scared for his exams? Because he thought he wasn’t going topaz.
18. How did the rock feel when he got covered in algae? He was lichen it.
19. What did the rock order at the bar? Soda on the rocks.
20. What did one volcano say to the other volcano? “I lava you so much.”
More funny rock jokes
21. Where do rocks like to sleep? In bedrocks.
22. How did the stone feel after his workout? Rock solid.
23. How did the rock feel about going to jail? Petrified.
24. Why can’t minerals ever lie? Because they’re always in their pure form.
25. What did the rock say to the word processor? “Boulder.”
26. What did Sherlock Holmes say when Watson asked what kind of rock he was holding? “Sedimentary, my dear Watson.”
27. When were rock jokes the funniest? During the stone age.
28. What did the rock say when it ended up at the bottom of the hill? “That’s how I roll.”
29. Why did the rock go to jail? The quartz found him guilty.
30. What did the sedimentary rock say to the metamorphic rock? “You’ve changed, man!”
31. Why is it hard to be a diamond? Too much pressure.
32. Why did the rock decide to hit the gym? Because he wanted to be bigger and boulder.
33. Why was the rock emotionless? Because it had a heart of stone.
34. What do you call a rock that complains? A whine-stone.
35. Why are limestones ignored? Because they’re too chalkative.
36. Knock, knock. Who’s there? Geode. Geode who? Geode bless you!
37. Knock, knock. Who’s there? Shale. Shale who? Shale, we dance?
38. Knock, knock. Who’s there? Gneiss. Gneiss who? Gneiss to meet you!
Geologist rock jokes
39. How do geologists like their whiskey? On the rocks.
40. Why did the geologist quit his job? Because he wanted a clean slate.
41. What did the rock say to the geologist? “Don’t take me for granite.”
42. Why did the geologist keep their old rock collection? Because it had a lot of sedimental value.
43. What did Darth Vader tell the geologist? “May the quartz be with you.”
44. What’s a geologist’s favourite fruit? Pome-granite. (more fruit jokes here)
45. What’s a geologist’s favourite type of music? Rock & Roll.
46. What’s a geologist’s favourite band? The Rolling Stones.
47. What’s a geologist’s favourite restaurant? The Hard Rock Café.
48. What’s a geologist’s favourite sweet treat? Rock candy.
49. What’s a geologist’s favourite movie? Pyrites of the Caribbean.
50. What’s a geologist’s favourite kind of magazine? Rolling Stone.
51. Who’s a geologist’s favourite comedian? Chris Rock.
52. Who’s a geologist’s favourite actor? Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
53. What happens when you keep reading geologist jokes in your free time? You know that you’ve really hit rock bottom.
54. Why should you never expect perfection from geologists? Because they all have their faults.
More geologist jokes and geology puns
55. Why are geologists so good in school? Because they don’t take anything for granite.
56. How do geologists like to relax? In rocking chairs.
57. Why don’t geologists argue? They’re too pelite.
58. Where do geologists study? At sedimentary school.
59. Why are geologists good at romance? Because they’re very sedimental.
60. Why don’t geologists like alcohol? Because they like to be stone-cold sober.
61. Why are geologists never hungry? Because they lost their apatite.
62. How does a geologist show their displeasure? They give the coal shoulder.
63. Why was the geologist tired of his work? Because it was mostly boring.
64. What happened after the geologist finished his work? It was a lode off his shoulders.
65. What did the doctor prescribe to the sick geologist? Tech-tonic.
66. Why was the geologist puzzled at the comedy show? Because some of the funny jokes fluorite over his head.
67. Did you see the geologist towing a crate of rocks behind his car? He had a wide lode sign.
68. What do geologists use to clean themselves? Soapstone.
69. Why was the geologist agitated? Because he had lost his marbles.
70. Why don’t geologists argue? Because they’re too pelite.
71. Why shouldn’t you lend a geologist money? Because they consider a million years ago to be recent.
Silly rock puns for instagram
72. You rock my world
73. Let’s rock and roll
74. Between a rock and a hard place
75. Power to the pebble
76. Pebble to the metal
77. Rock solid advice
78. Rock steady
79. Rock on
80. I need some assi-stones
81. Not to quarry
82. Rocky road
83. Quarried sick
84. Getting off to a rocky start
85. Rock the boat
86. On the rocks
87. Opportunity rocks
88. Solid as a rock
89. Don’t take me for granite
90. It’s a hard rock life
91. Hit rock bottom
92. Stony faced
93. A stony silence
94. Feeling sedimental
95. Feeling a little boulder
96. I won’t gravel
97. A clean slate
98. Rock solid plans
99. For the crater good
100. I lava you so much
101. Metamorphically speaking
More funny puns about rocks
102. You’re a gem
103. May the quartz be with you
104. Of quartz it is
105. Geode bless you
106. Geode willing
107. Geode forbid
108. An act of geode
109. I don’t want to chalk about it
110. Chalk it up to experience
111. Look who’s chalking
112. Keep your coal
113. Coal as a cucumber
114. In coal blood
115. Get coal feet
116. Gave me the coal shoulder
117. Shale of the century
118. Shale we dance?
119. Seek and ye shale find
120. I get the schist of it
121. All ore nothing
122. Believe it ore not
123. Be there ore be square
124. Now ore never
125. Heads ore tails
126. Friend ore foe
127. Give ore take
128. Don’t flint-ch
129. Igneous is bliss
130. A grain of basalt
131. A basalt on the senses
132. Have a gneiss day
133. Gneiss to meet you
134. Gneiss going
135. No more Mr. Gneiss Guy
136. This rock was magma before it was cool
137. A cold as stone
138. Turned to stone
139. Stepping stone
140. No stone unturned
141. A heart of stone
142. Rocks in your head
143. A pebble person
144. Cobble something together
145. A plutonic relationship
146. Gravelling at my feet
147. Rock around the clock
148. App-rocks-imate
149. My per-rock-ative
One last rock pun
150. “I really like rock puns.” “My sediments exactly!”
And there you have it – we’ve left no stone unturned in our quest to find you the perfect rock joke. Hopefully they have put a rock solid smile on your face 🤣
More jokes and puns
For more family-friendly jokes and good puns, head this way:
Pin for later: best rock puns and rock jokes
Catherine
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DIY Barn: A Designer’s Clever Reuse of a Shipping Container – Gardenista
I mentioned it to my partner Fred and one day, months later, he came home and said he found a company nearby that sold used shipping containers. He was excited to explore building with it as he’s a traditional builder of commercial and residential structures.
2) How/where did you find the shipping container? (I wouldn’t know where to start!) And how much does something like that cost?
We found a company that sold used shipping containers in Newburg, NY (A-Verdi). It’s a 40’ foot container with 9’ high ceilings.
3) Was it hard to get it to your house?
The company delivered it on a flat bed.
(sent you pic)
4) Did you have to prepare the ground first before building the structure?
The first thing was to decide what we were building. We decided we’d build a barn to store construction tools/materials. The hayloft is where we store lumber. Also how useful would it be if it was moveable? We cut it in half to create two 20’ long storage areas with space in the middle for our boat. Before the company delivered the container, we leveled the area and poured Item 4 on top. This is a mix of stone made specifically to be compacted. It’s often used for driveways, parking areas, etc.
(sent you pic cutting container in half and using compacter tool on stone).
5) Where is this on your property?
This is opposite our vegetable garden and can be seen from our kitchen window
6) What inspired the exterior look? Was there a specific barn or images that you looked to?
I designed our vegetable garden fence nodding to chinoiserie and our home is a modern style farmhouse so this structure had to relate to those things. I toyed with doing a Union Jack design on the barn doors but chose this simpler look because there’s a lot going on with the garden fence across the way!
(Sent you pic of barn through fencing)
7) What color is it painted? Are you going to paint the exterior of the containers (inside the barn)? Looks like they’re unpainted based on the pictures.
It’s Benjamin Moore Dash of Pepper and I chose it because it helps the barn blend into the landscape. I also kept the interior cavity walls as is on the shipping container—that color and signage! One of the fun things about a reuse project is seeing at once what it was and what it is.
8) What is the roofing material?
Standing seam metal roof
9) Is it insulated?
It isn’t but we recently decided to turn one of the storage bays into a home gym. We plan to cut a hole on the side facing the creek on our property and we’ll install glass doors. We’ll be insulating it and adding heat.
10) How much did this project cost? Can be ballpark. And would be neat to get a sense of just materials cost vs. labor.
The container cost about $2000. We had leftover stone and wood we used for the construction. The biggest expense was the roof, around 10K. It’s hard to estimate labor as we did it ourselves over a year+ period in between client work.
11) Biggest challenge?
As amazingly sturdy as these structures are, once you cut into it, it needs a good bit of reinforcement. Our barn was never more sturdy than when we built the roof.
12) Biggest surprise?
We move the entire finished structure with chains hooked up to our skid steer. I didn’t expect it to be so light after it was built.
13) What do you use this building for?
Storage for building materials, boat and eventually a home gym
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Landscape Architecture Design for a Desert Climate: A Zen Garden in Santa Monica
What happens when a Japanese-style garden meets the southern California desert? For the very Zen results, let’s visit a serene gravel courtyard that landscape architecture firm Terremoto designed for Mohawk General Store in Santa Monica.
Photography by Caitlin Atkinson, courtesy of Terremoto.
Above: Passionflower vines soften the redbrick facade of Mohawk General Store. “The vines were existing when we started the project and we decided to keep them because they were happy there,” says landscape architect David Godshall. “This was an attempt to create a garden that was both Japanese and desert simultaneously,” landscape architect David Godshall says, adding that client Kevin Carney wanted a space to have movie screenings and to create a backdrop for fashion shoots.
The garden, formerly occupied by gardening shop Potted, had existing hardscape (some concrete slabs) and a few specimen plants—including two large palms—that the team salvaged from the previous design. “For the rest of it, we started from scratch.”
Above: During the remodel, Terremoto removed “chunky, two-inch gravel and a fair amount of existing concrete” and replaced the surface with decomposed concrete with “a heavy dusting” of gravel on top to stabilize the DG, Godshall says: “With this approach you lose the negative aspects of getting DG on the bottom of your shoes and also the feeling that gravel is a trudge to walk through.” “We made the design process conversational,” Godshall says. “We went cactus shopping with the clients. Then we went boulder shopping. After we got all the elements on site, an incredibly hardworking crew shadow boxed them into place. Then there was a lot of looking at how things looked, walking around, and shifting it around.”
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Snow in Carol’s Garden – FineGardening
Carol Verhake gardens in Berwyn, Pennsylvania (Zone 7a), and after two years without getting any snow, she got a beautiful snowfall this winter. Here are some shots she took of the garden looking beautiful under its white blanket. If you want to see her garden during the growing season, check out this post: Carefully Chosen Colors Bring a Garden Together.
Ampelaster carolinianus (climbing aster, Zones 7–9) is primarily a fall bloomer, but with mild weather it can stretch right into the winter and, as here, have flowers topped with snow.
Autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora, Zones 5–8) is evergreen in the warmer end of its range, and the fronds look amazing topped with snow.
Beautyberries (Callpicarpa spp.) have gorgeous purple berries in the fall that often last well into the winter, as some birds prefer them after a freeze or two has softened them up. That’s good for the birds, as they provide food for later in the season, and it’s good for the gardeners, as they get to enjoy the lovely berries for a long time.
Cryptomeria (Japanese cedar, Zones 5–9) looks beautiful in the snow. It’s hard to beat the classic beauty of conifers in the winter.
Edgeworthia (Zones 7–10) produces these large, beautiful heads of flower buds in the winter that push open into incredibly fragrant yellow blooms in very early spring.
Snowy winter days often show off garden structures and art at their very best. Here a trunk of a dead rhododendron has new life as a sculpture topped with a Moravian star.
This beautiful structure made from fallen limbs is what Carol calls her “love shack.” It is always beautiful, but wow does it look great in the snow!
One of the most dramatic features in Carol’s garden is her stone moon gate, and it is also looking its very best in a snowy landscape.
Witch hazels (Hamamelis spp., Zones 5–9) are great winter bloomers. These cherry yellow blooms can take freezing temperatures and snow without missing a beat.Have a garden you’d like to share?
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!
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GPOD Contributor
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15 of the Best Dogwoods to Liven Up the Winter Landscape
We work so hard to make our landscapes look incredible during the growing season. Why neglect them in the winter?
Dogwoods can provide an easy way to add a little color and shape to an otherwise bland space.
If you’ve ever stared out of a window at a garden that once was a riot of flowers and foliage, only to be miserably greeted by bare ground and dead plant material in the middle of February, you know how important a little colorful interest can be.
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And dogwoods don’t just add color to the garden. You can collect the stems and use them in floral arrangements indoors to liven up your interiors, too.
That would be enough to recommend them, in my book. But as an added bonus, they can be exceptionally beautiful during the warmer months as well.
In other words, they are truly the type of plants that offer four seasons of excitement in the landscape.
We’ll look at 15 exceptional options in more detail. Here’s the lineup:
15 Dogwoods to Add Winter Color
All dogwoods perform better if you trim off some of the older stems to make room for the new growth, which tends to have brighter colors.
They also have the brightest hues when grown in full sun even though most can tolerate some shade.
You can learn more about growing dogwoods in our guide.
Without further ado, let’s start with a fiery option:
1. Arctic Fire
In Zones 3 to 7, C. sericea Arctic Fire® or ‘Farrow’ lives up to its name, with fiery red twigs on a dwarf plant that stays under four feet tall and wide.
Unlike the species, it doesn’t sucker, so you aren’t going to have to fight to keep it under control.
Dark green leaves pop out in the spring, followed by white flowers that give way to white berries. Use it as an informal hedge or display it in a large container to highlight the winter color.
You can bring one home from Nature Hills Nursery as a three- to four-foot bare root or a live plant in a #3 container.
2. Arctic Sun
I’m particularly fond of the stems on C. sanguinea ‘Cato,’ also known as Arctic Sun®.
Released in 2009 and hardy in Zones 3 to 9, the stems have a beautiful ombre of crimson at the tips, gradually transitioning to yellow at the base.
It looks like a warm sunset in the middle of the most colorless time of year.
The green leaves turn golden yellow in the fall, with white drupes as an accent.
In the spring, star-shaped white flowers – actually leaf bracts – appear in clusters all over the dwarf four-foot-tall and wide shrub.
Visit Nature Hills Nursery for a plant (or two) of your own.
3. Bailey
There are lots of red-stemmed dogwoods out there, but few can rival the fiery scarlet hue of C. sericea ‘Bailey.’
Even without its medium green leaves, it makes a massive statement in the winter, with the stems stretching 10 feet tall and wide, or even a bit wider.
In the spring, white flower clusters decorate the ends of the branches, followed by bluish berries.
The autumn leaves take on a reddish-purple hue, but honestly, you’ll be rooting for them to fall so you can enjoy the bare stems.
Nature Hills Nursery has this bold bush available in three- to four-foot bare roots, or live plants in #3 or #5 containers. Grow it in Zones 3 to 9.
4. Bud’s Yellow
If you have a large area that needs some brightening up, get your hands on ‘Bud’s Yellow.’
This C. sericea cultivar will spread up to eight feet tall and wide, and it will send out suckers to start new plants.
Perfect for those slopes or streambanks that need some support and some color as well, the bright yellow stems are so vibrant they almost look neon.
This variety is also disease-resistant, so you don’t have to worry about fungal issues marring the medium green foliage.
Enjoy white flowers in the spring and snowy berries in the fall, accompanied by cheery yellow foliage.
Bring home a three- to four-foot bare-root or a live plant in a #3 container from Nature Hills Nursery for growing in Zones 2 to 8.
5. Cardinal
When this plant was developed at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen, Minnesota, in 1986, they picked an excellent name.
The cardinal red stems on this 10-foot-tall and wide shrub offer a vibrant contrast to winter gray and snow.
The fragrant white flowers are followed by cream-colored fruits in the fall, when the foliage turns deep purple. It’s a fabulous option for growing in Zones 3 to 8.
Visit Nature Hills to pick up a four- to five-foot bare-root or a live plant in a #3 container.
6. Cayenne
Bringing a bit of spice to the humdrum dormant landscape, C. amomum ‘Cayenne’ stands apart from some other dogwoods because its bright red stems will hold their color even in warmer regions.
With green leaves that turn orange-red in the fall, highlighting the pale blue berries, it makes a suitable addition whether you want to mitigate erosion or just add some color to the garden.
This shrub is both canker- and Japanese beetle-resistant. It grows rapidly to about six feet tall and 12 feet wide.
Want to add some spice to your life? Head to Nature Hills Nursery for some ‘Cayenne.’ It grows well in Zones 4 to 9.
7. Creme de Mint
A variegated cultivar of Tartarian dogwood, Creme de Mint™ (C. alba ‘Crmizam’) has medium green leaves with cream edges. In the fall, the foliage takes on a pinkish-red hue.
Once the leaves fall to the ground, bright chartreuse stems add some color to the landscape.
The white spring flowers will attract bees and butterflies, and the fall berries in bluish-white will feed the birds that visit your yard.
And this shrub won’t become overbearing, staying at a petite five feet tall and wide. It won’t sucker and spread where you don’t want it either.
Add a hint of mint to your garden by visiting Nature Hills Nursery for a live plant of your own, for growing in Zones 3 to 8.
8. Ivory Halo
Beautiful C. alba ‘Baihalo,’ known commonly as Ivory Halo®, is a delight from spring through fall with its dark-green foliage edged in ivory white, along with yellowish spring flowers and bluish-white fruits in the fall.
But as beautiful as the foliage is, you’ll be counting down the days until those leaves turn purple-red in the fall and drop to the ground so you can enjoy the vibrant red branches.
Just picture how much they will stand out against the winter snow in Zones 3 to 7.
This dwarf shrub stays at about six feet tall and wide at maturity, and while it will spread via suckers, it isn’t as prolific as some of its relatives.
9. Kesselringii
In garden design, you always want a few elements of dark black or brown to anchor an area. A Tartarian dogwood cultivar, C. alba ‘Kesselringii’ is just the thing for the job.
In the spring, summer, and fall, the dark red stems act as a dramatic focal point underneath the medium-green leaves.
But it’s even more dramatic when the stems turn dark purple in the winter, acting as a visual anchor whether your landscape tends towards greens and browns or snowy white.
This fast-growing shrub will reach six feet tall and wide within the first year after planting, and it’s decorated in yellowish blossoms in the spring and sometimes into the summer, as well.
In the fall, the foliage transitions to a beautiful burgundy hue.
This all-season pleaser is suited to a wide range of climates in Zones 2 to 7.
10. Pacific Dogwood
Okay, hear me out. Pacific dogwood (C. nuttalli) doesn’t have the bright yellow or red stems that make other species so popular in the winter landscape.
But don’t pass over this option if you live in Zones 7 to 9, where you might not have long periods of snow but you still crave some winter interest.
The white or pinkish-colored flowers are much showier than anything on this list, coming in at nearly three inches in diameter.
They appear once in the spring and again in the early fall, followed by orange or pink drupes that persist on the tree well into the winter until the wildlife devours them.
That’s part of what makes this 20- to 40-foot-tall tree an excellent display option in the dormant season.
Combined with the reddish bark and branches that take on a gracefully arching habit, it makes an architectural statement rather than a more colorful one.
11. Prairie Fire
Planted en masse, the aptly named C. alba ‘Prairie Fire’ looks like a field of flaming eight-foot-tall and wide shrubs highlighted against the winter snow.
But what makes it particularly special isn’t just the bright red winter twigs or the beautiful cream flowers, followed by white berries.
The bright golden and red fall foliage also sets it apart from many other dogwoods, which tend to be a little lackluster in the autumn.
In the spring, it’s equally attractive with its golden-yellow foliage. Grow it in Zones 2 to 7.
12. Red Osier
C. sericea adapts to climates in just about every part of the US except the warmer areas of Florida, Texas, California, and Arizona.
It can be grown in Zones 2 to 8, and is native to southern Canada, and the northern and western US.
This shrub will grow up to 12 feet tall and 14 feet wide, spreading via suckers.
While it’s hard to beat the bright red winter color, it’s nothing to sneeze at during the rest of the year.
The creamy white blossoms are long-lasting and gradually give way to clusters of white berries. The silky, medium-green leaves change to hues of red varying from rust to burgundy.
While these dogwoods can tolerate some shade, the bark color will be muted outside of full sun.
Fast Growing Trees has this beloved species available in quart, two-gallon, or three-gallon pots, in single or four-pack quantities.
13. Tartarian
C. alba is commonly known as Tartarian or white dogwood. It’s native to Siberia, northern China, and the Korean peninsula, where it grows as a small tree or large shrub.
Beloved for its red stems and vigorous growth habit, it can reach 10 feet tall and wide.
The oblong leaves are medium-green, with creamy-white blossoms and white berries. The fall foliage is bright red and orange.
Unlike the US native C. sericea, this species doesn’t tend to send out as many suckers – which may be a good or a bad thing, depending on your needs. It’s hardy in Zones 2 to 7.
14. Variegated Red Twig
A Tartarian dogwood cultivar, C. alba ‘Elegantissima’ is the definition of a year-round performer.
In the spring, the variegated medium green and creamy gold leaves emerge, along with white flowers. In the fall, white berries cover the shrub in clusters, highlighted against the orange, red, and gold foliage.
After everything drops to the ground, the rosy red stems are left behind to brighten up the garden in Zones 3 to 8.
Make sure you have the space for this plant, which grows 10 feet tall and wide, producing suckers that allow it to spread.
Make one yours by visiting Nature Hills Nursery.
15. Yellow Twig
Yellow twig dogwood (C. sericea ‘Flaviramea’) is appreciated in the garden for its dark green foliage, white flowers, and white fruit, but it’s the bare winter twigs that really stand out.
They have a bright golden-yellow hue that beams, contrasting with winter snow like a ray of sunshine.
When mature, it can grow to six feet tall and just a touch wider, and the plant will spread via suckers as much as you’ll let it.
That makes it perfect for areas that you want to fill in with color, or spots that could use some erosion control, like stream banks and slopes.
It’s not quite as winter-hardy as the species, growing in Zones 3 to 7.
Head to Fast Growing Trees to purchase individual plants or four-packs of two- to three-foot or three- to four-foot live shrubs.
Add Some Spice to the Winter Landscape
Whether you live somewhere snow-covered from December through March or you want to add some spice to a bland, gray garden, dogwoods fit the bill.
Which one of these sounds like the right one for your landscape? Let us know in the comments. And be sure to tell us if we missed one that you’re particularly fond of.
Now that you’ve sorted out the winter interest, you might be interested in learning more about dogwoods, like how to deal with problems, or choose a few others for your garden. If so, here are some guides worth checking out:
Kristine Lofgren
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Fetid Swamp Water in Singapore | The Survival Gardener
[ad_2] David The GoodJulie shares about her experience with making fetid swamp water in Singapore:
When I used to live in Singapore, every Chinese New Year, when the cookies, crackers, snacks and mandarin oranges were finished, my local community garden would collect all of the plastic tubs and fruit peels from the community and buy some brown sugar and black-strap molasses in bulk, to make an enzyme liquid to use in our garden. It took months, but the longer you leave it, the better it gets. So we had loads left over from the year before, and we used in regularly, diluted down in water to spray on the soil and as a foliar spray too, to help our plants and trees thrive. The only thing you had to remember to do was ‘burp’ the tubs regularly, so gas didn’t build up and make them explode!
That comment was posted below my video on growing sunn hemp.
The JADAM version of Korean Natural Farming practiced by Youngsang Cho does not use sugars in fermentation; however, we have seen others use it, just as Julie relates.
Anaerobic composting isn’t the devil it’s made out to be. It can be very useful, especially when you have limited resources and wish to make the most of a small amount of fertile materials.
Of course, if you take the Dave’s Fetid Swamp Water approach and start using your anaerobic “tea” only a couple of weeks after you start the fermentation process, the stench is incredible.
It creates an aroma so thick you can feel the clouds of odor pressing against your body as you walk through the garden, which then condense into sulfurous snakes that creep directly through your nostrils into your brain.
If you get it on your hands, woe unto thee!
The noxious fumes persist for a day or more on the skin, even after scrubbing your way through a fresh bar of Zest. If you caress your spouse’s hair, she’ll recoil in horror and wonder if you are a reanimated corpse instead of the man she married. If you pet a puppy, it will burst into flames, giving you a memory you’ll recall with shame and horror for the rest of your life.
It’s that bad.
Yet plants don’t have noses and they do just fine with it, happily growing amidst the fumes.
It’s much better if you wait longer to use it, until it’s burned off the worst of the aromas. And if the Singaporeans are right, it just gets better for the garden.
I’ve smelled year-old swamp water made from fish guts and it was not unpleasant. I’ve also had a batch of mixed manure and weeds and other materials (including chicken guts) that mellowed out into a mild soy sauce aroma.
All this reminds me – it’s almost spring and we need to make a batch.
(You can learn more about “Dave’s Fetid Swamp Water” in Compost Everything.)
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Why outdoor time matters for a child’s mental health – Growing Family
Ever wondered why spending time outdoors is so important for children’s mental health? This article by children’s wellbeing author and psychotherapist Becky Goddard-Hill will help you understand the powerful impact playing outside can have on a child’s mood and wellbeing.
Becky is the author of the brand new book ‘How I Feel’, a feelings-focussed activity book for children aged 3-7. Its primary aim is to encourage younger children to become more emotionally literate and better able to both understand and manage their feelings.
The book contains 40 play-based activities to help young children talk more coherently about their emotions, encouraging them to be kinder, happier, calmer, and braver. It aims to encourage self-belief and growth mindset and help children to understand and manage their feelings better.
It’s beautifully illustrated and packed full of lovely things to do. It has been written so children in KS1 will be able to read a lot of it themselves, and it contains lots of great parenting tips too.
Here Becky shares why encouraging kids to get outside matters so much for a child’s mental health.
Why Outdoor Time Matters for a Child’s Mental Health
1. Stress Reduction: Spending time outdoors has been shown to reduce stress levels and promote relaxation, leading to improved mental well-being.
2. Increased Vitamin D: Sunlight exposure helps the body produce vitamin D, which plays a crucial role in mood regulation and may reduce the risk of depression.
3. Enhanced Cognitive Function: Outdoor play stimulates creativity, problem-solving skills, and cognitive development, contributing to overall mental resilience.
4. Improved Mood: Physical activity and exposure to nature release feel-good chemicals in the brain, such as endorphins and serotonin, which can uplift mood and combat feelings of sadness or anxiety.
5. Connection with Nature: Time spent in natural environments fosters a sense of connection with the world around us, promoting feelings of peace, wonder, and gratitude.
6. Social Interaction: Outdoor play encourages social interaction, cooperation, and communication skills, which are essential for healthy emotional development.
7. Reduction in ADHD Symptoms: Research suggests that outdoor activities may help reduce symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and improve focus and attention span.
8. Resilience Building: Overcoming challenges and experiencing risks in outdoor environments helps children build resilience and coping skills, preparing them to navigate life’s ups and downs.
In summary, encouraging children to spend time outdoors is essential for their mental health and well-being. By providing opportunities for outdoor time, exploration, and connection with nature, parents and caregivers can support children’s holistic development and help them thrive emotionally and mentally.
*How I Feel is available from all good bookshops and is out now.
Catherine
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RailScapes Plant Clips by PlantTraps for Railings and Fences
Living in a city, your gardening options can be limited. So our interest was piqued when a friend shared a video from Plant Traps. In it, a woman hooks a minimalist wire contraption onto a metal railing to create a support for a potted plant. The mechanism was delightfully simple, removable—and it absolutely transformed the space with greenery.
We reached out to Plant Traps founder Deborah Holtschlag to inquire about her ingenious device, and it turned out that we were among several million people who’d recently found her RailScapes Plant Clip. Since debuting her invention last March, Holtschlag has been hustling to create Instagram Stories and TikTok videos to promote it, but it wasn’t until two days after Christmas that one went viral. “The Reel on Instagram that got 100 million views was a blessing, but we also blew through our reserves,” Holtschlag says. (Don’t worry, they’re finally caught up on inventory.)
Above: Each RailScapes Plant Clip can hold up to 15 pounds (25 pounds if at the foot of the railing). We’re not shocked that Holtschlag found gardeners hungry for her plant support. Often the products sold to hang plants from railings are ugly, require drilling, or only work on certain types of fences. Her version uses tension to sit between railings (rather than draping over the top), and it can be adjusted to fit at a variety of railing widths. Renters can take it with them when they move—and at $20 a piece, it is relatively affordable.
Above: The contraption uses tension to stay in place. What did come as a surprise was that Holtschlag herself is not a gardener herself. It turns out she invented the product for her gardener husband, whose plants were taking up what she considered to be too much of their precious space patio.
Above: Each RailScapes Plant Clip is $20. Since launching the RailScapes Plant Clip, Holtschlag says she has been thrilled to see her customers use them in many ways, including on gates, spiral staircases, wood fences with wide-spaced pickets, and, as seen in her second most popular Reel, on an indoor stair railing.
Personally, this writer is looking at the bare wrought iron fence outside her window in a whole new light.
See also:
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Floral Sunshine From Barb – FineGardening
This is Barb Mrgich, Master Gardener from Adams County, Pennsylvania. I have sent in several entries in the past. (Butterflies in Barb’s Garden and Barb’s Favorite Photos ) I love lots of color in my gardens. In January, Joseph did an entry on yellow in the garden, and it inspired me to submit these photos. I really like his description that yellow flowers are “floral sunshine.” A little floral sunshine is never more appreciated than in the very early spring when things are looking rather dull and dreary! Although I like to consider myself a wildlife and native-plant gardener, I still rely on select nonnatives for beauty and color in the early season since I have found that most of my native plants shine better in midsummer and fall. All of these pictures were taken in mid-April in my Zone 6B garden.
If you are interested in adding some bright early accents to your landscape, here are some of my favorites.
This shrub is golden euonymus (Euonymus japonicus ‘Aureo-marginatus’, Zones 6–9). It likes some shade and is quite drought tolerant. A fast grower, it will reach 5 feet tall if you don’t prune it. Some people sheer this plant into a meatball. I simply take my clippers and cut back some of the taller branches. Golden euonymus will hold its leaves and look like this all summer, fall, and winter. It makes nice additions to indoor and outdoor flower arrangements—even in the winter!
A lovely bright Hosta (Zones 3–9) has leaves edged with green. I have no idea of the exact cultivar, but there are many to choose from. This one is just getting started. It will get much larger and stay bright in its slightly shaded spot all summer.
These small shrubs are Deutzia ‘Chardonnay Pearls’ (Zones 5–8). They do well in partial or full sun. (If in too much shade, they will lose their color.) I have them in front of two dark, red-leaved ninebark ‘Summer Wine’ (Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Summer Wine’, Zones 2–8), and I love the combination. ‘Chardonnay Pearls’ blooms in spring. It should be sheered just after it blooms.
Angelina sedum (Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’, Zones 5–8) is a bright ground cover that will fill in an area very quickly. It is not at all fussy about anything. It welcomes sun or shade. In the shade it is more green, but still attractive. Drought doesn’t bother it one bit. It is evergreen. It will darken a little in the winter but will still be very much in evidence.
Weigela ‘Eye Catcher’ (Zones 5–9) is definitely eye-catching. This one is also just now leafing out. I love its variegated foliage. I like seeing the stand of white daffodils peeking through it.
This is what Weigela ‘Eye Catcher’ looks like a little later, when the leaves are fully out and flowers are opening. Spring is definitely its best season. As the summer wears on, it suffers, and the leaves wither some. It definitely needs a little bit of shade. It would probably benefit from more regular irrigation, but I don’t do that. The blue flowers in this picture are ‘Walker’s Low’ catmint (Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’, Zones 4–8).
Let’s not forget the tulips! I love these bright yellow tulips with the red stripe. I brought some into the house, and, of course, the warmth encouraged them to open up wide. These tulips originally came from Hershey Gardens, where they give away bulbs to volunteers who are willing to dig them up and carry them away. These are in the group of tulips called Darwin hybrids, which are some of the best for perennializing. These were planted over 20 years ago, and they are still going strong!
Finally a native plant! This is golden ragwort (Packera aurea, Zones 3–8). It grows in my rain garden as a ground cover. It starts to bloom in April and continues through the month of May. When it is finished blooming, its nice big, shiny leaves cover the soil and do an excellent job of shading out the weeds.Have a garden you’d like to share?
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!
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GPOD Contributor
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New and Unusual Annuals to Try in Your Garden This Summer – FineGardening
Gardening is, or at least should be, an ongoing learning process. It can include trial and error (and sometimes failure), but for me, the most exciting part is discovering new plants. When I find an unfamiliar plant, it’s pretty exciting, since I’ve grown nearly everything over the years and not much surprises me.
Trying out new plants comes with its risks, especially in our unpredictable northeastern climate. A species native to a dry desert or a cool alpine meadow may not perform as well in our hot and humid summers or cold, damp springs. Yet when a plant suddenly outperforms everything else you’ve planted in a container or garden, that is remarkable. Here are a few of my most recent remarkable plant discoveries. These plants include annuals and tender perennials, but I recommend trying them all as annuals if you live in the Northeast this summer.
‘Solar Fire’ ursinia has bright orange flowers with dark brown centers. ‘Solar Fire’ ursinia
Ursinia anthemoides ‘Solar Fire’, annual
How this plant ever escaped my radar still confounds me, but I believe it is a winner. Ursinia is a rarely grown annual native to South Africa, which gives us a hint about what conditions it loves—heat, well-drained soil, and full sun. I first ordered one of these plants via mail from a West Coast nursery to see if it might do well in an alpine trough that I had. Not only did it bloom like crazy, but it also grew much larger than I had expected, overtaking all of the alpine plants in just a single season.
It did so well that I decided to search for some seeds online, as I knew that it was a plant I was unlikely to find at any garden center in the Northeast. While this is one of those annuals that you will need to sow yourself (indoors, under lights, about 6 weeks before planting out), it’s easy enough to attempt and worth the extra effort.
Ursinia seedlings transplant easily; put them into 2-inch pots first, and after frost threats have passed, into containers or a prepared bed. I set about 6 to 8 plants into 11-inch pots, spacing them about 4 to 5 inches apart for a denser look, and the results were spectacular. Not only did they bloom prolifically (with flowers nearly covering the plant), but I gave some to a friend who lives on a rooftop in the city where the conditions are as harsh as any mountaintop, with blaring sun and relentless wind, and the plants did just as well.
On the downside, ‘Solar Fire’ ursinia has a shorter season than most annuals. My plants bloomed from early June until late July when they were done for the season, but the clouds of tangerine, daisylike blooms with burgundy eye marks above dark stems and ferny foliage made growing them worth the effort.
Ladybird® Lemonade Texas primrose features cup-shaped blossoms that are so bright yellow they almost don’t seem real. Texas primrose: Ladybird® series
Calylophus cvs., Zones 8–10
When I came across a pot of Texas primroses at the garden center a couple of summers ago, I bought it. I felt it was my duty to trial this plant in my garden to encourage more unusual plants to be sold at our garden centers, and boy was I satisfied. The Ladybird® series of Texas primroses are hybrids that come with features that make them worth the extra cost per plant, including sterility (so that they keep on blooming and never form seed) and a remarkable tolerance for hot and humid weather like we get in the Northeast in summer—which is something that the straight species can’t deal with. Just one of these plants will spread to 20 inches wide, covering the ground or a single container with beautiful foliage and large flowers, blooming until frost. These are short-lived perennials in the Southwest; for us in the North, they are best treated as annuals. Cut them back a bit in late summer for extra vigor if the plants start to bloom less.
You’ll have to look for these plants at garden centers, as the two cultivars—Ladybird® Lemonade Texas primrose (Calyophus ‘WNCYLALEM’, Zones 8–10), which has light yellow flowers, and Ladybird® Sunglow Texas primrose (Calyophus ‘WNCYLASUN’, Zones 8–10), which has darker yellow flowers—are both propagated vegetatively (clonally, from cuttings) and are not available from seed. These plants are drought tolerant; I’d say that hellstrips or large containers are the best places for them.
‘Jelly Bean Betabel’ (left) and ‘Jelly Bean Fiesta Marigold’ (right) are just two of the many colorful selections in this series. Sticky monkeyflower: Jelly Bean® series
Mimulus cvs.; syn. Diplacus cvs., Zones 9–10
Sticky monkeyflower might not be the most attractive name ever, but once you’ve grown this sensational series of plants you’ll agree that the name is something to overlook. Derived from the native Californian species (Mimulus aurantiacus syn. Diplacus aurantiacus, Zones 7–11), the Jelly Bean® series of hybrids is an exceptionally high-performing group.
Some of the great cultivars in this series include:
- ‘Jelly Bean Lemon’ (yellow flowers)
- ‘Jelly Bean Cinnamon’ (dark orange-red flowers)
- ‘Jelly Bean White’ (white flowers)
- ‘Jelly Bean Terracotta’ (orange flowers)
- ‘Jelly Bean Betabel’ (fuchsia-colored flowers)
- ‘Jelly Bean Fiesta Marigold’ (multicolored dark orange and yellow flowers)
All of these perennials are worth the search. I’ve grown two of them, and both have been extraordinary, each covered with flowers from early spring through midsummer. The dark mauve flowers of ‘Jelly Bean Betabel’ have golden-orange colored throats and are a favorite of hummingbirds. ‘Jelly Bean Fiesta Marigold’ appealed to me with its unusual French marigold-colored flowers. I’m a sucker for strangely colored flowers.
Since the Jelly Bean® series doesn’t come true from seed, all plant material must be clonally propagated. While you are not likely to find these at your local garden center in the Northeast, there are several online sources.
The buttercup-like blooms on this fast-filling plant are sure to charm you. GoldDust® axilflower
Mecardonia ‘USMECA8205’, Zones 9–11
Mecardonia sounds more like a vacation resort island than an annual flower, but this plant pays off in dividends. The small, yellow flowers of GoldDust® axilflower are super cute and produce in such volume that they nearly cover the plant, continuing to bloom until frost. An annual blooming until frost is something that you often read about in seed catalogs, but it is not commonly experienced. GoldDust® axilflower started filling out my containers so well that by July I had rushed back to the garden center to see if maybe they had more. Sadly, they didn’t.
Native to the Americas, Mecardonia is a genus not often grown as ornamental, but this new hybrid is quite exceptional, and I hope that we see more introductions in the future. If you’re looking for a plant with a dense, mounding habit and one that truly blooms all season long, this is the one to seek out.
‘Sibella Carmine’ nodding catchfly’s light pink flowers bloom above tall stems. ‘Sibella Carmine’ nodding catchfly
Silene pendula ‘Sibella Carmine’, annual
A few years ago I ordered ‘Sibella Carmine’ nodding catchfly seeds on a whim. I didn’t pay much attention when I sowed them, but most came up (under lights). After a few weeks I started to pay attention to some stocky, very healthy-looking seedlings that had lush, bushy growth, making me look like a seed-starting genius.
I repotted the seedlings, planting individual plants into 3-inch pots, which promptly filled with roots. I kept them growing under warm LED lights, and once the threat of frost had passed, I planted all of them together in an old whisky barrel where I sometimes planted herbs or a tomato. This is a plant that looks best planted en masse, with plants placed relatively close together (6 inches apart). The closer planting ensures a better show. Within a month, my plants had filled in and begun to bloom, extending until early August.
As Barbie-pink flowers began to pop open over the short 11-inch-long stems, the show was taking over the garden. This annual performs so well that it looks exactly like its picture in seed catalogs, almost as if you asked an AI art generator to create a “pretty pink flower in a container.” When I reread the description in the catalog, I discovered that ‘Sibella Carmine’ had won a coveted Fleuroselect Gold Medal for its great performance, which is totally deserved. You will have to order seeds of this plant and start them yourself, as few, if any, garden centers carry this selection.
Sometimes being uncommon in the trade increases the appeal of a plant, especially when it’s such a spectacular garden specimen. I don’t know about you, but if my neighbors and friends have never heard of something, it makes it all the more desirable to me. Any one of these selections will make a stunning centerpiece to your containers and borders this summer, adding something new that will push your designs to the next level.
For more exciting annuals, check out All About Growing Annual Plants. And for more Northeast regional reports, click here.
Matt Mattus is the author of two books: Mastering the Art of Flower Gardening and Mastering the Art of Vegetable Gardening. He gardens in Worcester, Massachusetts.
More summer blooms for Northeast gardens:
Matt Mattus
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How to Grow and Care for Calanthe Orchids | Gardener’s Path
Calanthe spp.
Never was there such an aptly named plant. The genus name Calanthe combines “kalos,” which is Greek for beautiful, and “anthe,” which is Greek for flower.
Sometimes known as Christmas orchids, species in this genus are adaptable, elegant, and colorful, with some hardy enough to withstand temperatures at or even below freezing!
They make excellent houseplants, like many orchids, but they can also be used in landscaping in Zones 6 and up.
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I understand why Phalaenopsis orchids are so popular as houseplants, but I’m baffled as to why more people aren’t enjoying Calanthe orchids in their homes and yards.
They’re long-blooming, and some are hardier than your more common species. But they’re every bit as beautiful as moth orchids.
Interested in these glorious plants? We’ll help you master the growing process. Here’s what we’ll go over to make that happen:
Because they generally grow in the earth rather than attached to trees and rocks, Calanthe species have some unique characteristics and growing requirements.
Before we talk about those, let’s understand a bit more about what sets these plants apart.
What Are Calanthe Orchids?
Calanthe orchids (ka-LAN-thee) are those in the Calanthe genus, which comprises about 200 species.
They are mostly terrestrial plants that come in two types, defined by the subgenera Eucalanthe and Preptanthe.
Eucalanthe species are evergreen with a basal rosette of leaves and no pseudobulbs, with a flower stem that emerges from the center of the leaves. They grow in tropical to temperate areas.
Preptanthe plants are deciduous and lose their leaves in the cold winter of their preferred environments. The flower stalks form from pseudobulbs that are typically gray-green.
Evergreens include C. alismifolia, C. sylvatica, and C. triplicata, and deciduous species include C. hirsute, C. rosea, and C. vestita
You can’t breed the two different subgenera, which is one reason that botanists are considering separating the two into their own genera.
The difference is important because it impacts how you’ll grow these plants.
Home gardeners tend to prefer the deciduous types because they have long-lasting inflorescences that can stick around for months.
Regardless of the type, they are all sympodial, which means they produce multiple flower stalks rather than a single stalk. All have pleated or corrugated leaves and many have clusters of oval-shaped pseudobulbs.
They can be found growing wild across the globe in tropical climates in Asia, Australia, Mexico and Central America, the West Indies, and the Pacific Islands. The vast majority of species are native to southeast Asia.
Heads up: lots of orchids are known commonly as “Christmas” because it’s the name given to those that flower in the winter. But not all calanthe orchids bloom in the winter, and not all Christmas orchids belong to the Calanthe genus.
C. discolor and C. triplicata are commonly called Christmas orchids and bloom in winter.
Cultivation and History
The Calanthe genus was first described and illustrated by Georg Rumph, a German botanist, in 1750 in his tome “Herbarium Amboinense.” He used a specimen from Indonesia. The genus was formally established in 1821 by Robert Brown, a Scottish botanist.
Back in the 19th century during the Victorian plant craze, Calanthe orchids were a floral status symbol. Over the years, they have taken a backseat to Phalaenopsis and Cattleya, which is a shame. They’re easy to grow, long flowering, and showy.
One of the first orchid hybrids on record was a cross between C. furcata and C. masuca, bred by John Dominihy, a breeder who worked with James Veitch, who founded the famous Veitch Nurseries in England. It was called C. x dominii.
This was followed by a hybrid between C. rosea and C. vestita.
These days, while they haven’t gained the same level of popularity as their cousins, they are popular in their own right, with lots of hybrids and cultivars on the market.
Calanthe Orchid Propagation
If you’re up for an adventure, it’s possible to propagate orchids from seed.
Note that I said it’s possible, but not easy. It takes some special equipment and a lot of time, but you might be able to breed something exciting and new.
If you’re interested in the challenge, please visit our guide to propagating orchids from seed. Otherwise, let’s talk about division.
By Division
Both types can be divided, but Preptanthe plants actually grow better if you divide them regularly. That’s because two-year-old pseudobulbs die at the end of their second year. When you divide them regularly, you encourage new growth.
To divide, gently dig up a plant or pull it out of the container. Brush away the soil from the roots and locate a natural division in the plant that includes some roots and some pseudobulbs. Use a pair of clean scissors or pruners to sever the largest roots and then tease the plant apart.
If the plant has any back bulbs, which are the older bulbs that no longer have leaves, you can divide these and plant them individually.
Plant half back in the original pot or area of the garden and plant the remaining section in a new area or container.
Epiphytic orchids prefer that their roots be a bit crowded, but you can use larger containers with terrestrial species. Look for a container that’s about twice the size of the rootball.
Transplanting
Most of us purchase our first Calanthe orchids or receive them as a gift.
When you bring your first one home, you don’t need to repot it right away. But if you want to put it in the ground, it’s best to wait until mid-spring.
Prepare the ground by working in some well-rotted compost and making a hole twice as wide and the same depth as the growing container.
Gently remove the plant from its container and loosen up the roots. Lower it into the soil and firm the soil up around it.
The crown should be positioned at soil level or just below it. Don’t plant it more than just slightly below the soil surface or you run the risk of rot.
Gently water and add more soil if it settles too much.
How to Grow Calanthe Orchids
Generally speaking, evergreens should be kept moist to damp year-round, and deciduous types need to be allowed to dry out when the leaves have fallen. Let the medium completely dry out until new growth starts to form.
Both types prefer humidity between 40 and 80 percent.
While this varies by species, most prefer temperatures in the 70s or 80s during the day and around 50°F at night.
Sticking to the cooler end of the spectrum will result in longer-lasting flowers. Evergreens can tolerate cooler temperatures, with most being hardy down to around 5°F.
Most need bright, indirect light indoors, and direct morning light is preferred. Outside, they do best in dappled shade or with an hour or so of direct morning light.
I will say that these plants can tolerate more light than most gardeners realize. Partial sun is perfectly fine for most species, so long as you expose them to the brighter light gradually over the course of a few weeks until they’re acclimated.
As with many houseplants that can tolerate bright light, growers cultivate these orchids in dimmer conditions than what’s ideal in order to acclimate them to the light available in most homes.
Without exception, mine have flowered better when I give them more light. Just avoid afternoon light, which is way too harsh.
Provide Preptanthe species grown indoors with a medium containing sphagnum moss, coconut coir chips, medium-size bark, and perlite. Don’t use a mix that is primarily orchid bark, which is marketed for epiphytes. You want some loam for the terrestrial orchids.
Outdoors, work a lot of well-rotted compost into the soil – the more the better.
The soil must be well-draining. If it isn’t, choose a container or a raised bed so you can control the medium and drainage. Or, if you have heavy clay, work in equal parts compost to the native soil at least two feet down and two feet out.
Either way, these plants prefer neutral soil, but they can tolerate a pH range between 6.0 and 8.0.
If you want to grow Eucalanthe species indoors, they must be exposed to temperatures just above 35°F for cool-growing species and 50°F for tropical species at night for two months to encourage new growth and blooming. That’s why most people grow them outdoors.
Keep in mind that while most Eucalanthe plants can grow as far north as Zone 6, some species are tropical and need warmer climates. Depending on the species, they need to be kept indoors during cold weather outside of Zone 9.
Outdoor plants don’t need a ton of fertilizer. Do a soil test and amend accordingly. Otherwise, you shouldn’t need to add fertilizer.
If you are growing yours in a container, change the soil every few years and fertilize once before flowering with a mild, balanced fertilizer.
Never fertilize a Preptanthe while it’s without leaves.
Growing Tips
- There are two types of Calanthe orchids, so be certain you know which you have to provide the ideal environment.
- Keep the soil moist but not wet, and allow deciduous types to dry out when they’re dormant.
- Provide bright indirect light with direct morning light.
Maintenance
Resist the temptation to remove the leaves when they become crowded and untidy.
They are still providing vital nutrients to the plant, and removing them creates wounds that may expose the plant to viral pathogens. They shouldn’t be removed until they age to yellow and then brown and die off on their own.
Once the leaves turn yellow and collapse, you can remove them. They should just pull away, or you can use scissors to clip them off.
You can remove damaged or diseased leaves at any time.
For tropical types, aim for 50°F at night and 60°F during the day for a month or so to encourage reblooming.
To protect outdoor plants that go dormant, place two inches of mulch over the soil in the fall after the leaves die back. Use an organic mulch like leaf litter, shredded bark, or compost.
In USDA Hardiness Zones at the low end or even one below the recommended range of growing zones for a given species, it’s possible to keep plants alive with a thick layer of protective mulch. Make the mulch pile about a foot deep, covering the orchid and its root zone.
Remove the mulch in the spring when temperatures are regularly above freezing or if you see new growth emerging.
Container-grown outdoor orchids should be brought into an unheated garage or cold basement to overwinter.
Preptanthe orchids should be dug up and divided regularly. The pseudobulbs die after they’re two years old, so regular dividing will keep the plant going strong. Be extra careful when working with them because the pseudobulbs break easily.
Calanthe Orchid Species and Hybrids to Select
It seems like new cultivars are popping up all the time, but you can’t go wrong with any of the species or their hybrids.
Here are just a few of the prettiest and easiest to grow in home gardens or indoors:
Discolor
A popular evergreen or semi-evergreen in colder areas, the leaves of C. discolor can grow up to 18 inches long and form at the base of tall flower spikes dotted with up to 10 brown, white, green, and pale pink flowers.
This species grows indigenously in Japan, Korea, and China. It has become wildly popular as a house or garden plant and is often used as a parent for hybrids.
Kozu
Kozu hybrids are absolutely well worth seeking out.
These hybrids are a cross of C. discolor and C. izu-insularis, and produce flowers in pink, purple, red, white, and yellow, depending on the cultivar.
‘Kozu Spice,’ for example, is an evergreen indoors or in Zones 7 to 9 or semi-evergreen in Zone 6.
It was bred in 1996 in Japan by K. Karasawa, and has large white and purple blossoms.
Nipponica
Native to Japan and Tibet, this species grows in mountainous regions. It has bright green and light yellow flowers on tall stalks.
Each 15-inch stalk can produce up to 10 flowers. A member of the Preptanthe subgenus, C. nipponica can be grown outdoors as far north as Zone 6.
This species was first described by Japanese botanist Tomitarô Makino in 1898, and it has become a popular option for breeding hybrids.
Reflexa
This Japanese evergreen has underground pseudobulbs bearing two or three leaves up to nine inches long and three inches wide at their largest.
Each plant will only develop four or five flowering spikes at a time. These can reach up to 13 inches in height and initially feature nodding buds that eventually open and face upward.
Plants can exhibit up to 25 white and purple, pure purple, or pure white flowers at a time and they may bloom all together or open sequentially, starting in July and lasting through September.
C. reflexa grows in warm areas in wet woodlands or along stream banks, which tells you that this is a plant that needs lots of moisture.
Sieboldii
Hailing from Japan, this hardy evergreen has 18-inch tall inflorescences with bright yellow blossoms.
C. sieboldii is one of the largest plants in the genus and will survive temperatures down to 10°F.
While the flowers aren’t the showiest, they’re eye-catching in their own right.
Combined with the large, pleated leaves that resemble hostas, C. sieboldii is a beautiful garden option.
Striata
With large, heavily flowered spikes of golden yellow blossoms, this hardy type drops its leaves in late summer and perks back up in early spring.
C. striata is a good option for beginner growers because it’s adaptable and tolerant of a wide range of conditions. Those masses of pretty blossoms don’t hurt, either.
Takane
A hybrid cross of C. striata and C. discolor, C. takane is one tough orchid.
It can tolerate cold conditions and will still produce abundant cream, yellow, apricot, and pink blossoms on 18-inch spikes. It’s hardy to Zone 7, with pleated leaves similar to a broadleaf plantain.
This hybrid is a good option if you want something that will gently spread around the garden without becoming invasive.
Tricarinata
This popular, semi-evergreen species has lime-green and brown flowers on upright inflorescences that grow up to 12 inches tall.
Provide C. tricarinata with loamy, rich, loose soil and keep it consistently damp. It should be placed in shade, but a little morning or dappled light is fine.
Vestita
This beautiful species hails from the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Java, and Malaysia, where it is a deciduous epiphyte.
C. vestita requires dappled shade or morning sunlight and a humus-rich, loose, moist growing medium.
Each pseudobulb produces three or four oval-shaped leaves that drop from the plant each fall and regrow in the spring.
One inflorescence with up to 20 three-inch-wide white and yellow or red – depending on the climate and light – flowers emerge in July from each pseudobulb.
Managing Pests and Disease
Christmas orchids are surprisingly tough for such delicate-looking plants. The main problems to watch for are spider mites and root rot.
Pests
There’s one type of pest that plagues these orchids, whether indoors or out, and that’s the spider mite.
Spider mites are itty-bitty tick relatives that use their sucking mouthparts to draw out the sap of plants.
They can cause serious damage to the leaves of these plants, and can eventually kill them, especially young specimens.
Spider mites are so small that you might not notice them at first. You’ll probably see the fine webbing they create, often filled with small black flecks, or the splotchy, yellow leaves they cause.
The first step with eradicating spider mites is to isolate the plant if you can. Then, spray down the plant once a week with a gentle stream of water to knock the pests loose.
If that’s not working, read our guide for more tips on how to control spider mites.
Disease
Spots on the leaves are one of the most common signs of disease.
The Erwinia and Acidovorax species of bacteria cause leaf spots, as do species of fungi in the Cercospora genus.
Anthracnose, caused by fungi in the Colletotrichum genus, can also cause spots with tan centers and a black margin to form.
These pathogens spread by hitching a ride in splashing water, or in crowded conditions and high humidity. That’s why it’s important to water the soil rather than sprinkling the leaves, and keep plants well-spaced.
The moment you notice spotting, trim off any symptomatic leaves. Then, grab a biofungicide and bactericide combo, such as Monterey’s Complete Disease Control.
This product contains Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain D747, which kills many pathogens.
Monterey Complete Disease Control
Pick some up from Arbico Organics in 32-ounce ready-to-use or eight-ounce, pint, or gallon-size concentrate containers.
Root rot can be caused by water molds in the Pythium and Phytophthora genera.
When these pathogens are present, it can cause black, soft spots on the leaves or roots. Root rot can also be caused by overwatering, which drowns the roots.
If you see unusual patterns and colors on leaves, it’s usually a sign that viruses like Odontoglossum ringspot virus (ORSV) and Cymbidium mosaic virus (CyMV) have made their way into your plants.
There’s no known cure, so you must either dispose of the plant or accept the unusual appearance. If you decide to live with it, know that the virus might spread to other orchids.
Learn more about these and other diseases in our guide to orchid problems.
Best Uses for Calanthe Orchids
Indoors, plants of either subgenus can be potted up and enjoyed. Some gardeners grow Preptanthe species in shallow trays or bonsai pots to highlight the unusual pseudobulbs.
In the winter, when the leaves are gone and just the long pseudobulbs and tall flower stalks remain, species like C. vestita will make a centerpiece that draws comments.
Outdoors, they work well in groups, borders, specimens, or rock gardens, depending on the species.
Combine them with partial shade lovers like aralias, astilbe, bleeding hearts, ferns, hellebores, hostas, and trilliums.
Because these species are mostly terrestrial, you can’t mount them unless you’re growing one of the few epiphytic types.
Quick Reference Growing Guide
Plant Type: Sympodial evergreen or deciduous herbaceous flowers Flower/Foliage Color: Pink, purple, red, white, yellow/green Native to: Asia, Australia, Central America, South Africa, South America Maintenance: Moderate Hardiness (USDA Zones): 6b-9b Water Needs: Moderate to high Bloom Time: Spring, summer, fall, winter, depending on species Soil Type: Loamy, rich Exposure: Partial shade or bright, indirect light with morning sun Soil pH: 6.0-8.0 Time to Maturity: Up to 3 years from seed Soil Drainage: Well-draining Planting Depth: Same depth as growing container (transplants) Companion Planting: Aralia, astilbe, bleeding heart, fern, hellebore, hosta, trillium Spacing: 1 foot Uses: Borders, mass planting, potted (indoors and out), specimen Height: Up to 3 feet Family: Orchidaceae Spread: Up to 2 feet Subfamily: Epidendroideae Growth Rate: Moderate Genus: Calanthe Tolerance: Frost (some species) Subgenera: Eucalanthe, Preptanthe Common Pests and Diseases: Spider mites; leaf spots, root rot, viruses Species: Alismaefolia, callosa, hirsute, lutea, odora, rosea, rubens, striata, styloglossum, sylvatica, tricarinata, triplicata, vestita, yueana Celebrate Christmas All Year Round
Calanthe orchids are special. They grow in the ground, and many can tolerate much colder temperatures than many of us associate with orchids.
The appearance of the foliage and the flowers can be truly remarkable, as can the pseudobulbs when highlighted in a shallow tray.
Which species do you find most appealing? How will you grow it? Let us know in the comments section below and feel free to share a picture!
And for more information about growing orchids, have a read of these guides next:
Kristine Lofgren
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Compact Shrubs with Colorful Foliage for the Southeast – FineGardening
Winter is a great time to look outside and evaluate the structure of your landscape. It can be easier during this time of year to tell if you need a few more woodies to add structural support. Small shrubs in particular have a lot of utility in gardens. They fit perfectly in beds and borders and can be used in tight spaces where more presence than a perennial is warranted. Here are a few smaller shrubs with impressive foliage that have worked well for us in the Southeast.
Candy Corn® Japanese spirea’s new spring growth is a bright yellow-orange. Candy Corn® Japanese spirea
Spiraea japonica ‘NCSX1’, Zones 4–8
Candy Corn® Japanese spirea is so bright and cheerful that it almost doesn’t seem real. Its foliage during the growing season is chartreuse but the orange-red new growth in spring makes it truly spectacular. Once the new growth turns yellow-green, the shrub produces clusters of bright pink flowers. Growing to about 1 to 1½ feet tall and 1½ to 2½ feet wide, Candy Corn® is fairly drought tolerant and sturdy, taking full sun to partial shade. The flowers make it popular with pollinators, especially butterflies. A trim in late summer prompts a flush of fabulous new growth for fall. Best of all, this cultivar is sterile, which allays invasiveness concerns.
The delicate white flowers of ‘Margie Jenkins’ leucothoe contrast well with its dark green foliage. ‘Margie Jenkins’ leucothoe
Leucothoe axillaris ‘Margie Jenkins’, Zones 5–9
The dark green leaves and arching stems on ‘Margie Jenkins’ leucothoe are very attractive. This multistemmed shrub can reach 2 to 5 feet tall and 3 to 5 feet wide. It will spread a bit from the base as it produces new stems. ‘Margie Jenkins’ is a selection of a southeastern native species that is resistant to the leaf spot that plagues the species. This shrub tolerates full sun if kept consistently moist but looks better with bright shade or morning sun and afternoon shade. It can also take full shade. Once established, it is somewhat drought tolerant but very tolerant of wet feet. In spring, racemes of white, bell-shaped flowers appear, followed by bronze-colored new growth.
‘Radiance’ abelia features stunning yellow and white variegation on its foliage, which can also be tinted red and orange during other times of the year. ‘Radiance’ abelia
Abelia ‘Radiance’, Zones 6–9
‘Radiance’ abelia has small leaves that are variegated. The cream and green foliage remains for most of the year and turns orange in winter. White clusters of flowers appear in the summer. The light-colored foliage and flowers make this shrub really stand out against darker green plants. The blooms are very popular with pollinators and have a sweet fragrance. ‘Radiance’ is showiest when grown in full sun, but it will also take partial shade. It will grow 2 to 3 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide. The new growth that appears in spring and often again after flowering is tinted red.
Cinnamon Girl® distylium’s pretty teal foliage has an intriguing ovate shape. Cinnamon Girl® distylium
Distylium ‘PIIDIST-V’, Zones 7–9
Cinnamon Girl® distylium features evergreen foliage on branches that grow up and out, reaching 2 to 3 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide. The foliage is a lovely blue-green, while new growth is a showy reddish purple. In early spring, tiny red flowers are produced all along the branches. This shrub grows nicely in full sun. It will also take partial shade but will have a looser growth habit. The best thing about it is that it’s tough. Cinnamon Girl® can handle hot summers, drought, and pruning mistakes. However, it looks best with regular watering and yearly fertilizer.
There are so many great plants to choose from out there that it can be hard to narrow down the choices. These are a few compact shrubs that we’ve been successful with in the Southeast, and all have interesting foliage to boot. Any one of these plants will have the neighbors asking about that wonderful bush in your yard.
For more compact shrubs, check out Shrubs for Small Spaces in the South. And for more Southeast regional reports, click here.
Jason and Shelley Powell own and manage Petals From the Past, a garden center in Jemison, Alabama.
Photos: Shelley Powell
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Jason and Shelley Powell
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How to Pick the Best Mulch for Your Mountain West Garden Beds – FineGardening
Since entering horticulture professionally over a decade ago, I’ve noticed a correlation on the Colorado Front Range between wood mulch (also called arborist chips) and water-wise gardens. A beautifully designed garden goes in, with appropriate irrigation and plant palette, and the garden looks great—briefly—before languishing. Plants in these beds never quite take off, or they fail before their natural lifespans are over. I casually refer to this as plant/mulch mismatch, and it’s an issue I see too often, maybe because mulch is anything but exciting to the average homeowner.
To get to the bottom of why these mulch mistakes are happening in the Mountain West, I spoke to expert horticulturists from across the region. I asked the following questions: “What mulch do you recommend to gardeners in your area for use around trees and shrubs?” “What about a ‘classic’ perennial bed?” “What mulch do you recommend for a water-wise or native-heavy garden?”
I gathered the insights below from interviews with Robb Smith, Nich Boynton-Steele, Guy Banner, Lauren Carvalho, Michael Guidi, and Jacob Mares, who practice in northern New Mexico; the Colorado Front Range; southern Wyoming; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Boise, Idaho.
In some areas, mulch selection is straightforward
In a scene you’d be hard-pressed to find on the Front Range, healthy and happy yucca sit under a layer of quality arborist chip in a garden in Boise, Idaho. Mulch mismatch was least pronounced in Boise, where it seems that all kinds of plantings do well with the quality of arborist chip mulch available in the area. This included everything from xeric, native plants to trees and shrubs. I’ve discussed the absence of mulch/plant mismatch with experts in the area and, frankly, none of us are completely sure why they don’t experience it. Regardless, it makes selecting an appropriate mulch an easy exercise for the Treasure Valley and surrounding areas. Mulch/plant mismatch wasn’t widely noted in Wyoming or northern New Mexico either. This could be due to the fact that inorganic mulches, like pea gravel, are preferred, though for different reasons.
When and where inorganic mulches are recommended
Preliminary evidence in horticulture research at Denver Botanic Gardens suggests not only that inorganic mulches are effective when used appropriately, but that some (like crusher fines—also known as breeze—or decomposed granite) can be used as seeding mulches to develop meadow gardens, with wildflower seeds embedded in the mulch at time of application. Photo: Michael Guidi In the geologic wind tunnel that is Wyoming, most don’t bother with organic mulches (like wood) because of their tendency to behave like migratory species that quickly disperse from their intended beds and into the “Great Beyond”.
In northern New Mexico, organic mulches were indicated to be so slow to break down that their benefits don’t reliably seem to outweigh their drawbacks, though they are used in some settings—like around shrubs, trees, and in the occasional perennial bed—with respectable results. Instead, pea gravel and expanded shale were recommended for most applications other than tree rings.
Despite its impressive suppression of weed-seed germination, gravel mulch remains a good seedbed for many short-lived western natives that will disappear from a garden if not able to self-sow, like many penstemons and other wildflowers. If this is your desired aesthetic, apply your gravel mulch 2 inches deep instead of 3. In the Wasatch Front of Utah and the Front Range of Colorado, inorganic mulch should be used for water-wise gardens. In fact, inorganic mulch is so effective for xeric gardens in the region that the Colorado-based water-wise plant-development nonprofit Plant Select® trials new plants exclusively in gravel mulch.
Far and away my favorite implement for weeding gravel is the stirrup hoe (also called a hula or scuffle hoe). Because it slides through the gravel easily, undercutting weeds at their root, I can cover large areas quickly. In cases of coarse gravel, the implement is virtually worthless, so stick to pea gravel or similar sizes of other inorganic mulches, such as expanded shale or scoria (aka cinder). Why is pea gravel so popular?
Pea gravel tends to be “Fix it and forget it,” needing only one main application of 2 inches and then the occasional refresh after dirt is mixed in during planting. This assumes that your bed has been properly prepared to sit an inch or two below adjacent sidewalks or has been edged to avoid errant gravel grains rolling onto hard surfaces. However, if your bed needs grading, it can be done easily with a flathead shovel.
Pea gravel’s success stems from its tendency to keep plant crowns dry and to warm the soil slightly (valuable for root growth during our chilly shoulder seasons) while insulating plant crowns and roots against extreme temperatures and temperature swings. Like wood mulch, it significantly reduces soil water losses by evaporation and drastically cuts weed pressure. For those in fire-prone areas, rock mulches—including pea gravel, scoria, and expanded shale—are also the safest options, as they’re fireproof.
Where and how organic mulch works
Though pea gravel and other inorganic mulches can achieve great results in the right setting, there are still situations where organic mulch reigns supreme. Applying organic mulch 2 to 3 inches deep yields excellent results for tree/shrub borders and classic perennial beds in the Wasatch Front of Utah and Front Range of Colorado.
Wood mulch can mat, which reduces water infiltration into the soil during light precipitation events, but it is still recommended in these areas for its soil-building qualities and easy acquisition.
Wood mulch delivered directly to your garden is not only convenient, but you can also often get it for free or purchased in bulk for very cheap. Photo: Karen Beaty Most gardeners in our region can have wood mulch delivered to their driveway for free through third parties that connect arborists with gardeners or, with some shoveling and hauling, municipal programs. An internet search for “arborist/wood chip mulch distribution” is nearly certain to yield results. It’s worth noting that wood/arborist mulch isn’t the same as bark mulch; the latter can leave a waxy coating on the soil, reducing infiltration, and is more flammable than wood mulch.
Keep mixing and matching until you find the right mulch fit
No single trend drove mulch use, except a desire to see plantings do well. But as with most things in life, “one size fits all” does not apply, so the best practices described here should help guide your mulching machinations while you take into consideration the unique situations in your individual garden. If you suspect your garden may be experiencing mulch/plant mismatch, don’t let the dirty topic bring your garden down; consider moving some mulch before your plants move on.
For more Mountain West regional reports, click here.
Bryan Fischer lives and gardens at the intersection of the Great Plains and the Rockies. He is a horticulturist and the curator of plant collections for a local botanic garden.
Photos, except where noted: Bryan Fischer
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Bryan Fischer
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How to Make a Dopamine Menu for Gardening – Garden Therapy
If your screen usage has hit an all-time high, you’re not alone. From TV to video games to social media, we often turn to these devices for quick entertainment and small hits of dopamine. But it’s not too late to turn things around! As a gardener, your love of the outdoors and all things green can be turned into a highly beneficial dopamine menu.
Nowadays, it’s nearly impossible to get away from screens. Unless you’re doing a digital detox challenge or out in the woods with no reception, you probably have some form of screen(s) you rely on for entertainment daily.
If you’re reading this, it means you’re staring at a screen right this very minute! And since I’ve reminded you that you’re scrolling, please keep reading, as I promise that what I’m about to tell you will be a game changer when it comes to reducing your screen time.
Since my kiddo was little, I’ve tried to keep him away from screens. Which, for his generation, is a tough thing to do. I make sure we read together, play board games, go on walks, cook together, and more to reduce how often both of our eyes are glued to a screen.
Dopamine menus are a relatively new trend and tool that people can use to find new sources of dopamine outside of screens. And because I am a woman whose core being relies heavily on plants, I knew I needed to make a dopamenu for gardening.
Today, I’ll show you how you can make your own dopamine menu for gardening and why you should.
Are Screens Bad for Us?
We get the sense that too much screen time can be bad for our health, but what’s the science behind it all?
Harvard Medical School says that screens can affect how the human brain develops. Young brains are constantly building new neural connections and cutting down any they don’t use often. Screens can affect how our brain builds these connections.
Screens provide simulated versions of what we experience in real life. Essentially, they’re watered-down versions of our experiences, and so the neural connections being built aren’t as “strong.”
“Boredom is the space in which creativity and imagination happen,” says Rich, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. And I think that really summarizes how screens have fulfilled our endless need to be entertained.
Why do you think our best thinking happens in the shower? Or if you’re like me, when I’m out puttering in the garden.
I still have screens in my house, but I try to be aware of my usage. Screens and Sleep
Using screens at bedtime has also been proven to disrupt sleep. Before bed, our body begins to produce melatonin as a response to darkness. But devices emitting blue light will suppress our melatonin and affect our ability to achieve REM sleep, which is essential for processing and storing information.
This means the next day, you may be more tired and less likely to process and retain new information. AKA, having a good memory.
Screens and Mood
Some studies have also linked screen time to symptoms of depression. And I can totally see why. Beyond the traps of constantly comparing ourselves on social media, many people rely on screen activities as a way to deal with stress. So when we go without screens, our anxiety can rise.
Being outside instantly boosts my mood. What is Dopamine?
Dopamine is a key factor in why we LOVE screens so much. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that our nervous systems use to send messages. It’s a chemical that spreads within the brain and the body as a messenger for pleasure.
Dopamine works as a reward system. Doing activities you enjoy will release dopamine. How much is released is based on the activity and its frequency.
Many things use this natural reward system, like drugs and alcohol, and yes, our beloved screens. Initially, they give us a big rush of dopamine. But then they diminish the more you use it.
Watching one episode of a show is fun. Binging the whole series? You might feel depleted and groggy afterward.
In response to the diminishing dopamine, we tend to either move on to a different activity to get a new reward or increase the initial activity to try and get more.
Darwin Hybrids ‘Elite Apledoorn’ Tulips A dopamenu is a tool we can use to help us find new sources of dopamine when we feel like we need a pick-me-up.
Originally developed by Jessica McCabe, it was originally intended to help those with ADHD. It’s believed that people with ADHD have lower dopamine levels and continually need to find new dopamine hits.
A dopamenu has a list of starters, mains, sides, desserts, and specials. Each of these categories has different activities or various lengths that you can turn to when you’re looking for stimulation.
Essentially, it’s a quick customized list of things that you know will bring you joy.
While originally a tool for ADHD, I think everyone can benefit from a dopamine menu. It’s a useful tool to turn to to get away from screens, get outside, and find more sustainable dopamine hits.
And as a gardener, you know I had to make myself a list of things I could do in the garden to get myself engaged with nature. Nature has many many mental health benefits (which I talk about in this post), and trying to do activities outdoors can double up your benefits.
Working outside can have immense benefits. I highly encourage you to make your own dopamine menu. Over time, fill it with activities you like to do outside and in your garden. Eventually, you’ll have a great list to turn to when you need ideas for how to get yourself up and moving.
Here are a few of my go-to’s that you can use as a jumping-off point for your own dopamenu.
Starters
These are quick, 5-minute activities you can do to take a break and get outside.
A dopamine menu can even be a nice reminder to check on your plants. Mains
These activities take up more time and are great if you have an hour or more to spare.
Sides
When you’re already outside, these activities make for good add-ons.
Desserts
These are activities that you often default to. It’s best not to spend a lot of time on them, but they are good in small, planned doses.
- Scroll on social media
- Shop for seeds
- Enjoy a cocktail outside
- Shop at the garden centre
- Watch a favourite TV show
- Play video games
Specials
These activities aren’t your everyday activities. They might be expensive or more time-consuming than others, but they are still worthwhile.
A seed library is a great way to engage with your local gardening community. What will you put on your dopamine menu for gardening? Let me know in the comments down below so that we can all take inspiration as we make our own dopamenus for gardening.
More Ways to Find Gardening Joy
Stephanie Rose
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Biochar Mini-Kiln Success | The Survival Gardener
[ad_2] David The GoodI got two #10 cans and made a little biochar retort with the method shared in this post.
My six-year-old son and I then packed it full of wood chips and sweetgum seed pods. Then we started up a fire in the fireplace, put in some logs, then put the retort in with them for the night.
In the morning, the fire had burned out so I pulled out the retort. To my surprise, it was really light. Disappointed, I assumed the interior had burned away into ash.
Yet when I opened it, I found it was half-full of beautiful, perfect biochar.
Since almost everything had burned out of them except for the carbon, the char left was quite light.
The sweetgum pods looked amazing.
This is really a clever way to make small-scale, perfect char.
Our next experiment will be to make artist’s vine charcoal for one of my daughters so she can draw with it. We cut a bunch of pieces of wild muscadine vine and put them into a smaller retort made from two “family size” tomato soup cans.
If you regularly run a wood stove, a cooking fire or a fireplace, this is a fun way to make biochar for free. The charcoal is higher-quality than you can get by doing a burn outside and quenching it, plus you can char materials that would just melt away in an open fire.
I’d like to try this with some pecan shells.
As LiveOnWhatYouGrow commented on my YouTube post about our success with his method:
“Because I’ve been making biochar for so long this way I’ve forgotten that leaves, grass, cardboard, paper, pinecones, hair, and other things like that, really can’t be made into biochar in an open fire because they’ll completely turn to ash! In the retort, everything inside turns to char because, at temperatures of over 1200°F, all the volatile compounds in the organic matter expand and turn to gas, but with no oxygen, they can’t burn. So, at those temperatures, all the gasses are driven out of the end hole and the seams where they combine with oxygen and burn outside the retort leaving only carbon inside! The best part is that I get to heat my house for free here in Connecticut while making at least 600lbs (275kg) of biochar each year! I used to make it outside in a pit, but then I had to pay for fuel to heat my house!”
Pretty cool, and a great project to do with kids.
Once you have your char, just soak it in something mineral-rich to “charge” it, then add it to your gardens.
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Magnificent Magnolias for Mid-Atlantic Gardens – FineGardening
Millions of years of evolution and hybridization efforts by generations of enthusiasts have produced hundreds of magnolia species and cultivars. Our mild Mid-Atlantic climate is conducive for growing a significant majority of them, which makes it quite daunting to select just one perfect specimen. From my long list of favorites, here are a few stellar selections with some of the best traits that this ancient genus has to offer.
Clear yellow blooms bedeck ‘Butterflies’, a compact selection that is a perfect fit for smaller gardens. Photo: Jennifer Benner ‘Butterflies’ magnolia warmly greets spring with sunny blooms
Magnolia ‘Butterflies’
Zones: 5–9
Size: 15 to 20 feet tall and 10 to 15 feet wide
Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; moist, well-drained soil
Small trees with yellow early spring blooms are often hard to come by, which explains my attraction to this lovely little hybrid. Compared to other yellow-flowered magnolias, which tend to have blooms that fade quickly and color that is a bit muddy, ‘Butterflies’ is unique. Its upright, 8-inch, tulip-shaped flowers have a nonfading pure canary yellow hue and a light, lemony fragrance. It is smaller in stature than many other selections, which makes it a suitable choice for smaller gardens.
‘Wada’s Memory’ has a tidy, elegant habit that sets it apart from other deciduous cultivars. Photo: Carol Collins ‘Wada’s Memory’ blooms at a very early age
Magnolia × kewensis ‘Wada’s Memory’
Zones: 5–8
Size: 25 to 30 feet tall and 15 to 20 feet wide
Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; moist, well-drained soil
Many deciduous magnolias develop a very asymmetrical, unpredictable habit with age and maturity, making it quite a challenge to site them in spaces that are not large and open. That is not the case with ‘Wada’s Memory’, which develops and maintains a very symmetrical, pyramidal shape from a young age. It also begins blooming at a very young age compared to other magnolias. The abundant, pure white, 7-inch flowers burst forth before foliage emerges in early spring, filling the garden with a delightful orange-blossom fragrance.
Moonglow® is an outstanding selection from a native species that exhibits attractive characteristics every month of the year. Photo: Doreen Wynja Moonglow® sweet bay magnolia reblooms throughout the growing season
Magnolia virginiana ‘Jim Wilson’
Zones: 5–10
Size: 15 to 35 feet tall and 10 to 20 feet wide
Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; moist to wet soil
Native plant enthusiasts, this is the magnolia for you. Sweet bay magnolia naturally occurs along much of the Atlantic coast and is very adaptable to a variety of growing conditions, including wet soil. Compared with the straight species, Moonglow® has a more vigorous, upright habit and is more cold hardy. Its glossy, dark green foliage with silvery undersides is retained and remains evergreen during the winter months. Emerging in spring, its pure white, slightly cupped, fragrant flowers are larger than those of the straight species, and it may also produce flowers sporadically throughout the growing season. Bright red seeds in conelike fruits add to the appeal of this excellent cultivar.
‘Ann’ magnolia has a compact habit and luminous, late-emerging blooms. Photo: Jennifer Benner “The Girls” bloom later than other cultivars, so their flowers are less likely to be nipped by frost
Magnolia ‘Ann’, ‘Betty’, ‘Jane’, ‘Judy’, ‘Pinkie’, ‘Randy’, ‘Ricki’, and ‘Susan’
Zones: 4–8
Size: 10 to 15 feet tall and wide
Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; moist, well-drained soil
Many magnolias bloom very early, so late frosts or freezing temperatures often cause significant damage to their floral displays. The Little Girl series was developed at the National Arboretum in the 1950s to remedy that problem. The project produced eight selections, listed above, that flower two to four weeks later than many of the early-blooming magnolias such as saucer magnolia (M. × soulangiana, Zones 4–9) and star magnolia (M. stellata, Zones 4–8). Each of “the girls” has her own distinct personality. ‘Ann’ has a compact, shrublike, multistem habit and mildly fragrant, deep purple to pink flowers that appear from mid-April to May. Although less abundant than the initial flush, additional blooms may develop throughout the summer months. Others in the series grow in a similar manner, with flower color being the main difference between them. ‘Judy’, for example, has flowers that are red to purple on the outside and creamy white inside, while ‘Ricki’ has reddish to purple blooms with slightly less saturated hues on the interior.
If you have enough space for its impressive habit (left), the evergreen foliage of ‘D. D. Blanchard’ (right) will be a fabulous focal point in every season. Photos: Adam Glas ‘D. D. Blanchard’ southern magnolia provides striking winter interest
Magnolia grandiflora ‘D. D. Blanchard’
Zones: 7–9
Size: 35 to 50 feet tall and 20 to 35 feet wide
Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; moist, well-drained soil
This stately specimen deserves a home in any garden that can accommodate its sizable habit. However, in smaller spaces I have seen it trained as an espalier or pruned into a formal shape with great success. To my eye, the deep-green, high-gloss foliage with rich velvety rust to brown undersides make it far superior to any of the other southern magnolias, with the possible exception of Teddy Bear® (Magnolia grandiflora ‘Southern Charm’, Zones 7–9), which you can read about here. Foliage creates a beautiful backdrop for equally lovely flowers. From late spring to early summer, dinner plate–size blooms produce a spicy, lemony aroma that perfumes the air surrounding this magnificent specimen.
Adam Glas is a garden supervisor and rosarian at the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.
For more Mid-Atlantic regional reports, click here.
Further reading:
Adam Glas
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