Saturday, October 8, 2011

Sedum 'Autumn Fire'

I'm pretty sure the very first perennial I ever purchased was Sedum 'Autumn Joy'. It was advertised as "fool proof" and the perfect perennial for beginning gardeners in all the books I had read. That's all I had to hear so I went out and bought two of them (planting in odd numbers was still a foreign concept to me).
I loved it at first with it's unique foliage and the fact that it emerged so early in the spring. When the blooms came in late summer, I was pumped up. But then it happened ... it started to sprawl and I was devastated (slight hyperbole). I gave up on them for years but admittedly would look longingly at them in other people's gardens.
Fast forward ten years or so and I've found the perfect solution to my sedum envy, she's called 'Autumn Fire':
I've owned this beauty for three years now and have been thrilled with the results. I could swoon over those sedum blooms:
Without worrying about this happening:

Maxes out at about 2' x 2'
Prefers full sun
Needs good drainage to survive and some how I found a spot where that works
Is not deer resistant and again, I've some how managed to hold them off ... for now
Survives in zones 3-9
Personally, I love watching the blooms slowly change from mid summer all the way into the middle of Fall:

Give it a whirl, won't you?

Friday, October 7, 2011

Brief Of Dwarf Lilac



  Dwarf Lilac
  Syringa 'Penda'
  (si-RING-gah)
  Synonym: Bloomerang
  Okay every once in awhile a season bender plant appears and this little lilac is one. A mixture of several species of lilac including patula x macrophylla x meyeri x juliana it blooms heavily around regular lilac time (around here Mid-May). It then takes a rest period and starts blooming again with a smaller crop of flowers. This picture was taken this week and the plants offered for sale each had a couple of flowers on them.
  When you combine the dwarf habit, fragrant flowers and the reblooming Bloomerang is quite a package. One house we care for has a large collection of what I think are ‘Miss Kim’ dwarf lilacs and they are in constant need of pruning to fit in their dwarf spaces. That doesn’t really fit the definition/use of a dwarf plant for me. The problem is not the plant but the planter in that case (I inherited the care of those plants and did not install them). Bloomerang looks to be a much dwarfer and less course plant than ‘Miss Kim’ but only time will tell (Bloomerang was introduced in 2009).
  Fall lilac flowers what will we see next?

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day January 2011

  There is a nice blanket of snow on the ground and none on the roads. That’s the way we like it in cold climate country. We know we are not going to see blooms when snow covers the ground so we plan for ways to have blooms in the house. I’ve got some hyacinths forcing and it’s about time for them to come out of the basement. They don’t have blooms now, but maybe in time for February’s Bloom Day.

  Happy Surprises
Then there are the blooms that you don’t expect, but surprise you. This frequently happens in the garden, so why not in the house, too? So I am pleased to report that my Thanksgiving cactus is reblooming.
How does this happen? This plant hangs in front of my not-very-insulated kitchen window. It set buds on the colder window side. When I see this, I turn the plant around so I will actually get to enjoy the flowers when they open. As it turns out, it bloomed just a bit after Thanksgiving this year.
Then we had a warm spell, when all the snow melted away. And then it got cold again. Apparently the warm spell was long enough that it tricked the Thanksgiving cactus into believing a whole cycle of seasons had passed, and the new cold spell encouraged it to set more buds. And I, the ever hopeful gardener, noticed there were more buds, and turned the pot around again.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Flowers under April Weather

It snowed last night. Tonight, there is still snow on the ground. On 8 April, and winter has lasted long enough, thanks.

There are two ways to view these raids end of the winter season. A person can either despair or hope. When a long winter snow melts, releasing a long-buried land again to feel the life giving rays of the sun, is a time of rest for the weary hearts of months trapped within the four walls of a house. As exhilarating as the taste of spring can be renovated at a funeral in the snow can cause a drop in the same moral.

For some people, later this year, the snow falls more depressing is that. For those of snow at any time, in April is particularly overwhelming, and a week later this month is that much worse.

This is my opinion: Snow in March is very sad indeed. Snow in April is a farce. When the first flakes fall in the sky during the month of April I admit my answer is unhappy. But then I laugh. Snow is not around for long. When the snow falls in March is always the lurking fear of the cold and snowy months. April Spring swell is such that snow days are limited. In April, the winter has had its grip on our lives long enough. It 'time to throw away the fear of winter, and laughs. Snow today? It just makes the lack of snow tomorrow, even more wonderful. Spring is coming, is just the tip of your fingers. And 'here.

I mark these thoughts, but still struggles with frustration. Today I am not desperate, that the winter is not necessarily over, but to wear down the outside of disability. As the seasons change here is the bad habit of passing from winter to summer, and too little time. Four weeks between winter and summer, there is not enough time to get all these things done before summer. Yard is a wreck. Around the wreck. Any additional snow allows for a great day to escape unused.

April is full of ups and downs, but I say that is higher than in March. In April, the sun is about long days hard enough all day. Snowdrops and crocuses to strike across the country. The water flows. Tree buds swell with new life. The world is changing and running.

On a good day in April I get out of a world on edge. The sky is bright blue and white clouds on the floor. The wind has a bite to court, but the sun warms any surface it touches. Although the wreck was lost in the cool winter air and the sky speaks of spring.

March is crazy. April is the hope. In early April the eye sees only the contours of what has vanished in life takes place in May and June April is a time to dream. The world is waiting, spring, summer and fall have been in advance. The ground is frozen and wet here, but I stand, look around and imagine the coming months.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Sunny Knockout Rose bush's Characteristics


Shrub Rose

'Sunny Knockout' Rosa

(RO ZUH)

Synonyms: Radsunny

To finalize the new area, we worked on that we should have a little pink. The Knockout Sunny looked so good he has done in the garden with some types of Carefree and easy elegance. This rose is a star among the others and comes with the ease of care have Knockouts. This is the newest Knockout, and it is sure to be a success, in my opinion. The bright yellow flowers fade to a creamy color that gives a nice contrast with the shiny new yellow flowers.