Archive | 2023

2023: Successes and Failures

“I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past” Thomas Jefferson.

For gardeners, the history of the past informs the dreams of the future. While we tend to throw caution to the wind when we fall in love with plants, we benefit greatly by reviewing what worked and what didn’t before investing in additions to the garden.

2023 GARDEN FAILURES

With effective deer and vole protection finally in place, I thought it safe to plant Hostas in my shady landscape. They flourished for months. Then, in the Fall, the plants met up with marauding rabbits.

Sadly, Hostas are once again flora non grata. Ditto for Heucheras. (Shameless bunnies also gobbled up the Heuchara ‘Fire Alarm’ featured in the blog post “Summer 2023: Resplendent Plants.”)

As a keen gardening friend observed: “There is always something.”

2023 GARDEN SUCCESSES”

“One can never be too thin, too rich or have too many Erythroniums” said Daniel Hinkley, founder of the legendary Heronswood Nursery. In my garden, Erythromium was verboten because of voles. Until now.

In the Fall of 2022 I planted rodent-resistant Erythronium californicum ‘Pagoda’ (Trout Lily) Z 4-8 and this Spring was rewarded with luminous, buttery-yellow flowers. A Festival of Erythronium!

Provide rich, moist, well- drained, acidic soil in shade.

Another success was the rabbit-deer-rodent-resistant bulbs of Allium sphaerocephalon (The Drumstick Allium) Z 4-9. The delightful long-stemmed, summer-blooming, purple dancing flowers were pollinator magnets.

Provide organically rich, well-drained soil.

Crucial to my garden’s success are plants with attractive, interesting foliage. I’m especially fond of variegated plants and I was captivated by a photo of a tropical variegated plant, Alpinia zerumbet ‘Variegata’ (Shell Ginger) Z 8-11, that appeared on the cover of Richters 2023 Herb & Vegetable catalogue.

The plant’s ornamental, aromatic foliage is even more dazzling in person.

In addition to its show-stopping beauty, Shell Ginger has been widely used for medicinal and culinary purposes. It will not survive the frost in my Zone 7a garden but it can be overwintered as a houseplant. A. z. ‘Variegata’ is called Shell Ginger because in its second year it produces flowers that resemble sea shells.

On our upper deck, the disease-free, pest-free, plant thrives in a container of moist, organic potting soil, without added amendments or fertilizer.

Richters has an impressive inventory of plants and seeds, including an outstanding selection of tea plants. My tea junkie husband’s favorite this year was the pineapple-scented sage, Salvia elegans Z 9-10. The striking red flowers are a bonus.

Richters online: www.richters.com; phone: 1-800-668-4372.

Finally, a nostalgic look back to the first year of my blog: In a post on November 2011 I extolled the merits of the extraordinary Autumn and Spring flowering Azalea ‘Marshy Point’s Humdinger.’ The photo of Humdinger below was taken on November 2023. Twelve years of beautiful, twice-yearly, reliable bloom, from a hardy, disease-free shrub. A success worth celebrating!

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving!

2023: BARBIE Pink

Sep2

The recently released film Barbie has grossed over a billion dollars and counting at the global box office. No surprise that Barbie pink is now the new black. The film has created a cultural pink tsunami!

Scene from the Barbie Film

Consider adopting an enchanting pink-flowering trio for your garden:

Camellia japonica ‘Maidens of Great Promise’ (Z 6-9)

C. j. ‘Maidens of Great Promise’ is a very cold-hardy, healthy, glossy-leafed, evergreen shrub that blooms in the Spring. In my organic zone 7a garden, the Camellia has flourished for decades north of the house, in well-drained, moist, organically rich acid soil, in shade. It attracts pollinators and has been disease-free and insect-pest-free. Avoid direct sun. Protect from voles. (See November 3, 2022 post: “2022: Natural, Non-Toxic Vole Repellent”)

Cornus Kousa ‘Scarlet Fire’ (Z 5-8)

Award winning Kousa Dogwood Scarlet Fire was introduced by Rutgers University, a leading Dogwood breeder. The tree blooms heavily at a young age — the second year in my garden — and its rich pink bloom is an improvement over the disappointing color of the other pink-flowering Kousas I have tried. When the May/June flowers fade, the tree produces showy red fruit. It is disease-resistant, pest-resistant and heat-tolerant. Provide well-drained, moist, acid soil.

Rosa ‘Earth Angel’ ( Z 5-10)

I love this floribunda rose! Earth Angel has won many awards — including the coveted ADR. (ADR roses are trialed for three years without pesticides and graded for, inter alia, disease resistance, habit, hardiness and beauty.) Moreover, the rose is part of the Kordes Parfuma collection of healthy, extremely fragrant roses. In addition to delicious fragrance, robust good health, and excellent disease resistance, the rose’s gorgeous petal-packed flowers repeat throughout the growing season.

Summer 2023: Resplendent Plants

Aug1

After finding a new home for a Viburnum that was annoying a Japanese Maple (See post, “Assess, Adjust, Savor: Part 1”) I gifted the Maple with a showy red skirt of perennial Heuchara ‘Fire Alarm’ (Z 5-9). Photo below. (NOTE: The happily resettled Viburnum flowered and produced berries for the birds. A garden win win.)

Multi-award-winning H. ‘Fire Alarm’ retains its striking reddish color for the entire growing season. In the summer, tiny pink bell-shaped flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds. The plant is pest and disease resistant. Provide well-drained, organically rich soil in shade.

Pollinators took center stage at the Mt. Cuba five year plant trials of native Hydrangeas: Pollinator attraction was an essential element of performance. Plants were also evaluated on habit, vigor, and floral display. The only hydrangea awarded the top score of 5.0, Hydrangea arborescens ‘Haas Halo'( Z 3-8) was the hands-down winner, the “perfect combination of horticultural excellence and pollinator value.”

I purchased several plants. They didn’t do much their first season in my garden but this summer the shrubs took my breath away: Tall stout stems were topped with awesome brobdingnagian-sized, snow-white lacecap flowers, adorned with bees. Photos below.

My Halos are tolerant of oppressive heat and humidity and flourish in well-drained, moist, acidic soil in shade. They are healthy with no pest or disease problems. Prune in the early Spring — the plants flower on new growth.

I purchased Heuchera ‘Fire Alarm’ and Hydrangea ‘Haas Halo’ mail order from Rarefind Nursery. www.rarefindnursery.com; Phone: 732-833-0613

Garden inspiration can come in many ways — even from the cover of a 2023 Summer Newsletter. Photo below.

printed with permission JC Raulston Arboretum, NCSU

As soon as I saw this cover-girl dazzler I had to have it. When the JC Raulston Arboretum staff identified the beauty as Hyacinthoides hispanica ‘Excelsior’, I fast added 50 bulbs to my Fall 2023 bulb order. H. hispanica ‘Excelsior’ (Z 3-8) is a 1906 heirloom Spanish Bluebell bulb that flowers in the Spring and prefers sandy, moist, well-drained soil in sun or part shade. It naturalizes well and is often planted in woodland areas, under deciduous trees. The bulb is said to be deer and rodent resistant. Can’t wait to have it grace my garden.

I purchased H. hispanica ‘Excelsior’ from my mail order bulb source John Scheepers. www.johnscheepers.com; phone: 860-567-0838.

Note: This year is the worst ever for ticks. They are everywhere. Even garden gravel paths and wooden decks are no longer safe. Many of us have suffered from serious tick bite infections. Thankfully, I can now report that help is on its way: Moderna and Pfizer are just two of the companies with Lyme vaccines in trials. Finally!!!!!!

June 2023 Superstar: Mountain Laurel

Jun30

Kalmia latifolia (Mountain Laurel)

“Rarely, if ever before, have the Arboretum Laurels (Kalmia latifolia) been as full of flower buds as they are now. . . .The flowering of the Laurels is the last of the great Arboretum flower shows of the year, and none of those which precede it are more beautiful, for the Mountain Laurel is in the judgment of many flower-lovers the most beautiful of all North American shrubs or small trees.” Charles Sprague Sargent, Director of the Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University. June 1916.

“107 years later, I am watching the best mountain laurel bloom in my thirteen springs here.” William Ned Friedman, Director of the Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University. June, 2023.

I join Director Sargent’s celebration of our native shrubs and agree with Director Friedman that 2023 has been an especially splendid flowering year – one of the best floral displays in the 30 years Mountain Laurels have graced my Southampton, N.Y. garden. Apart from the standard pink and white flowering plants that were here when we bought the property, I have added a number of Richard Jaynes colorful hybrid cultivars. Photos below. (Jaynes is the foremost Mountain Laurel breeder and the founder of Broken Arrow Nursery in Conn.)

Note: While Jaynes hybrids have beautiful flowers, many of the early cultivars are vulnerable to foliage disease. My favorite shrub, ‘Carol,’ is the exception: In addition to showy bloom, it possesses healthy, glossy, dark-green leaves. (See the first photo above.) Recent Richard Jaynes introductions may have improved disease-resistance.

Mountain Laurels thrive in well-drained, organically rich, acid soil, in shade. Gardeners report that they also do well in sun. The shrubs bloom on new growth. For maximum flowering, remove faded flowers that retard foliage growth and the formation of new buds. Without gardener intervention, wild laurels only bloom every other year.

Spring 2023: Highest Garden Merit Plants

Jun10

In May, Rhododendrons rule! My shrubs performed this year with awe-inspiring, massive colorful displays of exquisite bloom. They surely are A-List garden-worthy. Photos below.

Years ago, J.C. Raulston, revered horticulturist/educator, suggested a way to choose plants with the “highest garden merit”:

“I’ve decided,” he said, “they need to be basically tough and not need pampering with relatively low maintenance (little or no special environments, modified soils, watering, pruning, spraying, etc.), have interest or appeal over a fair length of time, [and] that they have high ornamental value at least at some point (showy or interesting flowers, fruit, foliage, texture, etc.)”

Please consider the following easy-care deciduous shrub — time-tested in my organic garden — which clearly passes the Raulston test:

Abelia mosanensis Z 5-9 (Hardy Abelia, Fragrant Abelia)

As they say in the movie business, this shrub has “legs.” First, in early Spring, it is blanketed by clusters of pink buds emerging from green calyxes. Then, in mid-May, the buds open to deliciously fragrant white flowers. Finally, when the flowers fade, the calyxes take center stage and this non-stop performer appears to be covered in lovely green flowers until frost. My plant has been disease-free and pest-free and flourishes in moist, acid, well-drained, organically rich soil. Photos below.

I recently purchased three amazing pollinator-favorites that are also, in my opinion, “highest garden merit” plants :

Buddleia x ‘Miss Ruby’ Z 5-9 (Butterfly Bush)

The English Royal Horticultural Society’s Popularity Poll ranked Miss Ruby number 1 out of 97 other Buddleia cultivars. No surprise. Its fragrant, vibrant red flowers bloom continuously from summer to frost and the plant is deer-resistant and rabbit-resistant. Moreover, Miss Ruby is beloved by butterflies and hummingbirds.

This beauty is not particular about soil pH but prefers well-drained soil in sun. (Note: Gardeners have reported that it flowers well in high shade and part shade.) Miss Ruby can be hard pruned in Spring because it flowers on new growth — even if it dies to the ground in winter.

Salvia nemorosa’ Pink Profusion’ Z 3-8

This re-blooming easy-care charmer has been chosen 2024 Proven Winners National Perennial of the Year. The plant is resistant to deer and rabbits and its fragrant, showy pink flowers attract butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. For re-bloom, prune after flowering. It is not particular about pH but requires well-drained soil.

Torenia ‘Purple Moon’ (Wishbone Flower)

It was love at first sight—I grabbed three Purple Moons as soon as we were introduced. But this annual is more than just a pretty face. The gorgeous, velvety flowers are produced in abundance from Spring to frost and attract bees and hummingbirds. Purple Moon is an ideal container spiller in shade or part shade.

I purchased the pollinator plants from Eastland Farms. Eastland has an extraordinary selection of plants and outstanding customer service. (Thank you, Courtney!)

Eastland Farms, 1260 Montauk Highway, Watermill, NY; P. 631-726-1961; eastlandfarms@aol.com.

Spring 2023 Act 1: Magnolia x loebneri ‘Merrill’

Apr19

“The sun was warm but the wind was chill.

You know how it is with an April day

When the sun is out and the wind is still,

You’re one month on in the middle of May.

But if you so much as dare to speak,

A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,

A wind comes off a frozen peak,

And you’re two months back in the middle of March.”

Robert Frost

We have had our share of topsy-turvy weather, yet the 2023 early Spring garden does not disappoint. The usual suspects — daffodils, pieris, forsythia, rhododendrons — fill us with joy every single day. (Photos below.)

Moreover, there is one plant which enriches and celebrates my April Spring garden like no other: Magnolia x loebneri ‘Merrill’. (Photos below of Merrill’s ghostly aura in early morning; Merrill blanketing the landscape with snowy-white beauty and rich fragrance later in the day; Merrill’s multi-petal flower.)

The first Merrill magnolia was bred at the Harvard University Arnold Arboretum in 1939 and in 1952 was named after Dr. E.D. Merrill, a former Arboretum Director. At that time, the Arboretum considered the deciduous tree to be “one of the best and most vigorous of the early white flowering magnolias.” This observation is entirely consistent with my Merrill’s thirty year performance in the garden.

Merrill has much to recommend it: the tree is hardy in Zones 5-8 and is disease-resistant and deer-resistant; before the herbal-scented leaves drop in the Fall, they turn a lovely autumnal gold; Merrill blooms at a young age with masses of sweetly fragrant flowers and in Autumn produces plump red fruit, a favorite of migrating songbirds.

Wonderful tree! Try it, you’ll like it.

2023: Honeysuckle & Roses

Mar17

“And because the Breathe of Flowers is far sweeter in the Aire (when it comes and goes, like the Warbling of Music) than in the hand, therefore nothing is more fit for that delight than to know what be the Flowers and Plants that doe best perfume the Aire.” Sir Francis Bacon.

As you think about enriching your garden with new plants, welcome two “that doe best perfume the Aire” and benefit from the joys of Aromatherapy in your own backyard:

Lonicera periclymenun ‘Serotina’ (Late Dutch Honeysuckle) Z. 5-9

Celia Thaxter, author of An Island Garden, suggested that “nothing refreshes the human heart” like honeysuckle’s “wreath of heavenly trumpets breathing melodies of perfume to the air.” That is as true now as when An Island Garden was published in 1894.

Moreover, the vine’s exquisite fragrance is but one of many assets. Award-winning Serotina’s long-blooming, colorful, tubular flowers attract hummingbirds and bees, and when the flowers fade the vine produces clusters of red berries adored by songbirds. An added bonus is its pest and disease resistant foliage. Provide organically-rich, moist, well-drained soil and a support for the honeysuckle vine to climb.

Rosa ‘Lyda Rose’ Z 5-9

My beloved Lyda Rose was bred in the U.S. and named for the breeder’s daughter. It has flourished in my organic garden for many years in a container in part shade and its pure, delicious fragrance sweetens the air. From late Spring until frost bees are besotted with the pollen and nectar from the beautiful flowers. Lyda’s foliage is resistant to black spot, rust and mildew.

Provide organically rich, well-drained soil and monthly fertilizer—roses are hungry plants. (Tip: Avoid fertilizer with alfalfa. Yes, roses love alfalfa but so do rabbits. IT’S RABBIT FOOD!!! I speak from experience: My garden quickly went from zero rabbits to attracting a rampaging horde of plant-eating bunnies.)

Lyda Rose is an uncommon beauty not widely available in commerce. My shrub was purchased from my go-to mail-order supplier of healthy, own-root roses, Roses Unlimited: Rosesunlmt@gmail.com; phone: 864-682-7673.

2023: Irresistible Illicium

Feb24

Dark chocolate is good for your health said the scientists. It was music to my chocoholic ears, though I feared it was too good to be true. And, sadly, dark chocolate has been found to contain the toxic heavy metals lead and cadmium, which can damage — inter alia — the kidneys, lungs, and nervous system. Not so good for your health.

Solution? Dump the chocolate and continue to reap the indisputable, positive health benefits of gardening and communing with nature. In furtherance of that goal, consider enriching your gardens with these wonderful plants:

Illicium floridanum x ‘Scorpio’ and Illicium floridanum x ‘Orion’ Z 6-9

printed with permission from JC Raulston Arboretum, North Carolina State University

Scorpio and Orion are Illicium hybrids (I. floridanum x I. mexicanum) introduced by Dr. Thomas Ranney. Dr. Ranney is the JC Raulston Distinguished Professor of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University and is known affectionately as “the mad scientist of plant breeding at NCSU.” We all benefit from his madness: For the home gardener, the two hybrids are far superior — in both form and flower — to our native Illicium floridanum, one of their parents.

Both shrubs are compact — approximately 3 feet tall and 5 feet wide — with dense, glossy, evergreen foliage scented like licorice candy. They are deer-resistant. (The plants are so poisonous they are probably deer-proof: we avoid dark chocolate, the deer avoid Illicium.) In Spring, Scorpio and Orion produce abundant, beautiful spidery flowers — red (Scorpio) and white (Orion). Sporadic re-bloom has been reported. Provide moist, well-drained, organically-rich soil in shade.

RareFind Nursery has 3 gallon Scorpio and Orion plants available by mail order and nursery pickup: www.rarefindnursery.com. Camellia Forest Nursery has 3 quart Scorpio and Orion plants available by mail order and 5 gallon Orion plants available for nursery pickup: www.camforest.com.

Spring is just a shiver away!

floragloria

A Garden Blog by Lois Sheinfeld