Chinese Yellow Bananas at Cornell Farms Nursery

When I visited Cornell Farms for the first time last November I vowed to go back in the spring to see how they shaped up, “in-season.” I stopped by last week and was wandering around soaking it all in. While things were looking good I hadn’t really seen any plants that I needed to photograph, that was until I saw these....

Chinese Yellow Bananas (Musella lasiocarpa)...blooming!!!

I stood there admiring them for quite some time before realizing I should grab the camera and take a picture. Aren't they beautiful!?

Another minute or too passed and then I heard my husband speaking to me. No, he wasn't there, I was remembering a conversation we had the weekend before. He was reminiscing about our Musella lasiocarpa and said how much he missed it.

That is practically a green light to buy one of these! Right?

Moving on…

Santa Rita Prickly Pear, $44.99 (ouch)

A nice selection of Agaves from Xera Plants and others...

And those succulent planters that I worried about last fall, they appear to be just fine.

Maybe a tiny bit worse for the wear but still looking good.

These Dasylirion were 40% off back in November, poor things nobody wanted them! I wonder if they would still honor the 40% off? Or would they be full price now ($49.99)…

They are striking.

But can you imagine the injuries you would sustain removing the Oxalis?

Willow leafed Stachyurus….love it.

And finally the departing car shot. You should see the people stare as I load my car. Nobody believes that I can possibly fit the plants I buy into a Volkswagen Beetle… but where there is a will there is a way…

(yes that’s a tree fern in the backseat, we'll talk about that some otherday…)

The main trunk of our previous Musella lasiocarpa clump died after blooming (it was glorious) and the pups never were able to recover from back to back arctic events. I’ve decided this one will live in a container. An IKEA aluminum container like the others in this photo.

They are ideal for not adding weight to what is an already heavy plant, and I have an extra one on-hand. Now I just need to find the time to plant it!

It’s a girl!

The blooms are just starting open on this Echium, one half of the pair bought as Echium x wildpretii 'Rocket' which was later identified as Echium pininana.

Since they’re pink I believe that means it is indeed E. x wildpretii 'Rocket' because if it was an E. pininana they would be opening blue.

I realize the pink vs. blue issue wasn't keeping anyone awake at night, but I can get obsessed with the details sometimes.

More photos from Echium Watch 2012, this one is now over 8ft tall:

The buds along the trunk are growing their own stems…

The straight Echium wildpretti has grown to about 4ft tall…

Its buds are growing in a swirl up the main stalk.

And the tiny leaves on the tip continue the pattern.

Devastating loss at the Washington Park Arboretum

Last February I shared a few pictures from a brief stop at the Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle (link). I vowed to go back and take better pictures the next time I was in town. Turns out that might not be possible as some very selfish and violent individuals visited the park last week; chopping and trashing. They left some plant pieces behind, and took others...see a news clip about it here: The Next Generation Gardener. I hope this crime does not go unpunished.

Handmade Garden Projects, a book review

This is the last book I thought I’d be writing a review of. Why? Well, I am not a lover of garden art. It makes me kind of anxious, a little uncomfortable. Like you emptied out the kitchen cabinets and there was “stuff” left all over the place, stuff that didn’t need to be there. Clutter that instead of adding to the experience takes away from it.

That’s what I thought this book was about. Even though I’ve visited the author’s personal garden (which is fabulous) I still had reservations. Then I finally read the book. And it’s not all about garden art, it’s about making what you need (or want) out of what you have (or can cheaply/easily find), that’s a concept I can get behind!

photo by Allan Mandell, courtesy of Timber Press

Handmade Garden Projects by Lorene Edwards Forkner is a series of well-photographed and inspiring garden visits, and projects, meant to enhance your garden. There are plenty of extras too, like eight "plant features”...lists of plants with titles such as autumn attractions, fragrant plants and grasses beyond turf. As a former nursery owner this woman knows her plants.

While supplying the detailed information required to complete the many projects (materials lists, step by step instructions, photos) Lorene also manages to get your brain working on other “inspired by” ideas. The gabion pieces in her garden…

photo by Allan Mandell, courtesy of Timber Press

Have me thinking of building a (much) smaller version here…

I had previously planned to replace these cement blocks with metal pipe lengths (used as planters for small succulents) but after researching how many it would take to span the length I feared it would look too busy. Creating a small gabion “retaining wall” would work perfectly with the gravel mulch and rocks already used throughout my garden.

Another project on my list, a succulent gutter garden inspired by the one I saw at Lorene’s  (unfortunately mine won’t have a hammock nearby) …

When I finally get to these projects I’ll be referring to the book for tips. In fact I see myself returning to this book whenever I have a “what should I do about…” moment. Like when I asked for ideas of what to grow a new Clematis on. I would have loved to have seen this image to get ideas a flowing…

wire trellis, photo by Allan Mandell , courtesy of Timber Press

Finally it would be remiss of me not to mention there are several projects in this book which are on the “arty” side, like the vinyl wallflowers shown in the lower right-hand corner of the book cover (these scare me). But since the instructions are so thorough (and many include bonus ideas tagged as “try this”) even some of the projects I would never consider doing have useful information included, which might come in handy on a future project. Of course there plenty of people out there who want to include art in their garden, and they may like these projects best of all.

I found Handmade Garden Projects to be a fun book to read, one that inspires you to get out there and make it happen, which is what gardening is all about! Want more? Visit Planted at Home, Lorene’s personal blog, where you might learn about a new project or an upcoming speaking date near you.

(and my usual disclaimer…Timber Press supplied me with a FREE copy of Handmade Garden Projects. I read it and decided to write a review, there was no pressure to do so. As I mentioned above I wasn’t so sure I was even going to like this book, but I did. If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t be reading this!)

What the %@&# happened here!?...

Last Friday I shared a picture of an oh so perfect little leaf on my Rodgersia aesculifolia.

Over the weekend I decided to poke around and see if there were signs of other leaves, one is fine and dandy but I was hoping for a few more. What the?

That single leaf wasn’t so perfect anymore! Lucky for me the culprit was still hanging out on the stem…

Looks like a cutworm, I had trouble with them last year too. Even though I’ve read they are primarily a danger to seedlings (eating through their tender stems and “cutting” them down) they seem to have no trouble munching on any and all foliage in my garden. Does anyone have a method of “eliminating” them? I’d love to hear about it if you do. Luckily I did find another leaf, and it was unharmed.

Since I’m on the topic of Rodgersia I need to right a wrong I made last week when I identified this…

As Rodgersia ‘Chocolate Wings’ it’s actually Rodgersia podophylla 'Rotlaub.’

And this is R. ‘Chocolate wings’…

With its dark leaves still folded and resembling velvet.

Other new foliage in the garden (thankfully unharmed by anything, yet?) the slowly opening leaves of Darmera peltata.

The huge leaves of Astilboides tabularis…

With my thumb for scale…

I should have lugged these three containers somewhere with a more photogenic background but I was feeling lazy. This is where they spent the winter, cozied up against the neighbor’s fence, sheltered a bit by over hanging trees. Now that they’re showing signs of life I need to move them to their summer home.

Finally, the unfurling fronds of Osmunda cinnamomea (Cinnamon Fern). This one is so late I was beginning to worry.

There is a stretch of dry and even sunny weather coming up over the weekend and into next week, I’m looking forward to much time spent in the garden “working.” Hope you get a chance to do the same!

Plant temptations everywhere, even at the big box store…

Last year I confessed to purchasing a tree I had no place for, simply because it was priced well and going unloved at the Home Depot, I rescued it! Although trapped in a container I’m not sure it feels the same.

Earlier this spring I fell for a common Yucca, after briefly thinking I had stumbled upon a display of Agaves. This time around it was color that grabbed me as I walked by, just look…

Bright yellow/green leaves, with a center that is a mix of pink, copper and brown. WOW, amazing right? Let’s look at the tag.

Well, that picture doesn’t really relate to what I’m seeing, nor does the name “cherry sensation™.” Because I’m silly this way I pull out the iPad and do a little research. Everything I find for Cordyline austalis “cherry sensation™”points to bright reddish pink leaves, like on the tag. I can’t find a single photo that looks like the plants in front of me.

The problem is I want the plant I’m seeing!

Did I buy it? No. At $9.95, only hardy to 20 degrees and most likely to lose exactly the qualities which drew me to it in the first place I walked away. Damn, it was fun while it lasted.

Garden to-do list for May…

You’ve seen them; they’re everywhere in magazines and on blogs. I'm talking about “to-do” lists for the garden. Do you ever read them? Just for fun? Who the heck uses these lists…and why do so many lists like these exist?

1. Nip fading flowers off wisteria to encourage rebloom in summer.
2. To clear planting beds of weeds, dig, amend, and level soil, then water. In 10 days, hoe the seedlings, then plant.
3. Plant ornamental grasses.
4. Plant or repair warm-season lawns.
5. Welcome toads to your garden by offering them a source of water and a place to stay. One toad can eat from ten to twenty thousand insects a year. You can make a toad house by partially burying a terra cotta pot on its side.

If I were to write a to-do list based on my garden tasks for May it would look something like this:

1. Panic. You’ve bought too many plants and they need to get in the ground NOW. But it’s raining and the ground is too wet to plant.
2. Mow the lawn.
3. It’s raining. Make lists of what you need to plant and where they will go, refer to this list once you can get out there and work.
4. Attend another plant sale and buy more plants.
5. The sun is shining! Go outside and start planting based on your list. Get distracted and start weeding/pulling Vinca vine/moving a couple of plants that are obviously in the wrong place/cutting dead foliage off Yuccas. (note: the sun is going down now and you only planted 2 plants).
6. Bring a few containers of overwintered plants up from the basement. Twist oddly while carrying a heavy one and feel your back go OUCH. Keep on carrying more heavy things for an hour or so until you can barely move.
7. Start placing some of those plants you’ve purchased around the garden in the empty spots. Panic. Realize instead of buying too many you’ve bought too few. Race to the nursery NOW before everything good is gone.
8. It’s raining. Revise planting list to include newly purchased plants.
9. Stare at the garden for at least an hour trying to figure out what needs to be moved, something isn't quite right. Pretend to water a couple of things so the neighbors won't wonder what you're doing.
10. Clear the calendar for an uninterrupted day of planting, get out early and get to work! Start to be distracted by all the things that need to be done…get overwhelmed. Snap at significant other when he comes out to see how you’re doing. Realize you’re being a dork…this is supposed to be fun! Adjust attitude.
11. Instead of waiting for a cool rainy day (of which there will be plenty) move a few tender plants in the 80 degree sun. Watch them die a slow painful death over the next week or so.
12. No rain for the last 12 hours, better mow the lawn while it’s dryish.
13. Start to worry because you haven’t yet bought your Tomato starts. Even though it’s still too cold to plant everyone else is buying and there won’t be any good ones (Sungold) left when you are ready!
14. Pull patio furniture out of the garage, oil the wood and tighten all the screws. Plan a nice dinner on the patio. Admit that it’s no fun to eat in the rain and move the meal inside.
15. No plant sales this weekend…sad, instead visit a nursery or two. Buy more plants.
16. Enjoy a blissful day of planting (paying no attention to that silly list) and tending to the garden. Sit back at the end of the day (glass of wine in hand) and admire what you’ve created.

I could go on but I think you get the idea. Spring is manic; it’s the season of too many ideas and not enough time. All winter long you’ve thought about what you will do in the garden when you finally can, and now...ready set GO!

How about you? What does your “to-do” list read like?