We've been in Kona on the big island of Hawaii for a full day now and are still quite wacked out from the 5 hour time change and a 17 hour travel day. The change to 80 degree F. is very easy to get used to. We're trying to get organized and will be adding more to this blog later along with some pictures. Incidently, the new 2009 catalogue is now up on our site under "Printed items" for those of you who would like a copy in the bathroom.
Aloha from Betty and Marv
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
2010 Perennial Plant of the Year
2010 Perennial Plant of the Year Announced
Baptisia australis
The Perennial Plant Association has announced the 2010 Perennial Plant of the Year--Baptisia australis. Read on to learn more about this outstanding perennial and to find out which plants were the runners up.
2010 Perennial Plant Association Perennial Plant of the Year:
Baptisia australis (Blue False Indigo)
Description
This showy native species has been popular with gardeners for many years because it is easy to grow and offers four seasons of interest in the landscape. In mid to late spring, foot long spires of intense indigo blue flowers rise above the foliage, commanding attention in the spring landscape. After the flowers have faded, the trifoliate, soft blue-green foliage takes center stage, forming a sturdy, upright, shrub-like clump to 3-4 feet tall and wide at maturity. It makes a terrific backdrop for other perennials and groundcovers growing at its feet.
Taking the place of the spent flowers are 2-3 inch long, puffy seed pods which emerge green and then turn charcoal black when they ripen in late summer or early fall. They remain well into winter, providing that much sought after winter interest in the landscape.
Baptisia is a very long-lived perennial. Over time, it expands to form a large clump with a deep, extensive root system. It is best left undisturbed and tends to resent transplanting.
Landscape Uses
Because of its commanding size, this shrub-like perennial makes a beautiful specimen on its own or in small groupings. It is commonly used as a backdrop in perennial borders, but also works well in native or meadow plantings. Deer usually do not bother Baptisia, and it attracts butterflies.
Origin
Baptisia australis is a native species of North America commonly found in prairies, meadows, streambanks, and open woods. Early Americans used this plant as a substitute for true indigo from the West Indies which was used to make blue dye. It was the first agricultural crop ever to be subsidized in America.
Culture
Baptisia australis is very easy to grow and requires little maintenance if sited properly. It grows best in full sun, but will tolerate light shade. If it is planted in too much shade, it may not flower and may require staking. Average to poor soil is suitable, as long as it is well-drained. Once established, Baptisia is drought tolerant due to its tough, deep tap root. No serious pests or diseases are known to afflict this plant.
information from Perennial Resource / Walters Gardens
Baptisia australis
The Perennial Plant Association has announced the 2010 Perennial Plant of the Year--Baptisia australis. Read on to learn more about this outstanding perennial and to find out which plants were the runners up.
2010 Perennial Plant Association Perennial Plant of the Year:
Baptisia australis (Blue False Indigo)
Description
This showy native species has been popular with gardeners for many years because it is easy to grow and offers four seasons of interest in the landscape. In mid to late spring, foot long spires of intense indigo blue flowers rise above the foliage, commanding attention in the spring landscape. After the flowers have faded, the trifoliate, soft blue-green foliage takes center stage, forming a sturdy, upright, shrub-like clump to 3-4 feet tall and wide at maturity. It makes a terrific backdrop for other perennials and groundcovers growing at its feet.
Taking the place of the spent flowers are 2-3 inch long, puffy seed pods which emerge green and then turn charcoal black when they ripen in late summer or early fall. They remain well into winter, providing that much sought after winter interest in the landscape.
Baptisia is a very long-lived perennial. Over time, it expands to form a large clump with a deep, extensive root system. It is best left undisturbed and tends to resent transplanting.
Landscape Uses
Because of its commanding size, this shrub-like perennial makes a beautiful specimen on its own or in small groupings. It is commonly used as a backdrop in perennial borders, but also works well in native or meadow plantings. Deer usually do not bother Baptisia, and it attracts butterflies.
Origin
Baptisia australis is a native species of North America commonly found in prairies, meadows, streambanks, and open woods. Early Americans used this plant as a substitute for true indigo from the West Indies which was used to make blue dye. It was the first agricultural crop ever to be subsidized in America.
Culture
Baptisia australis is very easy to grow and requires little maintenance if sited properly. It grows best in full sun, but will tolerate light shade. If it is planted in too much shade, it may not flower and may require staking. Average to poor soil is suitable, as long as it is well-drained. Once established, Baptisia is drought tolerant due to its tough, deep tap root. No serious pests or diseases are known to afflict this plant.
information from Perennial Resource / Walters Gardens
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Notes while picking scapes
I think choosing a daylily in fall, after the blooms are gone, is a great time to assess a lot of the criteria. With tongue firmly planted in cheek, may I comment that it is a fine time to assess what the plant did, while not distracted by the bloom. Assessing the age of the scapes as well as the number of bloom scars will tell so much about what that plant contributed that year - was it "worth weeding"?
Here are just a few of my favourites - in no particular order:
1. TURN THE OTHER CHEEK - 57 buds on one scape, and it put up four scapes on four fans.
2. ANGELS LANDING - 37 buds on the second (instant rebloom) scape on three fans.
3. THE FULL MONTY - bloomed constantly for 62 days with brilliant rich pink blooms on tree-trunk-like scapes. Really good value on this plant for sure.
4. TALL DARK AND HANDSOME - instant rebloom, nearly 8 inch blooms that lasted for 22 hours each, starting mid-late afternoon, so got a good two days enjoyment out of each bloom.
5. SHINING LIKE THE SON - bloomed and bloomed and bloomed - and rebloomed.
6. GERTRUDE CONDON - kept the front of the field in Brilliant yellow all late summer into fall. just kept going and going and going and glowing.
7. GUINIVERS GIFT - also kept blooming and reblooming and reblooming.
about that rebloom - the actual definition of rebloom is when a second scape is produced by the same fans as produced the first (not a second scape on different fans in the same clump);
not everything that is registered as rebloom, reblooms. depends on your zone and climate.
not everything that is not registered as a rebloomer, doesn't rebloom. Like the Korth plants. they are not registered as rebloomers, but they do.
Actually, in my opinion, rebloom per se is over-rated. I am more interested in the total number of blooms a plant produces for me in a season. I would rather have no rebloom on a plant that gives me 30 blooms than to have rebloom on one that gives me 3 blooms on each of three rebloom scapes.
comments and discussion are welcomed.
Happy New Year
Betty and I want to thank you for your continued patronage of Floral and Hardy Gardens in 2008 and wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2009.
We are happy to announce the launch of our new website. This project has been long awaited and has had many false starts, but finally it is a reality. It has been a huge undertaking to enter all the data, but once in, maintenance will be much easier. Adding, deleting and modifying data doesn't require a page re-write as before, and the on-line shopping cart and wish list will hopefully make browsing and selecting easier. If you haven't yet visited it, you can find it at Floral and Hardy Gardens.
This has been an exciting winter everywhere, and we are no exception. This morning, however, dawned clear and cold and cloudless. It doesn't get much better. We had a couple more inches of light fluffy snow overnight and everything looks pristine again. The photo above was taken a few minutes ago from our "Tower cam" which is mounted halfway up the tower that we use for high speed Internet connectivity. The black things that you see at the top of the picture are what remain of 150' of shade house. They collapsed during our first big snow storm before I could get out there and shore them up. Another spring project.
Betty has been working around the clock putting the finishing touches on our 2009 catalogue and it will be going to the printer tomorrow or the next day and in the mail shortly after. When completed you can download your own copy if you like by selecting Printed Items under Categories on our website.
With these projects behind us, we will be off to Hawaii and January 8th for a 3 week stay on both the big island of Hawaii and the island of Kauai. Betty's sister and her husband will be joining us and we are SOOOO looking forward to it.
We will have our trusty little laptop with us to we will continue to answer emails, perform website maintenance and hopefully contribute to this badly ignored blog.
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