How nice to see you!

Today Old Country Gardens was officially open for business. The weather was a bit challenging, morning spits of showers, late afternoon was gale like winds but hey, nothing stops gardeners!

It was so nice to see so many long time gardening friends. Today was "men's day", it seems like the guys were out and they were shopping for Hosta and Daylilies!

Vinnie drove over in a truck that makes my heart go pitter patter and loaded the bed up with daylilies... what a guy!

Visitors had to take a whiff of the honeysuckle and just missing at the right corner was a huge lilac bush in full bloom. Wish I had smell-o-vision here for all of you.

I only had a minute to sit but had to sit in that swing and look up at the sky, wasn't it beautiful!

The Vibernum plicatum that I received years ago from my friend Kim has grown to the size of a small tree. It was just a cutting she had layered in her garden and fit easily into my SUV back then.

Some winters the Lysimachia 'Jenny' doesn't return but this year it seems to have loved all the snow cover we had. This photo was actually taken in Kim's garden the other day but mine looks just as nice and across the street my friend Cynthia has a wealth of this lovely plant too.

Right now I'm physically exhausted, this is the first time this season that I spent all day outside. Luckily everybody helps me, Mom does just about everything. One of the men who came to shop dug his own Hostas out of the ground.

The good news? Yes, it was benign and despite some setbacks being in the garden and seeing all my friends again is the best therapy of all.

The Mystery Plant

Last weekend while in Chicago I came upon a mystery plant. Now I do have to admit that I don't grow every perennial out there but in most cases I can identify the ones I see while on tour.

This plant intrigued me, needless to say I'd love to try a piece someday.

The flowers remind me a little of Columbines.


The foliage underneath the blooms though doesn't resemble Columbine foliage at all.

There are mass plantings of this lovely plant at Millenium Park in Chicago. I'm guessing that it's a perennial since it was surrounded by other perennials. In this one area it was mixed with Stachys monnieri.

Anybody have any idea what this is?

Chicago Blues

This weekend I had the most glorious time in Chicago. Although the mother nature did her best to challenge us with her temper tantrums, she couldn't put a damper in our visit.

Over the four days I walked every inch and mile that I could, taking photos like crazy. The spring plantings were a gardeners dream come true.

Chicago is famous for it's Blues scene, well, I found quite a few different blues there. To begin with, that's me in front of the Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park. As you can see the sky was as blue as could be.

Plantings were everywhere, containers covered the sidewalks. I took so many container photos that I'm going to dedicate a separate post for them on my Melanie's Perennials blog. I just love the blues of the Hyacinths and Pansies against the gold of the Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea' (creeping jenny).


Here's a close up of those amazing blue Hyacinths, I found them all over the city!


Mertensia virginica (Virginia blue bells) is a plant that's relatively new to me although not new to the plant world. Obviously somebody in the parks dept in Chicago has realized just how well this plant works in the landscape.


Here you can see the Mertensia combined with white Tulips, Narcissus, and backed with an amazing Cercis canadensis (Red Bud) tree.

Unfortunately it's hard to get quality shots when the sun is shining so brightly but I couldn't resist trying to photograph this unusual pairing of Muscari (Grape hyacinth) and an unknown Euphorbia. One thing I wished for was to find plant labels with the names of these beauties but no labels were to be found.


Lots of blues planted in this windowbox and just in case that's not enough blue, there's the reflection of the sky up above.

Myosotis (Forget-me-not) is a biennial. Some people call them short lived perennials but I think they only live 2 years, a biennial in my book. A nice cool combination with yellow daffodils.

At the Lincoln Park Conservatory they had forced into bloom all kinds of plant material. The combination of Lilium and Tradescantia andersonia was breathtaking.

Also at the conservatory I spied this planting of Campanula poscharskyana just cascading out of a window planter. What a charming use of this hardy perennial.

Hope you liked my version of the Chicago Blues, it was all music to me :-)

Melanie

Speed Bumps in the road

Plans were to open the garden to the public this Saturday, April 17th. Every now and then though you come across a speed bump in the road and need to slow down.

This past Wednesday I had a lump removed from my breast, it was more involved than I realized (or maybe more than I wanted to realize). Gardening is on a slow down for the time being. I can get out there and take lots and lots of photos (and be assured that I will do just that). I just can't dig or lift for a while so we are pushing the opening date of Melanie's Perennials to May 1st.

Hope to see you then!

Melanie

Sky High

Early spring isn't the easiest time to shoot photos in the garden. The soil is still bare, leaf and winter debris still covers many spots. So, for inspiration one needs to get down on hands and knees and look across the ground or even upwards towards the sky.

The emerging tips of the Polygonatum variegatum (Variegated Solomon's Seal) poke upright unerringly bending towards the sun. We'll be potting up lots of these lovelies for our friends.

Hellebores are at their peak, if I was staying at this house I'd be buying more and more of these lovely perennials. Incredibly easy to maintain, stunning flowers, no diseases that I'm aware of, unedible to deer and other wildlife and beautiful foliage...who could ask for more?

This is my favorite shot from yesterday's photo shoot, and yes, I had to lie on the ground to take it. The Epemediums are just beginning to put on a show, one of their nicknames is "Turk's Cap".

Another Hellebore, this one is in such a tough location... barren soil, massive tree roots from a large Maple, no water during dry season and yet it's still blooming away.

Four or Five years ago a gardening friend gave me a few Hellebore seedlings which I put out back by the shed. This is the most beautiful one, thank you Mary Kay!

One more Epemedium here. In the next week or two I will have several more varieties open. Eventually I'll dedicate a post to this plant, it's well worth adding to your garden.

The Pulmonarias are also starting to shine, I'll be posting about them on Melanie's Perennials later this morning.

Hypertufa day

Last Thursday was Hypertufa Day for a few women from the Nathan Hale Garden Club in Huntington, New York.

We gathered at Kim's house where her wonderful husband Paul had put together all the ingredients we needed to try our hand at making hypertufa.

Hypertufa is a product that looks like cement but weighs less. A woman can actually manage to lift containers made out of hypertufa. It's a mix of Portland Cement, Peat Moss, Perlite and fiberglass fibers.


Some other products needed are a spray-on oil so the molds slip off easily.


Gloves are a must to protect your hands and a breathing mask and goggles are also important!


This is the fiberglass being added to the mix. In a future post I'll give you the exact recipe.


Once water was added we had a nice crumbly product to work with.


Each of us chose a different kind of container to use as our mold. Nothing too large, we're saving that for the next time!

Simply press the mixture firmly against all the walls of your mold, making sure there are no trapped air pockets and that the thickness is the same all the way around.


Smooth off the top since that will be the top of your container once it is taken out of the mold.


Kim and I both chose to make ours out of 3 litter soda bottles (almost impossible to find). Kim formed hers by hand like you see here. I chose to use a beer can in the center as a second mold. We'll see which works out better.



Don't forget to poke some holes in the bottom for drainage.

Then, wrap your mold in a plastic bag and tie it shut. You need to wait for 48 hours before taking it out of the bag and slipping the mold off. Then leave your container out in the rain and elements for about 2 months in order to cure before planting in it.

Lots more photos to follow, Kim and I are putting together a whole power point program on this fun project.

Spring sprang a leak

This opening shot is not quite as sharp as I hoped but it still gets my message across. Yes, spring has arrived here at Old Country Gardens. The rains have also arrived (or maybe they just never left?) and it will be some time yet before the soil is dry enough to walk upon.

Between work, travel and weather I missed most of the earliest blooms. Galianthus (snow drops), Crocus and Hamamelis (Witch Hazel) have all finished up their show. No worries though, there's so much more to come!

The Hellebores have really been gearing up to what appears to be a banner bloom season. As you can see here, to appreciate their lovely face you need to turn the blooms upward. One way to get around this is to plant them on an embankment or in a raised garden.

Today I photographed a number of Hellebore blooms and will post specifically about them on my other blog Melanie's Perennials.

While there is growth everywhere I turn, I wouldn't say that most of it is photo worthy yet. Lush and delicious looking are the glaucous stalks on the Egyptian Onions. I'm still searching for a recipe that will utilize these yummy babies.

The Pieris japonicas (Japanese Andromedas) are also starting to bloom. They have the most heavenly scent but I think a bit more heat is required before I will be able to smell them.

Try planting one near a window in your house so on warm spring days you can open the window and let in the perfumed air.

As the title of this post says, spring sprang a leak. Not detered by all the water though is this darling little rosette of Sedum poking out of an old watering can. I'm just tickled pink when I find things like this.

With warmer temperatures and a few dry days on the way, I hope to get out and snap a few more photos on Friday or Easter Sunday.

Stay tuned, I won't be far away...
Melanie

Blooms!!!

Rushing off to work every morning only to arrive at home in the dark makes it hard to focus on the garden. Today as I stepped out of the store I was delighted to find myself standing outside in the most glorious spring conditions.

Driving my short trip home I noticed clumps of Crocus and even a few early Daffodils in bloom. I couldn't wait to get to my own little piece of heaven to see what was here.

Sure enough, driving slow as can be down my driveway I saw that spring has arrived here at Old Country Garden too!

The leaves are still down thick, heavily matted from the deep snows that covered them only two short weeks ago. Galianthus (snow drops) Crocus and other early spring bloomers don't seem to mind, they just muscled their way through to poke up and greet the warm sunshine.


In the grand scheme of things, these blooms are tiny little jewels scattered across a very large landscape. Still, the joy they bring when I see them is worth their weight in gold.

The Hellebores have been just as busy pushing up their spectacular buds, this winter must have been perfect for them because I'm seeing more buds than ever.

Even the Sempervivum (Hen's & Chicks) are happy to soak up the cool sunshine.

Thursday we are expecting 60 degree temperatures and I'm off from work. How muddy do you think I'll be able to get?

Can't wait to see :-)
Melanie

Orchids in my window

House plants have never been my strength. Strange as it might seem, I have problems forgetting to water them or take care of them. So 6 years ago when Eve gave me an Orchid I thought "oh no, another plant I'm going to slowly torture to death". Imagine my surprise when this plant not only thrived but continue to bloom for me year after year!


The type of Orchids I've been growing are Phalaenopsis. As house plants I find them ideal, they don't require high concentrations of light, and if you forget to water them every now and then they don't seem to mind. In fact, if I understand it correctly, too much water is how most people kill their Orchids.
About a month ago my daughter Emily and I were at the local supermarket where they had a table full of Orchids. Emily liked the hot pink varieties but I just had to have this darling little chartreuse one. The sale price of $14.99 put it right in the same category as a nice cut flower arrangement. How many cut flower arrangements would still be going strong a month later?

Last spring when my Mom drove up from Florida she brought a few of her Orchids with her. They've been in my den window since then, blooming more often than not. My only complaint is that they are all white (hear that Mom :-) Guess I need to shop for some other colors...

While I'm far from an expert on Orchids I'll share what's worked for me. In the summer I water them every 10 days or so, once the heat is on in the house I step that up to once a week watering. That might not be needed in your home but the heat here rises right up the wall under the windowsill so I find they dry out faster in winter.

Once the blooms are finished (thankfully they are extremely long lasting) I don't cut back the stem unless it turns a dried brown and appears dead. Even then I often only trim the stem back a few inches. So far I've always had a new node push out from lower on the stem and before I know it, there's more blooms for me to enjoy.

I've never fertilized these plants, it's the one thing I think they would like that I haven't provided. If you grow orchids and have some tips on fertilizers, please leave me a comment.


Still not sure you want to try them? Get a copy of Judy White's "Bloom-Again Orchids" published by Timberpress. I've found it to be a wonderfull book filled with luscious photos. In fact, it has inspired me to try to add a few new varieties and now I also have two miniature Oncidium Twinkle orchids that are just delightful!

As soon as we have another day with temperatures well above freezing I think I'll bring home one of those pink ones for Emily. Shush, don't tell her, it's a secret!