WOW!

I'm delighted to introduce you to 'Cranberry Crush' a newer perennial hibiscus!

My gardening friend, Barb V., and I were browsing in a garden center last year and she got excited when she found 'Cranberry Crush' as she had been looking for it!  It was absolutely stunning and I was having a bad case of  plant envy over it as I just don't have the space for such a large plant right now!  

This is how it looks in her garden this year!  "Wow" is kind of an understatement, huh?

Rose Mallow Hibiscus 'Cranberry Crush'

For more information on 'Cranberry Crush' click here!

Voles!

We have a large herd of voles whose favorite place to romp is in my mini hosta bed!  

Difficult critters to get rid of! They eat most anything but love to dine in the roots of small plants which results in the plants dying over time.  They live underground in tunnels but romp away on top of the ground at night running from tunnel opening to tunnel opening. I've been stuffing their holes with rocks too large for them to move but they just dig a bit further along and open another hole! We've tried several different traps, etc. with minimal success until now!

In just 7 days (nights) we have caught 8 of them with just two traps!  (and we were gone 3 nights and couldn't reset the traps!)

Here is what they look like:

A vole is 5-9 inches long including their tail!


Click here for information about voles!

Bait for the trap is peanut butter with a bit of oatmeal mixed in!

Click here to see the trap and where to get it!

Casa Blanca

Lilium 'Casa Blanca'

I always feel sad when this favorite lily of mine opens as it announces it is the end of lily season in my garden beds!  It is always the last one to bloom!

I found this specimen growing while on the "Waseca Garden Walk" early August and just had to take its picture!  Maybe if I show it to mine it will get inspired to give me a few more blooms?

'Casa Blanca' always leaves me feeling so peaceful while I enjoy it.  It is one of the few I pick so I can maximize the view time!

For more information about 'Casa Blanca' click here!

A special bird bath for a special occasion!

How's this for garden art for a special event?

Yep, I found this on one of the garden tours this summer!   Love those garden tours for ideas!

Potatoes, home grown..... yum!

How's this for utilizing a large compost pile during the summer?

Looks green, lush and really earning its position in the landscape!

Sign says "Potatoes planted in compost pile'

Welcome....

What a pleasure to walk up to this home and be greeted by this scene!

Then you look closer at the petunias and ask "What variety is this?"  Nancy is ready with an answer, I think she is used to this question this year, " 'Black Cherry' by Proven Winners!"

You may want to make note of that for next year.  They are a beautiful rich red with a dark throat that wanders out to the  edges a bit!  

Supertunia 'Black Cherry' by Proven Winners

For more information on Black Cherry Petunias click on this!

Do you like creamsicles?

While gazing at this upward facing Asiatic lily I was reminded of a cool yummy creamy creamsicle!

It is simply luscious and mouth watering!  Blooming late July, it  is an eye catching beauty!

Lilium Asiatic 'Salmon Star'  

Yep, I spotted this show stopper in a garden tour in July!  Later I found it blooming in two other gardens!

So,  I just had to look up more information on it.  I wonder if I can find a space for it in my garden beds?

For more information on 'Salmon Star' click on this!

Fair Time

Yes, I decided to enter a few things in our local area fair this year!

 I had taught a class in mini gardening and fairy gardening earlier this year.  I had stressed beginning with landscape design using plants that were compatable and planted in an attractive design before adding the fairy garden accessories.  So, once I removed the fairy garden accessories at fair time, I had some container plantings that fit in several categories.  The results were interesting.   I also entered several hosta leaves resulting in a total of 2 blue ribbons, 7 red ribbons, and 2 white ribbons and a total of $17 in premium money!  I have my eye on a new climetis so maybe I'll spend the prize money on that!

This was my 'Out of Africa' fairy garden with a giraffe, elephant and armadillo in it!
After removing the accessories I entered it in the  'Hosta Container'  class and it looked
 a bit on the skimpy side instead of lush, thus third place!

This was entered in the  'Fairy Garden'  class.  The judge commented more plants needed.
Maybe less beach space would have been more to her liking?  Plants were definately compatable
and appropriate to the theme as well as landscape design good.  

This was a 'Desert Theme' fairy garden with a fairy standing at the top of the step
and a desert critter lower left.  I entered it in the 'Outdoor Succulent Container' class.

This was for fun!  I had planted it last spring and when winter came I left for 3 months to AZ
without finding a new home for it.  So I just left it in the living room near a large window that had closed drapes.
I came home it looked alive but fragile so I watered it well and after a few weeks it was nice enough to put outdoors on my sheltered porch.  With more light and water it just plumped up looking very healthy and was lovely all summer enjoying the great Minnesota outdoors.  So, I entered it in the 'Specimen Succulent'  class!  Got a red ribbon!
It is a Pepperonia plant and is about a foot tall!

I sadly noticed again that overall entries were definately decreased in quantity again.  Wondering just what will be happening in the future.

County Fair Time

Do you ever enter anything in your local county fair?

Why not?  It's fun to share with others what you've created!  The ribbons are nice but not the objective, they are the frosting on the cake!

You'll find gardening categories to enter from house plants to those zinnias that look so great right now!

My dear friend, Pauline, once again entered a spectacular mixed planter and was rewarded with another "Best of Show" ribbon!  Pauline's reached that stage in life where her gardening is done in containers on her deck.  She usually picks the one that looks the best at fair time and has been having fun in her retirement time collecting ribbons!

Pauline actually didn't start gardening or floral arranging until she retired and came with me to check out our local garden club!  She got hooked in a new hobby and has been having loads of fun!

Mini Pearl Daylily

I notice my daylilies can use a bit of downsizing.  I like to split them in the fall so they pop up in the spring ready to grow without being disturbed.  Yet I like to donate plants to new homes and assist my garden club in their fundraising projects.  So, I plan ahead to donate them for the club plant sale.  I will be potting divisions up this fall to winter over in pots ready for plant sale time in the spring! A picture tag on the pot makes sure it sells and brings in a nice amount of  $ to the club! 

So, I have been taking pictures and making sure the varieties are well marked.  Nobody buys daylilies without knowing what they look like in bloom!

Most of my daylilies are rebloomers to maximize the space I have available with maximum blooms!  As I was marking them I was reminded my favorite lady 'Mini Pearl'  is a heavy bloomer for me.  I just deadheaded a stalk that had produced 18 blooms in July and will probably rebloom a bit more yet this season!  Many stalks on my one plant makes me very happy and looks great in my garden bed for a whole month! It seems I always have several Mini Pearl's blooming every day!

Mini Pearl's color is what they call a blush pink

For more information on 'Mini Pearl' click here!

Speciman hosta

Some hostas are just perfect planted by themselves to enjoy it as a specimen plant.  This scene is from the McNeilus gardens in July.  Variety is unknown, sorry!

Clematis Wilt

I so love my clematis but notice I have a problem, usually mid summer, with some of  my larger flower hybrids.  They grow great and flower the first time but the repeat bloomers often don't bloom repeat blooms later and get stems that just die.  Not the whole plant, just some of the stems.

So, I looked up on the internet (handy dandy gardening tool) to learn what to do.  Sounds simple enough to treat so I will go shopping looking for a systemic fungicide and do some pruning to the ground on the dead stems.  I have pruned in the past and the plant bounces back in  the spring again.  Would like to see if I can resolve this issue.

Have any of you had this problem and were successful in treating it?
   email me:  kjgardengate@charter.net


I found the most helpful website:

http://www.bachmans.com/Garden-Care/divHomePage.html?cnb=GardenCare&categoryCode=02&pageIndex=_pageIndexToken_clematisWil

 Click here for a link to clematis wilt

Rose Lily Beloncia

Actually it is Lilium Oriental Lily 'Beloncia'!

Rose Lilies are a special group of lilies that have double flowers and they are spectacular!

'Beloncia' was in full bloom during the "Tour with the Masters" garden tour in July!  It caught the eye of everyone passing by it and you could hear when they saw it!  

One stem was all you needed for a perfect bridal bouquet!

Oriental Lilies are usually not long lived in our zone 4, but worth every season you have it to enjoy!

For more information on Beloncia slick here!

A speciment plant for landscaping!

I especially enjoyed discovering this plant the same evening in two different gardens.  A great example of each of the two varieties available!

We see the pink frequently but not the green one! Both varieties are unique and attract attention!

Cotinus coggygria is the botanical name, by the way.

Most of us know it by it's common name of Smoke Bush/Tree

In the Lloyd Meyer garden

In the Peterson's garden

Click here for more information on this tree/shrub

Hostas and Oriental Garden Art

Oriental themed garden art is perfect for hosta gardens!

You'll find a wide variety of attractive displays in the Lloyd Meyer garden beds with their extensive collection of hostas and oriental yard art!  

The McNeilus Gardens

 I never miss a chance to visit the McNeilus gardens so we were glad to see they were welcoming our hosta society for another visit!  It is indeed a pleasure to roam among their many gardens and enjoy the beauty and peaceful environment that has been created.  There is always something new to enjoy.  It was a hot evening so this scene cooled us down fast!

A bit of whimsy in gardens is always good!

On the July Shades of Green Hosta Society Member Tour this month, it was delightful to find this scene welcoming us into one of our open gardens that evening!  Hope it makes you smile also!

I think that goat is sneaking up on the hat!

Fairy Door with Fairy Windows!

Well, I've had the Fairy Door for a few years now along with my napping gnome!  But, my "Fairy Garden Fun" friend, Rita, had the windows and I have been seriously coveting them!  This year she lost the stump the windows were on so she made a gift of them to me!  I was so excited and I think they look just great on my fence!  

Visions in Pink

We had a fun evening on the Shades of Green Hosta Society July Tour a few weeks ago.  Several of us met for a quick supper and accepted the invitation to tour our friends, The Peterson's, garden prior to the tour gardens.  Wow, The Peterson's garden is an understatement... it is more like The Peterson's Park! Awesome plantings ranging from hostas with companion shade plants to large plantings of lilies abundently blooming in the sun!  It takes 16 hours of mowing time to get that chore done there!

This astilbe was simply a vision in pink and that is the variety name!

'Visions in Pink'

Click on this for more information on 'Visions in Pink'