Serenity in the Garden

The “meadow planting” style of gardening that is so popular now includes plants from various German breeders. Of course you can plant the original native species to help our pollinators...  Click on the links in the captions for more information. Karl Foerster bred tall, hardy plants suited to the northern European climate.  He  called grasses “Mother Nature’s hair”  and one of his best known and popular plants is the strongly vertical  Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster’ (a form of feather-reed grass). Karl Foerster Feather Reed Grass Karl Foerster feather reed grass in background. Sedum Matrona on right. Ernst Pagels  developed new varieties of Miscanthus sinensis .   Piet Oudolf was a friend of Pagels and uses his plants, among others .  Pagels developed Miscanthus sinensis 'Malepartus' which looks like Pampas grass but blooms in midsummer so people in cooler climates can enjoy the bloom.  Hoffman ...

Amsonia Blue Ice  by Monrovia Nurseries The Blue Star perennial family -   Amsonia tabernaemontana - has a hybrid cousin,  Amsonia 'Blue Ice'  that is an amazingly vigorous, low growing plant with deep blue flowers.    photo by Jan Johnsen Amsonia 'Blue Ice'  has a white, milky sap that is toxic to deer and more. Yay!  Amsonia 'Blue Ice' is easy to grow and drought tolerant.  12-16" tall, 18-24" wide. Needs full sun. It blooms from late spring to early summer.  amsonia Blue Ice fall foliage is stunning - photo by Jan Johnsen It grows in a 15" tall by 2' wide mound of narrow, dark green, deer-resistant foliage. And in spring it is topped with large clusters of lavender-blue flowers which are more vivid than other blue stars.  It  blooms prolifically and turns a fabulous golden yellow in the fall.  Zones 4-9   Amsonia blue ice , Miscanthus 'Morning light' ,  Nepeta 'Dropmore Hy...

Courtesy Bluestone Perennials Want to make your flower border come alive in the fall? Plant something with dark green to purple stems and foliage for drama. Add flowers in the fall and you have a winner! The horizontal growing, native  to northeastern North America,    aster lateriflorus ‘Lady in Black’ creates a stir as its dusky purple leaves appear in spring (a similar cultivar is 'Prince' which grows in clumps). By the end of summer, thousands of small dark buds dot the 2-3-foot-tall plant, promising an explosion of  tiny white flowers with raspberry-colored centers.The  flowers appear laterally along one side of the stems, hence, the species name .   photo by   Jerry Pavia This short perennial is hardy, has no serious problems, is deer and rabbit resistant, and its many small flowers are a late-season treat for butterflies. 'Lady in Black'  looks good in containers and is great for cut flowers!  ...

"With the waxing of the moon, the earth exhales." - Ute York Lunar gardening is fun and makes so much sense!  Photo above is from the SpaceFellowship, Rob Goldsmith . The gravitational pull of the moon on the earth affects water on our planet. The moon's pull is stronger than the sun because, even though the sun is larger, the moon is closer to the earth. As the moon gets full or waxes, its gravitational pull on the earth gets stronger. And it is felt the most when the moon is full (the moon and sun pull from the opposite sides of the earth at this time).  This is when the tides are at their height and  people go a little wild. But not only does the moon’s gravity affect tides and us, it also affects  underground water tables .  So if you plant when the moon is waxing or growing toward being full, remember the water table is rising as well. This means water is more easily available to a plant. The increased moist...

Tony Avent runs the wonderful  Plant Delights Nursery  - offering a diverse collection of plants and the catalog is a collectors' item On April 29, 2010 Anne Raver of the New York Times asked:  "How does  Tony Avent , the horticultural mythbuster, grow so many plants successfully in his garden? Rule No. 1: he uses the same mix of 40 percent native soil, dug on his own land, and 60 percent compost for every plant. ''The soil for every plant we have is prepared exactly the same, whether it's a pitcher plant or an agave,'' .... After he switched to organics, he said, ''it took about a year before everything started jumping. Our insect problems disappeared. It was just amazing.'' ...." This observation took me back to 1972 when I was a landscape architecture student at the University of Hawaii and minoring in tropical agriculture The university farm was in Pearl City ( next to Pearl Harbor) and it was divided int...

The dreaded  Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) , for which we spend tremendous amounts of weed killer money to eradicate, has been prized over the years for its medicinal and nutritious properties. In fact, dandelion roots, flowers and "dandelion greens" (leaves) are all edible! Dandelions are a rich source of vitamins A, B complex, C, and D, as well as minerals such as iron, potassium, and zinc. And in traditional medicine, dandelion roots and leaves were used to treat liver problems. Native Americans used dandelion decoctions (liquid made by boiling down the herb in water) to treat kidney disease, swelling, skin problems, heartburn, and stomach upset. From a great blog: Sierra Foothills Garden  • Dandelion roots can be roasted as a coffee-substitute, or boiled and stir-fried as a cooked vegetable. • Dandelion flowers can be made into a wine. • Dandelion greens can be boiled, as you would spinach, and served as a vegetable or can be i...