All the Dirt on Gardening

Many of the flowers we enjoy growing are the result of a gardener's curiosity and efforts. One example is the Candy Lily, also called Orchid Lily or Paintbox Lily. It is a hybrid between a Blackberry Lily and the night blooming Vesper Iris. Its scientific name is X Pardancanda norrisii. Its parent's scientific names are Pardanthopsis dichotoma and Belamcanda Chinesis, making Pardan + canda the name. The X means hybrid and norrisii is for Samuel Norris, the original back yard breeder. One parent, the Vesper Iris, a Siberian native, has light green sword leaves and mauve or purple-blue flowers with white and yellow markings. Vesper Iris, also called Star of the Evening, opens in the late afternoon during the summer. When the flowers fade they twist into spirals and fall. Bustani Plant Farm is one source of Vesper Iris plants, www.bustaniplantfarm.com and 405-372-3379. Ruth Owens at Bustani provided the photos you see here. Ed Rasmussen of Fragrant Path, www.fragrantpathseeds.com,...

The Autumn Equinox began September 22, at 10:44 in the morning. In poetry, this time of year is called the crowning time for our gardens. Only the daffodil season is better according to the poets. Fall Equinox is noted for having exactly 12-hours of daylight and 12-of night at the equator. Therefore, in many myths, it is a time of balance. It is a time for rituals of protection and reflection. The Greek goddess Persephone even returned to live with her husband Hades. Everywhere you look in the fall flower garden, there are brightly colored blooms. Summer annuals are tall and crowned with flowers. Zinnias, castor beans, 4-O-Clocks, coleus, petunia, alyssum, cosmos and marigolds are at their peak bloom time. Perennials such as Canna lilies, phlox, and Sedum Autumn Joy are covered with butterfly nectar flowers. Dahlias have huge buds about to burst open, asters and salvias are sprinkling bright spots of lavender, pink, red and purple in all the flowerbeds. Goldenrod, Joe Pye Weed, Eupator...

News from the online Trillium and Woodland Plants conversation is that the 2008 Trillium Symposium will be April 17 to 19 and enrollment is limited to the first 200 who register. The workshops and seminars will feature the conservation and propagation of trilliums on the east coast of the US. If you do not grow Trilliums yet, click on this link to see beautiful photographs of them. The Minnesota nursery, Specialty Perennials sells seed and has dozens of links to more wonderful photos at this link . Once you see Trillium photos, you will realize how often you have enjoyed them in shade gardens. Companion plants that want similar growing conditions include spiderwort , bleeding heart, green dragon arum, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, woodland phlox, columbine and Virginia Bluebells. The Symposium is $195 if registration is received by Jan 31, 2008. A member of the same plant family, Toad Lilies grow well in my shade garden. The ones I purchased as plants from Bluestone Perennials bloomed th...

Blossom's Garden Center is having their end-of-the season sale Thursday - tomorrow. Go grab some bargains to complete your garden. As the beds in the back yard have grown and the shrubs have expanded, it was becoming a challenge to get in between things. Three weeks ago my garden column was on covering a patch of weeds with newspaper and then topping it with mulch. The photo on the left is the end result. One less slice of the back yard has to be mowed. Bluestone Perennials website has an easy to use online catalog where you can browse their half-off everything sale. The front of the bed in the photo is lined with Nepeta Walker's Low from Bluestone . This year I ordered several dozen plants from Bluestone - for my garden and for a few friends. One type of plant arrived looking less than desirable and they replaced it. Everything from them has taken root and thrived so far. So, I'm impressed. Here's the progress report on the tiny Spicebush Butterfly Caterpillar fou...

For us gardeners the past few days have been a flurry of ground work. We are outside as soon as the coffee wakes us up and back indoors only for water, lunch or a quick break. Sleep at night is disturbed by being over-tired, if anything. Today alone, we put 40-transplants in the ground, planted some vegetable and flower seeds and added a few trees to the back border. The shade garden has several things blooming and also now has Japanese toad lilies from Bluestone Perennials in addition to the Virginia Bluebells planted last month. A friend shared some toad lilies from her garden and I have no idea what they will look like when they bloom. That same friend gave me a peony today to replace the ones that were lost to a fungal disease a few years ago. Because of an obsession with iris that lasted a few years, we planted more than we can actually care for. Right now we are in the season of having 100 in bloom on most days in spite of the number of buds that were frozen off over Easter. Pho...