All the Dirt on Gardening

Free and open to the public Feb 20, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. Steve Owens, owner Bustani Plant Farm "Plant Hunting in Kenya for Oklahoma Gardens" Garden Education Room, Honor Heights Park Sponsored by Friends of Honor Heights Park Talk followed by membership meeting Steve and Ruth Owens, owners of Bustani Plant Farm in Stillwater OK, focus on growing unique plants for gardens in Oklahoma as well as other states with similar growing conditions. Steve and Ruth travel to Africa looking for new plants. This Saturday, he will give a talk for Friends of Honor Heights Park members and guests. His topic is plant hunting in Kenya but since he is knowledgeable in all things horticultural, participants should come ready to learn a wide spectrum of details about how to succeed in their gardens. In a telephone interview, Steve said, Gardeners can get a good idea what we have from the website (www.bustaniplantfarm.com) and from the free catalog, but, there is a much greater variety available to an...

Tomatoes and peppers are turning their backs on the cloudy, rainy weather, yellowing their leaves and refusing to make blossoms. Lots of the other plants are thriving. Take a look at the poppy, snow peas and the greens. We are having cooked greens or salad every day from the abundance. And, the snow peas gave us our second bowlful of pre -dinner, tasty snacks last night and they are blooming mightily. I take cuttings every year of my Dicliptera suberecta and grow them in the shed over the winter. From spring to first freeze, they produce tubes of red orange flowers that the hummingbirds and butterflies find irresistible in the heat of the summer. Suberecta is possibly hardy here but I haven't taken a chance on putting it in the ground without taking cuttings for next year. I bought my original plant from Bustani Plant Farm and they are hardy on that hot side of Oklahoma - we are in very different climates from each other. This pink tropical Dicliptera is one I traded with J...

I'm embarrassed to display this example of why spring is a good time to check your potted plants for being rootbound. This is a gorgeous Dicliptera from Bustani Plant Farm . It was supposed to go in the ground but I put it in a giant pot instead and it bloomed all summer with no care from me other than running the hose on the it to keep it moist. Then it spent the winter in the garden shed. The pot had to be smashed in order to liberate the plant to put it in a larger pot with fresh soil. Needless to say, this trooper of the garden looked great despite my poor treatment and it looks even better with a little nutrition. This plant's grey, soft leaves are beautiful and it flowered all summer last year. Description from the Bustani site: "Dicliptera suberecta (King's Crown) #164 $6.00 Tropical/Slightly hardy Perennial – Sun, partial shade – 18”x30” – Zone 7-10 – Family: Acanthaceae Origin: Uruguay The soft leaves of King’s Crown make it a garden worthy plant b...