Coffee break 99

VV - will the return trip veer anywhere near the NE? Will have to watch the calendar next year as I could find an excuse to be in the land of over the counter cannabis.

Ah, Wha, always thinking about plants, especially ones that resemble an Acer like the Maple Leaf Indica Cannabis. Patti

Hahaha

do not be misled - my sales territory is the mountain states of which AZ and NM have just been added - Colorado is my best state by far and gets most of my attention, I am sure I could find a customer with botanical interests that could be pursued to attend

I pulled the trigger on my first 2014 order. Avant Gardens. Thanks to my Mom for her Xmas Check! She especially loves Gardenias and Jasminum so I hope these are hardy enough for our garden. Patti

Euonymus fortunei 'Wolong Ghost'$18.95
Gardenia jasminoides Summer Snow' PP 1 $34.95
Sassafras albidum 2 $19.95 $39.90
Athyrium 'Lady in Lace' 1 $14.95
Brunnera 'Alexander's Great' PPAF 1 $14.95
Calamintha nepeta ssp. nepeta 1 $9.95
Dryopteris koidzumiana 1 $12.95
Jasminum officionalis 'Fiona's Sunrise' 1 $12.95
Lavandula x 'Phenomenal' PPAF 1 9.95
Lobelia 'Black Truffle' PPAF 1 $12.95
Rhipsalis teres v. capilliformis 1 $9.95
Daphne 'Moonlight Sonata' 1 $24.95
Fagus sylvatica 'Dawyck Purple' 1 $39.95
Stewartia pseudocamellia v. koreana 1 $29.95

Merchandise Subtotal: $287.25
Promotion Applied (SAVE20): -$57.45
Total Before Tax & Shipping: $229.80
Estimated Sales Tax: $14.36
Shipping (Ship UPS): $29.00
Additional Shipping Fees: $8.00
Handling Fee: $8.00
Order Total: $289.16

well it is about time you ordered a stewartia or did you already have one?

Wha, Seeing the one in your garden finally shamed me into it. I am a little slow. Check out that Brunnera, it is huge. Also thought that the Athyrium 'Lady in Lace' was a very nice form that we didn't have. Rosemary got me thinking about that Fagus and so I ordered one. If it starts to thrive I might just plant another to have an archway. But that is likely a pipe dream. Patti

Not that anyone who lives off the northeast coast needs my opinion, but...

If I was going to be a Stewartia (Stuartia) maven, I can't imagine going anywhere else but to the Polly Hill Arboretum - even if it is on the Vineyard.

http://www.pollyhillarboretum.org/

It is the home of finely grown Stewartias (read: so well, that they have to weed them out...) of at least six different species, and many new selections.

http://www.pollyhillarboretum.org/plants/stewartias/

Buying from there also supports a worthy institution created by one hell of a (by all accounts) gal.

Who knew. I have never been to the Other Island, but guess I know where I will be on May 24th.

I hope Bill has a big enough trailer :)

Thanks for the good excuse to visit the vineyard around memorial Day. Kids can get home from college by themselves (LOL). Polly Hill is indeed one of my destinations this year for the camellias as well as the holly. Perhpas others would want to go too?

I am attracted so several of the same Avant Garden selections Patti chose, but have thus far resisted any fagus trees. Dawks Purple would make an amazing arch! There's still time left to for their sale.

Reading blogs has undone me because I can't seem to find the plants anywhere to buy. I want Kiki's broom magnolia but maybe it will appear on Song Sparrow when they go online. Surely someone will have a griseum xmaximowiczanum hybrid (ginger bread, cinnamon flake, any will do) maple to sell, but for now, score a big zero. Maybe I'll write to some college ag departments next.

With VV's encouragement I have added Dan Fenton IO to the Rarefind order.

And Bluestone sales are pretty good now for some perennials.

Sigh....all those selections sound wonderful......I don't know what I want to order.....I'm just afraid the -10 temps here last night wiped out a lot of my perennials, & I'll have to concentrate on the beds this year.....I know I want a fragrant rose, have been looking at WFF because I have a gift card for there.....

the snow cover should help insulate them.
tree is down, hubby is working on the outside stuff before the deep freeze hits here.

We didn't get close to zero, but got down to 9. It is sunny out now and already 22 though clouds abound but the greenhouse is still nice and warm. DH went off to town to see the damage down by the waterfront and then to the dump to catch up on the storm gossip. jumper2, sorry about your tree and the bitter cold out your way. We have no trees down on our property, so happy about that, but I haven't taken a serious walk about today.

I would just stay in a greenhouse as long as possible about now. Two of the tubes I have purchased were windmill palms that can stay outside until about 20 F. Patti's tall cactus(is it a finger cactus?) would look great in my sunny kitchen also. It's a reminder that there's always room for one more.

I never knew the name of it for sure, but I think it is not a cactus, rather a Euphorbia and maybe the species trigona known as the African Milk Tree. But not really sure. I got it as a 3" plant in a tiny pot in 1976 and later moved it into a 4"pot in my old basement Bookstore until 1981 when it moved above ground for a few years. It grew to about a foot high in a 6" pot and then in 1983 we stuck into one of the beds in our then new green house where it has been growing happily there ever since. I will have to top it soon as it has almost reached the ceiling. It did have one poor spell many years ago when I thought we had lost it when the temperature in the greenhouse got very close to freezing. We lost a big chunk of it, but a couple of it's branches survived and then it really took off. The Jade plants in the same bed are babies from a single plant from the same mid 70's period that my DH had on a sailboat. I love having a bunch of house plants that are older than our marriage. I should try to take cuttings from the Euphorbia as I doubt it would take much to get them to root as it is also known as the Friendship Plant. Patti

VV I read about Polly Hill last year - sounds like a must see and a good place to pick up a stewartia - only have room for the one here as any open space is for another japanese maple.

got down to -10 here last night - happy for the snow cover - and it was a nice day to xcountry ski today.

since we don't have a winter photo thread I'll post these here. the first four are right to left of the back yard and the last one is looking in from the driveway

We were at DH today so I came home with a two inch 'Eve's needle' Optunia sublata which is an upright, columnar even, succulent-appearing plant used for fences in Artentina. I will keep eyes open for the African Milktree.

So nice that Bill has a background of evergreens to help contrast with the JMs come spring.

Sleep well, gardens.

Wha, nice shots, but who owns that nice woodland chunk behind your pond where you could become the Polly Hill of Pepperell and have a really big arboretum. I'd pay.

Rosemary, I can lop off a chunk for you in the spring. I am always up around Lexington. I know I will be going up for the Tower Hill Daffodil show in early May. I could bring you an arm then.

I sent did an order today for Faraway Flowers for Lilies. Glad to see Ramona is back selling as always as some gems. Patti

Div 1 Asiatics Cafe Noir Purchase 3 for $13.50
Div 1 Asiatics Pop Star Lily Allen Purchase 3 for $15.00
Div 1 Asiatics Mystic Dream Purchase 3 for $20.00
Div 8 Interdivisional Hybrids » Longiflorum-Asiatics Sweet Desire Purchase 3 for $16.00
Div 8 Interdivisional Hybrids » Oriental -Trumpets Yellow Strike Purchase 3 for $21.00
Div 8 Interdivisional Hybrids » Oriental -Trumpets Gold Class 1 for $7.25
Div 8 Interdivisional Hybrids » Oriental -Trumpets Doubleen Purchase 3 for $15.00
Div 8 Interdivisional Hybrids » Oriental -Trumpets Mister Pistache 1 for $7.50
Div 8 Interdivisional Hybrids » Oriental -Trumpets Yellow Space 1 for $7.50

Thanks! that would be great. If we plan it, you could come and see if I have anything you'd like a twig or piece of.

While looking at Magnolias, I came across this Arboretum in Belgium. What a spot and I guess there are a few Yellow ones to choose from. http://www.arboretumwespelaar.be/userfiles/file/pdf/130413_Camelbeke_Yellow%20Flowering%20Magnolias.pdf
I'll bet VV has been there. I am looking for a precocious magnolias that is smallish with yellow blooms that are also small to fit into our landscape. Patti

I have decided to give up on lilies. Not up to fighting the red beetles.

We have been spared thus far in Nantucket, not Vt. I don't grow them in Vt in fear that I might pick up a nasty red hitchhiker that would destroy my beloved lilies.
While search for more yellow Magnolias, I came across an old post of mine looking for them in 2008.... guess I am kind of slow. Think I am liking this one from Arrowhead Alpines who I like to buy from.

Good morning! I'mmmm back!! LOL
I love the list you have composed Patti, lots of nice things that would never grow here. (grin)
Actually I don't think I will be ordering much this year...I will need to take inventory of how many plants I have lost before buying any. I do believe with the brutal cold we have been experiencing that I have many fatalities in my gardens. :(

WELCOME back Celeste! Now go get the rest of them!!!

LOL!!!

Celeste, Glad you are back as I have been feeling your absence. Hope your new plantings do better than you are expecting. I try to plant a zone lower, but that would be hard for you. When we first started planting here I think. we were listed as zone 5. I occasionally push my luck to zone 7, but kind of stupid on my part as with the desiccating winds we get and not much snow cover, I think we are really zone 6 not 7a. Patti

We have been switched from 6a to 6b. Not much different if you ask me.

Yay! Celeste is back! looking forward to updates, ie the river of blue etc.

I claim to have almost every zone from 7 down depending upon where in my yard you stand (like by the furnace vent) , but this winter cold has been brutal for anything that isn't protected.

Patti,Gold Star sounds lovely. Did you look at Golden Gift magnolia? A dwarf yellow that is spreading in shape. I selected it from Morton Arboretum's list of recommended yellow magnolias. Mine didn't take root for reasons I can't fathom so I will plant Sunsprite this spring, a fastigate shape and also dwarf, so a better fit to squeeze into its spot. Sunspire is upright also and a bit taller. They are not only yellow, but a mixture of yellow and rose tones in the blossoms. Please tell us what you decide and if you get to see them in Belgium.

Nice pics, wha!!!

Woohoo!!!! Looking forward to seeing the river of blue

welcome back celeste! missed you here - i can't get use to that other site.

patti - an old farmer owns it and his daughter lives in the little brown cottage next to me - every time the lottery goes large I dream I will buy all his land, let him live out his life in his house then take it down, daughter can keep the brown cottage, while we build a home on top of the hill and start planting....................then some 90 yr old in another state wins my money :)

LOL.....that's life, isn't it, Bill? Your property looks nice in winter, I left a lot of seed heads in my beds this year....looks better than just plain snow! Patti, your greenhouse looks so inviting, a great hideaway this time of year.......Rosemary, that magnolia sounds awesome.....would love yellow & rose tones on the bloom together. Pixie, missed your savvy posts, so glad you are back!!!!!

I'm really enjoying listening to how you are all making your lists and checking them twice! Lots of neat plans. I, too, am fearful that we have lost a lot in both NH and CT. I'll bet my brand new garden (including my new JM) in CT didn't have enough time to establish well enough to handle this winter! But, as many of you have said.....maybe the snow will stay deep enough to bail is out.

Hi Celeste! Glad you are back, but I'm not here enough lately to keep up here. I agree that DG is easier to use, but using an ipad is still a real detriment.

Downton Abbey new season starts tonight. I'll have to DVR The Good Wife. These are about the only shows currently on for me to watch. I willingly defer to all of hank's sports since I am not much of a TV watcher. I still prefer reading.

Stay warm in those horrid temps, my friends! Scary cold up there!

Wha, great dream, but think of all the plants you can buy if you don't buy lottery tickets.

I have been looking at Golden Gift magnolia and found it at a couple of places, but now I will look for Sun Sprite as that fastigated one which might be perfect. RareFind has one. Now Klehm's catalog is up, so off to see what they have. Patti

i have golden gift although have not been nice to it - last fall I took down a red leafed birch that was getting ratty and planted the golden gift, it is the bed to your left as you walk into the back yard for those who have been. get's lots of sun - hoping for the best.

Sorry, Louise, but my snow has just about disappeared in today's 55 degree rain....and tomorrow will only be a high of 10......I feel the plants are doomed........

While continuing my search, I found this:

Rosemary, here is a funny post from Whitman farms. But I love it. Patti

Birchbark Maple (Acer griseum ‘Gingerbread’)
Posted on April 10, 2012 by admin

What a loser! The whole point of griseums is the marvelous bark. This bark doesn’t peel. The fall color is fine, but sorry, that is not enough. Zone 5 Size: Graft Price: $14.00

That proverb is too true......I'll have to replace the maple behind my porch.....nothing will grow fast enough for me to enjoy it for very long........

Yep, gotta like a plant seller who would say that about any plant. Personally, I think I don't need all the peeling bark if it will grow faster and taller and handle one zone colder as in this griseum- Nikko hybrid. There's already a sapling of a Sargent cherry (which I can't wait to see get larger) in close range to coordinate the cinnamon trunks. First shot is my baby sargent cherry 'Accolade.'

I bought my new cercis alba from Forestfarm rather than look for it closer to home. Last year it was not easily found in the local nurseries. They were gorgeous in bloom in the woods at the Nichols Arboretum in Ann Arbour when we were there in late May, as seen in the second pic.