SHOPPING LISTS, Spring 2014 What are you getting?

Coleup, It think you picked up 2 dwarf mock oranges for us last year, one for me and one for Happy, and maybe one for Aspen as well.

I knew you were holding something for me this winter but couldn't remember what. I just went through several pages to find the info.

Happy and Aspen, you haven't picked up yours yet, right? Maybe we could do the exchange at the time of the North Creek plug drop off.

You know what, after reading about those dwarf mock oranges, this got me thinking. There are so many "designer" plants out there these days, partnered with a full gamut of fertilizers, fungicides, and bug killers...
Well, I am turning away from these fancy, impulse-purchase plants and going back.
Back to the days of Mock Oranges, Climbing heritage roses, iris, boxwoods, azaleas, lilies, and maple trees. Back to native hollies, ancient-variety peonies (Festiva Maxima), and doggone firethorn. What's wrong with a rose that looks like a rose, and not some dark, musty-colored bloom? What's up with all those varieties of new-fangled landscape roses, bringing along with them that horrible rosacea disease? Why worry about obtaining some rare thing, throw it into improper soil, and incorrect lighting?
Why the fuss about all the pursuit of something just beyond your grasp, when the meek and mild are certainly worthy of their reputation of longevity...
In the spare lot next to my home, there was once an old farm house. Every spring, a few old-style iris come up in different colors, and different places in the field, bloom, then get bush-hogged. They doggedly come up the next spring, do their thing, then disappear. Never was there any worry about nematodes...
I, too, am learning to stand back, observe, and appreciate what is right before my eyes, and shovel! Believe me, my yard is very colorful and appreciated by all who drive by.

This message was edited Mar 27, 2014 3:54 PM

I like a mix of tried & true along with innovative new varieties. Whether it's double blooms, improved disease resistance, or a growing habit that better fits a smaller space, there are some great things to be found in more recent varieties. On the other hand, some hybridizers get caught up in the race for new colors & forms and sacrifice sturdiness... many of the new and finicky echinaceas are a case in point.

Some of today's new varieties are sure to be among the "tried & true" a century from now. I think hardy geranium 'Rozanne' will be one such, and I'm sure there are many more examples.

Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks, and all that. :-)

Disease resistance is key! That means less fungicides, etc.

And dwarf plants. Suburban houses now have smaller yards, so we need dwarf trees and shrubs.

I love the new heuchera varieties, but some of them aren't very vigorous. I've found the Mt Cuba center's heuchera trials to be really helpful on finding the best performers.

I want to add--that not all of us can afford new and improved plants every year.
It is expensive--even in Group Buys--no matter how big a bargain it seems.

To some--there is no problem spending $$$ every spring or fall for plants, shrubs
and trees--and bulbs, etc. I see that all the time in these Threads. It blows my mind!
Space is the determining factor--and so is available money to spend on new plants.
Some of us just love what we have--and deal with it.

Perhaps if I had unlimited space--I would LOVE to buy something new every year.
I DO long for some changes in my Garden--but most of them are unattainable
because it would take brutal amount of work to dig something up, amend the soil,
and plant something new....I try---in baby steps....but, otherwise, I am content
with what my garden offers every year without me having planted anything new--
except annuals....It is a miracle--that is how I see it....

I spend some $$ on annuals--as they add beautiful color in the summer--and i can
collect more seeds to share.
From my last year's garden--I collected good seeds from 35 plants--just from here.
NOT all new to me--of course. Just fresher seeds....Some new---how exciting!

As you said--"Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks....." Also--different $$$ available...

G.

This message was edited Mar 27, 2014 8:54 PM

The only reason I've gotten away with getting new plants continuously is that my wife and I have no children (yet) and we both work full time so the resources are there. I'm trying to get it all in now because when other priorities arise, I won't be able to spend large sums of money on the gardens. This way, everything will be establishing itself and I can enjoy it.

I agree--it's all about balance, and so many things to consider. I deleted my post above because I figured it was overly-long.

Well, that's what I was trying to say in the post I deleted but I was probably overly-long and incoherent--my current struggle to balance purchasing plants that strike me as particularly beautiful, versus my desire to attract the pollinators. Sometimes the nonnatives and native cultivars I fall in love with are not the best for attracting pollinators, and similarly sometimes the improvements we breed into plants result in them actually attracting fewer pollinators. So it's about balance.

Last season it was all new to me, and I got a variety of plants that struck me as beautiful. Towards the end of the summer I picked up a few key butterfly plants.

This season, I am trying to focus on natives and herbs that attract pollinators and beneficial insects, and sometimes this means getting the 'generic' version. But still I am finding a few things that I want simply because I think they're pretty and not because they serve any higher purpose for the local ecosystem--LOL!

Money is always an issue. I keep telling myself that I'll save money in the long run if I invest in the right perennials--still working towards *that* goal--LOL!

When I started last spring, it was already May, so I missed out on the first couple months of blooms, so this is my first year seeing all the Hellebores, Irish moss, and other early spring offerings... I have more resistance to temptation when it comes to things I've already experimented with--e.g., the creeping phlox and the candytuft.

Hey Gracye! I thought about you the other evening when it was warm enough for the Spring Peepers to be in full song! Hope those outback of you are singing away.

I think all of us on planet earth are being called into new relationships within the web of life
To me, balance is very fluid and dynamic and very present time and more of a way of moving through changes than an achievable or even desireable goal. Nature is not an end product or a yarden the sum total of completed to do lists.

We are in critical times now and aware of what and how we do effects the ecosystems that support us. I remind myself when I encounter criticism or dicounting of my thoughts, proclivities or preferences that we are all in this together and it is not a contest or a competition but a journey. All of us are selcting for the genetic diversity that will carry us forward.

The best photos I have ever taken are in my mind. Some photographers take one perfect shot and others shoot endless rolls and then edit. Which approach is best? Maybe we should all switch yardens for a year and then see what we have to say, hopefully, what we have learned from the experience?! We all want to be and need to be loved on for who we are and appreciated for what we bring to the table.

Well, I would be the one who's constantly editing endless rolls of film... ;-) I would also be the one with endless to-do lists, but that's just to keep myself from forgetting everything. ;-) And I definitely thought I was sharing my own thoughts and experiences, not criticizing anyone else's choices or setting up a competition. :-( I'm sorry if I said something that seemed as though I was...

Lol Catmint, I remember 'fobidding' you from buying that dwarf cherry or any of several blueberry varieties on our Ace Outback meet up! I said not until you do your homework! I also didn't flinch when that Shooting Star Hydrangea called your name and opened your wallet. I too have in dilemmas between native non native and designer plants and personally would not order some of what is on our group buy lists and some of my 'preferences' haven't generated much interest. I will say that pollinators will be more well fed and hosted this year than last amongst us

Yes, I am one of the MAF plant pushers of good plants grown well by others. I enjoy having been a 'personal plant shopper for some of you as it helped me get to know you all a little better.

SSG, yes, some of those plants I got last fall should break dormancy and if they look like keepers and not return for refund plants I'll get them to the Divvy Up just after Easter. And, I believe that the Dwarf Mock Orange is 'native' to Canada and not another continent!

Gracie, I hope that before those oldfashioned long lived plants next door die out or are developed away that you can rescue some of them or grow out their replacements. Just like the Spring Peepers, I know you will enjoy and appreciate them in the meantime!

Coleup, do you have the mock oranges?

Oh we cross posted. I'm so excited about having some fragrance! I have almost zero fragrant plants. Bad planning on my part.

There were some nice fragrant Gelesenium vines at Homestead and isn't Major Wheeler' honeysuckle (like Jan's) fragrant as well? Do you do vines?

Coleup, no blueberries or cherries for me, but a cute little everbearing strawberry plant jumped off the shelf and into my cart yesterday! :-D

In the meantime, I've been taking inspiration from butterfly garden designs I've found on the internet, and am now trying to generate my own plan for a fluttering, buzzing garden, humming with life...

My native honeysuckle has zero fragrance! :(.

And I'm not sure what that other plant is. Gelsemium? I'm on my phone so I'll be researching it later!

SSG, I've been attracted to more fragrant blossoms so far this season, too! I have a few now on my table, waiting for the weather to warm up so I can plant them:

sweet alyssum
ranunculus
fairy primrose (Primula malacoides)
viola cornuta
shooting star hydrangea

They all smell wonderful! I also agree about the honeysuckle.

SSG, my neighbor has a type of abelia that is draped over the fence and spills over into my yard, and it smells heavenly and the butterflies love it.

Here's a photo I took of it last summer while I was trying to figure out what it was. Someone suggested it was a type of abelia.

My point of view on what makes it into my gardens is this: does it look pretty to me? What does this plant do to please my eye? I focus on color, color, color. My primary goal in gardening is to have different things blooming as early in spring as weather permits to as late in fall as the plants are willing to hang on. This is difficult and not easily done. Attracting pollinators is a byproduct of this goal. A secondary goal of mine is to attract birds, which I have added 20+ berry producing shrubs between last fall and this spring to do just that. It's my intent to have a collection of plants that aren't found in many gardens in my area. Gardening to me is never a competition except with myself; what can I do this year that makes my gardens prettier than last year. I like to be constantly improving them. I'm sure as I get older, this philosophy will change but that's what it is for now. The list of plants I have at the beginning of this thread was designed to initiate a conversation and nothing else. I'm an idea man so I'm always coming up with something new and a lot of times that means replacing a plant that is fine in it's own right with something that does more.

That's Gelsemium or Carolina Jessamine common name.
MOBOT
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=c519

North Creek
http://www.northcreeknurseries.com/plantName/Gelsemium-sempervirens-Margarita

That's interesting, Jeff! I think last year my goals were similar to yours in wanting a garden that would be visually pleasing (to me) from March to October, with the pollinators a byproduct of that. In the process I acquired many plants that happened to be unique (e.g., my Begonia Kaylen, which I loved, and others). But the pollinators brought me so much pleasure I decided to make them a focus this year, especially with the monarch at a critical point, plus knowing more now about which plants act as larval hosts for which butterflies.

I'd also like to do more with hummingbirds and birds, but I'm limited by the stray/neighborhood cat that essentially lives in my yard at this point. Yesterday, I was enjoying watching several birds flocking to my feeder, and zoom out of nowhere came the cat, jumped up and grabbed a robin that was perched on the feeder, and ran off with it.

I was also just looking at your lists at the top of the thread, and realized that a few of the plants on your list were also on mine!
Anthemis tinctoria Kelwayi (Golden Margerite)--I ended up ordering Anthemis tinctoria seeds from Amazon
Heliopsis helianthoides Summer Nights--I have Heliopsis helianthoides on preorder for the Loudon wildflower sale
Ruellia humilis (Wild Petunia)--seeds ordered from Amazon

I got Bergenia Bressingham Ruby last year. It didn't perform for me as I had hoped. I moved it to a shadier spot towards the end of the summer and it seemed to be doing better there. We'll see how it does this year.

Coleup, I had noticed the Carolina jessamine recently, but was wary of the 'intertwining' part of the description...

Carolina jasmine! I think I got that last fall on clearance! LOL

Catmint, the first thing that came to mind when Jeff said birds was the darn cats. Sorry to hear about that poor bird. :(

LOL SSG! I felt really bad for it, too. Seriously, anyone need a good hunting cat for their yard? I guess I should be glad I'm not troubled by voles or mice...

Nice Catmint! We do get hummingbirds to the garden as we have a lot of hummer friendly plants. Last season was the first season for many of these plants so hopefully we'll get more hummers this year as they get used to having these plants there to feed on. That's terrible about that cat! I would have been upset had I seen that. Gardening is great if you are gardening to meet whatever your goal is. I pick on my neighbor a little though because they desire to do zero work in the yard and it shows. But it's a friendly jest. They have cookie cutter stuff that is very low maintenance. But that's their goal and they're meeting it so who am I to say mine is better than theirs?

If that cat has an appetite for rabbits, I'm interested! LOL

That's one of the reasons that I'm such a big fan if cannas -- they're so tall that the cats can't get to the hummingbirds while they're feasting on the flowers! And the birds came very frequently.

SSG, I'm hoping that the canna lily you gave me late last August takes off this year and attracts the hummers! I had a couple infrequent hummer visitors last year -- trying to improve that this year.

Jeff, be careful what you wish for--you could find on your doorstep a gray tiger-striped rabbit-catcher who doubles as timid, plaintive kibble-beggar and fierce, monstrous predator. ;-)

Haha...well I'll need something! The rental house next door will be vacated next month to be put up for sale. The current renters have two outdoor cats and the one is a confirmed squirrel killer. I saw it eating one early one morning while I was brushing my teeth. It was done by the time I left for work so I just picked the carcass up by the tail and threw it under my neighbor's arbs in the back yard.

Jeff--

I like your "point of view" on gardening....It makes sense--and has logic.

I don't have "goals" when it comes to gardening...except to work harder
and clean up beds better...I could also improve the soil each year--which
usually gets postponed b/c of all the rush-rush of spring.

i DO have unusual plants--Jeff--check out my Trade List (under my name)
it has pictures and descriptions of each plant.
i DOES need serious updating--as I have new plants in the last 2 years.

My biggest limitation is that my beds are all over 40 years old. Straight--
less than 3' deep--all along the house foundation--totally around the house....
...and my shed.....and the corner of my yard.... plus 3 small circular beds.

That is my garden. Of course--when ALL the plants that now occupy
my house inside go out--I also have a vertical garden to speak of--handing--on shelves--
on plant stands..on cinder blocks etc...
It ALL looks orderly and good to me. Gita

Nice collection Gita! The blue morning glory is pretty!

The balancing act is so key when it comes to yardening, and something I think about just about every time I'm outside. Just today, I dug up 3 Joe Pye 'Little Joe' because they were not doing well where they were planted. I had planted them in the best spot available last summer, but they were decimated (eaten to the stalks) by June bugs and I had to go to heroic efforts (beer, hand-picking, organic insecticides and the big gun - Bayer) to save them.

I potted them today so I can decide what to do with them. Keep them, compost them, or give them away? I spent good money on them, but what's the point of having a pollinator-friendly plant if you have to keep it alive by applying toxic chemicals?

My point is that no matter how hard we try to buy the right plants for the right place, sometimes they're not going to make it and we have to yank them up, throw them out, and try something else, whether it is a native, native cultivar, or (non-invasive) non-native plant. If we can't find suitable free replacements, then we open up our wallets!
Hey - some people buy shoes....or gamble....we buy plants : )

jeff--tell me which seeds you would like--and i will mail them to you so you can start them.

Also if you go back to the Seed swap "haves"--there were a bunch of
"Seeds new to me this year" I posted--like--

"lady in red" salvia--
Lobelia cardinalis--
and--I know there were others,,,gone from my mind now....

You really should try the Daturas and the 4 O'clocks "broken Colors"...
Both are annuals that grow to 3'x3' and bloom beautifully.
Daturas take a while to germinate---soaking may help.

I may have extras to share...just a couple.

G.

LOL Muddy-- gambling, shoes, or plants-- I'll definitely take the plants! :-D

PLANTS

Lee Valley has free shipping for purchases >$40! Sale ends Monday.

Thanks! I'll check out the list again and let you know if I'm interested :)

The GH is full. Our plant plugs came in yesterday. Ric and and I spent hours unloading, and sorting plants. Unlike last year we got more larger plants in 6 pk cells. But there are still the coleus, angel wing begonia and dwarf red begonia that are in tiny little cell packs and the open seeded marigolds. All these need to be transplanted into 6 pk's that's about a 1,000 of those 4 plants. We will get a few pictures later.

I hear you about some plants just not doing well no matter how hard we try, Muddy! I've had some successes and some not. Last season, I struggled with agastache until someone here suggested a lighter soil and finally then it improved. My weeping cherry struggled mightily with borer insects until I finally applied a systemic :-( and then Happy and her husband were kind enough to help me move it to a sunnier spot in my yard where I hope it does better. I never could get my hibiscus and Rose of Sharon to flourish--waiting to see what happens this year... My rosa x rugosa was decimated by the Japanese beetles last summer.

In my research into biocontrol properties of various herbs, I've found a few which are supposed to help with repelling Japanese beetles (the scourge of my garden last year):
Allium tuberosum, Tanacetum vulgare, Ruta graveolens. I am going to plant them strategically this year... I wonder, do praying mantises eat Japanese beetles?