Archive | 2016

December 2016: A New York State Of Mind

Holiday Tips: Last week my daughter and I had a fabulous day in Manhattan celebrating the holiday season in true New York style — eating and shopping!

We started the day on a high, scoring a window table for breakfast at the Rock Center Cafe. The restaurant’s wall of windows backs on the Rockefeller Center ice rink and faces the famous Rockefeller Center tree. Photo below of the tree taken from our window. (Yet, while the tree was glorious, the fun was in exchanging joyful waves with the skaters.) We also liked the outdoor soldier-musicians. Photo below. And the nearby festive storefronts and windows. Photos below. (All Manhattan photos printed here with permission of Jessica Amsterdam.)

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As for shopping, among other things I found a lovely — and dishwasher safe — coffee mug that spoke my name. It makes me smile every morning — Italian elegant simplicity in white with a touch of vibrant red. Photo below. (Available from Eataly with decorative handles in a variety of colors.)

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

Finally, a tip for the garden: Since I’m in a New York state of mind, I recommend an outstanding native New York shrub, Rhododendron calendulaceum (Flame Azalea). This Spring-blooming deciduous Azalea (most frequently associated with the Appalachian Mountains) has flourished for 13 years in my organic garden. R. calendulaceum can be quite variable in flower color — shades of red, pink, orange and yellow are possible. Photos below of my beautiful salmon-orange bloomer.

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

Wishing you all a joyous holiday and a happy, healthy New Year!

December 2016: Singin’ The Blues

We are fast approaching the end of 2016 and I’m dreamin’ of Spring and singin’ the blues — garden blues.

Before you are seduced by the glossy photos in 2017 plant catalogs, I’d like to bring to your attention a number of captivating “blue” plants that have been time-tested in my organic garden:

Rhododendron ‘Turquoise and Gold’ is a 3 foot tall, mildew-resistant (for me, mildew-free) deciduous azalea. For twelve years the shrub has exceeded expectations with lush displays of beautiful, deliciously fragrant golden flowers, and healthy, blue-hued foliage. Photos below.

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

Abies koreana ‘Silberlocke’ (Korean Fir) is a compact, slow-growing (3-6 inches a year) evergreen conifer — a distinctive tree, with upright blue cones in Spring, and wondrous, tightly curled, green needled foliage with silver undersides. Photo below. (I should note that for the first few years in my garden the tree’s greenish-white cones never turned blue. Why? I haven’t a clue.)

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

Pinus parviflora ‘Glauca'(a/k/a Glauca Group) is a tall, vigorous, very cold-hardy Japanese White Pine. This handsome tree has evergreen, blue-green-silvery foliage and is embellished in the Spring with an abundance of pink — yes, pink! — cones. And ‘Glauca’ has been problem free for 25 years. Photos below of the cones and foliage.

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

Finally, another shout out for Henna Coleus. (See Post: “September 2016: Ode To Late Summer”.) Henna isn’t blue, but deserving of celebration nonetheless. While her Coleus container companions died in October, Henna continued to flaunt her ruffles thru Thanksgiving. I replaced the dead plants with conifer stems. A whole new look. Photo below.

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

Autumn 2016: Garden Successes Part 3

This is an oak mast year like none other: Torrents of acorns have been raining down on our heads for months. We need to buy helmets. Mother Nature is fond of oak forests. Me, not so much.

We remove bucket upon bucket overflowing with acorns from our garden beds, decks and paths, yet an abundance of acorns remains. The woodland creatures don’t seem the least bit interested in eating acorns. Even the usual suspects, the squirrels, act as if acorns have nothing to do with them — they are always at the bird feeders, along with the chipmunks.

But I digress. I really want to talk about 2016 garden successes:

First and foremost is the vine Lablab purpureus (Hyacinth Bean), a fast growing, showy annual. Flaunting purple stems, purple flushed green foliage, and purple flowers, Lablab is a dazzler. And when the flowers fade, the vine produces amazing mahogany-red bean pods.

I last grew the vine in 2004, collected the mature black and white beans — when the pods turned brown and dry — and stored them in the refrigerator in a small glass jar. For years, every time I opened the fridge door they screamed, “Plant us, plant us already!”

So, this year, I did.

Scientists germinated a date-palm seed that was nearly 2,000 years old and my beans were only 12. A piece of cake. Yet to ensure success, I soaked the beans in hot water overnight, planted them in a large, tall container with a tripod to avoid voles and rabbits, and waited until late July’s hot weather — a condition precedent for germination. Within weeks, they were on their way up the tripod, and soon after, Lablab flowers and pods appeared. Photos below.

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

Berried plants are also good doers, especially the native Common Winterberry (Ilex verticillata). My Winterberry shrubs thrive in moist, acid soil in shade and have been winter-hardy and disease-free for over twenty years. While hybridizers have produced scores of named cultivars, I love the Common Winterberry form. There is nothing common about it. Just ask the birds. Every year they gorge themselves on the berries and every year we find — happily find — Winterberry volunteers in the garden. Photos of the berries below.

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) is another outstanding native plant and my natural groundcover. All the woodland creatures love its berries — and so do I. (While we have close to four acres, I’m lucky if they leave me enough to bake a pie.) As a bonus, come Autumn, the blueberry foliage is aglow with color. Photos below.

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

Garden successes — and plants in general — do help to offset the angst of a sorry Presidential election. Have a joyous Thanksgiving!

2016 Garden Successes: Part 2

The luminous, evergreen Rhododendron ‘Solidarity’ was hybridized by my friend, the late great plantsman, Hank Schannen. Several plants have flourished in my garden for over 20 years, despite Mother Nature’s relentless assaults. Given shade, well draining acid soil and adequate water, Solidarity has been disease free and has bloomed reliably every year. With dark pink buds that open to extra-large pink flowers that fade to white, the vigorous shrub is a sight to behold. Photo below.

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

Another May/June bloomer gracing my garden is Hank Schannen’s favorite Azalea, the dazzling Rhododendron ‘Ben Morrison’.  Equally hardy and disease free, it’s a unique evergreen Azalea with bi-color flower buds as striking as its abundant flowers. Photos below.

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

A plant that does not perform with vigor, yet survived horrific icy winters and oppressively hot and droughty summers, Tree Peony, Paeonia ‘Yae Zakura’ (Host of Cherry Blossoms) is enchanting. I’m so besotted that if the plant only produces one or two exquisite, shell-pink flowers, I’d be content. Amend the planting soil with lime and or wood ash if your garden soil is acid. Photos below of Yae Zakura’s flower and colorful Fall foliage.

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

Finally, for both beauty and vigor, I recommend the award-winning herbaceous peony, Paeonia ‘Coral Charm’. Photos below.

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

September 2016: Ode To Late Summer

Recent editions of an Oxford Junior Dictionary, aimed at seven-year-olds, eliminated the following words that the editors considered no longer relevant to the lives of modern children: “acorn”, “dandelion”, “fern”, “nectar” and “pasture.” I find this very sad.

Sadder still, was this Summer’s abysmal weather. In recent years, hot, muggy days and drought, likely caused by global warming, resulted in lasting damage to the landscape. So I too must identify and edit, weeding out plants — including long-time favorites — that will not thrive in a “modern” garden.

Yet, thankfully, Mother Nature’s bounty is infinite. Despite the egregious growing conditions, there were a number of garden successes worthy of mention:

Phlox paniculata.  This summer I grew several colorful, fragrant, mildew-resistant Phlox in a large container. I’m still enjoying the rewards — along with grateful hummingbirds and butterflies. Photo below. (See also post of January 2016, “What’s New: Klehm’s Song Sparrow”.)

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

Clerodendrum trichotomum. Another plant that fills the air with delicious fragrance, Clerodendrum, commonly called Harlequin Glorybower, blooms for me in late August/early September. When the white tubular flowers fade they are followed by lovely pink calyxes. Not a bad investment for the dog days of summer. Photo below.

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

Moreover, in October, the calyxes open to reveal pea-sized, showy, metallic-blue fruit. (For photos, see post of October 2012, “Autumn Update: Iochroma & Clerodendrum.”)

Glorybower is stoloniferous and begets many volunteers. While some regard this as a fault, I welcome fragrant, fruiting gifts from Mother Nature. So do the bees. Photo below.

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

 

Henna Coleus (a/k/a Solenostemon scutellarioides ‘Balcenna’). Henna is an award-winning Coleus and a 2016 trendsetter: Ruffles are the new IN THING for Fall couture and Henna has ruffles a-plenty. A Garden Fashionista. Photo below.

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

Apart from frilly edges, Henna flaunts chartreuse centers splashed with reddish-purple, and burgundy undersides. A fabulous foliage plant for sun or shade. And Henna plays well with others. Photos below.

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

It has been suggested that Coleus flowers should be removed because they cause the plant to become leggy and unattractive. Not a problem with Henna, which either flowers very late in the season or not at all. (I rather like the long spikes of pale blue flowers that attract butterflies and I don’t remove them.) Photo below.

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

 

Rhododendron bureavii x yakushimanum is an outstanding foliage plant. Rhododendrons are usually celebrated for their flowers, but this shrub’s sensational new stems and foliage covered in orange suede take top billing. It is one of the most admired plants in my garden. Photo below.

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

Albizia julibrissin ‘Summer Chocolate.’ While this Mimosa Tree produces flowers that are magnets for butterflies, it is the exquisite purple foliage that makes it a must-have plant. And ‘Summer Chocolate’ is hardy, vigorous, and easy-care. Photos below.

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

Update: Cornus kousa ‘ Milky Way’ still a-flower in September. Photo below.

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

2016 Garden Treasure: Cornus kousa ‘Milky Way’

As recently reported by The New York Times, the Yao people of Mozambique have formed a working partnership with wild “honeyguide” birds: After communicating through an exchange of sounds and gestures, the birds lead the Yao to beehives hidden high up in trees. After the tribesmen subdue the bees and extract the honey, the birds happily eat the leftover beeswax, a good source of calories.

Impressive! But these wild birds have nothing on my helpful, domesticated Grandpets. Consider my Grandcat, Callie. When there is computer work to be done, she is always ready to lend a helping paw.

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

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And sometimes more than a paw.

Callie on Computer.one

 

 

My Granddog Zoe, on the other hand, has no interest in computer work.

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But when there was a Donkey invasion, she rose to the occasion by bravely facing down the enemy.

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I treasure my “helpful” Grandpets.

 

And when I choose plants for the garden, I treasure those that truly work for me, not the other way around. One of my favorites is the Kousa Dogwood, ‘Milky Way’. As a general rule, kousas bloom in the month of June. The amazing Milky Way blooms continuously from June through August—oft-times into September. That is flower power! (June, July, August photos below.)

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

When the flowers finally fade, the tree produces an abundance of green lollypop-like fruit that eventually turns scarlet red. Irresistible to songbirds. And in the Fall, Milky Way’s dark green foliage turns glorious shades of autumnal orange. Moreover, when established, the trunk bark exfoliates like a Stewartia. A stellar multi-season performer.

Kousas are free of the dreaded anthracnose disease that has devastated our native dogwood population, Cornus florida. Indeed, for the twenty years Milky Way has graced my garden, it’s been entirely disease-free. Provide rich, acid, well-drained soil.

NOTE: August heat-waves and drought create problem conditions for plants. But not for the August blooming, shrub-like, hardy perennial, Hibiscus ‘Jazzberry Jam’. This is its fifth season in my garden and every year–regardless of weather–the huge, gorgeous flowers attract hummingbirds, bumble bees and me!  A late-summer WOW plant.

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

July 2016: Summer Fragrance

Health Alert: A new study has found a link between exercise and a reduced risk of 13 cancers. People who exercised moderately had significantly less risk of developing cancer than those who were sedentary. And increased exercise dramatically reduced the risk.

While formal exercise is a non-starter for me, I hope to reap health benefits by working endless hours in the garden. Natural beauty and intoxicating floral aromas are good for the soul as well as the body.

I’d like to share with you a sampling of outstanding summer-blooming fragrant plants that have been time-tested in my garden:

Rosa ‘Compassion’ is an award-winning, very fragrant, repeat-blooming climbing rose. With disease-resistant foliage and beautiful apricot-pink flowers, it’s always a hands down favorite when I lecture on roses. I grow Compassion in a large container set beside an arch. In December, I cloak the entire plant with protective conifer branches. (Photos below.)

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

Rhododendron ‘Weston’s Lollipop’ is a deciduous, hardy, summer-blooming azalea with mildew-resistant foliage. Numerous pink flowers possess a lovely sweet fragrance. Provide moist, well-drained, acidic soil. (Photo below.)

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

Daphne x transatlantica ‘Blafra’, a/k/a Daphne Eternal Fragrance, is an ideal plant for a large or small garden. For a shrub of modest size — 2 to 3 feet tall — it packs a wallop of a return: masses of small, white, intensely fragrant flowers with a long bloom season from Spring to Fall. Be aware that Daphne has a well-earned reputation for being temperamental and unpredictable, ofttimes dying for no discernible reason. But so far — five years and counting — Eternal Fragrance is happy growing in shade in rich, moist, well-drained soil. Maybe this cultivar is the exception — eternal after all. (Photos below.)

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

Hydrangea quercifolia (Oakleaf Hydrangea) is a winter-hardy, trouble-free, native shrub, with multi-seasons of interest. In Summer, it produces large panicles of showy sterile and fertile white flowers. When the fertile flowers open in July, they release a delicious fragrance that carries on the air. The sterile flowers slowly change from snowy white to pink. And in the Autumn, the foliage turns vibrant shades of red and orange. In addition, as a special bonus, when the shrub is established in the garden its woody stems will exfoliate.

Oakleaf Hydrangea can grow quite large — 6 to 8+ feet tall, and the same across. (The shrub is stoloniferous so volunteers pop up around the mother plant adding to its girth.) My plants thrive in shade with compost-rich acid soil. (Photos below.)

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

Finally, the native woodland wildflower, Chimaphila maculata (Striped Wintergreen a/k/a Pipsissewa), comes and goes in the garden beds and in the gravel paths and driveway. This diminutive charmer has tiny, nodding white flowers with a green button eye. The flower’s luscious perfume is to die for. Wish I could bottle it. (Photos below.)

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

NOTE: I have been asked the name of the gorgeous, long-lived peony I mentioned in the Post of Jan.27: “2016 What’s New: Klehm’s Song Sparrow”. The peony’s cultivar name is ‘Largo’. (Photo below.)

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

June 2016: Rhododendron Razzle-Dazzle

Charles Owen Dexter is one of the most admired and interesting American plantsmen. He didn’t begin breeding Rhododendrons until his early sixties, yet his output was phenomenal: In the 1920’s and 30’s he produced well over 100,000 hybrid seedlings. Hundreds of these seedlings were given to public botanical gardens and the like, as well as to individuals.

Unfortunately, since Dexter didn’t keep breeding records or name his plants, confusion followed: Often the same seedling was grown in two different places with two different names. Or even worse.

Consider the controversy over the award-winning Rhododendron ‘Janet Blair’. The plant was growing amid a group of Dexter hybrid seedlings in the garden of Rhododendron hybridizer, David Leach. Leach named, introduced, registered, and sold the plant as his own, not as a Dexter hybrid. In fact, R.’Janet Blair’ was David Leach’s most commercially successful introduction.

Modern testing has now proven R.’Janet Blair’ to be identical to the Dexter hybrid, R.’John Wister’.

Whatever the legal or ethical ramifications  — i.e. bragging rights, royalties, etc. — Dexter’s R.’Janet Blair’/R.’John Wister’ is a plant worth having. In addition to its virtues of fragrance, beauty and good health, it blooms at an early age and reliably thereafter. One of my favorites. (Photos below.)

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

I have two other Dexter hybrids with an interesting history. In the 1930’s, Henry Francis du Pont acquired from Charles Dexter several flats of seedlings and planted them at his Delaware estate, Winterthur. From the original seedlings that survived and flowered, sixty or so were selected as good doers and were given identifying numbers. Tiny seedlings of some of these numbered plants — propagated from cuttings — were included in the plant sale at the 2004 American Rhododendron Society Convention in Pennsylvania.

And that’s how Dexter’s Winterthur 7 & 8 came to grace my garden.

We anxiously waited a very long time for the tiny seedlings to bloom (2015 for 7 and 2016 for 8) but that simply increased our joy and celebration when it happened. (Photos below of 7 & 8 growing next to each other, followed by a closeup photo of 7’s flowers.)

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

[Note: When Winterthur numbered the Dexter hybrids, alongside the numbers 7 & 8 Henry du Pont noted: 7 (“pink, good flower”) and 8 (“clear mauve”). Our plant 7 is indeed pink and the flower is indeed good, but 8’s flower isn’t mauve. In fact, 8’s flower looks very similar to 7’s flower. Methinks maybe there was a tag mix up at the 2004 plant sale. No matter. We love both plants and applaud the American Rhododendron Society for making them available for home-garden purchase.]

 

2016 was a very good year for Rhododendron bloom. Worthy of mention here is a plant with a Dexter connection, R.’Cape White’, hybridized by Jack Cowles, the Superintendent/Horticulturist at the Dexter Estate from 1959-1967. Cape White’s flowers have raspberry buds that open to violet pink — before they fully open, the flowers look like cherry-vanilla ice cream cones — and eventually the high-domed, ruffled flowers fade to a light lavender. Quite somethin’. The bees agree. (Photos below.)

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

The Dexter Estate is now called Heritage Museums and Gardens, Sandwich, MA, and is open to the public. Among other things, there is a significant collection of Dexter and Cowles hybrids. In addition, for purposes of fund-raising, they offer members of the public an opportunity to name a Rhododendron. Check out the website: heritagemuseumsandgardens.org

 

Finally, let’s look to the future of Rhododendron breeding. Here are some of the outstanding hybrids bred by an accomplished modern-day breeder from Long Island, New York, Werner Brack. (Photos below.)

courtesy of Werner Brack

courtesy of Werner Brack

Royal Star X Purple Lace courtesy of Werner Brack

Royal Star X Purple Lace
courtesy of Werner Brack

Shoreham courtesy of Werner Brack

Shoreham
courtesy of Werner Brack

White Elegance copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

White Elegance
copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

The future is golden.

Spring 2016: Beautiful Gardens of Virginia

A recent study concluded that viewing pictures of nature can help people recover from stress. According to Magdalena van den Berg, who led the study at the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, the effects would probably be magnified if someone could visit nature and see actual greenery.

I can attest to that. My garden is a constant source of comfort and pleasure. And at the April 2016 American Rhododendron Society/Azalea Society of America Convention in Virginia, I was afforded the opportunity to tour many fabulous gardens. Here are a few highlights:

The Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden had a number of interesting design features.

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

Walls were adorned with Lady Banks roses (Rosa banksiae).

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

And extraordinary trees were showcased, especially the Crape Myrtles (Lagerstroemia).

 

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

[Note: The Ginter added this surprising No No to the usual list of visitor guidelines:” The Use Of Drones Is Prohibited.” A sign of the times.]

 

Striking in design was a private, Japanese influenced garden, with a tea house by a pond surrounded by colorful Japanese Maples. Especially lovely were the images of the maples reflected in the water.

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

Further enhancing the beauty of the garden were the pink double blossoms of the elegant Japanese Cherry Trees (Prunus serrulata ‘Kwanzan’).

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

In another private garden, a dazzling Viburnum drew many admirers — including my husband. That’s him in the yellow slicker. (Note the wonderful blossoms marching two by two up and down the stems. My kind of buddy-system!)

 

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

And then there were the glorious flowering Azaleas. Notable among them:

The fragrant flowering deciduous native Azalea, Rhododendron austrinum ‘Escatawpa’.

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

And the evergreen Azalea hybrids, R. ‘Herbert’ and R. ‘Linwood Lavender.’

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

All are winter hardy in my area, Northeast Zone 7a. Sadly, not so for my two favorite Azaleas: R. ‘George Lindley Tabor’ (a\k\a ‘Taber’) and its sport R. ‘Mrs. G.G. Gerbing’. (The large, showy, pure-white flowers of Mrs. G.G. Gerbing are so irresistible, I’m tempted to ignore her zonal shortcomings.)

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

Finally, I loved the winter-hardy shrub, Kerria japonica, a golden-flowering Diva flaunting her stuff in a private shady garden.

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

Kudos to the hosts and organizers of the 2016 ARS/ASA National Convention for an outstanding, rewarding experience!

Spring 2016: A Singing Bird May Come

According to an ancient proverb: “If you keep a green tree in your heart, a singing bird may come.”

Last month, at a rally in an indoor arena filled with thousands of jubilant supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders, a tiny songbird suddenly appeared and flew over to the podium to be with Bernie. A joyous and magical moment.

Talking about birds, did you know that a group of Flamingos is called a Flamboyance? I found this delightful nugget of information in a small gem of a book released this year by Ten Speed Press: Maja Safstrom’s “THE illustrated COMPENDIUM OF amazing ANIMAL FACTS.”

Sadly, we aren’t all blessed with Flamingos, but we can easily achieve Spring Flamboyance in the garden by planting Rhododendron ‘Amoena’. This gorgeous, old-timey evergreen azalea is a hardy, vigorous shrub, and a reliable May bloomer. Mine flourishes in sandy acid soil in shade. (Photos below.)

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

If you prefer understated elegance, one of my favorite early Spring bloomers — sharing the same culture requirements as Amoena — is the evergreen native shrub, Chamaedaphne calyculata ‘Tiny Tom.’ In April, Tom’s elegant wand-like stems are cloaked with dainty, snowy-white, dangling bells. (Photo below.)

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

For long-blooming elegance, you can’t beat Helleborus — my  hellebore flowers opened in March and continue to bloom despite subsequent snow storms and frigid weather. Helleborus does best in sweet soil. I amend my acid soil with lime and wood ash. (Photos below.)

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

HOT TIP: To ensure success in the garden this year, plant Trifolium purpurascens and enjoy a steady supply of lucky four-leaf clovers. (Photo below.)

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

Trifolium purpurascens is not widely available. My well-grown healthy plants were purchased by mail order from Bluestone Perennials, in Ohio. (bluestoneperennials.com; Phone: 800-852-5243).

2016: March Madness & The Stumpery

After our oak trees produced a record number of acorns, I expected a long and frigid winter to follow. It was anything but. While we had loony temperature swings — 50 degrees one day and 2 degrees above zero the next — for the most part we enjoyed the warmest winter in years.

Following the February snowstorm depicted in the photo below (taken from my kitchen window) it was pretty much smooth sailing into Spring.

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

Here are some March highlights from the garden:

The first daffodil.

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

White flowering Pieris japonica ‘Mountain Fire’ and pink flowering P. japonica ‘Valley Valentine’ blooming a month earlier than usual.

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

Early Pussy Willows (catkins) of the Goat Willow (Salix caprea).

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

The stunning magenta flowering Witchhazel (Hamamelis ‘Amethyst’).

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

And, then, just one week later, it was Spring! (Spring photos of the garden below)

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

Spring photos??? Huh???

I guess Mother Nature could not resist a Last LOL.

Hot Tip: Beetles killed one of my beloved, half-century old, majestic pine trees. Instead of having it hauled away, I honored the tree by creating a garden Stumpery with its trunk. (Photos below.)

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

And please indulge my re-cycled oak tree, Spider Man, who rightfully demanded equal blog time. (He has managed to come thru many a winter with hat and sunglasses intact!)

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

Simple joys in a time of vicious terrorist attacks.

February 2016: Natives Only? Humbug!!!

The frantic media chatter over this month’s South Carolina Primaries brought to mind my sweet South Carolina connection, the lovely azalea, Rhododendron ‘Keowee Sunset’. About fifteen years ago, I planted Keowee as a companion to the red-flowered Rhododendron ‘America’ — a Dutch hybrid import — and they grew together and flourished.

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

My garden is a colorful mix of native and non-native trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals, supporting a wide range of wildlife, including birds, bees and butterflies. Yet the native-only-gang (hereafter nog) insist that only native plants can support wildlife in general and pollinators in particular.

Recently, this assertion was proven groundless. A Royal Horticultural Society’s multi-year, controlled scientific trial/study concluded what we home gardeners know from personal experience: Diversity of plant origin — flowering plants from different countries and regions — is a strength, not a weakness, in supporting pollinating insects in gardens.

The nog are guilty of the Sharpshooter Fallacy: They shoot first and draw the bulls-eye after. First they reach a conclusion and then chase after something or anything to support it.

Consider the arguments put forward by a leading nog spokesman, Douglas Tallamy, a professor at the University of Delaware. He would like to ban non-natives and fill gardens with native oaks because they support 557 species of caterpillars — and some caterpillars provide food for some birds.

Responding to the worry that all those caterpillars will defoliate trees, he pointed to an experiment he conducted with a white oak in his garden: “I counted 410 caterpillars, of 19 different species, just walking around this oak for half an hour one July day last summer,” he said. “It wasn’t defoliated. You couldn’t see the holes.”

HUH????

It simply belies reason that 410 caterpillars caused no damage. Gypsy moth and Cankerworm caterpillars defoliated and killed six of my large oaks, and severely damaged many other plants, including the Japanese Maples. This has been the common experience of gardeners in my area. The nog can’t have it both ways. The more caterpillars you have, the more they chomp. That’s a given.

Furthermore, Tallamy also contends that while non-natives may provide nectar for butterflies, their leaves are unpalatable to caterpillars. I guess the butterflies cut class and missed that lecture. In my garden, the Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly caterpillars love eating ornamental Japanese Cherry Tree foliage. And when they mature, the butterflies flock to non-native Buddleia (Butterfly Bush). (Photo below.)

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

The RHS trials, my own garden experience, and the hands-on experience of other gardeners, provide ample proof that bees, butterflies and birds don’t discriminate against non-natives. And while I share Tallamy’s concern for bird survival, perhaps maintaining bird feeders in winter — when there are no berries, fruit or insects available — is a better way to go.  The birds think so.

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

All the birds.

copyright 2016 - Lois Sheinfeld

copyright 2016 – Lois Sheinfeld

 

But I believe in live and let live. As long as wildlife is not endangered by the use of toxic pesticides and chemicals, everyone is entitled to have the garden of their dreams. Tallamy and the nog with natives-only, me with a generous native\international mix. Each to his\her own.

2016 What’s New: Klehm’s Song Sparrow

In 1990 I discovered that Klehm Nursery (now Klehm’s Song Sparrow) was the source for a gorgeous peony I saw at the New York Flower Show, and I have been a loyal customer and fan ever since. While the Nursery has changed names and location (originally South Barrington, IL.), its commitment to providing a wide mail-order selection of outstanding plants — and, equally important, outstanding customer service — has been constant and unwavering.

Klehm’s 2016 new plant offerings are especially exciting. Here are a few of my picks:

 

Buddleia davidii ‘Glass Slippers’ (Butterfly Bush). z. 5-9.

Photo credit to Walters Gardens, Inc.

Photo credit to Walters Gardens, Inc.

A yummy light-blue, orange-eyed, fragrant-flowering, silvery-green foliaged, compact plant that attracts butterflies, hummingbirds and bees — who could resist? Planting Tip: If you have acidic soil, before planting amend with lime or wood ash to raise the pH. Buddleias are partial to sweet soil.

 

Phlox paniculata Bubblegum Pink; P.p. Coral Creme Drop; P.p.Cotton Candy; P.p. Grape Lollipop. zones 4-8.

Photo credit to Ball Horticultural Company

Photo credit to Ball Horticultural Company

Photo credit to Ball Horticultural Company

Photo credit to Ball Horticultural Company

Photo credit to Ball Horticultural Company

Photo credit to Ball Horticultural Company

Photo credit to Ball Horticultural Company

Photo credit to Ball Horticultural Company

Many years ago, on a garden tour of Bainbridge Island, Washington, I saw a show-stopping container filled to bursting with fragrant, colorful phlox, and I’m forever trying to duplicate that fabulousness in my garden. Mildew can wreck a phlox display, so mildew-resistant plants are essential. Happily, you can’t do better than the rainbow of beautiful, fragrant, disease-resistant plants pictured above. And did I mention that like Buddleia, these long-blooming, vigorous plants attract butterflies and hummingbirds? My order is in.

 

Carex siderosticha ‘Snow Cap’ z. 5-9.

Photo credit to Walters Gardens, Inc.

Photo credit to Walters Gardens, Inc.

This new Asian sedge hybrid is true to the variety siderosticha in every important way: It’s a low growing, long-lived, deer-resistant plant that spreads slowly into a dense mass of foliage. But this isn’t the typical green-leaved form. Snow Cap dazzles with broad snowy-white leaves edged in green, with an occasional green stripe bonus. An ideal woodland/shade garden ground cover.

 

Symphoricarpos x doorenbosii Candy z. 4-7

Photo credit to Bailey Nurseries, Inc.

Photo credit to Bailey Nurseries, Inc.

Candy is all about the berries. In Autumn, this deer-resistant, ornamental woody’s branches are smothered under an avalanche of candy-pink fruit. And the decorative berries persist thru winter. Since the shrub is so compact — only about 2 feet at maturity — a front edging row of plants would create a glorious Autumn/Winter destination planting.

 

Note: The gorgeous peony that led me to Klehm 26 years ago is still flowering and healthy. Needless to say, Klehm is also my go-to place for peonies. The Klehm selection surpasses all others.

For easy access to Klehm’s Song Sparrow Nursery website, click on at LINKS.