A Hocking Hill's Garden

The Central Ohio Home & Garden Show

2012-02-01T17:12:00.001-05:00

It is officially February now and that means that it won’t be long now until the Central Ohio Home & Garden Show opens.
The show starts February 25 and runs till March 4, 2012.
Saturdays 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sundays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Closed Mondays.
Tuesday – Friday 12 noon to 9 p.m.

This year’s theme is Happy Birthday Columbus celebrating the bicentennial of the capital city.

This year’s floor plan is all new, including the 11 full-size, living landscapes. Always a show favorite, each garden will feature one of Columbus's greatest icons or landmarks that embrace the best of our city. Guests can talk one-on-one with gardening and landscaping experts about their own lawn and garden possibilities.

The show features more than 450 exhibits, attractions, and presentations. Spanning two weekends, the show prides itself on offering a plethora of gardening, landscaping, home improvement and home interior “experts” all in one place. Consumers who visit the show have the opportunity to shop for every imaginable tool, accessory and service for any home improvement or landscape project. The show will feature countless show-only deals and specials, offering guests the best pricing on everything imaginable for home and garden.

This year the main entertainment stage will be located in the center of the Bricker Building and surrounded by six showcase kitchens. Featured daily will be many local chefs from CORA, the Central Ohio Restaurant Association, who will be demonstrating their unique culinary skills as well as bite-sized samples for the show audience. Beyond breathtaking gardens, many attendees flock to the pros in the Home Improvement Expo, where one can shop for everything from a new roof, doors or windows to an extreme basement makeover.

Candice Olson, star of HGTV’s Candice Tells All and Divine Design, is set to appear at the show. Olson will share her design ideas with show guests on Saturday, March 3 from 1-2 p.m. on the Center Stage. Following her presentation, Olson will answer audience questions and will meet briefly with guests during an autograph session. I use to enjoy watching Candice but I do not go on HGTV anymore since they have no gardening shows.

Last years show was a little smaller based on the economy which makes it hard for the local nurseries and landscape companies here in Ohio. I am hoping for a better showing this year.
To see more or to get directions go to the Home & Garden icon on the left column of my blog.

A few pictures from last years event.

These little playhouses from last years event were just the sweetest things.

Also again this year I will be giving away tickets to some lucky gardeners so they can attend the Home & Garden Show.
Thank you Jamie!
All you have to do is email me asking for tickets and give me your address so I can get them in the mail to you.
All I ask is that you tell me that you are a follower of one of my blogs, A Hocking Hills Garden or Natures Scenic view.
I will be giving away 2 tickets each and it will be on a first come, first serve policy until they are gone.
So email me right away!

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Central Ohio Home & Garden Show,Columbus Ohio Bicentennial

Forcing Spring For Winter Color

2012-01-30T12:45:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

I love trying to force blooms for some winter color every year.
Over the years I have tried miniature irises and Paper Whites. The irises were lovely but needed planted in a deep dish to prevent flopping so it was not my best first effort but a learning experience. The Paper Whites were so beautiful but since some fragrances give me headaches the strong fragrance of the Paper Whites were just too much. I had to take them outdoors to get away from them.

After having good results from forcing Hyacinths before this year I am trying some hyacinths again.

After spending seven weeks in the refrigerator the bulbs were taken out and planted in a pot filled with white river rocks. They were watered slightly with a little fertilizer added to the water.

.

Although the two bulbs were planted at the same time they are growing at different rates. I guess they are going to give me one bloom now and one more a little later. Which is fine with me since it will extend the blooming time.

Minos blue has a lovely bloom and the fragrance is just wonderful.
The other bulb is a Gipsy Queen and is a peach color.
Pictures to come later when it is in bloom.

The Alfresco Amaryllis is still blooming and I just love it sparkling white blooms.

Just a reminder for those of you who followed Robin from “Life in Robins Nest”, she lost her blog postings and they could not be recovered. Update your link to her new blog and add yourselves as followers … here.
Thank you.

Do you force bulbs to give you winter color?

Happy Gardening Everyone,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Hyacinths,Bulb Forcing,Paper Whites

Bainbridge, Ohio Amish Community Part 2

2012-01-28T09:36:00.001-05:00

Non Gardening related Posting.

This is part # 2 and the final posting on the Bainbridge, Ohio and its Amish and Mennonite community.

On state highway 41 south of Bainbridge is the location for JR’s General Store & Farm Market.

The first thing you notice as you pull into the parking lot is …

the buildings and gazebos that are built and sold there. Would I love to have the building with the porch for a potting and garden shed. Put in a couple of skylights in the roof, a heater and , well I could almost live there. LOL!

Also there are outdoor chairs and loungers in every color and design. These ones you never have to worry about painting or rotting. Notice the solar panel on the porch roof. No electricity in this store and its rooms.

Entering the front door and off to the right is furniture, birdhouses of every description, wind chimes and the cutest wooden hobby horses.

The store also caters to the locals with supplying like hats the men are famous for wearing. Heavy homemade brooms and even some tiny ones are on display. One of those may last me more than a year outdoors unlike the cheap ones I usually crab at the local Dollar Store.

One corner was stocked with every kind of bird feeder, birdbaths, butterfly houses and supplies.

Handmade baskets lined shelves and even little garden benches for the small ones or just for decorating.

But there were some bigger painted benches also for sale.

There were shelves of candles. Peach Cobbler is a wonderful scent but I think it would just make me hungry. LOL!

There were several walls of engraved and painted signs….

and a rack filled with the small signs that we women love sticking around on shelves or to display.

Candle or plates for displaying….

and beautiful plaques.

The Amish are known for there handcrafted furniture and the finish work on it is just beautiful. Mostly made of oak that will last for a lifetime.

I loved this china cabinet and it was already tagged ‘sold’.

On the other end of this building was another room which held the Farmers Market. I was so busy looking around that I forgot to get pictures of the market area. The store was lit with gas lights and it was amazing how much warmth came from the lights. On a cold day it did help to warm the store up.

In the Grocery store there was bulk food stuffs of every kind. Everything from fixings for those who are vegan to the sugar free products. There was meat and cheeses of every kind and the vegetables were cheap. I kept grabbing bags to throw in vegetables. Hey, when I can get two green peppers for .99 cents I am going to stock up. LOL! I grabbed up some sugar free goodies like black raspberry jelly. My daughter and I had our arms filled when we went to check out. The market was very busy with customers and we could soon see the reason why with all there was to offer at one location.

All in all Bainbridge is a great little town to go for a day trip with all of the sites and stores they have to offer.
We will be back this summer to tour all of the stores that were closed like the Trading Post Antique shop with its many buildings filled with items and hopefully to shop at Margie’s Craft Store.
I will have her digging out one of those snowmen. LOL!
Also then the lakes and state park will be a treat to walk around when the weather warms up and everything is green once more.
So all of you Ohioans plan to visit and spend the day at these little out of the way gems in Bainbridge in Ross County. Take state highway 50 from Chillicothe and enjoy the country side on the way there. The town is filled with grand old buildings like the Lloyd Company and old stone homes.

Everyone have a great weekend!
Lona

Technorati Tags: Bainbridge Ross County Ohio,Amish Community,JR's General Store & Farm Market.

Bainbridge, Ohio Amish Community Part 1

2012-01-26T15:14:00.001-05:00

Non garden related posting.

Amish communities and the people in Ohio now out number those of Pennsylvania.
In the rural community of Bainbridge, Ohio in Ross county along state route 41 lies a small Amish community that many may not know about.

My daughter and I went there last weekend before the ice storm hit us and we were not expecting all of the quaint gems that we would find on our visit to Bainbridge.

There we found Country Crust Bakery which when we walked into the aroma was heavenly.

We had to take a number and get in line behind the local deputy sheriff to buy our purchases.
There are counters of doughnuts, brownies, breads, cakes and cookies. The bakery is run by giant generators and the lights run on gas.

I always have to get Snicker doodles for my son. He loves their cookies.

I got the best sugar free Black Raspberry pie. Yummy!

In the town of Bainbridge their is Margie’s Craft Store. We checked on the store twice since the opening hours were 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. but it was not open either time. It was loaded with crafts and I would have loved to get one of the snowmen. Margie you missed a sale girl!

In Bainbridge is the Museum of Dentistry. The small house in Bainbridge holds the honor of the first school for dentistry in the state of Ohio.

On Main street in Bainbridge is “The Lloyd Company”. The owner told me that it was a third generation family owned store.
The Lloyd Company has four large rooms filled with…

beautiful living rooms furniture, carpeting, curtains and accessories.

Bedroom furniture and accessories. I am always draw to bears. LOL!

The show windows are filled with primitive accessories.

Seasonal floral, crafts and accessories.

I loved this pinecone wreath.

And gorgeous dining room furniture dressed in red for Christmas.

Stacking boxes.

Their line of curtains and table linens were lined on the walls and shelves in the furniture section of the store.

Cabinets filled with crockery and tin ware.

Splatter ware filled shelves of cabinets.

Since I decorate in blues and whites this blue and white splatter ware really got my attention.

We were glad that we had run across these unexpected stores filled with charm and history on our way to the Amish community outside of Bainbridge.

Also nearby are the Sepia Indian mounds and Paint Creek state park and there are several lakes in the area.
so make plans to visit these rural gems this summer or on your way through on route 50.
They also hold the Festival of Leaves in October when the hills should be beautiful dressed in their autumn splendor.

Also in Bainbridge is the “Trading Post'” antique shop which was also closed so a summer visit back to Bainbridge is in store for us for an all day visit.

Since I took loads of pictures I will save the rest for part 2 in another posting.

Though this is not a garden related posting….
Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Bainbridge Ross County Ohio,The Lloyd Company,Country Crust Bakery,Margie's Crafts,Amish Community

Alfresco Amaryllis

2012-01-24T11:13:00.001-05:00

“Alfresco” is a lovely double blooming amaryllis that has finally graced me with some blooms.

Sometimes pictures are better than words.

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Amaryllis Alfresco

Favorite New Flowers From 2011 List

2012-01-22T11:25:00.001-05:00

Like all flower gardeners it seems I add new flowers every summer to the growing garden beds. Some are purchased and some that are grown from seed.
I love all flowers but some do not meet up to my standards after I plant them. They do not become my favorites because the color is not what I expected which is not always my fault due to photo enhancements on line or in catalogs. Another reason is that they just do not flourish well in our hard clay soil here in this part of Ohio.
I like to look back at this time of the year before spring and seed sowing to sort out the flowers that really took me by surprise with their growth or their fragrance and color.
Here are some of those favorite new flowers from last summer.

Masterwort Astrania “Abbey Road”

Scott from “Rhone Street Gardens” had some in his garden that I saw them in one of his postings and when I saw how beautiful they looked I knew I would have to try a couple for my garden.
This Abbey Road astrania goes high on my list of favorites. I just loved how it thrived in my soil the first year, and those colors! The pinks with silver high lights are always changing with the light and the textures in the petals are magnificent. Now I want to add some of the deeper shades of burgundy or reds to other areas of the gardens. So thank you Scott!

Lobelia “Monet Moment”

This Monet Moment pink lobelia plant just took off after it was planted and grew by leaps and bounds. In fact it grew so well that I was able to divide it and now there will be two lovely plants to look forward to this summer. I loved the pink tones of the blooms on the flower spikes which opens starting from the bottom of the spikes and moving upward just like a Foxglove bloom.

Monarda “Raspberry Wine”

I am on the fence when it comes to Bee balm. I like to grow it for the pollinators but some have the tendency to mildew in my humid summer garden. I planted a Raspberry Wine monarda in the bed to go along with the Monet Moment lobelia and I think they were both trying to out do one another in growth. Raspberry Wine was not only just a pollinator magnet but this monarda did not show any signs of mildew through one of our wettest summers.
The deep burgundy color was made even more pronounced by the burgundy leaves at the base of the bloom. I was also able to divided it after its first year of growth. I imagine I will have to watch this one from taking over the bed but the Woodland bed has plenty of room for it to spread.

“Wirral Pride” Chrysanthemum

I love daisies in the garden and white blooms so I was glad that Wirral Pride was added to the garden. It became a favorite last summer not only for its lovely frilly blooms but because it stood up straight in the garden despite the rains and after cutting off the faded blooms it graced me with more blooms.

Echinacea “Raspberry Truffle”

There are many Echinacea's in my garden but the new “Raspberry Truffle” not only grew well but the color is just beyond explaining or catching with the camera. I call it a deep coral with a dark center on its pom pom shaped blooms. This one was number one on my list of new favorites from last summer.

“Burgundy Iceberg” Rose

Then of course there are the new roses that were added to the Rose Garden. Burgundy Iceberg just blooms all summer like its namesake the white Iceberg roses. With the deep burgundy shades on the top of the petals and the lighter undersides it was full of beautiful blooms throughout the summer into late fall. It wanted to kept right on blooming with our mild weather. Through some good advice from Jan at “Muddy Boot Dreams” I trimmed off the blooms and buds so the rose bush could get some energy stored up for before winter.
This rose was just one of my favorite roses last summer.

The real winner in the rose division of favorites was…..

“Bill Warriner”

This rose was constantly in bloom and with its beautiful apricot to peach and with its Tea Rose shaped blooms it was a bright spot in the Rose Garden.
When a couple of the rose bushes were getting mildew or black spot from the wet summer Bill Warriner was untouchable. If you like its colors I would recommend this rose to anyone as an addition to their garden.

“Weigela Florida Variegata”

The final favorite was the Variegated Weigela shrub with its lovely bell shaped pale pink blooms in late spring. I loved the addition of this shrub in the garden with its variegated leaves which made it a beautiful addition to the corner bed even when it was not in bloom.

Throughout a summer of extreme weather conditions last year these were the plants that did not welt or slack when even some of my old favorites just did not perform well.
Garden wise it was 2011 was not a great year in the garden.

There were also the duds that really disappointed me such as “Pow Wow Wild Berry” Echinacea which looked faded and ratty even with its first blooms and……

the “Bonica” rose which was just not the color it was advertised as in catalogs. It turned out to be more peach than the translucent pink which is just not what I wanted for the section of the Rose garden I planned it to grow. I was not the only gardener that was disappointed by this rose’s color. It will have to be moved this spring and another rose put in its place.

Did you have any new plants that became your favorites or your greatest duds of the year?

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Bonica Rose,Burgandy Iceberg Rose,Pow Wow Wild Berry Echinacea,Astrania,Lobelia Monet Moment,Raspberry Truffle Echinacea,Raspberry Wine Monarda,Bill Warriner Rose,Wirral Pride Chrysanthemum,Weigela Florida Variegata

My First Helleborus Bloom

2012-01-19T15:26:00.001-05:00

First thanks for all of the sympathy and back patting. It made me feel all better. LOL! Losing the potting bench was not all that bad and forgive my silly sense of humor. I can always build another one someday, or on second thought maybe I better buy one since my building talents do not seem to be very good.

Helleborus orientalis Royal Heritage

When I spotted my first bud on the “Royal Heritage” hellebore last week I was so excited. I was holding my breath that something would not happen to the bud before it got a chance to bloom.
Then we got two inches of snow and it disappeared from sight.

Well it warmed up and rained all of the snow off so I went out to see if the bud was alright. Lo and behold there it was and all opened up. I was so excited about the new bloom that I went right back into the house and got the camera. I was not going to wait for better light to get a picture of its little drooping head because my luck this week was not up to snuff.

It does not take much to perk this gardener up though and my first Hellebore bloom almost made up for the destroyed potting bench. well almost. LOL!
I have four mixed “Royal Heritage” hellebore plants that were very small when I planted them and this one is the first of them to have bloom so excuse me if I am thrilled about it. Just imagine how excited I would have been if it had been a burgundy colored one or pink even. LOL!

I have one “Pink Lady” that I was hoping to get a bloom from this winter but so far no buds.
I love having a bloom in the garden in the dead of winter and may add more later. There are so many beautiful ones coming out each year.
Do you have Hellebores in your Garden?

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Helleborus,Winter 2012

Oh No! I Am So Sad !

2012-01-18T11:49:00.001-05:00

My heart is heavy this morning and there has been a tragedy in my small Gardening World.

Remember the beautiful (well maybe only in the eyes of the builder) Garden Bench I built from a door in 2009?

This is what is left of my beauty this morning!!!
All that hard work and planning was destroyed by high winds last night.
Even with all of the weight I had on it the wind still took it sailing into the back yard and there was not one piece left whole remaining of her.
Well unless the brackets count.

Her windows were broken and even the shutters were destroyed.
She is no more… (heavy sigh)

Poor girl. Maybe I should have used more screws and brackets when I built her. Maybe it was the builder in the first place. LOL!
I am trying to make light of this but in reality I was bummed out when my son and I went out to pick up the scattered pieces.
Oh well, time to look for another door. LOL!

Happy {Sob!} Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Potting Bench

The First Seed Order Has Arrived

2012-01-16T12:07:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. We are having a warm up here with rain coming in so the snow will be washed away.

Saturday I received the first of the seeds that were ordered for starting indoors. Some of my growing lights will have to be replaced first. It seems the bulbs all decided to blow out at the same time.
The first order was from Swallowtail Garden Seeds. I have ordered from them before and have had good luck with the seeds germinating. Some other companies have been iffy over the years about sporadic germination. Since I keep a seed log from year to year I am able to keep records of where the seeds were bought and what seeds do well for me. Some seeds are not the providers fault but mine. I cannot get some seeds to germinate for me at all. Impatiens seeds from companies is one that is hard to get germinated for some reason but I can take seeds from Impatiens I buy to plant and those seeds will germinate very well. So I save my own seed for them. Impatiens are a must for all the shady areas I have in my garden beds.
I am however taking a chance with Swallowtail Seeds and trying to grow….

All Pictures courtesy of Swallowtail Garden Seeds

…. this mix of “Swirl Monet” Impatiens to be grow with some “Black Dragon” coleus in a couple of shady window boxes.

In the way of Cosmos this year I will be trying these “Gloria” seeds.

I always have to grow a new pelargonium's every year despite the fact that I hold many over in the basement every winter. I adore geraniums since they remind me of my Grandmothers who both grew them. They both had wonderful sunny windows where they bloomed even in the winter.

This year one of the new pelargonium additions will be “Bullseye Cherry”.

When I saw this Portulaca “Margarita Apricot” I just had to get it to try out. I loved the peach double blooms with the spot of deep rose in the centers.

For zinnias this year I am going to try the Scabiosa flowering mix.

Also in this order were:
Avalanche Tropical Red Petunias and and Easy Wave Coral.
Commelina Sleeping Beauty
Fairy Queen Salvia
Kauai mix of Wishbone flower
and Tithonia Fiesta Del Sol

All pictures are Courtesy of Swallowtail Garden Seeds

Two other smaller orders are on the way. One order which is mostly perennials will be coming from Plant World Seeds in the
U. K. Those will take a while to get here for sowing later.
Tomatoes, green peppers and cucumbers will most likely be the only veggies I grow this year.
Have you got your seed order ready or gotten your seeds this year for winter sowing? What are you planting indoors this winter?

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Swallowtail Garden Seeds,Winter 2012

We Got Some Snow

2012-01-14T11:33:00.001-05:00

The snow started coming in Thursday night giving us just two inches here in the hills.

It was the wind and drop in temperatures Friday morning that was brutal. Friday morning greeted us with a minus one wind chill and 17 degree temperatures with blowing snow. Brrrr!
After such a mild winter so far it felt really cold. So I decided it was a good day to stay in the house and a have a big pot vegetable soup kind of day.

It snowed off and on all day Friday. I had filled up the bird feeders hearing that snow was on the way and the feeders were very busy yesterday. The Cardinals were lining up to take a tour at the sunflower seeds. I even spotted some Blue Jays getting some of the seed since the acorns in the woods was covered with snow.

The birds were all puffed up trying to keep warm. I feel so sorry for them out in the cold and wonder why their little feet do not freeze or stick fast to the cold metal. Maybe I saw too many pictures with the little boys tongue stuck to the frozen pole on posts over the holidays. LOL!

We got another inch of snow over night to add to the total but I can still say it has been a mild winter here so far. Up in the northern part of the state they got more snow than we did but the weather reports have us warming back up by the middle of next week so the snow will disappear.
The cold temperatures may add some ice in the hollows on the waterfalls for the upcoming Hocking Hills Winter Hike on the 21st.
For details and pictures on the Winter Hike you can go to my posting on my “Natures Scenic View” blog here.

Everyone Stay Safe and Warm,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Winter 2012,Snow,Cardinals

Not All of the Color is Gone

2012-01-12T13:29:00.001-05:00

Well I am excited anyway.
At this time of the year any color will do even if it is a little late in coming to fruition.

I have watched and watched these buds. What do they say about a watched pot? It seemed like it took forever for them to start opening up.

Finally the two Firecracker amaryllis bloomed out.

Alfresco in the middle is lagging behind but it will be welcome when it finally opens too.

I love the bright red blooms with the deeper red throats.

I am loving this splash of red after the Christmas decorations have been taken down.

Christmas decorations have been replaced in the living room with some touches of winter.

Dried alliums' have been spray painted blue and white for a winter bouquet. I am going to save them again this year and paint some red for Christmas bouquets after seeing Eileen’s over at “Gatsby's Gardens” this year. Hers were so beautiful.
Eileen I am going to copy off of you girl. LOL!

And the little gourd snowman stays out until spring.

The front porch is dressed up to welcome winter with snowmen, icicles, lights and spray painted white twigs along with a winter star to show the way.

The Christmas decorations have been replaced on the sled to skates and the “Let it Snow” sign. One bad winter someone (Postal or UPS) turned the sign over. LOL!

They have winter storm warnings out for the next two days so we are going to get a long delayed taste of winter, but with another warm up next week. I will enjoy the snow knowing it will not last too long.

Everyone stay safe and…
Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Amaryllis

Garden Beds, Their Names & A Challenge

2012-01-10T13:13:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone! I hope you all are having a wonderful week. The weather here has been so nice and wonder of wonders… no rain!
That is all subject to change starting tomorrow but we cannot complain about winter here in Ohio so far in this new year.

As I was reading through some of the postings from fellow gardeners on Blotanical over the weekend I noticed that some, including myself, have their own way of naming their flowerbeds.

Now I am not poking fun at the choices in names I saw but what made me laugh was the way in which many of us choose to name them. Some gardeners have chosen very lovely formal names or by choice of plantings and why, such as the "Moonlight garden". But most have named their beds just by their locations, such as the 'good' driveway bed. It makes you wonder if the gardener had a 'bad’ driveway bed. I understood that name though because my flowerbeds have similar names by location.

It got me thinking of the names I have dubbed to my own flower beds. My flowerbeds are named by their location because I have no imagination at all and there is nothing formal or romantic about them.
Some are just obvious such as……

…the so called “Fairy Garden” which is really a mixed mess and is more gnome garden than fairies. (It is going to change this summer)or…….

the “Rose Garden”. Creative, Huh?

This is the “Shady Middle Bed”.
Not to be confused with the back side of the same bed which is sunny and called..

The “Backside Middle bed”, I kid you not.

The “Pump Bed” where the main attraction is the Pump Pond. Genius isn’t it?

Oh yes, and the “Front Porch Bed”. Duh!

The “Bathroom Bed”, because … Yeah, it is where the bathroom of the house is located.

The “Cellar Bed” because I was really trying to hide some of that old cellar door.

The “Clothesline Pole Bed”. Well to be honest not too many people use clotheslines anymore and I have these two poles that make great trellises now for the wisteria that never, ever blooms and some clematis vines.

The “Back Side Garage Bed”. That one just explains its self.

The “Shed Bank Garden” is an ongoing work and is a small banked area between the “Clothesline Bed” and the…shed.

Well of course it is the “The Lilly Bed” but it is also in the “Woodland Bed”.

The “Side Bed”. Doesn’t every house have sides?

The “Fence Bed”. It is located just a past the “Cellar Bed” and has a practical purpose if not a catchy name. It hides the rain barrel and cistern filter.

And then I have named this area the “Potting Bed”.
I made the potting bench from an old door.

And one of the new additions the last two years is the.. no it is not the “Shed Bed”. Well it was but has been redone and enlarge into a very nice name actually… “The Friendship Bed”. The name of this one is my favorite because here is where I plant flowers that fellow garden bloggers have given, either plants or seeds. On the side of the shed is a small bed that is my “Trial Bed” where I try to grow new perennial started from seed that are later put into all those other lovely named beds.

The “Potager”. Alright, so it is a container garden. Well alright maybe it isn’t even big enough to be called a container garden…. it is just a few pots of veggies!

And this is the newest bed that was started last summer.
Well this poor bed is so new it has not even been given a name so it is just the ……..“New Bed”.

Do you think I need to rename these beds with fancy names?
Maybe the “Fence Bed” could become the “Hidden garden”?

Like I said I have no imagination and you get the jest of the naming of garden beds.
So now I am throwing out a challenge to all of you gardeners.
Post your fancy named beds and we will see if your names are any better and who will get the last laugh. I dare you!

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Gardenbed Names,Challenge

Thank God its “Fertilizer Friday”

2012-01-06T15:26:00.001-05:00

Okay then, a new year and the first Fertilizer Friday of the year.
The problem is that here in the usually frozen north there is nothing happening in the garden…… or is there?

The snow has been melting since it is a balmy 58 degrees outside.
So I grabbed the new Canon compact camera that my daughter gave me for Christmas to carry in my purse and took it out to try to find what was under the snow. Needless to say me and the new little camera are not speaking because everything was a little out of focus. Never fear I will get the hang of it someday in the future and we will be great friends.
Anyhow I spotted the Feverfew in the side bed was still green. I just planted it this fall so I am wondering if it stays green throughout the winter?

The Ajuga “Burgundy Glow” is a little smashed from the snow but the foliage at least has some color. Do you see the Daffodils and Grape hyacinths trying to come up? The mild winter has them all confused but I like it because I just hate winter and the cold.

Lo and behold I even spotted a hyacinth trying to come up where the sun hits the bed here in the mornings. Weird happenings here in the garden in the hills. Some of the bulbs think it is spring already. I could only wish it so.

After removing the pine decorations from the window boxes the Pansies that were growing there are trying to solider on.

Bless their droopy little heads. Last January they were a goner already because it was a brutal month.

This one I am proud as punch about… the Hellebores have buds for the first time since I planted them. I am holding my breath hoping that nothing happens to them before this bud opens.
I even saw some of the rose bushes were trying to bud again.
Just not right folks!
Other than these few everything else is pretty well dormant for the winter.
Since it was a beautiful day I got the oak leaves cleaned out of the pond for the ??? time so far and I got the salt washed off of the car and got her all cleaned up.
I am trying to get together my seed orders but it has been hard to make up my mind about what I want to start indoors this winter. I know you all do not have that problem. No doubt I will have to set myself down and tell myself to “focus Lona” and “get r’ done”.

Thanks to our gal Glenda at “Tootsie Time” for sponsoring Fertilizer Friday to flaunt these many (2) blooms. LOL! Join us in Flaunting Your Flowers.

She is one busy lady getting ready to move into a new home and we are all routing for her.

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Pansy,Hellebores,Feverfew,Ajuga,Fertilizer Friday

Alcaypha wilkesiana “Tiki Firestorm ”

2012-01-04T17:44:00.001-05:00

I have been digging back into the picture files and looking for some plants that I photographed this summer or fall but had not got around to showing when I ran across these pictures of some alcaypha’s that were growing in the trial beds at Franklin Park.

alcaypha wilkesiana ‘Tiki Firestorm’

I have never grown alcaypha before since they are a tender tropical plant that stays hardy to 40 degrees but I love plants with great colors or variegations in the foliage.
The Tiki Firestorm was beautiful with its burgundy foliage with lighter coloring on the leaves edges.

From the family of Euphorbiaceae the plants reach 36 inches in height.

‘Tiki Peach Whirl’

The Tiki Peach Whirl has smaller leaves but the foliage is such a brilliant peach color with darker spots on the leaves.

‘Tiki Tropical Tempest’

I think the Tiki Tropical Tempest was my favorite of the series with its creams and greens.
The plants were well branched and would be beautiful in mixed containers. There are more in this series: Tiki Jungle Cloak, Tiki Lava Flow, Tiki Typhoon, Tahitian Halo and Island Sunrise.

Do you grow alcaypha in your garden or containers?
Have any of you ever tried to over winter them indoors?

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Alcaypha,Cosmos,Franklin Park Conservatory

New Beginnings

2012-01-02T15:39:00.001-05:00

I have been reading the recaps 2011 that some of my fellow gardeners have been posting and I have enjoyed see how their gardening year went for them. Some had wonderful gardening conditions and gardens while others like we gardeners in Ohio… well not so much.
In fact the year of extremes here in the Buckeye state held up right until the end with a 4.0 earthquake Saturday on New Years Eve.
While earthquakes or tremors happen quite often here in Ohio there is now a debate on whether the fracking for natural gas in Ohio have caused some of the earthquakes or have made them larger in magnitude. It has caused debate especially since Saturdays earthquake near Toledo happened at and around a fracking operation in the same location.I won’t get started on this fracking for gas because I really go on a rampage. LOL!
I do not want you to see angry Lona, not a pretty sight. LOL!

So the year went out with an earthquake and came in Sunday with a mighty wind.
We had high winds yesterday knocking off the electricity for a while. Thankfully it did not last long. But remember those old oak leaves in the woods? They are now back onto the front porch and in the water pump pond.

Some Buzzards stayed for the winter and were setting in the trees in the back yard and I thought “is this an omen for the new year or did I stink that bad?” LOL! (One Ugly Bird)

And today on the second day of the new year it feels more like winter and January with snow flurries and cold winds blowing the snow sideways up here on the hill. We now have over an inch of the “predicted” just snow flurries and showers. The Junco’s were not minding it at all.

But the Goldfinches dressed in their duller shades of grey with their winter feathers were hanging on for dear life.
But the snow it a change from all of the rain we have been having.
When I welcome snow you know just how sick of rain we all are here in Ohio.

New blooms from the African violet were a welcome to a new year especially since the amaryllis are not going to bloom for me.
I have broke down and bought some new clearance bulbs for some color and they are almost ready to bloom

A couple of Hyacinth bulbs are starting to sprout at the beginning of this new year too.

Some of the my fellow garden bloggers are speaking of doing less on Facebook and more blogging in this new year. I find that I cannot get into the whole Facebook craze. Maybe that is a very good thing. I had been on it more in December than I ever had so maybe it is going to be just a winter pastime occasionally for me since I also do not Twitter or Text. Then along come this Pinterest site to check into once in a while so it is all too much to do them all and so blogging and visiting fellow gardeners get put on the back burner. I prefer the garden blogging better and then I have my genealogy website to keep me more than busy. So it is good to hear that the bloggers are thinking of blogging more because I for one have missed their postings.

It is good to start a new year and wipe the slate clean. To say goodbye to the old year of extremes and hope for a better year with new beginnings and better weather on my part.

To get the garden journal up to date and add new pages to the journal of gardening for 2012.

To look through all those new catalogs that are streaming in and get the seed order made out for a new year of gardening.
It feels quite nice to be looking toward new beginnings.
Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Cardinal,Goldfinch,Junco,Snow,Winter,African Violets

Looking Back on the Garden For 2011

2011-12-31T10:52:00.001-05:00

As I look back upon 2011 in the garden it was one for breaking records. As many of you know through my constant groaning and complaining all year it was a record wet year for Ohio.

January started off bitter and cold and while it snowed all around us even in states that usually do not get much snow or any we did not have much snowfall here in the Hocking Hills area. Snow flurries were seen often but not amounting to much with the biggest snow being about five inches. I feared for some of my garden plants because of not having that snow covering for insulation against the bitter temperatures we were having.

February was the month of freezing rain and some warm days with even showers and a thunder storm the last of the month. So there was little snow and more icicles everywhere which had to be knocked down from burgeoning eaves.

Hungry for anything green and looking toward spring the indoor greenhouse was filled with planted seeds and seedlings.
Little did I know that the weather would remain cool and wet and that many of them would be growing wild before the weather warmed up enough in Spring to plant them out.

March had warmer and wetter days with a few days in the seventies and rains coming in with a few thunderstorms and hail.

and by March I knew my first attempt at winter sowing was a failure because the containers were full of water and the seeds were rotting. I am not sure I want to attempt this type of winter gardening again this year. With all of the rain and ice we were ready for the Central Ohio Home and Garden Show held in March to see some flowers and color.

April brought about some warmer temperatures but the rain was constant and we had the wettest April on record.
I ordered several new Rose bushes for the Rose bed and several new plants but little did I know that I would be mudding in them in when they started arriving for planting.

In April I was spraying Deer Away every other day to keep the tulips from being eaten. But color was showing in Daffodils, Alliums, Candytuft, Violets, Pulmonaria, Tiarella, Ajuga, Bleeding Hearts, Brunnera and the Pasque flowers. It was a relief to see that my worry over the lack of snow cover had came to not and most of the spring plants were coming into bloom.

May started off cool and it was another month of record breaking rains. But by the end of the month it was in the nineties which was a new turn for us here so early on but one thing was still constant and that was the rains.

The end of May I mudded in the seedlings that were taking over the house into containers and pots outdoors, and I was having to dump water out of the containers on a regular basis so they would not drown. But the new mudded in rose bushes were starting to sprout vey well from all of the rain. Farmers were so late getting their crops in the ground that their growing season was very questionable
My daughter and I paid our first visit to the Dawes Arboretum to see the azaleas and spring blooming trees in all of their splendor.

And in the garden Lilacs, Honeysuckle, Geraniums, Rhododendrons, Irises, Peonies, Campanula, Jack in the Pulpits and Clematis vines were starting to bloom.

Most of the pictures taken in May of the blooms had water drops on them. Plants were starting to bloom but not as well as in other years because of the constant wet roots. The many irises I have in in the woodland bed which was a great disappointment when many for some reason failed to bloom.

June brought in days of ninety degree weather with deeps into the seventies and it was a constant yoyo of temperatures with again the rains.

But in June in my garden it is all about the roses coming into bloom and they were not minding all of those rainy days.

June was also the month of the snakes. They were run out by the flooding and I even had the pleasure of stepping on one. Yikes!
But June also brought into bloom the Echinacea’s……

…….Yarrow, Astilbe, Petunias, Monarda, Gaillardia, Primrose, Shasta Daisies, and the Lilies…. and all the while the container plants are struggling.

July in the garden added to the what was already blooming with new blooms from Lantana, Dianthus, Zinnias, tall Phlox, Dahlias, Hibiscus, Crape Myrtle, Agastache…..

Mimosa….

and Lobelia.
My biggest disappointment last summer was the lack of blooms from the many hydrangeas in my garden.
This year in July when the rain barrel and run off into the cistern from which I water the garden have in all the years past would have been bone dry, this year they were full of water for the first time that I can ever remember. July was hot and wet.

August continued hot, humid but the rain slacked off. Surprises for the month was an earthquake in Ohio just to add to the freaky year we were having. But in the garden new blooms from the Heleniums, Veronica, Salvia, Roses, Phlox, Centaurea….

Toad lilies……..

Morning glories…..

……and Astrantia.

and for a surprise the Purple Clustered Campanula seeds sprouted a new offspring of a White Clustered one.
August was a wet month here too compared to other years when we are always parched and the clay soil becomes stone.

September brought out the Japanese anemones, Ligularia, Sedums, Chrysanthemums, Asters, Cleome, Eupatorium ….

And Sweet Autumn Clematis. While all along the rains still fell.

With October being another wet month the planting of new plants was so easy this year so I was able to add many to the garden without worry of having to keep them watered .

The seeded Chrysanthemums were hard to keep from flattening out because of the wet blooms. Farmers struggled to get in their crops from the fields because of the rains and miring tractors and equipment in their fields. There are still some fields where the corn has not been picked yet in December.

November brought with it frosts and autumn leaves that fell too soon before their colors were fully seen and photographed from winds and rains but the roses kept right on blooming until I pruned them off. This was also the first year that planting bulbs for next spring blooms was a pleasure. The ground was soft from the constant rains and bulbs were planted easily.

The month of December and another year is soon winding down.Once again my greatest disappointment is that the amaryllis bulbs are not going to bloom again this year like last. They are all leaves again with no buds. I do not know where I failed them again this year. Next year after their growing season outside is done I will take up the bulbs and let them dry out in the basement and then repot them. If that does not work then I am throwing them away although I hate to toss them.
December was another month of no white Christmas but plenty of rains and flooding. Now I visions of new bulbs that were planted rotting in the ground before they get a chance to bloom next spring.

So if you have not guessed from this posting 2011 will go down as the year the rains took over Ohio gardening. While other states suffered their worst droughts for the year we would have gladly liked to send our rains to them. Where this was the year of fires in some states we were flooding.
I lost a few plants and the containers and pots were so sad this year that I finally just pulled all of the plants. The hydrangeas did not bloom and the deer finally did get the last of late lily blooms and roughed up the bark on the little Mimosa tree.
I hope I will not regret it later in years to come when droughts again hit us but I am glad to see this wet year behind me.
This has been the year of extremes but it had some good surprises and we had our blessings too.

Thank you for visiting my blog over the year and for the friendships that have sprang up because of it. I appreciate every one of you.
I wish you all a Blessed New Year filled with prosperity, good health,
friendship, good weather, abundant gardens and most of all one filled with love.

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Tiarella Spring Symphony,Argyranthmum,Roses,Morning Glory,Clematis,Astrania,Chrysanthemums,Echinacea,Anemones,Lobelia Monet Moment,Campanula,Toad Lily,Amaryllis

Finding Green in the Winter

2011-12-29T16:42:00.001-05:00

I managed to get a walk in last week at one of the parks that make up our Hocking Hills Parks system that we live in the middle of. Sine the weather was still fair and the sun was shining for once I went walking up into Conkles Hollow to see what had changed since my last visit. Aside from the hush that had fallen over the parks which I mentioned in the previous posting there were still some things that were trying to hang on before the snows this winter come to take them down.

The leaves on this little tree were still hanging on long after all the leaves were fallen.

There were still some berries hanging onto the green briars that the birds had not gotten to yet.

Some plants still stood like sentinels with their lovely seed heads intact.

They added texture to the grays that were all around.

On up into the hollow old trees were alive with growth from the wet summer we had.

Growing on old fallen trees….

and even some still standing.

There could still be green to be found along the trail from the thousands of woodland ferns growing on cliffs, tree trunks and…

on the hillsides. The snows well soon flatten them down and cover them until Spring.

It was a record year for moss and algae growth in the hollow.
So many of the trees and rocks were covered with it so green was the color father up in the hollow.

For those of you who do not know it I have another blog and you can read more about Conkles Hollow and see more pictures by going to my other blog Natures Scenic View.

Until Next Time,
Lona

Calming Down With A Spot of Yellow

2011-12-26T11:50:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas. After a long weekend it will be back to the same old, same old.
After all the weeks of Christmas reds I was looking for something different to look at so I dug into the picture archives to find some cheery yellows to brighten a cold day. Argyranthemum Butterfly Yellow

The sun is even cooperating today and has shone lovely for few days so no complaints about the weather here. No white Christmas here in the hills this year, just a bright sunny one. I even managed to get a long walk in to get the kinks out and some fresh air in the old lungs. It always makes one feel better when you can get outdoor in the air and walk around in the local state parks.

There are always people at the parks here visiting and looking at the wonderful rock formations, hills and views at any time of the year, even at Christmas time, so I was not alone on my walk this week because several hikers were there walking in the parks on the day of my walk.

Mesa Yellow Gaillardia
Even with other hikers walking around in the parks there is a hush that settles in on the area as winter sets in here.

There are no sounds from the buzzing of insects and bees now in the parks.

Woodland Sunflowers
And the only furry critters seen dashing around may be an occasional squirrel venturing out looking for that last nut that the Blue Jays or deer may have missed.

Sunny Knockout Rose

But mostly as I walked up the hollows with tall cliff walls on either side of me I could not help but notice that the sound that I really missed was all of the chirping that the birds make in the summer have now all gone silent. There are no birds in the hollows at this time of the year.

Yellow Blooming Red Skinned Dahlia

Even the other hikers seem to notice how silent and quiet it is in the parks and everyone talks in hushed words like they are afraid to disturb the silence that surrounds them.

Lantana

All you can hear is the rushing waters going over the waterfalls and the small creeks that run through the parks. Every cliff has become a small waterfall this year with all of the rain saturating the ground.

Yellow Bromeliad
For me it was a time to get away from all of the Christmas preparations that had been with me all week and the constant drone of carols and commercial from the television. After you have heard them a couple of times they are no longer cute or funny and start getting to you. LOL!
The walk was a time to be out in the fresh air with nature and let all of that silence soak in and calm my spirits down like nothing else can. No commotion, no big discussions to make and really not thinking about anything, just listening to the silence.
Coleus
I always come back home feeling refreshed and at peace.

Today while the sun is shining I will be outdoors taking down all of the Christmas decorations and storing them back away for another year. I want to get them down now before the snows start coming in and freeze them into place.

Coreopsis

What do you do to unwind and calm yourself down after all of the Christmas hustle and bustle?

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Coreopsis,Gaillardia,Roses,Lilies,Coleus,Dahlias,Lantana,Argyranthmum

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

2011-12-23T15:28:00.001-05:00

In Search of Christmas

I went in search of Christmas,
Left tinsel scenes behind,
In need of the true meaning
That marks our Christmastime.
I saw it in the gentle soul
Who with little means to share,
Dropped coins into a kettle
For the needy everywhere.
It shone on children's faces,
Their cheeks and hearts aglow,
As they sang of Baby Jesus
Asleep in manger low.
I heard the carolers singing
Like angels from above,
Telling of the Christ Child's birth,
God's precious gift of love.
I went in search of Christmas
Not found in tinsel lore,
But in a humble stable
With straw strewn on the floor.

Wishing you all a Wonderful and Blessed Christmas.
May it be filled with friends, family, love and flowers.

Lona

Technorati Tags: Merry Christmas

“While Visions of Gingerbread…

2011-12-20T12:49:00.001-05:00

Well, I guess that it is actually “while visions of sugar plums dance through their head” but for this posting I am changing it up…

… to gingerbread, as in Gingerbread Houses.

From the tall detailed ones…

…. down to the small ones for Fido.

Throw in some feather trees and some lights and you get a whole bunch of sparkling yummy-ness.

No Mean Grinch’s allowed only the Good ones.

Looks like Frosty needs a head in this one.

Add a little Currier and Ives Scenery…

….. with a sleigh ride.

These Gingerbread Houses are so fun and beautiful and were at the Franklin Park Conservatory last year. I am sure the ones there this month are just as magical.

And of course….

….. miracles upon miracles I did spend some time yesterday baking cookies. LOL!

Well maybe not that miraculous but I definitely do not bake like I once did or in as large of quantities.

Sweet dreams and…

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Franklin Park Conservatory,Gingerbread Houses,Cookies

Christmas at the Franklin Park Conservatory

2011-12-17T11:49:00.001-05:00

Since the garden is dead this time of the year and with the forecast of snow flurries predicted for today I will be digging into my picture files. There will not doubt be a lot of that during the winter months.

With Christmas drawing near I will be sharing some pictures taken at Franklin Park Conservatory last year in December.
The conservatory is always dressed up for Christmas with poinsettias everywhere. If the tree looks familiar it is one of the shots in my blog header collage. The Poinsettia tree is always a feature at the conservatory every year.

There are always the orange trees ripe with fruit this time of the year also.
Or maybe an occasional upside down tree gracing a hallway.

As a way to express hope in the forthcoming season, 16th century Germans hung evergreen trees top down from the ceiling and decorated them with so many edible ornaments they were often called “Sugar Trees”.
Lighting trees with candles became customary in 18th century France.

Some dressed in blue lights with white cyclamens and poinsettias around the bottoms.

Something the children always love is the train display which is dressed up with lights and red poinsettias and an of course some storybook characters catching a ride at this time of the year.

Little Red Riding Hood and that bad old wolf.

The Three Little Pigs are watching for that Old Bad Wolf too. What is up with all of these wolves in Fairy Tales?? LOL!
Do kids really like to be scared?

But it is all of the bright colored poinsettias that I love the best and there are rows and rows of them at the conservatory now on display if you would care to go see them.

And pots of them are gracing the hallways and rooms.

Ruffled Poinsettia

Even your Tie-Dyed Poinsettia.

Some new introductions are shown every year….

with some of the older favorites mixed in.

All add to a festive atmosphere at the conservatory this month.

If poinsettias are not your thing there is always the shrubs full of berries outdoors or all of the tropical blooms in the Palm Room….

Like the Crown of Thorns.

Merry Christmas and
Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Franklin Park Conservatory,Poinsettia's,Crown of Thorns,Train Display,German Sugar Tree

Those Big Balls and Bowls of Fire

2011-12-14T18:59:00.001-05:00

Driving back home after our visit to Waynesville, Ohio and the “Christmas in the Village” event it was starting to get on evening time and darkness was trying to creep into the sky.

Which only made this setting sun glow the brighter.
I was able to catch a few shots of the sun going down over Washington Court House, Ohio in Fayette county. Here in the wetland preserve it sparkled upon the water.

It was glowing in hues of orange and all golden and looked so big going down over the flat terrain that makes up this part of Ohio where the corn and soybean fields are huge.

We never get to see the big sun setting here in the hills like this because the hills here obstruct its setting before darkness surrounds it.

I took so many pictures of it traveling down the road in the car. Just when I would snap the picture we would hit a bump or dip in the road. I tried to blame my daughters driving and told her not to hit so many bumps. LOL!

Almost gone behind the trees and curve of the horizon.

We can get some lovely sunsets and sunrises here when the sun hits the clouds but not that beautiful ball of fire. Everyone is different with the formation and the color of the clouds that day.

When the leaves are on I never get to see this sunset behind the house. But in the late fall and winter some of the sunsets make the woods beyond the house look like they are on fire.

Almost the colors of the large glass bowls made By Chihuly. Is that where he got his inspiration?

Is that his reasoning for making his famous glass ceilings?

Or was Chihuly thinking of an orange Hibiscus bloom.
All are beautiful but no one paints a sky like God does.

I just could not do a posting without adding at least one flower bloom. LOL!

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Sunsets,Hibiscus,Chihuly

New Lavender Introductions

2011-12-12T12:26:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Are we all ready for Christmas? Except for some baking and making some fudge I am as done as I attend on getting for this year.

Nicotiana

I am back to the trial gardens again for this posting.
A couple of new lavender plants were being tried out at Franklin Park this year. Two were of the Laveanna series which originated from Spain.

“Laveanna Pink” Lavender (Spanish Lavender)

Laveanna Pink was a lovely upright lavender with shades from light to deep purple flower spikes. The pink in the name comes from the pink on the tip of the flower spikes which does not show up here in my pictures very well. The blooms on this lavender were smaller than some other lavender blooms. Blooming from spring to early summer and in the autumn these lavenders were looking lovely in October. A tender perennial lavender growing in zones 8 to 9.

“Laveanna Purple” (Spanish Lavender)

Laveanna Purple was also a very upright plant in the trial bed.
The flower spikes on the Laveanna Purple are medium in size and blooms from spring to early summer and in autumn.

There is also another in the Laveanna’s series called “Laveanna White” which has a white tip on the purple flower spikes. I did not see it in the trial beds or just overlooked it, but I wish I had gotten a picture of one. It can be seen here if you would like to see one. The blooms on this particular lavender are larger in size than the others in the Laveanna series. Alas, these Spanish lavenders will not be growing in my zone 5b-6a zone garden since the are hardy in zones 8 to 9.

“Ellagance Snow” Lavandula augustafolia

Ellagance Snow has snow white flower spikes from June through August. A compact mounding lavender plant with a height of 12 to 14 inches. A hardy perennial to zone 5.

Ellagance Snow had a wonderful fragrance and the bees were enjoying the blooms on a sunny and warm October day.

I have two lavender plants in my garden. The old fashioned hardy one and I planted a new “Jean Davis Pink” last summer.
It only put on a few blooms this fall so I am anxious to see what it will do next year.

Blue Mist Shrub

Do you have a sweet smelling Lavender in your garden?

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Laveanna Lavender,Jean Davis Lavender,Franklin Park Conservatory,Autumn

Waynesville’s Christmas in the Village

2011-12-09T16:24:00.001-05:00

My daughter and I attended the Waynesville Christmas in the Village celebration last Friday. This was our second year attending it and we have such a good time. The town is filled with antique and craft shops that line both sides of the streets and a few side streets.
We love going and looking (mostly looking, LOL!) and we sigh a lot because neither of us has the space or money for some of the antiques.

But we always love looking at all of the new things and are can find something different with each visit. The crafts are always a favorite of mine to look for when we are there.

They always deck the town all out for Christmas which just gets you into the the spirit of things and you cannot walk around without a big ole smile on your face.

When it gets dark they light the hundreds of luminaries which line the streets and of course there is a parade with Santa paying a visit.
We usually get out of town and off the street before the parade starts since we have such a long way to drive back home.

And children can drop off their letters to the jolly fellow at the mailbox in towns gazebo.

Waynesville is also where the Sauerkraut festival is held which we attend in October. It is an old town and it has some wonderful old homes in it. Everyone loves decorating all of the homes and getting into the spirit of the Christmas in the Village theme.

With several places in town to eat we had to sample a different restaurant this time around for our lunch there. We also drool as we looked at all of the candies and baked treats that are offered there in several of the shops. This shop had the best looking cupcakes. Yum! And we were able to do some Christmas shopping from a few of the stores.

But of course the gardener in me is drawn like a magnet is attached to me to anything garden related. This was my prize purchase of the day. A handmade Fairy house, birdbath and sign.
I love purple so I grabbed up the house with the purple-burgundy leaf for the roof. LOL!

Now this winter I can contemplate how I am going to make up the new Fairy garden for next Spring. What other accessories will I be adding? What plants will be needed to set it off? Do I want to set it up in a container of some kind or a special spot in the yard? One must have an arbor don’t they? Or a little fencing? A Garden gate?
A pebble pathway? I can see where this could be costly after a while if I do not rein myself in. LOL!
Got any ideas?
But I am sure something will be figured out over the long winter ahead.

After a long day of shopping till we dropped, which does not take as long as it use to to wear us down, we came through a small local town and a past this one house that always decorates to the max and it seems the displays get bigger every year.

They were having a Charlie Brown Christmas with Santa running the train with moving wheels and music. LOL! This was just a touch of all that was gong on in that yard.
So we had a full day of Christmas sights to get us in the spirit of the season.
Are you in the Christmas spirit yet?
I want to thank you all for your kind words and prayers about the previous posting on my Mom. It is greatly appreciated and I am always in awe at what wonderful friends have came from this thing called blogging. Thank you.
Everyone have a wonderful weekend and……

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Waynesville Christmas in the Village,Christmas Spirit,Fairy House

When the Child Becomes the Parent of a Parent

2011-12-07T12:55:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week. It is another wet one here in the hills with an additional three inches of rain in the last three days. There is a pattern going on here with the weather tracks that I am not liking at all. Maybe I should count my blessings that it is not snow yet instead. LOL!

I do not like to get too personal on my blogs about certain matters in my live but I do want to share one event that does touch some families. Many may not know it but my Mom suffers from dementia. It is a hard thing to see happen to ones parent who has always been the strong one in the family. Mom was always the one you went to for the answers or the one you went to when you had a problem and needed help. She is still able to cope with some of the everyday things but some days are worse than others when it comes to figuring out the even those simplest things. I think I realized how bad it was on certain days when she could not remember anymore how to tell how much gas she had in the car and thought she was out of gas because she was looking at the heat gage on the car. Although she does not drive anymore only on the rarest occasion to my house you start to contemplate whether to disable the car or take the keys away. It is hard after all these years to have the tables turned and you feel more like the parent now than the child. I do not hate it as a burden for myself because she would never be that but because of seeing what it is slowly doing to a once very active and intelligent woman that is my Mom. Since we are a small family now with just my Mom, my son and daughter and I left in the immediate family it falls on my daughter and I to take care of Mom now. One fortunate thing is that we all live so close and Mom is just across the road and field from me. Also my daughter lives beside my Mom and I am so thankful for her because she is right there to see what Mom may or may not be up to. Mom cannot go anywhere with out going by my daughter first. My daughter is indeed a blessing.
One of the things my Mom always loved to do was to keep track of birthdays, deaths and special events that have happened in our family by writing them on her calendars each year and then carrying them over to the next years calendar but even that has become hard now for her to do with accuracy. It is just one small thing amongst the many that she cannot seem to do now.
So I decided to make my first calendar this year to give to Mom.

I took some of my photographs and add them to the calendar which was hard to sort through with all of the pictures I have collected over the years.
Digital cameras are just the best devices. LOL!

I added all of the birthdays, deaths and special memoires onto the days of the months so they would be there for Mom to see whenever she wanted.

Picked out some quotes to be added to go along with the pictures.

The fact is that it was a project that turned out to be a lot of fun to make once I got started. And with the online “Treasure Book” program out of Canada it was a breeze. I tried to find an American program here in the states because of postage costs but the prices for the calendars were higher so I went to our great neighbors in the north to get mine made and it was still cheaper.
The program made it easy to create with choosing the pictures the hardest part of the process. You can save the program and tweak and play around with the calendar until you have it the way you want and then order it right off of the same program.
I was not certain what the calendars would actually look like when I received them but they were just beautiful and the paper used was heavy stock and not the flimsy stuff which is what I was wondering if they would be made out of.
I was really please with the outcome of the whole processes and may try it again next year. You can also make Photo Books and Greeting cards with the program so those are a few options I may want to play around with some day.

I am hoping this will be one small thing maybe that will make it easier for Mom and help her to keep track of those important days that she always loved to remember.
So if you are wondering where to donated some funds before the first of the year please give to the Alzheimer's Association so they can find a cure to this heart breaking disease that touches so many families now. Mom takes medication which has slowed it down but we need a cure for future Moms and Dads.
Thank you so much for listening to my story!

Do you make a calendar each year?
Hugs,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Calendar

New Gaillardia’s for 2011-2012

2011-12-04T14:46:00.001-05:00

Some the new flowers coming onto the market in 2011-2012 from the trial gardens are Gaillardias or Blanket Flowers.
My daughter and I spotted three new ones growing in the trial garden at Franklin Park this Fall.
Gaillardia’s love the heat and sun and are marvelous for their continual blooms throughout the season until the freeze takes them.
They are another flower that does not mind this old clay soil in my yard and garden.
I keep mine deadheaded mostly throughout the summer and they are always in bloom and full of pollinators.
Galya™ Blazing Sun

Gaillardia Galya Blazing Sun is a hardy to zone 5 Gaillardia, which forms a compact mounded habit. The large flowers stand out through the green leaves. Colorful blooms of deep red and intensive yellow for your garden or container.

The honeybees were attracted to them on the day of our visit.

Galya™ Corneto Flame

Gayla Corneto Flame has red centers with yellow edges on the petals. What is lovely about the Cornet series is that the petals roll up into a trumpet shape. It forms a compact mounded habit with continuous flowering.

Galya™ Tangerine Spark

Gaillardia Galya Tangerine Spark is a vigorous, strong variety that forms a well-branched compact bush. Those beautiful trumpet shaped tangerine blooms are vivid additions to a garden or container.
Watch for them this Spring in catalogs or nurseries.

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Danzier Gaillarida,Franklin Park Conservatory,Autumn,Palm House

November Summed Up

2011-12-01T11:06:00.001-05:00

Here it is December already and November went by very fast.
At least it seemed it flew by to me.
To sum the November up it was a wet month giving us the fourth wettest November in history, but the temperatures were mild. Snow flurries on the last day brought in December with normally colder temperatures.
November was a busy month in the garden with several clean ups to get the beds cleaned up before winter.
With highs in the sixties on two days after Thanksgiving I was found enjoying November’s last fling by working outside and soaking up the sunshine before it all disappeared with heavy rains.

The last of the plants were cut off and rose bushes that had been left to bloom because I did not have the heart to cut off the blooms were trimmed back. And the mounds of leaves that continued to blow into the flower beds were given a final rake
and mulched up.

November brought many foggy and hazy mornings.

With beautiful pink sunrises and sunsets.

November also brought on a growth spurt to the young hellebore plants.

November’s mild temperatures also confused the Daffodils causing them to break through the ground.

November brought on a planting and moving frenzy for this gardener. Moving plants to better locations where they may grow better and for planting many spring bulbs.

It brought on tempting clearance sales on bulbs and for lilies such as “Count Radish” and “Gentle Ed” that were added to the beds.

Dahlia roots were cut, dried and stored into the cooler basement for the winter.

Cuttings from the Sweet potato vines were brought in before the freeze and the deer took them.

In November the Junco’s or Snowbirds as we call them here arrived.

And the birdfeeders got really busy.
Also this November the grass was still green from the mild temperatures and the wet days. I do not remember a year when the grass was green all summer and fall.

With Thanksgiving passing along with the Fall days, December comes in with colder, darker and snowy days of winter.
And it is on to Christmas…..

The outdoor Christmas decorations were put up on the front porch.

And the window boxes were filled with pine, faux Poinsettias and Pinecones. Even if the Pansies are peeking out amongst the decorations in colors of white and purple. LOL!
Well they be back next spring?

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Fall Cleanup,Lilies,Daffodils,Hellebores,Christmas Decor,Sunrise,Fall Leaves,Pansies,Roses,Potato Vines,Bird Feeder

Darwin’s Echinacea Sombrero Salsa Red

2011-11-28T11:14:00.001-05:00

Another new Echinacea from the Sombrero Series by Darwin to be introduced for 2012 is “Salsa Red”.
I found this one growing in the trial garden bed at Franklin Park Conservatory this Fall with another of the the Sombrero series “Sandy Yellow”.

Echincaea x purpurera Salsa Red

The single blooming hot coral color of the “Salsa Red” blooms were attention getters. I love Echinacea in my garden, as many of you have come to know from reading my blog, because they grow well in my clay soil and stand up to drought conditions in late summer. Also because the pollinators love Echinacea. So naturally I am always on the lookout for new additions to add to the garden.

The new Sombrero series claims are that they are well branched and more compact like the Pow Wow series of Echinacea’s. With growing heights of 18” to 24” and a hardiness zone from 5a to 9b.
Light requirements are full sun and with deadheading promoting a longer flowering period.

Echinaccea x purpurea Sandy Yellow

It will be interesting to see how many offer this new series of Echinacea’s in the new plant catalogs this coming winter.

With two beautiful days over the weekend I was able to get a few more clean up jobs in the flower beds. Mainly the oak leaves that had blown into them.
Also the outdoor Christmas decorations were put up while the weather was cooperating.
Saturday night and all day Sunday through to this morning were rainy hours with four inches of rain here in the hills. With such a wet spring, summer and into fall we do not need all of this rain. It is suppose to rain into Wednesday. Enough already! At this time of the year I suppose we should be thankful that it is not all snow.

Deer hunting gun season started this morning and I have heard a few shots in the woods despite all of the rain. I know many may not agree with my opinion but I hope the hunters thin them out a lot this week. There are so many here in the hills and they really destroy the gardens, farm yields, orchards and cars. In 2005 they estimated the deer population at 700,000 in Ohio. The population is kept in check with hunting which helps everyone including the deer who suffer because of lack of feeding areas due to over population.
While I was cleaning up some limbs Saturday I saw where a buck had been rubbing on the Mimosa tree in the Woodland bed area of the yard and had skinned the bark from it by rubbing its antlers. So I know there is one buck around here for the hunters.

Everyone have a wonderful and I hope a more restful week.
Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Echincaea Sombrero Salsa Red,Echincaea Sombrero Sandy Yellow,Deer,Franklin Park Conservatory,Darwin Plants,Coleus,Violas

Rhythm and Blues & Black Velvet

2011-11-25T11:33:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone has enjoyed their Thanksgiving day and are surviving the Black Friday sales going on now and throughout the weekend. Buy Small Saturday and Cyber Monday yet to go. LOL!

Rhythm and Blues Petunia

Some people I know really get into these sales and can save money according to what they are looking for and I understand. As an old retail working person I can tell you that I never looked forward to these sales and the lines of customers. Well be truthful it was always my fault if the store ran out of an advertised product. The cussing outs I have gotten and had to take it with a smile. LOL!

Rhythm & Blues Petunia’s

These Rhythm & Blues and Serena Blues are from the test gardens at Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus.

Spreading Angelonia Serena Blue

I loved this Serena Blue spreading angelonia and would like to try some of them next Spring.

Fancy Dress
I have noticed a resurgence in the two toned petunias over the last two years and some with new color combinations and wild colors mixed together like this Fancy Dress or the Picasso petunia.
I could not find anything to go with the wild Fancy Dress petunia so it was in a container by itself. LOL!

Can Can Petunia

Some gardeners do not like petunias at all and think they are not good enough in the garden but with so many types being offered now from the Old Fashioned…..

Dolcissima Roma Petunia

…… to Waves, Avalanches, Doubles and Calibrachoa or Million Bells. And you can find them in an array of different color choices now to fit into any container combination.
(Well most of them)

The new Black Phantom Velvet series of petunia’s can be the exception where in the color wheel where black is suppose to go with everything, in the container planting world black does not go with every plant color. They do look like Black Velvet though.

Phantom Petunia’s

I did fall in love with the with the Black and Pink Pinstripe petunia last Spring and did a container with them…

Pinstripe Petunia

….adding in some pink argyranthmum with them that worked out rather well.
To sum things up I am one of those gardeners that love petunia’s cascading out of containers, window boxes or hanging baskets. I start some from seed under lights every year starting the last of February for my summer containers. I have good luck starting them indoors so maybe that is another reason I like them where as I have trouble starting some seeds indoors.
Or maybe it is for sentimental reasons because Grandma grew petunias. My biggest problem it seems is in deciding every winter which ones I am going to grow. Decisions, decisions. LOL!

I have already receives three new seed and an Edmunds Rose catalog already. Earlier this year?
We will have some long winter months to make up our seed orders and plan or dream about next years garden.
I would love to get into one of those Proven Winners plant testing trials. LOL! How about you?
Have you received any new planting catalogs already?

Everyone Have a Wonderful Weekend & Happy Gardening!
Lona

Technorati Tags: Proven Winners Plants,Petunias,Spreading Angelonia,Black Phantom Petunia,Pinstripe Petunia,Fancy Dress Petunia,Argyranthmum

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T10:46:00.001-05:00

Wishing everyone a Blessed Thanksgiving to you and yours. Everyone be safe if you are traveling and enjoy your families or just that day off to relax.

Since we are a small family these days we do not have tables laid for feasting but go out for Dinner now.
I am thankful for our small family, our health, love, friends and the many blessings God has bestowed upon us throughout the years.

I am thankful to be born in a country with brave men and women and the freedoms that they fight for not only for our country but for others as well. For the freedoms we have that others throughout the world are fighting for even now. The freedom to live without the tyranny and with freedom of religion.
While in this country that freedom lets people strike and set down to get across points that even I cannot figure out what in the world they are asking for. LOL!

I am thankful for the everyday blessings that happen sometimes even unnoticed as I go about my day. Sometimes the everyday blessings are those that are most important.

I am also thankful for all the friendships that have came to me from you my fellow bloggers whom I would not have known otherwise. Blessings to you all.

For flowers that bloom about our feet;
For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;
For song of bird, and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!
~Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

Happy Thanksgiving!
Lona

And since I cannot be too serious without adding something
to laugh about, I agree with Maxine.

Technorati Tags: Thanksgiving,Holidays,Chrysanthemums

Roses in November

2011-11-19T19:01:00.001-05:00

It has been so wonderful this year to still have roses trying to give a bloom here and there in the rose garden.

‘Crimson Bouquet’ has three blooms still clinging on the branches on a cloudy cold day. This is my favorite rose and I was thrilled to get a cutting from it to root for me this summer after several attempts over the years. I just do not have much luck with getting root cuttings to start unless it is hydrangeas.

The ‘Burgundy Iceberg’ has even some new buds yet to open even if they are looking so worn and torn now.

The ‘Iceberg’ roses are still blooming but a very saggy.
The blooms always get a red tinge to them when the nights get colder and with less daylight hours.

The rose that has impressed me the most all season is this
‘Bill Warriner” rose.

This rose has cranked out blooms upon blooms right along.
I have really fell in love with this one and would recommend it to you roses gardeners.

Even on a cloudy, windy and rainy day this rose holds its color and blooms upright.

Elsewhere in the garden this little achillea is still trying to grow and bloom after all the others have been long spent for the season.

Oertels Rose achillea

The Foxgloves have had a growing spurt getting ready for next springs blooms. Those green leaves really stand out in the flower bed now that everything else is brown or dying.

While the Pansies seem to be just setting in the window boxes and not doing much growing at all.

Everything else in the garden has went to sleep for the winter while I make plans and already dream of blooms to come next spring.

Give Thanks
“For the hay and the corn and the wheat that is reaped,”
For the labor well done, and the barns that are heaped,
For the sun and the dew and the sweet honeycomb,
For the rose and the song and the harvest brought home .

Everyone Have a Wonderful Weekend &
Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Roses,Pasies,Achillea Pineapple Mango,Foxgloves

All the Butterflies are Gone Now

2011-11-17T10:47:00.001-05:00

With cold weather settling in and the lack of flowers around whether native or in my garden the butterflies have gone for another year.

The only thing winging around here now besides the birds are those invasive Asian Ladybugs which I complain about every Fall.
When the farmers get the corn and soybeans picked and the cold weather strikes they start coming into the homes to spend the winter. Ugh! Nasty stinking things not like the true Ladybugs. If they have not arrived at your state yet thank your lucky stars but they will be there soon because they are migrating on.

When I complain about them in the Fall there are those who say they would love to have them. If only they really knew what they were asking for. I repeat they are not your dark shelled little Ladybugs. In fact they are overtaking and destroying our natural Ladybugs. I will not bore those who already have them or those of you who have heard me rant every year so you can read about them in my older posting here.
When they finally arrive at your home then let me know how much you love them. Alright-y then, rant over with and back to the butterflies.

On a visit to Franklin Park in October the butterflies were enjoying the Buddleia bushes that they have growing on the grounds.

The Monarchs were sharing them with the bees on that bright sunny day.I forgot about taking pictures of the flowers growing and started chasing butterflies trying to find one that would set still for me long enough for a shot.

There were so many Monarch butterflies at Franklin Park. Even with planting Butterfly weed and other pollinator friendly flowers I very seldom have Monarchs at my garden.

Common Buckeye were loving this scented Goldenrod.

I find myself planting more flowers in the garden and native plants in the Woodland bed just for the pollinators.

With our Honeybees disappearing every year I want to make sure there are many plants around that they like.

Do you plant for the Butterflies and other pollinators in your garden?

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Buddleia,Butterfly,Bumble Bee's,Salvia

Fall Planting All Done - I Promise

2011-11-14T10:47:00.001-05:00

No seriously I am done planting for this Fall. I have said that a couple of times already I know but this time I am really finished.
Just when you think you are done planting for the season outdoors you run across those great Fall sales and before you know it you are getting the spade back out.

Elenore Daylily
The prices for these last flowers were so great from the online US Seed Store that I could not pass them up especially when it comes to daylilies.

Clothed in Glory
So two new Elenore and a Clothed in Glory daylily were added to the garden.

And a new aconitum bi-colored Monkshood was planted.
Now I am finished, done!
Besides the weather will be getting too bad to get new plants a good start before winter. LOL!

I think all of the yard chores are done now also. I took my Macrophylla Maries Variegated Hydrangea to the basement this morning to spend the winter. It is good to zone 6 so I do not want be in zone denial here in my 5b zone and risk having it killed.
it is still small and is kept potted for easy moving.
(I did pull up the alyssum before I took it to the basement)

The cactus had a rough summer after being dumped so many times by the cats but it is blooming now.
The amaryllis plants were brought up from the basement this morning, watered and then I set them under lights. Last year I had not left them outdoors in the summer to get the sunlight so they did not bloom for me last winter. This time I left them out all summer and then took them to the dark basement at the end of summer so I am really hoping that will make them bloom this time around. If not, out they go.
Since I have tried this method with poinsettia's and it has not worked I am not holding my breath until I see if it is going to work for the amaryllis bulbs.

Finally I have some seeds I would like to give away to someone who can use them. The Seed Store gave me some seeds with an order which I will not use so if you would like them just email me with your address.
I have Beets, Baby Bottle Gourds, and Arugula.

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Amaryllis,Seeds,Lilies,Monkshood,Hydrangea

Yellow Trailing Bidens

2011-11-12T10:06:00.001-05:00

A lot of Fall yellows were evident at Franklin Park this October.
This large mound of them that were growing at the park were so lovely in the Fall sunlight.

Trailing Bidens ‘Bidy Gonzolas"’

Bidens is a genus of flower in the Daisy family asteraeae.
Often this flower is considered a weed by some gardeners while others do grow it as an annual for its bright yellow or white colored blooms and easy growth. It is used as a filler plant or added to containers. Deadheading promotes more blooming and it prefers full sunlight. Bidens ferulifolia
"Bidens Bidy Gonzales Trailing"

Flowering from Spring to Fall they are only 8 to 10 inches in height and spread 8 to 10 inches.
Bidens species are also used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat dysentery, poisonous bites, and skin conditions.

Have you ever grown Bidens?
Do you use it as a filler plant?
Do you consider it a weed?

Everyone Have a Wonderful Weekend and
Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Trailing Bidens,Franklin Park Conservatory

Remembering Dad & Our Soldiers

2011-11-10T15:19:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday Dad

Those we love remain with us for love itself lives on,
And cherished memories never fade, because a loved
ones gone.
Those we love can never be more than a thought apart,
For as long as there is a memory, they’ll live within our
hearts.

In Memory of Marvin “Brownie” Brown
November 11, 1927 – August 31, 2005

Dad your life was full of loving deeds,
Forever thoughtful of our special needs.
Today and tomorrow, my whole life through,
I will always love and cherish you.

Remembering Those Who Gave & Give All

They Did Their Share

On Veteran’s Day we honor
Soldiers who protect our nation.
For their service as our warriors,
They deserve our admiration.

Some of them were drafted;
Some were volunteers;
For some it was just yesterday;
For some it’s been many years;

In the jungle or the desert,
On land or on the sea,
They did whatever was assigned
To produce a victory.

Some came back; some didn’t.
They defended us everywhere.
Some saw combat; some rode a desk;
All of them did their share.

No matter what the duty,
For low pay and little glory,
These soldiers gave up normal lives,
For duties mundane and gory.

Let every veteran be honored;
Don’t let politics get in the way.
Without them, freedom would have died;
What they did, we can’t repay.

We owe so much to them,
Who kept us safe from terror,
So when we see a uniform,
Let’s say "thank you" to every wearer.

By Joanna Fuchs

Thank you and May God Always Keep You in the Palm of His Hand.
Lona

Technorati Tags: Veterans Day,Happy Birthday

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-09T10:41:00.001-05:00

An Autumn Night.

"November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.
With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.
The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring."
- Clyde Watson -

Technorati Tags: Autumn,Night

Double Scoop Raspberry & Secret Joy Echinacea’s

2011-11-07T10:54:00.001-05:00

This fall I planted two new Echinacea’s in the garden.
I love Echinacea for its hardiness and add them because they draw the pollinators into the garden. There are so many pretty new colors and double blooming varieties offered every year that you are bound to find at least one that will fit into your garden scheme.

Since I have had luck with the double blooming varieties I wanted to add this “Double Scoop Raspberry” to the garden.
The only Fancy Echinacea that I have really had trouble with was the “Double Decker” Echinacea. It has lost its feathered top layer after a couple of years and has reverted back to single blooms.
So the jury is out as to whether some these new doubles will hold their double blooms in their maturity.

While on a visit to Franklin Park this Fall I found “Double Scoop Raspberry” growing in their test gardens so I was able to see what it looked like up close and personal. After seeing it I knew then that I was going to love this new one blooming in my garden next year.
The pictures here were in direct sunlight so the color may look a little washed out but be aware it is not the deep color of raspberry that is shown in the advertisement pictures of it.

Some information on Echinacea x purpurae Double Scoop Raspberry:
Grows best in full sun
Hardiness to Zones 5a – 9b
28 to 30 inches tall
Spreads 24 to 28 inches
Good in beds, borders or as a cut flower blooming in the summer

Other varieties from the Double Scoop family are “Orangeberry” and “Bubblegum”. Double Scoop Bubblegum looks a lot like the Double Delight Echinacea.

Photo Courtesy of Direct Gardening

”Secret Joy Echinacea ” is another new double that was offered this year. I have planted two of those in the garden to try out.
The double yellow blooms is what drew my attention to this one.

I ordered these from the Direct Gardening family of nurseries and when they arrived they were both quite dead and would not come out of it so I had to have them replaced. When the replacements arrived they were not in any better shape and I am hoping the roots survive and grow. So… if you are interested in this one you may want to find other nurseries not in the Direct Gardening family which includes Royal Dutch Gardens, Burgess, Kelly Nurseries, Four Seasons Nursery, Richard Owen Nursery, Honey Oak Nursery and House of Wesley.
Direct Gardening mails their plants all thrown into a plastic bag to make everything cheaper and I understand this in today’s market. But your plants may arrive smashed, moldy or as mine were rotten and smashed. They do readily replace the plants but you have to have saved the actual shipping label from front of the mailing sack which list the plants enclosed.
To be fair I have gotten lilies and bare root roses from them and they grew fine but bare root roses do not have much to hurt in this mailing process. So I am just throwing this information out to you who would like to buy from them.

It looks like a fantastic few days for weather here in the hills this week so we will enjoy them while they last.

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Echinacea Double Scoop Raspberry,Franklin Park Conservatory

And Then There Was One

2011-11-04T12:13:00.001-04:00

With a little warm up or Indian Summer weather this week a final cleanup of the garden beds and other chores were taken care of.

The last of the leaves were raked from the beds and mowed up in the yard. All except for the Oak leaves which will continue to blow in from the woods and deposit themselves onto the front porch through the rest of Fall and into Winter.They always manage to end up on the front porch or into the small pond. Oak leaves take forever to break up and I complain about them every Fall.

The roses were all trimmed back all except for a couple that still have one bloom or bud hanging on. I did not have the heart to cut them off even if they were a little tattered from some hungry insects.

The dahlia’s were cut off and the bulbs taken into the basement to overwinter until next Spring.

The argyranthemum Butterfly Yellow survived the frosts.

The chrysanthemums that were bought for Fall decoration and color had fizzled out so they were taken from their pots and since they were hardy mums I planted them into the flowerbeds.

And I saw a few of just “one” late blooms as I was cleaning up the garden. Even the phlox gave me one more bloom before winter.

There was only one more deformed and small Becky Shasta Daisy to be found. And one strange bug resting on it.

There were a few blooms on the Mesa Gaillardia left yet but I only saw one Bumblebee laying on this bloom. It was either sleeping in the sun or drunk on the pollen because it never moved as I worked around it.

There was one more opened bloom from the Prince Henry anemones but there are still some buds. If a freeze does not ruin them there should be a few more blooms from it.

The Impatiens were cooked by the frosts so they were all jerked from the Tipsy Pots and the pots were covered for the winter to keep them from cracking.

The gnome and fairy garden was put away. These little things would get lost in the snow. Cannot have them getting a chill. LOL!
The Burgundy Glow Ajuga and Irish Moss will be fine.
The Grape Hyacinths are a little mixed up and were trying to come up in the little garden around the Irish moss.

A couple of the pelargonium's that remained had just one bloom left on them.

The Raspberry Truffle Echinacea refuses to give into the frosts and cold mornings and is still putting on buds and blooming.

And for my own record keeping I planted Wednesday:
5 Purple Rooster Monarda
5 Rosy Returns Lilies
5 Shelford pink Foxtail Lilies
5 Nicky Phlox
5 Franz Schubert Phlox
5 Red Jewel Hemeniums
1 Harvest Moon Echinacea

The Starlight Rose zinnias grown from seeds saved from last years are looking washed out and giving up for the season.

Today is Fertilizer Friday so do not forget to “Flaunt You Flowers”
with our gal Glenda at ”Tootsie Time”.

The rain barrel was drained and covered for the winter.
So the garden is bedded in for the winter for the most part and this old gardeners back is aching. LOL!

It is late Autumn now when even one bloom seems like a bouquet to us.

Have you got all your Fall gardening chores done?

Everyone have a great weekend &
Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Roses,Tulips,Chrysanthemum,Gaillardia,Pelargoniums-Geraniums,Fertilizer Friday

Anemones at the Park

2011-11-02T11:21:00.001-04:00

Well Hello November.
Here is hoping that the cold months go by as fast as the warm months did. Wishing the days of ones life to speed by does seem foolish though. I guess I am still lamenting the passing of Summer which seemed to go by so fast. Yes gardeners it is true the older you get the faster the days seem to pass. At a visit to Franklin Park last month the Japanese Anemones were in full bloom and looking so lovely in their gardens.

Although I love my colorful flowers there is just something about white blooms in the garden that always looks so refreshing and pure.

Maybe it is just that they make other colorful blooms seem more brighter like when they are planted along with red roses.

But delicate looking snow white blooms look beautiful in the evening in a moonlit garden.

Anemones are one of my favorite flowers for late Summer and Fall in the garden.

At the Park they were growing in masses in the large beds and they really did do their job of adding warmer colors to a Fall garden which is mostly dressed in oranges, yellows and rusts.

Pretty in pink but they did not make the red roses pop like the white anemones.

Red Knockout roses seem to be a favorite at the park.
Knockouts may not be as pretty as some of the Antique, Tea, Grandiflora or Floribunda roses but for repeat blooming they are wonderful to have in the garden.

Rainbow Knockout Rose
Rainbow Knockout roses however are anything but dull. They have an array of shades of pink, apricot to yellow all in one bloom.

It looks like we are getting a few days of sunshine and warmer temperatures here so you will find me in the garden.

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Franklin Park Conservatory,Anemones,Knockout Roses

A Frosty Morn in the Garden & Thank You

2011-10-30T14:10:00.001-04:00

It was a very cold and frosty morning that greeted the garden this morning. I went out and walked around the garden looking at the damage and finely making myself accept the fact that gardening outdoors was done for this year.
I am thankful that we did not get the snow that some of the states received over the weekend. I hope all of our gardening buddies in upstate New Jersey, Colorado and Wisconsin are safe and get their electricity back on soon. It was slightly early for such a major snow storm and I hope it does not set the president for the winter to come.

The meadow across the road was white with frost and the sun was trying to get through and burn off a little fog that was in the area making it look like steam was rising off of the meadow.

The birdbath was full of leaves and a coating of ice. My project today will be to will be to clean out the leaves from the small pond and the birdbaths and locate the water heaters for them. I like to keep water for the birds when it is cold and of course the feral cats come by to get a drink from them too.

Looking around the garden the evidence of a cold frosty night was upon all of the flowers. The lily leaves were crusty looking.

The Yellow Mesa Gaillardia was drooping with a layer of frost.

The chrysanthemums were frosty and the drops of melting frost from the warming temperatures were starting to gather.

A volunteer sunflower from the birdfeeder’s scattered seeds will die now.

The new buds on the Raspberry Truffle Echinacea were touched by the frost and a web left by a spider that was not in residence.
Where do they spend their time on a cold Autumn night? Hopefully not in my basement.

The new growth on some of the roses were covered in frosty crystals.

This will be the last of the blooms from the Crimson Bouquet rose for the year.

It is sad to see the last blooms of the roses for a gardener who does not do cold and winter weather well. In fact I hate winter.

The Iceberg roses were drooping and I can now trim back the roses and get rid of the blackspot with the trimmings. Trimming them had been delayed since they were still throwing on a few blooms late in the season this year.

The bud on the Almost Black rose was not looking well at all.

The Bill Warriner rose still looked beautiful but may succumb when the sun shines upon it.

So this week I will be shutting down the garden and doing the final clean up and think about the Spring to come.

I was so fortunate to win a couple of Giveaways in September and October.

What a wonderful surprise to find out that Jeri Landers from “Hopalong Hollow Gazette” and its residents picked, or maybe it was not picked, in that they did not eat the animal cracker with my name on it.
Myself and two other lucky and excited winners won one of Jeri’s beautiful artworks. I just love it.
Jeri is a gifted artist and author of Children's books. Visit her Blog and look at all of the gorgeous pictures she draws and paints.
Her children’s book would make just the greatest Christmas gifts for those young ones. Well maybe just not for those youngsters but us oldsters too. LOL!
Thank you Jeri!

I was also so thrilled to be a winner of one of Myra’s original creations from her Blog Giveaway. This sweet Dragonfly was made from an a spindle from an over eighty year old chair. Each one she makes is different. She has the most fun and creative ideas. She is making a patio room from an old corncrib! It is such a marvelous idea of recycling.
Go to Myra’s Blog at “My Mother’s Daughter” and see some of the things she is doing and making for the garden.
I will enjoy adding this cute Dragonfly to the garden next Spring.
I do not want to go out into the cold and snow this winter so the Dragonfly is staying in the house with me until it warms up.
Thank you Myra!

So goodbye October you went by far too fast and Happy Halloween.
Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Frost,Roses,Gaillardia,Echinacea,Chrysanthemum,Giveaways

Dawes Arboretum Spring Blooms

2011-10-27T13:14:00.001-04:00

Since it is a rainy miserable day here in the hills and no gardening to be contemplated at all today I started going through some of my picture files. Because of so much happening last Spring I never got all of the Spring pictures posted so today I well revisit the Dawes Arboretum and show some of the blooms that can be found there in the Spring.

Allium cristohii Star of Persia

Hey, I have given up on the garden blooms in my garden for this year anyway and making plans for next Springs gems.
I received my first 2012 catalog from Edmund’s Roses this week and I was drooling all over it at the new roses added for next year and coming new introductions for 2013.

American Wisteria

Ahhh, wisteria blooms. (sigh) if only I could get my two Blue Japanese Wisteria to even get one of these beautiful blooms.
My wisteria’s are over twelve years old or more now and have not put on the first bloom. I am at a total loss as to why not?
I have tried all of the tricks from fertilizers to cutting around the roots. Nothing! I have even threatened them with the ripping them up and replacing them with clematis or other blooming vines. They respond to nothing.
So I look longingly at other gardeners wisteria’s in bloom every Spring.

Amonsia Eastern Blue Star
I wonder if this Amonsia has golden yellow foliage this Fall.

Kerria japonica variegata White Edge

What a gorgeous shrub in the spring with its golden yellow blooms and beautiful variegated foliage all season.

There are Lilac bushes all around the Welcome Center at the arboretum.

What a way to greet visitors with the fragrance of Lilacs drifting on the breezes.

This Lilac was trimmed up into a rounded tree form at its top.
I really thought it looked lovely this way beside the blooming Bridal Veil Spirea.

Leonard Messell Loebner Magnolia

And who doesn't like Magnolia blooms. This one reminded me of a Southern Magnolia only with smaller blooms.

The name of this shrub escapes me now but it may have been a Pink Beauty Bush. I am certain some of you may know what it is.
It was so beautiful and the Butterflies and Bees were swarming it on the day of our visit.

Newport Viburnum Doublefile
There were several viburnum’s on the grounds but this selection was just loaded in blooms.

Viburnum sargentii Sargent Cranberry Bush

Weigela

If I only hand room for the gorgeous Pink Cascading Locust below.

Robinia Casque Rouge Pink Cascading Locust

If you have a arboretum near you make plans to visit next Spring when all of the trees and shrubs are in bloom. You will not be sorry.
Well I hope you enjoyed a little touch of Spring in your Fall day.

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Dawes Arboretum,Lilacs,Viburnum,Beauty Bush,Azalea,Alliums,Kerria,Wisteria,Magnolia,Pink Cascading Locust,Weigela,Amonsia

Fill the Frame with Ornamental Grass

2011-10-24T15:08:00.001-04:00

“Gardening Gone Wild” produced by Fran Sorin has for October’s Photo Contest theme entitled “Filling the Frame”. Entries will be picked by Saxon Holt and the deadline
for entries is 11:59 PM Eastern time on Tuesday, October 25, 2011.
This contest gives me the perfect opportunity to show some of my favorite Fall Ornamental grasses and especially Miscanthus sinensis grass or Maiden Grass.

I do not personally have more than two Ornamental grasses, which are Pink Mulhy’s, in my garden but that does not mean that I do not like them. With my garden it is all about the real estate so I do not have room for the more large and beautiful Ornamental grasses that show their blooms in the Autumn.

On a recent trip to Franklin Park with my daughter I had to snap many pictures of this “Huron Sunrise” Miscanthus sinensis or Maiden Grass. The feathery seed heads or blooms seem to sparkle as they blow around and catch the sunlight. I always find myself looking at it from different angles to get photographs to try to catch the light upon the feathery blooms.
I did in fact have to fill several frames with the sun filtering upon them. This photograph will be my entry into the Gardening Gone Wild Photo Contest.

The swaying flower heads of “Huron Blush” Maiden Grass look lovely in tan flowers that turn to pink.

Imagine them in a winter landscape with snow all around or covered with frost or the frozen fog on cold mornings glistening in the sunlight.

There are many grasses on the Franklin Park grounds.

This Pennisetum grasses also look lovely as they blow about in the breezes flowing across the gardens. Or just standing tall above the Boxwoods.

Ornamental Grasses bring interest to a Fall and Winter garden.
They make me wish I had more land just so I could plant some along with some more of the Fall berry producing shrubs.

So if you have the room in your garden for Ornamental Grass add them to your plant list to add some Fall and Winter interest to your garden

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Franklin Park Conservatory,Ornamental Grass

Pineapple Mango Achillea millefolium

2011-10-21T11:14:00.001-04:00

Always on the lookout for new Achillea or Yarrow to add to the garden I happened upon this new one being grown in the Franklin Park Conservatory test gardens. This charming beauty glowed in the afternoon sun.

Achillea millefolium Tutti Frutti “ Pineapple Mango”

Information on this plant from Bressingham Plants are as follows:

Availability: North America, Europe, Japan
Large flower clusters start out rich pink, maturing to yellow/salmon and finishing pale primrose yellow. Outstanding compact, sturdy and full habit. Excellent flowering uniformity. Long blooming period, mid-June through July. Foliage is reliably robust and disease-resistant even in hot, sticky summers. Heat loving - no meltdown! A Blooms of Bressingham selection from Takii (from Sahin breeding).
Garden Care: Adaptable to nearly any soil type with adequate drainage. Allow to dry between waterings. Self-reliant and maintenance free. Deadheading enhances appearance and encourages rebloom. May be divided at any time to rejuvenate.
Exposure: Full Sun
Bloom Time: Summer
Flower Color: Pink, Yellow
Foliage Color: Green
Height: 23"/58cm
Spread: 23"/58cm
Habit: Mounding
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4,5,6,7,8 / -30 to -7°C
Uses: Mixed border, Container
Attributes: Cut flower, Dried flower, Long blooming, Attracts butterflies, Fragrant foliage

It looks similar to “Apricot Delight” achillea which I have in the garden and love growing with the Hot Papaya Echinacea.

Hot Papaya Echinacea & Apricot Delight Yarrow

But when pictured together the subtle differences are noticeable and the pink infusion into the petals shows up. Regardless it is a pretty new addition to a garden for those who like Yarrow.

Today is also Fertilizer Friday hosted by our gal Glenda at “Tootsie Time”. So Flaunt Your Flowers!
Everyone have a wonderful weekend and enjoy those blooms while they last.
The rains have finally stopped but with a high of 43 degrees yesterday and the wind it was a reminder of things to come.
Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Achillea Pineapple Mango,Franklin Park Conservatory,Butterfly,Sage,Yarrow,Bressingham Plants,Fertilizer Friday

In The Garden & Critter Alert!

2011-10-19T16:13:00.001-04:00

Rain has settled in here in the hills so this gardener is staying indoors.
I think I would be staying indoors now anyway since we have Lions, Tigers, Grizzly bears, Black bears and Wolves running loose north of us. Yikes! The primates are still locked in cages inside the house, thank heavens.

(Well maybe there were no Buffalo’s)
A local big game keeper who has had trouble with his collection of animals getting loose from time to time was found dead and all of the cages to the animals were left open (by him?) so there was big game running around in the northeastern part of Ohio in Muskingum and Licking counties. Law enforcement officers and zoo officials were hunting them down but many had to be killed to keep the population safe. A sad fate for such magnificent animals and for a frightened neighborhood. I for one think Ohio needs to get some better laws about who can keep deadly weapons on four legs at their homes.
Sadly this may be the catalyst that gets the laws written and passed now.

Anyhow……. in the garden this week (nothing quite so fierce)there are still some roses blessing me with some last blooms of the season.

“Almost Black” roses are trying to bloom on even with chewed up petals. Those little insects are feasting on anything now this late in the season.

“Easy Does It” rose is a little blotchy now with the colder weather.

“Iceberg” roses also gets a pink tinge to its blooms when the days are shorter and the weather cools down.

“Bella’ Roma” Has a new bud.

“Lavender Simplicity” is showing what the whole garden is feeling these days. Tired and browning.

Some of the Chrysanthemums grown from seed are still blooming nicely but the rain wants to flatten them down a little.

I love the color in these Mums. I purchased the seeds from Thompson & Morgan a couple of years ago and the plants have thrived each year.

“Raspberry Truffle” Echinacea is still growing and blooming.

The colors in this coneflower are just amazing and are set off by a dark center.

Gaillardia “Mesa Yellow” is such a trooper and will bloom until the frosts take it.

“Prince Hendrich or Henry” Anemone is still putting on buds and blooms.

These are the last of the blooms on the “Queen Charlotte” anemones. I cut the rest down and gathered some seeds from them. It has been blooming since early September so has been a wonderful addition to the garden for late color.

The Purple Clustered Campanula that gave me a few Alba white blooms from their seeds has another bloom. As the bloom withers a tinge of the purple shows up on the white blooms.
That is about it in the garden for this week.

I had to share this car with you that my daughter and I spotted in Chillicothe last weekend. It is and advertisement for the Old Canal Smoke House there in town. The car is painted like a pig. I just captured the backend of the pig or car. See the tail and the license plate? LOL! I wonder if there is a snout on the hood?

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Anemones,Chrysanthemum,Roses,Campanula,Chillicothe Ohio,Buffalo

Hedge Apples – Osage Orange “Maclura pomifera”

2011-10-17T14:59:00.001-04:00

While attending the Pioneer Festival at Caesar Creek this weekend we spotted some Hedge Apples growing around the fenced in area of the village.

I use to see Hedge Apples at a few of the old homesteads in the area but they have mostly disappeared and been cut down now so it was a pleasant surprise to be able to see them again.

The yellow-green fruit of the Osage-orange Maclura pomifera are commonly called Hedge apples, bodark or bowwood.
The Osage Orange was introduced here in Ohio about 1800.
The Osage Indians of the southern Great Plains and the resemblance of its fruits to lime-colored oranges give it the more common name of Osage Orange. Commercially, its very strong wood is used to make the best bows for archery. When its wood is used as fence posts or laid-down timbers, it takes decades to completely rot. It was also planted in hedge rows to act as fencing with its thorny bark before Barbed wire was discovered.

The Osage-orange is a small- to medium-sized tree. It commonly grows 30 to 40 feet tall, occasionally as tall as 50 to 60 feet. It typically has a short trunk and a rounded or irregular crown.
The leaves of the Osage-orange are a shiny medium to dark green. They turn yellow in the fall.
The stems exude a milky sap when cut. The Osage-orange is dioecious. Male and female flowers are produced on separate trees. The small, green flowers appear in May or June. The female trees produce 3- to 5- inch-diameter fruit which ripen in September or October and fall to the ground.
The "hedge apples" are not an important source of food for wildlife as most birds and animals find the fruit unpalatable. However, the thorny trees do provide nesting and cover for wildlife.
A native of portions of Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma, Osage Orange loves the prolonged hot and dry conditions of summer, and thrives in poor soils. Specimens found in the open are upright and rapidly growing in youth, becoming arching and spreading with age.
It is hardy to zones 4 to 9.

The milky juice present in the stems and fruit of the Osage-orange may cause irritation to the skin. While the fruit have been suspected of being poisonous to livestock, studies conducted in several states have been negative.
The use of the hedge apples for insect control is one of the most enduring pest management home remedies. Placement of hedge apples around the foundation or inside the basement is claimed to provide relief from cockroaches, spiders, boxelder bugs, crickets and other pests. The use of hedge apples as a pest solution is communicated as a folk tale complete with testimonials about apparent success. However, there is an absence of scientific research and therefore no valid evidence to confirm the claims of effectiveness.

Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Hedge Apples,Osage Orange,Caesar Creek

Bob Evans Farm Festival 2011

2011-10-14T19:10:00.001-04:00

We just got back from the Bob Evans Farm Festival at Rio Grande, Ohio.

We were so surprised at all of the changes that were being made there since last year. I loved this old wagon all dressed up with corn stalks, hay bales, pumpkins and pretty purple Asters in front of the Bob Evans old homestead.

They had added bigger tents this year to house all of the crafts and antiques.

Parking in the field was a little iffy because of the rain we had gotten Wednesday.
And there are always a few pumpkins around to add that Fall touch.

This year they have been reconstructing a Pioneer village on the grounds. Which is going to a wonderful addition to the Farm.

The village is being made from original log homes from some local old families.

This old school house will be a nice feature when it is finished.

If there was one thing that I would change it would be those rail steps. They were just too tall for my old short legs. Hey, I am
only 5’ 1”.
Those steps had to be made by some long legged fellow's. LOL!

The day started out cloudy and cool but the sun finally made it out and it was nice while we were there walking around. On the way home we met with high winds and rains so we lucked out.

We always like visiting the Quilt Barn when we attend.

There are always beautiful quilts on display that I ewww and ahhh over. I think they are all so pretty since I have not got the patience to quilt myself.
What can I say, my attention span is limited. LOL!

Then there are always the tents full of food that tempt us. And the smell of wood fires where large kettles of bean soup are being cooked.
There were corn mazes, farm animals, Cow milking, games and face painting for the kids to enjoy.

But I always have my eyes looking to spot those flowers no matter where I am. It is the gardener in us.

Everyone have a wonderful weekend and
Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Bob Evans Farm Festival,Chrysanthemum,Crafts,Kale,Cabbages,Pumpkins,Quilts

The Leaves Are Falling Fast

2011-10-12T15:29:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone!
I spent all day yesterday raking and chopping up leaves with the lawn mower. We had rain last night and today you cannot tell that I even worked in the yard. Leaves are everywhere. LOL!
They are falling so fast this year that the colors are not going to last very long here in the hills.

This Sugar Maple tree at the corner of the house was so pretty dressed in red. They look better on the tree than on the ground.

The trees across the road in the field are pretty dressed in yellows, oranges and red.

Here are some more of the Chrysanthemums that are blooming in the garden now.

This Orange one was grown from seeds.

Even the Campanula Blue Chips are taking on a pretty Fall color in their leaves.

The Cleome plants are still blooming but it will not be long now until the frost gets them.

The buds on the “Easy Does It” roses are a bright orange now with the cooler weather.

Echinacea Raspberry Truffle is getting some new buds.
Looks like the spiders have been hanging out amongst them.

The “Burgundy Iceberg” rose has given me a couple of new blooms before cold weather takes them.

The Redskin Dahlias grown from seed has put on this yellow bloom with touches of pink mixed in.

The blooms on the native Snakeroot in the woods are starting to dry out now and finish their blooming.

A few plants came in the mail yesterday which amongst them were a Green Envy coneflower and some Blue Cardinal flowers.
I still have some lilies yet to come in the mail. I wish they would hurry up and get here so I could wrap up the Fall planting.

Those old pesky deer ate off my Bronze Sweet Potato vines the other night. I guess that makes it easier for me to take cuttings from them. I will not have to trim the leaves off first.LOL!

The daughter and I have two festivals we are going to attend Friday and Saturday. We are hoping the weather holds and the rain stays away so we can enjoy them.
I hope everyone has a wonderful week!
Happy Gardening,
Lona

Technorati Tags: Cleome,Chrysanthemum,Snakeroot,Dahlias,Campanula