Garden2Blog 2013, Learning and Growing

I had the opportunity to meet with 20 wonderful garden bloggers from across the nation at Garden2Blog 2013. This event is in its third year and, to my understanding, 2013's edition was the best yet. Our tour guide and host was P. Allen Smith, from Garden Home television and radio. A large part of our days were spent at his Moss Mountain Farm. There were many opportunities to truly meet the other bloggers, our hosts, and their sponsors.

We were treated to wonderful demonstrations, educational sessions, and garden tours over a day and a half. It was a really exciting experience focused around gardening, preservation, and people. Our three garden tours demonstrated the design principles that Allen mentions in all design discussions. The gardens ranged from that of a small home cottage, to a large flowing farmstead.

Arkansas Governor’s Mansion
Completed in 1950, the mansion appears simple and clean in the Georgian Colonial style. A tornado ran through the backyard some years ago which provided an opportunity for new construction projects and landscaping. The 8 acres of property have majestic Southern magnolias, a showy Fringe tree, a cut rose garden, herb garden, formal garden and a large vegetable garden. Local Master Gardeners maintain the vegetable garden, and the National Herb Society maintains the herb garden. The first lady of Arkansas, Ginger Beebe, works with a main gardener who coordinates all of the volunteers and help.


Cottage Home
We made a quick stop at Allen’s Gaines Street city home. The yard is an incredible grouping of mini garden 'rooms'. Each area divided by a combination of greenery and structures that made each area a finished piece unto itself. Containers finished off all of the areas.

This was the most representative of a typical home on the tour. A small house, with a small yard in a residential location with plants that pull the double-duties of visual separation and texture.



Moss Mountain Farm
This 650-acre farm is the epitome of attention to detail. They use natural, local materials whenever possible. The entire property is visually arranged such that the rooms in the house visually flow into the gardens, blurring the lines between inside and out. Each of the gardens follow the principles of design making the terrace gardens, orchard, vegetable garden, and rosegarden splendid places for education and entertainment.

Interested in the other bloggers who attended? Check out their blogs below. There are many good stories and loads of good information.

 

1. P. Allen Smith of www.pallensmith.com
2. Steve Asbell of The Rainforest Garden
3. Carolyn Binder of Cowlick Cottage Farm
4. Teresa Byington of The Garden Diary
5. Mallory Colliflower with HGTV Gardens
6. Lynn Coulter of The Home Depot Garden Club’s The Good Seed column
7. Rhonda Fleming Hayes of The Garden Buzz
8. Amy James of Our Everyday Dinners
9. Diane LaSauce of  Home Garden Life
10. Laura Mathews of Punk Rock Gardens
11. Kerry Michaels with About.com
12. Mary Ann Newcomer with Gardens of the Wild Wild West
13. Teresa O’Connor of Seasonal Wisdom
14. Jenny Peterson of J. Peterson Garden Design
15. Kenny Point of Veggie Gardening Tips
16. Carri Stokes of Read Between the Limes
17. Chris Tidrick of From the Soil
18. Chris VanCleave of Redneck Rosarian
19. Robin Ripley Wedewer with Bumblebee
20. Barbara Wise of bwisegardening

Disclosure:

In May 2013, I was invited to attend the Garden2Blog Event by P. Allen Smith and Associates/Hortus, Ltd. They provided my lodging and meals. Any opinions expressed on this blog are my own. I was not asked to blog, tweet, or post on Facebook about any of it.

Enjoy the Snow

A late season snow storm came to town. Actually it came to many towns across the U.S. and it just kept on moving. The temperatures before the snow were creeping into the comfortable zone. That snug little place where kids ride their bikes again. It is the kind of warm that causes friends to ask where to buy plants for their veggie gardens.

Once the snow storm was announced, many people began to panic about their tulips and other early bloomers. They asked questions about how to protect them from the cold. These early spring flowers are meant to have their leaves up when it is cold. Many plants bloom right on through the winter. These are the epitome of durable plants. They will sit tight, wait for the next round of warm to come, and hopefully put on the flower show. In fact, I would worry more about it being too warm, long before being too cold, for early spring bulbs. Put the worry and shopping off for a bit longer and enjoy the snow.

Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hyndrangea quercifolia) just as snow started.

Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hyndrangea quercifolia) after snowfall.

Tillandsia: Plants as art

Air plants (Tillandsia sp.) can be an easy way to add living art to your house. These are easy to take care of but like all plants, they need the right conditions to survive. Tillandsia are part of the Bromiliad family. These plants typically live on the bark of other trees, but are not parasitic. They get their nutrients from the moisture in the air. High humidity helps these little plants flourish. If you don't have high humidity in your house, you will need to spray or water these in your kitchen sink.

How I made this
In the photo above, I've attached 3 different varieties to a piece of drift wood with floral wire and decorative moss. I picked up the plants at a local nursery and the driftwood from a family canoe trip. You can use epoxy, string or other creative methods to secure the plants to the driftwood. I recommend staying away from methods that might damage the leaves like hot glue.

You can also put air plants in terrariums, decorative globes, or whatever your imagination can come up with. Be creative. If you need some more inspiration, visit Pinterest and search for air plants, tillandsia, or bromiliads, you'll be amazed at what people have created.

Winter ice in Central Illinois

Ah winter, where children north of us are sledding and the children to the south are wearing their rain parkas. Here in central Illinois, everything is glistening with a layer of ice. It really is beautiful, but truth be known, I'd rather be sledding. Enjoy and stay warm.

Chanomeles speciosa (Flowering Quince)

Cineraria maritime (Dusty miller)

Ice on Rhododendron

Euphorbia

Helleborus bellardiae 'Pink Frost' (Hellebore)

Helleborus niger 'Josef Lemper' (Hellebore)

Tilia cordata (Littleleaf Linden)

Tilia cordata (Littleleaf Linden)

Tilia cordata (Littleleaf Linden)

Ligustrum vulgare (Common Privet)

Hydrangea macrophylla

Rhododendron PJM

"Oh What A Beautiful Garden" is right about Dahlias

Last spring my friend Carol Cichorski over at Oh What A Beautiful Garden was kind enough to let me stay with her and her family while in town for a conference (fantastic hosts by the way). While there, I was surprised to find out that Carol and her husband are avid Dahlia growers. Their garden was worthy of a tour and once they found out I had never grown Dahlias, they decided that trend must change. On my last day with them, I left with a large number of flower tubers tucked safely in my car.

I grew the hell out of those tubers. My Dahlias were certainly nothing compared to theirs  but 'Oh What a' wonderful addition of late season color. Many gardeners groan at the thought of having to dig plants up at the end of the season. Though the tubers will need to be dug up, these little gems are worth the minimal effort.  It's like a little treasure hunt to find all of the new tubers.

Dahlias run the gamut of colors, sizes, and textures. They offer something for just about everybody. If the large stems fall or bend to the ground, they just put down more roots, turn and run toward the sun again. Amazing example of phototropism. Dahlias are incredibly durable and fun in the garden. Thank you Carol.

Autumn, a cornucopia of color

Autumn and spring are my favorite times of the year. This autumn has been fantastic for tree color and the garden has been equally beautiful. I've been introduced to some new fall flowers and fruits this year that have added a new level of awesome to the colors and textures in my garden. I don't have a separate vegetable garden. I grow the plants mixed into the perennials in the yard. I let them fill in where other plants take longer to appear, or there are sunny gaps.

Peppers are great to grow. They need little water and produce big peppers and an interesting addition directly grown mixed in a perennial garden.

Poblano pepper

Snap dragons are a new addition for me this year. They were a last minute addition and I had no idea of what color they would flower. It was a nice surprise to see the peach, pink and yellow flowers that complimented the rest of the blues and purples around them.

Snap dragon, Lavender, Beautyberry co-mingling

Lavender was another new addition for me. Though not perennial, the punch of deep purple color that this plant added near the bird bath was just the right thing. On a side note, the bird bath had far more insect visitors this year during the drought than birds. Though on occasion I found a large variety of bird species taking turns drinking and bathing. I filled the bird bath daily during the summer.

Lavender in front of a bird bath

I am such a fan of the onslaught of Coleus on the market. I like growing red and pink varieties of Coleus because it looks like a flowering bush that lasts all season long. No deadheading necessary. If the plant becomes too large for the space, just pinch off the offending branch. I can also set my 5 year old free to cut them fairly harshly and not worry about it dying. Coleus in a nutshell is durable and fun.

Coleus

This little rose plant (Oso Easy® Cherry Pie Rose) is compact, heavily covered in flowers, disease resistant and happy. It holds up well to its name. It bloomed all season long and didn't seem to suffer from the harsh summer conditions.

Oso Easy® Cherry Pie

I've written a few times about the Blackberry lily (Belamcanda chinensis) in the past. Everything about this plant is surprising and delightful. I can't get enough of it.

Blackberry lily (Belamcanda chinensis)

Master Gardeners Remove Aster Yellows

Early on a Wednesday morning in August, I found Cook County Master Gardeners removing Echinacea plants susceptible to aster yellows. This disease affects over 300 plants in the aster family. It has been wreaking havoc on economic vegetable crops.

Spread by leaf hoppers, this disease is having an impact on the ornamental horticulture industry as well. New cultivars appear to be more susceptible. In plantings like those found in Lurie Gardens, specialty blooms are being removed and replaced with reliable species varieties.


References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aster_yellows
http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/ipm.asp?code=138