Tangerine orange flowers grace Agastache ‘Kudos Mandarin’ through the hottest summer months. (photo care of Terra Nova Nurseries)
I do not believe I have ever met a gardener that isn’t always looking for something new to plant in the garden. I am certainly no exception. Each year is like a ‘hunt’ to search and find new plants for my garden. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we’ve had some record low temperatures in December, with some areas dipping down to single digits. Needless to say, many plants have suffered and those that are marginally winter hardy may not have survived. On the optimistic side, it creates an opportunity to plant something new!
Oxydendrum arboreum (sourwood) is often overlooked but deserves to be seen in more gardens. (photo by Jessie Keith)
Warm and sunny fall days have continued here in the Pacific Northwest through mid November. They have given gardeners time to trim summer perennials, transplant all those plants that were planted in the wrong location, plant bulbs, dig and protect tender plants and finish general garden cleanup. The mild weather has also allowed us to enjoy plants that provide fall color, whether via flower, fruit, berry, bark, foliage or a combination of these. I still have dahlias blooming in my garden, and while the plants are not at their best, they are still providing enough flowers for bouquets.
Burning bush is truly fiery in fall, but be sure it is not an ecological menace in your area.
Last week when I saw my neighbor Janet working in her garden, she wanted me to see her blooming autumn crocus (Colchicumautumnale). While not actually a crocus, it resembles one and many gardeners know it by that name. Janet told me that whenever she sees the light pink flowers appear, she knows that fall is here. Continue reading “Brugmansia, Burning Bush, Bulbs and Cleome in the Fall Garden”
What a glorious time of year! Summer is over and autumn is here. The garden is still looking good with lots of color from summer annuals that are still going strong, and at the same time there are late fall flowers emerging. Continue reading “Fall Flowers: Crape Myrtle, Dahlias, Salvia & Lespedeza”
A hummingbird cools its feet on the edge of Mike’s favorite garden water feature.
In the Pacific Northwest, weather continues to be warm to hot with little or no rain. We have had a few sprinkles, but not enough to give plants the moisture they need. Even with adequate moisture, some plants look stressed on hot days as they cannot absorb as much water through their roots as they are losing through their leaves. I have found that a temporary ‘fix’ is to spray the foliage with water as this seems to help reduce leaf wilt.
The brilliant white flowers of Snow Queen oakleaf hydrangea will brighten any summer garden, day or night. (Photo by Jessie Keith)
It has been a busy summer with many exciting activities! Aside from my normal radio, writing and garden work, there have been garden tours, talks and even contests to take part in. On June 29, my garden was one of five private gardens open for Garden Conservancy Open Garden Days in the Metro Portland Area. The Garden Conservancy is a national organization dedicated to preserving and helping to maintain both public and private gardens throughout the United States. (For example, one of their current ambitious goals is to restore the gardens on Alcatraz Island.) The admission fees collected for their Open Garden Days, $5 per garden entry, go to support their cause. Continue reading “Summer Hydrangeas in the Garden and More”
Hartlage Wine sweetshrub of one of several resilient early summer bloomers in Mike’s garden.
Unseasonably warm weather continues here in the Pacific Northwest, and the plants are responding to it. In many cases they need supplemental watering earlier than what would be the norm. And while my lawn has remained green with no extra water, many plants are showing signs of stress with the heat. This is especially true for those grown in containers and newly planted color spots. I am very glad that I used Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Mix in all my pots this spring because it has done an excellent job of holding moisture for my summer flowers. Continue reading “Tried-and-True Early Summer Flowers”
The herbaceous peony ‘Madame de Verneville’ is a fine old French cultivar. (image by Carol Adelman)
As I mentioned in my April article, the spring season in the Pacific Northwest has been phenomenal but warm. The winter was mild and many marginally winter-hardy plants survived. Earlier this month we had weather in the 80’s, which is almost unheard of in this part of the world. Not only in my own garden but in others I’ve visited, many plants are blooming earlier than normal. This has been most noticeable in common seasonal bloomers like iris and peonies. Weather is certainly one of the things happening in our garden that we cannot control; all we can do is make the best of it.
Container Garden with Pots Not Visible. (Photo by Rich Baer)
Of all the many gardens I have visited with plants in containers, the most unique one that stands out in my mind is a garden in NE Portland. In this garden, the front of the house overlooks the roof of a garage. However, this did not stop the owner from creating a space completely filled with plants in containers. There are all sizes and colors of containers and by mid-summer the foliage and flowers have almost completely covered the pots they are planted in. Without prior knowledge, a visitor would never believe this is the roof top of a garage and that every single plant is in a container.
Bushel and Berry® Raspberry Shortcake ® In Square Terra Cotta Pot – Photo Courtesy of Bushel and Berry®
It is always fun visiting garden shows to see what plants for container gardening are new and which are being promoted by nurseries for the retail customer. Some plants are not really ‘new’ but are probably ‘new’ to a homeowner and perhaps have not been readily available in garden centers because of lack of adequate production. At the recent Yard, Garden & Patio Show in Portland, the BrazelBerries™ Series of berries caught my attention.
Berries for Containers
Who does not love picking a fresh raspberry in the summer and eating it directly from the plant? It is difficult to duplicate that flavor from a store-bought berry. Raspberries are one of my favorite berries and unfortunately in our garden, we do not have space or the sunny location that the plants traditionally require.
The good news for home gardeners is that a new series of berries has been developed targeted specifically for those with small space gardens or a deck or patio where containers can be used. This new container gardening-friendly series called Bushel and Berry® will be available in garden centers this spring season. The inaugural plant is a thornless dwarf raspberry called Raspberry Shortcake®. It is great for container gardening and requires no staking and has sturdy upright canes. An added bonus is that it has no thorns and produces raspberries in mid-summer.
Two other introductions in this series are compact blueberry plants, which would also be ideal for container gardening. Peach Sorbet™ has beautiful spring color in the new growth that ranges from pink to orange. In a mild winter, it will keep the leaves when the foliage turns purple, thus providing color year round. The second blueberry introduction is called Jelly Bean™ and is very dwarf, only reaching 1-2 ft in height. Both of these blueberries have the typical colorful blueberry new growth and flowers in spring. Even though these two blueberry plants are small in their growth habit, the fruit size is what we think of as normal blueberry.
BrazelBerries™ Jelly Bean Blueberry Plant – Photo Courtesy of Fall Creek Farm & Nursery
For those gardeners wanting container plants that not only look good but can also supply edible berries, these are three ideal plants. I am personally a big fan of container gardening and have many containers throughout my garden. However, except for my variegated Meyer Lemon, I do not have any plants in containers that produce anything edible. That will change this year with the addition of BrazelBerries™ in some of my containers.
For Raspberry Shortcake™, I would suggest a large container whereas the Peach Sorbet™ and Jelly Bean™ blueberries could be in a smaller size. However, I have found it is best to have a larger size container than might actually be needed for the plant as plants in small containers tend to dry out quicker in the summer and a larger size will help alleviate this. Fill the pot with Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Soil as it supplies not only earthworm castings but also perlite and pumice for aeration and good drainage, which these berries need. Mix some additional fertilizer formulated for fruit for best results. Your containers should be placed in a sunny location. Together with this combination of potting soil and fertilizer, your plants should thrive.
Indigo Rose Tomato Plant – Photo By Rich Baer
Tomatoes for Containers
This is also the time of year to be thinking of buying tomato seeds and making preparations for starting them indoors. A location near a sunny window is ideal and having a heat mat is also a benefit. Tomatoes are easy to start from seed and should be kept indoors until all danger of frost is over. The Oregon State University introduction ‘Indigo Rose’ was disappointing to some because of the late maturing fruits but for an ornamental plant in a container, it puts on quite a show in clusters of purple fruit. A healthful bonus is the high amount of anthocyanin occurring in the purple pigment.
It can be a rewarding project to start your own tomatoes from seed and it is quite easy. Begin with good quality seeds and sow in a tray of Black Gold Seedling Mix. This seedling mix has been formulated with a wetting agent to help with water penetration and the fine texture encourages high germination. Keep the mix moist until seeds germinate and when seedlings reach several inches in height, transplant to a small pot, 4-inch size is ideal, and use Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Soil. This is 100% organic and OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute) listed.
I like to ask listeners to my radio program which tomato performed the best for them and the winner this past year was from the former country of Czechoslovakia. The tomato is called ‘Stupice’. It is a cold-tolerant tomato and is ideal for our unpredictable spring weather here in the Pacific Northwest as well. It is good for both eating fresh as well as in salads. Harry Olson, a Salem, Oregon tomato grower, told me it was his first tomato to ripen in the spring then it continued producing fruit all summer and was the last tomato he picked in the fall.
Spring is coming, let’s get ready!
Container Gardening Stupice Tomato – Photo By Rich Baer
