Superbells Sweet Tart
Superbells Cherry Star
Superbells Grape Punch

Superbells® Sweet Tart - Calibrachoa

Calibrachoas are related to petunias. But they are a new type of plant that can take the fierce drought and continue blooming through the first light frosts of early fall.

Hundreds of continuous  blooms were visited daily by the humingbirds.

If these sweet flowers sound familiar, I couldn’t wait to tell you about them this past summer. A First Look. The bright little trumpets were tumbling over the side of the the container.

Superbells Cherry Star Calibrachoa photo: Proven Winners

This summer, I’m going to plant Superbells in hanging baskets because these are bright, attention getting colors. Hummers and butterflies love them.

And here is an interesting observation. These Superbells® Calibrachoa are still alive and green. The containers are sitting on my patio. Perhaps they will be as beautiful this summer as last. I’ll keep you posted.

Proven Winners sent these Superbells to me as a trial last summer. They will be in the garden centers this spring. The colors are intense, fadeproof, and do not need to be deadheaded. These little bells are fuss free.

I am buying these plants again. I can recommend these new flowers and suggest you look for these three Proven Winners:

Superbells® Cherry Star – Calibrachoa hybrid

Superbells® Grape Punch – Calibrachoa hybrid

Superbells® Sweet Tart – Calibrachoa hybrid

I like that you can find local retailers on their web site. Just type in your zip code find out where to buy this plant.

Superbells Grape Punch Photo: Patsy Bell Hobson

Frankly Scarlet is a rebloomer. photo: All American Daylilies

from All American Daylilies. A daylily that is not to be ignored, with 4″ diameters and sun-fast red blooms standing tall above the dark green foliage.

Being a daylily enthusiast, I have quite a collection. Even though the blooms only last a day, the plants produce several blooms, lasting for weeks. With so many varieties blooming at different times, there is a daylily of some type blooming in the front garden all summer long.

Daylilies require little care once established, but demand attention for their brilliant fade resistant colors. This Frankly Scarlet gets a little late afternoon shade. And, who can’t appreciate a bit of shade during the heat of Missouri summers?

This daylily has been in my garden for 4 years. It’s time to dig and divide. Frankly Scarlet daylily will have even more hardy blooms once once it is divided and has a little more room to grow.

• Heat and Drought Tolerant;
• Good for Erosion Control; Salt Tolerant
• Excellent Rust Resistance

This lovely flower bloomed like the star she is and then continued to thrive during last summers drought. I suggest you buy one of these rebloomers. In no time you will have dozens.

Frankly Scarlet has won awards as a landscaping plant. They are truly beautiful in a broad swath of color, perfect for a border or lining a sidewalk. Daylilies are also ideal for erosion control or planting on hill sides too steep to mow.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus Officinalis) - Christians referred to rosemary the “Holy Herb,” associated with Mary, who, according to Spanish legend, draped her cloak over a rosemary bush on the Holy Family’s flight to Egypt, turning the color of the blossoms from white to blue.

Rosemary was once used by the poor or lower classes as a substitute for expensive frankincense or myrrh-based incense in ancient Greece and Rome. Before the advent of modern medicine rosemary was burned, along with juniper berries, as a disinfectant in French hospitals.

Romantically, rosemary’s legend grew in the 14th century, when 72-year-old Queen Elizabeth of Hungary used rosemary as a medicine for her rheumatism and gout. Her potion of rosemary and lavender supposedly so enhanced her health and beauty that it fanned the passions of the 26-year-old King of Poland, who requested her hand in marriage. The potion became known as Budapest or Hungary water and was the beauty aide of choice for women for hundreds of years.

Rosemary for cooking, a favorite winter herb, I use it fresh and dried. One of my favorite ways to cook with rosemary is to put a sprig in the body cavity of a game hen before roasting. Or, drizzle a little olive oil over new potatoes or whole fingering potatoes, then sprinkle a little salt, and a few crushed rosemary leaves before baking.

Rosemary tea is made by steeping a short sprig in hot water for about 5 minutes. Or, put a teaspoon of dried rosemary in a warmed teapot and add a cup of boiling water. Steep for 5 minutes.

Medicinally, rosemary tea is said to be good for colds, flu, indigestion, headache and fatigue. It is an antioxidant, antiseptic, antidepressant, a circulatory stimulant. Rosemary is a rich source of vitamin A and vitamin C, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, and zinc. 

Vacation is biodegradable and contains no toxic chemicals.

Vacation can also be used on poinsettias and other potted plants to keep them from drying out. Just mix two capfuls of Vacation with a cup of water (or three ounces per gallon of water). Apply the solution as a watering to the entire pot until the soil is saturated. Poinsettias will then survive without water for up to two weeks.

You can be the sweetheart neighbor or daughter with the green thumb, if you add this to the potted poinsettias before you give them as gifts. It will keep Auntie from overwatering her plant if you include a tag. “ Do not water this plant until: January ____.” (Over watering is what kills most poinsetties at home).

Fresh Christmas Trees
Vacation, an all-natural plant anti-transpirant, will keep your Christmas tree fresh for up to three to four weeks. One 8-oz. bottle of Vacation with one gallon of water is all it takes. Vacation is biodegradable and contains no toxic chemicals.

Summer and Winter Vacations

Supertunia® Pretty Much Picasso™ Petunia from Proven Winners survived a week's vacation with no water.

My summer vacation is no picnic for the plants left unattended while I am away. But now they can have Vacation when I am on vacation.

While you are getting the 8 oz bottle of Vacation, get an extra bottle because this product saved my container plants and a hanging basket last summer while I was on vacation. What a pleasure to come to home to blooming plants.

I only tell you about products I have used and Vacation saved my plants this summer and it is now keeping the poinsettia looking a lovely as when I brought it home.

An 8-ounce bottle of vacation sells for $14.95 online at Nature Hills. Or, find a retailer near you at Natural Industries

Globes of Crimson Crunch and cylindrical French Breakfast radishes.

The first treats out of my garden each spring are radishes. Radishes are also the last thing out of the garden this fall. In mid November after a couple of frosts, I picked radishes in my zone 6 southeast MO garden.

The star of the salad garden was Crimson Crunch. A bright red radish with snow-white flesh, these perfectly round radishes are crisp and crunchy. If I could grow just one radish, it would be Crimson Crunch.

I planted these radishes in the corner of the garden and forgot about them. When I discovered them, they were huge. Probably, they measure 1 ½ inch diameter. And, they are NOT HOT!

These are beautiful red globes are solid and crispy, not spongy. Crimson Crunch is mild, perfectly smooth and round. This fall, they grew faster, milder and bigger than last spring.

Another pretty radish that is the star of my fall garden is the imported French Breakfast. Very crisp bicolor radishes, grow quickly in cylindrical shapes and perfect ball shapes.

French Breakfast radish from Renee’s Garden  includes both shapes in one packet. I still have a few in the ground, mostly just to see how well they keep.

round and long radishes grow quickly in the fall.

When you order radish seed this winter, order extra. They are always a spring salad accent and now, I will always plant them in a fall garden. Red globe radishes have plenty of potassium, vitamin C and folate.

Because they come up so quickly, use radishes as row markers as you plant other vegetables in the garden. Mix them and plant in with lettuce and spinach greens. Peppery raddish sprouts are great on salad or sandwiches.

I loved these well behaved, mounding  plants. Mine were not given the attention they deserved for best color and growth. They are charming. The containers were full and the small starter plants grew to fill their 12 in pots.

Heuchera ‘Vienna’ from Terra Nova.

• Heuchera ‘Vienna’ says that it has reblooming dark pink flowers. Vienna had only one bloom time in my garden and they were beautiful and long lasting.

Heuchera ‘Vienna’ is amazing in its color, habit, and blooming. With veiled leaves orange to rose orange, a compact dense habit, and reblooming rose pink flowers in short wands. Vienna would be pretty in a collection of Heuchera or a standout in a garden where there is part sun, geat choice for containers. One of the City™ Series which bloom and bloom and bloom.

Heucherella 'Solar Power' Photo: Terra Nova

• Heucherella ‘Solar Power’ is more sun tolerant than most Heucherella. The lobed yellow gold to lime green leaves are splattered with deep red. It forms a large mound of color in sun or part shade. This Heucherella takes higher light levels than any yellow Heuchera or Heucherella. Good choice for an area that has more sun

In my garden, Solar Power had more sun than shade. If it had more shade than sun, it would stay lime green with centers of deep red. I enjoyed the golden yellow color that looked as though it was trying to soak up all the sun.

Heucherella 'Yellowstone Falls' photo: Terra Nova

• Heucherella ‘Yellowstone Falls’ is the second in the trailing Heucherella series and has lovely chartreuse lobed leaves with deep crimson markings. The stems will trail 3 feet in a container making a wonderful hanging basket or a super ground cover.

In my garden Yellostone Falls did not trail at all. I love the vibrant color, next year: less sun, more water.

Oregon Trail from the American Trail series by Terra Nova. Photo by Terra Nova

• Tiarella ‘Oregon Trail’ a strong trailing form with bold markings says Terra Nova®. For others, it is a rapid trailer or a wonderful ground cover in a shade garden. The leaves are deeply lobed and well marked. A very clean habit with a few, short spikes of white flowers. Works great in a hanging basket.

Oregon Trail prefers much more moisture than it got here. In fact, I thought I had the wrong plant because it didn’t look like the picture I had of Oregon Trail and it wasn’t trailing. But, only recently, with cooler temps and a bit more rain, I see that new growth is bright and vivid. I really like Oregon Trail, next year, I will move it to where it will get less sun and more water.

My favorite? Heuchera ‘Blackberry Crisp’ These tiny flowers seemed to last for ever.

Heuchera 'Blackberry Crisp'

Heuchera ‘Blackberry Crisp’ - sweet curly-leaved beauty. The first in our Crisp™ series with seriously crinkled and crisped margins. ‘Blackberry Crisp’ is also the first ruffled summer purple. It has a tight mounding habit with leaves that change for deep burgundy in the spring to deep purple to purple black.

Now, in mid October, the Blackberry Crisp is beautiful, dark and deeply colored. I think it would make a great accent in fall decorations, a color pop near the pumpkins and corn shucks.

About these plants:

• The plants were sent to me for trial in my southeast Missouri garden. The 2011 Terra Nova® Trial Plants arrived bright and healthy, just as yours should when you find them this spring at the garden centers.
• Mine received morning sun and late afternoon shade. We had record breaking heat in our very humid, zone 6 garden.
• These five plants were container grown with morning sun and late afternoon shade. Though they would have done better with more fertilizer and water, these plants are tougher than they look. All summer they showed no sign of insect damage or disease.

Terra Nova® are the plant geniuses who brought us tomato soup  and ‘Mac’n'cheese’ echinacea.

You may recognize some of these outstanding Coreopsis introductions by Terra Nova®:

Coreopsis ‘Cherry Lemonade’, Coreopsis ‘Pineapple Pie’, Coreopsis ‘Pumpkin Pie’ photos: Terra Nova.

Coreopsis Cherry Lemonade

Coreopsis Pumpkin Pie

Coreopsis Pineapple Pie

Terra Nova® Nurseries Wholesale Only

Heuchera 'Blackberry Crisp' leaves that change from burgundy in the spring to deep purple to purple black. photo:PBH

perennial sunflower

Things at my gardens are chaotic, flowers are running wild trying to get that last bloom on and produce that seed before the first freeze. These are perennial sunflowers.

“There’s no such thing.” said my husband, the botanist.

They look like sunflowers to me and they come back every year. Some times, I try to stake them up, but not this year. Its a riot of yellow sunflowers. Bees love this plant.

Then more chaos. The blank wall in this photo used to have a trellis. Thats it covering the sidewalk. The weight of all the flowers and the wind blew it down. It was too heavy for me to lift up. So I left it down for weeks.

I love these little trumpet flowers. So they bloom where where they lay. A few vines crept around the corner and over the rain barrel.

Marigolds a Russian sage are  always in my garden. Marigolds will broom till the last gasp of fall.

More marigolds, many of them have gone to seed. I collect the seed and mix all the kinds together for planting next spring.

Camomile flowers, so bright and white though no bigger across than a dime.

Thank you May Dreams Gardens for hosting another month of GBBD.

Chocolate Cherry Sunflower is attracting gold finches and butterflies. photo PBH

If the sun and drought has sucked out the last of your love for gardening, there is still one last chore before you call it quits.

Put your gardens to bed.

Chocolate Cherry Sunflower (Renee's Garden Seeds) tired and ragged from the long, hot summer. photo PBH

First, clean up and remove all evidence of disease or damage. Do not add this to your compost pile.

Add chopped leaves, grass, compost or other healthy organic matter. Work it in to those top 6 inches of soil. I say six inches, I’ve never actually measured it. I mean about as deep as my hand it long.

I use a garden hoe or hand trowel for  cleaning and weeding beds. (Tool choice depends on whether I am sitting, standing, or kneeling.)

Add organic matter.

Spread organic matter on your raised beds. Gently mix the organic matter into the top few inches of the garden soil. Leave it loose (no smoothing or flattening.) This is a good time to pick out rocks and roots.

For working around established survivors (AKA, perennials), like roses, tarragon, and lavender, I work in the compost with the Cobrahead, taking care not to damage the roots.

Add more organic matter.

Then, cover the raised bed with mulch (I happen to have lots of chopped leaves and pine straw.) You can add layers of newspaper followed by shredded newspaper, bagged compost, fine wood chips, or shreaded leaves for example.

Yes, I said add stuff and add more stuff.

At this point you can choose to add a green cover crop* or not. Adding more green matter to your garden can only improve your garden soil. On the other hand, if the summer heat has burned, toasted and shriveled you to a crisp, stop here. Good Job. The bed will be ready, resting and waiting for spring.

The point here is to never leave the garden soil bare. Preparing the garden bed now will give you a couple of weeks jump of the 2012 garden season.

Trees

If you have young or newly planted trees, make sure they are well watered, add a two or three inch layer of compost, then a couple of inches os mulch. No need to add commercial fertilizer. The compost is feeding the tree. The mulch is holding in the moisture and limiting sudden temperature changes.

*Cover crops is a whole other post. And I am going out to enjoy this fall day. More later.

 The big success in my garden this year: Dragon Wing^® Red Begonia by Proven Winners. More, Later.

Faithful bloomer all summer this begonia is tired and burned from heat and drought.

GBBD is a way to share what is blooming in my garden on the 15th of the month.
Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.

My garden is rather ragged. It’s only job is to make seed and die happy.

The large sunflowers at the top of the stalk have been stripped of seed by the gold finches. These little flowers are appearing along the stalk, making more seed.

from May Dreams Gardens sponsors Bloom Day each month. Thank you, Carol.

The inspiration comes from this quote: “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year.” ~ Elizabeth Lawrence

Tough Little Coreopsis appeared from nowhere to brighten the weedy asparagus bed.

The hummers are flying all around the hanging baskets.

Some trial plants are hanging on. Survivors of record breaking heat and drought, most are happy for fall weather.

Wave™ Purple Improved Spreading Petunia

This is the kind of color that is attracting hummers and butterflies.

One of the oldest pink roses. Chosen for it's large rose hips, this little flower resides in my herb harden.

Caldwell Pink – This everblooming rose is a double, lilac-pink flowers. It is not very particular about soil conditions, but prefers a sunny open space. Some rosarians have suggested that this is the old China rose, ‘Pink Pet’, but we feel that it shows traces of Wichuraiana or Multiflora heritage and fits more naturally in the Polyantha class. The study name comes from a neighboring town, Caldwell, Texas, where this rose was found. – desciption is adapted from the Antique Rose Emporium.

My pink rose is about 2 1/5 feet tall. It continuously blooms except during the long streek of 100+ degree days.

A favorite poet of mine:

It is at the edge of a petal that love waits.

- William Carlos Williams, American poet (1883-1963)

How many times have you been working in the garden and realized you needed another tool?

I have my new Corona tools in this garden mailbox.

I keep a set of tools in my garden mailbox. During garden season, I keep a pair of Corona pruners and a cobra head in the mailbox. I can accomplish most any garden project with these two tools.

In the spring, keep some blank plant labels or tags and a permanant marker. In the summer I keep a ball of twine to tie up unruly tomato vines. If it is rose pruning season keep your gloves and Corona clippers handy.

If I come inside for a cool drink,  or a short break, the tools stay in the mailbox. I don’t have to gather up all the tools and drag them in and out with every trip.

More good things to keep handy in the garden mailbox: twine. This broken tomato vine could have been staked up with the twine to keep it from breaking under the weight of the green tomatoes. This, by the way is the ONLY reason a gardeners eat fried green tomatoes before the first frost.

Tomato vine broken from the weight of too many tomtoes.