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.

Dragon Wing™ Red Begonia
The Biggest Success in my garden last year was Dragon Wing™ Red Begonia. I have these begonia plants in a big 14” hanging basket. It took a couple of weeks and the basket was ablaze with pure red flowers. They bloomed all summer giving the patio a big burst of color.

These exotic looking Begonias have loose clusters of Red stop-and-look-at-me blooms. Glossy green, wing-shaped leaves support the beautiful Chinese red flowers. My plants are healthy and thriving in a full sun environment, but they will take part shade. Everybody looks better and does better with a little afternoon shade in summer, including begonias.

This trial plant has made me a convert. I am now a great fan of begonias thanks to Dragon Wing Red Begonia. You should know, if a plant survives the summer at my house, it must be hardy and thrive on neglect. Sure I plant them (home of the famous $10 hole for the $5 plant) and irregularly water. I fertilized these plants once during the summer.

Last summer was hell on most plants. Even the tomatoes stopped produccing. Much to my delight, the Dragon Wing™ Red Begonia was non stop blooms all summer. Thanks to Dragon Wing™ Red Begonias, there were always a lot of flowers but no deadheading is needed.

The mail box planter is in the full sun all day. They are bright, beautiful, and attracting attention with their red floppy flowers. These Dragon Wings are thriving  on the heat and humidity of my zone 6a southeast MO patio and mailbox planter.

Proven Winners sent this plant to me for evaluation last spring. Dragon Wings are a no fuss, low maintenance plant. I would use Dragon Wing Begonias again as an informal bedding or border plant. It’s one of the prettiest begonias I’ve seen. The PW site shows where the closest place is to buy the plant.

French Marigold

Bonanza marigold (Tagetes patula) photo PBH

Bonanza Deep Orange French Marigold (Tagetes patula)

Marigolds are always in my garden. Every year Marigolds are included in the flower garden border. Faithful bloomers, even during the hottest of summer. Brilliant hot colors stretch into some of the last colors of the season.

Ball Horticulture sent this plant for trial last spring and I was happy to see it. Marigolds are drought tolerant, sturdy plants that need little care. It grew to about 10 inches tall, making a color splash where ever it is planted.

Marigold (Tagetes patula) photo PBH

I’m not nuts about the fragrance of marigolds but I love their looks and the coninus blooms all summer. This plant is a season stretching annual, bloomimg nonstop until we get that hard frost some time in October or November.

Look for the mix of yellow, gold-red, and bicolor flowers. The double crested flowers are one of the largest marigold flowers that I’ve grown. These marigolds did not have any insect or disease problems.

This Bonanza Deep Orange Marigold has bright, intense color, required little water and minimal fertilizer. The mounded green plants faithfuly bloom throughout the summer drought. It takes a hard freeze to kill them.

Look for the plants or the seed. I can never have too many marigolds.

More colors

Bonanza Gold French Marigold photo Ball

Bonanza Mix French Marigold photo Ball

Serena® Blue Angelonia

Serena® Blue Angelonia is a lush green plant with true blue flower color. photo by PBH

(Angelonia angustifolia) is some times called Summer Snapdragon. This sweet blue flower bloomed late spring, all summer and until frost.

No matter where you plant it, this perky upright flower is drought tolerant, heat tolerant and low maintenance. Honestly, this plant received no extra attention. I did not fertilize the angelonia all season. It did receive occasional watering during a long summer of drought.

I can only imagine how beautiful the angelonia would be with a little attention, regular watering and fertilizer. The plants reached over a foot tall with bright green foliage and narrow leaves. I planted this Ball trial in a raised bed in full sun.

The plant grew to just over a foot tall and at least that wide. Blooming nonstop all season, Angelonia needs no pinching or deadheading.

This Serena® Blue Angelonia is a clear blue upright continuous bloomer. Two more new varieties, Serena Waterfall Mixture Angelonia and Serena Mixture Improved Angelonia are beautiful color combinations. Also in this series are lavender, purple and white.

Serena® angelonia blue was a trial plant sent to me by Ball Horticultural Company  for evaluation. Angelonia is much hardier than the delicate looking blooms and foliage appear. It is truly care free. There was no hint of disease or insect damage.

I love the non fade blue color that was not phased by last summers extreme heat. I would buy this plant again and would recommend it to my friends.

More color choices:

Waterfall Mixture photo: Ball

Mixture Improved photo: Ball

When we were courting, my first husband gave me flowers all the time. He always brought me flowers. It is one of the reasons I fell in love with Jules.

He doesn’t bring me flowers anymore. Thank heavens. After we were married, instead of buying flowers, he bought me three acres. Now I grow my own flowers.

These days, if my husband bought Valentines Day roses, I might reply – in a most loving way, of course – “Are you nuts? We can’t afford roses in Winter!” Joint bank accounts and the frugal habits of a gardener will win out over seasonally inflated prices every time. Jules is my first and only husband and lifetime valentine.

Young women sometimes sit around waiting for flowers to be delivered to them. It takes a while to figure out that we get much more when we give. When we get a little older and wiser we know that sending secret valentines and friendship cards is as heartwarming as finding one in your own mailbox.

Drop a valentine in the mail to someone who might not get one. Warm up a frosty February day with a random act of kindness.

We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give. – Winston Churchill

]]> http://www.patsybell.com/2012/01/20/secret-valentines/feed/ 0 http://www.patsybell.com/2012/01/14/a-new-superfood/ http://www.patsybell.com/2012/01/14/a-new-superfood/#comments Sun, 15 Jan 2012 05:06:06 +0000 Patsy Bell http://www.patsybell.com/?p=2268
Garden writer and photographer Christopher Tidrick, who lives and gardens in Champaign IL USA, has started a cool new blog, From The Soil.

Chris has started a Linnaeus Day series, where he and his blogging friends write about the history of a plant growing in our own garden. It’s on the 23rd of every month.

The series will honor Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern botanical taxonomy. Born May 23, 1707. This is some of his work:  the photo is from Wikipedia 

This plant doesn’t have much of a history because it is a new tomato.

Grow your own superfood in the back yard. Indigo Rose Tomato is the first high anthocyanin tomato.

Anthocyanin rich, organic tomato is now available to home gardeners. Photo: Helen Hilman

Jim Myers, dept of horticulture at Oregon State University has been working on this classicaly one for ten years. He’s still working on Indigo Rose, and you can expect some more traits.

Indigo Rose Tomato

• 75 days from transplant to harvest.
• 2 ounces each
• indeterminate
• organic

What are Anthocyanins?

Anthocyanin pigments are responsible for the red, purple, and blue colors of many fruits and vegetables. Anthocyanins offer protection against certain cancers, cardiovascular disease and age-related degenerative diseases. There is evidence that anthocyanins also have anti-inflammatory activity, promote visual acuity and hinder obesity and diabetes. Food scientists and horticulturists are interested in these compounds because of their importance to the color quality of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables.

The purple coloring occurs on the portion of the fruit that is exposed to light, while the shaded portion start out green and turn deep red when mature. Inside, the flesh reveals the same red tone.

In business for more than 60 years, Nichols Garden Nursery has seed for the New Indigo Rose Organic Tomato. Nichols is an original signer of the Safe Seed Pledge, and offers no GMO/Genetically engineered seeds or plants. All their seed are untreated.

I’ve been buying herb plants and vegetable seeds from Nichols for more than 20 years. I call Rose Marie Nichols McGee when I have herb questions. One of my favorite food garden blogs is her Garden Pantry.

Buy seed here:

Nichols Garden Nursery is an independent family business serving home gardeners for more than 60 years. Phone – 800-422-3985.

Johnny’s Selected Seeds helping families, friends, and communities to feed one another by providing superior seeds, tools, information, and service. Phone – 877-Johnnys (877-564-6697).

Territorial Seed Company wants customers to be 100% satisfied with both the seed and supplies that you buy from them. Phone Orders: 800-626-0866.

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. 

The only thing blooming in my house is the yeast. (I’m making bread today)

I killed all my Amaryllis this past summer. But more bulbs arrived today. However, I may not even have amaryllis blooms next month, January, because it will take at least 6 weeks for blooms to appear.

But enough of the pity party. A ring of the door bell, and This sweet poinsettia was standing there in the hands of my sweet neighbor. “You always give me flowers all summer long. So I thought I would give you one today.”

This sweet red poinsettia flower, in a 4" pot, is now sitting on my mantel.

So, my blooms are store bought.

The result of the blooming yeast is here:

Multigrain bread baked in my oven on a pizza stone.

Garden Blogger Bloom Day is a project of Carol at May Dreams Gardens. You are welcome to join.  She invites all gardeners to share what is blooming in their garden every month on the 15th.

Superbena® Royale Iced Cherry Verbena hybrid

Last spring three superbena® Royale Peachy Keen Verbena hybrid plants arrived for trial from Proven Winners. Three superbena® Royale Iced Cherry Verbena hybrid plants arrived at the same time. The beautiful, healthy plants that were delivered to my address do not get special treatment.

The joy in growing trial plants is that I get to see new introductions a year before they are available in our local garden centers. When you see the plant locally, I can tell you about how well it will do in your garden.

These superbena® plants went right into 14” hanging baskets filled with a good quality light potting soil. Each basket had a dose of slow release fertilizer mixed into to potting soil. They were watered regularly, but there was no additional fertilizer put into the baskets.

These plants are self-cleaning, which means no deadheading needed. They don’t need pruning, but I trimmed the Iced Cherry, or cut it back. It did become a little fuller with more branching, which meant more flowers.

I did not give the Peachy Keen verbena a “hair cut”. This plant does well without pruning. So, I won’t bother when I grow these Superbena again. Peachy Keen has a wide color variation which I think would be a great advantage in mixed containers or in a flower border.

There were no diseases or insect problems with either plant. Planting in hanging baskets usually eliminates any concerns of powdery mildew. If you are starting with clean potting soil and not over crowding the plants, there is no reason to expect any disease or insect concerns.

If ever there was a trial for heat tolerance 2010, (zone 6) was that test. Day after day of

photo PBH

oppressive heat and in full sun, the superbena® Royale series Verbena continued to bloom and thrive.

Superbena comes in a variety of reds and purples. They will faithfully flower all summer. Plant them anywhere you would grow summer annuals like geraniums and zinnias. Choose a location where you can appreciate their color variations

I would buy these plants again. I do recommend them. Be sure to stop by the online PW site to see all the colors of superbena® Verbena.

Here is a PW I’ll be looking for: Superbena® Burgundy – Verbena

fresh cut herbs brought indoors, will stretch your fresh herbs by about two weeks.

I’m starting seed in the Aerogarden this week.

Aeroponics is a soil-free growing method where plant roots are suspended in air within a 100% humidity, highly-oxygenated growing chamber. Because the roots are bathed with ideal levels of nutrients, water and oxygen, plants grow significantly faster, are healthier and have a higher nutrient content than plants grown in soil. It’s like having a little green house on the kitchen counter.

I’ll grow bright green lettuces and herbs all winter. The 70 million Americans buy organic products weekly will appreciate the simplicity and convenience of Aerogrow.

This little table top garden is a defiant cabin fever cure for us die hard gardeners. AeroGarden is not promoted to help with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) or “cabin fever.” Still anything that tricks my plants into believing the sun is shining, has a positive affect on my attitude.

Gardening is America’s #1 hobby with more than 70 million active gardeners. There are 18 million fresh herb gardeners which is up 41% since 2000.

Small, sweet as candy, little strawberries that you can grow from seed. photo PBH

This little table top garden provides fresh herbs for my cooking all winter. A sprig of fresh basil or parsley will add sparkle to any dish.

In the spring, I start seeds in the AeroGarden. Last spring I had great success getting tiny sweet strawberries to grow from seed. Picking these tiny French Alpine strawberries (fragaria vesca) are like finding candy in the garden. Buy strawberry seed at Renee’s Garden.