Category Archives: Oh Grow Up!

A southeast Missouri gardeners journal.

GBBD March 15, 2012

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Patsy Bell | Comments Off

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day March 15, 2012

Peaches

Someday soon this will be loaded with Saturn or donut peaches.

Magnolia

Short bloom time for this slow grower.

Daffodils are naturalizing. Naturalization also means Take Over The World. But that is OK, it's a short bloom time.

This is my circle garden, a reclaimed space in a neighborhood circle drive. Some day soon it will be the potager, or a kitchen garden filled with herbs and vegetables.

Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens.

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Posted in My Gardens, My Homeplace, Oh Grow Up!, Ozarks Travel Examiner

Tagged Elizabeth Lawrence, Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

Proven Winners Superbena Royale Iced Cherry Verbena

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Patsy Bell | Comments Off

Look for this flower

Superbena Royale Iced Cherry Verbena hybrid and
Superbena Royale Peachy Keen Verbena hybrid

New, Superbena® Royale Iced Cherry, a verbena hybrid

Verbena are easy care choices for containers and hanging baskets.

If you are looking for a pop of color that will last all season, consider these bright annuals. Last spring, Proven Winners sent these two Superbena verbena hybrids to me for evaluation. This spring they are on the market and easy to find.

Butterfly magnet, Superbena Royale Iced Cherry Verbena hybrid

What I enjoyed was the low maintenance, easy care plants that just seemed to thrive in the full sun and summer heat. I planted these verbena in hanging baskets. They would be a good choice for a low growing pop of color in a flower bed or container.

Talk about easy care, these Superbena do not need deadheading, no trimming or pinching. Container plants are always dependent on us for water and I did regularly water them.

My plants were in full sun all day with only slight shade in the late afternoon. They were a good choice for the patio, bold, nonfading flowers that attract butterfies. There was no sign of pests or disease. What could be better?

Peachy Keen Verbena

I would grow these Proven Winners Superbena hybrids again. They were a great choice for my humid, zone 6A, Southwest Missouri garden.

By the way, the Proven Winners site also has a tab showing Closest Proven Winners retailers (on the left side of the screen.) It sure makes it handy for finding and supporting local, independent retailers, the folks who are our neighbors. These are the knowledgable experts with practical hands-on experience and the best advice.

These faithful flowers come in several colors. One that caught my attention is this lavender Superbena® Royale Silverdust Verbena hybrid. See all your color choices at the PW site. Click here or just type in the name Superbena Royale Iced Cherry Verbena hybrid.

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Posted in My Gardens, My Homeplace, Oh Grow Up!, Trials

Tagged Peachy Kean, Royale Iced Cherry, Superbena, verbena

Beautiful! Proven Winners Superbells

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Patsy Bell | 1 comment

Look for these Plants

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

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Posted in My Gardens, My Homeplace, Oh Grow Up!, Trials

Tagged Calibrachoa, Cherry Star, Grape Punch, hybrid, Proven Winners, Superbells, Sweet Tart

Frankly Scarlet from All American Daylilies.

Posted on February 5, 2012 by Patsy Bell | Comments Off

I want to tell you about one of the standouts in the front garden. Frankly Scarlet

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.

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Posted in My Gardens, My Homeplace, Oh Grow Up!

Tagged All American Daylilies, blooms, drought tolerant, Frankly Scarlet, Red, scarlet

Superbena® Verbena hybrid

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Patsy Bell | Comments Off

Look For This Plant

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

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Posted in My Gardens, Oh Grow Up!, Ozarks Travel Examiner

Tagged hybrid, Iced Cherry, Peachy Keen, Royale, Superbena®, verbena

Growing Herbs in Winter

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Patsy Bell | 1 comment

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.

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Posted in Herbs in the garden, Herbs in the kitchen, My Gardens, Oh Grow Up!

Tagged fragaria, Herbs, Renees Garden, seed, Strawberry

Bread and Soup: Using Herbs in Winter

Posted on December 11, 2011 by Patsy Bell | Comments Off

My favorite fast food during the hectic holidays? Bread and soup.

BBQ Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis 'Barbeque' has especially good flavor and aroma, great choice for cooking. photo PBH

Throw the soup or stew ingredients in the crockpot. When you come home from work or Christmas shopping, a hot, healthy meal can be mere minutes away. Now add biscuits, because hot fresh biscuits are fast and easy to make. In the time it would take to get drive-thru on the way home, you’ll be sitting down to a bowl of bliss that will warm your heart and soul.

Before the holidays, replace your old herbs. Saving dried herbs for special occasions is a bad idea. Begin using dried herbs as soon as you buy them so you will get a taste of the herb at its best. Then, you will be able to judge when herbs should be replaced because of age, light or heat exposure. Rub a little dried herb on to the palm of your hand and if can not smell or taste the flavor, empty the jar and replace it with new. If your jar of dried herbs tastes like paper dust or a dried front lawn, it’s time to replace the herbs.

Refresh spices. If your spices are not fragrant, don’t waste the time and ingredients of a recipe by using flavorless herbs and spices. Before baking season, buy a new box of baking powder and baking soda. Hot from the oven herb biscuits are the perfect accompaniment to winter stews and soups.

Creamy tomato soup with mini grilled cheese toast. photo: PBH

My favorite cheese biscuit recipe comes from Simply Recipes: Cheese Biscuits recipe. I use 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped chives instead of scallions and sharp cheddar cheese. Best thing is, you can double the recipe and freeze the cut biscuits before baking. Later, retrieve the frozen dough and bake while the stew is simmering. They are so good and so easy, you will always want to keep a few in the freezer.

Though buying herbs in bulk is economical, it may not be the cook’s choice. Herbs tend to lose their flavor when exposed to air and light. Buy small amounts of herbs and refresh your supply regularly for the best flavor. The economy comes from using less of the dried herb when it is fresher and more flavorful.

Do not store your herbs above the stove. Heat will quickly deteriorate their flavor. Store dried herbs in a cool, dark, dry, air-tight container. If you keep them out on the counter, use a dark tinted glass container or a tin.

Guaranteed Herbal Magic

1/2 teaspoon of rosemary. I’m not kidding. Add rosemary to your favorite biscuit recipe. Or add a bit of rosemary to beef stew, vegetable soup, chicken and dumplings. It’s magic.

Everyone will love your cooking and you will become an herbal goddess of the kitchen. (Tiara not included.)

Make a double batch of soup, freeze half. A good quick meal will always be on hand.

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Posted in Herb Everything, Herbs in the garden, Herbs in the kitchen, My Gardens, Oh Grow Up!, Recipes

Tagged Bread, Cheese Biscuits, Cooking Tips, Patsy Bell Hobson, soup, Spices, Tips, Winter Recipes

Try Vacation for Vacations

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Patsy Bell | Comments Off

If you have a cut Christmas tree, look for a new product called Vacation. It will keep the tree green and fresh much longer. But I have to tell you how I use it – on potted poinsettia plants.

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

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Posted in Go Away, My Gardens, My Homeplace, Oh Grow Up!, Traveling

Tagged Christmas, Natural Industries., Nature Hills, petunia, poinsettia, Pretty Much Picasso, Supertunia, tree, Vacation. 8-oz

Terra Nova Trial Plants

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Patsy Bell | Comments Off

Look For This Plant

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

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Posted in Herbs in the garden, Herbs in the kitchen, My Gardens, My Homeplace, Oh Grow Up!

Tagged ‘Cherry Lemonade’, ‘Pineapple Pie’, Heucherella, Terra Nova, Tiarella, Trial Plants

GBBD October 2011

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Patsy Bell | Comments Off

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day October 15, 2011.

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.