New Plants

New plants in August. Oh, the joy of living in New England. While most of the country is suffering from heat and drought I've still been able to work in the garden (the last few days excepted. Highs in the 90s with humidity is hot no matter where you live. Fortunately the weather has changed and we're back to better gardening weather. If you live in a warm climate you can gloat during the winter, now it's my turn). I ordered several plants from one of my favorite catalogs, Plant Delights. Much to my surprise they actually shipped them (they are in the South and if you plant something in August you might as well be planting your money in that hole). Planting them now does give them a chance to get established before the cold weather hits.

I got a total of six plants: 3 Carex eburnea, 2 Buddleia 'Evil Ways' and 1 Vernonia angustifolia 'Plum Peachy'. You can see that the first thing I did was stick them in the tub and water them well.

The Carex are native to a large part of the US. They are cute little clumping sedges and I'm placed them near the sidewalk. They are supposed to stay relatively small and low growing so I'll be able to plant taller stuff behind them with no problem. And that will keep the taller stuff from flopping over the sidewalk. I have a tendency to plant too close to walkways and garden edges.

The Vernonia is a new plant for me and I'm trying a specimen to see what it looks like and how it does. This is also a native plant but it's native to the South Eastern US so it may not survive the winters (it's rated zone 5 and I'm in zone 6 so it should but we don't have the intense summer heat and some plants need that to thrive). I've tucked it in where I had been growing lettuce this year. I've left the lettuce (notice how it's bolted) in the hopes that cabbage white butterflies might lay eggs there, or that the goldfinches might like the seeds. No luck yet.

I'm addicted to Buddleia. I have six of them now, of 5 different types and in three different parts of the yard. These are going in the backyard near my Ninebark 'Coppertina.' 'Evil Ways' is supposed to have yellowish foliage which I think will look good next to the dark color of the Ninebark (I like high contrast).

Notice how large I dug the hole - my soil is sandy loam, very easy to dig compared to Southern clay soils.

I'm trying the new "puddling" technique when planting. You put the plant in the hole, fill enough soil to hold it in place (about half way) and then fill the hole with water. Let it drain. Fill it again. Let it drain. Then fill the rest of the hole with soil and water again. I think it should work well in our soil - water does not drain into the soil quickly and this way I know I've watered enough and didn't just run out of patience.

The last step is the dog barrier. My dogs are rowdy and they will dig so I have to temporarily fence new plantings to keep them out until the plants are established. And they like to roll in fresh mulch. Not great for newly planted shrubs.Well, the weathers nice today and I have grass to remove. Maybe I'll go see if the garden centers are gearing up for fall planting season...

One more reason to avoid pesticides and herbicides

What, you ask, do whales have to do with gardening? I'm glad you asked! This week my nephew, Zack, was in town and we took him whale watching. The naturalist on board made a statement about the number one cause of death in whales and I was quite surprised. It's not whaling. It's not entanglement with fishing gear. It's not boat strikes. It's pollution.

I didn't just take his word for it, I came home and started doing my research. Now I know that plastic bags, six-pack rings and balloons can all end up in the stomach of marine species like sea turtles, seals and various sea birds and these plastic items will cause death (think about that before the next time you release a helium filled balloon. Sorry to ruin it for you). And I know that noise pollution is a big problem, both from Navy sonar experiments as well as from commercial shipping. What I was surprised to learn was that chemical pollutants in the air and water are both showing up in large concentrations in whales.
I shouldn't be surprised. Whales are at the top of the food chain (like we are) and so all of the pollution that ends up in life forms lower down the food chain concentrates in whales. This is related to the fact that you should limit your intake of certain fish species (like tuna and swordfish) - you need to limit your exposure to the pollution built up in these predatory species. It also has to do with whale biology. The big humpback whales we saw on Stellwagen bank (off the coast of Massachusetts) spend their summers up here gorging on fish, then they migrate south to their breeding and birthing grounds. Food there is much scarcer so they have to live off their layer of blubber for the winter. All those compounds that ended up in the blubber are released into their bloodstream and into mothers' milk.

Still don't see where this ties into gardening? Turns out some of those toxins are organohalines and organochlorines, which are found in herbicides and pesticides. These things do not break down readily so even if you are far from the ocean the compounds you put on your lawn could end up in the milk a newborn whale is fed. The world is a small place and we're all interconnected.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

It's the 15th and that means it's Garden Blogger's Bloom Day. This is a tradition started by Carol at May Dreams Garden (www.maydreamsgardens.blogspot.com). Garden Bloggers post images of what's blooming in their gardens. So without further ado here's some of what's in bloom in my zone 6 garden in the North Shore area, North of Boston.Pycnathium muticum, commonly called Mountain Mint. A nice native with an interesting bloom (those silver leaves are technically bracts but who's going to quibble) and attractive to pollinators.

Panicum virgatum I have several grasses around the yard, especially the native Panicum types. I love the architectural element they add to the garden.


Buddleia 'Nanho Blue' with butterfly (some type of Skipper, I haven't started identifying the local species yet but I'm starting to get lots of Skippers in the yard)


Coreopsis 'Heaven's Gate' - a fabulous color and a good butterfly attractor. A bit floppy, though. I have this one planted where it can lean against my 'October Skies' Aster


This Hydrangea came with the house. There are two bushes, right up against the foundation and combined they have produced 3 blooms. The color is nice but I'm not sure it's worth the effort to move them. I prefer H. paniculata or the lacecap varieties to this, probably 'Endless summer'

Echinacea 'Twilight' - I've had poor results with Echinacea in the past but new garden, new zone, it's worthy trying again.


Crocosimia, a bulb I bought at an end of season sale. Fabulous, prolific bloomer, definitely a keeper! Since I've been growing it in a pot I have to see if I can put it in the garden for the winter or if it needs to go in the basement.

My first Aster of the fall - Aster (Sympotrichium) oblongifolia 'October Skies'

Viola from big box store, planted way back in April, still going strong. It's been a cool summer here. I'm expecting these will keep going through the fall. It wasn't quite my plan but I'm not going to argue. They look great.

What's blooming in your garden?

Addendum: The mountain mint I have is Pycnanthumum muticum, there are several species of mountain mint with at least one species native to most areas of the Eastern US (and I think there is a California native, too). This plant can be aggressive in the garden but isn't too hard to control. I've got it planted in the strip between the sidewalk and the street where it can spread if it wants to.

Herbs in the Garden

Gardening in a hot climate I had great success with herbs and I discovered something - not only are they great in the kitchen and easy to grow but they can also be ornamental. Now that I'm in cool New England I'm not sure how they will over winter but I'm trying. I planted parsley as an edging plant (it's attractive, I've even grown curly parsley as a houseplant, and it's food for swallowtail caterpillars), two types of thyme and golden oregano in the narrow strip between the sidewalk and the road, bronze fennel (also good for swallowtail caterpillars, and what neat architectural structure!), and I've let my dill go to flower for the bees (and what happy bees they are with their full sacks of pollen). I hope you enjoy today's photo essay of herbs as perennials.

Bang for my Space

Gaura, three different varieties, blooms most of the summer

There is a discussion going on over at Garden Rant (www.gardenrant.com) about hybridization and new developments in plants. I'm quite surprised at the strong opinions some people have on this topic. It turns out that my view is in the majority.

It seems that some people don't like the new hybrids of various plants. There's talk about Stella D'Oro daylily (which is overplanted and, IMO doesn't have the great color you can get with other daylilies), reblooming lilacs (coming from the South where we don't have lilacs I was excited at the idea of lilacs when I moved to New England, and I did enjoy the fragrance wafting through the neighborhood when they were in bloom but the bloom period is quite short) and reblooming iris (which I've never seen). But I have to disagree with the consensus that all new hybrids are bad (can you image only have the option of orange daylilies?).

The arguements for old-fashioned plants are quite varied but mostly seem to say that something is lost in the production of new hybrids. Yes, some long blooming roses have lost their fragrance, but not all have. Yes, some butterfly attracting plants have been hybridized to produce flowers that no longer attract butterflies, but in my garden many of the new hybrids do attract butterflies (and bees), and more telling, the butterflies feed for long periods on these flowers. Some people have even commented that they like the passage of seasons to be reflected in their gardens. I can understand that but I can certainly tolerate a plant blooming from spring through summer. The summer up here in New England doesn't last long enough for me so visually stretching it out with long blooming plants helps it feel longer. Winter will be here all too soon.

I think there are gardens for people on both sides of this debate but I personally prefer modern hybrids. If people prefer old fashioned plants, that's great for their gardens, just as long as I am allowed to experiment with new hybrids in my yard. I like rampant color and flower and so I require a good deal of bang for my space. I feel like new varieties and new options give me the chance to try new things provided they meet my criteria for plants.

So what are my criteria for plants in my garden? I have a small yard and a good bit of it has been set aside for the dogs so I have an even smaller garden space. This means I have limited plant choices and I have to consider them carefully. Do I want something that blooms for a week and then is nondescript green for the rest of the year? Depends on what the bloom looks like and when it blooms. I always have forsythia in the yard for the early spring and this yard is no different - I bought some untagged, post bloom plants from a big box store on sale for $5 each. I have no idea what they will look like or how long they will bloom but I will enjoy forcing them inside while we are still in the midst of winter.

Mostly, though, I pick up new, less common varieties of plant that have long bloom periods or interesting foliage. I like experimenting in the garden. I try new plants and if they don't live up to my standards--to the compost heap with them! I have no mercy.

What are my standards? A plant must have at least two of the following characteristics: attractive to wildlife, long bloom period, fragrant, interesting foliage, culinary, and all my plants must be able to survive, once established, without supplemental watering. I will tolerate some fussiness, like weekly deadheading for extended blooming, since I like to do that sort of thing. I only leave flowers on when I expect the birds to eat the seeds or if I want them to seed into my garden (like Aquilegia (columbine), garlic chives (to a degree) or liatris).

Plants that have a short bloom period had better have something else to attract me or they are out of here. New varieties of plants that normally attract butteflies, hummingbirds or birds but no longer attract the wildlife - compost. Disease susceptible? Trash. No fragrance in a rose or a lilac? Forget it, I won't even buy a rose without smelling it first.

The spectacular flower to the right is a bulb I bought on sale at the end of the season. I'm not sure what it is but it will go on the compost heap at the end of the summer. The blooms last less than one day, they are done by about 4 in the afternoon. Neat bloom but not worth the space.

Night Sounds

Now that late summer is here I am hearing lots of nocturnal noises from the woods behind my house (and from in my yard!). I've heard the soft po po po po and whinny of the Eastern Screech Owl every night for the past week. I hear the buzzing calls of cicadas. I've heard something that woke me up at 4 a.m. and that I think was an owl but it wasn't one of the standard calls. Owls can make some weird noises and with my years of experience handling birds of all kinds I'm familiar with quite a lot of weird owl sounds. I think these noises came from a Barred Owl but I won't swear by it.

Summer evenings are often filled with a chorus of singing grasshoppers, crickets, katydids and cicadas. These long-legged insects will sing from the trees, from bushes, even from the grass or flower beds. The calls of crickets are familiar to most people, as are the calls of katy-did, she didn't, she did. I haven't been hearing many of these and, now that I think about it, I haven't noticed any grasshoppers in the yard. I'll bet this is a side affect of the chemicals poured on the lawn to maintain a perfect, golf-course look by the previous owner. Hopefully some grasshoppers and crickets will find their way into my pesticide-free sanctuary. That is if they can get past the lawns across the street and next door that continue to pour poisons into the environment.

Fortunately we do seem to have a healthy population of cicadas living in the trees behind our house. These insects buzz and whirr the evening away, looking for love in the tree tops. Cicadas are possibly best known for the 13-year and 17-year life cycle broods. These species spend 13 or 17 years underground and then emerge en mass to quickly breed and produce the next generation. The idea behind this is that a large population emerging at once will overwhelm the predators and so some will breed, and the prime number year cycle prevents the predators from synchronizing their own breeding cycle to take advantage of the feast.

The 13 and 17 year broods have less famous relatives who emerge every year in the late summer. You may find their molted larval casing clinging, lifeless, to a tree trunk but the adults have molted and headed up. Just like the 13 and 17 year cicadas, the yearly cicadas spend most of their lifecycle underground, emerging for a brief period to sing and breed.

While I have some nice katydid photos they are still packed up (did you read my first post? I've moved in the past year) and I couldn't find one to post. You'll just have to Google katydids and cicadas. Be sure to look for the colorful katydids, they can come in green (the most common color), white or even pink!

The Importance of Latin

Today I received a fall plant catalog from a company I have never done business with. I noticed right away several things that set off my alarm bells. First was the front cover - where the flower images had clearly been modified to a point well beyond what the plants probably look like in the garden. Don't get me wrong. Good garden catalogs exaggerate their images, too. That's why it's important to have an idea of what the plant looks like in real life before ordering. Catalog photographers will add extra flowers to a plant to make it seem more prolific and they will use lenses, lighting and Photoshop to 'enhance' the image, and then there is the fact that inks and dyes do not always accurately copy the color on the film. But this catalog went too far and the flowers look fake.

The second problem was with the names of plants. They did not include Latin names. I'm a big fan of Latin names. Common names are not always common. A plant I know as butterfly weed someone else may know as orange glory flower (and when I first heard that name I had NO idea what they were talking about). But both are the same plant - Asclepias tuberosa. If I google butterfly weed or orange glory flower I will probably find what I'm looking for but what about this entry - Everblooming Iris. That will get you a bunch of catalog listings but no real information. The catalog entry mentions light exposure, height, zones but not water usage or type of soil preferred or how often it needs to be fertilized (another topic, I only fertilize a few plants that are heavy feeders, like roses, and even then I just add compost more often then for the rest of my plants). The Latin name can be used on various websites to get more details (check out the Missouri Botanical Garden website for example - their search page is at www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Search.asp).

Latin names are generally written in two words - the genus first and then the species. You can think of the genus as a family, most family members have the same last name. Then the species name is the name of that individual. John Smith and Jane Smith and Bob Smith are all Smiths but the John, Jane and Bob tells you which one specifically is being referred to. In the plant world you can abbreviate the genus name after the first time you mention it. So it would be John Smith, Jane S. and Bob S. or Asclepias tuberosa and A. incanata.

So with Asclepias tuberosa Asclepias is the Genus and tuberosa is the Species. Now if you hear of another plant called Asclepias incanta you know that one is going to be a relative to the A. tuberosa. Let's look at the name, tuberosa, that sounds a lot like tuber and you probably know a tuber is a fleshy root structure so guess what? A. tuberosa has a fleshy root structure, specifically a tap root (and if you break that tap root your tuberosa will probably not survive, so don't try to move it).

Oh, but Latin can be hard for the beginning. Good think most gardeners aren't beginners. I bet you know some Latin and you don't know it. Do you know what an Echinacea is? That's the genus name for coneflowers (but not everything sold as a coneflower is an Echinacea). How about Scabiosa? Again, it's Latin. Coreopsis, Gaura, Penstemon, Hydrangea, even Aster!

To sum up Latin is preferred because it means that whoever you talk to will know what plant you're talking about, even if they are in another country and don't speak English (Latin names are the same worldwide). Second, being specific means you can gather more information from various sources, on-line or in books, without getting misled by common names that are potentially common to more than one plant. Third, you will sound really knowledgeable to other gardeners (don't worry about the pronunciation. As a college professor told me:Latin is a dead language and people from different areas pronounce it differently. Just say it loudly and without hesitation and people will think you know the right way to say it. It works well over 95% of the time for me).

I just get in trouble talking to gardeners who don't know the Latin name for something. I often don't know the common names. Is there a common name for Scabiosa?