MAINE GARDEN JOURNAL – Progess update

I’m in the process of compiling information submitted to me from gardeners from throughout the state of Maine – from Gale Flagg way up in Fort Kent to William Foster all the way down in York Harbor!

The gardeners who’ve taken the time to answer this extensive survey  have a variety of interests.  Lou and Murray Bain from Orono, are passionate about  dwarf conifers and Japanese-inspired design.   Joanne McKee from New Gloucester loves to push the limits – she is trying (and succeeding) with plants that don’t usually grow in Maine – like ‘Ashe Magnolia’ that has huge leaves and 1 foot flowers!

Saxigraga is loved by alpine plant enthusiasts

Aimee Picard from Hancock has an interest in the diminutive but always spectacular alpine plants as well as wonderful woodland varieties.

The participants have a range of garden experience.   Some, like Gina Ballew, indicate that she has only gardened for three years – but goodness, the list of flora that she has planted indicates that she has jumped in with both feet!

Hostas are one of the most popular perennials grown in Maine.

Royce O’Donal from Gorham has spent his life in the garden business.  He, along with his wife Sally, founded  O’Donal’s Nurseries in Gorham.  His passion for trees and his expertise for pruning topiary and bonsai are legendary.   His contributions to the Maine Garden Journal are priceless.

Some folks are Master Gardeners or Garden Consultants, but most of the gardeners are self-taught.  Many grew up in families who gardened.  There was no conscious decision about, “Will I be a gardener or not?”  It was as natural as learning how to parent by being parented.  One learns how to nurture plants by being involved in a family whose relationship with the land was part of the experience of growing up in a society that recognized the value of taking care of one’s corner of the earth.   There was no choice.  It was just natural.  Their contributions  to the Maine Garden Journal are extraordinary.

Succulents love Maine summers

I continue to sort through the surveys and analyze what folks are telling me about their gardening practices.  The deadline to submit a survey for this edition of the Maine Garden Journal is past.   I’m getting excited about all the things that I’m learning.  I’m brainstorming how to put all of this valuable information together so that it can be in a format that is easy to figure out; will not be too intimidating to new gardeners; but will contain all of the expertise that experienced gardeners seek.

I’m hopeful that I will get to meet all the wonderful gardeners who have taken the time to assist me.

For more information about the Maine Garden Journal contact me at:

info@mainegardenjournal.com

 

All-America Display Garden at Roger’s Farm

Zinnia Marylandica 'Zahara Starlight Rose'

I’m already making plans for next year’s garden.  As I look at photos of some of the spectacular annuals that were grown at Roger’s Farm’s All-America Selections (AAS) Display Garden in Stillwater, Maine, I see once again why some of these plants got my attention!

Zinnia Marylandica ‘Zahara Starlight Rose’ was a 2010 AAS award winner.  That means that we’ll be able to grow this plant in our own gardens for the first time this coming summer (2010).  As you can see, the pink and white petals along with that large gold center is eye-catching.  Once this compact zinnia starts blooming, it blooms all summer long.

Celosia plumosa 'Fresh Look Gold'

I’ve always avoided celosia but I’ve got to say that after seeing the plumes of Celosia plumosa ‘Fresh Look Gold’ in the late day sun, it looked like tongues of fire leaping into the air!!!!  I think that it would look spectacular next to ‘Zahara Starlight Rose’ zinnia.  It’s the same gold as the center of the zinnia.

And last but not least Zinnia elegans F1 ‘Magellan Coral’ will be the finishing touch in my own flower bed that features AAS award winners.

Zinnia elegans F1 'Magellan Coral'

This zinnia is only slightly larger than  ‘Zahara Starlight Rose’,  but the shape of the flower is a bit different and the intense pink color will echo the pink in the other zinnia.

Seeds for these plants can be purchased at some of my favorite seed companies : Geo. W Park Seed Co., Vesey’s Seeds, J.W. Jung, Harris Seed, and many more.  Unfortunately many nurseries don’t sell these plants.  If you want them….and you want to have a little bit of WOW! in your garden, take the time to start these spectacular plants from seed.

To get more information about AAS winners go to www.aaswinners.com

Something else that you’ll find at Roger’s Farm is enthusiastic Master Gardeners growing spectacular plants.

Enthusiastic Dan Birt has been a Master Gardener since 1990.

Look at the size of these spectacular onions.

Many enthusiastic Master Gardeners work at Roger’s Farm.

Much of the produce is given to local food banks.  The gardeners participate in the “Plant a Row for the Hungry’ project.

 

Plans for spring

Already it’s time to start thinking about next spring.  My garden has had a touch of frost and I’ve slowly been pulling  and cutting out foliage and flowers that are starting to be an eyesore.  I’m  assessing what succeeded or failed, what outgrew its space and needs to be moved, and where I can possibly plant more fall bulbs. 

One can never have enough fall bulbs!!

Tulips say "Spring" loud and clear!

Through the years I’ve tried to stick to using white, dark pink and purple flowers in the front yard.  Of course I have to stick  a few daffodils in the beds because they are early.  I try to stick to the white ones, but let’s face it, traditional yellow catches the eye.  Crocus and other small bulbs get poked in all over the yard.  They are investment plants and come back reliably.

Orange Tulips

The beds in the back of the house are where the orange tulips and more daffodils are planted.  After a long winter with lots of snow and too many gray days I crave color!

I’m already thinking about next spring…..and that means it’s time to order bulbs!

 

Harvest Success

When I took a few photos for a story that I’m writing I realized what a successful season I’ve had in the garden.

When everyone that I met was lamenting about their tomatoes that were lost to blight, I tried not to gloat when I talked about the best year that I’ve ever had in my garden.  And, my pepper plants were the biggest that I have ever grown!!!

Fall harvest

Ace Peppers

Of course this was the year that I finally built a hoop house.  Tomatoes and peppers love the heat!

I had enough tomatoes to can some fabulous sauces with my own onions and lots of peppers that ripened on the vine.

We still have pumpkins and squash in the garden.

I have another sowing of four kinds of lettuce, arugula, spinach and chard popping out of the ground.  My veggie gardening has been great this year.

I still have lots of tomatoes and peppers to process.

I must let folks know that when you garden in Maine peppers very seldom turn red on the vine.  These are like jewels.  They are precious.  I will savor each of them.

I would love to hear what other folks are doing with bumper crops of red peppers.

Happy gardening.

 

A Passion for Poppies

I have to admit that I have a passion for poppies.   When I lived in northern Maine’s Zone 3 (St. Agatha), I ordered what I thought were

Big Brilliant Oriental Poppies

Oriental poppies from a not so reputable catalog company.   I had seen some of the bright orange poppies in a few yards in the area, but I wanted something different.  I craved some of the big brilliant pink ones that the catalog promised.   I planted the puny plant that arrived; nurtured it with homemade compost, expensive organic fertilizers and mulched it with shredded leaves.  I watched it like a hawk!  That fuzzy leafed plant was huge!  It didn’t bloom but I knew that it flowered in the spring….and if I could get it through our tough winter, it would reward me and everyone who visited with the most spectacular pink poppies ever seen.    The next spring, it was late to emerge but goodness gracious, when it finally came up it grew and grew – bigger that any poppy that I’d ever seen.    One day when a garden friend was visiting, we walked through the garden, delighting in the warm spring day and how quickly things were growing…….when we came upon my special poppy.  I brought it to her attention, remarking that I had never seen an Oriental poppy so large.

“That’s because it’s a thistle”, she said.

Well, I now live in a zone 5 garden and I now have big brilliant pink Oriental poppies. I bought some from a few sources, wanting to make sure that when they flowered that first spring, I was guaranteed that I would get what I was promised.

Oriental Poppy Color Clash !!!!

Not only did I get my pink poppies, I also got the darned orange ones!!!!!   After waiting so many years to finally have Oriental poppies blooming in my garden, I didn’t have the heart to yank out the orange ones.

It sure gets your attention!

I’ll find another home for my orange poppy…..

 

Succulent Season

I believe that spring time is the best time for Sempervivum – otherwise known as “Hens and Chicks”.  They are available in a wide variety of textures and colors.  I’ve been collecting them for about 7 years.

I grow them in beds with other low growers so that they don’t have competition from other more aggressive plants.

The last several years, I have been saving seed from the Sempervivum flowers and starting my own plants.  I start the plants in late winter by spreading the dust-like seeds over damp potting soil, covering the pot with a plastic bag and then putting the whole thing in the garage so that it can go through a cold period for about a month.  When I bring the pot in, it goes in the cellar under lights.  Within days, specks of green start to appear.   As soon as warmer days start, I put the pots outside.  By late summer, I have baby Sempervivum that are about the size of a quarter.  In the last few years, I have started to have some interesting hybrids.

I may never have varieties that are spectacular enough to be marketed or named…..but I have enjoyed the pleasure of seeing what happens when I start a seed.

I remember the names of some of the varieties that I bought and some, I must look up.  One of the things that I don’t like in my garden, is the appearance of labels and markers.  I want the eye to see the plant and not be distracted by labels.  I can see that a nursery or a botanical garden wants things well identified but I don’t think it looks nice in a home garden. 

As you can see, even the green Sempervivum has a lot of variety.

My Sempervivum will be flowering within the next month.  I can’t wait to see their unusual flowers.  They look like they came from outer space!   For folks that like to have a touch of the unusual in their gardens, this is one plant that is definitely unique.

 

Spring has happened

Spring has happened.  All of a sudden it arrived.  Already I feel like I am behind on everything that I wanted to do early….those things like transplant a few hostas before they leaf out too much; start up my existing water feature and install a new one that I bought the parts for last year; and more…..My list continues to grow and I know that I would have to be two people to accomplish all of it this season…..

I did hire someone to help me build a hoop house – one that I wanted for years now.

I did manage to have a Norway maple (Crimson King) cut down – Oh, now I can garden without all of those problems (More on that another day).  I managed to create a kind of sculpture with the stump.  (Yes, more on that later!!!)

I did move a rhododendron that was in a spot with too much afternoon sun.

I did find the coolest and largest terracotta pot that I have big plans for.

And, I really am enjoying spring.

My tulips are in glorious bloom.  They are magnificent!  The daffodils are fabulous.   The corydalis bloomed and the clump got bigger.  The crocus continue to expand every year.

I truly do love this time of year and don’t want to miss a minute.

 

Transplanting African Violets

Yesterday, while I was transplanting various seedlings into small pots, I decided to take the time to transplant one of my African violets that was in desperate need of a larger pot.  A few of the problems that many people have when transplanting African violets, is that the potting soil gets all over the fuzzy leaves or that the delicate leaves are broken during the process.  I have solved these problems by making a shield out of paper.  I rip the paper to about the center and then rip out a hole.

Paper Shield

Open the rip in the paper and work the shield between the plant and the soil until the hole is located where the hole in the paper is located. After the shield is in place, tape the ripped area together.   It helps if you do this when the leaves of the plant are a little bit limp.  Withhold watering before transplanting so that the leaves are not turgid.  The shield will be used to assist in lifting the leaves up slightly.

Place your hands under the shield and remove the old pot by slowly rocking it back and forth or slowly sliding it around.  Insert the plant into a new slightly larger pot. With one hand, gently lift the leaves and with the other hand, insert new potting soil into the pot. Yes, the pot will get dirty.

Slide the paper shield between the soil and the leaves

After you are satisfied that there is enough potting soil in the pot (I fill it right to the rim), clean the pot well.

Ready to transplant

Gently remove the shield.  If any soil tumbles out, clean it off the pot.  The African violet is now ready for a good watering.  Place the newly potted plant into an appropriate sized tray and water well from the bottom.

 

Maine Garden Day

Plaster Sand Casting

I look forward to attending Maine Garden Day every year.  It is an opportunity to rub elbows with other enthusiastic gardeners from throughout the state.   Novices as well as very experienced gardeners come together to learn new skills, hear about new research and most of all get inspired!   This year’s event was held on Saturday, April 28th in Auburn.  The yearly event is sponsored by Maine Cooperative Extension Service.

This year, I attended a sand casting class taught by former art teacher Iona Desmond.  Iona demonstrated her technique, showed us several sandcastings that she made and then let us all “play in the dirt” – which is, of course, what most  Maine gardeners are just dying to do!   Everyone had a shoe box lined with plastic that was about half-filled with wet sand.  Essentially, we form a mold in the sand and then fill it with plaster.  The benefit of plaster was that eveyone could walk out with a finished product by the end of the morning class.  The down side is that plaster is not weather-proof.  I hope to try the same technique at home using cement.

My second workshop was with Mike Murphy of Wake Robin Nursery in South Paris.  His presentation was called, “Diversity in the Shade Garden”.  Mike is extremely knowledgeable about different, interesting plants -  a true plant connoisseur!  Oh, what an inspirational discussion.  He loves what he is doing and it shows.  Mike was also selling some of his treasures at the show.  He brought in plants that were just waking up…..some of them just starting to poke up out of the pot.  Despite the fact that we often saw nothing growing out of the pot, folks who know him also know that he has a reputation for quality plants and if Mike says if is special, we know that it is.

For folks who might be interested in going to Maine Garden Day next year, keep an eye on this web site for updates:

http://www.umext.maine.edu/mainegardenday/

 

Spring Fever Intensified!!!

A beautiful Begonia that I saw when I was in Florida recently at the Fairchild Botanical Garden

A trip to Florida a few weeks ago gave me Spring Fever in the worst way.  I left in a snow storm and of course, there is still plenty of snow outside.  Yesterday, I shoveled snow off of the deck so that I can get to the chairs and sit in the sun….even if it is still very cold.

Now that I am back home in Maine, I have hit the floor running.  A few days after arriving, I planted seeds in flats in the cellar under lights.  I now have 5 kinds of lettuce, cilantro, kale, broccoli, spinach, beets, Profusion zinnias, dusty miller, marigold, and even more starting to come up.  Oh, how exciting!!

Next weeks, I start even more.

My mind is racing just thinking about all of the gardening that I want to do!