Focus on Flowers

Larkspur is a member of the Delphinium family and though native to Europe, it grows well in North America. The plant is poisonous if eaten by cattle but fortunately only mildly toxic to domestic pets and people. Its colors are shades of blue/purple, white, and pink, and its tall upright habit and ferny, lacy foliage is good in combination with other garden plants. Larkspur likes well drained soil in full sun and is a good cut flower. In my midwestern garden I cannot grow perennial delphiniums or perennial larkspur. So, I buy packets of annual larkspur seeds and just sprinkle them in my beds (unmulched, as mulch often has a seed germination deterrent) in early spring. I am rewarded with pretty flowers that meld well with many of my perennials. For example, I have a bed of white iris, and the larkspur grows up and blooms before the iris have finished their show. Larkspur also blend nicely with daylilies because of their height. Larkspur seeds germinate best between 40-50F in zones 4-7. I would not be without my annual larkspur, which I have enjoyed year after year and some often self-seed and return, but in order to be sure, I always buy some seeds. I don't want to risk a year without it! Note: Larkspur grows well in zones 4-7 but needs protection to self-sow below zone 5. Field larkspur grows wild in cornfields throughout Europe.

The most commonly grown deciduous magnolia in the Lower Midwest is Magnolia x soulangiana, usually referred to as the saucer magnolia.Hardy in zones 4-9, it may be a shrub but usually is a tree about 20-25 feet tall with a rounded crown. It usually develops a number of trunks and may over time even grow 30 feet tall and as wide.It blooms before it leafs out, and the pale pink blossoms look striking against the rough grey bark. However, about one in three years the late spring frosts ruin the bloom and the flowers turn brown. I am told there is a hybrid called ‘Forrest's Pink’ that will make new buds if the old ones are ruined.I think ‘Spectrum’ and ‘Galaxy’ bloom a little later also, which provides more reliable bloom.There are actually a large number of more modern hybrid cultivars now available and some produce flowers in other shades such as white, rose, magenta, burgundy, and purple.The genus name honors Pierre Magnol, a French botanist (1638-1715). Since it is a long- lived tree, think carefully before you decide where to plant it as it needs space for its branches, which cast a lot of shade when it matures. This allows for a large shade garden beneath it.I have a tree that is 83 years old and underneath its sheltering arms I grow winter aconite, Virginia bluebells, perennial geraniums, ferns, hellebores, bleeding heart, wildflowers, epimediums, and for-get-me-nots. The birds love to perch above.

Horticulturalists at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences are predicting some strong trends based on their feedback from their County Extension Offices. They report that more and more gardeners are seeking information about sustainability. Specific questions about native plants have increased significantly, as well as wildlife-friendly landscapes, dwarf hybrids, succulents, novel edible greens, and landscaping to mitigate natural disasters. Modern gardeners want plants that do not require much water or fertilizer and resist insects and disease. In short, plants that are good for the environment and not hard to maintain. Gardeners also want to do less pruning, so prefer smaller shrubs that can be left natural in shape, as well as fruit-bearing shrubs that can provide food as well as attract birds to the garden. Modern gardeners also like to layer shrubs of varied heights in their gardens to provide shelter for wildlife. They also prefer trees that will survive storms since storms are more unpredictable than they used to be. Another trend is a preference for decorative foliage in addition to flowers in gardens. For example, dark foliage plants with red, purple, or black leaves year-round, in addition to plants with fall foliage colors. Foliage can provide contrast and year-round interest and can also be used in bouquets.

A novice gardener once told me that she was only going to plant perennials, as they did not need any care. If only that was true!On the contrary, I have found that it seems easiest for new gardeners to start with annuals and then to move on to perennials. Annuals only last one year, but once they are planted they stay in one place, don’t reproduce, and just need water and fertilizer. They are less complicated for an inexperienced gardener.Perennials seem preferable because they live from year to year, but their habits vary greatly and they are more unpredictable. Many are easy and stay where you put them. Others hop around the garden, some quite aggressively, and some die out after a year or two.Perennial plants are quite different from each other in terms of their needs and performance. So it is more complicated, though great fun, to design and maintain a perennial garden. And, of course, some won’t grow in the zone the gardener wants them to…Have you ever tried to grow delphiniums in the Midwest? Thugs, like bishops weed, look innocent but are very invasive. But, as a group, perennials fascinate us despite all of their quirks.Beginners need to be aware of pass-along plants, like loosestrife, as they are the ones that usually have over-run an owner’s garden. One can learn more about the perennials that grow best locally by joining a garden club or taking a master gardener course, as they can become a life-long challenge.

When we are awaiting the beginning of gardening season in early spring, we sometimes have periods of cold where tender plants, such as the emerging perennials in our gardens, are at risk.Temperatures, even those that remain above 32F degrees, may still damage plants. When they do, it’s called “chill injury.” However, if the temperature that has been warmer than freezing suddenly hits 32F degrees or below, the effect that is triggered in the garden is called a frost.If we have vulnerable plants in our early spring flower garden and the forecast predicts frost, we need to take protective action.* Actually, any prediction of temperatures even close to freezing should be cause for alarm.*A visible white coating, or freezing temperatures in the absence of visible signs, will hurt vulnerable plants because low temperatures cause both dehydration and disturbance of cell membranes deep within cell tissues. This results in blackened, lifeless leaves and stems.Different parts of the garden, such as hollows or areas near walls and hedges and southern exposures, may vary in temperature from other parts of a garden.Remember the danger of sudden spring frosts and wait to set out your tender annuals, and protect vulnerable perennials coaxed out too early by warm days. Plants grow more quickly when temperatures warm more and stay warm. Don’t plant too early!*Cover plants at night especially. But remove covers once it warms up again the next day.**Anything below 35F, when it is still and there is no cloud cover.

Air temperatures that hover just above freezing for a prolonged period of time in the spring can kill most tender plants if they’re set out too early. So if you set out your houseplants outdoors too early, even if it’s actually above freezing in terms of the air temperature, they simply can’t endure it after being accustomed to the warmth in the house.All air temperatures affect plants, as it affects most of their physiological processes such as their absorption of water and nutrients and time of flowering, fruiting, and also seed production. Each plant species has its own critical air temperature, which includes the minimum and maximum temperatures between which a specific plant can continue to exist, grow, and/or thrive. There is the perfect temperature for it to grow optimally and the lethal temperatures, both high and low, when a specific plant will expire.All these levels are also, of course, influenced by the individual plant’s stage of growth and development. Seed germination requires more warmth than vegetative growth as well, and optimum temperatures are different for both day and night.The important point here is, of course, do not take risks by setting out your annual plants too soon. Always be cautious for it is better to be sure than sorry when considering when to plant outdoors in the spring.

The weather in our flower garden has to do with local atmospheric conditions: hot and cold; wet and dry; calm and stormy, and so on.Climate refers to the region’s atmospheric conditions and predictable events for that region or particular place. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) divides North America into 20 separate zones, and the zone we garden in determines the plants that we can grow.But as well as the average highest and lowest temperatures that occur in our specific zone, many other factors affect our weather and the perennial plants we can grow since perennials need to winter over.Frost dates are very important. Gardeners need to know the average dates of the last frosts in the spring and the first frosts in the fall in their area. The date of the average last frosts is crucial so that we know when it is safe to set out our tender annual plants, which would be damaged or killed by a frost. The date of the last spring frost for a zone is like a marker that allows gardeners to schedule gardening efforts.Of course, there is a difference between usual and average frost dates. We also need to establish how many frost-free days there are in our climate, as this defines our growing season and our options about what we can grow.There are also micro-climates within our personal gardens: places, for example, where there is more sun, less wind, or more shelter for the plants.REFERENCE: Gardener’s Guide to Frost: Outwit the Weather and Extend the Spring and Fall Seasons, Phillip Harnden, Willow Creek Press (2003).NOTE: It is best for gardeners to err on the side of caution when planting spring annuals. If a late frost comes, the plants will be killed if they are planted too early. Annuals do best when the soil has warmed enough so that they can immediately begin to grow in their new location. In my Zone 6 Indiana garden that is usually around Mother’s Day.

Many of us with clay soil complain loudly about it, and it’s true that gardens with clay soil can be hard to dig. Also, with clay soil, it is not a good idea to put a bed in areas where standing water collects.However, one can have very successful flower gardens where there is clay soil, as it has excellent water-retention, and less water and nutrients need to be added to the soil than are needed with sandy soil, for example.Plants with tap roots such as coneflowers and Japanese anemones all do well in clay as their long roots penetrate deep down to access moisture during drought. Also, plants that dislike wet feet can be planted on a slope or in raised beds so water will easily run off.Bulbs do well in clay, as do shrubs such as hydrangea, lilac, spirea, dogwood, viburnum, kerria, and yew.Trees such as river birch, willow, crabapple, and serviceberry also like clay.Perennials such as asters, daylilies, baptisia, hellebores, hosta, irises, coreopsis, and black-eyed Susans also thrive.While fast-draining sandy soils need frequent watering, once clay soil is well saturated during a rain storm, gardeners don’t need to provide nearly as much supplemental watering for days. So, during dry spells, be thankful if you have moisture-retentive soil. — “Clay is okay!"

At this time of the year we usually read about gardens instead of gardening.I have been reading about deadheading—the way we ensure plants keep blooming by chopping off the spent flowers. This prevents them from forming seeds, which is a signal that no more flowers are needed by the plant.Annuals have to produce a lot of flowers because they only live for one year and so have only one flowering period to procreate. Perennials, on the other hand, have a second way of continuing in life: they can grow back the next year on their own roots so setting seed is not so crucial for them. That means that we don’t have to snip off every spent flower on the perennials, (though it does increase their vigor), the way we should with our annuals to keep them blooming. Most perennials will only bloom for a few weeks anyway.However, the whole garden looks better if plants are deadheaded, so it is a good thing. You can snip each flower off individually, or you can cut back a plant that has finished flowering by snipping half of the plant off with shears.Colorful flowers attract pollinators that fertilize them, so annual flowers are often especially showy as they need to be pollinated in a shorter time frame in order to perpetuate themselves. This is why we need a sequence of different perennials that bloom at varied times to have continuous perennial blooms in our gardens. Many of us find that deadheading is a calming repetitive activity that we enjoy, so we do a bit each day all through the growing season. It keeps the color coming.

In February, it is appropriate to think about roses.Here is what Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932) wrote:"There is scarcely any rose that we can wish to have in our gardens that is not also delightful in the cut state. A china bowl filled with well-grown hybrid perpetuals, grand of color and sweetly scented, is a room decoration that can hardly be beaten both for beauty and for the pleasure it gives, whether in a sitting room, or on the breakfast table. The only weak point about cut roses is that their life is short."William Fitzroy (1851-1924) wrote: “The houses I love best are those where warm old red bricks and old roses seem to melt into each other.”Margaret Millfield in 1931 had this advice:"Plant your rose in a good square hole, keep it weeded; prune it once a year, thoroughly; apply a spade of manure in February and you will have blooms the rest of your life."And John Boyle O’Reilly (1844-1909) wrote this verse:"The red rose whispers of passion, and the white rose breathes of love;O, the red rose is a falcon, and the white rose is a dove.But I send you a cream- white rose bud, with a flush on its petal tips;For the love that is purist and sweetest, has a kiss of desire on the lips."

The earliest iris to bloom is the petite Iris reticulata.The reticulated irises have a fibrous network on the bulbs that is similar in pattern to the markings on a giraffe, which is also described as reticulated, “like a net.” These earliest blooming iris have 3- to 6-inch stems and they bloom with the crocus. To display the blooms indoors, I use a tiny bottle for each one.There are also intricate patterns on the small petals, and their beautiful colors—maroon, purple, lavender, white, and yellow—delight winter-weary eyes.Plant the little bulbs in drifts in the fall. Since they dislike wet feet, a good spot for them is in a sloping or raised bed so there is good drainage.Iris is the sacred flower of the Goddess of the Rainbow, and iris means “eye of heaven.” (It is also the name of the center of our eyes.)After their spring bloom, Iris reticulata bulbs should be given an application of granular fertilizer, sprinkled over them, and their leaves should not be cut down. They are hardy in zones 5 to 9 and are long lived if they are not disturbed. Plant these little bulbs 3 inches deep.These darling little miniature iris are the start of a progression of flowers of varying types of plants in the family Iridaceae. They are followed late in the spring by the taller Siberian iris.Try to grow as many different types of iris in your garden so that you can have a progression of these blooms until June each year. The deer leave them alone![Note: Try the following : Iris histrioides ‘George’ Zones 3 to 8, which are dark purple with gold marks, and Iris histrioides ‘Katherine Hodgkin’ zones 5 to 8.]Reference: Perennials Short and Tall: A Progression of Flowers for your Garden by Moya Andrews and Gillian Harris, Indiana University Press (2008), Page 67.

Quite a number of flowering annuals can be started by sowing their seeds directly into the garden. Wait until after the last frost in the spring when the soil has really warmed enough for seeds to germinate. I tend to pick up packets of seeds wherever I go so usually have a big stash of them, and it is fun to scatter them in my bare perennial beds. Since seeds are inexpensive, I throw them around with abandon expecting that they all won’t germinate, but hoping that some will and give me surprises later in the season. I especially love the tall blue/purple spires of larkspur, since delphiniums do not thrive in my climate. Last year I hopefully flung some into my bed of white German iris, and though the iris bloomed first, the larkspur looked lovely among the blue/grey iris foliage later. If I have big pots on my deck, I sow zinnia seeds into those. Even the small daisy-flowered variety ‘White Star’, which does not need to be dead-headed, does well in pots in full sun. Cosmos is a pretty, floriferous annual that can be scattered on top of the soil in beds, and it will bloom in 8 weeks. It has pretty foliage and is good for cutting, which stimulates the continued flowering all summer. Small French marigolds, the gold and brown ones, will germinate easily, also, and are very drought-tolerate, flowering until frost. And of course, I always save or buy Cleome seeds—better known by the common names of ‘Spider plant’ or ‘Cat’s whiskers’—and scatter them in the middle of beds or the back of borders because they grow tall and last a long time. Those I do not cut, as they are best left in the garden to produce seeds for the following year. Besides, I do not like their smell very much. Another favorite is blue Clary sage. Direct sowing is inexpensive, easy, and fun and usually results in a few surprises!

David Hosack was born in New York in 1769 and in a book about him by Kerri Miller, she states that he is responsible for the establishment of New York’s first botanical garden. There was an interview by Victoria Johnson on NPR that drew my attention to this. Hosack was a brilliant medical scientist who focused on medicinal plants. The Bartrams, earlier on, grew medicinal plants in their gardens in Philadelphia, but Hosak was the first to grow these plants in North America for scientific research purposes.Dr. Hosack studied medicine in both London and Edinburgh and then returned to North America to teach and practice at Columbia College in New York City. In London he had been trained in the classification of plants using the system developed by Linnaeus in the 18th Century. Miller describes in her biography how Hosack met Joseph Banks and other famous plant scientists in London in the early 1800s and became knowledgeable about European plants and their medicinal properties.When he returned to New York he realized the need for a public garden as a research facility for medical scientists and their students. He even wrote to President Jefferson to ask for plants gathered by the Lewis and Clark expedition. Later he became the personal physician of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. He used his own money, and later went into debt, to buy and maintain 20 acres on Manhattan Island to grow plants, including many natives that had not been known abroad, in order to study and teach students about their medicinal effects. His garden was the first scientific garden established on our shores.This is Moya Andrews, and today we focused on David Hosack.

Before long now, some of the earliest flowers to bloom will be stirring in our gardens.  Many of them are ephemeral, a descriptor that means “short lived” or transitory. In garden-speak, this means that these cold-hardy little plants bloom early and then die down leaving no trace until they return the following year. Most grow in woodland settings, where the soil is moist from late snows under deciduous trees and there is weak sunlight, as the trees have not yet leafed out. Some bloom even before al the snow has melted. Their early flowers can be picked and taken into the house for tiny vases. When the blooms fade, the plants set seed and then go dormant. They are at their best planted where they are not disturbed after they die down, though they co-exist well with low growing plants that grow up over the bulbs and shade them in the hot dry summers. The sunshine-yellow winter aconite is usually the first to bloom, followed by the snow-white snowdrops (Galanthus spp., zones 3-9), hardy cyclamen (Cyclamen coum, zones 5-9), bloodroot (Sanguinaria Canadensis ‘multiplex’, zones 3-9), Dutchmen’s breeches (Dicentra culcullaria, zones 3-7), Virginia bluebells (Mertensia Virginica, zones 3-8), and European wood anemones (Anemone nemorosa, zones 5-8).Later the red trillium (Trillium erectum, zones 4-9), and Japanese woodland primrose (Primula Sieboldii, zones 3-8) light up our gardens. The best way to get these early bloomers in your garden is to acquire starts from another gardener during the early spring, or you can find them listed in catalogs. Their dense root systems help them persist and colonize.Notes: Source material from Amanda’s Garden, Dansville, New York.

In 1785 William Cowper wrote:Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too. Unconscious of a less propitious clime There blooms exotic beauty, warm and snug While winds whistle and the snows descend.In 1974 Maya Angelou said, "Nature has no mercy at all. Nature says ‘I’m going to snow. If you have on a bikini and no snowshoes, that’s tough. I’m going to snow anyway’." And there is a Chinese proverb that makes many of us smile:If you would be happy for a day, get drunk. If you would be happy for a week, take a wife. If you would be happy for a month, kill your pig. But if you would be happy all your life, plant a garden.And Jude Patterson wrote, “In winter, when roots and seeds sleep under the crusted snow, the gardener is an artist hatching ideas for the coming season.”  But my personal advice to you in January is to be careful of all of those tempting offers that arrive in catalogs in the mail this month, as well as all of the seductive offers to order plants online. We are all so eager to have flowers on our gardens again, that we are susceptible to all of the plant offers that bombard us. But it really is too early to start ordering plants—January is too soon!—so try, if possible, to exercise some restraint.

During the middle ages, the Christmas season lasted for 12 days and reached a climax on Jan 6, which is called Twelfth Night.  We often wait, nowadays, until Twelfth Night to take down the Christmas tree and holiday decorations. Once everything is put away the house seems suddenly quite bereft, and we long for something natural and fresh.  January, of course, is a difficult month for garden flowers. Sometimes, however, one can unearth some long stems of ivy in the winter garden. In the summer, I am always trying to pull it out and get rid of it, but I am glad to see any green leaves in winter.  If you ever find any, cut some pieces and hammer the stems and submerge them in a sink of cold water overnight. Next morning, shake the water off and pat them dry with a towel before placing them in a vase.  With this background for an arrangement in place, you may be able to find a few other bits and pieces in the garden, for example, bare branches, berries, Bergenia leaves or even a Christmas rose (Helleborus), to add to the ivy. Otherwise, buy a few blooms to combine with the ivy and rationalize the purchase as absolutely necessary food for the soul.  Buy any color flower but red, as after the holidays red seems passé and our eyes have become tired of it.

Norah Lindsay (1866-1948) lived in the Manor House at Sutton Courtenay in Oxfordshire, England. She was admired for the way that she combined herbaceous perennials in borders, which were so popular during the Edwardian time in England. In her obituary in 1948 in the London Times it was described how she would trace out a plan for a whole garden in the dirt with the tip of her umbrella. She was known as one of the first amateur, but not quite professional, garden designers who were active in the years before and after World War I.Strongly influenced by Italian gardens, she was famous for her parterres. One that she planned is still maintained by the National Trust in England today. It was a formal planting using low plants and repetition of colors around a central fountain. Clipped yews and a Doric Temple in the distance added to its feeling of formality and structure. Norah Lindsay was born in Ireland but always admired the classical gardens of Florence and Rome. She created large-scale double borders that stretched down hillsides to create breath-taking vistas. Her husband, Harry Lindsay, was a flying hero during World War I, and she was so well-connected that she even advised the Prince of Wales on his gardens at Fort Belvedere. Lindsay was the Grande Dame of gardening in a time when ladies did not have professional careers.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote a poem about the garden at the end of the year. This seems to be an appropriate time to share it with you. A spirit haunts the year’s last hours Dwelling amid these yellowing bowers: To himself he talks: But at eventide, listening earnestly, At his work you may hear him sob and sigh In the walks; Earthward he boweth the heavy stalks Of mouldering flowers: Heavily hangs the broad sunflower Over its grave in the earth so chilly; Heavily hangs the holly hock, Heavily hangs the tiger-lily. The air is damp and hushed and close, As a sick man’s room where he taketh repose An hour before death; My very heart faints and my whole soul grieves At the moist rich smell of the rotting leaves And the breath Of the fading edges of box beneath, And the year’s last rose. Heavily hangs the broad sunflower Over its grave in the earth so chilly; Heavily hangs the hollyhock, Heavily hangs the tiger lily.

Oscar Wilde in The Selfish Giant wrote the following words:  “He did not hate the winter now, for he knew that it was merely the spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting.”  And Anne Bradstreet, who died in 1672, wrote:  “If we had no winter the spring would not be so pleasant.”  Kathleen Norris sounded a little more impatient about winter when she wrote:  “There seems to be so much more winter this year than we need.”  Nancy Hutchens in her book A Garden’s Grace described plants that look good in winter. She said,  “The wheat-colored blooms of Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’ add charm to my backyard—one at its entrance and another next to a red-twigged dogwood.” She continued: “…the tall black stalks and round heads of Rudbeckia, Echinacea, and bee balm are attractive and fill the bare ground with texture and interesting shapes… The sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ turned out to be another winter jewel. Its faded bronze was spectacular next to the pearly silver of a large Artemisia. As I began to think about how a particular flower or shrub would look in winter, I discovered many choices that enhanced the poor evergreens, who had been doing all the work alone."

The first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere is marked by the winter solstice, which for example, in the year 2023 occurs on December 21. For the northern part of the Earth, the winter solstice always occurs annually on either December 21 or 22. This solstice marks the day with the fewest hours of sunshine in the year, which means that it is described as the shortest day.  After the winter solstice, the days begin to grow longer until in the following June, we reach the summer solstice, which is the longest day of the year. The summer solstice is the day when many flowers in gardens are in bloom and so many garden-related events in our area are usually scheduled on or near the summer solstice.  When the Northern Hemisphere is experiencing the winter solstice in December, the Southern Hemisphere, of course, is experiencing its summer solstice. In Australia, where I grew up, for example, it is high summer in December, and it is winter in June.  Depending on where you live in the world, the same plants flower but at different times in the year. Near to the Equator, however, the weather remains warm enough for flowers to grow throughout the entire year. Hence the billion-dollar cut flower industry in South America, which supplies the flowers in our stores for us to buy year-round.

This winter I have been reading some garden writer’s words of wisdom, which now I will share with you. In 1899, Gertrude Jekyll wrote: “For I hold it that the best purpose of a garden is to give delight and to give refreshment of mind, to soothe, to refine and to lift up the heart.”And Sara Stein in 1988 wrote:“January is the best time for gardeners. From the window of the attic where I write, the gardens are bare to their bones, neat and clean, nicely edged, weed free. They are an empty page on which to draw the garden of my dreams.” And in 1954 Georgia O’Keefe, who painted so many glorious flowers, wrote the following words that completely surprised me. She said, “I hate flowers. I paint them because they’re cheaper than models and they don’t move.” More profound are the words spoken by Lydia Child in 1842. She said, “Flowers have spoken to me more than I can tell. They are hieroglyphics of angels, loved by all for the beauty of their character. Though few can decipher even fragments of their meaning.”However, “anonymous” has the last piece of wisdom for us:“In gardening I have one gift you won’t find in manuals, but I can change perennials into annuals.”

Many tropical plants, and also some temperate zone plants that resemble tropicals, make excellent house plants in cold climates. One fairly easy to grow but underused example is the South East Asian native with the common name of jewel orchid. Its botanical name is Ludisia discolor. This is a terrestrial plant that grows in soil in a pot, and it has narrow leaves. The color of the leaves varies from dark red to maroon and there is striking veining. The leaves grow on succulent stems that hang over the sides of the pot. The flowers appear in late winter to mid spring and are white in color and a little like snapdragons in form and are white in color. This plant likes cool temperatures at night and soil that stays just slightly moist, so do not over water these beauties. Afternoon shade is best, so they do not like a windowsill on the western side of the house. Jewel orchids are available with several different types of patterned leaves with silver-gold veining. This type of foliage guarantees a handsome house plant even when it is not in bloom. The name is a little deceptive because this plant is not like the orchids that grow on trees.

Torenia is a pretty annual that hails from tropical African and Asian woodlands. This branching annual is not frost hardy but grows rapidly to a height of about 12 inches with a spread of 8 inches. It flowers in summer and fall, producing racemes of trumpet-shaped, two-lipped flowers that look a bit like snapdragon blooms. There are two lobes on the upper lips and three lobes on the lower lips. Torenias make attractive plants for containers in sheltered positions. Pinch out the growing shoots of young plants to encourage them to get bushy. Now that we have had our first frosts in the Midwest, I am thinking about what to plant next year. ‘Summer Wave’ is a trailing, long-flowering strain of torenia that has large blue flowers, but purplish-blue, red, pink and white varieties are also available. The leaves of these plants are light to dark green and ovate to elliptical in shape, and they have toothed edges. Grow them in fertile, well-drained soil in part shade. Another pretty blue annual to consider next spring is Scaevola, or fan-flower as it is also called. I am partial to it as, like me, it hails from Australia. It has profuse blue, mauve, purple, or white flowers in sun or part shade, and it drapes well over the sides of pots. ‘Blue Wonder’ is very pretty as well as being drought tolerant.

I am lucky to have a large garden space and so I have the luxury of being able to dedicate some of my beds to a single perennial species.Dianthus, alone in a small bed, can be pretty as the foliage is neat and forms a weed- suppressing mat above which the pretty, little flowers are held aloft.I have a bed of only pure white German iris that I love for its purity and conformity. And one year my pink Japanese anemones took over a whole bed on the side of my yard, outside my fence, so I just let them have it. The foliage is neat and suffocates most of the weeds, and in bloom, that bed is a sea of pink and looks like the garden of a princess.In some of my other beds, more by happenstance than design, I have let different but equally vigorous plants duke it out. Monarda, commonly known as bee balm, nearly engulfed the other perennials in one bed, but now when it has bloomed, I just pull it all out after a rain so the roots come out easily. There is always lots left to return the next year. The wild asters and golden rod then fill in for a fall display without any more work on my part.Around my fountain, where the water splashes and the soil remains wet a lot, I have Japanese, Siberian and Louisiana iris that enjoy moisture. They bloom at slightly different times, which adds to the appeal, as does the fact that all of the blooms are in purple/lavender shades, and they seem to float above their clean erect foliage.

I recently admired a beautifully planted curbside garden in full sun with a lovely color palette. Right in front were lavender creeping phlox, and behind those was the low-growing cranesbill geranium ‘Rozanne' and low-growing perennial salvias with purple flowers. Behind these low-growing plants were taller Russian sage with its grey foliage and blue/lavender blooms. They were interspersed with Caryopteris ‘Lil Miss Sunshine', which has chartreuse foliage and blue flowers. It blooms mid-summer to mid-fall and grows 2-4 feet tall and as wide.If winter interest was desired in a planting such as this one, small evergreens with yellow foliage could be substituted for the Caryopteris sub-shrubs that die to the ground each winter.One of the advantages of this garden just described is that it is low in height in the section that abuts the street. The color scheme with the contrasting chartreuse and purple/lavender/ blue hues ties it together, and the plants selected ensure that there will be flower and foliage interest from early spring right through into fall.Purple and chartreuse always look good together in a garden. Some other taller plants, such as the shrub Sambucus ‘Lemony Lace' shrub, could be placed in a moist part of your yard with purple Siberian Iris and a sedge such as ‘Banana Boat'.

There are roughly 900 species of salvia, which is the largest genus in the mint family. The common name is sage, and the genus includes annuals, perennials, and sub-shrubs. Remember that sub-shrubs have the woody base of a shrub and soft top growth. When pruning a sub-shrub such as sage or lavender, do not cut into or injure that woody base.Salvias have tubular flowers with two lips and are ancient plants, which were probably taken to England by the Roman legions, as the name is derived from the Latin salveo, meaning “I am well.”There is an old Arabic proverb: “How shall a man die that has sage in his garden?” That hints at the plants links with immortality. It was said to have the most power medicinally in May, just before the appearance of the blooms.Of Mediterranean origins, salvias like full sun and good drainage. The flowers can be most colors but are rarely yellow. The blues, purples, and reds are most admired. Culinary sage is named Salvia officinalis and is a short-lived perennial with grey-green leaves and purple flowers in summer.In your flowerbeds, try two to three feet tall hybrids sylvestris ‘May Night’ or ‘Blue Queen’. ‘East Friesland’ is also pretty but shorter. All have violet-blue spires on neat green clumps in zones 4 – 9.This episode originally aired June 1, 2017.

Moya Andrews talks about marigolds.I used to be quite a snob about flowers that grow so easily that they seem to be growing everywhere. For instance, I used to be quite dismissive about marigolds, as I disliked the smell. It took me years to realize that many commonly grown flowers, in addition to being pretty, possess other reliable characteristics, such as drought and heat tolerance and resistance to pests. After failing with zillions of more finicky plants that died as soon as a heat wave or drought struck, I finally decided that marigolds are actually quite appealing. When deer began to frequent my yard, I actually fell in love with marigolds. Now when people ask me about my favorite flowers, I rattle off a list that includes only deer resistant species. The defining attribute for any plant to win my popularity contest, is that it is not popular with deer. Of course deer will eat anything if they are hungry enough. One year I noticed that they did not eat my butterfly weed, so I didn’t bother to spray it. Since I sprayed everything else, guess what they then gobbled up? Adversity, (and that for me is currently spelled D-E-E-R), is a great teacher. It has taught a gardener like me to cherish every flower that blooms, no matter what its color or its smell. Because, of course, we eventually come to realize that at different times and in different places in our gardens, any type of flower may suddenly seem to be just perfect. This episode originally aired June 13, 2013.

If you want to see a well-behaved garden, visit one that is about 3 years old. Three years is about the time it takes for plants to settle in and grow a bit. But it’s not long enough for most plants to get out of hand and start moving around. Even in the first seven years or so it is usually still possible to see some semblance of the original design that the gardener intended. Actually, though, I once read that most gardens need to be redone about every seven years. Unfortunately, I read this useful information too late to help my own garden. It had definitely already taken the leadership role away from me by then. I am beginning to believe that unless the gardener is a very disciplined individual, the plants are really in charge of a garden after just a few years. Look at the way they hop around and self-sow and get out of their original bounds. One day we put them here, and quite suddenly they are there. Many plants are extraordinarily adaptable. This sometimes happens when trees die and suddenly a shade garden is in full sun. I have some vigorous and healthy masses of epimedium and hellebores that seem to love living in full sunshine, even though they are supposed to prefer growing in the shade. Mature gardens, like mature people certainly seem to have minds of their own. The good news is that a little serendipity in a garden certainly seems to add to its charm.

Although non-native, lilacs are a much-loved and well-behaved import to North America.

There are about 70 different types of phlox, both short and tall. The short ones are used as groundcovers, and their palette is made up of the cool colors.

Most of us, including those who are not space challenged, like to experiment with plants in containers. It is like playing at micro gardening.The drawback of containers, though, is that as we water them the nutrients in the soil leach out. Therefore, we need to start by filling our pots each season with a rich growing medium and follow through with regular feedings during the summer.Slow-release granules are often used for this purpose.  Also some gardeners say it is good to mix a little compost with the potting soil to aid water retention and to put a layer of bark chip mulch on the surface of each pot to lessen evaporation of moisture.Water-retaining granules can also be added to the upper third of the soil mixture in the pot. Always make sure that pots have good drainage holes, as if a pot has no holes or clogged holes, the plants will rot, and the soil will start to smell unpleasant. To prevent the holes becoming clogged, many gardeners use pieces of old clay pots or styrofoam peanuts, which are not as heavy when the pots need to be moved around to follow the sun.However, another solution is to recycle old pantyhose by putting them over the drainage holes or lining the bottom of the pot with about 10 layers of newspaper. This retains moisture and soil while the water drains.The smaller the pots the more frequently they must be watered as small amounts of soil dry out quickly. Especially in hot weather, most containers outdoors need daily watering.

Amy Stewart, in her book Flower Confidential, says that florists practically invented Mother’s Day. It was actually invented in 1908 by a woman named Anna Jarvis who wanted the celebration to be on the second Sunday in May because it was the anniversary of the death of her own mother. “Crowd it and push it,” she urged florists, noting that May was a month when flowers are plentiful and therefore cheaper. Florists jumped on board, and Jarvis’s idea worked as people saw it as a chance to honor their mothers, as well as daughters, wives, grandmothers, and friends who were mothers. Jarvis, however, became upset with the floral industry because she wanted white carnations to be the exclusive flower of Mother’s Day. This was because the holiday actually began as a day when children (both boys and girls) would honor their mothers by wearing a white carnation in their buttonhole. Florists, understandably, were in favor of using a wider variety of flowers, partly because their suppliers couldn’t supply sufficient quantities of white carnations.Mother’s Day is now a truly floral holiday, and flowers can even be wired world-wide.

Many of us who love to grow tulips in our gardens have visiting deer who love to eat them. It seems to be such a violent death for a bud or flower.  The poet E. J. Scovell, when she wrote the following poem in 1991, must not have had deer in her garden because she describes a more gradual demise. Here are some excerpts of her poem: I would, if I could, choose Age, and die outwards as a tulip does; Not as this iris drawing in, in-coiling Its complex strange taut inflorescence, willing Itself a bud again—though all achieved is No more than a clenched sadness, The tears of gum not flowing. I would choose the tulip’s reckless way of going; Whose petals answer light, altering by fractions From closed to wide, from one through many perfections, Till wrecked, flamboyant, strayed beyond recall, Like flakes of fire they piecemeal fall.Most of us prefer tulips in a vase when they are closed or just partly open, rather than splayed outwards, wide open, just before the petals fall. Though perhaps, opening wide, is their last defiant gesture of farewell.This is Moya Andrews, and today we focused on the death of a flower.

If you are looking for a holiday gift for a gardener, now is the time to order online. You will, of course, have a delivery date of next spring when it is safe to plant, but a notification of the spring delivery will be sent to your lucky recipient before the holidays. 

Cutting back plants, even small ones, helps to stimulate growth. But don't cut off all of the leaves!

Shrubs are long-lived garden residents and help create the architecture of a garden.

Many different flowers have been used as food garnishes. However, there are also many toxic plants in our gardens.

Conifer shrubs and trees need warmer soil to get their roots growing, so plant them as early as possible in the fall.

There has been so much hybridizing, that the differences between a Thanksgiving and a Christmas cactus have become blurred, so it seems reasonable to refer to them all as Holiday Cactuses nowadays.