Easy, Full Sun Annuals: Dependable Color for an Entire Growing Season

(pictured from left to right: orange cosmos, thunbergia, zinna)

The seed kiosks are popping up rampantly in all the usual places and although we are to have up to 2 inches of snow on Saturday morning, by Wednesday of next week, the temps are to be in the upper 60's again. Since the weather was so nice yesterday, my son, Nick, and I went on an outing which included stopping by a local nursery. Nick is as enthusiatic about gardening as I am so it was no wonder we found ourselves standing in front of a seed kiosk discussing the virtues of this year's selections. Earlier that morning, I'd received an email from a beginning gardener asking for a list of my favorite, easy-to-grow annuals. Needless to say, almost all the seed packets one finds at their local nursery are well suited for growing in one's own area. (Keep in mind that's not always the case with the big box or discount stores because they've no real choice over what seeds are sent to them.)

Giving it some real thought, I came up with a list of my favorite annuals. I've divided them into two categories: seed sown and already grown.

By seed sown, I mean annuals that are extremely quick to germinate in the flower bed and develop into nice plants early on in the season. These include:


cosmos

zinnia

marigolds

sunflowers

cox comb

thunbergia

moonflower

morning glory

hyacinth bean

alyssum

four o'clocks

bachelor buttons


All do well from sowing directly into the bed once the soil warms and stays above 50 degrees at night.


The second category, already grown, are the annuals I think do better if they are bought as seedlings and transplanted into your beds:

(picture from left to right: blackie sweet potato vine, raspberry blast supertunia, Victoria blue salvia)

Victoria blue salvia

supertunia

vinca

million bells

angelonia

snap dragons

dianthus

geraniums

ornamental sweet potato vine

Of the list above, the Victoria blue salvia can grow like a perennial in zone 5 if certain conditions are met. It must be planted on the south side of the house along the foundation where it is protected from the worst of our winters. For three years, mine have regenerated there whereas the same salvia planted in beds away from the protection of the house have perished.

I love how annuals add a constant splash of color to any flower bed. I purposely save room in all my perennial beds just so that I can add them into the mix each spring.

Gooseneck Loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides): Taming an Invasive Garden Culprit

Two years ago, right around the end of summer, I happened upon an interesting plant at a local nursery and although I didn't know much about it, I decided to give it a try. I bought two single stemmed plants---one for either side of the flower beds in my courtyard. For the rest of the summer and into fall, those two plants were completely unimpressive. They didn't change in size and before the first frost every took them, they'd died off. So much for the gooseneck loosestrife, I thought.


Guess again.

Last spring, I went out to the courtyard and there were all these tiny green plants pushing up through the mulch around the area where the loosestrife had (supposedly) died. In fact, they were completely surrounding my Ming Toy daylily and my yellow shrub rose. Lucky for me, daylilies and shrub roses can stand their ground. Fortunately, I hadn't planted heavily in that area and the loosestrife had room to spread out without bothering less vigorous perennials. Unfortunately, the loosestrife would keep taking purchase throughout the bed and eventually kill off less vigorous perennials.

So what to do?

I really debated over the problem because 1) this was the first time I'd encountered a problem with an invasive, 2) I liked the look of it in the flower bed, and 3) it's heat and drought tolerance made it an ideal candidate for that particular area. I chose to wait and deal with it this coming spring.

Why? Because I find its always easier to deal with a problem area first thing in the spring before a plant has a chance to completely develop. My first preemptive strike is to establish a perimeter for the gooseneck. One can discourage rampant roots by sinking metal or plastic edging as a barrier around the offending plants. I have some left over pound-in edging from another project that should work nicely. Any gooseneck loosestrife outside the established barrier will then be dug up or sprayed with herbicide. Lastly, immediately after flowering, deadheading is a must to prevent self-sowing. Hopefully I'll be able to manage the loosestrife without having to completely eradicate it. I'll let you know how it works.

Gardening Tip: Spraying herbicide in a bed that contains the invasive culprit but is also home to desirable perennials can be tricky. I use a 2 liter soda bottle or a milk jug to prevent overspray. Cut away 2 inches of the bottom of the bottle or jug so that it can be placed over the undesirable plant and spray the herbicide through the cap end. The herbicide goes directly to the undesirable plant without fear of the spray getting on any nearby neighbors.

Invasive plant list: There are many sites on the web where one can gather information on invasive plants. For a list of plants specifically for a certain area or state, contact your local county extension office. It's good to know before you plant. Below are just a scant few of the many plants to look out for:

trumpet creeper
purple loosestrife
lamb's ear
goldenrod
honeysuckle
Japanese knotweed
mint

Ghost Busters Eggplant

Is India or China the birthplace of the eggplant? The first record about this unusual vegetable was found in China, written around the 5th century. However, many others believe the eggplant made its way into the world marketplace, traveling from India to Morocco via Arab traders. Either way, the first known eggplants were white and grew to be little more than the size of an egg, thus the name.

Today, the name eggplant conjures the image of the squat purple vegetable used in Italian cooking and it is still often considered a specialty item at most grocery stores. Unfortunate. From the first seeds brought to this country by the Spanish to the more obscure Asian varieties now making a splash in today's cuisine, eggplant should be a common household staple. I've grown several different kinds but for productivity and longevity after harvest, by far my favorite eggplant to grow (pictured: two white ghost busters nestled in a box with the more common purple variety) is Ghost Busters.

The Ghost Busters eggplant is the main variety of white eggplant, growing to be about 7 inches long at maturity. From a productivity standpoint, the Ghost Busters will often have two or three eggs growing on one plant while its standard purple cousin can barely sustain one at a time, or so it's been observed in my garden. Ghost Busters withstands more wind damage thus less bruising. I pick mine when the vegetable is firm but not hard and I always cut the eggplant instead of twisting it from the plant to leave the calyx or cap in place. (A bright green calyx left in tact is a sign of freshness.) I store eggplant in my refrigerator with the same care I give lettuce and it will last up to 5 days. Just remember that any variety of eggplant takes a fairly long growing season. The plants need to go in the ground just as soon as the fear of frost is over.

Growing tips:

• Plants need good drainage or they will certainly develop root rot
• The smaller the variety the less resistant to extreme summer temperatures
• Asian cultivars often bear more than standard types
• In early varieties, flowers appear after the plant has produced six green leaves, 14 leaves until flower in later varieties

Fun Stuff:

• Around the 16th century eggplant was considered an aphrodisiac in some cultures and accused of causing insanity by other cultures
• Before the 20th century eggplant were mainly grown in the US for ornamental purposes
• Like the tomato, the eggplant is a member of the nightshade family
• Never store eggplant and apples together because eggplants are sensitive to the ethylene apples produce

Praying Mantis (mantis religiosa): Beneficial insect or garden pest?

By the end of mid summer, my perennial beds directly behind the house are teeming with praying mantis. I have to admit, if I were a mantis, I'd also pick that location. Until late afternoon, those beds are out of the direct sun therefore they stay fairly moist and the foliage in those beds are thick, the flowers often abundant. Moths and crickets and flies and grasshoppers among many other pests gather there, perfect for the carnivorous praying mantis with a ravenous appetite.

They never fail to surprise me. All season long, I'll be tending those beds and won't see a one and then, out of the blue, I'll be watering and the mantis will emerge, rushing to the tip-top of whatever foliage it was hiding under to let me know it doesn't appreciate the shower from the water wand. The larger the mantis the more likely I am to be threatened, angled forearms thrashing the air between us. For the rest of the season, they are an endless source of amusement for me---an organic means of pest control for my flowers.

Some gardeners don't see them in such a bright light. The praying mantis are not particularly choosy in their dining preferences. Needless to say, many a beautiful butterfly has fallen prey once a mantis takes up residence in a butterfly garden. Truly, it's nothing personal. The female mantis will even devour the male while in the midst of a mating session. (The poor fellow at the right has lost his head!) And, a large mantis can take down an unsuspecting hummingbird. So what to do if praying mantis are wreaking havoc? Relocate them!

When my son was a little boy, he would catch a menagerie of threatening creatures with a large glass jar and lid. Using this technique, even the most squeamish can move the praying mantis to another part of the yard/garden without ever having to touch or be touched by it. Moving them to the vegetable garden would help eliminate red spider mites on tomatoes without the need for chemical deterrents. I grow shrub, hedge, and carpet roses which would be an ideal relocation zone for a troublesome mantis. Before long, the aphid population around roses would greatly diminish. And, if my mantis population seems to be overworking the area in which they've picked to reside, I can always take several of them out to my blackberry patch.

The praying mantis is also a pollinator albiet not as effective as the honey bee. But, as the mantis moves from flower to flower in its search for another meal, the pollen collected on its body and legs is transferred. Having weighed the pros and cons of benefit or pest, I just can't kill a hardworking mantis.


Some other interesting facts about the mantis:

It's life span is about 12 months.
It can turn it's head in a 180 degree arc so that it can see completely over its shoulder.
It has three simple eyes sandwiched in between its two large compound eyes, enabling it to see as much as 60 feet in distance.

Baltimore Oriole (Icterus Galbula): Attract this songbird to your backyard

What I know about ornithology, I could fit into a thimble. I'm not an avid bird watcher either. It's just hard not to notice bright flashy feathers against the grays and browns of a winter landscape. Yesterday I was lucky enough to be in my kitchen, looking out the sliding glass door that leads to the deck when a swoosh of fire engine red took perch on the edge of a barren flower pot. A male cardinal! Spectacular. Not more than a week before, I was delighted in the same way by a male robin. The appearance of both fine feathered gentlemen made me reflect on another dapper fellow who came to visit last spring---the Baltimore oriole.

Spring was going full throttle when I first noticed neon orange flashes darting past my windows. I just couldn't get a good look to determine the kind of bird because he was here and gone in an instant. Then one morning, I was sitting at the breakfast nook table when all of a sudden there he was perched on top of one of two trellises I have on my deck. I knew I had to do something to get him to want to come back and visit often. (Later I learned that we are lucky enough to be situated in the migratory path of the oriole. This path actually cuts a good swath through the US and up into Canada so a good number of Americans can actually attract this bird to their yards.) I did a little research and found that by providing the oriole with its favorite food source---oranges and grape jelly---was the key to both a morning and a late afternoon visit.

Buy a feeder which will hold both an orange half and a few tablespoons of grape jelly besides the liquid nectar. I particularly like the Classic Oriole Feeder recommended by the National Audubon Society and manufactured by WoodLink. It holds the nectar, the orange, and the jelly all in one unit. It's easy to assemble and keep clean as well. I bought mine at Colonial Nursery. Check the WoodLink site for a retailer near you. I hung the feeder from my arbor and within a few hours I had three different males fighting over it.

The oriole usually arrives in Kansas City around the first of May. Since I'm about thirty miles south, I'll put my feeder out the last week in April in anticipation of my little buddies.

A Winter Coat or Just Ugly Debris: It's all in the way you look at it

I think its almost an instinctive reflex for some folks to run right out and cut dead/dying foliage to the ground level once a hard frost has taken the life out of annuals, perennials, and ornamental grasses. Why? When I pose that question, the answer I get back most often is: Because now it just looks messy! I suppose that's all in how you perceive it. I can see how someone looking at the dried foliage in the picture to the left could view it as disorder. Some of the thick blades of the strawberries 'n cream perennial grass have broken under the weight of ice and snow and have fallen over. The seed stalks constantly tussle the winter wind. But I kinda like the brushy, unkept appearance---the winter coat, so to speak.


The winter coat is a provider, feeding birds and other small animals. In late winter when the yellow finch begins to migrate north, they stop and feast on the black buttons of rudbeckia seed. The dried stems and stalks become a habitat in which small animals can seek shelter and where cocoons attached to the dried foliage slumber spring's butterflies.


The winter coat is a regenerator. There are some perennials that must reseed themselves in order to propagate. Violas, for example, reproduce in this fashion and who wouldn't want to leave the dry stalks in return for all those dainty, smiling faces to proliferate a garden bed in the spring? Several varieties of the lychnis family reproduce in this manner as well.


The winter coat is also an identifier. I don't accidentally dig into a clump of roots during early spring planting if I've left the dry foliage of a perennial in tact. Yesterday, we were having a bit of spring like weather. The temps rose into the upper 60's. Lu and I were out scouting around the beds in the back yard and I noticed that among the dried branches of perennials, weeds were beginning to sprout. I think its easier to identify the weeds if the dried foliage is left in tact. We immediately irradicated the offenders.


The final reason I like to leave the winter coat in tact is for protection. I've found that the dried foliage can act like a barrier for tender green foliage in a late spring frost.


Of course, there are always exceptions. Bluebeard caryopteris is one of those marginal perennials (living in zone 5 with extra care but preferring the climate of zone 6) that if cut back to a three inch crown and then mulched heavily, will survive our Kansas City winters. Another exception I make is for my ornamental tree, Hakuro Nishiki Variegated Willow. It is actually a shrub grafted to a standard. In order to protect the junction of the graft, I like to cut this tree back to a nice uniform sized ball of branches. The ice can collect on these shorter branches without much worry about the breakage suffered on longer branches coated in ice and whipped by a winter wind.

Typically though, most perennials, shrubs, and trees require no late fall shearing. Even the most sturdiest appreciate enduring the coldest season in their winter coat.

Pets in the Garden Photo Contest

Be sure to click on Lu's photo in the left margin to see his big debut.

Peat Pots, Red Onion Sets, and Goldfish Sightings: A definite prelude to spring

More days like this past Saturday cannot happen soon enough! There's nothing like 70 degree weather in February to make one yearn for an early spring. I wasn't the only one that really seemed appreciative of a winter's reprieve. Our goldfish were spotted sunning themselves in the shallows at pond's edge. Although not as prolific in number as in last summer's picture above, a sizable group had gathered and appeared to be fairing the winter well.

Funny enough, before there were goldfish and koi, we were told by more than one person that these type of fish wouldn't live in our septic pond much less breed in it. So much for listening to the experts. I knew when aquatic plant and wildlife began making our pond their home, mainly cattails and tadpoles, goldfish would surely survive. We started out by purchasing 4 dozen two years ago and last spring the population had tripled if not quadrupled.

The same warmth that brought the goldfish to the surface drove me to the garden supply. I've been sitting on my hands, trying to practice diligent patience. I know that I can't start my vegetable seedlings just yet. But that didn't stop me from purchasing those peat pots I love so much. Just walking into the supply store was pure heaven for me. As soon as I opened the door, the smell of spring hit me full in the face---the earthy scents of peat pots, bulk grass seed, bagged soil, and fertilizer---fragrant!

And then I spotted the onion sets. I think every gardener has their nemesis. Mine of course is the onion. I've tried and tried to grow them to no avail. If they grow at all, they are pathetically puny. I know this and have sworn off ever trying again---however, the drone of spring tricked me into believe my growing talents are invincible. Alongside the several dozen peat pots I purchased was a mesh bag of red onion sets.

I'm going to try one last attempt to raise the pungent but elusive little fellows. My bright idea is to get them started in the house in peat pots and then transplant them in the ground after the fear of our first frost is past. By then, they should be viable plants with beautiful, long green spiky foliage, right? I'll keep you posted on their progress!

Tigridia: aka Mexican Shell Flower

This beauty is also known as Mexican daylily, sacred Aztec lily, sacred tiger lily, peacock flower, tiger flower, and flower of Tigris. How interesting. I know just how it feels carrying around so many different names. I recently had some business with my bank last week in which I was asked to sign two different documents verifying that I had used a string of various aliases and that I was indeed same and said person. The lists went something like this:

first name, maiden name
first name, middle initial, maiden name
first name, middle name, maiden name
first name, married name . . . blah, blah, blah! Tiresome.

The other thing I have in common with tigridia is that we both are lovers of warm weather, tigridia more so than me which leads to a parting of our ways. Whereas I can withstand temperatures below 22 degrees, albeit not for long, Tigridia cannot---oh, really??? Guess again. The tigridia in the above picture is three years old or, it's been planted for the last three years against the south facing foundation wall of our house. (I have no idea how old the corm was when I bought it.) The first year, it sent out three leaves and a single flower. The second year it doubled in size, put up a few more leaves and flowered both yellow and orange flowers. This past season, it flowered pink, yellow, orange, and red---one to two flowers at a time. Yes, it is definitely an anomaly.

In fact, it is an anomaly in more ways than one. Tigridia is sparsely planted by gardeners because its bloom lasts only one day. I can attest to that. I've learned to get my camera the moment I see it in bloom or else I'll forget and have to wait another year to take its picture. That's how fragile its flowers are.

The particular species pictured is actually Tigridia T. Pavonia. It's one of 23 species native to South and Central America. The foliage is spiky but thin and flowers are borne on delicate stems. In the wild, tigridia are naturally pollinated by hummingbirds. They are easily cultivated as long as they are planted in well drained soil in full sun, zone 8.

So why am I able to grow tigridia here in zone 5 without lifting the corm from the ground each fall? Just a guess but, my tigridia is planted beneath the voluminous, leafy skirt of a hemerocallidaceae (daylily). In the fall, I don't cut the daylily back but allow its foliage to decompose back into the ground. Maybe that foliage protects the tigridia corm. Secondly, the tigridia corm is planted close to the south facing foundation wall. And when it is in bloom, I notice how the praying mantis and honey bees in my garden tend to favor it. As exotic as an orchid, tigridia always gets plenty of oohs and aahs!

The Clematis Project: Adding Focal Points with Vines

In the Victorian garden, vines were used extensively to add charm and elegance but more often to add privacy to an object, i.e., a covered gazebo or a screened porch. I love vines in today's garden because they add a certain old world ambiance in a more modern time. My favorite vine to use is the clematis.

Last spring, I planted ten different varieties of clematis, four of which I started on tall trellises (picture above) in my garden beds and two of which I started in large flower pots on my deck. These vertical elements not only add height to an uninteresting horizontal bed but also act as focal points to draw attention upward and to break up long stretches. Added to a large, free standing trellis, the vine can only grow so far upward before it loses purchase and then must begin to vine upon itself. Then we have . . . pseudo topiaries!!! Awesome.


Believe me, I have planted clematis in all the usual and ordinary places as well---around the lamp post, up a stationery arbor, at the base of the mailbox---but I wanted to use the clematis's Victorian charm in a new and modern way. I began reading about how lots of gardeners were beginning to design container gardens with perennials instead of annuals to save money. Well, a clematis is definitely a perennial and I was certainly getting tired of nurturing annual vines that by the end of fall were full and lush and looking super on their trellises and doomed to perish with the first hard frost. With over 250 species to choose from, I wasn't limited by color or sun/shade requirements, or watering limitations. The possibilities were endless.


That's when I really dug into the research. . .



Because the clematis is so versatile, I began to look at other possible planting ideas for it. Here are just a few I think will really add zing:



1) Incorporate a clematis whose sun and water requirements are compatible with another vine like wisteria which only flowers in the very early spring. I have also matched clematis to grape vine and climbing roses. These hardy, woody vines offer extremely sturdy support for these more delicate climbers.



2) Apartment dweller and house renters can now have beautiful topiaries on their balconies and front porches without having to leave the plant behind when they move or violate lease planting restrictions.



3) Plant clematis at the base of a sturdy but nondescript tree.



4) Unsightly utility box or air conditioning unit hindering the loveliness of your yard? Choose a clematis that likes to be pruned back to nothing more than four inches of stalk sticking out of the ground. Erect a trellis, either free standing or upright, and train clematis.

The possibilities know no bounds.



I am particularly partial to Donahue's Clematis when I'm looking to purchase a new plant from my nursery. Donahue's plants are consistently healthy, vigorous growers. Every single clematis I've purchased with the Donahue's label has flowered for me the first year in the ground.



Check back later this year. I'll be posting pictures of the trellises and reporting on how each of the eight clematis are doing. Meanwhile, I'm planning to write more on specific clematis species in future postings. Look for information on clematis with great names such as the Belle of Woking, Sunset, Jackmanii, and the Dr. Ruppel just to name a few.