This morning I spoke to a crowd of 35 or so Master Gardeners at the Freeport (IL) Public Library. This small symposium was organized by the University of Illinois Extension in Stephenson County. Nikki did a great job organizing this morning and it was an enthusiastic group. Some attendees had been to RBG before but most had not (yet!). I spoke about annu
als and the other two speakers spoke about irises and keeping color in the garden respectively. I really enjoyed the trip from Janesville to Freeport (1.25 hours) as my GARMIN took me thru the hilly back roads which were very scenic as the sun was rising. I was wary about deer as I have beaten the odds thus far and only had close calls in the past. I would say that I probably do more talks on annuals than any other gardening topic but I'm ok with that and will never get tired of sharing some of our favorites at RBG. Unfortunately, a one hour (or three hour) presentation doesn't do the topic justice. For the sake of this blog, I've included some additional favorites of mine (not featured today) and look forward to our annual compositions next year. My catalogs for next year are awaiting my attention once I get more cords strung out in the coming weeks for the Holiday Lights Show (Dec. 17-23 and 26-31). Directly above is the 'Diamond Head' elephant ear (
Colocasia esculenta) that was introduced in 2008. I literally just rea
d an article in
Horticulture Magazine about breeding efforts in Hawaii by Dr. John Cho with the intent of all sorts of neat crosses and unique elephant ears. It will be exciting to see what's "in the hopper" and I know I've pre-ordered about six interesting varieties for next year. Our WI summers are great for quick growth on these tropicals as long as they get plenty of water and fertilizer. This 'Diamond Head' is a glossy chocolate color and quite fetching. This shot, incidentally, was taken at the New York Botanic garden in mid October. Directly above is a close-up of the fragrant peacock orchid (
Gladiolus murielae or
Acidenthera bicolor). The Latin name has changed so much I'm not sure what is official but as a summer planted bulb, we like to start them early in pots (April) and stagger the timing of when they are planted so we have them peaking at different times late in the season. We plant these after June 1 out in sunny spots around the gardens. April planted peacock orchids will bloom in September for us! To the left is a neat "cigar flower" or "firecracker plant" (
Cuphea ignea 'David Verity') that not only has unique tubular blooms (great for attracting hummingbirds!) but also has a long period of bloom until hard frost. To the right is an interesting grass with economic importance. This is sugar cane (
Saccharum officinale) but while sugar cane is green, this is the dark maroon variety called 'Pele's Smoke'. I've seen this variety reach 12' high at the Indianpolis Museum of Art (awesome gardens around the campus by the way) and it was very impressive. We've also grown this at RBG. Further below is the variegated tapioca or cassava plant (
Manihot esculenta 'Variegata') and cardoon (
Cynara cardunculus) at the bottom. Who says foliage can't have bold impact?!
als and the other two speakers spoke about irises and keeping color in the garden respectively. I really enjoyed the trip from Janesville to Freeport (1.25 hours) as my GARMIN took me thru the hilly back roads which were very scenic as the sun was rising. I was wary about deer as I have beaten the odds thus far and only had close calls in the past. I would say that I probably do more talks on annuals than any other gardening topic but I'm ok with that and will never get tired of sharing some of our favorites at RBG. Unfortunately, a one hour (or three hour) presentation doesn't do the topic justice. For the sake of this blog, I've included some additional favorites of mine (not featured today) and look forward to our annual compositions next year. My catalogs for next year are awaiting my attention once I get more cords strung out in the coming weeks for the Holiday Lights Show (Dec. 17-23 and 26-31). Directly above is the 'Diamond Head' elephant ear (Colocasia esculenta) that was introduced in 2008. I literally just rea
d an article in Horticulture Magazine about breeding efforts in Hawaii by Dr. John Cho with the intent of all sorts of neat crosses and unique elephant ears. It will be exciting to see what's "in the hopper" and I know I've pre-ordered about six interesting varieties for next year. Our WI summers are great for quick growth on these tropicals as long as they get plenty of water and fertilizer. This 'Diamond Head' is a glossy chocolate color and quite fetching. This shot, incidentally, was taken at the New York Botanic garden in mid October. Directly above is a close-up of the fragrant peacock orchid (Gladiolus murielae or Acidenthera bicolor). The Latin name has changed so much I'm not sure what is official but as a summer planted bulb, we like to start them early in pots (April) and stagger the timing of when they are planted so we have them peaking at different times late in the season. We plant these after June 1 out in sunny spots around the gardens. April planted peacock orchids will bloom in September for us! To the left is a neat "cigar flower" or "firecracker plant" (Cuphea ignea 'David Verity') that not only has unique tubular blooms (great for attracting hummingbirds!) but also has a long period of bloom until hard frost. To the right is an interesting grass with economic importance. This is sugar cane (Saccharum officinale) but while sugar cane is green, this is the dark maroon variety called 'Pele's Smoke'. I've seen this variety reach 12' high at the Indianpolis Museum of Art (awesome gardens around the campus by the way) and it was very impressive. We've also grown this at RBG. Further below is the variegated tapioca or cassava plant (Manihot esculenta 'Variegata') and cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) at the bottom. Who says foliage can't have bold impact?!
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