A Prevalence Of Pink

 

Well, our big Entrance Garden color theme for this year will be pink.  Our orange theme seemed very well received and despite how vivid it was, I think we converted those indifferent to that color in to big fans of orange. We will explore pink with a wide range of plants that offer various shades of that color by flower and/or foliage.  This pink theme will be echoed in the terrace garden as well with fun plants like the 'Cora Strawberry' annual vinca (Catharanthus roseus) seen directly above.  Years ago we did a 50/50 combination of pink and chartreuse in these same areas that looked great but I thought should have been more pink.  Well, this year it will be!  However, we'll use little hints of chartreuse, maroon and blue to break up the pink but the entire collection will certainly have some visual impact.  Below are just some of the many plants (or types of plants) that we're gathering for this fun display.  We'll have a focus on annuals and will include grasses and other foliage plants for interest as well.  Other color themes out in the gardens include red along the larch wall border and heavy blues in the reception garden which is traditional. 

 

globe amaranth (Gomphrena haageana 'Forest Pink')

flowering tobacco (Nicotiana hybrida 'Starmaker Pink Picotee')

'Magellan Coral' zinnia (Zinnia elegans)

'Supertunia Vista Bubblegum' petunia (Petunia)

'Pink Chaos' coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides)

'Sparkler Blush' spider flower (Cleome hybrida)

'Pink Lipstick' Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris)

'Brazilian Red Hots' copperleaf (Alternanthera dentata)

'Intenz' wheat celosia (Celosia hybrida)



It was another busy day around the Horticulture Center.  The raised bed above was brought in by Larry and Terry along with another, similar planter.  We'll have these over at the Parker Education Center as part of the layout for the RBG Garden for Good Spring Symposium on March 22nd which has a strong horticulture therapy focus.  Pat was out in the gardens bringing in more displays from the Holiday Lights Show (HLS).  He continues to retrieve what is unfrozen and accessible and we hope to get everything back in from the HLS over the next three weeks for proper storage.  Below are Terry and Larry bringing back one of the entrance garden pyramids which will soon be converted to pink for the collection mentioned above.  This structure (one of three) also served double duty in the HLS as it was decorated with lights.  Dave, Vern, Jim and Ron Y. continued working on their various carpentry projects (of which there is no shortage).  Gene processed some windows for painting and is putting sealer on some new carpentry items.  Gary S. fired up the laser engraver and produced new labels for some of our incoming 2014 perennials.  Bill O. came in to help Larry this afternoon and Kay came in for another day of working on plant labels (for our seeds and for the Spring Plant Sale).  Janice came in to work on myriad projects in the afternoon.  We also saw Chuck S., Ron W., Big John, Mary Kay and many others.  The last photo down shows one of our newly re-purposed and repainted doors for use out in the gardens.  I still need three more.....

Late Winter Interest At Olbrich

 

Last night I did a presentation at Olbrich Botanical Gardens (Madison, WI).  I presented on how to create a "Pollinator's Paradise" and used our very successful example from the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden (2013).  We're excited to have this same theme for 2014 with some fun twists and tweaks from last year including the incorporation of our All-America Selections (AAS) Display Garden.  This garden will also serve as our entry in to the third annual AAS Display Garden Contest that we have won the past two years.  We're excited to participate again in 2014!  My presentation was well received with minimal heckling and no thrown objects (this time).  I went up early so I could catch some daylight and tour the gardens.  I've included some photos of very nice winter interest that I ran across as I avoided (unsuccessfully) puddles, ice and wet snow.  Olbrich is one of my favorite gardens and I knew I would catch some interest from winter containers (see above), colorful stems, ornamental bark, etc.  Below are some other features of interest that I captured in a cool drizzle. 

 

ornamental bark of paperbark maple (Acer griseum)

ornamental bark of three-flower maple (Acer triflorum)

ornamental bark of China Snow Peking lilac (Syringa pekinensis 'Morton')

stems of coralbark willow (Salix alba subsp. vitellina 'Britzensis')

exfoliating (peeling) bark of the seven-son flower (Heptacodium miconioides) - grove of three

showy yellow-twig dogwood (Cornus sp.) - unknown variety

showy red-twig dogwood (Cornus sp.) - unknown variety

winter containers still looking good

dried flowers on a panicled hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata)

this statue at Olbrich represents the long winter quite well

It was a busy day for volunteer traffic at the Horticulture Center.  Above are Patrea (left) and Kay working on processing plant sale labels for our various vegetables that will be offered.  They did a nice job and were kind enough to place their empty beer bottles out of this shot.  We'll include plant listings for the sale on our website very soon.  We ultimately produce, process and utilize over 20,000 of these labels as part of the sale.  Pat was in most of the day bringing in Holiday Lights Show (HLS) elements and displays.  He has personally done the bulk of the HLS work over this winter and has proven to be the hardiest of all of us with his ability to work consistently outside during this brutal winter.  Dr. Gredler (below) continued with some painting projects including work on our trash bins.  The bottom photo might give you an idea of our big color theme this year as one of these bins will be located in the entrance garden...  Janice came in and we met with Patrea regarding the Thomas Jefferson Collection that we'll be displaying this year.  Cindy has also helped with the research and we've narrowed down our selections for this year to include 100+ varieties of historic vegetables, herbs, annuals and perennials.  This should be lots of fun and we're growing plants we've never tried before!  We also saw Jenny E., Dave E., Bob K., Urban M., Dick H., Gena S., Karen B., Sylvia, Jean S. and many others.  I'm still working on ordering plants, recruiting volunteers for our spring events (email me) and getting ready for a busy spring.

Garden Contortion

 

I love contorted forms in the garden, particularly in winter.  All plants have some sort of a form, whether it is rounded, mounding, arching, upright, weeping, contorted, etc.  Form is a valuable asset in the garden and as we combine different forms, the result is a more interesting composition.  Interesting form in the winter garden can be very conspicuous and a valid feature.  For that reason, I'm focusing on the contorted filbert (Corylus avellana 'Contorta') and associated cultivars in this blog.  The photo above (shared by Ken Tropp and taken at RBG) shows the interesting branches and stems of this special woody plant, also called Harry Lauder's walking stick.  The original plant was found in the mid 1800s along a hedgerow in England.  The best part of this plant is this irregular and picturesque branching, particularly between November and May when the crinkled, unexciting leaves are gone.  The photo below is one of our five specimens around the gardens (and probably our best).  I have a nice 8' specimen at home and we expect all of these to mature at about 10' tall.  I do remember seeing an old specimen years ago at the Kalamazoo Nature Center (MI) that was almost 15' tall though!  It is important to mention that the stems can get very congested and we are quite severe with pruning out about 1/3 of each plant each year to open up space.  Branch rubbing is unavoidable but target pruning can maximize the visual appeal and texture.  Our pruning is for the winter silhouette and of course, air circulation.  The plant becomes less exciting in the summer as the leaves are not exceptional, are delicious for Japanese beetles and ultimately obscure the best feature of this plant; the contortion!  See the foliage in the fourth photo down.   The cut branches are nice in displays and no two are the same.  Unattended (un-pruned) plants become congested and unsightly.  Be wary of root suckers that may emerge as straight stems and should be judiciously pruned out upon appearance.  This is an annual duty on all grafted specimens.  Harry Lauder's walking stick is a great deciduous woody plant for interest and it has been nice to see some new selections of this contorted filbert that maintain the form but have the added benefit of maroon foliage!  See further below for those options.

 

We had another warm day out in the gardens.  Larry and Pat went out for various duties including seeing what Holiday Lights Show (HLS) elements have become unfrozen and can be hauled back for storage.  The gardens are a quagmire right now but I wont complain about the snow cover (unless we get flooded of course...).  Mary W. and Janice were in the office working on projects.  We had a Garden Development & Maintenance Committee Meeting which included Gary S., Big John, Christy M., Christine R., Hal R., Dr. Gredler, Larry H. and me.  Dr. Gredler also worked on some painting touch up of our garbage bins.  We covered a lot of ground in the meeting including some final updates on our spring collections and displays.  We also saw Tina B., Carol S. and many others today.

 

winter form of contorted filbert (Corylus avellana 'Contorta') at RBG

male catkins in spring

late season shot of the branching

contorted filbert (Corylus avellana 'Contorta') "in leaf"

 grafted form on single leader

 interesting stems (pruned)

In 2008, the variety 'Red Majestic' (foliage seen above) was introduced from Germany.  This variety was a cross between a purple-foliaged filbert (Corylus avellana) selection and the contorted filbert (Corylus avellana 'Contorta').  The result is, in essence, a contorted, maroon leaf filbert.  The spring growth is the darkest maroon and while older leaves age to a greenish maroon (see specimen below at Olbrich Botanical Gardens, Madison, WI) by mid-summer, the new growth is always a vivid maroon.  It's important to mention that this selection is mostly green by August with just some maroon highlights here and there.  It is still a nice visual specimen and the spring growth is remarkable (see three photos down for a specimen at RBG).  In 2010, the variety 'Red Dragon' was introduced from Oregon State University.  This variety looks identical to 'Red Majestic' to me although it is thought to be the most resistant selection to Eastern filbert blight.  Regardless, both 'Red Majestic' and 'Red Dragon' offer the combination of form, function and color in the garden.  Mature height should be similar to the standard selection which still has value as a focal point in any garden!

 Corylus avellana 'Red Majestic' (Olbrich Botanical Gardens, Madison, WI)

 same as above

Corylus avellana 'Red Majestic' spring coloration

 Corylus avellana 'Red Majestic' at Morton Arboretum (Lisle, IL)

 Corylus avellana 'Red Dragon' at RBG

Cosmos Galore In 2014

 

Today was our warmest in over three months with sunny skies and 50 degrees F.  Despite the sloppy mess and stubborn ice still hanging in there, it was a beautiful day for activity out in the gardens and at the Horticulture Center.  I've finished ordering seeds for the season and was happy to find a couple additional varieties of cosmos (Cosmos sp.) that will be featured in many ways this year. We'll be featuring a Cosmos Collection just west of the arboretum which will have over 75 varieties displayed side by side.  All of these cosmos varieties will also be "sprinkled" throughout our Pollinator's Paradise theme in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden.  This is the second year for that theme and you can't go wrong with providing cosmos for butterflies and hummingbirds.  Above is the variety 'Rubenza' which is also a Fleuroselect winner and one of the best "reds" out there for cosmos.  It's amazing to see the wide range of varieties from the 5' tall old-fashioned selections to the more diminutive sulphur cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus) at heights closer to 18" or so.  I continue to be "desk bound" but am making more progress with other orders and finalizing the Spring Plant Sale offerings.  Mark down Mother's Day Weekend for this great sale (we need volunteers too!) which will be again combined with the Golden Kiwanis Tree Sale which we've done together for two previous years as well.  We'll have six varieties of 2-3 year old transplants (Colorado blue spruce, Black Hills spruce, Eastern arborvitae, white pine, white oak and black walnut) available.  Check out our website in the coming weeks for more event details and vegetable/herb listings for the plant sale. 

 

 

We had a good showing for volunteers today.  Above are Marv (left) and Terry who were reunited today for more work outside. Marv "retired" from the grounds staff along with his lovely wife Marianne at the end of 2012.  We hope to take advantage of their volunteerism though!!!  The guys focused on bringing in displays from the Holiday Lights Show (HLS) that are becoming easier to access as this warmer weather continues.  Unfortunately, the melting snow and ice has created a quagmire out in the gardens so access is still spotty and slippery in most locations.  Pat was also out in the gardens bringing in HLS elements and has spent lots of time over the past couple of weeks pruning with Urban in various locations.  Bob C. helped out in the gardens as well.  Gary B. worked on painting windows for one of our fun collections this year while Ron Y., Dave T., Vern and Jim D. continued their carpentry projects.  Dr. Gredler (below) helped me with some office duties and we also saw Julie G., Dorothy T., Gary S. and many others.  Janice came in to work on Spring Plant Sale tasks and Bill O. was in to help Larry work on a multitude of projects.  Further below are some more cosmos varieties that will be on display this year at RBG.

 

 

Cosmos bipinnatus 'Pink Popsocks'

Cosmos bipinnatus 'Double Click BiColour Pink'



Cosmos bipinnatus 'Double Click White'

Cosmos bipinnatus 'Double Click Pink'

Cosmos bipinnatus 'Sensation Mix'



Cosmos bipinnatus 'Sonata White'

Cosmos sulphureus 'Cosmic Orange'

Cosmos sulphureus 'Limara Lemon'





Cosmos sulphureus 'Sunny Red'