Start Your Gardens!

Okay, maybe it's a little early to actually start planting, but never too early to plan. 

DM here, bringing you tonight's post.

Tonight, the Valley Garden Club met at my house and saw a presentation given by Cory Whitmer, of The Mustard Seed, a nearby garden center.  Now, one of the lovely things about blogging on a site read by people who do not know me well is that nobody is snickering and making dandelion jokes, at the mention of me belonging to the garden club.  Lovely as that is, 365 Being is all about the perfectly imperfect life, so in the interest of full (hopefully inspirational) disclosure, no, I am not a gardener. 

I plant things that sometimes grow.  I even envision a wonderful public pocket park in my front yard, since I have almost the only shade in downtown Belle Plaine.  However, I love the rabbit that lives by my back gate, and am not particularly bothered by the mole hills that cross my yard like organic dot-to-dots.  I could win flower show competitions for largest dandelion, if they held such competitions.  So no, I'm not really a gardener.

I grow great zinnias though, and marigolds like me so much that they always come back the next year.  My secret is neglect and under watering.

 *  Put these in your front yard, and folks will overlook any weeds, junk or peeling paint beyond them.  Brilliant!   *

Now, for those of you who want to attempt something more than zinnias and dandelions, here are some of what Cory says will be the big sellers for our zone 4/5 climate, this year.  Some are very new to the market, so may be hard to get until next summer.  Sorry no photos, but google the names, or if you are nearby, check in with the folks at themustardseedinc.com to find out when they might be on view.

Annuals:

• Sparks Will Fly Begonia - tangerine is the trend color for this year and probably next, even though polls show orange as the least favorite flower color.  This has bronze/lime foliage under orange flowers, and will take some shade. 
• Whopper Begonias - These are big plants, almost twice the size of standard begonias, about 3' tall.  They are pink or red, and will do best in partial to full shade.
• Chocolate Covered Cherry Coleus - OH WOW!!!  This is similar to Kong (I think I got that right), but it has just a rim of lime green around a dark plum-brown leaf with magenta centers.  About a foot tall, and likes shadier shade.  I think everyone put a star next to this on their list tonight.
• Honey Crisp Coleus - Leaves are limier at the top of the plant, yellower toward the bottom, and the cool thing is that the undersides are red.  If you put this on your porch, you'll get a great effect from the street.  It likes full sun.
• Everlast Dianthus - This can be planted earlier than most dianthus in our zone, has a longer bloom, more and hardier blooms, is very low maintenance, and if it starts to look shabby, you simply mow it with a high mower, and it will freshen right up.
• Elephant Scarlet Gerbera - You know how Gerb's are such a big bloom?  Well these are even bigger, at about twice the usual size.  If you have a hard time with Gerberas, you are probably overwatering, Cory says.  They like it very dry.
• 3D Berry White Osteospermum - This is mostly white with a purple center.  Like gerberas, they like it DRY.
• Patchwork Cosmic Orange Impatiens - This made me think of Creamcicles with bites taken out.  Apparently the big thing breeders are after now is random splotchy patterns, rather than uniform two-tone stripes.  It's cute.
• Cool Wave Pansies - These are a trademark Wave, so although new, well tested to perform.  They sprawl more, and will handle the heat far better than traditional pansies.
• Blue A Fuse Petunia - Another of the new splotchy patterns, this petunia is purple and white.
• Candy Cane Verbena - This is really sweet.  Hummingbirds apparently think so too.  The markings on the petals look like white hearts with dark pink edges.  It grows well under trees limbed up high, and needs very little water.
• Blackberry Vinca - Blooms early and all through the season, prefers mostly sun, and as the name implies, it is a very dark, nearly black purple.  It's good ground cover, and nice in pots.

Perennials:

• First Love Dianthus - Multiple colors of pink and white flowers on one plant, takes the heat well, and blooms all season.  Full sun.
• PowWow White Echinacea - Apparently earlier white echinaceas (cone flower) were pretty floppy, but this new one has sturdy stems and a long blooming period.  I think they look like happy polka-dots.
• Black Diamond Helleborus - These are the early bloomers that will pop up when snow still hangs on the ground in places.  Growing them in Minnesota has been nearly impossible, but this new variety has tested well.  It's another very dark purple flower, and well suited to woodland gardens.  I think they should test it in my side yard, don't you?
• Pink Cat Nepeta (catmint) - Hummers and butterflies love this.  Blooms June through August, drought tolerant, but yes, it spreads.
• Pike's Peak Purple Penstemon - Likes full sun, grows 2-3 feet tall, and is another drought tolerant hummingbird feeder. 
• Red Rocks Penstemon - This one has red flowers with white throats, and will do well with a little shade.

Shrubs:

• Bobo Hydrangea Paniculata- This has tons of white to green blooms on a 3 foot tall plant.  The stems are super sturdy, so it doesn't droop under the weight of the flowers, which looked like the more conical formation (I think that's the paniculata part), and it's deer tolerant, if that's a worry.  Deer stop about three blocks short of downtown, so I'm safe there.  Wandering drunks during our town festivals are a different issue.
• Strawberry Sundae Hydrangea Paniculata - Did you fall in love with the Strawberry Vanilla Hydrangea, widely advertised in magazines last summer, but maybe not it's 6' height?  This is the same flower on a much shorter plant.  Blooms start white, then fade from the bottom up, changing to a rich pink.
• Purple Boomerang Lilac - This was also widely advertised last year.  The price should be a little friendlier this year, and plants a little easier to find.  If you have ever wished lilacs lasted longer, thank your fairy godmother (or the breeder of this one).  It blooms from spring until the weather gets hot, then re-blooms after the doggiest days of August.  Cory says you can cut blooms and see new buds two weeks later!
• Amber Jubilee Ninebark - This is 5-6 feet tall, and has gold/maroon/amber foliage (think spiky maple leaf shape, if you aren't familiar with ninebark) that holds it's color all season.  It will be paler in sunnier locations, and darker in shadier locations, but still with all it's colors.  I've had ninebark recommended more than once, so if I ever do get serious, I'm going for this one.
• Little Devil Ninebark - This has been around a few years, but when Cory heard none of us were familiar with it, he gushed.  It's a shorty, just 3-4 feet tall, with purple foliage in full sun.  It's a good replacement for barberry, which is being put on the thug list, as it's invading wild areas.  Cory says this one doesn't put out suckers, which apparently some ninebarks do.

So, for all you gardeners out there who might look further into these, hopefully I spelled everything right, since you know spell check is about to turn my whole screen yellow.  Even I might study up a bit more on my favorites.  All our snow melted here, so the entire landscape is dull brown, and these slides were so juicy and vibrant, I can't help but be fooled into thinking that this could be the year I finally become a gardener. 

I have a good four months to plan.  Then again, I also have clients' walls to paint, a couple issues of a bookazine to publish, actually three, since the fall issue gets built in mid-summer, and some travelling to do.  Sigh.  Anyone out there want to practice their gardening skills on a beautiful dandelion patch in the heart of downtown Belle Plaine?

Wishing you gorgeous gardens, if only in your dreams,
Dawn-Marie, Dandelion Grower Extraordinaire