 The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest. William Blake
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It's Time for the 2022 Photo Contest!
The highly anticipated annual photo contest is now underway! Submit your best photos from your collection, and the Garden.org members will then vote for their favorites. The winning photos from each category will be pitted against each other in one final, epic vote to determine the ultimate Best of Show winners. Contest opens on November 8th and voting begins the evening of November 28th. Bluestone Perennials returns for the 6th year in a row with their huge gift certificate prizes, and is joined by Victory Seed Company who is also providing gift certificates to the winners. |  |
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Getting Bulbs Ready for Winter
Now is the time to get spring flowering bulbs in the ground. It's also time to dig up and store tender summer-flowering bulbs, such as gladiolus, cannas, caladiums, tuberous begonias, calla lilies, and dahlias, if your climate is too cold for these bulbs to overwinter in the ground. |  |
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How to Grow and Care for Bougainvilleas
Bougainvilleas are vigorous tropical vines that bloom in a range of vibrant, jewel-toned hues that create cascades of eye-popping color. With woody vines growing up to 40' long, bougainvilleas put on a spectacular show when in full bloom. |  |
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A Winter Vegetable Garden
In the coastal West, a winter vegetable garden is not only possible, but ridiculously easy. Yet, in the community garden I belong to, many plots go unplanted during the winter, as if they were soon to be covered with a blanket of snow. What a missed opportunity! Compared to the summer garden, a winter vegetable garden is a snap. |  |
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Naturalizing with Spring Bulbs
The effect of a brilliant mass of blossoms is impressive, especially in spring: imagine a sun-flooded hillside splashed with bright yellow daffodils, a lawn covered with the blue haze of tiny squill (Scilla) blossoms, or a streamside dancing with multicolored anemones. Naturalized plantings are easy to create and easy to maintain. Though it takes a few years for the bulbs to multiply and make their full impact, in the meantime you can enjoy the sight of these harbingers of spring. Naturalizing bulbs is a great communal activity: share planting tasks with your gardening neighbors. |  |
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Grow an Awesome Amaryllis
Bold and beautiful, the huge, showy flowers of the hybrid amaryllis (Hippeastrum) raise gardeners' spirits during the cold, gray days of winter. These large, tender bulbs produce spectacular flowers that can be up to 6 inches across in colors that range from reds, oranges, and pinks to whites, yellows, and bicolors on thick stalks that can rise 24 inches high! And they will re-bloom year after year with only minimal care. |  |
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Shrubs for the Perennial Garden
When we think of shrubs, most of us picture foundation plants or a shrub border. Of course shrubs are naturals for these situations, but there is another use for shrubs -- especially blooming ones -- that we don't always consider. |  |
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The Freshest Herbs
For most of us winter cold puts an end to the outdoor harvest season. Fortunately, if you've got a sunny window it's not hard to grow your own fresh herbs indoors in winter. You won't be harvesting on the same scale as you might from an outdoor garden, but it's still delightful to be able to pick a few sprigs of fresh herbs to liven up your dishes this winter. |  |
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Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Dramatic Encounter')
Hybridizer: Lesley Painter
Year Of Registration: 2013
Year Of Introduction (May Differ From Registry): 2014
Seedling Number: L07-13C
Classification: Tall Bearded (TB)
Registered Height: 38 inches (97 cm)
Bloom Season: Late
Flower Form: Bubble Ruffled
Bloom Color Classification: Wine, Gold
Flower Patterns: Variegata
Bloom Color Description: Ochre gold standards, purple plum midrib infusion; dark plum falls, dark plum lines appear over centers as flower ages
Beard Color: Gold
Style Arm Color: Old gold, touched plum
Fragrance: Pronounced, Musky
Awards: Honorable Mention
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 3 -40 °C (-40 °F) to -37.2 °C (-35)
Flowers: Showy, Fragrant
Ploidy: Tetraploid
Parentage: Plum Wicked X Upper Hand
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Lady Tulip (Tulipa clusiana)
Division: Div. 15: Misc. & Species (Botanical)
Country of Origin: Spain
Special Classifications: Single-flowered
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun
Water Preferences: Mesic, Dry Mesic, Dry
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 3 -40 °C (-40 °F) to -37.2 °C (-35)
Plant Height: 8-14 inches
Plant Spread: 6-9 inches
Leaves: Spring ephemeral
Flowers: Showy, Fragrant
Flower Color: Bi-Color
Flower Time: Spring
Uses: Cut Flower, Will Naturalize
Containers: Suitable in 1 gallon, Suitable in 3 gallon or larger, Needs excellent drainage in pots
Awards and Recognitions: Other
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Green Birdflower (Crotalaria cunninghamii)
Plant Habit: Shrub
Sun Requirements: Full Sun
Water Preferences: Mesic
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 9b -3.9 °C (25 °F) to -1.1 °C (30 °F)
Plant Height: 4 to 5 feet
Plant Spread: 4 to 5 feet
Leaves: Evergreen, Other
Fruit: Other
Flowers: Showy, Other
Flower Color: Other, Green
Bloom Size: 1"-2"
Flower Time: Late spring or early summer, Summer, Late summer or early fall
Dynamic Accumulator: Nitrogen fixer
Resistances: Drought tolerant
Pollinators: Various insects
Conservation status: Least Concern (LC)
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Blue Hibiscus (Hibiscus huegelii)
Plant Habit: Shrub
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun, Full Sun to Partial Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic, Dry Mesic
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 8b -9.4 °C (15 °F) to -6.7 °C (20 °F)
Plant Height: 4 to 12 feet
Plant Spread: 6 to 8 feet
Leaves: Evergreen, Other, Broadleaf
Fruit: Dehiscent
Fruiting Time: Spring, Late spring or early summer
Flowers: Showy, Blooms on new wood
Flower Color: Mauve, Other, Purple, Lavender
Bloom Size: 3"-4"
Flower Time: Spring, Other, Year Round
Suitable Locations: Xeriscapic, Espalier
Uses: Windbreak or Hedge, Cut Flower, Will Naturalize
Wildlife Attractant: Hummingbirds, Butterflies, Bees
Resistances: Deer Resistant, Drought tolerant
Pollinators: Various insects, Bees, Bumblebees, Wasps, Hoverflies
Containers: Suitable in 3 gallon or larger
Conservation status: Least Concern (LC)
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Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata Forever Goldy®)
Plant Habit: Shrub, Tree
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade, Partial or Dappled Shade
Water Preferences: Wet Mesic, Mesic
Plant Height: 15-20 feet
Plant Spread: 5 feet
Leaves: Good fall color, Unusual foliage color, Fragrant, Evergreen, Other
Suitable Locations: Patio/Ornamental/Small Tree
Uses: Windbreak or Hedge, Provides winter interest
Resistances: Drought tolerant
Parentage: Martin
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 Photo by Valery33
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 Photo by HemNorth
"A stunning arrangement of petals."
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 Photo by SL_gardener
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 Photo by Valery33
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 Photo by wildflowers
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 Photo by twixanddud
"Love this one! Every bloom is perfect"
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 Photo by RuuddeBlock
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 Photo by GigiPlumeria
"My grafted desert rose."
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 Photo by GigiPlumeria
"Beautiful bloom of my grafted, ‘Triple Santa Claus’."
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 Photo by floota
"SIGNATURE TRUFFLE"
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Active threads from our forums:
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The numbers from this week:
228 members joined.
3,312 posts written in our forums.
663 photos posted to the plant database.
387 plants added to personal inventory lists.
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 It was such a pleasure to sink one's hands into the warm earth, to feel at one's fingertips the possibilities of the new season. Kate Morton
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