Thinking Bulb-ilicious Thoughts....



Tulip 'Angelique' (photo by Chris Walters )


Time to plant the bulbs!


Usually after we get one of those blackening frosts, we are teased back into a bit of warmer weather for a spell. That is a great time to get back out into the garden and plant up your bulbs that will brighten your days next spring. There are so many colors of tulips to choose from, and those glorious scented hyacinths ….and every garden has room for a few bright and perky daffodil bulbs, but don’t forget about the “minor” bulbs. They are called minor bulbs due to the size of the bulb/bloom. But, hey, let’s not give them a complex here. Those little bulbs pack quite punch: they’re the first ones blooming their little hearts out in the spring and most of them are stupendous at naturalizing. Which, once again, means you need to think a lot about changing that hunky, sticky, clayey soil into primo soil by incorporating some compost into the mix. These bulbs don’t need supplemental watering during the summer months (don’t plant them with perennial or annual flowers). Think about tucking them just under tree and shrub edges to peep out their joyous heads at early spring. Here’s my favorite top five, plus one…


Emerging snowdrops (Photo by Jim Frazier)



Close up of Snowdrops (Photo by Jim Frazier)

1. Galanthus or snowdrops. One of the earliest bloomers around. They’re so simply sweet and the gladest tiding of spring ever! Plant in groups of 10 plus to make an impact.




Grape Hyacinths (Photo by Chris Walters)


2. Muscari or grape hyacinths. These come in a lovely trio of white, light blue and dark purple. Plant them all together for a lovely spring floral arrangement.

3. Erythronium denscanis or Dogtooth Violets. Nice leaves and very sophisticated little bloomers.

4. Allium schubertii or Ornamental Onion. Very cool plant—when they are in bloom they are the most asked-about plant in the Idea Garden. They look just like a Fourth of July sparkler.





A mass planting of Allium schubertii with blue lobelia underneath.  (Photo from Jack Bannister)



Close up of Allium schubertii (Photo from Jack Bannister)



Allium schubertii after leaves die back--these "sparklers" will last in your garden 'til fall!


5. Species Tulips, or Kaufmanniana, or Gregii, or Fosteriana Tulips. Unlike the tulips you might be more accustomed to, these tulips will come back better and better each year. Try a few—they’re cute.

And my plus one bulb….have you ever planted garlic? Fall is the time to do it. But don’t raid your kitchen cabinet for it (but you can). Do a little research on line and see what varieties sound the best for you. Separate the entire bulb into cloves. You’ll plant each one of these about 6” apart in rows about the same distance apart. They’ll even put on a bit o’sprout of growth this fall just to show you how good their nature really is. They’ll add on to their growth in the spring, making all kinds of whirly-curliques and then they’ll start to slow down in mid-summer. And then stop. And that’s about the time you can reap the rewards of your planting..yum-oh! Oh and save a few bulbs to replant again in the fall….

Bulb appétit! And good luck with your tucked away treasures. It’s always a fun little surprise when they pop up in the spring!

Fantastic Fall--Awesome Autumn! Part II

More great Canitgny fall pictures to entice you...why not spend a few hours, or even the day?

Just one of the beautiful containers down Pergola Path at the Rose Garden



Kohrabi 'Kolibri', Kale, Bulb Fennel and Pansies in the Idea Garden







Crasseula 'Campfire' on the Loch Ness Monster in the Idea Garden



Mums and Mizuna Lettuce on the South Border of the Idea Garden



Oakleaf Hydrangea at the Fountain Garden




Fountain Garden Containers



Ornamental Cabbage at the Visitors Center

Thanks for visiting the gardens this fall!




Fantastic Fall--Awesome Autumn! Part I

 

Beautiful Kale at the Visitor Center entrance


Plan to make a trip out soon to see the best fall "fashion" show ever!   The weather has held up so nicely but all it takes is one cold evening to make it all disappear….(til next year). Grab a garden map at the Visitors Center to help you locate each garden "room". 
Enjoy!




Heptacodium miconoides Seven Sons Flower at the Visitors Center



Syringa reticulata Japanese Tree Lilac at the Visitors Center






Agastache 'Cana Heather Queen' at Visitors Center Patio

 

 


Crabapples escorting you down the main garden path.

  


Asters across path from Crabapples near Octagon Garden.

  


Octagon Garden Display

  


Rudbeckia subtomentosa 'Henry Eilers' at Gold Pond

 


Malva 'Zebrinus' and Northern Sea Oats at Gold Pond




Rosa 'Nearly Wild' at Gold Pond

 


Sedum 'Matrona' at Four Seasons Fence

 

  


Hydrangea  'Endless Summer'--What a lovely partner with the Sedum 'Matrona'!

 

Fall Garden Clean-Up Tasks--Part II




Euonymus alatus  Burning Bush near Gold Pond (Photo by Jim Frazier

 

Don’t forget newly planted trees and shrubs!


Watering: We have had a very dry fall this year (so far!) and especially if your plantings were added this year you’ll want to keep them well hydrated. Think of this as a weekly garden task, at least until we start getting some rain. And none of that quick spritzing stuff either—you want to make sure that water is reaching into the root zones (and not running off) of these plantings. Keep this watering up through a hard frost (and that can be after Thanksgiving!).

Mulch ring: If you haven’t done so already, consider a nice sized mulch filled ring around the base of these plants—this helps retain moisture and keeps errant mowers and string trimmers away from delicate bark.

Pruning: You can safely remove any dead, diseased or damaged wood at this time. Wait for late winter to tackle any major pruning though.



Lawns love this weather!

Our turf in this area loves cool weather and hence is actively growing. You can lower the deck on your mower to a cutting height of 2 inches. But you might need to mow more often to stay ahead of leaves that are falling from your trees. Don’t let them pile up too heavily or they will mat down and do more harm than good. If you can stay ahead of the leaf build-up you can just mow them up along with the grass—otherwise it is best to rake them and add them to your compost pile. Great stuff! And, if you feed your lawn only once a year—this is the best time to do that.





Calendula 'Flashback'

 Miscellaneous Garden Chores

Keep up with any weeding that needs to be done; remove any diseased plants and toss into trash not the compost pile.

Don’t cut back: ornamental grasses—they give a nice vertical element to the landscape and give us something to look at during the winter season. Leave sunflower heads, asters, Echinacea, rudbeckia, solidago (goldenrod), and millet seed heads for the birds to scout for snacks.

Rest your amaryllis bulbs. Bring them into a frost free zone and let them dry down. You are mimicking a natural drought condition for them. Don’t water again until they start to show a bit of growth (usually February or March—but minimum of 8 weeks). Then bring them into a bright area of your home and water as needed—in a couple of weeks you’ll be graced with a lovely stalk of blooms.

Take a tour around the vegetable and herb garden—yeah, the one that is in your backyard. You’ve probably got a few hangers-on of a few things…onion, tomatoes, peppers…maybe an eggplant or zucchini or two, the last few leaves of basil or a handful of oregano… Fix your mind into cooking up a big pot of spaghetti sauce or chili and toss in a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Cook it down slowly for a few hours and you’ll be rewarded with a great smelling house and a smile on your face as your taste buds re-visit this past summer of gardening one spoonful at a time.

If your veggies are still going full throttle and you'd like to help them through a frost and eke out a few more days (who knows, maybe even weeks) of good weather...invest in some lightweight polyester garden fabric.  You might find it under the name of Remay.  "Float" the fabric over the sensitive planting. Batten down the ends with bricks or rocks, but don't forget to roll back the fabric during the day so your plants don't get too toasty underneath.

And the best tip of all—if you are planning to create a new garden bed….NOW is the time to do it! This is where all those extra leaves would be best put to use—tilled into the soil. And, pssst, …..don’t be too proud to go and scrounge some from your neighbors. In years past I had been known to trawl the neighborhood scouting for bags o’ leaves that were destined for the county leaf-picker-upper-day. Bring them over to your new bed and run a mower over them and then till into your new bed. If you don’t have a tiller you can do a bit of double-digging and throw them into the “ditch” that you create with each row. Your soil will be fabulous come spring and your plants will thank you with great growth and productivity.

Fall Garden Clean-up Tasks -- Part 1 (Houseplants and Tuberous Stuff)

We’ve had our first light frost over the weekend…and hopefully you’ve stashed any tender house plants back into your friendly confines. If frost hasn’t hit you yet, it is best to get houseplants and tropicals back into your house before you turn on the heat—this makes for an easier adjustment phase for them.

Other tips for houseplants and those plants that you will overwinter in a “finished” state.

Give them a quick exam and cut off any battered leaves.

Rid them of any tagalong bugs: either by picking them off or with a spritz of soapy water or insecticidal soap.

Slugs, webs and dirt speckles tend to blemish the pots, wipe them off before bringing inside.

Don’t place them in a drafty area or near a heat source.

Don’t over-water or feed them (at all) during low-light months (October-March).

You’ll find that shady characters tend to winter through better, due to the lack of bright light in our homes.

Suggestion: instead of bringing in a big burly specimen, consider taking cuttings—much easier to keep the offspring going until springtime.

Plants prefer high light situations and cooler but more humid conditions than what most of us have in our homes. But, most of us don’t have this ideal indoor situation to keep plants chugging along. So for plants that you’d like to make a guest appearance in your garden next year…try to think dormancy instead of having them limp along in a tortured stated indoors.

What to do with those tuber things?

If you’ve purchased Bananas or Cannas or Elephant Ears this year and they are a little on the smallish side, pot them up and stash them in a cool area (basement or crawl space?)—but they cannot freeze. If they added a bit of girth out in your garden, wait until the frost has hit them. Cut them back to 6-8”. Dig up and shake/brush/wash excess soil. Let them dry in your garage or shed for about two weeks to give them a chance to dry out and cure a bit. Store them in a dry spot at about 40-50 degrees in a crate or cardboard box with peat moss or wood chips. Now this is the tricky part—they can’t be so dry that they desiccate to shriveldom, but they can’t be too moist or they will rot. So you need to visit them and check on them often until spring.





Weird factoid: Did you know….that today is ten-four day? On the 4th day of the tenth month we give an affirmative reply, “10-4” in recognition of all radio operators. Thanks Good Buddy!

The Rose Garden in the Fall...it's Looking Magnificent!

Before we say sayonara to summer colors, have you been by recently to take a peek at the rose garden? It is looking magnificent. You would think that we were in the throes of summer. I’ll leave you with a few pictures that I took on Sunday, September 12 th during our Photo Walk in the Gardens. But you know it’s even better in person!

It's hard to believe that roses are still happy in mid-September!



And even better close up!



Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Come and take a look before they are gone! It’s a great time to soak up those last warm summer days…while we still have them. I love the fall season: bright sunny days and crisp cool nights, fresh and new fall plantings (more about that in another post to come), and a cornucopia of those great autumn colors.

    

 

Fall sunshine is great for backlighting these Horse Chestnut leaves.



The Grand Opening of the New Youth & Children's Garden!

Thank you for your patience! And now that we’re ready for our grand entrance…will you join us for cake and lemonade on Tuesday, August 24, at 1pm in the Idea Garden (good choice!)?
The plants are struggling a bit—they were held over (and not very happy about the situation), but we already have a few changes in mind for next year. Bear with us and please—ask questions and make suggestions: we’d love to hear your thoughts on our changes.
Enjoy the pictures below…


And we started with a felt liner.



Rolling out the rubber liner.



Positioning the rubber liner.


Adding tiers of rock.


Shoveling rock around the plants. This is back-breaking work!



A horticulturist needs to plant in wet and dry conditions!


Is this a dead tree? No! It's the start of our Alphabet Trail: "A" is for Arbor!


And "B" is for Butterfly Garden, and "C" is for Checkerboard...

Come on in and see the rest of the Alphabet Trail, as well as Pixie Point and Pixie Passage. Or stop in for a game of Tic-Tac-Toe. Can you spot a fish or two in the pond? If you listen quietly you're sure to hear a frog shout as you approach. Join us for a piece of cake and let us know what you think of our new addition!

Documenting Your Garden or Creating Your Garden Dream Book

The gardening “season” is, sad to say, on the wane. And now is the perfect time to make some notes, take some pictures—do a bit of garden documentation. And who better to do the reporting than you? You witnessed the successes and a few devastating blows, and if you’re even a quarter as forgetful as I am, it’s best to have something to help you remember those events.

Where to start? Pick the type of record keeping that suits your personality best because then you are apt to keep up with it. We all start the garden season with good intentions and then, mirroring the gardening season, our interests tend to wane. If you start with a system that is simple and fun for you to use, you’re sure to make better use of it for the entire season.

If we were to take a poll right here and now, my guess would be that most gardeners have attempted at least once in their gardening lives to keep some sort of garden journal. Furthermore, I would dare to guess that most of us haven’t quite “kept up with it”. Me? Guilty as charged.

Brush those guilty feelings aside (better yet—just compost them) and let’s make fun the first goal of creating your Garden Dream Book. What is a dream book? Well, it’s a conglomeration of all sorts of materials that encapsulate your dream for your garden. It will include lots of data, but other things too. This will be a fantastic way to keep track of your garden and your plans from year to year, but it’s also a goal setting process that will help you to tackle and achieve some of those “dreams” you hope for in your future garden.

Think of any of these suggestions as a cafeteria plan—you can pick and choose what you’d like to select and leave any of the uninspiring behind.

Data to keep track of:

When—you sowed seed, it sprouted/germinated/emerged in the spring, you transplanted it, you moved it outside to harden off, you direct sowed seed, it blossomed/fruited, you harvested.

Where you—bought it, planted it.

What—it cost (and any guarantees that might have come with the plants), kind of fertilizers/pesticides were applied and to which plants.

How well— it fruited, you liked a particular variety (or not).

Did it have—issues with pests/diseases.

Weather—frost dates, general rainfall and temperatures as well as extremes (drenching rains, strong winds, and hailstorms.

General observations and daily activites.

Other Items to Add to the Mix

Empty seed packets, plant tags from plants you have purchased.

Pictures of everything: weather, animal damage, fantastic combinations, dreary or lackluster plantings, plants that might need dividing this coming spring (basically anything and everything).

Graphed out designs of planting beds—or drawn free hand, sketches and drawings of ideas and dreams, and general doodles.

Wish lists and plans: to include things that you will buy or make (wind chimes, plants, hammock, nifty wren houses, homemade copper trellis), hardscaping hopes (a new patio, a front porch addition, a garden pond or rock garden).

Detailed information: articles and picture clippings from magazines for details and inspiration, reference materials, hand-outs from lectures and how-to classes, book lists.

Wildlife Wows: notations on wildlife visits.

Inspirational thoughts, quotes, poems or stories.

Websites and blogs you like.

Recipes that you hope to try when the harvests start rolling in from your garden.

Pulling it all Together

My dad was an accountant by trade and he documented the “numbers’ of everything in his landscape during the entire year: 286 dandelions pulled, 127 onion plants planted, 492 scoops of snow shoveled, etc. And he just jotted these items down on a simple wall calendar; typically one that was a freebie from the local hardware store.

This kind of documentation can be very helpful—just a simple note (first frost/late frost, drenching rains, droughts, invasions of nefarious insects and such) can help you to trigger cause and effect scenarios on the plant life in your garden.
Once again, it’s best if you pick and choose what will be the most fun for you—‘cause then you are apt to stick with it.

Garden Journals: There are plenty of cute/lovely/sturdy notebooks to jot all kinds of notes into.
Consider starting your own blog—a great place to jot down data and creative ideas and thoughts.
Choose a nice sized sketch book for your drawings and doodles—it even makes you feel more creative and artistic to draw on “good” paper.

By all means, get a digital camera if you don’t already own one—pictures are simple to delete, download and print out.

A large bulletin board can be a good grouping site for many of the above materials. It’s in your face, prompting and inspiring you to keep making additions. Even a plastic box can corral lots of the above material until you have time (maybe in the wintery months?) to organize it all.

Perhaps the best solution—and not even high-tech, is to use a simple three-ring binder. Most of the above materials can have holes punched into them for easy addition to the book. Pocket dividers help to group things in sensible categories. Envelopes or plastic sleeves/sheet protectors will keep small things like seed packets, labels and receipts handy.

Whichever method or methods you decide to adopt, I can guarantee that whatever progress you make on garden documentation, it will keep you in smiles during a dull gray winter day as you reflect back through your gardening year. And it just might give you the extra push to register for a class to make that copper trellis you’ve always wanted… Hmmm, stay posted for details regarding this copper trellis class being offered at Cantigny in 2011!

Start Thinking Fall? Now?

Yep, the days are getting shorter. Boo-hoo! And it’s hard to imagine cooler days and evenings when our temperatures are soaring into the ninety degree range. But it’s time that you bust out the bin you store all your seeds in and take a peek and see what’s in there. If you’re giving me that empty look right now, I’ll take that to mean, “What seed bin? I was supposed to have a seed bin?”

Well, it’s that “inventory” of seeds that you just didn’t get to plant earlier in the spring, or maybe you just didn’t need all the seed and have a few remnants left in the package. But if you don’t have any kind of inventory—not to worry—you just might be able to pick up a few selections at the box stores or a local nursery—they don’t want to store any leftover seed and you’ll probably get them at a bargain price too. If you really have your heart set on a very particular variety you still have a bit of time to place an order online through your favorite seed catalog.

Bonus: most of the items that you will be starting for fall harvest can be sown directly outside (no need for a greenhouse or cold frame or any of that jazz) ‘cause soil and air temperatures are plenty warm enough right now.

Where will you put them? How are your current crops looking? Is there something out there that is looking a bit tragic? Have a heart and put it out of its misery—yank it out. Be it a water-logged area of annuals, an over-the-hill veggie planting, or an out of sorts container, use that prime real estate for a new and improved crop. Do a bit of cultivating in the area; add in a bit of compost if you’ve got it. Rake the soil nice and even and then you’re ready to sow.

You will need to be more diligent with your watering techniques at this time of year than in the cooler and wetter season of spring. When those new little seedlings poke out they are quite vulnerable to those blazing sun rays beating down on them. Be prepared to possibly even water twice a day during hot, sunny and windy conditions. Be gentle with the hose spray though, you don’t want to dash them right out of the ground with a forceful jet of water.

So, what can you plant? Think short term; since our days are getting shorter there is less time for some plants to mature (like eggplant, peppers and tomatoes). Look to varieties that will mature within about two to two and half months—around the end of September or mid-October at the latest, so 60-75 days.

Sow your bush beans, beets, cabbage, carrots, kale, Swiss chard, turnips right away and in a few weeks start sowing lettuce and lettuce mixes and well as spinach and radishes. Once those colorful and textural lettuce mixes start filling in they make the waning summer/fast approaching fall a bit easier to tolerate.

It's the American Idol of the Garden World

If you spin into the Idea Garden from our south entrance (just off the shady path from the First Division Museum), you’ll find a trio of circles bursting with blooms. Within those three circles are the entries for this year’s American Garden Award. They are bright with color and three of the four varieties often have a grouping of butterflies performing a tango atop them.

The American Garden Award competition is in its second year. Numerous plant nominees were submitted to the judges by various breeders. The AGA judges selected four varieties to compete to become this year’s national winner. And you, the gardening public, get to vote on who you think the winner should be. Eighteen sites nationwide, of which Cantigny is one, are displaying the four nominees. And just like the famed television program, there are several ways that your vote can be counted:

1. You can phone in your top favorite, or...
2. You can text in your top favorite, or…
3. You can vote on the website: www.americangardenaward.org or….
4. Lastly, unlike the television program, you can mail in a postcard.


Our spiffy mailbox, which contains the postcards,was hand painted by one of our horticulture volunteers, Gladys Johnston.

The four nominees this year are: Echinacea ‘Prairie Fire’, Ornamental Pepper Purple Flash, Rudbeckia ‘Denver Daisy’, and Zinna ‘Profusion Knee-High Red’. Please note that all the pictures within this blog were taken at Cantigny.

Instructional sign that also identifies each variety.

Echinacea 'Prairie Splendor'™ was Fleuroselect Gold Medal winner in 2007. And no wonder—at 24” it is shorter than most Echinacea, but blooms its little heart out from June through the first frost. The only entry in the group that is a perennial and blooms its first year from seed.

Echinacea purpurea 'Prairie Splendor'

As is typical for ornamental peppers, their fruit is fiery hot, but you’ll want to grow this exotic plant for its striking black leaves that have “flashes” of purple, green and white. Ornamental Pepper ‘Purple Flash’ looks great in container plantings as well as a bedding plant. While short of stature (10-13”) it packs quite a punch in the “looks” category and is drought tolerant as well.

Ornamental Pepper 'Purple Flash'

Rudbeckia hirta ‘Denver Daisy’ was selected by the city of Denver for their 150-year anniversary beautification project. This tall plant (18-20”) has large (4-6”) non-stop gold flowers with an inner concentric band of russet. You’ll get a lot of bang for your buck with this black-eyed susan annual plant.

Rudbeckia hirta 'Denver Daisy'



Zinnia ‘Profusion Knee High Red’ The Profusion series is well-known for its tolerance of heat and humidity, but ‘Red’ is a bit taller (16-24”) than its siblings. This red-blooming hybrid is nice as a cut flower and is drought tolerant too.

Zinnia hybrida 'Profusion Knee-High Red'

And the winner of the next American Garden Award is……to be announced in September. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite!

There's a New Tour in Town!

Over the years we have offered a variety of garden tours…morning tours with horticulture staff responsible for a particular area, volunteer docent tours, and the always popular evening tours with wine and light refreshments. Recently, we’ve added a different kind of tour—one that’s available to you whenever and wherever you may be… Over the Fourth of July weekend we added the Cantigny Park Audio Tour.

It’s a nifty interactive tour that can take the visitor a bit behind the scenes on various hot spots throughout gardens and around our Visitors Center and two museums. Signs are posted with a phone number to dial to connect to Cantigny’s Cell Audio Tour—then a “stop” number is provided to focus in on the area in front of you, when you’re at the park, or you can refer back to a tidbit of information from a remote location (like home) by dialing the same numbers.

Okay, how ‘bout an example…so, you’re out and about on our grounds and you spy a sign that asks an intriguing question—like, “Who is Cantigny’s oldest resident?“. Dial up the number: 630-315-2588 and press the stop number as directed on the sign (19) and presto-chango, you’ll be getting some interesting facts about that topic!





Did you know that Cantigny once had an airport for Colonel McCormick’s private airplane? Do you know what makes the Chicago Peace Rose unique to Cantigny? You can choose to stop and listen or….maybe you already know how to attract butterflies to your garden—well, yes you do if you’ve been following this blog at all….then you can simply by-pass that stop. If you were on human-guided tour you’d have to bide your time on a subject you’re already well versed in. And one of the coolest parts about this tour is that you can dial it up whenever you’re ready and interested.

There’s a new tour in town and it’s custom-made and personalized to your preferences. A tour with a different perspective: you pick/you choose. A sort of cafeteria plan of tours... Bon Appétit!