New Sprouts in the Greenhouse!

After that last cruel dumping of snow on February 2, 2011--it's comforting to know that spring is on schedule.  At least in the greenhouse...

Our greenhouse growers (and volunteers) sow seeds into tiny compartments (a plug tray) with one type of seed in each tray.  Each plug tray has between 21 to 288 compartments to hold seeds, and then seedlings.  The growers will decide, based on how quickly a seedling grows/what type of root system the seedling has, what size plug tray is best suited to start off that seed.  The 288 plug tray was voted most popular by seedlings in our greenhouse.



Alyssum 'Snow Crystals'
Sown on January 3rd - for Baskets



California Poppies 'Twister'
Sown on December 6th, 2010 - for Baskets



Dianthus 'Ideal Violet'
Sown on December 6th, 2010 - for Baskets



Dusty Miller 'Silver Dust'
Sown on December 20, 2010 - for Bedding Plants
A great foil to just about any color under the sun!





Lobelia 'Riveria Blue'
Sown on December 6th, 2010 - for Baskets
The best blue blossom ever!



Stock 'Cheefrul Yellow'
Sown on January 31st - for cut flowers
Doesn't just the name of that Stock sound like Spring?



Violas
Sown on January 3rd - for Bedding Plants


A few stats:  approximately 10, 600 viola seedlings were sown (and 25,000 pansy seedlings) for spring bedding use.  Right now, between 90,000 and 100,000 seedlings for spring and summer crops are growing on in our greenhouse.  That's a lot of infants to take care of!

If you are a sower of spring plants, how are yours looking right about now?

Craving Spring Now?

We have had quite a few sunny days this winter--and that always makes me feel better.  But we do tend to be a bit gray this time of year.  We try to alleviate that, over here down by the Cantigny greenhouse, by bringing out a bit of spring in a pot:  forced bulbs.  Starting on Fridays in February, Cantigny will once again be opening its gates to the public during the weekends (Fridays through Sundays).  If you do stop by our Visitors Center and our Museums, you just might catch a glimpse (and maybe even a delicate fragant whiff) of a variety of forced blossoms.

Yes, if you do want to achieve this on your own you do need to plan a bit ahead (early fall is best).  It will certainly be welcomed come mid-winter.  It's not a difficult project, but you do need to have a spot of patience.  Many bulbs are potted up and then need to be chilled for up to 14 weeks before they can make a grand appearance.  When you "force" a bulb, you're trying to imitate what that plant would normally require if it was planted outdoors in your garden.  If you planted tulips for instance, this fall, they are quietly chilling outside in the soil.  So, when you wish to force a bulb to do this in a pot, you are simply trying to mimic nature.

Different bulbs have different requirements or preferences and if this topic intrigues you, I'd encourage you to sign up for a complimentary class that we will have later this year...Saturday, October 1st, at the greenhouse.  You'll learn all the basics and be able to fire off any questions you may have on the topic.  In the meantime, come on over any weekend in February and inhale deeply at the Visitors Center kiosk.  If you close your eyes, you just might think that spring is right around the corner.

What's on Your Gardening Chore List?

Happy New Year!

I hope your holidays were great, and all your decorations are neatly tucked away.  That process, for me, always instills a inner "need" to start organizing...something.  I guess that's why as I was scooping up marked down Christmas cards and wrappings, there was prominent space in the stores, given to organization "tools".

A tool that I use to help me remember things is calendars.  I usually spend a good chunk of one day organizing all my calendars:  home/work, traditional and computer-driven.  As I was jotting down all the upcoming birthdays, meetings and programs in my life, I thought it might be useful for you, my readers, to be able to jot a few notes on your own calendar--things you might want to be aware of for the upcoming month, garden-wise.

January is the perfect month for planning--and there is a lot to do!

1.  If your mail carrier isn't bowed over carrying all your gardening catalogs--now is the time to order them.  Or, to be an even greener gardener--check out their sites online.

2. Check your seed stash.  If you're unsure whether a seed you have is viable or not, here's a simple germination test:  Place 10 seeds from one packet of seed onto moistened paper towels.  Roll 'em up, place in a ziploc bag and keep warm for a few days.  If fewer than 7-8 seeds sprout, think about ordering replacements.  Note:  you can put multiple paper towel "rolls" into one ziploc bag, but, be sure to label each roll so you can remember which seed you're testing.

3.  Sketch out your vegetable garden plan....don't forget to rotate those crops!

4.  While you're designing your veggie plot, consider areas in your landscape that aren't really working for you and your family--tackle one this year and think about how you'd like to redesign it.

5. If your Christmas tree hasn't been picked up yet by your municipality, trim off all the evergreen boughs and place them on top of your perennials.  They make a nice insulator and prevent plants from heaving out of the soil during freeze and thaw cycles. 

6.  ...and one of my favorites...sit down with a good garden book (or a few garden magazines) and sharpen up your garden skills--we can always learn something new!

P.S.  Believe it or not, now is the time to cover your rose bushes....the Cantigny Horticulture crew spent a few days last week and this week covering many of them in our rose garden.  You don't want to cover them too early (before the ground thoroughly freezes) or you'll be making a mini compost pile around them which can heat up and cause disease and pest problems.  Our cover "mix" is a combination of composted garden plant material, coarse (construction-grade) sand, and leaves.  If you haven't covered your roses, you're not too late (Yeah!).  Give them their special little blanket and you'll have a much better chance of happy roses this spring!

Photo taken by Jim Frazier at Cantigny Gardens 2010

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.