Happy Heucheras

Tags

butterfly, coral bells, garden, heuchera, hummingbird, landscape, perennial, perennial gardening

AKA Cheerful Coral Bells

Whether used as an accent plant for your garden borders or as filler plant, heucheras (commonly know as coral bells) are a must have perennial for your landscape.

This morning, I was busy dividing three existing plants into 11 new plants. Let me share a few reasons why I love heucheras so much…

Happy Heucheras ♥ Young Wifey’s Blog

10 Reasons to Grow Heuchera

10. Heucheras are available in a plethora or colors. Since many of my other plants are green, I prefer bronze purple and red purple varieties.

9.  They are extremely easy to propagate.

8.  They can tolerate a variety of soil conditions.

7.   The foliage and flowers both make excellent cuttings for floral arrangements.

6.  Depending on the variety you choose and your climate, they can tolerate full shade or full sun.

5.  These plants are essentially low maintenance.

4.  Heucheras look great with a variety of other plants.

3.  They are deer- and pest-resistant.

2.  Butterflies are attracted to the little flowers.

1.  Hummingbirds also love the blossoms.

XOXO,
Young Wifey

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Indoor Succulent Garden – Gift for the Non-Green Thumb

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centerpiece, chicks & hens, chicks and hens, Christmas gift, Christmas present, garden, gardening, gift, gift giving, gift idea, hostess gift, house warming gift, perennial gardening, perennials, present giving, succulent garden, succulents, Xmas gift, Xmas present

An indoor succulent garden is the perfect gift for the non-green thumb, they can even forget to water it for a while. Succulents are forgiving, adaptive plants, that vary in color and texture. This indoor garden can be a great Christmas present, house-warming gift, or centerpiece for the party’s hostess.

Before we moved, I pulled tiny three chicks out of my garden. They sat in a cup on the window sill at our interim place for two months, until I rediscovered them today and planted them.

 

Materials:
Glass dish (I used a leftover centerpiece bowl from our wedding), garden soil, succulents to transplant, river rocks (or marbles, or  gem rocks)

Directions:
Clean glass dish and pour a layer of dirt on the bottom. Depending on the type of succulent you use, remove any dried leaves and extra roots. With the chicken & hens, I trimmed the root to 1″ long. Arrange the succulents in the soil. Remember they will fill out as they grow. Carefully arrange rocks around the plants, covering the soil. Drizzle or spray plants and rocks to dampen the soil, keep damp for the next 7 days.

Succulent Suggestions:
Chicks & hens, snake plant, jade, sedums, living stone, cacti

What is your favorite succulent?

Burgundy Glow Ajuga

Tags

ajuga, alternative medicine, bugleweed, burgundy glow ajuga, erosion, flowering spikes, flowers, full sun, gardening, ground cover, landscaping, low allergen, perennial, perennial gardening, shade plant

I planted my burgundy glow Ajuga last year during the fall. What first attracted me to this semi-evergreen ground-cover was its colorful foliage.  I had shades of green, cream and purple all winter in my perennial garden.  There was the added benefit, that it’s a low allergen plant.

Ajuga Flowering Spikes

This spring was the first time I got to see the beautiful purple flowering spikes (about 8″-10″ tall) and the runners of foliage reaching out. Ajuga is versatile enough to be planted in full sun or full shade. The Ajuga that is in full sun has more flowers, while the Ajuga in the shade is slower growing and has larger leaves. The flowers are supposed to attract butterflies and hummingbirds, while the foliage deters deer (three more pros to this plant).

Ajuga Runners

To prune Ajuga you can trim or even mow, it’s really hardy. If you want a more controlled look, thin out runners as needed. This is a great ground cover for banks and to prevent erosion.

Some forms of Ajuga are even used in alternative medicines for heart problems.

What do you think about this plant?

Weekend Work = Gorgeous Garden

Tags

bulbs, chicks and hens, crocus, crocuses, daffodils, gardening, iris, perennial gardening, Spring, spring bulbs, Tête-à-Tête daffodils

Today was vernal equinox, the day and night are the same length… Spring started today at 1:32p.m. (I think…). Flowers are blooming, peepers are out and it’s the second gorgeous weekend in March. It’s the first weekend we’ve been able to get out into the garden and do some work. What better way to welcome the Spring?

After pulling a few early weeds and removing dead leaves and dried brush, my gardens were beginning to come back to life. In my front perennial garden, the small clusters of purple, golden-yellow, and pale yellow crocuses playfully beckoned me to stay and enjoy, their open smiles showing their orange tongues. I need to cut back the weed barrier a little more to make more room for them as they continue naturalize.

Crocus Cluster

My island garden and my side garden didn’t show me much color or new growth, I’ll have to be sure to add earlier color next year. Hubster was busy raking the sticks up from the yard, he returned the falling rocks to the rock wall and dug around the rock border to my perennial gardens. I need to re-mulch the gardens this year, but that task is left for another gorgeous Spring day.

I’m extremely anxious to see my new Spring bulbs fill my shade garden this year. The first of my tête-à-tête daffodils are blooming! They are only a finger high and so beautiful. Many green peaks are showing great promise for this Spring.

Tete-a-tete Daffodils

I trimmed up my urn planters, the midnight Salvia, boxwood and ivy all made it through the winter and show new growth. First year I successfully winterized these planters!

My gardening today gave me a fruitful collection of plants to spread to other new gardens. Look at all the iris seeds, iris rhizomes, and chicks and hens I get to plant. The dreams and plans I have for this planting season…

A great day!.. except when my curious border collie got bit by a garter snake who was protecting my garden. She didn’t like that too much, she is fine, just a little startled. I think she’ll think twice before entering my garden again.

Seeds to Sow

Rhizone Roots

Chicks and Hens

Spring Bulbs in Autumn

Tags

alliums, autumn planting, daffodils, fall planting, grape hyacinths, hyacinths, perennial, perennial gardening, snow drops, spring bulbs, tulips

Fall into a Frosty Sleep then Spring Up Next Year
Daffodils, tulips, alliums, crocuses, hyacinths, grape hyacinths, snowdrops… They all spell spring “a-u-t-u-m-n…”. It sounds a little backwards, planting spring bulbs in autumn. However, many bulbs need to go through the freeze in order to bloom in the spring. Bulbs are a great pop of color in your perennial garden, border, rockery and some even naturalized in your lawn. The bulbs in my perennial garden are well established and naturalizing well. It dawned on me one morning in the spring, why can’t I have daffodils in my shade garden? I needed the extra pop of color there and they’ll get plenty of sunlight before the leaves fill out on my might oaks. In August, I talked about which bulbs I would be purchasing for this season’s planting. I placed my order and waited for my box of joy to arrive! Now that it’s arrived I have a busy week ahead of me…

When it comes to bulbs, I don’t follow placement when it comes to height. So what if I place some crocuses in the back of my garden? When they bloom, there’s nothing in front of them to block their color! Follow the planting instructions on the package in which you received the bulbs. In the spring, remember to let the foliage brown before you remove it from the bulbs.

Happy Planting!

September Blooms

Tags

gardening, landscaping, perennial gardening, perennials, roses, turning of the season

Garden Visitor
One of my former university advisors (from graduate school) and his wife stopped by a few weeks ago to enjoy my garden. The semester I had finished at the university, I had just started my front perennial garden. He loved listening to my trials and tribulations and I was planning and planting my first garden. Now I have a side garden, island garden, shade garden and back garden (partially) to show! He commented that he likes to see how I grow as a professional and as a gardener.

Now Showing!
My magic carpet rose really have some abracadabra power, pink, red and yellow blooms are still bountiful. I have vases of them throughout the house and I take a few to work with me each week. My day lilies are blooming with their endless season of blooms. The heather is blooming and giving a soft look to the garden. The berries on my groundcover winterberry are turning red. The purple coral bells are still blooming, yet the yellow yarrow is beginning to fade. The cool crisp mornings are followed by warm afternoons (except last weekend) which fall into chilly evenings. The leaves on the japanese maple are turning vibrant vivd colors. I hope my camera is fixed before these colors fade.

Garden Work
It’s time to rip off the browning leaves and trim up my evergreens. The spiders have been so busy the past two weeks, I’ve spotted many beautiful webs in my garden. I also spotted two huge praying mantises (I remember one day , when I was a kid, I spotted three of them in my parents garden before anyone else had time to discover them first), I’ll have to keep my eyes open for an egg sack hatched this spring. I still have more chicks and hens and seed pods to share with friends. I’m also anticipating the delivery of my fall bulbs.

Next year, I’m looking for some fall flowering perennials to plant. Any suggestions?

Bargain Bulbs & Radiant Roses

Tags

astillbes, bargain gardening, blue lavender, Breck's, cyclamen, daffodils, fall planting, frugal gardening, garden catalog, gardening, gardening deals, helleborus, Jackson & Perkins, Minnow Daffodils, New Holland Bulbs, perennial gardening, price comparison, roses, spring bulbs, Spring Hill Nursery, Tête-à-Tête daffodils

My Garden Brief

My front perennial garden was the first garden we planted (in 2006) and is looking great. The side garden and the island garden were planted in 2008. The island garden filled out nicely and the side garden is coming along a bit slower (it gets less sun). The shade garden and the back rose & perennial garden was planted this spring (2009).

The shade garden has no evergreens and needs a nice pop of color in the spring, since the leaves aren’t on the oaks in spring, any spring bulbs would look great there. There are also a few other plants I would like to plant there (and my foxgloves never grew), helleborus, daffodils, cyclamen, astillbes are just a few. I’m also looking for blue lavender, more silver mound and some climbing roses for other gardens. The back rose & perennial garden has a lot of work in the future years.

Fall Planting Planning

Lucky me, I received four 2009 Fall Planting garden catalogs in the mail the same day. 1) Spring Hill Nursery had a coupon for $25 off of a $50 purchase. I order a nice amount from them and love their warranty on plants. 2) Breck’s offered a $25 coupon with no minimum order (so if I order $25 of free plants, I just pay shipping). I’ve ordered from them once before and my plants came in fine. 3) New Holland Bulb Company who had no coupon and I had never ordered from before. I’ve always thought that they were sister companies (they often offer the same plants and use some of the same pictures. 4) Jackson & Perkins, always has beautiful roses, that are just a little over my price range. 

The first three catalogs offered similar products. Being a frugal shopper, I created a comparison chart. I listed the desired plants, their purchase price, shipping cost and coupon offer. I wanted the most bang (of color) for my buck.

I love daffodils, tulips are my favorite spring bulb in a bouquet, but daffodils are quickly approaching their territory. The Tête-à-Tête daffodils would look great if there were bunches of them throughout the shade garden. Breck’s offered 24 bulbs for $17.99 (that’s 75¢ a bulb) and New Holland offered 100 bulbs for $35 (that’s 35¢ a bulb). New Holland also offered 100 Minnow daffodil bulbs (tinier than the  Tête-à-Tête, white petals with dark yellow cups) for $29 (29¢ a bulb). New Holland won round round of my purchase.

I’ve long wanted cyclamen for my shade garden. Spring Hill offers 9 cyclamen for $38.99 ($4.33 a bulb), Breck’s offered 10 for $35.99 ($3.59 a bulb) and New Holland offered 25 for 49.00 ($1.96 a bulb). New Holland Wins Round two.

Grape Hyacinths would look great with both of these tiny daffodils, but I don’t want to wait until next spring to dig up more (I will of course dig up more). Breck’s offers 50 for $17.99 (36¢ a bulb), Spring Hill offers 50 for $10 (20¢ a bulb) and New Holland offers 100 for $17 (17¢ a bulb). New Holland Wins round three.

Giant Alliums remind me of fairy wands. They’re so whimsical and beautiful in the garden or in vases. As soon as I planted them three years ago, I wanted more. Breck’s offers a Giant Allium Mix (which is nice because it has different shades) 12 for 17.99 ($1.49 each), Spring Hill offered 10 Giant Alliums for 17.99 ($1.79 each) and New Holland offers 50 Giant Allium Mixed bulbs for $22 (44¢ a bulb). New Holland wins round four.

Astillbes would be lovely in the shade garden, my mom’s isn’t full enough to split. Breck’s offers 10 for $29.99 ($2.99 a plant), Spring Hill offers 6 for $33.99 ($5.67 a plant) and New Holland doesn’t have them. Breck’s won round five.

Blue Lavender was only available at Breck’s or Spring Hill. Breck’s offer 3 pots for $13.99 ($4.67 a pot) and Spring Hill offered 3 pots for $12.99 ($4.33 a pot). Spring Hill won round six.

Silver Mound was only available at Spring Hill 3 for $21.99, $7.33 is a little more than I’d like to pay per plant, but if it makes my order total to $50 in order to use the coupon it might just be worth it. Spring Hill wins round seven.

I’ve ben interested in Helleborus for my shade garden. Breck’s offers a Lady Helleborus in red or blue, $3 for 23.99 (about $8 a plant). Spring Hill offers 3 Golden Sunrise Helleborus for $48.99 ($16.33 per plant). Breck’s wins round eight. However, I might just hold off on this pricey plant.

Overall, New Holland Bulb Company stole most of my fall business from Spring Hill. I’d have to double my order of silver mound or find something else in the Spring Hill catalog to take advantage of the $25 off of $50, which requires some thought. Breck’s is giving me 10 astillbes for $5 (after the coupon) and the cost of shipping.

Ready for Roses

Jackson & Perkins in a bit pricey and from what I hear, totally worth the price tag (most roses cost about $20 each). I always look at the new Rose of the Year and wish the price tag and wish it was a bit lower. I may have found my solution. Jaskson and Perkins offers you to join their Rose Test Panel to select their future Rose of the Year Winner. You can purchase these four roses (in container or bareroot) for $39.95 ($9.99 each plant!) You also get a 20% off coupon for your next purchase. Not too shabby.

I’m lucky, my front yard gets a lot of sun and my back yard gets almost as much! Roses grow well here. I have two metal arbor frames sitting in my basement, that I would just love to have outside. I’m planning a small rose covered path into a rose/english garden, in the far corner of my front yard. I’d have to support the arbors and make sure I grow climbing roses up them. Jackson and Perkins offer climbers from $14.95 to $15.95 each (container or bareroot). However any 6 are offered for $74.95 ($12.49 each) and any nine are offered for $104.95 (a more realistic $11.66 each). I’m pondering purchasing the 6 climber package. I was thinking about connecting the two arbors with dowels running in between their gapped spaces, and putting three on each side of the walk. I always purchase container roses. I might hold off on the climbers until next year, since I’ve already got a lot of fall planting to be done (but then again, I wouldn’t have it any other way). Maybe I’ll even go for the 9 climber package and put some arbors to frame the patio/deck I want in my back yard…

Gardeners: Go get your deals!