Author: Lilac

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People Enjoy Crape Myrtle in TheGardenLady’s Garden

Lagerstroemia by Koshyk

TheGardenLady is back to writing about some of the flowers in her garden that make people stop and ooh and aah. Today she will talk about Crape myrtle, also known as Lagerstroemia, which is the Latin name for this gorgeous large shrub or small tree that blooms in late summer.

TheGardenLady is so thrilled that they have developed Crape myrtles that are hardy to USDA Hardiness Temp. Zone 6 so that I can have this show off shrub in my garden. Up until these new hardy plants were developed, Crape myrtles only grew in Zones 7-9.   (see here)

These are called four season plants because their bark is interesting in the winter, some have maroon new leaves in the spring, they have flowers in summer and their foliage may turn color in the fall.

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Beware of English Ivy on your Trees

English Ivy Forests in Arlington by TheGreenMiles

TheGardenLady was asked by her son who lives in Philadelphia whether it’s bad to have ivy growing on a tree.  He was told this by the neighbor’s tree expert.  Here’s TheGardenLady’s answer:

It is recommended to remove English ivy on trees and walls. (English ivy does damage to the cement between the bricks and maybe even the bricks). Ivy growing as a ground cover competes with the roots of the trees for water, oxygen and nutrients, so you do not want it as a ground cover. It is best to keep the drip line (the area of ground under a tree that extends from the trunk to the edge of the crown) clear of unnecessary plants.

When ivy climbs up the tree it adds weight to the trunk and branches which can cause cracks or breaks on tree branches. This stresses the tree.  Many vines strangle and eventually kill the trees they are climbing on.

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Rose of Sharon – Hibiscus syriacus

Let your light shine by Lady-bug

A woman by the name of Cindy wrote to TheGardenLady asking her to identify a shrub by giving the barest description.  Do my readers remember the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words”?  I requested that TheGardenLady’s webmaster write back to Cindy requesting a photo. The second TheGardenLady saw the photo, she was able to identify the shrub; whereas, as good as the description had been, it did not produce instant recognition.

Now not all plants are as easy to ID as Cindy’s photo. ThisGardenLady spends hours with friends trying to identify weeds. This is something we like to do as fun. And believe me, we are not always successful even when we have the plant in our hands. And we would never be able to identify 99% of the weeds with just a description.

So if you want a plant identified, send a good clear photo of the flower and another of the leaf and a good photo the entire plant would help as well as some information as to where you live.  And if the plant is an indoor plant for your area, let TheGardenLady know that as well. The more information available the more readily someone can solve any problem. This holds true if you are solving a mystery or taking a problematic plant to your Master Gardener office.

The common name in America for Cindy’s mystery plant is the Rose of Sharon or it has Althea in its name. Its Latin name is Hibiscus syriacus. It is a shrub native to Asia and is the national and beloved flower of the South Koreans.

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Rare Find Nursery – A Great Nursery for Rhododendrons

Rhododendron (laetum x lowii)by Eric Hunt.

Is there anyone who doesn’t love Rhododendrons?  ThisGardenLady certainly finds them beautiful. The word Rhododendron, which includes the azalea in the family, comes from the Greek meaning Rose Tree. It is the national flower of Nepal which must make the country look like Shangri-La when they are in bloom.

One of the breeders of rhododendrons was Hank Schannen. Mr. Schannen had been a recipient of the Gold Medal of the American Rhododendron Society and a former board member of the Rhododendron Species Foundation.  He started a nursery to showcase and sell his Rhododendrons called Rare Find  Nursery in Jackson, NJ.  Though Hank Schannen had passed away a few years ago, we are fortunate that his partner and associates have kept the Rare Find Nursery going.  And though they sell excellent other plants, the Rhododendron is still the star of the nursery.

TheGardenLady went to Rare Find Nursery recently with some friends. The Rhododendrons were in magnificent bloom and she was taken on a tour of the 11 acres of Rhododendrons.  To see some of what I saw on the tour look at this video:

For information about Rhododendrons you can check out and perhaps join the American Rhododendron Society. “Rhododendron species are found in the wild from the arctic regions to the tropics, spanning a wide range of climates.“   Their website tells you which are the best rhododendrons for your area.

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Frederick Law Olmstead – Landscape Architect Extrordinaire

Summer in Central Park by kevin dooley

Have you ever wondered who America’s first and foremost landscape architect is or was? He was the founder of Landscape Architecture. Do you wonder what the Central Park in Manhattan, the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, the United States Capitol Grounds and much of the Stanford University campus have in common?

If you said that the answer to the first question is Frederick Law Olmsted and the answer to the second question is that this same Frederick Law Olmsted was responsible for those landscapes in Central Park, Arnold Arboretum, the grounds at the United States Capitol and the Stanford University campus as well as thirty more parks across the country, you are correct.

Frederick Law Olmsted created parks in Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont,  Washington, Washington, DC, West Virginia, Wisconsin and in parts of Canada. (see here)

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Now is the time to think about Fall bulb planting

Bulbs again by robholland

If you are anything like ThisGardenLady, you are enjoying your garden. Not quite sitting back to enjoy it, because the weeds are more vigorous than many of the plants.

So it seems like the last thing one wants to do now is think about fall bulb planting. But unfortunately, if you want the pick of the catalog crop of bulbs to be planted this fall for next spring’s blooms, this is the time to order. And the catalogs are being mailed to your house, if they know you are interested.  Of course, you can sit back and wait if you don’t mind seeing a sold out sign when you get around to ordering. Many of these bulb stores don’t ask you to pay until the fall, so it is silly to miss out on a special bulb that you feel you really must have blooming in your garden next year.

John Scheepers is the place where many head gardeners say they order their bulbs. TheGardenLady just had the opportunity to visit a famous person’s private garden that will soon be open to the public. The head gardener is naturalizing acres of forest with 1000s of daffodils. I asked him where he bought the bulbs and he mentioned Scheepers.

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What is your favorite rose?

Rose Floribunda ‘Julia Childs’ by Drew Avery

TheGardenLady is begging her readers to share with us: What is your favorite rose? Please let us know the name of the rose you love. If you have a photo of your favorite rose, could you send it in as well?  If you don’t have a photo, we will find one; but it is so much nicer to see roses growing in someone’s garden. We would love to learn about your favorite rose.

My favorite rose color had always been yellow. As a child we had a yellow rose bush. We had pink and red roses, too, but the yellow roses seemed special. I think that what you love as a child remains with you. So I looked for that perfect yellow rose for my garden. On the advice of a Rutger’s Professor, I finally treated myself to a beautiful yellow rose. I bought Rosa Julia Child. Besides the beauty of the flower, it has a lovely fragrance,  I don’t know whether it is correct information, but someone told me that Julia Child herself chose the rose that is named for her. If I am passing on false information, it makes for a good story because Julia Child had such good taste. Not a myth is the fact that Rosa Julia Child was the winner of the  2006 All-America Rose Selections. Do I love this rose? Most Certainly. Do I recommend this rose? Absolutely. But is it my favorite rose? Close, but not quite.  See here.

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Bad News for Butterflies

Butterfly by www.frontendeveloper.com

The news about butterflies is not good.

In 2011 the BBC reported that 72% of the butterfly species population in the UK were in decline (see here). The report is in that about 10 percent of all species are now threatened with extinction in Europe (see here) and a lot of this has happened in the last 15 years.

Butterfly by www.frontendeveloper.com

This year a post by the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental studies reports that the Monarch butterfly is in decline and this might be caused by the use of Monsanto genetically modified crops. (see here) Weed killers cause decline of butterflies is reported in California (see here).

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People Enjoy Lilies in TheGardenLady’s Garden

 lily by Per Ola Wiberg ~ Powi

TheGardenLady continues to write about some of the flowers in her garden that make people  stop and ooh and aah.  Today she will write a little about lilies.

Tiger lilies by Lida Rose

I love any flower in the Lilium Family. I love them and not just because my mother’s name was Lillian and my granddaughter’s name is Lillian. There are many plants with the name lily in them, but the ones that have the WOW flowers are the true Lilies. Google up Images when you type in Lilum and you will see why. I keep adding more and more lilies to my garden. The only worry is that deer love them, too.

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People Enjoy Hydrangeas in TheGardenLady’s Garden

hydrangea blooming-01 by kazukichi

TheGardenLady continues to write about some of the flowers in her garden that make people  stop and ooh and aah.  Today she will talk about hydrangeas.

Paz e Esperança by Eduardo Amorim

There are so many different hydrangeas that you can choose from. They have lovely, wonderful and showy flowers and some plants have interesting leaves. They are called the workhorses in the garden because, as this fact sheet says,  “they can be grown in either full sun or partial shade. They are resistant to most insects and diseases. They can be grown in a wide range of soil but prefer a rich, moist soil and should be planted where watering will not be a problem.”

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