Gatsbys Gardens

Have A Heart

2013-05-16T06:16:00.000-05:00

When spring is late like it is for us in the Midwest, the Bleeding Heart is such a welcome sight in the garden. It just lingers until the weather becomes so hot it can't stand it anymore! Dicentra Spectablis Golden Heart This is a favorite, so striking in the garden! Spectablis does not bloom for the entire season but they are required to die down naturally in order to bloom the

Spring Debut

2013-05-03T17:30:00.000-05:00

Spring is really trying and I must admit I am enjoying the extended blooms on many of the bulbs. The past few years they have bloomed and fizzled in the heat. Daffodil Thalia I don't know why I do not plant more of this daffodil, consistently comes back and multiplies each year. I must put more of these on my list for next year! Thalia can be formal or casual as they are around the

Around The Garden

2013-04-25T17:15:00.001-05:00

It hasn't been much fun walking around the garden lately, so little to see for most of the spring, but I am inspired by the blooms over the past week and hope that warmer weather will come soon. Forsythia Bronxensis Greensteem This is a smaller lemon yellow variety. Daffodil Sagitta Daffodil Marieke Daffodil Itzim Very early and lasts longer than Tete-A-Tete

Things To Do When Spring Has Not Sprung

2013-04-14T17:59:00.000-05:00

We are playing a waiting game, but there are many tasks we can do while waiting for the weather to catch up with the calendar. Prune the roses and feed them. Lay the mulch and cut down all of the dead foliage. Feed the acid loving plants and sprinkle a general fertilizer throughout the rest of the garden. I have found that this doesn't have to be a major chore, I just pretend I am

Mulch, Mulch

2013-04-07T17:16:00.000-05:00

I have used all different types of mulch throughout the years, cedar, no float, bark, Scott's Brown Mulch and lately a shredded hardwood mulch from a local nursery. This last one is the one my dogs have voted the best as they immediately want to roll in it! It is the most expensive but it looks wonderful in my garden beds. The larger mulch lasts longer and does not wash away easily,

Lights, Camera, Action

2013-03-29T08:59:00.002-05:00

I almost didn't think of planting my seeds under lights this year, but I was inspired by a fellow blogger Lona to again begin my garden indoors. I don't know what happened, many of the new introductions were not offered in seeds and I just couldn't make up my mind what to grow. I browsed through the catalogs very late and chose some annuals and vegetables that were of interest. I have four

Chicago Flower And Garden Show 2013

2013-03-13T21:04:00.000-05:00

This year's theme was "The Art Of Gardening," so glad it is finally being seen as an art. Gordon Hayward who wrote Art And The Gardener would be pleased! There actually was an all out art show in a variety of mediums. I attended this year again with the Garden Writers Association and do enjoy being able to photograph the show before the public arrives and

A Carefree Garden

2013-03-08T08:14:00.000-06:00

Everyone wants a carefree garden but if you have been gardening for awhile you know there is no such thing! However, we can all be in search of plants that will make things easier each year and still be beautiful. I have added some seasonal shrubs to my borders, shrubs that have three seasons of interest. Forsythia Greenstem Dwarf Fothergillia Ninebark Summer Wine Grasses

Dreaming Of Spring

2013-02-28T08:42:00.000-06:00

The puppy has kept me in the mode of being a new mother, not something most people want to go through after having human babies that are all grown up! However, it is getting a little better, sleeping through the night, being able to withstand the crate for a few hours and not having too many accidents. Duffy has lots of hair on his back but it will be a while before the face hair fills out. He

Heat Resistant Annuals For 2013

2013-02-05T17:30:00.000-06:00

Plant breeders are paying close attention to our changing climate and each year are introducing more and more heat resistant plants. These are just some of the new introductions that will tolerate heat. Glamouflage Grape Petunia Variegated Foliage Blue A Fuse Petunia Each flower is a different color combination. Supertunia Watermelon Self-cleaning I can't wait to try

Plant Of The Year

2013-02-01T06:31:00.000-06:00

Do we really care what has been designated as "The Plant Of The Year"? We all have our favorite perennials but we really should take note of what is chosen each year that has sustainability for a wide range of climatic conditions, low maintenance, pest and disease resistance, available in local nurseries and will have interest through multiple seasons. These are the attributes looked for when a

Do You Have A Butterfly Garden?

2013-01-22T18:05:00.000-06:00

Many of us have butterfly gardens without realizing it! How can this be, I didn't work on planting a butterfly garden. There are even season categories for the plantings used for attracting butterflies. Allium Purple Sensation Chives These are just two of the early season butterfly magnets! Some other early perennials are

Sustainable Plants For 2013

2013-01-11T16:47:00.000-06:00

It was a summer to remember that summer of 2012, fried leaves, wilting flowers and the actual disappearance of foliage above ground level. Astilbe along north side fried even with sufficient water. How soon we forget and become so excited about all of the new plant introductions for the coming season. I am trying to keep my focus on the plants that did well despite the intense heat and lack

That Other Season

2012-12-31T16:49:00.000-06:00

I can hear the gardener's resolutions for the new year, redo this, move that, pick a theme, use more heat resistant plants, etc., etc. Amaryllis Picotee began blooming the day after Christmas and because they were large bulbs will bloom for quite a while with more than one stalk. The large bulbs really pay off in flower production. The smaller Paperwhite Ziva bloomed very little and for a

Happy Holidays!

2012-12-23T06:47:00.000-06:00

Paperwhites

2012-12-05T19:02:00.001-06:00

It is time to plant Paperwhites for Holiday bloom. Duffy has kept me from blogging, baking, cleaning, shopping, etc., but he is cute isn't he? Paperwhite Ziva The larger bulbs will bring more flowers. This variety is more fragrant and floriferous than other varieties. Smaller Ziva Bulbs will not have as many flowers. I planted the smaller ones in a glass container with glass

Let The Season Begin

2012-11-24T16:30:00.000-06:00

My containers are put together, mostly because the weather has been so mild. The Thanksgiving turkey has been eaten, lights are on the evergreens and let the Christmas music roll! My favorite greens this year are Port Orford Cedar and Incense Cedar. The dried hydrangea flowers are from my Limelight that I sprayed with a deep red enamel (will last all winter). Pine cones are a great

The Latest Colors

2012-11-11T17:21:00.003-06:00

I am not talking about what's new in home decor or the newest fashion trend but plants we can count on to give us color late into the fall and winter seasons. I am noticing more each year those plants that keep their leaves the longest and those that keep colorful leaves throughout the winter. Chanticleer Pear Always the last of trees to lose its leaves but this year the colors were

Amaryllis - Beauty In The Winter Garden

2012-11-02T16:43:00.000-05:00

I have planted amaryllis for many years in many ways, in large tall containers with colored marbles and water, in small pots with potting soil and stakes, in urns with painted dogwood branches for support and finally this year in larger clay pots with potting soil. These are nine inch clay pots with the largest bulbs I could find. I used Miracle Gro potting soil. About two weeks ago, our

Color In The Fall Garden

2012-10-24T17:39:00.002-05:00

You can have just about every color imaginable in a fall garden. I was never much for fall gardening and just figured it was over after the July burst of color. Dwarf Fothergilla I just planted two of these this fall, had a difficult summer at the nursery but I love all of the colors it has turned in the fall. Clematis Barbara Jackman This clematis has not bloomed all season, cut it

Inside, Outside!

2012-10-16T19:56:00.001-05:00

Every year at this time I try to make the inside of my home resemble what I want to remain outside. I am looking for the rich colors of fall and the spirit of the holidays that are forthcoming. The spiders have moved indoors quite at home on an orb web tablecloth. My favorite rose Rainbow Knockout suffered through much of the summer, Japanese Beetles, Rose Midge and mildew. It is putting

I'm A Believer

2012-10-09T05:45:00.000-05:00

If the date wouldn't convince me this past weekend certainly did the trick. Previous to this I think I thought that this was the summer that would never end. Now I feel I must hurry up to get everything done, frost has nipped most of the tender annuals and pulling out will take almost as much time as planting. Indian Summer Coleus (holds up well to a light frost) with Bedazzled Bronze

Cantigny

2012-09-29T07:34:00.001-05:00

Cantigny was an area in France that Colonel Robert R McCormick (1880-1955) wanted to memorialize by naming his twenty-nine acres in Wheaton, Illinois, "Cantigny." He had fought at this area in France during World War I and was intent on making his property a War Museum to honor the brave soldiers who stood beside him. At Cantigny he had experimental gardens that tried new species of plants and

The Summer Of Discontent

2012-09-23T16:56:00.000-05:00

I really hate to call it that but for me it really was a summer I do not want to repeat. My ideas of gardening have changed drastically and I am not totally sure it is warranted. I have to rethink the amount of space I am giving to the roses, first the beetles, then mildew and rose midges. It is recommended that all of the mildewed branches be cut off, bagged and put in the garden waste bag.

Around The Garden

2012-09-16T16:16:00.003-05:00

It is late in the season and approaching the beginning of fall with much cooler weather this week. I have several plants that have not done well in the heat and I don't want to dwell on them with photos. Most I will give another year to see how they adapt next summer. Phlox Franz SchubertPhlox in general can take the heat but this one is my best when deadheaded right up there with Blue