The Dirt Diaries

Return to rose paradise

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 18:05:00 +0000

Last year I wrote about my visit to Doug and Shari's majestic mountaintop rose garden. If you missed "What you didn't see in Southern Living", you can read the article here.

Last week I was invited back, and I must say the garden is more spectacular than ever.

Words cannot describe the beauty.

Words are not necessary.

So sit back and enjoy your personal mini tour.

Here be dragons

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 16:17:00 +0000

While I'm patiently waiting for my roses to bloom in the North Carolina mountains, I thought I'd revisit a cautionary tale concerning my old garden in Maryland.

You see, it’s only human nature, but every time I thumb through a magazine I start imagining the fabulous perennials pictured on the pages in my very own garden.

Sometimes these daydreams work well – I love my catmints, lavenders and centhransus.

Other times they turn into nightmares.

At the beginning, artemesia 'Powis Castle' seemed to be a great addition to my little riverside cottage garden.

As a fairly new gardener way back when, I was knowledgeable about roses, but didn’t have a clue about perennial plant companions.

The artemesia was described as attractive, carefree and well-behaved.

Brochure copy promised “The lovely silvery filigree will spread like a carpet beneath your roses and serve as a perfect backdrop for any color bloom.”

At first artemesia and Cottage Rose were a pretty pair

The plant according to legend also had the power to protect me from the Evil Eye, plagues and the bite of a sea dragon.

So what’s not to like?

Initially 'Powis Castle' lived up to its billing. Then I discovered it spreads by underground rhizomes and can grow 6 to 10 feet in diameter.

While away on a month-long trip to England, the plants took over the garden, swallowing my miniature roses and hardy geraniums. The stems were covered with some sort of fungus disease and the floppy limbs were just plain ugly.

I attacked with pruning shears and the Artemesias still looked just plain ugly. (Plus the “pleasantly fragrant” leaves in my opinion were stinky.)

So I yanked them all out.

Then, who doesn’t love Monarda?

I saw a pretty red one at the garden center and thought it would look lovely between my Climbing Souvenir de la Malmaison and the David Austin beauty, The Dark Lady.

The tag proclaimed it was a wonderful choice for attracting butterflies, hummingbirds and “helpful” bees.

What the tag didn’t say is that Bee Balm is a member of the mint family and has a tendency to become invasive. Before long it was everywhere – the single plant traveled so far it practically opened the door and came inside the house.

Plus it was covered in powdery mildew that may have affected my roses.

Bee-loved by many, bee balm is no longer welcomed in my garden

It took three entire days on my hands and knees to dig it out. Despite all my efforts, some Bee Balm came back the following year, but eventually I was rid of the miserable thing.

Today, photos of lush perennials continue to turn my head. And I do order unfamiliar plants from time to time.

I also keep a dried sprig of lacy artemesia foliage in my pocket at all times.

After all, who knows when I might need protection from the bite of a sea dragon.

The melodic beauty of my Appalachian spring

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Sun, 05 May 2013 18:28:00 +0000

Solomon's Seal is a native that blooms in April and May

The ballet score Appalachian Spring won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1945, and remains one of the most inspiring works in American history.

But composer Aaron Copeland didn’t have mountains or forests in mind when he started working on the orchestral suite in 1942.

He initially called the score “Ballet for Martha” for the ballet’s choreographer and lead dancer, Martha Graham.

Graham suggested the name the day before the ballet premiered.

Copeland once said “I gave voice to that region without knowing I was giving voice to it.”

Shooting Stars are spring superstars

And he was often told he’d brilliantly captured the beauty of the Appalachians in his music.

As far as I'm concerned, it really doesn’t matter that this region wasn’t the original inspiration for his masterpiece.

Every time I hear Appalachian Spring I can't help but envision the beauty of the mountains.

Especially this time of year.

Diverse and dramatic

The mountains that surround me make up one of the most biologically diverse areas of the world with more than 1,600 flowering plants.

Here, visions of violets signal spring is on the way. The Halberd-leaf Yellow Violet is usually the first flower I see.

Halberd-leaf Violet

Its name comes from an observation that the arrowhead leaves are reminiscent of a battle-ax type weapon used in the 15th and 16^th centuries. I’ll have to take the historians at their word.

The humble violet has been celebrated in myths and literature from ancient times, a symbol of modesty and simplicity. Longfellow wrote that it “lurks among all the lovely children of the shade.”

Shakespeare described the violet as “forward” as it trumpets the awakening of the earth following winter. He also writes the violet is “sweet, not lasting. The perfume and suppliance of a minute; No more.”

So we should gather our Halberd-leaf Yellow violets while we may.

Confederate Violet

Along with the other violets that grow along my trail, including the Confederate, Common Blue, Pale and several other varieties.

Trillium heaven

Last year, according to folks in the know, a very warm winter caused many wildflowers to go into a tizzy.

Apparently a number of species flowered up to three weeks early and because of the warmth, the bloom period was very short. Trilliums also appeared early and were quickly devoured by hungry deer.

Catesby's Trillium (maybe)

Since it was my first spring in the mountains, I didn’t know what I was missing.

2013 has been an entirely different story.

Trilliums are members of the Lily family and are among the showiest of springtime wildflowers. The local natives sport three distinctive leaves and when they bloom, the flowers have three petals.

Stinking Benjamin

American Indians used the plant as an eye medication and women boiled the roots to make a love potion. Mountain folk say if you pick a trillium you will bring on a rainstorm.

Wake Robin, a favorite that I did see last year, is back with its deep burgundy blooms. Apparently that is the “nice” name because I’ve learned it is also known as Stinking Benjamin or Stinking Willie because of the putrid smelling flower. Early herbalists used it to treat gangrene.

A number of Painted Trilliums are growing down by the path. It was a happy surprise because I didn’t see any last year. I’m delighted to have them because experts say they have been virtually bulldozed or picked into extinction.

Painted Trillium

The white and pink trilliums nearby are beautiful, too. But I’ve become partial to the Painteds.

Every time I see one, I hear music.

A traditional no-no, Gnomes will be welcomed this year at Chelsea

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 18:14:00 +0000

An American gnome reconsiders his plans to visit Britain

For the first time in its 100-year history, the Chelsea Flower Show has lifted its ban and will allow gnomes to be included in the prestigious 2013 garden displays.

As part of the centenary celebration, the Royal Horticultural Society will turn a blind eye and become gnome-friendly, but for this year and this year only.

For decades, gnome lovers in fancy dress have organized demonstrations outside the gates on opening day to protest the ban. This year their beloved garden statues will be welcomed with open arms.

Two nine-foot-tall white gnomes are slated to greet visitors at the show entrance. There will even be a celebrity gnome-painting competition with a star-studded list of participants including Maggie Smith and Julian Fellowes.

This gnome-tolerant policy is a far cry from what happened as recently as 2009.

A scandal was exposed at that year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show when a banned item was spotted in one of the lush display beds.

The illegal object was a garden gnome named Borage. Once spied, Royal Horticultural Society officials moved swiftly to have the gnome removed from the premises.

According to the Times of London, organizers were even more shocked to learn that one of the members of their own ruling council had been “implicated in the affair.”

Jekka McVicar, a 13-time gold medal winner at Chelsea had put together what was described as a stunning display of medicinal and culinary herbs in the Grand Pavilion.

2009 Fenland Alchemist Garden

Since this was to be her last appearance in the show she decided to place Borage, a tiny statue holding a fishing rod, behind some of the greenery.

A show official insisted that the “offending gnome be ejected” reminding the offender that gnomes are against the rules at the Chelsea Flower Show.

The Times reported that the country’s gardening elite consider them to be taboo. (Is it just snobbery? asked The Guardian.)

Mrs. McVicar fought back saying her gnome was in “wonderfully good taste.” She went on to declare that he is “not brightly coloured… and is a subtle gnome.” She refused to extract Borage from the display but promised to cover him with foliage.

Apparently she was successful in her efforts since the Queen and other members of the royal family were able to view the often-spectacular displays without further incident, and without having to avert their eyes.

Even though Britain was (and is) suffering through a recession, almost 150,000 tickets were sold for that Chelsea show. It is not know if many of the visitors would have shied away had they known the outlawed gnome Borage was lurking in the basils.

Red carpet treatment this year, buh-bye again in 2014

Then again, I’m assuming many who love Chelsea don’t consider themselves to be among the gardening elite. They just enjoy seeing all those fabulous flowers and plants.

And like me, probably didn’t know about the ban, and therefore didn’t realize gnomes have been perennial no-nos.

A thorn by any other name

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:29:00 +0000

While pruning my roses last week I got to thinking about thorns. L D Braithwaite is loaded with them.

Thumbing through a compilation of favorite sayings, you might find 300 or more quotes referring to roses. Many of these adages also mention the dreaded thorns. For instance, Anne Bronte wrote “he that dares not grasp the thorn should never crave the rose.”

And of course we all know “every rose has its thorns.”

But the truth is, those nasty spikes we call thorns are not thorns at all. Botanists actually call them prickles.

The Bourbon rose Zephirine Drouhin is thornless

According to the American Rose Society, a thorn is a branch of a plant that becomes woody, hard and pointed. Cactus plants, locust trees and many varieties of citrus have thorns. These thorns are deeply embedded in the plant itself and are difficult to break off.

Rose prickles, on the other hand, can be snapped off quite easily since they are part of the outer layers of the stem. Just give a prickle a little push sideways and see what happens.

Prickles are smaller than thorns and are useful in helping roses climb across other plants. They can also give potential predators a painful rebuke.

Although prickles aren’t supposed to be as intimidating as thorns, my arms, legs and face can’t tell much of a difference. When I’m out doing a little impromptu pruning and neglect to dress properly, I come in covered with scratches. I always tell people it’s because my roses love me and want to give me hugs.

Seriously, however, there’s an important reason to protect yourself from prickle punctures.

Commonly known as rose thorn disease, Sporotrichosis is an infection caused by the fungus Sporothrix schenckii that usually affects the skin but can spread to other parts of the body. Infections in the joints, lungs and central nervous system are possible, although rare.

James Galway doesn't snag me

The fungus is found naturally in soil, on the tips of rose thorns, on sphagnum moss and hay. It enters the skin through small cuts or abrasions and first appears -- sometimes several weeks after getting pricked – as small bumps. Left untreated, these bumps can later develop into open sores.

The best advice is to completely avoid this ugly disease by wearing long sleeves and sturdy gloves while working around your roses. I truly love my Bionic Gloves – they are triple layered goatskin gauntlet gloves designed by a hand surgeon that protect my arms up to the elbows. After a weekend of serious pruning I ended up with nary a scratch, avoiding a potentially thorny situation.

Kahil Gibran noted that “the optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose.”

Crocus Rose does when she can

I admire the rose but remain mindful of the thorns just to be safe. And I say thorns because even though I know better, I can’t bring myself to call them prickles.

“Every rose has its prickles” simply doesn’t sound right.

And I prefer the sentiment of this German proverb: “Instead of complaining that the rosebush is full of thorns, be happy the thorn bush has roses.”

Impatiens on the critical list

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:42:00 +0000


An incurable disease is wiping out the common impatiens

A few years ago when I was in England for a press day at David Austin English Roses, I met a delightful woman who owned her own film company.

We became friends and before long she asked me to work with her and write a couple of videos for the Thompson & Morgan seed company.

The point of the videos was to introduce the firm’s new offerings for the upcoming season. One of the biggest stars of the T&M show was the Busy Lizzie, or as we call the plant, impatiens.

There were Busy Lizzies for borders, flower pouches, patio pots and hanging baskets.

Today Thompson & Morgan no longer sell the plants.

They don’t even sell the seeds.

That's because a deadly strain of downy mildew known as Plasmopara obducens is destroying plants around the world.

A pathogen first discovered in the 1800's

The disastrous disease hit Europe about five years ago. Since then, impatiens have virtually disappeared from gardens there. Asia, Australia, Africa and Central America have suffered the same fate.

In just two growing seasons here in America, the fungal mildew has spread to 34 states. Under the right conditions, airborne spores have been known to travel over 600 miles in 48 hours.

When infected leaves and stems fall on the ground, the spores take up residence in the soil. No one knows for sure how long the spores will live there – possibly as long as eight years.

SunPatiens Compact Blush Pink

I can attest to quick spread of disease.

I had some “volunteers” come up in the front garden from impatiens I planted in 2011. I also put in two flats of white impatiens down by the new patio and waterfall.

By August the leaves started falling and within two weeks they all turned to mush.

As a result of the widespread nature of this incurable disease, many experts are advising gardeners not to purchase and plant impatiens this year. Fortunately, only the common variety (Impatiens walleriana) is affected by the pathogen.

SunPatiens and New Guinea Impatiens are in the clear. Apparently the disease does not sicken other garden plants either, so shade lovers like coleus, caladiums, hostas and begonias can help add color in areas where impatiens previously were the summer show-offs.

SunPatiens Vigorous Lavender

I am intrigued by photos I’ve seen of SunPatiens. They can be planted in full sun as well as shade and they grow much larger than the old favorite.

In fact Sakata Seed America, breeder of SunPatiens, reports four plants will provide the same coverage as twelve Impatiens walleriana.

In addition, they are self cleaning, don’t mind rain, high heat or humidity. And they bloom right through from spring till hard frost.

If you simply can’t live without your beloved old fashioned Busy Lizzies and are willing to risk Plasmopara obducens, you need to be diligent about garden sanitation.

Keep your tools super clean, making sure you wash away any soil. To be extra careful, disinfect tools with a solution of 10% Clorox and water.

Also schedule work in the impatiens bed as your last gardening chore of the day.

SunPatiens Spreading White

If the disease comes to call anyway, place infected plants in sealed bags and dispose of them as soon as possible.

As for me, I’ll give impatiens a miss this year. Except I’m going to try a few of the new SunPatiens.

Last year’s experience was too heartbreaking to go through again.

Take a walk on the wild side

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:08:00 +0000

Each year my gardening friend Les Parks sponsors a Winter Walk-Off.

The object is to head out from home on my own two feet to find photo ops that might be of interest to folks across the country or around the globe.

I didn’t participate last year because I didn’t know Les then, and I had just started my blog.

So to commemorate the first anniversary of The Dirt Diaries, I am going to throw my trowel in the ring!

Of course the prizes are tempting -- $100,000 and a trip to Hawaii. (If only.) But the best part is having a chance show off my little corner of the world.

Right now everything is looking very green in the mountains of western North Carolina.

Nothing is blooming yet, so the evergreens and mosses have their moment in the sun before wildflowers, rhododendrons and mountain laurels steal the spotlight.

My first stop is a neighbor's yard where beautiful ferns appear to be growing out of a rock.

These ferns are unlike the Christmas and hay-scented varieties I have on my property. I intend to ask if I can transplant a few if I ever see Raul.

I found this moss covered log around the bend. The colors seem to change depending on the time of day, but I always find it beautiful.

About a half-mile away I discovered this small waterfall. I could hear the sound of water rushing from the road and decided to find the source. (No worries about bears or snakes off the beaten path in March.)

There are dozens of these little falls within three miles of my house, but most of them are not photographer-friendly. Too many fallen branches and tangled vines to get a clear shot. Someone suggested I take some ropes with me and tie back the offending branches. I am still laughing.

I call this place The Gingerbread House. I've wandered by it most every day for the past two years. I have yet to see a living soul there.

One day I must go up and give the house a hug. I know it is lonely.

The first time I walked past this black bear, he gave me quite a start. He lives in a driveway about 200 feet from the road.

I saw a moving van there once but no other signs of life since.

Still, Yogi stands ready to frighten unsuspecting passersby whenever he can.

Another neighbor loves birdhouses just like me.

A family of turkeys has moved in across the main road.

Almost home again. Before rounding the bend I see one of my favorite landmarks – whale rock. I always think I see his eye and smile.

So, welcome to my world. I hope you've enjoyed your visit.

I'll be back soon with postings on my new roses, sickly impatiens, terrariums and much more.

In the meantime, be sure to let us know if there is anything we can do to make your mountain holiday more enjoyable.

Moonshine, shower caps and bear repellent are available at the front desk.

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Off with their heads! (When and how to prune roses.)

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 21:57:00 +0000

Some Austin roses prefer light pruning

Although the calendar says February, it isn’t too early to start thinking about tidying up the garden for the growing season ahead.

As I write this, it's sunny and 56 degrees F. (13 C) here in the mountains of North Carolina, so I ventured out to get an idea of the damage Old Man Winter has done.

I wasn’t surprised to find dead leaves everywhere. It doesn’t matter how often we suck them up and turn them into mulch, tons of additional leaves find their way to our front garden.

I was surprised, though, to see that almost all of my rose cuttings have died. That has never happened before, and it’s perplexing since this winter has been fairly mild.

I can trim perennials now, but not my roses

Another unpleasant discovery was that people installing new gutters last month had trampled an area of the garden. At the moment, it doesn’t appear that the little patch of roses and other perennials will survive.

So after assessing the state of the garden, I rolled up my sleeves, got out my Bionic rose gloves, secateurs, mini rake, Cobra Head Weeder and iPad and got to work. (I find an iPad or iPod to be essential gardening equipment since all chores go more quickly when listening to my favorite tunes.)

I bagged the leaves, extracted weeds, and cut back most of my perennials including catmints, hydrangeas and lavenders, but I didn’t prune the roses.

Rule of thumb for when to prune

When we get the occasional nice day in winter, people ask if it’s OK to go ahead and prune the roses. I advise waiting, because if another cold spell comes along, canes can be damaged and you’ll just have to do it all over again.

In most areas of the country, a good rule of thumb is to prune when the forsythia blooms. Start by pulling off any diseased leaves that have wintered over on your rose bushes. Dispose of them right away -- don’t throw them on the ground or you’ll be inviting even more disease problems.

Unless you exhibit, don''t prune too severely

Then get out your newly sharpened pruning shears (cleaned with alcohol) and remove dead wood right down to the bud union.

To help improve air circulation, remove any canes that crisscross, canes that grow into the center of the bush, and any weak, spindly growth.

Diseased or winter-damaged wood should be pruned to the point where you find light green or white pith. Make your cuts at a 45-degree angle about 1/4 inch above a leaf bud that faces toward the outside of the plant.

Many rose varieties have specific pruning requirements

How severely you prune depends on the type of rose. Unless you plan to exhibit, most experts recommend moderate pruning of hybrid teas, floribundas, and grandifloras leaving the bushes about 18 to 24 inches high.

Thin and shape old garden roses

Hybrid perpetual roses, shrub roses, and old garden roses just require thinning and shaping, so limit yourself to removing only old canes, dead wood, and spindly growth.

Cl. Fourth of July

David Austin English roses don’t appreciate drastic haircuts.

Pruning climbing roses can be a bit trickier. Climbers that have only one flowering period should be pruned after they bloom. Take out old, weak, or entangled branches.

Repeat-blooming climbers need to be pruned while dormant in the spring. Again, remove any old or unproductive canes, then cut back side shoots to pencil thickness.

Minis don't mind a chainsaw haircut

Miniatures and minifloras are your easiest task. A recent study showed meticulous pruning didn’t really affect the plant’s success at all.

So whether you use secateurs or a chain saw, cut back to about half of last summer’s height.

After pruning, paint any cuts wider than a straw with a sealing compound (Elmer’s glue will do fine) to discourage insects and disease.

Roses are greedy feeders so after you've finished, give them a dose of rose fertilizer -- I use plain old 10-10-10. I also sprinkle a handful of alfalfa pellets around each bush.

Your beauties should then be ready for the 2013 blooming season.

Replacing favorite plants after a move

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 21:54:00 +0000

A Lyda Rose spray can sport 35+ blooms

Moving is often cited as one of the top ten most stressful events in life. I don’t doubt it, but in my case, I was so busy coordinating our 2011 move I didn’t have time to realize I was stressed.

We put our Maryland house on the market in late January that year, it sold a couple of weeks later and we closed on March 31^st. And, oh by the way, a day after the settlement we left for son Sam's wedding in Australia.

I left Zephirine and the arbor behind

When we finally arrived at our house in North Carolina in May, we wasted no time starting a new garden. Because of the timing of the sale and trip Down Under, I wasn’t able to bring any of my beloved plants with me (even though the new owners had kindly offered to let me take a few special faves.)

My Maryland cottage garden has been hard to duplicate

At first it seemed fun starting fresh with a completely different garden design. Now almost two years later I am beginning to miss some my old favorites from all the years I gardened on the Eastern Shore.

And I’m discovering how difficult it’s going to be to replace them.

Out-of-the-ordinary roses are hard to find.

We’ve been reading a lot lately about financial problems in the nursery industry and the bankruptcy of big names like Jackson & Perkins.

If you’re looking for a Knock Out or a Blaze climbing rose, chances are the collapse of some of these businesses is not going to affect you.

But what if you’re like me and want to locate a unique variety called Lyda Rose? The bloom of this shrub looks more like an apple blossom than a rose, but it puts out amazing sprays covered with dozens of simple, exquisite flowers.

Unfortunately, you’ll never find one at your local big box store.

Mesh fences save young plants from bunnies and big feet

A website called HelpMeFind indicated four companies in the country carry Lyda Rose. As it turns out only one had her in stock and I luckily snagged it from a nursery in Florida.

Unfortunately just as she was really getting going, my husband accidently stepped on the bush and broke it off at the soil level.

I've found another Lyda at one of my favorite nurseries, Roses Unlimited in Laurens, SC, so I'll try again. (Rose Petals Nursery is another great source for old and antique roses.)

This time I'll protect her with small circular fence made of wire till she gets established.

Louisville Lady was another rose I tried to locate. I’d left six behind in Maryland and was having a hard time finding even one. Fortunately a Mississippi company, K&M Roses, came to the rescue.

Blooms of Louisville Lady hold their form for over a week

They not only had Louisville Lady, but another miniflora I was looking for named Whiraway. The plants they sent were beautifully packaged and extremely healthy.

Tracking down perennial partners

Pollinators love Centranthus

Some of the companions I planted with roses in my cottage garden were over 15 years old.

I’ve found some lavenders and catmints but was striking out when it came to a variety of Centranthus (also known as Jupiter’s Beard.)

Pierre de Ronsard (aka Eden)

I’d grown both the red and white varieties which produced beautiful clusters of flowers on long arching stems from May till frost if the spent blooms were pinched back.

The red variety is readily available, but I’d just about given up finding Centranthus alba when I discovered New Garden Plants. They had exactly what I wanted and I was very impressed with the quality of all their perennials.

So it seems smaller nurseries have helped me replace some old garden plants in a big way.

?? clematis and Cottage Rose

But I'm still missing many of my old faves including variegated camellias, plant names I neglected to write down, Cl. Pierre de Ronsard, the Hybrid Perpetual Baron Girod de l'Ain, and the mini Marriotta.

Baron features white-tipped petals

So the search continues, but I've been forced to give up the hope of finding plants that are no longer in commerce.

Baby Blanket with red and white Centranthus at her feet

Like the incredible weeping Baby Blanket tree rose.

Sigh.

A closer look at the new Eyeconic roses.

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 18:58:00 +0000

Dr. Jim Sproul's first big success, Eyeconic ™ Lemonade

There is no hard and fast rule as to when the hybridizing bug first bites its victims.

Eight-year-old schoolboy David Austin wished to create a new flower like the world had never seen.

Twenty-something Bill Radler hoped to breed a rose that didn’t require constant pampering. His Knock Out filled the bill.

Ben Williams never gave the subject a thought until a chance encounter with a German hybridizer after World War II sparked a passion that burned until he passed away in 2006. He went on to help invent the miniflora rose -- a category of “in between” bushes that were too big to be miniatures and too small for full-size roses.

Dr. Jim Sproul enjoyed breeding guppies in his early teens, then as an adult, his hybridizing interests turned to roses. Over the past fifteen years he has been working to create a line of roses bred with Hulthemias, plants considered more of a weed than an ornamental in the desert regions of Iran and Afghanistan.

The humble Hulthemia has inspired a new line of roses.

Although Hulthemias (rosa persica) are described as ugly bushes with thorny, rambling branches, the flowers have a distinctive red blotch in the center that has fascinated hybridizers for decades.

They are not true roses, but breeders hoped they could cross the once-blooming desert plant with the modern Queen of Flowers to produce new varieties with the fascinating blotch.

The pioneering efforts of breeders around the world including Peter James, Chris Warner, Jack Harkness and Ralph Moore paved the way for Jim Sproul’s breakthrough work.

The Eyeconic™ line of roses are Sproul’s reward after fifteen years of trial and error, success and failure, and many hundreds of crosses.

Eyeconic Pink Lemonade

His first big introduction was Eyeconic Lemonade, a shrub with sunny yellow, gently ruffled blooms and a magenta red blotch at the base. Lemonade is a heavy bloomer with slightly scented, non-fading flowers.

Pink Lemonade soon followed – a pretty light pink with a frilly bloom and of course, the blotch. Both varieties grow to about 3’ and boast dark green glossy foliage.

This year brings two new members of the family to catalogues and nurseries.

Landscape shrub Eyeconic Melon Lemonade is orange to apricot in color, with a red ring around the inside of the petals.

Eyeconic Melon Lemonade (Courtesy Star Roses)

Eyeconic Pomegranate Lemonade is a miniature -- a deep pink and white blend with a dark magenta eye. It features exceptionally large non-fading flowers on a bush growing only to about 12”. Pomegranate also has the best blotch of the bunch thus far.

Eyeconic Pomegranate Lemonade is classed as a mini (Courtesy Star Roses)

Eyeconic Lychee Lemonade (Courtesy Star Roses)

A new addition to the color palette will make its debut in 2014. Semi-double Eyeconic® Lychee Lemonade is a pleasing ivory cream with a deep burgundy blotch. The plant is vigorous yet compact, making it a good choice for containers and small gardens.

All of these roses are fuss-free, self-cleaning and well suited for the Western U.S and Canada.

However in the East and South, the current Eyeconic series may require spraying because they are reportedly susceptible to black spot.

I don’t know if the black spot warning is for real or just cautionary.

In any event I’ll be keeping my eye on them all.

Tis the season when the catalogues cometh

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 18:09:00 +0000

While we were in New York last month, enough gardening catalogues arrived to give our Sapphire mail ladies a double hernia. Eight on seeds, four on roses, five on perennials, three on garden supplies, two on wild birds -- and they’re still coming.

It seems a new avalanche arrives every year about this time. That’s because I’m undoubtedly on a list somewhere labeled “Garden Sucker.” (Also as a member of the Garden Writers Association of America, I’m fair game for every gardening concern.)

I'll be ordering more foxgloves, catmints and Centranthus ruber

I do at least thumb through every arrival before tossing them in the recycling bin. Having written for the White Flower Farm catalogue and website for a number of years, I know how much work goes into each endeavor.

Daylilies are growing on me

Over the years I’ve learned from trial and error which companies live up to their promises and which simply offer pretty pictures and tall tales.

I’ve had good luck ordering from Bluestone Perennials, Spring Hill Nursery, American Meadows, Southern Living Plants and Oakes Daylilies. If I ever receive a wilted plant or one that doesn’t grow as promised from any of these companies, a fresh replacement is sent immediately, no questions asked.

Botanical Interests offers wonderful gardening tips

For seeds, it’s hard to beat Renee’s Garden. I used to love her very attractive catalogue and the tantalizing recipes sprinkled throughout the pages. Like many companies, Renee Shepherd has moved to an online publication. Sign up for her free E-Newsletter and you’ll receive great garden ideas and yes, recipes!

I also like the selection of seeds at Botanical Interests, especially their collections such as Grandmother's Cut Flower Garden. They also offer expert gardening tips, yummy recipes and eye-catching seed packets.

Fairy wand grows wild here but can be ordered from a specialty nursery

Now that we’ve moved to the mountains I’m very interested in finding wildflowers that are right for our area. Gardens of the Blue Ridge is a great source for seeds and plants as well as advice (and they have an informative newsletter, too.)

When it comes to ordering roses by mail my advice is to definitely not believe everything you read. Several years ago I was hoodwinked more than once into ordering from a company that undoubtedly employs the world’s most persuasive copywriter.

I plan to grow Wollerton Old Hall as a climber

The ‘Climbing Cecile Brunner’ I sent for promised “delicate soft pink sweetheart buds and blooms on a vigorous climber... continual blooming...may be grown 20 feet plus into a tree for a gorgeous sight.” This description bore no resemblance to the 3 inch twig that arrived. It didn’t grow, much less bloom.

Since then I have several favorite rose sources I would recommend without reservation. David Austin English Roses never disappoint. And I’ve also received strong, healthy plants from Roses Unlimited, K and M Roses and Edmunds Roses.

Baron Girod de l'Ain, a Hybrid Perpetual from 1897

RosePetals Nursery is a wonderful source for antique, heirloom and Earthkind roses. They also have a five-acre display garden where you will marvel at the collection of old garden roses.

This rose I spied at a gas station could be Midas Touch

So now that the catalogues have come and the websites have been scoured, I am making my list and checking it twice.

As far as roses, I am expecting Wollerton Old Hall, England’s Rose, Lady Salisbury, Mystic Beauty, Midas Touch and Whimsy to arrive in early April.

New perennials on the way include Centranthus ruber, Ilex Golden Verboom (male) and Nandina Lemon Hill.

Peter Cottontail will be hopping into my rose border

I’d love to hear about your favorite gardening catalogues, as well as your ordering success and horror stories.

I’ll report the results in an upcoming posting. Although I can’t imagine there’s a great garden source I haven’t heard about, I’m happy to entertain the thought that one might exist.

In fact, perhaps some new goodies are waiting for me right now. I just saw the mail truck go by.

Goodbye 2012. Thanks for the memories.

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 23:44:00 +0000

This year simply evaporated for me. It seems like yesterday I was taking photos of the first wildflowers blooming in March. Now we are about to usher in 2013.

So I raise a glass to all my gardening friends and share some of my favorite pictures from 2012.

A little red boomer kept us entertained all winter

Wolfe's "Angel" lives nearby


Winter is a perfect for discovering small waterfalls in the woods (no snakes or bears!)

A Barred Owl came to call


Doug Gifford's amazing mountain garden

Doug has over 300 roses overlooking Whiteside Mountain

An unwelcome visitor on the deck


A naughty gnome gets carried away at Wamboldtopia in Asheville


My roses were the best ever this year

Dad's trail down to the waterfall became a reality

A white squirrel made an appearance on my birthday


Fall was fabulous

Christmas in New York was a fairytale ending for 2012

Christmas in New York

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 22:33:00 +0000

The Christmas Tree beside the skating rink at Bryant Park

For ages I did a great deal of radio and TV production work in the Big Apple. But in recent years, thanks to shrinking client budgets and the quality of digital phone patches, I didn’t travel much further than my desk to supervise most sessions.

Over time I missed my talented friends and the general excitement of New York. So when we learned A Prairie Home Companion was going to be staged at The Town Hall Theater this month, we decided to head for the bright lights and the big city.

And all the Christmas chaos.

We spent four days at what is described as a “boutique” hotel on Madison Avenue. (What that actually means is that it helps to be a midget or a contortionist to stay there.)

Despite the fact the hotel room was miniscule (and the elevator ignored our floor) the location was excellent. So we were able to walk to the show, Rockefeller Center, Macys, the Brill Building and dozens of other destinations on our list.

Now that we’re back home I’d love to show you some my favorite New York memories.

So come along and see all the sights (without getting sore feet.)

The scene of the big proposal 24 years ago. (Death by Chocolate went to his head.)

Miracle on 34th Street -- I found a leather jacket I liked!


Without much else to occupy his time, Elmo hangs out in front of Macys.

Oh Little Elf! Listen to David Sedaris recounting his experiences in Santaland.

Even Santa skates at Rock Center

Jingle Bell Rockin' in front of Bloomingdales.


A shoutout for The Scream at the Museum of Modern Art

Everything in NY is bigger than life including these holiday lights on 6th Avenue

The fabulous Garrison Keillor and A Prairie Home Companion. Has your family tried 'em, Powder Milk?


CATS on Broadway!


Some of the greatest hits of the 50's and 60's were created here


They say the neon lights are bright...

Cheers to all my gardening friends. May 2013 bring the most beautiful blooms ever!

No room for a traditional Christmas tree? Try a Norfolk Island pine.

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 21:59:00 +0000

The day we set off to find “the” Christmas tree is one of my favorite times of the year. It’s usually the day after Thanksgiving when we’re still stuffed from the holiday feast and in need of an outdoor adventure. I say adventure because the search for my perfect tree can last an entire day.

Before leaving home, I bring down the boxes of holiday decorations and set each ornament out on the dining room table. There’s everything from Woody Woodpecker (who does his famous laugh when you press a button) to pipe cleaner Santas that belonged to my grandmother.

My rocking horses, glass turtles and miniature carved birds are lined up, waiting to be placed on the bushy, beautifully symmetrical Frasier fir soon after it comes through the front door.

There was no room for a big tree before our big move

Two years ago when we put our Maryland house on the market, we decided not to get our traditional tree.

I discovered I really missed looking through the ornaments – it’s rather like visiting with old friends.

And I missed the festive lights in the corner where the tree usually stood. So I bought a little Norfolk Island pine, added a string of 20 lights, a few bows, and voila -- Christmas tree!

It wasn’t our usual statuesque 7-footer, but it did just fine for that unusual holiday season.

A winter ornamental from the tropics.

Araucaria heterophylla is native to a small island in the South Pacific that was sighted in 1774 during Captain James Cook’s second voyage of exploration. The island was named in honor of the Duchess of Norfolk and the trees seen growing there were estimated to be over 200 feet tall.

Barney the Barn Owl glides effortlessly through the tree branches

Here at home, the Norfolk Island pine is almost always grown indoors as a compact houseplant since it is far too tender for most areas of the country.

The popularity spikes during the holiday season for obvious reasons. But these charming little trees need not be thrown out with the dried-up Poinsettias once January arrives. With proper care they will last for many Christmases to come.

Indoor climate is the key.

Norfolk Island pines are relatively easy to grow and make appealing accent plants all year-round thanks to their graceful branches and soft, touchable needles. They can tolerate low lighting for a brief time (such as during the holidays) but do best when exposed bright light.

I've managed to collect every bird from this series

An hour or so of direct sunlight won’t hurt, but be sure to rotate the tree a quarter turn every two weeks to keep it from becoming lopsided.

Despite their tropical homeland, these trees prefer an environment on the cool side. Ideally, temperatures should range from 50 and 70 degrees -- anything in the 80’s will likely cause needle drop.

My vintage 40's Santa

Norfolk Island pines don’t require as much water as other houseplants. In fact, they won’t tolerate saturated soil. Give them a drink only when the top inch or so of soil in the pot feels dry to the touch. Allow some water to run out of the bottom of the container, then discard any excess in an hour or so.

In addition they don’t like to be pruned – in fact pruning can deform these plants. The only trimming required is removing any dead lower branches. If you prune a tip or healthy branch, the tree will not grow at that spot again.

Gator ornaments are a must

Feed your tree lightly every other month during spring and summer with a fertilizer specifically formulated for indoor foliage plants. Some experts suggest repotting every three years; others say the practice disturbs the roots and isn’t necessary.

I didn’t have my Norfolk Island pine long enough to worry about fertilizing or repotting – I gave it to a neighbor before we moved to the mountains.

But I must confess even though I missed my heirloom ornaments that Christmas, the little tree made our holidays merry and bright.

The Fungus Among Us

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 21:50:00 +0000

Recently, my friend and fellow garden writer Julie Adolf posted an article about growing mushrooms at home and having the courage to actually eat them.

About a year ago, Julie bought shitake plugs (Lentinula edodes) from highly recommended Mushroom Mountain. At first not much happened and she worried her experiment was a waste of time and money.

Julie's photo of her shitakes

Then, as she wrote in Growing Days, she noticed other mushrooms had been showing up uninvited and those invaders made her nervous.

At some point, a slew of shitakes exploded from her logs. She sent a photo of the beauties to Mushroom Mountain and owners Tradd and Olga confirmed they were indeed shitakes and suggested she go ahead and eat them.

Despite fears she and her husband might orphan their children, Julie made a scrumptious shitake, Swiss chard and bacon quiche.

All survived with no ill effects and Julie is currently collecting mushroom recipes to create more shitake delights.

Others have not been quite so lucky.

Mistaken identity almost proves to be fatal

Writer Nicholas Evans is a gourmet cook who has picked and eaten wild mushrooms without incident for many years.

In August 2008, the author of The Horse Whisperer picked a basketful of mushrooms he found while strolling through the woodlands of his brother-in-law’s 13,000 acre Scottish estate.

He later sautéed them in butter and parsley and served them to the family without realizing the mushrooms were not chanterelles, but the poisonous Cortinarius speciosissimus, or Fool's webcap. (Fortunately the children in attendance turned their noses up at the dish.)

Pretty, but poisonous Fool's webcap

Evans, wife Charlotte, her brother Alastair and his wife Lady Louisa were all in critical condition within days. Three of the four suffered kidney failure and Evans required five hours of daily dialysis before he received a transplant last year.

Evan’s wife and Sir Alastair remain on the transplant waiting list.

Be careful out there.

Friend or foe?

The Health Protection Agency in the UK recently issued a warning about picking and eating wild mushrooms citing 257 poisoning cases in 2011.

Over 100 people in the US became seriously ill last year after mistaking bad mushrooms for good ones.

Of course experts like those at Mushroom Mountain know their stuff and can provide guidance on which mushrooms are edible. Julie says her homegrown ones taste like nothing you’d find in any store.

As for me, I’m a certified scaredy cat. But I do love seeing the many varieties of mushrooms I spy while walking (or waiting behind a foursome of old duffers who won’t let a woman play through on the golf course.)

Since edible and suspect mushies can look similar, I’ll continue to get my supply at the market.

And admire the pretty ones with my camera.

Growing rose seeds for fun and profit

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 16:40:00 +0000

The shrub Carefree Beauty was a seed parent for the wildly successful Knock Out

With few exceptions, the roses we know and love today start out life as a humble seed. Each one that grows produces a completely unique flower, and no one can accurately predict whether it will be a winner or a dud.

Hybridizer Bill Radler had been working for 15 years to develop a new line of disease resistant, easy-care roses. Little did he know the solitary seed harvested from a single hip from a straggly bush he almost trashed would grow up to be Knock Out.

Pink Knock Out is a "sport" of Double Knock Out

Of course professional hybridizers have the edge on amateurs when it comes to producing a really special rose. The process is tedious, lengthy and painstaking.

Roses are cross-pollinated, hips are allowed to form and the resulting seeds are planted and closely observed. Then comes more cross breeding, more hips, more seeds and for the most part, disappointment.

The popular Graham Thomas was one of Evelyn's parents

For example, every year the folks at David Austin English Roses plant approximately 150,000 seeds. After several years, most of the seedlings will get the thumb’s down for one reason or another (Mr. Austin still makes the final decision.)

In time, perhaps three to five roses from the original planting will ever make it into commerce. Now I’m no math genius, but the odds of coming up with a keeper seem pretty low to me.

Is the next Peace rose is in your garden?

Originally called '3-35-40', Peace has chalked up 100 million in sales

Most of us don’t have the expertise or inclination to set up a proper rose hybridizing program, but it’s still fun to plant a few seeds and see what happens.

This time of year I scout around for hips that are red or orange and bring them inside to harvest the precious seeds inside.

(Next year, stop deadheading your plants in late summer and let the volunteer pollinators take over. With a bit of luck, the bees will do their thing and soon fruit or hips will begin forming on your bushes.)

Giving seeds the water treatment.

Although you’ll probably never pinpoint the “father” of your new rose, you should know the female parent, so keep each group of hips separate to identify later.

Granada x Garden Party resulted in the favorite Double Delight

Cut the hips open with a knife, remove the seeds, wipe them clean, and drop them in a glass of water. Old timers say seeds that float won’t germinate as well as those that sink.

Discard the floaters and wrap the remaining seeds in a handful of moist vermiculite or peat moss -- even damp paper towels can work. Place the mix in a plastic zip bag and write the name of the seed parent on the outside of the bag with an indelible marker.

Seeds need cold temperatures to initiate the germination process, so place all the bags in the veggie crisper drawer of your fridge for about 60 days. Mark your calendar so you know when it’s time to take them out.

Countdown to bloom time.

There are many ways to plant the seeds once they finish their long winter’s nap. I’ve sown mine under grow lights in cheap plastic shoeboxes with a couple inches of sterile soil. Plant seeds about ¼ inch below the soil surface. Make sure indoor temperatures are at least 70 degrees and keep the lights on for about 16 hours.

Two unnamed seedlings produced Louisville Lady

In areas of the country where spring temperatures are above 70 degrees, you can plant them in flats and set them outside. Whichever method you try, be sure to keep the soil moist, but not dripping wet.

When the seedlings begin to grow, the first two leaves that appear are cotyledons. The next leaf will look like a rose. Amazingly, many of these seedlings will flower in as little as 5 to 6 weeks, although some take a full season to bloom.

If you like what you see when your seedling does bloom, carefully transplant the new rose into a separate pot. Within three years you should have a fully mature bush and a never-before-seen variety.

It may never achieve Knock Out status, but since you grew it, I promise you will love it.

***

After writing this posting I ran across a quote from the diary of Frances Meilland. He and his father Antoine 'Papa' Meilland hybridized Peace and first recognized its potential to be one of the greats.

The McCartney Rose

The Meilland's rose farms were destroyed during World War II and it was the proceeds from the sale of Peace that allowed them begin again and create beautiful roses including Bonica, Carefree Beauty and The McCartney Rose to this day.

"How strange to think that all these millions of rose bushes sprang from one tiny seed no bigger than the head of a pin, a seed which we might so easily have overlooked, or neglected in a moment of inattention."

Strange, indeed. But also amazing and wonderful.

High class blooms and high flyers

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 15:16:00 +0000

Note the multifaceted eye of this tropical beauty

Not long ago I had the pleasure of judging the Garden Club of Virginia Rose Show in Richmond.

As an accredited horticultural judge for the American Rose Society, I get to eye the best blooms grown by the best exhibitors around, and despite the summer drought in the mid-Atlantic, this show had some beauties.

Let Freedom Ring

The hybrid tea Let Freedom Ring was named Queen and deservedly took her place reigning over the other winning blooms on the head table.

But the end of the judging proved to be just the beginning of a day full of more visual treats.

The show was held at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, a historic property (once owned by Patrick Henry) that features over 50 acres of gorgeous gardens and 9,000 types of plants.

More than a dozen themed gardens include a Healing Garden, Sunken Garden, a Victorian garden, and an interactive Children’s Garden. There’s also a classical domed Conservatory, a Garden Café, Tea Room and the most enticing gift shop I’ve visited.

The rose garden is a recent addition and although relatively new, it is already a stunner with more than 80 varieties and 1800 roses selected for repeat performance, fragrance and disease resistance.

The visitors I saw were literally spoiled for choice when it came to finding the most sweetly scented blooms in the display.

Love this bench outside the conservatory

Surrounded by beauty

Although it was hard to tear myself away from the roses, I soon made a beeline for the “Butterflies Live!” exhibit in the North Wing of the Conservatory.

Dozens of exotic tropicals fluttered around me and posed for photos on nectar plants and in the bowls of fruit set out for their dining pleasure.

While strolling through the exhibit I noted at least 15 varieties of butterflies and moths including the Blue Morpho, Postman, Zebra Longwing, Sara Longwing and the Giant Owl, named for the prominent “eye” on the wings.

The Postman

A Postman butterfly landed on my arm which, according to lore, means a loved one from the past has come to say hello, or good luck will be coming my way. (I hope both legends are true.)

The life spans of these delicate creatures vary. While Monarch butterflies are around for six to eight months, the lime-green Luna moth with its four-inch wingspan lives only about a week.

Luna moth

A Red Cattleheart?

As I left, it was sad to see a couple of the brightly colored jewels lying still on the exhibit floor.

And it was sad to return to the rose show to find a bloom that was the picture of perfection a few hours earlier with its head drooping in the vase.

Blue Morph

Of course we know these things of beauty can’t last, but just seeing them lifts our spirits.

And we are reminded whether it’s a rose, a butterfly or a good friend, we should appreciate each one more with every passing day.

Don't work up a sweat over fall rose care

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 14:40:00 +0000

In a time when pumpkins and mums dominate the garden landscape, it’s a treat to see some of my favorite roses making their final appearances of the season.

Cooler temps give Sally Holmes a pretty fall blush

These last roses of summer can often be the sweetest – the nip in the air deepens the colors and the blooms themselves are sometimes a bit larger than usual. Best of all, I don’t have to worry about pruning or fertilizing until 2013. I can just sit back and enjoy the fall show.

Of course, there are a few chores to be done in the rose garden before winter sets in. But the list is pretty short for most areas of the country and includes more “don’ts” than “do’s.”

Munstead Wood

For starters, don’t cut your roses back in the autumn. If you prune now you’ll just suffer dieback and will have to cut back more severely in the spring. Wait until the forsythia blooms in your area before breaking out the secateurs.

An exception would be Ramblers that bloom on old wood -- if you wait till next year to tidy them up, you may well cut off potential new flowers. Trim about one-third of the growth now and cut out any dead canes.

I also suggest trimming back bushes that have developed extra long canes. In my garden, English Roses such as James Galway and the hybrid tea Elina have thrown out eight-foot canes. I trim those back to waist height so they don’t whip around in winter winds injuring themselves, their neighbors or me.

Trim back taller roses like James Galway

Don’t trim off rose hips, the colorful fruits that form in the late summer and early fall. They often turn lovely shades of orange-red, and are a signal to the bush that it’s time to get ready for a long winter’s nap.

Hips are a treat for the eyes and the birds

Do tear off and destroy any leaves that display signs of disease or insect infestation. Also dig up and discard any bushes that have died. Never put diseased leaves or dead roses in your compost pile.

Do identify any bushes that might need extra winter protection. Most of the newer shrubs and miniatures don’t need special care.

If you aren’t sure whether a variety is tender or not, play it safe and add an 8” mound of soil, compost, leaf mold or other organic material around the base of the bush. Check with an American Rose Society Consulting Rosarian in your area for additional advice and winter protection tips.

Darcy Bussell can bloom into early November

Finally, scour the catalogs when they arrive and start thinking about new plants you’d like to add to the garden next year.

It’s a flight of fancy that will transport you away from the woes of winter.

How to grow Mums. (If you must.)

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 19:09:00 +0000

Mums have been popular for hundreds of years, but not at my house

I’ve never been much of a chrysanthemum fan.

For starters, they smell funny. Many of the colors tend to be gaudy. And the blooms don’t age gracefully.

This time of year I get annoyed when I see hundreds of them lined up in front of roadside stands and garden centers. I know what the mum and pumpkin sightings mean: I am being pushed into fall when I’m not ready to let go of summer.

I realize that turning up my nose at these harbingers of autumn means I am out of step with much of the gardening world. After all, garden mums (C. x morifolium) have been wildly popular for centuries.

So despite being a chrysanthemum curmudgeon, I wanted to offer some tips that will enable you to grow these wretched plants to the best of your ability.

From China, with love

Mums were first cultivated in China, possibly as early as the 15th Century B.C. Several species of chrysanthemums native to both China and Japan were used in an extensive hybridizing program that, over time, resulted in the “domesticated” garden mum.

Mums found their way to Europe in the seventeenth century where the appealing gold flowers received an enthusiastic welcome. Today, hybridizing continues full speed ahead in the hopes of creating new flower forms and plants that can better tolerate cold. At this time more than 5,000 cultivars have been named.

Don't want to plant mums? Enjoy them in pots, then discard

Mum care 101

Yoder, one of America’s leading mum breeders, offers the following tips which apply regardless of color, flower form or flowering time:

• Always plant mums in a spot where they will receive at least half a day of sun. Plant in fertile, well-drained soil. Loosen the soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches and mix in peat moss or compost to condition the soil and improve drainage. Measure from the center of the plant and space mums about 15 to 20 inches apart.

• Water thoroughly, adding 1 to 2 gallons of water to the soil around each plant. When rainfall is scant, continue to water as needed to prevent wilting. Keep the soil moist as colder weather approaches.

• Never fertilize the flowering garden mums you plant in the fall. All the season's growing is finished by that time. Plants will not need fertilizer until next spring.

• Mother Nature doesn't prune back plants as winter approaches and you shouldn’t either. Let the brown foliage stand through the winter. Mulch plants after the ground begins to freeze - not before - with leaves, straw, peat moss or other organic materials.

• Prune away old stems and gradually remove mulch in the spring. Pinch mums back from June through July 15 to encourage bushy growth and a greater show of fall flowers.

So there you have it.
Everything you need to know to keep your mums thriving from year to year.

The dry summer in many areas of the country may mean colors will be more vivid this year. With a little luck and a lot of water, you should have loads of blooms that will last well into October.

As for me, I’ll still be enjoying my roses.

Rose lovers, '13 may be be your lucky number

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 19:59:00 +0000

When I’m giving a lecture on roses I often begin by telling the audience my presentation could be hazardous to their health.

You see, I know better than most that once rose fever sets in, there is no cure. No matter how many roses one has, there will always be a more appealing one coming up in the 2013 gardening catalogs.

Cottage Rose was one of my very first Austin roses

Which means rose fever can also be hazardous to the pocketbook.

I myself contracted a rare strain called English Rose fever while living in London in the early 90’s when I fell in love with a new line of “old fashioned” roses created by David Austin.

Jude the Obscure

As a result of a hybridizing program initiated in the 1950’s, he captured the appealing features of Old Garden Roses (roses introduced prior to 1867) such as cupped or rosette-shaped flowers and strong fragrance in bushes that have the repeat bloom and vigor of modern roses.

So before the new catalogs arrive I am giving my pocketbook fair warning – I’ve had a sneak peek at the new US introductions and they all look like keepers.

Years in the making

David Austin and Me

When I visited the David Austin nursery in the UK a few years ago, I was able to take a tour of the entire operation. It was fascinating to see greenhouse after greenhouse filled with seedlings and cuttings in various stages of development.

Every year, 150,000 pollen crosses are made by hand which will produce around 400,000 seeds. These seeds are planted after being chilled in a cooler for three months.

250,000 will germinate and the resulting plants are evaluated for beauty, character, fragrance, diversity of bloom, disease resistance and potential for use in flower arrangements.

Nine years later, only four to six of the original 250,000 plants will make it into commerce.

Here is the class of 2013:

Wollerton Old Hall

The Yew Walk at Wollerton

This rose is going to be a must-have for me since I actually visited the 16^th century Hall House that is surrounded by one of the most exquisite gardens in England.

This vigorous rose can also be grown as a climber

Wollerton Old Hall has an intense myrrh fragrance and is said to be one of the most strongly scented of all English roses. The blooms are a soft cream with hints of peach. The bush has few thorns and produces an abundance of flowers over a long blooming season.

Lady Salisbury

Named to celebrate the 400^th anniversary of Hatfield House, the home of Lady Salisbury, this new beauty boasts old world charm and makes an excellent cut flower. The sugary pink rosettes and matte green foliage are reminiscent of the Alba roses but this modern shrub flowers continuously until frost.

The Lady’s Blush

A perfect candidate for a mixed border, this Lady sports pure soft pink blossoms, a creamy white eye and unusually attractive golden stamens.

Fighting Temeraire

A departure from most soft-colored English roses, this semi-double dazzler features rich apricot petals with a contrasting splash of yellow behind the stamens. It produces masses of flowers on strong stems and can be trained as a climber

Named after an 1839 JMW Turner painting, this rose has won awards for fragrance and as a landscape rose. Its scent is described as “very fruity with a strong element of lemon zest.”

Queen Anne

Medium-sized flowers are a pretty rose pink with outer petals slightly paler than interior ones. The flowers are fragrant and stems are virtually thornless.

If you like the understated charm of old fashioned roses in contrast to large, showy blooms, this rose is for you.

England’s Rose

This is another must-have for me. The flowers are cerise pink with a spicy fragrance. It throws out large clusters of blooms from May through October or November. And best of all, it is weather resistant! Even with periods of heavy rain the blooms will not ball, and petals drop cleanly. Yippee! No more soggy blossoms that look like dead mice!

One word of caution, I understand the blooms may be small in areas that are quite hot.

So there you go. Six new roses to tempt us. My problem is I want them all, but sometimes it just isn't possible. Since my mountain garden is smaller than the old one in Maryland, I have to consider available space. And then there is that pesky pocketbook!

I've had several people ask me which one to choose if you can only have one. So I consulted the expert, Michael Marriott, Technical Manager for David Austin. He suggests Wollerton Old Hall for its fragrance, beauty and vigor.

In addition it can be grown as a shrub or climber.

I actually need a climber by my front porch which makes Wollerton a no-brainer.

Plus every time I see it in bloom I'll be reminded of that splendid day in that splendid garden in England.

After years of denial, I'm dabbling in Dahlias.

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 18:08:00 +0000

I was fascinated by Fascination

Until now, my knowledge of dahlias was limited to a magazine article I wrote about them in 2001, and the experiences of my Maryland neighbor Chuck, who planted them every spring.

Most of what I learned for the article I promptly forgot because dahlias weren’t on my list of preferred plants. (They seemed a bit gaudy to live next to my prissy, pastel English roses.)

I did remember they originated in Mexico and were grown by the Aztecs.

I knew the flowers could be as small as a pincushion or as big as a dinner plate.

Chuck chucked his collection citing bunny issues

I knew the tubers had to be lifted and stored over winter in areas north of Zone 8.

And I knew this was probably a pain in the neck since Chuck stopped growing dahlias in 2005.

So after years of indifference, imagine moving to an area where dahlias are a head-turning sight in one garden, and a notable part of local history in another.

Dahlias move from England to the mountains.

The first stop is the resort once known as Hampton Hunting Lodge where early visitors arrived by horse and buggy.

High Hampton Inn celebrates its 90th anniversary this year.

In 1890, Carolyn Hampton (Wade Hampton’s niece) married Dr. William Halstead of Johns Hopkins, and the couple honeymooned on the mountain property.

Dr. Halstead thought the land to be the most beautiful place on earth. They purchased the estate from Carolyn’s aunts and renamed it High Hampton.

The couple traveled from Baltimore each summer and enhanced the property by adding exotic trees and shrubs (including one of America's largest Frasier Firs) that still thrive on the front lawn.

Part of the dahlia garden first planted in the 1890's

Caroline Halstead also assembled a remarkable collection of dahlias that were imported from England between 1892 and 1920. A gracious hostess, Caroline invited her guests to pick the dahlias. She also donated extra tubers to Cashiers gardeners.

Today the dahlia garden at High Hampton covers more than two acres and guests are still encouraged to cut and enjoy the colorful blooms.

Dazzling roadside dahlias.

Heading back towards Cashiers on Highway 107 you can’t help but notice a small garden on the right that is so eye-catching, your car might just swerve into the driveway by itself.

This riot of color is Rebecca’s Natural Gardens where her dahlias and assorted perennials have been turning heads since1990.

Rebecca waters every one of her plants by hand, feeds them organically and never uses pesticides. The pollinators love her.

Princess

So do dahlia enthusiasts who travel for hundreds of miles to purchase her beauties and listen to words of wisdom from the Dahlia Queen.

Melody Gypsy and Thomas Edison

I was immediately captivated by a variety called Genevieve, named after Rebecca's Mother. Of course I bought one, despite my previous dahlia doubts. But I had no clue how to care for it.

My first dahlia, Genevieve

Rebecca advised me to dig up the tuber after our first freeze and let it dry out for a couple of days. Then wrap it in newspaper and try to store it in an area that stays between 35 and 40 degrees.

It’s a tricky tightrope but high temps will cause the buds to swell, if it's too cold the tuber will freeze and turn to mush. Don't wrap them in plastic or they’ll rot.

Even though it’s a time consuming task, Rebecca digs up and stores her tubers each year. Some of them are decades old and she couldn’t bear to lose a single one.

David Austin's Princess Alexandra of Kent

My Genevieve is currently living very happily next to my English Rose Princess Alexandra of Kent.

But cold weather is on the way and I’m worried about getting the winter storage bit right. I’ve fallen in love with this dahlia and don’t want to lose her.

I guess old gardeners can learn new tricks.

Further down the garden path

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 23:02:00 +0000

A couple of days ago a Dirt Diaries reader visited my posting Leading You Down the Garden Path and commented that my new trail would look fabulous once finished.

That post was written on March 13th.

It occurred to me that between gardening, writing, golfing, traveling, entertaining guests and demolishing the kitchen I hadn't updated the progress of the project since then.

So thank you Karen from Australia, author of the lovely blog A Gardener's Life, for giving me a dope slap and reminding me I needed to tell the rest of the story.

Getting from here to there

The plan was to build a walkway from the house down to the waterfall. The hope was to get from here to there without falling down the mountain or ruining my jeans slip-sliding my way to the bottom.

There was no official design design aside from some rough pencil sketches. I explained my vision to our builder Alfredo and he took my thoughts to places I had not even envisioned.

He started by leveling out some natural walkways that would become the path and created a more gentle slope in the steeper areas.

He used 6" by 6" pressure treated spruce to build the steps and filled the interior with creek stone.The posts and hand rails are crafted from local locust. Pine bark mulch was laid down between step sections.

I could not have imagined how amazing it would all look in the end.

The first few steps are built to begin the project

Ferns and hostas now line the steepest slope of the trail

Alfredo and his helpers dug out the area that would become the patio


A stone wall is build around the entire patio

The view from across the stream. Ferns, impatiens and a turtle cocktail table!


The trail begins next to the house and winds down to the stream


Steps had to be built from the driveway to the path

Another stone wall was built to keep the hillside from eroding


The view of the completed path from the deck

A clematis likes its new home on one of the posts

Nameplates mark plants of interest along the trail

Chickadees soon took up residence in one of six birdhouses

The trail is now finished except for new plants I'll add as time goes on. More ferns and natives (including Doll's Eyes and Pussytoes) are on the wish list.

Next spring we will hold a little dedication ceremony and christen "Curly's Trail" to honor my Dad who loved the mountains, wildflowers, birds and birdhouses.

I think he would be pleased.

Free mountain vacation exclusively for Dirt Diaries readers!

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 17:20:00 +0000

It's August and for most people that means vacation, staycation or as they say in the UK, summer hols.

Unfortunately, the Hunts aren't taking any big trips this year. The pocketbook is still recovering from our month-long adventure Down Under, but that's no hardship since every day seems like a vacation here in the mountains.

My mother and a Daytona friend are coming up from Florida this weekend for the first time since we moved to North Carolina. I'm anxious for them to see as many of my favorite local haunts as possible and I thought I'd invite the Dirt Diaries gang to tag along.

So, welcome to my world. Enjoy your stay.

I'll be back soon with postings on an exciting new rose, dahlias, fairy gardens, terrariums and much more.

In the meantime, be sure to let us know if there is anything we can do to make your mountain holiday more enjoyable.

Moonshine, shower caps and bear repellent are available at the front desk.

Head for Pisgah Forest and Looking Glass Falls (scenes from The Hunger Games were filmed near here.)

Mother's going to love this!

Nature's own waterslide is just down the road.

A trip to the Biltmore is a must

The perennial borders at Biltmore are breathtaking

An espaliered Rose of Sharon

Play golf and check out waterfalls at the same time in Brevard!


Preview one of the settings for the new Dirty Dancing at Fairfield Lake					(What's wrong with the OLD Dirty Dancing?)

High Hampton is another Dirty Dancing destination

Number 8 is High Hampton's signature hole

Visit Wolfe's Angel in Hendersonville. You might see a white squirrel along the way

Or sit by our waterfall with an adult beverage

And enjoy the mountain view from the deck

Wild thing, you make my heart sing

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 22:42:00 +0000

The other-worldly Indian Pipe

One amazing thing about living in the mountains is that just about every time I walk out the door I see something new and different.

After missing a number of cool photo ops because I don’t like to drag my heavy Nikon around, I invested in a small pocket camera I carry with me all the time. It’s the best $99 I’ve ever spent.

The other day I was out walking when I spied a most unusual plant growing underneath a fern. From afar it looked like a skeleton’s bony fingers. I incorrectly assumed it was a fungus.

Some stems have a pinkish hue

After consulting my trusty wildflower book I learned this unearthly looking specimen is called Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora.) Unlike most plants it doesn’t have chlorophyll so the stems and “flowers” are white and waxy.

Small wonder it is also referred to as the corpse or ghost plant.

Experts reckon the plant evolved during the Jurassic period at the peak of the dinosaur era.

Although I’d never seen one in all my years visiting the mountains, this relative of the Rhododendron can be found throughout the country with the exception of the desert southwest. (However the US Forest Service says it is not commonly encountered.)

Indian Pipe provides food for small bumblebees and food for thought for those of us who stumble across the mysterious plant for the first time.

Emily Dickinson, called the Indian Pipe “the preferred flower of life” and used an illustration of it on the cover of her book Poems.

North Carolina mountain folklore tells us Cherokee Indians believed that plants appeared where the ashes from peace pipes had been scattered.

Another legend says Indian Pipe emerges in woodland locales where relatives have quarreled without resolution.

I’d love to know what happened on the site where I found this perennial wildflower.

Lilies and Orchids…

The Carolina Lily

Further down the road I saw what looked like a Turk’s-Cap Lily growing all by itself in a wooded grove.

Once again my research showed it was actually the Carolina Lily, also known as Michaux’s Lily, named after the French Botanist who made many expeditions to the mountains and discovered the Catawba rhododendron.

Carolina Lilies are much smaller than the Turk’s-Caps and produce fewer flowers –sometimes only one or two.

It isn't a plantain at all but a wild orchid

Heading home I noticed the Downy Rattlesnake Plantain I pass each day had thrown out spikes of tiny white flowers. Some say the striking plant got its name because the spike looks like a rattler’s tail. Others say the silvery markings on its leaves resemble snakeskin.

No matter how it got its name, this member of the orchid family is easy to spot because of its distinctive leaves -- each one can live as long as four years. The flowers supposedly look like tiny orchids but I’d need a magnifying glass to prove it.

Perhaps because of the unusual markings, early medical practitioners and Native Americans used the leaves and roots to treat snakebites. Native women thought rubbing the leaves on their skin made them more beautiful (in the interest of science I must give this a try.)

… and Bears (oh my!)

After a long day of finding, photographing and researching local wildflowers, I like to sit on my deck with a large glass of shiraz and listen to some of my favorite tunes.

Recently, just before pouring my adult beverage, I heard something strange going on outside and saw the head of a black bear appear just over the deck railing.

Junior had climbed up over 30 feet to see what hors d’oeuvres were being served. He placed his order for bird seed and I gladly let him pull the finch feeder out of the wall and take it away.

Sometimes the things I see in the mountains make my heart sing.

Other times, they make my heart stop.

Not your Granny's hydrangeas

noreply@blogger.com (Lynn Hunt) — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 23:09:00 +0000

Developed over 50 years ago, Glowing Embers only blooms once but is still a favorite

Colorful, low maintenance and long-flowering, hydrangeas have all the qualities you could ask for in a garden plant.

They aren’t fussy as long as you provide sun and moisture as your zone dictates. They aren’t plagued by pests or diseases for the most part. They’re attractive at virtually every stage, even aging gracefully. And they display extravagant clusters of delicate papery flowers that light up the landscape between June and October.

Endless Summer

Small wonder these versatile shrubs have long been stalwarts of the midsummer garden.

An old favorite is transformed

The hydrangea family is a relatively small one with around one hundred species in existence. For most people, the French hydrangeas with their bright blue and pink flowers (determined by the pH of the soil) have been the most familiar.

Then in 2003, a Midwest plant breeder introduced a new repeat-blooming variety and the hydrangea world was forever transformed.

The bigleaf hydrangea Endless Summer not only produced billowy blossoms from early summer through fall, it was also exceptionally hardy blooming reliably from zone 9 to 4.

On the heels of Endless Summer came more tantalizing hydrangea varieties including the Forever & Ever series, Invincibelle Spirit and Incrediball.

Annabelle was a parent to both Incrediball and Invincibelle Spirit

Forever & Ever hydrangeas bloom on new wood so if they die back to the ground, they will return to bloom again the next year.

Invincibelle Spirit is the first arborescens variety to produce pink flowers. It was developed by Dr. Tom Ranney who works at the Mountain Horticultural Center at North Carolina State University, and a then-graduate student, Richard Olsen.

Lacecap hydrangea Twist-n-Shout

While hiking through the Blue Ridge one day, Mr. Olsen spied a pink lacecap hydrangea that became an important part of their hydrangea breeding program. The eventual result was a spectacular rebloomer that produces 8-inch bright pink flowers for four months or longer.

Doubilicious

These new varieties are just the beginning.

Today, nine years after Endless Summer arrived on the scene, you can find hydrangeas in tempting shades of white, cream, pink, blue, amethyst and red. And you'll find lacecap and oakleaf shapes as well as the familiar mophead.

Starting over with fresh, new faces

Nikko Blues were showoffs in our Maryland garden

We didn’t know it at first but while we were living in Maryland, boaters going up and down our creek dubbed our place “the hydrangea house. ” It’s funny because I thought of it as a rose cottage, but from the water, they saw a solid hedge of blue blooms all across the back of our white Cape Cod from June through August.

I can’t take much credit for the display because we inherited most of the bushes. They weren’t anything special – mostly the old fashioned Nikko Blue. But despite bitter winter winds and summer droughts, they were always spectacular.

Forever & Ever Red

When we moved to the mountains we brought some of the Nikko cuttings with us and also added the original Endless Summer along with Forever & Ever Red and Fantasia.

The first year I wondered if we’d made a mistake with the newer plants. The Nikko cuttings took off like crazy but every afternoon I could hear the blooms of Endless Summer hitting the ground as they wilted in the afternoon sun.

This year has been a different story.

Yummy Vanilla Strawberry

The Endless Summers have tripled in size and are covered in showy blue powder puffs. Forever & Ever Red offers vivid color against dark green leaves and makes a great combination with the new Raspberry Dazzle dwarf crape myrtle.

I had a space available towards the back of the border and decided to try a variety other than mopheads. Vanilla Strawberry is a relative of the classic PeeGee hydrangea and grows to 7 feet in height with a spread of 4-5 feet.

It is said to deliver a summer-long parade of huge flower heads that change from white to pink to strawberry red, sometimes with all three shades showing off on the plant at once.

It sounds like it's going to be a refreshing summer sorbet.

My grandmother would've thought it was delicious.