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Lobster Petunia

Petunia ‘Potunia Lobster’
(peh-TEWN-ya)

One of the reasons this site was started was to share different plants that we grow with other gardeners. Posting the successful ones is the easiest since sometimes there are factors that lead to a plant not doing well that isn’t their fault. Keeping an open mind and trying a plant a couple of times can be difficult but I usually try to give them another chance.

This year we planted a lot of Petunias. By a lot I mean a couple of hundred 4 and 6 inch pots. Not all of them did well because of all of the rain and the increase in the slug population. We did try a new type (to us) called Potunias. I was a little skeptical about the name but found that this breed of Petunias has its own website, here
.

We tried a couple of the colors of Potunias and ‘Lobster’ has outperformed them all. It truly has been an outstanding annual. It has a mounding and very tidy habit. It has also been the one variety that fought off the rain. The color is a beautiful pink that can really glow when the light hits it. It always seems to be full of flowers when whenever I look at it.

It is Saturday and I am going to have to be in the home office all day. The air conditioner is getting installed today. Originally to save money and energy I was going to try and make it through the season without A/C but after the last couple of days I am going to use it sparingly. Catching up with a lot of paperwork is not my idea of a fun Saturday so being comfortable will make it a bit easier.

Labels: Annuals, Petunias, Potunia

Great Rudbeckia

Great Rudbeckia
Rudbeckia maxima
(rud-BEK-ee-uh) (MAKS-ih-muh)
Synonyms: Great Coneflower, Dumbo's Ears
Skywatch Friday

It has been a while since I participated in Skywatch Friday. These shots were taken with Skywatch in mind. They are from the Perennial Garden at the NYBG. I took three pictures of the scene and decided to post all of them here. All three and especially the last could have had benefited from a larger Depth of Field. The last one is kind of a blooper but it is posted just to show the background. The building is the Enid Haupt Conservatory (click the About link for the history).

Visit Sky Watch Friday for more skies around the world.
SkyWatch Friday Home Page

Labels: NYBG, Rudbeckia, Sky Watch Friday

Mexican Daisy

Mexican Daisy
Erigeron karvinskianus 'Profusion'
(er-IJ-er-on) (kar-winz-kee-AY-nus)
Synonyms: Fleabane, Santa Barbara Daisy, Dancing Daisy, Seaside Daisy

This plant was blooming in the Ladies Border at the New York Botanical Garden last weekend. It is quite a nice looking plant that was covered with white daisy flowers and a touch of pink on the buds. It grows to about 10 inches tall and is a rhizomatous perennial. Which is defined as “having or resembling a rhizome”. Without getting too technical a rhizome is “a horizontal, usually underground stem that often sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Also called rootstalk, rootstock.”

Work is staying busy, much more than I thought the summer was going to be. All that rain has generated a lot of pruning and that is not a bad way to make a living. Today we are tackling an out of control foundation planting. It is my own fault as I installed it and have been taking care of it for the last 12 years. First up is giant Doublefile Viburnum that has to go from about 10 feet tall to 5 feet. There also is some Variegated Red Twig Dogwood that are about 8+ feet tall that are going to have to be reduced. I didn’t know they got that big and these are some of the largest specimens I have seen. There are some 30 foot tall Kwanzan Cherry Trees that need to be thinned out. The owner is all for this since the plants are pretty much eating up the front of the house.

Labels: Daisy, Perennials