Showy Stonecrop

Showy Stonecrop

Sedum 'Matrona'

(SEE-dum)

Synonyms: Hylotelephium

This flower has undergone some name changes over the years and I am not really sure what to officially call it. It is a strange plant that seems to thrive on neglect and hard conditions. This plant is growing in one of the hottest driest area of the estate and is doing well. It is great to have something seem to actually want to grow there. My feeling it is easy to love this plant to death. If it likes the conditions then there isn’t much of a need for gardener invention with this fall-blooming perennial.

Coppertone Stonecrop

Coppertone Stonecrop
Sedum nussbaumerianum
(SEE-dum) (nuss-baw-mer-ee-AH-nuh)
Synonyms: Nussbaumer's Sedum

This Sedum was blooming in the Cactus Room at the New York Botanical Garden the other day. It was nice to see since I didn’t know there were tropical versions of Sedum, which is a stalwart genus for fall gardens here. I was immediately attracted to the orange/yellow foliage and the Jade plant type flowers when I spotted this. Just another treat from the NYBG’s Orchid show.

This morning we woke up to the distressing news that Japan had been hit with a major earthquake. Since my sister lives in Hawaii the tsunami warning there has me a bit worried. Normally she lives in upcountry Maui at an elevation of 1000 feet above sea level and is pretty safe from the waves but recently she has been visiting Kauai and that is much more open to damage from a tsunami. Of course it is the middle of the night there and we can’t get in touch with her. I love that she is living out her dreams out there (and its nice for us for vacations) but when something like this happens it is nerve wracking. Not only are the waves damaging but I am also worried about the chaos after an event like that.

Showy Stonecrop

Showy Stonecrop
Sedum 'Strawberries and Cream'
(SEE-dum)

Another Ruby Tuesday entry. All of the tall Sedums make a wonderful addition to the fall garden. This one is nice since it has purple foliage that is different from most of the others. The flower color is also different. The red and creamy white combination is always a good one to me and is often a default color scheme (with bright white added in) for my work gardens.

We spent the weekend in Surf City, New Jersey on Long Beach Island . It was lovely and I got a few good pictures. The gardens at all the different houses were really very well done. Most were small but they had their own charm and good points and when a garden has those it is usually successful. It was interesting to me because although the plant choices seem to be a little limited the people do a lot with them. This container garden was across the street. I liked the look of having all the pots down the walk like that. It was a nice look compared to just having all the annuals planted together and forming a carpet. There were Marigolds, Geraniums, New Guinea Impatiens and Begonias planted in all the pots.


This red lifeguard chair was shot exclusively for Ruby Tuesday. For other Ruby Tuesday participants please visit the Work of the Poet

Queens Botanical Garden

Queens Botanical Garden
Flushing, New York

Yesterday I left early and visited the Queens Botanical Garden in Flushing, New York. I wanted to kind of make a clean sweep of the NYC Botanical gardens having already visited the New York Botanical Garden and Wave Hill in the Bronx, Brooklyn Botanical Garden and the Staten Island Botanical Gardens this summer. It wasn’t as much as an adventure as getting to the Staten Island Garden. I drove to the Metro-North Railroad Station in Katonah, New York and got the train to Manhattan. I then bought a Metrocard and took the #7 Subway train to its terminus at Main Street in Flushing, Queens. It is about a 40-minute ride on the Subway and then I walked the eight blocks south on Main Street to the garden. I took the bus back to the station and you may want to consider taking it to the garden.

The new Visitor and Administration Building at the Queens Botanical Garden

The garden was nice, smallish compared to the others but it really had a country atmosphere, which was kind of amazing to me. If it weren’t for the skyscrapers and the jets taking off from La Guardia you might not know you were in NYC. There is a lot of construction going on at the garden. It looked like a pretty big area was closed off and totally ripped up. The Visitor and Administration Building was brand new and they are so planning a new maintenance building and area.


Some of the highlights of my visit were the Rose Garden, Pinetum, and while I didn’t get to actually go inside the area reserved for Weddings. There was a Wedding later in the day with; I’m guessing 50 guests. I got to see the bride walking down the aisle and I liked the air of anticipation before she arrived. The Rose Garden had a lot of roses and seemed well cared for and my only knock (and it is a small one) was the roses for the most part weren’t labeled and they were kind of scatter planted (mixed up). As I said there were a lot of flowers and a good selection of cultivars. The Pinetum was interesting, I didn’t see anything really rare but there was an interesting selection with some very old specimens. It looked like they are going to need to do some transplanting soon and I would have liked to see a few more dwarf types of trees. If you are not familiar with what a Pinetum is here is the definition: “An area planted with pine trees or related conifers, especially for botanical study.”

One of the Circular Annual Plantings

The rest of the display gardens were nicely presented and tended. There were a couple of very nice annual/tropical plant circles that I found interesting. There was also a large circular perennial and annual border that was impressive. I have tried to make a comprehensive review here since it was hard to find any reviews on the Internet about the QBG. A review would not be complete without mentioning the experience I had in the Senior Garden section. The Senior Garden was located in one of the far corners of the garden, and is made of a lot of small vegetable plots, each tended by a senior. Apparently they just started opening on the weekends for visiting. They were calling over to me to come visit as I walked by. Of course I went in and looked around after a few minutes one of the gardeners approached me and started to talk about the garden. I don’t think I have ever met a group that was more friendly and proud of their garden. They had to show me everything and I found them to be quite knowledgeable. When they heard I was professional that seemed to trigger some questions. It was a very personal and enjoyable visit for me. The kind of experience you wouldn’t get at the other Botanical Gardens in NYC.

Overall it was a very enjoyable visit. I can’t remember the last time I rode one of the Subway lines to the end in the Outer Boroughs. The #7 line drops you in the middle of Chinatown and that is an experience in itself. When I was in Grand Central I had a bolt of fear as the US Open Tennis Tournament and a Mets home game was scheduled on Saturday. It turned out to be baseless as I dodged both with happy accidental timing. You probably wouldn’t want to make this your top destination for Botanical Gardens in NYC but if you are interested or have the time it is certainly worth the visit.

Sedum 'Autumn Joy'

A quick word about the pictures here. When I go shooting I often give myself a little challenge to try and complete on my journey. Yesterday it was to get a few full frame flower and plant pictures. As usual I took a lot of close ups but tried to complete my personal challenge. I had quite a few failed attempts (which we won’t be seeing) and the three that came out the best.

Angelina Stonecrop (Sedum rupestre ’Angelina’ )

Angelina Stonecrop
Sedum rupestre ’Angelina’
(SEE-dum) (rue-PES-tree)

This picture was taken at Wave Hill Gardens in the Bronx. The plant was gorgeous, a real splash of color. I think it would mix well with dark colored foliage plants. Sedums can be a fast spreader so you have to watch it. It is easy to root or new plants can be gained by division. Sedums like full sun and well drained soil. I often plant the low growing Sedums in cracks in garden paths or along the edge of stonework. That shows they can grow in some pretty crummy spots.

I started a new job on Thursday. It is a garden that I have been working on a long time and everything in the front foundation planting is wildly overgrown. I have to move about 12 five foot by five foot Azaleas and assorted other plants. Its hard work but looks a lot nicer when the plants are pulled apart. I am trying to resist running out and getting some new plants for some of the spaces I have made.

I have been keeping track of what I have been shooting by taking a picture of the plant sign or tag. I used to write them down until I got the D70s and it writes all over the card. The pictures are often out of order. I found this to be a much easier way to remember the plants name.

Variegated Showy Stonecrop
Sedum erythrostictum 'Frosty Morn'
(SEE-dum) (er-ith-roh-STIK-tum)

This is an interesting plant, which blooms late in the season. The main complaint I hear about this plant is that it flops over. I always pinch my Sedum a couple of times a year (before the buds are formed) and this helps keep it standing up. It also delays the bloom, which is especially nice if you have planted it with some Asters or other late blooming perennial. I think this is another plant that is a victim of too much love by gardeners. It likes very lean and on the dry side soil and full sun. It sometimes has stalks that revert to all-green and I always remove those. I have found it to be a nice accent plant that mixes well with Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ and ‘Purple Dome’ Asters.

Tropical storm ‘Ernesto’ blew through here during the weekend. I will have to wait and see what it did to the shoreline gardens tomorrow. It wasn’t too bad but enough wind and rain to do some damage. I got my show hung at Molten Java’s and it came out well. I might go out and take a couple of pictures today, as it is the Labor Day holiday.

I have updated my other website http://digitalflowerpictures.com with some pictures of my trip to Ireland. I also added some more of the Chihuly exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden on the New York City pages. Let me know what you think!