Little Lemon Goldenrod

Little Lemon Goldenrod

Solidago ‘Dansolitlem’

(so-li-DAY-go)

I don’t often find myself in a position to be recommending Goldenrod for garden cultivation, as the nonhorticultural types are an invasive coarse weed. This little fella as proven to be an interesting and useful cultivar of the native wildflower. It grows somewhat compactly and blooms late and for a long time. Introduced in 2005 it seems to be getting some traction in the market but is probably still suffering from its cousin’s bad reputation. The pollen from Goldenrod does not cause hay fever as it is not windborne (too heavy) although it is often blamed for it.

Saturday while attending the Oyster Bay Festival I slipped into a rough area near the shore and found this wild Aster blooming. It’s pure white flowers and short stature added to its appeal.

Toto Gold Dwarf Black-eyed Susan

Dwarf Black-eyed Susan

Rudbeckia hirta ‘Toto Gold’

(rud-BEK-ee-uh) (HER-tuh)

Shasta Daisy

Shasta Daisy

Leucanthemum 'White Mountain'

(lew-KANTH-ih-mum)

Synonym: Chrysanthemum x superbum, Chrysanthemum maximum

This little daisy was introduced in 2011 and I was happy to have scored a couple in the spring. The plant had a lot of flowers and the foliage stayed relatively clean. Growing to a height of 12 inches tall is a definite plus as far as Shasta Daisies go. I usually don’t stake Shastas but heavy rain/wind can snap the stems if it comes at the right time. The Honeybee was just a bonus and it was nice to see as we don’t seem to get as many Honeybees as we used to.

We had another nuisance snowstorm yesterday. It really couldn’t decide if it was a rain or snowstorm. It did manage to yield about 2-3 inches of wet, heavy snow and a little ice but I definitely put in the category of a missed bullet. Some areas to the north got a lot more snow.

Dwarf Dahlia

Dwarf Dahlia

Dahlia 'Apricot Sunrise'

(DAHL-ya)

Synonyms: Royal Dahlietta Series

Bloomerang Dwarf Lilac

Dwarf Lilac

Syringa 'Penda'

(si-RING-gah)

Synonym: Bloomerang

Okay every once in awhile a season bender plant appears and this little lilac is one. A mixture of several species of lilac including patula x macrophylla x meyeri x juliana it blooms heavily around regular lilac time (around here Mid-May). It then takes a rest period and starts blooming again with a smaller crop of flowers. This picture was taken this week and the plants offered for sale each had a couple of flowers on them.

When you combine the dwarf habit, fragrant flowers and the reblooming Bloomerang is quite a package. One house we care for has a large collection of what I think are ‘Miss Kim’ dwarf lilacs and they are in constant need of pruning to fit in their dwarf spaces. That doesn’t really fit the definition/use of a dwarf plant for me. The problem is not the plant but the planter in that case (I inherited the care of those plants and did not install them). Bloomerang looks to be a much dwarfer and less course plant than ‘Miss Kim’ but only time will tell (Bloomerang was introduced in 2009).

Fall lilac flowers what will we see next?

Dwarf Bottlebrush

Dwarf Bottlebrush
Callistemon viminalis 'Little John'
(kal-lis-STEE-mon) (vim-in-AY-liss)

A nice twist on a plant that is always fun for me to see (love the flower color). The dwarf version of Bottlebrush was spotted growing in Palos Verdes, California. It only grows to 4 feet tall instead of the 12-15 feet tall of the regular Bottlebrush. The foliage is a nice blue-grey and may cause an allergic reaction in some people.

This plant attracts a lot of hummingbirds to the garden and there were a couple of them flitting around the patch I was observing. Although this plant is rated for a low temperature of 20 degrees (F) there are a lot of reports of it being hardier.

Heliconia and 35-70 2.8 Nikon lens

Heliconia
Heliconia stricta 'Dwarf Jamaican'
(hel-ih-KOH-nee-uh) (STRIK-tuh)

Yesterday I went and tried the lens Karen is getting for Christmas. It is a Nikon AF 35-70mm f/2.8D Zoom-Nikkor. She is a very good photographer and needed a boost up from the Nikkor AF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 lens that came with her camera. The new lens is sharp and fast.

Since I was already down in Westchester Wave Hill seemed to be good place to check out some flowers and the lens. The push-pull zoom set up is a little interesting as is the macro function but easy to figure out. I didn’t do a lot of heavy testing more like trying to shoot what I would on a normal excursion.


This little Heliconia was blooming inside the conservatory and it is quite cute. The smaller size is perfect for cultivation in a container and it retains the nice ‘lobster claw’ type of flowers. Always a treat to see the brilliant red that this plant produced.

Shooting Star
Clerodendron quadriloculare
(kler-oh-DEN-drum) (kwah-drih-lok-yoo-LAIR-ee)


This photo was also shot with the 35-70mm lens. One of the prime things about a lens, to me anyways, is the bokeh it produces. On a simple level that is how the lens reproduces the out of focus elements in the background of the photo. This lens did nicely and with some more experimenting would do even better.

Compact Shasta Daisy

Compact Shasta Daisy
Leucanthemum x superbum 'Silver Princess'
(lew-KANTH-ih-mum) (soo-PER-bum)
Synonym: Chrysanthemum x superbum

This compact Shasta is prolific bloomer. You could probably call it a dwarf as it only gets to about 12-18 inches tall and just has a smaller and more compact habit than most of the Shasta cultivars. The good news is the flower size is similar to most at about 3 inches across.

Happy Labor Day to the American readers here. The unofficial end of summer hopefully will mean lower temperatures and more even precipitation.

Dwarf Panicle Hydrangea 'Little Lamb'

Dwarf Panicle Hydrangea
Hydrangea paniculata 'Little Lamb'
(hy-DRAIN-juh) (pan-ick-yoo-LAY-tuh)

I stumbled on this Hydrangea while at White Flower Farm and must say it blew me away. Its smaller stature with the big puffy flowers was perfect. Developed by Jelena DeBelder in Belgium ‘Little Lamb’ was introduced in 2002. It has the smallest flower petals of any Tree Hydrangea but when they are all together making up the flowers you really don’t notice that they are small. This Hydrangea is also very hardy, being able to make winters in USDA Zone 3. The flowers can fade to a kind of pink in the fall regardless of the soil ph.

It has been quite a week so far. On Monday while making a call on my cellular phone I decided to sit on a garden bench next to a large container of Salvia ‘Black and Blue’. I noticed a kind of buzzing next to my right ear and when I turned around to see what it was there was a Hummingbird about 4 inches from my face. It flew about a foot away and stopped and looked at me before flying off into the big Golden Privet about 20 feet away. We were both surprised and it was the best look I have ever had at the marvelous little creature.

Later that day I was sitting in the same chair that I have used for lunch for many years. After a while there seemed to be quite a few yellow jackets flying around me. I got up and looked and there was a giant underground nest right below the chair, about 6 inches from my backside. Luckily I didn’t get stung but realized one wrong move on my part would have stirred up the whole nest. Needless to say I finished my lunch somewhere else.

Dwarf Shasta Daisy

Dwarf Shasta Daisy
Leucanthemum x superbum 'Darling'
(lew-KANTH-ih-mum) (soo-PER-bum)

This is a petite Shasta Daisy that appears more dwarf than ‘Snowcap’. The flowers are 2 to 3 inches wide and that fits the stature of the plant. They look quite good when there is a carpet of flowers that are only about 8 inches tall. ‘Darling’ is suitable for the front of the border and seemed to bloom most of the summer with deadheading.


This week, with the big American holiday on Thursday, is going to be busy. There are probably going to be a few more Daisy pictures here. Looking back at some of the photos that I took over the summer the daisies seemed to do very well.

Dwarf Peach Tree

Dwarf Peach
Prunus persica 'Bonfire'
(PROO-nus) (PER-see-kuh)

I don’t know too much about this genetic dwarf Peach Tree other than I like it every time I see it. I have always wanted to grow one but haven’t gotten around to actually buying one. Long thin burgundy leaves and peaches follow these flowers in the summer.

It is hardy to USDA Zone 5 and grows well in containers. I shot this at the nursery and should of bought the tree.

Yesterday when I got home from work I noticed my dog (Molly) was lethargic and a bit clumsy. It got worse after a little awhile and by the time I decided to go to the vet she couldn’t walk. We know she has cancer and all the signs were pointing to a bleeding tumor, as her gums were ashen white.

I got her to the Vet and lucky he was working late. A quick abdominal tap and blood count test confirmed our fears. Molly looked liked she was on her deathbed. Karen and I were serious contemplating a very difficult decision. The doctor decided to do another red cell count test a half an hour later. If was down that would be terrible, if it were up then there is a slight chance of hope. It was up and Molly seemed to be getting better, some color returned to her gums, she was drinking and looked a lot more with it.

We decided to take her home and she had dinner (a good sign) and is resting at my feet as I type this. We know we could have her for a few more hours, days or months at this point. I will gladly take any time I have with her. Today she is almost back to normal.

What an emotional roll coaster!


This is an Aloe flower picture that has been hanging around I thought I would go ahead and post it.

‘Crimson Sentry’ Norway Maple

Norway Maple
Acer platanoides ‘Crimson Sentry’
(AY-ser) (pla-tan-OY-dees)
Synonyms: European Maple

I was going to call this a Dwarf Norway Maple but not sure if that is correct. My definition of a dwarf is a plant that is smaller than its parent or a plant that does not reach the size normally associated with its species. There can be several reasons for dwarfism amongst plants including environmental factors, genetics and grafting. Since ‘Crimson Sentry’ gets to a final height of 30 feet with a spread of 15 feet it is considerably smaller than the normal height a Norway Maple, which is about 45 to 95 feet in height.

I planted two ‘Crimson Sentry’ Maples at the estate about 12 years ago. One of them died several years later from unknown causes and the other has been growing well. This tree is a slow grower (super slow compared to the species) and has been a welcome addition to the garden. For those of us that like red colored foliage it is a good alternative to ‘Crimson King’, which is much larger. One thing I have noticed about ‘Crimson Sentry’ is that it never seems to need pruning and maintains an almost perfect shape naturally. The foliage emerges much redder than ‘Crimson King’ and then gradually fades to the same color during the summer. I would recommend this tree for patio and entrance ways.

There are over 100 cultivars of Norway Maples available to gardeners. I featured one a few weeks ago. I didn’t know that were that many and will have to investigate some more of them.

Here is a photo I took from my bedroom window with a 200mm lens. This is actually the smaller Whitetail buck that has been hanging around our neighborhood. I have only seen the larger one at night but he looks to be a 12 to 14 pointer.

Dwarf Red Tree Fern (Blechnum brasiliense)

Dwarf Red Tree Fern
Blechnum brasiliense
(BLEK-num) (bra-sill-ee-EN-see)
Synonyms: Red Brazilian Tree Fern

This is a beautiful fern that is native to Brazil and other parts of South America. I have seen it a few times before including the New York Orchid Show. I am not sure why they call it a Tree Fern because it doesn’t have that traditional stem that I so love about Tree Ferns. This photo is of the new growth rolling out. When it is completely unfurled it is a nice red color, it later hardens off to green. This fern is tropical and is hardy to USDA Zone 9. It was growing in the tropical plant section of the Bartlett Arboretum and was just spending the summer outside here in Connecticut. Some of the cultural tips I saw when I looked this plant up


It is again ‘ABC Wednesday’ over at Blog Catalog. This weeks theme is starts with ‘B’ and again I am using the scientific name, so ‘B’ is for Blechnum and brasiliense and Brazil.



Here are some of the other participating blogs:
mrs nesbitts place.blogspot
Kissing the Dogwood
gemmas house
Ruth's Me My Garden, My Life
dwq online
photowannabe
tech the man

Meadowsweet (Filipendula 'Kakome')

Meadowsweet
Filipendula 'Kakome'
(fil-ih-PEN-dyoo-luh)
Synonyms: Double Meadow-sweet, Dwarf Meadowsweet, 'Kahome'

I took these pictures at the nursery in Long Island though I have been growing this plant for several years. I have it sited in a part shade moist area and it seems very happy. I know it can grow in almost wet conditions also. I like it better than Queen of the Prairie (Filipendula rubra) and Queen of the Meadow (Filipendula ulmaria) mainly because it is a dwarf form (12 inches) that doesn’t flop or sprawl. It has been in the garden a long time and hasn’t needed to be divided yet. The flower and foliage color is good and it has shown deer resistance. The flowers are corymbs that look a lot like Astilbe.



Here are a couple more pictures from the ferry. There were two Jet-skis that were putting on a show riding up the wake of the ferry. It was better entertainment than the usual feeding Doritos® to the sea gulls. To be fair I wanted to post the power plant that is on the Port Jefferson side of the ferry trip.

Dwarf French Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla 'Pia')

Dwarf French Hydrangea
Hydrangea macrophylla 'Pia'
(hy-DRAIN-juh) (mak-roh-FIL-uh)
Hydrangeaceae (hy-drain-jee-AY-see-ay)
Synonyms: 'Piamina', 'Comet', 'Winning Edge', 'Pink Elf’

This is from the Brooklyn Botanical Hydrangea collection. The collection itself wasn’t that big nut it had some interesting members. I hadn’t seen this dwarf before and I thought the flower color was outstanding. Some research revealed some problems with this plant including reverting to a tall type and leaf spot. I still would try anyway as the size and color make it look like a worthwhile garden denizen.





This Variegated Hydrangea was marked ‘Lemon Wave’ but it wasn’t as yellow as some of them I have seen. I liked the flower color which was a nice pale lavender. The little splotches of yellow on the teeth of the leaves was interesting. You might miss it if you didn’t look closely. The plant itself was also compact.



This is a shot of the Lotus Pool. The pool and the garden surrounding it was my favorite part of the garden. I shot this with my Point and shoot camera. It is a
Nikon Coolpix E8400.



I hadn’t had it out in awhile but Karen was using her D80. I have the 8400 set to a 3:2 aspect ratio (instead of it’s normal 4:3) which I like a lot better.

Dwarf Common Privet (Ligustrum vulgare 'Lodense')

Dwarf Common Privet
Ligustrum vulgare 'Lodense'
(lig-GUS-trum) (vul-GAIR-ee)
Oleaceae (oh-lee-AY-see-ay)

This shrub has been a good performer for me. It is listed as growing 4 feet but mine are at least 6 feet tall and have been sheared every other year. I like Ligustrum as a genus and this one is nice because of its dense branching and smaller stature. Privet turns into such a nice shrub when let to its own devices and not continually hacked into odd shapes and squares. There are a couple of huge Privet shrubs on the Estate and they are such a joy when they bloom. You might not recognize them as Privet as they are about 30 feet tall and 15 feet wide. The ‘Lodense’ cultivar is just as fragrant and is a nice alternative to other shrubs. I have had difficulty finding it at wholesale nurseries or I would use it more.



There was a hail storm at the estate on Saturday. See what happens when you turn your back on a large garden for a couple of days? :lol: I have to check the damage out later today.

Synonyms:
European Privet

Weeping Serbian Spruce (Picea omorika ‘Bruns’)

Weeping Serbian Spruce
Picea omorika ‘Bruns’
(PY-see-uh)
Pinaceae (py-NAY-see-ay)

Yesterday broke a long streak of consecutive daily posts for me. I wanted to spend some time here but with going to the airport the night before and having to leave early the next morning it didn’t happen. I have been working on a house in Darien that has been slowly upgrading and adding some garden areas. There is a lot of construction going on inside the house and I had to remove some of the landscaping in the front of the house earlier this year. It is the house that I am growing the lone Crepe Myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica x fauriei 'Zuni') I have under cultivation. I did get another request for one and if I go out to Long Island to buy some plants I going to look around for one.

Last year I installed a perennial border below a stonewall in the back of the house. It is bisected by a set of flagstone stairs that lead up to a large patio. At the bottom of the stairs there is a path that leads to the swimming pool. Whenever I do a border like this I try and plant a couple of anchors on the ends and in this case by the side of the stairs. For the edge of the stairs I used Dwarf Blue Spruce, I have forgotten which one but it is a slowing growing cultivar, real blue too (I think it might be Picea Pungens 'St. Mary's Broom'). On the far end I used a Coral Bark Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum ‘Sango-kaku’). Since it is a relatively small tree it works as a specimen. The coral twigs add another season of interest. When I went to the nursery for the perennials I picked up a Weeping Serbian Spruce (Picea omorika ‘Bruns’). It is a cute little tree with weeping branches but an upright habit (if that makes sense). This spring I was doing our usual sprucing by the gardens when I noticed these red cones. They are just beautiful, and really look nice against the greenish-blue foliage. According to Iseli Nursery Bruns Nursery in Germany selected this tree in the 1920’s. They say a 6-10 inch growth rate with a ten-year height of 5-8 feet. I read somewhere else that it has a final height of about 14 feet. Nice addition to the garden, I think and it is a little more interesting than the regular P. omorika 'Pendula'.



Just for fun I wanted to post a picture from my yard. It maybe the first one. This is a nice Azalea that blooms every year no matter what. I think it maybe a Kurume Hybrid. The color is one of my favorites for Azalea. I like the Kurumes for the compact habit and heavy bloom.

A little news I almost forgot. My Photography is being featured in an on-line magazine from Australia. It can be found at:
New Paradigm Journal

One of my dream trips would be traveling to Australia and New Zealand and I have been saving my frequent flier miles for a business class ticket for several years now. I need just 10k more. So maybe this is an omen. The people at the magazine are real nice and they have an interesting site.

I hope over the next couple of weeks I plan for some introspection about why I am a gardener, what I know about gardening and what I want to accomplish. I hope to be posting some of my thoughts.

Gold Tide Forsythia

Gold Tide Forsythia
Forsythia x 'Courtasol'
Oleaceae (oh-lee-AY-see-ay)

While searching for information on Gold Tide Forsythia I came across these blog entry called A Tale of Two Forsythia Shrubs . The name of the blog is ‘May Dreams Gardens’ and it is quite a nice blog. I love my ‘Gold Tide’ although it seems to get a bit bigger than the advertised height of 20 inches. I keep my group sheared to about 24 inches. It is an easy plant to grow and is a reliable bloomer here in Southern Connecticut. I started with 6 plants but really only needed 4 as they spread nicely. They are really easy to keep lower if you want them that way. They can easy come back after a harsh shearing. I generally try and do it after they have flowered and then touch them up a little in the summer.



You can see that it is cascading nicely over my stonewall. If you click on the link you will see there was a lively exchange about Arnold’s Dwarf Forsythia. I happened to take a picture of my specimen yesterday and remember thinking it was the first time I had seen it with a lot of flowers in the 22 years it has been planted.


Arnold's Dwarf

It isn’t my favorite Forsythia that is for sure. I find it a bit too coarse in my opinion. Again my Arnold’s has exceeded the listed height growing to about 4 or 5 feet. I could have kept it lower, I guess. I would like to try ‘Golden Peep’ which is a dwarf Forsythia that has a bit more of an upright shape.

Hoop-Petticoat Daffodil (Narcissus bulbocodium)

Hoop-Petticoat Daffodil
Narcissus bulbocodium
(nar-SIS-us) (bulb-oh-KOD-ee-um)

I visited both the New York Botanical Garden and Wave Hill Gardens in the Bronx yesterday. The gardens weren’t that far along but there were a lot more plants blooming there then here in Connecticut. The Daffodil and Daylily Walk was just staring show some of the unique varieties of Daffs. I took a few pictures because I noticed in my archives I really don’t have many Daffodil pictures. I organize my photos by years first and then by months so I can see by season what I have. The Daffodil and Daylily Walk is one of the greatest aspects of the NYBG, in my opinion. I have used it on my jobs many times on a smaller scale. The brilliance behind it is the emerging Daylilies hide the gone by Daffodil foliage. I also visited the Rock Garden and the Ladies Border. I did notice a few of the Magnolias had been tinged by the frost.

Wave Hill is a much smaller and more intimate garden. I noticed they are looking for an Assistant Horticultural Director if anybody is interested. I know some of the staff there and they are a nice bunch of people. The Conservatory is small but wonderfully in bloom. When entering the wave of fresh floral scents were amazing. I couldn’t tell what exactly was fragrant but it seemed to be several plants mixed together. The Cactus and Succulent Collection is always interesting and had several types in flower. The thing I found most interesting was the Alpine House . I have visited it many times and this time there were more plants blooming. You view the plants from outside so you have to kind of stick your camera in there and hope for the best. The fans don’t help, as they gently blow the plants back and forth, so I was using a fast shutter speed. The rest of the gardens really had just started coming out. I am glad that I went yesterday, as today seems to be a complete wash out, with the big Northeaster coming in. We are supposed to get up to 4 inches of rain with high winds. I am glad that there are not too many flowers out, as they would have been shredded by this wind.

The Daffodil pictured here is interesting and something you don’t see too often. I really love dwarf Daffodils in general and this one is a stand out. There is quite a controversy over the naming of this one. I wanted to stay out of that and just use the generic name. It was growing in the Alpine House in a small pot. For more information on Narcissus see this post.



In the description of the Hoop Petticoat Daffodil it says:
“perianth tube 6-25mm” and a look at the dictionary says the definition of perianth is: “The outer envelope of a flower, consisting of either the calyx or the corolla, or both.”

Hardy Cyclamen (Cyclamen coum)

Hardy Cyclamen
Cyclamen coum
(SIGH-kla-men) (KOO-um)

This plant is unusual early spring bloomer. I like it because it will grow in places a lot of other plants won’t tolerate. I have a fairly large patch growing under my Dwarf Sugar Maple. Nothing else has tried to make it in that area. There is a smaller patch that I have growing in the River Birch Grove. The flowers emerge at same time the silver streaked round foliage does and the color ranges from deep pink to white. For consistent color try and find a named cultivar. It sometimes take awhile for the tubers to get going. As I remember I planted some and then didn’t see them for a year or two and I thought they had malfunctioned. Later I was happy to see a couple popping up and then a few more. I think I have found the key to their cultivation is having well drained soil. This plant falls into the Primrose family, Primulaceae. I am trying to learn more about the plant families and will try and reference them here more this year. The Primrose family has 28 genera of herbaceous flowering plants including some very familiar garden plants.