Girls Garden Tour, Susan's

In the busyness of the spring season, we watch as each of us that work ~ aka: “plays” together at The Flower Tree start stashing plants behind the counter to take home after work. The back area over by the mulch starts to fill with little pots tucked away and the “sold” area fills with little treasures that we find first off the delivery trucks. The “do you have this one yet?” and the “you gotta try these” comments flow through the air as we start bringing in new/old varieties of plants. Welcome to the life of a plant hoarder!

This past week we started our now annual tradition of visiting each other’s houses in the evening. Jaime came up with this idea a few years ago when she realized that while we watched everyone stashing plants to take home, we never got to see just where “home” turned out to be in their gardens. We gather at someone’s garden and nibble on some good food, enjoy a lovely libation and then wander through the greenery. We start earlier in the summer now to fit everyone in, and while at first we were every month, we are now every other week as our gardener crew has grown. This first week was my house and while not all my perennials are blooming yet, and I still had trees to plant where we had to cut down all the awful diseased cottonwoods ~ my garden was ready for visitors. It was a beautiful evening, and I can’t wait for this week when we re-visit Michelle’s. Over the next few months, walk on this path with us, the garden path.

 

 relax........everyone say ahhhhhhhhhh

 My grandson Cash found a nice place to balance......

A fun evening, had by all..........

Camp Garden Week #1

I have to admit, my favorite part about Camp Garden this year is going to be ~ MY KIDS ARE HERE! With Sara, Cash and Carson along for the ride, we jumped on the Camp Garden wagon this last week and started out with a bang. Usually we have about 20 or so for the first week, but this year we started with 36 children and their adult helpers. Miss Donna led off with a couple wonderful stories, then it was on to cupcakes and our traditional "Make a Visor" that we do for the first weeks craft project. For my part of camp this week I got to plant some wildflower seeds with the kids in little peat pots that we will hopefully get in the ground in a week or two when they sprout. I love this program, and it isn't just because the sound of laughter and chaos ~ it is watching the Moms~Dads~Grands make new acquaintances, or rekindle old ones. But like I said, the BEST part this year......MY KIDS ARE HERE! 

Kandice listens as attentively as Cash 

 

 

 

 

My girl Sara, with my second grand, Carson 

This years Camp Garden Crew, Madi ~ Miss Donna ~ Kandice 

SuRpRiSe

Sometimes......when you work really hard at something, but your enjoyment level is "over the top", people think that all you do is play all day. Well, I am ok with that, because quite truthfully I think the world needs a lot more "play", every day. I spent the majority of the last couple of days getting ready for a retirement party that we were hosting here at the house for Bob's boss, Mike. While I enjoy my garden on a daily basis, it doesn't always wear it's fancy dress every day so we had a little bit of primping and pruning to do to get it ready for 40 peoples attention. What I didn't know....was that I was also getting it ready for a surprise of my own. About 15 minutes into the party I looked outside from the kitchen to see this adorable little dog running around in the back yard. As the happy companion to a Boston Terrier, Chopper, I was surprised to see another, slightly smaller one running alongside him. I leaned over to whoever was standing next to me and said "wow, that looks an awful lot like Clara, Sara's dog doesn't it?" The next thing I remember I was outside putting some things on the serving table when I turned around and out the door came a friend of ours with SARA'S BIG DOG HENRY ON A LEASH!!! That is when I just kinda blurred out for a few. I don't know if I would have remembered it all to this moment if I hadn't just reviewed the video that Sara took as I ran out the front door to see if it could possibly be true, WERE MY KIDS REALLY HERE????? IN FALLON??? I may not be blogging for awhile, I have some playing to do :} See you soon, Susan

Rockin' The River 2012

Once again Michelle has created us an original work of art for our upcoming concert on the river. You will start to see these all over town, and don't forget that every ticket you buy goes to support the Fallon Relay for Life walk in June. All proceeds from the concert go to Relay, and with your help we can support this worthy cause that helps make life just a slight bit easier for those suffering from the effects of cancer.

We are super excited this year to not only have local favorite Steven Christie opening for us, but The Buddy Emmer Band will take the stage and rock the evening as well. 

See ya there! June 16th, and don't forget your can call the nursery or Red Zinnia and put your tickets on your credit card, get them for the advance pricing, and then pick them up at the gate.
775-423-1113 Flower Tree
775-423-1114 Red Zinnia 

Miniature Gardening with Arlena

Some great shots from the other evening when we hosted Arlena for the first stop on her tour for Jeremie's Miniatures. We had such a GREAT time! She is not only a fun and inspiring teacher, but encouraging to each and every one of the participant gardeners that made their own after her talk. We would love to continue with what we learned, so we will have a selection of miniatures and plants available at the store. Get the imagination going, bring in a container and we will assist you with creating your own little special garden.

Pretty pink in the garden

This is one of my favorite shrubs in my moon garden. Not only does it have a beautiful shade of white, but the new growth is a light pastel pink that compliments everything else. This is a member of the willow family,  Salix integra 'Hakuro-nishiki' or sometimes known as Dappled Willow. The new growth always flushes pink so I usually prune it back about once a month or so. It requires a good bit of water, but grows VERY QUICKLY and is quite a show stopper in the perennial garden. Can take clay soil, sandy soil - with lots of water, alkaline soil, sun or shade. Everything we have here in our valley. It is hardy to zone 5, but even though I have had die back on the very cold winter, it doesn't matter, it bounces back up when the temps come up and I start putting water to it.

 We have had people into the nursery this past week concerned because some of their trees or shrubs aren't "waking up" this year. If they just planted them last year then it can really be a concern as they don't have anything to reference from previous seasons. This is one of the shrubs that is VERY LATE to come to the Spring table. It is a Vitex agnus-castus 'Chaste Tree'. Mine doesn't even have a bud on it, yet when I scratch the trunk it is green, so no worries.


Everyone needs one of these shrubs in their yard, fast grower, gorgeous color, pretty little flowers, this variety is called Sambucus nigra 'Black Lace'.  We have been looking on the availability lists every week for this one, trust me, as soon as it comes in we will let you know. Mine has been in the ground for about 3 years now, it is 6' tall and about that wide also. Tolerates all soils and is a real show stopper not just for the pink flowers it produces but the dark almost black foliage.

 another late bloomer, so don't worry....Catalpa speciosa 'Western Catalpa' but the buds are coming.

Another late one to not worry about, the Chitalpa.

 I gazed over the back fence and panicked when I saw my Boxelder, Acer negundo 'Flamingo'Box Elder, as it looked like it was completely wilted. I knew Bob had already turned all the drips back on so I went out back to check on it, and was nicely surprised to see that it was the 'flowers' of the tree that I was seeing. Don't know why, but every year I forget that this tree puts on this beautiful show. Pictures just don't do it justice. But I do remember why they call it 'Flamingo' now. Fast grower, always looks nice, no special care, and a maple that can take our alkaline soil with no problem. Like the willow above, the new growth is a nice shade of pink.

Enjoy the garden, and don't forget to play in the dirt every chance you get, Susan

A few ??? from this Week



this is from my side yard, Lilac Tree

Well it is spring in the garden center, so that means we have seen a steady.....and continuous flow of green and brown thumbers the last few weeks. (THANK YOU!)  Thought I would share with you a few of the questions and comments we are hearing. Sometimes you might have the same one, just forgot to ask it. Here goes:

What is the pretty purple bloom everywhere right now? Lilacs probably, yumm yumm yummy lilacs. If you are lucky enough to be able to reach over your neighbors fence to clip a few, make sure you leave them some zucchini on their porch later this summer to thank them.

Yikes, Skikes, what is making my leaves curl up? Well that would probably be the darned aphids invading already. Remember that mild winter we had, well a lot of the bugs made it through it with just a light blanket and they are ready to enjoy Spring, just like we are. GET THE HOSE OUT, and wash them off the leaves if you can. If it is a big tree, sorry, you are a little late, should have used a dormant oil spray earlier in the season. But if they are on the roses, just use the hose, wash them off - open the leaves up if you can, the aphids are hiding inside the curl - smart little buggers - and then watch for the ladybugs.......they are right behind, just a little late to the dinner table. (We had a gentlemen bring in some leaves with aphids all over them and there in the baggie -always bring your bugs in a baggie or glass jar please - was ladybug larva too!!) This picture is NOT from my yard! It is off the Internet as display only. I am VERY HAPPY to report that I have very few of the pesky bugs. With the organic worm castings sprinkled all over the plants and watered in it seems to repel them. Don't ask me why, because I can't explain it, just take my advice and try it.

ladybug larva at the dinner table, watch for these guys, they are your friends!!!

What is the difference between the dirt you sell and what I can get from the empty lot next door? Well, first off, we don't sell dirt, we sell soil, in all it's wonderfulness. If you are one of the many people that have asked me this question over the years you have probably heard me say "Drive 10 miles outside of town and see what grows here naturally, then tell me why you think it would be much different in your own yard?" I know many of you that live here are transplanted from somewhere else, myself included, and you/me are used to maybe putting something in the ground and standing back and watching it grow. We have to add living things to our soil to get things to grow. I could go on and on ....about the microbes, and the bat guano, and the earthworm castings, and the .............that is in the products we sell, but just go here Everything you need to now about the bagged products we sell , they do such a good job of telling you about themselves.

I can't get ANYTHING to grow, HELP! First off, let me remind everyone, we weren't always green thumbers either. We practiced, practiced, practiced...and we still have sad stories of things gone wrong in our garden. BUT, that said, we are here to help you. Just stop by, who knows, your question could be here next week. Have fun in the dirt, Susan

Thyme in the garden, no more

Yesterday was a gardening day in my little corner of the world. I have been procrastinating facing the fact that this winter caused major die back in my thyme in the garden. Not "time" in the garden, but "thyme" in the garden. When a fellow gardener came by the nursery the other day and told me that she had lost her wooly thyme that was between her stepping stones this past winter I commiserated that - yes, I too thought that mine was lost this year. I just didn't really want to face the fact. I have been building on this patio thyme for about 10 years now. There were over 5 varieties, with my favorite being the elfin - Thymus serpyllum 'Elfin', a very low grower with small little purple flowers and the wooly - Thymus praecox subsp. arcticus 'Lanuginosus'  which I loved for it's soft fuzzy grey carpet appearance and the little pink flowers all summer. Both thrive in alkaline soil and full sun so it was always a perfect fit for my side garden.

We have had -20 temps, we have had years of heavy snow, we have had winters of no snow...and still the thyme stayed semi-evergreen all winter. I don't know why this year was so different, other than it was so extremely dry and I wasn't here for the month of January to do any watering. That is the only reason I can think of why I would have had this much loss. It took the better part of the afternoon to dig it out, and it wasn't until I went back to find the picture from last year that I got sad, really really sad, for the way it looked before. The only area that was still as it was in the past was over by the roses and covered with mulch and leaves until very recently. So....guess I will have to find more time for thyme in the garden soon...............on a happier note, there were lots of other blooms to enjoy and the garden is starting to take on its mid-Spring loveliness. I will dwell on that, and start the plans for which kinds of thyme I will be re-planting soon. See you in the garden. 

small little area that was covered with mulch is still fine



how it looked in June 2011

staghorn sumac, Rhus typhina, popped its leaves open yesterday 

the valarian, Valeriana officinalis, that Jaime gave me a start of is just beautiful and full 

 lilacs, ahhhhhhh, another time I wish for blog..a..scent

 Loniceria 'Dropmore Scarlet' honeysuckle, stayed everygreen all winter, blooming already

 tomato very happy and warm in it's little walled apartment

Rhubarb

Took this shot a few minutes ago. Must admit, I never really liked rhubarb much growing up. Just wasn't something we had very often. But since moving to Fallon I have tried it a number of times, mostly in jams that are made by friends here in town. I started this plant from a small 3" Bonnie offering last year and while it didn't do a whole lot, the leaves were pretty. It never flowered though so this kinda took me by surprise the other morning when a small ball was on the tip and then this flower EXPLODED out of it the next day. I had a fellow gardener in the nursery the other day asking if she should remove the flower and we did some research and found out that yes...you need to remove the flower to send energy into the stalks...the part you use to make those delicious yummy jams and pies. Well...I am growing mine more for the leaves as Rose and I have a project to do with them, and so I am going to leave the flowers on for awhile. They are just too pretty to cut short their time in my garden.

Hope you get a chance to get out there and get your nails dirty today, I will ~ Susan

Some good general info:

http://www.gardeningpatch.com/vegetable/growing-rhubarb.aspx

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1631.html

rhubarb recipes: have to admit, the rhubarb upside down cake looks pretty tempting....

http://www.marthastewart.com/275393/rhubarb-recipes/@center/276955/seasonal-produce-recipe-guide 

Earth Evening

Earth day evening we spent in the rose garden of an old friend, and new friend. When Lisa S. and her family moved into their new home here in Fallon it came with an established landscape that included over a hundred roses and small gardens tucked in throughout. For the last two gardening seasons she has tried to absorb the gardening style that was created by the previous owner, but it never felt "right" to her. As someone who has created her own garden from scratch on a bare acre of land, I understand. The choices that you make in your garden are very personal ones, and while a new home may come with much beauty in many peoples eyes, it is through your eyes that the garden is visited daily. Lisa is a perennial lover and wanted the vibrant colors that accompany them. She is not a rose lover. That is where we step in, we are. So on Earth Day this year Jaime put together a little group of us to gather at Lisa's home to assist her in removing some of the roses that were in areas she wanted to recreate into her own. The gardens had previously belonged to a good friend of the majority of us that were there, so we had walked on these paths many times and knew the significance of some of the plantings. It was with these memories that we realized the importance of digging these roses out and preserving them so that they could be planted in our own yards. Enter Sooz, our Rose Queen and expert on all things rose related. After a short little demo, we all got to digging. A few broken shovels later and the pots we had brought were full and the original tags on the roses had been recovered to lend an aid to identifying the types of roses so we would know where to replant them in our own gardens. As the evening wore on the skies opened with first tears of rain and thunder and a massive shower of pink crab apple petals falling to the earth ~  and then the ahhh moment when we looked up and not one, but two rainbows graced the sky. It was a beautiful evening, and as we watch the roses rebloom and thrive in our own yards in the years ahead, one we will all remember. Now, we will wait anxiously to visit Lisa's garden once more when the areas she designs and plants will be her own.