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03.01.2024 - 11:15 / finegardening.com / Joseph Tychonievich
Red is an attention-grabbing color in the garden. Bold, loud, and bright. And it plays well with other colors as well – pair it with orange and yellow for a hot, exciting bed, or blues and purple to created a deep, rich, moody tone. Here are some of my favorite red blooms for the garden… what reds are you loving in your garden?
Gladiolus come in a huge range of colors, and they really do red well. This is the variety ‘Atom’, which is quite cold hardy (Zone 6 – 9) and has bright red flowers edged with white.
This peony ‘Buckeye Belle’ (Zone 4 – 8) has some of the darkest, richest red flowers out there. The color is so intense and dark, and looks all the better for the contrast of the bright gold stamens in the center of the blooms. Like basically all peonies, it is an easy-to-grow plant, asking little more than full sun and a little staking to help the blooms stand tall.
Spigelia marilandica (Zone 5 – 9) is a wonderful plant native to eastern North America. In midsummer, the bright red flower buds open to reveal a contrasting star of yellow. Humming birds love it, and so do gardeners.
Speaking of hummingbirds, this is the only red-flowered species of petunia (Petunia exserta, annual) which is pollinated by hummingbirds. Native to Brazil, is thrives as an annual in most gardener. Unlike modern hybrid petunias, this species has a loose, open habit, sending long stems rambling around the garden, with cherry red flowers coming non-stop.
Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ (Zone 5 – 9) brings spikes of bright scarlet flowers at midsummer. They’re wonderful in the garden or as cut flowers.
Spider lily (Lycoris radiata, Zone 6 – 10) hails from Japan, and grows from a bulb, sending up these masses of elegant bright red flowers in late summer or
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Away from the Show Gardens on Main Avenue, the Sanctuary Gardens offer plenty of inspiration and often on a more achievable scale. A garden that honours 200 years of the National Gallery, a family space that can bounce back from heavy rainfall, and a sensory haven that supports the emotional wellbeing for children undergoing cancer treatment, feature in 2024’s line up.
The All About Plants category debuted in the Great Pavilion at RHS Chelsea 2022. This year, six gardens supported by Project Giving Back and designed in collaboration with a UK charity, will be on display. A grief garden, a skate park with a focus on edible planting, and a vibrant design that champions good gut health are just a snapshot of the gardens putting plants at the forefront of the design and keeping hard landscape at a minimum.
Lately, I have noticed that the mail-order garden supply catalogs are full of Asian-themed garden accessories such as pots, traditional bamboo fences, and stone lanterns. This seems to go along with the trend toward Asian-inspired minimalism in home décor. In California and the Pacific Northwest, traditional Asian and Asian-inspired gardens have been popular for years. Can a national vogue for Chinese and Japanese gardens be far behind?
Japanese Maple seeds have a very hard outer coating as do many ornamental plants. Under natural conditions, the seeds would have to be on the ground for almost two years before they would germinate. All that happens the first winter is the moisture softens the hard outer shell, and the second winter germination begins to take place. For all of this to happen in the proper sequence so the seedlings sprout at a time of the year when freezing temperatures or hot summer sun doesn’t kill them, takes a tremendous amount of luck. You can improve the odds by controlling some of these conditions, and shorten the cycle.
Some people get their kicks from designer labels, others from rummaging through flea shops, or collecting obscure Japanese comics, vintage tractors, handbags, dolls, beer-mats, Star Wars merchandise or whatever else. Me, I get mine from ordering seeds.
Hypertufa is a cast “rock-like” material which can be used for relatively inexpensive bonsai pots and slabs for plantings. It looks like rock, can be cast into almost any shape, is very lightweight and also strong enough to withstand the freeze/thaw cycle of most northern climates. The American Rock Garden Society uses the following basic recipe to create alpine troughs. They can be textured anywhere from very smooth to a rough rocky look for a “natural pot”.
A conservatory has many uses, as a garden room, dining room or even a spare bedroom! Once you have a conservatory you will want to spend a lot of time in it, so get the location and aspect just right before you begin. So many people thinking of a conservatory forget about the garden and then live to regret it!
Courtesy of White Flower Farm
Hardy Primroses are showy plants which fit in well with any Spring bedding design. The small flowers are graceful and dainty and the varieties can be so chosen that they will be in bloom from April for a month. Primroses grow from 6 inches to 18 inches high and have light green, hairy leaves. The colors of the hardy sorts range from white to the darkest crimson and yellow. Some of the varieties are double, and others present this appearance because the petals are wavy and crinkled.
Witch hazels (Hamamelis) are one of winter’s most distinctive shrubs, their quirky, spidery blooms making them instantly recognisable even before you’ve breathed in their scent. At their peak, these are shrubs that make a lasting impression.
Eric Sternfels sent in these photos today, of a beautiful community-created garden in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania called Ned Wolf Park. We’ve visited this garden a couple of times before (Revisiting Ned Wolf Park) and it is always a pleasure. This garden is special because it is created and maintained by volunteers in the community, so everyone can enjoy this beautiful space.