The sun came out today and I saw … color! … Also, taking the Spray-N-Grow Challenge

Posted Feb 12, 2011 by Penny Carnathan

Updated Jun 28, 2011 at 10:07 AM

Carolina Jessamine, you are my hero (today). You have burst into bloom, and your flowers are even bigger than last year. You’re a bit of a bully to your neighbors, but I can forgive that because you’re a total non-whiner in a drought, bullet-proof through freezes, and my biggest burst of color in the dark-before-the-dawn that is February.

Could you just try to bloom more than two months a year? If you do, I promise to love you as much as I do black-eyed Susan vine. (But right now, yeah, you have ALL my love.)

When the sun finally came out today, after so many cold, gray, rainy days, I finally started to see more than shades of beige in my garden. The Snow Princess alyssum (a great cultivar that should keep on blooming well into the warm months) is a bright-white highlight. The Vietnamese hollyhocks in pots are in full pink bloom – though one looks a little drunk. High winds. Double entendre.

Sweet almond, a Florida Plant of the Year, did very well through the freezes and is now sprouting new growth at the roots. I would trim this, since I’m pruning her to be a small tree, but I can’t bear to cut these blossoms (which smell sooooo good.)

The spiderwort I rescued from my mother-in-law’s apartment two years ago, after it became certain she wouldn’t be able to return from the nursing home after her stroke, is blooming again. (It’s said to be invasive—mine’s in a pot, so I can enjoy the blooms and not worry about a takeover.) Spiderwort in flower says spring to me.

Leila’s Kalanchoe blossfeldiana is also, again, amazing me with its vivid flowers. Leila Mai was a woman who loved plants and could root a stone. She passed away in August. I miss her. Seeing her plants blooming, I believe this is her way of coming back to us; reminding us that she’s still here and she’s watching over us. I can’t put into words how much it means to me to see Leila’s plants bloom. How much I feel her presence.

This is the Kalanchoe (you say kay-lan-ko-ee, I say ka-lan-cho.) It’s a succulent that’s widely available. When the blooms are spent, you need to cut back to at least 2 leaves below the flower so it’ll bloom the following year.

The jacaranda tree I planted in the front yard has been knocked back to the roots every winter since I planted it. It keeps coming back, but geez, I would love to see those beautiful purple blooms it puts out in spring!

This year it’s at least coming back from the trunk, instead of the roots. I’m guessing that’s not good enough for spring blooms (I’d be happy to hear opinions to the contrary!) but at least I’m not starting from scratch. Again.

And now, the Spray-N-Grow challenge.

FOD Chip or – more accurately, his wife Diane, who frequently appears here in spirit – is a big fan of this foliar spray fertilizer. She’s been using it for 20 years and swears it beefs up plants dramatically.

It’s a mail-order product and a small company. Diane has ordered it so often, the people answering the phone have gotten to know her. When she called in her most recent order, they told her the company president would be in Clearwater in preparation for selling Spray-N-Grow on the Home Shopping Network. They invited Chip and Diane to film a Spray-N-Grow testimonial!

(If you catch it on HSN, know that Diane says THEY did her makeup and she would never do herself up in such harlot colors – my words, not hers, but the essence of what she said.)

Diane managed to wrangle some free samples from them, and gave one to me to test.

Spray one group of like plants, and don’t spray the other, she said. See if you notice a difference.

I had the perfect group: Six in-the-ground Vietnamese hollyhocks. My control group is the three that are bigger and greener. This is what they look like before.

My spray group (the three to the left – one is in the back by the fence) is mostly smaller and the leaves are not quite so green. Here’s the before shot.

I sprayed them today and, according to the instructions, I’ll spray them every week, and report the results. Diane said I’d see them “butch up” immediately with noticeably darker green leaves, but since the spray group wasn’t as deep green to begin with, I don’t think it’s fair to compare just yet. I’ll let you know in a week!

And on a closing note … Nana Kay, whattup?? You need to share these things!

 

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Field trip! To Hardin’s Nursery we go (for easy roses AND a heartwarming story)

Posted Feb 5, 2011 by Penny Carnathan

Updated Jun 28, 2011 at 10:07 AM

Souvenir, a popular antique rose

I’m embarrassed to admit that, for as long as I’ve heard gardeners talk about Hardin’s Nursery, I have never been. Until today.

I interviewed founder Richard Hardin a couple times over the phone years ago for Tribune stories. I knew he was the go-to guy for roses in Tampa. But I was a very novice gardener at the time, and I only wrote about gardening occasionally. I definitely was not ready for roses – roses! And who knew there are plenty of gorgeous varieties that really don’t require much work?

This is Richard, who passed away in 2008, and his wife, Winona, who died two years earlier.

Richard and Winona started the nursery 50 years ago, when Tampa had nowhere to buy roses. He loved the flowers, says son John, and wanted to share that love with other gardeners.

“My dad wasn’t out to make a lot of profit,” John says. “He wanted to help people.”

He patiently coached generations of rose growers through their first rose bushes—and got them hooked. Today, talk to just about anyone who grows roses here and, eventually, they’ll mention Hardin’s Nursery. Loyal customers come from as far away as Fort Myers and Ocala.

I’ve been overcoming my own rose intimidation. It started with seeing FOD Janis “Pumpkin” Vogt’s froth of blooms three years ago. Beautiful! It got worse when I saw Kay Nelli’s photos of her “easy” (I can do easy!) and exquisite Belinda’s Dream. More recently, I’ve been interviewing rose growers for a Tribune story, and it became readily apparent: all petal-strewn paths lead to Hardin’s.

I’m still interested only in easy, and Hardin’s has them. Antiques (grown before 1867) and floribunda, which grow into great big shrubs that produce lots of blooms year-round. Both can be hard to find locally. They also have Knock Outs, the newer, super easy-to-grow bush, and a huge selection of hybrid teas, the long-stem variety that’s more challenging.

Here’s Anna Oliver, an antique with the look of a 1930s starlet. All she needs is sun, good dirt, and fertilizer once a month.

And this is Burgundy Iceberg, a floribunda. The bush will get as big as you let it, John says. And no careful pruning necessary. “You can trim it with hedge clippers,” he says.

What I really love about this nursery (in addition to the plants) is the back story.

After Winona passed away, Richard kept his nursery going. But it was hard without his workmate. He was going blind and having a difficult time keeping regular hours. He called upon John, one of six children, to help out a bit.

John, who’d started working in the nursery when he was about 5 years old, stepped up. He never expected to do more than a few chores here and there. But when Richard passed away, he was joined by little sister Amy, who’d worked at Hardin’s on Saturdays pretty much all her life, and his wife, Karen. Together, they keep Hardin’s open. None of them draws a salary—Amy and Karen have full-time, paying jobs. They’re open just once a week—8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. The business makes just enough money to pay the property taxes, John says.

So why do they do it?

“We carry the torch,” says John. “It’s to keep Mom and Dad’s memory going.”

“And we do it for the customers,” adds Amy. “We have so many customers who say, ‘We are so happy you’re still here! You can’t sell!’ We hear that a lot. So it’s for them, too.”

From left, this is Karen Hardin, her husband, John, Schultz, the effervescent border collie, and Amy Stracke.

They’re doing a good job of carrying on the tradition. The four of them make visiting the nursery at 6011 S. Dale Mabry Highway a real treat. And the roses? Wow.

I planned to pick up Belinda’s Dream, a newer rose bush cultivar that’s highly recommended for Florida. I came home with both her and Souvenir, plus a few bags of Hardin’s secret recipe dirts.

Toward the end of the month, they expect to get lots of new roses in. And March is the one time of the year they sell Richard’s super secret top dressing soil for spring fertilizing (a $20 bag feeds two bushes.)

I can’t believe I waited so long to visit Hardin’s. I’ll be back!

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Sandy – such a cute name. For dirt, too

Posted Jan 31, 2011 by Penny Carnathan

Updated Jun 28, 2011 at 10:07 AM

On our Dirt Facebook page this weekend, I mentioned that I planned to do some soil amending—ya know, get a head start on March.

Wow! That prompted a whole lot of chat. Apparently, I’m not the only Florida gardener trying to turn sugary, nutrient-free sand into soil.

Amending our sand is a never-ending chore for those of us who just can’t color in the lines. But, ya know, if you’re not into digging compost, peat, leaves and other organic stuff into your sand, you don’t have to! There are plenty of plants that really do love sand.

Blanketflower, gaillardia, not only loves sand, it thrives through drought and freeze. There are lots of different cultivars now, too, so you have some color options. Blanketflower will die back in the fall, but it re-seeds and you’ll see new plants in the winter and spring. (There’s a weed that looks very similar when the plants are still young. If you want to pull the weeds, feel the leaves. The weed leaf feels slick; blanketflower feels soft and velvety.)

Another sand lover: thryallis. This great big shrub may look dead in the winter, but a huge whack-back in March brings it back. It has tiny yellow flowers that look best when planted with contrasting colors. I like crimson penta in front, plumbago in the back.

In the photo above, thryallis is the big shrub in the background bisected by the birdfeeder. This one is 9 years old. I planted it before I learned anything about amending.

Mexican petunia is great for sunny, sandy soil. The variety with seeds can be uncontrollable. I got this seedless variety from Home Depot nearly a decade ago and, while it does spread, it’s easily controlled. Home Depot still sells only the seedless.

In our extended family, this pass-along plant is called pagoda. But I think it’s actually a first cousin, flaming glory bower. Whatever the name, it loves sand and will fill a side yard (like mine, pictured here) with minimal effort from you.

I can’t limit myself to just sand plants, but I’m trying for at least one bed that I don’t have to constantly amend. Today I planted about 15 liatris corms in a sandy bed of gaillardia. Liatris is a Florida native that’s supposed to like sand. We’ll see about that!

(Liatris bulbs—$5 for about 15 at Lowe’s.) Here’s what my liatris should look like by late summer.

If you know other great sand lovers, I’m sure anyone reading this will be very happy if you share,

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The Dirt’s seed swaps keep growing

Posted Jan 24, 2011 by Kim Franke-Folstad

Updated Jan 24, 2011 at 05:11 PM

You can’t keep a good gardener down.

Penny and I worried that Sunday’s cool weather would keep our Dirt pals away from our second annual seed and cuttings swap, held this year at the News Center. But it’s clear you all are as eager as we are to get some new plants started.

We had a fabulous selection of flowers and veggies. Most of us went home with at least one angel’s trumpet or devil’s trumpet cutting. There were cannas and lettuce and ginger and roses.

We think in all we had about 30 swappers on hand. As usual, Penny and I couldn’t get over how great everyone was. (My husband always says fishermen are the best folks around, but I would argue that gardeners are even friendlier – and just as competitive in our way.)

I think we’re all getting better at this swapping thing. Everybody’s stuff was clearly labeled and nicely packaged to go. Some people brought extra bags so we could all get our goodies home. There was so much stuff, even those of us who hung back a bit because we didn’t bring much got to scoop up plenty of plants and seeds.  And – speaking of fishing – we hope we hooked some new Dirt followers! (Yes, Laura Fidalgo and Arilys Meneses, I’m talking about you!)

The best part, though, was just getting together to share tips and commiserate about the problems we’ve all had because of the dry fall and this cold winter. Because we came from all over, it was interesting to hear about the various conditions we all have to deal with.

Janice Vogt and I were touting the many pluses of blackberry lilies (nothing seems to bother them – cold or drought or benign neglect, we decided), and she brought tons of seeds.

Wes Miller shared some beautiful baby lettuce plants – and talked about the benefits of growing veggies in his homemade earth boxes.

Betty Morris brought enough cuttings for everyone all on her own. (That’s Betty in the middle in the top photo.) And she promised I could see her garden someday – but not until it bounces back from the cold.

I can’t wait to get my bounty planted: lettuce, some flower seeds, a couple of cannas and more. I know I always say I’m not a seed and cutting gal – I prefer to get my plants full-grown from the nursery. But I caught the fever from my fellow gardeners – and I can’t wait to see how it grows.

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Tiny flowers have big impact in struggling garden

Posted Jan 21, 2011 by Kim Franke-Folstad

Updated Jan 21, 2011 at 01:58 PM

OK, so we are all SICK SICK SICK of our brown gardens. What to do?
Well, I decided to add a dash of color in the spots I see most often. And the best way to do that, I decided, was to:
A. Buy plants that were inexpensive (so if it gets cold again and they don’t make it, it won’t break my heart).
B. Put them in pots (so they’re easier to cover or drag into the lanai where it’s warmer).
C. Try to find plants that don’t mind the cold (so much).

I started on Saturday, while I was visiting my parents in Venice, at Mrt Lawn and Garden Center. I’d found the pot above at their HomeGoods store (love that place!), and I wanted something pretty and delicate to fill it.

I have a red coreopsis at home that’s done really well in a pot and in the cold, so I bought this yellow one. It was covered in blooms, but the plant is so delicate, they had all broken off by the time I got it home. Ouch. Then I added this pretty purple calibrachoa. Both are supposed to be able to take the cold.

I’ve never heard of nemesia (above), but I needed something yellow to replace the battered and leggy buttercup in these pots. These pretty little blooms look like miniature snapdragons. They’re a bit bedraggled here from the hard rain we got earlier in the week, but they’re really lovely. The violas that were already in the pots clearly aren’t thrilled with the cold, but they’re hanging in there.

I also picked up this tiny pink flower at Mrt. It didn’t have a tag, and I’m not sure what it is, but it’s a good bit of color for the bottom of a pot that’s also home to a very bare angel’s trumpet. I think I bought it once before at Avant Garden in Tampa, and they called it baby’s breath. Anybody recognize it?

I’ve been trying to decide about lobelia (above) for a few weeks. They had some at Mrt, but theirs didn’t look as good as the ones I found at my local Lowe’s the next day. The tag says hardy to 32 degrees, but mine did really well during last year’s freezes, so I decided to pick up one plant and see what happens. I’ve loved this pretty blue plant since my mom and I first spotted it at the fabulous Garden Shed nursery in Cambria, Ca.

I’ve loved snapdragons since I was a kid. (Flowers you can make talk! What’s not to love?) And these bright orange ones had lots of buds, so I snapped them up.

I noticed that all these cold friendly flowers have fairly small blooms, and clusters of them, and I wondered if that’s what helps them survive. Just a thought. (I’m just proud of myself for grabbing up all these annuals, since I usually go for stuff that will be around year after year.)   

 

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