Innholdsfortegnelse for Jan/Feb 2018 i Garden Gate

Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe that 2018 is now here. This means it’s time for our New Plants issue. We had a sneak peek at these plants last summer, and it’s exciting to say the least. Some of my favorites? The colors of ‘Passion Fruit’ dahlia and ‘Pink Lemonade’ false indigo flowers and the little Wee White smooth hydrangea shrub. However all of the annuals, perennials and shrubs we’ll show you have interesting features that we thought you should know about. And, as always, some of the plants may be in limited supply this year. Be sure to sign up for our free weekly eNote at www.GardenGateNotes.com or follow us on social media, where we’ll introduce you to even more great new plants in coming weeks. But new…

Thrips Thrips are small insects that hide within developing leaves and tight buds of a variety of crops and ornamental flowers, where they can cause damage before being detected. There are many different species of thrips but they all share similarities. LIFE CYCLE AND DAMAGE Adults are less than 2 mm in size and can be white, yellow, brown or black. Thrips eggs are laid within the layers of leaves. The larvae feed on the fluid of cells in leaves, causing streaking, spotting and silvery discoloration, and can stunt growth or cause premature loss of leaves. Some thrips transmit harmful viruses like tomato spotted wilt virus and impatiens necrotic spot virus. MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL While thrips have developed resistance to many pesticides, insecticidal soap and neem oil work well to…

Now’s the perfect time to start dreaming about next summer’s garden, and there’s no better way to spice up your borders than with a few new plants. Loads of colorful flowers take top billing in this year’s mix of new plants. For example, Lady Godiva pot marigold’s cheery flowers will make you smile. And with no need to deadhead there’s plenty of time to enjoy the view. But that’s not the only plant with a plethora of blossoms. Take a look at multibranched ‘Sunfinity’ sunflower on the next page and imagine how pretty your summer bouquets can be. Foliage plants are pretty amazing this year, too. You can’t miss ‘Canary Wing’ begonia’s chartreuse foliage and, even better, it does best in shade! If you’re gardening in a small space, there’s…

Narrowleaf bittercress Cardamine impatiens WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE Narrowleaf bittercress grows a rosette the first year. The leaves often die over winter, but the following spring, the plant sends up a tall flower stalk with small white flowers, followed by skinny seedpods in summer. It grows 6 to 30 in. tall and 12 to 15 in. wide. WHERE TO FIND IT Also called “bushy rockcress,” this non-native biennial can be found throughout the Northeast and upper Midwest. It grows well in woods with dappled shade and along forest edges. You’ll also see this weed growing in moist areas, such as stream banks, roadsides and backyard gardens. HOW TO GET RID OF IT Just a few plants can be easily pulled by hand. Do this before they form flowers or seed-heads…

www.GardenGateStore.com Check out our online store for more great garden products. 1 | RE-GRIP Do you have a favorite tool that’s showing some wear? The Re-Grip tool helps you replace or add a grip on any tool or handle with a foolproof process: Slip the grip on, zip off the plastic insert and the grip will adhere without any heating or gluing. It comes in multiple sizes to fit various tools and can be bought in packs of eight. Re-Grip, www.re-grip.com ($9.99 for small; $10.99 for medium; $11.99 for large) 2 | METAL GARDEN HOSE We all welcome ways to make watering easier. The Metal™ Garden Hose eliminates cracking, leaking and kinking hoses. The stainless steel resists and reflects the sun’s UV rays, preventing it from getting too hot. It’s…

Add eye-catching color and sweet, slightly fruity fragrance anywhere along the middle to back of the border. It’s easy with Orienpet lily’s large—up to 10 in. across—striking flowers. In late summer, as many as 20 to 60 buds, depending on the cultivar, will open from the bottom of the stem upward. This makes for a long bloom period and lots of color. Choose a place with well-drained soil in full sun to part shade—darker blooms will have richer color out of strong direct light. Potted plants can go in the ground anytime you pick them up at the garden center, but fall is the best time for planting bulbs. Dig a hole 4 to 6 in. deep and leave about 6 in. between each one. Orienpets have very sturdy flower…

Almost anything can be a container—as long as it holds soil and lets water drain, plants will probably grow there. A glass lamp shade can be just the right size and has drainage already built in. Check out these two glass lamp shade container ideas from our test garden! Colorful basket Firecracker flower is a tropical plant that likes the heat. If the pansies start to fade in hot weather, you could replace them with purple verbenas (Verbena hybrids). Give these plants full to part sun. Learn how to make the hanging basket in the photo below. Tabletop charm Having a party and want to dress up your patio? Put together a tray of these charming little single-plant containers. To keep the tray clean, remove the containers to water and…

I’ve always admired Persian buttercups—those beautiful flowers are real attention-getters in photos and florist’s bouquets. One spring I bought a bag of tubers on sale at a big box store in late spring. Unfortunately, when I tried to grow them, the results weren’t great—spindly foliage and no blooms. I just chalked it up to them being diffi cult to grow. Then I learned they’re really cool-season flowers and thrive in the same conditions as pansies, snapdragons and other spring favorites. Let me introduce you to a few Persian buttercups and some of the things I’ve learned since my first disappointing effort. There’s not a big size range among Persian buttercups and most are part of a series, like the Bloomingdale II plants in these photos. This series is just sold…

Finally! It’s spring! And now that it’s here, you want to make the most of it. But how? Check out this beautiful garden and use some ideas from it to make your own yard a glorious spring sight. Spring highlights If you can’t decide where to start on your garden, the front door is a good choice. A pretty spring planting helps draw attention to your door, inviting visitors in and greeting you after a long day of work. COLORFUL WELCOME In Sherry Brandt and Steve Yeich’s Oklahoma City garden, a mass planting of blue-purple pansies in photo 2 draws your eye to the front door. As you can see in “Garden at a glance,” the driveway is long and the yard is shady, so the bright splash of color…

Vermicomposting uses worms to break down stuff you would normally throw away and turn it into the nutrient-rich compost you see above. It can be done on a small scale—even in your house. Let me show you how I started my worm bin. WORM CONDO Overwhelmed by do-it-yourself worm bin ideas, I chose a purchased three-tiered worm bin (photo 1). The bottom tier is a catch basin for leachate, liquid that seeps down as a byproduct of the decomposition process. There’s a spigot underneath to drain off the leachate, plus a screen to catch any worm escapees. Two perforated composting tiers that hold scraps, bedding and worms take turns as active composting layers. A vented lid tops off the system. GETTING STARTED Place the catch basin in an out-of-the-way spot…

Beautiful surroundings are always important when entertaining, but did you know there’s one plant whose eye-catching appearance isn’t the only trick up its sleeve? The gas plant adds loads of interest to your yard for a few unusual reasons. FRAGRANT AND FLAMMABLE Pretty pink-purple spikes of small blossoms grow from a bushy green base in late spring. These blooms have a citrusy fragrance, and so does the foliage when rubbed or crushed. But proceed with caution, as this oil can irritate the skin. It’s best to always wear gloves when handling or working near gas plant. On a hot day with no breeze, as the blooms have begun to fade and seedheads form, the stem produces a flammable oil. You can light a match at the base of the stem…

Some of the plants in the design on the previous page rebloom on their own while others will need a severe cutting back to produce a second show of flowers later in the season. After the perennial salvia blooms, cut it back to the rosette of foliage at the base. As soon as the bearded iris and daylily finish, cut each flower stalk off. Go ahead and cut the pincushion flower almost to the ground. All this will help each plant put energy into producing more flowers. Flowering dogwood Cornus florida WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE Tree; white flower bracts in spring followed by red fruit, which attracts birds, and red-orange fall foliage; 15 to 30 ft. tall and wide HOW TO GROW IT Full sun to part shade; moist,…

Romelia De Baran, California Are your squirrels desperate for your suet, and are you desperate for a way to keep them out? Romelia realized an easy solution to keeping her suet feeders secure. She attached one end of an S-shaped carabiner to a chain that hung around her tree’s branch and the other end to the suet holder, being sure to hook where the door of the feeder clasped to the rest of the feeder. The carabiner secures the door closed and keeps the suet holder from being easily knocked open by a squirrel.…

Stone, whether you have a single big one, small groups, or a large collection, adds a beautiful hard contrast in a sea of soft plants. Where and how you place stones is somewhat in the eye of the beholder, but that’s part of the fun! If adding rocks in your garden is new to you, Joseph Tychonievich has some great tips to get you started. Having worked as the nursery manager at Arrowhead Alpines, a premier rock garden nursery in Michigan, he knows how to choose the right rocks and offers some useful tips for working them into any garden artfully. PICK OUT THE RIGHT STONE Maybe you’re lucky and happen to have a selection of rocks in your yard because of the natural topography. If you don’t, visit a…

Boxwood Buxus microphylla japonica Baby Gem ™ Shrub; insignificant flowers, evergreen foliage, mounded habit without pruning; full sun to part shade; 3 to 4 ft. tall and wide; cold-hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9, heat-tolerant in AHS zones 9 to 1 Clematis Clematis ‘Henryi’ Woody vine; white flowers in summer; full sun to part shade; 10 to 15 in. tall, spreading; cold-hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9, heat-tolerant in AHS zones 9 to 1 Clematis Clematis montana ‘Rubens’ Woody vine; pink flowers in early summer; full sun to part shade; 20 to 25 ft. tall, spreading; cold-hardy in USDA zones 3 to 9, heat-tolerant in AHS zones 9 to 1 Clematis Clematis ‘Jackmanii’ Woody vine; purple flowers in summer; full sun to part shade;…

You’ve waited all winter so cherish your spring garden before it comes and goes too quickly. Celebrate this beloved season by growing flowers great for outside and inside. These three combos are perfect for creating dreamy spring (and summer) cutting gardens. PERFECTLY ARRANGED Design the garden the same way you would design an arrangement of cut flowers. Use tall blooming flowers in the center of the bed or in the back if planting in a border.To contrast the vertical shape of the flower spikes, surround the tall plants with round, solid-shaped bloomers, such as the scabiosa, allium and corn poppy. These plants need full sun and well-drained soil. If you’re hesitant to clip your blossoms for fear of leaving your garden bare, know that cutting many of these plants—corn poppies,…

Call in the cardinals June Jenkins, Ohio QI love to see cardinals in my backyard in winter. What can I do to attract more of them? A Since cardinals don’t migrate, they need a good winter food source. If they find it in your yard, you may end up with a flock, called a “conclave” or “Vatican.” Cardinals love black oil sunflower and safflower seeds. Use a stationary or platform feeder 5 ½ to 7 feet off the ground near shrubs or a tree where they can take cover if necessary—they don’t like hanging feeders that sway. Ensure feeders are filled early in the morning and late in the evening since cardinals are often the first and last birds to visit each day. Fill the feeders before heavy snowstorms, too.…

Planting fragrant flowers at an entryway in your garden, whether it’s to the side yard or a secluded room in the backyard, makes a transition even more memorable. That’s because you’re not just welcoming visitors with colorful blooms. You’re extending an invitation to slow down, take a few deep breaths and continue through the garden. With some help from you, a climbing rose—any rose with extra long canes—can easily cover an arbor or, depending on the cultivar, even a pergola. Gently bend new growth to the structure and attach it with twine or any other soft material. Climbing roses like what other roses do: a spot with at least six hours of sun each day and well-drained soil, as well as regular moisture. BIG BLOOMS, BIG FRAGRANCE Here are five…