Still Spring

June 13 2014 (3)As I am writing this, the temperature outside is 54 degrees.  This morning, I woke up to 49 degrees. Why do I think this is news fit to print? A 54 degree daytime temperature is a spring temperature.  Should you be thinking that summer has arrived in Michigan, I would ask you to think differently.  In my opinion, we are still in the spring season. Opinion aside, there is plenty to suggest that each of the four seasons lasts just about three months.  I rarely see any deviation from a spring season that spans late March and April, May, and most of June.  The temperature today reminds me that we are in the late stage of spring.  The beginning of summer, the summer solstice, arrives on June 21, still a week away. I have other signs that spring is still holding forth.  This April planting of mixed colors of nicotiana and violas at the entrance to our driveway is just about peaking.  It is astonishingly beautiful and lush.

June 13 2014 (6)Spring annual planted  in April grow and peak the middle of June.  I wonder what these early planted nicotiana will do, come summer.  How could they be any better?  It used to be that no one planted summer annuals before Memorial Day.  I see many people planting out annuals Mother’s Day weekend.  I do not plant any summer annuals on May 10.  Better that all of those tropical annuals have the shelter, sun and heat of a greenhouse in May.  Annual plants in my zone like warm soil, warm days, and warm nights.  Michigan weather is rarely able to deliver those conditions until the beginning of July.

June 13 2014 (9)My spring window boxes look great right now. Lovely and lush.  Pansies and violas like cool weather-spring weather.  Once the heat of our summer comes on, the pansies and violas will fade.  As of today, June 14, they are still getting the weather they need.

June 13 2014 (10) The sweet peas are coming into full bloom.  The plants themselves are prety wild, but the flowers are beautiful and fragrant.  Having never grown them before, I am happy for the cool weather that suits them.

June 13 2014 (12)If you did not plant your pots for spring, so be it.  Every gardener has a schedule and a mission all their own.  I would only point out, on this 55 degree day in June, that the summer season is yet to come.  I did get a few of my own pots planted.  I hope to have them done by June 21. I know they will take right off, given warm temperatures and warm soil.

June 13 2014 (15)The cool weather plant club is a big one, and includes rhubarb, pansies and parsley.

June 13 2014 (17)nasturtiums and bellis

June 13 2014 (7)We did plant the front of Detroit Garden Works for summer a few days ago.. No doubt we are anticipating the summer. We cut the dinner plate dahlias back by half.  It will take them the summer to get going.  They will be at their best in September and October.  I have not planted the roof boxes yet-it is still to cold for what I have in mind.

June June 9 n2014 (25)The early summer cannot hold a candle to the peak of the spring season.  Think of it.  The start of a season is the start.  The conclusion of the season can be glorious.  I call that the super nova stage.   This spring container designed and planted by Rob-exquisite today. The  spring gardening season lasts every bit of three months.  Into late June.  Just saying.

 

 

At A Glance: Great In The Shade

fittonia.jpgThose gardeners who have containers in shady spots have lots of options. So many plants appreciate and thrive out of the glare of the sun.  Begonias, calocasias, both the lime and variegated licorice, creeping jenny, creeping Charlie, nicotianas, pepperomias, Persian Shield, coleus-the list is long.  To follow is a list of my favorites. The pink fittonia pictured above would light up any shade container.

Persian-Shield.jpgPersian Shield,  blue hostas, creeping jenny, and green and yellow thread leaf coleus.

dwarf-pink-caladiums.jpgsmall leaved pink caladiums

variegated-pepperomia.jpgpepperomia caparata variegata

silvery-leaved begonias.jpgShadow King Cherry Mint begonia

begonias.jpgBegonias of every type and description.

blue-ice-nicotiana.jpgBlue Ice nicotiana will tolerate partial shade.

gardenmeister-fuchsia.jpgGartenmeister fuchsia

gray-leaved-king-begonias.jpgShadow King gray leaved begonia.  The gray leaves with their pink/brown pink obverse are intriguing.

red-caladiums.jpgRed caladiums are richly colored.  The large leaves make a shade statement.

Jayde-pepperomia.jpgJayde pepperomia is a heart shaped glossy leaved shade plant-hard to find, but well worth the trouble.  The glossy green leaf is beautiful.  The trailing watermelon peperomia at the bottom left of this picture-any shade pot will get some rhythm going on with the addition of this plant.  Peperomias of every type inform a shade container planting.

pink-polka-dot-plant.jpgpink polka dot plant thrives in shady conditions.  I pinch them back much as I pinch coleus.  Love that pale pink.

shade-container-planting.jpgA shade container with orange non stop begonias, thread leaf lime and yellow coleus, and Kingwood red coleus makes a statement about color.

coleus.jpgEvery variety of coleus thrives in the shade, or the part shade.  Their flowers are not so significant, but the leaf shapes and colors are great.  No colues planting could possibly be dull.

torenia.jpgtorenia-love the purple and lavender varieties.  They bloom non stop in the shade.

variegated-sunpatiens.jpgWhite sunpatiens with variegated foliage likes a sunny placement better than a shady one.  I would gamble if I needed to, planting them in part shade.

Sonic-pink-New-Guinea-impatiens.jpgSonic Pink New Guinea impatiens does well in full sun, given lots of water.  In part shade, they thrive.  How much shade any plant will tolerate in your containers is all about your willingness to experiment.  My advice?  Try, and try again.

 

Luminous

DSC_1204So many clients and customers of Detroit Garden Works are stymied by their shade.  Shade containers don’t blare like a brass band.  They are reserved.   No doubt a shade container garden does not have dahlias, zinnias, geraniums or heliotrope on a to plant list.  But shady conditions mean that lots of interesting and subtly colored plants will thrive.  Is container gardening in the sun better than in the shade?  Not in my opinion.   Choosing plants for containers has a lot to do with lighting conditions.  Every pot you might plant, no matter the light conditions, can be all you would hope it could be.  Gorgeous, and satisfying, yes.  The shade along the east side of our building is considerable.  18 year old lindens have grown up and in, cloistering that east wall in shade.  We like how the shade helps keep the building cooler.  This shady spot is a relief in the heat of the summer.  The shade is a given.   But by no means do we feel like we have no options for our window boxes and pots.

DSC_1194Shadow King begonias are perfect for a shady spot.  One gray cultivar shown in the above picture is the color and texture of a galvanized bucket. Love that.  Its companion is a striking combination of silver, green, pink, and black.  This is a color palette much different than that presented by a Bengal Tiger canna, and Persian Queen geraniums.  It is subtle, and subtly striking.

DSC_1201Any begonia, whether it is grown for its leaves or its flowers, requires a reluctant hand.  By this I mean, they will not suffer too much sun, nor will they suffer over watering.  Most begonias have fleshy leaves, and thick watery stems.  Over water them, and they will collapse in a rotted heap.  Give them the shade they want, and they dryish conditions they thrive on, they will grow like weeds.  This container is an asymmetrical arrangement of shade loving plants.  A black calocasia lords over all.  A pink and green caladium repeats that calocasia leaf shape in a lighter and brighter color.  The chocolate mint coleus barely showing now will grow, and help pull that calocasia down into the mix.  The pepperomia with its pale green blooming wands provides a little sass. The silver King begonia has chocolate stems-so great with the coleus and the calocasia stems. The dark begonia at the center will have orange flowers-good.  The pink polka dot plant will need trimming, given it is in the front of this container.  But the work will be worth it.  That pink, and the silver leaf of the begonia, are both key to a successful shade planting.  Any plants that brings light to bear in a shady spot will shine.

DSC_1192Containers in the shade are much about texture, mass, subtle color-and rhythm.  This container, even in its first planted stage, is jazzy.

DSC_1202Caladiums provide so much mass and luminosity in shade containers.  White caladiums challenge the shade in a big way.  This green caladium with a white center glows.  The gray begonia is pebbly in surface and subtle in color.  The watermelon peperomia will trail.  A planting such as this gives me every bit as much pleasure as a color lively container in the sun.  It is just different.  Maybe a little reflective.

DSC_1199We’ve had some rainy days recently.  These plants that thrive in the shade, saturated with rain, have a juicy look.

DSC_1205This window box was just planted a few days ago.  The shade from the lindens is considerable, but each of these shade tolerant plants will grow, and get lush.  Lush and luminous growth in the shade is just what a shade container asks for.

shade-window-box.jpgI like the looks of this.

 

Color Scheming

ageratum-artist.jpgSome gardeners come to a scheme for planting annuals based on favorite colors, or color combinations.  Others like a certain style of planting.  Others focus on the size of the flowers, or the color of the leaves.  The best plantings involve scheming on as many different levels as possible.  I plant the annuals in front of the shop in a different way every year.  That way, sooner or later, everyone will see something they like.  This is the best part of planting annuals.  Every year, there is a chance to try something new.

annual-planting.jpgLast year’s scheme was all green.  I planted panicum grass inside the boxwood.  More than a few customers said it looked like we were going out of business, as we had not cut the grass.   Like I say, everyone has a different idea of beautiful.  I knew I wanted to do something with purple. The color of this ageratum artist is so luscious.  It is a light blue/purple that I call heliotrope blue.  Lots of blue with a big dose of lavender.  Dark purple has a way of turning dull, if it does not have lively companions.  The blue salvia mystic spires has gorgeous blue/purple flowers that are so striking up close.  Plant it in a garden, and the color sinks into the background.  In the mid and background of this picture, you can barely make out the purple angelonia.

nicotiana.jpg
The planting needed some friends that would make that brooding dark purple more visually appealing.  We added both lime and white nicotiana to the purple angelonia.  This plant is airy growing, simple in flower, and sports big flat leaves.  This will contrast beautifully with the narrow leaves, smaller stature and flower spikes of the angelonia. So far, the planting has three colors in the mix.

tricolor-petunias.jpgMixing colors adds depth to a planting. Pictured above is a bedding petunia called “Great Lakes Mix”. The mix of white, medium blue/purple and dark purple petunias is a lively way to visually represent the idea of purple. A mass of white, or another light color can be quite striking.  A mass of dark purple can look dull and flat.  The value of the color purple, meaning its lightness or darkness, is very similar to the value of many greens in the landscape.  Dark purple blends with green, rather than standing out from it.  Determined to have lots of dark purple?  Underplant it with lime or white.   I dropped a floret of a red geranium onto this mix. This is a scheme I have planned for a client. The red will be all the more brilliant, given the purple mix.  The purple mix is even more lively, given the red.  Color in a garden is never about a color.  It is about the relationships that define every individual color in a strong way.

the dinnerplate dahlia fluerelSo far so good.  But this is a big planting bed, with boxwood that is over 3 feet tall.  The garden would need to be anchored by something.  A four foot tall dahlia would certainly provide a visual anchor to the garden.  This white dinnerplate dahlia called Fluerel has a pale yellow center, and pale yellow green buds.  This secondary color will relate to the lime nicotiana. The big flowers will be visible from a car driving by.  The nicotiana will soften the look of this stiffly growing upright plant. We will stake it securely, early on. We will do the same with the nicotiana.  The stakes are not the best look, but plants will completely disguise them in short order.  All there will be to do next is water and wait, and how the scheme is a good one. If the scheme is a good one, all the relationships will be both friendly and serious.   KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERAI saved the beginning of the story about this garden for last. I read the garden blog Gardenista almost every day.  Last winter they put up a post about a dinnerplate dahlia called “Cafe Au Lait”.  The story came from a the blog of a florist who features home grown flowers.  www.floretflowers.com, if you are interested. This dahlia features flowers the color of cafe au lait, naturally.  Some flowers are more pink.  Some are more towards the cream side.  I have always been reluctant to grow these dahlias.  They can be too tall, too stiff, and too ungainly.  The blog post was very detailed in how and when to pinch them.  The pinching early on results in more flowers with long stems.  But it was the astonishing color that made me ask Mark from Bogie Lake Greenhouse to order 30 of them for me, and bring them on.  The entire rest of the garden is an effort to feature these dahlias.
annual-planting.jpg
Tomorrow we will add more ageratum to the edge.  I am after an 18″ wide rounded band of this color rolling down to the gravel to border the garden.  That low carpet of ageratum may not be prominent for long, but when it does fill in, it will lighten the look of all of the other plants.  There is a good while before the dahlias will have much to say. The ageratum border might be the best part of the garden, for a moment.  I am still thinking about what will go in the window boxes. Having and taking the time to look at a garden before proceeding is part of the pleasure of the process.