Day three of my excursion to the California Spring Trials (CAST) was jam packed full of fun stops and lots of plants like the Evening Scentsation™ petunia (Petunia) seen above at Takii America, Inc.  This is one we’ve grown and enjoyed for vigor, color and scent!  It’s also an All-America Selections (AAS) winner!  Our group of Diane, Gail, Steve, Mark, Jeff and I enjoyed great weather and the hospitality of folks at each location meeting with us and giving us a tour.  The photo at the very top is an experimental kale (Brassica oleracea) used for cutting (seen at Takii America) and was amazing to see for it’s size and color.  There was no shortage of fun things to photograph and observe.  Fading as I type so more tomorrow after CAST – Day 4 is complete!

Diane Blazek (AAS/NGB) and Tim Hodson (Editorial director at GPN, Lawn & Garden Retailer and Big Grower magazines)

‘Pink Panther’ foxglove (Digitalis x hybrida) – perennial

awesome kale basket!

insert your own caption here…

wheelbarrow of kale at Takii America (above)

Don’t ask…long story…but funny

Gail (left) from AAS/NGB and her daughter Allison (Takii America)

Petunia hybrida SuperCal^® Premium Caramel Yellow (xPetchoa) – above

Petunia hybrida SuperCal® Premium French Vanilla (xPetchoa) – above

Brassica ‘Miz America’ (mustard) – above

our crew with Bob Croft (foreground) from SAKATA this morning

Gerbera ‘Majorette Bright White w Dark Eye’ (above)

always love the floating flowers!

Viking™ Series (awesome!) above

Impatiens hawkeri SunPatiens® XL Tropical White (above)

Impatiens hawkeri SunPatiens® Compact Royal Magenta (‘SAKIMP029’) – above

cool planter of pansies!

Brassica ‘Nagoya White’ (kale) – above

one of MANY cool arrangements I saw today

Coleus PartyTime™ ‘Reggae Salmon’ (above)

Coleus PartyTime™ ‘Red Bolero’ (above)

Begonia Viking™ XL Red on Chocolate (above)

mix of poppy anemones (Anemone coronaria) at SAKATA – above

‘Fire Fresh’ Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris) – above

Dahlia MEDIO FUN ‘Orange Flame’ (above)

Pericallis SENETTI® ‘Magenta Bicolor’ (above)

Begonia DREAMS BK Collection ‘Chloe Coral Pink’ (above)

Dahlia MAGGIORE ‘Fire’ (above)

Camouflage™ Variegated Japanese Aralia (Fatsia japonica ‘Variegata’)

‘Ghostly Princess’ French lavender (Lavandula pedunculata) – above

Dianthus hybrida DIANA ‘Loving White’ (above)

Barry Ruta (far left) with our crew seeing Hem Genetics plants

Verbena rigida ‘Dazzling Nights’ (above)

Coleus ‘Pineapplette’ (above)

A nice shot of ‘Enduring Onyx’ begonia seen meeting with folks and sharing ideas (see Diane, Rick Grazzini, and myself this morning in the photo below).  We had a cloudy start to the day but our group hit the ground running to two large displays from growers.  I networked a bit but focused on getting photos of as many plants as possible within our tight time frame.  It was another great day and I look forward to the next four days!  Safe travels around to the other sites too!  Sorry the blog is short but enjoy the flowers below.

Diane Blazek (AAS/NGB) and Dr. Rick Grazzini during a brief stop this morning.

Petunia ‘Margarita’ (double) – above

Heuchera ‘Timeless Orange’  – above

Heuchera ‘Royal Flame’ – above

Begonia ‘Belleconia Soft Orange’ (above)

Sedum ‘Chocolate Ball’ (above)

Bidens ‘Popstar Red’ (above)

Corydalis hybrida ‘Porcelin Brey’ is tough to grow and establish for us

Solenostemon ‘Taylor’

Nemesia ‘Fairy Kisses Vanilla Berry’ (above)

Begonia ‘Positively Peridot’ (above)

Solenostemon ‘Mainstreet Beale Street’ (coleus) – above

Solenostemon ‘Stained Glassworks Velvet’ (coleus) – above

Bidens ‘Bidy Boom Bonfire’ (above)

cool vertical wall with succulents

Petunia ‘Surprise Tie Dye Violet’ (above)

Petunia ‘Surprise Love Pink’ (above)

Sunstanding Jazzy variegated New Guinea impatiens (Impatiens hawkeri) – above

Phlox paniculata ‘Flame Pro Violet Charm’ (above)

Phlox paniculata ‘Flame Blue Improved’ (above)

Begonia ‘I’CONIA Portofino Citrix’ (above)

Petunia ‘Peppy Purple’ (above)

Petunia ‘Peppy Red’ (above)

Petunia ‘Surprise Purple Dance’ (above)

Chrysanthemum ‘Splash Icestar’ (above)

I again find  myself typing this blog after a full day seeing plant trials featured at the annuals California Spring Trials (CAST) event for 2019. I’m fading quickly so will try to be efficient before resting up for tomorrow! Our group (Diane, Gail, Mark K., Steve, Jeff and I) hit the ground running this morning and we had a busy day of seeing various sites featuring displays, plants and products.  We spent quite a bit of time at three separate locations and I’ve included a fraction of my 2,000 photos (accumulated these past two days!).  Above is Pericallis SENETTI® Magic Salmon which was just gorgeous this morning at Grolink, our first of three stops.  We also stopped at Ball/PanAmerican and Greenfuse and saw some neat stuff.  I’ll offer a disclaimer with the plants seen below in that I haven’t checked on the appropriate trade names yet but what I’ve given is sufficient for identification purposes.

Gerbera Garvinea® Sweet Sunset (above)

we saw this patch of French lavender (Lavandula stoechas) on standards at Grolink this morning!

Alstromeria hybrida Colorita® Katiana (above)

two of my travelling buddies are above: Mark Konlock (Director of Horticulture, Green Bay Botanical Garden) to the left (and directly below) and Dr. Jeff Kuehny from Louisiana State University,  Director at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden)

Lavandula stoechas ‘Bandera Deep Purple’ (above)

‘Emerald Towers’ basil (Ocimum basilicum) – above

Zion™ Morning Sun African daisy (Osteosperum eckonis ‘KLEOE19395’) – (above)

Serenity Coral Magic African zinnia (Osteospermum ecklonis ‘Balsercoric’) – above

Begonia On Top® Sun Glow (above)

Petunia ‘Easy Wave® Lavender Sky Blue’ (above)

Capsicum annuum ‘Salsa XP’ (above)

Calibrachoa ‘MiniFamous Neo Laua + Red Eye’ (above)

Petunia Constellation™ ‘Virgo’ (petunia)

Petunia “Spider Girl’ (above)

Petunia ‘Purple Storm’ (above)

um..ok

sweet alyssum Lobularia maritima Marineland™ ‘Frosty Lavender’ (above)

sweet alyssum Lobularia maritima Marineland™ ‘Frosty Lavender’ (above)

Begonia ‘Dibs Curly White’ (above)

Begonia rex-cultorum Shadow King® ‘Rose Frost’ (above)

Begonia rex-cultorum Shadow King® ‘Black Cherrry’ (above)

Begonia rex-cultorum Shadow King® ‘Lave Red’ (above)

Dahlia Venti™ Tequila Sunrise (above)

Headliner Pink™  Sky petunia (Petunia ‘KLEPH17342’) – above

Long day today with a 3:30 am bus shuttle from Janesville, WI to O’Hare Airport to fly to Los Angeles directly.  I joined a pre-arranged meet up with a crew [Diane, Gail, Mark K. (Green Bay Botanical Garden), Steve and Jeff] that will be travelling together over next five days to see the coolest and newest plants and 16 different growers displays/locations.  After getting picked up at the airport, four of us checked out Venice Beach which was super neat.  More to follow soon!  Giant geraniums (Pelargonium) and Wisteria sp. above!

angel’s trumpet (Brugmansia) as a parkway tree in Venice Beach, CA

black-eyed Susan vine (Thunbergia alata) thriving!

Diane (AAS) in the lead with Gail (AAS) a close second and Mark K. bringing up the rear!

Venice Beach, CA (above and below)

Venice Beach, CA (above and below)

I’m a huge fan of using lungworts (Pulmonaria sp.) in the garden and frequently recommend them for part shade and tough soils.  Native to Europe and West Asia, these perennials are in the Boraginaceae family and feature beautiful and colorful spring blooms.  Funnel-shaped flowers usually turn blue once the pink buds open although flower colors of pink, red and white are not uncommon either and are specific to certain selections.  However, the blooms finish up quickly and the foliage then steals the snow.  Directly above is a patch of Pulmonaria ‘Diana Clare’ adding wonderful color and texture with those silver leaves.  The blooms of this selection are seen directly below.  Typically reaching only 12-14″ in height, the foliage of lungworts comes out of a rosette and and it was actually the shape and spotting of the leaves (like a diseased lung!) that created interest in this plant by Medieval herbalists for it’s potential in treating lung ailments (no scientific basis!).  Deer tend to leave the leaves alone although sporadic slug damage and mildew issues may emerge during the growing season.  Hardy in zones 3-8, this perennial thrives in moist but well drained area and has some drought tolerance once established.  Hot and dry summers (or full sun) may compromise the foliage which can be trimmed back (“de-leafing”) to create a flush of fresh growth.  There are many selections available out in the market with a strong focus on the degree of silver in the leaves.  A wonderful resource to learn more about Pulmonaria and some of the early selections was compiled by the the Plant Trials Manager, Richard Hawke, at the Chicago Botanic Garden.  See https://www.chicagobotanic.org/downloads/planteval_notes/no17_pulmonaria.pdf for more information on this stalwart perennial.

Pulmonaria ‘Janet Fisk’ (above)

close-up of Pulmonaria sp. leaf (above)

Pulmonaria ‘Moonshine’ (above)

Pulmonaria ‘Roy Davidson’ (above)

Pulmonaria ‘Sissinghurst White’ (above)

Pulmonaria ‘Silver Shimmer’ (above and below)

Pulmonaria ‘Bertram Anderson’

Pulmonaria sp. blooms (above and below) – note pink buds opening/aging to blue

Pulmonaria ‘Bubble Gum’ (above)

Pulmonaria ‘Diana Clare’ (above and below)

Pulmonaria ‘Majeste’ (above and below)

Pulmonaria ‘Opal’ (above)

Pulmonaria ‘Purple Haze’ (above)

flowers of Pulmonaria ‘Raspberry Splash’ (above)

Pulmonaria ‘Bubble Gum’ (summer foliage above and spring blooms below)

Pulmonaria ‘Majeste’ (one above and three below)

Pulmonaria ‘Moonshine’ (above and below)

Pulmonaria ‘Cotton Cool’ (above)

flowers on miscellaneous Pulmonaria sp. (two above and one below)

flowers of Pulmonaria ‘Victorian Brooch’ (above)