The arctic temperatures continued today so I thought I’d insert some “visual warmth” in to the blog today with lots of interesting succulents that prefer the temperature about 80 degrees F warmer!  More on these neat plants can be seen further below.  Big John and Larry H. jumped right in to processing lights for the Holiday Light Show (HLS).  Dr. Gredler was in for some painting and we saw a couple of others at the Horticulture Center including Urban and Bill O.  I’m starting to order more seeds with a heavy focus on vegetables that will be part of our offerings at the Spring Plant Sale on Mother’s Day weekend in May.  We’ll also have lots of herbs, perennials and shrubs too!

While I’m promoting succulents in this blog, it’s important to note that we don’t use many of them at the gardens although their popularity seems to increase annually.  The broad definition of a succulent is a drought tolerant plant that has thickened, fleshy leaves, stems and/or roots that have developed to store and conserve moisture.  Succulents have a long history of use in “drier climate gardening” and are of course, native to those types of regions around the world.  Garden use of succulents in Northern climates has had a strong focus on incorporation in to containers for enjoyment during the hotter portions of the year.  Many of these are not winter hardy here so would need some winter treatment or storage in a warmer location.  Their drought tolerance makes succulents excellent candidates for full sun containers that wont receive a lot of moisture.  Keep in mind that appropriate soils and drainage are vital in these situations and should be given due consideration.  There are MANY container examples below which I’ve photographed over the years.  I love succulents like the dark Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’ seen above and this past summer, many of the trial gardens I visited had a wide range of exciting selections with the primary feature being foliage.  Many will flower nicely as well but note the beauty in form and foliage.  My concern with using many of these at the gardens is simply, “What do we do with them from October through April until we can get them outside again?”.  A heated greenhouse would be the answer but regardless, consider succulents in your palette as the available options will only be increasing over the coming years.

succulents at the Ball Seed Trial Garden (West Chicago, IL)

Echeveria ‘Violet Queen’ (above and below)

Cotyledon orbiculata ‘Orbit’

Homolocladium ‘Ribbons and Curls’

The Janesville School District rarely cancels school but did so today due to some severely cold temperatures which will continue through tomorrow.  We should see a “warm up” later in the week but needless to say, the sub zero wind chill temperatures kept all of us inside today.  Last week the gang, in anticipation of this weather, accumulated lots of lights and cords from the Holiday Light Show (HLS) to process during these cold days.  Again, Larry H. and Big John led the “processing team” of Alan, Marv and Terry.  Dick H. was in for a bit as was Rollie.  Vern and Jim continued on some carpentry projects with help from Gene who also did more bench sanding.  Bill O. was in later in the day to check over some equipment.  Dr. Gredler came in for some painting and we also saw Bev, Gary and many others today.

This blog is dedicated to one of the best plants to include in your garden to attract hummingbirds.  The Brazilian sage (Salvia guaranitica) is an excellent hummingbird magnet and with our Hummingbird Haven theme in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children’s Garden this year, we have ordered  hundreds of this plant.  Also called sapphire sage and anise-scented sage (mild foliage scent), this native of Southeast Brazil, Paraguay and Northern Argentina might reach heights close to 6′ tall in its native range.  In our gardens, we usually see this annual get 3-4′.  One of the commonly available varieties is ‘Black and Blue’ which has long been a favorite.  However, the top image and one below is a new selection called ‘Black & Bloom’ which is near identical (and indistinguishable from ‘Black & Blue’ in my mind).  Attracting bees, butterflies and hummingbirds, both selections are heavy on nectar and they get their respective variety names from the black stems and calyces that form behind the flower petals.  The trumpet-shaped blooms are just calling out to hummingbirds (see photos further below, taken at the gardens by Santos McGill).  Position these in full sun in decent soils.  Don’t let them dry out, consider fertilization every three weeks and deadhead (snip off) spent bloom stalks to encourage more blooms.  Seek this salvia out!

Salvia guaranitica ‘Black & Blue’

Today also had mild weather although the extreme cold is set to return this weekend.  Our Holiday Light Show (HLS) retrieval team was out in full force today and lead by Big John and Larry H.  We also had Dick H., Urban, Peg and Vicki out there helping the fellas out.  We also saw Hal, Janice and many others today.  I bounced between orders which included a vast selection of caladium (Caladium sp.) varieties that will be part of our demonstration garden this year.

While we are only about four months away from seeing our spring blooming, ornamental onions (Allium sp.) showing color, the focus of this blog is on the summer blooming selections that offer similar color and that excellent “sphere” (umbel) of interest!  The photo above was taken at Northwind Perennial Farm (www.northwindperennialfarm.com/) near Lake Geneva, WI.  These drifts of Allium ‘Summer Beauty’ really accent this summer composition with these floating spheres of pink.  Even as the blooms fade, the architecture of the blooms extends well in to the winter.  I wont make an attempt to describe the breeding involved with many of these in terms of species crosses and selections but you’ll see they all have significant form, texture and of course, beauty!  While all of these varieties have subtle differences in parentage, height and flower color, most are summer bloomers with flowers forming in late June and coloring up nicely in July.  Allium thunbergii ‘Ozawa’ at the bottom is an exception in that it blooms in early October and shows color well past frost!  Interest may extend in to August but again, the dried flower “spheres” continue to add interest even as they turn brown.  I have to admit that I’m not entirely sure about the possible problem of reseeding with these varieties.  We are seeing more reseeding (undesirable) issues with some of the spring blooming Allium selections but I’m not sure about these summer bloomers.  Ample mulching should help dissuade seedlings although additional research on specific selections is warranted.  These ornamental onions all prefer full sun and are adaptable to a wide range of soils and are also drought tolerant.  They will attract many pollinators as well.

Allium ‘Summer Beauty’ (above and below)

Today was a balmy 40 degrees F which was quite a change from the previous couple of days.  The “warm up” allowed for some serious lights retrieval out in the gardens from the Holiday Light Show (HLS).  Big John and Larry H. headed right out and were later joined by Alan M., Peg and Vicki.  Ron P. was in to repair more lights and Dr. Gredler continued his progress with painting.  Vern, Jim and Dave continued work on the 2016 Garden Art Project (top secret details right now….more to follow).  Gene continued sanding a bench that will soon be re-stained.  We also saw Maury, Gary, Rollie, Marsha M., Dick H. and many others today.  Bill O. also came in to work on a couple of projects. I had some meetings and accomplished more odds and ends including sifting through myriad seed catalogs.

This blog is dedicated to a tough, heat tolerant annual that has been a favorite for the sunny border or container.  Annual verbena (Verbena hybrida) has long been a popular seasonal plant known for prolific blooms over a long period of time.  There are some perennial species as well but the varieties shown here would certainly not be hardy in our Midwestern climate.  There have been some exciting developments in color for verbenas over the past couple of years.  These photos are all from the last three years and showcase some excellent newer varieties.  While there are still some excellent seed grown selections, many of the newer varieties are sold as plants and produced vegetatively.  Verbenas can be trailing forms or more upright and rounded in their form.  Most are under 12″ in height but will spread a good 2-3′ when happy.  If flowers start to wane in later summer, consider a shearing or severe cutback followed by fertilizer.  This should encourage another flush of blooms that will continue to attract hummingbirds and butterflies.  Enjoy the exciting color range of the invaluable annual verbena!

Verbena ‘Voodoo Lavender Star’

Verbena ‘Voodoo Red Star’ (above and below)

Verbena ‘Empress Strawberry Charm’

Verbena ‘EnduraScape Red’

Verbena ‘EnduraScape Blue’