by Susan | Jan 18, 2014 | gardening, plants, Plantswoman Design
Before the holiday hit I left you with a few things to do to put your garden to bed (click here to read part 1). Today I want to talk about putting your bulbs away for the season. I was waiting for some cold weather to hit so I could pull up the begonias, allium and dahlias to show how to put them away until next year. We finally got a very good hard freeze that lasted for almost 2 weeks. I pulled all the bulbs the first day of the freeze and set them in the greenhouse to dry (it is important to dry them out). Though they don’t look like much, the big clumps of soil and dried leaves indicate there are tuber and bulbs in there.
When the soil you pulled up with your tubers and bulbs is dry and eagerly falls off it’s time to get back to them to prep them for storage. Break away the extra soil and brush them clean with a big, soft brush. They need to be as dirt free as possible and dry.
These are cleaned up and ready to store.
I use white wood chips for storing. Since I use them for the hen house I have them already, shredded newspaper also works. The boxes are saved from tulip bulbs delivered from on line purchases. Pack them loosely and don’t crowd them. My boxes end up on the floor of the garage (cool dark place, no moisture). You could also store them in a dry, cool basement or refrigerator.
Here is one begonia still in the pot living happily in soil and the lights of the green house. It has a great dark ruffled leaf.
Spring is coming slowly but surely, it won’t be long until it is time to put your bulbs all back in the ground again. You can put bulbs like hardy allium and left over Tulips or Daffodils into the ground again right now. There is still enough time to get a chill factor for the spring bulbs although they may come up a little later. Did you purchase spring spring flowering bulbs at sales (I do sometimes and then forget to put them in the ground). I usually try and make sure to have them stored in a cool place to this point. I have a refrigerator in my garage that has mostly drinks, for my crew, and plant material in it. Consider yourself warned, if you go looking for a soft drink or beer you might have to fight through bulbs or chilling seedlings.
During the holiday’s I like to force paperwhites. Once they are done blooming inside I move them, intact, to the greenhouse. When I put my tender tubers and bulbs in the ground I also pop my paperwhites in as well. They will “reset” themselves and bloom next spring. Most information you read about forcing bulbs says to discard after they are finished blooming. I have successfully replanted them in this fashion and had a 50% success rate with re-blooming the next year. Make sure not to cut back the foliage but plant out with foliage intact they need the green leaves to re-energize the bulb for reblooming.
My garden is now put to bed. I use these winter months to start thinking and planning for the coming year. When it is time to put the tuberous begonias, non-hardy allium, and dahlias back out I’ll give you a little tutorial on how to prep them for planting.
Until then happy planting!
by Susan | Jan 13, 2014 | gardening, plants, Plantswoman Design
It’s exciting to start a new year and 2014 already looks to be a busy and fun year. Gardeners in our area look forward to the winter solstice with more expectation than Christmas. As the shortest day of the year, seeing the sun set at 4:24 is downright depressing but there is a silver lining. Every day after the solstice brings a few minutes of daylight back to us and leads us into the hopeful season of spring.
This year has been a dry year with lots of sun so I should really not complain. Even today the sun was amazing, high about 40 with a ring of beautiful snowy mountains around the horizon. I put the Christmas decorations away and started raiding the greenhouse. My little greenhouse is tucked under a deck. It has sun on one side for about 7 hours a day, no direct overhead sun. Because of this, I have several bands of florescent lights to provide the needed additional light. I am able to over winter bananas, echevarias, tropical lilys, water plants, and other tropical treasures. I also keep good collection of orchids which I rotate into the house through out their blooming seasons. Although orchids would like to have warm days and cool nights they also do fairly well with consistent temps. I keep their water in a separate container at greenhouse temp so they don’t get cold water. Fertilizing with orchid fertilizer also helps to get some good blooms.
One orchid that was wonderful throughout the entire holiday season was this little gem, Zygopetalum, fragrant orchid. It sent up a spike in October and I moved it into the house in November. I kept smelling this wonderful fragrance and couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. Finally it occurred to me to smell the orchid. Orchids usually have no strong scent, however, this one is one of the most fragrant of all . The spike held 10 flowers and the scent filled the room. I moved it into my bedroom for the rest of the season.
This plant, bilbergia nutans Queens tears, I picked up at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show about 3 years ago. It loves being outside in the summer and takes almost no water. This year I divided it into about 20 babies and put the old one back in the pot. They like to be pot bound to bloom but this was beyond pot bound. Some of the babies were blooming and were given away to new homes. They don’t really take too much effort just don’t water and don’t let freeze.
This is a portion of my orchid bench in my green house. I have two vanilla orchids – vanilla planifolia. If you want to read something funny google “how to grow your own vanilla”. When I got to the “every day for six weeks, wrap the pods in a wet blanket to sweat and at night unwrap” part ,(after waiting 9-12 months for the bean to mature, pollinating flowers in the morning with a chopstick, after waiting 3-5 years for plant to mature) I vowed I would never attempt to grow my own vanilla even though (technically) I could. That gardener’s idea of easy is very different than mine.
Another orchid out of my greenhouse is Purple and brown and smell’s like pepper.
Veltheimia bracteata (Forest Lily) – I got this bulb for last years garden show. I just wanted it for my own greenhouse but don’t order that often from San Marcos in California. A client said he cares for one in the window of his house. These are just coming into spike and bloom .
What things do you, my gardening friends, do to bring the out doors in? What are you over wintering in your green house? Don’t have a green house? That’s okay, if you did have a green house what would be in it?
by Susan | Jan 4, 2014 | gardening, Plantswoman Design
The Northwest Flower and Garden Show is fast approaching. The theme this year is “Art in Bloom” and let me tell you it’s been a fun theme to work with. Our focus is on the rhythm of the earth and how you can use garden space to help unwind and re-connect with nature. Now that the holiday season is over preparations are in full swing. We are working with Michelle Burgess from Michelle Burgess Designs and Ryan Blythe from Rainier Glass Studio (are you getting curious?). We’ve been checking up with our growers to see what plants will be ready and which ones won’t be. Plan “b” is ready just in case.
Every year we need volunteers to help us around the show garden. Each volunteer has a 4 hour shift and the rest of the day to enjoy the show. You’ll spend your shift handing out brochures and answering general questions about the garden and Plantswoman Design. Would you like to join us? Leave a comment below or email us at susan[at]plantswomandesign[dot]com and we will get you set up.
Over the next month we will have a lot to share with you. From info about the show to pre-show prep days right on through to the show itself. We will be posting regularly on our blog and our Face Book page. We may even have a few things to give away!!! Thinking about your garden already this year? Maybe it needs a little help? Stay tuned on how you can win a personal consultation with Susan and an personalized online idea book to help get your garden in shape this year.
by plantswomandesign | Nov 23, 2013 | gardening, plants, Plantswoman Design
Smoke is rising from the chimneys, fog rolls down the bay, frost falls softly, quietly like snow on bare branches and dying leaves. Fall’s relentless march is fast fading into the dark misty morning and winter is close on it’s heels pushing its way in. The fabric of the garden changes dramatically overnight. Brilliance replaced by soft muted wheat colors, dusty purple, faded reds and oranges. Bare branches and stark silhouettes edge the once lush pathway. The time has come to tuck those tempermental, (temperiennials) into the garden for the winter.
As many of you know I love the huge foliage and exuberance of tropicalissimo. Every year I anticipate the window of time when I need to get them ready for the winter. Many of them can take the cold but can’t take the wet, many need mulch mounded around the base of their crowns to make it through a cold snap. There are many methods for doing this and I will share what I know and what has been successful in my garden.
I usually wait for the first quick frost to set the dormancy in motion. Sometimes we have great growing weather even in October and this year November. I have several plants that have already come into the greenhouse for overwintering that can take no frost. These have been in the greenhouse about 3 weeks now. A quick frost would kill the burgmansias, bouginvillas, and red bananas. The other things in my garden that are zone 8 can be successfully wintered over with help.
I have grown agaves in my garden for several years with only one making it through the winter. That winter I had a shrub growing nearby over hanging the plants. I had forgotten to cut it back during the summer and it was too late to do it by the time I noticed it. That next spring I found that where the shrub’s branches had covered the agaves they were alive and came through the winter fine. In the same bed where the branches didn’t reach the agaves they were dead. Ah Ha lesson learned. Now I use cut back pieces of my tall gingers to lay over the agaves. Their large leaves create air space and by waiting until they are nipped by frost they are not too heavy and full of moisture that they turn to mush on the ground.
The Gunnera in the lower garden gets the same treatment. I use the leaves of the plant itself to give it protection. I cut them off and turn them upside down. The Gunnera signaled it’s dormancy early with curled dead edges on the leaves. This Gunnera is hardy here but by protecting the crown of the plant it takes less time to come back from dormancy and puts on fantastic growth each year.
Sometimes you can protect plants that are new to your garden for the first year in the same way. I put a Fremontodendron californicum (wooly flannel bush) in this year. I protected it with cut bamboo over the branches and crown. Because it has a branching structure already and is not completely herbaceous I didn’t want to lay anything too heavy to weigh down the branches. It hates water and is planted in gravel here. I’ll let you know if it survives. (If you want to read something interesting look up this plant on the internet. It has so much conflicting information published about it! One site says frost tender zone 8 and another say hardy to negative 20)
After the first frost I do cut down the gingers, cannas, and dahlias. I spread a thin layer of dry mulch over the top and also add fallen leaves over that. I use washed cow manure because it has nutrients to add to the soil as it decomposes. I leave these bulbs and temperiennals in the ground. They multiply and come back each year. My soil has lots of organic material in it and drains freely.
Tuberose begonias get to come inside after the frost as well. They have been still growing and filling the spaces with fabulous oranges and reds until this frost. Prolonged freezing of these bulbs will result in death so don’t leave them outside. Again the frost helps the bulb know dormancy so the bulbs can be stored for winter.
It’s time to put the garden to bed. Stay tuned for our next post with more helpful information.
by plantswomandesign | Nov 6, 2013 | gardening, plants, Plantswoman Design
It is a beautiful day here on the west coast. It has been spectacular weather for fall color and feeling. Nippy in the morning with a tinge of wood smoke and fallen leaves in the air. Afternoons are sunny and you can see the sun on the horizon moving away to the south of the garden. Sunrises are coming up later and later with more awesome colors than I can describe.
These days I spend about 1 day a week prepping for the Northwest Flower and Garden show. I’m ordering plant material, picking it up and nestling it into the greenhouses that will hold our plant material until February. I have already ordered many flats of bulbs for the show that will be forced at their location and brought to the show blooming (hopefully). It is not an exact science so we do our best and have a plan B.
I always like to feature different types of plants in my show gardens. That is one of the reasons I first started coming to the flower and garden show all those years ago. I wanted to see something new and learn about what others were growing. Many times I saw something I had never seen before and I learned about it at the show. Now I guess I am a little jaded since entering the horticultural world. As a designer I get to see a lot of new plants and now say ‘I have one of those’ instead of ‘I want one of those’ and sometimes I have to say “Yep, I’ve killed one of those’.
- White Bouquet, Candy Club
iris reticulata natascha, fritillaria meleagris alba
As I prepare for the show I know I want some different types of bulbs. So on to the Van Engelen site I go and order some bulbs. I found these great (I hope) things called bunching tulips. They have multiple stems coming from the bulb with multiple flowers on them. I had never seen them before so I called my grower and asked about them. He said they had been around for several years and didn’t really sell well so they stopped growing them. Hmmm… Of course that means I have to try them. I ordered candy club and white bouquet.
Last year I forced Allium shubertii. It was difficult because they are a summer blooming bulb but I had about a 50% success rate. If the bulb blooms early in the year it is easier to force. If you plan on forcing bulbs you can count on at least a 12-14 week chill factor. That means you would place the bulbs into a dark 40-45 degree place in moist soil. Then add the actual blooming time and you will have a fairly good idea when to expect them. The folks at Van Engelen can help you with guesstimating if you are unsure. I received the order and put them into the shop refrigerator that has drinks and snacks for the crew. They had to put up with the boxes of bulbs for a couple of weeks… small price to pay, right?
Today I mixed up a fast draining soil mixture and added some bulb food. I placed the several bulbs in containers with the soil. I pack them together because I want the pot to be full and bursting with color. I don’t usually do that in the ground especially if they are naturalizing bulbs.
I also potted up some iris reticulata natascha, and some white blooming fritillaria meleagris alba.
I think maybe you can guess what color scheme I’m going for the show. I’m excited to do a more formal limited color palette this year.
I also could not resist adding some Christmas color into the forcing planting. I potted up some Amaryllis ‘nymph’ and amaryllis ‘white nymph’ for the Christmas season. I soak the bulbs overnight if the roots are dried out at all. Then I put them into the same bulb mixture as the tulips with fast draining soil and bulb food. I like planting the amaryllis in a soil mixture instead of plain water because I think water can stagnate sometimes and the bulb will rot. These are in my greenhouse now and not chilled. They will stay here until they start to bud. If it is close to Christmas they will go into the house. If they start too early I will move them to a cool frost free place to save the blooms until closer to Christmas.
I’m excited to see how these work into the Christmas scheme. Let me know if you have tried forcing bulbs before and how they turned out.
www.plantswomandesign.com | copyright 2013
by plantswomandesign | Nov 6, 2013 | gardening, Plantswoman Design
It is a beautiful day here on the west coast. It has been spectacular weather for fall color and feeling. Nippy in the morning with a tinge of wood smoke and fallen leaves in the air. Afternoons are sunny and you can see the sun on the horizon moving away to the south of the garden. Sunrises are coming up later and later with more awesome colors than I can describe.
These days I spend about 1 day a week prepping for the Northwest Flower and Garden show. I’m ordering plant material, picking it up and nestling it into the greenhouses that will hold our plant material until February. I have already ordered many flats of bulbs for the show that will be forced at their location and brought to the show blooming (hopefully). It is not an exact science so we do our best and have a plan B.
I always like to feature different types of plants in my show gardens. That is one of the reasons I first started coming to the flower and garden show all those years ago. I wanted to see something new and learn about what others were growing. Many times I saw something I had never seen before and I learned about it at the show. Now I guess I am a little jaded since entering the horticultural world. As a designer I get to see a lot of new plants and now say ‘I have one of those’ instead of ‘I want one of those’ and sometimes I have to say “Yep, I’ve killed one of those’.
White Bouquet, Candy Club
iris reticulata natascha, fritillaria meleagris alba
As I prepare for the show I know I want some different types of bulbs. So on to the Van Engelen site I go and order some bulbs. I found these great (I hope) things called bunching tulips. They have multiple stems coming from the bulb with multiple flowers on them. I had never seen them before so I called my grower and asked about them. He said they had been around for several years and didn’t really sell well so they stopped growing them. Hmmm… Of course that means I have to try them. I ordered candy club and white bouquet.
Last year I forced Allium shubertii. It was difficult because they are a summer blooming bulb but I had about a 50% success rate. If the bulb blooms early in the year it is easier to force. If you plan on forcing bulbs you can count on at least a 12-14 week chill factor. That means you would place the bulbs into a dark 40-45 degree place in moist soil. Then add the actual blooming time and you will have a fairly good idea when to expect them. The folks at Van Engelen can help you with guesstimating if you are unsure. I received the order and put them into the shop refrigerator that has drinks and snacks for the crew. They had to put up with the boxes of bulbs for a couple of weeks… small price to pay, right?
Today I mixed up a fast draining soil mixture and added some bulb food. I placed the several bulbs in containers with the soil. I pack them together because I want the pot to be full and bursting with color. I don’t usually do that in the ground especially if they are naturalizing bulbs.
I also potted up some iris reticulata natascha, and some white blooming fritillaria meleagris alba.
I think maybe you can guess what color scheme I’m going for the show. I’m excited to do a more formal limited color palette this year.
I also could not resist adding some Christmas color into the forcing planting. I potted up some Amaryllis ‘nymph’ and amaryllis ‘white nymph’ for the Christmas season. I soak the bulbs overnight if the roots are dried out at all. Then I put them into the same bulb mixture as the tulips with fast draining soil and bulb food. I like planting the amaryllis in a soil mixture instead of plain water because I think water can stagnate sometimes and the bulb will rot. These are in my greenhouse now and not chilled. They will stay here until they start to bud. If it is close to Christmas they will go into the house. If they start too early I will move them to a cool frost free place to save the blooms until closer to Christmas.
I’m excited to see how these work into the Christmas scheme. Let me know if you have tried forcing bulbs before and how they turned out.
www.plantswomandesign.com | copyright 2013
by plantswomandesign | Jul 11, 2013 | Plantswoman Design
Here it comes, Bainbridge in Bloom. One of the best garden tours around. I love going to garden tours, they never fail to show me something new. Sometimes plant combinations, different paving ideas and specialty gardens. Bainbridge in Bloom is a garden tour that benefits a non-profit on the island, Arts and Humanities. It has been done in many different ways over the years. The first year I went I was just a beginning gardener. I traveled a good distance and had a map that was stamped as you went into each garden. I met some great people and saw some amazing gardens. It was then when I realized how great a place Bainbridge would be to start a garden design business. Once I became fully immersed in the garden culture of Bainbridge I began to covet the thrill of having one of my gardens on the tour.
I have now had several gardens featured on the tour. This year one of my client’s garden is being featured. Just a few short weeks ago it was the scene of a beautiful wedding for their son. Since everything would be in such pristine condition she decided to do the ‘Bloom’ just after it. She is a wonderful gardener with good plant knowledge and great skills in growing what is planted.
I first started working with her in 2006 and became involved again 2 years ago. The plantings benefit from the warm microclimate at the south end of the island. Tropical plants flourish here and dahlias stay in the ground year round. Gingers and Canna also overwinter and rustios thrive.
Last year my client wanted a retaining wall that would help with the slope without being a place for snakes to hide. (she hates snakes). I designed a metal wall that works great and is so beautiful. This is kept in place with rebar stakes behind it and connected in the back with wire between the panels.
This garden also has some beautiful quiet places with small plantings and ground covers. Mature trees support the rest of the garden and many special gifts from family are tucked in here and there. One tree, from her husband, is a Magnolia ‘baby grand’ to honor her granddaughter Magnolia.
Other areas include a raised vegetable garden that is made with galvanized stock tanks, (a custom outdoor sink stands nearby), flagstone sitting area with large pieces in lawn and a mini Birch walk with white birch and ground covers. Everything about this garden from the new gate by Jim Honold from Home and Garden Art, to the deer proof entry that is lovely in all seasons speaks to gardeners and non gardeners alike.
It is not too late to get tickets for this tour and see all the gardens on the tour. It is more relaxed this year with the self guided tour of old replacing the busses from previous years.
by plantswomandesign | Mar 22, 2013 | Plantswoman Design
Along with the arrival of bulbs, primroses, hellebores, and scilla we here at Plantswoman Design are greeting spring with a new way to communicate. To all our customers, friends, colleagues, and fellow gardeners welcome to our blog! Blogging is a fairly new phenomenon to me but I am loving what a great opportunity it is to share information and connect with like minded people. Kind of like a dating site without the angst. 🙂
So, why in the world would I start a blog? I’m glad you asked…
I get excited when going out into my garden at all times of the year and I want to share what is happening there. This past February I got a chance to chat with many gardeners at the NWFGS and it was so fun to hear about their experiences, methods, and what other gardeners were growing. I love that! I also get excited about new plants, new methods of gardening, old methods of gardening (that I know nothing about), what made it through a mild winter, wet winter, cold winter, etc. This is a great place to explore just that! My favorite thing about gardening is that you are always learning. No one person knows everything about gardening. Even Dan Hinkley doesn’t know everything and I love that too. I hope this becomes a place we can learn, ask dumb (and not so dumb) questions, and share what you know.
As we dive into social media head first we invite you to take the journey with us! In addition to our new blog we will be up and running on Houzz and Pinterest soon. We are so excited to have so many ways to talk and share with you all we can hardly contain it! I hope you look forward to our weekly blog posts as much as we look forward to hearing from you.
So, tell me, do you read blogs? What do you like about them? What don’t you like so much?
Lets go get dirty fingers and muddy knees.
When the soil you pulled up with your tubers and bulbs is dry and eagerly falls off it’s time to get back to them to prep them for storage. Break away the extra soil and brush them clean with a big, soft brush. They need to be as dirt free as possible and dry.
Here is one begonia still in the pot living happily in soil and the lights of the green house. It has a great dark ruffled leaf.
