The Giddiness of a good find, ‘Miss Ruby’ buddleia x 2010

‘Miss Ruby’ is my new favorite 2010 Proven Winners Color Choice shrub this week. I’m trialing it in my garden and it hasn’t stopped blooming since May. The blooms have been a deep magenta pink that makes me giddy every time I look at it which matches how I’m feeling tonight.

Below is a stock photo from Proven Winners and this is true to color. I think they have this paired with ‘Limelight’ hydrangea but it could be ‘Incrediball’.

Proven Winners sent me this plant in the Spring and I was excited about the color and its butterfly attracting qualities. I had the same idea and originally had it paired with ‘White Dome’ hydrangeas.

I moved the ‘White Dome’ to the back beds because it was just too hot out front for them and replaced them with ‘Incrediball’ hydrangeas also by Proven Winners and I’ve written about them HERE.  You can image the car wrecks that are going to happen when those two beauties collide next summer.

The reason I’m so giddy is cause I found a local herb farm called, Mills Garden Herb Farm.  I’m over the top excited about them cause they offer cooking, crafting, and medicinal herb classes. I told ya’ll I wanted to learn wildcrafting and this certainly is a form of it. My first class is wreath making. If you get a chance. Browse on down the main page and meet Madge and her dogs. You know I’ll go over and do an interview so you can see more!! I promise. You know it makes me giddy. I’m nuts about this sort of thing.

My very good friend Kevin Campbell who owns Campbell Family Nursery is the one who directed me to the herb farm. Kevin knows everything. His nursery has been in his family forever. He’s like me..been around since the early 1700’s. I’m going to interview him for you too. He just bought a whole bunch of land moved the entire nursery and has a grand story to tell. You should read some of the stories he has on his blog! Talk about folklore……..he can really tell it. Finding Plant Treasures

I’ve got one of the pure Campbell bloodline Japanese  maples growing in my backyard! So if I tell you that I like a plant and share it with you—-folks I don’t do it lightly—I do it from my heart and because I know it’s got a good bloodline and I trust who it came from. I trust Proven Winners Plants cause I grow them in my own garden.

From the Proven Winners Site: ‘Miss Ruby’ buddleia x

 

Growing Tips
Prefers well-drained, moist, fertile soils but can tolerate drought once established. Prefers medium moisture. Prune in late fall or early spring. In Northern states, this plant will die back to the ground though the roots are hardy. In the South, cut back as needed. To encourage reblooming, remove old spent blooms. Fertilize in early spring by applying a slow release fertilizer specialized for trees and shrubs. Follow the label for recommended rate of application.

Exposure
Full sun

Height
48-60″

Spacing
36-48″

Hardy Temp
-20°F (-29°C)

Uses
Excellent for use in perennial beds, wildlife gardens and mixed borders.

Features
Brilliant rich pink summer blooms unlike any other variety. Prune back in late winter/early spring. Attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. Fragrant. Deer resistant.

Autumn greetings video from Flowergardengirl

A beautiful spectacular autumn day~~ big hugs and slobbery kisses from~~ Flowergardengirl

Snow Princess™ Lobularia hybrid Sweet Alyssum, Must Have

Incredible is all you can say about ‘Snow Princess’ Lobularia hybrid sweet alyssum. I grew it in containers and in the ground this summer and watching the never ending display of fluffy white blooms was absolutely satisfying. I thought you might like to see the photos from the Proven Winners site. Please enjoy!

You’ve all seen my gardens so let’s go look at some others around the Proven Winners’ world. All photos are used with permission from PW. You may not use these pictures without written consent from Proven Winners Plants.

Unlike most alyssums that fizzle out in the southern heat, ‘Snow Princess’ held up beyond measure. She’s on my list now appearing on a page at the top of my blog—-called***FGG’s FAV Annuals which is under construction.

This is one of the most stunning landscapes I’ve seen don’t you think? Bravo Proven Winners. I can name all their NEW VARIETIES in there? Can you? I see—Yep, I’ve grown everything in the picture above and it will look like that–now if I could just remember to put it together in that order!!

We had a frost last night which certainly took out most of my surviving annuals but ‘Snow Princess’ lobularia greeted me this morning still going strong. I just had to tell you about it. Girlfriends gotta share you know. And as promised, I told you I’d get the word out about the 2010’s before the nurseries finished ordering them so you could put your request in. Go tell them you want ‘Snow Princess”

This plant is very thirsty and hungry. You might need to water it twice a day. It will recover from a dry spell but I’d keep it on the moist side. I’d feed it once a week and give it plenty of pot room. I’m betting the one in the head above got a weak feeding every time it was watered and was probably watered at least twice a day if not hooked up to a slow drip system.

Good luck with your ‘Snow Princess’ . She sure looks worth it huh?

The digital random thoughts of Flowergardengirl for Copper Top Cottage

When Flowergardengirl was considering the colors for Copper Top Cottage she thought of her favorite colors of fall and paired them~~~with ~~ this of all things–

~~ a rotating egg~~The above image actually spins on her computer and was created in Gimp using photos from the scenes from her back yard but WordPress will not allow that application and too bad for you~~~~Autumn is her favorite time of year. The image above allows her to look at the colors against the teal from every angle. Teal is the color of her Copper Top Cottage.

Soon the lace curtains will go up and all the treasures she’s been gathering for 50 years will purposefully be placed in every nook and cranny of her little shed. As I’m reading this back to her she’s saying this is getting way too quaint like and intense so and I should lighten the mood a bit. She says that although there’s a cute quiet side to her , she’s also a riot and that sometimes she wears her Tuesday underwear on Friday.

Copper Top Cottage will be filled with hopes of rows to hoe and gardeners to know. There will be a comfy reading chair by the stained glass window that was purchased at a salvage yard and always a red geranium in one of the windows which has nothing at all to do with the colors she has carefully planned for the space. But red  geraniums were her grandmother’s favorite and so it shall be.

The paint selection for the outside is in the  Natural Splendor line called Biltmore Estate: She’s loving the name  which is~~~‘Hidden Spring’  by Olympic Paint and is talked about in an article she wrote about HERE. One of her favorite color palettes is that of teal, deep peachy orange, and deep golden burnt umber. You can only find that in her back yard during Autumn . Right! Or does this happen in your yard too?

And she never buys a plant without considering it’s aged beauty. And she would never marry a man without considering his retirement plan.

Alaska nasturtiums are considered a bit hard to grow but they do well  in her front beds as there has never been any grown in her back beds. They love this time of year. They like the cool weather  unlike most nasturtiums which would rather see long hot sunny days I suppose~~ do you suppose?. Flowergardengirl likes the speckled leaves of the Alaska variety. She likes any speckled leaves.

Today is the first day of November and it’s so gloriously chilly. Flowergardengirl’s home is filled with biscuit breezes and the aroma of a roast in the oven. Would you like to see the leaves that have fallen and her roast in the oven? And will you please watch her later on tonight at Garden World Report. She’d appreciate it. Here she is now just before the show at her home in NC~~~~

Ever thought of putting Fur Balls in an arrangement?

I did. I thought about putting my asclepias Fur Balls or Monkey Balls plant in an Autumn arrangement. I did it for Carol at May Dreams Gardens. She’s having her Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day of course. She host this event the 15th of each month and everyone is invited to showcase what’s blooming in the current garden.

For me, I’m harvesting the blooms, seed pods, and leafy colors to make Autumn arrangements. I thought you all might like to see what else can be done with my Fur Balls plant besides feed the Monarch butterflies.

You can use the search feature on my blog for asclepias and read more. I have featured them in several post.

This sunday around 9pm Pacific Coast Time, Shirley Bovshow at Eden Makers Blog is featuring many of the blotanical award winners on Garden World Report. Carol and I will be on there for certain. Hope you will tune in.

Woolly Worm predicting harsh winter for NC

If you take your Woolly Worm to any of the numerous and popular Woolly Worm festivals ( Banner Elk, NC) around the country this weekend, be prepared to have them rigorously tested for drugs. That is according to last years policy at the Banner Elk, NC event recorded on MTN News. They’ll not have any race entries addicted to drugs.

You’ll also need to have a good set of lungs if entering them in the upstring race. A good puff will encourage them to climb higher and travel more rapidly assuring you the first place trophy. That’s quite the honor if you live in my neck of the woods.

Our woolly worms predict the weather with an 80 percent accuracy. My caterpillar which was captured on my camera just today is telling us that it will be a semi harsh winter. I’m excited about that cause NC has been in a long period of no snow or very little. Last year we had one beautiful big snow in March but that was it.

Joe Bastardi of the weather channel is backing up the woolly worm’s prediction. Joe says the mid-Atlantic states are in for a rough ride as we finish out a fading El Niño. Joe has some interesting predictions for this winter and he’s got an even better track record than our worm.

There are 13 segments on the caterpillars body correlating to the 13 weeks of winter. The size of the light brown middle ring is the determiner.

A large light brownish red area indicates a mild winter but I’m seeing a bit more black this year. The more black you see the harsher the winter. Since the brown can extend to the very ends–my picture above is showing more black than is normal.

My father taught me this little bit of folklore and he learned it from his grandfather who was a farmer. Woolly worms appear in June and then again in Autumn. No one pays much attention in June but when Autumn rolls around it’s big news cause we want to know what the winter will be like.

The woolly worm is the moth Isabella tiger,Pyrrharctia isabella. The larva stage of the moth is called the woolly worm or woolly bear if you live in the northern states. I’m a southern gal so it’s woolly worm to me.

Here is the adult moth Isabella tiger from Wiki:

These are some pretty interesting little guys in the caterpillar stage. They are self-medicating insects meaning they eat alkaloid-laden plants which help them fend off parasitic fly larvae.

The moth larva survive the winter in their caterpillar from by producing a cryoprotectant in their tissues. Meaning—they produce antifreeze kinda like pansies do to keep from freezing.

In the Spring, they devour all the grass and weeds they can find and then pupate into an adult moth who will live through the summer.

The setae or bristles of the caterpillar are not poisonous but can cause dermatitis in some people. Setae are their protective shield against predators who find the prickliness undesirable. They will ball up their body when in danger.

It’s a beautiful Autumn day here in NC today–take a look out my front door.

How to care for woolly worms should you want one as a pet

Capsicum annuum ‘Black Pearl’ ornamental pepper

The Briar Patch Garden Center in Winston Salem, NC had an open house for their new location this past weekend. This garden center was started in 1999 by Damien and Deidra Johns, the owners, and they have worked almost around the clock while reaping the rewards of their efforts. Yesterday as they opened a second location in Advance, NC—I spotted the ornamental peppers placed so nicely with the beautiful mum.

Look at that red pepper which ripens to this rich red as the plant matures. This is

Capsicum annuum ‘Black Pearl’ and you can read about it HERE. Ornamental peppers seem to be popular this year and I’ve noticed them popping up in annual flower beds.

They do work well at the front of a border reaching 20″ in height and width. The are considered annuals and even start well from seed. They aren’t picky needing little fertilizer and are somewhat drought tolerant.

This isn’t a new cultivar and has been around since 2006. It’s my experience that plants take awhile to catch on and I’m convinced this will become a landscape favorite.

No peppers in the picture above but isn’t it beautiful? The open house was a big hit and I’m so happy for Damien and Deidra.

Above you see ornamental red and white peppers in this border at Duke Gardens in Raleigh, NC. Some peppers are not edible so make sure you check each variety carefully.

Rudbekia h. ‘Chim Chiminee’

I would like to share with you my new flower video series by flowergardengirl productions. Thanks for watching!  I took the pictures and produced the clip in its entirety. The music was created in MacBook Pro’s Garage Band. The video clip was produced using IMovie on my MacBook Pro.