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.

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?

Meet ‘Pretty Much Picasso’, the new 2010 outrageous annual

Take a look at the new 2010 outrageous annual that is going to take seasonal gardeners to another level. Lots a wow coming at you with ‘Pretty Much Picasso’. He’s a Proven Winners Plants variety of course. Don’t be shocked when I tell you that my order totals 40! That’s right…..

I ask The Briar Patch last week how many they were ordering and they said–oh about 100. I said well I’m taking 40 of them for my clients and so Candy said—-well ok!….I guess we better get more—I said well I’m guessing you best cause it’s gonna sell like hot cakes—do you hear private nursery owners!!! I’m going to promote the socks off this one. I love it!!!!!!

I’m going to use it in pots with other taller plants that I’ll introduce over the coming days which are also new 2010 varieties. Two are new Ipomoes and one is a new papyrus. Such exciting things going on. So much to tell about that I might not get it all in before Spring planting. Goodness!

And in my garden one of the most important features would be that DEER do not eat them! I did not recieve one of these to trial in my garden this year but I’ve trialed so many PW petunias that it’s just a no brainer on this. I’m sold on the color. I’m guessing they will cost around $5 each for a 5″ pot which some people stroke over but out of that I get a healthy 3+ foot plant from May-November with proper soil prep and feeding schedule. You don’t have to removed spent blooms. I can’t find a better deal than that. My six packs won’t do that.

Proven Winner Cultivars are super athlete plants. They must be planted in good soil and they are heavy feeders needing weekly or bi-monthly liquid food and slow release is what I recommend. That was very evident this summer when my neighbor didn’t follow my instructions and the exact same plants as were in my garden grew to half the height and width.

Also, I’ve sold him on the idea of adopting my garden soil prep habits which you can read about HERE. <——If you follow my soil routine…..you’ll rarely have pest and disease problems and you’ll have beautiful plants. It’s that mushroom compost that’s the best ingredient.

Flowergardengirl on Garden World Report

In the picture above is the ‘Invincibelle Spirit’ hydrangea cultivar by Proven Winners Plants. I am obsessive about hydrangea cultivars. This hydrangea will grow in zones 3-9 and keeps this color all summer long. It will take one summer for the stems to gain the strength needed to hold blooms if purchased in the small 5″ containers that I received—but that is how I get them from Proven Winners. They are a gift and then of course—I rave about them.

I was growing Proven Winners in my gardens 5 years before Proven Winners contacted me so don’t go saying she only grows them cause they give them to her. I actually started growing Proven Winners plants because I worked at this—> nursery

The above photo is from a commercial I did for them and shows you some of my work from my podcasting services. I worked for this nursery from 1999 to last year off and on. Fantastic hard working people and they grow Proven Winners Plants from plugs to retail size. So I became a fan and knowledge guru of the product long before PW found my blog.

These are my old gardens. Mr D and I layed that stonework. Wish I had it now. Loved this house to pieces. But do not miss 3 stories! This is at Christmastime Now you didn’t think I was going to get through a post without humor did you?

Now PW and I are glad to call each other friends and I’m nuts about their hydrangea cultivars. Man do they do well in my gardens. I drive by my former home that I just moved from last year— cry at those I left behind. But hey—I’m starting over at the new place and have just as many but they are babies so you’ll have to see the little ones for now—and oh, ahh–at the blooms.

I never get tired of taking pictures of the ‘Limelight’ hydrangea. This was taken a month ago I think. Ok ya’ll , watch Shirley’s video and at the end of the video is one of my signature container pieces that I rarely show people online. I’ve also put it on my About page if you want to see it close up.

See Flowergardengirl on GWR or go to my sidebar and it’s the first video of the day.

About the Show
Hi Friends, recently my friend Shirley Bovshow of Garden World Report and Eden Makers Blog ask me what plant or plants I have an obsession about and clearly—— it was hydrangea cultivars. You can see some of my choices and you’ll recognize our other gardening friends as you watch the show—Plantanistas! Thank you Shirley and I had a blast working with you!

Two different shots of the arrangement I did for Garden World Report:

Garden Bloggers Operation Christmas Child

Every year, little children all over the globe wish for their holiday to be brightened with a gift of happiness and a message of kindness. Little children just want to know that every thing is going to be ok. They want to play and laugh. That’s all. It’s so simple.

Will you help me show the generous hearts of garden bloggers? I’ve never known a more giving bunch and feel in my heart that you will give beyond measure. Will you help me by donating a few dollars toward items that can fit in a shoebox and together our treasures will add up to a lot. I’m going to do the work and all you have to do is the giving.

Proven Winners Plants who already extend a generous hand to many causes has graciously agreed to sponser this event and donated $300 to get us started. Thank you Proven Winners.

The beautiful hanging basket that I have chosen for our Garden Bloggers Operation Christmas Child widget is a Superbena Coral Red which I thought  appropriately  represented our giving hearts don’t you think? It’s new for 2010.

Don’t forget to get your widget to display proudly on your blog to show you gave and to advertise to others to come and give too.

You are giving to a very worthy cause. It is the Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child headquartered out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Every year they collect shoeboxes filled with items appropriate for little boys and girls and then deliver them to needy children all over the globe. It is a massive operation and not one penny goes to waste.

I have assured every measure of accountability for you and me. You will click on the link I have provided which will take you to my flowergardengirl.org site. You do not have to wait for that page to load. Click on the donate button. You can donate by credit card or paypal. You do not have to open a paypal account.

Donate HERE <—OPEN AND CHOOSE DONATE FOR CREDIT CARD

Your donation is like if you dropped money in a container some place as you entered a place of business. I can not offer a tax deductable receipt. You will get an email confirmation of your donation from paypal but you do not have to sign up for a paypal account. You will also get a receipt from your credit card company. You and I will both get an email notification of the transaction but I will not get any of your credit card information.  I will only get notification of the amount you donated.

I will keep up with all the monies donated until the cut off date of my choosing which is: Nov. 20th and any money received after that date will be donated to the Samaritan’s Purse site for next year’s Operation Christmas Child.

Money collected on November 20th will be used to purchase items for the shoeboxes for the Garden Bloggers Operation Christmas Child. The event will be photographed and/or podcasted with the event reported about on my blog soon thereafter. My best friend and I will make up the shoeboxes and deliver them to the drop off location for Operation Christmas Child in Charlotte, North Carolina before the cutoff date of November 23.

Last year my best friend was part of the final destination of the shoeboxes and she said it was one of the most emotional things she’s ever done. She went to a reservation in South Dakota and handed them out and the people were very appreciative. So this year she ask me if I wanted to do just one box because she was going to collect some for her church where her husband is a pastor. So I got to thinking about her experience and I thought—you know, I know a lot of giving people—and I thought about you! I hope you will give—I hope you will give a lot!!!

A daily total of the monies received for Garden Bloggers Operation Christmas Child will be displayed on a Widget at the top this blog at the end of the of the 24 hr day.

Thank you all and let’s show the world that we are the most generous of givers!

Our garden world would not be what it is without the support of Stuart and his efforts over at Blotanical.com. If you have not joined then I encourage you to do so. Most of my visitors come from there and I would not be the blogger I am today without his success. Thank you Stuart. He has the best garden blogging forum on the internet!

Give HERE THEN CHOOSE DONATE.  you do not have to wait for the page to load just choose the donate button

Should you choose to pay by check:

Flowergardengirl

PO Box 267

Clemmons, NC 27012

Please leave a comment here to show your support for this event. And again thank you so much to Proven Winners Plants and should any other plant organization or company desire to participate, I will include your name on my sidebar under the daily total widget for the duration of the campaign. Thank you all for participating.

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Flowergardengirl

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My blog is on hold until I get $2,000 for Operation Christmas Child

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Mary Ann@ Idaho Gardener

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Julie @ My English Country Garden

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The Limelight is fading

Autumn is coming to this Limelight hydrangea.

Usually this hydrangea will turn a deep dark pink but this one is just a year old and our weather was very cool all summer. That probably has something to do with it’s lack of Autumn color. I still think it’s beautiful.

But look here—-there are a few tinges of pink…….it’s cause this bloom isn’t laying so close to the ground like the others. I look forward to seeing it next year. Do you have Autumn pictures of the Limelight? I’d love to see them. Post about it and I’ll link to it.

Invincibelle Hydrangea 2010

Proven Winners Plants A pink ‘Annabelle’ has come on the garden scene and is introduced by Proven Winners Plants. I am growing them and they bloom from Spring through frost. When the plant is young the blooms overwhelm the plant a bit but as the plant matures it grows into itself. The stems get strong and blooms are produced on the plant for several months. In my zone 7 garden the ‘Invincibelle’ hydrangea blooms in full sun untill frost. It has been blooming since I planted it in May. The blooms are huge and very showy. The photos in the post are from the new media information I recieved from Proven Winners. Wish I could take credit and aren’t they grand? I’m proud to tell you this ‘Invincibelle’ is a North Carolina native. Dr. Tom Ranney at the Mountain Hortaculture Crop Research and Development Center at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC and his talented students have brought us this repeat blooming hydrangea.

Richard Olsen, a graduate student, was hiking in the Appalachian mountains and discovered a pink lace cap. He brought a cutting back to the center where a team of students under the direction of Dr. Ranney grew this beautiful new variety. Proven Winners has teamed with the Breast Research Foundation on a campaign to help find the cure for breast cancer. For every plant sold, a dollar is donated to the cause.

The invincible spirit of this reblooming hydrangea is a reminder for us to continually hope and donate so a cure for this disease can be found. You all know I love Proven Winners Plants and this week I had the privilege of meeting Danielle Ernest and Janice Limbaugh from that company. Danielle, the public relations person for Proven Winners, discovered my blog about two years ago and contacted me about trialing the new cultivars and then writing about them. I had been growing their plants for the previous 5 years so I jumped at the chance.

This is me( after a day in the 100 humidity of a hot Sept. NC) and Danielle at the 2009 Garden Writers Symposium in Raleigh, North Carolina.  I was thrilled to finally meet the person behind all the phone and email conversations. Thank you Danielle and Janice for the nice PW gifts and plants over the years. I have and will continue to enjoy my journey with Proven Winners. This photo is a bit empty looking and I would love to showcase how pretty it was with the pink market bags and ‘Invincibelle Spirit’ hydrangea—-but people flocked to this site and wiped them clean. In fact, they were gone on both days within the first hour we were allowed on the floor. Everyone was carrying around a pink market bag.

To see how this booth was created and color choices made—visit Helen @ Gardening with Confidence. From flee markets to paint selection—-this is how it came together! HERE This booth was spectacular when the pink bags filled with the ‘Invincibelle’ hydrangeas were added.

Sat on the porch today and patted myself on the back

This is Apricot Fizz Lantana by Proven Winners Plants. This spot across my front porch is proving very hard to landscape. It only gets full sun at 2 hours a day and then it’s filtered light. Shade plants fry and sun plants get leggy. But did you know that lantana can take part shade and full sun? It will bloom more in full sun but I think this is doing grandly.

The lime green and black Ipomoeas are from Proven Winners Illusion cultivars and will be available in 2010. They aren’t as aggressive as most sweet potato vines and they are more disease and drought tolerant. I really am pleased with them. You can see an earlier article HERE that I wrote about them. The names are ‘Emerald Lace’ and ‘Midnight Lace’.

This is what happens when you combine back breaking leaf mulch spreading, manure applied at the right time in the Autumn, and mushroom compost in the Spring. I just sat back and patted myself on the back for making Mr D do all that work He’s happy now but wasn’t too happy as the loads and loads of compost arrived last year. It’s almost time to do it all over again. Won’t he be excited?

A few Autumn Mums with a poor little sweet potato vine wilting away. I had it in a vase and forgot to water it. I do root sweet potato vines to use in my garden but not these cultivars–it’s against the law. Any patented plant you purchase can not be rooted for any reason. But if it does not come with a patent–then you can use it as you wish. I cut my vines and use them in vases just as I would cut flowers. They make the best displays as the roots grow really fast and they look cool swirling around in the bottom of the vase.

My Scaevola and Diamond Frost Euphorbia are doing well.

You can bet I’ll be growing this yellow narrow leaf zinnia again. It has bloomed like this all summer. I have an organic flower garden so this has resisted pest and disease extremely well.

My Lo and Behold Blue Chip buddleia never stops blooming. It was an evergreen last winter but I suspect if we had a hard winter, It would lose its leaves. I did not cut it back last Autumn but will this year. I think it will do better if cut back. It’s a small butterfly bush that won’t take over the garden. It blooms more if you fertilize it once a month and will bloom early too. I give my gardens a good dose of Espoma Flower Tone in the Spring and then for those heavy feeders, I use a liquid fertilizer.

Flowering vinca, Victoria Blue Salvia, and Angelonia in the middle. The big orange butterfly magnet is Mexican Sunflower.

Lots to look at while I sit in my swing! I watch the birdies at the feeder and wave at the folks who walk by.

You can click on these pictures and enlarge them. No post about my front gardens is complete without showing this Senorita Rosalita Cleome. It does not set seed. I’ve grown it every year since Proven Winners released it. All I do is fertilize it once a month with a liquid fertilizer. I rave about mushroom compost making it big too.

The sweet folks at Front Porch Ideas and More have the prettiest picture showcasing a pumpkin and mum filled front porch. Front Porch Ideas and More is the best place on the web for everything you need to know about a porch. I love to go and browse for hours.