Happy Holidays!

From our Family to Yours!  Enjoy the Season.

Variegation!!

In January of this year I harvest 4 seedpods from our B. Shorty's variegated.  For years I have heard from both Brugmansia groups that variegated Brugs seedpods will be solid color and variegation is
not carried forward. 

So since I got Shorty's variegated I have not released any of her seedpods.  I have planted each year and tossed many of them since I have B. Hunter and B. Jutner Peachy Cream that I keep growing and enjoying the fragrances.  B. Shorty's has a fragrance that will knock you over when she has all the blooms that she puts off.

Back to the 4 seedpods for 2018.  Each was planted in a pot labeled with the seedpods letter.  To my surprise by March we were seeing the pots fill up with little plants.  I noticed some with variegation and thought no, that isn't what I have been told.  So I sat on them and not a word until now.  Today
10/5/2018 I decided to strip the leaves to get ready to put them in their own pots for the winter months.   I have a spot for them up under the grow lights in the Brug House.

These are from seedpod A:

 

Shorty's plants are huge if allow to grow naturally the first 6 months. 

A little history on B. Shorty's, it was found at a local nursery.  I purchased 2 and they told me
when I returned a few days later that they weren't supposed to sell them and they wanted to
buy them back.   I questioned the history and they were only labeled variegated.  While at ABADS I was told to purchase all the variegated plants that were known and I then started the task to compare them all to Shorty's.  Shorty's out grew them all and needed full hot sun to thrive.  None of the others had her fragrance either.  I did share her with a lady back east and hoped if I lost ours she would be able to replace ours.  I was also at Dave's Gardens and shared her with folks that wanted cuttings.  I was told not to share her after ABADS found out I was as I didn't know the history.    I trade lots of cuttings and after the first year we decided to stop sharing her.  I will tell you I did take her down to Terra Nova to have her tissue cultured.  She collapsed and they were unable to tissue culture her.  I was told she was probably someone tissue culture how she reacted.   I have been growing her and another tissue culture from TNN and they have matched in growth and they both throw off about the same sports.  They range from Albinos to solids, even the albinos will show green on them.  Here is the Shorty's albino for this year:

Yes you can get them to grow as long as they stay attached to the mother plant.  Our first Shorty's had one that we were able to get to seedpods and the new babies were all albinos which lasted upward to a month after planting. 

B. Shorty's is a special plant!!  She is hard to start but it can be done. 

2018 B. Shorty's Variegated

Here is B. Shorty's placement in her big pot for the summer months.   October 3rd she was removed and placed on the driveway so she can be stripped of her leaves before being placed in the greenhouse for the winter months.  She was in full bloom, with 8 seedpods and way to big to go in the Brugmansia house.  I had a few other brugmansias  that I was going to over winter in the tropical house but they had to be moved so she could go in.   We now can say all the Brugmansias are in their winter spots.  We now can start the huge cut back of the yard and this weekend if weather permits we will be putting on the tarps for added protection.   Right now the fragrance is really strong and so I limit my time in there.   More over the winter months.

Datura seeds

I have these Datura seeds  and here is what I have:

2007 Datura inoxia, small B pod from a small plant.
2009 Datura ferox
2002 Datura tatula 'La Fleur' Lilac
2009 Datura 'Sugar and Cream' from Europe Pods 1 and 2
2010 Datura that is Wild in the PNW

2007 Datmansia X Reverse Variegated Pod B and C-----Pod A sent to Cheryl
2007 Datmansia X D. MM Pod with dark seeds and the other with lite colored seeds, Pod C & D this seed were huge
2008 Datmansia x Datmansia Pod A normal size, Pod B pale seeds, & Pod C were light colored
2008 Datmansia X open Pollinated Pod A dark seeds, Pod B normal color, & Pod C light colored
2008 Datmansia X open pollinated, darkest seeds off pod D
2009 Datmansia self-pollinated Pod A
2009 Cheryl's project Datmansia X Jamaica Yellow gift pod #2
2009 Cheryl's project Metel cross X her Brug looking Datmansis Pod #1
2010 Datmansia X ferox
2011 Datmansia X Datmansia Pods A and B light color seeds, Pod C normal
2011 Datmansia self-pollinated Pod A and B normal
2011 Datmansia X Shorty's Pod A cream colored, Pod B whitest seeds

We have not saved seeds on any of the pods since 2012 but the plant returns, we just enjoy her.  She smells of peanutbutter.

Closing The Gardens!!

It is that time of the year to put all the plants away.  So we are closing the gardens
until next spring. 

Come visit us next April 15th when we reopen.   Watch for our spring plant sale.

Thank you for your support and we hope everyone enjoyed our gardens this year.

Old Rocker

I found an old rocker a lady on CL was going to toss and thought it would make a great
plant chair.  I had the right plant for it!

Sept. 14, 2018

Gardening 101

So you think you want to learn how to garden?

I have been asked many times to start teaching gardening on my blog.  Knowledge is the key to having a great garden and every one is different so this is what makes gardening fun!   To see what folks select to put in their gardens is what makes life interesting.   I tell folks to just drive around and look at the gardens in their area.

I am not a master gardener nor do I have a Horticulture degree.   I have a love and passion for nature, I have learned by asking questions, reading books and listening to what nature is telling me.  Plants can be forgiving if you notice what they are saying to you.   What is your goal for your garden? These are questions you must ask yourself.  Do you have time to give to what you grow?   Start small and watch your garden grow!!  You can do it!! 

When folks come to me and ask where to start, I advise them to purchase the Sunset Garden book for their area.  It is a great resource for any gardener!!  Then there are libraries that have lots of books for one to read and do research.    Remember, gardening is about timing and knowing where plants will thrive.

10/5/18, finally rain!!  It will be a great day to play in the cyber garden today.  At least one won't get wet in here? 

Do you know the last and first dates of frost for your area?  How about the gardening zone you are in?  Do you know your property has many micro climates?  A sheltered area can either provide shade or warmth, it depends on the location.   It's about education of your own place and what will work best in that spot.  Do you know what type of soil and do you know how to test it?  Just some of the basic questions a gardener should know.  Watering is another important part of growing plants.   How much, when and not to over do it.    Do you know the signs of over watering or not enough?

Let's talk lawns for a minute here.  Is you grass green or do you allow it to go brown in the growing season?   Do you mow it once a month?   My bet is you just don't care!!   It's work, right?  NO!!  It is important to have it stay green but again I hear it's work.  Do you know what it means when your grass is blue in color?   That's okay, brown is beautiful, right?   With this years heat, why not just allow it to stay brown.   The rain will bring it back, right?   Think again!!   Dandelions are great?  NO!!   They will spread like wild fire and if you think they only stay in your yard, think again as you have just caused issues for blocks away.   How about thistle, you grow it because it's beautiful and I'm betting you think it's worth it.  Ask your neighbors what they think of it?   This year I can tell you I have dug up more dandelions and thistle than I have the past 30 years of living here.  Now I know why folks use chemicals!!  One flower bed alone had over 40 of these plants!!  Thank you neighbors for being so lazy in caring for your lawns!!   But again it's only your property values we are talking about, right?? 

I was talking to someone that googled our area and they were telling me about all the brown lawns!  Yep folks just google or look at the photos online of your property.  You are hurting the whole area with your lack of care.  Ya never know when photos will be taken.   Mother Nature isn't going to help you out either. 

As a young child I can remember one valuable lesson.  People will talk and if your yard and home isn't a reflection of what you are, you probably don't care about the foot print that you leave on life.
For those that read the Bible, we are the care givers of the world we were placed on, right??   If someone important would knock on your door what would they think of you?   I have been told many times it's nice to come to a home that is well taken care of, it does reflect on you!  It also tells folks that you care and know how to take care of what you own.   So are you being a good neighbor?

Back to gardening and caring for the planet.    Another pet peeve I have is those that put plants in that they do not care for or they allow it to cause issues with neighboring properties or even the County or City you live in.  Let's talk trees here as that is another topic folks scream about.  It's become quite clear that trees have more rights than you might know.  Especially here in WA with the Supreme Court ruling, the lack of knowledge of said trees or the placement on one's property.  Why do folks think they don't cause issues with adjacent properties when they are stupid and plant them on property lines due to they want to enjoy their property and are told they need to plant trees?  Should the laws be looked at and if you allow smaller lots do you honestly think a 80 foot tree is going to work?  Where are the roots going?  Do you have a septic tank and how smart is it to plant a tree on top of the drain field??  If you plant close to the house how smart is that?   Roots will seek out moisture and destroy your foundation.  See education is important when planting any thing that grows and one needs to know just how to maintain the said specie of plant.    Then there is the weather and knowing how deep the roots go.  If you have shallow rooted trees and high winds, don't ya think they will topple over??   Do you know you should prune or wind sail trees to make sure this doesn't happen?   But again it's comes back to knowing what you are buying or what is on the property before you move in.   Did you know you can do research on any given piece of property?
Which brings me back to knowing the soil conditions and what you are buying.    Don't leave it to your neighbors to clean up what your trees leaves.  Be a good neighbor and don't hide behind, "Oh I had no clue our trees were an issue."   You are responsible for your trees!   The county's own website will tell you if you blow your leaves into the street you are littering.  Plus if you do nothing to pick them up and allow them to blow all over the neighborhood, are you truly being a good neighbor?  Here it's folks just don't care and will tell you Mother Nature will do her thing.  It now costs us dearly to do the cleanup as we see them put it into the Stormwater fee.    You are also liable if your leaves cause an accident, so think about it.
 


More to come!!  Time to water the greenhouses..........

Pentunia

A member of the Solanaceae family is grown as an annual and can become leggy and some say should be pinched to make them compact.   But sometime they can get away from a gardener and
really start to look bad.   Did you know you can cut them back and they will regrow?  Yep, I have been doing this for years but let me warn you, they can fry and die if not done right.  Here is one thatI cut back a little over a week ago.  I did two at that time and this one was closer to the huge planter which gave it some shade.  The other got full sun and fried with our 90+ temps this past month.

So if you do cut back do not put them in direct sunshine if your temps are over 80!  I know petunias are to be grown in full sun but believe me, once you cut them back they can die.   Some folks will say these are cheap so why not just replace, if you have a beautiful one and you would like to regrow it, why not give it a try?   When cutting back go to the bottom of the plant and go up two leafs and make a cut.   I would wait a week before fertilizing the plant.   Most books will tell you to fertlize once a month but I do ours weekly.   If you don't want to cut them back and find seeds why not just plant some seeds you have found on the plant?   

If the bees do their job right, the seeds will be green in color until they pop open and turn brown.  When they grown and open, it's time to harvest them and save them for next year.  We here grow a few varieties but try to keep them a distance from the other Solanaceaes that we grow.   Some folks have moved to the Calibrachoa, 'million bells' that appear to look like petunias.   Either can be fun to grow and take about the same care.    With that stated the main goal here is the care and understanding the plant you have selected.    

Time to start Gardening 101?

Newest Passion~~Abutilon

Also known as Flowering Maples, Chinese Bellflowers or Chinese Lanterns

I have been growing these for a few years now due to a gardening friend sharing seeds
but this past year it has really caught the passion for them.  I added several new ones and
looking for anyone with seeds that are willing to share.

A. Pictum Thomsonii

A Bella dwaft Yellow

A. 'Tiger'

A. Souvenir de Bonne


















Wintering these plants:

We have stripped all the leaves and allowed the blooms to stay on.  Here they are in the greenhouse and they take up the whole shelve.   While it's still warm we leave the greenhouse windows open and have seen the humming birds fly in and out to get what they need.  There is always plenty of flowers for them to enjoy.    We also leave the door open on the Brugmansia House and they go as they please in there also until the temps hit the mid 30s.  We then will close up and start heating them.

Will add more when they bloom.

Last Iris To Bloom

Just breath taking!!

Garden Tour Time

I had a request from a couple online garden friends
to see our gardens.  I tried to video but found that the
photos worked best for me.  So grab a nice drink and
enjoy!!  First, we are a working garden here, where we
test plants for folks that need their species tested before
they are named or released.

This is the east side of the property and where
my husband parks his truck in the gravel area off
the east side of the driveway.   I am reworking this
area close to the street.  Currently the rose of sharon
is cut back and regrowing.  I used to have ribbon grass
in this area and looking for something else to go around
the Rose of Sharon, Lady Di, white.

Driveway area where you will find the
growing rows of plants on each side.
The new PVC trellis was June's project
and our hopes it giving the clematis
on either side a place to grow.

This photo is taken from the front center looking towards the house.   I know it's a jungle and it's green!!

This photo is from the south east corner of the
property.  We had to post our property due to the neighbors' kids tossing the ball into the yard and walking into the yard to get the ball.  Also we have watch folks being their animals into the area and use the lawns to do their jobs.   Our yard has toxic plants so please stay out unless you have made an appt.

This is the south side of the driveway, home to Brugmansia, passifloras, clematis, and a lot of the tropical plants.  This area stays pretty warm
and easy to water.

This is the north side of the driveway, more Brugmansia, clematis and Iochroma.

This is the center island, our memorial garden.  Where we have planted many plants that some of our garden friend used to grow in their gardens.
When one passes we try to find something to honor them.

This photo is looking back towards the southeast corner, towards the street.  Note on the right hand side where our beloved White Dogwood
one stood, it was removed after calling in the no dig folks.  So glad we did as the power and cable lines were in that area.  Yes those are Brugmansia in the buckets, makes for easy moving.



Our favorite area to shoot the yard from the driveway looking into the yard.

A better shot of the area where the dogwood once stood.   Next year we should mulch the yard as it's done ever 3 to 4 years.

This is a photo of the bed closest to the house, our variegated Dogwood and in this bed we have a wide variety of plants.  Some of our crosses of Columbine, special dutch irises, perennial hibiscus, what is left of the lilies the squirrels haven't gotten, black mondo grass, and much more.

This photo is looking back at the Clematis on the driveway, which give a nice screen.   We are in hopes when the fence is completed to have some of these in the ground running across the fence.

This photo is looking back towards the front door, this year we decided not to hand the baskets on the eves hooks.   Last year up against the house it got way to hot and I had to water several times a day, the baskets dried out fast.
Up the walkway you will find the special callalilies of all colors.   In front of the wall is several varieties of iris that we have started to cut back.

Here is the southwest corner of the front yard, the wind and rain took the daisy to the ground and I will be cutting them back and making cut flowers for the house with them.

Looking east at the memorial bed.   I will be taking some of the irises out and putting in different colors later this month.

Through the south gate to the veggie garden area, you will find Blueberries, wine grapes, lilacs, south strawberry bed and this years' crop.  We got a really late start due to the cooler then normal weather and snow on the mountain.  They say not to plant until it's gone!  I totally agree this year, we would of lost a lot if we planted sooner.  We are also fighting a loosing battle with the fir spring crap coming from the trees to the west.

I have blown and vac up the area three times and this past week I decided to use more lime on this area and wait until it dried up before vac.   My Toro does a great job picking it up once it's blown out of the beds.  If you zoom in you will see by the wood frame what we deal with as it covers the whole area.  Behind the veggie bed is the over flow bed with our kiwi plants.  The bed by the fence is Hollyhocks that are eaten by the bugs coming out of the fir.   I spray weekly to keep the bugs at bay.

Looking back at the house you will find our south rainbarrels, which we use to water the blue berries and strawberry beds.

Here is the better shot of the over flow bed and out special maple.

Photos were taken on a cloudy day and this is looking north on the west side of the house to the hosta area.  This used to all be Brugmansia gardens in the past but when the neighbor dropped his fence the wind was strong to pull them out of the ground.  We get high north winds and it too will pull our corn up.  Hostas, Hellebores and Peonies are the main focus there now.

Closer to the fence is our collection of Hydrangeas, ferns, to the west side and to the north is Rose of Sharon, irises, yellow azealas.
bananna, and some ground covers.   We have
in the past few years been putting Hollyhocks along the fence to cut the glow.

Sorry these photos are dark but it's life out back with the trees that hang clear into our yard to the top of the roof of the house.  Two of the trees were removed due to they were split and the mess left in our yard was a four day clean up!    They stated the other four will be removed but we aren't holding our breath.   These are fir trees with shallow roots, planted to close together and will come down in wind storms.
We have had damage to our fence now three times!    We love our privacy fence!!

This was taken later in the day when the sun was high and the shot is clearer.  North fence with the wisteria that we are going to train to climb up the trees, thank you to the English cad, for the great idea!!

This is what our living room windows look out
to the west, so peaceful.

This photo is looking to the south of the Hosta bed.

This photo is the north side of the house, shed area, the old swing set with eagle's nest and to the greenhouses.  This is also the area where I
start a lot of the plants due to the shaded area.

The north rainbarrels, that feed the hosta garden beds.

Here is some of the over flow of the plants we have started on the right hand side.  A look at the tropical greenhouse.  We have had to put a tarp over the top duet to the sap and junk coming out of the fir trees on this side of the property.  Yes I have to vac the gravel area to the east of the greenhouse as this is where our dog goes out.

Our beloved Brugmansia House as we call it, it's temporary, the top is removed during the summer months.  The way it's setup, it stays cool in there, made of PVC and 6m plastic.  I know the next question is what is up under the tarp to the right?
It's our son's classic, 1960s Belair.  It is covered due to the junk coming out of the trees.

A look inside at the cuttings and we have moved the Clivia collection to this area for the summer months.  They like it better out here then by the front door.   Another rainbarrel is used out there to keep the temp up in case of a power ourtage and to water.  The black plastic bad holds the cover for the top.

When the top is removed we can hang the eppie collection.  During the winter months these are hung on the PVC frame.

Here is the first baby off our Mom Clivia that was a gift from Dan Heines when we visited their nursery in 2003!  She is the first to
bloom this year.

Here is the mother plant as she is getting ready to send up the flower spike.  She is huge!!

This photo is a look into the tropical greenhouse,
we are still moving plants out, mid June...it's been that cool.  Another rainbarrel that helps keep the temps in the winter month and we water from them!  You will also see our new half rain barrel planters on both sides.  I'll try to get a better photo of them later.

The Northeast rainbarrel and this area is where we start the seeds in the winter months, it's protected in this area.

The tropical greenhouse area and the short path to the gravel.










This is the end of the fast garden tour and we hope you have enjoyed it.  If you want a different photo of an area that you see, let us know so we can add more to give you more details.

Again we are a working garden and yes things do spout legs and move here.  We usually do a spring sale and have many folks asking for a garden tours.   We started giving tours some 6 years ago and that weekend we had over 450+ come tour the gardens in one weekend.   We now do  tours by appt. only.   We do have many folks that drive by and some that walk to the end of the lane to look at the gardens.  If time permits I will stop and give a private tour if asked.    There is so much to see and several gardeners have stated, "it's great to see certain plants growing here."  I do have to warn folks the hummingbirds can really act up so be mindful this is where they come to eat.  We are currently dealing with the rabbits that were miss placed when the farm to the south was developed.   The rabbits have found that they like what is here to eat!!   After over 20 years of no rabbits, we now deal with them.

So if you are in the area and want to tour, let us know!  But remember we are a working garden and know what flowers will be blooming that you want to see.  We do cut back once they are done blooming and you will see spaces empty when this is done.  June 15th the spring bloomers are gone,
Mid July the clematis are cut back, this is also the time the tropicals come out.  Fall is the time we take wood cuttings and we are always collecting seeds! 

We do special requests for plants but you need to know something take time to root.  Any questions please contact.

Sorry but I haven't kept up on the updates here.  Today we covered one garden bed and I have cut back the hosta beds to the west of the house due to the heat we had this past summer.  Most of them
fired even thought I water them.  So I took seeds from a few and planted them!!  Hope to have a fuller Garden next year.    Have been working on the front as I thin out the plants. 

The north side of the driveway.

 South side of the driveway.

 Midway down the south side.

 Another shot of the Brugs.

The memorial front bed.
We had record heat this year, 31 days of above 90 degree
and our yard was the only green one for blocks.    The tropicals went crazy and now that it has cooled we are seeing lots of plants
blooming.