growLively

Time to Plant: Bulbs!

Ok guys...it's time to start buying and planting bulbs! Yay! Perennial bulbs such as daffodils, muscari, leucojum, anemone's, Dutch iris and much more are arriving at NHG and you can start planting them now through fall. Tulips and hyacinth are also arriving and will go straight into our special bulb cooler. Tulips and hyacinth require a vernalization, a chilling period if you will, at temps around 45-50 degrees F before they will initialize a flower bud upon return to warmer temps. Our soil temps are not consistently cool enough through winter to give them a natural vernalization in our climate. So, you have to chill them for about 8-10 weeks in fall, and then plant them in December. Usually, the third week of December is the optimal time to plant in the DFW area. You'll need to plant them when soil temps hit 50F or less, which usually happens after Thanksgiving. Get them in the ground no later than the first week in January. Plant tulips deep!!!!!!! That means 6-8 inches from the top of the bulb to the soil level. If you purchase bulbs with NHG we'll store them in our cooler and call you when it's time to plant. There are requirements for this process so ask about our bulbs storage next time you come in. So start planning your bulbs display now and get your favorite varieties!

Rain lilies blooming...

It's always a nice surprise when the rain lilies start blooming. I have a few different species in my garden but this one is the most vigorous (Zephyranthes candida). I have a lovely hybrid called 'Autumn Sunset' with the prettiest peach blooms given to me by my friend Jimmy. I just noticed a couple of buds on it yesterday. Rain lilies are really tough and versatile and you can plant them amidst herbaceous perennials, other bulbs and even turf. While they'll bloom sporadically through summer, the biggest flush of blooms on this species usually comes in spring and again in fall. The bulbs are tiny so they're easily inter-planted into groundcovers like liriope and mondo grass. Some have a light pleasant fragrance. They multiply by bulb and seed.

Time to Plant...Naked Ladies

Yes..that's what I said. lol. For those of you less familiar with the colorful common name for Lycoris radiata, otherwise known as surprise lilies or spider lilies, they are often referred to as such because the bloom stalks preceed the foliage. They are a fall blooming bulb (blooming right now as a matter of fact) but are usually not available in garden centers during spring.  You should find them in the garden center now. You'll find the classic red, Lycoris radiata as well as the less common yellow strain of the species. You'll also find the pink species, Lycoris squamigera. Plant them in the fall and you'll have blooms the following fall. Occasionally, bulbs you plant right now might shoot up a bloom this October, but no guarantees. Beeeeautiful.

August Garden Lovelies...

Yes, you can actually have some beauty in the August garden, despite the scorching heat! Here are a few of my August garden lovelies...

A fragrant pale cream daylily I've forgotten the cultivar name for and a weeping dwarf crapemyrtle entwined with sky vine (Thunbergia grandiflora) 

Echinacea 'Sunset' flanked with Angelonia 'Serena Purple', 'Tamora' Rose and Salvia guaranitica 'Black & Blue'

 

Salvia 'Mystic Spires' and dwarf Philippine lily

 

A bright spot in the August garden...Philippine Lily

August is usually when I go on a "gardening vacation"...it's just so darn hot here! (Although we have been getting some unexpected and very welcome rain the last few days.) Because I'm just not going to do a whole lot of work out there right now, I plant a few perennials that I know will look great in the heat and drought, even if for just the month of August. My favorite "August only" bloomer is the Philippine Lily (Lilium formosanum). It looks just like an Easter lily and has the most wonderful fragrance. The bright white blooms look fantastic in the evening and at night, so plant in areas where you might sit outside at those times. Once established they don't take a lot of water (in fact they'll rot on you with too much), can be planted in full sun and look great with other late summer bloomers like salvias and Mexican petunias.They'll bloom for about three weeks, which may not seem long but is totally worth it. Plants usually start blooming the very end of July and bloom through mid-August, in the DFW area.

Philippine lilies are a bit obscure, so it can sometimes be difficult to find the tubers. Once you have them, they can be multiplied by division of the tubers or the many seed the plants produce. The typical variety grows large, up to about 5 or 6 feet tall. The one I have in my garden is a rare dwarf variety that gets about 3 to 3 1/2 feet tall only. I procured this through my plant geek network and haven't actually seen the dwarf readily available for sale many places. But I'm going to collect a bunch of seed from it in a few weeks and we'll start propagating it up at North Haven Gardens.

Spring Blooms

A few spring bloomer updates...

The crazy beige Iris I have have yet to identify...

Rose 'Abraham Darby'

Louisiana Phlox 'Blue Moon'

Spanish Bluebells

Spanish Bluebells, Hyacinthoides hispanica, are blooming in North Texas now. These are one of my favorite perennial bulbs here. Anything that falls into the "blue" category will get at least one shot in my garden. These are great for naturalizing in perennial beds, groundcover beds or even turf. They'll tolerate some afternoon shade. Purty.

Spring Color

Just a few more shots of the progression of spring color...

 

Spring bloomers update...

As it warms up, the garden is really starting to pop (as are the weeds....)
I usually plant mid- to late- blooming daffodils, so they are just now starting to come into bloom. 'Thalia' my favorite white triandrus narcissus has just put out its first two blooms. They are also fragrant. 'Tete a Tete' is a great little fragrant jonquil. I love working edibles into the ornamental garden for the cool season. Curled parsley, bronze fennel and Swiss chard are great for this - and you get to harvest. Summer snowflake, Leucojum aestivum, is in full bloom. Anemone 'Mr. Fokker' is blooming in a few places in the garden as well.