Tag: perennials

What I Bought at The Nursery

I shop for annuals once a year, usually at the end of May or beginning of June – like most other people who live in New England. If we shop too early, the plants have to wait somewhere until all chance of frost has passed. OR, they can go into the cold ground and take their chances. All plants cost too much to risk dying in a freeze, and I can’t be bothered to go out and cover my plants. I just wait and try to get them into the ground at the correct time. And slowly but surely I am learning how to garden in the north.

potted plants on the tailgate
Home From a Trip to The Nursery

So on my recent trip to “House by the Side of the Road”, this is what I came home with (my hanging fuchsia was on the front seat):

Tray on the left: Celebrity tomatoes:  These grew the best in last years vegetable garden.  I grew 5 varieties and these and the grape tomatoes were wonderful.  (I also bought grape tomatoes).  Pink Wave petunias- I guess these are a specialty because they were quite pricey – but I will use them in my hanging baskets.  I got six and will divide them between at least 3 baskets.  (These are plastic basket hangers I have kept from previous years).

Tray with flowers:  Zinnias, 3 packs of Marigolds (always have in my veggie garden), Cosmos (faves of mine) and Red Star impatiens – reddish pink and white stripes.

On the right are the perennials:  Right in front, with that big bud, is the Oriental Poppy.  To the left is the Monk’s Hood, and to the right is the Joe Pye Weed.  In the back are two hostas.

I plan to buy more perennials this Fall when the prices come down.  I especially want more Peonies to go around my deck, or maybe some new varieties of hydrangeas.

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The First Flowers of Spring: Helloborus “Emma” Picture

early spring flowers
Spring Promise “Emma”

I have never grown a helleborus in my yard until this year. I bought two of this type of perennial last fall and put them out front.   I was looking for plants that like shade and these were in the shade lovers section at the nursery.

It’s late April as I write this and both the Lenton Rose and Spring Promise (pictured) have numerous flowers. The blooms tend to droop and face downward but the leaves stayed on all winter long! I did have to trim a few of the dead leaves to clean it up, but they do seem to be very hardy.

This one called “Emma” has such pretty flowers and the other one I planted has more greenish blooms. I’m glad I have added these to my landscape. It’s nice to go outside so early in the season up here in New England and see flowers! Not even my tulips have bloomed yet.

Deadheading Old Hydrangea Blooms: What Time of Year is Best?

dead spring hydrangea flower
dried hydrangea on stem

Last summer was the first time I planted my own hydrangea shrubs in the yard. I planted six shrubs which were a combination of the macrophylla and paniculata variety and had flowers that were blue, white, pink and somewhat green by summer’s end.
Because hydrangeas last so long on the bush, I just let them continue to change and fade and eventually dry out on their stems. I left them alone over the winter and some of the dried heads fell off, but some stayed attached until this spring.
So when is the best time to remove the flower heads? Unlike some other perennial and annul plants, the hydrangea does not need dead-heading to flourish. The dried flowers look just fine and even add some interest against the winter snow.
But, I have decided to remove the dead flowers next Fall. My shrubs are all quite small and the snow on the flowers tended to pull the stems down and bury the stalks under all that snow. With just the stems left on the shrub, the snow should not be able to do as much damage.
So that is my plan for the end of the growing season this year.

Hydrangea Clean Up: Trimming The Dead Ends

hydrangea growth in spring
Growth on Old Wood

Now that the hydrangeas have sprung back from the weight of the snow, I realize I have some trimming and pruning to do. I leave the dead flowers on the stalks over winter, but now they need to be removed. Some branches are broken, but I know that they will fill in quickly with new growth.

Some hydrangeas bloom on new growth so you don’t want to trim those in Spring, or you may be cutting off the blooms. Some bloom on old wood – the stems that were there last year. And some will bloom on both.

This is my “Endless Summer”, a small shrub that I planted last Spring and it bloomed profusely even though it never grew very large.  This year I expect it will grow larger and lots of blue flowers.  The dead flowers are still showing at the end of the stalks and I will be cutting them off.

Experimenting With A Climbing Hydrangea

potted hydrangea plants
New Hydrangea Plants -bought in 2012

I don’t have a picture of one, but maybe one day I will – the climbing hydrangea will be something new to play with this summer.

From what I’ve read about the climbing hydrangea (and there are many types – and I am researching which one I may want), is that it is a hardy perennial and gets very large. Anyone wanting a climbing hydrangea will need a very sturdy structure for it to cling to.

I had never thought about trying to grow this type, but my new house has a tall, ugly tree trunk in the side yard. I can only guess that the tree broke off in our horrific ice storm a few years ago and left this part of the trunk standing. Fortunately the tree broke away from the house because it was one very big tree and parts of the top are laying in the woods near the base.

But, I think it may be a good spot to grow a climbing hydrangea. The area will get some sun, but not much and that is my main concern. If climbing hydrangeas need sun, it won’t see much until it begins to climb the tree.

I called a local nursery yesterday to ask if they have the climbing hydrangeas and they do! It’s the House By The Side of The Road in Wilton, NH and it’s the same place I bought my 6 new plants last Spring around Mother’s Day, which is a great time to shop for the newest selection of hydrangeas.

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Mothers Day is The Time to Shop For Hydrangeas

Image

Finally — it’s hydrangea buying time – almost.  In May it seems that the stores and nurseries get their shipments of hydrangeas in just in time for Mother’s Day. So the weekend and week just before the holiday is an excellent time to shop for hydrangeas.

Last year was the first time I had bought the plants myself.  That’s the Endless Summer blue in my picture and it did give me some very pretty light blue flowers. My yard is still in desperate need of landscaping, but it should be in better shape this year once my plants come into bloom.   Last season I had hoped to find a variety of colors to choose from and I was not disappointed!

Last May I bought six hydrangea plants at The House By The Side of The Road in Wilton, New Hampshire and I only stopped there (at six) because my cart was full!

They offered a wide selection to choose from and all of them looked very lush and healthy.  I expected to pay a lot since hydrangeas are popular flowers, but the pricing was reasonable I thought and ranged from $29.99 to $36.99 each and they were large plants.

hydangeas in pots
Newly purchased hydrangeas in pots

I have a lot of shade in my yard, but fortunately hydrangeas can take the shade – as long as they do get some sun.  So this is the year I will see just how well they took to spending winter in my yard.

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