While walking from my car to my office this morning I was greeted by dozens of little jewels glistening in the grass. They were itty bitty spiderwebs. I'm guessing that they're always there, and that I only noticed them today because we had a particularly foggy morning. It's amazing the little surprises that nature can hold. What amazing things have you seen recently in your garden?
P.S. And yes, I promise to add more photos of garden goodness from my trip to Portland! I've just been busy with other work-related projects.
Nature's gems
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Dahlias for the South
Friday, October 10, 2008
I went online to see what I could find about growing dahlias in the South. Apparently there isn't a Florida dahlia society, but I did find the Web site for the Georgia Dahlia Society. It included some great information about dahlias that grow well in the South.
I'm going to join the Georgia Dahlia Society. It's only $27 and you get the newsletter, mentoring from an advanced dahlia grower, $10 in dahlia bucks that you can use at their tuber sales, and much more. What a deal!
Dahlia jackpot
Thursday, October 2, 2008
After the Garden Writers Association conference, I stayed a few extra days in Oregon visiting with my friend Jenny. We walked to the grocery store one night and discovered the mother lode of dahlias, right there in her suburban neighborhood. Needless to say I was intrigued. I even tweeted about it on Twitter.
Emily, Tom and Erin all know how smitten I am with dahlias. I mean, how can you not love flowers that are so richly colored and so beautifully formed? They also feature prominently in the bold gardens of Christoper Lloyd, Sarah Raven and others--the gardens I'd love to emulate.
I admired the yard each time Jenny and I walked to the store, but it wasn't until my last day in Corvallis that I stopped by with my camera. Lo and behold, the gardener himself was out in the yard.
I found out that his name is Art Redfern and that he has been growing dahlias for more than 20 years. He got started with dahlias because his wife's father had grown them. Art now grows more than 250 different dahlia varieties. Wow.
I had a feeling he was growing lots of different types since they're all arranged in gridded beds with plant ID tags.
The East Bed
The West Bed
ID Tag
It was quite an impressive operation for someone who does this as a hobby. And of course, the dahlias themselves were equally impressive.
After I'd chatted with Art for awhile and said that I really ought to be getting back, he asked if I'd like a bouquet to take with me. Well yeah... of course! Like I'm going to turn that offer down!
Jenny came around the corner at this time, no doubt wondering where I had disappeared to. By the time Art was done cutting, Jenny and I both had our arms full of dahlias. You can see all of the ones he gave us in this photo. And yes, they really are that big.
In fact, the large pink one in the center was bigger than my head! Art told us that it's called 'Elsie Huston' and that it's a repeat prize winner at dahlia shows. No surprise there.
It would be a lot of work, but I just might have to see if I could grow some dahlias at home. I know they need a good, rich soil and lots of moisture. Our native soil wouldn't work, but maybe I could amend the soil with bags of composted cow manure or try growing the dahlias in containers. Who knows--maybe I could become the dahlia queen of Florida!
If you're interested in learning more about dahlias, Art recommends the Colorado Dahlia Society.
Emily, Tom and Erin all know how smitten I am with dahlias. I mean, how can you not love flowers that are so richly colored and so beautifully formed? They also feature prominently in the bold gardens of Christoper Lloyd, Sarah Raven and others--the gardens I'd love to emulate.
I admired the yard each time Jenny and I walked to the store, but it wasn't until my last day in Corvallis that I stopped by with my camera. Lo and behold, the gardener himself was out in the yard.
I found out that his name is Art Redfern and that he has been growing dahlias for more than 20 years. He got started with dahlias because his wife's father had grown them. Art now grows more than 250 different dahlia varieties. Wow.
I had a feeling he was growing lots of different types since they're all arranged in gridded beds with plant ID tags.
The East Bed
The West Bed
ID Tag
It was quite an impressive operation for someone who does this as a hobby. And of course, the dahlias themselves were equally impressive.
After I'd chatted with Art for awhile and said that I really ought to be getting back, he asked if I'd like a bouquet to take with me. Well yeah... of course! Like I'm going to turn that offer down!
Jenny came around the corner at this time, no doubt wondering where I had disappeared to. By the time Art was done cutting, Jenny and I both had our arms full of dahlias. You can see all of the ones he gave us in this photo. And yes, they really are that big.
In fact, the large pink one in the center was bigger than my head! Art told us that it's called 'Elsie Huston' and that it's a repeat prize winner at dahlia shows. No surprise there.
It would be a lot of work, but I just might have to see if I could grow some dahlias at home. I know they need a good, rich soil and lots of moisture. Our native soil wouldn't work, but maybe I could amend the soil with bags of composted cow manure or try growing the dahlias in containers. Who knows--maybe I could become the dahlia queen of Florida!
If you're interested in learning more about dahlias, Art recommends the Colorado Dahlia Society.
Now that's my kind of Zone 8!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008The garden tours that we've been going on with GWA2008 have been amazing, save a few logistical snafus. Yesterday we visited Terra Nova Nurseries, which even had cannas and bananas. Can you guess how excited I was?
Apparently they don't sell much of these -- their bread and butter are plants like echinacea, heuchera, and tiarella--most of which won't do well back home). But I was ecstatic to see Zone 8 plants that would work in my Zone 8 garden. So excited, in fact, that I made Emily take my picture in front of said plants.
I've taken hundreds of photos since I got here, but uploading them has been a tedious process. I promise that I'll blog more about all of the fabulous things I've seen once I get home and have a faster internet connection.
And yes, for you punctuation police out there, I am aware that I continue to use exclamation points in my blog post titles. Can I help it that I'm excited about all these cool plants I'm seeing? Did I mention that I have the coolest job ever?
The other Zone 8
Sunday, September 21, 2008We spent yesterday afternoon touring gardens in Northeast Portland. Our Florida gang really enjoyed seeing the gardens and marveled about all of the plants that grow here but don't grow at home, even though both Gainesville and Portland are in Zone 8.
I was drooling over all of the gorgeous dahlias that we saw in every garden we visited. If only I could grow these! Every time I've bought dahlias at home they've died before I could even get them in the ground.
I've got oodles more photos, so I'll be posting more later. Stay tuned.
Greetings from Portland!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
After a looooong day of travel, our group arrived safely in Portland for the Garden Writers Association annual conference. The air here is decidedly cooler and very refreshing, which I find especially helpful given my post-travel grogginess.
This picture is from the planting bed in front of our hotel. The plant palette here is very different from what we have back home in Florida and wonderful to look at. I'll no doubt have more pictures to share after I come back from this afternoon's garden tours.
The educational sessions also start today, and the trade show will wrap up this evening. Here's a shot of Tom Wichman talking to a conference attendee at the FNGLA booth.
This picture is from the planting bed in front of our hotel. The plant palette here is very different from what we have back home in Florida and wonderful to look at. I'll no doubt have more pictures to share after I come back from this afternoon's garden tours.
The educational sessions also start today, and the trade show will wrap up this evening. Here's a shot of Tom Wichman talking to a conference attendee at the FNGLA booth.
The best job ever!
Friday, September 12, 2008
Have I ever mentioned how much I love my job? I get to do such cool things, like attend the annual Garden Writers Association conference next week. Woo-hoo!
Last year's conference was chock full of sessions that offered great information on garden writing. Plus, I got to attend some absolutely fabulous garden tours. Here's a sampling of the photos I took on the garden tours during last year's conference. If my garden looked like these then I'd be set! You can view the whole set on Flickr.
This year's conference is being held in Portland and promises to be equally great. I'll do my best to blog from the conference so that you can see the great gardens too.
Is anyone else out there planning to attend the conference?
Last year's conference was chock full of sessions that offered great information on garden writing. Plus, I got to attend some absolutely fabulous garden tours. Here's a sampling of the photos I took on the garden tours during last year's conference. If my garden looked like these then I'd be set! You can view the whole set on Flickr.
This year's conference is being held in Portland and promises to be equally great. I'll do my best to blog from the conference so that you can see the great gardens too.
Is anyone else out there planning to attend the conference?
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