Rue

     Just adopted a Rue plant, also know as Ruta. I am not too familiar with this plant but it is a plant that goes back to biblical times and has many stories within itself.  It is said to have remedies and medicinal purposes but that might be archaic with modern medicine.
     Never the less, the persuasion from a stubborn old gardener for me to grow this plant has given me the drive to give it a chance. It has a nice aroma when rubbed in between your hands.

     It is also known to drive away unwanted bugs and critters. I took stem cuttings and they are now soaking in water to see if they can develop roots. 

I will get more information on this plant as I find it. 

  

Gardner Lake Update - 04/21/12

      I spent this past Friday and Saturday up at Gardner Lake working in my garden.  On my way up I stopped off at a yard sale at a farm with some real friendly folks.  The farm was called "pequeña granja", translated from Spanish meaning "small farm".
     If I am wrong with the name please correct me.  It was off of route 82 east of Salem four corners.

     

The owners gave me a small tour of the grounds and in return I gave them some seedlings I started.

 Hopefully I will get some of this rhubarb.

The picture doesn't really do any justice for those beautiful flower heads coming out that look like funfetti.

 That is what I call a "Meat Cooker"

   

The following pictures are of the current conditions at Gardner Lake. 

 Looking towards Big Rock Beach

Sandy Beach in below picture

 "Big Rock Exposed"

Garden Pictures from Cabin- 04/21/12

Williams Way

 Dicentra 'Alba'

 Leopard's Bane

Foam Flower

Seedling availability

Here is a list of perennials, annuals and other misc plants.  I have seedlings with most plants for now or will be ready within the next few weeks.  If you are interested, please let me know. They are free of charge of course within arms reach without having to ship.  Will take trades with plants you have if possible. Fair is fair.

Zinnia seedlings-multiple varieties
Canna bulbs and seeds-green leaf- red flower- pictures posted on this blog
Sunflowers- Mammoth Russian and Teddy Bear varieties
Ironweed- Latin is 'Vernonia'- great late bloomer with large structure.
4'oclocks-seedlings and seeds-easy germination
Castor bean plant- only a couple limited- *please research before requesting
Kerria- golden guinea-offshoots
Baptisia
Snake Gourd-Interesting fall plant
Asclepias tuberosa- seeds-easy germination
Morning Glory-You name color- I have it- seeds and seedlings
Ligularia Desdemona- seedlings and seeds
Viburnum- double file seedlings-fast grower
Purple Amaranth-seeds-weed like, but great plant- please see picture on this blog
Tobacco plant-seeds
Bee Balm root cuttings-multiple colors
Foxglove seedlings
Forget-me-nots
Bishops weed seedlings
Liatris seedlings
Pee Gee Hydrangea seedlings
Rose of Sharon seedlings- your guess of color with all the cross pollination.
Cosmos- Just started seeds- Plant was 5 feet high in full sun last year. I have extra seeds
Rudbeckia- 'Herbstsonne'
Bleeding Heart- seedlings
Columbine-seedlings
Amsonia- Blue Star- seedlings
Callicarpa-American beauty berry- small plants
Gooseneck Loosestrife- lysimachia clethroides - root cuttings and plants-do research.
Chameleon Plant- Houttuynia cordata 




That is it for now- will continue with more as I germinate more seeds or find more babies.

I have some very limited varieties I have started which i haven't listed due to getting established for next years crop.  Feel free to ask, I might have it.  

*Please accept the fact that some spelling might be off with plant descriptions. 

Soaking Seeds

     Most hard shell plant seeds need some sort of soaking in water at least overnight to make sure germination is a success.

I have recently been working with canna lily seeds, morning glory seeds, and Four o'clock s.

The canna seeds I have been attempting to germinate need some help.  I have been scraping them using a cheese grater.  I do this while holding the seed with pliers to expose the inner white layer. 

  I soaked the canna lily seeds for about a day or two.  I also throw into the same water some morning glory and 4 o'clock s seeds not nicked but you can take a sharp knife and nick them if you want which I find to work just as well.  I have found sometimes it doesn't hurt or help either way.

 I even just started some castor bean seeds too as well.  I soaked them for a day in a different water container due to its extreme toxicity.

Here is a peat pot with my newly germinated canna lily seeds.

 

My little greenhouse getting overloaded with seed trays and pots of various seedlings.

 

 Once again I have a big surplus of the three seeds mentioned in start of this post. 

The below picture is of the canna lily being discussed.

 

Early Spring Garden Pictures

I took a few Pictures with nothing much blooming but with a lot of promise with this new deer fence installed.

A dense mat of bee balm making its way outside its boundaries which is always the case.

Yellow flowering plant in all pictures is Kerria Golden Guinea.

I bought this plant from a grower in Maryland back in 2003 before it was even on the radar.

Now I am seeing it in a lot of nurseries this spring for some reason.  

Reason being that it is a fast grower and spreader very similar to Forsythia.

Actually its been one of the most easily propagated plants I have worked with.

  

 Will someone please buy that sailboat in the background or we are going to create an artificial reef in the lake for a fisherman's paradise.

Gardner Lake Update

I am thinking by this picture, we will be needing a lot of RAIN soon.

Upcoming Posts

I will be going into the great wooded area of Eastern Connecticut for the next couple days and will come back with plenty of informative information related to the horticultural world so stay tuned.

I am sure I will have plenty to post when I get back.

Lasdon Park Arboretum and Veterans Memorial- April 7th

Lasdon Park Arboretum and Veterans Memorial

Update 04/07/12

Decided to make it a monthly visit to make a post on seasonal progression with the development of the landscape display and yearly evolution.

Didn't take too many pictures this time around.  Wasn't much of a change with plants blooming with this weird weather.

Following English Garden has been the biggest change worth focusing on.

Grape Hyacinth