A never-ending ocean of 4.5 million flowers in Japan via Gizmodo
The Hitachi Seaside Park is one of the most beautiful parks in the planet: A place where millions of flowers grow every year in the most amazing displays of colors imaginable. Here you can see about 4.5 million baby-blue nemophilas blossoming in April—but there’s more, much more.
“Noted” items are particularly good finds from my daily reading which I share via all my social media accounts.
Great Design Plant: Try California Wild Grape for Interest All Year via Houzz
California wild grape is known best for its sensational fall colors, but it is much more than a one-season plant. In spring its silvery leaves and tiny buds emerge from bare vines. In summer the lush foliage with ripening fruit will conceal that undesirable chain-link fence. And in winter it reveals its most interesting feature — its gnarled and peeling vine branches. California wild grape is truly a four-season plant.
As with many vines, this one can grow fast and furiously. Pruning in winter keeps it manageable and lovely. Use it to quickly cover a fence, an arbor or a wall; it can even be used as a ground cover. It works in many situations — wet or dry soil, sun or partial shade, clay or sand — and makes a charming statement throughout the year.
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“Noted” items are particularly good finds from my daily reading which I share via all my social media accounts.
Cheap thrills: my must-have budget garden tools via A Way to Garden
I LOVE FINE GARDEN TOOLS: My edger that has lasted more than 25 years with no signs of wear; my stainless border spade; the long-reach telescoping pruners with precision snipping power from a distance. But I also pack my tool tote with cheap stuff—some under $10—that I couldn’t live without. Things like these:
Some of my favorite gardening tools
Find more garden tools on Amazon.com
2012 Gift Guide: Fields of Plenty: A farmer’s journey in search of real food and the people who grow it
Interesting Plant: Dahlia ‘Clair de Lune’
Garden Alphabet: Freesia
Photo: Passiflora, passiflora fruit and Gulf Fritillary caterpillar
Event and Photos: Altadena Community Garden and Farmers Market
Greenhouse scenes and decor from Garden Gallery
A greenhouse scene I would love to have in my own garden.
Discovered via Garden Gallery on Tumblr
Greenhouse items of all sorts from Amazon.com
I take a look at the new Parrot Flower Power – Wireless Indoor/Outdoor Bluetooth Smart Plant Sensor which I received for free as part of a Klout Perk a few weeks ago. I’ve had it in the garden, monitoring an avocado seedling and gather data on water, fertilizer, sunlight and temperature using the iOS app on my iPhone.
Check out my collection of gardening essays, “From A Gardener’s Notebook” now available as a Kindle eBook. (You don’t need a Kindle to read it, though. Read it on your PC, Link: http://j.mp/fagnbook
Watch all past episodes of “In the garden…” in this YouTube Playlist
Music: “The One” by the Woodshedders (http://musicalley.com)
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“In the garden…” is a series for A Gardener’s Notebook highlighting what is happening in my garden, my friend’s gardens and California gardens throughout the seasons.
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Container Garden Update 41: Pots are filling up, radishes go to seed and time to harvest
Video: In the garden…November 17, 2013: Monitoring automatic watering timers and soaker hoses
Video: In the garden…January 7, 2014: Pruning the wisteria
Summer in the Garden: PHAT TOMMY Elevated Planter Box
Video: Places LA: The Getty Villa – Montage
Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum × superbum)
Found along another walk in the neighborhood this week. I especially liked the white daisies with the purple centers. They almost seemed to glow in the sunshine.
Photo: Douglas E. Welch, A Gardener’s Notebook
Leucanthemum × superbum (or Shasta daisy) is a commonly grown flowering herbaceous perennial plant with the classic daisy appearance of white petals (ray florets) around a yellow disc, similar to the oxeye daisy Leucanthemum vulgare Lam but larger. Formerly classified in the genus Chrysanthemum, these daisies were transferred to their own genus of Leucanthemum because they lack some traits of true Chrysanthemum species. Shasta daisies are characterized by a distinct odor which some find unpleasant, which makes them unusual amongst flowers.
It originated as a hybrid produced in 1890 by the American horticulturist Luther Burbank, Leucanthemum lacustre (Brot.) Samp. × Leucanthemum maximum (Ramond) DC. It was named after Mount Shasta, because its petals were the color of the snow. Some members of the genus are considered noxious weeds, but the Shasta daisy remains a favorite garden plant and groundcover.
Many cultivars are suitable for cut flowers, such as ‘Becky’, ‘Esther Read’, ‘Silberprinzesschen’ (Silver Princess), ‘Snow Lady’, ‘Tinkerbell’, ‘Wirral Pride’, ‘Wirral Supreme’. The cultivar ‘T.E. Killin’[1] has gained the Royal Horticultural Society‘s Award of Garden Merit. — Wikipedia.org
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** Some of these books, and more, may be available at your local library. Check it out!
Previously in Flowering Now:
I am always keeping a eye out for decent products for my own garden — even if they are just for my wish list. Over the course of the next few weeks, I’ll be highlighting a series of products that might fit in my garden — or yours! — Douglas
Decorative containers are always a nice touch in the garden. We have recently turned one bed along the side of our house into a container garden, as the soil and conditions of this area didn’t seem very good for growing anything. I love cobalt blue in everything from dishes to clothing, so I could easily see these in my own garden.
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Previously in Summer in the Garden:
Flowering Now: Nasturtium
Noted: New Ways to Think About All That Mulch in the Garden via Houzz
Noted: Shopper’s Diary: Bleuet Coquelicot in Paris by Michelle Slatalla via Gardenista
Garden Decor: A Face in the Fence from Boyle Sculptures
Photo: Brunfelsia and Clytostoma cuttings on kitchen windowsill
Zaluzianskya villosa “Southern Lilac Drumsticks”
Another striking plant that could conceivably fit into my garden. the description say sit want high heat in the summer, which we certainly have around here, although it has been unseasonably cool the last few weeks. I am attracted to this flower by the purple color, which is one of my favorites and also the unique petal shape.
Photo: Annie’s Annuals
Discovered via Pinterest User Rachel Urick
Zaluzianskya is a genus of flowering plants now regarded as being a member of the Scrophulariaceae, the figwort family. The genus is endemic to Southern Africa and includes some described sixty species.[2]
Superficially the shape of the flowers is strikingly phlox-like, hence the designation ‘Night Phlox’, for their evening fragrance. The fragrance after dark suggests that in nature the species in question are pollinated by moths, whereas day-pollinated species often have little or no obvious scent. Research is in progress on the ecological and evolutionary relationships between some members of the genus and specialist long-tongued pollinators, particularly night flying hawk moths (Family Sphingidae) and flies in the families Nemestrinidae, Tabanidae, and Bombyliidae.[5][6][7] Day-flying hawk moths, such as the genus Macroglossum (Hummingbird Hawk Moths) also seem to be significant pollinators of many species of Zaluzianskya. — Wikipedia.org
Previously in the Interesting Plant series:
Interesting Plant is a series from A Gardener’s Notebook blog and podcast that highlights the most interesting plants I find in my Internet and real-world travels — Douglas
“Not everyone has the time, space or ability to start their own gardens. You can brighten not only your life but the lives of countless others by sharing the “fruits” of your labors. Bring people into your garden or take a part of your garden to them.“
From A Gardener’s Notebook by Douglas E. Welch DouglasEWelch.com
Buy or Download a sample of From A Gardener’s Notebook via Amazon.com
Find more gardening books and items in the WelchWrite Bookstore from Amazon.com
* A portion of each sale from Amazon.com directly supports our blogs
Previously from A Gardener’s Notebook:
Big Foliage for Small Spaces via Houzz
An exceptional garden is one that embraces and celebrates the unexpected. This can be a challenge in the smaller, more urban gardens that are becoming the norm for many of us. One way to inject unexpected interest into your small space is by introducing plants with large foliage.
“Noted” items are particularly good finds from my daily reading which I share via all my social media accounts.
Find more Noted/Shared Gardening items
Noted: Y for Yucca via Crafty Gardener
Gardens can be beautiful or productive and are often both at the same time. — from A Gardener’s Notebook ebook
Noted: Before & After: A California Yard Made Easy via Studio G
Flowering Now: Daylily (Hemerocallis)
Noted: How to Design a Great Garden on a Sloped Lot from Houzz.com
