Bees Knees and Bachelor's Buttons

I followed this bee as he went to every Bachelor's Button flower in my garden...avoiding all kinds of other nice flowers- he was only interested in the Bachelor's Buttons. I didn't realize they are so appealing to bees- good to know.

I wonder what kind of honey that'll make?...Maybe blue?

Crumpled Skies

This Season's Container Plantings

Here are some images of the container plantings I did this season for a business complex in St. Paul. I went with bold colors, red, orange, purple, trying to make it look dark, warm, untamed, informal, exciting, and unique. I mixed many things together to see which plants would grow bigger and push out the others.

TRICKS: I added some flower seeds into the combo pots, so that new things keep sprouting up through the season. ...Also, I mixed a climbing vine (cardinal vine) into a hanging basket, so it goes up and hangs down at the same time...AND in a neglected back area, where I know nobody will water, I planted seeds only of drought tolerant flowers like zinnia, cosmos, and marigold. They are big and blooming now without much care.

My challenges were making it look like something in the spring when it was too cold still for some of the plant varieties...and when the plants were freshly planted, making sure the person in charge of watering doesn't neglect them.

Each year, I try new combinations...this year I was trying to avoid yellow, blues, and whites. Maybe next year I'll do the opposite...we'll see.

We still have at least a month of growing in MN before the temps start to drop; so these plants will get bigger, and in some cases, more leggy.

I like to plant pots with stuff that gets huge. For something experimental, I planted this obnoxious turquoise pot with a variegated Japanese corn!

Beautiful Lake Superior

Gogol Bordello- Awesome Show !!

PollenAntTion

LEAF ME ALONE

CLIENT: "Can I ask for your advice on a little tree I just planted"?

ME: "Sure".

CLIENT: "It's a cherry tree...I don't know if I'm supposed to do something".

ME: "Did you BUY it like this"?

CLIENT: "Yes, but it did have a couple leaves on it when I bought it".

ME: "It should have fully leafed out by now, and should have bloomed".

CLIENT: "What do you think is wrong with it"?

ME: "Uh,...Death".

Jump and Chive...

Rock The Garden

" The Current" radio station and the Walker Art Center present Rock the Garden

Saturday, June 21, 2008 4-11 p.m. in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

Featuring Andrew Bird, The New Pornographers, Cloud Cult, and Bon Iver.
Singer-songwriter Andrew Bird and band top a Rock the Garden bill that also features Canadian indie-rock supergroup The New Pornographers (featuring A.C. Newman, Blaine Thurier, Dan Bejar, John Collins, Kathryn Calder, Kurt Dahle, and Todd Fancey) and the eco-conscious Twin Cities favorite Cloud Cult

Opening the event is Bon Iver, an emerging soulful lo-fi folk solo artist from northwest Wisconsin who was one of the major hits of the South by Southwest Festival this month.
This all-ages, rain-or-shine street party will feature live broadcasts from DJs of 89.3 The Current, an array of outdoors summer food (including crepes from Vincent and fresh food from Chipotle), and beer from Summit Brewing Company!! The party starts at 4 pm.

This is the Cowles Conservatory on the grounds of the Sculpture Garden.Tickets to Rock the Garden are sold out!!!

Give Me Pearls

The University of Minnesota has developed many many hardy plants for our zone 4 climate. Thanks to the U of MN, we have great apples such as 'HoneyCrisp' and a series of Azaleas called 'Northern Lights'. One interesting plant that not many people know about is: Exochorda serratifolia,

common name: Pearlbush 'Northern Pearls'.

This variety was released in 1995. At first glance, you'd think it's a mockorange, but there's no fragrance, and the Pearlbush has PEARLS! The flower buds look like a string of pearls. The flower shape is strange too- not the same as Mockorange.

The woody shrub grows to 8-10 feet tall. The flowering is on the top, like a mockorange or lilac. The best time to see it is right now, when you have bud and bloom at the same time.

Here's the site for Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station http://www.maes.umn.edu/

ORANGE CRUSH

I'm Not That Desperate

Gardeners are crazy in the spring...In St. Paul Minnesota, there's a plant sale each spring, put on by "The Friends School", a Quaker school in St. Paul. About 90% of the students are non-Quaker. This plant sale is so huge, it's held at the State Fairgrounds...and even then, it's totally packed...hundreds of crazy gardeners show up with wagons, carts, and wacky contraptions to hold the plants they plan to purchase.

Luckily, the organizers have developed a very smart system of lining people up, using wrist bands, and moving huge crowds into the sale, but even with all that, I waited with my mother for 1 hour in line before even going inside. It was my Mom's idea to check out this sale...and I have heard about the long lines...but an hour waiting outside was too much for her. She has a bad knee, and metal plate inside her leg...in addition to being over 70. So, we just had to leave without even getting into the sale.

It is a very impressive event, and I'm sure a lovely school, but I don't think I'll go again. Shopping for plants should not be an experience like that. I have only waited that long for Prince tickets. There are many other nice little plant sales around town where you don't have to subject yourself to cattle herding. If you go next year, bring a folding chair, and a picnic lunch. Do not bring small children-- they would freak out waiting that long.

http://www.friendsschoolplantsale.com/

When You Look...

You Find

This is a plant I find rather boring and cumbersome...a yellow-flowering Lonicera- Honeysuckle vine. I took a closer look to see if it has any hidden beauty.

And this is one of those boring old burgundy-leaf maples...maybe "Royal Red" or some other.

This is his shining moment...take a good look.