Trending!

As consumers, we are bombarded with "New Trends", the "Latest Trends" and "What's Trending".

So let's get basic first.  Webster's definition of trend is (1) "The general course or prevailing tendency. (2) "Style; vogue".

And my definition of trend is (1) "Someone's effort to make you think you need to buy their product."  (2)  There is no two.

Its advertisement folks - marketing; it's about the big sell.  

I'm not saying don't buy something that's trending.  I'm saying you should realize you're being hustled.  If you know you're being hustled and still want something - then go for it.  

If you still doubt trending as a marketing plan, think the latest and greatest cell phones.  Hustle hustle hustle.

Trending is most evident in the fashion industry because, face it, if fashion never changed, we would never buy new and we'd still be happy with our parents' double knit plaid suits.  And the clothes manufacturers/designers would go broke.  

Trending also happens in the garden world - every year - every spring - as sure as weeds come up, so does a new trend.

Fashion's Pantone's Color of the Year 2019 is Living Coral.  Expect to see it or variations in garden stores and nurseries.




How does a garden trend work?  

• It might be a new breakthrough in hybridizing.  One example would be ruffles on daylily edges.  
• An opportunity to up the asking price of what has been an older plant.  This was done with petunias.    
• A genetic advancement.  Example is mildew resistant plants.
• An effort to bring back a plant after a particularly bad disease nearly eliminated it from consumers want lists. Think impatiens a few years ago.
• Then there is the whole color trend.  A different color of whatever is introduced as "color of the year".  The orange years - the chartreuse - all colors are cycled through as new.
• The high pressure trends try to make you feel you HAVE to have the new to be as good as your neighbors, to sell your house, to entertain, look successful and the list goes on. 
• And one of the big bucks is design trends.  Brickwork, stone, pools, black mulch, outdoor kitchens, pots the size of elephants, water features and environmental sensitivity.  Remember the koi fish fad.  

Did you bite on any trends?  I sure have.  Some I've tried and continued to love through years.  Others, I started small and realized it was a hustle and my interest died about the time as other gardeners.

One way to evaluate if it's a marketing trend or if it's a "make my garden better trend" is understanding what you want from your garden.  These are mine:  

Stick to my spending budget.  Or try to...

Be realistic about how much labor I can or want to do.

Will it make my garden better.

Does it look good with my home and property.

Does it make me happy. 

😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

  

A Vase is a Vase is a Vase

Handblown vase/pitcher

Apparently, the way you pronounce VASE depends on how much it's worth.  Mine are definitely pronounced with a long "A".

A highly expensive vase should not hold real flowers and water; it will diminish the value.  With a couple of exceptions, my vases are clearly OK with water and flowers.  

Large blown vase goes with any color

I've given most of my leftover florist vases to the Salvation Army thrift store.  And speaking of thrift stores!

Most of my vases are thrift store finds or repurposed from things not originally meant to hold flowers.  Here's how I deem a thrift store vessel worth the purchase:

1. The glass is lead crystal and either carved or etched.
2. The glass is hand blown.
3. The shape serves a specific purpose or specific flower.
4. It's too darn cute to pass up. 

An old perfume bottle that sits on my window sill.

Some hints that help - although not always true:

1A.  Lead glass is usually very heavy, the carved edges are sharp and held up to the light, it will may have rainbows and sparkle.

2A.  Blown glass is often heavy or at least thick, many with patterns and colors and the base will be thicker.

3A.  An unusual bud vase or has a small opening.  The top is wide enough/bowl shallow enough to float a flower.  It will hold short stems without overpowering.  

4A.  Often the fun ones.  A teacup, soap dish, teapot, enamelware, wine glass, old medicine bottle, anything cobalt blue and on and on.

Large blue blown vase - one of my best finds.

Reject any of these:

Deep foggy water stains especially on clear glass.  These can be impossible to eliminate no matter how many hints you read on line.

Any cracks.  Chips may not matter but a crack will eventually leak water or totally come apart.

Little vintage pitcher

Any colored container where the color is painted on the outside.  It will scratch and all you'll have left is a nasty looking piece of glass.

Iron or rust stains.  If they don't show on the outside and you don't care, then no harm.  

If it's top heavy.  Add flowers to a top heavy vase/container and it will topple over at the slightest movement.

Other considerations:

Pottery or clay vessels must have a saucer under them if there's water or damp soil inside.  Even if they have the bottom glazed, there is a risk of water spotting your tables.  They also tend to scratch wood.  

Blown glass bud vase

Enamel ware will leak if there is a spot where the enamel has been chipped.  Look for a black spot (often round) and this will be where there will eventually be a leak.  Also, if there's a spot or line with the color rust.  The enamel protects the metal from corrosion.

Some thrift shops are charging more for items than you can get at places like dollar stores, Marshalls/Home Goods/TJMax and on line sales.  Get to know what's reasonable.

Simple little wine glass 

Antique shops will almost always have a great selection of vintage vases.  If it's a popular style and by a famous maker, it may be expensive.  Fact is, antique vases are a hard sell and they can be priced to move.

The whole "shabby chic" trend was an unfortunate title for what can be some really lovely vendettas encompassing vases.

A footed vegetable dish - I've had over 50
years and always perfect to float flowers.

Vases for Mid Century Modern or other minimalist interiors are currently very inexpensive in the Midwest.  Look for the colors of that period.  Many are a statement piece along with providing a vase for flowers.      

Enjoy fresh flowers and greenery and give them a vase just as beautiful.   

 

The most expensive vessel for flowers in today's
article cost $5. (the large blue)  It doesn't cost
much to have beautiful vases.

    

Happy Talk

I know I've sung the song from the movie South Pacific in other writings, but I tend to sing it whenever I'm writing about a pretty flower.  I'm happy talking about Gladiolus aka Glads today.

The folks from the Friends of Old Bulbs Gazette at Old House Gardens, had several new articles about Gladiolus and I again was singing my happy song.

If you're only familiar with big box glads or ones from the florist, you're in for a treat when seeing some of these older varieties in all their amazing colors and patterns.

These pictures are from their catalog and prepare to be amazed:

Rarest "Green Lace" 1961

Rarest "Star Face" 1960

"Atom" 1946

"Wine and Roses" 1976

I'm not a commercial for Old House Gardens, but, their newsletter, plants and "reason for being" are commendable.  Take a look at their latest newsletter and you'll be singing happy talk, too.

NOTE:  If you want to know more about Gladiolus, see my article #437 written in 2012.  

NOTE #2:  Sorry if the formatting is odd today.  Google is eliminating and changing some of their blog widgets.  Reviews say it's been a messy process.  I had to simply delete some of this just to get it to work.  Maybe Google is caught up in their own polar vortex.    

Pecking Order Indeed

Here in west central Illinois we've had over two foot of snow in January.  In addition, record setting temperature and wind chills.  It's a good thing to keep the bird feeder filled.

Birds have built in systems to keep them from death during cold weather (at least the ones that stick around our area.)  That doesn't mean a nasty bit of weather won't cull out the weak.  Keeping a bird feeder filled with sunflower seeds and some corn is helpful in keeping their internal heat and strength high.  Especially since many berries and weed seeds are covered in snow and ice.  And placing a feeder outside a window where you can routinely observe it makes it all the more nice.

And observing I've done.  Some things:

I've many more Northern Cardinals this year - several pairs.  They are fat and the first and last at the feeder each day.

There are no robins or Rose-breasted Grosbecks.  Both must have got the early message of a severe winter.

Lots of Dark-eyed Juncos but not near as many sparrows and finches.  

Have a few Red-bellied Woodpeckers but no Downy or Red-headed.

There are a few European Starlings (curses) and no Black-capped Chickadees.  I think it's the first year without Chickadees.

I have only a few very shy nuthatches who will zoom in, grab a seed and are gone in an instant.  

About the usual number of Mourning Doves but no Red-winged Blackbirds stuck it out.

And then there's always the entertaining "pecking order" each day.   The long billed Red-bellied Woodpecker zooms in and every other bird flies out of his way.  If they dilly dally too long, he will turn and peck them.

Next in the big billed group, is the Blue Jay.  They're know as thugs but they do accomplish quite a lot for the other birds (as long as he is allowed to feed every time he lands.)  The big billed birds will swipe their bills through the seeds, sending them flying so there are plenty for ground feeding.  They also whisk away ice and snow which makes it possible for smaller beaked birds to eat.  

My husband installed an old disk snow sled below our feeder and it catches much of the spilled seed.  It helps keep the surrounding flower bed clean, keeps the spilled food from becoming rotten or water logged and allows another place for feeding.  

Once these big boys have their fill of seeds, they pretty much go about something else.  Both will take seeds and store them, often a mouth full at a time.

The rest of the birds have pretty good dispositions and manage to belly up to the food bar together.  If it gets too crowded, the cardinals win.  

The Mourning Doves patiently roost in the trees until enough food has spilled and then they'll fly in for a good hardy eat.  They prefer eating on the ground but will also use the old sled.  

This area of the yard has many places for the birds to roost or fly to when threatened.  Some like to scope out the whole area before venturing over to the feeder while others tend to linger too long and seem to have no idea the tasty mouthful they might be for birds of pray.  

In times where there is lots of snow, one of the hawks that typically stay over the fields or near the stream across the road will venture in for easy picking.  

This year we've had an eagle over by the stream.  It pays to drive leisurely down our road observing nature.  Leisurely also means driving slow because the road is totally ice covered or drifting.

A bird will sometimes stand on one foot, then another, keeping one tucked into its feathers to keep it warm even though their feet have the ability to take very cold temperatures.  

When roosting, they often turn their head and tuck it under their wings or what looks like hunching their shoulders and the head about disappears into their bodies. 

In cold climates, it helps to have dense evergreens.  These provide roosting places, shelter from snow and wind and safety from predators.  Some will stay in nests but most don't.  Although I clean  out my bird houses, I've never seen one used during winter.  

Leaving old trees is also a great nesting place.  Dead trees often have holes where branches have broke off or birds have made shelters.  Letting some of the brambles such as multi-floral roses, wild raspberries and gooseberries stay wild provides security and nesting for some birds such as the cardinals.

If you have the room, piling your summer yard waste  such as trimmed bushes and trees, pulled annuals (no weeds) and leaves in one spot for years allows not only birds shelter but some of the smaller wild animals.  I don't know if you could get by with this in town but out here in the country it is just another way to provide and entreat birds to come to my property.     

In very cold weather, birds will fluff their feathers.  A bird's body heat warms the air between its feathers.  They fluff their feathers to get as much air in their feathers as possible.  The more air trapped, the warmer the bird.

So the question is "Do we have to do anything or lots of things for birds or they will die?"  The balance of nature does a pretty good job of taking care of them without my help.  I probably do more for the birds around my yard by not using pesticides than I do by feeding them sunflower seeds.  So why do it?  It's a good thing to help them in the winter, especially one so severe as this one.  AND, it is a daily joy to watch them.

I do have some children that just might insinuate I have too much time on my hands to have gained this much from observing birds but so be it and thank you for the opportunity!

This tree is near my feeders.  How many birds can you see roosting?  It helps to click on the first picture and then page through them if you'd like a bigger look.

Need a Little Lovin'

2011:  "Along the Way" daylily blooming in full sun and happy!

For daylilies (and most all plants) to thrive, a gardener must provide optimal growing conditions.  Plants may survive in less than optimal conditions, but the key word here is "thrive".  

I may plant an annual in less than optimal conditions and baby it all summer, but I seldom plant a perennial in conditions too far off perfect.  To do so, means they must be babied year after year, they never live up to expectations and they may eventually die.  Loss of labor and money.

2017:  Almost total shade, competing with an ornamental grass and not happy.

Conditions may change over the years - most common:

1. The bed has become covered in shade most of the day.
2. Other plants' root systems may become wide-spread taking moisture and nutrients.
3. The drainage may change due to construction or landscaping.

Generally, the perfect conditions for daylilies in Zone 5 or north:

1. Full sun.
1. Some will enjoy some late afternoon shade in the heat of late summer.  All require at least 6 hrs. of direct sun a day. 
2. Not sit in standing water.
3. Regular moisture.
4. Healthy soil prior to planting.
5. Mulch to insulate roots from too much heat and cold.

   

   2018:  Moved into full sun and loving it.

Diseases:

1. Fortunately, there aren't a lot of diseases this far north.  The nasty run of rust in areas where there is no freeze won't be an issue here.
2. Different virus can come in several ways, symptoms can mimic other things, it's difficult to diagnose and there's no cure.  If you want to do anything to have disease free plants, only buy from reputable sources and never buy a daylily if the leaves look diseased (even if they may not be.)
3. Root and crown rot are not typically seen unless the ground is too wet or the plant has been overly fertilized.

Want more?  Check out the American Daylily Society's web page:  http://daylilies.org 

Note:  The American Hemerocallis Society is changing it's name to American Daylily Society.  It means the same thing but is easier to pronounce.

Both of these pictures are of the featured "Along the Way" daylily.  The bottom one has bloomed in mostly shade; the top in full sun.  Both are pretty but the top one is stunning and all that this variety can be.  It has deep colors: the petals have subtle shimmering-gold overlaying the peach and the halo a dark maroon red.  The bud count and number of scapes in the sun example has increased over ten times.  The scapes are more sturdy and the flowers more robust.    

If you pay good money for a perennial, don't plant in less than optimal conditions and if less optimal develops over the years, then move it or amend the conditions. 

Note:  If you click on the first picture, it will take you through them in a larger format - allowing you to see all the little pretties.        

Silly Reasons - Good Results

Except for the few very disciplined gardeners (and I personally know none) we tend to have changing priorities or reasons for buying the plants we purchase each year.

• The years when we first started and bought and planted willy-nilly.
• The years where we wanted a specific color.  With my daylilies, I had the red years and the yellow/gold years.
• The years where we decided to make new beds and formally landscape things.
• The years we happen to be at a nursery and fell in love with something different.
• The years where we'd bought all of our favorite perennial the local nurseries had to offer and started going bigger and better.
• The years we started looking for new and more beautiful/unique traits on our favorite perennial. 
• The years we went on garden walks and realized there was so much more we could be doing.
• The years we totally lost our mind and you know how THAT turned out. 

I can look at a plant in my yard and almost always tell you what stage I was in when it was purchased.  

Kady in front of Bitsy before it got moved. (I love my garden
pictures that feature grandkids!)

This all came to mind when I was cleaning up my daylily records; a winter project.  I came to the daylily "Bitsy" and knew it was when I decided to make a family daylily bed.  I'd buy a daylily simply for the name.  I'd plop it into the family bed and it became a riotous mass of colors and traits.  

Twice I've had to take everything out of the bed for house related reasons.  At that time, I'd take a few of the more simple ones and move to other beds.  Bitsy, bought for one of my little kitties, was moved out to a west dry bed that I seldom managed.  (Out of sight out of mind.)  It struggled to the point of near death.  Eight years later, not one to rush a task, I moved it to a new bed that had many more favorable conditions.  In two years, it was everything it was suppose to be.

2016 - settling into new bed.

So here's the scoop on this small little daylily.  The flowers are certainly sweet but have none of the fancy traits of new hybrids.  Registered by Warner in 1963, it wasn't bred for fancy, it was bred for unique blooming traits.  A good reminder that the plant is as important as the bloom. 

There's a reason it's won five major awards; the last almost 40 years after registration.  Not a bad run for any plant.

The flowers:  1.5 inch clear bright lemon yellow with light green throat.  It's registered at 18 inches but the scapes on my plant are all of at least 24 inches, holding it high above the grassy-like slender foliage.  

2017 - Always in flower.

OK, here's the big fun stuff:  

It is one of the earliest blooming lilies (05-29-2018) but is considered a continuous and repeat bloomer.  Mine was still blooming after the first frost last year.

Note:  A light frost will not damage a daylily bud and it will still bloom.  

It branches; meaning the blooms are not all on single scapes (stalk) but have stems coming out from every stalk with blooms on each.  This makes for a fully covered plant.

It tolerates extreme temperatures and water.

I use this same 8.5 x 5.5 inch book to visually indicate
the size of the flower.  

It's nocturnal!  This is pretty wonderful for a flower that only blooms one day and usually only in the daylight.  Planted next to a place you sit in the evenings, it provides a bright yellow glow.

This little beauty is one that I consider a "workhorse" and even though it's little blooms aren't complex, I wouldn't want a daylily garden without one.   

Bitsy is an example of a phase or reason I bought a plant morphing into a much better result.  

This one shows the branching and bud count.

Case of Mistaken Identity

Life is all about choices and a small choice (in the scheme of life things) is what to do about a daylily you buy and it isn't true to the American Hemerocallis (daylily) Society's registered description.

Admittedly you have to be really into daylilies to care very much.  For those that are or want to be into it that much, let's talk about reasons and choices.

If you buy a daylily from a source other than reputable and proven nurseries, you may get a daylily that doesn't look or act anything like the name they've labeled on the package or on-line.  This would be any big box store (Those racks where they have bare root plants and a picture on the front.)  Any on-line auction or sales site such as e-bay or Facebook lily sites.  Not that they are always off but my experience is that they are most likely wrong.  They just might be the only resource that still has something you are wanting B.A.D. and your only option.  Let's just say "Buyer Beware!"

The reason these places have plants mislabeled or they don't show up as officially described when they're registered by the breeder could be any one of the following:

(1) They are simply substituting anything to get a sale - this is deliberate lying.  
(2)  They are taken from places that have bought large quantities of breeders' throw aways.  These are plants that didn't make the cut and aren't registered but are pretty and they want to get some cash from them.  Most reputable serious breeders don't do this or only sell them stating they aren't registered.  
(3)  Somewhere someone has bought the actual registered plant but then hybridized it with others but still sold it as the original registered variety.  
(4)  Someone dug the wrong plant and/or mislabeled at the time it was dug.  A mistake.

Even knowing all the of above reasons, it still doesn't help you when you get something that wasn't what you thought you were getting.  

You can return the plant although it may take a year or two before you catch on the first booms you're getting are wrong.  Chances of a refund are slim.  Or, if it's pretty and you like it, you can live with it.  

Here's my example where I learned about getting a lily so far from what it is actually described.  On the flip side, I love this daylily because it's pretty, substantial, is a robust grower and I've divided it many times to fill in places where breeding doesn't really matter.

The daylily was labeled "Bali Hai" and I bought it from a big box store for less than $5 and from a company called "Imported Holland Bulbs".

This is my "Bali Hai":

This is from the AHS cultivar database:

    You can see the problem.  The registered description reads and my plant reads: 

AHS:  22 inches tall.  Flower is 5 inches across.  Blooms Midseason.  Color:  Pink melon with raised orchid midribs and light gold throat.
DIANE:  28 inches tall.  Flower is 5 inches across.  Blooms Midseason and both continuous and reblooms.  Color:  Bright coral orange with deeper veining; yellow eye and deep red halo.  Slightly ruffled edge.

Yep, not much alike except they're both daylilies.  Bali Hai is an old daylily, registered in 1973 by Wild.  Whatever the reason Holland Bulbs sold this flower with the Bali Hai label, it was wrong.  And whatever the outcome, I have a very nice daylily that I refer to as Bali Hai but realize it's not.  

My recommendations: 

If you want to buy a daylily from a big box store or an on-line avenue, and don't care what you get, go for it.  I will warn you that some on-line sources send flowers that are so small or so unhealthy that you will never get a blooming plant in this lifetime.  Some big box store plants, including daylilies, were never meant to withstand our Zone 5 winters.  If you've been buying this stuff and it's not making it through the first winter, this may be the reason. Buyer Beware if you don't know and trust your vendor.

If you buy a mislabeled daylily from a reputable nursery (either neighboring or on line) and don't want to keep it, talk to them.  If you want a refund or exchange, let them know.  Most, but not all, will gladly make it right.  (In all fairness, customers will sometimes pick up tags and put them back in the wrong container.)  Oakes will always make things right.  I bought a lily from Hornbaker's that was mislabeled and they refused to discuss it with me.  It was a pretty lily that I told them I was alright keeping but their attitude definitely changed my opinion of their business.  

Most big box daylilies are still between $5-10 but you can go to local nurseries or places like Oakes Daylilies on-line and get healthy correctly labeled plants for those same prices.  This is especially good if you are just beginning to landscape with daylilies.  I still love the first daylilies I bought in that price range when I was starting to garden.  These less expensive lilies are great if you want to flood a flower bed with a particular color and don't really care about names or all the new bells and whistles. 

Yes, I like my little mislabeled Bali Hai and everytime I see it I break into the song from "South Pacific" (Well, in my mind anyway.)

The Homies

My 2018/19 Amaryllis

"Raise your hand if you have a sweaty butt!"

I'm pretty sure you've never heard that as the first sentence of any article anywhere.  I have this sweet and incredibly funny six-year-old granddaughter.  And the story goes:  It was an especially cold winter Illinois day and my two granddaughters and I were headed to a nearby town to Christmas shop.  The girls love the seat heaters and asked if they could have them on high.  Sure.  About fifteen miles into the trip, Kady asks the above question.  It got quiet and then we all broke out laughing and all hands went up.  Little children - love them.

Now:  Raise your hand if you've ever bought a big box store Amaryllis, Christmas Cactus or Poinsettia!

The reason I only say big box store plants is because they are so cheap.  I agree the ones from nurseries are more hardy, larger and so very beautiful.  And I do buy them some years for all those reasons.  But, then I feel so responsible for their continuing life.  The pressure of being responsible!

If I pay between $5-10 for a plant, I can almost consider it disposable.  It's less expensive than a Starbucks coffee, a fancy Christmas ornament, a  pre made bow - you get the rationalization.  If I choose to baby it for a couple of years and it actually works - great.  If I'm sick of the whole mess, I can dump it with little regrets.   If I happen to leave the bare bulb in the basement for five years - well, you get the picture.

Here are some of the beauties I've bought cheaply over the years.  They are also some of the beauties I've enjoyed exceptionally over the years.

NOTE:  If you like pictures of blooms with a dark background, take the picture at night using your flash.  This works both inside and outside.