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Monday, March 18, 2024

Mid March Fun in the garden!

 We were blessed with 2 days in the 70s this week here on Long Island and my garden was LOVING it. Here are some photos.

My pansies re-seeded themselves on the lawn. This happened one other time when I lived in Florida so it was a fun reminder of the time I had down there! 



Happy Cordylines and trachycarpus!



All the windmill palms sailed through the winter.

Trachycarpus in containers


Sabal Uresana had no issues surviving the winter with a trash can and a few lights on cold nights


You can see the special blue tinge that makes this sabal such a lovely one. Unfortunately it's frustratingly slow!


Windmill Palm in the front yard


Yucca "Silver Anniversary" and Yucca Gloriosa


Rosemary survived the winter in a container and even had a few blooms. Very cool!


The Needle plam got beat up by the snow and wind, but was unfazed by cold and unprotected.

Sabal minor was buried in an icy pile of snow. Every frond was crushed but all things considered it looks great!


Southern Star Jasmine looking FLAWLESS! This was the second winter for it.


The oleander has had better days. And this is with protection. Some varieties are more cold tolerant than others, but this one is definitely the latter.


My smallest Windmill Palm. Also looking great


Happy Hellebores


Thanks for looking!

Friday, March 15, 2024

A few photos from Planting Fields in Oyster Bay yesterday

 It was the warmest day since October - our first one in the 70s in nearly 20 weeks! The high temperature in my garden was a balmy 76F and today is in the 70s too. Everything is coming into bloom. Here are a few photos. 


First some deer

Gorgeous hellebores

Korean rhododendron Rhododendron mucronulatum




The most exciting find was their giant Edegworthia. Considered a zone 7 plant, this is close to the farthest north that you'll find them looking really good in the eastern US. The smell is INCREDIBLE





Monday, March 4, 2024

Early March 2024 update from my parent's garden


Winter barely started and it's already coming to a close. Our low temperature this year was 16F. It's one of the mildest on record.

Windmill palms sailed through this winter. Underneath is my Florida Anise. I planted the windmill palms as seedlings in March 2009. Happy 15th birthday!
My European Fan Palms (Chamaerops humilis) are doing fantastic in containers. They've produced viable seed and overwinter in the garage on nights below 20F (which only happened 3 times this year!)


Camellia Spring Promise is blooming beautifully this year much earlier than ever




Hellebore are such a wonderful gift. They have been blooming since February. I got this from Trader Joes. It stays outside in a container all year.


The windmill palm at the bottom step was a rescue from a local nursery. It looks fantastic after spending most of the winter outdoors (inside below 20F). The Magnolia figo (Banana shrub) has such large buds! 


Indoors things are coming to life too! Here's my Pretty Princess Plumeria I bought in 2010! 



Adondila and ti plants are ready for another summer outside!


The bottle palm is hanging in too!


Parsley survived the winter too!


So did the Kale. No protection whatsoever.


Longleaf pine looking flawless this year. Last year the needles were very yellow. 


The crocus are so happy.


Speaking of the bottle palm, I'm definitely a bit worried about the damage to the trunk. This could be the beginning of the end.


A happy tillandsia on my largest plumeria.




Phaius tankervilleae (Nun Orchid)

 I'm so excited to write that my Nun Orchid is blooming! This is an unusual, but incredibly low maintenance houseplant that blooms once or twice a year (for me typically in the spring!). I believe the common name comes from the orientation of the blooms which look like a nun is praying. The botanical name is Phaius tankervilleae. 

I lived in a high floor apartment in South Carolina for several years and this plant was severely tattered up which kept it for blooming. Ironically, it's doing much better up here in a cooler climate now that it's wind protected during the summer on my patio. 

So if you're a northern gardener give this a try. It'll bloom right in time for the Easter season! 






Thursday, February 15, 2024

Camellia "Spring Promise" blooming IN THE SNOW!

I had the pleasure of visiting Planting Fields in Oyster Bay ahead of their incredible Annual Camellia festival on February 17th & 18th. They have the largest collection of camellia festivals under glass in the northeast BUT they also have a really nice selection of camellias growing outside too. 

What I wasn't expecting was to see an outdoor camellia in BLOOM in the middle of February outside after our biggest snowstorm on the island in more than 2 years. This variety is Camellia "Spring Promise". If you search back, you'll find some photos of the Spring's Promise Camellia at my parents house. I've been very disappointed with mine, but this one has me reconsidering. Maybe it's time I fertilize better! 







Here are a few blooms inside the camellia house




Out of the collection in the greenhouse, my favorites were High Fragrance and Fragrant Pink. The smell was just spectacular!