Bigleaf hydrangea
Botanical Name: Hydrangea macrophylla 'Variegata'
Status: Own
Light: Semi-Sun
Bloom Time: Summer
Care:
-Grow in moist, but well-drained soil, in sun to partial shade. Provide shelter from drying winds. This plant flowers on the previous season's wood, and can be maintained by cutting back just to the first pair of buds beneath the old flower in spring.
-Prune bigleaf hydrangea when the flower heads begin to fade. Prune out the flower heads and head back other shoots to encourage branching and fullness. Flower buds will begin forming in late summer for the following season, so avoid pruning after August 1.
Notes:
-To propagate, sow seed in a cold frame in spring; take softwood cuttings in early summer, hardwood cuttings in winter.
-One of the easiest ways to propagate bigleaf hydrangea is by layering. This is done by digging a trench near the plant and bending a section of limb down into the trench. Use a knife to remove a small ring of outer bark about one inch wide all the way around the limb where it contacts the soil. Then, cover the limb with soil, leaving six to 12 inches of the tip growth uncovered. If layering is done during the summer, the new plant should be ready for transplanting the following winter.
-Old established hydrangeas may also be divided in the early spring, by using a shovel to divide the clump. Several plants can be obtained from a well-established clump.
Black-eyed Susan
Botanical Name: Rudbeckia hirta
Status: Own
Light: Full Sun
Bloom Time: Summer-Fall
Care:
Deadhead to prolong bloom time.
Notes:
5/08 - Purchased from Plants-n-Stuff.
-Good cutting flower.
Bleeding Heart
Botanical Name: Dicentra
Status: Own
Light: Semi-Shade
Bloom Time: Spring
Care:
-Can be divided in early fall.
-Does not like hot, dry weather.
Notes:
-Old fashion bleeding hearts (Dicentra spectabilis) die back after blooming, but fringed bleeding hearts (Dicentra eximia) bloom later and last longer.
-For cutting, cut stems when a few of the lowest flowers have opened. Best time to cut is in early morning or evening when most moist. Place stems in a bucket of water as soon as you cut them, then keep in a cool glass of water for a few hours before arranging.
-Plant Old-fashion bleeding hearts next to hostas and ferns to fill space when plant dies down.
Day Lily
Botanical Name: Hemerocallis
Status: Own
Light: Full Sun
Bloom Time: Summer
Care:
-If you notice plants are flowering as much as they used to, divide the plant at it's roots. To divide, in late summer after blooming, cut back leaves, dig up clump and pull apart roots with hands.
Notes:
5/08 - Purchased from Plants-n-Stuff.
-Each flower only lasts one day.
-Comes in many colors.
-Pastels hold color better in semi-shade.
Delphinium
Botanical Name: Delphinium
Status: Own
Light: Full Sun
Bloom Time: Summer
Care:
-Like rich soil.
-May produce second flower if first stalk is removed.
-To save seeds, cut stems when seed heads are dry and place in paper bags to dry completely. When seeds are dry, separate the seed from the chaff and store in air-tight container in freezer.
Notes:
-5/08 - Purchased at Plants-n-Stuff.
-Good cut flowers.
English ivy
Botanical Name: Hedera helix
Status: Own
Light: Semi-Shade
Bloom Time: Summer
Care:
-To propagate, root 4- to 6-inch semi-ripe cuttings of juvenile growth from spring to autumn.
Notes:
-Lighter colors like sun, darker colors like shade.
-Is an invasive, fast grower.
-Deer may eat the foliage.
Hosta
Botanical Name: Hosta
Status: Own
Light: Shade
Bloom Time: Summer
Care:
-It's time to divide hostas when the central stems die out and the center appears empty.
Notes:
-Received hostas from Briget's house, Grandpa's house, Lowes and Vicky.
Iris
Botanical Name: Iris
Status: Own
Light: Full Sun
Bloom Time: Late Spring
Care:
-Divide irises in midsummer when they finish blooming. Dig the rhizomes from the ground with the roots and cut into pieces, each one having at least one fan of leaves. Discard old, woody pieces of rhizome. Cut back stems and replant with rhizome tops partially exposed or only thinly covered.
Notes:
-Obtained from Marge, Beaver's house and many available when we moved in.
Japanese spurge
Botanical Name: Pachysandra terminalis
Status: Own
Light: Shade
Bloom Time: Spring
Care:
-Grow in any soil.
Notes:
-Invasive, quick grower.
-We transplanted this plant from the original garden to the pond and it seems to be happy anywhere with no effort.
Pincushion Flower
Botanical Name: Scabiosa
Status: Own
Light: Full Sun
Bloom Time: Summer
Care:
-Divide plants every 4 or so years.
-Deadhead to prolong bloom time by pinching flowers at base of stem.
Notes:
5/08 - Purchased from Plants-n-Stuff
-Excellent cut flowers. Cut when half the stems have open flower heads. Cut in early morning or evening. Strip off all foliage that would be below the water level in the vase and split stems or cut a few vertical slits up into the bottom of each stem. Place in container of cold water for several hours before arranging.
Purple Coneflower
Botanical Name: Echinacea purpurea
Status: Own
Light: Full Sun
Bloom Time: Late Summer
Care:
-Deadhead by cutting back to thickest stem. Will rebloom.
Notes:
5/08 - Purchased from Plants-n-Stuff.
-To save seeds, let flowers produce seedheads and when fully dry and dark-colored, clip them off and place in paper bag to let dry. After a week, shake the bag to loosen the seeds. Pour contents of the bag into a bown and separate seeds from chaff. Store in air-tight container.
Stonecrop-DIED
Botanical Name: Sedum 'Autumn Joy'
Status: Own
Light: Full Sun
Bloom Time: Late Summer
Care:
-When crowded, divide in spring.
Notes:
8/07 - Purchased from Castile Florist.
-Make great cut flowers. Place stems in a container of water nearly up to the base of the flower heads before arranging. If stems bleed sap when cut, dip the cut ends briefly into boiling water to seal them before placing in vase.
Tickseed
Botanical Name: Coreopsis
Status: Own
Light: Full Sun
Bloom Time: Summer
Care:
-Deadhead to prolong bloom time by picking off flower tips.
-Can divide clumps in spring or fall.
Notes:
8/07 - Purchased at Castile Florist.
-Good cut flower.
Variegated Japanese Silver Grass
Botanical Name: Miscanthus sinensis 'Variegatus'
Status: Own
Light: Full Sun
Bloom Time: Early Spring
Care:
- Best in fertile, moist but well-drained soil in full sun, but plants tolerate most conditions except for excessive winter moisture. Cut to the ground by early spring.
Notes:
-Variegated Maiden Grass arches more on average than any other cultivar of Miscanthus, so give it plenty of room to spread and become a strong focal point in the landscape.
-To propagate, sow seed in a cold frame in early spring. Divide in spring. Older clumps may become woody and difficult to divide.
-Transplanted this in mid-summer from Grandma's garden and plopped it in the pond. Is doing great.
Yarrow
Botanical Name: Achillea
Status: Own
Light: Full Sun
Bloom Time: Summer-Fall
Care:
-Deadhead to prolong bloom time.
Notes:
5/08 - Purchased from Lowes.
-Leaves aromatic when crushed.
-Tolerate hot conditions and drought.
-For cutting, gather stems when half of the flowers in the cluster are open and before any pollen is evident.