January 3, 2019 Kim’s Weekly Garden Blog

Hi Gardeners

The old year is over, let’s get started on the new.  It’s time to dream about the garden you’ll have this year and lay out your plans.  All gardeners should be flipping through those catalogs and peering at those websites, making a list and checking it twice.  It’s such happy hunting in the middle of winter.

This week’s blog is simple, it’s a compilation of plants that have been awarded plant of the year labels or other awards. And I’m covering garden trends for 2019 too. I’m also beginning a series of articles about new and unusual plants I’m finding in my own catalog flipping and website surfing.

I hope all of you will challenge yourselves to grow something different this year, something you never grew before. There are so many plants out there, and you may find something you’ll never want to be without.  Even if you fail at growing that something new you are learning.

This year the blogs will have a bit shorter articles and I won’t feature a recipe every week, only occasionally.  I’d love to hear from any of you that have ideas about what kind of topics I should cover this year.  I write this blog so that I have motivation to keep learning about gardening and as a former teacher I like to pass along what I learn.

I have challenged myself to learn something new every day this year, not necessarily about plants but about something.  There’s so much out there to learn and we have only so much time to learn it.   

What’s going on at my house

We have been oddly isolated from the bad weather throughout the country.  We had a partly sunny 55-degree day last Saturday and yesterday we had pouring rain for a while. I woke up to a light sprinkling of snow this morning and the temps haven’t risen above freezing.  But by the weekend it’s supposed to be in the 40’s again.

My amaryllis are both starting to put up bloom shoots.  I didn’t have flowers by Christmas but will have them soon. I still have sporadic hibiscus blooms and the streptocarpus are blooming too. But the star bloomers are the Christmas cacti which are full of flowers.  On the porch conditions have been warm enough to keep the geraniums blooming like crazy.

I have to make a decision about removing a large blue spruce that sits at the far corner of our yard, which is at the junction of two roads. A nice guy working for the township approached me and told me the township board thought the tree was blocking a clear sight line for the intersection.  The tree is off the road right of way and he told me right now it was up to me but that he was clearing the right of way along the roads this month and could cut that tree down for me free.  Later if the township rules it’s a safety hazard I might have to pay to remove it.

I asked if I could have the wood chips if it was cut down and he said yes.  It’s the only blue spruce left on the property.  It still looks nice and full, but I do see signs it’s starting to succumb to the dreaded “blue spruce decline” syndrome.  The tree was planted there before we bought the property 25 years ago.  I wouldn’t have planted it in that spot.  But I never moved it when it was small either.  I hate cutting down large trees, but I think I may allow him to do it.  At least I’ll get free woodchips.

And my son bought me a live, potted balsam fir tree for Christmas, so I will be able to plant a tree to replace the one removed.  I just haven’t decided where to plant it.  Decisions, decisions.

January Almanac

January’s full moon, which happens on the 21^st is called the Wolf Moon or Old Moon. There will be a total eclipse of the moon on the 20^th, visible across the US and Canada.  It starts around 10:34 pm EST (check your time). The closest point that the earth gets to the sun is today- January 3^rd.  It’s called the perihelion.

Moon perigee is the 21^st. Moon apogee is the 8^th.  I track the perigee and apogee of the moon because my weather keeping records for the last few years tell me the chances of precipitation around the perigee are high for me. In 2018 there was precipitation within 24 hours of perigee 9 months out of 12. For other areas this might not prove to be true.  Try tracking the moon perigee and apogee events with your weather and see what you discover.

The perigee is when the moon is closest to earth in a monthly orbit cycle.  There is a slight increase in the moons gravitational pull at this time.  Apogee is the farthest point the moon is in its orbit from the earth.  Research has proven that there can be slight influences on earth’s weather near these moon events.  When either a new moon or a full moon occurs near perigee the chances for seismic activity, (earthquakes or volcano eruptions), increase.  Eclipses or other planetary alignments occurring near this time increase the chances even more. The full moon also looks slightly larger when it occurs close to perigee. 

The January birth flower is the carnation.  In the language of flowers, the carnation is supposed to portray love, fascination and distinction. If you send a striped carnation to someone it means your regret that the love isn’t shared. A white carnation means pure love, a red carnation “carnal” love.  A pink carnation means friendship and a yellow one means rejection. An alternative birth flower is the snowdrop.  It has a lot less colors to worry about.  The birthstone is the garnet.

 January is National Blood Donor month, National Hot Tea month, National Oatmeal Month, and National Soup Month to name a few.  The 10^th is Houseplant Appreciation day, the 13^th is International Skeptics day, the 15^th is National Hat day, as well as Penguin Awareness day and National Buttercrunch Day, the 18^th is Winnie the Pooh Day, the 19^th is National Popcorn day, the 21^st is Martin Luther King Day, the 22^nd is National Blond Brownie day and the 23^rd is National Pie day.  The 27^th is National Chocolate Cake Day and the 28^th is Fun at Work Day. The 31^st is Backward day and Inspire Your Heart with Art day. 

2019 Plants of the year and other distinctions

The perennial plant of the year, chosen by the Perennial Plant Association, is a member of the lamb’s ear family, Stachys monieri ‘Hummelo’ also called betony.  It does not have the fuzzy leaves of common lamb’s ear.  It has oval, pointed glossy green leaves with serrated edges. But it also has pretty, violet blue flowers that are attractive to pollinators. (Hummel means bumblebee in German.) The plant has been around since 2004 and many places sell it.

 

'Hummelo'  photo from Walters gardens 

                                                                    https://www.waltersgardens.com/

‘Hummelo’ is hardy in planting zones 4-8 and will grow in sun or partial shade.  It is long blooming, deer resistant and pretty much disease free.

The National Garden Bureau, a promotional arm of the horticultural industry chooses 4 “classes” of plants for their plant of the year program.  These are:

Bulb class- Year of the dahlia

Perennial class- Year of the salvia (all types I guess)

Annuals class- Year of the snapdragon

Edibles class - Year of the pumpkin

Other vegetable growing associations are claiming carrots, all kinds, are the edible plant of the year.

The herb of the year, chosen by the International Herb Association, is Agastache or anise hyssop.  I can testify that this plant is loved by bees and it’s very easy to grow.  Everyone who cares about pollinators needs a patch or two of this plant.  There are also other varieties of Agastache a gardener can grow.

The Rose of the Year Award for 2019 goes to Rosa 'Starlight Symphony' from Harkness Roses.  It’s a white semi-double flowered climber with a light spicy fragrance and good disease resistance. It may be hard to find this year.

Starlight Symphony photo from
Gardenforpleasure.Co.UK

Hosta of the Year award goes to 'Lakeside Paisley Print'.  It has wide, thick, green wavy leaves with cream feather like markings in the leaf center and cream petioles.  It grows about 10 inches tall and has light lavender flowers.

'Lakeside Paisley Print'
Walters Gardens

I need to mention here that some plant companies pick their own plants of the year- usually ones they bred or have a lot of.  I tried to choose plants recognized widely in the industry as 2019 award winners.

The All-American Selection top awards for 2019 go to these plants;

Begonia Viking™ XL Red on Chocolate F1

Marigold Big Duck Gold F1

Petunia Wave® Carmine Velour F1

Nasturtium Baby Rose

Tomato Chef’s Choice Black F1

Tomato Fire Fly F1

Tomato Red Torch F1

Tomato Sparky XSL F1

Watermelon Cal Sweet Bush

You’ll find these plants in many garden stores and catalogs this spring.  If you need a source for garden catalogs and webpages check out this page on my blog; https://gardeninggrannysgardenpages.blogspot.com/p/have-youreceived-any-garden-catalogs-in.html

I want to nominate the garden tool of 2019 award to this nifty tool that makes perfect cuts for grafting plants.  I’ll post the link to a video where you can see exactly what I mean.  If you tinker with grafting for fun or do it for your job, you’ll want this tool. (I am not being paid to promote this tool nor do I own any stock in the company.)

https://www.facebook.com/MasonMinaal/videos/311025759450745/?t=20

Garden trends 2019

What’s trendy in gardening sometimes depends on who you are talking to and what their place in the garden industry is, but some garden trends do seem to common among all areas of the country and the garden industry. If you pay attention to what’s featured in garden catalogs and advertisements for garden products you can get some idea of what people may be looking for this year.

Garden structures have become highly desirable.  She sheds, potting sheds, small greenhouses, pergolas and adult treehouses all help merge indoor and outdoor living. Gardens are also used to form and define “outdoor rooms”, where different outside activities take place like entertaining or meditating or a place where teens can gather around a fire pit.  An oasis of calm in a busy world are what many gardeners strive for.   

Along with the structure trend is the liking for unusual and colorful lawn furniture.  Highly original chairs, benches, garden lounges and tables are being sought out.  Lawn furniture in bold colors or patterns that become artistic touches to the garden are in.

And let’s talk about colors.  Hot and bold colors like red, fuchsia, orange, bright yellow, turquoise, and indigo are being promoted this year instead of pastels.  The tropical or jungle look is popular.

Planting edibles in flower beds has been popular for a few years and that trend continues, with many edible varieties being produced that are also nice looking mixed with flowers in the front yard.  And edible flowers are once again popular.

Patio fruits, a continuation of the raised bed/container gardening trend are trendy this year.  Catalogs are featuring dwarf fruits and fruits designed for containers from blueberries to apples.  Tropical fruits like dwarf bananas, figs, olives, and citrus are enjoying strong sales.

Houseplants and indoor gardening are once again very popular. Many new varieties of houseplants are on the market.  Beautiful ceramic and even porcelain pots are being sold to turn the plant into an art object.  Macramé hangers are now back in stores and pots of plants hanging overhead in rooms has become a new “look”. Growing food and delicate plants indoors has became easier with a wide range of grow lights, aquaponic set ups and self-contained grow planters and cabinets.  And yes- marihuana growing at home is on the rise in many states where it’s legal.

Insect/pollinator friendly gardens continue to be popular.  You’ll find many catalogs marking which plants are good for bees and butterflies.  All kinds of accessories to attract insects like bee “hotels” are being offered. Fewer people are treating plants with pesticides in order to spare the insect life.  Sustainability, low maintenance and harmony with nature have become buzz words and goals for many gardeners.

And when it comes to trends in plants for 2019 sedums and other succulents are still very popular.  It’s amazing the number of succulents one can find in even big brand retail store garden shops.  One thing to keep in mind though, is many of the succulents being offered are not winter hardy in many garden zones.  Since some succulents are very expensive you may want to consider whether they are worth purchasing for seasonal interest  unless you can overwinter them inside.

Food trends for 2019 include; popped water lily seeds (like popcorn), cucumbers in anything, cauliflower chocolate ice cream, baby bell peppers, (my great grandson loves these and eats them like apples), moringa, cricket protein foods (ugh), marihuana and CBD edibles, African spice mixes like “dukkah’, oat milk (it’s not milk!), jackfruit, celtuce,and pea yogurt.

Plants of Interest for 2019

I have been receiving 2019 garden catalogs for several months now and the plants I am going to list here are things I picked out as interesting.  Some are new varieties, and some are plants that are different or unusual that I have come across.

Remember when you are looking at catalogs that the term “new” can mean it’s the first time that company has offered the plant or seed and not that it is a new variety on the general market.  And check several places for the plant or seed you are considering because prices can vary tremendously.  I’ll list where I saw the plant, but other places may carry it.

‘Itachi’ Is a hybrid European cucumber that is white skinned.  A long straight cuke that is very sweet and also very disease resistant, it would make a great novelty that’s also a delight to eat.  Johnny’s Seeds http://www.johnnyseeds.com

‘Simply Irresistible™’ is a sweet corn that Gurneys is advertising that I have to order this spring. It’s described as better tasting than ‘Gotta Have it’, which is one of the best sweet corns you can grow.  ‘Simply Irresistible’™ is bi-color, large ears, vigorous, and early.  The trouble is that it’s $19.99 a packet.  Gurneys has this advertising gimmick where you get half off your order if you order $50 or more.  I often don’t need $50 of seeds or plants from their catalog, (even though it would cost $25) so it’s a decision I’ll think on. https://www.gurneys.com/

‘Sweetie’ peppers are tiny, very sweet bell peppers for snacking on. They mature to a variety of colors if you buy mixed seeds or you can choose a specific color.  As I mentioned earlier, my great grandson, who is three, loves to eat these like an apple.  From Territorial Seeds.  http://www.territorialseed.com

‘Lemonade’ cosmos is a sure pick if you love cosmos.  It’s a soft yellow with a white center, a different color in cosmos.  It’s a fantastic annual border flower for those not following the hot color trend.  From SeedsNSuch. www.SeedsNSuch.com

Cosmos ‘Xsenia’ is another new cosmos color, a peachy-raspberry pink blend, that’s being offered by Park Seed. https://parkseed.com/

Xsenia

‘Music Box’ a hardy landscape rose about 3 feet tall that’s covered in double blooms all summer that are butter yellow in the center with pink outer petals.  Its very disease resistant, has a moderate sweet fragrance, grown on its own roots and hardy to zone 5.  Offered by Edmunds Roses. https://www.edmundsroses.com/dc.asp?c=6  

‘Pinkerbelle’™ is the rose for you if you like hybrid teas that are disease resistant and hardy as well as pretty.  ‘Pinkerbelle is a cream, lavender mixture with bright pink edges and a strong spicy fragrance.  It’s grown on its own roots and a new Meilland offering for 2019.  Edmunds Roses. https://www.edmundsroses.com/dc.asp?c=6  

Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) is an unusual desert plant that has  thorny, cane-like branches and a stunning display of red, hummingbird-attracting flowers.  High Country Gardens. www.highcountrygardens.com/

Ocotillo

Look for this new gorgeous petunia series Spellbound Series petunias in several colors.  They have large ruffled flowers with prominent veins in a contrasting color in the center. Burpee is offering seed, plants available in garden centers.

 

Spellbound white
photo from Burpees  https://www.burpee.com/

Summer Crush™ Endless Summer hydrangea series is a new raspberry color hydrangea that’s long blooming.  It will be available in many stores and catalogs.

If you like hardy hibiscus, these new colors a pale blue- Summer Spice™ Cordon Bleu™ PPAF and a bright coral Summer Spice™ Amaretto™ PPAF will spark your interest.  Bred by JBerry and available in several catalogs and stores.

'Summer Spice Cordon Bleu' hardy hibiscus
Photo from JBerry

The same company is offering a new tropical hibiscus in a bright yellow- Leading Lady™ Hollywood™.

Through January I will be featuring new or unusual plants you may want to try this year in the blog.

Life is about using the whole box of crayons

Kim Willis

All parts of this blog are copyrighted and may not be used without permission.

And So On….

Find Michigan garden events/classes here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/118847598146598/

(This is the Lapeer County Gardeners facebook page but all gardeners anywhere are welcome)

Newsletter/blog information

I write this because I love to share with other gardeners some of the things I come across in my research each week (or things I want to talk about). It keeps me engaged with people and horticulture. It’s a hobby, basically. I hope you enjoy it. If you are on my mailing list and at any time you don’t wish to receive these emails just let me know. If you or anyone you know who would like to receive a notification by email when a new blog is published have them send their email address to me.  KimWillis151@gmail.com