The Online Garden Gossip
August 2007/Issue #15

Start spending Pansy Dollars
Aug. 31

Get a babysitter, take a vacation day, or call into work sick -- Pansy Dollar Days start Friday, Aug. 31, and we open at
9 a.m.!

If you've diligently saved your dollars, then you know that pansy dollars are good for any purchase in nursery -- not just for pansies.  Spend and save on bird baths, pots, compost, perennials, roses, crape myrtles, gift shop items -- the whole shebang.

Pansy dollars must be matched with U.S. money -- no pesos, euros, or shekels, please.  Sale runs through Sunday,
Sept. 16.

Help!  My garden is toast!

Q.  Between the heat and lack of rain, my garden is toast.  What shrubs or flowers bloom in August or September that I can add now to breathe some life back into my yard?

A.  We're heading into summer's home stretch and lots of flowers are starting to run out of steam.  But there are some beauties that don't really start to shine until right now, and you can consider adding one or more to keep your garden in continuous bloom.

Anemone sylvestris and A. vitifolia -- Windflower
Many of the anemone cultivars are just now budding up and will put on a fantastic show in weeks to come.  'Honorine Jobert,' 'Party Dress,' and 'September Charm' are a few favorites.  We also have some new varieties, including 'Elise Feldman,' a rare and unusual plant with ivory white pom-pom like flowers that bloom in spring and fall; 'Hadspen Abundance,' which features a succession of cup-shaped, rose-pink semi-double flowers; and 'Margarete,' a rich, deep rose with double frilly flowers.

Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Dark Knight,' 'First Choice,' and 'Grand Bleu'
Caryopteris are deer-proof shrubs that extend your garden blooms from August to September.  'Dark Knight' grows 2-3 feet tall and has masses of dark blue flowers; 'First Choice' has almost purple flowers that bloom earlier than any of the other cultivars; and 'Grand Bleu' features gorgeous blue flowers on a 3-foot tall shrub.

Heliopsis helianthoides 'Summer Sun' - False sunflower
These yellow beauties will take full sun or part shade and will bloom from now until fall.  They are drought tolerant and make an excellent cut flower.  Or leave them in the garden for butterflies to enjoy.

Upcoming talks at Sugar Creek
You're invited, and they're free!

“Maintaining Perennials and Rejuvenating Your Summer Garden,” Sat., Aug. 4, 10 a.m., Roxanne Cronin, Garden Designer and Horticulturist.  We will teach you aggressive pruning techniques that will help you achieve strong, more compact plants with more blooms.  A very informative class for those willing to be truly daring!

“Successive Blooms—Keep Your Garden in Bloom Spring Till Fall,” Sat., Aug 11, 10 a.m., Peggy Hoelting, Horticulturist.  Learn the secrets of a breathtaking, ever-blooming garden.  You’ll learn about the showiest perennials along with the longest blooming, heaviest producing plants available.  Peggy will also share with you the techniques needed to keep these plants in flower all season.  

“Some Like It Hot: Heat Tolerant Perennials and Shrubs,” Sat., Aug. 18, 10 a.m., Peggy Hoelting, Horticulturist.  Discover the best, long blooming hybrid perennials and grasses, along with the toughest wildflowers that laugh at heat and humidity and look good even in the hottest of summers.  You will also learn about the plants that are reinventing Midwest gardens—the summer-long blooming Crape myrtles.   

“Some Like it Hot” Plants on Display at Garden Party Thursday, Aug. 16, 5-7:30 p.m.  See more plants that laugh at heat and humidity and look good even in the hottest of summers.  Bring your family and friends for an evening of merriment.  You’ll enjoy:

• 25% off your total purchase between 5 and
  7:30 p.m.

• FREE refreshments, punch, wine and snacks

• Door prizes

• Surprise sales during the evening 

“Indian Summer, A  Late Season Garden,” Sat., Aug. 25, 10 a.m., Roxanne Cronin, Garden Designer and Horticulturist.  Though beautiful in their own right, chrysanthemums and ornamental kale need not be the extent of your end-of-the-season garden display.  There are a surprising number of beautiful flowering perennials that are at their best in late summer and fall.  Learn the secrets of a breathtaking late season garden. 

Karen's gardening calendar

Karen Collins, a longtime Sugar Creek employee, has identified things you can tackle in your garden this month:

• Continue deadheading annuals and perennials.
• Feed mums, asters, and other fall-blooming perennials for the last time.
• Roses should receive no further nitrogen fertilizer after Aug. 15.
• Bleeding heart (Dicentra) and bloodroot (Sanguinaria) can be divided and replanted.
• Divide bearded iris now.  Discard old center sections and borer-damaged parts and plant so tops of rhizomes are above ground level.
• Divide oriental poppies now.
• To shape hedges, pruning may be done for the last time this season.
• Evergreens can be planted or transplanted now to ensure good rooting before winter.  Plant and planting site should be watered several days before moving.
• Periodically soak shrubs during dry spells with enough water to moisten soil to a depth of 8-10 inches.
• Now is the time to plan for winter flower arrangements and collect materials for drying.  Grasses, flowers, and seed pods can be collected, dried, and stored until ready to arrange.

Unusual
plant of the month
Tricyrtis
'Imperial Banner'
Variegated toad lily

If you have a shady spot in your garden that could use a little jazzing up, consider this striking variegated toad lily.  'Imperial Banner' features cream and deep green variegated leaves with very dark stems.  Orchid-like flowers are heavily purple spotted over a white base. 

If you have a shady patio or deck, consider using this as a featured plant in a container next season.

This plant prefers moist, woodland conditions, and grows to 20 inches.  A real "Plant Collector's Plant" for $9.99.

Have a question or comment? Send us an e-mail.