Money Plant

Lunaria annua ( plant, seedpods, seeds and bloom)

 Lunaria annua is a biennial plant that is native to southwest Asia and to the Balkans, however it has naturalized through Europe, North America and Asia.  It is commonly called Honesty, Silver Dollars and Money Plant.  It doesn’t bloom till the second season and then goes to seed and dies.  But the seed is prolific in self-sowing so that you will have blooms for years to come.  This summer I’ve collected quite a bit of seed from one plant, leaving some on the plant to replenish my garden.  If anyone would like any please email me your address and I will be glad to send you some.  Here’s some more info on this pretty plant:

• Grows 24-36″ tall
• Prefers Part sun
• Blooms in mid-spring
• Magenta blooms (pink-purple)
• Attracts bees & butterflies
• Flowers are fragrant
• Self-sows freely
• Direct sow seed in Fall
• Hardy in zones 4a-8b

New Additions in 2010

There were a lot of new things added to my garden this season.  This list includes bulbs, seeds, perennials, trees, shrubs and native plants.  Here is my list and an update on their progress thus far:

1. Rosa ‘Morning Magic’ – this was a must have for the arbor garden arch.  The first one did so well in its’ first season, I added another one.
2. Cup Plant – a native plant purchase that I think succumbed to our hot & dry summer.  Hope it comes back though.
3. ‘Coral Bark’  Japanese Maple tree seedling – It has doubled in size since May. Will stay in pot  for another year or two I think.
4. Vitex agnus-castus tree seedling – tripled in size since May and bloomed this summer. Hope to get it planted this month in the ground.
5. Evening Primrose ‘Twilight’ – moved to another spot this fall since it wasn’t doing much in the initial place. New growth appearing.
6. Delphinium ‘Delfix Blue’ – unfortunately I think I lost this plant to the summer heat. 
7. Penstemon ‘Red Riding Hood’ – another casualty from this summer
8. Abelia grandiflora x ‘Little Richard’ – doing great in it’s new spot and putting out new growth
9. Korean Lilac – has lost some foliage but is holding on I think
10. Catmint ‘Walkers Low’ – bloomed pretty well this summer and is still full of green foliage
11. Ladies Tresses – native orchid that bloomed this fall and is doing good so far
12. Carolina Bushpea – planted this fall and is putting out new growth
13. Ironweed – planted this fall but seems a bit stagnant so far
14. Marginal Woodfern – happy in its’ current spot under the Limelight Hydrangea and appears to be evergreen
15. Daffodils ‘Ice Follies’ – planted last month in the Hydrangea Bed – waiting till spring to see the results
16. Alliums ‘Raspberry & Creme mix’ – planted in new garden last month and no signs of foliage yet
17. Dutch Iris ‘Lion King’ – planted in new garden last month and no signs of foliage yet
18. Hardy Glads ‘Nymph’ – planted in new garden last month and no signs of foliage yet
19. Asiatic Lillies (Chianti, Grand Paradiso, Roma, Dreamland, Salsa and Agrippa) – planted last month/no signs of foliage yet
20. Burgundy Poppy Anemone – Planted in new garden last month and no signs of foliage yet
21. Allium ‘Pink Jewel’ – Planted in new garden last month and no signs of foliage yet
22. Fall sown seeds – False Queen Anne’s Lace, Larkspur ‘Sublime Bright Carmine’, Lychnis coronaria ‘Dancing Ladies’ and Nigella (Love in a Mist) – planted this week and hoping they do well come spring.

This was a small list of additions compared to previous seasons but I’m happy with my choices even though some didn’t work out.  Every gardener experiences losses, it’s a given.  Here’s hoping for a wonderful spring come 2011!  🙂

Fall Checklist Update

Chrysantheums in full glory 11/17/10

Well I’ve been working hard this past weekend completing some of the tasks I wanted to do before the end of the month.  Here’s what we (my son helped quite a bit) got done so far:

• Transplanted a Knockout Rose from my grandmother’s garden bed to my Rose Garden out front (after trimming it back severely)
• Cut back the other 3 Knockouts since they were really unruly.  This took 3 large yardbags! 
• Divided the  one large Phlox ‘Robert Poore’ in this bed into 4 smaller divisions which were planted between the Roses
• Moved a large clump of Purple Coneflowers into the raised garden bed (making 3 smaller clumps)
• Weeded both the Rose Garden and Raised Garden beds and cut back the dead foliage on some perennials
• Divided the Shasta Daisies in Grandma’s Garden bed into 5 smaller clumps that were spread around her bed and my New Garden bed
• Moved some purple Beebalm from my garden into her bed as well as some double daylillies
• Moved the Green Coneflowers into a sunnier spot behind the birdbath in the New Garden (in place of the Beebalm)
• Moved the Hydrangea ‘White Swan’ into the Green Coneflowers former shadier spot
• Planted some  ‘Hair’ Allium bulbs in the New Garden
• Sowed Larkspur, Rose Campion, False Queen Anne’s Lace and Nigella seeds in the Arbor Garden Bed
• Moved a hybrid Rose from the Knockout Rose Bed into the Raised bed

Here’s what I hope to still get done this month (if not than there’s always next spring):

• Replace landscape timbers that have rotted on the Raised Bed out front
• Move my compost bin that’s beside the Arbor Garden to the work area on the other side of my yard
• Make a new bed for the Vitex Tree (yep still in the pot) 😉
• Remove fountain pumps and store in the garage (this is a must)
• Make one more raised veggie bed

Seed Order

Just got my seed order in from Johnny’s Selected Seeds the other day.  I normally wait to fall to order for spring, but half of this order will be winter sown.  Something new I wanted to try.  This is what I ordered:

False Queen Anne’s Lace ‘Black Knight’

Larkspur ‘Sublime Bright Carmine’

Nigella or Love in a Mist

Lynchis coronaria

Cosmos Sensation mix

Salvia ‘Coral Nymph’

Morning Glory ‘Mini Bar Rose’

Zinnia Profusion (white and yellow)

This and That

Nasturiums planted with Sweet Alyssum and Chaste Tree with Profusion Zinnias & Sweet Alyssum

Here’s just some random stuff that is going on in the garden at the moment.  I planted Nasturiums and  Sweet Alyssum seeds in this pot earlier this month.  The Chase Tree or Vitex agnus-castus I got at the Yorktown Plant Sale last month  is doing great.  The initial seedling broke off at soil level during a storm earlier this month, but it grew back from the roots and looks healthier.  It’s underplanted with yellow Profusion Zinnias and Sweet Alyssum.  

Yorktown Onion going to seed

Here’s an update on the Yorktown Onion blooms, their now going to seed.  I think they still look pretty interesting even as they fade.  The blossoms now remind me a bit of sparklers on the 4th of July.  Don’t ya think?  🙂 

Hydrangea Paniculata buds: 'White Swan' and 'Limelight'

The Paniculata Hydrangeas are budding up right now. Even my ‘Pinky Winky’ is forming some buds, but I wasn’t able to get a good shot of it.   This will be the first time that ‘White Swan’ and ‘Pinky Winky’ have shown signs of blooming.  Hooray for soon to be blooms! 

note:  Yep I changed my blog theme again, lol.  WordPress just keeps coming up with new stuff almost daily and I just can’t resist experimenting with the new colors & layouts.  I kind of like the look of this one with the artistic swirls & stuff, it’s called Koi.  Hope you like it.  🙂