Get Ready!

Early Sensation will be one of the first

Early Sensation

Itzim

Yellow Hellebore

Crocus

City Of Haarlem

PJM Rhododendron

Pink Pearl

Star Magnolia

Sagitta

Marieke And Mount Hood

Chanticleer Pear

Monte Carlo

Muscari Blue Spike

This was just a little peek at Spring 2011 with more to come ....

ANTICIPATION!!

True Or False

This is the time of year that I visit my local Pottery Barn to get an early fix on spring.

I know these are false because they wouldn't have real bunnies on a dining table.

I order real Oregon moss every year for my outside baskets.  This looks very good but again it is false.

I guess I had better say early on that everything plantwise that you see in Pottery Barn is false but each year gets better at fooling the eye.

Snowball Viburnum

The pottery has a washed look with stenciling.

Bright southwestern looking pottery

Crystals are big this year with floral displays and tablescaping.

Basket weave lanterns

Decorative bottles

More decorative bottles!

Mercury glass is plentiful again and more reasonably priced, goes with every decor.  Antique mercury glass was very popular during the 1800's with silver being blown in through a double layer of glass.  These are reproductions with the silver being applied onto the glass.

I have a Mercury Glass vase on my coffee table and it blends beautifully with my old and new furnishings.  Lots of reflections in this photo from the sun pouring into my family room.

These are false but it won't be long before we can say it is true, our garden tulips are the real thing!

Not Your Old Fashioned Petunia

To many of us the petunia is a mainstay annual in our summer baskets and garden beds.  In the past, many of us would give a second thought because of the continual maintenance (deadheading) to keep them producing and beautiful.

Petunia Surprise Black Jack

There are several black petunias now but many growers think their popularity will be short lived.

Well, in recent years most of the newly introduced petunias do not require deadheading in order to keep blooming.

Petunia Blue Vein Merlot

A smaller flower with a mounding habit, some pinching recommended to maintain fullness

Petunia Good And Plenty Purple

Petunia Suncatcher

Very floriferous, trailing but compact

Petunia White Russian

Proven Winners, spreads to 24"

Petunia Hell's Bells

From Hort Couture the first true orange petunia

Petunia Limbo

Dwarf petunia with large flowers, will not spread out

These are just some of the new introductions that you might want to look for this year and below are two previous introductions that have excelled in my hot summer garden.

Petunia Bubblegum

Petunia Bordeaux

All petunias benefit from regular fertilizing and trimming in July to continue strong until frost.