Sunday, April 23, 2006

Plant Sale Season is Upon Us (YAY!)


It's time for annual plant sales.. Two of my favorites are the National Arboretum sale:
Saturday, April 29th from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.
(If you want to be an early bird you can shop Friday by joining the arboretum. It's a worthy cause.)
US National Arboretum
By the way, the azaleas will be at peak bloom this week. If you have the energy, that's a two-fer.

My other favorite is the All Hallows Guild: Flower Mart at the National Cathedral, May 5 and 6 this year. This is a day of festivities and--like the arboretum sale--includes a variety of vendors selling plants and plant-ephenalia.

As a public transit-using pedestrian, my challenge with both of these is bringing home the goodies. Anybody want to car-pool?

Some other garden shows coming up:
  • Franciscan Monastery Garden Guild 8th Annual Plant & Herb Sale will be held April 29 & 30 on the grounds of the Franciscan Monastery, 1400 Quincy Street NE,Washington, DC. For info call (703) 356-1019.
  • Green Spring Gardens Park includes Spring Garden Day, May 20
  • GardenFair - A One-of-a Kind Plant Sale at Winterthur this September 15-18. Want to plan an expedition with me?

Luscious 'Lips


deep purple dream
(c) 2006 RKnow
sweet botanical tulips in clown colors
(c) 2006 RKnow
I am infatuated with tulips. The deep luminous colors, so intense with sun behind them they look like richest glass. Their graceful shapes. In a vase, they writhe and dance on their long stems, unfolding in spurts like coy dancers. They come in a range of heights and colors, and bloom early to late.

In our garden, the big early yellow tulips are almost gone, but the black-purple ones are holding strong and some gaudy red and yellow parrots are just beginning. Some multipetaled reds have exploded into mops of falling petals, while others are still primly shut.

In addition to long-legged beauties, goblets elevated on tall stalks, there are bunch-flowering tulips and botanical varieties some with mottled leaves and contrasting marks on their water-lily petals. The rockgarden tulips seemed vary fragile and are almost done. They are supposed to naturalize well. We'll see if the squirrels spare them.

Romantic reds
(c) 2006 RKnow

flame
(c) 2006 RKnow

Peony-flowered Tulips

Luscious 'Lips II

I have fallen in love with tulips this year. Marianne planted peony flowered tulips in the shade garden and elsewhere. They have been blooming a sweet duet alongside the tree peony. These seem to last longer than other tulips, even though they look so delicate.


Peony flowered tulips in the shade garden
(c) 2006 RKnow

More Inspiration


Love the contrasting textures!
(c) 2006 RKnow

I spotted this on a walk. Maybe next year we'll plant some viridianas--I really like the greens. The contrast in textures highlights the dense saturated color and texture of the tulips.

Monday, April 10, 2006

Plants are Politics

I just went home to Maine for a long weekend. I got to reading a friend's FedCo catalog -- that once meant Federation of Coops. This distributor of seeds and plants grew out of the organic food coop movement in Maine and is part of a movement of maintaining independence through plant integrity, supporting local producers, and practicing organic and renewable agriculture. Plants are political. Fedco's catalogs are written for growers in Maine's zone 4-5 climate, and have a wealth of information on culture, propogation, and the history of the plants many of us take for granted. It's worth downloading them just for the great classic plates they've duplicated.

Fedco Seeds, Organic Growers Supply, Moose Tubers, Fedco Trees, & Fedco Bulbs catalog requests

Is there anything like this in the mid-Atlantic region?