More than 65 varieties of native wildflowers, shrubs and trees will be on hand for the Native Plant Center’s ninth annual Wildflower and Native Plant Sale. There’s no admission charge to the sale, which will run, rain or shine, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Valhalla campus of Westchester Community College.

Look for the big tent near Parking Lot 1 at 75 Grasslands Road. And come early if you want the good stuff – the sale has sold out for the last several years.

Many rare and unusual plants will be available this year, including a pink form of shadbush (Amelanchier Rosea), a showy and fragrant swamp pink (Helonias bullata) and a naturally dwarf birch (Betula uber) recently rediscovered in the mountains of Virginia.

Here are a few photos from North Creek Nurseries of plants from the sale. Carolina lupine (Thermopsis villosa):

In just a few weeks, all of those plants you’ve been tending indoors for the winter can finally go back outside.

If you’ve never tried to grow a fruit tree, now’s a good time to get started on one. They’re fairly forgiving about growing happily outdoors in the sun for the summer and then coming inside for the winter with lots of hot, dry air.

Logee’s Greenhouses in Danielson, Conn., has a new citrus called ‘Sunquat’ that looks like great fun.

It’s a cross between a sweet Meiwa kumquat and a lemon and it’s supposed to be extremely prolific and free-fruiting.

It blooms year-round with highly fragrant flowers much like a kumquat.

Unlike other citruses, the fruit doesn’t come in a uniform size. Instead, the size is determined more by the size of the plant and the amount of fruit on the tree.

Byron Martin, the third-generation owner of Logee’s, says you should eat the fruit like a giant kumquat — rind and all.

Like other citrus trees, grow ‘Sunquat’ in a clay pot in full sun.

Brad Gurr, a certified arborist with SavaTree in Ossining, sent me a follow-up to his newsletter last month about wind and trees. Here’s a link to the Part 1 post.

Earlier this spring, I learned from Doug Tallamy’s new book that oak trees are the No. 1 thing to plant for native bugs and birds. Now I know they are also the most wind-resistant tree.

Here’s Brad:

“While it’s true that “things will change, come what may”, it is a good idea to think about what you can do to prevent wind damage in the first place.

“Knowing the resistance to wind damage of the trees you’re planting is a great place to start.

“The following list of trees is arranged from the least wind damage resistant trees to the most resistant:

spruce

pine

cedar

juniper

cherry

willow

silver maple

poplar

linden

ash

oak Read more of this entry »

Some of the ornaments brought to the show by Fleur of Mount Kisco:

Here’s a link to an earlier post with full info on the show.

I was quite impressed with the high quality of items on view. No junk at all.

Read more of this entry »

From our master gardeners:

Q: How and when should I transplant a large 6-foot-by-6-foot rhododendron?
— Tarrytown gardener

A: The best time to transplant a rhododendron in our area is in the early spring. Most of these plants survive moving very well.

With a plant of the size in question one must be very careful that the roots have not become intertwined with the roots of other plants, shrubs or trees. If they have, it would be best to leave the plant be and purchase a new plant.

If that problem does not exist, you should be able to transplant as long as you follow a few precepts. Your main aim is to get as many roots as possible and also as large a rootball as possible. Because the root system is shallow, your worry is not depth but width.

Prepare your planting hole prior to moving the plant because you must plant the newly dug-up plant right away.

Once you have the plant in its new home, give it plenty of water right away and throughout the summer.

— Judie Phillips, New Rochelle, master gardener, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Westchester

Whew, lots going on out there in the gardening world. Here are some items from our calendar.

Saturday, April 26
Bronx: Garden Workshop. Speaker: Laurel Rimmer. Topic: Alpine troughs. Registration. $55. 1 p.m. Wave Hill, 675 W. 252 St. 718-549-3200.

Chestnut Ridge: Organic Beekeeping Workshop. $185. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Pfeiffer Center, 260 Hungry Hollow Road. 845-352-5020.

Sunday, April 27
Somers: Annuals and Perennials: Adding Color to Your Garden. Speaker: Tolly Beck. Free. 2 p.m. Lasdon Park and Arboretum, Route 35. 914-864-7268.

May 1
Spring Valley: Gardening in the Shade Workshop. Speaker: Tolly Beck, horticulturist and instructor at the New York Botanical Garden. Free. 7:30 p.m. Finkelstein Memorial Library, 24 Chestnut St. 845-352-5700.

May 2
Katonah: Plant Sale. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, 149 Girdle Ridge Road. 914-232-1252. Read more of this entry »

If you love tulips, get yourself to the New York Botanical Garden this weekend.

I stopped by this morning to catch the opening day of the annual Garden Antiques Show and Sale (will do a separate post on that) …

… and was knocked out by this bed of tulips alongside the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.

Read more of this entry »

I spent most of yesterday touring three pretty great gardens in the Garden Conservancy’s Open Days Program (I know, I know — someone has to do it). Wow, what an incredible spring day — almost 80 degrees.

Photographer Mark Vergari and I started at Shobha Vanchiswar’s cute little garden on a 1/4-acre suburban plot in Chappaqua (open to the public on Sunday, May 4) and then spent an hour or so at Henriette Suhr’s wonderful 8-acre garden in Chappaqua (also May 4).

Then I met up with photographer Liz Orozco to wander around the 45-acre White Garden in Lewisboro with its hundreds of thousands of daffodils in peak bloom (open Sunday, April 27).

I’ll post photos when Mark and Liz have finished editing them.

Meanwhile, I had an article in the paper yesterday on the first two Westchester gardens on the Open Days tour: the White Garden and Joanna Friedman’s 1-acre shady garden in Larchmont. Here’s a link to the article, which has all the info on what’s in the gardens, when to visit, directions etc.

Photographer Carucha Meuse and I visited Joanna’s garden last week. Here are some of Carucha’s shots of Joanna and her garden.

It’s hard to believe she’s right in the center of the Larchmont Woods neighborhood.

Read more of this entry »

Just in time for weekend chores, here’s the latest Do It Now column from Susan Henry:

Perennials
When tulips and daffodils fade, snap off the tops to prevent seed pod formation. Leave the foliage until it is yellow or brown. Next year’s bulb and flower development depend on food produced by the leaves. Do not braid or wrap the leaves to make them look neat. Continue dividing overgrown plants.

Flowers
Get out planters and other containers, wash thoroughly and fill with fresh potting soil for annual displays. Pansies do well in the cool weather. Read more of this entry »

Here’s email from Geralyn Delaney Graham about a romp in the woods and three-hour nature hike at Glynwood Center in Cold Spring on May 3 (Derby Day!).

“Glynwood Center Presents:
Spring Ephemerals, A Walk in our Woods
Saturday, May 3, 10am – 4 pm

“Explore the wonders of our spring forest in this lecture and 3-hour hike through Glynwood’s rich and diverse landscape and neighboring Fahnestock State Park. Mr. Lorimer will introduce us to native spring ephemerals, the environments that nurture them, and the invasive species that threaten them. He will also talk about little-known woodland shade plants and ferns that are difficult to grow. Read more of this entry »