Wave Hill’s annual plant sale starts today. Here’s a press release from Martha Gellens:
“Wave Hill invites the public to bring home their own piece of paradise at its Annual Plant Sale, September 19-21, 2008, from 10:00 AM–4:30 PM each day. Over 1,000 plants, many propagated from Wave Hill’s own spectacular gardens and tagged with a “Wave Hill Signature Plant” emblem, will be on sale at the Perkins Visitor Center. Plant labels identify ideal growing environments, and Wave Hill’s expert gardeners will be on hand for personal gardening advice and tips for sustainable gardening practices. Read more of this entry »

Like a simple black dress or a comfy pair of khakis, sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ is one of those old reliables that never seem to go out of style.

Trendy purists may say oh but it’s trite and overused, but so what? It’s a great plant and so many good gardeners I know wouldn’t dream of a perennial bed or rock garden without it.

This tough-as-nails sedum is reliably hardy in the Hudson Valley and, with its thick, succulent leaves, it doesn’t wilt in long spells of heat, humidity or drought.

The plants grow about 18 inches tall and 15 inches wide.

Read more of this entry »

Perennials: Continue dividing and transplanting early-blooming perennials. Cut more flowers for drying. Continue to pull weeds before they go to seed. Begin planting early-blooming bulbs. Wait until late October to plant tulips.

Flowers: Take in tender aquatic plants and tropical fish from ponds. Collect seed from favorite annuals. Make note of the best location for annuals to fill in bare spots in perennial garden. Remove spent annuals and add to compost. Sow hardy annuals in prepared beds or in cold frame. Read more of this entry »

I can’t remember where I saw it, but I remember a wise and funny magazine story in the last few years called something like “10 Things I Wish I Had Never Planted.”

It was interviews with gardeners about innocently planted things that turned out be wildly invasive—or just plain weedy and ugly.

Morning glories were on several lists. Yes, they turn up everywhere once you introduce them to your yard, but I’m still fond of them. I like to train them up and around the deck railing with string.

Our new deck wasn’t finished until late June, so these guys got a late start. Once they get going, they really take off.

I love having them greet me first thing in the morning when I open the back door.

Big leaves, too.

Hmm, what would be on my list of regrets? Definitely perilla (and I’m sure my friends and family would agree). And lemon balm. And mint (only try it in a container).

Maybe artemesia, but it rips up easily. Forsythia, for sure. Maybe autumn olive.

And sorrel—I like that it comes up so early in spring, but then it bolts and goes to seed in no time. Then I finally made sorrel soup—and it tasted like slimy grass. Out it went.

What’s on your list?

Here’s more info on the upcoming dahlia show in Greenwich, from the Garden Education Center. I understand they are still looking for show participants, too:

“DAZZLING DAHLIAS!
“A Dahlia Show presented by the Westchester Fairfield Horticultural Society and the Garden Education Center of Greenwich

“WHERE: The Garden Education Center of Greenwich, 130 Bible Street, Cos Cob, Connecticut 06807.

“WHEN: Friday, September 26, 2008 from 1-4:30PM & Saturday, Sept. 27 from 10AM -3PM.

“An explosion of eye-popping color awaits visitors to this exciting first annual event. Hundreds of striking Dahlia blossoms will be shown in a judged competition among the Westchester Fairfield Horticultural Society, the Garden Education Center of Greenwich, the Connecticut Dahlia Society and members of regional garden clubs. Just for fun, there will be dahlia-themed floral arrangement displays contributed by avid gardeners and professional floral designers.

“Dahlias boast an exotic array of color and form in sizes ranging from dainty thimbles to flamboyant dinner plates. They are easy to grow, flower non-stop from May through October and are deer-resistant. Lectures on Dahlia cultivation, presented by members of Connecticut Dahlia Society, will be held in the historic Montgomery Conservatory on both days. These expert growers will share their inside tips on Dahlia cultivation for pleasure and exhibition.

“There will also be opportunities to purchase spring-flowering bulbs (daffodils, tulips, etc.) for autumn planting and to sign up for membership with Westchester Fairfield Horticultural Society and the Garden Education Center of Greenwich. The Garden Education Center Shop will also be open throughout this event.

“Dazzling Dahlias is free and open to the public.

“For further information, visit www.westfairhort.org and www.gecgreenwich.org”

Sept. 20
Hartsdale: Master Gardeners Series. Speakers: Andrea Kish, George Morrison and Anthony Russo. Topic: Growing vegetables and table grapes in your home garden. Free. 10 a.m. Hart’s Brook Nature Preserve, 156 Ridge Road. 914-285-4617.

Ossining: Wildflower Island Tours. Reservations; access to the Island only on tours. Children must be 12 years or older. $6. 10 a.m. Teatown Lake Reservation, 1600 Spring Valley Road. 914-762-2912.

Sept. 27
Hartsdale: Master Gardeners Series. Speakers: Peter Waczek. Topic: Building your garden soil. Free. 10 a.m. Hart’s Brook Nature Preserve, 156 Ridge Road. 914-285-4617.

Ossining: Wildflower Island Tours. Reservations; access to the Island only on tours. Children must be 12 years or older. $6. 10 a.m. Teatown Lake Reservation, 1600 Spring Valley Road. 914-762-2912.

Sept. 28
Stony Point: Take A Child Outside Week. Hands-on activities for preschoolers-sixth graders with an adult. Children will get their hands dirty and their feet wet. Registration. $25. 1-3 p.m. Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rockland County, 10 Patriot Hills Drive. 845-429-7085.

Valhalla: Native Plant Center Lecture. Speaker: Douglas Tallamy. Topic: “Garden with the Environment in Mind.” $10. 1 p.m. Westchester Community College, 75 Grasslands Road. 914-606-7870.

Oct. 4
Rye: Tree Care. Speaker: Frazer Pehmoeller of the Bartlett Tree Experts Co. Topic: “Tree Care, From Roots To Canopy — A Guide For Homeowners.” Reservations. Free. 10 a.m. Rye Town Park, 95 Forest Ave. 914-967-0965.

Oct. 6
Mamaroneck: Garden Club of Mamaroneck. Topic: “Side by Side, Floral Decorations for a Home Setting.” Materials fee. Free. Woman’s Club of Mamaroneck, 504 Cortlandt Ave. 914-777-1829.

Oct. 11
Hartsdale: Master Gardeners Series. Speakers: Ed Bonci. Topic: End-of-season dahlia care. Free. 10 a.m. Hart’s Brook Nature Preserve, 156 Ridge Road. 914-285-4617.

Oct. 14
White Plains: Greater Westchester Orchid Society Meeting. $25 membership. 7 p.m. Ethical Culture Society of Westchester, 7 Saxon Woods Road. 973-420-4966.

Oct. 17
Cold Spring: Evening in the Garden. Self-guided tour through an English-style flower garden, alpine and rock gardens, a bamboo grove. $5. 5-8:15 p.m. Stonecrop Gardens, 81 Stonecrop Lane. 845-265-2000.

Bailey Nurseries of St. Paul, Minn., is launching a “Trees are cool” program this fall. Lots of interesting factoids from them about why you should go plant a tree:

• Shade trees can reduce utility bills for air conditioning by 15-50%.
• Healthy trees can increase residential property values by up to 15%.

• The net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to 10 room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day.

• Studies indicate that trees help create feelings of relaxation and well-being.

• In one year an average tree produces enough oxygen for a family of four.

• One tree can absorb the CO2 output from four cars every year. Read more of this entry »

I’m finally getting around to that story on ordinary folks in the suburbs who are  raising chickens at home. A couple of people emailed with suggestions on people I might talk to when I first posted this earlier this summer, but I can’t find the emails anymore.

Please comment here or email me at wcary@lohud.com if you know someone who fits the bill.

Long a mainstay of the English cottage garden, Verbena bonariensis has been finding its way into more American gardens with each passing summer.

Here’s a large patch I shot earlier this summer at Wayside Gardens in South Carolina:

This hardy garden workhorse really goes to town in late summer and fall, throwing off a seemingly unending succession of tight clusters of lavender flowers that float above long, stiffly upright stems. It’s deer resistant, too.

To take the best advantage of this self-seeding annual, scatter it all around the perennial border instead of massing it in one spot. Then just let it pop up among other flowers to give the whole garden a light and airy feel.

I shot this patch of verbena last September at the butterfly garden at the Lenoir Preserve in Yonkers:

Also known as tall vervain or purple top, Verbena bonariensis is not fussy about soil or water. Just give it a steady diet of full sun all summer long.

You can also move it about the garden, using it to fill holes in the late summer and fall garden.

Bees, hummingbirds and butterflies, especially monarchs, love Verbena bonariensis.

Ask the Master Gardeners

Q: I have just returned from a visit to Bar Harbor, Maine. Many of their lovely lilies are being devoured by a red bug. The larva are oval, covered with their own excrement. They look disgusting and it is the first year that we have seen this. Would you know what this is?

A: The pest attacking these plants is the scarlet lily leaf beetle (Lilioceris lilii). Native to Europe, it first showed up in Canada in 1945 and then in Massachusetts in 1992. It is now all over New England.

Although it will taste a variety of plants, it will only lay eggs on true lilies and fritillaria. The adults are recognizable by their bright scarlet body and black legs, head and bottom. The rust-colored eggs are laid in an uneven line on the underside of the leaf. They hatch in about a week. Read more of this entry »