Yes, more ornamental grass love

If you do not like ornamental grasses, it is OK to leave now. 

Go on ... get outta here.

Are they gone? .... good riddance.

Let's proceed, shall we?

It's sort of like Christmas Eve out in the garden right now with the OG blooms about ready to show themselves: 

Miscanthus 'Gracillimus' 

Miscanthus 'Variegatus' 

Miscanthus 'Morning Light'

Want to know how I know that my lust for ornamental grasses is off the charts? I can capture three blooming grasses in one photo:

Misacanthus 'Gracillimus', Calamagrostis 'Eldorado' and Miscanthuis 'Purpurascens' 

This is the second year for my Miscanthus 'Purpurascens' and so far, color me impressed:

The seed heads on my two different Chasmanthium latifolium (Northern Sea Oats) have matured nicely:

Northern Sea Oats

Northern Sea Oats 'River Mist'

You can count on an overwhelming amount of coverage on all things ornamental grasses over the next few weeks so brace yourself.


John

OwowCow Creamery

Some times, Dad just has to take charge. 

Tonight was one of those times.

Right after the work day ended at 5:30, I declared to the family "We are having dinner at OwowCow tonight.Yeah, you heard me, we're having ice cream for dinner. Now get in the car already." 

I think the kids were afraid I would eventually come to my senses so they dashed into the car, no questions asked.

We took the unbelievably beautiful drive from New Jersey into Bucks County, PA and we discussed our plan of attack for "dinner". I closely follow the OwowCow Facebook page and follow their Twitter updates so I had a good idea of what flavors they had on tap.

We pulled into the parking lot and before I could get out of the car, the kids were already inside:  

The plan of attack was easy. I was going with the five scoop sampler.There were some serious choices to make and I was ready to implement my plan.

The flavors at OwowCow are not your parent's ice cream flavors. I'm talking:

And:

Is that phenomenal or what? And here's the best part, the ingredients in their ice cream/sorbet/etc. are from local farms:

We're talking seasonal fruits, vegetables (yes, veggies) and even flowers. This creates an aura of excitement as to "what will they make next?" You also know you are getting the freshest ice cream around and you can taste the passion and creativity in every gosh darn bite:

Quick tangent - A dream of mine is to one day provide OwowCow with a bounty of produce from my garden and to have a flavor named after me. I will do it.  

So after a serious strategic planning session, I ended up with the following:

• Lemon blueberry
• Honey Lavender 
• Cinnamon Bourbon
• Corn with Mango Habenero
• Sweet Potato with Wasabi    

I am by no means an ice cream critic (give it time though) but I can tell you it was an experience for the ages (and that ain't no hyperbole).

The lemon blueberry, no surprise, had real blueberries and the combo is a natural.

The honey lavender was perfectly sweet and the hint of lavender took it to another level.

The corn with mango and habanero was the perfect mash-up of sweet, savory and hot. Off the charts good.

The sweet potato with wasabi was borderline perfect with just enough of a nice spicy kick at the end.

The cinnamon bourbon, however, was the cream of the crop (pun intended). Holy crap was it good. It was like all cinnamony and bourbony and just an explosion of awesomeness. This one wins for best choice of the night.

My vanilla obsessed son ended up with four different vanilla flavors and Cookies and Cream and the Madagascar Vanilla was the clear winner:

My daughter went with the "I Hate Chocolate" and she is still talking about it.

My wife went with a duo of Caramel Cashew and the aforementioned Cinnamon Bourbon:                

After tonight, I question why I would ever have ice cream anywhere else. This is an experience and I love the fact that my children picked up on the fact that is was all locally grown and all natural.

And one last one. The nine flavor sampler looks like a fantastic gift for the holidays:

Hopefully my wife picked up on my not so subtle excitement when I saw it.

OwowCow is the real deal and if you don't believe me, check out the reviews on Trip Advisor and the reviews on Yelp.

We all can't be wrong, right?


John    

 

Carex tenuiculmis 'Cappuccino'

My favorite way to plant shop is to forgo any sort of planning and just buy what I like. I prefer to "act now and think later".

Who cares if there isn't room for these plants (there is always room)?

Who cares if they may be pushing the zone that they survive in (I'll take extra care of them, I swear)?

Who cares if they kind of look like they're dead at all times (Just another piece of the proverbial garden puzzle)?

So there I was slumming it at Home Depot (I kid) a few years ago trying to ignore the hundreds of impatiens and begonias, hoping I could find some semi-unique plant that I could waste my money on.

And like an oasis in the desert, I spotted a bunch of oddly colored grasses hidden in a corner amongst empty containers and dying plants.

Upon closer inspection, the grasses were kind of cool in an offbeat way and I sort of dug their color. Turns out they were Carex (sedge) 'Cappuccino' (awesome name):                  

Without giving it much thought or reading the plant labels, I threw five in my cart and hurried to the check-out booth before I could second guess my purchase.

When I got home, I did a little internet research and while there wasn't a ton of info out there, I did discover:

• Survives in zones 6 (or 7 on some sites) to zone 9
• Prefers full sun to partial shade 
• Gets to be about 18" tall and 24" wide
• Requires moist soil (like most sedge)

At the time, I thought, OK, they may not survive the winter here in zone 6B but I gave it a shot. They held up well for a year in a protected spot with full sun but I didn't like how they looked in mass. So I moved them to a bed along my driveway where I strategically placed them hoping to create rhythm and repetition (who do I think I am?).

They are still there to this day:

I love this "grass" (technically I don't think it is a true grass) and its color, texture and mounding shape. And they provide that sought after "year round interest".

  

The color is awesome first emerging in spring after being cut down nearly to the ground: 

I have some Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip' in front of them and the color scheme is pretty cool when the ajuga are in bloom:

As the spring turns to summer, the carex turn in to good looking wispy mounds of awesomeness:

When the sun hits them just right, you can see their reddish copper color emerge:

As the cold weather and frost hits in the fall/winter, they keep their form and still look phenomenal:

And that my friends is the story of how an obsessive and neurotic gardener created a lifetime of love with a little known plant who was toiling in obscurity at a big box store.

So remember, your lesson for today is to "just buy what you like" and figure it all out later.

Life's to short to be planning all the time.


John

Acorus gramineus (Sweet Flag) 'Oborozuki'

Not all plants can be the star of the show or the focal point in the garden. We need those hard workers who help the other perennials and shrubs shine.   

Like Sweet Flag 'Oborozuki':   

I needed a groundcover for the edge of my driveway that could "withstand" the water that runs off of it and stays consistently wet. I envisioned it being a grass-like groundcover that would contrast well in color and texture with the surrounding plants.

Well, while researching Sweet Flag 'Oborozuki' a few years ago, I was immediately sold when I read that it prefers "bog-like" conditions.

I placed the order for a bunch of small plugs with Santa Rosa Gardens and here we are three years later:  

Some bits of info on this plant:

• Survives zones 5-9
• Prefers partial sun but also works in full sun if kept consistently moist. Mine has thrived in full sun to date.
• Size is roughly 12" x 12"
• Deer resistant
• Golden yellow color with green stripes
• Can be divided every 2-3 years which means I'm about ready to do the deed
• Has small, insignificant seedheads that admittedly, I've never seen
• The Sweet Flag name comes from the citrus-like smell of the leaves which I can confirm is true
• One final interesting factoid I found on the 'net - "back in the day" this plant was used in the production of beer and gin. Nice.        

This semi-evergreen groundcover holds up well into the winter and anything that gives me winter color here in zone 6B is a huge positive:

I also love the way this plant contrasts with the fall color of my Itea 'Henry's Garnet':  

A plant with multi-seasonal interest that fits my growing conditions perfectly. Sold!!

So what do you think? Any experience with this one?


John

My OWN Garden Blogger's Bloom Day

I'm a bad ass. 

I really am ... and here's why.

The 15th of every month is widely known to be "Garden Bloggers Bloom Day" where garden bloggers all over the universe share what's blooming in their garden. Good times.

But this guy doesn't play by those rules. No way. I have my own GBBD and it's on the 18th or 24th or 29th of each month. In simpler terms, it's whenever I want to do it. 

I cannot be controlled. 

I play by my own rules. 

I dance to the beat of my own drummer.

I am, a true ... "bad ass".

So join me in my rebellion as we tour my gardens on the 18th of this month (Feels good doesn't it?)

Caryopteris (Bluebeard) 'Sunshine Blue': 

Hydrangea paniculata 'Little Lime':

Asclepias incarnata (Swamp Milkweed) 'Ice Ballet':

Miscanthus 'Strictus' blowing in the 45mph winds:

A slow build to the blooms on Sorghastrum (Indian Grass) 'Sioux Blue':

The stellar Sedum 'Autumn Fire':

Almost 75% of my property is bordered by wild flowers and other wild growth and the Goldenrod takes center stage this time of year: 

It provides quite the backdrop to all of my "man made" gardens:

Never before have I had re-blooming on my Viburnum 'Shoshoni':

Althea (Rose of Sharon) 'Lavender Chiffon' keeps on going:

As does Boltonia 'Pink Beauty':

Doesn't it feel good to be bad?


John