The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

Monthly Archives: March 2012

“Garden of the Gods” – Philadelphia Flower Show

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A few days ago, I posted a plethora of pictures from the Philadelphia Flower Show. It was a colorful collection of tropical flowers, foliage and art that deeply stimulated the senses. It was a welcome sight at this time of year and an inspiration to become more and more creative in my gardening endeavors. 
Speaking of “creativity”, the garden display that impressed me the most at the PFS and kept me coming back for more was:     

What made this display so interesting and different was the fact that there wasn’t a flower to be found and this was the Philadelphia FLOWER Show:

Maybe because I saw it near the end of my visit, it was a chance to rest the eyes a bit. But every time I walked away, I eventually made my way back. There were at least three different Carex cultivars used and home boy is a sucker for any Carex.

After a little research, I found this description of the “Garden of the Gods”:

A fantasy rock garden inspired by the wind-carved stone formations and lunar-like landscape of Garden of the Gods, an unexpected high-desert area on the island of Lanai. Legend says ancient Hawaiian gods created the garden by dropping boulders from the sky. 
I also found this on the designer’s web site, Handmade Gardens:    

Michael Petrie is known in horticultural circles for his wildly beautiful and unconventional exhibits for the Philadelphia Flower Show, many of which have won “Best in Show”.  

I couldn’t agree more with that statement as I totally dug what the display was going for.

Before I get to some additional photos, here is a link to the video for the “making of” The Garden of the Gods.

OK, photo time:

What do you think? You with me on this one?

John

Just me and my little girl

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I have a 6 year old daughter and a 9 year old son. I love them dearly but they can get on my very last nerve when they are in full on bickering mode. 
Some times I just yell or threaten even though I know that rarely puts an end to it.
Other times I follow the parenting handbook and encourage them to resolve their dispute. Even I laughed when I typed that last sentence. 
Pretending I don’t hear them is not an option because the volume only goes up as the argument continues.
So … the absolute best option is to simple separate them which results in my wife taking one to do something and me taking the other. Kind of like man to man defense in basketball.   
This morning, the fighting commenced almost immediately after they woke up. Without hesitation, I grabbed my daughter and convinced her to go outside on our playground. I made sure to take my coffee and camera with me so I could entertain myself while my daughter swung, slid and climbed. 
She was having an awesome time all by herself when I had the idea to play around with my camera settings and started taking photos of her. She won’t be 6 for long and these are the moments I’ll look back on fondly.  I did my best to take in the moment and savor this time together. 
I attempted a bunch of pics using the “shutter speed” function and while I am clearly still an amateur, I was happy with some of the results:                   

I obviously need to work on my knowledge of lighting and how to adjust the camera settings while not in “Auto” mode, but I still love some of the detail in the two photos above. No more blurry photos for this guy.

We decided to then go on to some additional adventures.

First it was a hunt for pine cones under our pine trees. We scored only four.

Then it was a search for deer in our back woods. No luck.

And finally, it was time to ride the scooter to the end of our street, which is part woods/part construction zone. My daughter went nuts over the large pile of rocks we found and climbed to the top:    

While there, we found a large stone that had “gems” inside (nicely played on my part) which sent her imagination flying:

I soon joined her on top of the rock pile and we hung out for a long time; just dad and daughter:

It was the perfect perch to snap photos of the newly arriving birds, including this Eastern Bluebird (?):

And this Robin:

It was the perfect morning until this dope explained to my daughter that the photo below was either a crudely created sacrificial site by a the local satanists or a fire pit where some local teenagers get drunk each night:

My little joke lead to numerous follow-up questions and I hope I successfully erased the memory from her mind.

It was a fantastic time spent with my little girl and something I need to do more often. These times are precious and fleeting.

John

Philadelphia Flower Show 2012

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To my dismay, I wasn’t going to be able to find the time to attend the annual Philadelphia Flower Show this year. Life and work was getting in the way. 
But, an email delivered to my Inbox on Wednesday night changed all that. It mentioned the fact that the show was open until 9:30 PM each night and the crowds would be a lot more manageable. Hot damn, that’s it! I’ll just take the one hour drive right after work on Thursday and brave the traffic on RT 95. 
The one hour drive turned out to be closer to two hours but it was all worth it. 
The theme this year was “Hawaii, Islands of Aloha” and as is always the case with this show, it didn’t disappoint. I’m still recovering from sensory overload. 
But enough about me, I’ll let the photos tell the story: 

It wasn’t all tropical:

And a quick preview of my next post.

My absolute favorite display of all was “Garden of the Gods” which was chock full of a number of different Carex grasses:

Anyone else attend? What did you think?

John

Wordless Wednesday – Nine”bark”

Pennisetum orientale ‘Karley Rose’

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Hello, my name is John (audience responds: “Hi John”) and I’m addicted to growing ornamental grasses.

It all started a few years ago when I moved into my current home and quickly realized three things:

  1. My clay soil drains very slowly
  2. My property has very little shade   
  3. Deer will always be on the prowl

I tried to fight my conditions at first but it didn’t take long to accept that it was a battle I could not win. I would have to accept what I had if I wanted to remain a sane gardener.

One “type” of plant overwhelmingly fit my growing conditions … the ornamental grass. It was a match made in heaven and I have never looked back.        

And here’s the thing, I will continue to feed my addiction for the foreseeable future. Bank on it. There are so many options out there and a lifetime to try them all out.  
Anyways, for today’s OG lesson, I will discuss Pennisetum ‘Karley Rose’ (oriental fountain grass):

Some good bits of info to share with your friends:

  • Size – roughly 3′ x 3′
  • Survives in zones 5-9
  • Like most OG’s, prefers full sun but will do OK in partial shade
  • KR is a warm season grass so it will begin to grow as the temps warm up in mid to late spring
  • Starts to bloom in July which is earlier than most warm season grasses
  • Blooms are a pink/mauve color that eventually turn to a tan color as the season progresses
  • Foliage holds up reasonably well in rough weather and rebounds quickly after a rain and/or snow
  • While I’ve never grown the species, KR has a much deeper green foliage and longer lasting and pinker flowers       

And some pics for your viewing pleasure:

In a combo with Sedum ‘Matrona’:

Blooms slowly fading from pink to tan:

In my mixed border fitting in well as a “sort of” focal point:

Still holding up well in mid-Fall (with Panicum):

Your lesson for today is now done. We’ll talk more OG’s soon.

John

Narcissus (Daffodil) ‘Mount Hood’

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Everyone loves the daffodil.

They are the ultimate sign of spring after a long cold winter. A promise of better things to come if you will.

But yours truly is completely indifferent to the narcissus … with one exception. I dig the white ones.

A few years ago, I did my homework and determined that the best white daffodil available was ‘Mount Hood’. I can tell you from experience, they rock:  

I have always had a soft spot for white flowers (one of these days I will create a moon garden filled with only white flowers, but I digress) and Mount Hood fulfills that need.

What is interesting, is that when these daffodils first bloom (late April here in zone 6B) the trumpet is a pale yellow color:

And eventually transforms to a pure white (as seen in the two photos below):

And when the pure white state is reached, it is nirvana:
I planted a few clumps of these a few years ago and while they reliably come back and bloom each year, I haven’t seen them multiply as much as I had hoped for:

Some other nuggets of info before I get out of here:

  • Each bloom is about 5″ in diameter
  • Survives in zones 3-8
  • They reach a height of about 14″ to 18″ 
  • Prefer full sun but have thrived in partial shade for me 
  • The foliage is a fantastic blue/green color
  • As with all daffodils, they are deer resistant 

Have you grown this? Dig it? Would also love suggestions for other ‘whites’.

John