Georgene A. Bramlage's Blog
Posted by Georgene A. Bramlage
1. Here's a chance to win a collection of one of my favorite decorative annuals - Wave® Petunias. The prize package is two six-packs of the red, white, and blue petunias in time for the 4th of July. Five winners drawn at random also reeive a 14" fiberglass container and tote bag!
2. The second contest is The Sonoma Garden Giveaway which features California's new garden festival, the Late Show Gardens at Cornerstone Sonoma. The Late Show Gardens includes work of world-class landscape designers, horticulturists, and garden thought leaders. The Festival takes place Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 18-20, 2009 at Cornerstone Sonoma, 23570 Highway 121 (Arnold Drive),Sonoma, California 95476.
Prize for the Giveaway includes: VIP access to the show, a luxury all-inclusive weekend package that includes airfare, accommodations, dining, limousine service, winery tours and a Cornerstone shopping spree.
Have fun entering!
Posted by Georgene A. Bramlage
Join me as I prepare for another summer of garden visits and shows. Here are some selections for May, 2009:
- The Garden Conservancy here in the U.S. is geared up for another year of garden visits. Membership in the Conservancy allows members admittance to more than 300 gardens in 2009. The Garden Conservancy philosophy is "that the best way to learn about gardens and to appreciate them is to simply spend more time in them."
- The NY Botanical Garden holds its 17th Antique Garden Furniture Show and Sale May 1-3, 2009 in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory Tent. Here more than 30 of the country’s leading dealers offer antique garden pieces, including fountains, statues, benches, urns, sundials, birdbaths, and botanical prints. Also throughout the show and sale weekend, antiques experts and designers provide demonstrations and talks.
- On the west coast of the U.S., the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden presents A Festival of Flavors from May 1-3, 2009. The show focuses on edible plants that can be easily grown in a small decorative garden or containers. The show features garden displays designed by Southern California landscape architects and designers featuring edible plants. There will be guest speakers presenting information about garden design, edible plants, organics and sustainable gardening practices.
- You'll also want to check out an article here at Suite 101 about Historic Garden Landscapes. This is a garden travel guide. These ten historic garden landscape articles can help to plan a day outing, a lengthy trip or act as a virtual excursion.
Posted by Georgene A. Bramlage
The photo galleries of Garden Design Magazine offer series of sophisticated and international designs. Some of my current favorites include:
- State or foreign country;
- Subjects; and
- The Smithsonian Collection of Garden Furnishings and Horticultural Artifacts.
Some of my articles about Landscaping Photographs include:
Posted by Georgene A. Bramlage
Spring came roaring into southwest VA (plant hardiness zone 7) a little on the early side in mid-February, but was sidetracked due to a spell of cold weather. However, snowpdrops, species crocus, early daffodils and hybrid witchhazels blossomed. Temperatures heated up again at the beginning of March. Bradford pears, red maples, flowering plums, forsythia and more daffodils and hybrid crocus made their appearances. Now when redbuds and flowering cherries are beginning to blossom, temperatures are dipping again and rain is predicted for the next few days.
Birds are also doing their spring things. Since mid-February, we've had several pair of bluebirds showing up at the feeder. The American goldfinches have resumed their spring and summer breeding colors with the males, particularly making bright splashes of gold at the feeder and birdbath. We've also had various wrens,including the Carolina, other finches such as the House and Purple, and woodpeckers like the red-bellied and flicker showing up. Mourning dove pairs continue to feed on the corn and sunflower hearts I scatter for them. The feeder and birdbath are right outside the window where I work, so when I give my eyes a rest, I also give them a treat.
A short video about the Lab's NestWatch project specifically dealing with the effects of climate on nesting and breeding is at the ScienCentral website.
Posted by Georgene A. Bramlage
The Virginia Native Plant Society Plant (VNPS) Wildflower of the Year for 2009 is the Eastern Skunk Cabbage. The Wildflower of the Year for 2008 was the Virginia Spiderwort.
Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) is an early blooming native plant at home in bog and water gardens. Virginia spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana) is a long-blooming herbaceous perennial for native plant gardens. Both are among my favorite wildflowers because they are seemingly simple, but in reality are complex. Both are fascinating and fun to obaserve.
Skunk cabbage is reproductively intricate and physiologically complex. Its simple flowers are embedded in an inflorescence (spathe and spadix) which is over millions of years old. If wet knees aren't a problem, the reproductive cycle of skunk cabbage makes a fascinating early spring and summer show. The plants, particularly the flowers and inflorescence, are among members of the Arum plant family that are thermogenic. They are capable of producing their own heat which allows them to emerge from freezing muck through snow and ice in early spring.
Virginia spiderwort flowers exist only for one day but there are plenty of flower buds standing in line waiting in the inflorescence to open. The inflorescence is surrounded by seemingly simple cup-like leaves that are really bracts. The Virginia spiderwort is the most common in nature and also the one most available as cultivars (cultivated variety) like my favorite deep-blue flowered and yellow-leaved 'Sweet Kate.'
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