Issue 9              Seasonal tips and featured varieties coming to a retailer near you              May 16, 2008

VINES & SCREENS (again)

We now have more vines ready to go, including an assortment of morning glories (Ipomoea), those twining annual climbers that open their big showy trumpet flowers early each day. (NOT, might we add, the invasive perennial bindweed sometimes referred to as “morning glory.”)  Fast-growing vines can reach up to 10 feet in two months, blanketing a trellis or fence with flowers that bloom in shades of white, blue, purple, pinks, reds, and combinations, attracting hummingbirds and butterflies. 
 
Morning glories don’t require very fertile or moist soil; in fact they will bloom best in poorer soils.  The vines will die back when it frosts in the fall, but easily reseed themselves for the next warm season.  In this election year, we recommend ‘Heavenly Blue’ – an heirloom and the most popular variety – which happens to exhibit three colors at once: white buds are pink as they untwist, opening to blue. 
 
Moon Vine (Calonyction aculeatum) is similar to morning glories, with its wide white trumpet blooms, but as its name implies, this vine is a night bloomer.  A few weeks ago we highlighted traditional night-blooming nicotianas, which the Victorians often included in their “night gardens,” full of pale-flowered varieties that opened their sweetly scented blooms at twilight.  Moon Vine is another good night garden plant, with fragrant, creamy white blooms that open just as the sun sets.  Grow the 6-foot vines near a patio or open window to enjoy their perfumed glow all evening.
 
For pictures of ‘Heavenly Blue,’ Moon Vine, and our other Vines & Screens, see our poster.
 
 
TROPICALS

We thank Linda Cochran of Bainbridge Island and Ann Lovejoy, the most prolific garden writer in America and a Northwest icon, for identifying, over ten years ago, a major new trend in gardening that Ann called Tropicalismo.  Since then, our “Tropicals for Temperate Gardens” collection has grown to include many plants that bring the exotic forms, bold foliages, and flamboyant blooms of steamier places to our cool Northwest climate.  Some are hardy enough to stay outside all winter with a little protection; the others can be grown in large pots and brought inside in winter, or just enjoyed as big showy annuals throughout the warmer months.  For more on tropical garden design from Ann Lovejoy, read our article.
 
Many of our tropicals, like Hibiscus and Passionflower (Passiflora), are familiar favorites among knowledgeable gardeners, but we’re always on the lookout for fresh or innovative additions to our list.  Ptilotus exaltatus ‘Joey’ is a new variety for us this year.  An Australian native, its latin name roughly translates to “tall feathers,” for the fluffy, conical silver and purple bloom spikes it produces in spring and summer.  Heat- and drought-tolerant plants can be planted in beds or containers, as long as they have excellent soil drainage.  Visit our full list of tropicals here.

Recent issues of GARDEN NEWS:
Issue 1, March 21, 2008 (Delphiniums, garlic starts)
Issue 2, March 28, 2008 (Sweet peas, edible peas, perennials)
Issue 3, April 4, 2008 (Nasturtium, baskets)
Issue 4, April 11, 2008 (Arctotis, veggies)
Issue 5, April 18, 2008 (Vines & Screens, Background Plants, Cut Flower Collection)
Issue 6, April 25, 2008 (Tea Herbs, Woodfield Lupine)
Issue 7, May 2, 2008 (Sun-loving Coleus, Nicotiana)
Issue 8, May 9, 2008 (Vegetables, Foliage plants)