Abducted Again

Unlike some of my friends -
Esther Montgomery to be exact (just in case you were curious),
I was not transported to such exotic nether regions.

I wasn't allowed to leave the city, let alone the planet.
My transportation was more of being sucked into the abyss.
As opposed to being swept up and away as was Esther.
The good news is that I was allowed to keep my own skin.
There is no way that anyone would walk right past,
and not be aware that I was there.

Esther had free roam of her destination.
Myself was chained in place.
Lashed to the keyboard and ordered to type,
about all manner of things but plants or soil.

This has gone on for months.
Well maybe I don't have to tell you that,
it was pretty apparent that I had suddenly gone missing.
That is until the other day when I revolted.
Since then I have been doing whatever I pleased.
Which included returning to my own persona -
and deliberately writing about plants until I turned green.

The result is rather dashing, just ask Lucy -
she knows my new plot is thickening.
It is rather lovely that freshly turned cybersoil.
Some really fab new things have sprouted.
Enough that my plant cave can be unveiled.

Perhaps YOU could use a little BEAUTIFUL NEWS today.
Well any day for that matter. When the site fills in,
there will be so many wonderful things to view.
Go ahead and brighten your life too with a trip to Beautiful News.

Perfectly Timeless Posies

New Perennial Plant Scoop (2009)

Imagine flower heads that do not age. Impossible? No!

Introducing Echinacea 'Milkshake'

Image courtesy of Plants Nouveau

Push aside the thought that this is "just" another white coneflower. If you don't you will miss out on the most amazing news. In fact, you will think the following statement is a typographical error. Trust me, it is not. Nor it is just hype to push a plant into your unsuspecting hands.

The blooms on Milkshake Echinacea do not fade.

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Did You See September?

Anyone with news of where the month of September ran off too, please respond!

How could an entire month just up and walk away without me seeing it go?

I hope someone saw it because at this desk September seems to have just up and left the building.

Fine how-do-you-do as I am quite sure I saw it arrive.

But to just breeze in the door and flee right out without warning?

Rude manners should not be endured.

I don't care what month you are, have some respect already.

But you know the strangest thing happened while the beauty of September was skulking away.

No, nothing fantastic happened with my flowering beauties.

Neither was anything alive profoundly provocative in other ways.

My regular readers may think I was abducted by aliens, but I am still here.

Still my self. Though an entire month just arrived and left without giving proper 30 days notice.

Should any of you even toy with the notion that I have run out of words to type ...

Well. May I insist that you are without common sense?

To quote my son, "You talk to much!"

Whether silently, via the keys, or spoken to human ears, I have not been suddenly silenced.

Quite the contrary! The truth be known that my freelance writing world has been set on fire.

All I did was lay in a bit of kindling.

A pitiful pile of twigs it was and then found the matches wet.

Sad one that it was. Wee smoldering mess capable of only a weak flame now and again.

This is until the entire forest caught fire.

Now, I am curious as to whether my fingerprints have worn off from the typing.

Perhaps, I could even think about the topic of plants in the next day or so.

What a brilliant notion! To pick up where I was so rudely interrupted.

The good news is the bills are covered with excess until the next 5 weeks fly by.

Need to know anything about debt management, credit repair, bankruptcy and the like?

I am a walking encyclopedia after the research and projects churned out in past days.

Skin care and acne getting the best of you? Yes, I have become a font of knowledge here too.

Ready to start your own hydroponic veggie garden to save your from Salmonella?

Just ask, I may just know the knowledge that you seek.

Maybe after a full 8 hours of not working and good night's sleep ...

Some crazy story or some plant growing wisdom may filter through the mess.

One never knows what lurks within the mind of Lost In The Flowers.

Stay tuned, it is always possible myself will be allowed to be regular again.

Come to think of it - - YES!

There is something that may be of great interest to anyone who stumbles upon these pages.

Tune in tomorrow. Fingers are punching out for the day.

For the Love of Leaves

The trouble with color is it speaks to me. If they would just make more leaves true red and royal purple, I could have more fun with them.

I was messing around with my camera the other day just to see how it would do on closeups. These are some sections of my container gardens at my front door. Silver and purple seems to be this years theme.

Image © Lost In The Flowers Media

The combination of Purple Diamond Loropetalum above the silver falls of Dichondra is just stunning. The Loropetalum I got at Lowe's and was incorrectly tagged. I was not very happy when I discovered it was not the Purple Pixie Loropetalum I had visions of cascading down the side of the container. Of course by that time it had already increased the root ball beyond the size of the 6" pot and I could not exchange it for the right plant. Still, it is a lovely and colorful shrub even if it will not remain small enough to live much longer in a pot.

Image © Lost In The Flowers Media

Ah, Snow Fairy Caropyrtis how I do love your bright white leaves. You look so lovely with the Blackie Sweet Potato and some red Verbena peeking through here and there. Once upon a time there was some Laguna Lobelia in there .... somewhere. They got smothered out long ago I'm afraid.

Garden Frosting

Cone-fections Plant Feature...

Echinacea purpurea 'Meringue'
Image courtesy of Plants Nouveau

Like icing on a cake. Creamy and attractive petaling that may just find it's way to being a favored blossom for wedding cake decor. What a lovely bloom to team up with romantic pink rose buds to add unusual flair to nuptials celebration traditions.

Echinacea 'Meringue' is a petite new introduction in the Cone-fections series that comes to us from The Netherlands. Add a little evening glow to your garden. Nicely compact for smaller spaces and an excellent candidate for front row placement. Arie Blom has again created a densely branched Echinacea that is fully double and extremely floriferous. Reported to be in full flower from July through September, Meringue has great garden merit.

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If I Were Soil ...

If I were soil capable of supporting rooted life -

I would refuse to allow grass to grow.

I would only provide nutrients to more garden friendly human delights.

I would house those that prove to be beautiful, surprising or colorful presences to behold.

Silvery Leaves of Pulmonaira
Image © Lost In The Flowers Media

Whose fabulous fuzzy leaves cast such a ray of beautiful light over the cooling green of shade.

Red Charm Peony

Image © CJ Diamond

One must admire the appearance of true red so rare amidst an ocean of pinks and white.

Cheerful Purple Coneflowers

Image © Lost In The Flowers Media

Whose excitement never wanes as the family circle gets more daring and bold than ever before.

Delicate Columbine Dancing on a Breeze
Image © Lost In The Flowers Media

For I will clothe the sprightly faeries with blossoms as billowing frocks at the spring cotillion.

Blue Parakeet Iris
Image © CJ Diamond

Who fair echo the color of the early summer sky connecting the awakened soil with the heavens.

Strangely Colored Heuchera Leaves
Image © Lost In The Flowers Media

The appearance of which is meant only to delight the viewer with their bizarre unexpectedness.


Perhaps it is better that I am not soil, for what would the cattle and sheep eat?

This is not to say that I would cast out the trees or luscious fruits or crispy vegetables. Maybe in the grand scheme of things it is wiser that I am only allowed to play with the soil. On further musing if I did gain total control of it things might become a bit one sided!

Yet I cannot help but wonder if the world would be a happier place if I could build Utopia.

Entrapment

Image © Lost In The Flowers Media

Have you any idea what it is like to be walking along minding your own business when a special presence just butts in and creates it's unique little self loudly known? One ignores the rude tactics as the comely entity comes into view. It is shouting at me and not one word befalls my ear. I was no where near the cursed thing and yet it had the audacity to solicit my attention from afar.

Look at it waggling it leaves and preening about two aisles over. Like I am this easy? Really, I can turn off your button just as fast as you decide to light up. Talk about stealing the limelight! I am keeping my attention here where it was before you so rudely interrupted my train of thought. Like, talk to the hand already.

Sure. Like I can concentrate on this ordinary old Zonal Geranium while you are over there just exuding all manner of siren type behavior. Perhaps if I pay you a moments' notice you will cease and desist with your loud voice disturbing my simple errand.

My conscious mind warns me not to get any closer to you. Did I pay that little reminder a shred of heed? You shameless little plant! You have led me into the path of temptation too great to be just where you will be most happily ignored. All right! You win ... I have a pot that is you all day long, well I will right after we pop over to the pottery department on our way to the checkout counter.

Perhaps it would be wiser to buy potting soil at a store that does not stock live plants.

First Peek at Foam #1

PLANT SCOOP for 2009 - River Series Tiarellas

Tiarella cordifolia 'Delaware'
Image courtesy of Plants Nouveau

Plants that run form a flowing carpet that would remind one of a river. The developer of this new group of Tiarella selections has named them after a river from the east coast area of the United States. The River Series consists of five lovely cultivars of Tiarella cordifolia. Each bears unique leaf shapes and telltale dark markings.

'Delaware' Tiarella is the product of 15 years of cross breeding and selection of plantsman Sinclair A. Adam. Just one of 150 hybrid seedlings selected from a test group of 15,000 plants.

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I Want a Tropical Paradise...

You know it is really refreshing to work with a landscape design client who actually gardens. So, I was very excited about this new project. The client wants wild abandon and color everywhere. Brilliant color too because her significant other is color blind. Totally my cup of tea you know.

So after many hours of layout and several on site meetings at the new home under construction on the waterfront and golf course. I have developed exactly what she has instructed me she wants out of her yard. She wants something different than what everyone else in the entire area has.

No areas are completely without evergreens. There is tropical foliage, grasses, flowering trees, shrubs and perennials threaded through the entire scope of bed layouts. A huge rose garden and don't forget the annuals. The client is ecstatic when looking over all the photos of the plants and reviewing which ones are in what bed.

The majority of the planting was completed a month before cold weather set in. A handful of perennials were completely unavailable until spring. She was absolutely in love with her yard the day the last of the season's work was done. A gardener always thinks they have found heaven when everything comes out so lovely from the plan.

Don't ask me what happened over the winter to this person who has gardened for years farther north. I was totally caught by surprise when she called in February to say,

"There are so many blanks spots in my planting beds. Why aren't there more evergreens?"

My mind froze. Like did she really just say this? Did she expect Elephant Ears and Canna Lilies to stay for her to admire all year long in zone 7? She knew what would disappear last summer before it was planted. Before I could utter more than,

"Um..." I was blasted with yet another zinger.

"I am having a huge party on March 29th and I want all the rest of the perennials planted, these dead ones must be replaced by 2 days before the event. We can't have you people in here with all the other setting up that must be done. Oh yes, and we need to plant the Impatiens and the rest of the new annuals when you come to do the other work before the party."

What does one say to someone like this? This is not zone 10? Have you lost your meds? I mean it could snow tomorrow if Mother Nature felt like throwing us a curve. The last threat of frost is like on April 15. Better yet, none of these plants will be available until maybe early May. The gardener client is telling me her perennials are dead when they are dormant! Deep breath here ...

"The Elephant Ears are not dead, they will be back when the weather warms up enough in June. In fact none of those plants are dead, they are sleeping until warm weather. The amount and placement of evergreens was approved by you last summer. We can plant winter annuals for the party but they are an additional cost over the installation contract price as they are not part of that planting list or item pricing."

Well, this did not go over real well.

"I do not want all these holes in my landscaping! No one else has them, why must I?"

One gets the feeling she would have liked to been a gardener prior to building this house but she has perhaps not ventured past drooling over magazine photos. No, I know she actually does play in the dirt and can identify and converse about certain plants - both woody and herbaceous. Perhaps she is sleep talking?

After a few more minutes, I finally managed to make her understand that party or not, the weather was not ready (inside or outside a greenhouse) for the plants she wanted to be planted before the first of April. Was she happy about the situation? Of course not! But I am not God and there is no heating system installed in her soil to wake them up faster than nature.

Just because the house looks like it was built in Florida, it actually sits several states north of there and hours from the Keys. The real pip in the winter woman is that she did not want evergreens everywhere when she was the summer woman who approved then entire project.It isn't like she bought the wrong shoes to match her suit and can return them for a better suiting pair!