Hello all!
Here’s something good that comes from an abundance of warm weather. Over the course of just a few days, the sunflowers at the McMinnville Community Garden went from promising buds to profoundly gorgeous blooms.
You’ll find oodles of them here now along with a variety of other fresh, local flowers.
And speaking of flowers, those that begin to bloom late summer into fall often appear in the warm tones of yellow, orange, red, and burgundy. But if you look closely, you can find something in every color of the rainbow – even blue.
This Dwarf Plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides) is a mat forming perennial with excellent late-season interest. Its vivid blue flowers are displayed in late summer and the bright green foliage turns bronzy-red with cooler weather.
Dwarf Plumbago likes any well-drained soil. It’s a low growing plant (about a foot wide and just a bit taller) that will form a trailing mat of foliage and is a good selection for rock walls and containers.
It’s plenty hardy for our area and will grow well in part shade to full sun.
And speaking of plants and gardening, I ran across some information from the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture about Landscape For Life™, a program that shows you how to work with nature in your garden.
A collaboration between Colorado State University Extension and the United States Botanic Garden, the Landscape for Life website contains a wealth of information on sustainable gardening to make it easy to transform your home garden into a beautiful and healthy refuge for you and your family.
Angel Wing Begonia (Cane Begonia)
This week’s plant spotlight is the Angel Wing Begonia. Named for their elegant wing-like shape, they come in a variety of foliage colors from light green to almost black all covered in polka dots.
They thrive in bright indirect light, but do not appreciate any direct sunlight. These babies like humidity, but try not to mist their foliage as they are prone to powdery mildew.
Provide your plant with well draining soil heavy with amendments such as pumice or perlite. They enjoy medium moisture, so allow the soil to dry out before watering.
During the growing season (Spring and Summer) fertilize biweekly with nitrogen heavy fertilizer to promote large foliage growth.
I find these plants so resilient, as they tend to regrow from previously “spent” nodes. To fill out your plant or share with a friend, propagate from stem cuttings either in water or directly into the soil.
Come on in and get your wings today!
Peace, love, and happy planting!
Go on a Quest
Puzzle Quest is happening now at parks all over the Yamhill County. You can get your Passport here at Incahoots for the phenomenal low price of just $2! The Passport contains all the instructions you need to find the hidden clues and solve the puzzle.
If you’re in it for the chance to win a prize, you have until September 23rd to visit all the parks and submit your entry.