Gardening Holiday - A Smashing Success

Thanks in part to the six top notch presenters pictured below:

And in part to the Mohonk greenhouse, garden, and grounds folks! Garden Holiday was just that, a holiday filled with great people, great talks and walks, and great plants. Thanks to all!

...Speaking of great plants, I picked out some showstoppers below that really shine in the short days of autumn. See if you don't agree...

This is the hands-down winner of our echinacea trials, the flowers are five inches wide and the color is a true burnt orange.

Echinacea 'Tangerine Dream'

Definitely a Joseph's Coat look-a-like, this ornamental pepper stops traffic at the Barn Museum.

Capsicum 'Numex Twilight'

Razzle dazzle 'em with 'Disco Red' marigolds and red okra. The okra flowers are as attractive as the fruit in this case.

Red Okra

Leucanthemella serotina is the plant overflowing with white daisies in September. Not easy to fin but well worth the hunt!

Hungarian Daisy

Begonias all around, baskets of tuberous types and Rex types below showing off their patterned leaves. All still singing in September.

Begonias

An odd name for a really nice PG type hydrangea. The pink is intense and the panicles seem to skyrocket up to the sky.

Hydrangea 'Pinky Winky'

'Limelight' is the variety here. Not new but what a consistent performer. Panicles are huge, and begin and end up green. The shrubs don't get too large so you can tuck them in places.

Hydrangea 'Limelight'

 -gartenmeister 

Mid Summer Meltdown?

Well yes... somewhat but we have some summer flowers that can really take the heat.

Calla Lilies (Zantedeschia) are South Africans that seems unphased by sultry temperatures.

Calla 'Firedancer'

These bulbs are surprisingly easy to grow and bloom for months. One could almost follow the “Just Add Water” philosophy.

Calla 'Goldrush'

AND Coneflowers!

Our Echinacea trials are going quite swimmingly. Shown here in the morning mist, the fanciful flowers shine all day in the show garden. Pictured here are some of our favorites.

Our Box of Crayons in the Morning Mist

Echinacea 'Secret Love' and 'Leilani'

Echinacea 'Aloha'

Echinacea 'Glowing Dream,' 'Colorburst Orange,' and 'Tangerine Dream'

 -gartenmeister 

June Means Oodles of Flowers Here at MMH

Peonies. peonies and more peonies!  

The gardens are full of them and between now and Father's Day they command our attention. Not only for the delectable flowers but the sweet fragrance as well. Peony (correctly Paeonia) is an extremely long lived herbaceous perennial from Siberia and Northern China. A major planting was done here in the '20s. That combined with a new batch in 2008 makes our current display. YUMMY....remember the presence of ants on Peony buds is all because of the nectar the buds excrete.  NTW (Not To Worry).

Dr. Alexander Fleming

Just Imagine the Fragrance

A Little More About Roses...

'William Baffin,' an Explorer rose that is hardier than hardy and never fails to disappoint with this shower of pink flowers at the Rose garden entrance. Our roses (even those which fell pray to the pesky rabbits) are glorious in June. Only the strong survive and that is particularly true of the roses we grow. I promise to be back with more pics as June unfolds.  

A Little About Roses

-gartenmeister 

Tulip Mania at Mohonk - Just In Time for Mother's Day!

Spring is here at Mohonk!

Enjoy our Gardens on your next visit

-gartenmeister 

DANSE INFERNALE

Pictured below the Mohonk Fire Brigade assists the gardeners by burning our ornamental grasses.

Mohonk Fire Brigade.

Mohonk Fire Brigade assist Gardeners by burning ornamental grasses.

This saves us valuable clean up time in the spring, and the plants seem to come back even stronger. Please note, the trucks are on hand to squelch the flames -so safety is assured.

Safety first at Mohonk!

MEANWHILE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HOUSE, the earliest of the spring ephemeral are peeking through like these Corydalis solida, that were planted two falls ago. They seem to be content. Dry soil in the summer seems to be the key.

Corydalis Solida

And where did we acquire them? Scheeper's of course!

 -gartenmeister 

Talk about "What's New?"

The world of coneflowers or plants in the genus Echinacea has been turned upside down in recent years due to some remarkable hybrids showing up with new flower forms and cutting edge color breaks. 

It all started with the common species pupurea .This species was crossed with 4 other species from around the country. The results were startling at first and matching the cultural requirements was challenging. We are taking on that challenge with a trial of 15 new varieties in 2013. Here is the "Rogues Gallery"(tongue-in-cheek) we will grow this summer. You will need your entire crayon box for this one. Our thanks to Terra Nova Nursery for this trial. 

Visit them at www.terranovanurseries.com

Secret Passion

Supreme Cantaloupe

Flame Thrower

Secret Love

Rosita

Tomato Soup

Glowing Dream

Amazing Dream

Colorburst Orange

Secret Glow

Supreme Elegance

Tangerine Dream

Chiquita

Leilani

Aloha

 -gartenmeister