Dayton "Dirt" - August 2, 2013

While the nursery has slowed in the sales department other areas are a flurry of activity with the propagation area still going strong along with potting up perennials and some shrubs for next year. Sedums, Heucheras, Vinca minor, Phlox subulata, Dianthus, Leucanthemum are some of the favorite genuses for fall potting. Then, another new plant we will have available about mid-September is the Cool Wave Pansy in mixed colors that is winter hardy to -20ºF! Each plant spreads to a diameter of up to 30 inches and if planted in the fall will continue to bloom until a hard freeze. Then in spring, this new pansy will return back again with spectacular bloom until it fades out again when temperatures climb into the eighty degree mark or more. Finally, the My Bouquet brand of roses is starting to show decent color with the biggest show of color from the variety called First Impression which is a true double yellow. Normally in tea roses the color yellow is considered a weak grower; however, in the My Bouquet series, the yellow in these shrub roses is quite strong. I just love the fact that the plants are on their own roots making the extraordinarily winter hardy and disease resistant. The hydrangeas just keep blooming on and on making for a colorful display. This past week our new crop of Mountain Laurels became available and are the best looking plants we ever have offered. One interesting note are the six turkeys that roam the nursery property. The birds decided to start digging along side the blueberry plants so that every time I see them near the patch I run them off so that they take wing and fly away. For a species that had an estimated population of 30,000 for the entire United States in 1970, the birds are becoming so common that they are multiplying like rabbits! It looks as though they may be another nuisance to deal with like the white tailed deer. Que sera sera Tom