Annie's Gardening Corner: June 2015

Monday, June 29, 2015

Monday Plant ID

It's Asclepias syriaca - common Milkweed. The flowers are stunning and fragrant. But beware - its leaves are poisonous.

With it being the last Monday in June and so much ahead with this busy 4^th of July week, it’s quick and simple – it’s a Monday Plant ID. This wildflower is one to be familiar with, specifically if you love Monarch Butterflies. It’s a summer bloomer and its flowers are stunning and fragrant. This plant, which can often be found on the edge of the road, meadows and old fields, is a habitat for the Monarch Butterflies. It’s also a plant you can forage as an edible but its leaves are poisonous. I’ll look to any folks who are familiar with the edible aspects of Asclepias syriaca, the common milkweed. If you know how to use it from a culinary aspect, please post and share. Otherwise, we'll just wait for late summer to early fall when this wildflower's pods crack open and turn to seeds.

Milkweed is the plant choice for Monarch Butterflies. The leaves aid the Monarchs as more than a place to deposit their eggs. The Monarchs can ingest the leaves without harm yet its toxins are poisonous to its predators.

Milkweed is one of those simple plants to enjoy in nature. You can include it in your wildflower mix but beware of its ability to spread. If you love Monarchs or want a thriving butterfly garden, it’s all about milkweed.

If you like this blog, check in for your daily share's worth of garden inspiration, landscape architecture and design tips; always original, not cookie cutter and copied. Just like our design work, we strive for unique! We invite you to contact Bilowz Associates, Inc., or to browse our portfolios. Like our Facebook follow on Twitter or subscribe to the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. You can follow with visuals on Pinterest and find us on LinkedIn and Houzz, too. And you can also find us back on our Google+ Business Page. (Landscape architects/Landscape Design/serving Massachusetts and New England.)

Thursday, June 25, 2015

What Plants Teach Us

A garden lesson from the Sunflower - be a volunteer. These beauties continue to show up year after year.

Want to be outstanding all the time?

This Japanese stewartia - Stewartia pseudocamellia teaches us to use our best features.

Its stunning bark works diligently throughout every season.

This specimen tree happens to be one of our favorites.

It's not too late to plant a Japanese stewartia and if you look below,

there's one more reason.

The Japanese stewartia's beautiful blossom; it's an 'add-on' summer feature.

Not too flamboyant - just enough to let you know it's here.

Moving on for a quick look at the edible garden.

This Cubanelle Pepper is a newcomer for us this year.

What can the Cubanelle pepper teach us?

Try something new and mix up your garden interests, including your edibles.

And if you like a bit of spice, this is supposedly one of the best peppers

for giving things an extra kick.

Let's take a peek at perennials.

This Siberian Catmint Nepeta sibirica 'Souvenir d' Andre Chaudron'

teaches us it's not just about colorful blossoms.

It is equally important to be hardy and long-blooming.

And it can hold its own during a dry bout.

But back to colorful blossoms.

Purple mixed with green make for two exquisite colors in the summer garden.

And 'Souvenir d' Andre Chaudron's

long lasting blooms are perfect for the cut flower vases.

Wherever your path leads you, take in nature, sunshine and all the beautiful things on this earth. Our pot time can be limited but remember, there are many lessons we can learn from our plants.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Storms & Clouds

On this beautiful June morning, it's a collage of images from last night's storm clouds.

This is my favorite - can you see the dog's face in the clouds? You can get very imaginative with cloud formations.

Look closely for the raindrops in the stormy foreground. The metal sun gives a hint of additional sunlight.

The clouds appear to be letting go, separating to the north & south, making way for the evening's sunset.

Tuesday night's skyline makes way for a beautiful Wednesday - dry air & sunshine.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

No Sleeping in the Garden for this Daylily

©Image by Ann Bilowz ‘Lullaby Baby’ Daylily

This 'Lullaby Baby' Daylily is an award-winning favorite for Bilowz Associates Inc.'s planting plans

Isn’t she a beauty? This ‘Lullaby Baby’ Daylily is an all-time favorite perennial for many of our planting plans. An early bloomer, ‘Lullaby Baby’ showcases one of the smaller, delicate blossoms that send Daylily lovers’ hearts in a swoon. It’s hard to substitute ‘Lullaby Baby.’ It’s a close near white with a soft pink blush - ruffles and all without an 'over the top' splash. It’s easy to mix in with other colors because it’s understated but be-dazzling all in one breath. And while there are scores of beautiful Daylilies to choose from, it’s a big plus adding this award-winning Daylily to your plant collection account. The investment with Daylilies: once established, the plants are easy to divide and transplant, creating your opportunity for wonderful masses of the same variety or a mix and match.

That’s it in a lullaby but there’s no sleeping in the garden when you choose this awesome Daylily to kick off the summer season. This elegant, delicate bloomer runs long on impact. Hardy and easy to maintain for repeat performances each year – exactly what you look for when choosing your plants. And if you missed yesterday’s post, ‘Monday Morning Summer Thoughts’, your hardy Daylily collection can handle pretty tough conditions so unless newly planted, Daylilies can handle a lot. It's just one more reason to add Daylilies, especially this early bloomer to your plant collection account.