Reeves Reed in Bloom

Reeves Reed in Bloom-1
Originally uploaded by williamsnursery

Reeves Reed Arboretum in Summit NJ has a collection of 40,000 daffodils in bloom. The warm weather has gotten them popping early. Their official Daffodil Day is April 18th, but the daffs don't watch the calendar, so I would put it on my visit right away list.

This picture was taken yesterday with my son Dakota and his friend Jack. This year at Reeves Reed they are celebrating the year of the tree, and there are some amazing trees on site. There's one beech that the three of us couldn't wrap our arms around.

Presby Memorial Iris Garden - Montclair

Milton, the person that makes sure that our office runs smoothly, asked me if I ever was to the Presby Memorial Iris Garden in Montclair. It was one of those places that was on my list, but never had a chance to visit. Since I assumed that the Iris's were in peak bloom, I grabbed my camera and my girlfriend, and we made the trek to the gardens. (Only about a 30 minute drive). Wow, the Iris's were stunning. They didn't hit peak yet though, and I would think that this weekend would be ideal.

I attached a few of the pictures that I took. The garden suggests a $5 donation. Try to go either in the morning or the evening, the Iris's look best with that lighting.

New Arrival - Little Lanterns

Aquilegia canadensis 'Little Lanterns'
is a wildflower native to North America. Commonly known as Columbine, it has dainty nodding flowers that are fiery red with a yellow corolla. This particular Columbine is more compact than other varieties, growing only 10 to 12 inches tall. These perennials prefer sun or partial shade. They bloom from early spring through midsummer, thriving in average, well drained soil. If they are happy in their environment, Columbines will self sow and naturalize in a woodland garden. They are attract hummingbirds and make an excellent cut flower.

New Arrival - Milky Way

 
 
Pulmonaria 'Milky Way'
is a show stopper in the spring garden. Wine pink blooms that fade to blue cover the plant in spring. In addition to the beautiful flowers, the green leaves are speckled with silvery spots that glow in shady sites. These speckles keep the foliage interesting even after the flowers fade. Pulmonaria has the unfortunate common name of Lungwort, derived from the spotting on the leaves which were said to resemble the X ray of unhealthy, spotted lungs. Despite its common name, Pulmonaria brings a beautiful and colorful accent to a shady garden. Growing to about 12 inches tall, they attract hummingbirds and are extremely deer resistant.

New Arrival - Wonderful Ground Cover

 

Creeping phlox, commonly called Mountain Pinks can provide beautiful color in the spring perennial garden. Masses of dainty flowers in white, pink, red or lavender provide a stunning display from early to mid spring. The rich evergreen needlelike foliage forms low growing dense mats, excellent for edging, cascading over walls, or as a ground cover. Mountain pinks thrive in full sun and grow to about 6 inches tall. They have a spreading habit of growth and can cover an area three times their original width. The variety pictured is called Phlox subulata 'Fort Hill'. It has deep pinkish-rose flowers. Once established, Mountain pinks are extremely drought tolerant and low maintenance.

Tulips in Bloom

I finally got to do a little clean up and gardening at home. (The shoemakers kids have no shoes) I replaced the cut branches of the winter with a mixture of different tulip varieties. I wanted to share these pictures with you, since the tulips are all coming in bloom. The great light rain on Saturday added the nice water droplet beads on the flowers.

Carry away a basket of Spring

Just unloaded these wicker baskets of Spring. They are filled with lots of cool season annuals such as pansies, ranunculus, martha washington geraniums, and sunscape daises. These make a great plant on the front step, or on a table. A perfect gift for Easter.

Wow...what a difference a few days make in blooms.

Its amazing what a few days of warmer temperatures do to bring on the onset of Spring. I was driving through Echo Lake Park yesterday, and over the back I saw a mass of purple flowers. I ran home got my camera, and took these crocus pictures. It was the first flowers that I noticed in Spring. Today, I looked in my backyard and pow...crocus and snowdrops in bloom, then I looked over at my neighbors yard, and pow...lots more crocus!

The white flowers are snowdrops (galanthus) that were growing in my back yard. This is the latest that they've started to bloom in a long time. They usually start to bloom in February.

The tiny crocus in Echo Lake park and my yard are crocus species, which tend to be a bit smaller than the giant crocus. The main advantage is that they naturalize better than the regular crocus.

Spring Pansy Flowers Arrive at Williams

Spring Pansy Flowers at Williams
Originally uploaded by williamsnursery

Our Spring Pansies have just arrived. This is a new ruffled variety, 'Frizzle Sizzle Yellow/Blue'. Over 50 other varieties.

My absolute favorite new plant for this year!!!!

When I was at Fashion in Bloom last September I noticed this cool plant in full bloom. Upon closer examination I noticed that it was a Mock Orange. I've always loved mock oranges, (philadelphus), but they are generally short bloomed.

This new variety has excellent foliage, and will flower several times during the season. The flowers are an absolute pure white, and the fragrance is perfect. Not too overpowering, but it wafts gently through the air to your nose. The bloom time is also longer than the old fashioned form by several weeks. Once you experience the stimulating fragrance of Philadelphus, you're spring days will forever be filled with the sweet memory. An old-fashioned favorite, Philadelphus is a deciduous shrub with a graceful, fountain-like habit and snow white blooms of the sweetest fragrance. Leave it to Novalis to offer a Mock Orange that gives an encore performance! A repeat flowering new hybrid, Snow White Sensation™ boasts 2" double flowers born in clusters that bloom abundantly in spring and then again in summer. A versatile shrub with a wide growing range, the pure white, deliciously fragrant flowers are but one great attribute of this under utilized spring-flowering shrub. Attractive foliage on gracefully arching branches guarantees Snow White Sensation™ easy placement in the garden with other flowering shrubs. What charming impact: a wonderful new addition to the landscape border, with two seasons of flower and dark-green foliage that stands up to summer heat!

Philadelphus 'Snow White Sensation'™

Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Avg. Height x Width: 5' - 6'
Hardiness Zone: 5 - 8
Soil Drainage: Moist/Well Drained

Don't Monkey with me!

This flower, MIMULUS tigrinus Grandiflora is called the monkey flower. According to what I've read online, the name comes from the flower resembling a smiling monkey face. (OK, so I don't see the face, but the name has stuck...maybe after a few glasses of wine in the dim light, you'll look to the garden and see these smiling up at you)

Mimulus is a great annual for shade to partial shade. It prefers slightly damp soil. It will grow to a height of about tweleve inches, and will make a great edging in front of impatiens. It will also do well in a container.

Another huge plus, is that its one of the few DEER RESISTANT annuals that will grow in the shade.

We have them in Red, Yellow, and the spotted one that you see in the picture.