Garden Talk

One of the things I like the best on sales day is getting to talk to other gardeners. Whether they are beginners or have been gardening for years, there's always something new to learn.

Yesterday Bonnie and I were talking about websites that are helpful. It's taken me years to learn that some plants require specific conditions and that I need to do a little research before choosing their spot in my garden.

Google is always a great place to start. For instance, you can simply type the name of this plant 'Cotula squalida Platt's Black' in Google search and you'll find different website that will tell you more information about this plant.

When it comes to Hosta, I have a favorite website too. I go to the Hosta Library if I want to check out photos of hosta. It's almost impossible to identify your hosta if you have no clue of the name but if you have a name you can do wonders here.

I was lucky to have made a list one recent winter with all my Hosta names. My crazy doodle-dog Calie went through her puppy year and ripped out most of the name tags on my hosta out back. Since I had the list of names, I was able to identify many more varieties.

For instanace, my list tells me I have Hosta 'Sweet Home Chicago' but I didn't have a hosta with that name on a label. I knew it was in the back bed, so by going to the Hosta Library, I looked at their photos of Sweet Home Chicago and was able to identify that the large Hosta in the upper left corner of this photo is it! Hooray!!!

Sedums are another passion around here and I have a great website for them too. You can visit Sedum Photos and find more pictures of Sedum than you could imagine. When it comes to Sedum, I was actually able to identify a cultivar in my garden without knowing it's name at all.

Sometimes I just want to go to a site to drool over plant material. Squaw Mountain Gardens is one of those sites. It's not a place to go to for pretty pictures but for me with my passion for sempervivum, I like to go there and window shop :-) I've never ordered from them but some day I finally will.

The sun keeps peeking in and out today, very good conditions to take photographs. I think I'll go photograph my hardy geraniums that have started to bloom.

Enjoy your weekend!
Melanie