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grEen News
from Smithfield Gardens
April 2009
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Dear Friends,
Judging by the emerging leaves and blooming flowers spring is definitely here. Usually this is the most hopeful of seasons, but this year most everyone seems to be concerned about the health of the economy and their role in it. To repeat an overused phrase, we are "cautiously optimistic" here at Smithfield Gardens about what this spring will bring. We hope current circumstances will find people busy trying to make their little corner of the world comfortable, relaxing and as beautiful as possible.
To help you with nest feathering, we want to let you know that we have been finding ways to lower the prices on many of our key items including trees, shrubs, perennials and soil amendments. This process has led us to introducing a new program called Price Pruners. The items in the program are the same quality you have come to expect from us, but we have been able to lower the prices to what you may remember from nearly 10 years ago. These lower prices are not just a temporary sale, these will be their normal prices for the spring, and all of them are a great value.
One other way you can feel better about the world is to start growing some of your own food. We realize that most of you won't be saving a ton of money by growing your own fruits and vegetables, but it is such a satisfying endeavor to eat something you have grown yourself. We have just recently gotten new shipments of seeds, vegetable cell packs, fruiting vines and shrubs as well as fruit and nut trees. Everything can be planted now with the exception of those summer vegetables that like it warm like tomatoes, beans, squash and corn for example. You should wait until after our last frost date (usually April 15th) to plant these.
There are several other ways we can help you make sure you get the most value and satisfaction from your garden this spring, and we would enjoy sharing what we know with you. So please come see us.
Happy Gardening!
Your Friends at Smithfield
P.S. Don't forget to mark your calender for our Easter Egg Hunt for Savings on Saturday, April 11th. |
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Upcoming Events and Classes at Smithfield Gardens
April 11 (Sat.) 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Easter Egg Hunt for Savings
We will hide over 100 Easter Eggs and each will have a coupon for either a free item (good stuff) or for a coupon that could save you anywhere from 15% to 50% on your purchases this day.
(We are so busy in April that we do not normally have classes, but we will start up again in May)
May 2nd (Sat.) 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
Basic Perennial Gardening for Beginners
Growing perennials is becoming more and more popular, and with all the choices and colors it is easy to see why. Let JoEllen give you the ins and outs of getting started.
May 2nd (Sat.) 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Selecting and Growing Japanese Maples
Let Les tell you what it takes to grow one of the garden's most elegant trees. May 3rd (Sun.) 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Shade Garden Basics
In this class Ann will teach you that the shady areas of your garden are not as difficult to make beautiful as you might think.
May 9th (Sat) throughout the day
Make a Flowering Gift for Mom
This a special program for kids age 5 and up that lets them make a small flowering gift for Mom with their own hands for just a little bit of money. Dads, bring the kids in anytime, there are no set hours.
May 9th (Sat.) 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. Introducing the "Beautiful Gardens" Plant Program
Les will introduce you to a new program that intends to promote and develop plants that are good to grow throughout Virginia.
May 16th (Sat.) 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
Container Gardening
Let JoEllen show you how you don't need a large yard to have a colorful garden. A few well designed pots on a small patio or deck can be very enjoyable.
May 17th (Sun.) 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Butterfly Gardening
Ann will be teaching this class on what you need to do to attract these "flying flowers" into your yard.
May 30th (Sat.) 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Transition Zone Gardening - Welcome to Tidewater
If you are new to Hampton Roads or new to gardening, this class will give you the tips you need to garden successfully in this challenging climate. JoEllen will be teaching.
May 31st (Sun.) 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Let's Get Green Series - Part I
Saving Our Waterways and Conserving Water
Learn what you can do to help make waterways cleaner with a rain garden and other ideas. Ann will also teach you how to use rain barrels and gray water for your garden.
Register for classes here
Other Events:
April 5th (Sun.) 2:00 p.m.
The Tidewater Orchid Society presents Glen Decker of Piping Rock Orchids, Webb Center, Old Dominion University, call 420-4785 for more information
April 8th (Wed.) 10:00 a.m.
Honeybees and Other Stinging Insects and Their Value in Your Garden
Sponsored by The Council of Garden Clubs of Virginia Beach
Oberndorf Central Library, Virginia Beach, call 422-2612 for more information
April 18th - 25th
Historic Garden Week in Virginia
This is the nation's oldest continuing garden tour and many beautiful properties around Hampton Roads will be open this week, including several we have had a hand in. For more information please visit http://vagardenweek.org/ or stop by Smithfield Gardens for a tour book.
April 25th (Sat.) 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Third Annual Art Show at Governor's Pointe
This will be held right next door to us, so you can shop for plants and see some artists at work. (rain date May 2nd)
The Norfolk Botanical Gardens has classes throughout the month and you can go to www.norfolkbotanicalgarden.org to learn more and to register.
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A Twist of Lime, Anyone?
Doesn't this photograph of Weigela florida Rubidor™ make you want to find out more about this plant? As some of you may already know I love chartreuse foliage on my plants, whether they are annuals, perennials or shrubs. I had a Rubidor™ in a large container for many years because I fell in love with the plant in our display garden and didn't have room in the ground to plant one. Alas, the root system became so large that I decided to pass it along to a fellow employee who could provide an "in-ground" home for my friend. I will no doubt attempt this scenario again, starting with a one gallon plant, because I miss the bright foliage color in my summer garden.
Although these shrubs from eastern Asia have been around for decades hybridizers have been playing with them a lot in recent years, developing small sizes for today's smaller properties and also offering new foliage colors. The very popular Wine and Roses® was the first of the burgundy leaf varieties and the size on this one is 4'-5' tall and wide. I learned that branches of this cultivar are sold at the world famous Alsmeer flower market in Europe. 'Fine Wine™, another dark-foliaged weigela, is a new Proven Winners addition from last year, with a height of 24"-48". Both of these weigela cultivars have pink flowers. An old-fashioned variegated form offers gardeners mint green and cream leaves with pink flowers. If you want to jazz up that look a bit, the newer French Lace® ('Brigela') has yellow and green variegated leaves with red flowers. Ads for variegated My Monet™ are now in nearly every home and garden magazine, it seems. Its petite 10"-16" size means that no one has an excuse not to try one---because it could actually go in a container on your front steps!
Weigelas are pest free and love a sunny location, though they will tolerate light shade. About the only thing they don't like is a location without good drainage, especially over the winter months. In our area you will see the showy trumpet- shaped blooms around the beginning of May. Because these plants have a graceful arching habit (no balls or cubes, please) and bloom on old wood, there is really no tricky pruning involved. Our resident pruning expert recommends pruning up to a third of the old branches out every year or so, as a sort of stimulation pruning. There is no dramatic fall color at the end of the season, but I still feel that you'll enjoy these plants as much as your grandmother did. As a bonus hummingbirds are attracted to their bright flowers.
If you have a sunny spot in your yard and want a dramatic easy-care accent shrub consider a weigela. All plants in this genus are deciduous, meaning they lose their leaves over the winter. However, an experienced gardener knows that there is something magical about a parade of bloom throughout the year in a well-planned garden----something that only deciduous (changing) plants offer.
Ann Weber
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Sir Joseph and the Lady Banks
Perhaps one of my favorite climbing roses (maybe even one of my favorite plants) is the yellow Lady Banks Rose (Rosa banksiae 'Lutea'). There are many things I like about this rose including its lack of thorns, its near disease-free foliage, its numerous blooms; but perhaps the thing I like about it the most is its extreme vigor. I put in a #1 sized plant beside my front porch one spring about eight years ago when it was only about 18" tall. By the end of the summer it had grown to nearly 6'. Now it reaches above our bedroom windows on the second story. Each spring since, it has been covered with small, double blossoms that are a soft butter yellow. There is also a white variety that is fairly easy to find. Even though the blossoms are small and it only blooms in spring, it more than makes up for it with the number of blooms. I have never counted mine, but I am sure the number is now over a thousand.
Rosa banksiae is native to China where it grows wild in the mountains and has been enjoyed in gardens for centuries. Plant hunter William Kerr first introduced the rose to Europe in the early 1800's after an expedition to China at the request of Sir Joseph Banks. Sir Joseph was one of the most regarded British naturalists and botanists, and he searched the world looking for new plant species. His travels took him to Canada, Iceland, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti; he even sailed with the famous Capt. James Cook. Once back in England he became involved with the efforts of King George III to develop the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. It was in this capacity that he charged William Kerr with the expedition. Banks named the newly discovered rose after his wife, the Lady Banks. Because of his efforts, nearly eighty species of plants bear Bank's name.
If you read available information on the Lady Banks Rose you will often see it stated that the rose is evergreen. In this climate I have not found that to be the case. It may have a few leaves clinging to it in January, but mostly it is bare. The younger stems remain green in winter, but as the canes age they take on a rich cinnamon red color and have a nice flaking texture. The rose is hardy in zones 7 and 8 (perfect for us) and like most roses it prefers well-drained soil in full to partial sun. It is also moderately salt tolerant. Lady Banks Rose can get very large and lives a long time so it needs something sturdy to climb on. Most sources list it as getting between 15-20' tall but they can get much bigger. According to the Guinness Book of Record, the largest rose bush in the world is a white Lady Banks. The plant is in Tombstone, Arizona and was planted in 1885 by a man to appease his homesick Scottish wife. Today that rose covers 8000' sq. ft. and the circumference of the trunk is an amazing 12'!
I may have to make a trip to Tombstone where you can be sure I'll be looking for that rose. You can also be sure I'll be keeping a close eye (and close pruners) on the one I have planted at home. If you want to see one of these marvelous roses for yourself, we have one planted on the backside of our landscape office here at Smithfield Gardens, and it should be blooming in early April. We are also currently well-stocked and have several sizes available.
Les Parks |
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Trash to Garden Treasure  It was truly amazing at the trade show this fall how everything that could be made from (or with) a soda bottle or a milk jug was spotlighted. Using old plastic has become possibly the biggest trend in the global effort to recycle. So with that in mind I purchased some very interesting things for spring. Most are unique, earth-friendly or organic and all are useful and fun! With an eye to the garden, Jobe's has made three different weed fabrics from three different recycled materials. They are made from recycled paper, renewable corn and recycled bottles. All allow air and water to penetrate, use no chemicals and come with a full refund warranty. Even the pegs used to secure the fabric are made from PLA (a corn based material). How wonderful is that!
Another way to use soda bottles (both large and small) is by adding new gadget attachments to transform them. Make a bird feeder or wasp trap. With these products a donation is made to the wildlife preservation fund. So you are helping the planet again! We also have twist S spout which turns 2 liter bottles into watering cans. What great ways to keep water bottles & milk jugs out of the land fills.
Now that we have the garden taken care of lets look to your outdoor living spaces. We have carried Mariachi rugs for many years because they are made of recycled milk jugs. Believe me they don't look like it and they last for years. New this year for us will be a line of flags made with recycled polyester. The fabric feels like regular flag fabric and they have wonderful Audubon bird pictures.
Hopefully, you will want to come down and take a look at all of our earth friendly products. We hope to see you soon!
Margie Cooper
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