Rose Cottage Ltd

I’ve been planting Paperwhites (Narcissus) each year for I can’t remember how many years. If I time it right I have a nice bowl of white flowers just in time for Thanksgiving. Looks like they might bloom a bit earlier this year:

I’ll try to get a image of them at least once a week to show how they are doing. For today’s photo, they’ve been in the bowl one week and there was no sign of life then so – think I have a good batch of bulbs this year!

I have no problem finding these in North Carolina but if you can’t find them locally, click on the link below. You’ll find lots of great bulbs, seeds, plants, and even some great gift ideas…Look under “Fall Planting” Bulbs – the bulbs shown here are “Ziva” and they are on sale right now.

Here’s a little holiday weekend flower – compliments of my Water Mint plant. Blooms on this plant are a sure sign that cooler temperatures will soon be here!

Please make it a safe weekend!

I’m enjoying flower #4 on my Hibiscus:

But this morning I focused on the little micro-world also going on during the plant’s bloom process:

While all this was going on I had another little visitor:

You can see on the pole the remains of the ants I managed to destroy yesterday. Ants can quickly make a Hummingbird feeder all but useless since they get in the mixture and gum up access for the Hummingbirds. A little spray on the pole and some Sevin Dust at the ground seems to have done the trick – for now. This will have to be repeated in a day or three…just follow the ant’s trail and make sure you treat all the way back to the source.

Every once and awhile you buy a plant that is supposed to bloom more than one season – and it actually does!

Such is the case with this Hibiscus I bought at the Lowes garden center July 2012:

This was the first of potentially many blooms to come on this showy little plant. If you’re looking for something that is low maintenance, grab one of these and just ignore it over winter. A little sun, water, and a top-off of some good potting soil in the spring will all but guarantee results like these.

It does seem a bit prone to white fly so a sprinkle of Sevin dust is also a good idea.

Dreary day in North Carolina but we can always use the rain and all my yard work was completed yesterday so let it pour!

Nice color around the yard this time of year though. Here’s a shot of the Clematis providing its show a bit later than last year:

Congratulations to Oxbow – who won the Preakness Stakes yesterday. I actually picked the winner this year – who won against 15-1 odds – but I had no money in the deal so just enjoyed the victory!

Happy Sunday…

After about 6 years of trying to “hatch” an Iris on this property I’ve finally been successful – and it was worth the wait!

Every year the darn squirrels seem to have “Iris radar” and somehow steal nearly every bulb I’ve planted. This one Iris stalk that made it was actually from an initial group of 6 bulbs I planted. Score one for me…

Happy Friday!

Stocking your garden pond with the right kind of plant life is not only an exercise in aesthetics, but it’s also essential for the health of the water and any marine life within it. Locating your pond in a sunlit area will help the lifespan of your greenery, whilst setting it in early spring will give your plants the best chance of becoming established. You should endeavour to make at least a small area of your pond a meter or more in depth to provide shelter for pond life in very hot or cold weather.

Plants to Encourage

Bog plants are well suited to the marshy soil around the borders of the pond, conditions which can be enhanced by extending the pond liner under the first few feet of soil around the pond. Primula, water mint, horse tails and rushes grow well here.

Shallow water marginal plants include irises, rushes and sedges. Taller, grass like plants such as Sweet Flag and Baumea provide attractive greenery at the borders of a pond, and flowering plants like Baldellia and Buttercups provide colour. In deeper margins, flowering plants such as Pontederia Dilatata or Royal Pickeral, Sagittaria and larger rushes thrive. If you have a very large pond and want something spectacular, the South American Gunnera, which can grow up to 3 meters in height with a 4 meter spread, makes a showy statement.

Depending on the size of your pond, lilies and other deep water plants such as Nymphoides Peltata add interest, but these require an absolute minimum of two meters in depth. For smaller ponds, Pygmy water lilies are ideal.

Floating plants provide cover for fish and look wonderful even in smaller ponds, although it’s very important to select a species that will be happy with the space you have available. While some floating plants can go on to become rampant pests in open waterways, most can be controlled with proper care within the confines of a small pool. Salvinia has pretty bright green leaves, Water Hyacinths, which have rubbery foliage and delicate flowers, are also a good addition, as are rare natives like Stratiotes aloides. It’s important not to let deep water plants get too large, as they can take up too much oxygen.

Your pond will need oxygenators to provide food and cover for wild life as well as adding oxygen to the pond. Plants that grow too vigorously can upset the balance, so care must be taken here. Pondweeds, some of which produce small surface flowers in the summer, are a good start. Water Starwort has star-shaped rosettes of oval leaves that provide cover for aquatic insects, although it can be a little tricky to establish, Spike Rushes will do well in shallower ponds, and Water Violets produce beautiful tall flower stems.

Plants to Avoid

Some plants are best avoided, as they can grow rapidly and engulf the pond. Stay well clear of species like Water Primrose, Water Fern, Parrots Feather, New Zealand Pigmyweed, Floating Pennywort, Curly Waterweed, Canadian Pondweed and Nuttalls Pondweed. Unfortunately, additions of these plants are not always intentional, as ponds can be infected when water is transferred between them, or when water from an outside watercourse enters the pond. Look out for fast growing plants that you don’t remember planting, and if a plant appears to be taking over, identify it and research proper removal techniques for that species. If in doubt, DEFRA provides fact sheets and information on most invasive species.

Planting

In lined ponds, the best way to incorporate plants is to settle them into aquatic baskets. Use larger baskets for taller plants. Use aquatic potting soil, never regular potting compost, and top baskets off with gravel without burying the plant’s leaves. Water in well and gently lower the basket to its final position – larger plants may need to be moved down gradually as they grow.

Nurturing your Pond

Ponds that smell strongly are likely to be oxygen deficient and full of decaying matter, fish gulping near the surface or near water streams also indicate low oxygen levels. Vigorous algal growth means that there is too much carbon dioxide in the water. As well as looking out for these signs, it’s worth doing the occasional oxygen test and adding water balancers if needed. You can also use an aeration device such as a fountain to increase oxygenation.

Marginals need to be re-potted annually. Lift them gently from the water and remove any hitch-hikers. These plants can have very fragile roots, so take care not to damage them. For plants that grow in clumps, carefully remove and divide them into new, hessian lined pots. Regularly sieve out algae if it is growing too quickly and remove overgrown pondweed with a rake.

Prepare your pond for winter by cutting back vegetation to prevent falling leaves from accumulating in the pond and rotting, and remove fallen leaves periodically. Turn off fountains to reduce water disturbance, as fish will seek out warmer water at the bottom of the pond. If it freezes over, make holes using warm water (do not shatter the ice as it will cause shockwaves that disturb fish) to allow oxygenation. Switch to winter fish food such as wheatgerm pellets, as fish do not digest protein easily in cold weather.

Author: This post was written by Walter Bucket, the home and garden blogger from UK Water Features. When he’s not pondering over his ponds at home, he can be found designing garden wall art and topiary balls for gardens around the UK.

I’m amazed at the display this plant keeps producing:

Hibiscus moscheutos Luna Series

Not my greatest photo ever – the sun is just too bright, but these blooms are nearly 6 inches from side-to-side. This one plant has already produced nearly a dozen blooms this size and from the look of things – many more are to come soon! I’m moving it off the dock during the hottest, (100 degree) part of the day but it is otherwise obviously thriving and not particularly “demanding” regarding care and maintenance.

I love it when a “plant” comes together…

Words seem unnecessary…

As a child, I remember being worried about that old saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

Having the doctor “away” sounded fine to me, but I was worried about how he knew about the apple AND, if this meant he also knew about other things like Halloween candy. My mother eventually explained the meaning of this quotation to me – probably saving me from a potential bout of anorexia!

I’m hoping that seeing a new rose per day would cause no trauma for anyone – so here’s today’s image…

Here’s the first bloom of my favorite rose bush at Rose Cottage for 2012. Incredible scent and I love the color!

Look for all your Spring and Summer garden supplies at Garden.com. First day of Summer 2012 is June 20.