The Sugar Hollow Plant List

Echinacea (also known as coneflower) attracts butterflies and in late fall, gold finches.

Taking stock in the garden at season's end! I got 50 more daffodil bulbs planted last weekend and could probably plant 50 bulbs every season for the next 20 years and still not make a dent in the landscape. {I would love our land to be a sea of yellow every late February.}

What is on your wish list? What do you recommend?

HONEYBEE, BIRD AND BUTTERFLY ATTRACTORS

Catnip, white and lavender varieties
Butterfly Bush
Liatris
Glossy Abelia
Sunflowers
Echinacea
Bee Balm
Zinnias
Caryopteris ‘Blue Beard’
Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’
Salvia ‘May Night’
Russian Sage
Black-Eyed Susans
Shasta Daisies
Goldenrod (wild)
Yarrow (wild)
Thistle (wild)
Violets (wild)
Ironweed (wild)

BENEFICIAL INSECT ATTRACTORS

Love-in-a-Mist (self-seeding patch)
Daffodils, common and several other fragrant varieties
Iris, common and a variety that smells like grape Pez

NATIVES

Fringe Tree
Eastern Red Bud
Virginia Sweet Spire
Virginia Bluebells
May Apples
Wild Phlox
Trillium

HERBS

Plantain
Lavender (also good for honeybees)
Lemon Balm (also good for honeybees)
Sage
Rosemary (also good for honeybees)
German Chamomile
Thyme
Oregano (also good for honeybees)
Dill
Garlic
Mint, Common
Mint, Apple

ORNAMENTALS

Lilac, Common
Hydrangea ‘Endless Wonder’
A variety of small, ephemeral bulbs
Hollies, ‘China Boy’ and ‘China Girl’ varieties
Liriope
Dayliles, native, 'Pandora’s Box', 'Wineberry Candy', 'Jolyene' and several other varieities
Grape Hyacinths
Sugar Maple
Willow Oak
Eastern Red Cedars
Japanese Maples (3)
Azalea
Bridal Wreath
Rose, Climbing Antique 'Jeanne LaJoie'
Roses, Knock Outs
Coreopsis, Rose
Plumbago
Hollyhock, Common (deer fodder right now, but I hold out hope)
Veronica Speedwell
Tulips, Rembrandt and basic red variety

PERENNIAL FOOD PRODUCERS

Fig 'Chicago Hardy'
Juneberry (seriously chomped down by deer, but still living)
Black raspberry
Blackberries
Strawberries (in containers, for now)
Wild persimmons
Asparagus 'Mary Washington'
Elderberry
Rhubarb

REMAINING WISH LIST and FINAL THOUGHTS

A weeping mulberry shrub.
'Korean Spice' viburnums for along the front path.
A peony (or two).
More irises.
More Black-Eyed Susans along the ridge above the daylilies.
More compost under the walnut to help plants thrive?
More varieties of daylily for under the walnut.
A better okra crop.
Plant cucumbers for pickling.
Grow squash for the *blossoms,* too.
Find a spot for the elderberry that will let it thrive.
More native phlox.
Plant calendula – for botanical beauty potions.
Don’t plant green beans. (I just don’t love them enough to can and freeze.)

The Butterfly Garden

There's not much I feel good about in the garden by the time mid-August arrives. But in early spring, I put in the vague beginnings of a butterfly garden directly in front of our big living room window, including a last minute blitz of zinnia seed scatterings. The other plants in place include two butterfly bushes, a caryopteris, a Russian sage and a few roses.

When the unrelenting heat left us wilting and needing some midday shade, I set up an indoor viewing spot for our butterfly garden. I tracked down a photo identification chart of Virginia butterflies and we now spend our time looking up who visits and learning the new names. A hummingbird also regularly visits, but strangely enough, Corey is the only one who sees it. I tease him that it must be his soul animal.

It looks like the butterflies love the really, really huge varieties of zinnias. Smaller butterflies, like fritillaries, appreciate the Thumbelina zinnias - but they can handle the smaller landing pads.

Thrift store butterfly wings were a well-timed, completely unplanned score. I'm unsure of the variety of this butterfly, but have learned that it likes chocolate and Dr. Seuss.

The Ladies (And Other Stuff)

Little by little, I have been collecting daylilies. But in a decisively unlikely way (for me). As a keeper of lists, manager of inventories, collector of data - I haven't a clue of the varieties. And so, I just appreciate them. For the simple shows they put on every day. I feel so lucky that I have the space and the sun to continue my collecting. Inventoried or not.

File under random:

I am starting acupuncture today.

I have been making big batches of jasmine refrigerator iced tea. You should, too.

I just joined Barefoot Bucha. Our local Community-Supported-Kombucha share with flavors like Elderflower, Mint and Ginger.

I've been pulled into The Hunger Games series for additional summer reading.

I am babysitting a pig, a brood of chickens, a cat named Licorice, a dog named Desi and a fish named Louis this weekend.

My quest to get away from chemicals, plastics and paper products continues - Re-Nest has a very thorough list on homemade house cleaners. I have to admit, I balked at vinegar for kitchen cleaning, but tried it a while back during a spring cleaning frenzy. I just filled up the sink with hot water and added 1 cup of vinegar and I swear, it removed dirt and grease better than my old standby Method all-purpose cleaner. I use it all over the house now and sometimes add essential oils like lemongrass and lavender (combined), tea tree or peppermint.

And I am trying to expand friendlier practices in the laundry room right now. I hope to sew some dryer sachets with Sugar Hollow-grown lavender and want to make some wool dryer balls from my wool stash. And adding vinegar to particularly challenging wash loads is a great disinfectant, de-stinker and detergent booster.

My next item on the wish-list is a good laundry drying line. I described my ultimate one to Corey - based on what people used in my childhood neighborhood on Long Island. It was a pulley line - so you could stand on your back stoop, hang some laundry and zip it out further over the back lawn and repeat. The summer sound of those squeaking laundry lines is a time capsule of nostalgia for me. He kind of laughed at this particular vision for a clothes line, though. So I will continue to pursue it until I become mildly annoying. Or just do it myself.

Purples and Blues

I am finally starting to have the perennial/cottage/flower garden I want. A bit more shade is definitely in need, but we are working on that.

Right now, my favorite spring blues are all around. Speedwell paired with rustic fencing; Love-In-A-Mist with an old plate birdbath; an Endless Wonder hydrangea; 'May Night' salvia; and my blue garden bench among the Japanese maples. The blues are going to be offset with roses, daylilies of all varying shades of pink and yellow, glossy abelia and rose coreopsis. Some daisies still need to be planted, as well as hollyhock and elderberry.

I keep visiting Circa - to find the perfect garden dining set and have been thinking of committing to one in particular. But, we'll see.

Also:

I just bought one of these pocket watch pendants. So nostalgic and useful - all-in-one. I feel a tad like a school marm, but what the hell. It isn't a stretch.

Strawberry-rhubarb crumble and rhubarb buckle. Anytime or all the time. {These recipes are from Allison Fishman's website - we went to school together and she has a new book out - You Can Trust A Skinny Cook!}

Homemade facial scrub. Infinitely better than anything I have bought at the store. I used sweet almond oil, sugar, raw honey and a few drops of chamomile essential oil for my more sensitive skin. This stuff is the bomb - my skin was exfoliated but I didn't need to use moisturizer afterward. So efficient!

Another thing I am coveting these days is the Headache Stick from Blue Ridge Gypsy Studio - made especially for Meadowbrook Pharmacy (in Charlottesville). It is made with essential oils - and it knocks out a headache when you put a bit on your temples or across your sinuses.

Miscellany in the June Garden

Love-in-a-Mist patch from our gardens (above). Start one - you won't regret it.

We've been eating broccoli, Red Russian Kale, mustard greens, Sungold tomatoes, garlic scapes and a small harvest of juneberries from our garden. I returned home from our trip to find that a woodland creature had snibbled away all of my much anticipated 'Endless Wonder' blue hydrangea blossoms and some of the elderberry plants. Round one of the deer foil project has been put into effect. I need to become comfortable with the fact that I will probably be on the losing end of this war.

Watermelon, honeydew melons, zucchini and muskmelons were planted over the weekend. Annnnndddd a bunny has already decimated the muskmelons. *Big sigh of frustration*. All the tomatoes and basil are in - Brandywine, Pink Brandywine, Old German, more Sungolds and another cherry variety. I also just bought a 'Blue Beard' caryopteris, a pale pink rose and more blue speedwell for under our walnut. And I am going to do a very small rock and container garden with petunias and verbena and other sturdy annuals that hopefully won't become bunny fodder.

These long nights send me out to plant, weed and water with a glass of chilled lemoncello to keep me cool. Last night I was out there until 9:20 - with a nice, loopy buzz. I'm not going to lie - I am looking forward to a little more sitting with that lemoncello during the cicada-zzzzzzy, humid nights of July and August and appreciating my garden from the porch.

On a side note: We drove through the Old City Cemetery in Lynchburg after a several hours at Amazement Square a few weekends back. The trip also included Corey buying a new work trailer for his truck - which looked mildly creepy and predatory lumbering through a cemetery. But I must get back there to stroll its gardens quietly - and they were selling antique rose cuttings! The ones, I imagine, that have that nostalgic scent I am always looking for . . . the scent of summer.

Making Plans :: The Honeybee Sanctuary

Globe Thistle 'Blue Glow'

Last year, we watched with interest as busy honeybees covered our sunflowers. I later learned that there are plants that get honeybee engines going more than others. So, I am planning on buying several perennials to add to our front garden that will make perfect landing spots for the bees - for a honeybee sanctuary.

Pincushion Flower (Scabiosa columbaria or caucasica)*
Globe Thistle 'Blue Glow' (Echinops bannaticus)* These may bit a bit tricky, as they require good drainage. But they have lulled me with their beauty and I may willingly be their slave for just that reason.
Blazing Star-Gayfeather (Liatris spp)
Catmint (Nepeta Mussinii)

They will join other bee seducers on our land such as basil, bachelor buttons, cosmos, sunflowers, coreopsis, lavender, oregano, Russian sage, rosemary and thyme.

A comprehensive list of plants for honeybees (and more on the importance of honeybee sanctuaries) can be found at The Melissa Garden website. Photo from Wikimedia.

*******
Spring is still making its way to Sugar Hollow in quiet ways and purple crocuses and bluebirds. I am forever thankful for the brighter evenings - though another storm is threatening snow today. Grrrrr. I think everybody is giving in to what they need to make it to the homestretch and indulging here and there in the ways of food and movies and books.

On Sunday, I was lucky enough to go here for afternoon high tea with friends and the timing couldn't have been better. I mean, who wouldn't find joy in a cucumber sandwich or a madeleine or a scone slathered in Devonshire cream and lemon curd?! I'm hoping at this point, however, that a spring of gardening will take care of a winter of indulging.

The Blue Garden :: Going For It

Forever inspired by our mountains, I am planning on having something blue blooming in our garden at all times. Totally kooky? Probably. But I am obsessed with the color. To prevent me from going over the edge - the garden *will* be peppered with pale pinks, the occasional yellows, as well as oranges and reds from our daylily patch. I promise. But something about having the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background and bits of blue around our land makes for garden symmetry and continuity in my mind. And a sense of serenity.

Have ::

Blue Plumbago (summer through fall)
Blue Hydrangea 'Endless Wonder' (summer through fall)
Irises (spring)
Siberian Irises (spring)
Butterfly Bush (summer through fall)
False Blue Indigo (spring)
Russian Sage (summer through fall)
Speedwell (summer)
Salvia 'May Night' (summer)
Virginia Bluebells (spring)
Love-in-a-Mist (spring and early summer)
Bulbs - ephemerals in blue, dwarf irises (late winter and early spring)

Must Haves ::

Monarda 'Blue Stocking' (summer)
Nepeta 'Walker's Low' (summer)
Caryopteris 'Grand Bleu' (summer and early fall)
Asters (fall)
Phlox (late summer or early spring)
More blue bulbs! (late winter and early spring)
Resowing Bachelor Buttons (spring and early summer) and Morning Glory 'Heavenly Blue' (summer and early autumn)
Forget-Me-Nots (spring and early summer)

Accepting Help in the Garden

Remember this wish list?

After years of doing battle with our ornery landscape, I finally, finally, finally asked for some help. I took a break from hours with the mattock to get a hand from someone twice my size - to plant some shrubs and create flower beds. I always felt as if I needed to do everything myself, but my back has started to rebel. Turns out, being stubborn is rarely a good thing.

So now, two years after the original wish list, there are four shrubs in our ever-evolving front yard garden room - two glossy abelia, one 'Endless Wonder' hydrangea and a Virginia sweetspire. I'm still lobbying for that Fringe Tree and am on the hunt for native azaleas.

Having these garden bones in place and new beds at-the-ready has me poised for final September plantings. More daylilies, maybe some funky echinacea varieties in yellows and greenish pinks. And whatever impulse buys I make at fall nursery sales over the next week or so.

The blue bench even hit its stride among some Japanese maples that are rusty red and pale green and played host to a few container begonias, impatiens and nicotianas. That color I was waffling over worked out beautifully. Who knew? Some call things like that 'happy mistakes'. I'd say it is more like 'clueless floundering'. But it turns out that's my gardening process and I'll take it.

July In The Garden

Our small wildflower patch is returning with its cheery cosmos.

Wild Queen Anne's Lace.

Dill flowers.

Double pink echinacea.

We are having a very, very mild July. So much so, that I did something I wouldn't dream of doing in previous years. I transplanted new perennials - Russian Sage, some deep purple speedwell and a double pink echinacea (photo above). In July. Yup. I'm playing with fire, I know. I do need to water them A LOT. But they were on sale and they were calling to me and blah, blah, blah {insert additional ridiculous points of validation here}.

I have been spending the bulk of my gardening time weeding, mulching and feeding. Hoping to steel my new additions for their first Charlottesville August. Where we all wilt and beg for mercy in the face of an unforgiving god of heat and humidity.

I've Got A Crush On Love-In-A-Mist

I've wanted a little patch of these suckers for years. And now, I have that patch. It is the tiniest of patches. But it is mine. From what I understand, they self-seed like mad.

Here's hoping . . . !

While I Was Away . . .

A few things happened.

Eat Your Edibles. Flowers, That Is.

Sunflower petals are bittersweet and can be used in salads.

A potential garden coaching client got in touch with me about growing edible flowers. Which reminded me about this great list that I came across during my mid-winter garden reading.

Here are details on each (taste-wise) and when you can start them from seed or buy them as transplants.

Bachelor's Buttons (Mild and sweet - Salads and desserts) - Early spring from seed.

Calendula (Tangy, slightly bitter - Baked goods, rice dishes) - Early spring from seed. Or, you can find transplants at the farmers' market and nurseries.

Dianthus (Mild clove - Garnish for vegetables, fruit salads, cold drinks) - Buy as a transplant now.

Marigold (Spicy and citrus-y - Salad garnish) - Very easy from seed right now or as a transplant.

Nasturtium (Spicy and peppery - Stuff flowers with soft cheese (yum!)) - Very easy from seed right now.

Salvia (Slightly sweet - Add leaves to soups and cooked greens) - Buy as a transplant now.

Hyacinth bean (Bean-like - Use in soups, sandwiches and salads) - Very easy from seed now. Only use edible flowers from the Ruby Moon variety.

Squash blossoms (Sweet and savory - Fry 'em up) - Start your summer squash plants in early May from seed.

Sunflowers (Bittersweet - Salads) - Start from seed in early May.

Violas (Wintergreen - Dessert and salads garnishes and decorations) - Buy as transplants now.

Also, this season's issue of The Herb Quarterly has a fantastic section on meals with edible flowers. I have the candied violet vanilla cake dancing around in my head as a possible experiment. It's always nice to have a cake dancing around in one's head, I must say.

Over The Mountain To Garden Shop!

This is the view from my favorite nursery of all time. Milmont Greenhouses in Stuarts Draft. As if the rows and rows of plants aren't enough? Look-at those mountains.

I feel that I must write of Milmont each and every spring, as each and every gardener should have the good fortune of experiencing the mind-numbing assortment of horticultural goodies that they offer. Maybe it is new to you.

Willa and I even went this past Wednesday, during the cold and the rain. But never-you-mind, it didn't matter. We got some parsley (a cool weather loving herb) and strawberry plants. I'm putting those in big glazed containers as I do not have it in me to fight the good fight of a strawberry patch. Been there, done that, and it sucked.

I also purchased some False Blue Indigo, yarrow, coreopsis and butterfly bushes for the front garden. (All LOW maintenance and drought tolerant - good plants for the newbie gardener.)

I'm at-the-ready for the spring-fever weather that they are promising this weekend - spade in hand. Bring it!

Feeling Satisfied In The Garden

Hmmmmm. A whole-lotta doing and not much blogging these days.

Finally, here's a sneak peek at our new play area - for Willa and myself (note the baby camp on the blanket - Click on the photo for a larger peek). Earlier photos that I had promised just looked brown and gray.

But now-a-days, the pale greens make for a satisfyingly-verdant show. It has been a nice change from this, remember? Tho' there is still a lot to do, I am relishing the challenge.

I've been busy planting daylilies and putting seed down for bachelor's buttons, cleome and love-in-a-mist. An Easter trip to Edible Landscaping included a juneberry purchase, which was also planted. *Sale alert* - All of the plants at Edible Landscaping are 20% off right now.

The bulbs that I planted in the fall dot our landscape in such a cheerful way. Tulips and daffodils here and there. Some of my native plantings are coming back, too - Virginia Bluebells, spring beauties and mayapples. Scattered around The Blue Bench.

In the veggie beds, the greens, radishes and rhubarb are flourishing. The kale, however, seems to be somebody's evening snack and has been munched down to pathetic nubbins. Thank goodness for the upcoming CSA deliveries!!

I am hurrying along spring these days. As I do every year. That last frost date can't seem to come soon enough. And then, of course, we'll shoot straight to bug-swatting madness accompanied by 80 degrees and humidity.

Stabilize a Slope :: Dayliles

"Dreamer in My Dreams"- Daylily Macro

Ah. Those pesky hills and dales that come with living in the foothills. I'm not complaining, mind you. The texture of our landscape is killer. And, sometimes, just challenging.

For those erosion prone spots on our land, I am slowing filling them in with daylilies. Dependable, yet the possibilities of colors and shades keep things interesting. Unlike a lot of groundcovers that are used for slope stabilization. (Not that there's anything wrong with those . . . )

I just bought some daylilies from Parry's Farm through Etsy. "Wineberry Candy" and "Jolyene" varieties. They arrived last week, carefully packaged with a water-proof care sheet - and I planted them this past Sunday.

I will also purchase some Stella D'oro's from our daycare's fundraiser (yes, an over-used daylily, but it was all they were offering as far as daylilies went and I'm hoping that mixing it up with different varieties will resuscitate them in my eyes). And some others will be transplants from around our land.

Daylilies make things happen quickly. Filling in drab spots lickety-split, offering up blooms usually by the first season. Making the sweat equity worth it.

Spring Dreaming :: Irises

Just purchased my first batch of iris rhizomes and already feel like I'm on the way to creating that old-fashioned garden spot I've always wanted. I'm hoping rambling roses and big patches of forget-me-nots aren't far behind. Mwaaaaahhhhh.

Siberian Irises (photo) and Scented Irises. On their way from debrobinson's shop. Photo is from her shop, too.