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The Impatient Gardener

Friday Finds

FRIDAY FINDS

June 30, 2017

How did it get to be the middle of summer? Ugh … it’s going too fast and needs to slow down!

 
The good part about this time of the year is that the major work in the garden is starting to wind down. That’s actually sort of funny because of course I would prefer that to have been wrapped up weeks ago, but that’s how it goes. 
 
Two tons of gravel were dumped in our driveway yesterday and the good part about that pile being smack dab in the middle of everything is that it forces me to get to it ASAP. That will be going in the paths of the circle garden and filling in a few holes in the path to the garage.
The first bloom on ‘The Alnwick Rose’ is just starting to open! I can’t wait.

 

There are small surprises in the garden as well. The first Labyrinth dahlia is starting to open and, even better, the first David Austin rose is starting to bloom! I’m so excited to see the flowers and I just cross my fingers that they’ll be amazing and fragrant.
 
So that’s the garden update. Several of you have asked for a video garden tour so if the weather is cooperative I may do a quick one on Facebook Live tonight. I’ll post a bit of warning on the Facebook page if that happens. 
 
Anyway … here’s the rest of what I’m digging from the internet this week. Just FYI, some of the links that follow are affiliate links; thanks for helping support this blog!
 
I love both of Linda’s picks for new favorite plants in her garden. Can you even believe the colors in that Alstromeria?

I was thrilled to be a guest on the Root Simple podcast recently. Give it a listen here and check out the Root Simple blog (not to mention their great books). 

 
You know I love a good roundup, and especially this time of year I’m a rattan fan, so this was right up my alley.
 
You know how I love my Bahco hand pruners? Well, I’ve been cheating on them with this red hot number for a few weeks now. I’ve been waiting for the newness to wear off (I mean, new pruners are always so sharp and shiny that they always seem better) to do a proper review for you, but so far it’s looking like the Bahcos are going to permanently end up in the “backup pruners” slot.
 
Cute garden markers? OK, maybe, but garden markers (which I’m about three years behind in updating in my garden) are more about function to me. I like the galvanized ones with a printed weatherproof tapes.

 

best tools Friday finds pruning roses tools
by Erin @ The Impatient Gardener 
2 Comments

About Erin @ The Impatient Gardener

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Comments

  1. JayBee says: July 1, 2017 at 3:11 pm

    Oh Erin, you always take it up just one notch further. I bought the copper coloured galvanized markers a year or two ago – put them away someplace safe, and of course then couldn't find them. I found them a week or two ago and used a sharpie marker on them, but now want to buy a flipping label maker!!

    Reply
  2. LINDA from Each Little World says: July 3, 2017 at 4:10 pm

    Another great Friday column, even if perhaps I should not say so since you link to mine. I wrote on Fri. but futzed up and lost my long comment. Let me just say I did the same thing as you with the bellflower. Now it is embedded in my garden esp. in tree roots. Since it is growing up and down my street and currently flowering in my elderly neighbor's garden, I think I am going to have to admit defeat.

    Reply

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The Impatient Gardener

Do you love gardening? Me too! I'm Erin and I garden in Southeastern Wisconsin, zone 5. The Impatient Gardener is all about real-life gardening: the good parts, the bad bits and even the funny stuff. It's part information, part inspiration and a little bit commiseration. Thanks for visiting.

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Erin Schanen 🌿 The Impatient Gardener
These sister dahlias are big, beautiful girls. Pen These sister dahlias are big, beautiful girls. Penhill Watermelon (first picture) and Penhill Dark Monarch are the best two HUGE dahlias that I grow. They share slightly twisty petals (Watermelon more so) and, when you look closely, subtle striations that add a beautiful depth of color. Watermelon grows taller than Dark Monarch (7 feet tall or more sometimes) and they both need serious staking, but it’s worth it because they produce a lot of flowers for a large-flowering dahlia. 

I like them both but if I was forced to choose (and who would make me do that?) I’d give the edge to Dark Monarch because it’s a little easier to manage size-wise, produces more flowers and has a bigger variation in flower color so it’s always interesting. 

Which do you like better?
I don’t love tools that only do one thing. But w I don’t love tools that only do one thing. But when there’s only one tool that does that one thing really well, I’m here for it. This pottery/container knife from Sneeboer makes it possible to actually get plants out of pots without breaking or damaging the pot. It’s also really expensive. 😀
A little snippet of a bouquet from the weekend. Zi A little snippet of a bouquet from the weekend. Zinnias, pycnanthemum muticum and bronze fennel shown here.
My love for Nicotiana is not a secret. I love tryi My love for Nicotiana is not a secret. I love trying out new varieties and I feel like they just work so well in my garden from both a design standpoint and a cultural standpoint (they are happy here). Because I grow so many, the ones that self sow can be surprises. 

All of these self-sown Nicotiana are probably at least partly the children of the F1 hybrid Perfume series, which grow to be about 24” tall or so. Last year I grew purple, pink, white and lime versions and these are likely new variations on those. 

Picture 3 is, in my opinion, a good example of how these self sown second-year hybrids can go wrong. I’ll probably rip that one out. 😀

And the last photo is of my favorite colorway, lime, popping up amongst the Zinnias. I find these self-sown Nicotiana popping up all summer, so there’s always a fresh-blooming supply. 

Are you as enamored with Nicotinana as I am?
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