Monday, May 30, 2011

Blooming Beauties

Even though the weather has been pretty crappy for us gardeners, there are some plants that aren't complaining.  Last week I took some pictures of the happy little guys.  There are the crabapples that have been blooming for the last month starting with the variety Spring Snow, Sugar Tyme and finally the Bechtel beauties.
Bechtel Crabapple up close and very personal.

Bechtel Crabapple blooms again.  Don't the they look like little rose buds?
 The perennials this year are very late.  We have one lonely iris blooming in the horseshoe bed.  They aren't even ready for Memorial Day.  Very strange.  The columbine is one of the first to bloom in our gardens and we are excited to see it in all its glory.
The columbine is blooming in the water-wise flower bed.  Isn't that a cool color for a spring bloomer?

The Arboretum has some hidden blooming beauties as well.  Tucked under a huge clump of cottonwoods I saw the flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) sticking out it's cute pink blossoms.  With all this cool weather this little tree is lovin' life and putting on quite the show.  Jerry said that flowering dogwoods are perfect here in Utah as long as they are given some shade.  You should give them a try.
Flowering Dogwood in the Arboretum shaded under a huge cottonwood. 
Are these pink flowers the coolest thing you've ever seen?

Oh, yeah!

Sorry, I couldn't get enough of them.  I'm lovin' these dogwood beauties!

Aren't these the cutest cones you've ever seen?  Couldn't they be considered blooming beauties as well? They are from the  European Larch in the Arboretum.

Finally, here is the reason why they call this tree a Lace Bark Elm.  Awesome exfoliating bark.  Wouldn't you agree?

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Jerry Answers Some Tough Spring Questions

Jerry will answer questions ranging from powdery mildew to how to get the greenest lawns.  He also highlights some awesome and unusual annuals.  We will have many of them available at our Flower Sale on Thursday, June 2nd 2-6pm.  Hope to see you there!
 

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

We Need Local Artists and Musicians

We are looking for local artists to display their work and musicians to play at our Art in the Garden Gala on Thursday, June 23rd from 3-8pm.

This is our third year to offer our Ogden Botanical Gardens “Art in the Gardens” Gala.  Community members now look forward to attending each year on our anniversary.  In the past, many artists and orchestras have participated at this special celebration.  
Having artists in the gardens creates beauty while our guests watch.  This has been a popular part of this event.  Because we try to make our Gala bigger and better each year, we are asking you to complete an application and submit it in advance. 
If you know other artists or musicians you think would like to join us that day, please feel free to forward this post onto them.  If you have questions about the application and participating in this community event, please call 801-399-8080 between 12:30 and 3:30 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Ogden Botanical Gardens or email us here.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Plant Giveaway Winner

Prize tickets were given to everyone who purchased plant at our past sales.  I am happy to announce the winner of the 2011 Perennial Plant package is...................drum roll please.  The lucky winner is Wendy Eaton!  
Wendy will receive one plant each of:
Auslese Lady Mantle, Firewitch Cheddar Pink, Arizona Sun Blanket Flower, Lawrence Flatman Cranesbill, Feuersiegel Helen's Flower, Dazzler Rockrose, Border Ballet Torchlily, Little Titch Blue Catmint, Caradonna Blue Sage, and Magnus Coneflower.
Thanks to everyone who came out and supported us at our plant sales.  We had a great selection of perennials, shrubs, trees, flowers, and heirloom tomatoes and peppers to share.  Happy planting and congratulations Wendy Eaton!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Flower Sale

You probably know that because of an unusually stormy spring, the annuals were not ready in time for this May sale.  That is why we have scheduled an “Annuals” Plant Sale for Thursday, June 2nd from 2-6pm.  Remember that Friends of the Garden get an additional 20% off all plants at our sales.
We'll have a Lisianthus 'Echo Champagne' light pink with a peach edge

For the first time we will be selling the most "coveted" and asked about annual flower at the gardens, the Lisianthus.  We have been growing and planting it at the gardens for the past 5 years with many rave reviews.  This year we decided to plant more than what we needed in the beds, so that we could offer them to you at our plant sale.   
Aren't they gorgeous?  We'll have Lisianthus 'Echo Blue' too!
We will have a huge selection of other stunning annuals to choose from as well.  Here are some of the other noteworthy beauties that you will have to choose from:
Cleome 'Queen's Mix'






Flowering Cabbage and Kale


'Indian Summer' Black-eyed Susans



Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Don't Forget: Plant Sales

This is just a reminder of our upcoming plant sales during our Spring Celebration.  Now is the perfect time to plant your gardens!
  • Wednesday, May 18th 6-8pm Friends of the Garden Plant Sale at the Ogden Botanical Gardens
  • Thursday, May 19th Noon-6pm Spring Celebration Plant Sale at the Ogden Botanical Gardens
  • Saturday, May 21st 8am-2pm Spring Celebration Sale at the USU Botanical Gardens in Kaysville
  • Thursday, June 2nd 2-6pm Annual Flower Sale at the Ogden Botanical Gardens
Pick up your favorite heirloom tomato and pepper starts, select new perennials, and choose a new shrub or tree for your landscape.  Staff will be on hand to answer questions.  Take a sneak peek at our shopper's guide here.  Thank you for your support of the gardens.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Change of Dates for Planting & Annual Flower Sale


Okay, this weather is really dragging us down.  Hopefully it will make up its mind--is it going to be hot or cold, rain or shine?  Who knows?  Well our plants in the greenhouse are still trying to make up their minds too!  Some days they are growing and then other days they just like to "veg" and stay very small.  Most aren't ready to be planted or sold.
So we've made a decision about planting our annuals this year.  We are going to wait and we'll hold off on planting for two more weeks and we'll have the leftovers for sale that same week.
Here is the plan:
Tuesday, May 31st 9am--Meet at the Ogden Botanical Gardens to move all the annuals from the greenhouse to the gardens where they will be prepped for planting the next day.
Wednesday, June 1st 9am--Plant all the annual beds
Thursday, June 2nd 2-6pm--Annual Flower Plant Sale
Call Kathy at (801) 399-8201 or email her to sign up to help us move, prep, or plant the gardens.  Thank you!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Members Only Sale Information

U TA H S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
B O TA N I C A L C E N T E R
A N D
O G D E N B O TA N I C A L G A R D E N S
invites you to an
Echinacea Extravaganza

As a valued Friend of the Garden, we welcome you this year to an
evening at the Ogden Botanical Gardens for socializing, light refreshments,
and garden enjoyment. This is also your exclusive opportunity to use your
membership discount and get nine of the best Echinacea selections on the
market, preview and purchase new perennials before the general public.
As an added thank you for your support of the Gardens during the
past year we will be giving away a free Canna Lily and Draceana to the
first 80 individuals at the door.
Wednesday May 18, 2011
6:00 to 8:00 pm
Ogden Botanical Gardens
1750 Monroe Blvd.
Ogden Utah 84401
Bring your membership card and save 20% on these North American beauties.
To become a "Friend of the Garden" please call Stacie at 801-451-3403 or go to our membership link here.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Video: How to Plant Carrots

Learn some tricks on how to plant carrots in the garden from your favorite Horticulturist, Jerry "the movie star" Goodspeed.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Video: Planting Tomatoes

Jerry, the movie star, is back on the big screen--You Tube that is.  Check out his newest video on planting tomatoes in the garden.  Bet you'll learn something new about the most beloved plant in the vegetable kingdom!  I know I do every time I listen to Jerry, the movie star!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Spring Celebration Shopping Guide

Check out the Spring Celebration Shopping Guide and see all the plants we will have at our upcoming sales.  This Wednesday night (May 18th) is our Members' Only Sale.  The public sale is on Thursday, May 19th at the Ogden Botanical Gardens, and again on Saturday, May 21st at the USU Botanical Center. We will have so many awesome and unique plants to choose from at such great prices!   Hope to see you there.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Front Page of the Paper: Our Dead Roses & Master Gardeners

Not coming up roses in many Top of Utah gardens

By Charles F. Trentelman

Standard-Examiner staff

Wed, 05/04/2011 - 10:02pm

{If you are interested in donating to our rose garden please call Kathy at (801) 399-8201 or email us here.}
OGDEN -- More than 30 volunteer master gardeners were busily weeding and cultivating the Ogden Botanical Gardens on Tuesday morning, but they ignored the centerpiece of the gardens, its wide-ranging and much-photographed rose beds.
There's nothing to do in the rose beds. All but one of more than 300 rose bushes died this winter. The beds are full of stunted stalks, waiting to be dug out.
This is not normal.
Losing 20 or 30 plants is normal, but many of the dead roses dated back to the gardens' founding 17 years ago. They survived frost, snow, freezing temperatures and blizzards, but last November was unique, said Dorinda Jones, gardens director.
"In November, it was warm, and then the temperatures dropped dramatically," she said, talking about last fall when the temperature went from the mid-60s to below freezing in one day.
"The plants weren't ready for that, so they couldn't go into dormancy and they died."
The mass death of roses has happened all across Top of Utah, she said, although it depends on how protected individual plants were and other local factors.
But all over, Jones said, gardeners who are going out to do the spring pruning are discovering that there's not much to do but dig out the plant and start over.
The Botanical Gardens, at 1750 Monroe Blvd., along the Ogden River Parkway, features 11 acres of vegetables, fruit trees, flowers, waterwise gardens and other growing things laid out in spreading beds and along the parkway.
The gardens are managed by Utah State University Cooperative Extension Service, but volunteers do almost all of the work. Graduates and students of the Master Gardener Program do most of the labor on workdays scheduled for the first Tuesday of every month, Jones said.
Nadine McKay, of Ogden, and Cary Martin, of Kaysville, were digging out minute bits of weed and grass from one bed Tuesday and breaking up clods.
Other workers were bringing in wheelbarrows full of thick, black compost from the city's compost facility.
Jones said they'll eventually plant 76 varieties of annual flowers and more than 200 flats of plants, most of which were started from seed.
The destruction of the roses wasn't discovered until April 5, when the Gardens normally holds a workshop on rose pruning to show gardeners how to do their own, she said.
As workers trimmed back the plants, Jones said, they noticed that most of the stalks were black, the wood dead. No matter how far back they cut, they didn't find green wood.
Only one plant of more than 300 survived. That made the pruning workshop difficult, she said.
"That one plant got pruned about five times," Jones said, because the classes were held hourly all day.
Now that one plant stands naked, spindly but alive, amid a sea of dead ones.
Jones said the loss of the roses will hurt. Although some weddings are already scheduled and other flowers will be in bloom, people will be less likely to hold weddings there because they normally like to take pictures amid the roses.
She said replacing all of the dead roses will cost about $10,000, money the Gardens don't have. Staff members hope to collect cash or donated roses, either new hybrid tea roses or floribunda rose plants. No grafts from home plants can be accepted, however, because of the danger of disease.
To make a donation, contact the gardens at 801-399-8081 or on the Internet at www.extension.usu.edu/weber.

First Diagnostic Clinic of the Year

Yesterday was our first diagnostic clinic of the year.  We start our Plant Diagnostic Clinics every Wednesday from 3-6pm starting in May until the end of September.   Bring in samples or digital pictures of your troubled plants and we will help you solve their problems.  Here are some examples of plant problems that we saw last year:
Saw Fly on an Austrian Pine

Herbicide Damage on a Maple

Oak Gall on Scrub Oak

Maple Leaf with Anthracnose

We have a great, skilled team of Master Gardeners that will try to solve all your plant mysteries. 
Ogden Botanical Garden's Plant Detectives
Please come and see us throughout this growing season and will help you with all your plant problems!

Monday, May 2, 2011

Update: Weed & Feed Day Tomorrow


We had a lot to say about “bark” recently in our notice about tomorrow’s Master Gardener Day at the Ogden Botanical Gardens.  Unfortunately, the company supplying the bark had their mill break down and cannot deliver it in time.  We’ll plan on it next month.

We are really looking forward to having you come tomorrow, so we’ve come up with a new “game plan”.  Here’s the projects we will be working on and what you could bring as far as tools and equipment.


1.      Moving compost – shovel, gloves, wheelbarrow--if you have one
2.      Weeding – trowels and gloves
3.      Edging beds – flat edging shovel/tool if you have one
An example of an edging shovel or....

A Half-Moon Edging Shovel
4.      Transplanting – gloves, and we will set up tables out front

We are still having our Cinco de Mayo lunch—Taco Bar—and appreciate all of you who have contacted us to help bring something.  We are excited, too, about our “Weed & Feed” with Dan Wheelwright sharing his wealth of information about trees.

See you there.