Purple Coneflower 'Magnus' the Size of My Fist

The purple coneflower 'Magnus' that I ordered last year came back and put out twice as many blooms as the previous season. This time they were huge, the size of my fist! I knew it would get tall, but I didn't realize the actual bloom size would be larger too. Very cool plant!

Purple coneflower 'Magnus' bloom the size of my fist, huge! Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus'

Magnus purple coneflower in full sun by my utility boxes in central Indiana

Tiny Lily Update, Can You Tell Them Apart Without the Flowers?

I'm finally learning the difference between the different lily types in Chris' collection. They all sound similar so luckily I made a map a while ago that shows me what is where. Here is a status report on the emerging lilies:

Lily 'Tiny Invader'

Lily 'Tiny Pearl'

Lily 'After Eight'

Lily 'Tiny Shadow'

Wasson Nursery Soft Opening (Grand Opening April 21-23, 2017)

Wasson Nursery is opening a location in Fishers, IN on April 21 (but they are technically already open)

I got a tip from my brother that there was a new nursery opening in Fishers. I usually go to Lowe's for plants and sometimes to Allisonville Nursery if I'm feeling high-end, but this Wasson Fishers location would be a lot closer that Allisonville, so I thought I'd check it out. Their 'soft opening' means that they don't have all of their stuff out yet, and the staff is still learning.

They've already got some great looking plants out. I want all of them!

They have a really nice showroom area for outdoor living spaces

Love this water feature - if only I had a bigger yard! 

Water features if you don't have room for a pond. This rock garden is so pretty!

I learned from the staff that they grow a lot of their plants up in Muncie and then bring them down, so they are not shipped in from Oregon and California like a lot of the big box stores. So you can get the same varieties that you can get nationally, but if you like the whole locally grown aspect, check them out.

They also have a huge greenhouse that was nice and cozy on this still-rather-brisk April morning.

I will definitely be back for these hosta varieties that I just fell in love with. I love a nice clean leaf (no crinkle) with tight veins and bright colors. The red stems on 'Fire Island' is just amazing. I just hope it doesn't turn into expensive rabbit food.

Hosta 'Fire Island' yellow with red stems

Hosta 'Halcyon' blue with no crinkle and narrow veins

Air Plant Ideas: Upside Down Sea Urchin Shells for Jellyfish Look

Large air plant sea urchin shell jellyfish

I'm not really into the whole air plant thing, but maybe I should be from the looks of this cool idea! I was at Wasson Nursery in Fishers and saw these air plants in sea urchin shells suspended to look like jelly fish. Now that's pretty cool! I don't know much about air plants, but it looks pretty straight forward, I wonder if I could make these myself?

On Amazon you can buy a set of 3 for $33, that's like $10 each! You can also just buy air plants and then buy sea urchin shells and I bet you can just stick one in each hole and that's about it. Ok actually I just looked it up, and the video below shows how you can do it with literally a piece of string, you don't even glue it or anything. I guess I'm a little late to the party with this craft idea, they seem to be everywhere!

Air plants in sea urchin shells

Dum Dum Candy Sucker Topiary Tree with Supplies

I was searching online for something to do with suckers or lollipops and I came across a photo of a topiary tree or large flower made out of lots of individual dum dum suckers. I'm not very crafty - the only other craft I've really tried is a money Christmas tree. Here is my supply list so you know what supplies you'll need if you want to try to make it (I had to run back out to get extra suckers), and a few photos to show the steps I took along the way. No biggie!

The final product, this dum-dum lollipop topiary tree stands 22 inches tall. It's rather top heavy because it has almost 3 pounds of suckers on top.

You can use whatever you want, it will probably turn out just fine, but here's what I used if you're curious:

• Clay flower pot (4 1/2 inch diameter)
• Green foam block (the kind used for fake flower arrangements)
• Green Easter grass
• Wooden rod (1/2 inch diameter) 16 inches long (or however tall you want it)
• Double sided ribbon
• Green foam sphere (Hobby Lobby flower arranging section)
• 3 lbs of Dum-Dums (3x 1 lb bags = approximately 70 per bag or around 210 suckers)
• Hot glue gun (to hold the wooden rod tight, not to glue the suckers in)

Quick suggestion, get way more suckers than you think you'll need! The surface area of the sphere is deceptive, and I had to run out to buy more suckers. Get a huge bag just in case. 

Okay here is what I did...

I cut the sides off the green foam block and shoved it down into the flower pot, then I cut a little more out so it didn't stick over the top.

Gathered up more of my supplies, including the foam ball, suckers, Easter grass, and nice double sided ribbon

I started sticking the suckers in very close together, then realized the ball got top heavy, so I set it on top of the pot and kept sticking more in. If you go very close together, you better buy extra suckers. I have a little space between mine because it's fine either way, it still has the overall look.

I anchored the ribbon to the wood with glue, then wrapped the rod and glued it down to keep it tight. I tied a bow around the rod and used a dab of glue to hold it down. I stuck a letter opener into the foam ball and twisted it to make a hole, then jammed the rod into it with some hot glue on the end.

I jammed the rod into the foam block in the pot then glued it to hold it in place. This thing is very top heavy, so I'm a little worried about the base coming loose. I used a very tiny amount of Easter grass just to cover the foam block. The hardest part was keeping it straight up and down while the glue dried. Remember it doesn't have to be perfect!

Any questions? Like I said, I'm not a huge craft guy, but you can leave a comment and I'll answer. I've got to drive this in to work for a work party, and I'm going to bring a bunch of extra suckers in case these fall out. The suckers aren't actually glued in they're just stuck in place. 

Pinus 'Louie' and SuperTrouper Magenta + White Dianthus

I always try to take photos of cool plants in the stores even if I don't have approval from the purchasing department (aka my family). Here are a couple nice ones I saw recently. Something has to be pretty cool for me to stop and say 'ooh, I'm gonna post about that' so this is just some favorites.

SuperTrouper Magenta + White Dianthus caught my eye with the large ruffled flowers with striking white borders. I became a fan of dianthus after my 'lavender lace' bloomed for 3 months straight last summer.

SuperTrouper Magenta + White Dianthus

Next, I've been eyeing white pines on car trips - enjoying the north woods vibe without the obtrusive pyramid shape of a spruce. I like them tall and skinny with wispy soft needles. Here is a pine that caught my eye at Allisonville Nursery the other day, Pinus strobus 'Louie'.

Pinus strobus 'Louie' - Louie's Eastern White Pine

Purple Dome Aster Divisions and Moving Plants Around

Here's an overview of all the moves I made today. I moved a lot more than I had planned, but hopefully we get some rain and everyone settles in. 

Spent a few hours today moving things around in the back yard and mulching the side yard. Some of the more significant moves to mention, I moved a dianthus over to the edge by the patio to give some year round structure. I like my salvia, but I don't like how they die to the ground and basically disappear. After the move, I'm liking how the right side of the bed looks almost complete.

I moved my sale table Blue Marvel salvia over to the middle. The middle of the bed is like my holding zone, not sure what I want to do with it just yet.

This was also my first time doing divisions of my Purple Dome aster. This all-star plant has been killing it the past 2 seasons, and I learned that you can cut them up and divide them like a hosta. Let's see if my little sprouts turn into whole new plants (for free). I remember when I got them in the mail I was surprised how small it was, and it turned into a purple dome in the first season.

Purple Dome aster division (super tiny sprouts)

Added some purple dome aster divisions to the front utility box bed too because I'm not sure if the Gaura are coming back. 

I did some 'cosmetic mulching' in other parts of the yard - you know, when you just dust some mulch over the top so it looks like you mulched and the colors match.

2017 Indiana Flower and Patio Show Favorites

The Indiana Flower and Patio Show is a sure sign that Spring is right around the corner. It's a nice escape from the cold and usually dreary March weather to explore the show gardens and features in a heated building at the state fairgrounds.

This year I got half price tickets online just by typing a bunch of different 4 letter words into the coupon code box, score!

Last time I went to the show it was during the closing weekend, this time I was there for opening day. I was a little disappointed - I thought everything would look super fresh for opening day, but I realized that most of the bulbs and things weren't quite open yet since they probably are intended to last all week.

I noticed a lot of repetition of the same plant varieties throughout the show, and it made me wonder if they had one landscape company come in and dress the feature areas all at once or something. Or maybe the similarities are just because those are the kinds of plants that look attractive this time of the year, or that were available from local wholesalers.

Overall, I was a little turned off by the prevalence of non-flower-and-patio-related vendors. I mean, I can understand the roofing companies and the hot tub companies because those are outdoor related, even the carpet companies and kitchen counter companies because those are at least home improvement related - but what gives with the blender company giving demos with a headset microphone, and the Xfinity high speed internet booth, ugh.

Anyway, I did see some cool things that stood out as highlights:

I just love this gas fire that looks like a campfire, with metal beams for kindling stacked in a loose teepee shape

This was a nice display sticking with mostly white flowers and lots of glossy foliage. I recognized star magnolia. 

Zack and I agree, we loved the detail on this unnamed sunburst spruce. We even asked the guy at the display and he had no idea what it was. Come on!

Flower detail for Kilmarnock Miniature Weeping Pussy Willow (Salix caprea 'kilmarnock'), saw several of these, it was a popular selection for the displays.

This little guy would have been easy to overlook, but it was actually one of my favorite things I saw during the day. It's a taxus but it has round needles so it looks almost like a boxwood. Neat! Label said Taxus baccata 'Amersfoort'. 

Deschampsia Goldtau

Some kind of cloud form pine, also missing a plant label (frowny face). 

Very interesting Chirimen Hinoki Cypress

Not sure what this is, it was just labeled 'BJD' - any help? It almost looks like a rhododendron ground cover.

Spring Mulch Before Week of Freezing Temps

I got around and mulched the utility box bed and the west side yard (aka wet shade side), and I had a little bit of mulch left to go around my green panda bamboo, which survived another winter but had some dead tips I trimmed off.

I have crocus about to open - if we had another 24 hours above freezing I think it would open, but we have about a week of freezing temps upon us. It's a high of 34ºF today and low of 14 tonight, so it's not feeling much like spring at all.

I wanted to show my spring mulch and clean up a bit, these will hopefully make some great "before" pictures for later this season. I also wanted to show what my Gladiator allium look like first emerging. I think we got 5 out of 6 to come up, with one MIA.

Crocus about to open up! If only we had one more day of warm temps!

Day before a hard freeze, don't expect these guys to stick around unfortunately

My favorite mystery sedum and an emerging Gladiator allium

Gladiator allium poking through

Green panda hardy clumping bamboo with a new haircut

Coral bell in a rabbit cage

Side yard looking pretty barren, I could use some structural plants

Coral bell that the rabbits nibbled down to a nub is coming back with protection. Notice the Japanese andromeda staying green all winter and already flowering. You the real MVP!

Utility box bed. Not sure if the Gaura are going to come back, so I'm devising some plans for what else I could put up here. 

Hosta eye checking things out, trying to see if it's safe to come up yet (hint: it's not).