Tangled Branches: Cultivated
happenings in and around my zone 6b gardens in northern Virginia and in central Virginia
Monday, May 09, 2005
Blandy Farm, Worth It!
We headed out to Blandy Farm for the Garden Fair just after 9 AM Saturday. Got caught up in some traffic on I-66 that was headed to the Gold Cup (didn't even know it was taking place), but we weren't delayed too much. The weather was cool when we got there, but warmed up to shirtsleeves-comfortable by lunch time. I thought there was a great selection of plants at reasonable prices (some more reasonable than others). We plan to go back next year. I have a photo of one row of booths, but I mangled the latest Web photo album I created. Long story, but if I upload a new picture to my May album, I'm going to lose all the pictures from May 5 unless I recreate the whole album. No time to do that just now, so no picture from the plant show.
Here's what I bought, and what I intend to do with it:
- Sedum sieboldii mediovariegatum: room for one more in front of the house
- Aquilegia 'Lime Frost': for the woods
- French Tarragon: lost mine over the winter this year
- Bougainvillea (orangish-pinkish color): experiment, not sure where it's going yet
- Fuchsia 'Gartenmeister': basket or container in the shade
- Pepper 'Thai Hot': yum!
- Lantana 'Goldsonne': container, somewhere
- Tomato 'Plum Lemon': yum!
- Tomato 'Striped Roman': more yum!
- Tomato 'Black Zebra': even more yum!
- Stylophorum diphyllum: for the woods
- Pineapple Sage: container or maybe in the ground where I had it last year
- Salvia discolor: new to me, probably going into a container
- Salvia vanhoutii: ditto
- Brunnera 'Jack Dawson' (that's how it was labeled, but I think it's Dawson's White): woods
- Polemonium reptans: woods
- Corydalis elata: woods (supposed to be the best Corydalis for hot climates, but I think I've already killed one of these)
Planted the tomatoes today, in a way that's really wild and crazy (for the suburbs, that is). They're in containers on the front steps. That's right, the front steps to the house. I got tired of not having home-grown tomatoes, so I'm reclaiming some space that the homeowners' association has declared off-limits for vegetables (i.e. anywhere except behind the house). The front steps are one of very few places I have with any sun. I planted them in nice, trendy fiberglass containers, and my "tomato cages" are black metal obelisks. I think I'll cluster some containers of flowers around then, and hope nobody will notice the vegetables.....
2 Comments:
I am so glad that you had room in the car for all those plants.
I can't seem to limit my purchases. I am so easily influenced by smell and sight and touch - that I buy to much, struggle to find a home for it and then take forever to get it in the ground. Strangely though it all lives - as ill planned as I am, I take this as a good sign.
We actually remembered to bring some boxes to hold everything. :-) Next year, we need to remember to bring a wagon or cart because the rental ones went quickly. DH made several trips back to the car, arms loaded with plants.
I went there with the idea that I was shopping for herbaceous-woodland-type plants, but I do more impulse shopping that I like to admit. And I vowed to myself that this year I'm going to have everything planted before the weather gets hot....
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