Coneflowers

Another very cold stretch of weather, it did not get above 14 degrees yesterday. I am taking solace with seed and plant catalogues. Last summer one of the most successful additions to my garden was one of the new coneflower hybrids. These new coneflowers come in lovely colors with lovely names. Sunset, Sundown, Summer Sky, Harvest Moon and many more.
I bought Sunset last year and it was great, it is much shorter than my other purple coneflowers which grow to three or four feet. Sunset stayed less than two feet and flowered all summer.
These new coneflowers are available from many mail order catalogues though I prefer to buy locally when possible since the local plants are bigger and stonger. I bought mine last year at Bay State Perennials in Hadley Massachusetts, a wonderful local nursery with a large and interesting selection.

Find of the Day:

Despite my dreams of flowers and summer gardens it is still winter and wouldn't it be lovely to have this lush scarf to keep you worn? This is a Las Lopez design hand knit by the artist in Argentina. But despite its exotic origen it is available with a click on the Etsy shop Laslopezlas. What a wonderful extravagance to wrap yourself in pure luxury.

Edible Flowers

I found an interesting article today on
Whats Cooking America about edible flowers. Of course it made me think of summer and wish for spicy nasturtium petals to sprinkle on my rather dull winter salads. Nasturtiums are so pretty and full of sunlight. Daylilies are also edible and I think they are fried in batter in Japan for a special delicacy. I know the coneflowers in this bouquet have medicinal value (echinacea) but I am not sure they should be eaten. They are not included on the Whats Cooking America list.
Even a dandelion would be welcome in January. Dandelion and their greens are also edible and I have even seen seeds for large dandelions being offered in seed catalogues. I don't need any special seeds, the ones that sneak into my garden grow into monsters in the rich garden soil.
I am actually fond of these bright yellow weeds. We are not lawn people and my husband only mows the lawn when there aren't any wildflowers blooming in the grass. Since this is not a favorite task it works out well for him especially in the spring when the lawn is full of violets and ajuga.

Find of the Day:

It may be hard to find nasturiums in January but you can still eat a flower today. I love cupcakes and this orange chiffon cupcake looks like a peony but surely tastes much better. And you don't even have to bake it (I at least could never make this pretty a cupcake) you can order it on Etsy from Suite106Cupcakery.

Green Thumb/Black Thumb

A friend asked me to include some gardening tips for those with black thumbs and I have tried to offer planting and growing information in each post. But I agree with Henry Mitchell's words in the Essential Earthman:
"Now the gardener is the one who has seen everything ruined so many times that (even as his pain increases with each loss) he comprehends--truly knows--that where there was a garden once, it can be again,...There are no green thumbs or black thumbs. There are only gardeners and non-gardeners. Gardeners are the ones who ruin after ruin get on with the high defiance of nature herself, creating, in the very face of her chaos and tornado, the bower of roses and the pride of irises. ..Defiance...is what makes gardeners." p. 3

Weather, soil, hard work, all are part of gardening. But in the end a garden is a precarious undertaking. Plants themselves have minds of their own. A friend gave me three divisions of sedum Autumn Joy, an easy and reliable plant. I planted the three divisions in a triangle in nice garden soil. Two of the divisions thrived , the third just sat there. I left the plants for three years with the two lusty sisters growing into huge plants while the runt barely held onto life. Same soil, same plant, who can explain it? I finally moved the runt to a new spot and there is flurished.

So I suppose the best advice to gardeners is to persevere, just keep planting and something will like you and grow. The coneflowers in these photographs are extremely easy , they seem to do well no matter how they are treated. There are also many pretty new hybrids in opulent colors and more restrained sizes.

Color

A quiet pastel garden is lovely and restful. But I love color like this explosion in my friend Stephanie's garden.
Orange and magenta are not for timid souls but wow, they are gorgeous. My own front entry garden is full of California poppies in bright oranges and yellows growing in front of magenta purple phlox. Wear your sunglasses when you come to visit.

Flower Find.
And here is a hat for the brave. Isn't this beautiful? It is called "Dorothy Parker" and it does make me think of New York City in a more glamorous era. The hat is custom made by BoringSidney (now how could anyone who designed this hat possibly be boring??) and can be ordered at http://www.boringsidney.etsy.com/.