Projo Garden Blog

Impatiens are the most popular bedding plant in the world.

I grew impatiens every year in the late 80's and all through the 90's.

The usual impatiens (I. wallerina) have flat flowers with large petals and tiny spurs. They come in varieties of color.

Impatiens is a genus of about 1000 species, in the family Balsaminaceae.

Impatiens is a Latin word for impatient. It was believed that the seed pods were impatient to explode when ripen. It was also called "touch-me-not" -- or it would explode.

Double-flower impatiens are hybrids of I. wallerina, which have become more popular in the past 20 - 30 years.

10.7.07

New Guinea impatiens (I. hawkeri), native to New Guinea, were introduced to the US in 1970 by American horticulturist Claude Hope (1907-2000), who discovered the plant in Costa Rica and successfully produced the plants with profuse blossoms through breeding and hybridizing. New Guinea impatiens have large flowers with green, bronze or variegated leaves. Like other impatiens, they like rich, wet, well-drained soil; but prefer morning sun rather than shade. They can be propagated via stem cutting.

9.11.08

In the limited space in my garden, I mostly planted just very few of the double and New Guinea impatiens.

9.13.04

Earlier this year I was given the regular impatiens in a big planter on Mother's Day. They are still alive under the lacy, Japanese maple by my front steps despite the frost and cold temperature.

11.21.09

A few years ago, many of us were introduced to the Thai parrot flower, a rather mysterious, exotic flower.

Interestingly, while we were excited about this rare flower and searching various websites to learn about it; none of my friends in Thailand had ever heard of it.

As it turned out, the parrot flower is in the genus impatiens.

How wonderful it would be, if I could see this Impatien psittacina with my own eye some day!

This past summer I was introduced to a new species of licorice plants (in the genus helichrysum, family Asteraceae, with hundreds of species). They were planted as a low-growing groundcover along both sides of my front walk, partially covered by portulacas and torenias, hardly noticed by anyone.

Most people pay very little attention to non-flowering plants and trees. I believe it is human nature to be more attracted to flowers and multitude of colors than just the green. Perhaps that is why we so look forward to the autumn foliage and are unwilling to let it come to an end each and every year.

There have been several non-flowering plants in my garden, from ivy to ornamental grass and herbs...

6.27.02

...as well as ferns and dusty miller (The latter I grow for the beautiful lacy, greenish, silvery leaves -- I usually trim off the yellow flowers ).

Now, most flowers are gone but the licorice is thriving and expanding, with multiplied branches creeping along the cement walk. Their silvery leaves look just lovely, glistening in the bright sunlight.

Licorice plants are tender annuals and they will not last much longer as the temperature dips down further.

Each time I step outside.. I take a long look at the lovely, silvery shine on the leaves while reminding myself.. " Look thy last on all things lovely.."

11.18.09

The beautyberry is a relatively new shrub for me. I bought it from a local nursery in the early fall of 2007 after seeing the very unusual purple berries on the arching stems. I was told that the berries would get darker and stay on the branches well into winter.

There was not enough space in my front garden, so I planted the small shrub next to the azaleas at the upper level of my back garden. Last year the shrub was transferred to a bigger area further back at the lower level.

It appeared to like the new location and had grown both in height and width (now at least 4 x 4 ft.).

I enjoy the light pink blossoms during the summer before they gradually turn into bright, shiny, purple berries.

8.20.09

I have cut off several branches and removed the leaves to make some arrangements, showcasing the berries' unique color.

There are still lots of berries left on the plant.

11.16.09

I hope they will still be around when the snow arrives .. hopefully not so soon.

12.7.08

American beautyberry belongs in the family Verbenaceae, according to this website.

Daisies are very popular white flowers in the family Asteraceae, with yellow centers that attract bees and butterflies.

Most of us think of Shasta daisies when we use the term daisies; they bloom in the spring and summer; some re-bloom in the fall.

11.9.09

Shasta daisy is a hybrid of the genus leucanthemum, created by an American botanist, horticulturist and a pioneer in agricultural science, Luther Burbank (1849 - 1926) supposedly because of "the clean white petals of this daisy reminded Burbank of the snow of Mount Shasta in California", according to the Perennial Plant Association which also named it as 2003 perennial plant of the year.

Shasta daisy has been part of my garden for many years. One year I even tried the ones with fringed petals but these did not come back the following year.

I planted Nippon daisies, also called Montauk daisies, three years ago both in the front and back garden.

These belong in the genus nipponanthemum. Their leaves are arranged differently and there are multiple flowers on one stem. Nippon daisies are fall flowers, with large blooms over beautiful green foliage; although they have yet to gain the popularity of Shasta daisies.

It was the fall of 1989. While driving to Norwich, Conn., I saw beautiful, massive, red bushes along stretches of highway. I decided that I would like to have one.

A single, small burning bush was planted in the partly sunny area by my driveway. It grew and expanded rather quickly. Initially, I tried to make it into a topiary - in the shape of a peacock. However as years have gone by, it became more difficult to maintain the shape and its height.

I had to prune it down every few years to prevent it from taking up too much space needed for other ornamental plants, flowering annuals and perennials in my front garden.

I still get to enjoy the bright red color of the leaves and the orange fruits every year, especially around this time when most of the autumn foliage is gone.

Euonymus belongs in the family Celastraceae.

The burning bush carries biblical significance, as an object in the Book of Exodus at the location where Moses was appointed by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt into Canaan, according to Wikipedia. It is also the symbol of Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Canada, New Zealand and Taiwan.

Silene was introduced to me in the spring of 2008. They were planted in the sunny area in my front garden, close to the ice plant, as a ground cover.

6.20.08

Silene flowers are very small, light and dainty-looking. The petals are deeply notched. The ones I had were in pale pink. There are about 500 species of silene and the flowers come in red, darker pink and white. It belongs in the family Caryophyllaceae and in the same genus as rose campion.

8.20.08

I have not seen Silene around at any local nurseries I frequented this year.

I had totally forgotten how much I had enjoyed silene's quiet, subtle beauty last year ... until just a few weeks ago when I happened to discover a couple of silene flowers blooming above the light green foliage at the same spot they were last year.

I brought some indoors the other day.

11.8.08

They looked lovely in the tiny vase.

11.9.09

It is my pleasure to share this little beauty with you.

I took the picture of this yellow rose on a sunny afternoon, just yesterday. It's probably my last rose of the year.

There are fewer and fewer roses blooming in my garden as the temperature drops to low 40s.. .then low 30s at night time. A few buds are yet to bloom, but they may stay unopened in the freezing temperatures.

11.11.02

There were no roses in my garden during the first few of the 22 years of my gardening life. I never thought I would be capable of planting and caring for roses, which are known to be prone to aphids, powdery mildew, black spot and fungal disease.

I also did not have enough space with full sun, which is a prerequisite for growing roses. After the very large oak tree at the corner of my property was cut down and turned into a wooden sculpture in the early 90's; I gathered enough courage to grow roses.

I have tried all kind of roses -- tea rose, tree rose, climbing rose, groundcover rose and beach rose (rosa rugosa).

Most of my roses came from Jackson and Perkins. I have had many varieties of hybrid roses, i.e. Mr. Lincoln, French Perfume. Many of them died after a few years and had to be replaced. I believe the harsh winters in New England make it difficult for the roses to grow healthy unlike those grown in the warm and sunny climate.

I am willing to settle for fewer blooms and the need to replace and replant. Deadheading (cutting off the stem at the first 5-leaflet leaf after the flower died) is required to promote branching and flower production during the blooming period, as well as pruning and fertilizing.

The beauty and fragrance of each rose is worth all the work and effort I must put in.

The word rose came from a Latin word, rosa, which was borrowed from Greek, rhodion, according to Wikipedia. The genus rosa has more than 100 species in the family Rosaceae, with thousands of hybrids and cultivars.

The rose is a symbol of love and beauty.

It is the national flower of England and the United States and the state flower of Iowa, North Dakota, Georgia and New York.