Strawberry Hill Farms, Part 1

Over the weekend, Scott and I went to a farm so I could get one plant (on which I will report later). I told him we'd only be there five minutes, but this farm is a huge plant vendor with several warehouses full of fruits, vegetables, and ornamentals. We were there longer than five minutes. I had to wander around and take pictures, of course.

Speaking of which, the camera I'm using now is Scott's, so many thanks are due.

Anyway, people come from all over the state to go to this farm and get plants, so we had to park a good walk away from the cluster of buildings. As we approached them, this was the first thing we saw: discounted cole crops! I think these were marked down to $2 for a four-pack.

I've never seen so many petunias, or in so many colors. There were several rows of tables like this scattered around, covered in petunias. I had to water petunias regularly as a child, and I've never been a fan. They're too sticky for me, and they need to be deadheaded all the time. That said, they are nice to look at.

Here are some tables of salvia and marigolds. I love purple and yellow together, though I don't know if I like how marigolds smell. I'm going to get some next year regardless to put around my tomatoes (assuming I grow tomatoes again next year).

Here's just a section of one of the greenhouses containing ornamental hanging baskets. There was so much to see--I could have spent days wandering around and perusing the selection.

They even have a variety of ferns!

These were the only coleus I saw, but they're nothing to shake a stick at. Sadly I did not have time to sniff all these varieties to find out which were sweet-smelling. Those are my favorites.

Here's a great spider plant. I hope mine gets this full someday.

This begonia looks like a looking-glass begonia, only with polka dots. I don't know what would go well with this plant, but it's impressive on its own.

Now, this is what I came for: a purple shamrock. The species was not denoted on the tags, but I believe these are Oxalis regnelli 'Charmed Wine'. The one I ended up purchasing is on the bottom left. Their leaves are slightly variegated, which is different from the individuals in the greenhouse.

A better shot of the leaves. They look like butterflies in person, too. Some of them were flowering, but people don't cultivate purple shamrocks for their flowers.

All these pictures don't encompass one-fiftieth of the plants at Strawberry Hill. It's truly amazing. Maybe that's why people flock from all over. It was plant overload on my brain, which is why the visit was so fun.

Next post: more views from Strawberry Hill.

(Belated) Cinco de Mayo Plantings

Happy (late) Cinco de Mayo! Today representatives of the Horticulture Club planted containers at one of the apartment complexes in town. We planted four large containers near the entrance to the pool area, four elevated containers surrounding the pool, and eight small, border-type concrete cutouts along the pool area's walls.

This is one of the larger containers. I planted almost everything in this one. We had a red banana, some celosia 'New Look,' some orange petunias, a couple of marigolds, and some yellow calibrachoa.

These are two of the containers overlooking the pool. It's really hard to see what we planted from this distance, so...

...I'm posting a tags picture!

And here's another shot of the contents of the larger containers. By the time I thought to take pictures, the pool area was locked, so I couldn't photograph the small cutouts.

The greenhouses where we got all these plants (minus the marigolds, which we had leftover from our sale), was amazing. It was huge, and it had half the plants I've ever wanted. It had purple shamrock, Dusty Miller, ferns, all kinds of succulents, all kinds of herbs (including some awesome variegated sage), wandering jews, and we didn't even explore the vegetable greenhouses. I'm planning on going back there next weekend to meander. I'll take pictures while I'm there. It will be a fun time.

How did you celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Have you seen any impressive plant collections lately?

Next post: maybe cave photos this time.

Another Spring Plant Sale! (Part 1)

Today is not another Horticulture Club plant sale: it's the school's primary summer bedding sale. That means it's a large-scale operation. Much larger-scale. Also exciting is that this collection of plants has been in the greenhouse for a long time. I transplanted some of these. I've watered them all at one point or another. I drove most of these plants to the sale this morning. So today I get to show you a little slice of my work life.

Before that, though, here's a pretty flower I saw this morning.

When I returned to the sale to take pictures, these coleus were the first plants to grab my attention. The large-leafed coleus is called 'Emotions Passion,' or something similar. A floriculture professor remarked on these (paraphrasing again): "This is a case where people have created something nature never intended. Sure, these really grab the eye, but they get too tall to support themselves and end up falling over." Now we know. I like the kinds of coleus that smell sweet the best. My favorite coleus colors are deep violet and bright green.

Here's another coleus mix. This is a very diverse plant group, as evidenced by the various leaf sizes and margin shapes.

The silver-leafed plant here is a 'Looking Glass' begonia. I would have put this cultivar on my moonlight garden list, but I didn't know what it was called at the time. The leaves look gray in this picture, but they shine in person. And, like the Japanese painted fern, they provide contrast with their deep red undersides. This would also be valuable in a moonlight garden because it would break up the predominance of white and gray.

This plant is a cultivar of canna. The cultivar name might have been 'Tropical Bronze Leaf.' At any rate, I found the leaves beautiful. All the adjacent veins are slightly different shades of brown. This annual is typically purchased for its flowers, which I think is a shame. If I could get a perennial version of this plant as a houseplant, I would drool at it all the time.

This next plant might also have a place in a moonlight garden. This is Euphorbia 'Breathless White.' Its flowers are not overbearing, which would make it a perfect accompaniment to a more forceful flower.

I have no idea why I didn't put Dusty Miller on my moonlight garden list. It is a faux pas in the gardening world nowadays, but I like this silvery foliage plant regardless. I'd like the texture of the leaves, which to me feel like puppy ears, even if I didn't admire the color.

I was never a huge fan of marigolds until I found out that they repel aphids and other pests. I should have gotten a couple to plant near my tomato for this summer, but I wouldn't have anywhere to keep it in the meantime. There was an astonishing variety of these flowers at this sale, though! There were at least six different kinds, judging by flower coloration.

There are quite a few plants available in one-gallon containers. The hosta and the hellebores stood out to me (and that's coreopsis to the left). You can't tell from this picture, but these hellebores bloom white, yellow, and green, which would be refreshing to see in early spring. The hosta have a light purple color to them, which is nice. When I was growing up, we had a LOT of hosta, but they were all white-blooming.

Now we're moving on into the herbs. There was lavender on the perennials bench (as opposed to the herb bench), but since it falls under both categories, it works. I don't think the lavender bushes we have at home are of the 'Munstead' cultivar.

I didn't get the tag in this picture, but I believe these plants are rosemary.

The rest of the herbs and the vegetables are coming tomorrow! Plus bonus flowers! All these plants for sale just make me want a garden. Everything does, though.

Next post: plant sale, continued!