Horticulturist, Jim Pirhalla lends his thoughts to one of his favorite Daffodil cultivars:

To me, for all of the garden plants, daffodils (Narcissus spps.) have it made. Let me explain. After a long hard winter when even a yellow gum wrapper or a red cola can in the yard tricks one into believing that spring has arrived, here comes the daffodil. Other plants that emerge later in the spring are probably thinking to themselves, “They show up, with their nice, clean green foliage and bright, mister sun-shine faces. Where is the competition for these guys?” And when virtually the only other thing that is leafing out along a busy country roadside is multi-flora rose, how can anyone not notice the bright yellow flower of the daffodil which was probably planted decades ago when the site was once better tended.

Daffodils are a relatively fool-proof plant. That is, as long as they are planted in a spot that will get plenty of sun while the foliage is still green. Also, if you plant your daffodils in turf, avoid mowing until the foliage starts to yellow. And don’t plant the bulbs too deeply in the ground. All of these things will send your daffodils into a sure decline with little to no bloom.

Personally, one of my favorite daffodil cultivars is Narcissus ‘Ceylon’. It grows on average to 14”-18” in height with yellow petals, as one grower describes as “buttercup”. It has an orange to orange/red corona with a cup of medium proportion. Its bloom time is a bit earlier than most daffodils, around early to mid spring. For my garden, that would be typically in early April. It is also touted as being a long bloomer and I would say from my personal experience, that would be true. ‘Ceylon’ has, in my opinion, a simple yet “country nobility” look about it and is a daffodil that is not going to be obtrusive in size in the landscape, but is also not going to be lost in it as well. I would say that Narcissus ‘Ceylon’ is a perfect daffodil for a landscape of modest proportion. Plant some bulbs this fall and enjoy these true beauties next spring!

Several visitors and staff members have asked for the names and sources of some of the plants growing in the children’s vegetable garden. I have copied the inventory below along with a very informal rating and source code. The rating scale is from “-” (no germination/poor performer) to “++” (star performer). If there is neither a plus nor minus next to the plant then it performed adequately. This was an unsual growing season. Typically tomatoes perform very well, but this year we had to remove them due to the late blight. Other plants are usually short-lived but lasted all season, such as the cosmos. So take the rating with a grain of salt. I have also listed the sources for the seeds; the key is at the bottom of the list.

One thing stands out, when I cast my eye down this list – the children planted an awful lot! This year we kept them moving pretty much non-stop. It is amazing what a group of 6 to 11 year olds can accomplish in just one day a week. I’d like to thank the parents, interns, and staff who helped the children accomplish this. Most of all, I’d like to thank the kids for doing such a great job with their gardens. It takes more than just hard work to make a garden - a really good garden needs to be fun and creative. That is what all of you brought to the garden this year THANK YOU.

Younger Gardeners

Tomato Celebrity (plants removed due to blight)
Eggplant (plants)
Marigolds (plants)
Simpson Elite Lettuce (++P)
Reggae Radish (P)
Thumbelina Carrot (P)
Carson Bush Wax Bean (++J)

Older Gardeners

Tomato Celebrity (plants removed due to blight)
Eggplant (plants)
Marigolds (plants)
Mint (plants)
Parsley (plants)
Freckles Lettuce (+P)
Watermelon Radish (P)
Mokum Carrot (++P)
Sonata Mix Dwarf Cosmos (+P)
Lilliput Mix Zinnia (+P)
Royal Burgundy Bush Bean (++J)
Nufar Basil (-J pelleted seed)
Bronze Fennel (+J)

Projects

Gloriosa Polyheaded Sunflower (+S)
Curiosity Nigella (S)
Mammoth Russian Sunflower (+B)
Envy Zinnia (++B)
Purity Cosmos (+P)
Lavender Queen Zinnia (+P)
Miss Willmott Zinnia (+P)
Nigella damascena (P)
Only the Lonely Nicotiana (P)
Zebulon Dwarf Sunflower (++J)
Sebring Zucchini (++J)
Birdhouse Bottle Gourds (+ FM, J)
Cucumber Lemon (-B)
Blueberries (plants of various cultivars)
Rhubarb (plants)
Walking onion (plants)
Moon and Stars Watermelon (+FM)
Serena Purple Angelonia (++ plants)
Junior Hybrid Sunflower (++B)
Sensation White Cosmos (B)
Sensation Picotee Cosmos (+FM)
Tea Time Series Four O’Clocks (+B)
Lipstick Nasturtium (B)
Summer Berries Mix Scabiosa (B)
Apricot Twist Sunflower (B)
Jersey Supreme Hybrid Asparagus (plants)
Mesabi Strawberry (- plants)
Paradiso Fig (plants)

B Burpee
FM Ferry Morse
J Johnny’s Selected Seeds
P Pinetree Garden Seeds
S Seeds of Change

For background on our children’s garden see Kids Grow.
Posted in Garden, Plants, Products ]]> http://gardenblog.winterthur.org/2009/09/10/whats-flowering-in-the-childrens-garden/feed/ 3 Chris Strand DF_Final-Zinnia-Lilliput DF_Final-Cosmos DF_Final-Fig DF_Final-Gourd DF_Final-Lettuce-2 DF_Final-Lettuce DF_Final-Sebring DF_Final-SFlower-1 DF_Final-SFlower-2 DF_Final-SFlower-3 DF_Final-Watermelon DF_Final-Zinnia http://gardenblog.winterthur.org/2009/07/02/h-f-du-ponts-notes-on-his-garden-in-july/ http://gardenblog.winterthur.org/2009/07/02/h-f-du-ponts-notes-on-his-garden-in-july/#comments Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:14:33 +0000 Chris Strand http://gardenblog.winterthur.org/?p=1230 ]]> by Maggie Lidz

HF du Pont made few notes about the Winterthur garden in July as he spent most of the month at his Southampton summer house. The exception was during World War 2. The notes that he made in July during the 1940s understandably focus on the farm and reflect some of the concerns common during the war years.

July 18, 1941 to Mrs. Chamberlain Chanler, HF271: After a long drought here, it is raining its head off and everything is rotting away. The trials of a gardener are manifest!

July 22, 1941 to W.A. Brooks: I am here [Winterthur] from Southampton for my every other week visit and am thankful that is has finally got dry enough so that we can thresh our wheat. A few more wet days and it would have sprouted in the fields and you know what that means to a farmer.

July 1942 to Albert Ely Ives: We have been here all summer and it has been very pleasant. Everybody else is staying home also.

July 23, 1943 to Bessie Andrews: Everyone is gardening furiously, freezing and putting up all kinds of vegetables for next winter. With the help of several boys we manage to keep the place looking quite nicely. The poor despised farmer has at last come into his own! We have beef cattle, sheep etc. and do our own slaughtering, so we don’t bother with those terrible rationing coupons.

All organic matter will decompose within time! Through active composting, you can turn organic matter from your backyard and household residues into a rich soil amendment to help improve plant growth, give roots a healthier environment in which to expand and stabilize, reduce potential soil erosion from wind and water, provide additional nutrients and reduce the waste-stream at your local landfill. Join Dorothy Abbott, extension agent for renewable resources, as she shares the secrets of compost, a gardener’s black gold.

This last Saturday, Winterthur garden interns and staff helped 21 children plant their vegetable gardens for our annual “Kids Grow” children’s gardening program. Over the next 10 weeks children and their parents will watch their seeds grow, pull weeds, thin, pinch, water and weed their way to a nice harvest of salad vegetables. By the end of the summer, bushel baskets of tomatoes and sacks of lettuce, carrots, beans, and radishes will go home with the children who, we hope, will have a new-found appreciation for vegetables and for gardening.

Gardening with children only takes a couple hours a week but the lessons they learn and the fun they have will last much longer. I will be posting information here, on our blog, over the next several weeks that I hope will encourage you and your children to try gardening. For young children between the ages of 6 and 8 years old we use a simple planting plan. Older children can be encouraged to be more adventurous and can, generally, take on larger and more complex gardens; our planting plan for older children gives them choices of different vegetables, herbs and flowers to grow.

A gardener’s frustration with the weather is timeless and universal. The following excerpts, gathered together by our Estate Historian Maggie Lidz, are quotes by the du Ponts as they struggled with the Winterthur garden during the month of June, which was sometimes too wet, sometimes too dry and only very occasionally just right.

June 5, 1942 H.F. du Pont to John Magee, box 351: I played golf in the morning at which time it was a lovely pleasant day; but in the afternoon about four o’clock a fierce wind and rain storm began. Before you could say “Jack Robinson” there wasn’t an inch of lawn that wasn’t covered with little leafy twigs and between them were hailstones. It looked just like a green and white piece of needlework and was very beautiful.

June 7, 1962 Leslie Potts to H.F. du Pont, who was in England, WF15: We have had a very warm spring and a very dry one, and it is starting to take its toll, in that the grass is burning up.

June 9, 1967 H.F. du Pont to Bertha Rose, box 386: We are finally having four days without rain and I have been finding a place for the children of the late-blooming azaleas, which are still holding their own. These late bloomers will increase the enjoyment of the visitors to the June garden. One Saturday in May we had 2,000 and 1,000 on Sunday, which is really too many people.

June 10, 1926, H.A. du Pont to Professor Sargent: My place has never looked so well nor have the trees and shrubs been so floriferous …Our large white azalea was magnificent and my calendulacea azaleas were finer than ever before while the Kaemferi and other varieties are beginning to make some show. My evergreens came through the winter very well and al bid fair to make a strong growth this year.

June 10, 1948 H.F. du Pont to Baron Franz von Preuschen, box 427: I have specialized on our Azaleas for many years now and they really are superb. Some varieties start blooming early in April and the late ones are good till almost the end of May.

June 16, 1947 H.F. du Pont to Harold Vanderbilt, box 426: We have had the most dreadful weather here—very cold and rainy, and I don’t see any prospect of the alfalfa ever drying.

June 17 1932 Ruth Wales du Pont to her mother: RE & I had the most wonderful ride this am all out SE saw some beautiful country , a bluebird, & a family of quail, the babies too sweet. She is a wonderful horsewoman & nature-lover as well, I think.

June 18, 1943 H.F. du Pont to Bert Ives, box 338: my azaleas this year were a mass of bloom also. I now have a lovely plantation of them in the woods near the golf course. In fact, it is quite a feature.

June 28 1922 H.F. du Pont to Professor Charles Sargent: We are having a very wet June and I presume that it is good for the trees and bulbs but it is extremely bad for our haying. I feel quite desperate.