A New Garden (Bed-)Room

This isn't strictly about my garden or gardening, but it is garden-related: So, like most gardeners, by the middle of winter I start to yearn for spring, for the blue skies, the green grass, the colorful flowers of springtime and summer. What to do? (Besides bankrupting myself by building a huge conservatory, complete with grass and flowers, to spend my winters in -- see this marvelous article in this weekend's WSJ about fabulous greenhouses of the wealthy -- although not as fabulous as this one:)

Longwood Garden's Orangery. This is what I need! (wikipedia)

OK, so I'm not going to be able to build a large (or even a small) conservatory to take the chill and dreariness of winter away. So I did something a bit more modest: I redid my bedroom decor to reflect my love of plants, green foliage and blue skies.

Before, my bedroom had tan walls, dark brown silk curtains and a dark brown bedspread. They matched the beautiful dark-finished wood in my Arts & Crafts-style house, but they contributed to a dark feeling for such a sunny, southeast-facing room. Out with the brown, and in with the springy green:

1. First, I chose a botanical-themed quilt. I found one at Walmart that was pretty nice. 
2. Then I found some draperies at Target.com that were the rich green I was looking for and that matched the green in the quilt. I sewed linings in them so they would block more light when I want to sleep in.
3. Then, with my husband's help (I am slightly color-blind about light shades of green and pink), I picked a wall color, a light, springy green. 
4. We also painted the ceiling a light sky blue, so that I can wake up under blue skies every day (even in winter!).
5. I repainted the two bedside tables in a rich green that matches the curtains, which really makes them look more fresh and modern.
6. Finally, I had some vintage seed catalog posters printed from Zazzle.com to the size of some standard frames available in a six-pack at Walmart. I also got a couple of larger posters and frames.

The result (click on the photos for more detail):

Our new, botanical room, on a sunny spring day. The grass hasn't greened up yet outside, but all is lushly verdant in here.

Two more vintage seed catalog prints above the bed, which is flanked by the freshly repainted side tables that had been pretty dingy before.

A large "Gardener's Alphabet" poster above the dresser.

Here are a few of the prints I got:

I got this one from Allposters.com.

The vintage seed catalog prints I got from Zazzle.com. The two Iowa ones I made by finding images online and sizing them to the right size for the frames, and the others were images that Zazzle had available in print to order sizes. Very convenient and affordable way to custom-print color posters!

I think that seed catalogs from the turn of the last century are fascinating, and they tell us much about our culture. Here is the Smithsonian's online collection of covers, and a bibliography of research about them. Some of the covers are so beautifully illustrated, and evoke a nostalgic time. I think I will love having these on my walls.

Thanks for reading about my new garden room!

Spring?

What a lovely few days we've had here in southeast Iowa! Monday was the best: sunny, NOT windy and 60 degrees. It's been pretty windy since then, although the temps most days this week have been above average (the above-freezing winds have helped melt off the deep snow cover we had, so it could be worse). Our snow is finally almost gone, which means the ground can start warming up. And there's no forecast snow for the next 10 days, mostly with at least average temps for this time year. I feel that winter is about over, even if spring has not yet quite begun. Yay!

Snow melting in the herb garden (time lapse photography -- sort of):

The herb garden (to the right of the fence) on February 8,
after our last big snowfall. You can hardly see it's there under the snow.

On March 10 (this past Monday). Good progress, but still a ways to go.

March 13. This is one of the last areas here to have snow in it. I think
the boxwood bushes encourage the collection of snow and insulate it
from melting as fast as it does in more open areas. We're almost there....

The first sign of spring: daffodils poking up next to the house.
This sheltered spot on the east side of the house foundation is always
the first to have blooming daffs in the spring.

Happily, the sun is getting stronger, the Daylight Savings Time switch means sunsets are after 7 pm now, and it won't be long until the grass and other things green up. Spring is starting!

My Florida Trip, Conclusion: Harry P. Leu Gardens

So after our day at Universal Studios (the surprisingly impressive horticulture of which I described two posts ago), we drove to the east coast of Florida and spent time at the beach and at the Kennedy Space Center, neither of which had much in the way of gardens. Upon our return to Orlando, however, I made my family stop for a couple of hours at the Harry P. Leu Gardens in downtown Orlando, and I was happy that I did.

The Mizzell-Leu House, built in the 1880s as a farm house,
now listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
(wikipedia)

The Harry P. Leu Gardens are nearly 50 acres of semi-tropical and tropical gardens, landscaped grounds and lakes, and meandering trails shaded by 200 year-old oaks. The gardens have extensive collections of azaleas, bromeliads, citrus, crepe myrtles, cycads, gingers, heliconias, magnolias, palms, a large rose garden and 240 types of camellias. They were started by Mr. and Mrs. Harry P. Leu (Mr. Leu was a Florida businessman who owned a successful industrial supply company), who in 1936 purchased what was then called the Mizzell House and traveled all over the world, bringing back many exotic plants and varieties of camellias. In 1961, they deeded the house and gardens to the city of Orlando.

I was there on a damp, overcast day in late February, but the visit was still enjoyable and there were a number of plants flowering, including many camellias, roses, perennials, bulbs and flowering trees. Here are a few photos I took:

A massive live oak covered with hanging moss. Very southern-looking.

The Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow tree (Brunfelsia pauciflora), a closeup of which I included in my last post. Here is the whole multicolored effect. It is a tropical tomato relative that has dark purple, pansy-like flowers that fade to lavender-purple on the second day and to white on the third, so that it looks like it has multicolored blooms.

The garden had several magnificent Golden Trumpet Trees, (Handroanthus chrysotrichus - Bignoniaceae, Syn. Tabebuia chrysotricha), which were radiantly in bloom. The bright golden, trumpet-shaped flowers were falling to the ground in a circle of gold and the effect was magical.

The fascinating Popcorn Cassia
(Senna didymobotrya) in the Leu's Cottage
Garden. The leaves apparently smell like popcorn
when rubbed. Closeup next. 

I had to show a closeup of the flower and giant black seeds again,
simply because it is so interesting.

The Leu Gardens have a Cottage Garden, which is undoubtedly
a tropical version inspired by the English and North American cottage
gardens we have up here. It contains many traditional cottage plants --
many of which are favorites of mine. But this is something we don't
ever see here in Iowa: some sort of warm-weather-tolerant narcissus,
together with nasturtiums. These just don't ever bloom at the same time
here in Iowa, and seemed very strange to me. What a different way
to garden.

Another narcissus, together with that cottage garden stalwart, delphinium.
I can only imagine that they must grow these as winter annuals in Florida,
as delphiniums can scarcely stand the summer heat here, let alone there.

The cottage garden's herb garden, in which  parsley grows alongside
agave. Another Florida way of planting. Very interesting.

Lemon trees in full fruit. Cool.

Soft Necklace Pod (Sophora tomentosa spp. occidentalis)

What an incredibly textural plant. It looks like a bunch of razor blades that might cut you terribly.

I don't even know what this fascinating curlicue plant is
-- the label I took a photo of is not the correct label.
Anyone?

Lovely azaleas on the way back to the visitor center. 

A very nice garden to visit; seeing so many beautifully growing plants made a nice contrast with the man-made environments of the Kennedy Space Center and Disneyworld. If you ever find yourself in the central Florida area, I highly recommend a visit to the Harry P. Leu Gardens. Thanks for reading!

Fertilizer Friday: March 7 (Orlando Tropical Flowers)

Boy, I like the sound of that "March"! It certainly is the most hope-filled month of the year: hope that warmer weather is not long off; hope that green grass is coming shortly, hope that shoots of crocus and daffodils will be poking up any minute now. Plus, we have St. Patrick's Day, that announcement of spring and fun, accompanied by Irish whiskey, good Irish cheddar, and cabbage, potatoes and corned beef. Yay, Spring!

Anyway, as promised, here are some Fertilizer Friday photos (http://www.tootsietime.com/) of the flowers I saw in Orlando, Florida on my recent trip (I actually have current photos of real flowers this time!). These are all from my trip to the Harry P. Leu Gardens, which I haven't finished writing the post for yet -- I will tell more about these extensive botanical gardens in a few days when I post about my visit.

Camellia japonica 'Abundance' 

Another beautiful camellia from the Harry P. Leu's collection of
240 varieties of camellias.

A white one (sorry, no cultivar info)

A flower from the fascinating Popcorn Cassia
(Senna didymobotrya) that I saw in the Leu's Cottage
Garden. The leaves apparently smell like popcorn
when rubbed, which I wish I had known while I was at the
garden, as my whole family would like to have smelled it.
The tree was not labeled and I had quite a time trying
to look it up on Google images.

A hollyhock or some other sort of Malva
(who knows what will grow down in tropical lands?)

I had to include some roses -- I'm always so excited
to see them blooming in the middle of winter!

Some sort of flowering vine, again not labeled....

Two florets from the "Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow" tree
(Brunfelsia pauciflora), a tropical tomato relative
that has dark purple, pansy-like flowers that fade to lavender-purple
on the second day and to white on the third, so that it looks
like it has multicolored blooms. Fascinating -- I'll post a photo
of what the overall effect of the whole tree looks like on my next post.

Anyway, I feel better that I was able to post photos of real flowers this time, and somewhat interesting ones. Thanks for reading!

My Florida Trip, Part 1: Horticultural Beauty at Universal Studios Theme Park?

I'm just back from the trip to Central Florida that my husband, two children and I made last week (the last flight from Chicago was delayed by snow and we didn't get home until 4:00 am Sunday morning, which was somewhat tiring).

But the trip was lots of fun: we spent our first day in Florida at the Universal Studios "Islands of Adventure" theme park, then drove to the east coast of Florida, where we spent time on the beach and visited the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, and then we returned to Orlando for a day at Disney's Magic Kingdom. I also made my family spend a couple of hours at a botanical garden in Orlando.

After the long months of midwest winter, I was very happy to be able to see green grass and trees again, and as a gardener and garden blogger, I paid attention to (and took photos of) the plants that grow in Florida, many of which are very different from those I can grow here in Iowa.

I wasn't expecting much in the way of horticultural beauty at theme parks, but I was pleasantly surprised by Universal Studios. The level of thoughtful and creative planning of garden areas, as well as the excellence of their maintenance certainly contributed to my enjoyment of the day I spent there. And it turns out that Universal Studios has won an award for their efforts at sustainability as well.

The park is divided into different theme areas, which were marked by different horticultural styles. Let me share a few photos of outstanding areas:

Seuss Landing

The use of exaggerated topiary shapes goes well with the style of the Dr. Seuss books. This delightful creature looks right at home here.

The Truffula trees from "The Lorax" are enhanced
by clumps of ornamental grasses.

The lollipop topiaries in the background are suitably silly, as is this clever faux-topiary tree
that is actually a series of planters containing rainbow-hued annuals. Very creative.

These orange snapdragons (one of my favorite annual flowers) look stylistically right in this setting, and are blooming prolifically. Someone creative and competent is responsible for the plantings in the entire Seuss Landing area.

Harry Potter's Wizarding World

Hogwarts and Hogsmead are planted mainly with northern-looking conifers, which are appropriate to the Scottish setting of the Harry Potter books, but which do seem to be struggling a bit in the hot and humid Florida climate. 

More conifers.

A wholly artificial stage-set "shop" from Hogsmead: "Dogweed & Deathcap Exotic Plants and Flowers." The front windows of the shop, which cannot be entered, contain "plants" that can be used for spells and charms, and include a moving Mandrake Root (complete with grumpy little face) in the pot in the right window. (photo from Flickr,  sdettling)

A photo of the "Continental Divide" between the northern British conifer-filled world of Harry Potter on the left,
and the lush tropical foliage-filled Jurassic Park on the right. 

Jurassic Park

The Jurassic Park area contains what must be acres of lushly-foliaged scenes that are meant to evoke the ancient flora of prehistoric periods. Apparently, there actually were no palm trees during the Jurassic Period; ferns, ginkgoes, cycads and conifers flourished at that time (but one can hardly blame the designers of these gardens for including a few palm trees).

More Jurassic foliage. Very healthy looking plants. I can only imagine how much watering, cutting out of dead leaves and other horticultural maintenance must take place every morning before the park opens.

More exotic looking foliage, with an occasional flower.

An example of the attention to detail in Universal Studios park:
The concrete paths in Jurassic Park were impressed with palm frond
shapes while the concrete was still wet, to add a fossil-like look
to what otherwise would have been modern-looking concrete paths.

Other Areas

The Lost Continent area of the park is a vague mixture of middle-eastern Sinbad-inspired
areas and South American archaeological-looking areas.

Some xeriscape-looking plants in a gravel bed.

A tree with exotic-looking fluffy buds on it.
Someone obviously has taken time to think of unusual
plants to include in the park. Bravo for these unknown
horticultural planners, and for all the dedicated
and competent maintenance staff!

In my next post, I will share some photos of my trip to the botanical garden in Orlando that I managed to visit. Thanks for reading! -Beth