A Valentine Puzzle

"Love Birds," a Valentine Post Card by Raphael Tuck and Sons,
Art Publishers to their Majesties the King and Queen. *

Happy Valentine's Day! There are 16 plant references in the love note below. Some are cultivar names, some are common names. Can you find them all?
 

Ms. Valerie Finnis
214 Columbine Drive
Chicago, IL

Dear Valerie,

Please be my Valentine!

Ever since your friend Carol Mackie introduced us on that May night, I've been attracted to you. Then, at last week's garden club meeting, when I saw your angel face in the morning light, I could resist no longer.

Cupid’s dart hit me and my love lies bleeding. I adore you!

Let me be your Mr. Goodbud, your heartthrob. I want to drink creme de cassis with you under the August moon and kiss your hot lips. Or better still, kiss me over the garden gate later today.

 

Please help my bleeding heart. Don’t break the chain of love.

Your sweet William

 

xoxoxoxoxo

 

--------------

 

The answers are below. How many were you able to find? Any other plant names that you would use in a mash note?
 



Falling in Love rose
Photo courtesy of Weeks Roses

1) Valerie Finnis -- Muscari armeniacum or Artemisia ludoviciana  2) Carol Mackie -- Daphne burkwoodii  3) May Night -- Salvia sylvatica  4)  Angel Face -- Rose  5) Morning Light -- Silver Maiden Grass, Miscanthus sinensis   6)  Cupid’s dart  -- Catananche caerulea  7) Love lies bleeding -- Amaranthus caudatus  8)  Mr. Goodbud -- Sedum  9) Heartthrob -- Viola or Cornus kousa 10) Creme de Cassis -- Hollyhock, Alcea  11) August Moon -- Hosta  12) Hot Lips -- Chelone lyonii  13) Kiss me over the garden gate -- Persicaria orientale  14)   Bleeding heart -- Dicentra/Lamprocapnas spectabilis   15) Chain of love -- Antigonon leptopus  16) Sweet William -- Dianthus barbatus

Give yourself 5 bonus points if you knew that Valentine is the cultivar name of Eremophila maculata or Dicentra spectabilis. Give yourself an extra point for every time you knew a name applied to more than one plant. Give yourself an extra two points if you knew that Dicentra is now officially Lamprocapnas.

By Karen Geisler

* This postcard was dated and postmarked Feb. 13, 1911 by T.B. Hamilton of Argentea, IL near Decatur. It was sent to a cousin, S.H. Nudig in West Fairview, PA.

The Great Gnome Hunt

A gnome at the Morton Arboretum's Children's Garden

Garden gnomes are amazing creatures.

About 17 of them are braving sub-zero temperatures at the Morton Arboretum near Chicago this winter, waiting patiently for children to find them as part of a Gnome Hunt there.

Now my gnomes, they insist on spending the winter in the garage at the very least. (They tried to set up a trip to warmer climes with the Roaming Gnome but he was already booked.) These little guys (plus one girl) are only too happy to be playing a game of hide-and-seek in the Children’s Garden.

The hunt involves the story of Joy, a male gnome who is lost and searching for a home. Each of the 15 different locations has a poem about where Joy has tried to live  – on a fence, in a dog house, under a net and in a log, just to name a few.

This gnome and his squirrel friend enjoyed the warmer weather Sunday.

(Spoiler: All ends well when Joy finds a nice tree.)

Several of the children there when I visited were having a blast. But parents, don’t think this is a slam dunk. I found only 11 of the 15 locations. Some parts of the garden were blocked off due to snow so the other four probably were there.  (At least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Besides, there were chocolate tastings inside.)

Nobby, the informal leader of the Morton Arboretum gnomes, told the Hortiholic in an exclusive interview that the group loves entertaining children despite the cold and snow.

Two gnomes shared their book with a bluebird

“It's so much fun! Besides, we’d otherwise be sitting around, getting fat, talking about fiscal cliffs, higher oil prices and immigration policies,” he said. “I feel very strongly that our immigration laws need to be changed. All oppressed garden gnomes should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. without any restrictions.” *

The arboretum's Gnome Hunt continues through the end of February from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, weather permitting.

*Note: Opinions expressed by Nobby are his own and not necessarily those of the Morton Arboretum.

By Karen Geisler

This gnome got a push from a chipmunk

Gnome in the swing of things next to the pond

The gnome took a snooze on a tree branch

The entrance to the Children's Garden at the Morton Arboretum

The Ghoulish Garden

 

Is Halloween your favorite holiday? Worn out your copy of the "Little Shop of Horrors?" Then you may need a ghoulish garden.

Ask yourself, what would Morticia plant? Lily Munster? Or Elvira, Mistress of the Dark? Surely not anything ordinary, something cheery like daisies. No, any of these witchy women would brew up something wonderfully wicked.


Caroline Jones as Morticia
Photo: Gregg's Shock Theater

The most obvious choice is one with bite -- a carnivorous plant like a Venus fly trap.

Who can forget Audrey II in the "Little Shop of Horrors" yelling “Feed Me"?  Or Morticia’s special relationship with her “African Strangler,” Cleopatra?

Unfortunately, these along with a number of other plants like Dracula orchid, Voodoo Lily (Amorphophallus) and Bat Flower (Tacca chantrieri) can't survive Chicago winters outside. But there are lots of other ways to spook-ify your garden.
  

Thankfully, black seems to be the “in” color lately when it comes to flowers.  There are now black pansies, tulips, coral bells, hollyhocks, iris, dahlias and petunias -- just to name a few.

Well, they’re actually more of a deep purple or deep red for the most part, but why be picky?  They are the closest plant breeders have come so far and a lot depends on the light in which they are viewed.

Using black in the landscape can be a bit tricky although it’s a treat when done right. You need some contrast so the black doesn’t just fade into the background. White or gray foliage – think full moon -- generally works well in that regard.

Try Ghost Japanese painted fern (Athyrium 'Ghost') with its silver foliage or a Ghost hosta if you have some shade. Artemisia, sometimes called wormwood, is good in full sun. For a punch of color, add something like Orange Meadowbrite ™ coneflower (Echinacea ‘Art’s Pride’) or Blackberry Lily (Belamcanda chinensis) which has great seed pods in the fall.

 

Bela Lugosi daylily

If you’d like a more varied palette, there are a number of haunted hemerocallis. Bela Lugosi daylily has a special place in my garden, for instance, because of my husband’s love of horror movies. There’s even a Lily Munster daylily. (For a more complete list, visit The Haunted Gardens blog by clicking here.)



Orange and black pansies are a classic.

You could take a cue from Gomez Addams, Morticia's husband, who grew roses (for the thorns), hemlock and hen’s bane (for their toxicity) and poison ivy.  My advice though, is to stick with something like witchhazel (Hamamelis ssp.) for its brilliant fall colors or Ghost ™ weigela (Weigela florida  'Carlton') which has foliage that starts out green and turns a butter yellow as the season progresses. Both are pretty and won’t get you in as much trouble with the neighbors.
 

Of course, the biggest problem with a ghoulish garden is that the Midwest's weather is so unpredictable around Halloween. Your best bet may be orange and black pansies as they can take some cold temperatures.

In the photo above, I used them with Graceful Grasses® Vertigo® pearl millet (Pennisetum purpureum) (named after the famous Alfred Hitchcock thriller no doubt) and some 'Bronzilla' sedge (Carex flagelifera). Obsidian coral bells, the blackest Heuchera, is shown in the container at the very top. You also could add some pumpkins or dead branches with spider webs just before the Big Night.
 

If you need something even spookier, consider a gargoyle or mythical winged creature of some sort. Still want more? I've actually spotted several zombie garden gnomes on the Web. You can't get much more horrific than that.

 




 http://zombiegnomes.net/

 

By Karen Geisler

A Dry Sense of Humor (and a Giveaway)

It's official. Last month was the hottest July on record nationwide. It wasn't much better here in Chicago but at least we've recently gotten some rain and more moderate temperatures.

Of course the rain hasn't been enough to break the drought. And I'm still expecting those 90-degree days to return. After all, it is still August.

At this point, I could really use a good laugh.

I initially had trouble coming up with any garden-related jokes.  I finally remembered these from when I was a kid:

Why did the tomato turn red? Because it saw the salad dressing.

What runs but never tires? Water.

I recalled the last one when watering my garden one morning for what seems like the umpteenth time this summer. I also stumbled across a couple of new ones when doing some (ahem) research for this article.

What do you call it when worms take over the world?  Global worming.

New gardeners learn by trowel and error.

What gets bigger the more you take away? A hole.

The only new one I've managed to come up with is at the top. All kidding aside, there must be some drought-related garden jokes out there. You know, gallows humor -- garden style.

So to help spark some gardening wit, I'm giving away a DeWit crown trowel and a dibbler. As you can see, the trowel looks a lot like a tulip. Both of these babies are top of the line and carry lifetime warranties. They should be great for planting bulbs this fall or at least dreaming about a new beginning next spring.

I'm also throwing in a copy of the Timber Press Pocket Guide to Bulbs by John Bryan.

You only need to comment below for a chance to win, but garden-related jokes, rhymes, riddles, etc. are appreciated.  No dirty jokes, although jokes about dirt/soil are allowed.

The deadline is midnight August 19, 2012, with the winner chosen at random. One entry per person please. Employees of Chalet Nursery and their immediate families are not eligible to win.  Void where prohibited by law.

I’d especially like someone to complete this joke: “Two slugs walk into a bar…..”

By Karen Geisler