CasaSugar

Six Perennials With Late-Flowering Habits

CasaSugar — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:00:01 -0700

For most of us, Summer is about being outdoors, enjoying the warm weather, and surrounding yourself with nature. When Fall comes, we bundle up, move indoors, and say goodbye to our gardens as they begin their descent into frosty Winter. But, one way you can have an endless Summer is to choose perennials with late-flowering habits for your garden. Want to find out about some plants that will help extend the flowering season at your home well into October? Then .

Sneezeweed. A bronze/red daisy that blooms mid-September for three to four weeks.
Aster. Another daisy-like flower in white, purple, lavender, pink, or red that blooms prolifically through October.
Chinese lantern. Flowers in mid-Summer with bright-orange seedhead in Fall.
Chinese anemone. Rose flowers bloom in mid-Summer to early Fall.
Autumn joy Simple, pink flowers bloom well into October.
Goldenglow. Golden disc flowers bloom in mid-Summer to early Fall.

A few houseplants you might also try are palms, ferns, mother-in-law’s tongue, euphorbia, and croton. Once your flowers bloom, be sure to share photos in our Su Casa group!
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Planting Perennials For Your Fall Garden

CasaSugar — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 06:00:23 -0700

I named autumn perennials one of my must-haves for September. After all, just because summer is fading fast doesn't mean you can't enjoy gazing at a colorful flower garden for a few more months.

In fact, late summer / early fall is the ideal time to plant flowers that will bloom into the cold season. For ideas on what to grow, iVillage has a great list of seven star fall perennials; here are a few for you to try.

Seven of the Best Fall Perennials, via iVillage

Ceratostigma: This fall beauty has brilliant clusters of blooms. It makes great ground cover with shiny dark green leaves that turn red during late fall. Does well in fertile, well-drained soil in full sun.
Cimicifuga: This species does well in a moist, shady to partial shady location with fertile, humus-rich soil. Certain species (ramose Atropurpurea) has very divided leaves that are mahogany and purple stemmed with very slender, candle-like creamy white flowers.

For five more Fall perennials to try, read more

Coreopsis: This is a perennial that never stops giving. It is best known for its petite yellow flowers on wiry stems that keep on blooming throughout the summer and into the fall. But with the addition of a deep burgundy red species Limerock Beauty and Sweet Dreams (it's white with raspberry eyes), this sturdy little perennial that thrives in full sun or partial shade in well drained soil can now be utilized in a variety of fall gardens.
Perovskia (Russian Sage): This fantastic woody-based plant is classified as an herb, but its striking gray foliage and lavender blue to gray-blue flowers make it a gorgeous summer and fall perennial. Will thrive in poor to moderately fertile soil in full sun. Beautiful planted en masse in a mixed border.
Sedum (Stonecrop): This is one of the all-time great fall perennials. This is a genus of about 400 species of succulents and does well in full sun in moderately fertile, neutral soil. Several of the sedums are used as ground cover and have fleshy, light green leaves with star shaped, five-petaled flowers that come in white, yellow and pinkish to burgundy tone. Sedum Autumn Joy looks stupendous when combined with a purple-toned aster.
Japanese Anemone: These bloom from late summer through mid-fall and are chosen for their delicate-petaled faces ranging in color from white to soft pink, and from deep pink to dark rose. They thrive in moist but well drained, humus-rich soil in sun to partial shade.
Aster (Michaelmas Daisy, New England Aster): A large group of perennials that can be grown in a variety of sites. The fall blooming asters are utilized as a border for the mass of color they offer. Whether you choose white, lavender blue, bright pink, purple with a yellow eye, or a medium blue, when purchased in large quantities and planted in sweeps, asters are synonymous with the autumn garden.

DIY: Recycled Catalog Christmas Tree

CasaSugar — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 08:30:23 -0800

I was inspired by either random creativity or divine procrastination to turn a stack of DWR catalogs and expired gossip glossies into festive Christmas trees. The project took me under 10 minutes to complete. My catalog collection has been piling up since Nov. 1, so this is a great way to reuse and upcycle! You can use any catalog or gossip mag so long as it has a saddle-stitch binding. It's also a fun project to try with kids!

What You Need

One catalog or gossip mag per tree
Scissors or X-acto knife
A marker (optional)
Around seven paper clips

To learn how to make this perennial tree, read more.

Here are the steps:

Using a marker, draw the outline of a profile of a Christmas tree on your magazine, as shown. (Although, I skipped this step on my first try, and it turned out OK.)
Take a small chunk of pages in your catalog, and cut along the outline of your tree.
Continue cutting the pages in chunks, until you've cut through the entire catalog.
Now, take about four or five pages and paper clip them together at the base of the tree, as shown, starting with the front and back covers of the catalog.
Continue clipping the pages together, until all of them have been grouped together. The point of doing this is so that the tree will stand upright on its own. You may have to burnish or fold the pages on their "hinges" so they don't just flop to one side.
Now, stand your tree upright, and voilà!

Check out photos of each step to guide you:

View 6 Photos ›

Open House: Overwintering Plants

CasaSugar — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 04:30:18 -0800

In the San Francisco Bay Area, I rarely have to worry about a frost, which means that I can leave plants out all year round without incident. I know that's hardly the case with readers living in the Midwest and on the East Coast, though.

Steve, over at Gardening Gone Wild, recently wrote, "I overwinter a host of plants in my cold dark basement. Every year I try new ones and am perennially amazed at what succeeds. Basically the idea is to trick a plant into dormancy, then keep it there. Cold - or at least coolness - helps. So does darkness. To survive, many plants need light, others need warmth, and some need both; those are NOT the ones I’m talking about here. For the basement, we need plants that can go into deep dormancy, a state of almost suspended animation."

I also know that Amy Butler does the same thing with her tropical foliage, which comes outside in the Summer, and then is tucked away in her basement in the Ohio Winter months. So, do you bring in semi-tropical plants or outdoor perennials when the temperature dips? Do you let them go into a state of dormancy, like Steve does, or do you keep them out and about?

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Casa Interview: Patti Moreno, The Garden Girl, Part II

CasaSugar — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:00:57 -0700

Through the rest of the month, as we celebrate Spring and a return to the garden, I'll be screening videos from The Garden Girl. The Garden Girl, Patti Moreno, is an inspiration to aspiring gardeners everywhere. She'd never even touched a trowel until the birth of her first daughter, and now she's established an urban garden paradise at her home in Boston. You can read the first half of my interview with Patti here.

Casa: Are there any plants that you consider no- or low-fail for folks who consider themselves to have less than a green thumb?

The Garden Girl: Mint is pretty hardy and a perennial which means it will come back year after year. I love using mint as a garnish to my lemonade. Last year, mojitos were the house cocktail all summer; I had friends lining up for my summer parties. There are tons of different types of mint. My most prized variety is Chocolate Mint - it's wonderful in coffee and hot chocolate and on ice cream. If you choose something you really love to eat, I think you’ll have more success. Another no fail crop is parsley and oregano. Simple and easy. Like most people, my family eats a lot of lettuce, which is easy to grow in the Spring and Fall, but needs a lot of water in the summer.

Casa: What has been the biggest project you’ve taken on?

The Garden Girl: The biggest project I’ve undertaken was building my new Urban Sustainable Living Garden last year. It’s around 500 square feet and the perfect size to grow enough for a salad at lunch and a vegetable at dinner the entire growing season for a family of six. It was a lot of fun, but the hard part was videotaping the whole process so I could share with others. Adding the video component slowed the process down, because I ended up doing everything at least three times! But I am really proud that I was able to do the whole garden entirely by my self. Ideally, you want to involve your family and neighbors, but I wanted to really show that the system of gardening that I’ve developed can be accomplished, by following through and being committed. I’m only 5’2” so if I can do it, you can too.

Casa: Can you tell us a little about some of the animals you have at your garden?
My bantam chickens are awesome. They’ve become pets of mine. I strongly suggest getting bantam chickens if you are interested in getting livestock. They are about the same size as a pigeon. They are also very trainable. I have Silkies who are perfect for the city because they can’t fly, but my favorites are my Aracauna bantam chickens that lay green and pink eggs. My hen "Rocket" is so cool. She thinks she's an eagle and tries to fly everywhere. Their eggs are delicious and about 2/3 the size of regular large eggs you get at the grocery store and taste so much better. Don't get roosters, it just makes your neighbors angry. I also keep angora rabbits and regular rabbits. I shave the Angora rabbits every three months and spin their fur into yarn, which I make into gifts and hats. My other rabbits just dig and turn the soil for me.

Casa: What are your favorite food crops?

The Garden Girl: Lettuce, lettuce and more lettuce. Growing up I had no idea there were lots of varieties of lettuce. This year I am growing, four season lettuce, bib lettuce, radicchio, kale and arugula. Arugula is so good. It is a huge hit at my mini farm stand I run during the weekends. For herbs, mint and as many varieties of Basil as I can grow from sweet basil to lemon to cinnamon. Fresh basil makes such good pesto sauce that when I entertain I never have leftovers. My other name is the Tomato Lady. I grow mostly heirloom varieties, but my favorite is Mortgage Lifter. Even the name is great. Mortgage Lifter got its name from a farmer who developed it during the depression of the 1930s. It sold so much on his home farm stand that within eight years he had paid off his mortgage. Now that is a tasty tomato.

Casa: What are your favorite flowers to grow?

The Garden Girl: Nasturtiums, which are edible flowers. They add great color to salad and taste peppery. I had a lot of fun with a cool variety of marigolds last year. I love perennials. Peonies are my favorite. I love seeing them bloom and multiply year after year. I have an area in my garden that is a perennial garden that is beautiful all year long. This year I want to get a cutting garden going and be able to have flowers in vases all over my house. I can't overlook my roses though. Not only are they pretty, but living in the city, I have them planted along my fences and under my windows making any trespassers who trespass wish they hadn't.

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In The News: Contain the Excitement

CasaSugar — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 04:30:37 -0700

Since I'm one of the lucky ladies who benefits from a year-round growing season here in the San Francisco Bay Area, it's easy to forget that other gardeners, especially those in the Midwest, aren't so lucky. Long, harsh winters often kill some perennials, and the six-months-or-less growing season is often spent in a harried planting state, trying to cram in as many plantings and colors as possible. Connie Price writes in her article "Contain Yourself," from the Minneapolis Star Tribune, about ways that gardeners can supplement the color and variety of perennial gardens by using trendier and more colorful plants in their container gardens.

Hanging containers and oversized terra-cotta pots are great ways to add some punch to your back porch or front doorway, but, as Price relates, it's sometimes hard to get the right mix. With this in mind, she enlists the help of three nursery owners to help gardeners get the most bang for their container-garden buck. You'll definitely want to check out the article, especially since there's a video tutorial and slideshow of containers included.
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Steal of the Day: Jonathan Adler Greek Key Pillow

CasaSugar — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 10:00:34 -0800

Since you named Jonathan Adler your favorite product designer of 2008, and since Greek key patterns are perennially pleasant, I find it highly likely that Jonathan Adler's Greek Key Pillow ($82.50, marked down from $165), will meet your approval. The pattern is painstakingly embroidered in needlepoint, and its chic monochromatic colors will make it welcome in any home.

How-To: Starting a Spring Wildflower Garden

CasaSugar — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:15:29 -0700

If you're planning on adding some wildflowers to your Spring gardening, I have some tips to get you started.

If you're starting your wildflower garden on an area that's already grassy or full of unwanted plants, you can kill the plants by putting down about six to eight layers of wet newspaper. After a month to a month and a half, you'll have a weed- and grass-free area to plant seeds or seedlings upon. You can shred the newspaper to use as mulch (it's good for your soil), or, you can compost it.
If you're planting a small area, you can use seedlings instead of seeds.
Make sure to sow your seeds when danger of frost is past.

For more hints, just read more.

If you plant perennial seeds in spring or summer, do not expect flowers to bloom that year.
Annuals will grow and bloom quickly, but will then die with the first frost. To make your wildflower garden pretty the first year, you may want to supplement perennial wildflowers with some annuals.
Wildflowers look best in a semi-natural spot, such as on the edges of your lawn, close to trees, or by a field.
Wildflowers love sunny spots, so plan accordingly!
For convenience's sake, you may want to make sure your garden hose can reach your wildflowers.
Some of your wildflower seeds may germinate in as few as eight days, while others may not appear for months. That's part of the fun though, and it will give you something to look forward to every day!

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Roundup: The Best of Endless Summer

CasaSugar — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 08:30:28 -0700

So long sweet August. Your time has come. But, I won't bid you adieu without a little reminiscing. Here are my favorite posts celebrating this month's Endless Summer theme:

Casa Quickie: Bring Summer to Your Fireplace

Don't worry, we'll be back next Summer with more wonderful tips. Until then, stay tuned for September's scholarly theme!
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Link Time!

CasaSugar — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 09:30:58 -0700

Danny Seo tells you all about carpet recycling.
AT:SF tempts landlubbers with a book on floating home.
Craft introduces some wacky/practical cleaning slippers.
YumSugar reports on the Food Network's recent addition to Slow Food Nation.
A Way to Garden shows you three easy and tall perennials for your garden.
Shelterrific has acquired a stylish highchair.
SavvySugar dishes on a family that saved money by only using cash for a month.
This Old House tells you about another Frank Lloyd Wright for sale.
Decor8 has an easy DIY project showing you how to make patterned wall squares.

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