bonfire begonia

Sometimes life calls for a little attitude. And you’ll definitely find it in “Tangerine Tango” – Pantone’s 2012 Color of the Year. This “spirited reddish-orange,” just dubbed the new “it” hue by global color authority Pantone, is sure to burn up any of the fog left over from a gloomy economy and – as Pantone says – “provide the energy boost we need to recharge and move forward.”

“Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.”

So where can we find this color for our gardens? And how do we use it in the landscape to its fullest? Here are just a few ideas:

Tangerine Tango - Pantone's 2012 Color of the Year

“The reddish-orange blooms of this dark-foliaged canna certainly match Pantone’s “Tangerine Tango,” says Anthony Tesselaar, cofounder and president of Tesselaar Plants, developer of the colorfully foliaged Tropicanna cannas. “What’s more, the backdrop of black, broad leaves makes this color pop even more.”

Tropicanna Black canna bloom

Tesselaar suggests using this color in containers with subtle echoes of the same color: “Not too much with this fiery hue,” he says. “A little goes a long way.”

For example, Tesselaar suggests a hot-hued “thriller-filler-spiller combo,” with Tropicanna Black as the thriller, ornamental peppers as the filler and thread-leaved croton as the spiller:

On her North Coast Gardening blog, California garden designer Genevieve Schmidt suggests a more analogous color grouping: Tropicanna Black  (above) with other outrageous reds like Helianthemum (sunrose) ‘Henfield Brilliant’ and Clianthus puniceus ‘Red’:

Helianthemum 'Henfield Brilliant'

Clianthus punicea 'Red'

Another good plant featuring this fiery orange-red color is Bonfire begonias:

Just one will wake up a whole garden bed:

The orange in this red also makes it pop against a bright blue pot (since orange and blue are opposites on the color wheel):

So, what other plants bring this Pantone color  into the garden? Post a comment and let me know! I'd love to hear about some other color combos starring Tangerine Tango!

Congratulations to Mary Raedel of Altoona, Wisconsin - the July winner Tesselaar's "Great Gardens" contest (all winners are randomly selected). Here's her entry for "Great Plant Combos" (July's featured category):

Now, here's a 2011 OFA short course report from Phillip Townshend, Tesselaar's global operations director:

Creativity abounds at 2011 OFA Short Course

By Phillip Townshend

Well, another year at the Ohio Short Course show has been completed, and as usual I was surprised by the continued innovation that appears at this show. It must now be one of the major shows on the calendar for most in the horticultural industry, with attendees from around the globe visiting to see what is new or doing well in the U.S. market.

Imagine my surprise to see a number of our Bonfire^® series of begonias, either in mixed arrangements, in mixed planters outside our hotel or in the Daniels Plant Food company promotional pieces that adorned pillars throughout the show. Wherever it's used, the Bonfire series continues to be an extremely versatile product with multiple uses and certainly is the benchmark of all the Boliviensis varieties that suddenly appeared after Bonfire was released.

The merchandising displays this year hit a new level, with fierce competition between entrants to show how best to display plants at retail.

Despite continually improving showcases of plants by the various companies exhibiting at the show, my vote for best display overall was the one that greeted all upon entering the show. As you can see in this image, it featured an attractive butterfly mix.

I look forward to next year’s show and hope the exhibitors continue to put effort into developing showcases demonstrating what can be achieved with the great new introductions many of us are releasing into the market.

I've never liked rules – especially when it comes to USDA Hardiness Zones (a guide to which plants are winter-hardy in certain areas –a guide a lot of people take to mean they can't grow something if it's meant for a higher (warmer) zone than theirs). So, like a growing number of cold-climate gardeners, I've always grown plants considered "tropicals" or "tender" in my upstate, NY Zone 6a garden. And in the fall, that means bringing them in for overwintering.

First on my list: my Bonfire begonias, Festival Burgundy cordyline and Tropicanna cannas:

My Bonfire begonias (top), Festival Burgundy cordyline (middle) and Tropicanna cannas (bottom):

Of course, cold-climate gardeners like me can simply choose to treat cannas, cordylines, tuberous begonias (and other tropicals) as annuals, and simply buy more of them the following year. But for an extra 15 to 20 minutes of work (in beautiful fall weather) it's a great bonus to be able to have them again for next year (it's actually easier for me to bring them in than pack up my 3-year-old to go shopping for more at the garden center). Plus, the tubers, bulbs and/or rhizomes (or the plants themselves) keep growing each year, so you can get build up more and more plants – and we all know they look better in masses! (Or, save money on gift-giving occasions by by taking out one or two of the extras and giving them to gardening friends and family.)

Overwintering Bonfire begonias

In Zones 7 and higher (warmer)

These tuberous begonias can be left in the ground or in their pots, but benefit from digging and dividing every three years, just to reinvigorate the plant.

In Zones 6 and lower (colder)

Bonfire begonias in containers can be left in their pots and stored inside (in a dark, dry, cool (but not freezing) place like a basement, garage or shed. First, however, trim them down to 2 to 4 inches high. (In my opinion, it's better to give these tubers a winter's rest to build up their reserves instead of trying to overwinter them in a window). If they're planted in the ground, trim the foliage, dig up the tubers and store them as you would Tropicanna cannas (see below). You should know, however, that they won't grow back as vigorously as they did the first season.

Overwintering Festival Burgundy cordyline

In Zones 7 and higher (warmer)

Festival Burgundy cordyline can be left in the ground or in its pot over the winter.

In Zones 6 and lower (colder)

Festival Burgundy cordyline can just be brought inside as a houseplant and put in a window with good light (south-facing exposures are usually the best). If it's planted in the ground, just dig it up and put it in a pot. If it's already in a container, just bring in the container. As you can see here, I kept it in its container (minus all the mostly dead, scraggly annuals around it) and nestled in two other tropicals I brought in for the winter (croton, left, and a bromeliad, right). I think it really brightened up this bare bay window:

Overwintering Tropicanna canna

Milder winters (Zones 7-11)

1. In fall, wait for the leaves to begin to die back, then cut off foliage to soil level. you can just leave your canna rhizomes in the ground and grow them as perennials.

2. Leave the plants in the ground or in pots over the winter.

3. In spring, growth will begin again as warmer temperatures arrive.

More severe winters (Zones 3-6)

1. In fall, dig up canna rhizomes and store them indoors over winter. Wait till the weather turns cool and the leaves turn brown.

2. Cut the stalks back to about 6 inches, then dig the rhizomes up, being careful not to injure them.

3. Brush off loose soil and let the rhizomes dry indoors on newspaper, magazines, junk mail – whatever you've got handy.

4. Store the rhizomes in peat moss in a cool dry place (not freezing, ideally between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit) for the winter (to remember what's what, you can put them in labeled boxes or in plastic bags with holes poked in them for ventilation). Cannas grown in containers can be stored indoors over winter still in their containers, but don't water them until it's time to initiate growth again in the spring.

5. Next spring, replant your cannas outdooirs again. To get a jump on the growing season, you can pot up cannas indoors four to eight weeks prior to the last day of frost in your area. This way, they'll already be good-sized plants when you plant them out for the summer growing season. (Find average fall  and spring frost and freeze dates in your area  at Farmer's Almanac, Cold Climate Gardening and Victory Seeds.)

And that's it. It's certainly worth it in my opinion, for a colorful taste of the tropics in summer!

Today's guest post comes from Phillip Townshend, global operations director for Tesselaar Plants. While I've been here puttering in my fall garden, making Halloween cake with my 3-year-old and planning a family trip to Disney, Phillip has been tirelessly visiting trade shows around the world, promoting and keeping an eye on all Tesselaar's babies!

 Phillip Townshend

Tesselaar's 2011 plant intros, time-tested favorites wow at shows around the world

By Phillip Townshend

I have been travelling for several weeks now and life has been extremely hectic, so I haven’t been able to provide a quick update until now on the highlights seen at the various shows/visits with Tesselaar's business partners.

First up in recent travels was a visit to the Independent Garden Center Show (run by Nursery Retailer magazine), which took me to the Navy Pier in Chicago. There, our Everest carex (bred by the talented Pat Fitzgerald of FitzGerald Nurseries in Ireland) was looking great on the Willoway Nurseries stand.

Also a highlight for me were the plantings on the Magnificent Mile (Chicago always does a great job in their public plantings) as well as seeing Bonfire^® begonias used in mixed container plantings at the front of a hotel I passed whilst on my morning run.

Bonfire begonias (red blooms) in hanging baskets

The purpose for attending the IGC show was to meet up with some of our U.S. grower partners (the people who actually grow the plants we bring to market) and get our planning agreed for the upcoming season. It is always interesting in horticulture, working on the long lead times required to make plants available, and we can often be setting items in place so that we have plants ready for retail up to three years ahead of them arriving on the shelves of the various retail outlets that carry our programs.

After IGC, it was then off to meet with the breeder of the Flower Carpet^® series of roses (Mr. Reinhard Noack of Noack Rosen in Germany), who has one of the nicest display gardens I have been to. Reinhard not only incorporates his own plants in the garden but has a fine eye for garden design and has some great complementary plantings that show how versatile Flower Carpet is and how it can be used in various settings. If you get a chance when travelling, and the season is right, be sure to include a visit to the Noack Rosen trial garden on your itinerary.

In a field of Flower Carpet roses with Reinhard Noack (left)

After this, it was off to the Plantarium trade show in Holland, for their annual horticultural event.

This trade show continues to get bigger every year, and is well worth attending both from a trade and consumer perspective – the show opens on the last day for consumers and there are some great plant bargains to be had as exhibitors like ourselves try to minimize the amount of material we have to pack up by selling/giving away items.

This year, our focus for the Tesselaar stand was the preview of the new Bonfire selections (to be released to consumers next year in spring 2011): Bonfire Choc Pink and Choc Red. Our grower partners excelled themselves with the display plants they supplied for the show and, with some great imagery from our photographer and nice display plants, we picked up third place in the Press Award for new products (for Choc Pink)!

Bonfire Choc Pink

This is a fabulous plant, slated for release in early 2011, and has the same great growth characteristics as the original Bonfire but with a completely different look – blush pink flowers against dark chocolate/plum foliage.

Despite the banners having a model of quality in the image, that is me included in the picture of the stand looking a little less model-like, but still resplendent amongst the begonias and quite happy with how our stand looked for the show.

 At the Bonfire Choc display

Finally, after a successful trip across multiple time zones, I returned home to wintry Melbourne, Australia just in time for the football finals – which hopefully, my team will win again … Go Cats.

And whilst the weather might be cold, it is the perfect time of year to see why we love working with the Jury magnolias (bred by magnolia industry icon Mr. Mark Jury). Check out the blooms on the Black Tulip^®, the size of the bloom of Felix Jury^® and the flowering machine that is the recently released Fairy Magnolias^®.

Black Tulip magnolia

Felix Jury magnolia

Fairy Magnolias

Well, that's all for now. More travel reports to come on Tesselaar's time-tested (and new-for-2011) plants!

"Green Thumbs Make Better Thinkers."

That was the headline of a featured article in this past Sunday's (Aug. 8, 2010) edition of Australia's Sunday Herald Sun. It was sent to me by Anthony Tesselaar, head of Australia's Tesselaar Plants (developer of Flower Carpet^® roses, Tropicanna^® cannas, Bonfire^® begonias and more):

"Spending time gardening," read the feature, "is linked to improved reading, writing and numeracy skills in children, reports a new United Kingdom study."

According to the study – in which researchers surveyed 1,300 teachers and looked at 10 schools to examine the impact of gardening on kids – teachers who encouraged students to get involved in school gardens as part of their education said the children who did so displayed more independence and were better at problem-solving.

The report also claimed that the changeable nature of gardening projects – where weather and plant disease can affect outcomes, for instance – encourages children to become more flexible and better equipped for problem solving.

School garden participants (image courtesy www.isles.org):

Who knew?

Us gardeners did, I suspect.

And I would add, after writing a newspaper story (for the Democrat and Chronicle, a Gannett newspaper in Rochester, NY) on the impact of school gardens on at-risk youth, that gardening also develops confidence, compassion, healthy eating and a respect for the environment. Those I interviewed for the stories, for instance, said that they were able to indirectly teach the concept of nurturing without having to be preachy. Their kids also reported liking vegetables (many of which they'd never tried before) and wanting a food garden at home. The kids understood, they added, that food came from the world around them instead of just magically appearing in the store and that this fostered a sense of greater connection to their world. The responsibility and ownership of their part of the project, meanwhile, instilled in them a sense of pride and contribution to something larger. This, in turn, set them up for success.

So the next time someone kids you about puttering around with posies, be proud of your Plant Nerd status! Just tell them: Green Thumbs Make Better Thinkers!

In my previous post on ways to funkify your shade garden, I became so obsessed with finding new shade plants that I had to break it into Part 1 and 2.

So here's Part 2 – get an eyeful of these sexy plants! Me-OW!

6) Love me some lilies

Seems anything with the word "lily" in it can tolerate the shade. Here are just a few luscious examples:

Toad lily (this image courtesy This Garden is Illegal):

Bush lily (this image, of Clivia miniata 'French Hybrid,' courtesy Monrovia):

Daylily (this image of Earlybird Cardinal daylily courtesy of the Daylily Lovers Blog):

Flax lily (this image of Gold Stripe flax lily courtesy of Monrovia):

 7) Go for some groundcovers

"In dense shade and problem areas where it's hard to tend plants, there are several perennial groundcovers that can be used effectively," says Deborah L. Brown, extension agent at the University of Minnesota, in her article "Gardening in the Shade."

"Most evergreen groundcovers like Japanese spurge and periwinkle require the insulation of a good snow cover to carry them through the winter," she continues. "Other groundcovers such as wild violets, lilies of the valley, goutweed, and wild ginger are more durable. Many of these tough groundcovers can survive in a root-filled location that would be impossible for annuals or other perennials."

Jeepers Creepers® Golden Creeping Jenny (image taken by me at Bristol's Garden Center in Victor, NY):

Yellow Archangel creeping lamium (taken by me at Bristol's):

 8) Plant some spring bulbs in fall

"Spring flowering bulbs can be planted in deep shade provided you treat them as annuals, planting new bulbs each fall and then digging them up and discarding them once they've bloomed," says Brown (above). "The bulbs you buy already have miniature flowers inside. All that's needed is a cold winter in the ground for those flower buds to emerge in spring."

Some spring bulbs, she says – such as crocus, scillas, snowdrops, and species tulips – bloom and produce leaves early enough, before the trees leaf out, so that they receive adequate amounts of sun to blossom annually in a lightly shaded area. "Daffodils naturalize beautifully in an open wooded area," says Brown. "The tuberous begonia is another bulbous plant that grows well in light shade, since its delicate blossoms cannot stand full sunlight. Tuberous begonias are very tender, though, and must be stored indoors over the winter and not set out until frost danger has passed."

9) Add some veggies – yes, veggies!

 Again, I have to quote Brown: "Vegetables all do best in bright sunlight from early morning to nightfall, but a few of the leafier types can be tried in light or partial shade," she says. "These include plants that are grown for greens rather than for fruits or roots. Vegetables such as leaf lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, kale, mustard greens, and beet greens will be thinner leaved and less robust when grown in light shade rather than full sunlight, but they will be tasty even though their growth is not luxurious."

I particularly like purple ornamental kale (this image courtesy of Sunset.com):

And who could say no to the rainbow-stemmed Bright Lights swiss chard (image courtesy All-Natural-Mama):

10) Don't forget the shrubs!

Just as shrubs and other woody perennials give you good "garden bones," or a framework on which to build, this rule even applies to shady, less-formal-seeming, woodland retreats. I think Nikky Phipps' "Shade-Loving Shrubs" article on GardeningKnowHow is great, especially since it includes my absolutely most coveted plant in the entire world: Carolina Allspice. Her other suggestions: Honeysuckle shrub, gardenias, viburnums, witch hazel, goatsbeard, yews, barberry, hydrangeas, rhododendrons, azaleas and boxwood.

Carolina allspice (very fragrant; image here from bhg.com):

Honeysuckle shrub (image courtesy Allan Becker - Garden Guru):

 Goatsbeard (image courtesy of My Little Patch of Green):

Before I go, I also have to share this great shade container recipe from a May 23, 2010 article in the Ottawa Citizen called "Shady Performers" by Ailsa Francis (pictured here, putting the combo together):

The ingredients:

Cimicifuga Pink Spike: A perennial (dark leaves, in back) that provides vertical interest and a focal point. (Image courtesy Van Bloem Gardens).

Lysimachia procumbens Aurea: This tender perennial with golden foliage (left) trails over the side of the pot. (Image courtesy Magnolia Gardens Nursery).

Astilbe simplicifolia Key West: A moisture-loving perennial that provides feathery texture and mid-season flowering. (Image courtesy Van Bloem Gardens).

Fuchsia Gartenmeister Bonstedt: This tender plant blooms all season long and is upright and bushy. (Image courtesy Dave's Garden).

Hakonechloa All Gold: A golden-colored perennial grass that provides luminosity and movement. (Image courtesy A Way to Garden).

Bonfire^® Begonia: This choice begonia trails and will bloom continuously through the summer. (Image courtesy Tesselaar Plants).

Stained Glassworks™ Solenostemon: A novelty coleus grown for its colorful foliage.

"What can I add to my new shade garden – that is, besides hostas and ferns?" my cousin asked last week, after showing me this hidden retreat she just carved out of the woods in her back yard:

She had already gotten creative with a corner planter box of bamboo:

And this large-leaved guy she said was elephant ears (colocasia), but I'm not so sure (anyone know?):

And so started my latest obsession: finding ways to funkify that ho-hum shade garden. I hit the garden centers, talked to some gardening friends and read some recent articles on the topic. Here are some of the tricks I learned:

1) Bring on the begonias

As noted in a number of recent articles (like this shade gardening plants story at Canada.com), tuberous begonias can add brightly colored blooms to the shade all season long. (Indeed, my Bonfire^® begonia (below) lights up my shady front yard like fireworks in the night sky). And in cold-climate gardens like mine (Zone 6a), it can be overwintered indoors.

Or, you can forget the flowers and go for the colorful foliage of rex begonias, which can take part- to deep shade. (Here are a few pics I took at the Garden Factory in Gates, NY, although Logee's has a great Web site where you can buy or just explore the wide variety of funky foliage offered by rex begonias):

2) Try the "Three Hs"

That stands for hakenochloa, heuchera and hellebores – three shade lovers that give you your money's worth in the shade. Below are pics I took of these lovelies at Bristol's Garden Center in Victor, NY.

Hakonochloa, or Japanese Forest Grass (below) is hardy in Zones 5 through 8 and the yellow-green variety is especially great for brightening up dark spots:

Heuchera (coral bells, below – my apologies if some of these are tiarellas or heucherellas – I sometimes get them mixed up), has been the darling of shade gardeners and foliage lovers for at least a decade now, with its shades of amber, lime, purple, burgundy black and more:

Then, of course, you can't leave out hellebores (who could, anyway, with a Perennial Plant of the Year designation in 2005, shiny, (mostly) evergreen foliage, a broad spectrum of bloom colors (including white, yellow, burgundy, pink and even black), late-winter/early spring blooms and an adaptability to a wide variety of climates and conditions, including shade?). This here is the beautiful 'Green Corsican' early-spring bloomer from the Helleborus Gold Collection.

(For unmatched variety when it comes to hellebores, by the way, be sure to visit Sunshine Farm and Gardens. I once sat, mesmerized, all the way through a talk by its irreverent, tie-dyed shirt owner, Barry Glick. He's passionate about hellebores and a really funny guy … he and Plant Delights owner Tony Avent should get together and go bowling).

3) Funkify your foliage

Many tried-and-true shade or woodland plants now offer colorful or variegated foliage that's a new twist on an old favorite.

Here, for instance, is ColorFlash^® Astilbe (burgundy and purple leaves) and ColorFlash Lime:

“I got my greedy little hands on ColorFlash Lime,” wrote “bloomingwriter” blogger in a May 29, 2010 post, “Focusing on Foliage (mostly).”

And About.com Gardening Guide just called ColorFlash astilbes “a personal favorite of mine” in a May 21, 2010 post on bromeliads.

 “As if astilbes weren't wonderful enough, with their lacy foliage, colorful, long-lasting flower plumes and minimal maintenance needs, ColorFlash Lime has added a whole new dimension,” she wrote in an earlier post, “ColorFlash Lime Astilbe: A Perfect Plant Made Even Better.”

“Two-tone gold /lime leaves are edged with a slightly darker lime border. This burst of sunshine works well as an accent plant, particularly in partially shaded borders. Paired with its pink feather duster flowers, it commands the eye.”

Variegated-white varieties of tried-and-true shade plants are also a way to brighten up dark areas. Here are just two of the many variegated shade perennials I found while browsing through Bristol's:

Variegated pachysandra (a little bit classier, in my opinion, than the overused, plain-green pachysandra everyone had at their tract houses when I was growing up in the '70s):

Variegated Solomon's Seal:

4) Add tropicals or houseplants

As I mentioned in my previous post about using tropicals in the garden, houseplants (many of which actually thrive in low-light conditions) are a great way to jazz up the shade garden.

"Nearly all indoor foliage plants will benefit from outdoor growing conditions if they are protected from the hot midday sun, in such locations as a spot under a tree or on the north side of a house," says University of Minnesota extension agent Deborah L. Brown in her article, "Gardening in the Shade." Pots may be sunk into the soil to conserve moisture, she writes, "but with frequent watering they also could be set right on the soil surface, an ideal way to make use of those shade areas that are compacted with tree roots."

Some houseplants with fabulous foliage that I'd love to try include croton, bromeliads, tradescantia (Wandering Jew or spiderwort), triostar stromanthe and elephant ear (alocasia).

Tradescantia (the purple stuff):

Croton (the rainbow-colored ones):

Triostar stromanthe (image courtesy Monrovia):

 Bromeliad:

Elephant ear (alocasia):

5) Sneak in some "throwaway annuals"

"Annuals work well, except in dense shade," says Brown (see "Gardening in the Shade" article above). "Browallias, coleus, wax begonias, dwarf salvias, and other shade-tolerant annuals will begin blooming soon after frost danger is past if you start with robust young bedding plants."

Browallia (image courtesy EM Canada):

Well, that's enough for now. There are so many options I have to split this post into two parts. Look for the next five tips next week! And please let me know if you have any great suggestions for beyond-the-ordinary shade garden plants!

The cold, rainy weather here has really been a drag. All my plants are in a holding pattern, while inside, my 3-year-old and I stay in the basement for more Evil Art Therapy. Bored, Maya gives her dolls a makeover with craft paint. And I, in a skunky, rainy-day mood, go ahead and let her. Here's her handiwork: scientific proof that gardening and the great outdoors improve wellness, while staying indoors just makes you go crazy:

Rainy periods like this (My 2010 Farmer's Almanac "Gardening By the Moon" article, by the way, said that these specific dates would be barren for gardening) are also a great excuse to go to hit the independent garden centers. After reading a recent garden trends survey that said gardeners (especially Gen X gardeners like myself) are into everything moss – moss-covered rocks, moss-covered containers, moss-lined terrariums – you name it — I indeed found this big, moss-tastic display of SuperMoss bagged reindeer moss at the Garden Factory in Gates, NY.  The moss (which came in colors like lime-green, dark green, white, beige and even purple) was also available in pre-cut moss sheets for use as a liner in wire garden planters, a birdhouse roof and even as a table runner. I also saw rocks covered in faux moss used around the water garden display.

 I also liked the Garden Factory's collection of already-designed container gardens, especially the ones using the rex begonia (read this great article on using rex begonia for colorful, fantastic foliage in the shade). Go check them out in your own independent garden center, or view and order them online at Logee's Greenhouse.

 Another garden trend very popular these days: the use of succulents as drought-tolerant plants for water-wise, low-maintenance, and just plain architecturally interesting landscapes. At left is some sedum next to your typical cactus – and behind that, and orange-and-yellow pencil cactus that looks like coral you'd see in an aquarium! Super cool!  

Always in colorful foliage lust, I've already incorporated an aeonium into one of my containers on the patio (below, with Tropicanna^® Black, Tropicanna^® Gold, white-flowered bacopa, nasturtium and purple flowering ornamental kale). Why not add some succulents to your container garden as well for added shape, color and texture. You might also want to add a small rock to create a desert scene or miniature landscape.) 

Of course, visiting garden centers always leads to spending at garden centers. At least that's what happened when I ventured out to Bristol's Garden Center in Victor, NY and came home with a red Volcano^® phlox and a Bonfire^® begonia. Both are holding up well in the shade and the rain, waiting for the sun to return.

Red Volcano phlox

 Bonfire begonia in a hanging basket in the shade

Speaking of drought-tolerant, my rainy-day boredom and search for more easy-care gardening ideas also inspired me to set up a container garden-watering experiment. Curious to know the easiest, most cost-effective way to water the containers on my deck, I filled four pots each with the same amount of soil, water and drought-sensitive plants (regular ol' petunias) in them. Only in the first pot, I put in Miracle Gro's moisture-retaining potting mix with fertilizer. In the next one, I used regular potting mix (also with fertilizer) but covered it with mulch. In the third, I again used the regular potting mix, but put it in a self-watering container. The fourth I left as a control, with just the regular potting mix. Here's the experiment I set up, and as soon as it warms up and dries out here, I'll let you know how they compare:

What about you? What do you do in times of bad weather during the gardening season? Post a comment and tell me all about it!