Central Ohio Home and Garden Show part 2

There were so many pictures to choose from that I almost didn't know where to start. A couple things we noticed were the amount of hosta displayed and the use of Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica). Before I continue, I need to shout, "there, I did it. I used Latin in naming a plant." Ok then. I hope the Latin is right. It has an ica at the end, so it looks Latin. The two Cleveland shows and the Akron show did not display any Sweetspire. What a shame, since it is such a beautiful bush. We have three Virginia sweetspires and they are a great bush to have in your yard. The ones at the show were just starting to bloom. In full bloom the bush is magnificent with it's delicate tubular flowers. The guy who took Katie and Sean's wedding pictures shot a picture of them through our Sweetspire. It was a great pic. The bush adds color in the fall with a deep red leaf. The hosta I'm saving for the next post. I've also decided to try to use Latin, real Latin, not the made up stuff that I normally use when describing plants and flowers. I am not changing my anarchist way of gardening, just trying to sound like I know what I'm talking about. Enjoy the pics.

I think this is Jacobs Ladder. Pat and I have it scattered amongst the hosta in the deep shade part of the yard. I really need to get the book Gardeners Latin. That way, I wouldn't have to keep one eye in Google.


I bet our hellebore's look like this. Problem is they are still buried under a foot of snow.

The best part of garden shows is the instant color gratification I can get with mass plantings.

Central Ohio Home and Garden Show part1

Pat and I spent a wonderful day in Columbus this Saturday at the Central Ohio Home and Garden Show where I met Scooby Doo. Thank you Lona for the tickets. If you haven't visited her A Hocking Hills Garden blog, stop by, it's a great site. We did not know what to expect from the show because it was our first trip. Well, we got lots of home but not so much garden and the hall needed more lighting. What gardens we got were wonderful. The landscape companies always seem to bring their 'A" game to these shows. I was staring at a ornamental tree that I had never seen before when I started up a conversation with a couple who were admiring the same tree. One thing led to another and low and behold, I met another garden blogger. Please visit Delaware Green Acre. I was amazed that the world is so small.

I'm staying with water features and yard ornamentation today. I'll post flower pictures later. I am drawn to lawn ornamentation and have to take pictures of it. Pat said something about me and shiny objects.

Pat thinks that if we buy a big rock, I can just drill a hole through it with the hammer drill and we can make a water feature. More on that later.

This display was designed and built by high school students. Very cool. If only I had known that there was a gardener lurking within a lazy teenager when I was a kid.

The gentleman who built this display noticed me gazing at the agave and said " bet you never saw one in bloom in Ohio." Well, I haven't seen one bloom ever, but I told him I had a friend in Phoenix who would get a kick out of the pic.

The guy at the soil tile shop in Akron, where Pat and I bought ours, would be amazed that soil tiles have made the gardening main stram.

How can I go to a garden show without getting some yard art? When we got home, Pat admitted that the wings were different. Another successful adventure with Pat and Jim.

Blotanical Rocks

I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed Blotanical and all of the wonderful gardeners who call it home until one day it didn’t work. I felt like a 6 year old whose best friend just moved away. I was lost. Now some of it was my own doing. I didn’t keep up with my followings on Blogger or keeping up my blog list. I grew lazy because it’s always more fun to read posts and marvel at the wonderful pictures than do blog maintenance.
Well, I am a persistent person and still found ways of keeping in touch with Blotanists. Jodi at Bloomingwriter, Tatyana at MySecretGarden and Jean at Jean’s Garden all had great work-a-rounds. Thank you everyone who had any information in their posts.
The calamity that was Blotanical's temporary hiatus showed how much of a community we are. Gardeners from all over the world helped each other out. I attempted to pick new gardeners' posts to let them know that there were friends out there itching to see their blogs. What was funny and gratifying, at the same time, was that there were others doing the same thing.
The reason I’m writing this is because after less than optimal experiences with brick and mortar garden clubs, I feel welcome and at home in Blotanical where everyone who shares a love for plants is welcome. I wanted to make my thank you to Stewart in public for all the blogosphere to see. Thanks Stewart for keeping Blotanical up and running and making it a welcoming place to hang out in.
Blotanical Rocks!
Jim from Cleveland

The sun's out

I had almost forgotten what the sun looked like. It's above freezing during the day and I'm getting antsy to plant something. I have hosta and ligularia that need to be moved.

It's been pretty busy in the back yard. I have to refill the luncheonette.

Akron Home and Flower Show

This weekend there are two garden shows. Akron has the Akron Home and Flower Show and Columbus has the Central Ohio Home and Garden Show . We were going to try to go to both but guess what? It snowed. It started Thursday and as I sit here writing this post, it still is. We decided to wait till next weekend to attend the Columbus show. The Akron show is smaller than either of the Cleveland shows but still a must see for area gardeners. It was the perfect time to try out a new camera. Well, the full auto mode on the new camera didn't work quite as I expected. None of my close ups turned out. They looked OK on the camera screen, but not so much once I downloaded them. None the less, we had a wonderful time. The place was full of exhibitors. As an extra added benefit, Pat and I attended a great gardening presentation by Ahmed Hassan.

It's fake. This grass is fake. Nice looking fake, but fake none the less. It even has little brown fake blades interspersed among the little fake green blades. I don't know what to think. I hate turf grass, but in my yard? I think it belongs in an American League ball park.

Pat said that we could do something like this, except not so big or tall. We want to put a water feature in the front yard. There are sections of the front yard that are in full sun. Maybe there are solar powered pumps.

I spotted some ivy being used as decorative ground cover between myrtle. Myrtle is one of my favorite plants. The flowers add a nice bit of color to our predominantly green yard. Now ivy is a different story. We inherited a mass of ivy in our side yard. It is the spawn of the devil. I hack it, pull it, bury it under a foot of dirt and it keeps coming back. Pat said, that's not the kind we have. It's some kind of miniature ivy. So it's OK then.

Now, this is why I got a new camera. I can take bird pictures where the birds are more than colored spots.

Deer trails around Big Blue. You know, it never got nibbled last year.

Snowing in the back yard.

Snow Day!

Since the invention of snow, these are the words that every student yearns to hear. They get to stay home, and I get to take pictures. I'll shovel when it stops.