I wanted to touch back on a blog I wrote in January, the first one in 2011. In that blog I talked about Hydrangea paniculata Little Lime™.

This was a new cultivar from Proven Winners^® and Spring Meadow that was supposed to be more dwarf than “Limelight.” Well, according to my plant at home, it really is. I put a two or three gallon plant in last fall. As you may remember (it has been awhile), we had a very wet spring. Hydrangea paniculata prefers wet over dry. I also had mulched my garden with rabbit manure. My soil is already pretty good. Despite all those conditions for large growth I am happy to report my Little Lime™ is in full bloom and barely 2 feet tall. But look how wide it is compared to height. Very nice.

You may notice the blooms extending with new buds, forming to create the traditional cone-shaped blooms of most H. paniculata.

I’m thinking the dry weather sort of shut down bud formation. Then, when I started watering, the plant decided to finish development. I waited as long as I could to start watering at home. It’s gonna be tough to decide whether to pay the mortgage or the water bill the next couple months.

The Mystical^® Flame I reported on in that article likewise has remained short. They were smallish plants in four inch pots, so no blooms yet. But I cannot believe they will get much more than a few feet tall.

Another group of plants I reported on in an earlier post that has done well this summer are the SunPatiens^® (impatiens).

These were a gift from Sakata Ornamentals. I thought they would get larger, but I admit I could have increased the water earlier and started some fertilizer earlier so I’m not knocking them for that. I am very pleased with them over all. They are heavy bloomers and have great foliage. I think the “Compact Orange” is my favorite, but I like dark sultry foliage with orange flowers.

You may like this pastel Spreading Salmon version, with very good leaf variegation.

All the colors and forms have not only survived but thrived in our super abnormal heat and in full screaming sun.

One more shout out for today. This time next week will be the start of the 2011 Garden Writers Association Symposium. And it is right here in Indianapolis. We’ll be visiting the IMA on Sunday morning the 28^th. Unless you want to share your favorite garden spot with 400 other people, you may want to wait and come in about 10:30 that day after we have moved on to Garfield Park.

I am also extremely happy to report I was awarded the Silver Award of Merit in the Electronic Media Writing category again this year for this very blog you are reading. I won’t know until the last night of the Symposium if I reach super fortunate status and win the Gold Award. Silver is winning already. So like I said, I’m happy. No need to be greedy.

I could always talk about the weather.

Trust me, it’s been quite the topic of conversations in my circles. It just saps you dry some days. And when you walk out and you can feel the heated air kinda pushing back at you? Like when you open the oven door? Whew! Mercy, I just want to give it all up. Or I see plants almost laying flat because they are so dry? Makes me a bit envious of those that worship the lawn. Lawn is so much simpler. My Ligularia ‘Britt-Marie Crawford’ was gasping by the time I finally turned on the water at home. Last Friday when it looked like there was at least hope for rain? I set up a sprinkler in my front garden to try to lure the rain in. I got a little. Think I’ll try that again this week.

Yes it is hot. But it was 106 in Nashville this week. Could be worse. Yes, it is dry. But at least it’s only been 6 weeks or so. And we had all that moisture in the “bank” from the wet spring. Could be worse.

We have been working hard to keep the plants hydrated so they remain beautiful and healthy. Well, at least healthy. Some plants no matter what you do eventually begin to suffer when a weather onslaught lasts this long. But I have to say things look really good so if you don’t like what you see at home come on over for a visit. You can always find a shady spot to rest.

If you have evergreens especially keep some water on them. Remember all the dead ones after last year’s heat and drought? Add a second year of that and we are going to start seeing major damage. I would never suggest you water the lawn but spend a few dollars on some water to save the trees in your yard. And if you planted anything this spring or last fall give them some extra TLC. We are fortunate to have our own wells here at the IMA. Not that we are attempting to replace all the missing rain with irrigation but we can usually save things that get in peril – usually. And, you know? That’s the best we can do sometimes. If we lose a few plants it’ll still be alright. We are gardeners. We accept some losses and then get all excited about choosing the replacements. Weather be damned, we will go on gardening.

You know. Let’s turn this ole weather negative into something positive. Everybody get up. C’mon, get up. Now get outside and turn the sprinkler on in – or near – your favorite spot in your garden. Here’s the tricky part. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t be shy. You are hot. You are sweaty. You, yes you, you are a wild and free child of nature. Get yourself into that water. And shake some booty. It’s a heatwave and you are too hot to handle!!!

It’s been a good week. Lots of good lectures. Lots of good gardens.  Lots of good plants. Lots of good people. I will be reporting on some of that later. I ran out of time to do it properly today.

I will mention the world of Echinaceas continues to expand – more sizes, more colors, more trials. These will continue to improve.  Amazing plants are on the way.

The new “it” perennial is probably going to be Kniphofia, the red hot pokers. More colors coming, longer blooming, shorter (not too short please!!!).

A bit of personal news, yours truly is the new Great Lakes Regional Director for the Perennial Plant Association. It was an honor just being nominated. I will try my best.

That’s it for now. Here’s hoping for cooler temps and some rain.

I began working at the IMA as an intern for Summer Nights and now, eleven years later, I get to work on my favorite IMA program again.  We’re already a little over a month into this Summer Nights season, but no worries- we still have 2 months of amazing films for you to see:

July

Learn words that would make a sailor blush at the foul-mouthed Clerks (July 15), keep your ear to the ground for our first ever Secret Screening with the Indy Film Fest (July 22), and get your ‘80s fix with bad highlights, moustaches, and Tom Cruise in Top Gun (July 29).

August

Bring your pitch-pipe and practice the Hand Jive for our Grease Sing-a-long (August 5), prepare to swoon for the stars, costumes, and scenery in To Catch a Thief (August 12), break out the Aquanet and stretch pants for Labyrinth (August 19) and saving the best for last, watch the Man of Steel in action with Superman (August 26).

Don’t forget – this year everyone can get tickets in advance – buy your ticket online or at the IMA Welcome Center.

Do you already have your ticket and just need to know the basics?

The absolute essentials include sunscreen, bug spray, sunglasses, and a blanket.

Think Stretch Armstrong.   Not only will you need that flexibility when tiptoeing across a field of blankets to get to 100 Acres, but you’ll need to be ready to pop into The Toby on the night we have a thunderstorm (check in at 5:30pm to find out if the film is inside or outside- WTHR’s meteorologist Nicole Misencik will help us make the rain call).

Channel your inner Emily Post.  The amphitheater can hold 650 people… if the first 300 are willing to share their space.  We’re not saying that you only get your 2’ radius of personal space, but once your picnic spread is put away for the night, pull up that extra blanket too.  It’ll come in handy at the end of the movie when you realize you forgot a sweatshirt.

Choose your own adventure.  Doors to the amphitheater open at 6:00 pm for members (6:30 pm for the public) and the film starts once it is dark, so bring a board game or walking shoes.  Toss the Frisbee in 100 Acres, explore the IMA galleries (air conditioning, anyone?) or skip the picnic and grab your dinner at Nourish Café.  You won’t be waiting for the movie to start with this much to do.

Check it at the door.  We’re not the TSA, but we do need to check your bag.  Because of Indiana Alcohol Beverage Laws, you aren’t allowed to bring alcoholic beverages to the films.  So be ready to pop open your cooler when you arrive at the amphitheater, and grab a local brew from the concession stand.   You’ll also want to refrain from bringing pets, candles over 12” (consider a candelabra going overboard in picnic planning), and your grill (ditto).

Sometimes before we can put one group of plants in we have to remove another group. This is of course most common in the annual areas. One of my major annual plantings is the Cutting Garden next to the Greenhouse. Most years I only do a summer planting there but this year we had the Garden Club of America national meeting in Indianapolis. Something had to be done for an earlier show. In these still rough economic times, buying enough pansies or other Spring ornamental to cover the whole area was out of the question. So what to do? Mix it up and make it work. I bought some pansies for a few spots so there would be instant color. For the rest of the area? Lettuce. Direct sown lettuce.

A few years back I did a lettuce planting in what is now Nonie’s Garden at the main IMA entrance. For that I started plants under fluorescent lights and made an intricate design.

This year would need to be simpler, just a simple pattern of green and red lettuce. The weather was not the best so I got the seed planted a bit late, resulting in a less lengthy period of ornamental value from the lettuce plants. Eventually the planting turned out quite nice.

Since the plants were started late, they were actually right at harvest size this week when I needed to remove them for the summer annuals. You don’t waste that much produce in a trip to the compost pile. We contacted Second Helpings, an Indianapolis based non profit community kitchen specializing in food rescue, fighting hunger and culinary training, and they said they would accept the lettuce.

I had a larger than usual group of volunteers that morning so we went to work immediately. I could not harvest until we weeded the beds. I just couldn’t.

Then we had to first harvest the plants from seeds that fell outside the pattern. We had to. I’m telling you we absolutely had to.

And then we had these beautiful beds for a few minutes before harvesting began.

Here’s part of the haul.

By the time we finished both beds we were able to give Second Helpings over 117 pounds of lettuce – all that from 3 ounces of seed. Pretty good seed to product ratio, considering I wasn’t even trying to grow a crop. We will have more produce later when Jonathon’s vegetables in the Tanner Orchard start producing.

I replaced the lettuce with Celosia and SunPatiens^® (similar in appearance to New Guinea impatiens) that were a gift from Sakata Seed. Thank you Sakata^®!

I’ll report on them more later in the summer hopefully. This is my first time growing the SunPatiens^® in quantity. You will be able to see all three forms – Vigorous, Compact, and Spreading in a variety of colors. Impatiens have come a long way since the days of “Shady Lady.”

So don’t let a little heat keep you shut in at home. Hot damn! It’s gonna be a colorful summer.

So, where does the IMA fit in?

Well, in addition to all of the perks above, 2011 pass holders can gain free admission to two of the IMA’s special exhibitions, Hard Truths: The Art of Thornton Dial and Dynasty and Divinity: Ife Art in Ancient Nigeria.

Not only is spending time in these special exhibitions worth at least a couple of summer days, but with free general admission, free gardens and grounds, free tours and a selection of free programming, there is much more to do and see at the IMA. Check out our online calendar to see some of the upcoming events.

The pass can be purchased anytime on IndyGo.net or via IndyGo customer service. Hop on Routes 34 or 38 and you’ll hit a stop right at the Museum. Hope to see you around this summer!

One of the places a person could still find the joy is in container gardening. Even containers can suffer, but at least you can watch a few of them and give them extra care. The rest of the garden can pretty much go to hell as you devote the wee bit of energy the weather has not totally sapped from you to those containers… Containers you thoughtfully place near the house so watering and other chores are easily accomplished. This would have been a great year to have used those water-holding crystals. Alas, I did not. Wait, they probably would have caused everything to rot during the rainy season anyway. And it’s a little hard to incorporate them when it turns dry two months after you planted your pots.
Our containers at the IMA look very good this year despite the weather we have experienced. I did a quick tour of them this morning and took some pictures so what you see is in real-time.

Patty tried one of  the new trailing vincas (Catharanthus roseus ‘Cora Cascade Magenta’) for her pots between the Formal Garden and Lilly House.

I think this group has a lot of potential. I’m always looking for good flowering trailing plants.
In her pots at the front of the Formal Garden texture reigns supreme over color.

Katie created a hot tropical scheme with flowers in oranges, yellows, reds combined with burgundy foliage.

I love these colors of course.

Jim showed the elegance you can have when using a single species in a container. Papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) is one of the best for this. In front of Lilly House is ‘King Tut’, a wonderful slightly smaller grower.

In the planters behind the house are my favorite of all, just plain old papyrus. Stunning, elegant, beautiful, and yet, tough as nails – if only people were so grand.

Even from below they are gorgeous.

In front of the Deer-Zink Pavilion I placed a single giant variegated Agave americana. They thrive on heat and require very little water so it was great for this summer.

As an added bonus for using a single species – all the plants require the same care.

You can do the same by using multiple species having the same requirements like I did at Garden Terrace with several different succulents.

Around the Sutphin Mall I selected a purple and silver palette this year.

I really like this Tibouchina grandiflora (princess flower, glory bush) with the hot pepper ‘Purple Flash’.

The hot peppers are fabulous plants for sunny situations whether in containers or in the ground.
It’s delightfully cool today, maybe it could rain too? Or am I just wishin’ and hopin’?

IMA Summer Intern Steph Gray

After spending almost 8 weeks of my summer at the IMA, I cannot believe that it’s almost over. This summer has been a busy one for us interns and everyone at the Museum. From the opening of 100 Acres to working diligently to bring you (yes you!) the most exciting exhibitions and art around, I believe that the staff drank enough coffee to water a nation.

If you haven’t been to the IMA this summer, take a moment to see what we’ve been up to:

The opening of 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park

Around 10,000 visitors came out on July 20th to check out the opening day of 100 Acres. Even though it was incredibly hot outside, everyone seemed to be having such a great time interacting with the art. The islanders were giving tours, music was playing, a giant grasshopper was walking around and some of the artists were even watching how the public interacted with their work. Alfredo Jaar stood by me while he was waiting for the trolley…I was star struck.
We’re glad that everyone has been enjoying the park so much and it’s gotten such wonderful press! New York Times, Wall Street Journal, plus our great local news stations and papers as well. If you haven’t been to the park yet, check it out ASAP!

VTS & Tara Donovan: Untitled

A part of our internship included weekly program that allowed for the interns to experience different sides of the Museum and the art “world”. Learning about all the different aspects of the museum and how exhibitions and artwork comes together has become incredibly useful in both my internship and how I now view visual art. The one of the programs I enjoyed most was the Visual Thinking Strategies tour of Tara Donovan: Untitled that allowed us to effectively talk about and analyze Donovan’s work in the exhibition. Through a facilitated discussion we were able to learn so much more about the work than just a regular stroll through the gallery.

Summer Nights

If you haven’t been able to come out and see a film on Friday evenings at the IMA, there is still time! Summer Nights films are fun and you can view them outside on our amphitheater or in the Toby with your family, friends and tons of food (obviously, the best part.) PLUS, if you buy a membership you get discounted tickets and priority seating! It’s a win/win.

Some other great tidbits

Joshua Mosley’s A Vue is amazing. Go see it immediately. Jeppe Hein takes champion of the summer, not only for creating Bench Around the Lake that can be seen in 100 Acres, but also for Distance, the ball roller coaster located on the fourth floor of the museum! PLUS, we have tons of amazing art in all of our galleries from Asian Art all the way to Design. There is something for everyone!

And coming soon…

Andy Warhol Enterprises will be opening October 10, 2010 (or 10/10/10) to the public. This will be your chance to experience the work of Warhol up close and personal at the Museum! “But Steph,” you may be thinking, “that’s almost THREE MONTHS AWAY!” Don’t worry; we’re hard at work to bring Warhol to you all the time. Stay Tuned!

Also, do you have plans for Friday, August 13, 2010? The Public Affairs team has been working diligently to bring you a SURPRISE EVENT at noon on Monument Circle! I’m not at liberty to say what it is, but I promise it will be worth your while if you show up downtown a little before noon…

I’m guessing this blog post has inspired you to immediately stop what you’re doing and head to the IMA…after all, it’s free! Get ready to be amazed (like this guy).

Being the nature woman she is, there is also a wide variety of natives for sun and shade. For those more in to garden rooms than gardens, there’s a wide range of non-plant garden related items as well (I’m a big fan of the battery operated paper lanterns). But since I get to write this blog, I’m going to concentrate on plants-  particularly the ones I like best.While the perennials will be available all season long (April – October), remember, some plants may be in short supply so members get here Friday, it’s your day. For everyone else, all I can do is suggest you become an IMA member right quick or get here early in the week-end. It’s not my fault if all the Actea/Cimicifuga simplex ‘Black Negligee’ is gone. Actually the Greenhouse gets in new plants fairly often through May and June so more may come in. Or they may not.

Looking over the perennials available, I did a quick design in my head using three plants that like sun to light shade – Heuchera ‘Tiramisu’ (coralbell/alumroot) Aquilegia vulgaris ‘Leprechaun Gold’ (columbine), and Euphorbia griffithii ‘Fireglow’ (spurge).

The thing that ties all these together is foliage. Keep in mind most perennials bloom for a month or two so foliage is very important as it’s around 7 or 8 months.
Heuchera ‘Tiramisu’ is one of the new H. villosa hybrids. The infusion of H. villosa gives us a much hardier plant and usually a much larger plant. It’s not so fussy about soil or our hot humid summers followed by vicious winters. ‘Tiramisu’ is chartreuse (Mmmm, chartreuse) and red in spring with the red changing to amber in summer then back to red in fall.

I’m going to have to watch it in my own garden to know the time-table on this color change as the information varies with the source. Pink flowers, as if I care. H. ‘Miracle’ would give the same effect if all the ‘Tiramisu’ is gone.
Aquilegia ‘Leprechaun Gold’ has gold and green variegated foliage with violet flowers. It’s nice to have the flowers but again it’s the foliage that counts, deep blue-green with gold splotches and specks.

Euphorbia ‘Fireglow’ has nice coppery green foliage in spring with a bright coral midrib.

In summer the leaves will be a deep green with red stems. But to be honest, while the foliage caught my eye, I want this one for the flowers as much as anything. Multiple sources call them orange-fuchsia. That color makes it a “must have” for me.  As with most Euphorbias, it’s the bracts- not the actual flowers- that provide the most color. So with these plants you have the red in the Heuchera picking up the red in the Euphorbia, the Chartreuse in the Heuchera picking up the yellow in the columbine, and the dark green of the Euphorbia picking up the dark green in the columbine.

Another plant that would be a good addition to this little collection would be Heuchera ‘Citronelle’, a pure chartreuse (Mmmm, more chartreuse) coralbell also with H. villosa genes. Since you can never have too much chartreuse I’ll also mention Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’ (Mmmm, even more chartreuse, on Sutphin Mall) and Tricyrtus ‘Heaven’s Gate’.  Keeping with the color theme is Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’, Hakone grass, Perennial Plant Association Plant of the Year. This is a plant that is always in my top picks for gardens and containers. It’s beautiful, absolutely flows in a design, and is very hardy.

I think the redbuds being offered will sell out real fast. Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ has purple leaves with darker than normal flowers while Lavender Twist™ is a lovely strongly weeping form with the usual lavender pink flowers. Both can be found in the gardens at the IMA, ‘Forest Pansy’ near the Garden for Everyone and Lavender Twist™ as you exit Deer Zink into the Overlook. Also available is Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’ which grows in large masses outside the 40th Street entrance.

I have to mention the annuals and tropicals even if the event is called Perennial Premiere. You will have to keep these indoors or move them in and out according to temperatures. Again, some of these can sell out. Being a big fan of the bananas I was glad to see the virus tested Musa bajoo, a hardy species, will be available. I planted one of these at home last year and it got 8-10 feet tall with about a half dozen pups. Unfortunately I mulched it really late so it may not come back. For those that don’t mind things a little prickly there is the Agave bovicornuta ‘Reggae Time’, a cultivar of cow’s horn agave (bovi=bovine=cow, cornuta=horn). A large assortment of succulents will be available as these are still trending very hot. And of course we have many coleus, begonias, and flowering tender plants.

The hours for Perennial Premiere are Friday 11am – 5pm, Saturday 11am – 5 pm, and Sunday 12 noon – 5 pm. Those are just the regular hours the greenhouse is open every week (actually next week they will return to the 11am – 8pm schedule on Fridays). This week-end, all the Horticulturists will be working in the greenhouse along with the regular staff to help you make wise selections. Please join us for three special days of plant shopping and fun. Since some of you all may be unfamiliar with this concept of shopping and fun I strongly recommend you watch this important video before traveling to the IMA Greenhouse (be sure to catch the Spring Blossom Festival).

The 'Head'

I had planned to go out in the gardens today and get some pictures of the various shrubs with good fruit for this blog. The weather didn’t exactly cooperate. I’m writing this on Tuesday and so far at 2 in the afternoon we have gone from bitter cold with wind to freezing drizzle, oh yea, there was that brief little snow fury, and later we are to get some wintery mix followed by more freezing drizzle and some sleet. Can you tell I’m just thrilled to the bone? But no sense dwelling on it too long. It will be what it will be and I really have no control though I keep trying. Pity. So instead I am going to tell you about some of our summer annuals for next year. Looking at summery plant porn always makes me feel better. Not warmer, but happier, thus making accepting what I cannot control a bit easier.

Katie and I are trying a new zinnia in ’09. Zinnia marylandica is the scientific name listed though as of yet I don’t know if that is a valid name. It comes in a series called Zahara so the one Katie is using is ‘Zahara Yellow’ and I’m using that one plus ‘Zahara Coral Rose’ and ‘Zahara Scarlet’. There is a white available as well. These are a smaller zinnia similar to the Profusion or Star series but with a larger bloom. Once established they are said to require less water. Since they are from seed they cost less too. Many companies will be offering the seed I’m sure.

Zinnia marylandica or Zahara?

Jim’s using Torenia ‘Yellow Moon’ next year. The yellow and maroon flowers are welcome addition to all the blues available in this genus. I had one in my garden at home and it performed beautifully in a mostly shady situation. It would be great in containers with some plants that picked up that maroon color in the throat.

Torenia ‘Yellow Moon

Only last week I discovered why these are called wishbone flower. If you look closely the pair of stamens is connected at the anthers making them look very much like a wishbone from a chicken or turkey.

Salvias are always an important part of our gardens so I’m interested in Geoff’s selection of Salvia hormium ‘Marble Arch Rose’.  It’s one of those plants now considered an heirloom and not used real often. At nearly 2 feet tall is would also make a good cutflower either fresh or dried.

Salvia hormium ‘Marble Arch Rose’.

I like Patty’s combo of apricot zinnias with dark burgundy ‘Black Velvet’ nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus).  Nasturtiums are beautiful for their foliage alone with those nearly round leaves and mounding habit, except for the climbers of course. And they taste so peppery.

apricot zinnias with dark burgundy ‘Black Velvet’ nasturtium

And you certainly cannot have a garden without coleus. Now don’t forget, the current scientific name for most of the coleus plants we use today is Solenostemon scutellarioides (I always forget that second i).  Chad will be using a coleus called ‘Balcenna’ being sold under the name Henna. It’s all that trademark stuff. According to the breeder it is a Simply Beautiful®, a Made for the Shade, and a Hot Summer Survivors selection. It’s kind of the Meryl Streep of coleus isn’t it? I like the great texture of the leaves but add to that the chartreuse, copper, and burgundy colors in the leaves and my, my, my. You’ve got something there.

Good old Coleus

These are just a few of the plants we will be using in 2009. Expect to see some of the very same plants that we used in 2008 also because our basement is half full of bananas, ensetes, and elephant ears. Okay that is a slight exaggeration. But if you added in all the dahlias and cannas in the root cellar I would be real close. Now, I must get back to finding some more plants. You all do the same.