[PLANT PROFILE] CRAPE MYRTLE

September 6, 2022 Karen Logan

Lagerstroemia

[CRAPE MYRTLE]

An all-season performer that shows off colorful foliage in fall, attractive exfoliating bark in winter and showy flowers in the summer! Crape Myrtle bloom from July to September, with some varieties blooming until first frost. Flowers have a crepe like texture and range in color from red, purple, pink, orchid and white. There are several varieties that range in size from 2-foot shrubby dwarfs to large trees.

Crape Myrtles’ showy flowers adds a punch of color in late summer & early fall.

Crape Myrtle (front), Rudbeckia & Hibiscus

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HISTORY

Better known by their common name of Crape Myrtle, Lagerstroemia is a genus of about 50 plants native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The Genus is named after the director of the Swedish East India Company, Magnus van Lagerstrom, who supplied Carl Linnaeus with plants he collected.

Only 2 species are primarily used in gardening and landscape horticulture. The Lagerstroemia indica from China and Korea was introduced to Charleston, North Carolina in 1790 by French botanist Andre Michaux. In the wild it is a large multi stemmed shrub but 200 years of cultivation have resulted in a huge number of cultivars with varying characteristics.

Another species from Japan Lagerstroemia fauriei is becoming increasingly important as a landscape plant and as a parent in hybrids with L. Indica. This species is more resistant to fungal diseases, has highly ornamental bark and is more cold hardy than L. Indica making it valuable as genetic material for hybridization.

FALL IS A GREAT TIME TO PLANT. allowS CRAPE MYRTLE time to establish their roots before going dormant in winter.

CARE

Prefer full sun. The more sun the more blooms!
Once established, Crape Myrtles are quite drought tolerant.
They need good drainage.
A common mistake is over-pruning.
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USES
Crape myrtles make great additions to any size garden. Some ideas for how to use them:
Plant multiple dwarf or medium-size varieties together to form a hedge.
Use dwarf varieties as colorful additions in borders and beds.
Dwarf varieties make excellent choices for large containers.
A good choice near walkways and driveways.
Use larger varieties as an individual accent

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we have dwarf varieties available to add to your garden if you don’t have space for a larger speciman.

Crape Myrtle ‘Like a Latte’ [photo: walters gardens]

CRAPE MYRTLE VARIETIES WE HAVE AVAILABLE

Lagerstroemia 'Like A Latte' (Dwarf)

Lagerstroemia 'Barista Cherry Mocha' (Dwarf)

Lagerstroemia 'Tuscarora'

Lagerstroemia 'Tonto'

Lagerstroemia 'Muskogee'

Lagerstroemia 'Muskogee Lavender'

Lagerstroemia 'Natchez White'

Lagerstroemia 'Cherry Mocha' [photo: walters garden]

Crape Myrtle ‘Tuscarora’ [photo: monrovia]

Crape Myrtle ‘Muskogee’ [photo credit: monrovia]

[PLANT PROFILE] ANEMONE

September 1, 2022 Karen Logan

*Anemone [illustration by karen blackerby logan]*

JAPANESE ANEMONE

[WINDFLOWER]

A common name for Anemone is windflower because the delicate poppy-like flowers sway in the breeze. The Greek word anemos translates as "wind."

Japanese Anemones add a wonderful splash of color to the autumn garden when other perennials are beginning to fade. With one of the longest bloom times, they are a great season extender in a perennial garden. They spread when they are happy and can tolerate moist soils!

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CARE

Japanese Anemones are fabulous perennials that thrive ideally in a little afternoon shade. They can tolerate full sun as long as the soil is moist.
They prefer rich, moist soil. Water the plants regularly when it does not rain.
Bloom time: Mid-Summer to Late Fall 6-8 weeks

USES

Borders, cottage gardens, coastal gardens, naturalized areas such as meadows

White anemomes stand out nicely at night. White gardens are sometimes called moonlight gardens .where the white flowers light up at night.

Japanese Anemone and Impatiens balfourii [photo by keith kurman] *Anemones contain basal leaf clumps from which long flower stems grow to support delicate flowers.*

Japanese anemone bloom abundantly from mid-summer to late fall, giving gardeners a shade-loving alternative to the autumn mums and asters.

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JAPANESE ANEMONES WE CARRY AT VINEYARD GARDENS

Japanese Anemones are mostly hybrids. Some are taller than others, up to 3 feet. The more popular ones are single flowers but we often carry a pink double called Pamina. Next year we are ordering a white double called Whirlwind.

Wild Swan: White with a bluish tinge behind the petals
Honorine Jobert: White single flowers
September Charm: Pink single flowers
Robustissima: Pink single flowers
Bressingham Glow: Pink flowers
Pamina: Pink double flowers

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Japanese Anemone in their full glory and the bees taking it all in!

[PLANT PROFILE] CLERODENDRUM

August 1, 2022 Karen Logan

CLERODENDRUM TRICHOTOMUM

[HARLEQUIN GLORY-BOWER]

In mid-summer and fall Clerodendrum adds a striking show when other woody plants are not in bloom!

MID-SUMMER BLOOM

Clerodendrum trichotomum (Harlequin Glory-Bower) is the only Clerodendrum hardy this far north. A deer resistant, flowering, deciduous shrub that begins blooming mid-summer with fragrant soft white flowers. The flowers have a sweet delicate aroma and are large enough to make a statement. A great addition to a late season garden when many other shrubs are not in bloom.

FALL INTEREST

In the fall, Clerodendrum has a wonderful effect. The flowers turn into a very interesting seed pod, bright purplish-blue berries adorned by thick star-shaped red calyces. In addition, the foliage changes into a beautiful yellow fall color. A show stopper indeed!

Clerodendrum has large heart shaped leaves which produce a peanut odor when crushed.

attracts Hummingbirds, butterflies, honeybees & other pollinators!

WHERE TO PLANT

Clerodendrum is a large shrub that grows between 8-10’ tall.
Stands best alone because it takes over. Plant it where it has plenty of room to spread and colonize. It will spread as far as you let it but it can be controlled.
Full sun to part shade. Clerodendrum prefers full sun for best shape and flowering but can tolerate and flower in partial shade. In partial shade, it’s already loose habit will be even more open.

“Our Clerodendrum is blooming now and fills our entire patio with a sweet fragrance!” Chris Wiley, co-owner Vineyard Gardens

Clerodendrum trichotomum in the spring/early summer

[PLANT PROFILE] CALYCANTHUS

July 19, 2022 Karen Logan

CALYCANTHUS 'APHRODITE’

Calycanthus 'Aphrodite', a Proven Winners selection, is a cross between our native calycanthus and Asian species x Sinocalycanthus. It is a large shrub with glossy leaves that can grow between 5-10ft tall by 5-10ft wide. Calycanthus 'Aprodite' does well in full sun and can also handle partial shade.

FERTILIZING HYDRANGEAS

July 7, 2022 Karen Logan

Hydrangea [illustration by karen blackerby logan]

FERTILIZING HYDRANGEAS IN EARLY SUMMER

by Lorraine Ballato

July 5, 2022 / Fertilizing Hydrangeas, Hydrangea macrophylla (Bigleaf), Hydrangea serrata (Mountain)

I have spent the past 2 days fertilizing my hydrangeas. Which ones, you ask. Well, read on about Fertilizing Hydrangeas In Early Summer.

My experience is that all hydrangeas grow better when they are fertilized, even the native ones. It’s one of the lessons I learned from our Covid lockdown. I actually had the time to do this and, WOW! did it pay off.

WHY FEED YOUR PLANTS IN EARLY SUMMER

If you missed feeding your plants early in the season when you did your spring clean up, you can make up for that now. BTW, “now” in the northern hemisphere means before August 1. That’s because fertilizing will stimulate your plant and you don’t want to do that too late in the season.

The plants that respond best to fertilizer this time of year are the rebloomers: big leaf (macrophylla), mountain (serrata) and woodland/smooth (arborescens) varieties. You want to help them produce those reblooming flowers to carry your garden through to the end of the season.

HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOU HAVE A REBLOOMER

If you don’t know if your mountain or big leaf hydrangea is a rebloomer, look to see where the flowers are positioned. If they are coming from along the sides of the stems, you have rebloomer. It’s that simple.

**Reblooming hydrangea flowers along length of the stem**

FEEDING YOUR PLANTS

There are differing opinions on fertilizing your hydrangeas. I am firmly in the camp of helping hydrangeas thrive and have learned it is especially beneficial if your soil needs improvement. A soil test will help you figure that out. The results of fertilizing are more than encouraging and I am convinced this is a worthwhile practice.

THE REASONS TO FERTILIZE HYDRANGEAS IN EARLY SUMMER

Remember that on rebloomers, the more you cut the tips, the more flowers you will get along the stem for later season color. So your rebloomers will appreciate the extra nutrients to continue to put out new flowers. Deadheading and/or cutting flowers for bouquets also stimulate the plant to grow new stems for future flowers. So don’t be reluctant to do that and add beauty to your indoor spaces (office, kitchen, etc.).

Even if your plant is not a rebloomer, the mid-season fertilizer will help it set buds for next year later this season. It’s not rocket science.

FEEDING OTHER KINDS OF HYDRANGEAS

Feeding your other hydrangeas, although helpful, isn’t necessary. The old wood bloomers are all pretty self sufficient, unless you have an issue that needs to be remedied. Or you missed feeding them earlier this season.

**Panicle hydrangea used as companion plant for a stand of woodland hydrangeas**

THE BEST FERTILIZER FOR HYDRANGEAS

Rose food is ideal as is any granulated shrub fertilizer, either organic or a time release product. I don’t recommend products like 10-10-10. No plant uses nutrients in equal amounts so when you use 10-10-10, what you are doing is contributing to run-off and local pollution issues.

**Rose-tone Fertilizer Is very good for hydrangeas**

WATCH OUT FOR TICKS

Fertilizing hydrangeas forces you to get down at the ground level, sometimes crawling beneath your plant. That action may disturb ticks that then light on you. Whenever I do this early summer fertilizing, I always pick up several ticks. So do be aware and do a tick check regularly, especially after fertilizing.

PINCH PRUNING COMES NEXT

I’ll be back in a few days to discuss mid-season pinch-pruning, maybe topping your plant, and using those cuttings to propagate new plants. The fun is just beginning!

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Check out hydrangea specialist, Lorraine Ballato’s insightful website packed with excellent information on all things hydrangea!

SUCCESS WITH HYDRANGEAS

book by lorraine ballato

HYDRANGEA LOVERS

facts about hydrangeas

[PLANT PROFILE] HEUCHERA

June 30, 2022 Karen Logan

HEUCHERA

(CORAL BELLS)

Heucheras are greatly appreciated as a foliage plant but they also bloom on long stems held above the foliage for 4-6 weeks every year. Heuchera sanguinea, one of the many species, is called Coral Bells because of its cerise flowers. It can be found in the warm, dry canyons of Mexico, New Mexico and Arizona. In the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States the plants grow best in shade.

Heuchera americana ‘Dales Strain’, the one we do from seed.

There are 37 species of Heuchera in the family saxifragaceae. Some of those include, Heuchera americana, Heuchera villosa, Heuchera micrantha, all native and can cross together as well.

One of our favorite cultivars is Heuchera villosa ‘Autumn Bride’. It is a native Heuchera with large green leaves and tall white flowers. It blends beautifully with other plants.
The Heuchera americana ‘Dales Strain’ is one of several we grow from seed. It makes a very nice ground cover underneath other shrubs.

Try planting ground covers instead of mulching. They are just as effective, if not more so, at keeping out the weeds!

There has been an explosion of cultivars of Heucheras in the last decade. Hybridization is common, due to the fact that the species often intergrade with one another. Heuchera crossed with tiarella produced Heucherellas. Overall, there are a multitude of hybrids between the various Heuchera species.

BIENNIALS

May 12, 2022 Karen Logan

BIENNIALS

by keith kurman

GARDENERS and POETS

After strolling through our display gardens at Vineyard Gardens Nursery a couple years ago, a famous landscape architect remarked at how magical and elusive the biennials were. This is a particularly encouraging thing to hear, not that we weren’t already aware of how beautiful they were, but that our diligence was rewarded by someone noticing the skill required to achieve the effect.

An important part of gardening is weeding and there are two axioms gardeners use all the time,

“A weed is a plant growing in the wrong place.”

“One man’s weed is another man’s wildflower.”

With this in mind, it is important to attend to the needs of a particular garden. It can be difficult early in the season to distinguish which seedlings are weeds and which are plants you want in your garden. This is true of both biennials and annuals. We’re not talking about annuals here so lets stick with the biennials.

Here, Papaver somniferum (Opium Poppy) 'Lauren's Grape' in the early Spring garden. They need to be thinned to thrive.

Hard to tell the difference between the Impatiens balfourii and Impatiens pallida (our native Jewelweed) seedlings here, but one or the other has to go! The more pointed and sharply serrated leaf is I. balfourii and the more rounded, scalloped leaf,… — Hard to tell the difference between the Impatiens balfourii and Impatiens pallida (our native Jewelweed) seedlings here, but one or the other has to go! The more pointed and sharply serrated leaf is I. balfourii and the more rounded, scalloped leaf, I. pallida. I would loose the Jewelweed in this case.

Weeding and thinning, the stock in trade of a gardener. Here the little Poppy seedlings (Papaver rhoeas) are far too dense and need to be majorly thinned. At this stage the seedlings can be carefully redistributed around the garden.

Luckily, biennial seeds tend to germinate in warmer weather, in late June and July. They also germinate readily from fresh, current season seed. So you have to be particularly vigilant when weeding the garden from July to September so as not to weed out the first year cycle of what will be next year’s magic. If you are thinking in these terms then you can have biennials flowering every year, not every other year as you might expect. The difference being that they are just not the same plant as the year before but their progeny. It seems like a simple enough proposition but that hop-scotching of years is much of what makes biennials so challenging but also so rewarding, unexpected and magical. To further complicate the issue, some biennials will carry over into a third year. They will however be not so vigorous and can carry over with them diseases and pests that can spread to your fresh stock. Once they have gotten to this point it is better to remove them, however hard it might be to toss them on the compost pile.

A hollyhock

shot up to meet

the summer solstice

(Masaoka Shiki)

Impatiens balfourii, a house favorite. A reseeding annual, its most effective when densly colonizing shady pockets of the garden. Discerning the seedlings from similar-looking weeds is critical to retaining them in the garden.

A Foxglove in its second year presenting a spectacular spike of flowers. I love the scalloped lip of the petals on this wildling.

MYSTERIOUS, LIKE MAGIC

Biennials are by nature herbaceous flowering plants. That may seem obvious but those flowers are what we are going for to achieve the effect. For clarity let’s review the difference between the growth habits of the plants in our flower gardens.

Annuals have the shortest life cycle. Their seed germinates in the Spring, they then rush to develop leaves, roots, flowers and seed in one short growing season before dying at the first frost. Annuals are determined to set seed in their first year so they are well suited as cut flowers because if you keep cutting the flowers off the plant it will continue to produce them until they manage to set seed. If those seeds are left on the plant or collected, saved and sown the following year, will produce an annual crop of flowers. Typical examples might be, Poppies, Cosmos, Zinnias, Impatiens or Petunias.

Perennials can be a confusing group but the axiom associated with them goes,

“Perennials are plants that, had they lived, would come back year after year.”

There is wisdom in this simple statement. Hardiness, growing conditions and pests can all challenge our best efforts to keep perennials going year after year in the garden. That said, we can best describe perennials as, flowering plants that retain a dormant crown and root system below ground through the winter, producing leaves and flowers every successive year. Perennials will usually multiply at the crown and/or by lateral roots, thus the need to periodically lift and divide them to keep them fresh and healthy in the garden. Examples of classic perennials might be Iris, Peonies, Phlox, Hostas and Astilbe, honestly far too many to list!

So you can see how biennials fall somewhere between these two groups. The great garden writer, William Robinson, in his seminal book from around 1890, “The English Flower Garden”, says, “…the line between biennial and annual is not a strict one… as the work of raising all is, to a great extent, the same.” Well, that’s easy for him to say, he was gardening in England which we know has a milder climate and sweeter soils than we do here, blurring the lines between all the flowering plants.

Quite simply, Biennials produce in their first year leaf and root and in their second year flower and seed. There are characteristics of both Annuals and Perennials within Biennials carrying with them the same caveats, that hardiness, growing conditions and pests can conspire to frustrate our best intentions. For biennials you could add to this list, over zealous weeders. Some of the most outstanding examples being, Foxglove, Hollyhocks, Sweet Williams, Campanula and Verbascum also known as Mullein.

The frosted, metalic foliage of Verbascum thapsus, the biennial, Giant Mullein. This is the plant in its second year preparing to bolt. The brilliant yellow flowers will appear along the length of its nearly 7' stalks. A dramatic, sculptural element… — The frosted, metalic foliage of Verbascum thapsus, the biennial, Giant Mullein. This is the plant in its second year preparing to bolt. The brilliant yellow flowers will appear along the length of its nearly 7' stalks. A dramatic, sculptural element in the field or garden.

Perfectly representitive of the habit of a biennial, Catanache caerulia (Cupids Dart) at mid-summer.

Biennials are actually much more common than you might think, just over in the vegetable garden. The colorful, showy flowers of foxglove, hollyhock and verbascum are close relatives of some of our most common food crops. The parsley’s, mustards, cabbages and carrots are all biennials! It’s just that we aren’t growing them so much for their flowers as we are for their first year leaves and/or root systems e.g.radishes, carrots etc. We’ve all seen our parsley overwinter then with the advent of Spring ‘bolt’ to flowering at which point they become tough and bitter. So we start them every year fresh and harvest them for their first year’s foliar bounty. A second year carrot is a tough and tasteless thing but it is producing a flower of sorts, just not as beautiful as say, its more ornamental cousin, Queen Ann’s Lace.

Now we are really getting into the “weeds”! Some of our favorite biennials for early-mid summer flowers like Money Plant, with its silver dollar-like seedpods in late summer, Lunaria annua, is part of the group that also represents Dame’s Rocket, Hesperis matronalis and Wallflower (Cheiranthus) all of which are in the Mustard family and are often considered weeds due to their tendency for prodigious re-seeding. Queen Ann’s Lace, Daucus carota, from the carrot family, is also considered a weed but they are so lovely growing along the roadside usually together with its associate, Chickory, Cichorium intybus, with its clear, cerulean blue flowers. Both biennials, Chickory and Queen Ann’s Lace are hardy, naturalized exotics not generally considered garden worthy. But this takes us in another direction…

Lunaria annua a radient, reseeding biennial. Weed or wildflower? you choose. These flowers mature into those silver dollar seedpods we love so much in late summer arrangements.

Lupines are properly biennials and put on their best show when left over the Winter in the garden, but these have been started early enough to be flowering size this season.

Digitalis purpurea 'Cream'. The foxgloves, magical faerie plants with notions for potions. These plants didn't overwinter in this position, they were brought in containerized, planted out early in the season, but even at that, they didn't have the f… — Digitalis purpurea 'Cream'. The foxgloves, magical faerie plants with notions for potions. These plants didn't overwinter in this position, they were brought in containerized, planted out early in the season, but even at that, they didn't have the fall-winter cycle 'in the ground' to develop a strong root system.

THE SOUL OF THE GARDEN

Where to ‘place’ biennials in the garden can be challenging. The problem being their two stage growth. In the first year while they’re developing their deep root system, the basil foliage stays tight and low to the ground. Then in their second year they produce a fresh batch of foliage before ‘rocketing’ their flowering stalks up several feet above the base. Left on their own they will often choose the most inappropriate spots, coming up in the crown of your Peonies, in the stonework of your retaining wall or crowding around in the front row. Striking a balance between random and orderly should be our objective. This is easier when planting out starts, but only a little more work when dealing with self-sown seedlings. The seedlings will tend to appear in clumps in the general vicinity of the parent plants. You’ll be able to recognize them once they’ve formed their ‘true leaves’ and at this point they are ready to be thinned and transplanted. Thinning will enable the young plants to to develop into larger, stronger plants and provide dozens more for transplanting. Whether in the flower garden or out on the margins it is often the rouge by the stairs or under the Viburnum, the unexpected, that brings the most charming effect.

This year at Vineyard Gardens we’re going to try and help you get going with introducing biennials into your gardens. We will be starting a fine selection of some of the best varieties later in the season than we usually do. In order to offer smaller, healthier plants at the right time for planting out we’ll be starting the seed in late June making them available during mid to late Summer. We will also be producing a number of rare, exceptional perennials at this time. We hope that you’ll plan on selecting and planting out several varieties during that late season window, basically mid-late July through September. We’re lucky here on the island to have a long Autumn growing season that will allow a good couple of months of growth from a September planting out.

It’s never too early to start planning, so here’s looking forward to seeing you at the Nursery! We may be doing one of our Saturday talks this summer on biennials, let us know if you would be interested!

Alcea ficifolia or Antwerp Hollyhock is a species of Hollyhock that appears in a pleasant range of colors and is generally stronger growing and rust resistant plant. Getting them established in the ground through the fall will give yo… — Alcea ficifolia or Antwerp Hollyhock is a species of Hollyhock that appears in a pleasant range of colors and is generally stronger growing and rust resistant plant. Getting them established in the ground through the fall will give you stronger bigger plants than a Spring planting.

The biennial seeding cycle; Foxgloves, Verbascums, Hollyhocks and select perennials are coming along. Watch for them appearing for sale at the nursery ready for planting out later in July through September.

The exquisite Verbascum phoeniceum ‘Violetta’ will keep an evergreen basil rosette over the Winter and spike to flower in the early summer. After that it should reseed and grace your garden for years to come. — The exquisite Verbascum phoeniceum ‘Violetta’ will keep an evergreen basil rosette over the Winter and spike to flower in the early summer. After that it should reseed and grace your garden for years to come.

[PLANT PROFILE] SWEET WOODRUFF

May 11, 2022 Karen Logan

SWEET WOODRUFF

(Galium odoratum)

Sweet Woodruff is a lovely plant that will spread like a ground cover in your garden. It has small white flowers in spring through early summer. It’s vigorous but not aggressive and can coexist nicely with bulbs that will come right up through it. They spread stoloniferously by sending out stolons or side shoots just beneath the soil surface.

WHERE TO PLANT SWEET WOODRUFF

An ideal ground cover. Plant as a ground cover around shrubs.
A wonderful border accent in woodland gardens.
It thrives in rich garden soil, in part to full shade.

OTHER GROUNDCOVERS

Other ground covers that do well in shade include the more common evergreen pachysandra and Vinca minor, Periwinkle.
Pachysandra: We carry the Japanese spurge, pachysandra terminalis. Our favorite is the native one, Pachysandra procumbens.
Vinca: We carry Vinca minor Bowles, with the early summer blooming blue flowers and the white flowering Vinca minor. We also carry Illumination, a vinca cultivar with yellow variegated foliage and a blue flower.
Epimedium, barrenwort: Another less common groundcover that thrives in shade is Epimedium. Epimedium Spine Tingler is a cultivar that is available now. This year we also have Frohnleiten, Rubrum, Sulphureum, Niveum, Pink Champagne, Domino and Amber Queen, which won the RHA (Royal Horticultural Award) of Merit.
Ferns: Ferns can spread nicely like ground covers such as Matteuca struthiopteris (the Ostrich fern), Dennstaedtia punctiloba (Hay Scented Fern) and Onoclea sensibilis. Dennstaedtia punctiloba and Onoclea sensibilis are both hard to find. We don’t have either in stock right now.
Geum: The native Geum has been mentioned as a good ground cover. Geum triflorum has beautiful seed pods.
Thyme: Creeping and wooly thymes are ground covers we like to recommend for sun. Creeping thyme comes in white flowers (albiflorus), red flowers (coccineus) or pink chintz with pink flowers. We also carry creeping lemon and Elfin thyme.
Laurentia fluviatilis, Blue Star Creeper and Pratia: Two other interesting plants that spread like ground covers.
And there are plenty more!

Try planting ground covers at the base of your shrubs instead of mulching. Ground covers are very effective at keeping weeds out!

Perennial Herbs

May 6, 2022 Karen Logan

Herbs are a perfect addition to your garden! They are extremely easy to grow and come back year after year. You can harvest them for your meals, drinks, medicinal purposes, aromatherapy, in addition many have gorgeous blooms! What's not to love about planting herbs!

THYME
Thymus vulgaris and it's many cultivars

English thyme is probably the most famous edible thyme with lemon thyme being a close second.
Creeping thyme is purely ornamental and comes in red, white, pink chintz and wooly. Wooly thyme can get 2-3 ft wide and grows beautifully over flat patio stones. Given good drainage and full sun, creeping thyme grows like ground cover. Plant these in the cracks of your patio and watch them grow.
- Other creeping thymes include Creeping Lemon Thyme, Caraway Thyme and Elfin Thyme, a slow growing beauty. All great in rock gardens. Need full sun and well drained soil.
Golden Thyme: We carry Archers gold, Golden Lemon and Golden variegated and other variegated thymes like Silver Thyme.
We always like to try a few new ones. This year we have Tansparent Yellow Thyme, Magic Carpet Thyme and Lime Green Thyme.

SAGE
The green sages are more for culinary purposes and the others are more ornamental in your garden. A sprig of sage is a very nice garnish for a special meal.

Salvia oficinalis is a wonderful perennial culinary herb. The straight species is a great plant that produces beautiful blue salvia flowers and is quite ornamental.
Berggarten Sage is a green cultivar we carry.
Purple Sage
Tricolor Sage
Pineapple sage and Golden Pineapple sage grow into tall 5-6 ft plants that produce large racemes of red flowers in late summer. Plant them early in the season to get them to full size before they bloom. The foliage really does smell like pineapple.

TARRAGON
Tarragon Artemesia dracunculus is a perennial culinary herb that tastes a little like anise or has licorice like flavors. It is a staple in French cuisine and is often referred to as French tarragon.

MINT
Mints are also perennial herbs. They are best grown in the pot because they spread voraciously and can be difficult to eliminate from a garden once it’s established. Mints are used in cooking and in making teas and cocktails, like mojitos. All mints grow best in full sun and a well drained soil.

Peppermint and spearmint are the two most popular mints.
- Mojito mint, a spearmint
- Kentucky Colonel spearmint our favorite for many years
- Chocolate mint, a type of peppermint,
- Corsican mint has tiny tiny leaves and is great in cracks in patios. It is not aggressive like the other mints, in fact this one is more challenging to grow.

We carry several more ornamental variegated mints that look great mixed with annuals in pots!

SPRING FLOWERING SHRUBS

April 30, 2022 Karen Logan

Lilac illustration by karen blackerby logan

Spring Flowering Shrubs

LILACS

We have a great selection of lilacs starting to bloom now! .

Canadian Lilac, Syringa vulgaris Pocahontas: The species of the purple lilac, Syringa vulgaris, is said to be the most fragrant (but they are really all fragrant). Extend the lilac season with this extremely hardy, early blooming variety. Deep maroon-purple buds open in early May to fragrant, deep violet blooms 7 to 10 days before common lilac varieties bloom. Reaches 10 ft. tall and wide.
Korean Lilac, Syringa patula Miss Kim: Try a Miss Kim Lilac if you need one that stays a little smaller. This upright, compact lilac blooms later than others, extending the season with deep purple buds that reveal clusters of highly fragrant, lavender-blue flowers. Foliage is burgundy-tinged in fall. Reaches 6 to 8 ft. tall and wide
Charles Joly, Syringa vulgaris: This is a great choice if you want a larger lilac,10-12ft tall. Gorgeous, deep wine red, double flower clusters are highly fragrant. Blooms mid-season, typically in mid-May. A lovely spring accent, screen or border specimen.
Sensation, Syringa vulgaris: A bicolor purple and white flowering lilac. A mid-season bloomer that typically flowers in mid-May. Branches are erect and open with rich green foliage. Use to create a beautiful spring flowering hedge, screen, or accent.
Dwarf Korean Lilac, Syringa meyeri ‘Palibin’: This is another species of lilac that we carry which stays much smaller. This one has smaller leaves and smaller purple blooms that are also fragrant. Blooms profusely in midseason, typically mid-May, and first flowers at an early age. Use in shrub borders with an evergreen background or plant in groups to form a low hedge.
We also carry white French Lilacs

Plant your lilacs in full sun, well drained, rich soil and you will have fresh lilac bouquets every spring!

Honeysuckle

SHRUBS

One of my favorite spring flowering shrubs is the fragrant honeysuckle, Lonicera fragrantissima. It is extremely fragrant, long blooming and comes back bigger and better year after year. This early bloomer fills my whole yard with perfume every spring. It does best in full sun but will do fine in partial shade.

VINES

This year we have 3 varieties of fragrant honeysuckle vines.

Mandarin, Lonicera x 'Mandarin': “Delightful, tubular, mandarin orange flowers with pale orange interiors on this vigorous vine with a twining habit that will quickly cloak shade arbors, old trees, and woven wire fences. Drape over walls or let it sprawl across the rooftop for cottage garden charm.” (monrovia)
Major Wheeler, Lonicera sempervirens: “Blazing red and gold blooms appear all summer long, and into fall. Stems are often red to purple turning greenish brown with age. A vigorous, fast growing vine, perfect for covering a fence post, arbor or trellis. This excellent selection thrives in high humidity and is mildew-free.” (monrovia)
Goldflame, Lonicera x heckrottii: “An excellent vine to use as a cover for trellis, arbor and fencing. Also works well when pruned to form a dense shrub-like shape. Purple to deep pink buds open to sweetly fragrant, golden yellow, tubular flowers throughout summer.” (monrovia)

Hummingbirds love them!

Rhododendrons

This year our spring flowering shrubs include the usual evergreen rhododendrons, as well as deciduous azaleas which are in the rhododendron family. They are shallow rooted plants that grow as an understory in the woodlands, like in the Blue Ridge Mountains. They are also found in various parts of Asia, like China and Nepal. They grow in high elevations because they like it cool.

Rhododendron cawtabiense, also called cawtaba rhododendrons:

Roseum Elegans: Medium sized broadleaf evergreen shrub that reaches 9-12’ tall and wide. Beautiful rose-lilac colored flowers. Best along a woodland border.
Grandiflorum Catawba: (Native)The Catawba evergreen rhody reaches 6-8’ ft tall & wide and has lilac-purple, trumpet-shaped flowers. It is beautiful planted in a grouping, as an informal hedge or a mixed or woodland border. They are in bud now!
Chinoides Rhododendrons: A smaller rhody that gets to about 4’ with white bell shaped flowers. Outstanding for use as an informal hedge or foundation plant.
Cunningham’s White: A smaller rhody that gets to about 4’. It’s a perfect middle-of-the-border flowering shrub. A natural under oaks and older coniferous trees. Also perfect in the woodland understory and in wild gardens.

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Rhododendron maximum : (Native) A large broadleaf evergreen reaching up to 15ft by 12ft wide. They prefer to grow in cool, moist spots with well drained soil, part shade to full shade. They have dense, large leathery leaves with rose-purplish to pink to white blooms. They are in bud now!

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Hybrids developed by Weston Nurseries.

PJM: A durable rhody that tolerates heat as well as cold. An excellent choice for borders, mass plantings, or containers. PJM’s are smaller leafed rhodies with bright laveder purple blooms, developed at Weston Nurseries. They are blooming now!
Olga Mezzit: A compact smaller leaf evergreen, developed at Weston Nurseries. More heat and sun tolerant than other varieties. An excellent choice for borders, mass planting, or containers. They are blooming now!

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Many of the deciduous azaleas are native, including viscosum and its hybrids.

Rhododendron viscosum: (Native) Native to Martha’s Vineyard! Gorgeous and fragrant.

They need to be watered often when newly planted!
Rhododendrons benefit from an application of mulch to keep moisture in the soil for their shallow roots.

[PLANT PROFILE] CREEPING PHLOX

April 26, 2022 Karen Logan

Creeping Phlox

(Phlox subulata)

A low growing, sun-loving herbaceous perennial that has an exceptional spring bloom. It creates a magnificent carpet of color ranging from red-purple to violet-purple to pink and white in April and May. The flowers are backed by dense green foliage that stays green throughout the summer and fall. It grows 6 in. tall, forming a thick mat up to 3 ft. wide and is known for ‘creeping’.

PHLOX SPECIES

There are many phlox species

Phlox subulata: Creeping phlox, Phlox subulata, is only one species with many cultivars.
Phlox divaricata and Phlox stolonifera: These are woodland phlox that spread and can take partial shade.
Phlox paniculata: This is the most common phlox, the tall English phlox. It does best in full sun.
Phlox drummondii: This is the annual phlox. Annuals, unlike perennials, bloom all summer.

CREEPING PHLOX VARIETIES NOW AVAILABLE

We have a wonderful selection of blooming creeping phlox available at Vineyard Gardens

Emerald Blue
Candy Stripes
Purple Beauty
Red Wings

CARE

Protect from Deer! They do eat Creeping Phlox.
It tolerates dry conditions once established
Good soil drainage is important
Cut back stems after flowering by 1/2 to maintain form and promote denser growth plus to stimulate a possible light rebloom.

WHERE TO PLANT

Perfect accent in a rock garden
Beautiful mixed with annuals.
Spreads easily on slopes & banks
Great along pathways
Attractive groundcover & border plant
Loves to cascade over walls!
GREAT FOR BUTTERFLIES & INSECT POLLINATORS!

HAPPY GARDENING!

BROADLEAF EVERGREENS

April 25, 2022 Karen Logan

Azalea illustration by karen blackerby logan

Broadleaf evergreens have year round interest!

Often in spring we think we need flowers and color but evergreens are just as important to the landscape! Evergreens are often the bones of the garden. They are an integral part of winter, spring, summer and fall. Broadleaf evergreens are the trees and shrubs for all seasons because they have wonderful year round interest!

The Benefits of Broadleaf Evergreens

They provide year round interest
Great for privacy screening
Drought resistant, once established
Provides habitats for birds and other small animals
Pollinator friendly!
Great for Martha’s Vineyards climate zone 7A (hardier than zone 7A).

Most broadleaf evergreens have a spectacular display of spring blooms!

Luckily they don't typically bloom all at the same time! Pieris japonica and Skimmia are the first to bloom, followed by the rhododendrons then azaleas.

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BROADLEAF EVERGREENS OF THE WEEK

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AZALEAS

This year our spring flowering shrubs include the usual evergreen rhododendrons and azaleas. Azaleas are in the rhododendron family. Azaleas are a genus with many species. There are both evergreen and deciduous varieties available. ‘Most’ deciduous azaleas bloom after the evergreen azaleas. They will bloom on old wood before the plant has leafed out for the year.

Some deciduous, fragrant azaleas that we have available this year are:

Azalea viscosum, native swamp azalea: These bloom a little later and often bloom before the foliage emerges, making them extra showy. The fragrant blooms will perfume your entire property. They get 8-10ft tall and 6-8ft wide.
My Mary: A new yellow, fragrant, deciduous, spring blooming azalea that attracts pollinators and butterflies. It grows 4-5ft tall. (from Fern Brook)
Rhododendron prunifolium: Another azalea that we are carrying new this year. (from Fern Brook). Prunifolium is a species azalea (not a hybrid). It is a native wild azalea and is rare and hard to find. It is the first time we have ever had it!

There are some deciduous Weston hybrids with viscosum that stay smaller. If an 8ft shrub is too big for your spot try one of these :

Lemon Drop: A yellow blooming fragrant deciduous azalea
Innocence: A white blooming fragrant deciduous azalea

To see these deciduous azaleas in their full splendor they will be blooming in a few weeks at the Polly Hill Arboretum!

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BUXUS (BOXWOOD)

This year we will have a great selection of Buxus, an evergreen deer resistant shrub. We have Green Beauty, Green Mountain and Wintergreen Boxwood. We also carry a variegated boxwood, as well as a selection of dwarf boxwoods, including one we propagate from the Polly Hill Arboretum. They do best in some afternoon shade and are a great back drop for deciduous plantings. Buxus typically bloom in May. “Even though the flowers are insignificant, Boxwood is on the RHS 'Plants for Pollinators' list, highlighting plants that produce large amounts of nectar and/or pollen. It is a great choice for encouraging beneficial insect wildlife into your garden!” (Plants | Candide)

Buxus that we have available:

Buxus sempervirens: A new variety we are carrying this year is Buxus sempervirens Dee Runk. This variety has an elegant columnar habit with a soft and lush foliage of ovate, lustrous leaves. Its deep green foliage has shown good resistance to boxwood blight.
Buxus microphylla var. japonica 'Winter Gem' : “An excellent evergreen shrub for small hedges. Among the hardiest of the small-leaved boxwoods, the rich green foliage can acquire a golden bronze hue in cold winter zones, but is one of the first to become green again in spring. Makes a wonderful addition to formal gardens, providing year-round interest.” (monrovia)

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HOLLIES

We love hollies at Vineyard Gardens! Chuck Wiley, co-owner of Vineyard Gardens, grew up near a nursery in NJ, called Fernbrook, that grow beautiful American hollies, Ilex opaca. American hollies are more deer resistant than other hollies. They need a male and a female tree nearby for berry production.

American holly, Ilex opaca

“The stout, stiff branches of this pyramidal evergreen bear dark green, non-glossy, spine-tipped leaves. Bright red berries occur on the female plants. Many varieties are grown for ornament, shade, and hedges. You must have both a male and female plant to have berries, The male must be the same holly species as the female and bloom at the same time. This is a slow-growing tree (but slower growing is stronger). Berries are attractive and a good winter food source for birds.” (Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center) The height of American holly grows up to 25ft. They can be pruned to be kept smaller.

Ilex opaca ‘Jersey Knight’: A male cultivar that is considered to be a good pollinator. typically grows to 7-8’ tall and spreads to 3-4’ wide over the first 10 years.
Ilex opaca ‘Jersey Princess’
Ilex opaca ‘Portia Orton’
Ilex opaca ‘Satyr Hill’

Japanese holly, Ilex crenata

“A dense, multi-branched, evergreen shrub with a rounded form that typically matures to 5-10’ tall and as wide. It is native to forests, thickets and mountain slopes in Japan, Korea, China and eastern Russia.. It has glossy, spineless, evergreen, deep green leaves which are attractive all year, white flowers which bloom in late spring (May-June), and black rounded berries which mature in fall on pollinated female plants.” (missouri botanical garden)

Ilex crenata ‘Steeds’

Ilex crenata ‘Helleri’
Ilex Crenata ‘Soft touch’
Ilex crenata ‘Compacta’
Ilex crenata ‘Green Lustre’

Japanese holly, Ilex crenata ‘Green Lustre’

Blue holly, Ilex x meserveae

“Bushy evergreen hybrids are (a) average height to 6-7’ tall, (b) glossy blue green leaves with prominent spiny margins, (c) purple stems, (d) greenish-white flowers in small clusters in May, (e) showy bright red berries on female plants in fall, often persisting until spring, and (f) excellent winter hardiness to USDA Zone 5.” (missouri botanical garden)

Ilex x meserveae ‘Blue Maid’
Ilex x meserveae Castle Spire’

other hybrids

Ilex x aquipernyi ‘Dragon Slayer’
Ilex x Oak leaf
Ilex x Koehneana
Ilex x Nellie R Stevens
Ilex x Winter Bounty

Inkberry, Ilex glabra

“A mound-shaped, colony-forming shrub 6-12 ft. tall and wide. Lance-shaped, sparingly-toothed, glossy, leathery foliage varies in color from dark- to light-green both in summer and fall. Inconspicuous flowers are followed by black berries which persist well into winter. This species differs from all other evergreen hollies by lacking spines on the leaves, only having teeth toward the tip of the leaves.” (Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center)

Ilex glabra ‘Compacta’

Ilex glabra ‘Shamrock’

Winterberry, Ilex verticillata

“The leaves of Common winterberry are not shaped with sharp teeth like other hollies and are not evergreen. The purplish green foliage turns black, in fact, with the first frost. The inconspicuous flowers, however, are followed by dense clusters of bright red berries that remain on the branches throughout winter. Winterberry is a globular, upright, medium-sized shrub, typically 6-10 ft. tall. Extremely showy in late fall and early winter when covered with their bright red fruit, these shrubs are either male or female--a trait typical of the holly family. Birds are readily attracted to them.” (Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center)

Ilex verticillata Southern Gentleman
Ilex verticillata Winter Gold
Ilex verticillata Winter Red
Ilex verticillata Little Goblin Guy
Ilex verticillata Little Goblin Red

[PLANT PROFILE] POPPIES

April 21, 2022 Karen Logan

Iceland Poppies illustration by karen blackerby logan

POPPIES ARE MY SPRING FAVORITE!

We love our poppies at Vineyard Gardens! There are both annual and perennial poppies. We raise our annual poppies from seed. We grow a fine selection, everything from the Shirley poppies, including an all white one called Bridal Silk, to the red flowering Greek poppy to the large peony flowered poppies. The perennial poppy we grow from seed is the Spanish poppy.

ORIENTAL POPPIES

The most famous of the perennial poppies are the Oriental poppies. They have big dinner plate size blooms. The red with the black center is probably the best known. We carry red, apricot and white flowering Oriental poppies. The flowers have a black center and are very dramatic. Oriental poppies will go dormant in the heat of August but they will come back bigger and better the next year. Make sure to mark the spot so that you don’t disturb the sleeping poppy.

ICELAND POPPIES

Icelandic poppies, Papaver nudicaule, are another type of poppy that is considered perennial, but seem to be shorter lived than the Oriental poppies. Iceland poppies are just gorgeous! They are starting to bloom now! We were able to get them in individual colors as well as in a mix. We will have red, pink, yellow and orange. Their flowers are very delicate on tall, thin stems holding the crape paper like flowers. Plant 2-3 in a pot and enjoy them all spring and into early summer.

GROWING & CARE

Plant your poppies in a full sun garden with well drained soil.
They have beautiful seed pods that extend the season beyond bloom.
The annual poppies can be dead headed to extend bloom but at some point let the beautiful seed pods develop and let them ripen on the plant.
Poppies will reseed and you may have lots of little poppy seedlings for years to come.
If they are happy, they will colonize in your garden. It is wonderful when plants colonize! Other plants do this too!

Come to Vineyard Gardens to find out what other plants reseed and colonize in your garden!

SPRING AT VINEYARD GARDENS

April 18, 2022 Karen Logan

Spring is a very busy and productive time at Vineyard Gardens. Our landscape division crews are already out doing spring clean ups. Our in-house production is busy planting bulbs, liners, bare root perennials, roses, trees and shrubs. The nursery is in full swing unloading truck full of plants from New Jersey, Virginia and Oregon. And the early spring flowers, like pansies and pieris japonica, are in their full bloom glory.

We also just put the poppy’s and primulas outside to harden off and we have our usual beautiful crop of 5” perennials. It is an exciting time of year!

We always start a bountiful selection of leafy salad greens

We recycle. sterilizing plastic growing containers and trays

Labeling is critical from day one! As plants are potted up, each one has to be accurately labeled.

St. Patrick's Day is traditionally when you plant your peas out in the garden. If you missed it we've got you covered. Peas like to do most of their growth in cool temperatures

Leafy greens like cooler temperatures to produce quick, tender leaves for your salads and cooking. the earlier you get them in the ground the better!

Getting strawberries started early is important for this season's production. We give them a jump start but you should be planting them out as soon as we're 'frost-free'.

In the Fall, any bulbs left unsold get potted up and forced for Spring color.

We have become well known for our well grown Delphiniums. Here they are early in the season

Growing on 4in perennials, its economical to buy your perennials early in smaller sizes. better for the plants too!

Our Landscape Division are already out there doing Spring Cleanups, if you haven't set yours up yet, call the office today!

Pansies are in full color at the nursery!

SMALL FRUITS & FRUIT TREES

April 13, 2022 Karen Logan

Blueberry Bush illustration by karen blackerby logan

SMALL FRUITS & FRUIT TREES

Spring is the best time to prune your fruit trees, grapes, raspberries and blackberries! It is also the best time to plant small fruits and fruit trees!

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CHECK OUT OUR PAST BLOG: Bare Root Strawberries & Growing Early Spring Edibles

IN STOCK AT VINEYARD GARDENS:

Bare root strawberries just came in
Strawberries
Raspberries & golden raspberries
Blackberries
Blueberries
Fruit trees (many kinds)

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STRAWBERRIES

Spring is the season to plant strawberries. There is a small window of time to plant them, especially bare root ones. Strawberries can be grown in garden beds, containers or hanging baskets. Strawberry flowers attract honeybees and butterflies who pollinate the flowers and ensure fruiting success. This year we are carrying 4 potted varieties, 3 bare root varieties plus the alpine strawberries Fragaria vesca.

Our bare root strawberries just came in yesterday! The bare root varieties are Sure Crop, Cardinal and Ozark Beauty. Sure Crop and Cardinal are June bearing and Ozark Beauty variety is an Everbearing.
Planting Bare Root Strawberries
- Bare root strawberries come in bundles of 15.
- Gently pull them apart, pulling on the foliage to separate them
- Then plant them into rich well drained soil and watch them grow
The 3” potted strawberries we have are the June bearing Honeoye variety and for the everbearing strawberries we have the All Star, Ft. Laramie and Quinalt varieties. Honeoye bears heavy yields of large fruit with a rich color.
Growing Strawberries
- Provide well drained soil with medium moisture. Amend beds in spring and fall with quality Coast of Maine Lobster Compost or Fafard Premium Compost (we carry both!).
- Strawberries are heavy feeders- feed with organic fertilizer from spring to mid summer.
- Mulch beds to retain moisture, keep down the weeds and to create a nice clean place for the strawberry fruits to lay on.
- Thin beds every few years, favoring the strongest runners.

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BLUEBERRIES

We have a wonderful selection of early, mid season and late variety Blueberries. Now is the time to get them in the ground!

This year, for the first time ever, we brought in some bare root blueberries. We have 2 cultivars available bare root, Jersey and Northland.
For blueberries, we recommend planting an early bearing variety, a mid season variety and a late season variety to extend your blueberry picking season.
Blueberries must be planted in early spring!!

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GRAPES, PEACHES & FRUIT TREES

GRAPES: Grapes should be pruned as soon as possible on cool days. If pruned much later they will “bleed” sap, much like a maple tree when its tapped for making maple syrup. Pruning for grapes and most fruit trees involves limiting the number of fruits produced as the tree or vine will try to make many more fruits than the tree has the energy to fully mature. Often excess fruits will fall off and the ones remaining may be smaller than on a tree properly pruned. This is also the best time to plant grapes!

PEACHES: One of the most important sprays for peaches is a lime sulfur mixture to prevent peach leaf curl, a very common disease of peaches. As the name describes, the leaves turn red, bumpy, curl up and then most of the leaves fall off weakening the tree just when it needs the most energy to produce fruit. This is an organic spray and should be done before the leaves begin to emerge.
FRUIT TREES: We carry apple, pear, cherry, peach and plum trees .Spring is the great time to plant them!
- Pruning apple trees: When you are done pruning an apple tree there is usually more on the ground then left on the tree.

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EAT LOCAL, GROW IT IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD

March 20, 2022 Karen Logan

Strawberry illustration by karen blackerby logan

GROWING EARLY SPRING EDIBLES

STRAWBERRIES

TIPS FOR PLANTING STRAWBERRIES

The most economical way for planting strawberries is bare root. They are only available early and must be planted in the ground right away.
Prepare your strawberry garden area by tilling or turning over the soil.
Add organic matter, such as cow manure, compost or the Fafard Complete Planting Mix.
Turn that into the soil.
Plant out the strawberry plants. Straight rows would be typical but you can be creative and turn it into an herb garden with a strawberry patch.

This year we are carrying 4 cultivars of strawberries
We like the June bearing over the Everbearing. The June bearing have bigger berries, although a shorter season.
Honeoye is our favorite, but all of them are good.
Fort Laramie
All Star
Quinalt
We also grow the fraise de bois or wild strawberries, find them under Fragaria vesca, its proper Genus and species name.
These are my choice for an herb garden. They also do well in containers. They bloom with beautiful little white flowers (in the rose family) .The pot with multiple openings is called a strawberry jar. I love when we carry these!
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BERRIES

We have a great selection of raspberries, blackberries, blueberries. The early spring selection is best!

All these should be planted very soon!

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ASPARAGUS

Now available bare root in bundles of 10. We have Jersey Knight and Purple Passion.

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GREENS & COOL WEATHER VEGGIES

Grow your own Greens

Salad material, lettuce, spinach, endive, mignonette

The lettuces and the cilantro, in particular, can be done by direct seeding in Mid April.

Start the other herbs and cool weather veggies inside first and then plant out as seedlings.

WE GROW ALL THESE IN PACKS FROM SEED . WE HAVE A WONDERFUL SELECTION OF SEEDS & WILL HAVE A GREAT VARIETY OF PACK SELECTIONS!

COOL WEATHER VEGGIES

Brassicas (like broccoli), Cauliflower, Cabbage, Kale, Swiss Chard, Mustards, Collards

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Vineyard Gardens Herb House and Herb Garden

HERBS

NOW IS THE TIME TO PLANT SOME HERBS! COME CHECK OUT OUR HERB HOUSE & HERB GARDEN!

ANNUAL HERBS: Cilantro, Parsley, Dill, Chervil, Lemon Grass, Lemon Verbena and Rosemary
PERENNIAL HERBS: Thyme. Sage, Mint, Tarragon, Savory and Lemon Balm

TIMING IS KEY IN GARDENING! DON’T WAIT TO GET STARTED!

VINEYARD GARDENS NURSERY IS OPEN FOR THE SEAON!

March 18, 2022 Karen Logan

Our 5” perennials production and seasonal annuals. right now it’s Pansies, poppies and alyssum

We are excited to announce we are back open and ready for another wonderful year! We have been busy in our greenhouses planting and germinating seeds since the end of February and our cool weather vegetable packs are now ready!

Get a head start by planting a few rows of our fabulous pack greens and then plant another row of seeds a few inches away. We have both Fedco and Botanical Interest seed packets for sale in our store. Fedco is a seed company located in Maine. They are known for their fabulous vegetable seed selection. Botanical Interest is known for their beautiful seed packets and wealth of information. By combining the planting of both seeds and seedlings it will allow you to have a staggered harvest and two batches of fresh vegetables. It’s all about timing!

Plant all your cool weather vegetables early! We have a wonderful selection of cool weather crops including broccoli, cabbage, 5 kinds of kale, 4 kinds of mustards, 8-10 kinds of lettuce, Asian greens, Chinese cabbage, tatsoi, bok choy, spinach, lettuce, arugula, several mesclun greens. asparagus and strawberries.

We also have peas in peat packs, sugar snaps, snow peas and dwarf grey peas. The dwarf gray are known for being delicious as pea shoots, harvesting the tips and eating them in your salads. The snap peas are for harvesting the pea inside the pod. The snow peas are best picked young and steamed or sautéed whole, you eat the entire pod. If the snow peas get too big eat the pea inside. Nothing goes to waste and don’t forget to compost!

EAT LOCAL GROW IT IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD!

Vineyard Gardens greenhouse: Our germination process of cool weather crops.

VINEYARD GARDEN'S SEED PROJECT

March 10, 2022 Karen Logan

Believe it or not spring is on its way! It’s such an exciting time at our in-house facility, seedlings starting to emerge and a new season taking shape. We decided to re-post this from last year to remind all our friends and family what Vineyard Gardens does during this time of year.

Vineyard Gardens Nursery, located in West Tisbury, is a botanical paradise situated on five acres of land with ten greenhouses. Established over thirty years ago with one greenhouse, it has developed into an island staple and agricultural enclave. Rooted in horticulture and plant science degrees, Chris and Chuck Wiley have developed their one time modest landscaping company into a full on plant production center, nursery and landscaping company.

The Wiley’s are passionate about providing their customers with the healthiest and hardiest plants and have found many benefits in nurturing them into this world from seed. To enable this in-house production they have, over the years, built a separate five acre growing site named VG2. The facility has both indoor and outdoor growing spaces including four 100ft greenhouses, one of which is purpose built for “germinating” seeds into seedlings. It’s within this carefully temperature and humidity controlled greenhouse complete with automated mist-watering and heated benches that life begins for the bulk of their veggies, herbs, annuals, and perennials.

The range of plants that Vineyard Gardens germinate at VG2 is extensive. Chris explains, “We start a few hundred varieties of mostly annuals but always seed a dozen or more perennials, trees and shrubs as well. Once the plants are ready for sale we truck them to Vineyard Gardens Nursery. The most challenging part is having the crops ready on time and in sufficient numbers. Sometimes we grow too much but more often we sell out of many of our annual crops including Proven Winners® .”

Chris exudes excitement about her production like they are her children. She could discuss the plethora of produce and flora she grows in English, Latin and Spanish with an excitement that makes you want to experiment with it yourself. With a twinkle in her eye she exclaims, “But our proudest moment is in spring, seeing our amazing display of vegetable packs, which we seed ourselves. Our customers are getting more and more into the edibles and herbs. We germinate many varieties of greens. We now also grow Asian greens including Chinese cabbage, Bok Choy and Tatsoi. And we seed a Brazilian vegetable called Jilot and we sell over 500 of them. And currently the cool weather crops are growing beautifully in the green houses.” Chris finishes it off with, “We love our edible crops!”

The Wiley’s have a keen desire to keep Vineyard Gardens’ plant selection fresh and intriguing year after year. They have developed a symbiotic relationship between their love of plants and love for travel. These horticultural explorations have inspired them to collect seeds on their journey’s and germinate them at VG2. “Last year we found the seed Tweedia Caerulea, Blue Butterfly Weed, for sale and bought it from Geo seed catalog. We will have it again this year hopefully in good numbers. We will have the Nolana Bluebird this year which is a great plant. And back by popular demand we will have white lace, Orlaya grandiflora.” Chris explains.

This second location, based solely on production, has made it possible to keep Vineyard Gardens retail location stocked so efficiently. Between their expertise and ambition to cultivate, Vineyard Gardens is ready to help you along on your gardening journey. If you want to learn first hand from these experts, join them Saturday mornings at 11am for a wonderful and insightful Garden Talk and workshop. Check out their website www.vineyardgardens.net to see the full listing of events

MARCH GARDENING TIPS

March 8, 2022 Karen Logan

March Gardening Tips

Vineyard Gardens Landscaping is available to help with your gardening needs!

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PRUNE

Its a good idea to sterilize the pruning shears with a 10% bleach solution to avoid passing diseases from cut to cut
Good time to prune fruit trees, raspberries and grape
Grapes should be pruned now before the weather warms up as they will “bleed sap” if done during warmer weather
Fruit trees should be pruned now to maintain healthy branch structure and to reduce the total number of fruits per branch. If a branch has too many fruits they will tend to be small and often fall off. If allowed to reach maturity the branch could break from too much weight.
It’s easier to see the branch structure before the plant leafs out. Remove damaged or crossing branches, and especially for fruit trees waterspouts which are small branches growing straight up through the tree.
Prune any trees damaged by winter storms
Prune PG Hydrangeas but Not macrophyllas
Prune Crape myrtles and any late season blooming plants, like hypericum, caryopteris

SPRAY

One spray to prevent Peach leaf Curl (Sulfur or Copper based fungicides). Peaches should be sprayed with a lime sulfur solution which is organic and highly efficient at stopping peach leaf curl, a very common disease that weakens the tree.

GARDEN CLEANUP

If you haven’t cleaned up your garden beds definitely do it now

DESIGN

Plan and design your plantings and garden beds

TOP DRESS

Add a 1-2 inch layer of compost, rich in organic matter, over the top of your garden beds. Plants will come up right through it. The organic matter in compost is already broken down. The nutrients will slowly leach down with the spring rains and be available to be up taken by roots when plants are ready to grow. Do not use mulch as a top dressing as the larger bark chunks rob the soil of nitrogen in the breakdown process. If you are going to mulch on top of the top dressing of organic matter, spread some fertilizer under the mulch to supply nutrients for decomposition. For new beds or vegetable gardens waiting to be planted you can add more than 1-2 inches of organic matter on top, or the organic matter can be rototilled in, mixing it a few inches into the soil.

Top dressing bulb areas and lightly fertilize bulb areas before they come up any further
Top dress your veggie garden
Its still a bit early to fertilize as the plants aren't actively taking up nutrients and with a lot of rain the fertilizer could leach or run off instead of being used by the plants.

SEEDLINGS

Start cool weather seedlings indoors to be planted out by the end of March or beginning of April
Later in the month start your warm weather seedlings indoors. These will get planted out in May
There is still time to order flower and vegetable seeds
Do not work wet soil in vegetable gardens as that leads to compaction the last thing you want to happen to your soil

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2022 Perennial Plant Association National Symposium

February 14, 2022 Karen Logan

For more information visit www.perennialplant.org

Lagerstroemia

[CRAPE MYRTLE]

Crape Myrtles’ showy flowers adds a punch of color in late summer & early fall.

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HISTORY

FALL IS A GREAT TIME TO PLANT. allowS CRAPE MYRTLE time to establish their roots before going dormant in winter.

CARE

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USES

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we have dwarf varieties available to add to your garden if you don’t have space for a larger speciman.

CRAPE MYRTLE VARIETIES WE HAVE AVAILABLE

JAPANESE ANEMONE

[WINDFLOWER]

Japanese Anemones add a wonderful splash of color to the autumn garden when other perennials are beginning to fade. With one of the longest bloom times, they are a great season extender in a perennial garden. They spread when they are happy and can tolerate moist soils!

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CARE

USES

Japanese anemone bloom abundantly from mid-summer to late fall, giving gardeners a shade-loving alternative to the autumn mums and asters.

JAPANESE ANEMONES WE CARRY AT VINEYARD GARDENS

CLERODENDRUM TRICHOTOMUM

[HARLEQUIN GLORY-BOWER]

MID-SUMMER BLOOM

FALL INTEREST

attracts Hummingbirds, butterflies, honeybees & other pollinators!

WHERE TO PLANT

“Our Clerodendrum is blooming now and fills our entire patio with a sweet fragrance!” Chris Wiley, co-owner Vineyard Gardens

CALYCANTHUS 'APHRODITE’

WHY FEED YOUR PLANTS IN EARLY SUMMER

HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOU HAVE A REBLOOMER

FEEDING YOUR PLANTS

THE REASONS TO FERTILIZE HYDRANGEAS IN EARLY SUMMER

FEEDING OTHER KINDS OF HYDRANGEAS

THE BEST FERTILIZER FOR HYDRANGEAS

WATCH OUT FOR TICKS

PINCH PRUNING COMES NEXT

Check out hydrangea specialist, Lorraine Ballato’s insightful website packed with excellent information on all things hydrangea!

HEUCHERA

(CORAL BELLS)

Try planting ground covers instead of mulching. They are just as effective, if not more so, at keeping out the weeds!

BIENNIALS

GARDENERS and POETS

MYSTERIOUS, LIKE MAGIC

THE SOUL OF THE GARDEN

SWEET WOODRUFF

(Galium odoratum)

WHERE TO PLANT SWEET WOODRUFF

OTHER GROUNDCOVERS

And there are plenty more!

Try planting ground covers at the base of your shrubs instead of mulching. Ground covers are very effective at keeping weeds out!

Spring Flowering Shrubs

LILACS

Plant your lilacs in full sun, well drained, rich soil and you will have fresh lilac bouquets every spring!

Honeysuckle

Hummingbirds love them!

Rhododendrons

They need to be watered often when newly planted!Rhododendrons benefit from an application of mulch to keep moisture in the soil for their shallow roots.

Creeping Phlox

(Phlox subulata)

PHLOX SPECIES

CREEPING PHLOX VARIETIES NOW AVAILABLE

CARE

WHERE TO PLANT

GREAT FOR BUTTERFLIES & INSECT POLLINATORS!

HAPPY GARDENING!

Broadleaf evergreens have year round interest!

The Benefits of Broadleaf Evergreens

Most broadleaf evergreens have a spectacular display of spring blooms!

BROADLEAF EVERGREENS OF THE WEEK

AZALEAS

To see these deciduous azaleas in their full splendor they will be blooming in a few weeks at the Polly Hill Arboretum!

BUXUS (BOXWOOD)

HOLLIES

American holly, Ilex opaca

Japanese holly, Ilex crenata

Blue holly, Ilex x meserveae

other hybrids

Inkberry, Ilex glabra

Winterberry, Ilex verticillata

POPPIES ARE MY SPRING FAVORITE!

They need to be watered often when newly planted!
Rhododendrons benefit from an application of mulch to keep moisture in the soil for their shallow roots.