Hip hip hooray! Annie's mail order plants are back!

In mid-September I received a notice from GrowOrganic.com, advertised as the "Online Home of Peaceful Valley Farm" located in Grass Valley, California.  They anoounced that they were going live with the mail order business they purchased after Annie's Annuals and Perennials suddenly closed its doors in October last year.  They offered a discount code for use on my first order and, when they published "Annie's Annuals & Perennials Best of Fall Collection" on September 20th, I submitted an order.  (You can find their webpage here.)  Did I "need" to order new plants now, with summer's hold on us is still in place?  No, I did not but I ordered anyway.  My order was promptly processed and my first shipment arrived as promised on Wednesday afternoon.

They're using the Annie's brand, at least for now.  Even the shipping boxes are the same as those used by the original Annie's operation.

I don'r remember a "this end up" label like this in the old days, though

My order was packed in the same fashion as my prior Annie's orders.

The internal packing was the same too, except that 2 plants had been laid on their sides on this occasion

Here's a better view of what I ordered.

I purchased 4 varieties of plants, 9 in total.  Annie's always only sold mail order plants in 4-inch pots, which I prefer when I can get them that way.

Believe it or not, I've got spots designated for everything included in this order, which isn't always the case:

The three snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus 'Double Azalea Bronze') will go into my cutting garden, where there's enough space for them given recent losses.  It's earlier than I'd like to plant snapdragons, which are cool season plants here, but I love them and my dahlias appear to be seeking an early exit.

Annie's snapdragons have been more resistant to rust than any of those I've purchased locally

The three Carex divulsa will edge the area that formerly held two overgrown and woody Coleonema album in the front garden.  I already have one specimen of this Carex elsewhere (which came from the original Annie's) so I know it handles partial shade and low water well.

The grass-like plant is attractive but also easy to care for

The two coyote mints (Monardella villosa) will be planted in empty spots in a very dry area in my back garden next to the flagstone path.  The evergreen plant is said to be a good selection for a "no-water path," which would make it perfect for the spot in question.

In the interest of full disclosure, I tried growing this plant once before and it died; however, I think I failed to give it enough water when it was in the early stages of getting established that time

The single Mexican marigold (Tagetes lemmonii) will replace the woody specimen I pulled earlier this year when it was no longer flowering as well as it had in prior years.

Tagetes lemmonii provided flushes of bright yellow-gold color in spring and fall in its former position.  The Gazanias currently in that spot don't do the job.

Everything will be tucked into place and well-watered this weekend.  The marine layer has returned and it was noticeably cooler yesterday.  I'm expecting more of the same today.

I can't claim that the Annie's/GrowOrganic order is the only one I've placed recently.  I've actually gone bonkers with bulb orders recently, including three to Dutch sellers, two of which called out six percent tariffs on their goods.

I ordered 83 bulbs from K. van Bourgondien, including Amaryllis (Hippeastrum), Orienpet Lilies, Dutch Iris, Crocus, and Tazetta daffodils

John Scheepers will supply another 101 bulbs, including more Dutch Iris, Alliums, Ipheion, species tulips, and a single Amaryllis (Hippeastrum)

What I ordered from Van Engelen are pricier bulbs sold in bulk, including Scilla peruviana, more Orienpet Lilies, and more Amaryllis.  I like to give Hippeastrums as holiday gifts and they're less expensive ordered well before the holidays.

I tallied up the expense of the fall bulb orders and, given two pre-orders of dahlia bulbs to ship in spring, I decided I'd best tuck my credit card away for awhile.  When it's not uncomfortably warm, I've been chipping away at pruning chores, boring and often arduous.  Every time I turn around, I find more plants that need such attention.  I'm going to call on my tree service to schedule the larger scale jobs I can't handle.  Although it still feels a lot like summer here, my internal clock is telling me I need to get cracking on preparations for our cool season.

Best wishes for a pleasant weekend as September comes to its end.

All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

A small cause for celebration

Unable to trawl through nurseries and garden centers as I commonly do this time of year due to our shelter-at-home status, I've been suffering from plant shopping withdrawal.  My local garden center will accept orders online and by phone for pickup or delivery but that hasn't been entirely satisfactory.  I called in an order and picked up planting mix, fertilizer, and a couple of tomato plants but they didn't have the flowering plants I was interested in and, without the inspiration that comes from cruising the aisles, I was left at a loss to fill the gaps in several beds.  So I shopped my favorite mail order nursery online and received a shipment of 12 plants yesterday afternoon.

Annie's Annuals & Perennials has a great online catalog.  They're working with a skeleton staff, though, so it took longer than usual to receive my order.

Here's my haul fresh out of the box, from the top down: Orthrosanthus multiflorus (3), Agrostemma 'Ocean Pearls' (3),
Alstroemeria ligtu (2), Phlomis purpurea (1), and Eriogonum nudum (3)

This delivery was different from most in that I actually had spots in mind for all these plants.  I only got half of them planted yesterday but the rest will go in the ground today.

Orthrosanthus multiflorus (Morning Flag)  should form 2x2 foot clumps

The yellow flowers of Eriogonum nudum should offer a nice complement to the blue flowers I grow in this area

I've still got Dahlia tubers to plant and Zinnia seeds to sow but the cool-season flowers in my cutting garden were slow to roll this year, giving me a short-term space problem.  Some of these may have to be started in plastic pots until space opens up in my raised planters.

Puttering in the garden is a source of joy at a time like this.  I hope you get to do some puttering yourself this weekend.  Best wishes!


All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

My favorite plant this week: Arthropodium cirratum

Arthropodium cirratum, also known as Renga Lily and New Zealand Rock Lily, is actually one of my favorite plants of all time.  It did well in my former, shady garden and, when we moved, I  immediately regretted my failure to dig it up and bring it with us.  I mail-ordered another from Annie's Annuals & Perennials, then another, and then a few more.  I've divided it too and now have it in four separate areas of my garden.

One of 2 Arthropodium cirratum sited in the partial shade of the bed outside our living room windows

The other plant in the same bed

These plants have done well everywhere I've put them.  They even grew well and flowered in poor soil under the hot, dry conditions of our back slope.  I eventually dug those 3 plants up, divided them, and moved them to serve as groundcovers in dry shade conditions under trees; however, as even Agave attenuata are struggling to establish on that slope, I have to give the Renga Lilies an A for effort.

This is one of the plants I divided last year, now planted in dry shade under an Arbutus - other than some snail damage, it's adapted well, although I'm not sure it'll bloom this year

Although the plants can tolerate nearly full sun, I think they do best with morning sun and afternoon shade.  Two of these plants sit in my sunny side yard next to Acanthus mollis 'Summer Beauty' but I didn't intentionally place them in full sun.  I added them when the 60 foot Eucalyptus tree was still in place in the adjacent bed, providing shade.  I've left them there because I think they look good with the Acanthus but, by comparison with the plants grown in more shade, the foliage is sun-bleached.  Despite the somewhat challenging conditions, the plants are huge and loaded with flower spikes.

The foliage of the Renga Lily in the sunny bed here is more chartreuse in color but the plant appears healthy

In my garden, the flowers appear in spring.  The flower spikes appear en masse but take their time to open.  The six-petal white flowers have pinkish purple and yellow stamens.  They reportedly make a good cut flower, although I haven't used them that way (yet).

The plant grows from a bulb but it's evergreen in my garden.  The foliage is attractive year-round and it requires very little maintenance.    It grows to 3 feet (1 meter) tall and wide.  Reports of its cold hardiness vary.  According to Annie's, it's hardy to 15F (-9C).  In contrast, Dave's Garden says it's hardy to 40F (4.5C), although a commentator on that site claimed it was hardy for him in USDA zone 8, which corroborates Annie's projection.  My garden hasn't experienced freezing conditions so I can't offer a personal testimonial.

The plant hails from the coastal scrub and cliff areas of New Zealand, where it was cultivated by the native Maori people.  The rhizomes, when cooked, were eaten as food and the plant also had medicinal uses, although I was unable to find any specifics on this.  It's vulnerable to snails and slugs but little else.  None of the plants have been dug up by raccoons in my garden, which is a testimonial in itself.

Arthropodium cirratum is my contribution to Loree's favorite plants meme at danger garden.  Please visit her to see her favorite choice this week and to find links to other gardeners' favorite selections.
 

My favorite plant this week: Digiplexis 'Illumination Flame'

Okay, I know she's over-exposed.  My favorite plant this week is Digiplexis 'Illumination Flame,' a hybrid mix of Digitalis purpurea and Isoplexis caneriensis, bred in 2006.  In making this week's choice, I struggled between her and a good old garden work-horse.  In the end, she won out because she took better pictures.  (Keep in mind that I live in the shadow of Hollywood, where style often trumps substance.)  

This Digiplexis is planted in a semi-shady area along the pathway in my south-side garden

The same plant photographed from another angle, backed by Mexican feather grass

She's more impressive in a close-up.

The foliage is attractive too.

She's blooming earlier than my Digitalis purpurea and appears to me to be hardier than her parent, Isoplexis caneriensis, which I previously managed to kill in record time.

Isoplexis caneriensis, photographed at Seaside Gardens Nursery in Carpinteria last month

I have 4 of these plants.  The one shown in flower above was planted in early November, after I picked the plant up at Roger's Gardens in Orange County on a tip from Denise at A Growing Obsession.  I subsequently acquired 3 more by mail order in February through Annie's Annuals & Perennials.

My 3 newest additions, planted in my new backyard bed in February, have produced flower spikes but aren't yet blooming

The 3 planted more recently are shorter, about 12 inches tall, and their flowers haven't opened yet.  The one planted in November is about 3 feet tall and perhaps half that wide at the base.

Digiplexis 'Illumination Flame' was named Plant of the Year at the 2012 Chelsea Flower Show and received the Greenhouse Grower's Award of Excellence in 2013.  It was difficult to find last year but this year just about every nursery seems to have a supply.

Digiplexis photographed at Roger's Gardens a couple of weeks ago

It's reputed to have a long bloom period, due in part to the fact that the flowers are sterile.  According to San Marcos Growers it's been called a "Digitalis with lipstick" and, although commonly referred to as "Digiplexis," it's properly classified in the Digitalis genus.  The flowers are smaller than those I commonly find on Digitalis purpurea.  The outer petal color is fuchsia and the inner throat color is variously described as reddish orange, nectarine, or an evolving hue which starts red, changes to orange and finally mellows to yellow.

It needs well-drained soil and regular water.  It's said to grow in full sun to part shade.  Mine all receive morning sun but varying degrees of afternoon shade.  They're reportedly hardy to 10-15F and they're described as suited to USDA zones 8-10 or 11.

Over-exposed or not, I'm pleased that they've been so easy to grow.  They've presented no problems thus far.  According to on-line sources, other varieties in the 'Illumination' series are currently in development, including 'Raspberry,' 'Chelsea Gold,' 'Pink,' and 'Berry Canary.'

Digiplexis (Digitalis) 'Illumination Flame' is my contribution to Loree's favorite choice meme at danger garden.  You can see Loree's current favorite and find links to other gardeners' choice plants here.

Preparations for Planting

In my post on January 1st, I mentioned that I wanted to extend the small bed that encircles the backyard fountain along an existing pathway, linking it to the side yard border we created last year. By February 1st, we'd gotten started.

Before work began

After the edge of the new border was defined

Last week, we finished digging out the sod.

New extended fountain bed

In January, my husband also removed the snorkel spa on the far left side of the backyard border.  I described this spa, which is heated using firewood rather than electricity, last year.  Taking out the spa proved to be relatively easy but clearing the 6-inch layer of gravel underneath it took time.

Photo of the snorkel spa taken last year

The wood salvaged from deconstruction of the spa will be used to build furniture for the backyard patio - someday.  At present, it's neatly stacked in the garage.

What I hope my husband will turn into a patio dining table

However, the most important thing is that the spa's removal leaves another empty spot to fill with plants!

Bed sans spa

We ordered topsoil to backfill the new beds.  It took the 2 of us several hours to move and spread the soil over the 2 beds.

3 cubic yards of topsoil

New bed with fresh topsoil

I've been deliberating on my planting scheme for some time.  I have a long list of options for both the new beds but I've yet to draw up planting plans.  However, I signed up with Pinterest and created a bulletin board to capture ideas for the new border.  (I ended up creating 5 boards - Pinterest can easily become a time-consuming obsession!)

I already have a few plants for each new bed.  One of the Japanese maples I splurged on recently will go into the extended fountain border.  The Driyms lanceolata supplanted by the other Japanese maple will go into the bed formerly occupied by the spa.  I also have a few plants I mail-ordered from Annie's Annuals & Perennials set aside, as well as a new pot, which will mark the transition from the side yard path to the grass path between the 2 backyard borders.  I've even got some seeds germinating - my first attempt at starting seeds indoors rather than directly planting them in place.

Acer palmatum Mikawa Yatsubasa, already beginning to leaf out

Purchases from Annie's Annuals & Perennials: Digiplexis 'Illumination Flame' and Scorzonera hispanica (aka Black Salsify), which I potted up pending placement in the new bed

I bought this pot for another purpose, then decided it would be perfect to mark the transition from the side yard to the backyard (provided that I can pick up its mate this week)

I've still got a LOT of plant shopping to do and I'm looking forward to it!  That will have to wait a bit, though, as we have not one but 2 rainstorms expected this week!!!

Fall Planting Frenzy - Part II

What constitutes a planting frenzy?  In my case, it means more than 6 hours in the garden in one day with scarcely a break, preceded by one or more expensive trips to nurseries or garden centers, and followed by exhaustion and painful joints.  It also means doggedly facing unplanned planting obstacles, which in my garden usually means digging out pockets of rock, apparently left over from the 1940s when this property was part of a large quarry.  Sometimes I think I should give up gardening altogether and just go into the rock quarry business.

The planting exercises I described earlier (in Frenzy-Part I) and now here were preceded by trips to 2 nurseries the weekend before last, another one this past Saturday, and a mid-week mail order delivery.  The buying is the easy part - reckoning with one's spouse about one's seemingly out-of-control spending habits can be another matter.  Arguments about the importance of fall planting and the value of planting prior to a forecast of rain don't seem to carry as much weight as they should.  I fully expect to receive one of my husband's infamous pie charts showing how much I've spent on plants this year any time now.

Annie's mail order delivery

My plant purchases from Saturday's trip to Rogers (minus the 2 Phormium and a few other things)

Many of the plants shown above went to fill vacancies in the backyard border created when I tore out a mass of lavender.  I'd also torn out an overgrown patch of common lamb's ear (Stachys byzantina) but, in that case, I'd like to note that no purchases were actually required to fill the area.  I managed this with divisions from Stachys byzantina 'Helen Von Stein' growing elsewhere in my garden and yarrow (Achillea 'Moonshine') relocated from an adjacent area.  (I can only hope the lamb's ear transplants take - they were looking a little bedraggled when I finished.)

Lamb's ear transplants up front with relocated Achillea 'Moonshine' in the upper left 

Nicotiana alata 'Lime Green,' purchased by mail order from Annie's, and Digitalis x mertonensis "Polka Dot Pippa,' obtained from Roger's Gardens, filled in the larger mid-border gap, along with some Euphorbia 'Dean's Hybrid' moved from another area of the border.   A Salvia mexicana 'Limelight' from Annie's was tucked into the back area (in front of the Agapanthus in parallel to the mint bush) just to try it out.

The mint bush is no longer obscured but I hope my new additions gain size quickly so the area doesn't look so bare

Phygelius x rectus 'Salmon's Leap' replaced a Chorizema 'Bush Flame' on the right side of the border; however, now think I could use 1 or 2 more to fill in holes created by moving the Euphorbia.

Phygelius 'Salmon Leap' complements the Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' on either side much better than the poorly performing Chorizema

For the most part, I stuck to my list in making my recent plant selections, at least as long as the Phygelius counts as the "orange flowering perennial" on my list.  However, spouses must forgive the occasional deviation to pick up plants you don't know you need until you see them.  Such was the case with Uncinia uncinata 'Rubra,' a low-growing grass-like plant grown by Annie's but purchased through Roger's Gardens.  Look at the pictures below.  You understand, don't you?

3 Uncinata placed near the front of the border, where they should get the moisture they need

Sure, it's small, but look how the sun already lights up the foliage

I still have vacancies to fill in both the backyard and side yard borders.  I need more Phygelius and perhaps more Euphorbia for the back border, as well as additional succulents and some low-growing grass for the side yard.  Oh, and I think I've found a good space for that Grevillea 'Superb' I've been coveting.  Luckily, my friend and I have rescheduled our nursery trip to Carpinteria for early November...

I broke a promise to myself (again)

Every year, I tell myself that I'm not going to plant anything new from July through September.  These are usually our hottest, driest months and, no matter how attentive I am to my watering regimens, plants put in during these months have a reduced chance of survival.  I've learned my lesson in this regard over and over again.  It's rather like throwing money away.  Yet, year after year, I rationalize my way through summer purchases.  And I've done it again this year.

My husband and I have been working at tearing out a large section of lawn in our side yard and building an extension of our flagstone pathway.  While I don't intend to plant most of the area until October, I wasn't able to stop myself from fiddling with plantings along the pathway area.

It started with the addition of a Geranium 'Tiny Monster.'  I've been very pleased with this plant, even featuring it as my "favorite of the week" a few weeks back (as you can see here).  Well, I stopped by a local garden center/florist just to see if they had anything interesting and I found 'Tiny Monster' in stock at a very good price.  I put one in near the new pathway at the start of our current heat wave and it handled the heat without difficulty.  

So, I went back and picked up 2 more 'Tiny Monsters.'  Then I relocated 3 Briza media, a low-growing ornamental grass, from what was the front of my old (now expanded) border to fill in along the pathway.  The Pelargonium tomentosum (aka peppermint geranium) I'd introduced in the adjacent bed was doing well and I'd rooted some cuttings so I added some of that to replace a mostly dead Heuchera 'Melting Fire.'  You can see how this kind of thing takes hold, can't you?  Soon, I had this.

So, one side of the pathway was coming to life, while the other side was loose dirt.  It wasn't balanced.  Then, Annie's Annuals & Perennials announced a sale.  As that's where I originally got the Briza media, I thought it would be smart to order more for the empty side of the path while it was still in stock.  That's just prudent, isn't it?  While I waited for my mail order delivery, I decided that some Mexican feather grass (Stipa tenuissima) would look nice in the corner and I happened to find some in 4 inch pots at a nearby nursery.  That same nursery had a a nice, healthy flat of thyme, which I'd already been planning to use between the flagstones so I picked that up too.  Somewhere along the line I also found some 6-packs of Ajuga 'Mint Chip," which seemed perfect to fill in around stones .

Here's the result.  (I still need another flat of thyme.)

Now, if I can just keep it all alive...