Welcome Lemon Daddy!

My friend Sally Cunningham is helping plan the Fall Garden Fair at Lockwood's Nursery on 9/10/11.  She asked me for help in finding a contact person who would be interested in talking about canning and basic food preservation.  As we talked, we walked through the luscious displays of plants and garden statuary at Lockwood's.   She told me of a recent addition to her garden, Lemon Daddy Hydrangea.  Lemon Daddy has  shiny lemon-yellow leaves and large pink/blue mop heads.  This strong-stemmed vigorous grower likes hot and humid conditions.  A very unique yellow hydrangea that just "pops" and brightens up the garden.  I bought the last one at Lockwood's.  Who could resist!  Oh, and I used my free Living Social voucher on the purchase.
 

More Fabulous Books

As a continuation of my previous posting Fabulous Books, please consider adding to your library Great Garden Companions by Sally Cunningham.   Sally writes for the Buffalo News, Buffalo Spree Magazine and contributes chapters to many other gardening books including an updated version of Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening.  

Sally Cunningham

Sally is a Certified Nursery and Landscape Professional, the Director for the National Garden Walk, a consultant at Lockwood's Greenhouse and has been teaching organic practices and landscaping for over 20 years.  Sally is happy to answer your gardening questions Sunday mornings on WIVB-TV.  I had the pleasure of working with Sally at Cornell Cooperative Extension in East Aurora.  



Another excellent book is "The Book of Little Hostas" by Kathy Guest Shadrack and Michael Shadrack.  The authors were recently featured in Buffalo Spree.  In June you can hear them speak at Lockwood's Greenhouse and Nursery in Hamburg or hop on the bus and tour their gardens on July 8th.

Little hostas are the rage.  So cute and tiny.  I've added Blue Mouse Ears and Fireworks to my shade garden.  What hostas do you have?  The Western New York Hosta Society is a great place to learn from the experts.  Membership is only $10 but the knowledge you will gain is priceless.

If you are new to hostas, the video below may be of interest to you.

Flower events

Novice or experienced gardeners should visit the Philadelphia Flower Show, the best show in the country. Several local organizations including AAA and Know How Tours have bus trips to the show.  The trip I took was organized by Joe Manuel, Master Gardener.  Our bus was filled with "gardening dignitaries" including gardening author Sally Cunningham, Teresa Buchanan, Manager of Lockwoods, several members of the WNY Orchid Society, Master Gardeners and members of the National Garden Walk. Perhaps in a few days I will also be able to plant my 'cinnamon snow' hellebore I carried home from Philly. The plants sold out in the first five hours of the show!

If you plan on adding deciduous trees, conifers, shrubs or woody perennials to your landscape, please shop at Turnbull Garden Center in North Collins. They have wonderful prices on bare root plants. I purchased a Service Berry and Chionanthus virginicus, the fringetree.

Please support your local nurseries, greenhouses and gardens. See my favorites list at the end of the blog.  Mark your calendars for these upcoming events:

April 15th       Mischler's Greenhouse 45 cent perennial sale

April 23rd      Easter Egg Hunt at the Botanical Gardens
April 29th      Garden Sensations 45 cent perennial sale (Route 62S, Hamburg)

June 11th        Hypertufa workshop at Lockwoods 

June 18th       Hostas Large and Small with Mike and Kathy Shadrack at Lockwoods.
                    The Book of Little Hostas, by Kathy Shadrack and Mike Shadrack,           

                          will be available for signing by the authors.  
July 16th        Landscape Garden Bus Tour (Menne Nursery)

I'd love to hear about your gardening plans, wish lists, etc.  Please tweet them to @whitecatgarden.

Happy Gardening!

Donna