Wow! See I told you I would forget. Well my apologies. It has been an interesting Spring. We have watched other businesses struggle but our garden center has managed to stay afloat. I have a new kitten, her name is Bella. And she is not allowed to help in the garden. After she killed a peace lily by absolutely ripping it to shreds, the last place I want her is around my perennials.

I have found a new favorite of an old stand-by perennial. I have always loved Black-Eyed Susan's, and a lot of new varities have been introduced over the past few years. When we got in Tiger Eye Gold at the garden center, I fell in love. The butterflys, bees, and birds still love this one and it is just as sturdy as ever.

I have 2 more to note and then I am done for the day. A new Gaillardia and a Phlox.

Mesa Yellow Gaillardia, it has proven to be a beautiful shae of yellow. Two-toned actually. It holds up well in a hot, and well drained location. I planted mine near a driveway, so it gets plenty of retained heat, and it is thriving.

Red Magic Phlox, the most vibrant shade of "red" I have seen on a phlox. Like some flowers named red, this is not a true red, it is a magenta. It will catch your eye from 50 yards, and draw in the butterflys from 3 streets over. A major plus, this is one of the more disease resistent varities.

Megan's Gold Lantana

The story begins about a year and a half ago. I was complaining that I couldn't find any plants named Megan. I had found an Azalea and a Streptocarpus that were named Megan, but they were only available for sale in England. I really wanted one of those plants but was not going to pay for a plant and pay for the shipping to get here just for the novelty. So a few weeks later at work a grower came in to harvest seed from a new Lantana shipment that had just come in. I had finished with most of my work and decided to help him harvest the seeds. We got to talking about propagation and growing, then the conversation turned to how you would name a plant. I asked him if he had ever named a plant after someone in particular, and he said "Oh sure, my wife and other family members." I told him my story about wanting to have a plant named after me, or at least with my name. He asked my name and I told him. I hoped for a long time that he would actually do it, but then never heard anything else about it. Then this week at work we had our annual "Annual and Perennial Sales Meeting" and as I was reading over the list I saw the name Megan's Gold Lantana!!!! I thought it was so cool that the bosses had bought in this plant to grow that had my name. I was so happy! These salesmen were from the King's Greenhouse growing range, and so they knew the grower that I had helped and had already gotten the story behind the name. They were the ones who broke the news to me. This plant had actually been name after ME! I am so excited to grow it and see if it is perennial like so many other Lantana's are in this area. So you can be anxiously awaiting my report!

Orchid Spectacular at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden

This weekend I was able to go to the Orchid Spectacular at The Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. It was awesome! The main lobby was full of small display areas in which orchid societies and growers had made landscapes full of orchids. They also used ferns, bromeliads and other houseplants as filler. And at least one display had a fountain in it. The whole thing was done very beautifully. Some of the people that had made the displays were walking around talking to visitors. They gave out wonderful advice and tried to convince all of us that orchids are really not that difficult of a plant to take care of. In another room several orchid growers had set up booths to sell orchids. The people that were running those tables were so knowledgeable and friendly. The main gift shop for the Botanical Garden offered a selection of orchids for sale and also had a display of books about orchids. They also carry a huge selection of garden books. Books about cooking with herbs, hostas, rhodos, gardening for the south, winter gardening, and lots more. Their selection was better than most major retailers. They carried local products too, jams and jellies and pottery. It is a very nice little gift shop.

After I left the main building I went down to the Orchid Conservatory. What a bright spot on a cloudy day! Of course there was orchids, but the real highlight to me was a variegated banana tree. It was easily 20 feet tall, maybe more, and the fruit was variegated too. I have seen the red types of banana trees but never the white striped variety. It was really interesting to see all kinds of "houseplants" in a setting where they can get full grown.

In January you would think the outdoor gardens wouldn't be much to look at, but it was actually kind of pretty. Most of the perennials had been cut back, which helped the evergreens stand out that much more. The daffodils were starting to pop up and even some of the perennials were starting to show leaves right at ground level. I can't wait to be able to go back this spring and see the Gardens at their best!

A Short History of Me as a Gardener

I am new to this whole blogging thing, so please bear with me. With that said hopefully I will keep up with this! I have always loved gardening. As a child my Mom would always let me pick a few annuals out and then designate a spot in her garden for me to plant them. My favorite was always Ageratum "Hawaii Blue". Every year those fuzzy blue flowers would lure me in, and every year it was the first thing to die. You see I had not yet learned that certain plants need a lot of sun, instead of the full shade area I put them in. These days I am into perennials. My favorite part about them is that once I find one that I really love, I know that I will be able to share it within a year or two. Right now some of my favorite (and hardiest) perennials are Hostas, Pulmonarias, Helleborus, Salvias, and Stokesia. I began learning about plants from my Mom, like most people do, but my formal training started when I was in high school. I took every Horticulture and Agriculture related class I could. I had wonderful teachers, the most influential to me was Mrs. Goforth. When she joined the staff at our high school that is when I really grew as a student. Haha..."grew" I make myself laugh sometimes. Now I am working on a degree at CPCC in Horticulture Technology. I use the phrase "working on" lightly, because I have taken 2 years off from the program. But next fall I WILL GO BACK. Well....we will see. I am currently working at a garden center in Charlotte. King's Greenhouse. So I am slightly biased about "My Favorite Garden Center." I am starting this blog as a platform to get out my ideas about plants, the industry, and designing. And to share info about the Garden Club I started. About a year and a half ago I began a garden club called the Dirty Girls. We have male members too, they are our Dirty Dudes. My cohort Loretta has been on my case because I have not done anything with the club since it was founded. So start looking for postings about meetings and excursions we are planning, because I have to get this thing going or she is going to leave me for another club! If you would like to join please come to one of our meetings. We are kind of exclusive, we only invite girls (and guys) that are really willing to be Dirty Girls (or Dudes) with us. My name is Megan and I truly am a Dirty Girl!