"Holy Jalapeno!"*

One of the books suggested by Carol for this month's Garden Bloggers' Book Club is "People with Dirty Hands: The Passion for Gardening" by Robin Chotzinoff. While I enjoyed all the stories of the people profiled therein, the ones that most struck a chord with me were the stories about the hot pepper growers and sellers. I read with fascination about large scale pepper production and how it has changed from the old days of drying the peppers on the flat adobe roofs. The reason these stories resonated with me is because, for the first time ever, I'm growing my own hot peppers, 'Mucho Nacho' Jalapenos.

I've grown sweet peppers before, although my first effort at container growing them was a dismal failure, with only 1 pepper harvested, and that in November. I have to grow my veggies in pots because I don't have enough full sun space in the back yard, so they go in containers on the mostly sunny patio. This year's crops are looking to be successes. Lots of lovely, spicy hot peppers. I and my Very Indulgent Spouse (VIS) love hot peppers. We love them in burritos, in Nachos, in gardinera. VIS loves them so much, he would eat them straight. When I asked him what we should do with the peppers, eat them raw and fresh or pickle them, he said both. Now I just have to figure out the best time to harvest them. I harvested two a couple of weeks ago, and we discovered that they weren't hot enough yet. And so we wait, we know not how long, for the peppers to ripen. Someday soon I'll harvest another. They're starting to smell spicy already.


*This is a saying of one of the girl's favorite literary characters, Skippyjon Jones, a Siamese kitten who thinks he's a Chihuahua. See "Skippyjon Jones" by Judith Byron Schachner.

X-Terminate!

Instead of working on my Garden Bloggers' Book Club post, today finds me on the brink of despair. I've found Hosta Virus X (HVX) on more of my Hostas. Last summer I posted about how my new favorite Hosta, 'Striptease' had developed symptoms and needed to be destroyed. Now, I've found symptoms in the above unnamed Hosta and in my current favorite Hosta, 'Maui Buttercups.' Here is how it looked during happier times. Here's the infected leaf.See the dark green blotch along the veining? Notice the distortion of the leaf texture? Those are symptoms of this vexing disease. It appears on gold or light colored leaves or parts of leaves. It is thought to be spread by sap via dirty pruners or shovels. Any remaining infected roots can also transmit the virus to a new Hosta planted where a diseased plant was removed. Allegedly, once the diseased roots have decomposed, there's no threat to a new Hosta planted in the same spot. There is no cure for HVX. Removal of diseased plants and proper sanitation are the only means of prevention in other plants.

After last year's discovery of HVX, I was very leery of getting any more Hostas. I decided to order this 'Risky Business' only after assurances that the nursery involved did not have any problems with HVX.This looks an awful lot like a virus symptom. Fortunately, I got a guarantee with this plant.

But then I start to wonder, am I getting paranoid? Do I see disease in every shading on a leaf? What about this leaf on 'Sweet Home Chicago'?

Is the plant really supposed to look like this? How about this on 'Olive Baily Langdon'?I'm going to have to order some HVX ImmunoStrips, which is a rapid test for determining whether a plant is infected with HVX. This may be the only way to save some Hostas and my sanity.

For more information about the disease, please refer to the following articles:

"Hosta Virus X" by Josh Spece

"Hosta Virus X: A new threat to one of our favorite shade perennials" by Terry L. Yockey

"Hosta Virus X" by Megan Kennelly

"Hosta Virus X" Kemper Center Problem Categories

Fierce Creatures

There are creatures lurking in the Woodland Garden of Squirrelhaven. No, not those creatures. Creatures of myth, magic and whimsy. As we enter the garden, notice the sign warning of the dangers lurking ahead.Yes, a spade might be the only thing that stands between you and the creatures waiting within.

Do not be fooled by the placid appearance of this perilous beast, the Toadus cementus. It sits still as stone, then suddenly snags the unlucky visitor with a large sticky tongue, reeling it in before snapping shut those powerful jaws. It poses no serious threat, as long as we keep moving.
We're in luck! The very rare Hippopotamus steppingstonus has just surfaced for a breath of air. Watch your step, as it may sink beneath the surface without warning.

Here we have a very special species of Witch's Ball or Gazing Globe, the Christmas ornamentus 'Plasticus.' It may appear harmless, but the unwary may become mesmerized by the images within and become trapped. But the ball has its uses, such as allowing the visitor to see the danger of the Gorgona mythica 'Medusa,' whose gaze will turn viewers to stone. Let's get away from here quickly.



Move quietly now, so as not to startle the shy Putto sundialensis.The Putto is more mischievous than dangerous, but its mount, the Tortuga teenyweeny, has a nasty bite.

Danger lurks around every corner, and no creature in the garden is more stealthy than the elusive Gargoyle halloweenus 'Decoratio.'It can most often be found hiding amid the foliage of Hostas and Hemerocallis.

Before we end our visit to the Squirrelhaven Woodland, there is one more creature we must see. This is the oldest creature in the garden, the Angelica cementa.This small creature is neither rare, nor particularly dangerous. It occasionally has the effect of causing melancholy in particularly susceptible viewers.

I hope you've enjoyed the expedition, which was sponsored by Gardening Gone Wild's Garden Bloggers' Design Workshop.

Shady Ladies of Summer: Lilies and Daylilies

I used to be into Daylilies. Heavily into Daylilies, as in member of the American Hemerocallis Society. (Can't you just hear Michael Constantine's voice saying "'Hemerocallis': it comes from the Greek. 'Hemero' meaning a day, and 'callis' meaning beautiful. Beautiful for a day: 'Hemerocallis.'"?) My last garden was in full sun, so Daylilies were a natural. In fact, it's hard to find a garden in the Midwest that doesn't have at least one daylily, even if it's the big orange "Ditch Lily" that's become naturalized. And to think the Daylily comes from Asia! During the height of my Daylily infatuation, I naturally started buying Daylilies bred by a local Daylily breeder by the name of Roy Klehm. Klehm and company moved from nearby South Barrington to cheaper land in Wisconsin and changed the name of the business to Song Sparrow Nursery. Roy Klehm knows Daylilies and has produced some beauties by himself and with other breeders, such as Brother Charles Reckamp. These Daylilies were bred specifically for growing in the Midwest. How could I not get some. So I did.

When I moved to Squirrelhaven 15 years ago, I brought some of them with me, and I acquired a few more after that. According to my records, at one point I had the following "Chicago" Daylilies: 'Chicago Scintillation,' 'Chicago Frost,' 'Chicago Silver,' 'Chicago Thistle,' and 'Chicago Queen.' If you've ever seen any of these (except for 'Chicago Scintillation') you would notice that they all look quite similar. Too similar. At some points in my records I have written both 'Chicago Frost' and 'Chicago Silver' with a question mark after. It was clearly too much of the same. Something had to go.

I remember giving away most of those and a couple of other Daylilies, but I can't remember exactly when. I have a note in my garden journal from 2001 that I gave away 'Lavender Illusion' (any lavender in that flower was completely illusory) and 'Jolly Hearts.' There's no record of when I gave away the "Chicago" plants. In my defense, I must point out that I had a baby and a toddler at that time. 'Nuff said. I have a note from 2002 that 'Chicago Queen' was in bloom. After that, 'Chicago Queen' disappears from the record.

This spring I moved a Daylily that was getting swamped by Lamium and Geranium macrorrhizum. It was so happy to have more space that it bloomed. Could this be the lost 'Chicago Queen'?

And what happened to 'Chicago Scintillation'? Is this it, or 'Grape Velvet'? Or this one? Or is one of these 'Super Purple,' about which I wrote, "very disappointing, definitely not purple"?
I have another mystery Daylily that will remain a mystery longer because it has not bloomed recently. Daylilies will tolerate part shade, but not complete shade and being swamped by Lamium and Geranium macrorrhizum. I hope this is 'Happy Returns,' one of my favorites. It's a good yellow. My last mystery Daylily came with the property. It's a big yellow the same shade as 'Happy Returns.' Unfortunately, I haven't seen it lately.

I'm not a complete lame-brain when it comes to my Daylilies. I know that this is 'Chosen Love,' the first Daylily I ever bought and the earliest bloomer. I even remember that I got this 'Pink Lavender Appeal' from White Flower Farm. It's shocking, a Daylily whose flower color actually matches the name! Don't get too excited though, it looks like this in the afternoon.

This is my current favorite Daylily, 'Little Grapette.' I even have two of them, one in mostly sun, one in mostly shade. The shaded one starts blooming a little later and has a couple fewer blooms. I've decided I prefer the smaller flowering Daylilies. I'd rather have a mass of little blooms than a few large ones, and, if I don't get around to deadheading them one day, the smaller ones are less obvious.

Then there's my most disappointing Daylily, 'Siloam Merle Kent.' It's supposed to be orchid pink and purple, but it's more peach than pink by afternoon. It does put on a great show though. It is long blooming and puts out a lot of flowers each day. The photo at the top is of this plant.

Although this is a passalong plant from my mom's garden, I do know the name and from where it came. This is 'Evening Sea' from Gilbert Wild. This plant is in full shade and it is a great performer. When other Daylilies were struggling with drought in my mom's garden, this one was still blooming away. So when my mom redid part of her garden and gave away a bunch of her Daylilies, I had to take this one.

Why would I plant Daylilies in shade, when everyone knows they're plants for full sun? The answer is two-fold: (1) I didn't want any Daylilies in my sunny faux prairie out front, and more importantly (2) when I planted them, the Daylilies provided the only spots of color in the otherwise blah mid-summer Woodland Garden. Now that I've got other things to provide the show, the Daylilies provide spot of dark drama in a sea of pink, lavender and purple. Daylilies will bloom in shade, just not as profusely. The trade off is that the color lasts better throughout the day.

As I've outgrown my Daylily infatuation, I've started to fall for true Lilies. I don't have many to show for it yet. I used to have Lilium martagon album, but they slowly declined and died out. I don't know what happened. Another mystery is how this Asiatic Lily traveled from the main woodland garden to end up at the very back of the long border by the fence. It can't be seen from the lawn or the house. By contrast, the big 'Black Dragon Strain' Trumpets are highly visible. I had hoped the maroon on the outside of the flowers would be more striking, but these are more like "Soft Rose Wash Dragon" Trumpets. I need stronger color. Something akin to the color of the Oriental Lily 'Black Beauty.' This photo is from last year. It hasn't come into bloom yet. This plant inspired me to create a whole color scheme around it. Now that's what I call drama. I'd welcome any recommendations for LA hybrids or Orienpets with the same impact as these 'Black Beauty's.

The Amazing Color-morphing Phlox 'Nicky'

Experienced gardeners know that descriptions of flower color should be taken with a grain of salt. How many times have we ordered a plant described as "blue," only to find that it was, in fact, purple or lavender, or even pink. A good example of this is any Daylily, Rose or Tulip with the word "blue" in the name.

Late last summer I bought Phlox paniculata 'Nicky' at a garden center because it was on sale. It was already in bloom, so I knew what it looked like. When I got home with it, I decided to find out more about it, whether it was mildew prone, how tall it gets, etc. I was so surprised by its description as "dark purple." It looked magenta to me. This year, when it bloomed, I started noticing that the color looked different throughout the day. Finally, I saw it looking "dark purple": the first thing in the morning, after a cool night. I have never seen a flower that was not fading or aging demonstrate such a dramatic change of color. So here, without further ado, I present 'Nicky.'

The Squirrelhaven Method of Bindweed Eradication

I've been asked to do a tutorial by Kathy of Cold Climate Gardening, who is battling Bindweed in her garden, on how I got rid of all the Bindweed in my front lawn and front garden. When I moved here 15 years ago, the front lawn was more Bindweed than grass. I wish I had taken a photo, but I wasn't blogging then and I had no reason to take a photo of that unsightly mess. I tried digging it out, but it always came back. I finally turned to chemical warfare. I refuse to spray herbicide, as the fog of it can drift and damage desirable plants. So I tried painting herbicide on the leaves. Finally, during the drought summer of 2005, I was fed up with the Bindweed. I had been going out every morning and pulling off the buds of it to keep it from going to seed while I waited for it to die. The lawn was dormant so I decided it was time to experiment. What I discovered works even better in garden beds than in the lawn. Instead of dabbing each leaf with herbicide, I now cut the Bindweed off to stubs & dab the Roundup on the freshly cut stubs.

Here is my Bindweed battling kit. The grass clippers are for killing Bindweed in lawn. I cut the grass as short as possible around the Bindweed to keep the herbicide from touching it.

This Bindweed plant appeared this year under a shrub. I had dabbed at it the more traditional way, which is why it looks shriveled. After putting on the heavy chemical gloves, I dip the cotton swab into the bottle of herbicide, then close the bottle. I carefully hold the swab in one hand while I cut off the Bindweed with pruners in the other. Then I dab the herbicide onto the cut ends and dispose of the swab in the garbage. The plants surrounding the Bindweed do not come into contact with the herbicide and the Bindweed has no foliage from which to make energy to fight off the herbicide. It also looks less unsightly. Should any herbicide get on the surrounding foliage, I quickly cut it off.

Completely eradicating the Bindweed will require repeating this procedure on each new sprout, as Bindweed has long roots and will continue to fight back. Also, if the infestation is long standing, as mine was, there are seeds in the soil waiting to germinate. The cost of freedom from weeds is eternal vigilance. In addition to this Bindweed, I found another one in the lawn about a month ago. I consider one weed versus an entire lawn full of the stuff a success.

July Bloom Day

Recent weather: highs in the upper 70s to low 80s, lows in the 60s, with sufficient rainJuly is the start of garden fireworks among the prairie plants in Northern Illinois, and my front mini/faux prairie garden has made the transition. The above photo shows the Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) coming into full bloom and a non-native Allium in bloom, with the native Allium cernum forming buds below it. Also in bud are the wands of Liatris spicata.

Among other bloomers in the front sunny garden are the native Verbena hastata. (Click on photos to enlarge

While it is a native, attracts butterflies, butterflies and blooms for a long time, the foliage quickly becomes mildewed or bug ravaged. Another long bloomer in the sun is this Malva zebrina.
Clockwise from left are Alchemilla mollis, Astrantia species, Hydrangea macrophylla 'Penny Mac,' and Astilbe 'Veronica Klose.'

Astilbe 'Visions' is past its peak bloom and the Columbines are winding down. The big, bold beautiful native Spikenard, Aralia racemosa. Believe it or not, this plant dies completely to the ground each year. All the rain has caused it to assume shrub-like proportions. Here's a closeup of the flowers.
Corydalis 'Blackberry Wine' and Geranium 'Rozanne.'

Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snow Queen' with the Daylily 'Chosen Love.'

The first of the Phlox paniculata to bloom, 'Nicky.'
This is Phlox maculata not Rosalinde.
Campanula 'Sarastro' is still going strong.
This is the first time blooming for both Clematis 'Rhapsody' and Clematis 'Madame Julia Correvon.'
Some people don't like Hosta blooms, but these on 'Maui Buttercups' are great. Last Bloom Day, I thought this plant was nearly done flowering, but this Calycanthus floridus 'Athens' has just kept right on blooming and has more buds on the way. These 'Black Dragon Strain' Trumpet Lilies are nearly done, but their scent still perfumes the whole garden. Campanula 'Samantha'
Finally, just about to bloom, is Actaea racemosa (Bugbane).
Things still in bloom from last month:
Heucherella 'Burnished Bronze'
Heucheras 'Hollywood,' Heuchera 'Raspberry Ice,' and 'Smoky Rose'
Clematis 'Silver Moon'
Clematis 'Betty Corning'
Aquilegia 'Sunburst Ruby'
Aquilegia 'Leprechaun Gold'
Stylophorum diphyllum
Geranium nodosum 'Svelte Lilac'
Geum triflorum (Prairie Smoke)
Dicentra 'Zestful,' 'Candy Hearts,' and 'King of Hearts'
Campanula persicifolia 'Alba' and 'Telham Blue'
a lone double Thalictrum thalictroides/Anemonella thalictroides

Also in bloom:
Hydrangea macrophylla 'Bailmer' (Endless Summer)
Ruellia humilis
Most of my Daylilies, which will be the subject of a post
Hosta 'Candy Hearts'
Heuchera 'Palace Purple'
Astrantia 'Rainbow' and 'Primadonna'

For all the Bloom Day fun, click here to go to May Dreams Gardens, brought to you by Carol, rock star of garden blogging. Thanks, Carol!