New annuals will light up containers and flower beds

Once the calendar flips to May, gardeners head to local nurseries in search of annuals that provide season-long color and interest in containers and flower beds.

A group of Penn State Master Gardeners visited their favorite nurseries and talked to local owners and growers about plants they are particularly excited about this year. If you see a plant that interests you, ask about it at your local nursery. Most will be available locally, and some can be purchased as seeds.

Here are some of our new favorite annuals:

•'Purple Knight' Alternanthera (Alternanthera dentata) brings a splash of glossy plum-burgundy foliage to beds and containers. Spreading 24 inches wide and 18 inches tall, it is heat tolerant, will thrive in full to part sun and looks terrific on its own or with pink, silver and white flowers.

•'Rise Up' Begonia (Begonia x tuberhybrida) blooms non-stop in both sun and shade. The medium-sized, single or double flowers "rise up" above the foliage and face upright for maximum impact. Available in warm shades of coral, orange and pink, these begonias are perfect fillers for hanging baskets and planters, with a mounding habit and strong trailing branches. They are mildew resistant and prefer to dry out between waterings.

•'Waterfalls Encanto Orange' trailing begonia (Begonia boliviensis) is well-branched with narrow, toothed green leaves topped with cascading bright orange flowers. The Waterfalls series also includes red, salmon and white flowers on plants that grow 12-24 inches tall and wide and prefer well-drained soil in part shade. It flowers profusely over a long period and attracts bees, butterflies and hummingbirds to hanging baskets and elevated containers.

•'Electric Pink' Cordyline (Cordyline banksii) adds pizzazz with 2- to 4-foot-tall maroon leaves edged in brilliant pink. Its color shows best in full sun, but it will also perform well in light shade. It's a perfect "thriller" for a large container.

•'Fireworks' Gomphrena (Gomphrena globosa) is a cottage annual that stands tall but also works as a see-through plant, adding a fun dimension to containers or flower beds. With 1-inch hot pink puffs perched atop 3- to 4-foot stems, these plants are drought tolerant and prefer full sun.

•Garvinea series Gerbera daisies bloom from April through October and one plant can provide up to 100 flowers in a single season, reblooming quickly after cutting. It is 18 inches tall, does best in full to part sun and is resistant to pests and disease.

•'Calliope Large Salmon' geraniums (Pelargonium interspecific) are a cross between zonal and ivy varieties and are known for vibrant colors and semi-double flowers. These tough geraniums work best in beds or large planters and prefer full sun to part shade and rich, moist, well-drained soil.

•'Fireball' French marigold (Tagetes patula) has red flowers that turn a fiery bronze and then mellow to gold as they mature. 'Strawberry Blond' features unique shades ranging from yellow-pink to rose-plum. Both plants are a bushy, compact 8-12 inches tall and perfect for edging and containers in full sun.

Attleboro Arts Museum's annual Flower Show offers 'celestial' appeal

ATTLEBORO -- As the area grabs its shovels and revs up its snowblowers to deal with the aftermath of the latest nor'easter, could there be a better time for a flower show?

That's what organizers of the Attleboro Arts Museum Flower Show are hoping. The 22nd annual event opens Thursday, March 22, and runs through Sunday, March 25, at the downtown venue.

This year's theme is "Blast Off — Celestial Gardens," and aims to "launch visitors into the beauty of a galaxy composed of bold landscapes and striking floral arrangements," the museum says.

There will also be horticulture and artistic floral arranging, gardening presentations and demonstrations, special events for all ages, and a nature-themed exhibition of original artwork throughout the museum.

Nine exhibitors have been working on displays that dovetail with the "celestial theme" and in some way represent a planet or night sky phenomena.

"The Flower Show committee brainstorms a selection of options once the previous year's show has ended," museum Executive Director Mim Fawcett said via email, explaining how the theme was chosen. "We try to head in a new direction, so that all exhibitors can catch the fever and be inspired by a fresh set of potential colors, materials and concepts"

The "outer space" theme was a hit with the committee from the start, she said.

"There's always a great deal of whimsy during the Flower Show," Fawcett added. "After a long and difficult winter we all need to laugh a bit. This year for sure."

Flower Show committee members are Sarah Mott and Joanne Stevenson (co-chairs), Amy Rhilinger, Sherry Scholl, Marion Volterra and Belinda Gabryl.

This year's displays are provided by Art Set, Attleboro; Attleboro Farms, North Attleboro; Briggs Nursery, North Attleboro; Bristol County Agricultural High School, Dighton; Flowers by the Station, Attleboro; Helping Hands Florist, Plainville; Nolan's Flowers and Gifts, North Attleboro; Oracle Landscape & Lindsey Epstein Pottery, Tiverton, R.I.; and Rosebud Florist Inc. of Pawtucket, which is making its first show appearance.

"The exhibitors have really embraced the theme," Fawcett said. "Attleboro Farms selected the planet Venus as their inspiration. They have incorporated a replica of the Venus de Milo sculpture into a lush garden.

"Art Set has viewers traveling to Mercury and celebrates the planet's rich hues of blue and dramatic surface details. Flowers by the Station shines a spotlight on the Milky Way by creating a swirling force of live flowers and dried materials."

‘One Small Step'

Along with the major garden installations, this year's floral artists will be creating a shoe, boot or other footwear design for a competition titled "One Small Step," a salute to Neil Armstrong's famous words upon landing on the Moon. The floral statements will be on the lower level of the museum.

The show also offers demonstrations from naturalists, hands-on creative activities for children and families, live music, raffles, a plant sale from Attleboro High School, cut flowers in a variety of colors, and a collection of gifts in the expanded museum gift shop.

Artist Alice Benvie Gebhart's kiln-fired glass designs will be featured in the show's Big Dipper Café's boutique on the lower level. (Elevator service is available.)

"Our popular Sponsor Wall features the work of local artists Sarah Mott, Belinda Gabryl, Sally Cobb and Angus Schaefer," Fawcett said. "They have designed and created a variety of original ‘Celestial Garden-themed' ceramic items so that Flower Show sponsors can take home a gift of thanks for their donation."

The show's Benefit Preview, "Star Gazing — A Night Beneath the Stars," was postponed from Wednesday night to Thursday night because of the snowstorm. It will feature pianist Mark Taber and demonstrations by Attleboro-based floral and event designer Michelle Pupa of Belle Flora. Gebhart will also be on hand. Tickets are $15 for museum members, $17 for non-members; includes wine, beer and light hors d'oeuvres.

Pilbara Plants: wet season flowers defy heat

I was fortunate to have some excellent mentors in my early Pilbara botanical years, one of whom was a passionate botanist, Kaye Glennon.

During the 1980s she contributed a regular article highlighting native plants to what was then the Hamersley News and later the Karratha Guardian.

When she left town in the late 1980s I said I would continue her column. It has taken me 30 years to do so but "a voice from the spinifex" is talking plants again.

It's 41C outside and I wonder how any plant, let alone any flower, can survive. Yet on the Yaburara Heritage Trail this morning I saw my favourite Bonamia media (summer hillslope bonamia).

This ground plant has tiny protective whitish hairs on its small spear-shaped leaves and stems, usually no more than 10-15cm, that bear beautiful pale blue funnel-shaped flowers with five petals.

I love this tiny plant that lies flat on the searing rocks but flowers throughout the hottest summer months. It is one of the Convolvulaceae family (from the Latin convolvo, to twine).

This plant is too small to twine but its closest relatives, the morning glory vines, do. One of these is rock morning glory (Ipomoea costata).

As you drive to Dampier or Hearson's Cove, its large purple trumpet-shaped flowers are obvious.

Their somewhat woody tubers are the well-known "bush potato", a favourite of Aboriginal people.

Carpinteria still rosy after California wildfires spare flower farms

The owner of Rose Story Farm in the seaside city of Carpinteria saw her trampled roses and avocados and felled citrus trees as "small prices" to pay to ensure her farm did not suffer more than the scorching it received on Tuesday from the Thomas Fire, one of the state's largest ever wildfires.

"We know we live in a desert climate and are prone to wildfires, but I don't think anyone could expect the scope of this," she said by telephone this week.

The tale of Rose Story Farm was repeated at farms and nurseries across the Carpinteria Valley, a region state officials tout as the "flower basket of the United States" because more cut flowers are grown there than anywhere else in the nation.

Imported flowers from Colombia and other South American countries make up 80 percent of the U.S. cut flower market, but the majority of the U.S. supply comes from California, state officials said. And most of that comes from the more than 40 farms and nurseries in the Carpinteria region that grow blooms including roses, Gerbera daisies, orchids and lilies.

Industry officials consider the singeing of Rose Story Farm, lower output from other farms because staff could not get to work and possible ash damage as a better-than-expected outcome compared with their worst fears.

"We've been pretty fortunate," Kasey Cronquist, chief executive of the California Cut Flower Commission, which promotes the state's flower farmers, said by phone while visiting the fire-damaged area.

The Thomas Fire has claimed the life of one firefighter and burned down more than 700 homes. Strong winds in the mountains near Santa Barbara could cause flare-ups in the coming days.

But the region's flower growers, who employ almost 800 people and generate a daily economic impact of more than $2.1 million according to Cronquist, have dodged serious damage much to the delight of florists and brides-to-be everywhere.

‘PERISHABLE PRODUCT'

However, they have not escaped unscathed: Rose Flower Farm lost almost a week of deliveries in an industry where the product is shipped daily.

"These aren't crops that can just hang on trees and wait until this thing passes," Cronquist said. "It's a very perishable product that just needs to keep moving."

Carpinteria's West Orchids Inc, founded by one of four Dutch families who moved to the valley in the late 1960s to grow flowers, saw the flames advance to within a half-mile of the 30-acre farm, keeping workers away.

Its marketing director, David Van Wingerden, figured he will have to pay a lot of overtime as staff catch up, and he worried the ash covering his greenhouses could slow flower growth.

"The impact is going to be yet to come," he said. "We'll have to see if we have any quality issues."

Hahn said the 200 rose stems she lost to firefighting efforts were nothing compared to the 25,000 roses and property they saved. Hann and her husband Bill charge $45 for 10 stems.

She recalled the 50-foot flames approaching her 15-acre farm and the relief she felt when the firefighters' plan to create a gap with a second blaze snuffed out the approaching danger.

"You could feel it. You could hear it," she said of the heat and flames.

People further afield were also affected. Liz Griffith, owner of Siloh Floral Artistry in Denver, has a destination wedding on the Big Island of Hawaii on Saturday. She had ordered 100 stems from Rose Story Farm but knew Monday they wouldn't arrive.

Griffith arranged for 50 roses from another supplier and filled in with other flowers. Having had other weddings she served affected by a tsunami or ravenous insects, she took the news in stride.

"The world of flowers is pretty much unpredictable because we can't control nature," Griffith said.