Flowers of the First Frost
The precipice of winter is upon us: this week, we saw our first hard frosts of the season, greeting us each morning as a shimmering blanket of delicate ice crystals clinging to any greenery that remains. The sun seems to be scarcer and scarcer by the day, barely peaking above the treetops as the first vehicles begin rolling down the driveway and already threatening to set by the time our doors close for the evening. The inevitable truth is that winter is coming, and it’s predicted to actually, maybe, be a REAL winter, snow and all. From the day of this email being written, there are exactly 48 calendar days left before winter’s arrival. But before that happens, let’s bask in the remaining days of autumn for a little while longer: starting with our first inaugural Pleasant Run Pumpkin Carving Contest, which kicked off Halloween a little bit differently this year.
At the behest of our fearless leader Carl Hesselein, a.k.a. Lieutenant Dangle, contestants were given 1 hour to scoop and carve their punkies however they saw fit. Some chose classic Jack-O-Lanterns, others opted for floral themes, but one thing can be said for sure: there was no shortage of creativity or enthusiasm! Our propagation house was filled with laughter and shrieks of delight on Halloween afternoon, and we’re thrilled to share some of the outcome of that day with you. Congratulations to our three winners of the day, and a huge shout out to our friends over in Cream Ridge, NJ, at Screamin’ Hill Brewery and Bullock Farms for donating the pumpkins! Thank you!!!
With Halloween behind us and Thanksgiving around the corner, it seemed fitting that we would create an assemblage of mid-autumn moments captured here around the Nursery. We’ve spent the last couple of weeks talking about the science, art, and planting methods associated with the Fall Equinox, so this week we’re taking you one step further by celebrating the some very, VERY late-season bloomers that laugh in the face of first frosts.
First up to bat this week is a brand-new selection to the Pleasant Run line-up and also a newfound favorite of our beloved Carl Hesselein who is truly inspired by this plant’s vivacity and giant, hot-reddish-pink tubular flowers: Penstemon x mexicali RED ROCKS® (‘P008S’). Not only is this hybrid penstemon exceptionally cold hardy, but it is currently proving its ability to power through adversity by dutifully blooming right through the frosts of the last week. Ingemar Björk of the American Penstemon Society, who was experimenting with North American natives at his home on the island of Utö, one of Sweden’s archipelagos, writes that RED ROCKS® remained undisturbed through Swedish winters and performed as one of the nicest blooming penstemons in their gardens. It prefers to be situated in full sun and dry, well-drained soils, making it a perfect addition to the waterwise garden. This particular penstemon hybrid was the 1999 Plant Select® award winner, chosen for its ability to thrive within the varied weather and climate conditions of the North American high plains as well as the Intermountain region of the Rockies. Typically, its initial bloom period occurs towards the end of spring and into the beginning of summer, but if given a haircut post-bloom, will happily experience a re-flush of flowers come early fall. The bright, eye-catching flower spikes hold their electric ruby-rose and white-throated blooms upright over low, densely-growing semi-evergreen foliage. Hummingbirds are frequent visitors to the tubular flowers, and various bee species can be seen plunging their fuzzy bodies in and out to collect nectar.
If bees are what you’re wanting to attract, and you’re looking to fill some gaps in the winter garden, look no further than Scabiosa columbaria ‘Pink Mist’. This incredibly hardy pincushion flower blooms deep into fall and throughout mild winters, giving an unexpected pop of delicate color to the late season landscape. Dense, compact foliage with a frilly margin hugs the ground while lavender-pink, Chantilly-lace-like flowers bloom upright on wiry stems that give them a bit of an ethereal aura. All parts of this plant in bloom are visually spectacular – from the pre-emergent flower buds, to each stage of open blossoms, and finally to the spherical seedheads which add another layer of textural complexity to the garden if left to persist on the plant. Thankfully, deer tend not to pay any mind to pincushion flower, leaving it intact and beautiful during a time when desperate, hungry deer are busy decimating anything attractive left in the garden.
And speaking of things that deer absolutely don’t touch that have a wildly long bloom period, our varied selection of roses has been pushing blooms for months now. This week, notably after our two hard morning frosts, Rosa Red Drift® and Rosa Coral Knock Out® seem to be defiant against the cold temperatures. There’s really a rose for every situation, and these two are perfect examples of the varied situations they can be used in. Red Drift® groundcover rose is a great, trailing accent to the edge of the border or rock wall with its petite poppy red blooms, while Coral Knock Out® shrub rose reaches a height of 4-5’ and remains compact in the landscape, producing punchy peachy clusters of double-petal flowers beginning in late spring and continuing deep through the fall. Luckily, both of these selections have been revered for their foliar disease resistance to pesky pathogens such as blackspot, rust, and powdery mildew, making them true workhorses in a multitude of landscapes and situations. Make sure to check out Red Drift® groundcover rose, Coral Knock Out® shrub rose, and the rest of the Rosa clan that we have available on our website! Click this link to go directly to our Rosa resource page.
As we continue to delve into cooler temperatures and shorter days, please note that this is the time of year where things are starting to lose their luster and beginning to go dormant. The amount of leaf-drop we’ve seen just in the last couple of days alone has changed the entire aesthetic of the nursery! Please be mindful as we work to pull and ship your orders with the highest quality plants that we have to offer that are going through their seasonal routine. We appreciate your understanding of the laws of nature and look forward to continuing to work with you as we head into winter!
US winter forecast for the 2023-2024 season (accuweather.com)
Screamin' Hill – The Garden State's Only Farm Brewery (screaminhill.com)
apsnews2014fall.pdf (penstemons.org)
Scabiosa 'Pink Mist' (Pincushion Flower) (gardenia.net)
Scabiosa columbaria 'Pink Mist' | Walters Gardens, Inc.
Scabiosa 'Pink Mist' - Plant Finder (missouribotanicalgarden.org)
Red Drift® — Drift® Roses (driftroses.com)
Coral Knock Out® — The Knock Out® Family of Roses (knockoutroses.com)
Red Drift® Groundcover Rose, Rosa hybrid 'Meigalpio' PP #17877 (monrovia.com)
Rosa Coral Knock Out® (Shrub Rose) (gardenia.net)
Carl aka Lieutenant Dangle
