Hello all!  Drove through the rain and fog today to visit the “Gardening with Heart”  Rhode Island Flower Show at the Providence Convention Center.  
 It’s a medium-sized show with a dozen or so well-done gardens.  I especially liked the  sun and shade garden with the artistic stone wall!  Plus there is a  terrific section with judged floral arrangements with place settings and a hat and  bikini competition that was quite unique and smile-producing!  People all around were oohing and ahhing at these sights! 

The winning bikini design was lovely.  The judges comments were: “Stunning effect achieved with minimal natural composition.”  That’s an understatement!  The plant material is Aspidistra and Echeveria.   Kudos to Julie Lapham from the Southborough and Worcester Garden Clubs.   Just WOW! 

And the first place hat was lovely too.  Made of Cast Iron Plant, Chinese Fan Palm, Rye, Corn, Milkweed and Areca Palm and Cryptomeria Japonica Cones.  It would be great for an Easter parade!
Overall there was a great mix of sights and smells to make this Flower Show a total joy!   Remember the rich, sweet smell of a hyacinth?  I couldn’t resist and bought myself one.  Smells good enough to eat!  And touching the tender leaves of azaleas and delphiniums was more like a caress.  How I’ve missed those flowers.  And there were many fountains with burbling water and I watched  fat, orange coy in lily pad ponds.  It was a real treat for the senses!  The four day show started yesterday and runs through Sunday.  It’s worth the $18 adult admission.   

And don’t miss the sand sculptures!  They are a delightfully playful surprise amid the flowers and gardens. Enjoy!

Today I attended New England Grows at the Massachusetts Convention Center in South Boston.  It’s day 2 of this amazing gathering of landscapers, designers and gardeners of every type.  Unfortunately, I missed day 1 due to the snow and ice constraints but today was terrific.  I learned so much! 
One big piece of news was learning that Amsonia Hubrichtii was the 2011 Perennial Plant of the year.   That’s pronounced am-SO-nee-ah hew-BRIK-tee-eye.  I am familiar with this plant because Tom Smarr, the horticultural guru for the Rose Kennedy Greenway, had it on his list of great city plants to consider for our gardens.  If you want more on Tom and his selection, go to the Expert Advice tab. 
But here’s the skinny on the Amsonia Hubrichtii from a great flyer from the Perennial Plant Assocation www.perennialplant.org.  BTW, Amsonia is definitely going into my garden this spring!
Other names: Amsonia, Arkansas Blue Star, Thread Leaf Blue Star
Hardiness: USDA Zones 4 – 9 (FYI, Boston is Zone 6)
Light: Full sun to partial shade
Soil: Prefers average, moist well-drained soil but tolerates less moisture.  Once established, it can tolerate drier conditions
Unique Qualities: Light blue flowers in spring are followed by a marvelous display of foliage in summer.  A golden-yellow fall color is second to non among herbaceous perennials.  It is uniquely suited as a companion plant or as a feature. 

With yet another snowstorm barrelling its way into the Northeast, the need to see vibrant and colorful flowers and smell sweet floral scents is a necessity! 
Yesterday, my husband and I stopped into Twig on Charles Street in Boston just to look at the flowers and get a quick spring fix.  What a treat!  The smell of hyacinth hit me as I walked in the door.  Ahhh.  Beautiful displays of tulips and hydrangeas and daisies and lilies and carnations.  I was smiling and laughing and giddy with delight! 
And then I learned that the helpful flower clerk had the same name as me!  Janine is not all that common a name so to meet another Janine – and with the same spelling – is just fabulous.  🙂 
 So get yourself to a flower shop and stop and smell the roses, lilies, carnations, hyacinths, whatever gets you through this very white season…  
Another bonus was that I was inspired to began designing my spring garden.  First up is deciding on a new, more permanent garden border for my street-side tree pit. I needed a push to start planning for spring.  Thanks Twig!

Need a lift?  Go get yourself a big, showy, pop of color!
I suggest a Red Lion Amaryllis.  I bought one a week ago at Trader Joe’s in the Back Bay for $6.99 (sorry no more left at that location) and have enjoyed watching it grow.   Amaryllis love warm and sunny spots.  It sure helps the spirit to see this red pop of color every day, especially when the temperature is below freezing and there are many inches of snow on the ground…. Just 57 days til spring!

Hello all!  It’s time to mark your calendar and buy a ticket to the Boston Flower Show!  Ahhh, a sure sign of spring!! The show will be held March 16 – 20 at the Seaport World Trade Center and it is one of my most favorite events to attend! 
This year’s show should be fantastic for city gardeners like you and me because the theme is “A Burst of Color: Celebrating the Container Garden.”  A container garden is a perfect addition to a small front yard, stoop, patio or roof deck.  I expect to be wowed and inspired!  There’s a special Flower Show Preview Party on March 15 to benefit the Boston Parks and Recreation Department.    I just bought my ticket for that event at www.cityofboston.gov/parks.   The Park and Rec people do such an amazing job keeping our parks beautiful.  If you can afford the $125 ticket, it’s a worthy cause.  For Flower Show general admission tickets and information, go to www.thebostonflowershow.com or call 781-273-5533.

Okay, I’ve been away from my blog post for several weeks – blame the holidays and family commitments – but I’m back and I  have not been idle! 
In early December I had the good fortune to interview Tom Smarr, the chief of horticulture for the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway in Boston.  He’s a smart and talented guy who really knows how to plant, tend and grow all types of flowers and shrubs and trees and more.  I was totally impressed.   Later this week, you’ll get to read more about him on this blog.  He shares some gardening wisdom and  great flower recommendations based on the sun level – full, partial or barely any.  That is soooo helpful when planting!   And he knew all the latin names of the plants.  During the interview, I just smile politely when he spoke these names and then went running for my gardening books… 
Speaking of gardening books, Tom recommended two books for novice/intermediate gardeners  like me… They are:
The Well-Tended Perennial Garden” by Tracy DiSabato-Aust ($34.95)
Small Garden by John Brookes ($22.95)
Just bought them both at Barnes and Noble.  They look great.  Lots of pictures!   I’ll let you know if I use them or if they collect dust on the shelf….  More to come!!

Beautiful white rose blooming in the Boston Public Garden

 What a delightful surprise to see
roses in bloom yesterday in the
Boston Public Garden! 
It’s late November, for heaven’s sake.  
I was stopped in my tracks and had to take a few moments to enjoy them.  
The warm-ish fall temperatures and their full sun location has certainly encouraged their continued blooming!  

Kudos to the good people at the Boston Parks Department who tend these fabulous roses and all the other plantings and grasses in the Garden.   I am grateful for this beautiful public space in my backyard.

Magnolia Grandiflora by Martin Heade

I joined thousands of others today at the Museum of Fine Arts to see the new Art of the Americas Wing.  It’s a stunning, modern, four-story addition filled with classic paintings and sculptures as well as abstract and modern pieces.   Plus Indian artifacts, silver goblets and bowls, kicking gold  jewelry and stunning furniture.  Just  amazing.  The exhibit would make any American proud. 

 Loved the Georgia O’Keefe and Thomas Cole paintings.  And I enjoyed seeing the Gilbert Stuart portraits of John Adams and John Quincy Adams (my Quincy homies).   The museum also has a new, glassed-in dining area just outside the new wing that’s surrounded by a  lovely shrub and groundcover garden with two statues… I’ll call next week to find out what they planted in this patch of earth … Overall, a big “thumbs up” to the MFA for a classy addition to showcase these timeless works of art… And letting the public in for free was a bonus!

Walking around Boston this past week, I was saddened to see the fall flowers fading but delighted to see beautiful red, orange and yellow leaves still on many trees.  Even with all the rain and wind, the leaf colors were stunning.  Aren’t we lucky to have fall beauty all around us!?

Maple tree afire in red leaves on Memorial Drive