Library Building Lawn

Twin Lakes

Photos by Ivo M. Vermeulen

Heuchera 'Cherry Cola' - Photo courtesy of Terra Nova Nursery

In August we took a look at sun-tolerant coral bells and several of the dark-leaved varieties of Heuchera. Today I am going to discuss some of the new additions in our garden and two other closely related genera.

Oregon-based Terra Nova Nursery has come out with a ‘Soda Series’ of coral bells that include cultivars named ‘Root Beer’, ‘Ginger Ale,’ and ‘Cherry Cola’. We bought ‘Cherry Cola,’ a compact plant with rounded leaves that morph between red and chocolate brown (more red), this year. It grows to be about 6 inches tall and 14 inches wide making it well suited for a container or the front of a border.

But what really distinguishes Heuchera ‘Cherry Cola’ from other colorful coral bells is its flower. In the spring it produces a rich display of cherry red flowers that cover the plant and creates quite a sensation. It is also fairly winter hardy and the deer tend to place coral bells fairly low on their menu. It is happiest in part shade but can handle sun and shade.

What do you get when you cross a coral bell with a foam flower? Find out below!

The early morning mists of fall.

Fall in front of the Library Building (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)

They came. They saw. They conquered! And lucky for us, everyone still has their brains in place.

Couldn’t make it to the Garden this weekend to watch Ray Villafane transform two of the world’s heaviest pumpkins (including the world record-holder) into a super-creepy zombie tableau? Never fear!

We caught all the action via time-lapse camera and in a slideshow. Head below the jump to see them … if you dare!

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A tree may be tall and straight, but the land can make its shadow meander where the tree cannot.

Crooked Shadow (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)

A Touch of Red (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)

Is that you Tiffany Turkey?

Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen

I got a nice surprise this morning when I stopped by the big pumpkins; I found Brant and Elanor Bordsen, of Marysville, Calif. standing beside their beautiful, pearly pumpkin chatting with Garden visitors and staff. I told them I was surprised and excited to see them here (I had no idea they were coming!), and they said that they decided that they wanted to be here when Ray Villafane cut into their 1,693 pounder, to remove the seeds themselves, and to watch the progress of his sculpture. I asked them if they had seen the concept drawing for his sculpture yet. They said no, so I pulled it up on my BlackBerry and showed it to them. They agreed that it was certainly spooky and would be quite the spectacle!

Learn more about why the Bordsens flew all the way from California for pumpkin seeds below.

We’ve heard that people want to meet the pumpkins officially, so here they are! Introducing the four heaviest pumpkin the world, currently on display as part of the Haunted Pumpkin Garden.

1,693 pounds - Grown by Brant and Eleanor Bordsen, Marysville, Calif.

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Photos by Ivo M. Vermeulen

We’re 7,000! 7,000 photos that is, uploaded to our photostream on the photo-sharing website, Flickr. And if you like taking your own photos (instead of looking at ours), we have a Group Pool, too (with nearly 10,000 user-submitted photos), where everyone is free to share their shots of the Garden.

A Touch of Fall (photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen)