Posts Tagged ‘Cherry’

Handling Tonight’s Hard Freeze

Posted in Around the Garden, Gardening Tips on March 26th, 2012 by Matt Newman – 2 Comments

Meteorology is something of an inexact science. Some days, forecasting the weather seems a little closer in discipline to fortune telling. And after all of the comforting reassurance (we were so set on it!) that the cold was behind us and nothing but picturesque spring days lay ahead, the hard freeze set to plow through New York tonight has shoulders slumping in gardens across the region. But, while it’s tempting, skip leading a pitchfork mob to your weatherman’s house. Shooting the messenger never solved any problems, especially when nature is such a fickle character.

The inbound chill may be grim news for many of the early blooms that sprung out of dormancy at the first sign of warm weather. But which petals will pull through, and which are facing the axe? We asked Kristin Schleiter, our acting Director of Outdoor Gardens, to chime in with her take on the situation. Depending on what you’re keeping in your home garden, you may be in the clear.
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Morning Eye Candy: First Lady

Posted in Around the Garden, Photography on March 25th, 2012 by Matt Newman – Be the first to comment

A sliver of trivia: this flowering cherry hybrid was developed at the U.S. National Arboretum in D.C. by the prolific Dr. Donald Egolf, back in 1982. However, it wasn’t until 2003 that ‘First Lady’ made its way onto the horticulture scene at large. It boasts the abundant flowers and hardiness of the mother plant, ‘Okame,’ with the coloration of its father, the Taiwan flowering cherry (P. campanulata).

I suppose it also technically shares its birthday with Tron, Bladerunner, and Conan the Barbarian. It’s not like I was going to give you a dossier without a few oddball connections tacked on.

Prunus ‘First Lady’ — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen