🕵️‍♀️
Cathleen's Discoveries
Plant Learnings
🌱

Plant Learnings

I think I probably reference my website more than anyone else 🙃 and lately I’ve felt like there isn’t really a place for me to track what I’m learning and appreciating about plants (on my 👩‍🌾Gardening journey). So I’m adding this page to the database and tucking it in, just in case my notes are useful to others.

  • References
  • Myth busting
  • Books
  • Tools
  • Planning
  • Soil testing and prep
  • Seed starting
  • Sourcing plants
  • Rare and heirlooms
  • “Plugs” (young seedlings) in household amounts
  • Hellebores
  • Flowers
  • Annuals from seed
  • Hardy “Cool Flowers”
  • Cut and come again flower varieties
  • Flowers with a long vase life
  • Cut flower perennials
  • Flowers that you direct sow (instead of starting inside and transplanting)
  • Flowers that grow well in shade
  • Filler flowers & grasses
  • Dried flowers
  • North American drought tolerant natives for cut flower garden
  • Misc:
  • Plants to avoid
  • Stock
  • South African Daisies
  • Perennials
  • Salvia
  • Nepeta
  • Monarda
  • Lupine
  • Yarrow
  • Baptisia
  • Geum
  • Clematis
  • Easy-grow standbys
  • Lavender
  • Grasses
  • Verbena
  • Sedum
  • Bulbs
  • Shrubs
  • Foundation Shrubs (evergreen, low maintenance)
  • Shrubs for a cut flower garden
  • Spirea
  • Aronia
  • Juniper
  • Hydrangeas
  • Roses
  • Lilac
  • Fruits & Vegetables
  • Herbs
  • Succulents
  • Pests
  • Garden accessories
  • Greenhouses worth visiting
  • Western Natives (optimized for pollinators/beneficial insects)
  • Dry shade plants (e.g. under trees)
  • My personal wishlist
  • Reminder: sometimes you have to deal with invasive plants :/

References

Floret Library - Floret Flowers

The Floret Library is a comprehensive, digital library of flowers available to anyone, anywhere in the world to use for free. It includes more than 1,500 unique cut flower varieties that have all been grown and tested at Floret.

library.floretflowers.com

Floret Library - Floret Flowers
Learning Center

We offer expert online flower farming classes. We also sell flower gardening seeds & supplies. Learn how to grow & profitably sell flowers today!

thegardenersworkshop.com

Garden Answer

Garden Answer | Fun DIY and Garden Videos www.youtube.com/gardenanswer www.facebook.com/gardenanswer Twitter @gardenanswer contact@gmail.com

www.youtube.com

Garden Answer
Northlawn Flower Farm and Gardens

Hi! My name is Danielle. I’m a home gardener who sells cut flowers at a roadside stand. I create gardening videos on YouTube about garden design, planting, budget gardening, garden tours, garden DIYs, and growing cut flowers. I work as a garden writer and photographer specializing in bulbs. I have previously worked in vegetable farm management and I’m a Penn State master gardener volunteer. I hope my cut flower garden will provide inspiration, education, comfort, and joy to everyone. I'm in a wet and humid climate. Zone 7a. Last frost approximately April 23. First frost approximately October 25. 100% Organic/No Spray.

youtube.com

Northlawn Flower Farm and Gardens
Regenerative Gardening with Blossom & Branch Farm

Welcome to our regenerative gardening channel, where we grow our gardens while putting soil health first! Hosted by a fifth-generation farmer running a thriving flower farm, we explore sustainable practices that nurture the land for future generations. From seed starting, to native plants, to cover cropping and everything in between, we share hands-on tips, inspiring stories, and the beauty of regenerative agriculture applied to gardening. Join us as we dig deep into soil science, biodiversity, and the joys of growing flowers and food in harmony with nature.

youtube.com

Regenerative Gardening with Blossom & Branch Farm
‣

Myth busting

Interviews with flower farmers in the UK:

‣

Books

‣

Tools

‣

Planning

‣

Soil testing and prep

‣

Seed starting

Sourcing plants

Rare and heirlooms

Especially good for rare and heirlooms:

Floret's Favorite Bulb & Plant Sources

Over the years, I have ordered plants and bulbs from hundreds of different sources across the country. While the majority of the places that I buy bulk plants from are only available to the trade (nursery, farm, landscape design) there are a number of really wonderful family-owned companies that serve the home garden market that I highly recommend.

www.floretflowers.com

Floret's Favorite Bulb & Plant Sources

“Plugs” (young seedlings) in household amounts

(from Farmer Bailey)

Garden Club

Plugs & Plants for the Modern Gardener

gardenclubplants.com

Garden Club

Hellebores

Sunshine Farm and Gardens: Wholesale Nursery offering Easy-To-Grow Rare and Unusual Plants. Hellebores a Specialty

Sunshine Farm and Gardens is a wholesale nursery offering easy-to-grow rare and unusual plants. Hellebores are our specialty and we offer the the only commercially available line of true F1 hybrids.

sunfarm.com

Impatient Gardener gets some seeds and plants from Select Seeds, e.g. purple bell vine (which didn’t germinate so she bought the plant).

Rabbit Resistant

Incidental report:

Here they don’t eat daffodils, snowdrops, bluebells, lily of the valley, martagon lilies (Alberta Morning is Danielle’s favorite from Northlawn), and they seem to ignore many local wildflowers like buttercup, red and white campions, dandelions and hawkbit, vetches and veronicas.

Flowers

‣

Annuals from seed

‣

Hardy “Cool Flowers”

🗓️ Note: whether you are direct seeding hardy annuals in the fall, or putting transplants in the ground, you’ll want to put them outside at the same time (6-8 weeks before the first frost). That means that if you intend to start seeds indoors, you’ll need to plant them many weeks earlier so that the seedlings have a chance to get established and hardened off before being transplanted into the garden.

‣

Cut and come again flower varieties

‣

Flowers with a long vase life

‣

Cut flower perennials

‣

Flowers that you direct sow (instead of starting inside and transplanting)

‣

Flowers that grow well in shade

‣

Filler flowers & grasses

‣

Dried flowers

‣

North American drought tolerant natives for cut flower garden

Misc:

‣

Plants to avoid

‣

Stock

‣

South African Daisies

Ornamental oregano

Bellisimo (impatient gardener fav) around 16min

Kent Beauty (flowers earlier than bellisimo?)

Perennials

Garden Answer recommendations:

15 Perennials Every Garden Should Have! 💪🌿💚 // Garden Answer

🌿Affiliate/Sponsored Links🌿 - Sedum - Lemonjade Sedum - http://bit.ly/2xBi7D5 Boogie Woogie' Sedum - https://bit.ly/3gpdRPj Autumn Joy Sedum - https://bit.ly/2RTFXIg Autumn Charm Sedum - https://bit.ly/2QI7vzR - Russian Sage - Denim 'n Lace Russian Sage - http://bit.ly/2M6441h Sweet Romance® Lavender - http://bit.ly/2s9dlef Munstead Lavender - https://bit.ly/2PffZhu - Rudbeckia - Rudbeckia Goldsturm - https://bit.ly/3xcOMNq Cherry Brandy Rudbeckia Seed - https://bit.ly/2QkLgA0 Irish Eyes Rudbeckia - - Echinacea - Double Scoop™ Cranberry Echinacea - https://bit.ly/3dFLMRR Echinacea Purpurea seed - https://bit.ly/3xfluOd Color Coded® Yellow My Darling Echinacea - http://bit.ly/2XUON5M The Price is White' Coneflower Echinacea - https://bit.ly/3pFztsi Green Envy Echinacea - https://bit.ly/2PemIrP - Veronica - Purple Illusion Veronica - http://bit.ly/2YVeh4p Wizard of Ahhs Veronica - http://bit.ly/2JHzHKu White Wands Veronica - http://bit.ly/36LtF7x - Hosta - Coast to Coast Hosta - http://bit.ly/2IyUOgY Empires Wu Hosta - https://bit.ly/3dcWCw8 Wu-La-La Hosta - https://bit.ly/2JtXuzg Wheee! Hosta - https://bit.ly/3gmk2RE Diamond Lake Hosta - http://bit.ly/2K0oU1W Autumn Frost Hosta - http://bit.ly/2qYG83K - Brunera - Jack of Diamonds - http://bit.ly/2JZy7rm Silver heart - - Hakonechloa - Hakonechloa Aureola - https://bit.ly/3neu4s5 All Gold Hakonechloa - http://bit.ly/2tvlU3T - Pulmonaria - Spot On Lungwort - https://bit.ly/3dCP7hD - Geranium - Boom Chocolatta - https://bit.ly/3nhl9WT Geranium Magnificum - https://bit.ly/3ni4Bh6 Geranium ‘Ann Folkard’ - https://bit.ly/3xtCdxB Johnson's Blue Geranium - https://bit.ly/32FI0BX - Carex - Evergold Carex - http://bit.ly/2SoNZqt - Penstemon - Midnight Masquerade Penstemon - http://bit.ly/2t5e5Rq Electric Blue Penstemon - https://bit.ly/3sQv1rK - Anemone - Fall in Love™ 'Sweetly' Japanese Anemone - Honorine Jobert Japanese Anemone - https://bit.ly/3tYFEKk 🌿BRANDS WE PARTNER WITH🌿 Proven Winners - https://www.provenwinners.com/ Espoma Organic - https://www.espoma.com/ Gardener's Supply Company - https://www.gardeners.com/ Hartley Botanic - https://hartley-botanic.com/ FELCO - https://www.felco.com/ 10% off: TOOLS4GA Bonide - https://www.bonide.com/ 🌿MORE LINKS🌿 Support - http://bit.ly/2rNoLUx Buy Garden Answer Merch - http://bit.ly/2Moi7QF Video Gear we Use - https://bit.ly/2RD1hyI Music we Use - http://bit.ly/2n3KLMb 🌿FOLLOW ME HERE🌿 ▶️ Website: http://www.gardenanswer.com ▶️ Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/gardenanswer ▶️ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gardenanswer ▶️ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/gardenanswer ▶️ Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/gardenanswer ▶️ Email: contact@gardenanswer.com 🌿MAILING ADDRESS🌿 Garden Answer 580 S Oregon St Ontario, Oregon 97914

youtu.be

15 Perennials Every Garden Should Have! 💪🌿💚 // Garden Answer
  • Full Sun
    • Sedum Russian Sage Rudbeckia (PepperHarrowFarm) Echinacea (PepperHarrowFarm — purpurea magnus) Veronica
      • Skyward pink recommended by Here She Grows
  • Shade (4hrs or less)
    • Hosta Brunera Hakonechloa Pulmonaria (lungwort) Hellebore
  • Partial Shade
    • Geranium Lady’s Mantle (PepperHarrowFarm) Carex Penstemon Anemone
5 Must Have Perennials for Your Garden! 🙌🌸🌿 // Garden Answer

🌿Affiliate/Sponsored Links🌿 Dark Violet Skullcap - https://bit.ly/41iCYbB Rock 'N Grow® 'Coraljade' Sedum - https://bit.ly/38Lbdy7 'Spot On' Lungwort - https://bit.ly/3dCP7hD Meant to Bee™ 'Royal Raspberry' Anise Hyssop - https://bit.ly/3kq2jvL Supreme™ Cantaloupe Echinacea - https://bit.ly/3kMzgCE 🌿BRANDS WE PARTNER WITH🌿 Proven Winners - https://www.provenwinners.com/ Espoma Organic - https://www.espoma.com/ Hartley Botanic - https://hartley-botanic.com/ FELCO - https://www.felco.com/ 10% off: TOOLS4GA 🌿FOLLOW ME HERE🌿 ▶️ Website: https://www.gardenanswer.com ▶️ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/gardenanswer ▶️ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gardenanswer ▶️ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gardenanswer ▶️ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/gardenanswer ▶️ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/gardenanswer ▶️ Email: contact@gardenanswer.com 🌿MAILING ADDRESS🌿 Garden Answer 580 S Oregon St Ontario, Oregon 97914

youtu.be

5 Must Have Perennials for Your Garden! 🙌🌸🌿 // Garden Answer

Dark Violet Skullcap (almost a ground cover) Rock 'N Grow® 'Coraljade' Sedum 'Spot On' Lungwort Meant to Bee™ 'Royal Raspberry' Anise Hyssop Supreme™ Cantaloupe Echinacea

Salvia

Indiglo girls (Garden Answer)

Caradonna (PepperHarrowFarm)

Not smelly?

Blooms in the spring and again in the fall (smaller)

Dried flower (muted)

Playin’ the blues (garden answer fav, only hardy to zone 7)

Nepeta

Cat’s pajamas (garden answer & impatient gardener) — possibly the lowest growing varietal

Walkers low (floret)

Monarda

Monarda bradburiana (Floret)

Lambada (Lisa Mason Ziegler & northwest flower farm — grown as an annual)

Lupine

(PepperHarrowFarm)

Yarrow

Summer Berries (PepperHarrowFarm)

Coronation Gold (PepperHarrowFarm)

Dried

Baptisia

(PepperHarrowFarm)

Greenery

Seed pods

Geum

Totally tangarine (PepperHarrowFarm)

Shorter

mai tai?

Clematis

Stand by me (bush type) (garden answer)

Easy-grow standbys

Easy-grow (impatient gardener):

  1. Big root geranium
  2. Nepeta (cat’s pajamas is lowest?)
  3. Lady’s mantle
  4. Hakonechloa macra - Japanese forest grass
  5. Hosta
‣

Lavender

‣

Grasses

‣

Verbena

‣

Sedum

Superbell vintage coral (impatient gardener)

Sweet Potato vine (chartreuse)

21:50 sweetheart lime (garden answer favorite—mounds)

Planting Annuals in My Parent’s Pots & the Pond Berm + Aerating the Lawn! 🌸🪴🌾 // Garden Answer

Supertunia Tiara™ Blue - https://bit.ly/3RIi2r5 Superbells® Coralina - https://bit.ly/2Wo5B7O Superbells® Tropical Sunrise - https://bit.ly/35VqqKI Rockapulco® Rose - https://bit.ly/3H49Qip Rockapulco® Appleblossom - https://bit.ly/4dopOAb Rockapulco® White - https://bit.ly/3H3DDYy Aromance® Pink - https://bit.ly/4iY2vyo Superbena Royale® Plum Wine - https://bit.ly/3bruYKa Rockin'® Blue Suede Shoes™ - https://bit.ly/2NWzPfW Superbena® Cobalt™ - https://bit.ly/4dDEyL8 Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Lime - https://bit.ly/45cEmic 🌿BRANDS WE PARTNER WITH🌿 Proven Winners - https://www.provenwinners.com/ Espoma Organic - https://www.espoma.com/ Hartley Botanic - https://hartley-botanic.com/ 🌿FOLLOW ME HERE🌿 ▶️ Website: https://www.gardenanswer.com ▶️ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/gardenanswer ▶️ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gardenanswer ▶️ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gardenanswer ▶️ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/gardenanswer ▶️ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/gardenanswer ▶️ Email: contact@gardenanswer.com 🌿MAILING ADDRESS🌿 Garden Answer 710 Thrifty Way Ontario, Oregon 97914

youtu.be

Planting Annuals in My Parent’s Pots & the Pond Berm + Aerating the Lawn! 🌸🪴🌾 // Garden Answer

Bulbs

Sourcing:

Colorblends: garden answer

Longfield gardens: impatient gardener & northlawn flower farm

Varieties:

‣

Spring Flowering Bulbs

Small early bulbs:

‣
Crocus
‣
Squill
‣
Snow drops
‣
Mescari
‣
Snowflake
‣
Tulips
‣
Daffodils (narcissus)
‣
Alliums
‣
Anemone
‣
Ranunculus
‣
Lilies
‣
Gladiolus
‣
Dahlias (tubers instead of bulbs)

Fall garden:

  • Sedum - autumn joy?
  • Crabapple
    • Evereste (floret favorite)
    • Note about crabapples: persistent type keeps fruit on the branches until new growth - less mess, food for birds, winter interest
  • Seven suns flower - Heptacodium
Floret Farm Tour: Fall Cutting Garden

There are so many beautiful things that are only blooming in the cutting garden during the fall. If you're feeling like your garden is looking a little ratty or boring, I thought I'd share this tour to give you some inspiration. The plants in the tour are Cup and Saucer Vine ‘Purple’ and ‘Alba’, Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’, Crabapple ’Evereste‘, Sunflower ‘Sparky’, Japanese Anemone ‘Whirlwind’, ‘September Charm’, and ‘Pamina’, Grasses Panicum and Miscanthus, Peegee hydrangeas (including ‘Bobo’, ‘Quick Fire’, ‘Pinky Winky’, and ‘Limelight’), Snowberry ‘Amethyst’, Seven-Son Flower, Dahlia ‘Floret’, Flowering tobacco ‘Grandiflora’, and Formosa lilies. The metal arches and towers were custom-made by Metalistics. Floret Flowers is a family-run flower farm and seed company located in Washington’s beautiful Skagit Valley (Zone 8b). Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.floretflowers.com/newsletter/ Website: https://www.floretflowers.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/floretflower/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floretflowers/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/floretflwrfarm/ Subscribe to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL9cgFOzNl37GeDulbEGICA?sub_confirmation=1 #floret #flowers #cutflowers #flowerfarm #erinbenzakein

youtu.be

Floret Farm Tour: Fall Cutting Garden
Best Perennials for Late Summer Color | 17 Flowers Blooming in August & September I Perennial Garden

Want to add more color to your garden in late summer? In this video, we'll take you on a tour of our favorite perennials that thrive in late summer and bring stunning color to your garden. We're located on the east coast of Denmark, similar to zone 8a, and these perennials are perfect for extending the blooming season in your cottage garden borders, flower beds, and backyard. VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS 0:00 Intro 0:46 Helenium (Sneezeweed) 1:56 Echinacea (Coneflower) 3:18 Sedum (Stonecrop) 5:40 Persicaria affinis (Knotweed) 7:00 Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan) 7:51 Gaillardia (Blanket Flower) 9:27 Helianthus (Sunflower) 10:58 Verbena 'Bampton' (Verbena) 12:25 Anemone hupehensis (Japanese Anemone) 14:01 Chelone obliqua (Turtlehead) 14:50 Sanguisorba 'Pink Brushes' (Burnet) 16:22 Liatris (Blazing Star) 17:27 Eupatorium (Joe-Pye Weed) 17:52 Agastache (Hyssop) 18:57 Aster (Michaelmas Daisy) 19:43 Veronica longifolia (Speedwell) 20:15 Heliopsis 'Burning Hearts' (False Sunflower) We'll showcase and discuss a variety of hardy and beautiful plants, including Helenium, Echinacea, Sedum, and more. Whether you're aiming for a cottage garden vibe or a more structured look, these perennials will help you bring color right when your garden needs it the most. All of these are pollinator-friendly flowers. If you'd like to see more of what makes the bees happy, check out this video: https://youtu.be/z5DDhj8answ?si=8qRMOJWFCI_hq7N1 Don't forget to subscribe and follow to see what's growing in our garden. Website: https://www.perennial-garden.com/ Instagram: https://bit.ly/IGPerennialGarden Facebook: https://bit.ly/FBPerennialGarden #perennials #latesummer #gardentour #flowergarden #CottageGarden #SummerPerennials #flowerpower #perennialflowers #gardendesign

youtu.be

Best Perennials for Late Summer Color | 17 Flowers Blooming in August & September I Perennial Garden

Shrubs

10 Underrated Shrubs Every Garden Should Have! 🌿🙌😁 // Garden Answer

Sugar Shack® Buttonbush Cephalanthus - https://bit.ly/2GpwQco 'Aphrodite' Sweetshrub Calycanthus - https://bit.ly/36Y7kJa El Niño® Desert Orchid Chitalpa - https://bit.ly/3WqnQHv Oakleaf hydrangea. ‘Gatsby Gal’ - https://bit.ly/2spzjdg Glow Girl Spirea - https://bit.ly/3bOqrT1 Little Dipper® Cotoneaster - https://bit.ly/35qzw3B Low Scape Snowfire® Aronia - https://bit.ly/3yxuFf8 Cesky Gold® Dwarf Birch - https://bit.ly/3tGV5q7 Mr. Mustard® False Spiraea - https://bit.ly/3yrGm6o Montana Moss® Juniperus - https://bit.ly/3oDJ4Rl 🌿BRANDS WE PARTNER WITH🌿 Proven Winners - https://www.provenwinners.com/ Espoma Organic - https://www.espoma.com/ Hartley Botanic - https://hartley-botanic.com/ 🌿FOLLOW ME HERE🌿 ▶️ Website: https://www.gardenanswer.com ▶️ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/gardenanswer ▶️ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gardenanswer ▶️ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gardenanswer ▶️ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/gardenanswer ▶️ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/gardenanswer ▶️ Email: contact@gardenanswer.com 🌿MAILING ADDRESS🌿 Garden Answer 680 SE 13th St Ontario, Oregon 97914

youtu.be

10 Underrated Shrubs Every Garden Should Have! 🌿🙌😁 // Garden Answer
‣

Foundation Shrubs (evergreen, low maintenance)

‣

Shrubs for a cut flower garden

‣

Spirea

‣

Aronia

‣

Juniper

‣

Hydrangeas

‣

Roses

‣

Lilac

Arborvitae

Spring Grove is more airy:

Garden Answer September Garden Tour - Part Two! 🌿🍂🥰 /// Garden AnswerGarden Answer September Garden Tour - Part Two! 🌿🍂🥰 /// Garden Answer
(16min in)

Deutzia

‣

Fruits & Vegetables

‣

Herbs

Succulents

Succulents generally need light, but if you have a spot that only gets indirect light, you probably want a

Haworthia

‣

Pests

Garden accessories

I love the vibe of these “garden fish” which look amazing in grasses or around shrubs, but which might be perfect for stone streams in water conscious gardens.

image
Garden Fish | Lawn Art | Metal sculpture |Milwaukee| Jesse Meyer Sculpture Studio

Garden Fish sculptural works by Jesse Meyer sculpture studio of Milwaukee Wisconsin creating amazing garden and outdoor art out of metal

www.jessemeyersculpturestudio.com

Garden Fish | Lawn Art | Metal sculpture |Milwaukee| Jesse Meyer Sculpture Studio

I’ve seen more reasonably priced koi like this on Costco’s website, but they don’t have quite the same movement as these fish.

‣

Greenhouses worth visiting

‣

Western Natives (optimized for pollinators/beneficial insects)

‣

Dry shade plants (e.g. under trees)

‣

My personal wishlist

Reminder: sometimes you have to deal with invasive plants :/

🌻Best resource for dealing with yellow starthistle

See also:

🌾Plant Index