Category Archives: Horticulture Reports

Today in the Garden; Gaillardia x grandiflora

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Here’s a new favorite for a sunny spot:  Long-blooming, pollinator friendly and brightly colored, Gaillardia x grandiflora has been blooming in my West-facing garden since June, and is still putting out new buds.  It’s a hybrid on a Western native, Gaillardia aristata.  The common name is Blanket Flower.  The colors often remind me of the state flag of Arizona:  yellow, scarlet, bronze. The flowers are 2-3 “ across, and the seed heads are attractive, too. Gaillardia is easy to grow and to maintain.  I just prune off the dried seed heads when they look tatty.  Another option, though, is to leave at least some in place at the end of the season, because these plants reseed, so you can have more for free next Spring.  There are several cultivars available.  I have the original, which is about 24” x 24”.  I also have the dwarf form, called ‘Goblin’, which is about  1 foot high and wide.  Needs full sun, moderate water and  fast drainage.

~Sherri Morgan, AGC Member

Today in the Garden

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I found a surprise in my garden today. This white flower appears to be a begonia, but I don’t recall planting it. Friends and neighbors do give me plants which often need help, so perhaps this one came to me as a sad root in a pot without an identity. It’s a lovely surprise on this smokey October day. I really like the happy ball-shaped yellow centers. I felt like it was a gift from the garden fairies when I saw it. ~Carlotta Lucas, AGC Member

Solidago rugosa

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Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’, is a late-blooming Goldenrod that is attractive to smaller insects.  This is a perennial that is 3′ high by 2′ wide.  The tiny blossoms open on top of the curving leaf stems, and burst into gold about mid-September, bringing some late interest to a Fall garden, and also providing food for tiny pollinators.  It’s sturdy and easy care. 
Prune it down in early Spring, and feed it before growth starts. 
It needs full sun and moderate water.  The myth that Goldenrod pollen causes hay fever is just that, a myth. I have been enjoying this striking plant in my South facing garden.  
Sherri Morgan, AGC Member

Horticulture Report: Spaeralcea ambigua (Apricot Mallow)

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Plant Name: Spaeralcea ambigua
Common name:  Apricot Mallow, Desert Globemallow
Plant Type:  Perennial Shrub
Plant Height:  3’ – 5’
Plant Width:  2’ – 4’
Bloom Time:  Spring
Flower Color:  Apricot or Dark Orange
Exposure: Full Sun
Soil Requirements:  Grows well in most well-draining soils.
Water Needs: Extremely Low
Attributes: Attracts Bees and Butterflies. Adored by Hummingbirds!
Note:  Good Pruning after bloom keeps plant from becoming woody; Easily Reseeds.
Uses: Xeriscape “Gardens; Cottage & Mediterranean Gardens; Rock Gardens.
Native to:  Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah
Oregon Native:   NO
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 – 10

Report: Viki Ashford, AGC member

Today in the Garden

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I am not sure how I even noticed this little one, down so low.
I call it, “awaiting lunch at the Marigold Cafe “

Photo by: Lynn McDonald, AGC Member

The goldenrod crab spider (Misumena vatia) sits on top of flowers with their first two pairs of legs spread, using those legs to grab and eat insects that come to the flowers.