Glasshouse Works - Stewart Ohio

As promised, a quick tour of Glasshouse Works in Stewart Ohio. http://www.glasshouseworks.com This is the sign you'll see (if the shrubery has been pruned) when you come in Rt 329 from Guysville. This used to be the entrance to the gardens, but the main plants for sale have moved to the grounds of the former Stewart Hotel which they bought for an office maybe 10 years ago. It is a lovely old building with an extra large porch. It houses the offices, check out and lots of neat stuff for sale - stained glass, wind chimes, Dewey Cats, and all sorts of other plant related stuff.

This is Tom, one of the owners. I have been trying to sneak a picture of him for awhile and this is the best I've come up with. At the party he is always taking pictures of everyone else - or else eating, neither of which lend themselves to a complimentary portrait.

And Ken who is much more obliging about portraits. The two of them have been doing this since long before I moved to Ohio, I think for almost 30 years now (maybe more), but don't hold me to that figure. Back in the beginning the place had been a chrysanthemum nursery and the grounds included a vegetable garden. No room any more for veggies other than the necessary tomatoes which get put right in with the rare and unusual stuff. Ken grew up on a farm and you just can't get that out of your system.

These are the original greenhouses. You used to be able to walk through these to choose your plants, but they are strictly for production now and unless you are very, very thin, the aisles are all but impassable - except to Ken who knows where everything is, how many, etc., etc., etc.

This is another of the production houses.

And inside of the large greenhouses.

And another view in the large greenhouses. Always something blooming, smelling good, or just totally intrigueing. (That can't be the right spelling, but I can't think of another way to spell it)

I didn't take enough pictures of the grounds, I realized after I got home, but this is one of my favorite spots. This banana tree has been here as long as I've been going there and survives our zone 6 winters happily, though it does get some protection.

This is part of the quite large outside sales area. This section is for tropical things that are spending the summer out of doors, and obviously enjoying it.

This is another part of that section with lots of coleus - something they have been hybridizing for awhile now. You'll see all sorts of unusual color combinations. One of their other specialties are fancy begonias.

More plants for sale, including mostly tropical things and some with bright colored blooms.

And some more. I just love wandering in here and always find something I just have to take home with me.

And yet more things you can take home with you. The selection is unbelievable and though you won't see more than a small fraction of what is available, when you check the website you will see the huge number of things that could grace your garden and windowsills.

And the sign on the hotel - which I should have taken a picture of, oh well. The part you can't see says checkout. Glasshouse Works is open all year on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 to 6. Other days are for packing and shipping orders. If you want some very specific and unusual things, mail order is your best bet - or order ahead to pick up there, but if you just want to wander and find all sorts of treasures, a visit will be quite worth your while.

Jane

Aristolochia onoei 'Pipe Dreams'

A very unusual plant indeed. I did a web search on this one and got 8 hits. Not 8 million, just 8. We got it from Asiatica Nursery, now closed, so I can't even tell you where you might get one of your own.
Oddly enough, this is the only Dutchman's Pipe that we grow. I've always been fascinated by the odd flowers, but just never got around to having one. It's a little harder to find places for vines since they need something to climb on, so I just put off buying one for my garden. When I saw the picture of this one I decided I would find a place for it, being a bit of a push-over when it comes to variegated plants, especially unusual and rare ones. It grows in light shade or just morning sun and is happy in zones 6-9.
Not only is this variegated form rare, the species itself seems to have very little information available (except in Japanese). I did find that it is from a small area in southern Japan in the mountains It is named after a botanist, Ono job, from the early Meiji era. I have only found one caterpillar/butterfly that uses it for food, and since that one lives in the native range in Japan, I don't expect anything to bother it (and in 2 years, nothing has so far). It seems to be rather slow growing, last year barely growing any (probably just growing roots) and this year is now about 6 feet long. I'll take photos, for sure, once it blooms.
Jane

Glasshouse Works Annual Party

Last evening was the annual party out at Glasshouse Works. These are a couple of pictures I took on the way home. Just a glorious sunset. The party happens every year at this time with local folks and many who come in from out of town too. Lots of good food and pleasant company. I went a little early and took a lot of photos so I could give you a bit of a tour of their nursery since most of you don't live around here. I'll try and get those photos ready to post tomorrow and will tell you all about Glasshouse Works then.

About the tornado(s). We've had quite a bit of damage in Athens County, though none right here - not even a plant or outside chair blown over. Others weren't so lucky. 53 houses and one business were destroyed with many more damaged in some way. As of today, all of the electricity is back on. As we were driving last night we saw some of the damage. Most places were just fine, but in spots the trees were uprooted or snapped in half. Please keep all of those who are now homeless in your prayers.

Jane

Physalis subglabrata

I think I'll stick with the Latin name for this one. Who wants to be known as Smooth Groundcherry? Not a wonderful name, but much nicer than it's cousin the Clammy Groundcherry. This isn't very common here, but I see it occasionally. It is in the family Solanaceae, or the Potato Family, though I've always called it the Nightshade family and it does contain potatoes, tomatoes and eggplants. The fruit is enclosed in the husk, and when the husk turns tan and papery, the fruit is ready to eat. The appearance and texture is somewhat like a tiny tomato, but the flavor is supposed to be more like a strawberry. I've never eaten one, so I can't say for sure if that is so. You can also dry them and eat them like raisins. The leaves are poisonous.
Around here it seems to like full sun, though occasionally I see one in the shade. Since critters spread the seed, I suppose a fair number end up in places they wouldn't have chosen themselves. It is not picky about soil type and will grow in poor soils as long as it has sufficient moisture. They are susceptible to most pests of tomatoes. They are started from seed and are easy to grow in pots. I'm not sure the seed is sold, but if you see this growing by the side of the road this time of year, collect a few fruits and save the seed to plant next year.
Jane

Plant Identification

Today it's your turn to tell me about a couple of plants. We've had both of these weeds/wildflowers in the garden for years and I haven't got a clue as to what they are. The one above appeared about 10 years ago. Never had been here before and neither of us had seen it anywhere. My guess is that seed came in on a plant we bought. It is a biennial, forms a shiny green rosette the first year that is evergreen and persists all winter. That's how we find a lot of them since when everything else is dead and brown they really stand out. The first year it bloomed, just a plant or two, we thought it was so pretty that we left it, thinking it might be a nice addition to the garden. NOT. The next year, after it had seeded it was everywhere. Thousands of them, literally, all over the garden. It makes long skinny seed pods that pop and spread seeds around. My guess is that birds or critters also helped with the spread.
I still think it is a really pretty plant. There aren't all that many pale pink wildflowers growing here and I'm a sucker for pink flowers, but it is just far too invasive to let it be. The picture I took doesn't have too many blooms, because it was hard to find one that Hank hadn't yanked out before it had many blooms open. I marked that one and kept it as long as I could, but at one point he said 'take the picture now if you want it because I'm pulling it out'. It can get 2 feet tall, though most seem to be a foot or so. I've also seen 2 or 3 inch tall ones blooming - sneaky things hiding in the crown of another plant. We've always called it 'Pink Weed', for lack of anything else to call it. I've checked my many wildflower books and one on weeds, but can't find anything that looks anything like it, so if anyone knows what this is, I'd sure like to know. Not that knowing will get rid of it, but at least it will have a name and can be $#&!@ ___, instead of $#&!@ Pink Weed.

Weed number two, that for lack of a better name, has been known here as white weed since it has white flowers. This one may have arrived with a pond or bog plant since it appeared first in our bog. This one is a little easier to control as long as you can find it since it seems to be an annual. Get it before it seeds and it's gone. Unfortunately, the bog gets grassy late in the season and this stuff crawls along beneath it, blooming and seeding quite happily. Succulent stem and the flowers are tiny, maybe the size of your little finger nail. The seeds are black, hence the other name we have been calling it - 'Black Seeded Weed'. Someone must know what these two things are. Please leave a comment if you have any ideas. I tried looking on the web, but without a name, I didn't get very far.

Jane

Albizia julibrissin

I've always loved Mimosa trees. So tropical looking. They remind me of the sensitive plants I grew from seed when I was little - touch the leaves and they folded up. Mimosa leaves do close up at night and when it rains, but not when you touch them. Anyway, they are just so tropical looking and the flowers almost look like some sort of fancy birds perched on the branches. We planted one quite a few years ago. In this zone, it isn't uncommon for them to died back to the ground the first few winters. Ours has stayed up for the last couple of years, and just this week it had its first flowers. I can't wait until next year when there are more. One thing we did find, is that you need to get seed from a local source if you live in the north to have the best chance of success. I just found out that it is a legume (such a big legume) and is native from Iran to China.
Flowering takes place over a long period of the summer and early fall on this smallish tree. The flowers are odd in that they have no petals, just lots of stamens. The flowers seem to be attractive to bees, butterflies and hummingbirds, though I can't say for sure who likes my 3 blooms since they are up so high. Once you have flowers you will also start to find baby mimosas in various places in your garden.
Flowers can be pink (what seems to be most common) or white or combinations thereof. There is a newer cultivar called 'Summer Chocolate' that has reddish brown foliage, but it hasn't been especially hardy here and is still quite expensive. No matter which sort you have, a Mimosa tree will make nice dappled shade for hostas or just a comfortable chair.
Jane

Comptonia peregrina

This is my plant of the day. Comptonia peregrina is more commonly known as SweetFern. We have been growing this one for years, but after I took this photo, I just couldn't remember either the Latin name or the common one. No way to file the photo without a name and ever hope to find it again. No way to look it up online if you can't remember the name. All I could think of is Sweet Shrub, which, of course, didn't work since it is an entirely different plant. Now that I have gotten the name back in my head, (found by accident while I was looking up another plant in my big wildflower book) I thought I'd share a bit about this pretty thing since I don't think it is all that well know.
Here is a plant for you northern growers since it is cold hardy to zone 2 (-38 degrees F.) and not very happy any warmer than zone 6. Ours grow in a dry place at the edge of the cactus scree and my research says that it likes that sort of thing. Full sun to partial shade. This one is about 2-4 feet tall and will spread wider than that over time. It is deciduous and is native to the northeastern United States. It is not commonly found in nurseries, probably because it is difficult to transplant and establish. Once settled in, however, it seems to not be bothered by insects or other problems.

So many weeds - so little time.

Jane