Garden

[Sweetbay magnolia]

@JustJazzmom

Enjoy your day in the garden!  I had thrown a pumpkin on the compost heap and then we used some in a bed, and voila!  We have pumpkins coming up just as if they were planted there.  In full bloom this morning - it will be fun if we get a yield.  And the compost piles are giant pumpkin mounds right now.

There was a downy woodpecker eating Nyjer hung in our dogwood, this morning, and I thought of your beautiful picture.  Reminded me how lucky I am to be able to live in this beautiful place.

[Brittany-QVC]

Beautiful photos JustJazzmom! I'm going to test out a photo myself, these are the green beans I harvested from my garden a few days ago! 

Brittany Customer Care

[JustJazzmom]

@Brittany-QVC

Thank you! I have some arugula that needs harvesting ASAP as I saw a small flower on it yesterday!!

And we all know what happens when a flower arrives on lettuce!

[Brittany-QVC]

Sounds like you'll be eating a nice salad soon! Yes I recently learned about bolting and going to seed from the gardening YouTube videos I have been watching non-stop! It's my first year with my own garden, so I'm on a bit of a learning curve! He he! 

Brittany 

[JustJazzmom]

@Brittany-QVC

If you have any questions definitely ask me, or others. I can find lots of reading sources too to post if needed.

QVC area in PA is pretty close garden wise to NY - LI so the temps are similar now.

[Brittany-QVC]

Thank you JustJazzmom! I may take you up on that offer! 

[sfnative]

Hi Just JazzMom,

Just love your "Kousa."  Am unfamiliar with this tree and would like to know if it is a kousa tree or if kousa is a type of _______ tree.  Could you enlighten?  Wherever we end up in a new house, I'd love to include this tree, as I'm fond of low profile trees.  Thanks in advance.  (Will check back later today, as GD is due soon for the day).  Have a good one.

~Rebecca

Arrrgh - this screen jumping is making me crazy...

[JustJazzmom]

@sfnative

The Kousa dogwood is a Chinese or Japanese dogwood; it differs from our American dogwood (Cornus florida) in that the leaves emerge first and then the flowers or bracts are silhouetted against the leaves. The American dogwood has the opposite-- flowers first then the leaves. Through the years, the dogwoods have been mostly white except the Cornus florida rubra, which is a pink flowering dogwood. The problem with American dogwood has been 2 fold-- prone to anthractnose or fungal disease on the leaves and borers (an insect). The Chinese dogwood is resistant to both problems.

I was thrilled when I found out that there was a pink flowering variety of Kousa dogwood.  To locate it to order or in a great nursery to buy ask for Cornus kousa 'Satomi/ Rosabella'. Both cultivar names are used interchangeably.

There are also Rutger's University hybrids as well available which are crosses of the American with the Kousa. They bloom in between the time of the American and the Kousas. They have the leaves emerge first and then the flowers. They have the habit of both dogwoods-- understory trees-- in other words, grow in the filtered light of larger trees around them. But my 'Stellar Pink' dogwood is sited in full sun.  The Rutger's series also are borer and anthractnose resistant too and my 'Stellar Pink' has never had those two problems.

If you look up Rutger's 'Constellation Series', you will find most if not all of these Rutger's hybrids. Rutger's U is in NJ and that is the land grant college for NJ for horticultural research for that state and extension service.

I spoke many years ago with Dr. Elwin Orton, the lead hybridizer by phone (yes, I contacted Rutger's U. Agriculture Dept to speak to him) to ask him what color was the 'Stellar Pink' flower? He told me it was a shell pink color. At that point I did purchase it.

This tree is also considered a 'wire friendly' tree in that its height will never exceed to the electrical wire's like many other trees will over time.

[sfnative]

JustJazzMom,

Thank you so very much for all of the information you provided regarding the "Kousa" tree!  I've seen quite a few of the white flower variety around town and they remain in bloom as I write. 

Please know that all of the time you took to write the extended information is really appreciated.  It's given me something to bite into.  I'm going to grab my Sunset garden book and look this up.

Thanks, again.

[Brittany-QVC]

@JustJazzmom @Lilysmom @sfnative @Sweetbay magnolia @I am still oxoxJust popping back in to give you an update! My beans got a pretty bad case of blight a little while back and they petered out, but I wanted to share these beauties with you all! These are my first tomatoes of the Summer! Saw some of the recent garden pictures everyone has been posting - looking very beautiful! 

Have a Great Weekend! 

- Brittany