Horticulture on a Grand Scale

Written on August 11, 2011 at 6:11 am , by Justin W. Hancock

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit the folks at Bailey Nurseries in Minnesota. Perhaps best known for being the company behind Endless Summer hydrangeas, Bailey is a large wholesale company that does virtually everything big.

It’s amazing going to their growing fields and seeing thousands of plants in blocks, ready to be shipped off to garden centers around the country. Below is a block of gorgeous Endless Summer hydrangeas in their prime. They extend almost as far as the eye can see — and this is just one section. There are other sections like this of just about every variety they sell, including their roses. A block of hundreds of roses is breathtaking!

———-

I also had the great luck to see some newer varieties on the market — again, in their prime. Here’s ‘Pink Double Delight’ coneflower (which I love; it’s a fantastic performer in my garden!) — again this isn’t a planted bed, these are all individual pots.

———-

The Bailey Nurseries staff also let me see their gorgeous display gardens where they test out varieties before they sell them. Instead of planting everything in organized rows, though, the company let their staff have a little fun with garden design and created several acres of lush plantings. It was a feast to the eyes!

Wordless Wednesday!

Written on April 27, 2011 at 5:47 am , by Justin W. Hancock

It’s Wednesday…that means time to show off some fantastic photos from the BHG Share My Gallery.

——————————————————————————————————————

——————————————————————————————————————

——————————————————————————————————————

Wordless Wednesday!

Written on April 13, 2011 at 6:24 am , by Justin W. Hancock

It’s Wednesday…that means time to show off some fantastic photos from the BHG Share My Gallery.

A beautiful coneflower in the summer garden of reader lvs2grdn!

——————————————————————————————————————

A gorgeous summer garden shot from reader englek1582889!

——————————————————————————————————————

We love this charming, country-style garden shed from reader joyfrank821!

——————————————————————————————————————

And see more great photos from our blogging friends Rob, Chris, Bren, and Saxon!

Hot – Hot – Hot

Written on June 17, 2010 at 12:44 pm , by Justin W. Hancock

I was walking through the Test Garden the other day when I came across this beauty in full bloom. Do you recognize it?

A number of our Test Garden visitors are suprised to know it’s a coneflower! The variety is ‘Hot Papaya’ and it’s a showstopper, eh?

‘Hot Papaya’ offers blooms in a bright shade of orange-red, and wiht a frilly cone. It bears all the other attributes of coneflowers: A long bloom season, it attracts butterflies, and it holds up well to heat and drought. Oh and one other thing? ‘Hot Papaya’ is also fragrant.

It’s part of a new generation of coneflowers. Plant breeders have gone far beyond the traditional purple; you can find doubles like this in shades of orange, orange-red, white, and pink — and we’ll no doubt be seeing lots of other cool ones at our local garden centers in the future.

Stop by the Better Homes and Gardens Test Garden this summer to see other cool varieties like ‘Coral Reef’ and ‘Milkshake’!