The first day of work here at the Cuddy Gardens was very prickly as we were moving all cacti along with succulents inside before the weather got too cold. We placed the cacti in the room west of the kitchen with the most windows to allow for lots of much needed natural light. The succulents were moved into the bedroom on the east side of the kitchen even though there is only one window to allow for natural light. During this task we were also asked to place the smaller cacti and succulents in bulb crates in the car port to await transport to the Fanshawe College greenhouse to stay nice and warm for the colder weather. In the dry garden we had to dig up four potted cacti from the ground to also transport into the home, this was relatively difficult due to the lengthy size… needless to say we got fairly prickly and took a break after we got them as far as the car port for drying out so they’d be less heavy. Next Josh used the push mower to mow around the frog statue and the lawns surrounding the dry garden while I took some Brugmansia cuttings, applied a tough rooting hormone and potted them after for the propagation chamber on a heat mat to promote root growth. By the time we finished Lucas had left and we didn’t have enough time to move the remaining cacti into the house.
Saturday we started the day off by collecting 7 Kentucky Coffee tree suckers and 3 Sycamore sapling and one larger specimen in preparation for potting. During this tree collection we also picked up the gator water bags from various locations on site. Next we dug up the Brugmansia tree and an unknown vine to the right of the car port for later potting. On the way to the greenhouse to pot we collected 10 cuttings of Plectranthus to pop into the propagation chamber. At the greenhouse we pruned off all the Brugmansia branches and had to pot it in a bigger pot than what was specified due to the large root mass and placed in the hoop house. The unknown vine was potted in a 6” clay pot sitting on the table in the hoop house. Then we potted up the coffee tree saplings in 2 gal pots and Sycamore saplings in 1gal pots for placement in the cold frame. We then took out Plectranthus cuttings applied a goopy root hormone, placed them in the natural fiber pots and placed in the propagation chamber on the heat mat for optimal root growth. With the rest of our day we weeded the backside of the second plant bed North of the driveway when entering and continued to the East side of the perennial border. Upon finishing this we still had some time to kill so we got a head start on weeding the woodland garden in preparation for mulching.
Sunday we had the day all planned out! First we signed out the Kubota tractors and the trailer for optimal mulching. We mulched and mulched until we had a good 3” of mulch on the areas assigned in the woodland garden. Every time one of us would go grab another load of mulch the other would continue weeding the other part of the woodland garden and the outer border as well. This did take up most of our day but around 3pm we finished, gathered everything up and heading for the shed. We cleaned out the shed initially and washed down the equipment. Josh stayed at the shed to put all the vehicles inside and grabbed the backpack blower to clean up around the property and following that swept the classroom while I got started on this lovely blog. Upon completion of the blog and plant profile if there is still time left we plan on helping Denise finish due to the vast amount of potting she has to do. Overall it was a very productive weekend despite the chilled windy weather, suspiciously were all getting the sniffles!
Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’
Jack Frost Siberian Bugloss
Opinion:
Great plant for any woodland garden due to its favoring of shady moist conditions, although it is the one variegated Brunnera that can handle the most direct sunlight. Its frosted heart shaped foliage forms a clumping growth habit and fills out nice and full with small blue flowers blooming in the spring. An excellent plant for the plant lovers garden because of its contrasting colours throughout the year.
Botanical Name: Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’
Common Name: Jack Frost Siberian Bugloss
Family: Boraginaceae
Group: Herbaceous perennial
Spread: 30 – 45 cm
Height: 30 – 45 cm
Growth: Medium rate, Clump form
Flower: Bloom mid-late spring, blue
Light: Shade to part sun
Pest/Disease: Leaf scorch if left in direct sun, botrytis, aphids and slugs.
USDA: 2 – 9
Foliage: Green with silver-white variegation
Soil: Normal to moist, don’t let dry out!
Uses: Woodland, rock, border, masses, specimen, ground cover and deer resistant.
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