MERRIFIELD GARDEN CENTER - 6-29-23 - PART 2

 These are the plants and flowers seen outside. We looked at dozens of them, trying to decide what would grow best where we intended to put them in large-ish planters on the deck.  We have a lot of shade and had to take that into account.  We are very thankful to the friendly, knowledgeable staff who gave us lots of good advice.  

This pretty flower in my next photo is Rocket Larkspur.  Its other names are Giant Larkspur, Doubtful knight's spur, Eastern larkspur and Larkspur.  Botanical name: Consolida ajacis. Native to Eurasia but is widely grown in the United States as an ornamental, and known for its tall spikes of blooms in blue, pink or white.   

It is very toxic unfortunately, due to types of alkaloids found in the aerial parts of the seeds.  "The word aerial when relating to plants simply denotes the structures of a plant that is above ground, including the stems, leaves and petioles.  Petioles is the stalk that joins a leaf to a stem, flowers, fruits and seeds."   That information came from here, and you can read more about the flower here.

  There was quite a large magnolia tree for sale in a huge planter.  I didn't see a price but am still curious at how much something like that would cost, not that we were thinking about it.  We don't have a large enough garden to accommodate something that big.  It can grow from 1 to 2 feet a year, reaching 60 to 80 feet tall, with canopies spreading 30 to 50 feet wide.  I took photos of it instead.

The Southern magnolia is also known as Big laurel, Evergreen magnolia, Bull bay and Large tree magnolia (botanical name Magnolia grandiflora).  They are native to southeastern United States, from southeastern North Carolina to central Florida, and west to East Texas.  It attracts all kinds of wildlife, including birds.  They are pollinated by ants, yellow jackets and flies.  Therefore, sparrows, flickers and wrens might frequent them.  In parts of South America you might also find antbirds who feast on ants around these trees.  Late summer fruits prove excellent sources for cardinals, grosbeaks, finches, tanagers, and woodpeckers.  Wild turkeys also consume the leaves and twigs of southern magnolia.  Thank you to my app, Picture This, for all this great information today.  You can also read about the magnolia at this link.

There are lots of coneflowers on this aisle.  I didn't buy any today but was happy to admire them.

Artisan Red Ombre coneflowers (according to its info) and more can be found here.  I looked at my picture app and it gave me another name of coneflower.  I wasn't sure so didn't want to give the incorrect information. I trusted the garden center for the correct name.  I rarely have a bad ID with this app but if I am not sure, I won't repeat what I have read and as always, I welcome help if you think I have mistakenly ID’d anything.  I love learning every day.

In the photo below is Siberian Bugloss, also known as Largeleaf brunnera, Great forget-me-not and False forget-me-not, to name a few.  It should be planted in an area that is shade to part shade.  Native to the Caucasus, a region between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea.  More information can be read here on the geography of that area.  It is a hardy rhizomatous, herbaceous plant and is deer resistant.  The word 'bugloss' is a Greek word meaning 'ox tongue'. It is thought it was so named because its leaves are heart-shaped, and its texture is bumpy and rough.  You will see weeks of delicate blue flowers resembling forget-me-nots that flower in early to mid-Spring and they can last until early summer.  This link will tell you more.

Fern-leafed Bleeding Hearts (info at this link.)

This information sign was located above the flowers.

The next photo was taken near the small koi pond that they have.  

I didn't write a lot of information about these, but I will provide a link where you can click on its name if curious.  My Picture App said that the large yellow-ish round plant was an Hinoki Cypress, the plant on the red rock lower left, Gold moss stonecrop and the flowers below it, Blue plantain lily.   These links are businesses where you can buy the plants, except for the last one which is a Hosta plant.  I tried to find simpler websites without success.

Tiger Lily, with more information here.  Also called the Devil lily, Japanese lily and Kentan.  Its botanical name is Lilium lancifolium.  A perennial plant that prefers filtered sunlight, so they would work in several parts of our garden.  

By this time I had had two lengthy chats with people from the center, and they were very knowledgeable and answered all our questions.  We bought two large green pots, which we left to be filled and picked up the next day.  (I will take photos for another post.)  It was exceedingly hot and I was beginning to feel like this little dog.  I think our expressions were the same, tongue and all!  We shot sympathizing looks at each other.  It was the first really humid day we've experienced so far this year.  My Virginia-born hubby loves it.  I on the other hand had had enough and was feeling a bit cranky with the heat.  I've said it before, but I don't know what on earth I would do if I lived further south, or in other tropical climes around the world.  I haven't changed since experiencing that first summer in Virginia in 1976 (I moved here in December 1975).  I used to lie flat out underneath the window air conditioner in our apartment in Alexandria.  I had never felt that kind of heat/humidity before.  So, how are you with extreme humidity?  Yes, I don't mind admitting it, I am a wimp in that area.

I couldn't see a price on the butterfly yard art and wasn't sure it was for sale, maybe.  I took the photo on the fly while I was heading for the car.

  

My over-heater was overheated.  The humidity had left me light-headed and I felt faint.  Speaking of which, my dear other half, bless his cotton socks, sent me this.  He is always teasing me, a fun teasing not an uncomfortable teasing, and I return in kind. It’s good to not take ourselves too seriously isn’t it?  I received this from him shortly after our trip out.  I laughed!   At least my face hasn't turned into a patchwork quilt of purples, reds and blues.  That first year it gave my new hubby a bit of a shock, and to this day he keeps an eye on me.

Some of the life-cycle of a caterpillar poster was obscured at the bottom but... 

I found this online, along with yet more interesting information.

My last photo was in the shade.  I think there was an outdoor fan nearby because I immediately felt myself cooling down, the half-way point to the car.  It shows part of the koi pond and there are actually small koi swimming around.  It's a very pretty, well done little area and my photo doesn't do it justice. I enjoyed the coolness of this spot so much that my dear other half, who had been inside purchasing our planters, was walking to the car as I arrived.

So that's all from the garden center.  I hope to be getting back there several times over the growing season.  It's my favorite place for buying plants.