Impatiens Tower

One of the gardens on the Montgomery County Master Gardener had a really neat tower of impatiens that everyone fell in love with. The gardener (David) was kind enough to share instructions for it with me. I have the instructions available if anyone would like them, just email me. There is also a picture of David's tower in that post where I talked of the tour of David's garden.

There are some of the supplies above for our very own impatiens tower. It has taken me about one year to finally get around to making one. It is not a complicated thing to make, just time consuming and we needed a special hole drill bit to drill the holes into the thick PVC. That took time to find. Mr. Fix-it actually made the tower for me. He is such a sweetie and helps me so much in the garden. He is really the brains behind mechanical things and without him I'd be lost. There he is drilling the small holes into the inside pipe of the tower. I had the bright of idea of drilling bigger holes so the water would drain into the outer tube faster. He said no no. You actually want smaller holes so the water will slowly seep. Dave's instruction call for 1/8 inch holes. I actually think that size is a bit too big, but we went with it anyhow. We were fortunate in that we had the PVC pipes laying around. A fellow Freecycler had passed them along to me. I think PVC works in the garden really well. It will not rot, rust or decay. A good thing. The smaller pipe with the water holes goes inside of a larger pipe. The larger pipe has 2" holes drilled in it wherever you want the flowers to go. I finally found what I think is a good spot and dug a hole about 2' deep in order to 'plant' the tower. Once the pipes were stabilized I hand filled the gap created by the inner and outer pipes with a good mix of humus and soil. I then planted the impatiens in each hole. Be sure to add Osmocote or some other slow release fertilizer to each hole. You can use other plants besides impatiens. I think begonias, marigolds, petunias, calicabroas, or sedums would look great as well. I have a lot of shade so impatiens make sense to me.

The impatiens are happy in their tower. My only complaint is with watering and the fact I might have drilled the holes closer together so the plants would grow together faster. Theoretically filling the inner pipe with water will water all of the impatiens. Not so. The water drains out faster than I can fill the pipe so only the bottom flowers get water from the inner pipe. I usually just hand spray each impatiens as necessary. It has not been a big deal but if I had to do it all over again I'd make smaller holes all over the inner pipe. I'd also make the planting holes a bit smaller. Maybe about 1.5 inches. Simply because once planted the roots will take over inside of the pipe and spread out, thus holding in the soil. Right now the soil sometimes washes out. Dave's tower works better for him though, so maybe the problem is just me. At any rate, I do really like this impatiens tower. Everyone who has come by is drawn to it. It is simple to make and a fun way to get a lot of plants in a small space....

in the garden....

A Sea of Touch Me Nots

It might not be a villa on the French Riviera, but by golly, this villa has a sea surrounding it. A sea of green touch me nots.
Set against a backdrop of more green.

It is a haven for birds of all types. Once the touch me nots begin blooming, the hummingbirds will be so thick you cannot imagine the sight.

The touch me nots create a micro-climate where no weed dare tread. It is cool and moist and cozy in this thicket, yet no burrs, no ticks, and no pesky weeds. A gardener's haven for sure.

The Rose of Sharons will begin blooming about the same time as the touch me nots. There are also crepe myrtles mixed in the bunch, all backed by a hedge of 8 feet tall arborvitae. On the other side of arborvitae are red barberries and the chain link fence. This garden is my 'Picket Garden' and one of my most unique. I've never seen another garden with touch me nots and I am not sure why. Even though they are prolific seeders, they are easy to pull-but why would you? Plant them in a boggy area or rain garden and they will filter all run off while providing an excellent bird habitat and will also keep the weeds down.

in the garden....a sea of green touch me nots.

Touch Me Not Seedlings

You just have to love little wildflowers like Touch me nots. These are native wildflowers growing throughout most of the North American continent according to this USDA website noting its range. I find them easy to grow in my garden. A bit of shade, a bit of moisture and protection-and it is a sure bet these hummingbird magnets will make an appearance about this time each year. They cover a 20' x 6' foot area mixed in with some shrubs in my garden. All these seedlings are a delightful sight! Two years ago when we had the late freeze I lost most of the seedlings growing at that time, but a few near the bowling balls and under the picket fence survived and have been able to carry on the fun in my garden.

When out walking in the woods you come upon some seedlings that look like the ones above it is very likely they are touch me nots. They are quite easy to transplant in this state into your garden for your very own touch me not garden.

Once summer is upon us, these tiny seedlings will quickly reach 3-4 feet in height and will cover themselves with orange flowers. Then the fun part starts. The touch me nots bloom until the first frost and as the flowers go by, they turn in to seedpods. The seedpods explode when ripe with the slightest touch-hence-touch me not or you get a surprise!

You all have a great weekend.

in the garden....

Touch Me Not!

What is the funnest plant in your garden??? What is the one plant that makes everyone laugh and happy? Well in my garden it is the Touch me nots. Sure I have pineapple sage (smells like pineapples), lemon verbena (strong lemon smell), agastache (licorice smell), lambs ears (soft fuzzy touch) and a few other plants I consider fun for children and adults like, but none can compare to the touch me nots.

Touch me nots are also known as Jewelweed. Their botanical name is Impatiens capensis. They grow to about 3-4 feet tall in my garden and are well branched. There is a new variety out as published in a spring issue of Fine Gardening. I ordered these blue touch me nots from Cistus Nursery in Portland Oregon. The plants weren't too awful expensive but the shipping was more than the cost of two plants I purchased! It was well worth it because just look at that blue. These have been blooming since June. The orange touch me nots since August. So what makes these plants fun? Just ask my friend Judie, or Mike, or Aleesa and Vonna, or my neighbor's children as they all found out in person what is fun about these plants. The seedpods are little bombs just ready to explode with the slightest touch. I always like to surprise people and say here, look get yourself some seeds. Of course the seedpod explodes and they jump and are shocked thinking they did something wrong. They broke it! Such a fun plant for me and them! Of course the mini explosion feels a bit funny to the unfamiliar. These plants are lots of fun. As a kid in Maine we kids would find touch me nots in the woods and endeavor to pop all the seedpods we could find.
I have quite a stand of touch me nots. The gardening year of 2007 did set them way back, but they are still here. If I walk through my stand of these lovely wildflowers the seedpods pop like crazy and I can hear the seeds falling and exploding all around me. Quite a neat thing. The seedpod is pictured above with ripe seeds below. The last picture is even better at showing just how the seedpod breaks apart. It is literally spring loaded and those seeds can fly a good 5 feet I am guessing. The seedpod automatically drops from the plant once it is exploded.

I have heard that only hummingbirds can pollinate these wildflowers due to the set up of the pistil and stamen in the cone shaped flower. I can't find research on this, but take my word for it when I say the hummingbirds are thick and heavy in this garden. The sap of the jewelweed can also be used as an antidote to poison ivy. Good thing since both of these plants grow in the same area. A lifesaver for kayakers and rock climbers like my two daughters. You need only break the stems and rub the sap on the affected area of skin by the urushiol oil from the poison ivy.

These plants are normally woodland plants. As such they need part shade and moist, organic soil. I have mine situated in a low area amongst a hedge of arborvitae. One year you could just see the tips of the arborvitae and NO weeds grew in the garden due to the micro-climate the jewelweed produces when it grows happily. They return from seeds every year in the same spot-though spreading a bit they are easily contained.

So, now that you know the funnest, neatest plant in my garden (at least for now)-a spring loaded touch me not, what is your funnest plant? The one plant your visitors most enjoy having fun with?

in the garden....

Impatiens Galore!

Okay, maybe I am s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g things a bit to be talking about impatiens in the wintertime. But I thought a breath of summer might be just the thing to cheer ME up. It is VERY cold here in Tennessee with the blast of Arctic air that has come our way from the north. I am not sure about anyone else, but I am just not used to this cold. I don't plan to work in the garden but I will still walk through with lots of coats on.

I love impatiens and can't have enough of them, though this past summer they were not good plants for me. You will notice this picture was taken in 2005. I have not had such a grand display since, nor will I ever again. I just refuse to water them enough each year to keep them looking good. There is also another reason-volunteers.

Impatiens CAN self seed. I did not know this my first year planting them here in Tennessee. Imagine my surprise when little seedlings began appearing in very odd places. I just love the effect of volunteers but I must say, volunteers have a tendency to mess up nicely laid out color plans such as is displayed in this picture. I did a red and white color scheme this particular year. A pink or purple or even a red and white striped volunteer impatien popping up amongst this planting would ruin the effect. Don't you think?



Now, my gardening has fortunately taken a kind of hands off approach. I want to let things grow where they will in whatever color they choose. I guess you would call it the cottage style of gardening, everything mixed together getting along with one another. Kind of like I wish humankind could live. Now, I sometimes have impatiens pop up in this garden and they are sometimes red or white, more often pink or purple or red and white striped.

If you want to be sure of having impatiens come back in your garden, plants some plants in a moist area such as around your air conditioning unit or heat pump where the condensation will overflow into the garden. This is where I always have volunteers show up each spring, and I never have to water them! Color schemes optional here.

in the garden....freezing.