I was very honored to receive the silver trowel award from the Long Island Master Gardeners at our last monthly meeting. I was really surprised and touched by the recognition.
Van Dyke Gardens: Our Garden
Posts from our Long Island Garden, in Islip NY
Our Chickens
Our wonderful little bantam hens. We have had many different girls throughout the years, we have only a couple of the original girls still. Every now and again we get baby chicks, and continue our giant chicken family. We get eggs from our chickens, there is nothing like fresh chicken eggs! We love having chickens in our yard, its a great sustainable pet to have.
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Early June 2014
Many flowers are blooming in our garden right now. Some of the beautiful plants include Hymenocallis Lilies, Lavender, Pop Art Zinnias, Double and Single Shasta Daisies, Asiatic Lilies, A bed of Hostas, Closed Lilies, Everlasting Sweet Pea, Threadleaf Coreopsis, Stewartia Tree (Pseudo Camellia), Spurge, Clematis Jackmanii, Sweet William, Peas and Carnations (dianthus.) The color on the Everlasting Sweet Peas is so cute! The pink is so bright and catches the eye.
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May 2014 Blooms
Early and Mid May in the backyard. Some of the flowers include Our Spring Bed, Bleeding Hearts, Dwarf Hostas, White Lunaria (Silver Dollar Plant) with Epimedium, Basket of Gold, Epimedium Bloom, Sedums, Moss Path with Irish and Scotch Moss and Bridal Wreath Spirea, Cherokee Princess (Dogwood), Hostas with Pulmonaria, Raspberry Epimedium, Creeping Phlox, Thundercloud Plum, Holland Tulips and Phlox, Viburnum, Thyme Path with Grape Hyacinths and Lavender, Standard Lilac, Wind Flower Anemone, Hellebore a Lenten Rose, Spice Bush Viburnum Carlesii, Dwarf Iris, Dianthus with Peanuts in the Vegetable Garden, Lavender and Jingle Shells, Gold Bar Miscantus Grass, Ruby Tears Weeping Cranberry Tree and Silvestri Anemone.
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May 16, 2014
Its mid-May here on Long Island, there are many flowers in bloom in our garden at the moment. They include Sensation lilacs, Primrose lilacs, Giant White lilacs, Josee lilacs, Standard lilacs, Betty Boo, Solomon’s Seal, Lily of Valley, Leatherleaf Viburnum and Sweet Woodruff. All of the lilac smells so wonderful, and the colors are extremely beautiful!
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April 2014
Its time for the flowers to start blooming! Here in our garden, we have many flowers coming up including: Crocus, Snowdrops (Galanthus), Spring Bed, Citrus Swizzle Forsythia, Checkered Frittilaria, Spirea, White Hyacinth, Peony, Eastern Redbud, Purple and White Lunaria, Asparagus, Vinca Vine, Andromeda, Red Oxalis, Yucca, Prickly Pear Cactus, Way too much Foxglove, Banana Tree, Meyer Lemon, Pineapple and Pear Tree.
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September 27, 2013
Here in our garden, during late September, we have many plants blooming including Mexican Sunflower (tithonia), Watermelon, Peanuts, Japanese Anemones, Thai Dragon Peppers, Cleomes, Cannas, Strawflower, Purple Aster, Blue Mink Ageratum, Porcelain Berry, Beauty Berry, Pineapple (because why not?), Zinnas and Marigolds. Everything is growing so nicely. All the different colors are so pleasing to the eye.
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September 13, 2013
Early September brings many flowers into bloom. Some flowers in our yard include Beauty Berry, Ageratum, Turtlehead, Autumn Joy and Dark Red Sedums, Love Lies Bleeding (Amaranth), Guara, Anemones, Perennial Fuschia, Osteospermum (African Daisies), tuberose and a fun mystery plant from Purple Nancy.
UPDATE: The mystery plant is called Talinum. Thanks to Margie Potash for identifying this plant for me! This particular variety is called: Talinum paniculatum ‘Limon’
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August 30, 2013
Late August brings bright and beautiful flowers. Some of the flowers in bloom include Hydrangea, Russian Sage, Ruby Glow Sedum, White Rose of Sharon, Lavender Chiffon Rose of Sharon, Japanese Anemones and Pink Anemones, and also Red Sunflowers. Everything is growing so great, I like that most of the flowers are in shades of pink!
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August 19, 2013
Mid-August brings beautiful flowers, vegetables and fruit. Plants in bloom include Kousa Dogwood, Double Purple Datura, Limelight Hydrangeas, Fuschia, Purple Hyacinth Bean Vine, Blueberries, Cucumbers, Cherry and Grape Tomatoes, Watermelon, Cannas and Gaillardia Razzle Dazzle. Look at this wonderful picture we got of the bee on our flowers as well- such a great moment to capture!
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Hoya Plant
This is our wonderful Hoya plant, also known as “Wax Vine.” After 25 years of blooming, I was finally able to capture the blooming process all in one day. The flowers are a pale pink color that drip a sweet honey-smelling liquid. It is very strong, but it is worth every second. The flowers are so beautiful and its amazing watching them bloom every year.
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August 2, 2013
The beginning of August brings in many plants. Some that are blooming for us including Shrimp Plant, Purple Coneflowers, Rudbeckia, Perennial Fuschia, Limelight Hydrangea (a tree form), Lavender Chiffon Rose of Sharon, Blueberries, Angel Earrings Fuschia, Dwarf Butterfly Bush, Cleomes, Portulaca, Daisies, Cannas, Geraniums, and Gerber Daisies. All the colors are so bright and beautiful!
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July 12, 2013
There are many flowers in bloom in mid-June in our yard. They include Angel Wing Begonia, Snake Plant, Meyer Lemon, Giant Yellow Daylilies, White Echinacea, Threadleaf Coreopsis in sunbeam and moonbeam varieties, Saint John’s Wort, Sedum blooms, Dwarf Hosta, Giant Yucca, Red Magic Daylily, Purple Balloon flowers, Fuschia Ricartonii (perennial!!), Hens and Chicks, Creeping Sedums, Larkspur, Strawflowers, Geranium, Cleome, Celosia, Gaillardia Razzle Dazzle, Gazanias, and Pink Petunias, Purple Passion and Lobelia in Hanging Baskets on the front porch.
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Hostas
All of the hostas are in full bloom right now. Some of our favorites include the Island Charm Dwarf Hosta, Another dwarf hosta (that we don’t know the name of) with big white splashes, Blue Kross Regal which is at least 4 feet across, Bright Yellow, Small Yellow, Massive Blue Ridged, Sum and Substance, Small Round Blue and Narrow Leaf Dark Green.
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June 28, 2013
Late June brings in a lot of blooms. Here are photos of some of the lovely flowers growing in our yard at the moment. They include Geranium Splish Splash, Dwarf White Astilbe, Pink Astilbe, Deep Pink Asiatic Lilies, Shasta Daisies, White Coneflower Echinacea, Pale Orange Asiatic Lilies, Bright White Lilies, Korean Hydrangea, Pink and Blue Hydrangea, Nikko Blue Hydrangeas, Bright Red Asiatic Lilies, Evening Primrose, Creeping Sedum, Stella Doro Daylilies, Honeysuckle, Threadleaf Coreopsis, Stewartia, Hostas and Forget Me Nots.
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June 19, 2013
Mid-June has many flowers blooming our garden. Some of the flowers include Asiatic Lilies, Stella Doro Dayilies, Shasta Daisies, Creeping Jenny, Hinoki Cyprus, Evening Primrose, Everlasting Sweet Pea, Lemon Yellow Coreopsis, Pink Dianthus, Dwarf Iris, Thyme, Lavender, Amelanchier (serviceberry tree), Dwarf Euonymous, Loyalist Hosta, Viburnum Kilimanjaro, Stiletto Dwarf Hosta, Brilliant Red Caladium, Geranium, Blueberries, Daffodils, Blue Hydrangea, Jackmanii Clematis, Houttuynia Cordata (chameleon plant), Plum Tomatoes, Rose Campion, and Brown Eyed Susans.
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Garage Sale Finds
Some of the best items can be found at garage sales, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Can you believe it was less than $30 for all of this stuff! Some of our great finds include a small wrought iron pig, a foot stool that I refurbished by covering it in a fabric to match our chair, A mirror that had farm animals on it and a cool metal mannequin used to hold flower pots!
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June 14, 2013
Many flowers are currently in bloom in our garden. Some of our favorites that are growing at the moment include Asiatic Lilies, Thyme, Strawberry Parfait Dianthus, Purple Coneflower, Lance Leaf Coreopsis, Clematis, Silvestri Anemone, Bleeding Hearts, Kiwi, Lettuce, Strawberries, and Knockout Rose. All the greenery is so beautiful, everything is so lush and lovely!
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June 10, 2013
Start of the deep summer blooms are beginning to show up. Some of the flowers growing are Bridal Veil Spiraea, Mock Orange Tree, Double Mock Orange Tree, Aztec Sunset Zinnia, White Snapdragon, Lavender, Hyacinth, Hosta, Volunteer Snapdragons, Crabapple Ruby Tears, Rose Campion blooms, Cannas, Gazania, Portulaca, Allysum, Lobelia, Geraniums, Rosemary, Tuberose Blubs, Ranunculus, and Kousa Dogwood.
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May 31, 2013
A lot of bright colors are popping out with the start of the summer in our yard. Flowers blooming in our garden include Pink Peonies, Pale Purple Lilacs, Sweet William in hot pink, pale pink and white, Yellow Siberian Iris, Pink and Red Pyrethrum (painted daisies), Dark Red Oxalis, Strawberries, Red California Poppies, and Foxglove (digitalis). All the colors are so beautiful!
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May 24, 2013
Many flowers are in bloom, bringing many bright colors. The plants blooming in our garden are Pink Petunias, Blue Lobelia, Coleus, Lobelia, Kous aDogwood, Jade Red Weigela, Lily of the Valley, Pink Azaleas, Giant White Irises, Carnival Weigela, Dark Purple Columbines, Dwarf Sedums, Red Rhodoendrum, A field of Sweet William, Cannas, Pink Pyrethrum, White Lunaria, Snapdragon, Spiderwort, Pink Carnations, Bachelors Buttons, and Scotch Broom.
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May 17, 2013
There are many flowers blooming in the garden. They include Euphorbia, Reticulated Iris, Sweet Woodruff, Jade Red Weigela, Purple Iris, Columbine, Wood Hyacinths, Josee Lilac, Sensation Lilac, Spiderwort, Pansies, Geum, Lily of the Valley, Blueberries, Light Green and Dark Green Moss, Violas, Rhododendron, Lumaria, Peony Buds, Woodland Hyacinth, Asparagus, Leatherleaf, Pink Azalea, Doublefile Viburnum tomentosum, and Ostrich Fern.
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May 8, 2013
The start of May brings a bunch of new flowers blooming in the yard, including Ruby Tears Weeping Crabapple, Spice Bush Viburnum (My favorite scent!!), thundercloud plum, Ajuga, Basket of Gold allysum, white Lilac, Lilac Josee’s delicate Dwarf flowers, Geum, and Standard Lilac. All the colors are so vibrant and beautiful, and the scent is to-die-for!
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