Bluegrass Lane Flowers

From Melissa Kitchen:

Looking for something fun to do the weekend of July 16-17? Come to the Flower Open House at Bluegrass Lane, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.!

We have 1000+ annuals and perennials, so be sure to bring your camera. The gardens are not typically open to the public, so take this opportunity to see this hidden treasure. Feel free to share this freely with friends. Everyone is welcome.

To preview the gardens, find us online at www.hort.cornell.edu/bglannuals/ and also on Facebook.

View google map.

Images, ratings and other data from the 2010 annual flower trials at Bluegrass Lane Turf and Landscape Research Center are now available online.

The 2010 trials tested 178 cultivars of recently released or not-yet-available annual flower and foliage plants. Staff photographed and rated each cultivar every two weeks through the growing season on flowering impact, foliage, uniformity and overall landscape value.

The cream of the crop — best overall and best in category — are featured on the site’s Recognition page.

Six companies helped sponsor the 2010 trials:

• Ball FloraPlant (18 entries)
• Burpee (29 entries)
• Danziger Flower Farm (12 entries)
• Pan American Seed (19 entries)
• Proven Winners (52 entries)
• Syngenta Flowers (65 entries)

The research facility is not usually open to the public. But you can view this year’s trials at the Cornell Floriculture Field Day, July 19. Several open houses are in spring and summer are tentatively planned, as well.

Follow annual flower research at Bluegrass Lane on Facebook.

Some of the latest from Melissa’s Plant of the Week photo album.

Pulsatilla vulgaris:

Pulsatilla vulgaris

Lilium ‘Black Beauty’

Lilium 'Black Beauty'

Ageratum Patina Delft Blue

Ageratum Patina Delft Blue

Alstroemeria ‘Tangerine Tango’

Alstroemeria 'Tangerine Tango'

These were the three favorite perennials of attendees at the 2010 Floriculture Field Day:

Lilium ‘Conca d’Or’ Melissa says: “The base of the stem is like a tree trunk…easily 1.5-inches across!”

Lilium 'Conca d'Or'

And … “Blooms are easily 7-inches across and very fragrant!”

Lilium 'Conca d'Or'

Second place: Phlox paniculata Volcano ‘White’ and Volcano ‘Candy Stripe’

Third place: Heliopsis ‘Asahi’

These were the three favorite annuals of attendees at the 2010 Floriculture Field Day:

Pennisetum Graceful Grasses ‘Vertigo’ by Proven Winners:

Pennisetum Graceful Grasses 'Vertigo'

Cleome ‘Senorita Rosalita’ by Proven Winners:

Cleome 'Senorita Rosalita'

Coleus ‘Spitfire’ by Proven Winners:

Coleus 'Spitfire'

If you missed the 2010 Cornell Floriculture Field Day July 20, you can enjoy some of it vicariously through these sites:

• Photo gallery of 2010 Kathy Pufahl Container Competition
• Field Day 2010 photo album on the Cornell University’s Annual Flower Trials Facebook page.

At the field day, guests voted for their favorite annuals and perennials. The top three annuals were:

1. Pennisetum Graceful Grasses ‘Vertigo’
2. Cleome ‘Senorita Rosalita’
3. Coleus ‘Spitfire’

The top perennials were:

1. Lilium Conca d’Or’
2. Phlox paniculata Volcano ‘White,’ AND Volcano ‘Candy Stripe’
3. Heliopsis ‘Asahi’

Pictures of these favorites coming shortly.

Allan Armitage leads walk-around at 2010 Floriculture Field Day.

Some of the latest from Melissa’s Plant of the Week photo album.

Week 25: Pennisetum 'Fireworks'

Week 26: Persicaria polymorpha at sunset

Week 27:Phlox (Intensia, Blueberry)

See Plant of the Week photo album for more featured plants.

Program and registration details are all set for the 2010 Cornell Floriculture Field Day, including the Kathy Pufahl Container Competition.

The morning program on the Cornell campus features:

• Coloring the Landscape, Bruce Hellerick, Senior Horticulturist, The Brickman Group
• “Y” does this generation needs your plants, passion, and energy?, Carmen Johnston,Nectar and Company
• Update from the Department of Agriculture & Markets, Margaret Kelly, Asst. Director, Division of Plant Industry
• Taming the Beast: Effective use of Plant Growth Regulators, Bill Miller, Cornell University
• Beyond the Blue Horizon: Alternatives to Liquid Fertilizers, Neil Mattson, Cornell University
• 10 Native Plants that Work in the Landscape and How to Grow Them, Dan Segal, The Plantsmen Nursery

The afternoon program at Bluegrass Lane features lunch, walkabouts, container contest and an ice cream social. (Lunch and ice cream sponsored by Lambert Peat Moss Company.)

You might also be interested in attending the IPM In-Depth, Hands-on Workshop on July 19. This year, sessions will focus on soilless media, fungal diseases and mites. Find out more.

The latest from Melissa’s Plant of the Week photo album.

Trifolium rubens

Amsonia hubrichtii

See Plant of the Week photo album for more featured plants this week, including Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’ and Crambe cordifolia,

Melissa Kitchen’s new photo album provides a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to grow annual for the trials.

Irrigation lines in place before mulching.

2010 crew planting annual beds