An alternative begonia worked better than expected in a container of Irene lantana and Black Magic colocasia in a Fountain Square garden. Photo courtesy Debra Boyer
Let’s pretend we’re in a drone, buzzing some Indianapolis-area, midsummer gardens to see what’s going on. Immediately observable: Plants seem bigger and more lush than normal.
“In general, all plants have shot up taller than usual, due to the heavy rains. This is particularly noticeable with woody perennials. It’s like they’re on steroids,” said Debra Boyer, a Marion County Master Gardener in Fountain Square.
“As for annuals, my wholesaler was out of Dragon Wing begonias so I purchased Big begonias from a retailer. They are striking in the container planting with ‘Irene’ Lantana and ‘Black Magic’ Colocasia. In this case, the alternative worked out better than what I planned,” said Boyer, a facility manager.
Also on the city’s southside, Sue Nord Peiffer praises her 20-year-old, native Hydrangea arborescens. “My shrub measures 6 foot wide by 4 foot high and has rarely been pruned. It may not be as showy or fancy as the hybrids, but it has about 100 blooms.”
The hydrangea teems with pollinators on sunny days and takes virtually no effort, but water during dry periods, said Peiffer, manager of the greenhouse at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. “I grow it on the north side of my house in fairly deep shade. I love this plant.”
In Avalon Hills on the city’s northeast side, Jane Lommel, past president of Binford Redevelopment and Growth, has hundreds of hostas in her woodland garden. “This year, they are uniformly much taller and wider than usual. And the blooms are bigger and fuller than in years past.” She’ll soon be adding ‘Claude Shride’, a bright, dark red Martagon lily from Indianapolis’ Soule’s Gardens, for more color among the hostas.
Hendricks County Master Gardener Colletta Kosiba has marveled at the vigor of all plants. The most impressive are the hostas, with leaves at least one-third bigger than ever before, she said. “The second most impressive are the butterfly weed plants. It’s a very good year for them, too.”
Greenwood-based freelance writer and editor, Brian D. Smith, who dubs himself Mr. Tomato Head, planted his usual combination of heirloom and tasty hybrids. “It’s a given that the hybrids grow fast, but this year my heirlooms – ‘Pink Brandywine’, ‘Cherokee Purple’, ‘Great White’ – are reaching for the sky at nearly the same rate as the hybrids. And nearly every plant has already begun kicking out at least one or two ‘greenies.’ Apparently they like the weather we’ve had since late May, although I can’t help thinking they’d enjoy a stretch of mid-80s temperatures more than the 90s.”
The early season warm temps and plentiful rain have benefitted my landscape, too, in many of the ways described by the other gardeners. Most notably, though, I have towering thistle, lamb’s quarter, fleabane and other weeds where I’ve never had them before. Mother Nature sometimes delivers the good with the bad.