tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81645927458616885632012-02-16T08:09:39.077-05:00Cie Stroudnoreply@blogger.comBlogger211100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164592745861688563.post-84565308438369638072008-10-06T00:09:00.007-04:002008-10-06T00:29:39.108-04:00

First, a big thank-you goes to Dale Griep for the title of this post. Dale recently started a thread on Dave’s Garden (you know, the big online garden-chat site) about sports that had popped up this season, and since then the thread has attracted comments from respondents in at least three countries! I thought I’d post a few sports here. More will follow anon, once I find some of my older

Ray Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00923196395864090675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164592745861688563.post-75754799107643224952008-09-26T20:33:00.008-04:002008-09-26T20:56:59.041-04:00

Two weeks ago tonight, the Atlock Farm crew was wondering if the clouds and rain would banish themselves – and they did. A rainless, though quite humid, Coleus Day on September 13 brought out a couple of hundred attendees. Here are some pictures of the happy crowd who helped make the day a big success. By the way, I didn’t take these pictures - I was going nonstop for all six hours, meeting and

Ray Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00923196395864090675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164592745861688563.post-70238245022875459872008-09-25T10:58:00.003-04:002008-09-25T11:28:34.513-04:00

Just a quickie today, folks. Adrian Higgins of the Washington Post visited Atlock Farm on Coleus Day, and here's what he wrote:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/24/AR2008092400821.htmlSorry that it's not linked, but the software isn't responding to my request to add the link. I'm looking into this. In the meantime, please cut and paste the URL (above) into your browser.

Ray Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00923196395864090675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164592745861688563.post-16221124638832793642008-09-03T14:18:00.019-04:002008-09-03T14:55:51.365-04:00

Things are heating up as everything comes together for Coleus Day at Atlock Farm on Saturday, September 13, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Please see Atlock’s website at www.atlockfarm.com for directions. This post offers an extensive armchair tour of the gardens and other sights at Atlock. I hope to see many of you among the coleus soon!A note to anyone who has been following this blog: while I think

Ray Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00923196395864090675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164592745861688563.post-57229684694864042882008-08-27T23:43:00.006-04:002008-08-27T23:57:11.248-04:00

I spent some time at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum yesterday (Tuesday, August 26) to check out the big raised-bed planting (see “Do you still think . . .” from August 5 for more info) and to see how the other coleus were faring. Nicely, I'm glad to report. But first, I'd like to recognize someone who helped plant the raised bed: thank you, John Lazenby, for your efforts and interest in this

Ray Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00923196395864090675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164592745861688563.post-68006218394914876662008-08-24T13:18:00.017-04:002008-08-24T15:00:37.269-04:00

Today I'm posting pictures that I hope will whet your appetite to attend Coleus Day at Atlock on September 13, or certainly to check out the pictures I'll post of the event. Less than three weeks to go! I'm going to be conservative with the words and liberal with the pictures (hmm, are the national political conventions about to take place?).First I hope you'll enjoy the picture, then the words -

Ray Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00923196395864090675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164592745861688563.post-78167028567245517632008-08-22T23:41:00.002-04:002008-08-22T23:50:30.590-04:00

This is a post for those of you who have been asking for more "hard-core" information on growing coleus. I wrote this a while back for an article that appeared somewhere (sheesh, there's a senior moment!), and it addresses some important aspects.New viewers to this site (and repeaters, if you wish): if you would, please contact me at rayro@optonline.net to let me know you've paid a visit, and

Ray Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00923196395864090675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164592745861688563.post-39052135559323650402008-08-20T13:27:00.005-04:002008-08-20T15:16:17.885-04:00

so I did, with my good friend, Richard Hartlage, as the principal photographer, and Timber Press as the publisher. It's the only book in print on coleus, and I - no bias here! - think it's packed with useful information, dazzling photographs, and a few amusing bits of prose. Here's the front cover:The book contains 404 full-color photographs and presents 225 cultivars in the encyclopedia section,

Ray Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00923196395864090675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164592745861688563.post-35901950251568951012008-08-17T21:44:00.004-04:002008-08-17T22:42:28.351-04:00

The header of this post refers to the magazine with the title of Fine Gardening, not to the alleged level of horticulture at the nursery where I play (although there is some mighty satisfactory gardening happening there this summer!). I'm going to write an article on coleus for FG, which will publish sometime in 2009. Brandi Spade, one of FG's editor/photographers, arrived at Atlock last Thursday

Ray Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00923196395864090675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164592745861688563.post-2626671765971570292008-08-14T13:06:00.004-04:002008-08-14T13:45:38.930-04:00

I'm making this post because 1) I haven't made one in a little while and had promised myself that I would make regular posts until Coleus Day and 2) I want to see if I've figured out how to post vertical photos. So we shall see. If it doesn't post vertically, then it's back to the drawing board.I still use a little 3.2 megapixel camera with a tiny display screen, and I have very few options to

Ray Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00923196395864090675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164592745861688563.post-6419567267952808352008-08-08T17:36:00.008-04:002008-08-08T18:47:28.762-04:00

Five weeks from tomorrow is Coleus Day at Atlock Farm (see my post "Back in the Saddle Again" made a week ago)! Here are some "before" pictures to give you an idea of where things stand. I hope they whet your appetite to attend - or if you can't make it, to keep watching this blog site for more pictures and stories. I'll do my best to take and post a bunch of pictures from the Day, so you might

Ray Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00923196395864090675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164592745861688563.post-85297366707715945872008-08-05T11:40:00.003-04:002008-12-10T14:05:19.449-05:00

Do you still think that coleus must be grown in the shade? The Frelinghuysen Arboretum in Morristown, NJ, offers proof that coleus thrive in plenty in sun. Several weeks ago, two Arboretum employees and I planted 15 different selections in a sunny raised bed, and all but two of the selections are growing splendidly. More on them later.Not only can you see these sun-loving coleus in the flesh (so

Ray Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00923196395864090675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164592745861688563.post-66716290076062379922008-08-03T10:44:00.005-04:002008-12-10T14:05:20.087-05:00

Hello again, fellow coleophiles! I'm reviving this blog to announce an exciting event: Coleus Day at Atlock Farm in Somerset, NJ. The picture shows a portion of the coleus "encyclopedia," which has recently been pinched back and (I hope!) will be in its prime on Saturday, September 13. Here's the press release that will be going out this week:COLEUS DAY AT ATLOCK FARM IN SOMERSET, NEW

Ray Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00923196395864090675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164592745861688563.post-47740718646212239772007-09-11T21:07:00.000-04:002008-12-10T14:05:24.900-05:00

OK, you skeptics, I hear you laughing, but consider this: the Garden State, which I’ve called home for more than 15 years now, contains its fair share of superb gardens. As part of a program known as Open Days, the generous owners of some of them open their gates to benefit the Garden Conservancy, the organization founded “to preserve exceptional American gardens for public education and

Ray Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00923196395864090675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164592745861688563.post-53595497905031091462007-09-07T20:56:00.000-04:002008-12-10T14:05:27.504-05:00

Many gardening rituals are observed annually at Atlock Farm: potting hardy bulbs in fall for forcing into bloom during winter, removing the perennials and hardy woody plants from winter storage in early spring, and placing winter-weary tropical plants outdoors in late spring, for example. As the Curator of the Coleus Collection (I’m still working on getting the gang to call me that), I’m in

Ray Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00923196395864090675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164592745861688563.post-39648779712779826992007-08-29T17:58:00.000-04:002008-12-10T14:05:27.956-05:00

Yes, this really is a test. I fired up my brand-new iMac today and want to see if the software works. If it does work, expect an entry on my recent visit to the Rutgers garden to appear soon. In the meantime, I hope the attached picture from Rutgers appears. It shows one of several attractive plantings in the garden.

Ray Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00923196395864090675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164592745861688563.post-32766811930717313422007-08-19T22:04:00.000-04:002008-12-10T14:05:30.720-05:00

Remember the volunteer seedling I discovered in one of the gardens at Atlock Farm? If you don’t, here is a picture of it in its infancy: Over the past month or so since that photo was taken, very favorable conditions encouraged that little seedling to grow much larger. However, notice how the bright pink on the youngest leaves is completely absent from the upper, newer foliage.    Although most

Ray Rogershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00923196395864090675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164592745861688563.post-18814528667761329782007-08-08T12:50:00.000-04:002008-12-10T14:05:32.527-05:00

Last Friday (August 3) I judged at the New Jersey State Fair in Sussex County (when not spotting, admiring, photographing, and promoting coleus, that is). Not long ago, a few been-there, seen-that coleus might have been relegated to out-of-the-way corners of a public venue as this, but no longer. It seems to me that coleus are becoming as ubiquitous as petunias, geraniums, and ornamental sweet

Cie Stroudnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164592745861688563.post-22809434083561758002007-08-03T07:33:00.000-04:002008-12-10T14:05:32.781-05:00

Whoever invented Oasis, the lightweight and water-absorbing foam blocks gleefully embraced by flower arrangers, deserves a big thank-you from coleophiles. Now available as little “cubes” (better described as “wedges,” really) nestled neatly into plastic strips, wet Oasis seems to coax roots from a coleus cutting almost overnight. We keep a good supply of the Oasis strips on hand at Atlock Farm,

Cie Stroudnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164592745861688563.post-22409894885324477162007-07-25T01:28:00.000-04:002008-12-10T14:05:34.386-05:00

While knocking around in one of the gardens at Atlock Farm a few weeks ago, I spotted a tiny but colorful plant and immediately went over for a closer look. To my surprise, it was an infant coleus. While volunteer coleus may be commonplace in areas with warmer winters, in central Jersey it’s quite rare for me to spot one coming up from a seed that most likely spent the winter outside. I carefully

Cie Stroudnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8164592745861688563.post-17407725632358001712007-07-19T13:31:00.000-04:002007-07-19T13:34:05.147-04:00

Welcome to the blog! Allow me introduce myself: I’m Ray Rogers. I usually describe myself as a freelance gardening author and speaker (see www.showplants.net), but in this sphere I’d like to express my alter ego as a long-time coleus enthusiast and someone who wants to help create the Coleus Society. This site went online just a few days ago, so please bear with me as the kinks get worked out.

Cie Stroudnoreply@blogger.com