Dig It-Malaysian Monarch

Today's "Dig It" is a tip of the hat to Autumn Belle, who was kind enough to leave a comment on last week's post. Check out her blog which comes to us from Malaysia-thus Malaysian Monarch (Munson 1986) is my choice for today.

This early to mid-season daylily reaches a height of 18-24" and has semi-evergreen foliage. A 1993 Award of Merit winner, Malaysian Monarch has stunning 6" blossoms of purple with cream-white throats. It may lack fragrance, but certainly provides a visual impact in the garden bed.

Happy gardening!
Cheryl

Dig It-Slovak Prince

Usually we post our "Dig It" on a Monday and also try to feature a plant that is currently or soon to be in bloom. Today's feature is neither.

Slovak Prince (Mego 2003) is a tall bearded iris Slovakian import and so were my grandparents on my dad's side of the family. This 33" stately iris has a one of a kind appearance with its white standards finely edged with a gold rim, along with rich grape-purple falls containing white veining. Add to this an appealing light scent and you know why it has become one of my favorites.

Today would have been my dad's 97th birthday which is why I'm posting on Tuesday. Like this iris, my dad was a prince of a man, taking over parenting duties for three children at a time when it was almost unheard of for a father to do so. He had a ready smile, crazy sense of humor, and warm heart felt by all who knew him. I feel his presence daily. He was and always will be my Slovak Prince.

Happy Gardening!
Cheryl

Happy Birthday, Jeremy!!!

Jeremy-as hard working in the field as he is on the computer

On a personal note today, I would like to wish my son, Jeremy, a most wonderful birthday. Without him there would be no Pittsgrove web site and no blog. It was with his encouragement that the blog was started. "Go ahead, Mom. Once you start blogging, you'll really enjoy it!" Well he was right---I do. He has also tried to get me to twitter, but for now I'll leave that up to the birds.