Logee's comes to visit
Last Monday, Byron and Laurelynn Martin of Logee's , came to visit my farm in Bedford. Logee's is located in Danielson, Connecticut way up in the Northeastern corner of that state. I have been purchasing plants from their catalog for many years and you may recall seeing Byron as a guest on my television show, sharing his extensive knowledge of tropical plants for the home and garden. Logee's has been in business since 1892, with a focus on the exotic and unusual. And a visit to their greenhouses is a wondrous and enchanting experience.
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- Byron looked for other problems throughout the greenhouse.
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- In fact, Byron was quite impressed with how well all the plants are doing.
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- Shaun was so happy listening to Byron’s wealth of information.
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- This blue streptocarpus flower attracts a type of harmful flying insect. Thankfully, these flowers are clean.
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- Laurelynn admiring jasmine flowers
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- She likes to float the flowers in a pitcher of water in the refrigerator overnight to infuse the water with their wonderful flavor.
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- Shaun has been rooting these succulents.
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- Byron and Laurlynn drove from Northeastern Connecticut bearing gifts.
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- This is a T.R. Hovey dwarf papaya.
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- Shaun was thrilled with this box of tropical specimens.
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- Byron counted seventeen papayas on this tree!
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- Laurelynn brought a copy of their book, Container Plants. They’ve been busy working on a new book about tropical fruits in containers.
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- The leaves are amazingly patterned.
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- Byron loved how I planted these Kenneth Lynch urns.
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- He explained that the flowers of this purple pepper attract beneficial insects into the garden.
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- He also admired the yard-long beans growing on this support.
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- Hello, grasshopper on a rhubarb leaf!
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- Laurelynn was impressed with these elderberries and recalled her mother-in-law, Joy Logee Martin’s wonderful tea.
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- A cup of Joy – elder flower (she called it elder blo), lemon verbena, minty green tea (a blend of green tea, black tea and mint) – steep loose tea mixture – serve at 4:00 pm with clover honey
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- Shaun and Byron sharing a laugh in the equipment barn.
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- They stopped to admire the paddock fencing and the stable beyond.
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- Then Byron and Laurelynn met up with me – I had been busy with a photo shoot elsewhere on the farm.
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- I asked the photographer to join us in the greenhouse and take some photos of this extraordinary begonia.
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- This is begonia paulenisi – spiderweb begonia – which had never blossomed before.
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- A closeup of the unusual flower.
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- Byron Martin, Shaun, and Laurelynn Martin
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- Byron was very helpful in the greenhouse explaining to Shaun how to get rid of various plant pests.
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- For example, this palmate begonia has mealy bug and spraying it with insect growth regulator will stop the pest’s reproduction.
Byron and Laurelynn were so kind to present me with a gorgeous papaya tree and brought Shaun, my gardener, a collection of amazing plants, including:
Dionaea muscipula, Nepenthes ventricosa, Drosera adelae, Pinguicula pimuliflora, Drosera spathulata, Stapelia scitula, Stapelia variegata, Osmanthus fragrans fundingzhu, Philodendron gloriosum, Osmanthus fragrans, Piper magnificum, Piper nigrum, Grevillea thelemanniana, Stapelia flavopororea, Senecio rowleyanus, Philodendron 'congo rojo', Kalanchoe pumila, Stapelia gigantean, Philodendron 'pink princess', Vanilla planifolia variegatum, and Strongolodon macrobotrys.
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