Three Cheers for Diane!

I had almost given up on seeing flowers of a decent size and color on my Witch Hazel, Diane. I was drawn to this particular Witch Hazel when I saw it on one of Paul James’ episodes of Gardening by the Yard on HGTV. I spent a lot of time researching this plant to make sure that it was hardy for my central Ohio zone 5b garden, and according to USDA plant guidelines it is. I just had to have it. Each year, around this time, I would go out in the yard and hope that I would see something spectacular. Well, this time, I was surprised in a good way. Check it out! You may want to have this plant in your garden too.

Hamamelis x intermedia Diane

This plant is hardy in zones 5-8. The fall leaf color is red, orange and yellow. I'll need to post a picture of the leaves in the fall. For now, I will just enjoy the wonderful colors of Diane!

Our Visit to the Central Ohio Home and Garden Show

It was a great day for our visit to the Central Ohio Home and Garden Show. The rain was coming down in buckets and even though the temperature was in the mid forties it felt much colder with the wind chill. What a great day for a garden stroll! The majority of our day was spent checking out the gardens, but we did see HGTV star Carter Oosterhouse, host of Carter Can, as he began his talk. I got a picture from the back of the crowd. It was well attended, as you can imagine.

Our mission was to find green that day, so here are the highlights from our visit. The shows theme was Gardens that Rock!

At two central entrances to the gardens, Lang Stone landscaped two gardens with both plants and hardscapes.

Warwick's Landscaping was the Rockin' Robin garden. The song Rockin' Robin was playing in the background.

This garden included a lot of brightly colored spring flowers, such as daffodils, tulips, crocuses, and hyacinths. These are really what I come to see each February. Just made you feel like spring is right around the corner.

Snow Fountain Weeping Cherry

Sugartyme Crabapple

Seely's garden was the Jailhouse Rock. Elvis was in attendance in this garden.

Arnold's Promise Witch Hazel
Coral Bark Japanese Maple

Benchmark's garden was named Classic Rock. Rock songs from the 60's, 70's and 80's played as you walked through this garden. This garden reflected a Hocking Hills' environment. The entrance featured a path through a cave. Plants in this garden included those found on the forest floor, as well as plants that form a canopy.





Riepenhoff's garden was titled an Octopus' Garden. It was based on a Beatles' 1968 hit song. This was an eco-friendly shade garden. The patio was built with permeable pavers which direct storm water back into the environment. This garden included white crabapples, Coral Bells and evergreens.


M. L. Longaberger's garden was set in a tropical vacation resort while Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville played in the background. There was even a margarita glass shaped fountain.

The colors of the tropics were integrated throughout the garden. This was truly a garden for "Parrotheads"!


The Yard Solutions garden was a garden inspired by the Rolling Stones' music. The garden borders were created with groups of perennials, flowering shrubs, and both evergreen and deciduous trees. The colors were bold and made a statement.

I love this container planting!

The Five Seasons' garden was named after the KISS song Detroit Rock City.

Got to love the rock band garden art.

Welcome to CedarRock where you can meet the Flintrocks. I bet you know where I am going with this. Cedarbrook Lansdscaping continues to awe us each year with their wonderful gardens that appeal to both the young and older visitors. Check out the Bedstone Rock Quarry!



Larry, once again your garden was unforgettable!

Spellacy's Turf-Lawn garden was based on the song Saturday in the Park by Chicago. This garden was the scene of a western national park. Your eye was drawn to a vertical garden of musical notes. A water feature made with musical instruments made you pause for a bit.

Chamaecyparis nootkatensis

Green Arrow

The Wood Landscape Services' garden was called We Will Rock You based on a song by Queen. This backyard entertainment area had both enclosure and colorful plants.

Oakland Nursery's garden was the Rock of Ages. This garden had stone integrated throughout with colorful plants tucked into and around the rocks. I loved the rhodedendrons in bloom!

Franklin Park Conservatory's garden was lush with tropical plants. The theme of this garden was Welcome to the Jungle based on the song by Guns 'n' Roses. The plants included colorful foliage and flowers. Franklin Park is one of my favorite places to visit anytime of the year. You can check out my latest visit by reading an earlier post on my blog.
The Blendon Gardens were set in the islands of Polynesia. Rock A Hula was the theme. Imagine sunny, warm, sandy beaches and clear blue water. I'm ready!

Tolles Rocks was the theme for the garden created by the students and faculty at the Tolles Career & Technical Center. I love gardens created by students. They did a great job with this garden. Above the walkway was a welded Wisteria tree with a 1,000 crystals which sparkled and made this garden magical. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of this. I was too busy talking with students and the instructor. It turns out that the instructor is a Master Gardener from Madison county. That made the conservation even more interesting. I loved their use of spring flowering bulbs. My favorite spring flower is the daffodil.

Love this container planting from McCullough's Landscape and Nursery.
The tent that connected the garden building with the home building was filled with 10 crooked playhouses. The sale of these enchanting little houses benefits Nationwide Children's Hospital's Miracles at Play. Loved each one and enjoyed seeing the little visitors at the Home and Garden Show checking out each one.

We had a great time thanks to Kylee at Our Little Acre. Many thanks!