Part 3 of My Favorite Annuals in My Gardens --- New Guinea Impatiens

Bob Jensen at Trinity University 

 

Although we have quite a few perennials (lilies, phlox, bleeding hearts, peonies, wild roses, etc.), I'm disappointed
in perennials that are mere flashes in the pan for a few weeks. I've experimented with various longer-blooming annuals and
have come to relish the New Guinea Impatiens otherwise known as Impatiens for the Sun. They are blooming slightly when
I plant them in June and in about six weeks they are blooming magnificently for until the first heavy freeze in October.

Because we have so few plant nurseries and demand is heavy in a planting season that begins June 1 each year,
I purchase my 200 impatiens seedlings in early May and protect them from late snow storms.
This means I have to spread tarps and set up temporary tables in our very sunny living room ---

A May 2012 sunrise in our living room

On or around June 1 each year I dig these seedlings into three flower gardens around our cottage
This is the South Garden

Erika didn't want me to take this picture beside a young lilac bush

In the West Rock Garden I planted my impatiens amongst the blooming phlox

 

A few weeks later the phlox blossoms were gone, and the impatiens came on strong

The key to good impatiens is lots of water and no frost
Up here we have a deep well and no watering bills

 

In the North Garden in 2012 I featured red impatiens and marigolds
The marigolds bloomed into late October alongside the impatiens

This is the North Garden about six weeks later

 

I also planted a few impatiens by beside our garage entrance

 

This is the South Garden about six weeks later

 

Erika tends the roses while I tend the impatiense
I've got the easiest job by far

 

Life has it's seasons. After the first hard freeze in October my beautiful impatiens begin to resemble me

 

I line the back of my Jeep SUV with tarps and load the impatiens with the help of my tractor

And I dump them down below in a mulch pile at the Franconia Recycling Center

My dead impatiens have nice mattresses to sleep on

 

 New Guinea Impatiens --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impatiens_hawkeri

Impatiens hawkeri is a New Guinea Impatiens species that is one of the sources for the popular New Guinea hybrid impatiens. It was the first of the New Guinea species, collected in Papua in 1884 by Lt. Hawker R. N. It was popular in the 19th century as a greenhouse plant. After its discovery, fifteen further New Guinea species were discovered, which were later determined to be different forms of I. hawkeri.

Impatiens --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impatiens

Impatiens is a genus of about 850–1,000 species of flowering plants, widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and tropics. Together with Hydrocera triflora, impatiens make up the family Balsaminaceae.

Common names include impatiens, jewelweeds, touch-me-nots, and, for I. walleriana) in Great Britain, "Busy Lizzie", as well as, ambiguously, balsams. As a rule-of-thumb, "jewelweed" is used exclusively for Nearctic species, "balsam" is usually applied to tropical species, and "touch-me-not" is typically used in Europe and North America)

The Seasonal Life Cycle of Bob Jensen's Impatiens
Part 1:  May-June
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/tidbits/Impatiens/ImpatiensSet01/ImpatiensSet01.htm

Erika's Roses and the Seasonal Life Cycle of Bob Jensen's Impatiens
Part 2:  July-August
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/tidbits/Impatiens/ImpatiensSet02/ImpatiensSet02.htm 

More of Bob Jensen's Pictures and Stories
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Pictures.htm

WhiteMountainHistory.org --- http://whitemountainhistory.org/
Over 70 Historical Photographs --- http://photos.whitemountainhistory.org/AlbumHomeView.aspx

Blogs of White Mountain Hikers (many great photographs) ---
http://www.blogger.com/profile/02242409292439585691

Especially note the archive of John Compton's blogs at the bottom of the page at
http://1happyhiker.blogspot.com/

AMC White Mountain Guide:  Hiking Trails in the White Mountain National Forest ---
http://books.google.com/books/about/AMC_White_Mountain_Guide.html?id=V6-hFq6yHcAC

Find Hiking Trails --- http://www.traillink.com/?gclid=CPPLy8-wt7ECFYNx4AodR2QAsQ

Seven Mile Ford Farm (Wes Lavin) ---
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.696607201622.2152004.20102311&type=3&l=2d76bf4dc6

Photographs of Vergennes (Oldest Village in Vermont) http://cdi.uvm.edu/collections/getCollection.xql?pid=bixby

Historic Barn Etchings Tell Tale of Hard-Working Children --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2012/06/historic_barn_etchings.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

What Goes on in a Garden? --- http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/xHkq1edcbk4?rel=0

Photographs of Vergennes (Oldest Village in Vermont) http://cdi.uvm.edu/collections/getCollection.xql?pid=bixby

Historic Barn Etchings Tell Tale of Hard-Working Children --- Click Here
http://www.openculture.com/2012/06/historic_barn_etchings.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

 

On May 14, 2006 I retired from Trinity University after a long and wonderful career as an accounting professor in four universities. I was generously granted "Emeritus" status by the Trustees of Trinity University. My wife and I now live in a cottage in the White Mountains of New Hampshire ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/NHcottage/NHcottage.htm

Bob Jensen's Blogs --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/JensenBlogs.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called New Bookmarks --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookurl.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called Tidbits --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm
Current and past editions of my newsletter called Fraud Updates --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudUpdates.htm
Bob Jensen's past presentations and lectures --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/resume.htm#Presentations   

Our address is 190 Sunset Hill Road, Sugar Hill, New Hampshire
Our cottage was known as the Brayton Cottage in the early 1900s
Sunset Hill is a ridge overlooking with New Hampshire's White Mountains to the East
and Vermont's Green Mountains to the West

 

Bob Jensen's Threads --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/threads.htm

Bob Jensen's Home Page --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/