Saturday, April 30, 2005
The Tropical Garden
When you live in Iowa, you are 'pushing the zone' even having a flower garden; it's too hot, too cold, too dry, too flat, too something. More often than not if you get too frisky you end up with a label and a bare spot, but there are some surprises: this is Asarum maximum, the Chinese panda faced ginger. I bought it one spring as a pot plant for the greenhouse, but decided to plant in the garden and repot it in the fall. I, of course forgot it, and to my surprise it survived... it hasn't thrived, but it's persisted in the garden with no protection for four years. it's rated Z7-10.
A Walk In The Garden Today
Friday, April 29, 2005
A Walk In The Garden Today
I had earlier talked about Azalea 'Pale Lilac'. Perhaps this picture captures it a little better, and below showing it with foliage in the background.
I had earlier showed Arisaema urashima; this picture better shows the long proboscis (rat-tail).
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Hissy Fit
I like, on evening walks, to amble down the hill to the pond, to see what's going on there, but a pair of Canadian geese are nesting there and start honking like crazy and flapping their wings; hopefully they get their family raised before we decide to put the canoe in the pond! Of course the birds around here are all atwitter about the discovery of the Ivory Billed Woodpeckers in Arkansas. Our woodpecker menagerie here isn't bad: yellow-shafted flicker, red bellied, red headed, hairy, pileated, and downy. I leave the dead trees standing for them, though not too long ago I was out on the deck and a dead tree across the ravine came crashing down, and rolled down hill with a roar. In my backpacking days we called them widowmakers.
A Walk In The Garden Today
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Cameraman
There are days around here when I wish I had a camera screwed to the top of my head. This morning I walked up the driveway to get the paper, and there was a coyote at the edge of the road. We looked at each other for a few seconds, and he melted into the brush. Then later I was walking down the path and a deer came running right by me and ran off down the hill, with Sadie, one of our kitten-cats in hot pursuit, right on the deer's heels. I'm sure the cat just took up the chase when the deer ran by, but it would have been a great video.
Azalea Pale Lilac
Many years ago I bought this azalea, called 'Pale Lilac' from Carlson's Gardens. I've used it, abused it, moved it through several gardens, whacked off pieces of it to start new plants, and it still thrives. It is the toughest shrub in the garden, and stone cold hardy, covered every year in blooms, whether it is in sun or shade; even when crowded by other shrubs, it still blooms. Photos for some reason just don't do this plant justice; it is way more gorgeous than the picture would indicate, reaching 6 feet in height and perhaps 7 feet across. The blossoms have a very faint fragrance individually, but with so many blooms, overall there is a nice fragrance. It spontaneously roots wherever the lower limbs touch the ground, so every year you can take a small plant or two. I wish I could tell you where to get one, but I never see it offered anymore. Why doesn't our K-Mart sell these instead of all the crap that won't survive our winter? It obviously has a lot of Poukhanense in it, but I think it's a bit larger and hardier.
What's Blooming Today
Corydalis ochroleuca. The blue corydalis melts in our summers, but this little toughie, with its blue green foliage, and white flowers with yellow throats, is happy.
The first Cypripedium parviflorum is open (I'll show more pictures of these as they open up.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Oh Well...
My Mother was a remarkably resilient and complacent soul; how often I heard from her the expression "Oh well"! Of course, it could be mentioned that she was often gazing at me when she uttered these words. Be that as it may, today was a day when I could have used her sunny disposition, as there wasn't much else sunny here: after a tropical early spring, the upper midwest has been plunged back into almost February-like weather. Today started cold, and then got colder. As I ventured outside, a grey, billowing cloud bank suddenly rushed in over the ridge, dropping the temperature ten degrees in minutes, swirling right down to the ground, then pelleting everything with graupel, propelled almost horizontally by the frigid wind, turning the ground white. I beat a hasty retreat, and turned on the gas fireplace. Oh well! On top of that, in the morning Liz flies to Orlando for the Oncology Nursing Congress, where it is predicted to be 80-85 degrees. The only good news is that the supermarket has Tombstone pizzas on sale, three for ten dollars, so I won't starve. I hauled the step ladder up to our closet so Liz could get her suitcase down from the shelf; when I told her the ladder was ready, she said "Well, I guess I'll go do it now, it's probably better to do it sooner rather than latter." God, I love that girl!
How About THEM Apples!
Our woods are full of Podophyllum peltatum, the Mayapple, and a very attractive plant it is. However, there are a number of Asian species that are very interesting. This is Podophyllum hexandrum, the Himalayan Mayapple, just opening, and showing its pinkish flowers. It is widely available now (I've seen it for as little as $5) and it seems to be as hardy for me as peltatum.
This is the leaf of hexandrum fully opened; a gorgeous foliage plant. The foliage doesn't die back with hot weather like our native peltatum, but the spots do fade.
The red fruit of Podophyllum hexandrum; I now have babies scattered around the garden.
Podophyllum pleianthum, Chinese Mayapple. It has impressive, large, waxy leaves. It arises from the ground very early in the spring, so should be protected if temps drop below 32. I don't ordinarily have plants that need to be coddled in any way, but for these Chinese Mayapples, I make an exception.
I think this is actually a hybrid of pleianthum X versipille, just coming up. The multiple flower buds (which will form reddish flowers that smell of carrion) can be seen. Like its pleianthum parent, this comes up very early and can be badly damaged by sub-freezing temps, so I cover it with a big pot if a freeze is forecast.
This is Podophyllum veitchii (delavayi). It comes up later than pleianthum, so is less prone to freeze damage on that basis; I suspect the leaves themselves would also be hardier, as they have thicker substance, but I haven't tested it yet. When the leaf first starts emerging from the ground, it is the most amazing deep maroon-red color, then as the leaf opens, it shows the above pattern; just a jaw-dropping color and pattern. I just acquired this last year so don't know too much about it yet, but am looking forward to seeing it as a large clump.
This is Podophyllum 'Kaleidoscope', a hybrid of two or three of the species, selected by Terra Nova Nurseries. It's a gorgeous thing, with large, patterned leaves. I'm not convinced its leaves are any neater than hexandrum, but Kaleidoscope retains its spots during the growing year (in fact the patterning becomes more prominent as the year progresses), whereas the spots fade in hexandrum. The downside to Kaleidoscope is that (probably from its Pleianthum parent) it inherits the tendency to come up VERY early in the spring, and I suspect it would be damaged by sub-freezing temperatures if not covered (I haven't tested it, and probably won't... old flower pots are a lot cheaper than this plant)! It does seem very vigorous; I just planted it last spring as a single-stalked plant, and this year it produced three stalks. There is another new Terra Nova hybrid, 'Spotty Dotty', that looks way cool, but too pricey yet.
Monday, April 25, 2005
What's Blooming Today
I had earlier showed twinleaf in bloom; this is the seedhead, which is quite cool also.
Sunday, April 24, 2005
What's Blooming Today
The Himalayan mayapple opening its flowers and its heavily spotted leaves.
The Cold Facts
This morning I didn't think we had any frost damage in the garden, but by this afternoon it was apparent that three types of plants had fairly signifigant foliage damage: Hydrange macrophylla Endless Summer, Astilboides tabularis, and Rodgersia (the latter the worst). Just a flesh wound; could have been worse.
Dodging The Bullet
I went out into the garden early this morning to see what the rising sun would show; April had been remarkably warm, so that foliage and flowers are two weeks ahead of normal, then late this week it became sultry and gritty, with the wind blowing harder and harder out of the southwest, winding around a huge low pressure area covering half the country, with storms boiling up in the plains and moving east; then on the back side of the low a huge pool of frigid air has poured down from the Yukon, with predicted temperatures of 26-28 degrees last night, a drop of almost 60 degrees. I covered a few special plants yesterday with pots, as the cold wind blew ragged clouds across the sky, but I just hoped for the best for the rest of the garden. During the night the north wind rumbled in the tree tops, as a clear full moon lit the landscape, and I kept an eye on the temperature, as it dropped into the 30's before I went to bed at midnight. Fortunately, the temperature bottomed out just at 32, with only light frost, so I couldn't see any damage this morning... we dodged the bullet this time; meanwhile gardens in lower Michigan are being buried by a foot of snow. Here the sun is shining with a bright blue sky; the goldfinches are flitting through the trees like little shafts of light, and all is well.
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Fritillary Find?
Fritillaria meleagris, the snake's head fritillary, is a lovely spring flowering bulb. I have this bulb scattered here and there in the garden, but this spring my eye was suddenly caught by one particular pair of bulbs blooming under an azalea. The typical flower is as above, bell-shaped, with nice checking. This one pair of bulbs had much more open flowers, of a deep, rich mahogany red, with very heavy substance, and very heavy checking; a VERY striking flower. I have looked on-line, and there are a few selected clones of this plant available, but I see nothing similar to what is growing here. Could I have something special growing? Time will tell.
Fritillaria meleagris "open clone", showing the open flowers, with richly colored, heavy and heavily patterned petals.
What's Blooming Today
Our native prairie trillium (recurvatum), with its deep oxblood flowers.
Rhododendron, Manitou has the softest baby pink flowers on a very neat shrub that is attractive both in and out of bloom, getting no taller than 2-3 feet.
Friday, April 22, 2005
What's Blooming Today
Semiaquilegia ecalcarata is a refined cousin to aquilegia; finer, more fern-like foliage, less than a foot tall, with many small, beautiful, dusty plum-rose flowers. It really needs a little spot all to itself in the garden, as I don't think it can take dryness and competition as well as it's lustier cousin. My plant was never terribly happy, and I thought I had lost it, but it seeded into a crevice in the rock retaining wall, where it has been completely happy, and I've grown several more from seed now. It seemed to be accepted that semiaquilegia and aquilegia would not interbreed, but I just saw where it has been accomplished (I believe it is called Night Dancer strain), and I would think it should be lovely.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Double Flowered Peach
I always had coveted the double flowering peach, which I saw when I lived in California, but I never thought it would grow, or at least flower, in our climate. Then, one day I was driving through a small Iowa farm town, and almost screeched to a halt; there in an ordinary front yard was the object of my desire, in full bloom. Now it's blooming in my garden. In the fall, I seldom get to sample its small, tasty peaches, as the racoons clean them out in one moonlit night, leaving clean peach pits all over the grass. It's ok though; I get the flowers.
What's Blooming Today
The royal azalea, schlippenbachii; its soft, baby pink flowers are very large, like beautiful butterflies landed on a shrub that can become almost as big as a lilac.It's native to Korea and Manchuria, and has been quite hardy for me, previously in a 4b garden, and now 5a. It's said to have a faint fragrance, but it's mighty faint (it's only negative). It does need protection from the afternoon sun, as its large leaves burn easily, developing brown edges in the late summer if too much sun or not enough water, and its blossoms are so large and delicate, that they won't last well if too much wind hits them, so a nice protected spot is best for this shrub, but it's the most beautiful plant in any garden when in bloom.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Asassin Wren
There are few things more cheery in the spring garden than the house wren trilling from a low branch near the garden path. This tiny bundle of energy and song is the personification of the joy of spring. His cheeriness, though, disguises an asassin's heart; the house wren is a little home-wrecker and killer. We have four bird houses; two wren houses with small openings, and two generic birdhouses open to all, which usually means the latter two houses end up having house sparrows move in. They move in, but they often just as abruptly are evicted when the wrens show up. Now, like most of us, I always was a little contemptuous of house sparrows; dirty, noisy, interlopers. However in reading one of my bird books, the author grew lyrical in describing this little bird as it exists in rural areas; sooty and common in cities, but shiny and handsome in the country, so I started looking at them anew, and the male at least, really is a nicely colored little bird. I stopped begrudging them their share of sunflower seeds at the feeder, and welcomed them to the two larger birdhouses. All should therefore be peaceful in the garden, but all too often (as has happened this spring), when the wren shows up he decides he wants one of the BIG houses, and the next thing you know, the two sparrows have been evicted, their nest hanging in tatters, half out of the house, and the sparrows are left fighting a losing battle around and around the house, until they finally slink off into the brush. Hopefully they don't then try to move into one of the small wren houses (see my previous tale of the headless sparrow). I've read that when wrens set up their nest, they may go around and drill holes in the eggs of the other small birds in their territory. So enjoy the sweet song of the wren, marvel at its energy and heart, but don't turn your back on it.
What's Blooming Today
One of the most striking plants in the garden; Arisaema serratum. If ever you wanted a dark, sinister, snake-like plant (and who doesn't), this is it: tall, narrow, with almost black flower and narrow leaves that look like they've been dipped in black ink.
I had earlier showed this clone of Arisaema sikokianum; it's fully open now, so worth a second look.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Morel Mania
This time of year, Iowans get very cagey about where they're going, and where they've been, for it's morel season. These tasty little mushrooms are esteemed above all others in the Midwest, and the news always has a picture of somebody who looks like they just scrambled through a briar patch (and probably did), holding up a big bag of these beauties. One of the prime spots for them to pop up is around dead elm trees, and our woods has been hit hard by Dutch elm disease, causing the loss of many large trees, but also giving us oodles of morels.The morels usually show up mainly during the first three or four years after the tree dies. Later, Coprinus micaceus (shown below) starts growing in profusion around the stump, and pretty well signals the end of the morels. Liz absolutely loves hunting morels; the odd thing is she doesn't like eating them. Friends and coworkers are the beneficiaries. Right now she has three big bags full in the refrigerator, ready to be cleaned, and then she'll make her rounds.Get out the butter!
Coprinus micaceus growing at the base of an old elm stump. This is the common ink cap, and itself is edible (in my mountain man days I occasionally fried up a batch, but it has kind of a funny aftertaste, and apparently occasionally has a toxic reaction with alcohol, which was a little chancey with me in my younger days; besides, if you didn't eat them right away they turned into an unappetizing black blob).
What's Blooming Today
Monday, April 18, 2005
Mean Days
April is not really the cruelest month, but there are some days that aren't all bunnies and rainbows. Today was edgy. The birds showed that all that singing and cooing presages the deadly serious matters of staking out a territory, and nesting. By twos, threes, and fives, birds of a feather rocketed back and forth through the treetops, fighting for turf and mates. Jolly robin red-breasts were taking no prisoners today, and the geese out on the pond were in a big set-to, sounding like a convention of bicycle horn enthusiasts. Maybe it was the weather; we've had an unusually warm and dry spring, and today was in the 80's, windy and dust-blown, with dry brown leaves rattling across the cement driveway like scuttling little sand crabs, and big-leafed garden plants lay almost flat on the ground, the gusty wind sucking them dry of moisture. Then abruptly late in the afternoon, the sun turned pale and watery, and the air cooled, as high stratus clouds rode in on the jet stream from the southwest, and later ugly scud clouds hung below the high, grey ceiling, the vanguard of turbulent hail storms brewing up over the plains of eastern Nebraska. It could be a bumpy night.
What's Blooming Today
Dodecatheon pulchellum, shooting-star. This particular shooting star goes under several common names: Western, few leaved, or dark-throated shooting star. I first saw this flowering in the wild in Zion National Park.
Arisaema sikokianum... this is my best plant of the Japanese Jack in the pulpit, with spotted leaves, and a very prominent, snow white spathe (Jack), so it looks like a mortar and pestle.
Hosta Love
Hosta, Golden Oracle. To say that hostas are the backbone of Midwest gardens is certainly no exaggeration. Get yourself some hostas, a few peonies, and a bridal wreath spirea, and you got yourself a garden. Not too long ago, I posted on a garden message board, that I thought of hostas somewhat like those big art prints that you buy at a furniture store to stick in that dark back hallway to give your guests something other than paint to look at when they look for the bathroom. Well! I must say, I got a few testy e-mails from hostaphiles about that one. To give them their due, I will say there is no lovelier foliage in the late spring garden than hostas.Some of the newer ones just look unearthly when they first emerge... June, and Remember Me, are my two favorites.
Viburnum Juddii
If you don't already have Viburnum juddii in your garden, you either have a very small garden, or you're seriously neglecting your nose. This seven foot tall shrub opened its first few flowers a week ago, and instantly the front of the garden was filled with its languid bouquet, reminiscent of gardenia. Now it's fully open, and its got what I call front door perfume; our garden is quite a ways in back of our house... this shrub you can smell when you go out the front door. It's amusing to walk around the garden and find pockets where its perfume is strongest, due to a slight breeze, or downhill from it. Its flowers start out pink in bud, then change to white. A peerless shrub that is the highlight of the garden when in bloom.
Sunday, April 17, 2005
What's Blooming Today
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Primula Kisoana
Primula kisoana: primroses usually justifiably are thought of as delicate shade and moisture lovers, but this species is a little toughie, that you can't kill with a stick. It keeps growing out into the bark chip pathways that are underlain with weed barrier.
What's Blooming Today
Friday, April 15, 2005
This is a view today from just inside the front garden gate, with the angel Hernia in the distance.
Maybe That's Why They Call Them Primroses ?
This is Primula yuparensis, a little alpine primrose from Japan. I just planted this last spring, so this is its first real year in the garden, and I always like to check everything out by getting my face, and especially my nose, right down there. Unfortunately, to my nose, this little beauty's flowers have a faint odor of stale urine. Oh well.
Bunches of Grapes
A few days ago I published a photo of Muscaris Valerie Finnis... well, there are some other Muscari that I'm just as fond of ; on a small scale, many of them are very elegant. This is paradoxum, which has a very rich cobalt color.
What's Blooming Today
Thursday, April 14, 2005
What's Blooming Today
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
A Question About Kinglets
I remember when I was a boy, hearing my Mother, who was quite a birdwatcher, talk about kinglets migrating through every fall. Their appearance was fleeting, and I don't recall that I actually ever saw one, but her telling me about them every year gave them a real sense of reality, and because my Mother loved seeing them, I've always had a spot in my heart for kinglets; it now seems a little funny to think I've felt real attached all these years to a tiny bird I'd never actually seen. Well, this all changed last fall, when I was standing in the middle of the garden, thinking about who knows what, and a gold crested kinglet landed on a branch not two feet from my nose, and sat there looking at me with his little button eyes. Though as mentioned I'd never actually seen one, I instantly knew what it was; the tiniest, cutest little bird in the world, with a bright, orange-gold crest on its head. To my delight, he stuck around the garden, flitting through the shrubs hunting for food, and every day I'd go out to look for him. Then, to my complete astonishment, two days later a pair of ruby crowned kinglets showed up. I was completely smitten by these delightful little birds, and in kinglet heaven. As fall turned to winter, one day the kinglets disappeared as quietly and as quickly as they had appeared. It was always my understanding that they are just transients here on their great migration. Today I was out walking through the woods, looking for cat collars; being concientious pet owners, we bought break-away collars for our two kittens, and Snickers, who I have speculated previously on these pages must have FADD (feline attention deficit disorder) has managed to lose three of these collars in about six months. She's quite proud of herself, and of no help in finding them. My wife says she's selling them, but I think it's just a game for her. Now you'd think that we'd find at least one of these three day-glo bright blue collars with shiny red name tags, but so far no luck. Well, anyway, as I was scouring the woods, what should land in front of my face, but a ruby crowned kinglet. Now the question is whether he's just passing through, or whether they actually nest here, and because they are so tiny, I'd just never noticed them. Even their call is tiny; just the faintest, sweetest little chirping. I will have kinglets on my mind this year.
Give Me Liberty
There are few emerging leaves more gorgeous than hostas; this is Liberty.
What's Blooming Today
Arisaema iyoanum, that was shown just unfolding from its sheath two days ago is already fully open... Jack be quick!
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Cool, Blue Beauty
Muscaris Valerie Finnis frequently elicits comments from garden visitors because of its unique, powder blue color. This is one of those plants to get down on all fours and admire, and it combines ravishingly with strong-colored primroses. Another plus is that it doesn't seem to spread willy-nilly like the common grape hyacinth; its habit is as refined as its color.
Epimedium Black Sea
If you're only going to have ONE epimedium, may I suggest E. Black Sea? It's a good sized plant for an epimedium, with it's profusion of flowers being an unusual and subtle butterscotch yellow. It's leaves are green during the growing season, but in the fall turn shiny, very dark, chocolate purple, and stay good looking until winter really sets in, long after most plants in the garden are but a memory. I have it planted near the entrance to the garden, right under a clump of Heritage birch, and in December, the combination of the blonde-cinnamon birch trunks, and the deep, moody-colored epimedium are always worth a stop, during a time of year when there's not so much gaudy competition.
The Crown Imperial
This time of year, warm still days cause garden visitors to wonder where the skunk is, for the musky smell of Fritillaria imperialis, the crown imperial is quite noticeable. Fortunately, I rather like their smell, and I still delight in turning up the large flowers to admire the clear drops of water hanging from the nectaries. The apocryphal story about this flower is that when Jesus walked by, all the other flowers bowed their heads, but the crown imperial was too proud to bow down, and so ever since then as penitence, it's flowers have been bowed down, and in sadness, tears hang from its flowers.
What's Blooming Today
Anemone nemerosa, Royal Blue. These little anemones are great for planting around other woodland perennials like Jack in the pulpits.
Red cup daffodil; the color has NOT been enhanced in this picture... it's really that red.
Pristine white Primula denticulata, looking as if it's made from porcelain. Because of the shape of the flowerheads, this plant is commonly called the drumstick primrose, but to me, that's always seemed too crude a name for such a refined flower; kind of like calling that frosty beauty, Grace Kelly, "That big-ole drumstick gal."
Early Japanese maple foliage with small PJM rhododendron in the background.
A Japanese Jack in the pulpit (Arisaema sikokianum) unfurling from its sheath; the sinister cobra lily awakens and arises to meet spring. I have several dozen babies from seed, so hope to have a regular snake den.
Arisaema iyoanum is always the first Jack in the pulpit to open up, like a Swiss army knife unfolding from its sheath... like sikokianum above, iyoanum is also from Japan.
Monday, April 11, 2005
Jeffersonia diphylla (Twinleaf) is a very nice early wildflower from the eastern and southeastern U.S.; it blooms just a couple of days later than bloodroot, and is very reminiscent of that flower, though its flowers don't have the startlingly pure whiteness of bloodroot. The "twin" leaves of Jeffersonia are very interesting in their own right. I also now have the asian counterpart of twinleaf, Jeffersonia dubai, which is the only other species in the genus, and occurs naturally only in Manchuria, but just planted it last year, and it's just coming up, so can't say much about it, other than that it obviously blooms later than our native. Dubai is said by those who grow it, to be more desirable than diphylla.
Sunday, April 10, 2005
What's Blooming Today
This was a day in the garden, when I could have taken 50 or 500 pictures; there is so much blooming that it is dizzying. A hot, sunny day, with a long, balmy evening to walk and wonder, and just as the sun was sinking, turning the western sky to pink and orange, a single bald eagle drifted across the sky, headed home. Perfect.
Viola dissecta; the epitome of cute... this tiny woodlander is SO precious, but, it's a wanderer. I have to keep moving the plant label.
Glaucidium palmatum; there are certain plants that possess a mystique or cachet, and this is one of them. It's very attractive, with bright green maple-like foliage, and delicate lilac flowers, but it's not particularly hard to grow; I think it's reputation springs from the fact that it's damnably slow growing (and thus also expensive to buy) ... I had one flower the second year, two flowers in the third year, and three this year...ZZZZ.
Pink cupped daffodil; if it seems like I'm posting a lot of daffodil pictures, it's because I have about 500 different daffodils, with about 5000 flowers blooming right now.
Dicentra (bleeding heart) Gold Heart. If you don't already have this plant in your garden, you MUST have it, placing it next to a dark foliaged, or flowered plant, like a dark purple Heuchera.
The early rhododendrons are starting to bloom; this is April Rose; not the subtlest color.
Spring snowflake (leucojum). These are attractive, rather large plants that bloom for a long time in late spring. The downside? They spread fairly aggressively, and their foliage, which is about the size of a large daffodil, stays green FOREVER, and flops around, laying on, and shading out, other plants around it. For such dainty flowers, it's a LOT of foliage to contend with. I really need to dig it out of my mixed beds and give it spots of its own in the woods, where it can flop around to it's heart's content.
Saturday, April 09, 2005
What's Blooming Today
Ranunculus ficaria, Brazen Hussy. This small gem forms very tight colonies with shiny leaves of dark green, overlain with dark markings, and bright yellow flowers. it goes dormant in late summer.
The prettiest primrose? Note the fine silver line outlining the flowers.
Friday, April 08, 2005
Bad Blogger, Bad!
The Blogger world has been in commotion... apparently all was relatively well until about two months ago, when some little quirks started showing up in the publishing and comments software, which the bloggerators decided to fix with some clever little patches; unfortunately the little patches sprung larger and larger leaks, which new little patches aggravated further , until the whole system semi-crashed. WELL! It's on good behavior today, but please direct any complaints to Google/Blogger, and not your computer-challenged gardener. The bloggers out there are crying for blood, though it's hard for me to get too bilious over something that's not working right, when it's free.
More Daffodils Blooming Today
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Magnolias and Time
Last spring I got one of those unaccountable garden hankerings that just pop up once in a while; this one was to plant more magnolias in our woodland garden... my wife knows when she sees me standing around in the woods staring off into space, she'd better hide the checkbook, but sometimes she's not quick enough. Now why I got this particular hankering is hard to explain, since I already have ten magnolias, in different stages of maturity, but I think it has something to do with time. You see, I'm not exactly doddering from age, but it suddenly struck me one spring day that many magnolias take ten to twenty years to really reach maturity where they bloom profusely, and where the tree is in proprtion to the large flowers; seeing a skinny little magnolia with two or three huge flowers on it is somewhat akin to seeing a 16 year old girl who weighs 90 pounds soaking wet, wearing one of those humungous orchid corsages to her prom. Anyway, I initially thought to buy one magnolia each spring for six years, but then I thought maybe I'd just buy all six at once, and get them in the ground, and that's what I did. I'm feeling pretty healthy, but you never know...
What's Blooming Today
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Podophyllum Pleianthum
Podophyllum pleianthum, a Chinese species of mayapple, just unfurling its double leaves; more about this plant and its brethren later.
Hepatica Acutiloba
This is Hepatica acutiloba, the native sharp lobed hepatica, an under-appreciated wildflower. It begins blooming very early in the spring, and stays in bloom long after the common native hepatica (americana) has shed its petals. I particularly like the foliage of this plant; leathery, somber leaves that persist through the winter (this is last year's leaf shown above). I love pulling back the leaf litter in late winter and seeing these living leaves. The flowers are more interesting than beautiful;with their wiry stems, they suggest a swarm of bugs hovering near the ground.
Sanguinaria Flore Pleno
This is the double flowered form of the native bloodroot. It blooms a few days later than the single flowered form, and stays in bloom about twice as long . The single flowered form often only blooms for a few days; one good rain shower, and the pristine white flowers are shattered, with the petals lying all over the ground. Still, I much prefer the single. Both the single and double bloodroot arise with their leaves wrapped around the stems like a cloak, and after the flower drops, the leaf unfurls to quite a large size, then the plants become dormant in late summer. These wildflowers can live for many, many years (a lifetime).
What's Blooming Today
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Garlic Mustard
If you don't have garlic mustard growing on your land, give thanks; though it still gets minimal publicity, this imported weed will prove to be the worst thing to ever befall our woodlands and native wildflowers. It is a biennial, which seeds voraciously, spreading through the woods as thick blankets, which completely shade out and kill native flowers. Unfortunately for native plants, compounding their dilemma is the fact that the hordes of deer will not touch garlic mustard, so as the mustard spreads, the deer increasingly browse what remains of native plants, furher hastening their demise. I resolved to at least rid the one acre garden area in our woods of garlic mustard, and last year I probably pulled ten thousand plants, and know that none went to seed in the fenced in woods. To my discouragement, walking through the wooded areas of the garden, I see thousands upon thousands of new little garlic mustard seedlings coming up, from seed that had laid dormant. I figure it will take five years. The surrounding woods are hopeless; one would have an easier time trying to hold back the ocean. Below is a picture of a typical spot in the surrounding woods, with perhaps a hundred seedlings per square foot. The mature plant is about three foot tall.
Monday, April 04, 2005
The Little Guys
Of all the flowers in the garden, bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is the one that makes me feel the most sentimental. My Mother was a gardener, and was a person very much in harmony with nature and the seasons. It was always officially spring when we would come home from school, and she would say, "Well, the little guys are blooming." This is what she called the bloodroots that bloomed on our wooded property. This was the single wildflower I wanted the most in my present woodland garden, and they come from one plant I dug from my Mom and Dad's old homestead (which my Sister still owns). So, it is spring: the little guys are blooming.
Sunday, April 03, 2005
One step ahead?
I'm never quite sure whether I'm one step ahead or one step behind the resident critters here. The deer herd just this last week picked up two new members, both young deer who don't know the rules yet; the deer have the run of the place except for one acre, which is fenced in for the garden. I previously have shown the Sun Gates, the gates protecting the main entrance to the garden. Last year, one day I went into the garden, and there were five full grown deer inside the fence, munching on the hostas. I opened all the gates and chased them out, then spent a half hour walking around, trying to figure out how they got in... I finally found they had bent in one of the sun rays on the main gate and had all, one by one, crawled through that small space. I called for help from our friend Dennis, who made the gates, and he made a second set of gates to place in front of the Sun Gates, and so far this has worked perfectly. However, newcomers like this young deer photographed this morning, are always looking for an opening... it's a story without an ending. Also in our back yard this morning was a wild turkey, but he took off before I could get a picture. Pretty soon we saw this three foot tall turkey running pell mell up the hill, and right behind was Snickers, our fearless kitten who weighs five pounds soaking wet. She now thinks she's such hot stuff!
Saturday, April 02, 2005
New Blooms
Airisaema iyoanum, a jack in the pulpit native to the mountains of Japan, raising out of the ground.
Friday, April 01, 2005
April
When April blows his horn
It's good for both hay and corn.
If March is a month for changes in the weather, April is the month of changes in the garden, starting with a trickle, and ending with a whirlwind of flowers blooming, bees buzzing, and birds nesting; it's that time of year that I have trouble sleeping at night, thinking of everything I want to do the next day, and the lengthening days are never long enough.
"No time is lovelier!" I cry
When springtime rides the April sky.
When dogwood looks like fallen cloud
And every robin sings aloud.
Enola Chamberlain
