Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Even Steven In The Garden


The principle of Even Steven, where everything balances out in the end, rules in the garden perhaps more universally than anywhere else. Having a plant still showing green foliage in early winter in Iowa is a tremendous plus, especially if it is attractively variegated foliage, but there is usually a downside; consider Ranunculus repens Buttered Popcorn. Let me preface this by saying, don't buy this plant... don't accept it as a gift... if you live in a mild climate I'm not even sure you should read this. This little creeping buttercup is sold as a "perfect groundcover". Well, in warmer winter climates I would suspect that means that the entire ground will be covered by this plant, with everything else smothered out. In our garden this creeper just starts taking over, then a nasty winter almost kills it all off, but then it pops up somewhere else and starts growing again. In the spring its foliage is yellow and green with yellow flowers if it is grown in sun... in our garden it lurks in shady spots where it seldom flowers and its foliage is more cream and green. It just kind of creeps about unobtrusively, occasionally trying to mug this or that other plant, but in a half-hearted way, then suffers winter kill every few years and starts all over. However, how can one not appreciate a plant that looks like this on the verge of winter in Iowa? It's Even Steven in our garden.

Comments:
I swear, I though Even Stevens was a Disney channel show, i didnt thought that its actually a real phrase that can transcend thru plants and flowers
, goes to show how much I knew
 
You are WAY too young!
Don
 
As a (now former) 2nd grade teacher and owner of a book entitled "Even Steven and Odd Todd," I approached your posts with the even and odd numbers mindset!

I even attempted to count the leaves on your hellebores! ;-)

By the way, I have two plants I began as bare root starts two Springs ago. This past Spring, the one plant bloomed!! It is looking very healthy. The other has not grown over 3" tall, as yet.

Is there a secret?
 
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