Saturday, May 31, 2008
Odd Can Be Beautiful
Paris is a genus of unusual woodland plants, cousins to trilliums. The genus name doesn't refer to the city, but rather comes from the root word pars , referring to the symmetry of the leaves. The plant pictured, I obtained under the name Paris lancifolia; at first I was dubious about the correctness of this name (and I'm still not certain), for the few pictures I could find showed much thinner (more lanceolate) leaves. However, I have the impression now that plants from the southern reaches of its range in Taiwan have much thinner leaves than those from further north in Sichuan, China, where I assume my plant came from. At any rate, it's a lovely thing, if a bit odd. It stays in "bloom" for a long time, and it's one of those plants that nine out of ten garden visitors will walk right by, but when you point it out, they'll really like it.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Slipper Days
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
The Yellow Lady's Slipper
About forty years ago I was in medical school here in Iowa City, and used to wander the beautiful woods and fields looking at birds and flowers. Once, and once only, when I was walking down a cool, damp ravine I came across a yellow lady's slipper in full bloom. After graduating from medical school, heading first to San Francisco, then back to Iowa to a city eighty miles north of here, I now find myself retired back where it all started, in Iowa City. From time to time I think about that yellow lady's slipper I saw many years ago, but I've never been able to find the spot again. I know there was what seemed to be a small radio station at the edge of the woods, but I've described this to many old-timers and never gotten an answer. Likely the woods is gone and it's now a housing addition, but I like to think that yellow lady's slipper is still blooming there, hidden in a damp ravine, like a small unicorn; I can see it still in my mind's eye, and when I wander our garden's pathways, and marvel at the healthy clumps of cypripediums now blooming, I wish the yellow lady's slipper in the woods well.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Yummy Plant
I guess it all started with Heuchera 'Amber Waves'; a yellow and tan heuchera that winter killed in gardens all over the country. However, since that dud, Terra Nova Nurseries has been on a roll with their heuchera introductions. I'm especially taken with the similarly coloured series of heuchera hybrids that seem to all be named by a chowhound, as they are all named after food or drink. This is Heuchera 'Peach Flambe' which is just yummy all the way around; nice name and nice plant (I have it planted next to Heuchera 'Creme Brulee').... I think I'm hungry.
Monday, May 26, 2008
An Epimedium Beauty
Epimediums are one of the specialties of our garden, with many different cultivars, but this one really stands out; it's labeled Epimedium wushanense hybrid, though it seems to be very close to the original species. Now the species wushanense is endemic to the Wushan Mountains in Sichuan, near the Three Gorges Dam; an area of the world unfortunately much in the news lately. I have another apparent wushanense hybrid called Caramel which has such tiny little, spidery flowers that I haven't been able to get a focused picture of it... I must drag the camera back out to the garden today before it rains and take another crack at it.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
The Mouse Plant (Or, Who Ate The Cheese?)
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Come For A Walk...
Friday, May 23, 2008
Primrose Hunk
Flower catalogs tend to be, shall we say, generous in describing the size of flowers and the vigor and other attributes of the plants themselves... rather like some proud parents touting their seemingly fairly average offspring. However, when Ellen of Seneca Hills Perennials describes Primula sieboldii 'Seneca Star' as having large flowers (with white stars) and vigorous foliage, she's almost understating. This is either a primrose on steroids or a tetraploid. It's just big; the petal substance is very thick, and the foliage is very large and much darker green and heavy compared to my other sieboldii cultivars. I will say the foliage of this plant might even be a bit coarse, but that's a quibble. I suspect this plant is going to form a large clump very rapidly (it's already giving a nudge to the cute little Japanese maple its growing under). It should be fairly spectacular.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
The K Mart Fine Nursery
Most of our tree peonies in the garden have no name tags, for they were purchased at the end of the gardening season closeout sale at K Mart, each overgrown, straggly plant struggling to still stay upright in its cheap cardboard box, simply labeled "Tree Peony", and bearing the handsome price of $4.00 (this was a few years ago). I suppose I could put some fanciful name on them, like "Waves Breaking Over Red Heron", but heck, I just call them all "K Mart Special".
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Iffy Ipheions?
Yet, I'm showing you a picture of an ipheion blooming in our zone 5a garden this spring. This is Ipheion 'Alberto Castillo'. Jose Alberto Castillo is from Buenos Aires, and apparently rather well known in the flower bulb circles. He found this ipheion locally, and introduced it to commerce. It is distinctive for its large flowers and heavy-substanced, gray-green foliage; some think it may be a new species. I had thought it was going to have violet colored flowers, but instead it is supposed to smell like violets... oh. Actually it doesn't even smell like violets to me... maybe more like a peony? Still, the blooms are quite lovely; large, with faint green mid-ribs on the petals, and it blooms for quite a while. The original blooms have been open two weeks, and it is bringing on new sets of flowers. I can't think of another early spring bulb we can grow that has successive blooming like this. It's only gone through one winter here (though it was a particularly foul one), so you might check back next spring and see if I have another picture of it... or of a little empty space in the garden.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Don't Wake This Robin!
Trillium foetidissimum is native to a small region of the deep south; rich, old forests on either side of the lower Mississippi River in the states of Louisiana and Mississippi. It is called the Mississipppi River trillium or stinking wake robin. It's a beautiful thing, with deeply silvered, mottled leaves and a dark maroon flower.
In spite of its ominous name, I'd never smelled a thing, so the other day I stuck my nose right down in the flower... WOOF! Imagine a dead mouse wearing unwashed gym socks.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Well, They Were Almost Free
Sunday, May 18, 2008
The Big Red Bamboo Maple
Acer palmatum 'Beni Otake' is akso known as the 'Big Red Bamboo' maple. It is a lovely thing, being a deep, glowing garnet red in spring, greenish red in summer, and fire engine red in fall. It is an upright, billowing tree which here will probably reach ten feet or so tall. I mention it because of its apparent vigor and hardiness. In general the 'Beni' Japanese maples seem to have a reputation for not being particularly hardy, but I have two Beni Otakes, and neither has lost so much as a twig in winter, and after a year to get their roots down, they grow a foot a year.
This is the single best Japanese maple in our garden in terms of hardiness, rapid growth, and attractiveness. The picture above was taken in deep dusk with a flash.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Hardy Cypripediums In The Garden
This is Cypripedium Michael, a hybrid of two Chinese species (henryi x macranthos). Henryi is a small, yellowish lady's slipper, and macranthos is very showy, with large purple flowers. From the former parent, Michael gets two traits: it is a small plant (ten inches), with multiple blooms on each stem. From macranthos, Michael gets larger, purplish flowers. Thus this hybrid gets the best traits of both parents: a short plant with multiple, beautiful large flowers which are nicely colored (and it is easy to grow). It likes loose, well-draining, alkaline soil and light shade.
If you want to try one of these hybrid cypripediums, I offer five pieces of advice: first, and perhaps most important is to plant shallowly. I suspect the most common source of failure comes from planting too deeply; the roots should be spread out just under the surface. This brings me to my second and third pieces of advice; the soil must be loose and "duffy" so the shallow roots can grow out easily (I mix good soil, compost, and sand, and I mulch)... this necessity for shallow planting also leads me to suggest you buy your cyp bare root in the fall. If you buy it growing in a pot in the spring, the roots likely are bending down into the lower levels of the pot, so it might continue this pattern of root growth when you plant it, which will cause it to go into decline as the plant tries to grow larger. Next, look carefully at the moisture and Ph requirements of your cypripedium... if you are going to spend this much money, you want everything just right. Finally, make a special spot just for your cypripedium. Its roots may spead out a foot in all directions with time; it is NOT a mixed border plant, it will NOT tolerate being cooked in the afternoon sun, and it must have good drainage.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Ah, May!
There's something about May; the air is light and fragrant, the trees ring with birdsong, and the sky somehow seems higher. It is a fulsome month, heady with possibilities and beginnings. It is the best of times for this intrepid Iowa gardener; and it is with a sweet sense of regret that I tear myself away from the garden in the deepening dusk each evening, always wondering if there was something else I missed seeing that day. I can only fault May with one thing: it is far too short a month.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
A Really Different Primrose
I'm not sure it's exactly beautiful, but the Gold Lace strain of polyanthus is certainly striking. This type of primrose dates back over 350 years, and continued breeding produced a wide variety of clones that became all the rage in Victorian England. They fell out of popularity, but are now being sold frequently as potted plants to grow and throw. Apparently hardiness is suspect in many of the plants, but mine seems as hardy as any polyanthus (polyanthus refers to multiple flowers on each stem, a legacy of two of the common wild primroses of the British countryside; Primula elatior (the oxlip) and Primula veris (the cowslip).
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Well, Who Wouldn't Buy It?
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Primula Kingston Twilight
Monday, May 12, 2008
If You Like Spotted Flowers...
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Can You Spell Maianthemum?
