Intergalactic gardening

Though I've come to appreciate the presence of dried grasses and seedheads in the garden, I've rarely planted anything with that effect in mind. And yet, I find two plants in particular — Clematis 'Guernsey Cream' and Carex grayii — most interesting in their later stages. 

Gray's sedge (Carex grayii) is only one of a baker's dozen of sedges that I grow; but it's the one that always elicits comments and questions. It seed pods look like medieval maces: a sphere covered with pointed protrusions. 

Whether green and growing or dried and brown and poking out of the snow, it looks like a plant from another planet. But it's quite happy in my Zone 4-5 garden, growing at the foot of a Witch Hazel (Hamamelis vernalis) and a huge Silver Maple tree in very dry shade.

On the other side of the house, is my other favorite seed pod from outer space: Clematis 'Guernsey Cream.' I had a chance to meet Raymond J. Evison, the breeder of this plant who has introduced over 100 clematis species cultivars during his lifetime, which gives it a certain cachet. 'Guernsey Cream' is actually one of only two Clematis that I grow. But it is the most prolific and the most visible as it is planted right off our deck.  

This year, it exploded with a record number of flowers, which then morphed into a mass of seedheads that are so graphic and metallic they hardly look real. But unlike the Carex grayii, the Clematis seedheads continue to change; eventually those metallic coils give way to soft fuzz, equally endearing and strange.

Comments

[Pam/Digging]

I'm a big fan of clematis seedheads. I find them equally as interesting as the flowers. That carex seedhead is stunning in the snow.

[Lisa at Greeenbow]

Ah yes, the seedheads are beginning to make their show. I will have to try the carex. I have lots of dry shade.

[LINDA from EACH LITTLE WORLD]

Pam — I think this is really the first year I've had enough flowers on the Clematis to notice the seedheads. They barely look real!

Lisa — I have lots of Carex and virtually all are in dry shade. But Greyii is the only one with such interesting seedheads. And yes, it's starting to look like Fall.

[andrea]

linda - your image of C.greyii in the snow is stunning - in spite of the snow the foliage looks warm and toasty! i too have been a fan of a clematis' transition from flower to seed - but tell me why you only have two clematis in the garden? i admire C.ternifolia, but have held off planting one due to its aggressive nature. perhaps i'll have to look into mr. evison's cultivars...

[LINDA from EACH LITTLE WORLD]

Evison is now hybridizing Clematis for containers and small gardens. He calls them Patio Clematis. I only have two Clematis because I haven't felt like I have enough sun. And my Sweet Autumn just died. It has been starting out fine and then having dieback each summer with not too much bloom. I am thinking it must be Verticillium wilt in the soil?

[pigtown*design]

I always heard this about clematis:
first year it sleeps, 2nd year it creeps, third year it leaps. Is yours three?

[LINDA from EACH LITTLE WORLD]

Meg — that little rhyme is true of most plants. My clematis is 4 years old. But this year it seemed to be on steroids compared to last year. Just an amazing number of flowers.