Each Little World

Happy Hellebore Day!

My Hellebore that I planted years ago because it was purported to bloom for Thanksgiving in my Zone 5 garden is on schedule. Here it is on November 20th.

We had a nice warming trend so Mark and I spent some time on Tuesday (11/25) of this week attempting a little garden cleanup. I checked on the Hellebore then to see how it was doing: A bit more advanced from the week before. 

But the potential for a big snowstorm sent me out with clippers to cut a few buds for a vase. We got the big blow and now we're in the big chill, but luckily no big snowstorm. The only white I'm seeing are these lovely little flowers. 

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

IVOM: November greens (and browns)

The weather has warmed up a bit but there's still snow on the ground in the garden. Today's arrangements were picked weeks ago and have been slowly drying in long Japanese bamboo vases hung in different rooms. This one, at the top of the stairs by the open bannister area, features a Cimicifuga flower gone to seed, a fern frond and a Hosta leaf making fanciful curls. 

This is our contemporary version of a Japanese container by local artist Richard Jones of Studio Paran. It contains a Bur Oak leaf clump I picked up off of the driveway and dried Annabelle Hydrangea flowers. 

The row of Annabelle Hydrangea shrubs that were growing along the east-side fence eventually got shaded out and I removed the faded remnants. Of course, they had sent stems up on the neighbor's side of the fence and are starting to return to our garden which is where I clipped these flowers. 

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden who hosts this Monday meme to see what other gardeners have put in a vase today.

IVOM: "Choreographing Cyclamen"

That's how a friend described the wildly bending, swirling, twisting and stretching stems of my Cyclamen plant. Mark was so taken with its behavior that he photographed it, complete with backdrop paper. 

The Cyclamen plant was a gift from a friend who came over for coffee not long before Christmas. I kept it going until spring when I put it outdoors. This is a variety with small leaves and flowers.

The original leaves grew large and were draping down the sides of the container so I cut them off before I brought the pot indoors again for winer. The new foliage is back to the original size and it is blooming like crazy; no matter how you take that word!

IVOM: The best bouquet of the year

Don't get me wrong; I love gathering the first snowdrops of the year to put in a vases. Or the first lilies of the valley or Tulips or Peonies. But my favorite display of the year is the one I did this weekend.

I walked all through the garden cutting foliage and drying flower-and-seedheads. Periodically I went back to the deck and stuck my most recent handful of stems into containers of water I had at the ready on the table. When I had more than enough greenery I put a metal frog in the bottom of a bowl and got to work. 

I love contrasting and comparing foliage at this season. Plus, this is a great way to see what lasts indoors and for how long. Until frost turns most of the garden to mush, I can keep replenishing this bouquet. The flowers that look like Hydrangeas are Euphorbia palustris, with a Cimicifuga flower spike gone to seed.

The display includes assorted Tricyrtis foliage along with the little orbs that are Anemone seedheads and the reddish dried flowers of Astilbes. 

I clipped Cimicifuga foliage turning gold as well as some tending toward purple; neither lasted very long. The big green leaf on the bottom right is a hardy Begonia topped with Astrantia 'Vanilla Gorilla'. 

I long ago lost track of the names of my Heucheras. I just know they give me lots of options for bouquets like this. 

The stripped foliage of Tricyrtis 'Lightning Strike' is a standout in any arrangement. The bouquet also included foliage from Bergenias, Hostas, ferns and trailing stems of Euonymous minima.

To see what other gardeners have put in a vase today, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden who hosts this marvelous Monday meme. 

IVON: Bathroom bouquets

This little bouquet in Mark's bathroom is on its second week. I removed the faded flowers but the foliage is attractive enough to stand on its own.

I went out Friday afternoon as the temperatures were falling and the wind was rising to make a few bouquets before our anticipated first frost of the season. It got quite cold Friday night but most things were still standing Saturday morning. I couldn't resist this last stem of hardy Begonia, though I believe these are seed capsules and not flowers.

I moved this vase from my bathroom to the living room mantle for better light. Plus we just redid all the artwork in that room and I thought my bouquet would work with the infusion of red art. 

Mark bought this little folk art figure last year. He's perfect for Halloween.

The last Heuchera flowers added a lighter note.

The Begonia leaves are dramatic even without the sun shining through them to highlight the red underside.

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Gard who hosts this Monday meme to see what other gardeners have put in a vase today.

IVOM: Prunings

My fennel plants were spending more time on the ground than upright so I clipped a number of stems with seed heads for a vase. They're joined with a Cimicifuga seed head and those of Kirengeshoma palmata Koreana group. 

I love how the Kirengeshoma seed heads look like fat flower buds about to explode open. 

To see what other gardeners have put in a vase today, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden who hosts this long-running Monday meme. 

Toad lily season

Toadlily (Tricyrtis ssp.) season! I'm loving this long, warm autumn and so are the toad lilies. A number of them are full of buds but haven't even begun to bloom. Since there does not seem to be a frost in the near future, I should still get to enjoy their flowers in October.

Tricyrtis formosana. This plant has a tall, narrow profile so I am trying to create a "hedge" of them along the back of a border. 

Tricyrtis hirta 'Lightning Strike' with striped foliage. It's another narrow, vertical form. Every time I went out to cut a few stems of this for a vase it was full of bees and Monarch butterflies. 

Tricyrtis hirta 'Tojen'. I thought this had died after our bad winter of 2018/19, but a stem has reappeared in the garden!

Tricyrtis hirta 'Miyazaki' has substantial flowers, less delicate and orchid-like to my eye. 

Tricyrtis hirta 'Miyazaki' has an arching form. The stems curve outward and don't flop like 'Tojen'.

Tricyrtis hirta 'Lemon Twist' is short with speckled leaves and lemon yellow flowers. The flowers are quite large compared to the overall size of the plant. Their size makes it hard for the stems to stay upright.

Tricyrtis macrantha has deep golden flowers with brown speckles on the interior.

Tricyrtis macrantha is a wonderful variety to grow where it can flow over a wall. Even when it is blooming, most visitors to my garden never guess it's a toad lily. 

Since rain was forecast for Sunday and much of this coming week, I cut some of the yellow 'Lemon Twist' toad lilies for a vase. 

Since they have short stems, this is an easier way to see the interior of the blossoms and to enjoy them. 

In a vase on Monday: Soggy September

We had another two inches of rain yesterday morning, so I was not able to go out and cut a bouquet for Mark's bookclub who were meeting at our house. I did, however, manage to make Anna Thomas' "Cheese and Onion Pie" from an old favorite cookbook, "The Vegetarian Epicure."

This morning it was still too wet to do more than cut a few things hanging over the path or fallen onto the ground. This little bouquet has been in my bathroom for a week. This morning I just refreshed the stems of Italian parsley and Toad lilies (Tricyrtis). 

Toad lilies bloom so late that some years we have a killing frost when they are still in the bud stage. This year we are having perfect temperatures for me to be able to enjoy them. 

This is T. formosana which grows with a nice vertical stem that is quite narrow. Though the flowers look like delicate little orchids, this is a workhorse plant and well-worth growing if you are able.  

This arrangement includes a big fuzzy leaf from Bergenia ciliata, a maple-shaped leaf from Kirengeshoma, fallen oak leaves from the driveway and a stem of Cimicifuga whose flowers are going over to seeds. 

Be sure to visit Rambling in the Garden to see what other gardeners have put in a vase today. 

IVOM: A late summer bloomer

This last week we've had a few more visitors stop by to see the garden, so I wanted to freshen up the Tea House flowers. The orange lily stem that I featured for our recent big tour group had given up the ghost. But I wanted to keep the lichen-covered stem and the glaucous Hosta leaf.

My garden is almost empty of flowers at the moment; lots of things in bud but not much blooming. I added a trailing berry branch that I clipped before it took root in my garden from my neighbor's big patch. 

Arrowhead (Sagitaria latifolia), which grows in our pond, was about the only flower available but it proved up to the task.

To see what other gardeners have found to put in a vase today, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden who hosts this long-running Monday meme. 

Just before the tour: The Tea House in its garden

Large wood-fired ceramic plates by local potters adorn the west end of the house. The stepping stones lead to the deck and the pond while the pine needle path runs between the west side fence and the back wall of the Tea House

The garden on the berm surrounding half of the Tea House is mostly foliage with some Martagon lilies and spring ephemerals. 

Those tied-and-crossed bamboo canes keep visitors off narrow work paths. 

A wider view of the berm garden. 

I bought this large Japanese shop sign for one of Mark's milestone birthdays. At some point he realized it was the perfect size to hang across the Tea House. 

The view looking down from the top of the stone steps leading up to the front entrance of the Tea House. 

The door is very low so you have to humble yourself and crawl in on your knees. 

I suggested Mark add a full size door for those over age 65!

Both door are visible in this shot. 

We bought these cushions from an antique dealer from Japan who had a pop up shop in Madison for three summers. 

We also got a few lovely Ikebana baskets at Jake and Yuko's shop. The tea bowl is by the late Wisconsin ceramic artist, Don Reitz.

We decided to keep our multicultural display with the mix of African, Asian and American objects. 

The upper pool is right outside the Tea House.

There are plants growing in the water and all around its edges.