Each Little World

The lame duck made me do it!

Last week's lame duck debacle in Wisconsin had me in need of serious distraction! Luckily, it arrived in the form of an e-mail from Carolyn's Shade Gardens in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Her message stood out like a beacon in a sea of breaking news updates that were too depressing to keep reading. Carolyn, on the other hand, was announcing the arrival of her 2019 Snowdrop Catalog.

 

Of course, I immediately clicked on it and placed an order! I would not call myself a "galanthophile," the name given to those who obsess and obsessively collect different varieties of snowdrops aka Galantus. But I am willing to admit that I love the lore and lure around plants like snowdrops and species Peonies that have a long history replete with fascinating stories.

 

You can buy easily buy the most common varieties of snowdrops out of season as bulbs like Tulips or Daffs. But they are one plant whose success is touted to buying them "in the green," meaning right after they've finished flowering. To do that, you need to live in the UK where this is a common practice or live near a grower in the States. OR find someone like Carolyn's Shade Gardens who sells snowdrops in the green at her nursery in the spring as well as on-line.

 

The plants I just ordered will come next spring after they've flowered in her nursery. Hopefully, it will be only a brief span between their arrival in the mail and when I can plant them out in my own garden. The timing is always a bit of a hit-or-miss proposition but so far it's worked for me, having placed my first order with Carolyn in 2014.

 

 

I have had good luck with the more reasonably-priced snowdrops like G. nivalis 'Viridapice,' G. woronoii and G. 'Magnet' (both photos above are my clumps of 'Magnet') but not much luck with any of the expensive yellow ones. This time I splurged on only one variety that should make a statement ('Johnathan' below), along with some guaranteed performers from Carolyn's stock (G. elwesii and G. nivalis).

 

I will plant them in my main flower bed that gets lots of early sun and has good soil and drainage. The only drawback is that it is the farthest from the house so I will definitely have to walk up to watch for them blooming. But they will be growing near my species Peonies which are equally early and always draw me out multiple times per day.

 

CAROLYN'S SHADE GARDENS PHOTO

 

"The Plant Lover's Guide to Snowdrops" by Naomi Slade is one of the plant-specific titles in the excellent Kew guide series. It is a good place to get information on these bulbs and how easy or difficult specific varieties are to grow, along with any quirky cultivation information. Carolyn Walker is one of the snowdrop lovers profiled in the book. 

What's my name?

I don't know about you but this looks like a boxwood with a creamy edge or variegation to me. When I saw a group of these beauties on display at a local nursery, I instantly fell prey to temptation and brought this one home with me. The tag gave its name as 'Glencoe,' one of the Chicagoland Growers series.

All of the many boxwoods we grow in our garden are from the Chicagoland series. We've never lost one, no matter how cold or fierce the winter. The only time we've lost boxwoods was a nameless pair foolishly purchased on sale at Home Depot.

Here's my problem: When I went online looking for more information on 'Glencoe' all I could find were solid color boxwoods with nary a mention of a creamy margin. I couldn't find any variegated boxwood listed as part of the Chicagoland series. So something is not right.

The nursery where I bought the plant is now closed for the season. I will check in with them next spring, but in the meantime, is anyone growing 'Glencoe' boxwood or one that looks like this? I'd love to hear from you if you are. 

Bulbs begin to arrive

. . . in the mail, not blooming in the garden. Yesterday I got a little box from Brent and Becky's which had three bags of snowdrop bulbs: G. nivalis 'Viridapice', G. woronowii and G. Sam Arnott. I have small clumps of the first two that I planted "in the green" from Carolyn's Shade Garden out east. This time I decided to add more typical fall planted bulbs. Last spring I actually marked where my other snowdrop clumps are planted so I will be easily able to know where to put these additions.

Sam is one of the largest in bloom size and height, so he's going under my dad's memorial Ginkgo tree where I should be able to see him from in the house when he arrives above ground next spring.

G. 'Magnet' (above) is coming from Old House Gardens which last offered it in 2014. It's a strong grower and holds its flowers on unusually long pedicels making for a particularly striking floral display. I've always regretted I did not order more at the time, so I was thrilled to see it available again. Here it is in my garden in 2015.

At this time of year when I am adding new plants, dividing and moving old stalwarts and putting in bulbs, all I can think about is next spring. Here we are on the cusp of autumn and all I want is to jump ahead two seasons. It is a crazy way to be thinking and yet it is that desire to see what comes next that keeps me going from year to year into — hopefully — a ripe old gardening age.

Late summer plant splurges

I should probably never have signed up for email newsletters and alerts from from nurseries that sell online. There is nothing like getting a sale notice from Avant Gardens in Massachusetts or a list of new and restocked plants at Far Reaches Farm in the PNW. I recently pulled out the plastic to put in orders at both nurseries. Amazingly enough. Avant Gardens sent me a message that they had to postpone shipping because they were having a heat wave. But my little order has arrived now. 

I only ordered half a dozen plants, all of which I have had experience with and thus are likely to settle in and succeed in my garden. I was already growing a couple of Dryopteris x australis ferns from Plant Delights that I planted in 2016. They were $16.00 each and have proved well worth it. So I was more than thrilled to add three more from Avant Gardens at only $14.00 each and on sale for 20% off my total order. I also got a pair of mini 'Cameo' Hostas which are perfect for my circular front garden, a painted fern — 'Pearly White' — with no red markings and a slender and slow growing Ginkgo tree, 'Sky Tower.'

Avant Gardens always adds a bonus plant and imagine my delight when my prize turned out to be this beautiful Cyclamen purpurescens.

  

Avant Gardens ships their plants via UPS and I had an email giving me the date and a time window when the order would be delivered. On the delivery day I forgot all about watching for my box of treats until after dinner.  When I opened the front door I found a massive box on the bench. Even though it had started to lightly rain, I left the box right there. I carefully unpacked everything and put all the plants in the basement laundry sink where I could give them a drink if and as needed. 

Notice how well-labeled this box is. And note that the size is because I got a very large Ginkgo tree and ferns whose fronds were at least a foot tall. Everything was wrapped in unprinted newsprint, given enough room so as not to crush the neighboring plant and swathed in what we always called excelsior. 

I wondered if I could use the excelsior in my compost bin, so I emailed Katherine Tracey at the nursery. She told me that's what they do. 

So that's what I'm doing as well. I just took big handfuls of the stuff and pulled it apart as I stood over the compost bin, letting it fall in as it came apart. There were some big pieces almost like mats so I put them down on the dirt in front of the compost bin. Now I can step onto something other than mud  every time I want to empty the kitchen compost bucket.

. . .

PLANT UPDATES: All these things were put in the ground a couple of days before our ten inches of rain and came through with no problems. However, on further reading i discovered the Cyclamen likes it dry in the summer so it has already been moved to a new spot that will better meet that condition. When I went out to check on everyone I could only see one of the tiny Hostas. I knew I'd planted them right near each other and eventually I saw the fat neck of the 2nd plant. Our bunny brigade clearly was busy. I immediately caged both the tiny Hostas and the little Cyclamen. I had forgotten that the rabbits attacked all my mini Hostas when they were first planted. Now they are generally ignored.  

Thalictrums high and low

I love Thalictrums. There's nothing better than a plant that looks delicate but isn't. All of mine made it through our miserable winter and every other kind of crazy weather that's come along so far. This little gem is T.  kiusianum aka Kyushu meadowrue.

You can tell how small it is by comparing its leaves to the brick edging of this bed and to the mini Hostas nearby: H. 'Dorset Blue' (?) and H. 'Blue Mouse Ears'.

My queenly Thalictrums are all in the Sacred Grove where they are blooming in concert with various orange lilies. This is T. rochebrunianum 'Lavender Mist' in the background.

This is Thalictrum 'Ankum' which Digging Dog Nursery says "shows amazing vigor." I would have to agree given it is well over my head and has reached its mature size of 6 and 1/2 to 7 feet in only two years. 

It is so tall that its flowers are getting tangled with a low branch of the nearby striped maple. That could be a problem should we have any high winds. But for the moment it's glorious.

K & A Greenhouse

It sounds crazy but I went shopping the day after our big garden tour. I don't think I would have done it if Mark hadn't pulled a sale flyer for K & A Greenhouse out of the newspaper Saturday morning. Splashed across it were the words:"20% OFF all trees, shrubs and gallon perennials." Really, how could I resist — especially as I'd picked up some nice things at their Fitchburg location at the beginning of the season.

I came home with a nice little haul. But I couldn't stop thinking about what I didn't buy and so I went back again on Tuesday. 

But this time I remembered to bring my iPad so I could take a few photos. I always read the blog posts about nursery visits by The Outlaw Gardener and his PNW gardening pals, but somehow I never think to document the nursery along with my purchases. You walk by the displays in these first two photos on your way into the greenhouse. But I walked between them directly into the trees and shrubs. 

I usually don't think about end of season plant sales until late August and then it is often too late to find anything interesting or in good condition. I saw many unusual woodies at K & A but there were also lots of local favorites like this Pagaoda Dogwood. We have three of them in our garden. A hardy tree with a lacy form and four seasons of interest. Here it is starting to get some fall color. With those red stems with the purply-blue berries, you can see why this tree is a winner. 

We also have one of these 'Gold Rush' Dawn Redwoods. Another tree with gorgeous form and color. Though it loses some of the screaming yellow-gold of its new spring foliage, it offers a lot of drama no matter the season. 

Inside and out, I would have to say someone worked on "staging" the plants, the planted containers and all the other items that the greenhouse is selling. There were pre-planted pots of mixed perennials, of annuals and of herbs, along with lots of flowers grouped near each other to suggest potential planting combinations. 

I bought a Christmas fern, a Heuchera called 'Pink Pearls' for its fat flowers, some ground cover plants, and a 'Mahogany Splendor' Hibiscus. That last one is an annual for us but I love its dark, maple-like foliage. The clerk who rang me out said that it can be wintered over indoors and gave me directions. So perhaps I will try it. They also had lots of big lush pots of herbs, including gorgeous basils. Brought one of those home as well since my basils in the ground have not performed particularly well this season. And now that it is tomato time, one must have basil!

When I go to a nursery I tend to only look at plants unless I need something specific like hoops or gloves. Even though our garden is full of ceramic pots they are all the work of Midwestern potter friends. Thus I rarely look at containers when I'm plant shopping. But this time I did. 

Though they had colorful containers, I found these rustic and traditional styles more appealing. 

I think a pair of these monster pots would look fabulous on either side of a front door. Not mine, but perhaps yours? Picture them planted with Japanese maples or a standard lilac. Dreamy.

I loved this little vertical garden planter which would be perfect for a patio or balcony.

I took this side view but it wasn't until I looked more closely at the photo at home that I got to thinking. I just assumed this was all one piece. But if you look closely I think each layer is actually a separate container and that they just alternated two styles. Have you seen this setup elsewhere? No matter how it's put together, I think it is clever and attractive.

Mark and I both tend to like simple rustic items in the garden; nothing that calls attention to itself. But I could fall for this little water-lily inspired fountain.

I really loved this water dripper. Let it get a little patina of moss or lichens and it would look positively medieval. I am going to put it in my next garden along with a lot of those big gray planters. Maybe I'll make a knot garden. Nothing like a nursery visit to send my imagination into overdrive. 

Back home with my first round of purchases. Is this a gorgeous haul or what?

The beautiful little shrub in the center of the bench is 'Ice Breaker' Korean Fir. It will give me that same coloration as Horstmann's Silberlocke but at only a few feet tall as opposed to a tree.

I've already planted Salix candida 'Silver Fox' or hoary willow (on the left) and will get the Mariesii Hinoki Cypress in the ground over the weekend. That one will get about 4 feet tall x 3 feet wide; big enough to make a statement without overwhelming nearby perennials.

On my second visit I bought another 'Mother Lode' juniper and a cute little ball of a Chamaecyparis. They will both go at the top of the driveway rock wall. 

I actually went back to K & A to buy a 'Mops' Mugo Pine (below) as it has a very tight structure and needs little or no shearing. I had to go searching for it and discovered they had it in two sizes. I went for this bigger size for instant impact. This will go on the back side of the Buddha Mound which gets lots of sun along with the 2nd 'Mother Lode' juniper. Cutting grass on a slope is getting to be too much work so I thought we should start filling that area in with conifers, including spreaders. 'Mother Lode' juniper stays low but should spread out into a 3-4 foot wide carpet — eventually.

Before the tour, the woman who had been helping me with special projects in the garden dug out old Hostas and ferns from the slope by the street and filled the spaces with Geranium macrorrhizum. I said I wanted an ever bigger swath of the Geraniums to make the area more lower maintenance. As she was working on her hands and knees while I supervised, she laughingly pointed out how much work it takes to make a garden lower maintenance! I think my new shrub purchases are a perfect example of her theory: They will be low maintenance someday, but first I have to plant them all.

Buying trip

I was given a gift certificate to Fitchburg Farms last year but I never rushed right out to redeem it. I am not a gardener who does a lot of containers or uses annuals in the garden itself. Given that Fitchburg Farms was known for those things, I had kind of ignored them until now. But free money to spend at a garden center should be used, one way or another. So I invited a gardening friend to go with me. I figured if I couldn't find anything I wanted she might.

As we were driving out on a gorgeous sunny day, she mentioned she'd heard the nursery was now selling perennials and even some shrubs. Turns out she was right and I was much more satisfied at the end of our shopping spree than I first envisioned. It was way too sunny outdoors to get any photos of the areas where I shopped — perennials and woodies. But it's really the inside of this nursery that is the amazing area. 

The space was massive and filled to the brim with color and texture. Name an annual and they had it. Plus I saw all kinds of plants that were new to me, though I limited myself to herbs in here.

Some plants — like these Coleus — were displayed in ways that suggested brilliant planting combinations to try. 

Intense color surrounded you everywhere you looked.

But if I am going to get a foliage plant with multicolored leaves, I'll opt for Pelargoniums. These were not only beautiful but a dramatic size. What an instant effect they would provide.

If you looked, you could find subtle plants and garden art as well. 

I bought a few unusual basil plants, a pair of yellow foxgloves and the pretty little Larch tree that I posted about earlier. I spent the entire amount of the gift certificate with the exception of $1.50 which I gave my friend to splurge with on her purchases!

We continued on to Flower Factory, my personal favorite nursery, but again I didn't really get many photos as the sun was just too intense. I sat in the shade with my wagon full of plants and enjoyed this view while my friend continued to shop.

Flower Factory has innumerable hoop houses with everything clearly marked. I found everything on my list and restrained myself from most impulse buys. Having bought a tree at the previous stop helped to keep my spending in line. I intended to buy this stunning honeysuckle 'Major Wheeler' until I saw how big it was and realized it would eat my garden. But what a beauty. This area now is covered with shade cloth after a huge old oak tree came down in a storm a few years ago.

This is a photo from last summer's July visit to Flower Factory. This is the first parking area when you pull into the nursery. I usually manage to find a spot here and park with the nose of my car almost hitting the flowers. But this is a busy place with lots of parking including space for busloads of garden shoppers.

The plants I came home with from our two stops do not make for a very exciting photograph as they are mostly about foliage. As I mentioned I bought some unusual basil plants including one with pale green and white variegated foliage, two yellow-flowered foxgloves, a big plant of Epimedium 'Ellen Willmott', a tatting fern, some Ajuga 'Chocolate Chip', Euphorbia palustris to plant by the pond and more Lilium landini. One of the Euphorbia and the larch are still waiting to be put in place but everything else was planted before the big rains and seem to have settled in.

Here's that variegated Basil out in the garden.It's just a great little foliage plant.

I saw this Astilbe — 'Mighty Chocolate Cherry' — at the Westside Farmers' Market on Saturday and could not resist it. Love those dark leaves and the intense flower color. It is supposed to get 4 ft. tall, though the online photos and descriptions all say it has red flowers. We'll see.

Not fade away

Some plants are meant to stay in the background. Their size, shape or color are used to create a subtle stage for the prima donnas of the garden. Then there are the stars who demand adulation and attention. Currently enjoying a star turn in my garden is this new tree that I put in a pot to enjoy up close before I plant it out in the garden.

This is Carpinus betulus 'Columnar Nana,' a dwarf cultivar of Fastigiate Hornbeam that will get 6-8 feet tall. Small enough to easily fit into the garden but big enough from the get-go to make a statement. 

I won this Fagus sylvatica 'Aurea pendula' in a raffle at a garden writers conference in 2012. I was already growing a purple weeping beech and really wasn't interested in a second one, least of all yellow. But Klehm's Song Sparrow nursery, which had donated it, had the tree priced at $75.00 so I felt like I should find it a home. 

I hate to admit it, but I bet I've moved it at least three times in the garden trying to find a spot where it has some room and will work with the surrounding plants. I finally gave it a permanent location at the back edge of the driveway border. It is next to a golden-tipped Hemlock and a gold Dawn Redwood making this border a bright spring treat. 

Yellow "grass"

I'm a fan of Carex elate 'Bowles Golden' for a number of reasons; in particular because it forms an airy clump whose grass-like leaves are more delicate than the foliage on a golden Hakonechloa grass. In my garden it also makes an earlier appearance than Hakonechloa. Though it develops nice yellow/chartreuse foliage, it starts the out the season more green as you can see from the photo directly below. 

This is Millium effusum 'Aureum' which is also known as Bowles Golden grass (below). This plant is a millet and comes up even earlier, more glaringly bright and more golden than the Carex above. I probably searched for this particular plant for twenty years before I found it last year at Odyssey Perennials. It is supposedly not long lasting but self seeds. At this point I'm just happy it made it though its first winter. 

First ferns

I am assuming most of my plants that spent the winter underground will survive. But i have been a little worried about those that were only planted last year and came from East or West Coast nurseries. So I was thrilled today when I suddenly saw this little bit of green emerging in my new garden under the apple tree. I always leave fern fronds in place for the winter. They help protect the crown of the plant and they alert me in the spring to where I should not step.

This is Polystichum retrosopaleaceum, aka Polystichum retroso paleaceum aka Narrow Tassel Fern according to some sources. It is an Asian species and wants a moist woodland soil. Since it looks like all three plants I ordered from Far Reaches Farm last year have survived, I guess I must be giving them what they want.