Each Little World

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.

Out with the old; in with the old

I planted this Actaea pachypoda rubrocarpa in 2006 because I fell in love with its magnetic pink seeds and it did not spread like my native Actea pachypoda.

Last year I thought this plant had made a breakthrough: It was more substantial with more berry stalks than ever before when I took this picture on July 30. Usually I only get two or three berry stems. But still, the color was not as good as the plant produced in in 2011 (above) and it's always caged because the bunnies like to eat it when it first appears. 

Over the years this plant seems to have gone downhill. It's never increased much in size and rarely has been as substantial as last year. its foliage starts to look ratty by mid-August. Not long after I took the picture below on August 12th, I dug this Actea out. I had located it at the edge of a main garden path and it was no longer worth such prime real estate. 

I decided to repeat part of the planting I'd done earlier in the season along the same fence; namely I put in a pair of Cimicifugas with those lovely purple-toned leaves. The Cimicifugas look beautiful from the moment they appear in the spring.

They are just now moving from bud to bloom.

In front of them I planted two teeny tiny seedlings of Paeonia obvata var. alba. They look inconsequential but I am hoping they will perform like their sibling across the path. Those equally small seedlings have turned into a substantial shrub that flowered beautifully in only three years. Here's what I expect to see in the near future. 

I love the idea of a pair of species Peonies blooming on either side of this path in early spring. Stay tuned to see if it happens!

Inspiration: Nori Pope

Just read that the great garden designer Nori Pope has died. Fergus Garrett showed some stunning color combinations in his talk in Madison last week but they were tame compared to the stunning color-themed garden the Popes created at Hadspen House. Luckily they wrote a book on the subject of color in the garden as their work at Hadspen no longer exists. Here's an article from Gardens Illustrated on Nori.

Nori and Sandra Pope

Success at last

You don't have to garden very long before someone tells you not to give up on a plant until you've failed with it three times. I planted Begonia grandiflora, the only variety that is outdoor hardy here, in 2001 and 2006. I wouldn't exactly say I killed it those two times. I don't think it lasted long enough for any blame to attach to me. 

I decided to try again in 2017, mainly because this is a plant that does not make its presence known until midsummer — right when my Trillium grandiflorum gives up the ghost. This Begonia is one of the plants that is recommend to fill those empty spots in the garden left by spring ephemerals. 

TOM SCHMOCK PHOTOS

Last year to my surprise Begonia grandiflora appeared right on cue. It wasn't all that big but it looked like it was on its way to surviving. This year the plant is at its mature size of about 18" x 18" and glowing. The red on the stems and underside of its leaves is its other great advantage as these photos prove.

Lilies and daylilies

It's high summer and the garden is bursting with bright colors and towering plants. The view out the living room windows is all green, but take a short walk up to the Sacred Grove and the scene is entirely different. Up there, I've got deep dark red Lilium asiaticum landini and bright yellow Lilium leichtlini in one bed. Across the path are three types of orange lilies and assorted daylilies.

I planted Lilium henryii in memory of my late father-in-law, Henry. It is always at least 6' tall if not a bit higher.  

Lilium lancifollium flore pleno is the double form of the tiger lily. Lilium superb, the Turk's Cap lily, is just about to bloom. Though all three lilies in this bed are orange, the tones are  markedly different tones of that color. 

Hemorcallis 'Lady Inora' shares the bed with the orange lilies. 

Tall spikes of Thalictrums lighten the look of the lilies' heavy flower heads.

Across the path is Lilium leichtlini. I love the delicate blush of red on the backs of the flowers. I'd like to get more of this bulb but haven't seen it offered recently.

I seem to have lost the name of this daylily, but based on its markings I think it is one of Pauline Henry's Siloam varieties. Lovely pale yellow with a purple throat.

The dark red Lilium landini (center) are so dark you can barely see them in this photo. That's Hemerocallis 'Little Grapette' in the foreground with Ligularia 'The Rocket' adding more yellow. 

Around the corner by the Tea House side of the above bed are red daylilies: H. 'Little Red Warbler' on the left and H. 'Petite Sioux' on the right. 

At the top of the stairs out front is Hemerocallis 'Early Bird Cardinal' backed by Berberis 'Orange Rocket'.

If you asked me if I had any bright summer flowers in the garden, I'd say that I have very few. But walking around with a camera suggests I haven't a clue about what I've been planting the last few years!

Summer color: GBBD 7.15.2019

It's an old-fashioned July: sunny, hot, humid and no rain in sight. I start wilting once it hits 80°F. so I am going to work less in the garden until it rains or gets cooler. I've been going out at 6 a.m. but I get too wiped out too fast and I don't get much else done the rest of the day. The summer flowers are just starting to bloom in my garden. Most of the lilies, daylilies and Astilbes are just on the verge of opening; stay tuned for more color later this week. 

Lilium asiaticum 'Forever Susan'

It's backed with an early-blooming Astilbe, 'Mighty Chocolate Cherry', which emerges with bronze foliage that turns green, 

Astilbe 'Mighty Chocolate Cherry' has become a large, dramatic plant in one year. 

More bronzy green foliage on our weeping Beech (Fagus 'Purple Fountain') with Astilbe 'Fanal'.

'Fanal' is the one Astilbe that never fails me and increases quickly enough to let me use it as a groundcover. 

My daylilies are just starting to open. I dug them out of the "Wild Time Banke" last summer and moved them all to new locations. I attempted to keep track of who was who and where I planted what, but I am not really sure I did as good a job as I intended. This one is planted by the rusty orange Tea House and is nameless for the moment. 

This is Hemerocallis exaltata 'Giraffe' seedlings. I planted this in 2016, moved it in 2017 and it finally bloomed this year. The flower scapes are about 4' tall and the flowers have a strong substance. Very striking. 

I am so happy with this plant that I had to share two photos. 

The loss of our 'Bloodgood' Japanese maple means that the pond gets more sun which the waterlilies are loving. 

Stop by 'May Dreams Gardens' to see what's blooming this month in other bloggers' gardens. 

Wednesday vignette

Clematis alpina 'Stolwijk Gold' is just as beautiful in the summer without any flowers. The stems are distinctly red, contrasting with the eponymous foliage. 

The rain effect

Our rainy spring and fairly wet summer (so far) has had a major effect on the garden. The beneficial effect is the lush growth on just about every plant in every location. Usually by early July, this patch of Carex siderosticha 'Lemon Zest' is browning on all the edges. This spot is quite sunny and rather dry, causing the Carex to sulk come summer. But this year the Carex never slowed down with the constant moisture. This plant couldn't be happier with the weather!

The downside of so much wet weather is diseased foliage on many plants. The poster child for the problems a wet spring can cause is our Crabapple tree in the front garden. It was planted in the mid-1950s by the original home owner before many of the resistant varieties were developed. The wetter the spring, the earlier our tree drops its leaves. First they turn yellow with brown spots then they come down in a blizzard that coats the plants and paths under the tree. 

With Hostas whose leaves are deeply cupped like 'Inniswood', you can't just shake the Hosta leaves to make the diseased Crabapple leaves fall off. It's a daily job of hand-to-hand combat. Sunday was a beautiful day and Mark and I both spent time in the garden. I did a number of chores but I amit that I never did get around to cleaning this Hosta. I will need to do it before the next rain or the Crabapple leaves will glue themselves in place and be a real pain to remove.

Colorful cones

There are few cones on evergreens more colorful or beautiful than those on the Korean fir (Abies aoreana).

Unlike many conifers, the cones are borne on the top of the branches in upright rows, making a dramatic and highly visible statement. 

This is a fairly slow growing tree, at least in our experience. We still get cones even though our tree is on the north side of the house in part shade much of the day. 

Market finds

I love Foxgloves but only the peach colored varieties which are always in short supply around here. I almost ordered some from the East Coast but decided against it. So I was thrilled to discover Digitalis 'Dalmation Peach' recently at K&W in Janesville. I was even more thrilled to discovered a vendor selling them at the local West Side Farmers Market last weekend. That color is perfect with Berberis 'Orange Rocket'. 

I don't buy many annuals other than herbs like Basil. But the same vendor was selling Salpiglossis plants, an old variety that is rarely seen these days. I fell for it and bought three of them. The colors range from dark red to almost black with wonderful purple-striped variations in between. The variety is 'Royale Mix'.