Woke to a gently falling rain this morning that made it a pleasure to have Saturday coffee at home. We usually meet our friends at our local coffee shop, but all the news about the COVID variants made us wary of coffee indoors, anywhere but here.
We got .41" of rain and are hoping for a bit more this afternoon.
I did not pay attention to the names of the first couple of ferns I planted in my early gardening days. They are absolute workhorses, producing offsets, standing tall and never being bother by pests or disease. Below are a few of my current favorites to whose names I now pay attention.
Cheilanthes lanosa 'Mighty Tiday' aka hairy lip fern. About 6" tall and planted in the rock garden in the sun.
Dryopteris felix-mas 'Linearis polydactyla'. This is big, lacy and can take dry shade. I bought one in 1995 and another in 1997. Since then I've cut off divisions to create clumps of this fern all over the garden.
Adiantum venustum aka Himalayan maidenhair (bottom). Fancy Fronds says "rip 'em apart for propagation and that's just what I do.
Adiantum x tracyi. I have had great luck with the straight Maidenhair fern and so am trying others in that family.
Adiantum aleuticum Imbricatum aka dwarf Western maidenhair. The rabbits ate one of the three I planted a year or so ago, this spring. Luckily it seems to be reviving.
Polystichum makinoi (Makino's holly fern)
Polystichum retrosopaleaceum aka narrow tassel fern
I seem to have the right condition for the basic Japanese painted fern as it tends to seed around the garden. When I am happy with where it plants itself, I let it grow on. This is a moist location with a Larch and new primroses. I am planning on having an almost solid fern ground cover here.
The lightning was so constant that I got up around 1:30 a.m. Friday morning to be sure there wasn't a police car parked on the street out front. The thunder was so far off the two things didn't seem to be related. I was afraid yet another storm was about to pass us by.
But this one hit us with wind dashing rain again the house so fast and furiously that I got up to look out to the back garden to make sure the gutters were OK and then I checked the basement. Lots of noise but no problems as three or four storms seemed to move through during the rest of the "night."
We got 2.28" which was less than I anticipated but enough to make a big difference in the garden. It's raining again as I write this late on Sunday afternoon. Not having to water the garden means I can actually get some planting done. I feel as if I've been holding my breath waiting for a break in the the weather. It is lovely having clouds and gray skies instead of incessant sun.
We drove out to the Flower Factory Sunday afternoon to pick up my last order from them. We had a chance to briefly chat with owners Nancy and David Nedveck which was a treat. I didn't get any new and different plants, just a few old favorites: A cinnamon fern to add to a pair to make it a threesome, an Apple Blossom primrose to add to all my red flowered ones and Bird's Foot violets to make a nice patch when I add them to the couple I'm already growing.
I also got another Parsley fern. I'm growing two and really like them. They are neater and more compact than a number of my other ferns. You can never have two many ferns for my taste. They are a great way to cover ground and reduce maintenance in my garden. Rain and more plants. What a perfect way to start the week.
Frost was forecast for Friday night, though it only got down to 37°F, so the garden came through in fine fettle. Saturday the low was expected to be 39°F. but Weather Bug said it was 34°F. when I checked at 5 a.m. Sunday morning. Come on; we are at Memorial Day weekend. By the end of this week we will be in the mid-80°F. when it is not yet summer. The weird weather continues.
A couple of rainy days mid-week sent me to cut flowers before the frost arrived. Aquilegia 'Black Barlow' has seeded in so many places I no long remember where it was first planted. I also grow A. 'Nora Barlow' but she always looks a little fussy compared to this member of the Barlow family.
I cut a few broken fronds of Maidenhair fern and the native Thalictrum dioucum to see how they would work as foliage in a vase. After a few days the ferns were starting to fade and curl but the Thalictrum is perfect. This is a plant that seeded in the garden and I am going to start spreading it around as it is a great filler.
'Bowles Golden' millet, a yellow Yew, a pale Heuchera leaf and two kinds of Euphorbia fill this little teacup.
You really can't tell the flowers are from two different Euphorbias; but the difference in the garden in color and size is striking. One is Euphorbia 'Bonfire' which is about 10" tall and the other is Euphorbia palustris which is about 3'. I was totally surprised at the similarity when I put them together.
Peony 'Burnished Bronze' is a real drama queen compared to all the soft colors in the garden at the moment.
She looked lovely for a few days before she decided she was done. I love watching a Peony go to seed.
I planted these Alliums at least 20 years ago and they got shaded out. But they have started to re-appear where I don't want them: at the base of special trees where it will be dangerous to dig deep enough to find the bulbs. I cut them all for a bouquet so they can't go to seed and make the problem a bigger one. I do love their ghostly beauty along with a shadow of the big Lohan sculpture.
I have a serious amount of planting to catch up with after a couple of weeks of too hot and too cold temps, rain and very high winds. Hoping for a few days of rational weather to get some work done in the garden.
Monday's rain has the garden in fine fettle. Things are popping up, opening up and standing up tall. I keep going out almost hourly to check on the progress of my plants. Here's a sampling.
Paeonia obvata var. alba
Dicentra spectabilis 'Valentine' has taken more years than I expected for her to finally attain some stature. (I know the plant has a new name, but I am not making the effort to learn it . . .)
Epimedium 'Lilac Fairy' is a very floriferous variety that bulks up fast, so you can get a nice patch of it fairly easily.
I've been growing Iris pumila 'Cherry Garden' since about 1990; a great plant with an equally great color.
Every time I notice one of these downy yellow violets in the garden — Viola pubescens — I dig it up and move it to a spot where they are slowly filling in. Just added a yellow-flowered Trillium luteum to the mix.
I have two different Ladyslipper Orchids about to bloom. It took me years before I found the right locations for them; places where they were happy, settled in to grow and finally produce flowers.
I find ferns unfurling endlessly fascinating. (Say that quickly three times!) This is the Cinnamon fern, Osumunda cinnamomeum.
This Cinnamon fern is only inches away from the one above and yet is at a different stage of opening.
I have a bad habit of always taking photos that are "plant portraits" and never taking wider shots. I am making an effort this season to take wide views every week; mainly to remind me of what is there that is an ephemeral or very late to arrive.
Readers of this blog likely know that many of the elements of our garden design were influenced by Japanese gardens. Thus, for the last twenty years, I've planted many treasures from Asia. But climate change and habitat loss have all gardeners looking at their garden with new eyes.
I'm happy to be able to say that I've composted kitchen and garden debris, mulched with chopped leaves and haven't sprayed or used many chemicals over the years. I have an old Bur Oak tree and a crop of seedlings that I'm nurturing (below), along with every fern native to Wisconsin happily romping around my garden.
But I am not a native plant aficionado nor do I want to give up all the lovely non-natives I've planted over the years. That's why I was thrilled with the information that Fergus Garrett, head gardener at the famed Great Dixter estate in the UK, shared with those of us who signed up for his webinar as part of Olbrich Botanical Gardens spring lecture series, "A Gardener's Call."
The "call" refers to the idea that gardeners need to "recognize and respect all beings’ contributions to healthy garden ecosystems." If we do that, then we will be able to support all life in the garden. I totally agree with that concept which is why I sat up and took notice when Garrett showed us that ornamental horticulture does that very well.
Photo by Andrew Montgomery/Gardens Illustrated magazine
Garrett decided that Great Dixter needed a comprehensive biodiversity audit that would then provide the knowledge that he felt was critical to managing Dixter in the best way. It wasn't really news, he noted, when the survey showed the meadows, ponds, pastures and woodlands on this old estate were extremely rich.
Photo by Andrew Montgomery/Gardens Illustrated magazine
The big surprise — and what excited me — was the fact that the survey found the richest part of all was the ornamental garden (above). The survey clearly showed the garden, even with its fancy floral displays, supported an extraordinary amount of wildlife. Though Garrett hadn't specifically gardened with biodiversity at the forefront, it was there as a by-product.
That means I don't have to tear up my garden and start over. I can leave my non-natives in place and add more if I want. The big lesson is having as much diversity as possible. The things I've ordered online, or plan to buy locally, range from grasses to shrubs to bulbs and perennial plants; all of which means I am moving in the right direction for diversity. Add in the fact that almost half of them are native and I no longer have to feel guilty for wanting a garden that showcases non-native plants.
With the weather getting colder and windy, I decided not to wait to cut some fall foliage while it still was suitable for a vase; actually a low bowl with 3 different size metal ikebana frogs in the bottom.
This annual arrangement tends to be my last one of the growing season. I am endlessly fond of playing with an armload of foliage, thus at this stage of the game, if I cut it I use it. I wasn't sure how long the golden Cinnamon ferns would hold up; but they were too beautiful not to use. I put this together on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
There were still plenty of lacy leaves left on the assorted Thalictrums to cut.
I'm not sure what fern this is, but it had curled and dried in this elegant fashion in an earlier bouquet. When that arrangement was discarded, I moved the fern into this new display.
The Hakonechloa grass add a touch of lightness and brightness, but it dried up within a very short time.
The Cinnamon ferns crinkled up quickly but they paired nicely with the dried Hydrangea flowerhead.
Cimicifugas, with their long wands of tiny pink or white blossoms, have a delicate air in flower that is quite a contrast from their dramatic purple-black seedheads.
Hosta flowers also produce unexpectedly dramatic seedheads as these green clumps demonstrate.
A week later, I added some golden Thalictrum foliage to go with the yellowing Hosta leaves and ferns.
A few days later, I decided it was time to pull out the dying green and brown ferns and the Hakonechloa grass that looks like string draped in the bouquet.
Ten days after I put this grouping together, I added some fresh greens to perk it up.
A few stems of Oreganum l'Herenhausen' repeated the dark coloring of the Cimicifuga seedheads.
The majority of Epimedium foliage is still green but I found these bronzed leaves on the E. 'Lilac Fairy.'
Almost all of the Hostas in the garden are visibly suffering from drought followed by cold and wind. But the foliage of Hosta 'El Nino' was in almost perfect condition. Thalictrum 'Black Stockings,' a June bloomer for me, is the only one with beautiful foliage still standing.
I'm hoping I will find more foliage in the garden to keep refreshing this bouquet, but the next four nights our temperatures are dropping down into the 20°F., so I will just have to wait and see what happens.
The temperature is taking a downward dive this week but the ferns are still looking lovely. Dryopteris felix-mas 'Parsley' with Hepaticas, probably H. acutiloba 'Silver Leaf'.
Dryopteris felix-mas 'Linearis polydactyla' is sometimes called fishbone fern which is an apt description of its toothy fronds. I bought my first one in 1995 and added a second in 1997. As they grow and age they often send out another crown which I remove and plant elsewhere. Using that method, I easily have a dozen of these ferns scattered around the garden.
Dryopteris crassirhizoma, Adiantum venustum aka Himalayan maidenhair fern and a Hellebore peeking into the picture. Nothing looks so delicate as Himalayan maidenhair but no fern is tougher. If it's happy it spreads into large clumps faster than one might expect.
The garden from the ground up is still mostly green, but a few things are starting to indicate it's October. Autumn fern just has the slightest hint of the changing season.
The three-flowered maple (Acer triflorum) is looking gorgeous . . .
but this color is nothing compared to the show it will be soon putting on.
See what I mean? Twenty-four hours later and it's almost sold red foliage.
The sugar maple had been the only tree in the garden that was shouting the news that autumn is here.
This tree was planted when our house was built in 1954 and is having serious health problems. This is the last autumn we will see this colorful exhibition as the tree will come down this winter.
Given the fact that there is a large Oak seedling, a small Hemlock and a Witch Hazel all growing under the maple, we don't feel as bad as we otherwise might to see it go.
By high summer, flowers and color have been banished to the very back of my garden. I want green and serene when I look out from now on.
Clockwise from left front: Hosta 'Spritzer,' Cornus 'Golden Shadows,' Adiantum pedatum, Tiarella 'Running Tapestry,' Carex Divulsa, Brunnera macrophylla 'Alexander's Great,' Deinanthe caerula and Heuchera 'Autumn Haze'
Acer tegmentosum 'White Tigress,' Athyrium hybrida 'Ghost' and Hosta 'El Nino'
Astilbe 'Garnet,' Hosta 'Shade Fanfare,' Brunnera macrophylla 'Sea Heart,' Melica unipolar f. albida (grassy foliage) and Paeonia veitchii (The black hole in the center is probably more Heuchera 'Autumn Haze')
Athyrium niponicum var. 'Pictum', Hostas 'Spritzer' and 'Abiqua Drinking Gourd'
Kirengeshoma palmata, Geranium phaeum 'Samobor' and Heuchera 'Palace Purple'
Paeonia japonica, Hakonechloa macra 'All Gold,' Athyrium niponicum var. 'Pictum' and Epimedium 'Lilac Fairy'
Polystichum acrostichoides aka Christmas fern, Carex morrowi 'Ice Dance,' Hosta 'Inniswood,' Heuchera 'Green Spice,' Tiarella 'Elizabeth Oliver,' Carex caryophylla 'Beatlelmania/Mophead' and Epimediumx youngianum 'Baby Doll Pink'
The next two photographs offer close-ups of the grassy foliage in the above picture. Polystichum acrostichoides, Carex morrowi 'Ice Dance' and Heuchera 'Green Spice
Tiarella 'Elizabeth Oliver' and Carex caryophylla 'Beatlelmania/Mophead,' which is much more yellow in person