Each Little World

Petite perfection

Last summer we visited a new garden high above the shore of Lake Mendota. It was filled with striking rock work but that's another post. Amidst a lot of drama I was struck by this small contemplative planting.

It's outside the windows of the lower level of the house with the opposite side a step up to ground level. The easy and common solution would have been to just let the lawn slope gently to the windows.

This gives anyone inside an eye level treat while the outside is an unexpected garden in an unexpected location. A tiny feature in a wonderful large garden

Wordless Wednesday

January blahs

I think there was a sunny afternoon earlier this week, but I'm not really sure. It's been endlessly gray, though not as snowy as the garden needs. The latest storm dropped some rain that turned into about an inch of wet snow. Before that happened I wandered around the garden to see if any plants were pushing up, confused by the rain and warmer weather. 

No Hellebore buds or snowdrops were visible, but a disturbing amount of new Alliums had started growing. I think it means I did not plant them deep enough. Whether their flower buds will still be viable come summer is the big question. 

The ground was soft enough that I was able to push plastic plant tags right back in where they'd been disturbed, Not a good sign in mid-January. Some plants, like Autumn ferns (Dryopteris erythrosora 'Brilliance') are looking surprisingly good despite extremely cold temperatures and snow. 

I've been taking advantage of this down time to work on more Blurb books: One about the ducks who visited our garden each year, two using old family photos and one of garden columns from my newspaper days and the early blog. Working on them is keeping me from obsessing about the winter garden and ordering too many plants on-line.

End of November/early December views

I am loving all the green still visible in my garden, despite snowfalls and temperatures below freezing. I am especially fond of the contrast between the green Carexes and flopped over ferns at the top of the slope and the swath of golden Hakonechloa grass at the bottom. When the Hakonechloa blows in the wind, it's perfect.

Autumn ferns (Dryopteris erythrosora 'Brilliance') are still looking good and standing up compared to many of the other ferns. You can see these in the first picture at the top left of the hill, if you click to enlarge the photo. If you don't grow Autumn ferns, it is worth pointing out that the autumn coloration is on the new growth of the fronds when they emerge in the spring, not in the autumn despite the name.

On the left of the hill in the first photo, the Carex sidersticha 'Variegate' (above the Hakonechloa) is all flattened and brown from the snow and cold. Meanwhile Carex plantaginea in other garden areas, though not on the hill, looks as spiffy as ever.  

Luzula 'Solar Flare' with a noid Hellebore. The foliage on this emerges very yellow green though it's less obvious in December. 

Moss always gets center stage when there is not so much other greenery competing for attention.

OMG! You can see the exobitant price on the name tag of this small fern — Cheilanthes lanosa 'Mighty Tidy' — out in the Moon Garden. Hairy Lip fern has made it through two winters and is slowly increasing in spread. Though only 6" high, it's ultimate width is supposedly 1'. I like it because it likes full sun in rocky, well-drained soil. Not the usual location for a fern.

Another rock garden fern; this one likes shade however. Dryopteris affines crispa — Dwarf crisped golden-scaled male fern — is a Z5 plant and should do well for me. I've been growing the full size version of this fern for more than ten years. Here's hoping this miniature version will do as well.

Polystichum setiferum 'Divisilosum' is new this year from Fancy Fronds. It has settled in nicely and still looks lovely. I am hoping this one makes it through the winter as I am pushing the zone here. I took a chance as this was nicely priced. It arrived as a good sized healthy plant well-worth the money.

I'm back!

Thank you for checking in with me while I attempted to solve my problem loading photos. Fingers still crossed, but it seems to be working. 

Where they went

I think my sister's unexpected death early last December sent me on a garden buying spree. Online or in person, I have been buying plants non-stop since last winter. The last perennials just arrived along with bulbs from two suppliers.

I've posted pictures of my worktable covered with plants a few times. But I've never shown where the plants went. Many are being used to correct problems, fill in unfinished areas or to create a focal point once a plant attains some size.

. . .

I planted Helleborus 'Kingston Cardinal' in 2008. At some point I added a self-seeded boxwood from elsewhere in the garden and a clump of Japanese painted fern. These days the Boxwood is hiding the Hellebore and the fern has spread wherever it could. 

The biggest problem is rabbits who keep chewing the ferns off midway and lolling around in them. Each time the ferns grow back and everything starts to look good, they're attacked again. The loss of a tree also means the ferns are getting more sun than they like.

I decided it was time to redo the whole area. I intended to quickly rip out the ferns — which took two days of intense labor with my "Root Slayer" Shovel and a Cobrahead weeder. This area is a little over 2' wide in the rear and 4' wide along the gray gravel path. 

It was just an inch shy of six feet back to front. 

I bought this Salix candida 'Iceberg Alley' on sale and plopped it in a pot that I set in the spot where the rabbits ate the ferns. There it sat during the last two big tours of our garden. 

I planted it where the Hellebore had been and moved the Hellebore forward.

I added clumps of Adiantum venustum (Himalayan maidenhair fern) from elsewhere in the garden. I'm hoping to add a few more this fall so it will fill in quickly and suppress weeds. 

The big question is whether I got all the Japanese painted ferns out of the area.  I want to be able to just enjoy my handiwork and not have to do any more digging in this space come spring. 

Wordless Wednesday

This and that in the garden

Our weather has been so up and down that I've got more and more plants waiting to get put into the ground. In the meantime, I've done a lot of waiting, walking around with a notepad, changing my mind about what goes where and waiting some more. Things are so behind in making their appearance that I can't be sure where the empty spots are that I have plants ready to plug into. So I've been noticing quirky things that might not have caught my eye if I'd been busy planting. 

Iris lacustris 'Alba' is a lake Iris that typically grows in "slightly acidic, shallow, moist, sandy, or rocky soils." This area of the garden near the edge of the pond was very pebbly once upon a time, but has slowly accumulated enough soil to become mossy. Apparently the Iris don't really mind.

One of my Dryopteris crassirhizoma ferns has developed three separate crowns. That means I can divide it and have three of this gorgeous plant. Doesn't always happen, but what a thrill when it does. 

Last summer I kept noticing a clump of foliage on this woodland Peony that looked different. I kept thinking I was imagining it. This spring, there's no question that a potentially different Peony has moved in. I'm hoping once they both bloom I will know if my eyes are playing tricks or if the Peony is. 

Adiantum venustum is so assertive in my garden that I thought it had fatally consumed this little gem: Pteridophyllum racemosum. It looks like a fern but has delicate white flowers. I will move this to a safer spot tomorrow. 

March. Ugh.

The weather is veering from lamb to lion and back again. Saturday's high was 53°F. ( 11.66°C.), but it brought thunderstorms with heavy rain and wind. Despite the ground being frozen, no water made it into the basement. This morning's temp is 28°F., but feels like 22° according to Weatherbug. 

At this stage of the winter, I am less interested in more snow. We did not get it early in the season when we needed it to protect the garden against the cold. Without checking the record books, this is one of the driest winters I can recall in many years of living in Wisconsin. A walk around the garden Sunday afternoon showed a muddy mess with endless twigs, small branches and locust pods littering the ground. 

i snapped a few wide shots to help me remember what areas held onto the snow longest. Most of the front garden was still snow covered as that's the  north side of the house.

Everything that's not green is under standing water in this shot, including ferns planted last year. How did I not know this spot was so problematic?

Rabbits devoured a dwarf Hemlock planted last fall, two dwarf Oak Leaf Hydrangesas (3 years old) and a 5 year old 'Orange Rocket' Barberry. That's only what I've noticed so far. 

I never went out to look closely at what the city water crew did in December when they had to access the line to do a repair. I was horrified at what a mess they left behind in my Geranium macrorrhizum bed by the street. The blue cap is the water line. They moved the rock marker and filled in the hole with new dirt bit it doesn't look good. Maybe I won't feel as frustrated when the surrounding plants begin to grow in a month. 

On the up side, snowdrops are starting appear. 

Arum itlaicum 'Ghost' just needs the rest of the snow to disappear to start her spring growth spurt. 

I am always curious to see what ferns still look good after snow, ice and freezing temps. This is Dryoteris erythrosora 'Brilliance' aka Autumn Fern. Once this old growth gets removed it takes a long time for this plant to send up its new fronds. You have to mark where this is growing or you will accidentally plant something on top of it. 

Just past the above ferns, the sedges are looking lovely: Carexes pennsylvania and radiata. 

Across the path Polystichum makinoi  actually has its fronds standing upright!

Every year as the ratty snow along the curb starts to melt, I look there to see the first signs of spring. Most years, those signs are empty beer bottles or cigarette packs. This year's souvenir is a COVID mask. Perhaps a driver tossed it from his car window pleased to see the numbers are going down. Somehow I don't think it's the last one I'll find out there. 

Look what happened overnight. See what I mean about lions and lambs. I guess I won't be picking any of those snowdrops as soon as I'd thought. 

New plants for 2022

Yes, I am ordering online again, long before local nurseries will open. It's possible I'll discover I would have been able to buy some of these locally, but I am not going to wait and see. I've ordered very few perennials; concentrating instead on ferns and Carexes that will be happy in my mostly shady garden and some shrubs that will help me cut down on maintenance. 

Here are a few of the plants I've ordered, though I know that ordering things early doesn't always mean you will get them. Fingers crossed.

. . .

Asplenium-scolopendrium-Furcata, a hart's tongue fern with lots of fascinating splits. I've had mixed luck with these but plan to add this to the two that have been in my garden a long time.

PLANT DELIGHTS NURSERY

I have had excellent luck with Dryopteris ferns and am always interested in adding more. Dryopteris-cambrensis, aka log fern, can supposedly deal with more heat and humidity than many ferns. It gets 30" x 3' which should be quite a sight eventually. 

PLANT DELIGHTS NURSERY

I've been successful with autumn ferns, making it sensible to try this one: Dryopteris erythrosora var. prolifica (prolific lacy autumn fern). PDN says it's drought tolerant and that the fronds emerge cinnamon red. 

PLANT DELIGHTS NURSERY

This drama queen looks too good to pass up, so I ordered three. Dryopteris wallichiana 'Jurassic Gold' hails from the Jurassic coast of England. Will it really look like this? I'll let you know. 

WHITE FLOWER FARM

I also ordered three of Dryopteris affinis crispa 'Congesta', a dwarf crisped golden-scaled male fern. I tend to have more large ferns and don't find many small ones that appeal to me. 

KEEPING IT GREEN NURSERY

I've had a lone Osmunda claytoniana, Interrupted fern, growing in the front garden for years. I decided it was time to give it some company, so I'm adding two more. It's a Wisconsin native. 

PRAIRIE NURSERY

I ordered five Carex exurbina, Ivory sedge, to put around the big tree off the deck. At 6"-1' x 1' they will be small enough that I can slip a shrublet in between, but big enough to make a statement. 

PRAIRIE NURSERY

I planted one Carex morrowii 'Silk Tassel' last summer and like it so much I'm adding five more this summer. At 1' x 2' they will make a lovely contrast on the Tea House berm with evergreen shrubs, blue Hostas and Hakonechloa grass. 

PLANT DELIGHTS NURSERY

I have been lusting for a ruby muhly grass for years and finally found one listed for Zone 5, Muhlenbergia reverchonii 'Undaunted'. Really looking forward to giving this a try.

WHITE FLOWER FARM

Before I ordered anything I determined where the plant would go. Then I made my usual id cards for each plant and noted its exact location on the back side of the card. At first I grouped the cards by the nursery where I ordered them.

Later I decided it made more sense to group them by the location where they would be planted. That way I can mentally go through what is already growing, what I'm adding and whether I need anything else.