Each Little World

Potted and pleased

I have a lot of lovely pots in my garden but I rarely fill them with plants. For a few years I put a big pair on the deck on either side of our British bench. Each one held a boxwood; then I swiped that for a big blue Hosta in each. But this year, I somehow seem to have filled at least a dozen pots with plants. Some were intentional and some happenstance. Initially I fell for a number of Begonias and wanted a way to display them for the summer. 

A pair of large wood fired stoneware pots are on opposite sides of the path in the area with most of my flowering plants. Each features a Begonia and a deeply colored Geranium. 

I was thinking of these plants as annuals and did not save most tags. This one is getting more sun than it wants and is showing some leaf burn. 

I grabbed this one at a nursery recently to pop into a hole before a tour. Once the tour groups left, I moved it to the deck. 

The flowers were lovely waving in the wind. But it's the stems that are the noteworthy part of this plant.

I needed a home for my last Begonia; a silvery leaved variety. I put it in a big pot with a number of plants that were so crowded elsewhere in the garden that I pulled them out and added them to the pot. i am particularly pleased with the Begonia/Hosta color combo.

The plants that wouldn't fit got pots of their own. Note that I used native Penn Sedge as a filler/mulch throughout this big pot. 

Herbs are on the nearby steps. 

I used little pieces of tree bark as mulch. I kept finding it on the ground after windy days and decided to see how it would work in small pots.  

I often put a shrub in a pot until I find time — and the right location — to plant it. This is Thuja orientalis 'Franky Boy.'

This one has white shells and flat stones used as mulch.

I saw Gladiolus murielae in a friend's garden last summer and fell in love with the flowers. I put my two pots of bulbs up on bricks which has deterred critters from digging in them — at least so far. 

I decided my Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis 'Sugar Shack') was not happy where I planted it last year. So I put it in this big pot while I decide on its new home. I was hoping it would provide a bit of shade to the nearby plants as the Pagoda Dogwood that sheltered them died. 

I pick up the biggest pine cones and save them to use as decorative mulch in pots where they are visible. 

There are always pine cones on the paths and in the beds in my garden so I set out a pot where I can collect them when I find them. I just added a second pot for sticks and weeds. That way I don't have to keep taking debris down to my work area every time I pick something up. The pot of weedy bits may not be the most attractive container but I am thrilled with what a step-saver it is. I'm also amazed at how quickly I keep filling it up.

I'm not sure whether all these pots mean I am about to become a container gardener, but I've been having fun. They're mostly in two locations so it hasn't even been a big task keeping them watered. All the pots, except for the ones made of terracotta, are wood-fired stoneware by Mark Skudlarek of Cambridge, WI.

IVOM: Nearing the end

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.

IVOM: Late August blooms

I decided to clip a few flowers to save them from the hot and windy weather we've been having. A storm was forecast so I went out as the sky got darker. Alas, the storm passed us by again. So no rain, but at least we can enjoy a bit of beauty in the house.

Our gardening neighbor grows a Kiwi vine on the fence between our gardens. It crawls over onto our side in the most wonderful way. But I tend to clip the long tendrils that want to rise up into the adjacent trees. I decided it was time to bring one of them indoors to showcase. 

I added a lichen covered branch and a wand of hips from Rosa glauca.

The Kiwi leaves started to fade quickly, but they were fun while they lasted.

The Lohan has been patiently waiting for a new bouquet.

Fennel flower heads, Kirengeshoma palmata Koreana group, Hakoenechloa grass and a large quilted leaf of Hosta 'Inniswood.'

Though I've done a lot of watering, a month without rain has caused much of the foliage in the garden to burn and begin to brown. 

A quick arrangement for the table of Calamintha nepeta ssp. nepeta, the flowers of garlic chives and a few Hosta blooms. 

Still no rain but at least the temperatures have moderated, so I am out to the garden again to plant some of the things that are lined up on the deck awaiting their new homes.

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. 

GBBD: 8.15.2019

Though there are a number of things blooming in the garden, this is one of my favorites. Thus it's planted in multiple locations including in the Traffic Island Garden out in the middle of the street. Calamintha nepeta subsp. nepeta is a plant that you will see in gardens all over this area. We all discovered it in the sustainable gardens at Olbrich Botanical Gardens. 

It doesn't seed and is a bee magnet. For me, the only problem is that my garden soil is more moist than this plant wants and I don't have quite as much sun as it will take. But it is such a fragrant, easy care perennial that I grow it anyway. 

Art in the garden

When I visited Olbrich Botanical Gardens last month, I was completely charmed by this piece of art in the center of their Herb Garden. I checked with the garden to find the name of the artist who created it.

Turns out it was the work of Erin Presley, one of Olbrich's horticulturalists who works in the Herb, Wildflower and Pond gardens and is also a mapping specialist. She told me via email that the tree is a 'King Arthur' crabapple that is showing its age.

She noted that some of the tree's large branches had been dying off intermittently over the past few years. After they lost a large section this past winter, the choice was made to remove the smaller twigs and branches, leaving most of the main branch structure intact.

Erin noted the clay balls had been around the garden for a while and the copper balls were remnants of an art installation at the gardens several years ago.  

She said — and I completely agree — that "they provide a playful foil to the strong architecture of the remaining trunk and branches." At the moment, Olbrich is having their annual exhibit featuring local, national and international artists creating light-based installations throughout the outdoor gardens.

Called "GLEAM, Art in a New Light," this art extravaganza runs until Oct. 27th. Complete details are here, including times and admission information. While those night-time art installations are quite dramatic and eye-catching, don't miss Erin Presley's daytime delight in the Herb Garden.

Next year this area will look completely different because Olbrich will be moving the vegetable plot for the Herb Garden into this space. About this change, Erin says she's "looking forward to growing vining plants on the tree; can’t you just see gourds and pole beans dangling off of there?!" Make a note on your calendar right now to visit Olbrich's Herb Garden next summer to see Erin's whimsical re-do of this old crabapple tree.

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.

Corn and tomatoes reign

Our local farmers' markets are bursting with fresh produce that is providing lots of great eating at our house. For as long as possible we will be feasting on sweet corn and tomatoes. I've been roasting and freezing tomatoes, making gazpacho and fresh uncooked tomato sauce for pasta. But my favorite for both flavor and ease is Caprese salad.

According to Epicurious.com Insalata caprese (literally, the salad from Capri) was created in the 1950s at the Trattoria da Vincenzo for folks looking for a light lunch. Its ingredients were tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil and olive oil. I add a splash of balsamic vinegar so mine's not authentic but it's the way we like it.

I don't have enough sun or space to grow my own tomatoes but my garden does offer three kinds of basil. So we vary the salad with the type of basil and tomatoes we use. It may have been created to satisfy lunch-goers, but I am happy eating it as an appetizer, side dish or the whole meal. Not many dishes are so pretty or so flavorful.

We had Caprese salad the other night after an entree of Beaufort Soused Corn and Shrimp. The link takes you to a recipe that is identical to the one I follow from Christopher Idone's coffee table cookbook, "Glorious American Food." We mostly enjoy corn on the cob but I love this recipe that uses it off the cob.

The waters around Beaufort were once plentiful with shrimp who made their way into many dishes, including pies, which is the origin of this dish. Idone ditched the crust and added a lemony vinaigrette instead. I usually only make this once a summer but it's yummy as well as easy. The recipe serves 8. I use a scant pound of shrimp for the two of us which leaves us with enough for dinner the next night. But I make the entire recipe of vinaigrette because I love the flavor and don't want to run short. 

Wordless Wednesday

Kirengeshoma palmata, Koreana group with Perilla

Cleveland Botanical Garden: Herb garden

We have a few small grindstones in our garden but nothing like the ones used as hardscaping in the Herb Garden at the Cleveland Botanical Garden which we visited on our recent trip out east. A magnificent contrast to all the aromatic plants surrounding them.