Each Little World

The last Tulips

I planted a mix of Tulips under our weeping Beech (Fagus sylvatica 'Purple Fountain') to complement its emerging spring foliage.

They are planted among Astilbes whose early foliage is bronze-purple. I hoped that might confuse the rabbits, but the Tulips came up much faster than the Astilbes. Thus I caged the flowers as they came up to protect them from our marauding rabbits.

The Tulips are 'James Wild', 'Madras' (below), and 'Prinses Irene' (bottom).

I decided it would be too hard to fit the cages back over the Tulips and into the Astilbe foliage if I took them off for the pictures. Wrong decision. New rule: Always remove cages before snapping a photo.

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.

Bulb alert

It's April! Have you ordered your bulbs yet? I don't typically plant a lot of bulbs each year, but I always get some. I like to try something new or add more of a favorite that's done well for me in the past. Since I also like to order from specialty nurseries like Old House Gardens, Brent and Becky's Bulbs and Odyssey Bulbs, I know that I will be out of luck if I wait until summer to place my order. So for the last few years, I've been ordering my fall-planted bulbs in March. This year I'm getting two Tulip varieties that I've looked at in the past and decided now's the moment to try them. 

Tulip sylvestris:

OHG says this heirloom plant is violet-scented with "small, yellow, almond-shaped flowers that nod in bud and then open wide in the sun. Gerard pictured it in his great Herbal of 1597" and Thomas Jefferson grew it at Monticello. Also known as the  ""Florentine Tulip,"  T. sylvestris grows 8-14 inches tall and is hardy in zones 5a-8a.

This Tulip is unusual in that it is generally considered a perennial performer if it is happy and it is often grown in woodland settings. I am thinking of trying some bulbs near Erythronium 'Pagoda" and purple Epimediums and others near some pink and yellow Erythroniums and Fritillaries.

What I need to do next is take photos this spring so I know where to plant the bulbs when the arrive in the fall. And I need to mark those spots in some way as well.  

Tulipa whittallii

According to "The Plant Lover's Guide to Tulips" from the Kew series of guide books, T. whittallii is a species Tulip that is supposedly one of the best that can be grown in the open garden. It blooms in various shades of orange set off with a dark, round heart and is up to 12" tall with narrow leaves. The book notes that though it comes from Turkey, it is "surprisingly adaptable to cooler, wetter regions."

I planted a clumps of bronze and orange Tulips under our weeping purple Beech last fall. I put them in a rough row behind a swath of Astilbes. I am hoping I can shoehorn T. wittallii bulbs among the Astilbes which will hide the dying foliage. I like the idea of slightly shorter, more delicate Tulips contrasting with the big blowzy ones. 

The leaves of the purple Beech unfurl in lovely warm peach color with mauve and bronze overlay. The Astilbes emerge with very dark foliage — all of which should do well with the Tulip colors. Certainly it looks fabulous in my mind's eye. We will see how it looks in person eventually.

Year of the Daffodil

The National Garden Bureau has proclaimed 2017 the Year of the Daffodil. Every year the organization selects one perennial, one annual, one bulb and an edible to feature. The daffodil is this year's bulb choice. You can read all about it, including care tips, here. Since I love daffs I am jumping on this bandwagon to share a few of my favorites that I grow in my garden. 

You may notice one quirky thing about all my daffodil flowers: they're white or cream and not bright yellow. Those big bright yellow daffodils just don't do it for me. I want more charm, more delicacy and a little horticultural history with my bulbs. So, naturally, I grow Pheasant's Eye or Poet's Narcissus (N. poeticus 'recurvus) which was first mentioned in the 1600s. This daffodil is late, naturalizes and is scented.  

When I discovered Narcisssus 'Dreamlight' I was smitten. I've been growing this beauty for ten years. Old House Gardens, where I bought this variety, calls  'Dreamlight' a "platinum blonde pheasant's eye" which I consider a perfect description.

I grow enough daffodils that I feel free to cut them for bouquets like this one which includes N. 'Dreamlight',  N. 'Rose of May' (a double variety), stems of Epimedium and Hellebores flowers turning green and going to seed. 

This is N. 'Sinopel' which looks very yellow in bud and, indeed, opens with yellow-washed petals on the back and front. The eye is very yellow which is how it presents in cooler temps. When it is warmer or it is indoors, it tends to be a bit more green. 

This bulb combo in the driveway garden bloomed for the first time last spring and it is a winner in my book: Muscari armeniacum 'Saffir,' which is sterile so the florets don't open and Narcissus 'W.P. Milner'.

My idea of yellow daffodils! Flowers in this group include Narcissus 'Beersheba' (1923), N. moschatus (1604) and N. 'W.P. Milner' (1869). 'Beersheba' is the largest one and its trumpet opens yellow and quickly fades to cream. Also in the grouping are Helleborus Royal Heritage Strain and H. 'Sympathy'. There's a spray of Dicentra spectabalis foliage and a stem of Hyacinth 'City of Haarlem'. 

In a vase on Monday: In my dreams

I adore blue and white, whether I find it on ceramics, textiles or any kind of artwork. I was stopped in my tracks when I recently came upon this amazing contemporary "tulipiere" on the top floor of the LVM building at the Chazen Museum here in Madison. 

I've purchased blue and white flower bricks and other vases in those colors but can only dream about owning such a big dramatic container as this one. It was at least 3' tall. If you are not familiar with them, "tulipieres" or tulip-holders are fancy containers typically made of hand-crafted pottery, classically Delftware. They are designed to hold a single flower per spout with water held in the large central area.

I can picture it dripping with tulips. Maybe Willemsoord or Prinses Irene or Rococo or my favorite, Schoonoord, all stunning options available from Old House Gardens. 

Mark and I were at the museum for a noontime retirement party and afterwards he said I should see this new exhibition. This piece is "Tulip Vase" by Ann Agee, an American artist born in 1959. The porcelain vase was made in 1994 and was lent to the museum by Stephen and Pamela Hootkin. This piece along with a number of other stunning works on display are on loan from the same collectors. I hope it is a sign that they will eventually donate them to the museum. 

To see what other gardeners have put in a vase today, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden who hosts this weekly meme.

Mail order plants: Rare Find Nursery and Old House Gardens

I only ordered two plants each from Rare Find Nursery and Old House Gardens, so I've combined my reviews into one post. Links to reviews of my earlier purchases from other mail ordered nurseries are at the end of this post.

Old House Gardens, Ann Arbor, MI

I've ordered from OHG and written about them so many times that they are actually in my category list. I love their bulbs and all the history and stories behind them. But this is the first time I ordered anything for spring delivery. Again, I got an email with shipping and tracking info. This order came via the US Postal Service and arrived on schedule and in great shape. 

As with each of my prior deliveries, the order form was on top so I could double check my order if I needed to. This was such a small order that I did not need to do that. But I looked at the paperwork anyway because Scott Kunst, the plantsman behind OHG, always writes me a note on my order form. This time was no exception.

But what is important to point out is that there were bright purple info sheets stapled to the order where you could not miss their messages: Replant your daylilies and true lilies ASAP and replant your iris TODAY! Since I bought three iris plants (Iris florentina) I did just that — and it started raining on me while I worked. So I felt very virtuous. 

As for the item you can see in the box, I decided to dip my toe into the Dahlia water and ordered one Dahlia bulb, 'Cafe au Lait.' So, after planting the Iris I settled in to read the Dahlia instructions. The printed information was very complete and it also lists lots of links to more specific details on the OHG website. 

One last bit of info: I receive a discount on my orders from OHG as a professional garden writer. That said, I continue to order from them each year because I love what they offer and have been very satisfied with all my purchases.

. . .

Rare Find Nursery, Jackson, NJ

I'm not sure how I discovered this nursery — it may have been in a Google search for unusual plants — but I'm very glad I did. They have some fabulous trees and shrubs but I limited myself to two since they were an unknown quantity to me. But my first sight of the delivery box encouraged me. Then I got giddy when I opened it and saw what was inside.

These are a pair of bare root shrubs that have big root balls wrapped in plastic bags. Those weighty bases were taped and tied into place and did not appear to have moved during their trip from the East coast. The flexible new top growth was lightly bent to fit into the container. The paperwork included good information on planting and care for my new shrubs.

Look at these beauties. The larger plant is Hamamelis virginiana 'Green Thumb' which they sold in different sizes. I decided to order the largest one which came in a 3 gal. pot and was described as a 3-4' plant. This is a Witch Hazel with a variegated leaf and with the root ball measures 55" tall. It's shorter companion is Hamamelis vernalis 'Quasimodo'. I opted for the plant that came in a 2 gal. pot and was listed as being an 18-24" plant. With it's root ball it measures 28" tall.

Clearly these are exactly as described and worth the price ($55.00 each). They will each make an immediate statement in the garden. I am so happy with these two shrubs that I will have a hard time being so restrained when I visit the Rare Find website in the future. 

 Odyssey Perennials / Massachusetts

Far Reaches Farm, Port Townsend, WA

Plant Delights Nursery, Raleigh, NC 

In a vase on Monday: Eric and Liz and me

Last fall I ordered three varieties of early Daffodils from Old House Gardens. I planted them in the new driveway border where we can enjoy them up close every time we go in or out the door. They are abundant enough that I felt free to bring a group into the house for a Monday bouquet. Since almost everything that's blooming in my garden at the moment is pink, yellow or white, the choice of vase was obvious.

I decided to use one of an unmatched pair of oversize mugs designed “To Commemorate the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 1953, Wedgwood, Made in England,” as they note on the bottom. They’re both 4” high x 4 ¼” in diameter with motifs in pink, yellow and metallic glazes on a white ground. One was designed by Richard Guyatt, the one I used by Eric Ravilious. 

During the Depression in the 1930s, the venerable Wedgwood and Sons decided to invest in new designs as a way to deal with the economic slowdown. The company hired Ravilious to bring a fresh look to pictorial design. He designed my Coronation mug, first issued for Edward VIII in 1936 (before he became the Duke of Windsor), altered it for George VI in 1937, and it was reproduced in 1953 for George’s daughter, Elizabeth.

By this time Ravilious himself was dead. He became an official war artist in 1940 and failed to return from an air-sea rescue mission off Iceland in 1942. To me the design is pure 1950s so it is always a bit of a shock to realize Ravilious designed it much earlier. Though I own nothing else by Ravilious, the mug introduced me to his wonderful landscape and garden paintings as well as his war work. 

I always reach for one of these mugs at this time of year because they seem the perfect container for the first riches of Spring. It seemed especially appropriate this time as the Queen just celebrated her 90th birthday.

Flowers include Narcissus 'Beersheba' (1923), N. moschatus (1604) and N. 'W.P. Milner' (1869). The history of all the flowers they offer is included in the Old House Gardens catalog descriptions. I am a sucker for flowers with history as you can see from my inclusion of the dates each of these Daffs was introduced. 'Beersheba' is the largest one and its trumpet opens yellow and quickly fades to cream. Also in the grouping are Helleborus Royal Heritage Strain and H. 'Sympathy'. There's a spray of Dicentra spectabalis foliage and a stem of Hyacinth 'City of Haarlem'.

To see what other gardeners are putting into a vase today, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden who hosts this weekly meme.

New bulbs all bedded down

I have had a fairly high success rate with bulbs and decided it was time to add a few more to the garden. As in the past, I again ordered from Brent and Becky Heath and Old House Gardens. Both have unusual varieties that you are not going to find at a big box store and probably not even at a quality local nursery. 

My main perennial garden has orangey Lilium henryii on one side of it. I decided it was time to branch out colorwise and opted to add Lilium leichtlinii from Brent and Becky on the opposite side. It is fairly similar to the henryii except in color. 

I was going to mix it with this L. canadense (below) but B&B could not get them from their supplier. Maybe I'll try again next year as it is so dramatic looking.

As a history buff I like dates and names and stories attached to the things that attract me, so there are few bulbs sold by OHG that don't appeal to me — since preserving heritage plants is their mission. Garden space and light conditions help to keep my spending in check. My orange "Henry's lily" came from OHG and this fall I added some classic turk's cap lilies (Lilium superbum, 1665, below) as I have what I think are the conditions they want (well-drained, acid soil and plenty of moisture).

I can sit for hours reading the descriptions in the OHG catalog and on the web site so I am including them here, so you can see what I mean about history.

"The American turk’s-cap lily is one of our most impressive natives, growing in moist meadows from Massachusetts to Indiana and Alabama. In 1665 John Rea called it the 'Virginia Martagon,' and in 1738 colonial botanist John Bartram sent it to his 'brothers of the spade' in London where it caused a sensation."

The Tulips I've planted out in my Traffic Island Garden have done well and continue to return. Losses out there tend to be related to odd circumstances. I decided I have space to plant a few more so I am adding 'Purperkroon' from 1785, one of OHG's "Web-Only & Rarest" offerings. I am very exicted about this Tulip!

OHG: "Tulips from the 1700s are exceedingly rare. To last that long, they have to be both wonderful and tough — like ‘Purple Crown’, a raggedy double tulip of dusky, purplish crimson that’s also called ‘The Moor’. We like to imagine a crystal vase of it sitting by Beethoven as he wrote one of his dark, somber movements. It was grown way back then, so it really could have happened." 

I tried growing 'General De Wet,' a Tulip from 1904 in my driveway border with only moderate success, just too shady there as the trees and shrubs have grown up. So I am going to put a few out in the Traffic Island garden. Another long-lived, early variety that is also very fragrant. I never thought of Tulips as fragrant until I started growing some of these special varieties from OHG.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Old House Gardens generously offers a discount to garden writers. I've been ordering bulbs from them since my newspaper days. The fact that I get a discount means that I can afford to order bulbs to learn about them, see how they match up to their description and just generally experiment with assorted bulbs in my garden. I pay the same prices as any customer for my B&B bulbs.

I love both of these plant purveyors and am writing about them because I think it is important to support independent, specialty mail-order nurseries as much as local independent sources. I am not receiving any remuneration for this column. 

Plant sales ahead: 2014

Scott Kunst of Old House Gardens says that "the best gardeners have a ruthless streak." In an on-line interview he emphasized that "if you're not willing to throw things away — or give them away — then you eventually are going to be overwhelmed by all that stuff that keeps burgeoning in the garden."

That describes my current situation. My best beds are getting too crowded. But you plan and plant and wait years for everything to come to fuition, for the garden to fill in and fill out. Once it finally happens it's hard to realize what a short step it is from lush beauty to overgrown.

However, that means that many gardeners — myself included — will be "pruning" our plants this Spring and donating everything from small slips to entire clumps to plant sales sponsored by local garden clubs. Digging out and potting up is my top priority in the garden this week because plant sale season is here. 

The following list includes my three personal favorites and a new one. I'll be working at the Olbrich sale next Saturday morning under the tent devoted to shade plants. Stop by and say hello — and buy some plants.

May 9-10, West Side Garden Club 2014 Spring Plant Sale, Friday, May 9, 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m., Saturday, May 10, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., 3918 Nakoma Road, Madison, near Seminole Hwy, west of Thoreau School. Choice perennials, specialty annuals and herbs. My treasured candelabra primroses are from this sale. 

May 9-10, Olbrich Botanical Gardens’ Plant Sale with the Pros, Friday, May 9 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Saturday, May 10, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., 3300 Atwood Ave., Madison. Good selection with knowledgeable staff on hand for questions. Always something special to be found here and the selections are geared to our growing zone. All my boxwoods and many unusual trees are from this sale. Plus the staff use many of these selections in the garden so you know they've got to be good.

Saturday, May 17, Wisconsin Hardy Plant Society Plant Sale, 9:00-Noon, West Madison Agricultural Research Station, 8502 Mineral Point Road. WHPS gardeners are plant collectors who always have the newest, the latest and the best plants. This sale is a must. 

Saturday, May 24, Hosta Sale at Allen Centennial Gardens, 9:00 a.m.-Noon. According to ACG the sale will include divisions from the Gardens' 500+ cultivar collection as well as new cultivars. They note that divisions will be larger than the standard single crown generally sold in retail. This is a new event but should be worth checking out.

I've been growing this lily of the valley (Convalaria majalis 'Hardwick Hall') for nine years. I keep it in check by donating clumps of it to the WHPS sale. This year I'm hoping to be able to dig a few Trillium sessile (top photo) for the sale as well.

DISCLAIMER: I am a member of both Olbrich Gardens and the WHPS but I would say the same things even if I wasn't. No one asked me to publicize these sales. I do it because they are well-worth attending and have been the source of many great plants for me over the years.. 

Last lilies

These hot sunny days have been just what the water lilies and garden lilies need. The water lilies will keep going for another month but this is the end of the ones growing in the garden.

This one (first two images below) is Lilium oriental 'Time Out' from Brent & Becky's Bulbs.

The next four images are Lilium henryi or Henry's lily. According to Old House Gardens (where I bought this lily), it is a wild Chinese lily and takes sun to light shade. 

These are reaching for more sun but still fully blooming. I kind of like the curving stems so I may leave them where they are. 

I planted these lilies in memory of my late father-in-law whose name was Henry.  He's also represented in the spring garden with Iris ensata 'Henry's White."

I've looked at my plant I.D. cards and assorted garden journal entries from 2008, which is when I received these beautiful red speckled lilies from Brent & Becky as trial plants. At the time, I marked them in B&B's catalog so I would remember the name. But the catalog, along with the name, is long gone.

The coloration is reminiscent of the famed 'Stargazer' lily, but the flowers are more recurved than the typical Oriental lily. Any guesses?