Each Little World

GBBD: Waiting for Spring

Back to normal

Mark had a great crowd at his opening, despite the fact that the snowstorm that had been forecast for last Thursday arrived an hour before the party started. Lots of old friends and photographers. We closed down a bit early when it became clear that the storm was going to keep everyone else at home. We were glad we only live a few minutes away, so our drive home was short and safe.

We spent the next day doing nothing — after my cataract surgery consult. Then Mark was back at the gallery Saturday afternoon for more visitors. This week we have house guests, along with warmer temperatures and rain in the forecast. Should be a great week. 

Mark has coffee every morning with one of his photo buddies, Tom Schmock. Tom came to the opening to capture the scene since Mark was going to spend the evening talking. This is one of my favorites that Tom took of Mark. 

Thanks to all of you for all the lovely comments you left last week about Mark's exhibit and the local magazine article about him.

Mark's Ten Year Retrospective Exhibit

For the past ten years Mark has tried to answer the question: “What is a good photograph?” 

Through the exploration of various subject matter, photographic media, equipment, technique and, most importantly, photographic theory his images have evolved over time.

This exhibit at the PhotoMidwest Gallery consists of 77 framed prints, 27 self-published photo books, 100s of unmounted work prints as well as relevant quotes from artists and scholars who influenced my practice.

If you are unable to attend the opening (details below), PhotoMidwest is open on Saturdays from Noon to 4PM. We live only a short distance from the gallery and Mark would also be willing to provide access at almost any time. Just let him know. 

If all else fails you can view the images at PhotoMidwest. The books can be viewed at Blurb.com by searching in the "bookstore" under "Mark Golbach." 

TO

PHOTOGRAPH

IS TO

LEARN HOW

TO 

DIE

 

A TEN YEAR RETROSPECTIVE OF IMAGES 

BY MARK GOLBACH

OPENING RECEPTION

MARCH 9, 2023

4PM – 8PM

SATURDAYS FROM NOON TO 4PM

MARCH 4, 2023 – APRIL 22, 2023

 

PHOTOMIDWEST

700 RAY-VAC DRIVE

MADISON, WISCONSIN

CONTACT  MARK GOLBACH

TO ARRANGE FOR ACCESS AT OTHER TIMES

MGOLBACH@GMAIL.COM

Mark's in Madison Magazine

Doug Moe, a well-regarded local journalist and former co-worker of mine, wrote a nice piece about Mark in Madison Magazine. It details his ten years since retirement taking photos.

These days he's so involved with his own photo work that It's rare that I can get him into the garden to take pictures. When we first started the garden he was the main photographer of it for many years. 

The above photo is one of his earlier ones and is not in the exhibit; but it's always been one of my favorites.

Snowdrops mostly alone

When you garden in a climate where winter lasts for months, you fall in love with early spring bloomers. So I didn't think twice about buying these Muscari. But nothing is earlier than Galanthus or snowdrops. I've been keeping track of when snowdrops bloom in my garden since I planted my first one in 2005. They've appeared in February four times, but most years come in mid-March. Only once did they hold off until early April.

I love these little beauties and have slowly been adding them to my garden. I belong to a FB group, "Snowdrops in American Gardens", whose members live all over the country. For weeks they've been posting photos of their snowdrops; many accompanied by Winter Aconites, Crocus, Cyclamen and even Hellebores. Mine more typically share the stage with snow, ice or hail.

After spending time on the snowdrop FB page, I've started thinking I should plant other early bloomers close to my snowdrops so I can enjoy similar scenes. Then I realized I do have Hellebores with my snowdrops. If you look closely you can see the one in the photo below is just starting to push up. I took a series of photos last year so I could quickly identify my various snowdrops this year. But what this really shows is the fact that there are no other visible flowers in this view.

The best combo I've managed so far has been purely accidental; Galanthus 'Magnet' with Heucherella 'Hopscotch' foliage that still looks decent after being buried under snow all winter. 

I planted a few snowdrops amongst Luzula sylvatica 'Solar Flare' thinking that would give me as good a grouping as I'm likely to get.

I went scrolling through my photos to see when my other early bloomers really appear. 

• Snowdrops: typically March f17
• Crocus tommasinianus, Hepatica, Iris reticulata: 2nd week In April
• Hellebore buds are up by mid-April but no significant flowers until the end of April (though I did see some buds pushing up over the weekend)

The good news is it's not my imagination that my snowdrops have no floral companions. The bad news is that my garden's reality trumps this gardener's wishes.

Wordy Wednesday

Epimedium rubrum is the first of dozens of Epimediums I've purchased. I probably bought it in the early 1990s which explains why I have two large sweeps of it along both sides of my driveway.

Last year I dug out a big clump in the back garden when I decided to redo a bed. I've you've ever tried to dig out an established Epimedium you may already know that it is not an easy job. 

The plant was big, healthy and blooming its head off, meaning there was strong growth underground. When I dug down I kept finding a web of old rhizomatous systems that were rock hard and prickly. 

I removed them in big horizontal chunks. They were such a surprise to me that I had to take a picture — or two. Epimedium rubrum and E. 'Lilac Fairy' are my only two plants that spread out rather than staying as a clump

I've divided and moved 'Lilac Fairy' often enough that its never developed an underground structure like this. I've no idea if this is typical for Epimediums or if it takes 20 years to get to this stage. 

IVOM: More pots

The last time I used this little blue and white bulb bowl from the Metropolitan Museum of Art was on Garden Bloggers Bloom Day in 2013. When I saw two small pots of about-to-bloom Muscari at the grocery store last week I couldn't resist. Blue Hyacinths and the similarly colored "grape hyacinths" will always come home with me when I see them.

I pulled the bulbs out of the dirt, washed them off and put them in the bowl. I was feeling very Dutch with this combination of flowers and container! I went looking for my other blue and white container with lots of openings in it. Turns out the blue and white brick is meant to hold flower stems and not bulbs. The bowl holds 5 bulbs, only half of the number I brought home. 

Thus the others got plopped in a little cachepot from the late Johannsens Nursery, once a mere five minute drive from my house. This container is one of 5 that I bought one year at Easter along with a number of different succulent plants to put in them.

All of the flowers are sending up a second bloom. I put the one container right next to where I sit most evening so I can enjoy both the flowers and the fragrance up close. 
As the flowers keep blooming it seems as though the bulbs are shrinking. One fell through the hole and had to rescued before it drowned. Maybe it's just that they're out in the air and not protected with soil. Or maybe it's just a fluke. 

The bulb bowl has lots of small openings perhaps meant for baby bulbs; who knows. It did occur to me, however, that I should try putting big leafy flowers in the bulb openings and fill the small holes with the delicate stems of spring ephemerals. We'll see what I can do come spring when there's more in my garden than snow. 

No place like home

Why not stay here forever and ever

enjoying this immortal rhythm,

in which both eye and soul are at rest?

— Virginia Woolf —

 

A Chinese necklace (probably bone) and a dried Magnolia leaf resting in our Thai Spirit House.

New for 2023

After last year's crazy amount of plants ordered online, I have tried to be more restrained this year. I've made a conscious attempt to think about what would work in the garden in terms of light and space and not just what interesting plant I want. Here are a few of my choices.

I have been growing Carex siderosticta variegatea for at least 25 years. It is a garden workhorse that requires little work from me. I ordered this new variety — 'Echigo-Nishiki' — from Plant Delights as it has much more white in the leaves than the straight variegated. Plus the white is described as 'frosted.' I am really looking forward to adding this to my garden. Zone 4, light shade.

(Photo by JLBG taken at Walters Gardens, MI)

Carex conica Snowline is another variegated Carex. This one is very fine textured with white edges on dark green leaves. The majority of my Carexes are solid green foliage and my shade areas need a bit of perking up which this should do. Z 5, supposedly can withstand tree roots which would be a real bonus. 

(Salmon Creek Photography via Digging Dog Nursery)

Plant Delights Nursery offered a few Lycoris for my zone that were more attractive to my eye than the typical pink Lycoris squamigera aka Naked Ladies. Though the bulbs are pricey, I ordered three Lycoris caldwellii 'Sky Over Sky'. Though this is a Z6 plant, I am hoping the fact that it dies back and can be heavily mulched will get it through our winters. 

(Photo from Missouri Botanic Garden website)

Lycoris incarnata 'Blue Pearl' looks different in every photo of it that I've found. Its blue tones should be a nice compliment to Phlox 'Jeana' and pink autumn Anemones. 

(Photo by Juniper Level Botanic Garden)

Filipendula 'Red Umbrellas' is smaller than the native variety and has this striking red veining as well. I probably don't need any more pink flowers but I am getting this for the foliage. So I am not going to worry if it never flowers. And it's Z3! 

(Photo from Digging Dog Nursery website)

The alphabet garden

Roy Diblik of Northwind Perennial Farm in Wisconsin often talks about plants in terms of the alphabet. Though we have only 26 letters in our alphabet, he notes that we come up with an endless variety of words and ways to use them.

Thus 26 different plants would give you more than enough garden options for a lifetime. Since I keep a record of all of my plants on individual index cards, Diblik's concept sent me looking at my alphabetically-arranged list of perennials. Here's what I discovered:

• There are no plants under "F." Instead I use "F" for my many, many ferns. 
• I have a mere 3 plants whose name begins with "K" and only 2 under "M."
• I have no perennials whose names begin with "N" or "O" or "W, X, Y or Z."

As for the other letters of the alphabet, some have a number of different plants listed. Others are almost exclusively one group as the following letters show:

B is for Brunnera

E is for Epimediums

F is for ferns

G is for Geranium

H is for Hellebores and Hostas

I is for Iris

P is for Primulas and Peonies

T is for Tricyrtis and Trilliums

What this little exercise did was to let me quickly see what plants I favor over others. I was not at all surprised as I know these are my favorites. It does suggest, however, that I should use this list as a quick way to see if I have enough variety in terms of size, texture, season, color and all the characteristics that make for effective plant groupings. An easy task for a winter day that will help me when I hit local nurseries come spring.