Each Little World

Pleasing placement

Some times I put a lot of thought into which plants are next to each other and other times I look at pleasing combinations and wonder if I did that or it's a lucky accident. Here are a few current favorites. 

Bloodroot seeded in a patch of Vancouveria hexandra. Bloodroot is a spring ephemeral whose flowers are here for a brief time. The foliage continues to make its presence known. 

Enimion biternantum is a spring ephemeral that leaves a big bare spot when it disappears. I planted some Syneilesis there last summer thinking what a great plant that would be to fill the space in the summer. I pictured how lovely it would look coming up through the false rue anemone. I did not think about the fact that the density of the anemone in the spring might keep the Syneilesis from ever appearing. Only two little plants have managed to break through. 

Pinus 'Louie' with European ginger. 

Pennsylvania sedge with self-seeded Trillium. 

Primula kisoana with Trillium grandiflora. The Primula is a pretty little thug. 

Adiantum venustrum (Himalayan maidenhair fern) is trying to eat this Epimedium. The gardener needs to get in there and do a rescue operation. 

Epimedium 'Domino', Japanese painted fern, Tiarella ''Timbuktu', Helleborus hybridus 'Pine Knot Selected Foliage Forms' and more Himalayan maidenhair fern. 

Heuchera 'Green Spice' with Tiarella 'Elizabeth Oliver'

Helleborus 'New York Night', Tiarella 'Spring Symphony', Primula kisoana and more Himalayan maidenhair fern. 

Hakonechloa macra and dwarf Iris, a gift from an artist friend/former co-worker and garden mentor who just died at age 93. Since I no longer remember the name of the Iris, I will re-christen it after my friend: Iris 'Doris Lang.'

Heuchera 'Palace Purple' and Geranium phaeum. 

Shakkei

Shakkei is a Japanese term that refers to incorporating views of a neighboring landscape into one's garden. We've enjoyed our neighbors' huge old Forsythia 'Beatrix Farrand' for as long as we've lived in this house.. Some years the branches have come right through the fence and we've told our neighbors not to prune them on our account. This is the view along the fence path approaching our hoses and faucet  — and the gate into their garden so we can enjoy their plants up close.

Their Magnolia stellata is always a wonderful sight. Usually our trees are more leafed out and the line between the properties is not so obvious. 

Next up will be their hot pink and orange Rhododendron shrubs. A perfect pairing of colors from the 1960s.

That was then. This is now.

Our weather continues to be frustrating. One nice sunny day and then it's back to cool, windy and gray. I looked at images from last spring after a stroll through the garden yesterday afternoon. It's not my imagination that the garden is behind last spring in bloom dates. 

'Valentine' Bleeding Heart: May 3, 2021

May 8, 2022

Cinnamon fern: April 16, 2021

May 8, 2022

Fritillaria thunbergii: April 19, 2021

May 5, 2022

Today's high is supposed to be 76°F, a prelude to the following four days whose temps are forecast from the mid-80°s to likely hitting 90°. It pretty much feels like we've been stuck in late March/early April for weeks and now we're barreling into August. Luckily I found enough flowers to manage a small bouquet to brighten my mood.

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. 

IOVM: Hellebores

I read a long article from the U.K. about how to use blooming Hellebores as cut flowers. After trying the tips, I decided that if I want a fresh Hellebore flower in a spring bouquet the best idea is to float it. The flower is facing up so you can see it and they last for days this way. 

I love these little 19th C. teacups with no handles and deep saucers. They're perfect for floating a flower — or two.

H. 'Kingston Cardinal'

A pair of H. 'Royal Heritage Strain'

I always buy a few pomegranates in December for holiday decorations. I continue to use them as they slowly dry and are preserved.

Since rain was forecast for the weekend, I decided to do a bowl of Hellebores. I concentrated on pinks and pinky reds with a few whites. Love the bit of carpet that's visible at the edge of the coffee table where I set the bowl. 

The coffee table is always covered in books and magazines. I had to move them to take the photo above and decided it made more sense to move the bowl and keep are piles of reading material in place. 

I was shocked as soon as I set the bowl down in its new location to see that the blossoms were all red-violet and the pomegranates definitely were not. How did I not realize that before?

Crossing my fingers

Last weekend temps got up into the 80s followed by overnight lows hovering at frost levels. Day time temps have been chilly with mostly gray skies. We're supposed to hit 60°F. today and tomorrow and then drop back into the 50s for the next ten days.

The good news is that the overnight lows are all expected to be in the 40s, so I can plant the four mail-order shipments of perennials that are sitting in the living room, front hall and basement sink. 

A friend and I went window shopping for trees and shrubs at our fave nursery, K & A, on Tuesday. We bundled up, but we were still freezing. Here's the reality of our weather: All the perennials at the nursery were under covers and many had to be moved back into the greenhouse as we all wait for Spring to decide to stick around.

Two pots of tender bulbs on the left. First time I've tried to grow these and I'm nervous about how long it's taking for them to appear; as well as how long they've been stuck in the house. On the right are Orchids and Cyclamen: house plants waiting to go outdoors for the summer. In the middle are a mix of plants ready to go in the ground today.

I was expecting this small package of Cyclamen and Primula from Edelweiss Perennials but had not noticed the alert that I was also getting a package from Broken Arrow Nursery. Actually two big packages from them filled with evergreen and deciduous shrubs. Both nurseries sent beautiful plants wonderfully packaged. Can't wait for it to warm up a couple more degrees and then I'm off to plant and play in the garden. 

Hot pink

A gorgeous weekend has the garden suddenly bursting into bloom. 

Acer tschonoskii ssp. koreanum

Paeonia mairei

Easter greetings

Wordless Wednesday

Caging season

Last fall, my gardening friend, Ruth, and I visited Ken Nordlund's beautiful garden. We bombarded Ken with questions, including wanting to know how he kept rabbits out of his mostly unfenced garden. His plants did not appear to have been randomly munched as in my garden.

He took us inside his garage to show us his plant cages. While I was spending lots of time hooking cut edges of wire together to make round cages, Ken slipped a pair of bamboo stakes through the coasted material he used to bind his cages together. Then he pushed the stakes into the ground. When he didn't need the cages, he flattened them and piled them up in the garage. 

Ruth and I both went right out looking for material similar to Ken's. I bought a small roll of plastic poultry netting. I already had a stack of old bamboo stakes. As it was the end of the season, I didn't make any cages with this new material last fall. When I discovered rabbits had already munched on the emerging foliage of a trio of Viola 'Irish Elegance,' I grabbed my green netting and went to work over the weekend. 

The net is 2' wide and I cut it in half as that's much taller than I generally need. The cut edges are still sharp but I put that end on the ground, since most of the cages had a smooth edge as well. 

I made five cages in two sizes in nothing flat Saturday afternoon. I made a few more yesterday as I saw Tulips and Fritillaria thunbergii pushing up. I know those plants are rabbit candy. I am thrilled at how quick and easy it was to make cages using Ken's method.

I used sod stakes to hold the other edge of my cages securely to the ground as I have lots of those. At this point the green cages are much more visible than my old wire ones. But that means I can see them, so I am less likely  to trip over them. I'm hoping they will be less visible as bigger green plants grow up around them. Truthfully, these were so much easier and quicker to make, that it is unlikely I'll go back to making wire cages. Thanks again Ken for showing us your cages.