Each Little World

How did I miss these beauties?

I clearly only wandered through a narrow swath of the garden before I posted my November report on Monday. Don't know how I missed these beauties.

You may not think this image of Peony foliage is anything special. But this is the first time I remember having a Peony whose foliage is still green, upright and disease free in November. Amazing.

Not far away I discovered my Helleborus niger, aka Christmas rose, was up and blooming. I've been growing this plant for a dozen years and it surprises me every time. Its partner across the path is barely visible so I just buried it under a pile of leaves. I don't think it will make a show before spring.

This Larch (Larix laricina) is so blindingly bright that it seems impossible to not see it from everywhere in the garden. I think it must have just turned color quickly because I know I could not have walked past it without seeing it.

On the downside this autumn:

Our paperbark maple which is the last tree to turn color — an intense red — just lost all its leaves in the last two days without seriously coloring up. 

In my sunnier beds, the Alliums I planted in 2022 are popping up and growing as a result of our hot/cold/warm weather conditions. I think this means they will not flower come next spring. They put on a nice show this year so I decided not to add any more bulbs in that area. We'll see what happens come June.

Early November report

No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds! —
November!

— Thomas Hood

It's the beginning of the first full week of November in my Z5 garden in southern Wisconsin and that poem is all wrong this year. This morning it's 56°F as I am writing this at 8 a.m. Yesterday in the garden birds were flocking to the water bowl. The last stems of Aconitum (monkshood) and Chrysanthemum 'Sheffield' were still flowering despite some frosty nights.

There are colorful leaves on the ground and the roof but lots of green leaves still on ferns, assorted perennials and trees. Our Paperbark Maple hasn't even begun to turn color. Here's a sampling of what the garden looks like right now.

Hamamelis virginiana (Witch Haze) is in full bloom and has dropped its leaves so you can actually see the flowers.

Of course, it's not easy to see the flowers without a nice Yew hedge behind this shrub.

Dawn redwoods are deciduous. This one, 'Ogon', is a bright chartreuse all summer before it turns its needle-like foliage a gorgeous cinnamon. I love it when it's in the middle of that change-over and there are bright gold tips at the ends of many of the autumn toned branches. 

I have three varieties of Hackonechloa in multiple locations in the garden. H. macra is shrinking up without ever putting out their inflorescence.

H. 'All Gold' has "flowered" like crazy.

I always wait for a few frosts to put an end to the Hostas. Once that happens it's easy to just pull the foliage off the plant rather than having to cut all those stems.

Hellebores, Geranium macrorrhizum, Vancouver and many ferns, like this Dryopteris crassirhizoma, are still bright green. 

Winter lasts such a seemingly long time that I am not going to complain about this unusually lovely weather. A little rain would make it perfect.

Everything old

. . . is new again. 

Way back when — March 2002 to be exact — I ordered a pair of Taxus bacccata aka Irish yews at $8.00 each from the original Heronswood Nursery. You can imagine how small these shrubs were when they arrived in the mail. Twenty years later they are larger but not the 8' tall drama queens I was expecting them to turn into.

Not long after my Heronswood yews were planted Mark came home from working at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens annual plant sale with his own Irish yew. He didn't know we already had a pair of them. His was a named cultivar — Taxus bacccata 'Bean Pole'  —  and was already a couple of feet hight. BUT he paid $70.00 for it! I was appalled. Twenty years later it's obvious his was the smarter purchase. 

So imagine my surprise and delight when I unexpectedly found a lone Taxus baccata 'Green Column' at our local K and A Greenhouse at the end of June. I paid $81.99 and didn't blink. In fact, it seemed like a steal to get a plant the size of the one Mark bought 20 years later and it only cost $12.00 more. It was orignally discovered at Jeddeloh Nursery in Germany. I also happen to have a Jeddeloh Hemlock. 

Each year my original pair of Heronswood yews lose a lot of their growth to winter burn. So I moved one of the original pair to the back garden where it gets eastern sun. It came through the winter in better shape than this one on the north side of the house. 

This one is currently looking so good I can't decide if I should just leave it alone or move it as well. Yews can generally take sun or shade and Mark's specimen is on the north side of the house in a lot of shade. It's also protected from winter damage by a huge old Arborvitae next to it. This one is in more southern light coming over the house and is much more exposed in the winter. Since I don't have twenty more years to watch this slowly grow it probably means I should indeed move it. 

The Moon Garden

Mark went out late Saturday afternoon with his camera after he glanced up the steps into The Moon Garden and was intrigued by what he saw. 

The opposite side of the path in the above photo.

Paeonia japonica 

Malus 'Tina' at the peak of perfection.

The Yin Yang bed and the path to the West Gate on the right.

Looking back to the east side of this upper garden.

Road work update

Woke up at 7am this morning to the beeping sound of large equipment backing up. So I went out to see if anything exciting was happening. If Mark had not gone out to photograph the work and gotten acquainted with all these workmen, I think we both would be finding the chaos disheartening. Instead we're both fascinated. 

Yesterday when he was out he mentioned to one of the guys that the sun was bothering his "new" eye, post-surgery. Immediately he was handed a pair of OSHA-compliant sunglasses that the crew members all wear. These workmen are so friendly.

Since the project includes a new gas line to our house, I've been caging emerging plants and marking anything I want the workmen to to be sure to see, like these oak seedlings sporting pink ribbons. Gardeners are aware of every new bit of green, but these guys are concentrating on their job.

Lots of new yellow paint and flag markers showing the path of the gas line. 

The city owns the first 16 feet of our property as we have no sidewalks. That's why I only planted Geranium macrorrhizum and bulbs in that area in prep for a city project someday in the future. This new gas line goes all the way up to the house but luckily there will only be a hole in the street and one by the house. The line is drilled underground between the two and piping inserted. So the pipe will (hopefully) be able to go under the witch hazel without harming the plant. 

Mark has talked to the city crew and the utility crew about keeping any digging as far from our ancient oak as possible. They've all agreed to try their best to protect that tree, including clearly marking it. 

Last week's big excitement was pulverizing the concrete street surface. We're now back to a mixed dirt and gravel road. We can no longer enter our street at the end closest to our house. We have to come the long way around on multiple back streets and then drive almost the length of the gravel road to get to our house. But the temperature is rising and the garden is getting ready for another growth spurt. 

Wordless Wednesday

Slo mo

Every time I check the weather, the forecast has changed. Rain has turned to chance of light snow or frozen mix despite daytime temps barely dropping below 40°F for the next ten days. Monday and Tuesday were mostly sunny and we hit 50°F both days, so there has been progress in the garden — just not with the snowdrops. Most still have barely appeared. But other things have. 

Paeonia japonica. I aways leave Peony stems in place in the autumn to mark the location come spring. Since they arrive early I want to be sure I don't step in the danger zone.

Paeonia mairei, a Chinese woodland Peony that blooms very early and can take some shade. I like Peony buds as much as the flowers. 

Since I planted a few Tulips acuminata in this bed last fall, that's what I am assuming these leaves represent. I caged them as soon as I took the photo. No other spring bulbs are showing anywhere else. 

Last spring, I planted three Galanthus 'Mrs. Macnamara' "in the green." Whether the other two will flower is unclear. 

At the same time I planted two bulbs of G. 'Wasp.' Clearly they are very happy. I'll be happy when they opens their "wings" and look more waspish.

Hamamelis vernalis is the spring-blooming witch hazel. Alas, it is not a Wisconsin native as I assumed when I planted it. Very insignificant flowers and a poor shot by the gardener. But you get the idea: The Carex growing beneath it is more interesting.

One of the drawbacks of Witch Hazels is the fact that they hold their leaves for a long time which often obscures the flowers. Luckily this is the only branch with foliage still on it. The green ribbon marks a tree that our aborist is treating.

The long view

Looking down the length of the roof on Mark's fence across the back of our garden. Now those shingles are moss covered and some have fallen off. The tree in the foreground is the old cherry tree that got taken down last winter. 

A good reminder that short term thinking doesn't work well in a garden. The start of a new year is a good time for me to remember that it also doesn't always work that well in life itself. 

A look back at 2022

As gardening years go, 2022 was an unusual one. We had three major garden tours: One each in June, July and August. Won't ever do that again. I felt like all I did was get the garden in shape for other people. It was fun on one level, but it also kept me from just hanging out in my own garden.

This coming garden season I will be alone in my garden as the city will be tearing up our street for a summer-long project. So I will get to see if I really prefer that.

Here's a more detailed look back at 2022. 

JANUARY

I ordered more plants on-lilne at the start of the year than ever before. I'm not sure if I've even got room for much else, but I am currently getting emails from nurseries left and right. 

FEBRUARY

When Mark built the fence across the back of our property, he encased the old cherry tree that was growing there. We should have taken it down but we were using any extra cash for garden design and plants in those days. The tree finally came out in February making it possible to see the spectacular Dawn Redwood in our neighbor's garden.

I love watching the arborists work in the most awkward situations. 

MARCH

The Witch Hazel put on a great show before any other plants were pushing up.

APRIL

April Food's Day gave us snow and then the temps started climbing quickly . . .

until it snowed again mid-month. Pretty common weather for us.

MAY 

For the first time in long time, I planted multiple containers. Some had shrubs waiting for a final home, some were filled with bulbs or houseplants like Begonias. A big Buttonbush shrub in a pot is temporarily filling the space where half of a large Pagoda dogwood died over the winter. 

JUNE

We drove out to Vermont at the beginning of the month for my sister's memorial celebration, which was a lovely event. I dug these Primroses out of her garden to add to my garden as a way to remember her. 

A week after we got home, Mark had surgery for his A-fib and the following week the Garden Blogger's Fling visited us. Lots of fun to see long time blogger friends and meet new ones.

We we so pleased that at least a couple of people actually went into the Tea House and sat down. (I downloaded this photo from the Fling site and don't have any id's.)

JULY

I took advantage of the city putting off tearing up our street to invite members of the Wisconsin Hardy Plant Society to stop by. This photo is by Steven King, the new president of the Wisconsin Daylily Society. I love the images he and other visitors took of the garden. So often standing in places where I had never thought to stop with my camera before. 

AUGUST

The first week of August I took advantage of early sales and bought even more plants. These are all from our local nursery, K & A.

SEPTEMBER

I spent a chunk of the month ripping out and redoing areas that had never quite been finished or had become problematic for many reasons. Two new shrubs were added in this narrow bed on the west side of the house. 

OCTOBER

We had spectacular fall color everywhere in the garden and it lasted and lasted. A memorable autumn. 

We took out another old and diseased evergreen tree (you can see the stump below), along with a Korean maple that had succumbed to verticillium wilt. Our arborists also did pruning on the trees that had suffered winter damage. 

NOVEMBER

All the problems I had with Typepad got me thinking about archival projects. I've kept years of big and little journals on the garden, trips, menus and parties. Now I've started making some physical books to remember the garden down the road when we're no longer living here.

DECEMBER

On December 9th we had such heavy wet snow that Mark went out to try to clean off the trees. I went out the following week to do the same after the next snow fall. On Thursday, Dec. 23, I noted that it was -7°F (and felt like -29°F, according to WeatherBug) at 9 p.m. The next Thursday, Dec. 29, the high was 50*F. which made the snow disappear overnight. Not really sure what to expect next.

Though we have a lot of winter left to get through here, I'm anxious to get out in the garden and hopeful that most of my new plantings will have successfully weathered our winter. 

Autumn perfection

The garden has never looked better in autumn than this year. This is the view from the spot I aways sit in our living room. Once I sit down, I've hardly been able do anything but look out the window at this glorious scene. 

Of course, the above photo is one I intended to post when Typepad started acting up. In the intervening days, that green tree turned red and now all of them have lost most of their leaves.

Gorgeous warm weather today, followed by rain and temps dropping into the 30s — if the weather forecast is to be believed.