Each Little World

New growth on evergreens

Despite having a lot of dieback and even losing some evergreens this spring, the ones that made it though the winter are growing gorgeously. There is nothing quite as lovely as the new growth on evergreens. This beauty is a weeping Norway spruce (Picea babies 'Pendula').

Just across the driveway from the recently planted spruce is this 'Golden Splendor' Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis 'Golden Splendor'). Got this gem from Heronswood for $6.00 in 2002 and it clearly suffered no damage from the winter. It's growth habit is quite airy and it's about 10 feet tall or so. Those are yews in front of it and just to the right of the Hemlock is a golden Dawn Redwood that is out of view. 

Virtually all of the Hemlocks came through the winter with no problems as you can see from this 'Ashfied Weeper'. This one drapes over the waterfalls between the upper and lower ponds. More yews on the right and some glorious marsh ferns (Thelypterus palustris).

I have three of these lovely dwarf Japanese Hemlocks (Tsuga diversifolia 'Loowit') planted in varying amounts of sun and shade; all happy and healthy. Theses have an irregular shape and will be about 18 inches tall x 2 feet wide in ten years. 

In a vase on Monday: Bronze

We planted a weeping Beech tree — Fagus sylvatica 'Purple Fountain' — in the garden in 2010. The leaves actually emerge a peach color and then start to darken to bronze-purple and then fade to greenish purple. I decided to try some Tulips under the tree that would pick up those colors, including this one named 'Madras'. It must be a good 20 inches high. When my sister-in-law saw the flowers against the leaves a week or so ago, she said I should sacrifice them to an indoor display. And so I did.

Though the 'Madras' flowers look the same despite a different in age and light, the later Beech leaves (above) are distinctly different from the dramatic leaves picked a week earlier. 

Another simple vase this week with one kind of flower and one type of leaf. Then again this artful bamboo container would not hold much more. 

To see what other gardeners are enjoying in vases this Monday visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden. She's the instigator and creator of this meme that has become a favorite of many gardeners around the world. And here is a view of the leaves turning darker and tending toward green yesterday.

In a Vase on Monday: Tulips and tea bowls

We've had such a rainy weekend that I dashed out beforehand and cut a few flowers to make bouquets for this meme and to take to a couple of social gatherings on Saturday. These 'Schoonoord' Tulips had been in a vase a good 4 or 5 days by the time I photographed them. I initially put them on a tall Chinese display stand in front of a painting by local artist Tom Sargeant because I thought the colors in the vase were similar to some of the tones in the painting.

We found the vase at the recent Clay Collective weekend where the artist — Shumpei Tamaki — had a booth set up at Mark Skudlarek's studio and shop. The vase was fired upside down in the kiln and so the drips and lines of glaze run upward when the vase is set upright. 

It didn't take long before I decided to put the vase on the fireplace since I walk by it dozens of times each day and it is directly opposite the spot where I sit to read. 

'Schoonoord' is a double Tulip and I wanted to be able to easily watch it continue to unfold and reveal touches of gold and green in its interior. The vase also has a sprig of ivy, a stem of Euonymous and a leaf from Lily of the Valley 'Hardwick Hall' (Convallaria majalis).

The vase with the Tulips is at the other end of the mantle from these two tea bowls that were also made by Shumpei Tamaki.

I walked into his booth and went directly to the large dark tea bowl on the right. I picked it up and thought "this is the one." Then I waited for Mark to arrive and I watched to see what would catch his eye. He did the exact same thing I did, so I knew that bowl was coming home with us!

He was also smitten with this one with its glassy blue/gray/green glaze. It's quite different from most of our other tea bowls because it is porcelain and has a crackle glaze which pooled "like a rim of jewels," as Mark put it. I think it will also make an attractive little flower container at some future time as well. 

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

Tulip trivia

These days I only subscribe to one print garden magazine, Gardens Illustrated, which is published in the UK. I love its large format and variety of gardens and information. Besides, I am an Anglophile from way back.

One of the most intriguing articles in the last issue I got (the U.S. is always a bit behind the current issue with home delivery) was titled "Cracking the Code." It was a short piece about genomic experts unlocking the common tulip's (Tulipa gesneriana) genetic code in hopes of being able to improve breeding. The Dutch consortium which sequenced the tulip's genome notes it has about 34 giga base pairs.

Guess what? That is "almost 11 times bigger than that of humans." Apparently the "entire human genome fits into one tulip chromosome." Who knew?! Maybe that's why humans have always been so fascinated by tulips. On some level we knew there was more going on behind the scenes than we could possibily imagine. 

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.

2018: Year of the Tulip

The National Garden Bureau has declared 2018 to be "The Year of the Tulip," pointing out that "their vivid, paint-box colors are a feast for winter-weary eyes." My Tulips that are planted in the traffic island (below) in front of our house nicely prove the truth of that statement. This location is one of the few places where I have had Tulip bulbs bloom for multiple years.

The National Garden Bureau also pointed out that Tulips have been cultivated in earnest for at least 400 years. and that there are over 150 species of tulips with over 3,000 different varieties and are classified into 16 Divisions by types. I love that kind of horticultural trivia. But you don't need to know it in order to grow Tulips. What you need to succeed in growing these beauties is advice from an expert. I love cutting Tulips from the garden for my spring bouquets (below), so I was happy to have a chance to hear from a Tulip expert in person.

I was lucky enough to attend a presentation at the Allen Centennial Gardens Spring Symposium by Tulip expert Jacqueline van der Kloet. Her name may be familiar to you as one of the designers involved with the Lurie Garden in Chicago; Kloet created their matrix of flowering spring bulbs.  Her own garden in the Netherlands is highly inspirational as well, but on a domestic scale that all of us can learn from. This image gives you a sense of how she includes Tulips within perennial beds where their new spring foliage hides the dying Tulip foliage.

Jacqueline van der Kloet offered these planting tips if you want your Tulips to return again — and again:

1. Plant the bulbs  at least 5 inches (12.7 cm.) deep

2. Plant in full sun

3. Deadhead when the flowers no longer close at night

4. Leave the leaves AND stem which are necessary to produce new bulbs

My advice is to keep your phone handy so you can snap photos this spring of Tulips that catch your eye. Be sure to note the name so you will be able to find them when it comes time to order bulbs for fall planting. 

"Color Your Garden: Exciting Mixtures of Bulbs and Perennials" is the title of van der Kloet's book which is coming out at the end of March. Be democratic and buy local: Order van der Kloet's book from your favorite independent bookseller instead of buying it from the gigantic corporation who shall remain nameless. My personal favorite is Mystery to Me bookstore on Monroe St. I've had them order me all kinds of different books and I've bought poetry, politics and kids' books from their in-store stock. It goes without saying that they are superb if you are looking for a mystery. Not only do they carry an outstanding array of titles and authors but they always turn me on to someone or something new whenever I visit. 

Remembering Seth Cardew

I couldn't resist these vibrant tulips at the grocery store on Monday. They went in one of my all-time favorite vases by Wisconsin potter Mark Skudlarek. Our home and garden are filled with Mark's pots, plates, bowls —  you name it. 

It seemed only fitting that they be joined by my teapot made by potter Seth Cardew, Skudlarek's former father-in-law, who died last month. I keep Seth's teapot in the cupboard surrounded by all my containers of tea so it's always at the ready when needed. It's decorated with Cardew's artfully painted bird, feels good in the hand and pours beautifully. The Cardew family are famed for their pottery, made for many years at Wenford Bridge in Cornwall. We're honored to have these two pieces.

Turkish Tulip

Although a species bulb, Tulipa acuminata is supposedly no longer found in its native habitat. It can be catalogue dated back to the early 1800's, but it is believed to be a survivor from a hundred years earlier when tulips like this little oddity were all the fashion in the Ottoman empire. I'm happy to say it's made a very fashionable appearance in my garden this spring.

Weekend garden report: 5.05.14

Two days with temperatures that managed to get into the 50s and 60s Fahrenheit (that's teens in Celsius) with a fair amount of sun pushed the garden into growing mode. This week is supposed to continue the warming trend so I expect to see some blooms beyond Hellebores and minor bulbs. We snapped these pictures at the end of the day Sunday so some flowers had closed with the sinking sun.

Love this little Tulipa humilis 'Odalisque' from Brent and Becky Heath (above). It's red on the exterior with a "beet-root purple" interior and a yellow base. It's planted near yellow Primula veris and red Trillium erectum. Nearby is this lavender Glaucidium palmatum (below). I just added a couple of Primula 'Springtime' which are lavender-pink with a yellow eye to further tie the grouping together.

All the Hellebores are in full bloom. That little stick you see in the center of the Hellebores is actually a Carolina Silverbell tree that I put in last summer to replace the Hawthorne that came down in the winter of 2012/13. It appears to have made it through this winter.

I think Paeonia japonica (foreground) will bloom this week given the temperatures that are predicted. Behind the big pot is Paeonia obvata whose buds are still small. Trilliums and primroses in the left rear are ready to explode with another warm day or two.

Helleborus 'Ivory Prince' is at the top of a slope and is outward facing, making it one of the few Hellebores that I can enjoy face to face. 

Double bloodroots are developing into a nice clump, though they have not spread further afield.

Manchurian maple (below) has great fall color and gorgeous buds in spring. It's growing under a big sugar maple.

Late light on Marsh marigolds in the bog at the side of the pond.

The view standing behind the marsh marigolds.

Traffic island update: Spring 2011

This is my full sun garden that's out in the middle of the street in front of our house. It's what's known locally as a traffic island. But I think of it is an example of a garden that survives in spite of everything: drivers run over it, snowplows scrape off the topsoil along with the snow and the city dumps copious amounts of road salt and sand on it each winter while they attempt to keep the roads clear.

These tulips (from Brent & Becky's Bulbs and Old House Gardens) were planted in 2008, so this is their third season of bloom. They could hardly be happier. If you enter "traffic island" in the search button on the top left of the page, all the posts I've written about this garden will come up. You'll find its entire history along with the names of all the tulips. 

In addition to catmint, Hakonechloa grass and sedums, Oriental lilies from Brent & Becky are also flourishing. The lilies and tulips are doing better in this location than anywhere else in the garden. Part of it is the light, but I think some of it has to do with the bulbs not getting overwatered in summer since I ignore that little garden unless there is an actual drought. Sometimes, ignoring a plant appears the best way to treat it.