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Philosophers speak of ‘The Music of the Spheres.” Since ancient times, we have understood the musicality of nature.
Not only is the physical world based in pure mathematics, as is music; the sounds created by Earth, sea and sky flow together as a symphony. Everywhere there is sound: pitch, rhythm, harmony and the melodies found in the voices of whale, wind, bird, cricket and human.
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Morning Glory vines are annuals in our climate, but drop their seeds each summer. These prolific seeds germinate in early summer and the vines bloom from mid-summer until frost.
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Our gardens grow to their own rhythms, too. And the wise gardener comes to know these rhythms as closely as their own heartbeats.
Understanding the growth rhythms of the seasons in your own region, and the rhythms of the various plants you grow, allows a gardener to work confidently with nature.
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These Morning Glory vines scamper over roses and Lantana.
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Not understanding these basic rhythms can set you at cross purposes to the unfolding happening around you. And worse, ignorance of a plant’s natural rhythms can lead to a lot of unnecessary stress for the plant and the gardener!
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These hardy Begonias share the pot with the perennial Hellebore. There are a few spring bulbs, too, which will begin growing in the months ahead. The Caladium ‘Florida Moonlight’ will need to come out before frost and will be replaced with Violas. But these plants can all share the same space and take center stage at different seasons of the year.
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What rhythms does an effective gardener understand? Well, first, we must feel the rhythms of the seasons. This is different for each place, as one season melts into the next.
The official dates of solstice and equinox, new moons and full, frost dates and summer heat help us begin to feel this rhythm. But the fine details are learned through years of observation.
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For example, there is a great deal of ‘see-sawing’ between hot days and frosts here each autumn and each spring. We might have roses blooming until mid-December after a brief November snowstorm.
But we might also have days over 80F in March followed by snow in April. Temperature changes prove gradual and unpredictable here, and we have to pay attention to the daily forecast.
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Autumn roses are the best. Our shrubs are recovering from summer drought and beginning to produce roses again.
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Beyond climate, there is the rhythm of each plant we grow. So many prove ephemeral, appearing and disappearing quite suddenly with the seasons, like our Hurricane Lilies.
It helps to know what plants are annuals in our region and are ‘gone forever’ once they die back, and which will return. What plants grow from ever multiplying bulbs and tubers? Which plants have perennial roots?
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Our ‘Hurricane Lily,’ Lycoris radiata, just suddenly appears when its time is right. We often forget where the bulbs are planted year to year so they are always a delightful late summer surprise. The vinca Minor vines growing as ground cover remain evergreen, but bloom with the Daffodils each spring.
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When rain was abundant this spring, I started a new nearly full-shade garden bed filled with ferns, Caladiums, and a few low perennials.
It was coming along beautifully, until our hot spell in late July and August came while I was spending a great deal of time out of town. My watering fell behind here, and by the last week of August many of the plants appeared to be dead or dying.
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The new shade garden on July 18, when there still was abundant rain. All of the Caladiums and ferns were growing well.
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I was so disappointed in myself to have allowed all of these beautiful new ferns to ‘die.’
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I started watering intensively here, and then Hermine brought us a good day and a half of cool, cloudy wet weather.
And, ‘Voila!’ Even though the fronds of my potted Athyrium niponicum may have all shriveled in the drought, their roots survived. And today I discovered new growth in the pots. What relief!
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These hardy ferns aren’t evergreen and so die back each autumn. They won’t be seen again until early spring, when their new leaves emerge.
But now I’ve learned they can survive a drought in the same way they survive freezing temperatures; they pull their life back into their roots.
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Spring bulbs have begun to grow in this container, also recovering now from August’s drought. The Sedum can root from any part of the stem and remains evergreen through our winters. The Creeping Jenny is also a perennial here.
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So many plants will survive in one small part of the plant; whether seed, bulb, root, rhizome or tuber. Knowing this lets us move from season to season with confidence, knowing how to help our favorite plants not only return, but also multiply.
When will each appear, grow and bloom? When will they disappear again in the cycle of the year? Which seeds can we scatter with confidence that they will germinate and grow?
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This perennial butterfly Ginger Lily will die back to the ground after frost, but its rhizomes spread each year. The plants return in May and grow all summer, topping out at 7′-8′ tall. These will bloom from the end of August until killed by frost in November.
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Plants come and go with the seasons. The appearance of our garden may change radically from one month to another.
Learn these rhythms and time your ‘doings’ and ‘not-doings’ to work in harmony with them. This is one of the hallmarks of a true gardener.
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“Green Thumb” Tips: Many of you who visit Forest Garden are amazing gardeners with years of experience to share. Others are just getting started, and are looking for a few ‘tips and tricks’ to help you grow the garden of your dreams.
I believe the only difference between a “Green Thumb” and a “Brown Thumb” is a little bit of know-how and a lot of passion for our plants. If you feel inclined to share a little bit of what YOU KNOW from your years of gardening experience, please create a new post titled: “Green Thumb” Tip: (topic) and include a link back to this page. I will update this page with a clear link back to your post in a listing by topic, so others can find your post, and will include the link in all future “Green Thumb” Tip posts.
Let’s work together to build an online resource of helpful tips for all of those who are passionate about plants, and who would like to learn more about how to grow them well.
‘Green Thumb’ Tip #1: Pinch!
‘Green Thumb’ Tip #2: Feed!
‘Green Thumb’ Tip #3 Deadhead!
‘Green Thumb’ Tip #4 Get the Light Right!
‘Green Thumb’ Tip #5: Keep Planting!
‘Green Thumb’ Tip #6: Size Matters!
‘Green Thumb’ Tip # 7: Experiment!
‘Green Thumb’ Tip #8 Observe
‘Green Thumb’ Tip #9 Plan Ahead
‘Green Thumb’ Tip: Release Those Pot-Bound Roots! from Peggy, of Oak Trees Studios
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And suddenly, it is beginning to look like autumn here. Jones Mill Pond, as it looked last evening.
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Woodland Gnome 2016
Forest Garden 