26May / 2019

Six On Saturday: In Leaf

Zantedeschia catches the setting sun in our upper garden.

Brightly colored flowers always catch my eye at the nursery. We all respond in our own peculiar way to color.

But more and more, when I’m choosing plants for my own garden, I’m more drawn to the intricate details of beautiful leaves.

Hosta leafs out amid wild violets and ferns.

Anyone who assumes that leaves are just monotonous green may find a new world waiting once they open their eyes and notice the wonderful colors, shapes, and texture available with foliage. Combining leaf textures and shape can be even more interesting than designing with flowers.

Colocasias with dwarf pomegranate

Leaves grow in countless shades of green. They surprise us with many other brilliant colors, too. Most any color found in a flower may find its echo in a leaf.

Caladium ‘Southern Charm’ is a new introduction from Classic Caladiums this year. This new Caladium will thrive in full to partial sun.

Beautiful veins, interesting shapes, crinkled surfaces, variegation and surprising textures can make foliage as ornamental as flowers. Leaves emerge and persist for weeks or months, while most flowers fade in just a few days.

Foliage forms and fills a garden, while flowers appear briefly as highlights.

Many of my favorite foliage plants are returning, expanding, and filling our garden with interest and beauty this week. I greet them like old friends, delighting in their fresh new leaves.

Many that overwintered inside as tubers or dormant in pots are awaking, and waiting in their nursery pots for me to plant them out in their summer spaces. Sometimes it takes time to discern the best spot for each plant, and to group good companions together.

Like smearing paints on canvas, I plant living colors and forms in garden soil. Unlike paint, which mostly stays where it’s put, plants move, expand, intermingle and respond to moisture, light and heat. Their colors change with the weather; they arise and wither with time’s changing winds.

Woodland Gnome 2019

Many thanks to the wonderful ‘Six on Saturday’ meme sponsored by The Propagator.

Just a peak into the shady nursery, where my plants grow on and wait their turn for planting out.

20Sep / 2018

Growing Hardy Cyclamen

Naturalized Cyclamen hederifolium at the Connie Hansen Garden in Lincoln City, OR are already in bloom in mid-October.

Cyclamen are just one of those delicate, special plants that we delight in growing. Their intricately patterned leaves and sculpted, sometimes fragrant, flowers are some of the most novel and beautiful among common potted florist plants. I generally buy a florist Cyclamen in early December and enjoy it on my kitchen window sill through late spring, when it begins to die back for its summer period of dormancy.

Discarded from the kitchen windowsill in June, this Cyclamen re-bloomed out on the deck in the fall of 2013.

As much as we enjoy the tender florist’s Cyclamen, Cyclamen persicum, I have been seeking out other, more hardy species, too.

Cyclamen persicum is native to the Middle East, parts of North Africa, and some Mediterranean Islands. Although it is frost tender, it still prefers cool growing conditions and thrives when kept in medium, indirect light in a spot where night time temperatures drop down into the 50s F. It wants to go dormant once night time temperatures rise into the upper 60s and 70sF. I grow it in a windowsill to give it the coolness it needs to keep blooming.

I first began growing Cyclamen hederifolium, which blooms in late autumn into early winter, and Cyclamen coum, which blooms in late winter to early spring, a few years ago. I was inspired by the Cyclamen I found growing at the Connie Hansen Garden along the Oregon Coast, and then discovered that they are readily available from Brent and Becky’s Bulbs, and other bulb dealers.

Hardy Cyclamen and bulb foliage shine through the leaf litter of a perennial bed at the Heath’s display garden in Gloucester, Virginia in February, 2018.

Cyclamen grow from tubers. Like other geophytes, they go dormant each year and will live on in a dry state with neither roots nor leaves. If you want to buy Cyclamen , you may purchase seeds, tubers or living plants. While seeds are relatively inexpensive, it will take a few years to grow your plants on to a good size. There are more flowers with each passing year as the tubers grow larger.

Many experts recommend buying your hardy Cyclamen plants in leaf, so that you can see the color pattern on the leaves and the color of the flowers. Others just say they have experienced more success in getting plants established in that way.

Once you have a plant or two, they will produce viable seed. You can collect and sow the seed, or trust insects to spread it around for you. New Cyclamen plants will emerge in following years from seed, even as the original plants continue to grow and expand.

I order tubers for hardy Cyclamen , which is also an easy way to start a patch of your own. I have planted directly into the ground in years past, and I’ve planted tubers into our large ceramic pots outdoors, as part of my autumn planted winter arrangements.

Although I’ve had some success, I’ve had disappointments, too. These are very small plants, and can easily get lost under leaves and under other, larger plants. They tend to show up best when planted among the exposed roots of mature trees. I didn’t know that when I planted the first batch out into the garden. The area where I first planted them has since filled in, and so our patch is less than spectacular.

I’ve sited later plantings in better spots. But again, one needs to clear away fallen leaves and other, faded plants to really see and enjoy Cyclamen planted in the ground. The Connie Hansen garden has their patch under a pine tree, in the middle of a concrete bordered traffic island in their parking lot, where little else grows.

Many successful gardeners suggest planting hardy Cyclamen among the roots of established trees because they thrive in the lean soil, they prefer drier soil in summer, and they are shown off to good advantage. There is room for seedlings to sprout and the effect in autumn and early spring can be spectacular.

Last year, I planted most of the precious tubers I bought in large pots outdoors. To make a sad story shorter, there was obvious digging in the pots in the week after planting, and I never did see any Cyclamen emerge. I’ve since read advice to lay a sheet of 1/2″ chicken wire over the soil in pots, and cover it with some mulch to protect Cyclamen and other tempting tubers and bulbs.

So this year, I am trying a different approach. I’ve bought a bag of both C. hederifolium and C. Coum. C. hederifolium generally gives its best showing in its second and subsequent years from a tuber, because the season of bloom begins in autumn. But I am planting five of each, just to see what I can do with them.

Plant the tubers concave side up. If you can’t tell, plant the tuber on its side and let the plant sort itself out as stems and roots begin to grow.

And rather than planting them where I want them to grow, I’m going to try to foil the squirrels by planting them in little plastic nursery pots, indoors, and keep them inside until they have roots and leaves. Then, I’ll transplant to where I want them.

The challenge in planting tubers is that they want to be planted very shallow; with only an inch or so of soil and mulch above the surface of the tuber. That is a screaming invitation for rodents to grab a snack, especially if they’ve watched you plant or see the disturbed earth! Once the tuber is rooted and attached, they have a fighting chance to survive!

Fill small pots to within an inch or so of the rim with new, commercial potting soil. Dust the soil with a little Bulb Tone or bone meal to get the Cyclamen off to a good start. Cyclamen don’t require a lot of fertilizer.

I’ve planted ours in regular potting soil under about 1/2″ of soil and another 1/4″ or so of perlite. I ran out of perlite and finished off the last few pots with vermiculite, which works equally as well. You’ll notice that some of the C. Coum tubers already show evidence of the first few flower stems emerging from the crown. I hope that these will plump up and continue to grow as the tuber re-hydrates over the coming days.

C. Coum tubers came packed in wood shavings.

This was even more pronounced on the tubers I bought last year, as I didn’t get them until early December. I made a point of arranging to pick up my tubers this year within just a couple of weeks of when they came in to the warehouse to get the freshest tubers possible, and get them growing as early in the season as possible.

Our new tubers are resting tonight in my basement work area. I’ll keep an eye on them, and move them up to a protected spot on the deck as soon as new growth appears.

Once the plants are growing well, and some of our summer plants have died back, I’ll plant them out where they can grow on through the winter. This year I expect success with all 10 of our new little Cyclamen plants.

Water the pots well after planting, and then let them rest. They won’t need light until they begin to grow. Keep the plants evenly moist when they are in growth, but never let them sit in water.

To maintain your plants, dust with a little bone meal in the fall, and keep them evenly moist when growing. Once they die back and go dormant, they prefer to spend the summer on the dry side. Growth is triggered in autumn when temperatures drop and the weather turns a bit wetter.

It is such a pleasing surprise to see their first flowers and leaves emerge each year. Hardy Cyclamen are a simple and inexpensive pleasure and well worth the small effort to grow them. If you’ve not tried them before, this is the time to order a few tubers and try something new.

Our hardy Cyclamen were a welcome sight last February.

Woodland Gnome 2018

29May / 2017

Slow to Grow: Elephant Ears

Colocasia esculenta

It has been agonizingly slow this spring, watching and waiting for our elephant ears to grow. I blame the weather. Wouldn’t you?

After all, we enjoyed 80F days in February, and then retreated back to wintery grey days through most of March. We’ve been on a climatic roller-coaster since.

Gardeners, and our plants, appreciate a smooth transition from one season to another. Let it be cold in winter, then warm gradually through early, mid and late spring until we enjoy a few weeks of perfect summer in late May and early June. We know to expect heat in June, July and August, with moderating temperatures and humidity by mid-September.

I started working on this new bed in March, bringing the still potted Colocasias in doors and back out with the weather. Although I planted them weeks ago, they are still sulking a bit in our cool, rainy weather this month.

But lately, our seasons feel rather muddled. That smooth crescendo from season to season has gone all rag-time on us. We’ve already lost a potted Hydrangea Macrophylla teased into leaf too early, and then frozen a time too many. Those early leaves dissolved in mush, but new growth started again from the crown.

I’ve watched the poor shrub try at least 3 times to grow this spring, and now it sits, bare, in its pot while I hold out hope for either a horticultural miracle, or a clone on sale; whichever comes first.

Colocasia ‘Pink China’ loves our climate and spreads a bit each year. Its pink spot and pink stem inspired its name. This is the Colocasia I happily dig up to share with gardening friends. These will be a little more than 5′ tall by late summer.

I hedged my bets last fall with the elephant ears. I left some in situ in the garden, some in their pots, but pulled up close to the house on the patio, and I brought a few pots of Alocasia and Colocasia into our basement or garage.

I dug most of our Caladiums and dried them for several weeks in the garage, and then boxed and bagged them with rice hulls before storing them in a closet through the winter. I left a few special ones in their pots and kept the pots in our sunny garage.

Caladium ‘Florida Sweetheart’ overwintered for us dried and stored in a box with rice hulls. I planted the tuber again in early April.

And I waited until April before trying to rouse any of them. But by early April, while I was organizing a Caladium order for 2017, I also planted all of those stored Caladium tubers in fresh potting soil and set them in our guest room to grow. Eventually, after our last frost date in mid-April, I also retrieved the pots from the basement and brought them out to the warmth of our patio. They all got a drink of Neptune’s Harvest and a chance to awaken for summer.

Caladium ‘Desert Sunset,’ didn’t survive winter in our garage. (This photo from summer 2016) I left them in their pot, but it must have gotten too cold for them. Happily, I ordered new tubers this spring.

Around this time I gingerly began to feel around in those Caladium pots kept in the garage, for signs of life. I thought I’d divide and replant the tubers and get them going again. But, to my great disappointment, not a single tuber survived. The Caladiums succumbed to the chill of our garage sometime during the winter, and I had three generous sized, empty pots to recycle with fresh plantings.

C. ‘Desert Sunset’ didn’t make it through the winter, so I’ve recycled the pot for other plants. Calla lily has a form similar to some Alocasia, and is more tolerant of cold weather. These are hardy in Zone 7.

By the time our new Caladium order arrived in mid- April, the tubers I’d dried, stored, and replanted were in growth. I moved them to the garage to get more light and actually planted the first batch of Caladiums outside by the first week of May.

I planted most of the new Caladiums into potting soil filled boxes and sent them off to the guest room to awaken, but chanced planting a few bare tubers into pots outside. Mistake.

These saved Caladiums, started indoors in April, moved outside to their permanent bed in early May. Still a little slow to grow, they have weathered a few cool nights this month.

Because for all the promising balmy days we’ve had this spring, we’ve had our share of dreary cool ones, too. We even had a few nights in the 40s earlier this month! It’s generally safe here to plant out tomatoes, Basil and Caladiums by mid-May. Sadly, this year, these heat lovers have been left stunted by the late cool weather.

The new Caladium tubers planted indoors are still mostly sulking, too, with little to show for themselves. The ones I planted directly outside in pots remain invisible. I just hope they didn’t rot in our cool, rainy weather.

Colocasia ‘Black Coral,’ started in a greenhouse this spring, has been growing outdoors for nearly a month now. This one can get to more than 4′ tall in full sun to part shade.

Of the saved Colocasias and Alocasias, C. ‘Mohito’ has done the best. I brought a large pot of them into the basement last fall, and knocked the plant out of its pot when I brought it back outdoors in April. I divided the tubers and ended up with several plants. They are all growing nicely, though they are still rather small.

Colocasia ‘Mojito’ has been in the family a few years now. It overwinters, dormant in its pot, in our basement. This is one of 5 divisions I made at re-potting time this spring.

I dug up our large C. ‘Tea Cups’ in October and brought it indoors in a pot, leaving behind its runners. The main plant began vigorous growth again by late April, but none of the runners seem to have made it through the winter outdoors.

Colocasia ‘Tea Cups’ also overwintered in the basement. New last year, this plant has really taken off in the last few weeks and is many times larger than our new C. ‘Tea Cups’ plants. It catches rain in its concave leaves, thus its name.

I brought one of our Alocasia ‘Stingray’ into the garage in its pot, where it continued to grow until after Christmas. By then the last leaf withered, and it remained dormant until we brought it back out in April. It has made tiny new leaves ever so slowly, and those new leaves remain less than 6″ tall.

Alocasia ‘Sting Ray’ spent winter in our garage. It has been very slow to grow this spring, but already has many more leaves than last year. It will eventually grow to about 6′. Zone 8-11

But that is better than the potted A. ‘Stingray‘ that overwintered on the patio. We’ve been watching and waiting all spring, and I finally gave up and dug through the potting soil last week looking for any sign of the tuber. I found nothing.

But, fearing the worst, we already bought two new A. ‘Stingray’ from the bulb shop in Gloucester in early May, and those are growing vigorously. They enjoyed the greenhouse treatment through our sulky spring, of course.

Our new A. ‘Stingray’ grows in the blue pot in front of where another A. ‘Stingray’ grew last year. I left the black pot out on the patio over winter, and the Alocasia hasn’t returned. I finally planted some of our new Caladiums in the empty pot last week.

I have two more pots of Alocasia in que: A. ‘Plumbea’ has shown two tiny leaves thus far, so I know it is alive. A. ‘Sarian’ has slept in the sun for weeks now, its tuber still visible and firm. Finally, just over this weekend, the first tiny leaf has appeared. I expect it to grow into an even more beautiful plant than last summer since. It came to us in a tiny 4″ pot, and ended summer at around 5′ tall. I can’t wait to see how large it grows by August!

Alocasia ‘Plumbea’ isn’t’ available for order from Brent and Becky’s bulbs this year. I am very happy this one survived winter, because it is a beautiful plant. Hardy in zones 3-10, this will grow to 5′.

But the pot of Colocasia ‘Blue Hawaii,’ that overwintered on the patio, has shown nothing so far, either. Hardy to Zone 8, I hoped the shelter of our patio might allow this two year old plant to survive. Now, I’m about ready to refresh the soil and fill that pot with some of the Caladiums still growing in our garage.

C. ‘Blue Hawaii’ is marginal here. A few have survived past winters planted in the ground; but thus far, I’m not recognizing any coming back in the garden this year.

I’ve planted a few C. ‘Mojito’ in the ground this spring, and plan to leave them in the fall to see whether they return next year. But I will also hedge my bet and bring a potted C. ‘Mojito’ inside again so I’ll have plants to begin with next spring.

C. ‘Mojito’ in our bog garden will soon get potted up to a larger container. I planted a few of the smaller divisions of this plant directly into the ground to see if they will survive the winter coming. (Zone 8)

Every year I learn a little more about growing elephant ears. I know now that Colocasia ‘China Pink’ is vigorous and dependable in our garden. There is no worry about them making it through winter, and I dig and spread those a bit each year.

The huge Colocasia esculenta I planted a few years ago with our Cannas dependably return. These are the species, not a fancy cultivar. But they seem to manage fine with nothing more than some fallen leaves for mulch.

These gorgeous tropical elephant ears put on a great show for four to six months each year in our zone. Deer and rabbits don’t touch them, and they rarely have any problem with insects or disease. Our muggy, hot summers suit them fine. They love, and need, heat to thrive.

Any temperate zone gardener who wants to grow them, needs to also plan for their winter dormancy. And each plant’s needs are unique. Some Colocasia might be hardy north to Zone 6. A few Alocasia cultivars are hardy to zone 7b or 8, but most require zone 9 to remain outdoors in the winter. Caladiums want a lot more warmth, and prefer Zone 10. Caladiums can rot in wet soil below 60F.

Hardy Begonias are naturalizing in this lively bed transitioning to summer. I planted the Caladiums about a month ago, and they have slowly begun to grow. See also fading daffodil leaves, Japanese painted ferns, Arum Italicum, and creeping Jenny.

If you don’t have space to store elephant ears over winter, you can still grow them as annuals, of course. That requires a bit of an investment if you like them a lot, and want to fill your garden!

My favorite source for Colocasia and Alocasia elephant ears, Brent and Becky’s Bulbs, has put all of their summer bulbs, including Caladium tubers, on clearance now through Monday, June 5. This is a good time to try something new, if you’re curious about how these beautiful plants would perform in your own garden, because all these plants are half off their usual price. The Colocasia and Alocasia plants they’re selling now come straight to you from their greenhouses.

Alocasia ‘Sarian’ emerged over the weekend. This is a very welcome sight!

I order our Caladiums direct from the grower at Classic Caladiums in Avon Park, Florida (see below). There is still plenty of time for you to grow these from tubers this summer, as long as your summer nights will be mostly above 60F for a couple of months. Potted Caladiums make nice houseplants, too, when autumn chills return. (Brent and Becky’s Bulbs buy their Caladiums from Classic Caladiums, too. You will find a much larger selection when you buy direct from the grower. Classic Caladiums sells to both wholesale and retail customers.)

Slow to grow, this year, but so worth the wait. We are always fascinated while watching our elephant ears grow each year, filling our garden with their huge, luscious leaves. Once they get growing, they grow so fast you can see the difference sometimes from morning to afternoon!

Our summer officially begins today. Now we can settle in to watch the annual spectacle unfold.

Woodland Gnome 2017

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Is your region too cool for tropical Elephant Ears? Get a similar effect with rhubarb. This rhubarb ‘Victoria,’ in its second year, emerges in early spring. Leaves have the same basic size and shape as Alocasia leaves without the shiny texture. There are a number of ornamental rhubarbs available, some of them quite large. These are easy to grow, perennial north into Canada, and grow into a beautiful focal point in the garden.

23Mar / 2017

Every Shade of Green

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Every shade of green glows alive.

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Sunlit, sun kissed;

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Infused with energy by Sol;

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Incorporating light into leaf.

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Expanding, moment to moment.

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Chlorophyll: The Force Multiplier.

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Every shade of green, growing,

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Fueling root and stem,

Flower and seed.

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Earth magic making buds burst and expand;

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An ancient pattern filled, again and again.

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Alchemy of life,

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How many shades?

How many shapes?

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Infinite beauty,

Green.

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Woodland Gnome 2017

For the Daily Post’s

Weekly Photo Challenge: Green

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26Feb / 2017

Sunday Dinner: Time

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“How did it get so late so soon?”

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Theodor Seuss Geisel

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Hyacinth

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“You can’t stop time.

You can’t capture light.

You can only turn your face up

and let it rain down.”

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Kim Edwards

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“They say I’m old-fashioned,

and live in the past,

but sometimes I think progress

progresses too fast!”

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Theodor Seuss Geisel

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Clematis

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“You may delay, but time will not.”

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Benjamin Franklin

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“It’s being here now that’s important.

There’s no past and there’s no future.

Time is a very misleading thing.

All there is ever, is the now.

We can gain experience from the past,

but we can’t relive it;

and we can hope for the future,

but we don’t know if there is one.”

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George Harrison

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Narcissus

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“I’m wishing he could see that music lives.

Forever. That it’s stronger than death.

Stronger than time.

And that its strength holds you together

when nothing else can.”

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Jennifer Donnelly

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Magnolia liliflora

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“The years teach much the days never know.”

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Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Hydrangea macrophylla

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“Don’t waste your time with explanations:

people only hear what they want to hear.”

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Paulo Coelho

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Photos by Woodland Gnome Today in 2017

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22Feb / 2016

February Tapestry

February 21, 2016 spring 003

Are you wandering around your garden, looking for signs of spring, too?

We keep an eye on the progress of bulbs and look for the first signs of growth on perennials. The garden has begun to awaken from its short winter’s nap!

These gorgeous leaves caught my lens, yesterday. Do you know them?

February 21, 2016 spring 007

Woodland Gnome 2016

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February 21, 2016 spring 013

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30Dec / 2015

Wednesday Vignettes: Magical Green

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Colour is my day-long obsession, joy and torment.

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Claude Monet

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“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”

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Ralph Waldo Emerson

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“It is good to love many things,

for therein lies the true strength,

and whosoever loves much performs much,

and can accomplish much,

and what is done in love is well done.”

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Vincent van Gogh

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“The purest and most thoughtful minds

are those which love color the most.”

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John Ruskin

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“You don’t see something

until you have the right metaphor

to let you perceive it”

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James Gleick

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“It’s on the strength of observation

and reflection

that one finds a way.

So we must dig and delve unceasingly.”

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Claude Monet

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“Art and love are the same thing:

It’s the process of seeing yourself

in things that are not you.”

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Chuck Klosterman

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“The most beautiful experience we can have

is the mysterious.

It is the fundamental emotion

that stands at the cradle of true art and true science.”

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Albert Einstein

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Photos by Woodland Gnome 2015

December 28, 2015 green 024

14Dec / 2015

A Colonial Winter Garden

Those fierce souls who founded our nation knew the importance of taking care of business. And their business always included raising food for their own family’s table.

Our country was founded by serious gardeners. Even luminaries such as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington maintained gardens, tended orchards, had fields of crops to use and sell, and raised those animals needed to keep meat on the table. Although they, and others of their class kept slaves in those days; they still took a very active hands-on interest in their garden.

Colonial Williamsburg maintains many gardens, but this remains my favorite. It is a very well maintained colonial vegetable garden tended in the 18th Century style.

It looks even more lush this December than usual. But that is likely due to our fair weather these last few months. It is a pleasing mix of herbs, flowers and vegetables.

Fruit trees may be found around the edges. There are vegetables growing from tiny seedling up to ready to harvest cabbages and collards.

These vegetables are used in the CW kitchens. They are lovingly tended up to the moment they are authentically prepared and gratefully consumed.

We strolled down Duke of Gloucester Street on Sunday to enjoy the ingenious Christmas wreathes. But as you might guess, I was distracted for quite a while by the garden.

It was a grey day, completely overcast and damp. A few drops spritzled as we were leaving. But it was warm and comfortable; a great day to enjoy the wreathes and seasonal decorations on every building.

I’ll share a few with you each day for the next few days.

I’ve not yet made any wreathes myself, this year.

But there is still time before Christmas Eve, and a dear friend gifted me with a bucket of Magnolia branches later Sunday afternoon. We used some of the Magnolia while decorating for a community luncheon we’re hosting tomorrow.

And yes, there is a vase. I just haven’t photographed it, yet!

Evergreen Magnolia is one of my favorite native plants. They grow wild here in Virginia, and my friend has a wild seedling grown large in her garden.

You’ll see lots of Magnolia used at Colonial Williamsburg in their holiday decorations. It has wonderful color and holds up for the several weeks of our festivities. One can’t eat it, but it decorates many holiday dinner tables and sideboards. We spread it liberally around our buffet table and the beverage tables for tomorrow’s gathering.

Which in a round about way brings us back to my neglect of wreathes this season. Our front doors are graced with old ones from ‘the wreath collection’ which hangs in our garage at the moment. They are fine from a distance, with red silk roses and moss on a grapevine base.

And I just may recycle the Magnolia leaves off the buffet table into a stunning garland to hang round the front doors this year. Southern Living Magazine has any number of fine projects featuring Magnolia leaves this December.

If you are a Virginia neighbor, you might have been admiring the December issue right along with me.

It still all comes down to ‘taking care of business’ for our family and our community.

As modern as our lives might feel at times, our foundation remains in hearth and home; friendship and family; good food and hands-on self sufficiency. It is part of our heritage not just as Virginians or Americans; it is part of our human heritage and a fundamental value around the world.

May you take time for those things which bring you real joy this holiday season. And may you take care of business such that you assure yourself and your loved ones of a very Happy New Year, too.