Blossom VII

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“If patterns exist in our seemingly patternless lives —

and they do —

then the law of harmony insists

that the most harmonious of all patterns,

circles within circles,

will most often assert itself.”

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Dean Koontz

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Photos by Woodland Gnome 2016

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“What we call chaos

is just patterns we haven’t recognized.

What we call random

is just patterns we can’t decipher.”

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Chuck Palahniuk

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Blossom I

Blossom II

Blossom III

Blossom IV

Blossom V

Blossom VI

Blossom VIII

 

Color Bombs

Tuberous Begonia opening its first blooms of the season.

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It is high summer, muggy and hot.  The sun is already intense, climbing rapidly through the morning sky as I head out to our garden on the deck, where an eclectic family of Begonias and ferns, vines, Coleus, Fuschia, herbs and Petunias live.

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A volunter ornamental pepper grows up through bright Petunias in a large pot on our deck.

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We keep our tasty summer annuals and tender perennials growing here, well out of reach of rabbits and deer.

At least they survive in this partially shaded and sheltered place, but they still reveal signs of nibbling from those anonymous insects who visit them when we’re not watching.

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A dark leaved Tuberous Begonia shares a pot with Oxalis.

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We don’t spray them with anything to keep the insects away.  We water, feed, and shift them about from sun to shade with the weather.

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Sweet potato vine grows here with a Coleus cutting.

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Have you noticed the intensity of the sun?

You can see it in these photos, staged in the morning shade of our tall Dogwood trees.  You can feel it as soon as the sun’s rays reach around the sheltering shade to touch you.

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Burned  and yellowed leaves show the ravages of too much sun on tender plants, left a few inches shy of the shade they crave.

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The ultimtate Color Bomb on our deck this summer must be this combination of Petunias with Verbena and sweet potato vines growing beneath an ornamental pepper and a bright Coleus in full sun.

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Some may call these ‘color bombs,’ but we enjoy them in the privacy of our back deck.

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Hosta ‘Lemon Lime’ growing with a cane Begonia.

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The hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees enjoy them, too.  We can enjoy their approach even when we’ve locked ourselves inside, away from the day’s muggy heat.

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Begonia Rex

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Our cat slips out mornings and evenings to recline among them, watching the squirrels and birds in our surrounding trees.

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We offer enough nectar rich flowers to keep the hummingbirds and pollinators interested.

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An eclectic collection at worst; a laboratory for growing out new plants, a safe place to propagate and grow on tiny starts at best.

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Do you know this lovely Begonia? I seek it out each summer, after finding it for the first time in a farmer’s market in the early 1980’s. I was so happy to find a tiny start this spring and am growing it out on the deck.

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Our tree-top deck remains a special place year round, but especially on these hottest days of summer.

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Begonia, ‘Griffin’

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Woodland Gnome 2015

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Mix It Up

Gladiolus

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Yesterday evening I eavesdropped on a conversation in another garden blogger’s comments about the use of annuals and hanging baskets.

I was interested to hear the reasons why some gardeners don’t want to grow flowery annuals.  Most cited the time consuming commitment to water, deadhead, fertilize and prune the plants.

The term ‘color bombs’ was used by one observant gardener.

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Petunias

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Another cited the resources wasted to cultivate annuals, and the expense of replacing them each season.

Everything they observed is true. 

And yes, many commercially available annual hanging baskets are sometimes constructed with little attention to color scheme.  They are mass produced for a particular market.

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But I still like many annuals.  Several springs ago, I was given one of these ‘color bomb’ annual combinations as a birthday gift.

Keeping my nose in check, I accepted it with the love with which it was given, and transferred the plants out of their plastic nursery pot and into a 12″ hanging basket.  I hung it out on our  deck among our other baskets and waited to see what would happen.

Well, from a meager beginning, those plants took off and bloomed their hearts out all summer.  They got lots of traffic from our bees, too.  I was actually a little sad when frost crushed most of the flowers.  A Verbena like vining plant, with lovely lavender flowers, actually survived nearly until winter.

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Ajuga and Sedum, perennials, with tender perennial scented Pelargonium.

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I never begrudge a little sprinkle of Osmocote or sip of fish emulsion during the growing season.  A small price to pay for lovely flowers.  We’re blessed to live in an area without water shortages and abundant summer rains.  Summer flowers remain an affordable luxury.

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Rose scented Pelargonium.

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Beyond the economics and the aesthetics, though, I sense a more subtle issue.

At some point many of us gardeners want something different.  We want to branch out beyond the commonplace/easy to find and grow plants, to something a bit more unusual and, maybe, a bit more esoteric.

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Native pitcher plants

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I find myself walking past rows of flats, nose somewhat elevated maybe, searching for that one particular genus or cultivar.

A quick, dismissive glance at the orange and brown Marigolds or the red Vinca and I’m moving on, in search of something else.  I ignore perfectly pretty pots of yellow daylily plants in pursuit of that special Coleus or particular fern.

But it’s not that Marigolds themselves are a problem.  When creamy white ones finally showed up at the garden center, I bought half a dozen.   I’ve added a few soft lavender Vinca plants amongst some herbs.

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Coleus

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I’ll buy purple Basil or Thai Basil, but rarely the standard green cultivars.  I search out unusual leaves, odd flowers, and glorious texture, when collecting plants for our garden.  I enjoy variegated foliage and sumptuously scented flowers.

We can weave beautiful living tapestries of color and form in our gardens.  But this often means seeking out a broader palette of plants than the common summer annuals offered each spring.

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Purple Opal Basil

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The individual plants may not even be that spectacular.  It is the effect they create as they grow together with their companions in the pot or bed.

It is the wonderful effect perennials create as they establish and spread; eating up garden space in their exuberance.  One mass against another, with subtle contrasts of color and shape create the garden magic.  I believe this was the point of this “Wednesday Vignettes” post, and I heartily agree.

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Beauty is where we choose to notice it.  Each of us has a unique aesthetic.  Our ideal of what is beautiful may contrast sharply with another’s, and that is just fine.  We plant our gardens for our own purposes and for our own pleasure.

While some of my friends enjoy their lawn and shrubs in shades of green, I plant outrageously bright Cannas and Hibiscus.  Some may walk past my garden and shudder to themselves at the exuberance.

Clouds of cat mint billow from my beds this week, punctuated with bright Gladiolius blossoms, a living gift from a dear friend.

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Colocasia with Cannas

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And, on the back deck, visible only to those friends invited inside; grow my hanging baskets of annual Petunia and Geraniums.  There are Fuschias, too; and a vivid red flowered Begonia I was given at Mother’s Day.

Color bombs all, we stand and admire them every single day. 

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My Mother’s Day Begonia

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Our little hummers dart from one to the next sipping their warm nectar.  Butterflies stop by the potted Basil, we listen for the tell-tale hum of visiting bees.

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Catmint in the stump garden attracts these beautiful bees.

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I still mix it up, when planting for the season.  I’m in pursuit of that magical combination of beauty and form, fragrance, utility and magnetic attraction to every butterfly and hummingbird in the county.

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Woodland Gnome 2015

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Autumn ‘Brilliance’ fern with Hellebores

 

 

 

 

In A Vase Last Friday

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We enjoyed this vase of flowers last Friday evening; and Saturday morning, my beloved computer refused to boot.

That is the short version of the story.  The computer came home with us this evening, and we are getting re-acquaited.  Let’s just say nothing works quite like it did.  AND none of my usual websites, not even WordPress, have opened properly on the first try… or even on the third.

It is a mystery what happened to all of my settings over the past several days during the ‘diagnostics.’

I’ve spent the evening finding workarounds, looking up passwords, assuring the browsers that my websites are safe places to visit, and desperately clicking links to try to get online life back to normal.

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I would like to re-boot this story back to Friday, when I had such an interesting time gathering these flowers for the vase.  The dark purple leaves and flowers are Basil.

This beautiful purple Basil grows in a huge pot on our deck.  I cut it in late afternoon, and found bees still pursuing the flowers as I cut and dunked the stems into a tall glass of water.  I had to shoo them before heading back inside.

In fact everything in this little vase, with the possible exception of the roses, feeds our pollinators.  There is Kent’s Beauty ornamental Oregano and bronze Fennel, also loved by bees and butterflies, tucked in with the Basil and roses.

Gathering this bouquet reminded me that we can all plant for the pollinators, even in tight circumstances.  If we only have room for a pot or two on a landing or balcony, we still can join the effort to support these beautiful and important creatures.

I remember vividly my days living in apartments and condos, with no garden to call my own.  But somehow I always managed at least a pot or a hanging basket.  Some might use the term obsessed, but flowers bring me joy.

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There is still plenty of time to purchase summer herbs and flowers, if you would like to plant a pot for the pollinators in your neighborhood.  Most of these plants have gone on sale now and are already in bloom.  Some are quick to germinate from seed.

You will have greater success if you plant several plants together in the largest pot your circumstances allow.  It is easier to manage the soil, and you get a nicer effect in a pot of at least 20″ diameter.

Here is a short list of plants you might like to try this summer to draw in bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other pollinating insects.  These plants enjoy full sun, but most will grow with at least six hours of direct sun each day.  You will be amazed and delighted how much life gathers to enjoy your flowers.

HERBS

Basil, Thyme, Sage, Germander, Mint, Oregano, Fennel, Dill, Lavender, scented Pelargonium, Hyssop, Nasturtium and Lemon Balm.

ANNUALS and  TENDER PERENNIALS

Fuschias, Pelargoniums and Geraniums, Lantana, Petunias, Begonias, Calibrachoas, Zinnias, Coleus flowers, Salvias and Angelonia.

Any combination of these herbs and flowering plants will bring beauty to your space, and will help support nectar loving insects.  Many will produce seeds for birds to enjoy, as well.  You will often see goldfinches eating Basil and Zinnia seeds, for instance.

Whether in a pot, or in a vase, these flowers offer us delicious scents, saturated color, and elegant form.  I hope you are enjoying all the beauty summer offers us.

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Woodland Gnome 2015

Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day: June

Our overwintered geranium basket has finally come into beautiful bloom.

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Carol Michel, an horticulturalist and Indiana garden writer, sponsors a wonderful meme called “Garden Bloggers Bloom Day” on the 15th of each month from her blog, “May Dreams Gardens.”

I dipped in for a visit last evening. What a wonderful way to share our gardens with one another!

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I enjoyed hopping around from garden blogger to garden blogger seeing what is in bloom.  Here is another opportunity to visit gardens and gardeners not only around the country, but around the planet, from the comfort of one’s armchair.

After a long hot day of deadheading and weeding, what a treat to enjoy what is blooming in others’ gardens!   Sadly, I wasn’t doing either again today; too hot again.  But that is beside the point, isn’t it?

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Our Allium flowers remain popular with the insects. These from onion sets planted last year to protect other things growing in our stump garden.

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I finally suited up and ducked outside  this evening, once the sun committed to setting, admiring the flowers filling our garden tonight.  I’ve been looking forward to doing this all day.

Actually, my mind is spinning with gardening “to-do’s” which have gone undone.  Maybe tomorrow, when it’s cooler?

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The Foxglove has given us several weeks of bloom, and is finally winding down. Considering how frozen it looked in March, I’ve been delighted with its performance.

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April, May and June bring rapid change in our garden as spring perennials burst into bloom and fade.  As much as I try to plan color to last the entire season, mid-April to early June remain a high point for us.

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Finally, at this point in June, we begin to see the flowering perennials, annuals and shrubs with staying power.  These same plants will bloom nearly continuously for the next three to four months; many until frost.

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This has been a week of firsts.  Our first Canna lilies bloomed; our first day lily and  our first Echinacea flowers opened; and our first Rose of Sharon shrubs broke into bloom today.

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I love this time of year when the planning and labor of the last many months come to fruition!

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Long time gardeners understand that a different garden grows in each passing season.  Last year’s lovely shrub might have died over winter.  Last year’s small new perennial has its roots and takes over the bed this year.  Things grow bigger and spread.  Beds fill in, or fill with unanticipated weeds.  The process of growing a garden remains perennially dynamic.

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We are celebrating our daylilies this year.  We celebrate them, because they have actually bloomed.  Although many grow in our garden, most years the deer have grazed them before a single blossom opened.  Last year our Echinacea were grazed early on and our only flowers came late, on stunted plants.

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The Canna roots we planted in 2013 are vigorously spreading now.  They look naturalized.

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The few small Colocasia starts from last season also multiplied over winter, or died.  We lost a few varieties, but C. “Pink China” has thrived and still needs more dividing.

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We’ve started several  new garden areas this summer, and our collection of pitcher plants has grown. We purchased a pot of our native yellow pitcher plant, Sarracenia flava, from Alan Wubbels at Forest Lane Botanicals several weeks ago for our new bog garden.  They offer an interesting variety of pitcher plants, Iris, and other marginal plants at their center in York County.

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It is hard to tell the bloom from the bright pitchers, which actually are leaves.  These flowers remind me a child’s drawing of a fantasy flower.

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We also choose to change things up from year to year.  Ivy geraniums grow this year in a series of pots where Basil has grown in the past.  Last year’s crop disappointed me, so I chose color over flavor this season.

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This Lantana returned for its fourth season in our garden.

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Many of our lovely Lantana didn’t make it this past winter.  I’ve replaced some of  them with new plants, and planted other things where some Lantana once grew.

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We finally planted a few Penta plants last week, raised by the Patton family at Homestead Garden Center. We plant a few of these each summer for the hummingbirds.  The Pattons raise these lovely annuals from seed each spring in several different colors.

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Both this ornamental pepper, and the Petunia growing with it, came up as volunteers from seeds dropped by last year’s annuals in pots.

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The Zinnias I planted from seed in early May have not come in as expected.  Re-planting is on that long “to-do” list.  I would love to have Zinnias to cut for vases in August.

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There are other flowers coming in down in the lower garden, and on the patio and deck.  Perhaps we’ll visit other areas to see what is blooming in July.  Walking around the garden, morning and evening, always brings surprises.

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One of the perennial Geraniums I planted in spring, growing with dusty miller, which survives winter here.

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We watch for new flowers opening, and for the shy appearance of our wild companions.  One of our beautiful golden box turtles allowed me to take his portrait this evening as he strolled across the lawn.  We are glad the turtles enjoy living in the garden, and always thank them for allowing us to see them.

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I appreciate Carol’s encouragement to document what is blooming in the garden each month, and to share those photos with others.  I enjoy learning from other gardeners’ experiences, and always enjoy seeing how plants are used by others.

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I hope you will enjoy this quick look at some of what is in bloom in our forest garden today. 

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Parsley is ready to bloom with the geraniums near our back steps.

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Woodland Gnome 2015

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Switching It Up

This planting needs some  ‘switching up’ to renew it for summer.  I went to work last night removing all of the plants and finding new spots for them to grow.

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When the weather finally warms up, late April or early May, those winter and early spring pots we planted so lovingly last autumn just don’t look so good anymore.

Between plants which never quite recovered from winter’s bite, and early season annuals gasping in the heat; there comes a day when you really look at a pot and say to yourself, “Enough! Time for a change.”

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“Enough!” Monday afternoon this poor planting looked so ragged I was determined to switch it out for something fresh.

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That day was yesterday for the large hypertufa tub installed on the ‘pedastal’ in our ‘stump garden’ last spring.

I like the idea of ‘four season’ pots which drift from season to season in the garden with only minor adjustments.  While that is an nice idea, it doesn’t always work out as planned.

The original Dusty Miller planted in this pot last spring lived, but was seriously burned by the cold.  I’ve moved it out of the pot now to a less conspicuous place in the garden where it can continue growing.

The Violas, still blooming, will not last much longer in full sun.  They have been moved to a bed in partial shade.  The snaps could have grown on here for quite a while.  Planted a few months ago in earliest spring, they often make it through our winters.  I’ve moved them to a bed in full sun where they should perform well this summer.

After a full year of watching this pot, I decided to populate it with plants which thrive in hot and often dry conditions.  I want a large and showy display which won’t need regular care of any sort to continue looking great.  Mission impossible?

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May 25, 2014, before the Brugmansia gained much height.

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The original planting last summer included Coleus, Dusty Miller, a Brugmansia, some golden Sedum and Creeping Jenny.  I expected the Brugmansia to grow several feet and bloom with huge pendulous flowers in late summer.

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July 18, 2014

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Although it grew, it never performed as expected.  Everything else in the pot looked great all summer, but required nearly daily watering to avoid the late afternoon wilts.

So I’ve chosen a new group of plants this summer in hopes of an even more vibrant display, even on those days when I don’t have the opportunity to water this trough.

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The headliner is a pink Mulla Mulla, Ptilotus exaltatus ‘Joey,’ which will grow to 15″ in full sun.  This tender perennial (Zone 9) loves neutral to chalky soil with sharp drainage.  Beside the Mulla Mulla grows a very large leaved variety of culinary Sage.  Sage thrives in full sun and well drained, even rocky soil.

There is a very subdued palette of color in the pot this year, moderated by two fresh new Dusty Miller plants.  Only a recent fan of Dusty Miller, I like the lacy texture of their leaves and their ability to withstand drought and sun.  I expect texture and scale to make this planting interesting as the season unfolds.

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This heat tolerant Verbena will fill an area almost two feet in diameter.

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The only concession to soft trailing flowers comes from the Lanai Twister Purple Improved Verbena draping over one end of the pot.  I hope it will spread to soften the entire top of the ‘pedestal.’

Finally, I added several clumps of the golden Sedum back into the pot since it obviously thrives here year round and makes a nice pop of chartreuse against the silvery foliage and lavender flowers.  The entire pot is mulched in fine, light colored pea gravel.

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The newly planted pot on its pedestal, this evening just before sunset. All of these newly planted varieties will grow quite large over the summer with very little attention.

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The Creeping Jenny and remaining Sedum removed from the pot is already earmarked for use in a new bed I’m ready to construct tomorrow.  It will grow alongside Oxalis triangularis in the back garden.

This is my first experience growing Ptilotus exaltatus and the Lanai Twister hybrids of Verbena.  It is good to try new things each year, and the Mulla Mulla is known as a good flower for cutting and for drying.  I am looking forward to growing them on and seeing how these varieties grow together over the coming months.

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I plant to “switch up” this pot tomorrow adding Salvia, Ivy Geraniums, and maybe even some Basil. The tiny plant on the far right is a “Kent’s Beauty” Oregano, which survived the winter.  The bare stump is from the Brugmansia I tried to over-winter outside.

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There are still lots of pots with actively growing Violas around the garden.  I’ll be moving them to shady spots this week as I continue re-planting containers for summer.  I purposely waited this long both to enjoy them, and to give time for some of the dormant plants in the same pots to awaken.  While patience is a virtue, at some point patience creeps into procrastination.

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I’ve collected several trays of new plants this week, and I’m ready to work with them over the next few days.  There are lots of geraniums this year, a fair lot of Salvias, a good assortment of fragrant Basils, a few more Dusty Miller plants, now a half-dozen large white Marigold plants I’ve been waiting for the Patton family to offer for sale at their Homestead Garden Center near Toano.  They grow the marigolds, and many other annuals, organically in their own greenhouse each spring. If one has patience to wait for them; healthier, more affordable plants simply cannot be found in this area.

Planting pots for the coming season, or switching up established pots, requires the vision, energy and creativity needed for all of the other art forms.  Like painting a canvas, all of the elements have to come together harmoniously.  But as in music, time is the essential element.  Only as plants grow and weave themselves together does the gardener’s vision materialize.

Whether it takes weeks or years, our gardens remain works in progress.

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May 6, 2014

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Woodland Gnome 2015

 

One Word Photo Challenge: Rainbow

The spectrum of visible life dances in different wavelengths, and at different speeds, on its journey to our eyes.

All clear light at Source, its dance leads it through refraction, and against reflection, giving us the kaleidoscopic illusion of hundreds of colors when the light finally reaches us.

 

Living plants do wonderful things to light as they absorb this bit, reflect that, and allow the rest to pass right through leaf and petal in a warm glow of color.

Sometimes their colors appear as a waxy shine, other times deep and velvety.  Sometimes rough and dull.

Variation upon variation is born to the endless delight of gardening addicts everywhere.

As we surround ourselves with  leafy greenness, we seek the other colors of the rainbow in golden yellow stamens; red leaves; orange fruits and petals; and blue and violet flowers.

Every band of the rainbow dances in the garden.

And this grouping of pots supports them all.

Words and Photos by Woodland Gnome 2014

With appreciation to Jennifer Nichole Wells for her One Word Photo Challenge:  Rainbow

 

Spring Annuals

Petunia

Now although my favorite plant catalog has as its motto, “Friends don’t let friends buy annuals;”  we have been shopping for annuals this month.

I love the little starts, already blooming themselves silly, in bright fresh colors.

Salvia and Ageratum

Annuals are the “over-achievers” of the plant kingdom, living their short lives with great beauty and gusto!

annual Ageratum

Choosing annuals each year is a little like re-painting a room, or choosing a new comforter for an old bed.  It is  an easy way to “redecorate” the patio and the deck with a fresh palette of color in pots and baskets.

So long as they remain well fed and watered, they will bloom from now until frost kills them in late autumn.

On our last two trips to our favorite Homestead Garden Center, owner Joel Patton has been there, and has most generously given me some little annuals to grow out and trial for him.  So I will definitely be showing you those little plants as the season progresses.

Petunias and Bacopa on the right, one of the plants given to me to trial

The Patton family grow many of the herbs, annuals, and perennials they offer at their nursery in far western James City County.  Everything is organically and loving grown, and absolutely fresh and healthy.

The selection is just mind-boggling at this time of the year, and the Pattons stock cultivars you can not find anywhere else in the area.

And so my great fun at the moment is to construct fresh arrangements of annuals and hang them out onto the empty hooks on the deck, celebrating a new season of growth.

Such amazing colors surrounding us now that the weather has warmed!  I have a  tired back, but a happy heart!

Photos by Woodland Gnome, 2014