Six on Saturday: Texture and Form

Athyrium nipponicum ‘Pictum’

~

A bright flash of darting yellow caught our eye this morning as we were backing out of the drive.  The first two goldfinches of the season, startled by our movement, took off and flew across the garden to a low branch, where they could observe us in safety.

Color excites.  It attracts our attention and directs our eye from one colorful thing to the next.  We were delighted to notice the goldfinches, and my eye lingered on the royal purple panicles of Buddleia just opened and white calla lily blossoms shining in the morning sunlight.

~

Zantedeschia began to bloom this week in a sea of native perennials.

~

But too much color, especially if the color mix is random and uncoordinated, sometimes makes us feel a little anxious.   We might feel annoyed or turn away if it doesn’t feel harmonious.  We might need to buffer bright flowers within a frame of green to appreciate them.

And sometimes, I enjoy the restful and calming beauty wrought more of texture than of color.  There are uncounted shades of green.  Especially if one includes the blends of grey-green, silver, chartreuse green, blue-green, and green tinged white.

~

~

When one begins to notice the intricate shapes of green leaves, their posture on a stem, and their degree of matte or shiny finish; wonderful compositions grow together from these living brush strokes.  Ferns of all sizes, textures and shades serve as both composition and frame.

I have been seeking out beautiful leaves lately.  I found a new Artemesia ‘Sea Salt’ this week, and am trying it in both a hanging basket and in a rock garden.  Artemesia likes it hot and dry, thrives in full sun and needs little attention.  This one is low growing, and I hope it won’t get washed out in our summer rain.  Its leaves are silvery white.

So many of our foliage plants like ferns and Hosta, Caladiums and Heuchera want shade, that it is good to find interesting foliage plants for full sun.  Calla lily leaves like the sun, and won’t end up chewed by caterpillars the way our Cannas often do.  Stachys is another great silvery grey leaf that thrives in bright parts of the garden.

~

Gardenia shrubs bloom in full to part sun.

~

I planted a basket this week for a shady spot, with just an emerald green shield fern in the center, and silvery Dichondra around the edges.  I expect it to be stunning as the Dichondra fills in and drapes over the basket’s sides.  I have some little Begonia semperflorens stems rooting in water, and I’m debating whether to add them around the fern, or just leave the basket in shades of green.  The flowers are a soft pink and the leaves variegated chartreuse and light green.  Too much?

~

~

A little bright color cheers us up.  But all things in moderation, right?  This summer I am enjoying the calmer corners of our garden, those bits that invite close observation to fully appreciate their beauty.

The flowers will come and go, as they  always do.  But the tapestry woven by these interesting leaves will last all season.

~

~

Woodland Gnome 2020

Visit Illuminations, for a daily photo of something beautiful.

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

 

Sunday Dinner: Resilience

~

“A good half of the art of living

is resilience.”

.

Alain de Botton

~

~

“No matter how you define success,

you will need to be resilient,

empowered, authentic,

and limber to get there.”

.

Joanie Connell

~

~

“I will not be another flower,

picked for my beauty and left to die.

I will be wild,

difficult to find,

and impossible to forget.”

.

Erin Van Vuren

~

~

“Never say that you can’t do something,

or that something seems impossible,

or that something can’t be done,

no matter how discouraging

or harrowing it may be;

human beings are limited only

by what we allow ourselves to be limited by:

our own minds.

We are each the masters of our own reality;

when we become self-aware to this:

absolutely anything in the world is possible.

Master yourself,

and become king of the world around you.

Let no odds, chastisement, exile,

doubt, fear, or ANY mental virii

prevent you from accomplishing your dreams.

Never be a victim of life;

be it’s conqueror.”

.

Mike Norton

~

~

“to be successful,

you have to be out there,

you have to hit the ground running”

.

Richard Branson

~

~

“One’s doing well

if age improves even slightly

one’s capacity to hold on to that vital truism:

“This too shall pass.”

.

Alain de Botton

~

~

“In the face of adversity,

we have a choice.
We can be bitter, or we can be better.

Those words are my North Star.”

.

Caryn Sullivan

~

~

Photos by Woodland Gnome 2019

~

~

“Grief and resilience live together.”
.

Michelle Obama

~

~

“On the other side of a storm

is the strength

that comes from having navigated through it.

Raise your sail and begin.”

.

Gregory S. Williams

~

 

Sunday Dinner: Grow

~      

“Patience is not the ability to wait.

Patience is to be calm no matter what happens,

constantly take action to turn it

to positive growth opportunities,

and have faith to believe

that it will all work out in the end

while you are waiting.”

.

Roy T. Bennett

~

Fennel

~

“When life is sweet,

say thank you and celebrate.

And when life is bitter,

say thank you and grow.”

.

Shauna Niequist

~

~

“I have no right to call myself one who knows.

I was one who seeks, and I still am,

but I no longer seek in the stars or in books;

I’m beginning to hear the teachings

of my blood pulsing within me.

My story isn’t pleasant,

it’s not sweet and harmonious

like the invented stories;

it tastes of folly and bewilderment,

of madness and dream,

like the life of all people

who no longer want to lie to themselves.”

.

Hermann Hesse

~

~

“For a seed to achieve its greatest expression,

it must come completely undone.

The shell cracks, its insides come out

and everything changes.

To someone who doesn’t understand growth,

it would look like complete destruction.”

.

Cynthia Occelli

~

~

Photos by Woodland Gnome 2017

~

~

“There is no beauty in sadness.

No honor in suffering.

No growth in fear. No relief in hate.

It’s just a waste of perfectly good happiness.”

.

Katerina Stoykova Klemer

~

Love and Memory

~

“We are all the pieces of what we remember.

We hold in ourselves the hopes and fears

of those who love us.

As long as there is love and memory,

there is no true loss.”

.

Cassandra Clare

~

~

“Give sorrow words;

the grief that does not speak

knits up the o-er wrought heart

and bids it break.”

.

William Shakespeare

~

~

“His talent was as natural

as the pattern that was made by the dust

on a butterfly’s wings.

At one time he understood it no more

than the butterfly did,

and he did not know when it was brushed or marred.

Later he became conscious of his damaged wings

and of their construction

and he learned to think and could not fly any more

because the love of flight was gone

and he could only remember

when it had been effortless.”

.

Ernest Hemingway

~

~

“Letting go is the lesson.

Letting go is always the lesson.

Have you ever noticed

how much of our agony

is all tied up with craving and loss?”

.

Susan Gordon Lydon

~

~

Photos by Woodland Gnome 2017

~

~

“When those you love die,

the best you can do is honor their spirit

for as long as you live.

You make a commitment

that you’re going to take whatever lesson that person …

was trying to teach you,

and you make it true in your own life…

it’s a positive way

to keep their spirit alive in the world,

by keeping it alive in yourself.”

.

Patrick Swayze

~

 

 

 

Sun Time

~

The sun marks the hours as it passes across our garden.  Ever changing light illuminates a little at a time, leaving all else in shade and shadow. 

~

~

Light dances through the leafy canopy of our forest garden, rays penetrating slowly, coaxing life to organize itself from seed and soil, water and air. 

~

~

It is the fire which enlivens this living alchemy. 

It is the Aten, the first and the last each day;

the one who reveals and conceals. 

~

~

Sunlight is time made visible.

~

~

Photos by Woodland Gnome 2017

.

For the Daily Post’s

Weekly Photo Challenge:  Delta

“share a photograph that signifies transitions and change to you. …  explore the ways in which a single photograph can express time, while only showing us a small portion of any given moment.”

 

Dark Beauty

Zantedeschia ‘Hot Chocolate’

~

Are you drawn to nearly black foliage or flowers when designing your garden?  Many new cultivars have come to the market in recent years sporting very dark shades of purple, burgundy, green and bluish black.

I like them.  My partner doesn’t.

~

~

We were shopping together this spring, and I was ready to buy  a Colocasia ‘Black Coral.’  I must admit that I was seeing the poor little start as I expected it to look in July.  My partner saw the pitiful dark little thing in its plastic nursery pot and didn’t like it at all.  We had words.  And I chose to keep the peace by making a different selection.

~

Colocasia ‘Black Coral’ with coleus, petunias and peach verbena

~

But I always admire dark leaved Colocasias, especially shiny ones like C. ‘Black Coral’ or ‘Black Ripple.’  And I find them stunning when they are planted near chartreuse or burgundy tropical foliage.

~

~

And so when we returned to the shop some weeks later, I asked my partner to trust me, and bought my C. ‘Black Coral.’  Once I planted our little Colocasia in its new blue ceramic pot with a peach verbena, some coleus and purple petunias, it looked completely different.  Once it was planted up with contrasting plants, he liked it, too.

And that is the key, I believe, to using very dark flowers and foliage:  create contrast in the planting.

~

Heuchera ‘Melting Fire’ with Oxalis

~

The Heath’s catalog describes their Zantedeschia ‘Black Star’ this way:  “…this is close to the illusion of shadow…”  Our garden vignettes are composed of light and shadow, form and emptiness.

~

~

As we design with plants, we splash color against a backdrop of green; or perhaps the backdrop of our home or other hardscape.  As we work with colors, it is sometimes energizing to create contrasts as well as harmony.

~

~

And I enjoy the rich dark colors of some leaves and flowers for the beautiful contrasts they create.

~

~

Try mixing these dark plants with clear bright color in nearby foliage and flowers.  I especially like pairing dark foliage with chartreuse or grey.

~

Begonia Rex with fern

~

Create a hot tropical feel by using dark Colocasias with  orange or bright pink flowers.  Harmonize by pairing with foliage or flowers a few shades lighter or brighter.

~

petunias

~

Choosing dark flowers and leaves for your garden needn’t make your garden drab or mournful.  Rather, use these unexpected and unusual plants to energize and excite.

Let them inspire you to create a beautiful space uniquely yours.

~

Colocasia ‘Mojito’

~

Woodland Gnome 2017

~

 

First of June

Bumbly on Verbena bonariensis

~

The first Crepe Myrtle blossoms have opened on median strip trees near our home.  It surprised me to see their pink fluffiness in the upper reaches of these trees which so recently sported only bare branches.

It still feels like witnessing a miracle to watch the annual progression of leaf and blossom, a miracle which still thrills me.

~

Oakleaf Hydrangea, showing the first tint of pink in its blossoms.

~

I was chasing two does out of our garden this afternoon, when I noticed a new soft blueness from the corner of my eye.  Looking more closely, freshly opened mop-head Hydrangea flowers came into focus in the depths of our shrub border.  These were well hidden, out of reach of hungry mouths scavenging for any greenery not lately coated in Repels-All.

The nearby buds of a  R. ‘John Paul II’ were gone.  We’ve had days of rain lately, so no use worrying too much over what’s been nabbed.  We’ve done our best.

~

Our flowering carrots have proven very satisfying.

~

But my day’s ‘to-do’ list is still not done.  I’ll head back out to the garden at dusk to spread what’s left of our bag of Milorganite.  Maybe that will discourage further trespass.

It’s impossible to remain grumpy for long, when in the garden.  For every hoof print or buzzing bitey, there are a dozen newly opened flowers to enjoy.

~

We stopped to enjoy this Zebra Swallowtail feeding on milkweed while in Gloucester yesterday.

~

It is fabulous to watch our summer garden finally unfold.  The first Canna flowers opened today, too, and the first vibrant spikes of Liatris are showing color.  Everywhere I look, there is something new to discover and to enjoy.

~

First Liatris flower from the bulbs we planted this spring.  Pollinators enjoy these, too.  The feast is spread; where are our butterflies?

~

We celebrated this turning towards summer yesterday with a day trip to  Gloucester.  It is a beautiful drive, first of all, along the Colonial Parkway and over the Coleman Bridge.  The York River was alive with small craft.  There’s an active Osprey nest nestled into the bridge’s structure above the control booth, and I always watch for a glimpse of mother or chicks.

We visited at the Bulb Shop and spent a while meditating on the new season’s growth in the Heath’s display gardens.  I’m always studying how they assemble groupings of plants, looking for fresh ideas.

But I was distracted at the Heron Pond, photographing their newly opened water lily blossoms.  There is so much to see, so much to learn, and so much to enjoy.

~

~

Now that their summer stock is marked down by half, I took advantage of the opportunity to try a few new perennials.  I’ll be planting our first ever Kniphofia.  I don’t know how to pronounce it, so we’ll just call them ‘Red Hot Pokers’ and you’ll know what I mean.  This is another perennial I admire growing in huge clumps near the Pacific beaches in Oregon.  Pollinators and butterflies love them , and so I plan to plant a clump in our front garden to see how we like them.

~

Daucus carota

~

Other than moving the remaining Caladiums out to the garden, our spring planting is about finished.  Now comes the joy of it all, as we sit back and enjoy watching everything grow; and enjoy, even more, sharing it with friends who stop by for a leisurely summer-time visit.

~

Calla lily, or Zantedeschia, with Black eyed Susans nearly ready to bloom and starts of Obedient plant given to us by a friend. 

~

Woodland Gnome 2017

.

“Bees do have a smell, you know,

and if they don’t they should,

for their feet are dusted

with spices from a million flowers.”

.

Ray Bradbury

~

Allium

Summer Valentines

~

“You know you’re in love

when you can’t fall asleep

because reality is finally better than your dreams.”
.

Theodor Seuss Geisel

~

~

“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.”

.

William Shakespeare

~

~

“We’re all a little weird.

And life is a little weird.

And when we find someone whose weirdness

is compatible with ours, we join up with them

and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness—

and call it love—true love.”

.

Robert Fulghum

~

~

“I want

To do with you

what spring does

with the cherry trees.”

.

Pablo Neruda

~

~

“Have enough courage to trust love one more time

and always one more time.”

.

Maya Angelou

~

Photos by Woodland Gnome 2017

~

Sunday Dinner: “Just For a Second…”

~

“Sometimes I feel like if you just watch things,

just sit still and let the world exist in front of you –

sometimes I swear that just for a second

time freezes and the world pauses in its tilt.

Just for a second.

And if you somehow found a way to live in that second,

then you would live forever.”

.

Lauren Oliver

~

~

“It is looking at things for a long time

that ripens you and gives you a deeper meaning.”

.

Vincent van Gogh

~

~

Photos by Woodland Gnome 2016

 

Wednesday Vignette: Beginnings

~

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap

but by the seeds that you plant.”

.

Robert Louis Stevenson

 

These aren’t the sort of photos you’ll often see on my pages, but it is a current view of the large pots on our deck.

The ornamental pepper lasted far longer into the early winter than we had any expectation it could last.  And I still am enjoying its bright red seed pods.

And right after taking the photo, I picked a few of the pods and crumbled their seeds into other pots nearby.  We enjoyed a beautiful crop of volunteer pepper plants grown from nature sown seeds last summer.  And so I expect we will again this summer.

You might recognize the baby strawberry plants growing with the pepper in this pot, and there is just the stem of a lemon verbena emerging from a clump of parsley.  Here the remains of one season mingle with the beginnings of next summer’s beauty.

It doesn’t matter to us that it looks a little ragged at the moment.  We choose to see the inherent potential in the soil, the seeds, and those hardy plants prepared to freeze and thaw dozens of times between now and spring.

~

Purple Sage and Fennel share this pot with strawberry, Sedum, and who knows what else?

~

Appreciation, always, to  Anna at Flutter and Hum for hosting the Wednesday Vignette each week.  Please visit her to see a beautiful photo taken after the ice storm which hit Portland, OR.

Woodland Gnome 2016

~

Golden Marjoram covers the soil around baby strawberries and a Viola.

~

“Only those who sow seeds of change

can hope to grow and reap a harvest.”

.

Andrea Goeglein

 ~