Sunday Dinner: In the Shadows

~

“There is strong shadow

where there is much light.”

.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

~

~

“To crave and to have are as like as a thing and its shadow.

For when does a berry break upon the tongue as sweetly

as when one longs to taste it,

and when is the taste refracted

into so many hues and savors of ripeness and earth,

and when do our senses know any thing so utterly

as when we lack it?

And here again is a foreshadowing –

– the world will be made whole.

For to wish for a hand on one’s hair

is all but to feel it.

So whatever we may lose,

very craving gives it back to us again.”

.

Marilynne Robinson

~

~

“One realized all sorts of things.

The value of an illusion, for instance,

and that the shadow

can be more important than the substance.

All sorts of things.”

.

Jean Rhys

~

~

“A garden should make you feel

you’ve entered privileged space –

– a place not just set apart but reverberant –

– and it seems to me that, to achieve this,

the gardener must put some kind of twist

on the existing landscape,

turn its prose into something nearer poetry.”

.

Michael Pollan

~

~

“It was such a pleasure

to sink one’s hands into the warm earth,

to feel at one’s fingertips

the possibilities of the new season.”

.

Kate Morton

~

~

“If you wish to make anything grow,

you must understand it,

and understand it in a very real sense.

‘Green fingers’ are a fact,

and a mystery only to the unpracticed.

But green fingers

are the extensions of a verdant heart.”

.

Russell Page

~

~

“The green thumb is equable

in the face of nature’s uncertainties;

he moves among her mysteries

without feeling the need for control

or explanations or once-and-for-all solutions.

To garden well is to be happy

amid the babble of the objective world,

untroubled by its refusal to be reduced

by our ideas of it,

its indomitable rankness.”

.

Michael Pollan

~

~

“To love a swamp, however,

is to love what is muted and marginal,

what exists in the shadows,

what shoulders its way out of mud

and scurries along the damp edges

of what is most commonly praised.

And sometimes its invisibility is a blessing.

Swamps and bogs are places of transition and wild growth,

breeding grounds,

experimental labs where organisms and ideas

have the luxury of being out of the spotlight,

where the imagination can mutate and mate,

send tendrils into and out of the water.”

.

Barbara Hurd

~

~

Woodland Gnome 2019

~

~

“It is not hard to start a small garden,

all you need is a sapling, a planting pot,

a small bag of soil,

and regular watering.

There you go,

you helped cooling the earth down by one plant.”
.

Noora Ahmed Alsuwaidi

~

Sunday Dinner: Transposition

~

“The divine laws are quite simple –

they state that every ending is the new beginning.

This world isn’t ruled only by two forces –

the Creation and the Destruction.

The third force – Transformation –

the force of Nature, exists too,

and is, in fact, the blend of the other two.”

.

Tamuna Tsertsvadze

~

~

“What transforms this world is — knowledge.

Do you see what I mean? Nothing else

can change anything in this world.

Knowledge alone is capable of transforming the world,

while at the same time leaving it exactly as it is.

When you look at the world with knowledge,

you realize that things are unchangeable

and at the same time are constantly being transformed.”

.

Yukio Mishima

~

~

“Scared and sacred are spelled with the same letters.

Awful proceeds from the same root word as awesome.

Terrify and terrific.

Every negative experience holds the seed of transformation.”

.

Alan Cohen

~

~

“He was trying to find his footing

in a world both familiar and foreign”

.

H.W. Brands

~

~

“Nobody really metamorphoses.

Cinderella is always Cinderella, just in a nicer dress.

The Ugly Duckling was always a swan, just a smaller version.

And I bet the tadpole and the caterpillar

still feel the same, even when they’re jumping and flying,

swimming and floating.

Just like I am now.”

.

Holly Smale

~

~

“Light precedes every transition.

Whether at the end of a tunnel,

through a crack in the door or the flash of an idea,

it is always there,

heralding a new beginning.”

.

Teresa Tsalaky

~

~

Photos by Woodland Gnome 2018

~

~

“We must live in the radiance of tomorrow,

as our ancestors have suggested in their tales.

For what is yet to come tomorrow has possibilities,

and we must think of it, the simplest glimpse

of that possibility of goodness.

That will be our strength.

That has always been our strength.”

.

Ishmael Beah

~

Fabulous Friday: White Butterfly Ginger Lily

~

The very first blossoms on our white butterfly ginger lilies opened yesterday morning.

~

~

Their fragrance is indescribably sweet.  With pure white flowers over a long season,  they are one of the flowers we love most as summer slowly melts into fall.

~

~

Our patch of ginger lily has grown a bit shaded over the years, and I see them leaning out for the sun.  By October they will be at least a foot taller, and covered in white flowers.

The hummingbirds love ginger lily flowers, too, and we’ve even seen hummingbirds feeding on them at dusk.

~

~

These elegant perennials are one of the few ginger plants hardy this far north.  Hedychium coronarium grows in zones 11-7b, so we are right on the northern edge of their range.  Last winter was hard on them, and they were slow to return this summer.  In a good year, and in good sun, they can grow to 7′ high.

We are happy to see them coming into bloom now, and look forward to weeks of their beauty.

~

~

Also blooming for  the  first  time  today is the red spider lily, Lycoris radiata.  After last night’s heavy rains, we expect to find many more stems emerging over the next few days.  These  bulbs  wait  for  a  good  soaking  to  finally  bloom in  late  August  or  September, often  after  a spell of  hot, dry weather.  Which  is  how  they  earn  their  other  common  name, hurricane  lily, when  they  suddenly  appear  after  a  big  storm .

~

~

It is always interesting to watch the garden unfold day by day and week by week.  It is always changing, and there is always something to look forward to as the seasons come and go.

~

~

Woodland Gnome 2018

Fabulous Friday: 

Happiness is Contagious; Let’s Infect One Another

First Ginger Lilies

~

Our first ginger lily of the year began opening a few days ago, wafting its intoxicatingly sweet fragrance across our garden.  These hardy perennials return year after year, growing to over 7 ft high in our garden.

~

~

I remain grateful to our neighbor who offered to let me dig some of these beauties from her garden in the weeks before she moved.  I’d never grown these  before, and simply trusted that we would enjoy them.

We had space for them to spread, and spread they have in the years since.  This part of our garden grows dense and tropical and full of life.

Oh my!  What a treat we look forward to in late summer each year, when our ginger lilies bloom.

Getting reacquainted with their pure white flowers today has made this a Fabulous Friday, indeed.

Woodland Gnome 2017

~

~

“Just remember to say THANK YOU sometimes,

for all of these everyday extraordinary gifts.”
.

Scott Stabile

Fabulous Friday:  Happiness is contagious, so let’s infect one another!

 

 

 

Blossom XIV

~

“Patience is the calm acceptance

that things can happen in a different order

than the one you have in mind.”

.

David G. Allen

~

~

Photos by Woodland Gnome 2016

 

Blossom I

Blossom II

Blossom III

Blossom IV

Blossom V

Blossom VI

Blossom VII

Blossom VIII

Blossom IX

Blossom X

Blossom XI

Blossom XII

Blossom XIV

Blossom V

BlossomVI

Blossom VII

Blossom VIII

Still Vibrantly Blooming: October 15

~

The flowers of late fall and early spring bring us the most pleasure.  That may be because we can actually enjoy our time outside in the garden with them!  It is ‘Goldilocks’ comfortable now  from dawn until dusk, and our enthusiasm for the garden is re-ignited.

~

This area of the front garden gets the most attention these days, as I move shrubs and perennials into these new beds from their pots.

~

We both spent most of yesterday outside.  Knowing that a frost can come now at any time, and that night time temperatures  in the 40’s may come this weekend; our pleasant days and frost free nights may be counted on our fingers… and possibly toes, if we are fortunate!

~

~

I set out yesterday to fill promises made weeks ago to share our Ginger Lilies.

~

Our Butterfly Ginger Lilies fill the air with their sweet perfume.

~

A gardening friend joined me mid-morning and took all she could use of the freshly dug tubers.  A new neighbor, designing his own wildlife habitat along our shared pond, collected a dozen more Ginger Lily starts that afternoon.  My poor shaded, crowded roses are breathing more freely now, with fresh compost around their roots.

~

Another  crowded rose, this one by an exuberant Lantana.

~

I also shared some seedling Beauty Berry shrubs, a few stems of our wonderful hardy Begonia, and some tender ferns.

~

Time for this tender Begonia to come back inside for another winter.

~

The time has come for the “Who will survive the winter?” lottery as we decide which of the tender plants will come in before the nights turn truly cold.  My first instinct always is, “All of them!”  But as we survey available space, reality sets in.  And I begin pressing my friends to adopt a plant for the winter.

~

These Bougainvillea lives in our garage once nights grow cold.

~

I learned several valuable lessons about keeping plants over winter last season.  I learned that a number of plants, like Colocasia, will survive just fine in the low light of our basement.

~

Ivy leaf Geranium

~

I also learned that it is possible to crowd quite a few Geraniums into a plastic tub and keep them all going in the garage.  They kept blooming through Christmas that way.

~

~

The best lesson, however, required an investment in 5 gal. buckets from Walmart.  Who cares if they are covered in camo and deer designs?  They were only $3 each, and each perfectly held one of our hanging baskets through the winter.  With plastic bags under the buckets to protect the floor, I could water the baskets with confidence, knowing they drained into the buckets.

I also purchased those kitschy ‘watering globes’ for the baskets; which work very well by the way.  I could fill the globes once a week or so to keep the baskets hydrated enough to survive our winter.

~

These tender ferns will get moved inside before Sunday evening.

~

Yes, it takes a lot of effort to keep plants over winter, but that effort is also rewarded.  Watching overwintered plants come back into bloom the following season brings a special joy.

~

~

Since I collect so many specialty plants, like Begonias,  I may find a particular cultivar only once in many years.  Losing it means, well, losing it.

There is no guarantee that a freshly rooted version will be waiting on the nursery shelves next spring.

~

This is a tender Salvia and most years doesn’t survive our winter.  Our bumblebees are already feeling the chill in the air.

~

That makes October’s Garden Blogger Bloom Day especially poignant.  My Zone 7 garden has reached its peak for the season.  We will enjoy these beautiful flowers while  they last, knowing that frost will soon transform our garden, once again.

~

Many of our Lantana prove hardy. We expect this new cultivar to survive winter in place out of doors.

~

But I hope to transform it first, digging and moving tender perennials to pots inside, crowding them into their makeshift ‘garage greenhouse’ and planting hardy Violas and Heucheras in their places.

~

These hardy perennials will die back with the frost, but then return in early summer.

~

I’ve also started pots of hardy Cyclamen and Arum lily, which will come outside to the garden next week.  We’re off today to pick up more bulbs for spring flowers, and then I’ll put those compost covered gloves back on; and head back outside for another golden afternoon in our October garden.

~

Goldenrod volunteers in odd places around the garden, adding its golden glow to the changing leaves.

~

Woodland Gnome 2014

~

Camellia sasanqua

All In the Family, or, September Garden

Butterfly Ginger Lily with Black Eyed Susans and Blue Mist flowers

Friends and followers might have noticed that my posts have been few and far between recently.

I’ve not been a faithful visitor to friends’ blogs, and it has taken a bit longer than usual to answer comments.  Even my local friends haven’t gotten much love lately!  I intend to soon do better.

~

~

Lately, there has been a lot on my plate, and most of it good, actually. 

But it hasn’t left much uncommitted time for me in the garden, with the camera, or at the computer.  And it hasn’t left much time for my treasured friends.   All of us who blog for more than a few weeks find ourselves with stretches when our time is committed elsewhere.

But then things slow down, and we find ourselves with enough time to  visit and to construct our usual posts again.

~

~

And then there is the story of my ‘Mother Board.’ 

A seemingly minor computer problem led us to The Geek Squad early in the summer.  They suggested a new Mother Board to solve the problem….    I ordered the part they specified, and let it sit…

~

Echinacea with Catmint

~

I was afraid to take my computer back to them for repair after the major problems I had re-configuring everything last time they worked on it.  It took me a day to realize they hadn’t re-set the correct date and time, and that is why websites wouldn’t load….  The computer was telling websites it was still stuck back in 2008…..

~

Begonia

~

I assume that if you are reading this, you understand the trauma involved.  I use my computer for many hours each day, for many different applications.

Having to recover ALL of the settings, passwords, configurations and files is a tremendous task.  Especially when all of those things were set up bit by bit over the last many years!

I don’t like buying new technology.  Rather, I’d rather keep my comfortable and familiar set up going as long as it fills my needs.

~

Moonflowers

~

And so when I finally brought a few key projects to a close, I decided it was time to hold my breath and let my trusted brother, who has been building and re-configuring computers since he was about 10, install the new Mother Board.

Let’s just say we have been spending a lot of quality time together these last few days.  As of late Saturday evening, when he finally closed everything back up and left, things looked pretty grim.  My camera couldn’t talk to my hard drive.  The printer was a lost waif.  No sound was uttered by the speakers.  And the USB ports were all dead.

~

~

But, the internet worked…. slowly.  And so we limped along until everything crashed yesterday while ‘essential updates’ loaded.

But I was away for the day and not here to even push the button to power off.  My partner was left with that grim task.

~

~

But my beloved brother returned today with his laptop, restoration disks, spare memory chips, tool kit, I Phone and confidence that he wouldn’t leave until my computer was restored.

We tore everything back down to the Mother Board again, reconnected it all; and then began building up again from a new operating system right through all of the little drivers, settings, software downloads and back-ups to get me operational again.

He is simply amazing.  And I learned so much just watching him work.

~

Hardy Begonia

~

And that is why my post tonight is about technology and not gardening.

Sure, I’m sharing garden photos with you that I’ve been taking since Saturday.  We couldn’t download them until late this afternoon.

But there has been no ‘Vase’ today, no ‘Sunday Dinner’ posted while I was traveling yesterday.  And truthfully, there hasn’t been much gardening going on these last few days here, either.

~

Pokeweed

~

But we’ve had cool nights and delicious rain.  Our weather has shifted to feel like the beginning of autumn.

I hope that blogging life will soon come back on schedule, and that I’ll soon be a faithful visitor once again.  At least I was finally able to log back onto WordPress and write a post.

And so for tonight, I’ll hope you enjoy these few photos of our garden after the rain.    All is well in my world, and tomorrow is another day….

~

~

Woodland Gnome 2015

~

 

Sunday Dinner: From A Different Angle

~

“The most fatal illusion is the settled point of view.

Since life is growth and motion,

a fixed point of view kills anybody who has one.”

.

Brooks Atkinson

~

~

“We begin to learn wisely when we’re willing
to see world from other people’s perspective.”

.

Toba Beta

~

~

“The truth is, I can choose to view

tough times as growing times,

I can choose to see aging as seasoning

and I can choose to focus on whatever good

there is to be found in living.

I choose.  After all, it’s my point of view.”

.

Steve Goodier

~

~

“Its all about perspective,

that is how you look at things.

Your own thoughts and outlook defines

whether an experience, event, situation

whatever is good or bad.

And your definition determines your response.”

.

Stella Payton

~

~

Photos by Woodland Gnome 2015

For the Daily Post’s

Weekly Photo Challenge: From Every Angle

~

 

Summer Spreaders

These Black Eyed Susans were growing in another part of the garden when we came here, but we spread the plants around when they emerge each spring. The clumps spread and also self-seed.

~

Is there a large area in your garden which you would like to fill with plants with a minimum investment of cost and effort?

Many of us have large areas to tend, and welcome plants which make themselves at home, colonizing the surrounding real estate.  If we like a single specimen, we might also enjoy a larger area filled with the same plant.

~

Colocasia ‘China Pink’  growing with Canna lily and hardy Hibiscus.

~

One way to accomplish this is by buying multiples of a single plant to begin with; say seven or nine or thirteen pots of the same cultivar, planted together in a large bed.  If your budget doesn’t allow such a splurge very often, consider buying plants which spread themselves around in a fairly short time.

Most of these spreading plants grow radiating stems which creep along just under or just above the ground.

~

A new plant begins to grow from a Colocasia runner.

~

As the stems grow away from the original plant, they send up new sets of leaves some distance away, and root at that spot to form an entirely new plant.

Over time, each of these new plants will send out its own runners.

~

~

The new plants can be cut away and replanted elsewhere or allowed to grow in place, thus expanding the original planting.

Many plants spread themselves in this way, eventually forming dense colonies.  Some begin to crowd themselves out after a year or two and appreciate thinning.  Others may be left alone indefinitely.

~

Clumping Hazel trees form the backdrop to this bed filled with hardy Colocasia and Canna lilies.  The  bed was planted this spring from divisions of established plants.

~

In fact, many of the plants we consider ‘invasive weeds,’ like wild strawberry and crabgrass, spread themselves in this way.  Leaving any part of the plant in the ground when weeding may result in a new plant cropping up in a matter of days.

One of my current favorite plants for covering large areas with interesting foliage is  Colocasia, or Elephant Ear.  These are marginally hardy here in Zone 7.  Some cultivars have returned for us while others have died out over the winter.

~

~

Winter hardiness is an important consideration when choosing a plant to spread.  While a tender plant allows one to easily change one’s mind after the growing season; a hardy plant will most likely become a permanent fixture in the garden.  It pays to do plenty of research into the plant’s needs and habits before making that initial investment to bring it home to the garden.

~

C. Black Magic, growing in 2014, did not survive our winter.

~

Of the several Colocasia cultivars I planted last summer, only two proved hardy in our garden.  The species, C. Esculenta and C. “Pink China” survived our winter.  While the species hasn’t spread beyond its immediate area, C. “Pink China” has spread prolifically this year.  I moved several plants to a new area this spring and they have all sent out runners as well.

One of the cultivars which didn’t survive our winter was C. “Black Runner,” prized for its ability to spread.  Although Plant Delights nursery indicated it is hardy to our Zone 7B, only those plants I kept in pots in the basement survived the winter.

~

Butterfly Ginger Lily comes into bloom in late August in our garden.  It is very fragrant, perfuming this whole area of the garden for more than a month.

~

Three large, spreading plants we enjoy in the summer garden are the Colocasia, Canna lily, and our hardy Butterfly Ginger Lily.

Our first ginger lily, Hedychium coronarium, came as a gift from a neighbor as she prepared to move.  She allowed me to dig roots from her garden and I happily replanted them  in a new bed near our driveway.  These plants die back to the ground each winter, and then grow to around 6′ tall each summer before blooming at the end of the season.  Their fragrant blooms keep coming until a heavy frost.

~

Our first Lycoris of the season blooms beside stems of Ginger Lily. The Ginger Lily create a thick, creeping mat and must be thinned each season to keep them in bounds.

~

I’ve since dug up roots to share and to spread to a wider area of the garden.  The stems grow very densely together and make a good screen for about half of the year.

Most of our Canna lily were also a gift from a gardening friend.  She brought me a grocery sack of roots dug from her garden late in the summer we lost several tall oaks, transforming our very shady garden to nearly full sun.   Although I planted the roots with several feet between each, they have grown to form dense clumps in just two summers.  The named cultivars with more ornamental leaves planted last year have not proven nearly as prolific in their growth.

~

A new bamboo ‘shoot’ emerged far from the bamboo forest, right in front of a fig tree. We cut this down after taking a photo.

~

Bamboo, another spreading giant, already grew at the bottom of our garden when we arrived.  Technically a grass, its rhizomes now cover much of our lower garden.  We are surprised each spring to see where the new stems emerge.  We promptly break these off when they emerge out of boundaries for the bamboo.

~

Bearded Iris spread easily when planted in full sun with moist, reasonable soil. They may be allowed to grow into large clumps, or divided and spread around.  This is I. ‘Rosalie Figge’ which blooms reliable again each fall.  I’ll shortly be digging these to share with our next door neighbor.

~

We enjoy several other hardy perennials which spread over time, although on a much smaller scale than these lovely giants.

German Bearded Iris quickly grow to form large clumps when they are happy with the light and soil.  They prefer full sun and reasonable soil.

~

Iris rhizomes may be divided into small pieces, as long as each piece has at least one root.  They are planted shallowly so the rhizome remains visible above the soil.

~

Iris must be divided every few years as their rhizomes age and play out after a while.  We grow mostly re-blooming Iris, which offer two seasons of blooms each year.

Daylilies will clump and spread as well, as will many species of Rudbeckia.

~

The large fern in the blue pot is my favorite tender lady fern, which spreads its self around generously. Most ferns spread by rhizomes, gradually growing larger and larger each year.

~

Many ferns spread by rhizomes growing at or just below the soil’s surface.  The Japanese ferns and various “walking ferns” are especially good at covering real estate.

~

~

One of my tender lady ferns is especially prolific at spreading it self around a hanging basket or pot and may be divided again and again without harming the original plant.

Many plants sold as ‘ground cover,’ like Ajuga, quickly spread out to carpet large areas of the garden.

~

Ajuga, which forms a dense ground cover in one of our beds.

~

Vines, like Creeping Jenny and Periwinkle, or Vinca minor can root at each leaf node, spreading themselves out indefinitely.  Although only a few inches high, these plants spread quickly to offer large areas of uniform coverage in beds and under shrubs.

~

Creeping Jenny, easy to divide and transplant, grows quickly into a densly matted ground cover.  Here it is interplanted with a hardy Sedum.

~

Many succulent varieties offer the same rapid spread through their rooting stems.  These make good ground cover for pots as well as in rock gardens or sunny beds.

~

~

Members of the mint family, including Monarda and Lemon Balm,  remain notorious for quickly spreading to cover as much territory as possible.  Because their runners travel both above and below ground, one must be ruthless to yank out rooted stems growing beyond their boundaries.

~

Pineapple mint

~

Shrubs, and even some trees, will increase through spreading rhizomes, as well.  Hazel, Forsythia, Sumac, Lilac, Crepe Myrtle, some Figs and many sorts of berry bushes will quickly form large clumps.

~

Crepe Myrtle tends to sucker and slowly spread. Lovely and prolific, many gardeners allow them to grow into a large area each year. This one has returned from its roots after being broken down in a 2013 storm.

~

This ability to generate new plants, clones of the original, from spreading stems may be desirable to you or not; depending on your situation.  If you have space to allow the expansion these new plants can be a blessing.  If you are gardening in cramped quarters, the spreading tendencies of many plants may become a nuisance.

~

Strawberry Begonia spreads prolifically with long runners, tipped with baby plants which will root wherever they touch the soil.  An attractive foliage plant, they bloom in the spring.

~

It helps to have gardening buddies who are willing to receive extra plants, as well as those who will share free plants with us.  Some of our favorite plants came as gifts from generous and loving friends.

And we appreciate the prolific growth of our favorite plants each summer when they fill our garden with beautiful leaves and fragrant flowers.

~

Red Canna flowers and Hibiscus attract both hummingbirds and pollinating insects, including butterflies.

~

Woodland Gnome 2015

~

 

 

Ginger Lily

Our Ginger Lilies began to bloom late yesterday afternoon.  Their perfume fills this area of the garden  with an aroma reminiscent of Easter lily or rich honeysuckle.

We’ve waited all summer for the pleasure of their blooming, and our stand of lilies is filled with buds, ready to burst open in the warmth of late summer.

Ginger Lilies grow from rhizomes.  These were a gift from a neighbor’s garden, and are hardy here in Zone 7.

Many cultivars need warmer winters than Virginia offers, but these lilies  have survived and multiplied every year, creeping beyond their original bed.

These are called “Hardy White Butterfly Ginger Lily”,  Hedychium coronarium,  in the Plant Delights catalog, and grow to between 5′ and 6′ tall.

Aggressive growers, this stand of lily has grown thick and tall.  Like a field of corn, it offers a formidable barrier.  Make up your mind where you would like a permanent display before you plant the first tuber, because they aren’t easy to relocate once established.

The rhizomes are thick and tough.

I tried to dig out a few of these which were growing too far forward this spring, into the roses’ territory.  It was a tough job, and I didn’t get all of the sprouting rhizomes I should have dug.

You can dig enough to spread these around once established, but I would recommend a backhoe if you decide to reclaim the garden bed for other plants.

 

But what a sweet problem to have!  These Ginger Lilies are one of our favorite flowers in the garden.

We are so appreciative to the neighbor who shared them with us.  We will enjoy a constant supply of white fragrant blossoms from now until a heavy frost.  These are one of the sweetest joys of late summer in our garden.

 

 

Photos by Woodland Gnome 2014

Pass Along Plants:  Ginger Lily (Forest Garden, 2013)