Siberian Iris just began to bloom here this week.
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We’ve had a wet week here in coastal Virginia. It always rains on the Irises here. I keep waiting to be proven wrong on that maxim, but I can’t remember a year when my beautiful tall German Iris haven’t been beaten down under heavy rain and wind. Brave and hardy as Iris prove in our garden, those 4′ tall stalks covered in buds and bloom can only take so much before they crumple in the rain. I’ve been cutting away those soggy, crumpled blooms between showers, and propping up fallen stems.
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Mountain Laurel, Kalmia latifolia is native to our region
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I believe most all of us gardeners still feel excitement when our favorite flowers bloom. Some years that excitement lasts a nice long while. Other times the weather grows erratic and the blooms are cut short by too much heat or cold, rain or drought. Flowers come in so many novel shapes and sizes that we might never grow them all. But for me, it is the intense pop of color that I crave most.
It is hard to pick a favorite as most every color becomes my favorite in its own place and season. When the flowers fade and drop (and they always do,) we’re left with the rest of the plant: stems and leaves. And so that had better be somehow attractive, too.
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Purple Violas bloom with a lady fern. Wild strawberries and Vinca hide their pot and fill the bed around fading daffodil leaves.
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At some point in our garden planning each of us turns our attention from the bright excitement of flowers to the textured tapestry of beautiful foliage. And I don’t mean the ‘restful’ monotony of solid green meatball shrubs growing out of a grassy green carpet. I’m thinking more of the extravagant textures and intricate color patterns found on many leaves. Leaves are long-lived. Most will grow on for many months before fading away.
Some plants we grow for their leaves alone, never expecting or wanting their flowers. There are thousands of ferns that never bloom. Shade gardeners also love Hosta, and generally have strong opinions on whether to allow them to bloom or not. Other easy choices include Heuchera, coleus, Begonias, Caladiums, the many beautiful ornamental grasses, and Liriope.
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Autumn fern ‘Brilliance’ grows larger and better each year. Strawberry Begonia fills the pots surrounding this bed of ferns and Hellebores.
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For pure texture, without much variegation or shading, I love herbs. But oh, the wonderful colors in the herbal palette! There are so many silvery, shimmery greys, deep green rosemary, purple basil leaves and every color of green mint. Most herbs are easy to grow with very little thought or care. They can take heat and drought and are ignored by pests and pesky grazers. Too much rain and humidity are the only things that stop their performance.
And honestly, I’m developing a new appreciation of those wild volunteer plants commonly called ‘weeds.’ Some indigenous to this garden I’ve since realized are native wildflowers. Others were once cultivated but now run wild. When you just look at them for their texture, shape and color, many have their own beauty. They may be thugs and crowd out something you planted, and may need pulling and thinning at times. But that remains true of many perennials we plant, too.
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The humble strawberry begonia, that I cultivated as a hanging houseplant in the 70’s, is actually a hardy perennial here in Williamsburg. I started a few years ago with just a few small pots. And as they multiplied (one of the plants known as ‘mother of thousands,’ by the way) I have used them in more pots and beds. What was innocently planted last year as an accent plant will soon enough take over the entire pot or bed. But what a beautiful groundcover! And now, in May, when they bloom with stalks of tiny white fairy shaped flowers, I am glad that I’ve let it run.
These are aren’t members of the ‘Begonia’ genus. They are a Saxifraga and perform especially well in rock gardens and pots. But the leaf is silvery and bright like some Begonias, and it runs like a strawberry with new plants growing at the ends of long stolons. Saxifraga stolonifera is hardy in Zones 6-9 and remains evergreen if left outside here over winter.
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Native muscadine grape produce good edible grapes, when allowed to bloom. Many gardeners clear these away as they quickly grow huge if left unpruned.
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Once we find ourselves in May, and perennials grow again and woody’s leaves unfold, the many interesting textures of our garden weave themselves together in beautiful and novel ways. It is a little different every year. Once I can get past the novelty of bright flowers blooming again, I settle in to enjoy the every changing tapestry of stems and leaves that reliably furnish the garden from now until first frost.
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Woodland Gnome 2020
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Please visit my new website, Illuminations, for a garden photo and a thought provoking quotation each day.
Many thanks to the wonderful ‘Six on Saturday’ meme sponsored by The Propagator
Forest Garden 