The Recap

Mar8

So what can I say? David Culp’s Gala was fun. Great seeing people excited about snowdrops, talking way too much about snowdrops, amazing lectures about snowdrops, and in general excited about the new gardening year. Selling went well. I was remarkably okay with seeing snowdrops leave my garden, somewhat insulted that a few favorites didn’t sell, and then just fine with bringing a bunch home for replanting. But… I was unusually luke-warm to new purchases and plant shopping in general. For the first time ever I tried to come back with more money in my pocket than when I went down, and in hindsight that was a terrible mindset since there were only 5 new snowdrops for the return trip and now I have to sit for months with only five new snowdrops when I really think all that work should have earned me dozens of new snowdrops!

And for the first year ever I didn’t treat myself to a new ‘Brandywine Hybrids’ hellebore. They were perfect, and seeing the others in the garden starting to stir to life makes the regret even harsher.

Each year the Gala hellebores are amazing. After years of coveting doubles I’m back to singles and any of the picotees or the purple stained whites could have easily joined me for the ride home.

I was distracted though. Maybe even stressed? The day worked out perfectly, but to be honest I woke up at 1 that morning sick to my stomach and got to enjoy that feeling right up to the minutes before the doors opened.. .and then in typical fashion it lifted right as the excitement began.

A few seconds after the doors opened. Tables are full, hands are empty, there’s little socializing but some real intense table scanning! Fyi this is the Suburban Home Nursery table, manned by the always entertaining Kevin and my exceedingly competent cashier-daughter.

Also in typical fashion I took next to no pictures. Just like every other year I’ll apologize and promise better but I think we know the truth, and it’s probably for the best too since 10 out of 10 family members will only use me as the last resort when it comes to any type of event photo. “ugh, just delete them all. Where’s mom?” should be a warning/reminder sticker on the back of my phone.

Edgewood Gardens warming up and coloring up with Adonis amurensis

I think it was mentioned that rather than work my own table, I had already committed to working the Edgewood table for the Gala, and a perk to this was a leisurely tour of Edgewood Gardens the day before. The week of above freezing weather had paid off. Things were embracing the weather and bursting out of the ground and starting off on that spring flush of color. Hellebores, winter aconite, Adonis, witch hazels, crocus… and of course snowdrops were scattered throughout the garden. At one point I was even unsupervised, and the low light, flowers, and bird song were enough to make me want to soak up the moment rather than consider what might fit into my pocket.

The best clump of ‘Blewbury Tart’ I’ve ever seen. How silly of me to have given this plant a lukewarm review years ago, I should have known it was more my growing skills and not the drop.

To round it out it was an excellent weekend. I was almost tempted to return this weekend for the Bend to Bank lecture at Winterthur, and hear Anne Repnow give a talk, but alas it might be time to spend a weekend at home. Trust me there’s plenty to do.

A coldframe inspection at Edgewood Gardens. Quite a few treasures here, both inside and out!

Will I do what needs to be done? Probably, if I can only get started. Last night was spent browsing houseplants on some fraudulent website, and then this morning I had to spend time canceling my credit card and getting it re-issued, but honestly entertaining the dog and cleaning the kitchen took more time than that. The garden is still waiting 🙂

A terrible picture of winter aconite (Eranthis) opening up alongside the snowdrops. I love these first cautious blooms.

So blog post done, maybe breakfast and a shower wouldn’t be the worst ideas either, and then maybe it’s time for a little work outside. Just because I stayed home to get things done doesn’t mean it will happen!

Enjoy your weekend, and prepare for the onslaught of even more snowdrop photos while I second guess the witch hazel and primulas which I also did not buy last weekend. Grrr.

Off to the Gala!

Feb28

I have a gift. Many people have special gifts, but mine is the gift of chaos. I’ve been told that in the midst of chaos I come across as very calm, but the truth is I’m just used to it, since for as far back as I can remember whenever things can go wrong they did, and when it can’t possibly look worse it does, and I guess the silver lining is that it always works out in the end. Kind of along the same line of thought as “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”… except I’m not sure I’d like to push it that far, and I’m just fine sticking with ‘What doesn’t ruin everything might make for a nice story in a few years’. To sum it up, eventually the birthday stitches come out, the garden tour which finished up in the ER becomes a story, and you find a new job after cutting the vacation trip short.

Melting snow has finally arrived, and this exceptionally early winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis ‘Lightning’) and a few other early risers can finally begin to show off.

I was lucky this time. No toothache on Christmas Eve, but with a table to set up at David Culp’s Galanthus Gala in Downington Pa this Saturday, I shouldn’t have been surprised something would happen. First the car went. I wanted to finish up making labels but first the car had to get to the dealer. Then the water heater went. I just wanted to pot up a few more things. Then the garage door broke when I wanted to move things out and into the other car. Then my nephew told me he was indeed sick and would not be able to help sell… and would also not be able to give my other helper a ride down to Downington. Good times, but also silver lining time. We were able to lift the garage door and roll the car out, the repair bill came in about 2k less than expected, the door is also set for repair, the heater is fixed, a new helper has been tapped,and a new plan to get the other helper down has been set up… even the labels got done. Was it touch and go for a few hours? Maybe, but I’m back to excited and won’t even consider the repair bills until after this weekend’s adventure!

‘Wendy’s Gold’ is probably my favorite for an early bright spot. She waits for the first warm days, sprouts, and never looks back.

So that’s enough woe is me for one post because seriously it’s just life for every one else, except for me there’s the added fun of ‘dramatic timing’. The thing happens and I just look to the heavens and say “good one. Did not even see that one coming”.

Winter interest in the garden is about done for the season. Should old hellebore foliage be removed before blooming? I would have to say yes, and that might be the first thing I do once things calm down here.

So tomorrow in spite of whatever still comes my way I’m off to the Gala with my goodies. It’s been a solidly cold winter… one which coincidentally seemed to start the day after I agreed to sell a few things from the garden… but the silver lining is a burst of warmth in the days right before. Let me share how a few things have turned out.

With everything freezing solid outside, I potted up a few clumps of English bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) for a just-in-case scenario. English bluebells are kinda awesome and fairly hard to find so of course I’m keeping a bunch.

There will be English bluebells, spring snowflakes (Leucojum vernum), and of course snowdrops and winter aconite. They look pretty good and I would buy them, but not everything came through. Another just-in-case scenario had potfuls of species tulips, and they just don’t look like much so I’m leaving them here. Really. They are barely sprouting and don’t look like much so in the garage they stay and I’m absolutely not leaving them behind because I want more species tulips.

Leucojum vernum out of the garden of my friend Paula. I think they look great and if you’re thinking how much? I suppose $25 a pot will be the price even though I’m worried they’ll all sell and they’re another thing I wouldn’t mind having more of in the garden.

Besides the threat of chaos there’s another thing which gives me sweaty palms on the eve of the Gala. I’m not a good salesman. I don’t really want to get rid of any of my snowdrops so I’d actually be just fine bringing dozens back and replanting them, and I’m afraid my sales pitch will reflect that. They look so nice all potted up. It makes me think of a greenhouse filled with pot after pot of perfect snowdrops and what a shame it would be if I had to build a greenhouse next week because just having snowdrops in the ground isn’t good enough anymore. Hmmm.

Some of the potted goodies awaiting the sale. A few varieties were potted up too early and did not like the last cold blast (their flowers were burned) but most look quite happy. I hope there’s enough variety to be interesting.

If you’ve been to the Gala you may know there’s an auction which goes on. My friend Paula gave me a drop to donate, and I know I’ll feel a little light-headed when I hand it over. A Dutch drop named in 2020, ‘Snowdropfever’s Nelly’s Birthday’ is a vigorous, early, large-flowered snowdrop with strong green markings on the outer petals, and a full green inner. It’s about ready to split into three bulbs, which of course will make for an even better show next year, but even now I think it looks just dandy. Of course Paula found a small offset to share with me, she knows how I am. I hope it grows quickly!

galanthus snowdropfevers Nell's Birthday

Galanthus ‘Snowdropfevers Nelly’s Birthday’. I think it’s been in bloom at least two weeks and the green has only faded a bit. It’s a cool drop.

So I’m looking forward to the day. Oddly enough I won’t even be behind my own table, I’ll be helping out at Edgewood Gardens, only a few steps away, and hopefully that is far enough so I don’t keep taking things off my own table “on second thought” to take back home, because between that and all the other vendor tables there’s a high probability the car is fuller on the return trip than it was going down. We will see.

If I see you there, great! If I don’t I shall try this time (just like I try and fail every time) to take some decent pictures of the day to share later on. Maybe I’ll even try and take a picture of a person or two, because I notice that people somehow manage to do that in spite of all the horticultural distractions and maybe it’s time I broaden my horizons 😉

Gala or not I wish you a wonderful weekend, and I hope you’re also finally experiencing some sort of a warmup and feeling the promise of spring!

The Tenth Day of Plantness!

Jan22

We did it! We made it to the tenth day of Plantness and I must say I am so proud of all the sacrifice and commitment I’ve seen from everyone. From the smallest cutting exchanged to the biggest seed order, and all the little pots of plants and plain pots purchased, you’ve made a difference. I can practically feel spring lurking somewhere… close… I think… because to be honest it still feels wintery and I just spent a few minutes looking at my brother’s snow pictures from Pensacola Florida and shared in his excitement that Atlanta is sending 6 snow plows… since Pensacola just doesn’t have any! Winter is really trying and although I did add ten new plant things for each of the days I might go out for another two or three more, just because we might need something to push us out of this frosty rut!

Ahhhhhhh… much better than sharing snow pictures, here are four new Plantness offerings. Two excellent tender cyclamen, one maidenhair fern, and the new watering can I’ve been searching for!

The cold may be lingering but we really did put our best foot forward last Saturday with the headliner trip of our Ten Days of Plantness. Grocery store floral sections are nice, but a trip to the greenhouses of Ott’s Exotic Plants is indoor plant nirvana. Multiple greenhouses filled with exotic plant treasures and it’s just a great place to visit when you want to fill your lungs with the warm and humid air only a greenhouse full of plants can produce.

Otts has a lot of mature plants, and citrus is in season so the ‘Ponderosa’ lemons stole the show. Some day I wouldn’t mind seeing the Plumeria trees (fragipani) behind them in bloom as well, but that’s a great reason to visit again.

A good greenhouse visit in winter does wonders for a gardener, but outside of that what did I get? I was one of the most restrained members of the Posse, and limited myself to two new plants and a watering can. A maidenhair fern was the first since it was just too elegant to resist, and a begonia came second. Begonia bipinnatifida to be exact, and although there’s the usual question as to how a “trickier, requires humidity” plant will survive my neglect, that’s something to worry about later. This plant was 100% impulse buy 😉

I think you can see what the attraction was. In my book, Begonia bipinnatifida indexes under “cool”.

So Ott’s was excellent, but when I suggested either two more stops or a stop for lunch you can imagine my surprise when Kimberley said “oh lets just have a snack here and do the stops’ and proceeded to pull the makings of a charcuterie board out of her purse! My level of preparations was an already opened water bottle I found in the door of the car, but here’s Kimberley pulling various cheeses and coldcuts with a mix of nuts and fruits out of her bag! There was even a delightful chocolate selection to clear the palate afterwards.

I think we did have fun. A couple more stops along the way and then a Trader Joe’s which I think everyone enjoyed. My two cyclamen are from there and I should have taken an orchid or two as well!

Now if you’re keeping count the cyclamen took me to nine on this trip, and of course ten is what you want for Plantness. I almost ran out the next day in a snowstorm to get the last one but wiser heads prevailed and I waited until the last day to get the last plant. I had to take a mother-in-law to a Dr appointment regarding an on-the-mend broken arm the next day, and as long as I’m driving we’re going to look at plants.

Oops. A “real” houseplant, Philodendron billietiae ‘Orange Smooth’. I’m concerned this could get big and not politely die like many of my other plantness purchases, but for the holiday I took a chance. Even better when it rang up 50% off 🙂

Now ten is the magic number, and according to the lore of Plantness if we add a new plant-goodie for each of the days that will break the back of winter and usher us into an early spring… except when it doesn’t… Someone might look at the long range weather forecast and say things look bad, but I did take a walk around the garden (before more snow came) and sensed that the witch hazel appreciated our efforts, and was trying just as hard as we were.

The first bits of color on the witch hazel (Hammamelis ‘Pallida’) and all is not lost!

A thermometer says that it’s 1F (-17C) outside right now and probably still dropping a few more. If the winter hazel can stand up to this kind of onslaught then so can we, and maybe we just need to try harder. Technically I did and bought an 11th plant, a cool Primula obconica, but since this one is for a friend it sadly does not count towards Plantness… or at least not on my tally.

As a temporary guest this Primula obconica has joined the winter garden. I love these primulas and should have gotten one for myself but as it was I don’t think anyone really believed me when I said it was for a friend, so two would have been even worse.

We’ve gained about twenty minutes of daylight since the start of the month, and we’re now at our lowest temperatures of the year and the temperatures begin to go up again from here. In theory, but it doesn’t feel like it tonight and maybe I should find a few seeds to plant or something more just to encourage the warmth!

Happy Plantness and thanks for coming along for the ride! These ten doses of hope did me good and my wish is that it’s done the same for you, so enjoy and stay warm and fingers crossed for an excellent 2025 season 🙂

The Ten Days Continue

Jan19

Oh my gosh, it’s already the ~~seventh~~ eighth day (I did try to gt this post up yesterday) of Plantness and I’ve only officially celebrated the first four! We had an excellent start to the holiday with last Saturday’s gathering and indoor plant crawl, but even with all the greenhouse visits this gardener only purchased four new goodies. Others have done much better! In our local group Kimberley is probably the star, with enough new plants and plant goodies that I suspect she could already round out the holiday, but overseas, Cathy of Words and Herbs is running at the Olympic level! She’s been able to find new additions for each day of Plantness and I’m absolutely loving her enthusiasm during these chilly days and frigid nights. Her embracing of the holiday is exactly the kind of attitude which will inspire us today for our second indoor plant crawl. “Do it for Cathy” shall be our mantra anytime we’re on the fence about something which might get too big, or might not like our care, or might be something uncomfortably new to us and outside the comfort zone. Heh heh, I shall of course update on how it goes 😉

Our table setting for our Plantness Eve celebrations last week. Two new plants which came home with us last year, two flowering goodies from under the plant lights, and four new treats purchased that day!

So in spite of zero success at every grocery store, box store, and DIY stop which I made during the week, here are the four new things which followed me home the weekend prior. I’d offer up photos but its been dark, or nearly so, every time I pull into the drive after work, and my camera skills don’t do flash very well, so I’ll offer a written summary and hope for a little more natural light this weekend.

I find myself finally getting sucked back into the houseplant world, and by that I mean the tropical foliage trend, so the first plant is a Syngonium podophyllum ‘Albo variegata’ (variegated arrowleaf vine). The leaf was just too cool to resist, but we will see how I handle something which wants to crawl and climb… Secondly is a miniscule foxtail fern (Asparagus densiflorus ‘Meyerii’) which although nearly an un-killable plant, I killed mine off, so maybe this one I shall remember to water (and also take inside for the winter). Third is a plant which is much bigger than I normally buy, a nearly gallon sized sanseviera ‘sayuri’… very cool imo… and the fourth and final is a pink variegated strawberry begonia (Saxifraga stolonifera ‘Tricolor’). I saw one about a year ago and ever since then…

Oh my gosh I’m so excited about the new goodies but maybe that’s partially due to the fact I’ve gone and returned from this season’s biggest Plantness trip which involved a 1.5 hour drive down towards Philly. I was relatively good but others maybe not so much, especially since “do it for Cathy’ came up much more frequently than I ought to admit, but based on the amount of fun we had I should have been driving a busload of people down instead of just the four of us!

So I hope everyone is enjoying the tail end of Plantness, and two things before I go look at my new plants again and then consider a pre-snowstorm trip to the last two local places… even though I do already have a plant item for each day 🙂 First: If you dabble in houseplants you have probably heard of the Philodendron ‘Thai Constellation’, and you’ve probably heard of snake plants (Sanseviera). The name Barry Yinger is a name you should know as well since he is probably the horticulturalist who first brought the poster child of houselants ‘Thai Constellation’ to the Americas and who is now leading Sanseviera conservation efforts in East Africa. Check out >this link< if you’re curious. Secondly: I don’t remember what my second thing was going to be but this weekend I decided that houseplants are dangerous since anything in the world of plants is an option, and now tissue culture and two day delivery can bring them all close to your doorstep.

Two more weeks and it’s already February! Hmmmm, I won’t even mention the little white flowers that could possibly bring 😉

Winter Solstice ’24

Dec21

Somehow it’s already the Winter Solstice and when you’re focused on making it through the busy weeks before Christmas these things can sneak up on you. Not that the timing changes much from year to year, but with all eyes focused on food and gifts and vacation plans, this celestial switch from shortening days to lengthening ones can slip by. Winter has a timer running now, and although here we are plunging into a few days of cold again, on this longest night of the year we start climbing back out of this winter darkness.

Just a few days ago ‘Faringdon Double’ was just beginning to nose up. A couple days of warm weather later and he’s been tricked into bloom. We will see how he holds up to the cold.

On the plus side the warm weather thawed the soil and allowed me to plant the last couple hundred tulips which have been sitting in the garage. The garlic should have also gone in as well, but maybe eating it isn’t the worst solution along with a year off from garlic growing and buying a few new cloves for planting next fall. Who says that just because you can, you must?

The arriving cold brought more snow than expected which should act as a decent cover for all the autumn/winter snowdrops already in growth. This is ‘Potter’s Prelude’ in case your ID skills are iffy 😉

Actually I use the ‘because I can’ logic all the time, so maybe during our likely January thaw they will still get planted… or not… since there’s always plenty of other things which need doing around here, like things which flood the basement with water and need unplugging and cleaning up, which fortunately didn’t happen on Christmas Eve but there’s still time.

Also, since this blog rarely offers useful or timely information I guess now might be a good chance to point out that there’s still time to blow on an ember or throw gasoline on the flames of obsession, if those flames are for snowdrops. One of the first, and one of the longest running purveyors of named snowdrops in the US, Mr Hitch Lyman, should be sending out his list during the first days of the new year. You can’t request it online and you can’t dilly dally since once the list goes out it sells out, so dust off that stationary and get a note off to him asap if you want your own copy.

Mr Hitch Lyman, Box 591, Trumansburg NY 14886. Years ago I believe $2 or $3 was added to cover the cost, but I’d play it safe with $5 these days, and in my opinion the art and the read are worth it even if you don’t fall for the drops. I may be biased of course.

The front porch is ready for the longest night. A few more inches of snow have fallen since and it looks absolutely seasonal now.

I apologize for again drifting into snowdrops but another timely note is that the date for this year’s Galanthus Gala has been set. Snowdroppers from near and far will be descending upon Downingtown Pa Saturday, March 1st for a day of lectures, sales, and camaraderie. There will still be ups and downs this winter, but the date will be here before we know it, and what better promise on this longest night than the promise of a new season and a Gala. Of course I’ll mention it again once tickets go on sale. I’m sure you would expect no less from someone who does tend to go on far too long about those little white flowers.

Enjoy. If it’s cold where you are, I hope for warmth, and if you’re ramping up for celebrations I wish you a blessed holiday season.

**Hopefully no one is too upset that the longest night was actually the Friday night before the solstice, but I started the post yesterday and just didn’t feel like changing everything today 😉

Go Winter!

Dec17

Winter is giving it a try this December and I’m proud of her! There have been chilly nights, brisk winds, snow and ice, and more forced time indoors than I’m used to. Could it be that we are headed for a real winter this year?

The fall blooming snowdrops have been slowed by autumn’s drought and this cold jump into winter. This is Galanthus elwesii hiemalis ssp monostictus ex Montrose and that’s not what the label says since I planted something else in this perfect spot which bloomed a few weeks earlier 🙂

Everyone seems to think it’s brilliantly cold out and will only get colder, snowblowers are revving and snowmobiles are going in for tuneups while the ice fishermen are talking bait and planning their best spots. This weekend we nearly dipped into the single digits (-12C) and it feels like it’s been a while since we saw that in December.

More fall blooming snowdrops, these in a cold pocket which wilts them down but usually they recover… unless it’s ‘Mrs Macnamara’ who does not recover yet still grows quite well in spite of the beating.

This winter seems off to an Arctic start but I’m still not biting my nails worried about the new crape myrtles and camellias which have somehow snuck into the garden. Granted, it was a shock going from the warmest November on record to a little snow and ice, but overall for our little corner of Pennsylvania we’re only averaging about 3 degrees below(!) average… for once… and I’m pretty sure 2024 is still headed towards going down as the hottest year on record globally, which might embarrass 2023 since last year we all thought that heat record was un-toppable.

‘Faringdon Double’ is carefree and reliable in this garden and here it is nosing up and aiming for a January show. What a hopeful sign to see during a a frigid spell of December weather.

Against everyone else I’m hoping that things stay somewhat cold, even if it means being inside more than I’d like, and being bored on nearly every trip outside when the soil is frozen and there’s little to do on the to-do list. The gardener’s plus to a cold winter is that everything goes dormant and stays there. The hellebores won’t be trying to bloom in January only to freeze into mush in February, which is what happens when a fake-spring rolls into Pa in the middle of our winter and forces new growth on things. I’ll take some bleakness for a couple weeks if it means buds are saved for a beautiful March.

Bleakness and a threat? The brutally sharp thorns of the hardy orange (Citrus trifoliata ‘Flying Dragon’) in all their winter starkness. It’s a plant no one will ever snuggle up to.

So it’s cold, and as a result the winter garden is getting more attention that it’s used to and is overflowing with color from coleus, geraniums, and the odd orchid. Poor things don’t know what’s in store for them the minute a thaw rolls in and the gardener is lost again outside, poking around for more snowdrop shoots and other signs of spring. Hopefully before that happens I can share a few of the indoor highlights.

Hope you have a great week!

A Little Push

Nov24

It looks like our tediously warm and dry autumn has finally made a turn towards wet, cold, and winter. Warm and dry isn’t the worst thing, but when the days stretch into weeks and the autumn foliage is more a giving up on life it gets old. The garden I enjoy is full of life and surprises and when it’s day after day of plants giving up I lose interest, and when interest is lost motivation follows. I looked at the racks of tulips waiting to be planted. I looked at the dry, baked-hard, beds where they were to be planted. I turned around and went back inside.

But now things have made a complete turnaround, with a day of steady rain followed by a night of snow which continued into the next day. In all it might be two inches of rain and as the snow melts into the ground I think the garden has finally received the soaking it needed and the gardener might have to get back on board. While the snow is melting the bored gardener has gone into the archives to see if he can find some tulip planting motivation, and even if he’s not exactly bubbling over with enthusiasm to go out and dig, at least he’s been shamed into taking a little better care of the unplanted bulbs.

Tulips in the front border this previous spring. Fortunately these seem happy enough coming back on their own each year with little effort on my part, although it’s well past time a few bunches were dug and divided.

I’ve been digging and dividing the tulips in the back garden for a few years now, trying to get ahead of the tulip fire (a type of fungal botrytis blight) which has infected the soil back there. The digging, replanting, and mulching had helped but then this spring, right as the tulips were coming into growth and blooming, a string of cool, rainy weather hit and the problem went from ok to all over the place with each rain shower. April showers may bring May flowers, but when May is also full of cool and damp weather it just brings botrytis to the tulips and that’s not fun.

The purple of Lunaria annua (honesty or money plant) mixes and contrasts well with the yellows and pinks of the tulips. Unlike AI suggests, this plant is a biennial so don’t be fooled by the scientific name.

Although the botrytis is not fun, the worser part is the smaller bulbs I dug as a result of their infected foliage. Digging big healthy bulbs is one of the June joys of the garden and when you’re just finding medium or stunted bulbs… again, not fun. It also didn’t help that June went from cool and damp to hot and dry all of a sudden, triggering the bulbs into an early dormancy, so add that to the list of reasons the gardener has not been feeling the tulip-love this summer.

Tulips in the potager beds, the worst areas for botrytis and the area where all the tulips are dug each summer.

The tulip love is back though, and after seeing the reminder of what it looked like last spring it makes me wonder how I ever even considered thinking poorly about one of my favorite plants. Surely it’s the lazy side of me searching for excuses to pass on the planting and find alternate homes for the bulbs. It’s like a flashback to the year I found rot in the bulb trays and with great disgust tossed everything onto the compost pile, only to have tulips coming up beautifully all over it the next spring, and have compost laced with bulbs the next summer.

I shall plant… soon I hope. It depends on when the snow melts, and how cold it gets for Thanksgiving. And when I dig the cannas and dahlias and plant the garlic, since that’s also on the to-do list since little in the way of planting or digging has been done while the ground has been so dry. Even the fall-blooming snowdrops have looked depressed and droopy, although not a single bloom was lost to slugs this year…

Galanthus ‘Barnes’. One of the earliest for me with only this one late group still in flower. The rest were less photogenic as they wilted and dried out far too quickly in the sun.

There has been one ultra-positive thing which has turned up this autumn, and that’s the bags of leaves which friends have given me and the row of filled bags which greeted me one evening as I pulled in after work. My nephew came through with a collection from one of his lawn jobs and I’m proud to say they’re already all spread about and settling down to feed the garden underneath the snow.

A driveway filled with bags of nicely mulched leaves. A gardener’s delight!

Forgive me for not sharing any snow pictures. The total for our town was in the 7 inch range and it looked beautiful from the inside looking out, but one day later and the higher elevations are still digging out, repairing powerlines, and removing downed trees, as it was a very heavy snow and their totals were almost twice what we received. For hours the interstate was closed. I’ve sat for hours on a closed interstate on a snowy mountain pass in the middle of nowhere and I can vouch it’s no fun.

Fingers crossed that my next post has a ‘tulips planted’ comment, and it’s not something which involved chipping through ice during the Christmas holidays. We will see, in any case I hope it’s a fun time.

Fully Autumnal

Oct28

Fall is in full force here in Northeastern Pa. In the mountains it’s already past prime but as the cooler nights have spread into the valleys there’s no escaping the season for too long. The cool weather is a relief. This weekend was fantastic fall gardening weather, with plenty of sun to bask in when the mood hit, and plenty of cool breezes to keep the gardener from breaking a sweat when the motivation to work hit. I did some cleanup and finished a few non-gardening projects and may have even gotten a touch of sunburn due to the nice weather and perhaps a bit too much pastiness from sitting inside more than I’d like.

A spot on top of the berm has become a favorite resting spot… even when the rest isn’t earned… and if you look away to the side away from the industrial park the autumn view is wonderful.

There’s fall color everywhere, somewhat dull for the drought and heat, but also somewhat bright due to the recent stretch of cooler nights, so I guess that evens out to average? The maples are brilliant as usual and there’s also a few other interesting things around to make this slow decent into death and dormancy a little more bearable.

For a couple days the bigleaf magnolia (M. macrophylla) goes all buttery yellow before full brown, and even then the curious gray underside makes for an interesting (and still huge) leaf.

The fall and winter interest here seems to make a decent amount of progress each year and the focus lately has been on evergreens, berries, and the latest (or earliest?) bloomers possible.

Maybe not an autumn berry, but the blueberry bushes are always an October show.

After years of talk, a winterberry (Ilex verticillata) has finally been purchased, and I hope it won’t mind a real late planting since throughout those years the gardener didn’t bother to settle on a location for it. They’re fairly common around here in the boggier parts of the woods, so I expect it will do just fine, and I’m already imagining a mound of bright red color next year on this native deciduous holly.

Not the native version, but the asian beautyberry (Callicarpa ‘Pearl Glam’) has similar purple berries which are interesting but maybe not as showy or long lasting as I’d like. Perhaps it’s the location, it’s terrible soil, and probably much drier than the beautybush would prefer.

The new winterberry will have to rely on the local population of male hollies for pollination, and I hope there are some within range during its bloom since I’d rather not devote more space to a non-berrying version if I don’t have to. As with almost any gardener, my ambition is always larger than the space I have.

I am feeling chrysanthemum deprived this autumn. The mildest winters ever were somehow the cause of death for a few of my favorites and I miss them, so maybe I can get a few seeds from this one growing for next year.

Besides berries it’s just chrysanthemums and asters rounding out the bloom category. I’d like to add some more chrysanthemums but it’s so hard to convince yourself in May that $10 for what’s likely a rooted cutting is a good deal for something which sells in perfect bloom for $5.99 all over the place in October. Most people know the answer to that and just pick up the $5.99, but some silly gardeners think that the $10 mum cutting might be so so so much cooler. Bluestone perennials has some extremely tempting options. Maybe it’s time I bite the bullet and bring a few favorites back to this garden, because honestly the little round dollops of mum do little for me while the lanky, too big blooms, too tall stems version with crazy flower forms are a much better way to enjoy October.

Lingering roses can be awesome. This one was developed with scent in mind and I love the fragrance of roses wafting in the October breeze, pulling you in for a closer sniff. Brindabella ‘Purple Prince’ has also been a good grower with healthy foliage, and who could complain about that?

Did someone ask about the pumpkin patch? Not that I heard, but here’s the summary anyway. The early July plantings ripened just in time although there was still a touch of green on a few of the larger ones. More September rains would have helped I’m sure, but considering how little effort I put into their care, and how entertaining they were to watch grow, I suspect there will be a pumpkin patch again next year as well as a hopefully more diverse gourd planting 🙂

The pumpkin patch harvest accidentally spilled and people raved about the display. The pumpkins were moved to decorate the porch and the review was lukewarm… -sorry, but I needed the wheelbarrow for other things!

So that’s an autumn update. Fall color and it’s dry, and the best thing about that is no slugs to decimate the first of this winter’s snowdrops! Yes, the fall-blooming snowdrops are waking up and of course I’m excited.

The first to appear this fall is ‘Tilebarn Jamie’, a Galanthus reginae-olgae hybrid which still looks a little awkward and unsure but at least not slug-nibbled. Please ignore the greasy look of the soil and the blackened birch and nearby blackened foliage. The lanternflies are still out peeing on everything and fertilizing the black mold, even if it lands on such a treasure as the first snowdrop.

Have a great week. The cool weather has me thinking about tulips and daffodils, and as of now I’m unmotivated to replant, so perhaps I’ll talk tulips next to get in the mood… and give the snowdrops a little time to sprout 😉

Leave the Leaves?

Oct20

Autumn has its moments but without a few rainy days and minus the cooler temperatures I’m at a loss. We could use some rain. The lingering annuals and a bunch of perennials, and even some shrubs, are wilting now and between you and me I’m almost hoping for a strong frost to come along and put things out of their misery rather than spend the next few weeks hoping for some last-minute miracle to come along and renew the decaying garden. I was also warm yesterday when I was out doing something in the sun, and flirted with breaking a sweat… which is totally inappropriate for this season of briskness and cozy jackets.

A form of the native aromatic aster, I think this one is ‘Raydon’s Favorite’, should be in every garden. It outblooms most chrysanthemums and is a late season pollinator magnet. Here a final bloom of the rose ‘Rosarium Uetersen’ adds a nice dash of coral pink.

Fair warning that this gardener rarely has a kind word to share about the autumn season, so don’t worry that my disgust and lack of interest in the yard means I’m struggling with some kind of seasonal trauma that I’m barely surviving, because that’s not the case. I’ve been busy and motivated, just not in the garden. Garage cleanouts, painting, puttering, and life in general are moving along nicely and I don’t really mind that the daily garden tour has turned into a ten minute walk of ‘meh’.

October colors in the front border. Okay, but kinda boring to be honest.

It’s been somewhat warm and the forecast promises warmer for the next few days, but I did notice a few things have been touched by frost. Coleus mostly. Cuttings were saved a few weeks ago and are doing fine, as well as all the other tender goodies which were dragged inside before the cold, and for some reason this year it didn’t seem like nearly as much work as other years. Many things are in the new basement area and apparently having enough space for your plants goes a long, long way in making the indoor migration less painful. As a way of celebrating I stopped by a greenhouse clearance sale last week and bought four new plants and that of course is not a problem at all since I stayed under fifteen dollars and I’m sure many people have purchased just one single orchid and then stopped.

I love euphorbia ‘Ascot Rainbow’ and hope it can survive the winter in this pot. Normally they are borderline hardy here, but maybe if I drag the pot under the protection of the front porch it will stand a chance.

So upon review it sounds like I’m just waiting for winter to come and wipe the outside garden’s slate clean and that might be a fairly accurate assessment. Year round gardening works for some people but I like a nice winter break, a season and a time to reflect, and maybe a pause in the battle to regroup. Some things look messy now and I like that I can tidy them up once at this time of year and have it stay that way rather than face a new field of weeds the week after I pull them all.

The potager two days before frost singed the awesomeness of the banana. Bringing other things in was a breeze, but digging and lugging this beast in?… remains to be seen.

A clean slate in autumn and ‘leave the leaves’ doesn’t necessarily play well together since my impression of the ‘leave the leaves’ movement is that one should leave all the decay of autumn in place until June or whenever of next year just in case a bee or lightning bug chooses to overwinter in that twig or under that leaf. It’s not a bad reminder that a tornado of leafblowers and a lawn crew which trundles off every last bit of fallen foliage is only leaving a barren wasteland of exposed soil, but it shouldn’t shame you into staring at a drift of leaves against your back door and a depressing flowerbed full of scarecrow twigs all winter. Do what you want. It’s your garden and as a gardener you’ve probably already thought about how your garden fits in with the natural world and how happy you’ve been to find it swarming with birds and insects and wildlife in general. Shame should be reserved for the desolate weed-free lawns of a golf course or the monotonous mono-plantings of some dull homeowner association. If you needed it I give you permission to trim back the dead things which offend you and remove the leaves which have become too much. Your garden will still be a refuge.

The last blooms of clematis ‘venosa violacea’ are as pretty as the first and are probably more numerous since I gave the vine a little trim after its first flush of flowers. A friend said trim it back completely in July, but I wasn’t that brave.

So that’s a lot of tough talk from someone who is likely to never have an immaculate garden to begin with. Other homeowners are complaining about a few leaves blowing into their yard and sullying their pristine turf while I’m usually wishing for a windy day to dump everything here. Most will stay where they fall but at some point a mower bag full of their chopped brothers will be spread on top. It’s a rare day when a twig or stem ends up in the trash and these days there’s not even much going to the compost pile since I tend to tuck pulled weeds and such into the depths of the borders. It may not be ideal from the perspective of the every leaf is sacred crowd, but even after a run through the mower for the sake of neatness and then a toss back onto the beds these processed leftovers still serve plenty of good.

Frost asters galore in the weedier parts of the garden. These have a decent winter structure so will stay even after death…

Mid October. Meh. If the weather were different and I cared more there would be a cleanup in progress but this year I’m not there yet and the mess is fine. You look at your own mess though and feel free to clean up whatever you want and know that I’ll have your back, and in the meantime have a great week!

The Colchicum Report ’24

Sep25

Some people say less is more, and I can see their point in just about everything… except for plants. ‘More is more’ is what I say, and even if it gets to the point of ‘too much’ that’s still ok because at that point you’re doing it for the people who don’t grow too many plants, and I’m sure that’s what they would want you to do. Please don’t try to follow this logic too closely because I’m sure there are quite a few holes in the argument, but long story short: I still don’t have too many colchicums and even if I did that’s still good because I’m more likely to share a few without risking a cold sweat as they leave my greedy little fist.

Colchicum x byzantinum has grown here for years and it always puts on a lengthy, floriferous show.

So in case I’m being too subtle: this post will contain too many colchicums

Colchicum ‘Nancy Lindsay’ looking more violet than normal in the evening light.

Before I go off the deep end let me take a minute to provide some slightly useful colchicum information for those who aren’t familiar with the plants (yet). Generally they’re a bulb -more accurately corm- which puts up lush foliage in the spring, dies down by the summer, and then sends up crocus-like flowers in the fall. Naked ladies or autumn crocus are two common names and they’re a nice fresh surprise of color when the garden is tending towards tired. Decent soil, decent drainage, and some full-sun for the leaves in spring and they’re fairly easy to grow… unless they aren’t… which is sometimes the case, and if it happens to you it’s not you, it’s the plant. Sometimes they’re jerks.

More ‘Nancy Lindsay’. They’re tucked here and there in a blue fescue border and I like the look.

I have a few colchicums which have been jerks, but some like ‘Nancy Lindsay’ have multiplied from single corms to hundreds and that’s an excellent thing. I will just enjoy that they like my garden and not dwell on the ones which have faded away, and I suggest you do the same if it happens.

Maybe Colchicum speciosum bornmuelleri group. I say maybe because a reference book I reference states the “real” thing has brown pollen and these do not, but I’m not quite ready to throw out the name on this one.

Other than the occasional form which insists on dying, the other thing with colchicum is their actual ID. For some reason colchicum are a little muddled in the bulb trade and even from a decent source there’s a good chance some bulbs are going under the wrong name. Not a big deal, because most are nice, but if you’re at the point where you already have a bunch of ‘nice’ ones then the confusion can be a little irritating and the quest to get the “real” this or that can turn into a lengthy pursuit.

More maybe bornmuelleri group. These came from Brent and Becky’s and their description is accurate and the plant is a beauty even if the latest authority describes the form differently.

Only a real nut would take up the mis-labeled challenge and start ordering second and third bulbs from different sources just to see if one looks more “real” than the other, but that’s getting a little too deep so I shall move on without making any guilty confessions.

A nice vigorous (and somewhat floppy) Colchicum speciosum which looks very much like ‘Giant’ but is probably not. Just so you don’t do the same let me point out this clump was about three times the size until the winter when construction runoff kept this spot too wet. Avoid that.

Other more interesting observations on colchicum are that they will flower even if not planted. I showed a bag of stored bulbs coming into bloom in the last post, but a more intentional look would be a bulb or two in a bowl on a windowsill. It might possibly stress the bulb but not that much, so if you have a couple extra give it a try. Or if you want, try a few picked blooms in a vase, and oddly enough maybe even try a few in a vase without water. Fresh flowers will last several days without water, the reason for which I have no idea, but they will and if you’re the type who is a little unsettled by zombie flowers well then put some water in of course.

The box of blooming corms has been planted and seems none the worse for wear. I dug them from this spot in June but couldn’t come up with a better spot so back they went and now I’ll be stuck mowing around them since this became part of the lawn in the meantime.

The final thing about colchicums is where to plant them. They flower at a time of year when just about everything else is floppy and overgrown and it’s hard to spot a low flowering bulb which should be showing off front and center. Some gardeners have nicely mulched beds under shrubs where they show off well, but that’s in short supply here (and might already be dedicated to snowdrops) so into the front edges of the beds they go. Lawns too, although it takes until early June for the foliage to die back and not everyone can turn a blind eye to unmown lawn for that long.

The meadow has become more shaded than I’d like as the aspens continue to grow, but the colchicums are still doing ok even if the bloom is beginning to thin and the individual flowers look like they’re stretching.

It’s a struggle to leave big empty spots in the borders here, so either by design or chance the colchicums are forced to share. To be honest most of it is by chance… I am absolutely the kind of gardener who often wanders around with a small pot in had, wondering where it could possibly fit in, and in July when the colchicum foliage is missing and the spot looks available… in goes a new plant!

Some of the better colchicum companions are creeping sedums and thyme. Colchicum x aggripinum is very accommodating anyway with his low, dwarf foliage, and much easier to work with compared to the leafy mounds of some of his colchicum cousins.

Iv’e had luck planting them amongst creeping thymes and sedums, low fescues, sundrops… anything which isn’t too tall or has overly dense roots… but eventually one reaches a point where one might have more colchicums than groundcovers to cover their feet. That’s when this gardener decided to go all in and just dedicate a whole bed to colchicums. There really was little other choice since clumps needed moving and dividing and one can only walk around for so long with a handful of bulbs before realizing the answer is right there in front of you. The lawn in the side yard is so unnecessary, and wouldn’t a four foot wide grass path be just as effective as a six foot wide path?

The colchicum bed one year on from planting. I’m hoping by next year the newest plantings will fill in some, and also that the gardener will resist the urge to sneak in too many other goodies.

The new colchicum bed is nice, but the soil is not. It’s dry and compacted, and probably doesn’t have all the organic goodness which it should, but a few of the new plantings seem very happy… and a few seem underwhelmed. I’ll give it a year and maybe then I need to consider a second bed? One with better soil would be nice but of course those spots are in high demand.

I think this is ‘Faberge’s Silver’ but without a label I’m second guessing myself, even if last year when it was planted I was absolutely sure I’d know it when it comes up. Maybe the gourd doesn’t fit in this bed, but I’ve never been able to deny a volunteer squash of any kind, they’re always fun to grow.

It’s typical that new ground has barely been planted and the gardener is already talking about more, but that’s about par for the course. This new bed could almost be called a collection. I am still insisting it’s not.

What an oddity, colchicum ‘Harlekijn’ has plenty of “interesting” to deserve a spot in this garden. Normally there’s a bit more pink, but maybe the drought and heat of this spot discourages more color.

Even if it’s not a collection, there are some newer finds which even a non-collector would be compelled to add. ‘Early Rose’ is into year two here and is again a favorite, with beautiful form and color, good vigor, and multiple flowers for a longer bloom season.

Colchicum ‘Early Rose’ first coming up and coloring up. It has a nice upright form.

‘Early Rose’ a week later, still upright and still looking great. There’s even a nice bit of checkering in the bloom, something I always like to see.

And here are some other beauties which are beginning to settle in and clump up.

‘Spartacus’ is a clear pink, dwarf form which is really pretty excellent. He’s got a long season and a color which stands out. I wouldn’t mind if he multiplied more quickly…

‘Glory of Heemstede’ has a nice strong color and puts on a nice show mid season. Also fairly vigorous with a longer season.

I didn’t buy it as such, but I’ve been told this is ‘Pink Star’ and she is putting on a nice show this year.

Not the best picture but the double white flowers of ‘alboplenum’ are another one of my favorites, even when I’m trying to pretend I’m too refined for double flowers. I still wouldn’t mind a bunch more of these even though there are already a few nice patches here and there.

And that’s probably enough colchicums for this year. You were spared photos of every last one thanks to my summer’s-end laziness and apathy and as you can see there were still probably more than enough. I hope for your sake the apathy rolls around again next year as well because my hope is they multiply and spread over the next year and there is even more to go on about next season 🙂

Oh, and I may have added a few new ones as well. PHS Daffodils put out a one time list longer than any I’ve seen in the States and I’d be a fool to pass on them, even if it means looking like I’m some kind of collector -which I’m not. Here is one last photo to prove there are still some other fall blooming things around.

The hardy cyclamen (C. hederifolium) are coming on strong as the summer fades. Soon this whole area will be covered by their foliage.

Enjoy your week and I hope September has brought plenty of nice things to your garden as well.

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