The Plant Collector Raises Her Head

Deinanthee caerulea (Blue Wonder False Hydrangea)

As much as I try to tamp it down, there is a plant collector/hoarder lurking at my heart and soul. Unlike the gardeners who are the marketers' darlings and have to have the latest and greatest, I want the unusual, the plant that could grow here but hasn't been trialed.

Take perennial begonia. I first saw this plant growing perennially in Indianapolis at the Museum of Art. The grounds are a wonderful non-botanical garden landscaping similar to Oshkosh's Paine. Neither the art nor the gardens make a huge statement in either the art or horticulture world, but taken together each are an enchantingly pleasant waste of time.

Asking questions I found begonia grandis is hardy to zone 6 possibly with cover. I obtained a clump (legally) and attempted to grow it in Chicago's NW suburbs, zone 5b/6a. It was a fail. Now looking for something to apease my inner plant collector I come across this:

(Photo courtesy of Plant Delights Nursery)

It has a hardiness marked to zone 5. It was collected in 1997, so I would think the zone information might have some correlation to reality, or not. Anyone growing begonia grandis in zone 5?

Or how about the remarkable deinanthee pictured above? This is also listed down to zone 4. Even more remarkable is the beautiful flower and the tempting bloom time which may correlate with that upcoming garden walk. Wouldn't that be sensational?

This last year, I made an effort to take in as many garden walks and botanical gardens as possible. Nowhere did I see either of these plants growing. Many gardeners I converse with regularly comment that it is difficult to find particular bedding annuals reliably from year to year and find themselves trying to save particular coleus, petunias, and calibrochoa from year to year.

So what is it with marketers chasing the same few nationally-marketed perennials and annuals, those "Proven Winners." I'm sure neither of these are on P. Allen Smith's garden plant radar.

On the annuals side I have been attempting to source some sensational petunias. I envision this massively bedded out edging of petunias underplanting my hedges and alley side of the tree and shrub borders. So many times, lately I am underwhelmed with petunias. Last year I grew some which were suppose to be this:

and instead were this:

How dissapointing is that? Grow petunia from seed and have them turn out to be something completely at odds with what you think you were sold?

Has this happened to you?

I'd also like to copy something I saw a couple years back at Olbrich Botanical Garden.

I'd like to use a couple different nicotianas like alata and langsdorfii and maybe an ageratum and some lambs ears on the curve under my apple tree.

So I am plant hunting by internet. Looking for the things no one is growing, but are the "why-nots?"

Ten years ago I started growing nepetas and calaminthas here in central Wisconsin. No one grew them here. Now everyone does. Still relatively underused are chelone and helianthus and a great variety of shrubs.

I grow Japanese crytomeria, zauchneria, and bush clematis. Zauchneria, or California fuschia, hummingbird plant is always listed to zone 7. I'm definitely outside the box on that one (the zauchneria). These have all been growing in my garden for 3-4 years now.

So what unusual plants do you have your eye on and wonder why they aren't being grown in your area? Is your inner plant hunter on the prowl?

More From the Paine: Secret Gardens and Hidden Views

Wowza, baby! That hair!



On this Cristmas Day, some beautiful late summer pictures from Oshkosh's "castle", home of "The Nutcracker Suite".




From the oh, so elegant Paine...

The Paine sits on less than a half a city block. It has no parking lot and depends on on-street parking for its visitors. Most of the Paine has 8' iron gating or a stucco wall around the perimeter. This limits the intrusion of any of Oshkosh's city elements; noise, traffic, other buildings, to all but one corner where the view of a second floor Tudor style house is evident over the rose garden.

Merry Holidays to all!

More Natives in Formal Garden Designs: Spring Bloomers

A double white trillium has a lot of substance. I wish this was in my garden! It is a selected native that was divided from a wild clump growing wild on private property to that property owner's home with a much more formal landscape.

These four natives have interesting leaf shapes to capture our interest after their spring flowers have gone. The geum also has a long lasting flower and seed pod to also add interest. All of these make great front of a border or nice bedding plants when used in a landscape plan. Take a tip from these plants; planting them in mass is a good way to show case their charms.

This is geum triflorum, prairie smoke. The flower bud, seen here, the flower, and the fluffy "smoke" seed head, hence the Latin triflorum meaning three-flowered.

This hepatica's color morphs from white to pink to blue, depending on soil pH and other growing conditions. Below is a picture of the same clump a couple years later.

This blood root blooms for just a handful of days once the sun shines and temps warm up to 50 degrees.

Unlike the many of the plants discussed in my last post which benefit from pinching to enhance flowering and structure; these do not send up additional flowering stalks when pinched. These all have root systems which are more corm-like rather than fibrous root systems. They are best multiplied using root division, after flowering and bloom earlier and develop more top growth when their roots become crowded. None of these are particularly dependent for their growth on a narrow pH range, so are able to grow in a variety of soils. I have seen hepatica growing in large swathes in spring woodland areas, on the edge of open ground and where the woodlands begin. They like damper soils. I have likewise heard of areas where geum have self-sown and growing them from seed requires a double stratification of the seed. While the foliage of many early-flowering native dies off as temperatures rise and spring rains fade from the season, these all continue to have a presence through their unique foliage throughout the growing season.

Native Plants in My Garden

Mother nature as landscape designer, these are entirely natural and unplanned native "plantings".

This time of year it is easy to talk about the bones of a garden, its structure, or design. Walking in my garden a few minutes ago with Faithful Companion, it was easy to see a lot more, in particular the late fall natives with their seed heads that give me something to look at through the winter months.

This brought me to think about the large number of natives there are and how few many gardeners use in the design of their gardens. Natives are hard for landscape designers to put into a formal design plan. Natives are more the plant seen in a natural setting or seeded in a wild area. That many natives have a billowy form makes them a sure bed for a long border. The ephemeral nature of others makes their inclusion in anything other than a spring planting problematic.

Knowing the different genera well, a gardener who want to include natives into a formal landscape design has many to choose from that are often overlooked when developing a formal landscape plan.

I think a discussion of the pros and cons of several of the Upper Midwest's natives might aid those of you looking to incorporate more natives into planting this coming spring.

This Joe Pye weed benefits from early and often pinching of the central lead and axial leaders as they form. Pinching the central leader encourages each axial to develop a leader which will flower. If your first "pinch" is actually a 6" cutting from the main stem taken the end of May, beginning of June the cutting will root using rooting hormone. You can also easily root cuttings from turtlehead, native phlox, veronicas, and salvias, too. Multiplying your natives this way is almost easier than crown division and will increase you plants without sacrificing any bloom from the parent.

First, when thinking about plants and natives in particular, gardeners are often reluctant to pinch and dead-head natives. In any formal landscape design, a certain amount of staking, pruning, and dead-heading is a must. In my small yard one of the ways I use to manage my large collection of plants is through judicious use of my pruners. Doing so curbs many natives from their more blowsy and billowy natures. In this group that put out significantly more flower heads, develop a bushy structure, or will repeat bloom are coneflowers, tickseed, native phlox (the precursors of the tall garden phlox), most shrubs, Joe Pye Weed, asters, turtlehead, obedient plant (whether or not you consider it actually a native), salvias, and veronicas.

The not-so-obedient obedient plant is a plant that does well in mass plantings and can be pinched to encourage multiple blooming stalks.

Turtle head belongs in a group a natives that look good outside their bloom period. It has structure and a presence early in the season and is able to fill in the background of a border or formal planting.

Turtlehead in July, holding up its part in a border.

Later in the season, turtlehead seen in bloom. Blooming late,its glossy foliage and long-lasting pretty pink flowers make it a delight in the fall garden. Turtlehead suffers from few, if any pests, many times deer will not browse, or if they do, can be considered just another pinching and only serves to make it more floriferous.

Some plants straddle that line between what some call a native and other determine an early escapee, like the aforementioned obedient plant. These include filipendula, also know as queen of the prairie, echinecea purpurea (a native in much of the Midwest, but not actually here), plants that are cultivated selections of natives (think of all those colorful coneflowers and heuchera), and rudbeckia. (I will add to this list as I think of others!)

This plant is one I have seen listed in both the echinecea and rudbeckia genera, usually with the species name nitidia or lacinata. I have also seen it with a selected cultivar name 'Herbstonne' also, or referred to commonly as shining coneflower. It is a great back of the border plant sometimes reaching 7' high. It doesn't need dead-heading, it is a great fall food source for goldfinch.

As these plants are natives, they do not suffer from fungal diseases, nor insect pests overmuch. That they also serve as food for wildlife while note suffering from the forages is a clue about the pinching part of today's post.

Next entry, more on natives in formal garden design...

Clematis Planted for the July 2013 Garden Walk

Clematis texensis 'Diana'

In my small yard, I can either under-plant, combine, or plant up. Many of these clematis have been added to a trellis where a climbing rose also grows or where I already have a clematis which blooms in a different season. In this way I am able to layer the garden bringing a lot more bloom to my small space garden.

Clematis 'Alionushka'

Clematis alpina 'Blue Dancer'

Clematis 'Elsa Spath'

Clematis 'Etoile Rose'

In Place of a Wreath

Yes, the lighting was bad. I knew if I waited for today, snow would obscure my efforts. I am pleasantly surprised at the impact filling the window boxes with greens has. I installed these in anticipation of next July's garden walk.

The bulbs are some plastic ones meant for outdoor decorating I bought on sale a couple years ago. The other material: hydrangea, bee balm, "ting" grass, and sedums were cut from my garden.

Breakfast! Stuffed French Toast with Bacon

Extra thick sliced home-made bread stuffed with blackberries and raspberries with a sauce of berries, cream, butter, juice from the berries, and brown sugar, top with whipped cream, served with a side of bacon.

Already! Here Come the Seed Catalogs!

I have already received six seed catalogs. I know I have expressed the idea of starting some basil. I may start some micro-greens, or sprouts, too. I think I usually see them in my mailbox after Christmas.

As nice as they are to peruse, those of you who follow my organic vegetable and fruit gardening blog entries know that I am becoming more and more aware of seed provenance. I want to grow plants that have been successful for me in the past in my native earth. Particularly, I want to grow seeds of the plants that performed well for me, selecting the best of the best each year. In a small way, over a couple years, the Olpaka tomato I grow from seed will be less like the Olpaka you can get seed of from Totally Tomatoes, even though Olpaka is an heirloom tomato.

This last fall, I collected seed from our heirloom sweet corn, beans, peppers, tomatoes, many flowers; nearly everything other than root crops(of which I am saving some tubers) and greens and cole crops. With cole crops and carrots, I make a special effort to note varieties and where I purchase seed. The seed cycle on those is biennial and Wisconsin's climate precludes having these set seed in any reliable way.

I know most gardeners plant tomatoes and try a new variety each year, but wouldn't the seed companies be playing to a good subsection of the very intensive subset of gardeners by featuring some really cool and colorful carrots?

Well, at least the Twins and Baby Gardener will enjoy them, not being quite as jaded as me. After all, Future Chef Twin decided we needed to grow yellow raspberries last season after seeing them in a garden catalog.

We planted yellow raspberries.

Wondrous Things

I walked into a dark corner of my loft to find my Christmas cactus miraculously covered in buds, forgotten since its placement there in October. Similarly, today, 19 years ago, my life changed entirely, Handsome Son was born.

At the age that I conceived Handsome Son, I had fairly disparaged of having a family. I had sort of given up on the possibility that I would be a mother. And then lo and behold, one late winter day I realized I would have something to give thanks for by Thanksgiving. In his own stubborn way, he held out until December and his first stocking cap was a Santa hat and his first swaddling a Christmas stocking; the nurses in pediatrics were really into this bit of hoopla.

And now, he has fledged and living his college guy life,and unlike many of my generation (and even his father and I) is seriously studious and driven. He will have 41 credits by the end of this his Freshman year.

He is the light of my life. My dearest wish is he will be a light in this world.

Happy birthday,dear sweet child.

Hips!

My local McDonald's had a bit out there landscaper. He planted rugosa roses. Rugosas are known for their rose hips, those ripe seed pods reminiscent of the fruit of apples, medlars, and pomegranates; only small scale.

You can literally see the connection in rugosa rose hips and these other genera. These particular rose hips are so large and succulent, I long to reach out my window when grabbing a cup of joe and grab the hips as well. The hips in this McDonald's drive lane have driven me to plant my own rugosas.

although not particularly impressive this year, I hold out hopes for the coming year and them being a nice presence on the July garden walk.

So, Here's That Garden Bio

This garden is ten years old and surrounds a tiny house on a narrow long lot. From the very beginning this garden has been a problem solving garden. The goals have been to provide food, to harbor a plant collector's hobby, and to beautify a space while providing privacy.

Surrounded by street and unpaved alley on three sides, it has cluttered back yards as its borrowed views. Original plants on site included two huge hollow boxelders at the back of the lot that needed to be removed, a beech that came down in the June 2001 storm, the arborvitae on the lot line, and of course its signature white pine. Additionally, there was no outdoor storage.

At the very beginning this garden started with a plan. The only real change has been the addition of a cut-out potager and a berry brambles, which includes blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. The vegetable garden serves as a kitchen garden and strawberry patch, supplying fresh herbs, salad greens, and such.

Some of the basic design developed as solutions to problems with the site. A nice grassy lawn would not grow in the north front yard because of the sandy soil and shade of the white pine so the hosta collection garden found its place. Visually, the lot needs to look larger than it is, yet it needs to screen the views available. From the very beginning, sustainable practices needed to be used to improve the sandy soil. Each property owner is literally sitting on top of their own well water here in the village. No trees, or even large shrubs, can be planted between the houses because of sewer and gas lines running underground. The garden needed to be appropriate to the cottage style of the house. Being a plant collector, it was important to be able to have as many different species as possible without the garden turning into a jumble of green. This is the garden with its separate rooms and flowing alley-side border of shrubs and fruit trees that has been the result.

This small yard has many fruit trees: a Honeycrisp apple tree, Moorpark apricot, Seckl pear, and Mount Royal plum. While the apricot and plum are self-fruitful, the homeowner relies on traveling bees bringing pollen from neighboring fruit trees to pollinate the apple and pear. In 2011, honey bees were frequent visitors to the side yard bird bath where they would drink in groups of 3-4 dozen at a time, particularly on the hot afternoons. A neighbor maintains two hives in his yard providing these working pollinators.

Some of the unusual plants growing in this garden include: many clematis, Japanese peonies, Dart's gold ninebark, ‘Nordine' smokebush, ‘Golden Spirit' smokebush, a correctly-pruned privet hedges, over 65 different hosta, assorted daylilies, Orienpet and Asiatic lilies, ‘Quickfire' hydrangea and other hydrangeas, topiaried Katsura trees, climbing roses, a gravel scree garden, hazelnuts, four different species of lilacs, wine grapes, a dappled willow, ‘Diabolo' ninebark, akebia quinata, trumpet vine, honeysuckle vine,'Crimson Frost' birch, crytomeria japonica ‘Sugi',‘Blue Star' juniper, azalea and rhododendrons, the evergreen carex ‘Ice Dance', weeping European larch, aronia, and a large number of native plants, and collections of many cultivars of the same species so they can be studied as they grow such as nepeta, geraniums, sedums, alliums, and roses.

Viburnum 'Mohican'

Clematis 'The President'

Smokebush 'Golden Spirit'

Variegated Red Twig Dogwood