a charlotte garden

Plant of the Day: Yellow Iris

2013-05-24T15:42:00.000-04:00

When we first moved into our house nearly 20 years ago, I discovered some iris fans back in the deep shade of our heavily wooded backyard. The leaves showed up every spring but never bloomed.

When someone bought the lot next door to us and cleared most of it to build a house, sun reached into parts of our yard that it never had. The iris fans started to get bigger and more robust, and one year I was surprised by a big, beautiful, blue iris bloom. The next year or two yellow ones began to bloom and I've never seen a blue one since. I keep hoping.

I moved some of the plants from the woods to a brighter spot in my front yard, and this is how they bloomed this year. They are winding down now but it was probably the best year yet for them. I have no idea which species they are...any guesses?

They are tough, determined plants that have tolerated abysmal conditions at times over the years. Now they get a little more attention, but they don't really need it. It would be interesting to know how they came to be growing in such an unlikely spot in my woods. I haven't ruled out fairies.

Flaunt Your Flowers

~*~

Plant of the Day: Hardy Begonia

2013-05-23T20:32:00.000-04:00

Just when I was sure no hardy begonia (Begonia grandis) had survived the weather ups and downs, and all the garden creatures this winter and spring, my husband found some growing in the mazus at one end of the patio.

I wound up finding a couple more close by, and today I transplanted one of them to what I thought would be a better place in the garden. By this evening a busy little chipmunk had dug around and underneath it. (Grr!) I tucked it back in—the plant, not the chipmunk—but will have to wait and see what happens.

~*~

Plant of the Day: Southern Magnolia

2013-05-22T21:07:00.000-04:00

Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) has just started blooming in my garden. The flowers are huge, but it is the scent that tells me to look up into the tree for them. If there is a more pleasing smell, I don't know what it is. And the creamy white petals are just as pleasing. Leathery and smooth, they're nice to the touch, if you can reach one. (My tree has had all the lower branches trimmed and sometimes I have to jump and grab!)

Southern magnolia is native to the southern US and has naturalized a bit outside its native range; you might see it in the wild anywhere between Texas and Virginia. It blooms in May and June.

~*~

Same Rose, New Day

2013-05-21T14:53:00.001-04:00

Grüss an Aachen in the pink! Straight out of the camera, no photo enhancements. This was taken yesterday. Here's what it looked like just a few days earlier. Which do you like better?

~*~

A Peony's Passing

2013-05-20T10:02:00.001-04:00

The peony I posted about last Monday opened up this week. Inside was a surprising, solid white (like the one I posted about here)—no red or pink at all.

When a quick shower came through yesterday, the pristine petals fell quickly...almost all at once.

But the first colors to show are also the last. The ruffly ring of parrot petals hangs on for another day.

~*~
Macro Monday

A Bloom Day Plant of the Day: Grüss an Aachen Rose

2013-05-15T09:27:00.002-04:00

This is the peachiest I've ever seen this rose, and I love it. It's glowing! Normally there are more pink tones, especially toward the edges of the petals...which is also pretty, but not quite so perfect. My shrub is kind of pitiful or I would show you a little more of it; it's an especially good year for these flowers.

Rosa 'Grüss an Aachen' suffers along in a mostly shady spot in the garden, but even though mine is not an attractive shrub, I keep it because the roses are just so lovely! Imagine a shrub absolutely full of lush English garden roses...just try not to think about the spindly, improperly pruned canes they're attached to. And don't forget to conjure up the fragrance while you're imagining: they smell wonderful—lemony and rosy at the same time.

This is the same bloom a few days earlier, when it was still a bud.

I've posted about this rose before; it's irresistible when in bloom. The fragrance—always described as "light" in catalogs and books—manages to waft to all corners of the garden when conditions are just so. It's the magnet that draws me over to admire and then get out the camera again and again.

These two posts will show you how different it looks at other times of the year: August || November (Scroll down a bit for the rose pics). Can you believe it's the same rose? The color is so changeable depending on temperature and time of year, that it's like having several different plants.

A dozen shrubs wouldn't be too many, and that's what I'd have—if I had a little more room in a little more sun.

~*~

Take a look at what's blooming in gardens around the world: It's Garden Bloggers Bloom Day!

Bluejay Hoppers

2013-05-14T10:19:00.004-04:00

A subtle shift of leaves in the garden is a sound that puts me on alert. We have snakes, and they are welcome, but I can't say I enjoy the encounters as much as my husband and niece do.

Yesterday, there were leaves moving, but thankfully no snake. It was this little guy instead. He's just under the azalea next to my porch.

Here my daughter holds back the shrub for me (notice her beautifully manicured prom nails) so I can take the pic.

We have had lots of bluejays in the garden this year after many years with just a few. There seem to be fewer bluebirds in the years there are more jays, but I don't know if there's an actual correlation.

This baby looks so cute with its crest raised. I thought a raised crest had something to do with male/female, or maybe age of the bird, but I found out that it is associated with aggression level. If it is down, the bird is usually calm and feeding or tending the nest or babies.

Baby Jay's sibling was close by, too, and her crest wasn't raised (even though we stuck the phone camera in her space, too). Sibling birds, like sibling children seem to have different responses to the same situations!

A few interesting facts about Bluejays:

•Bluejays' love of acorns helped spread oak trees far and wide since the last ice age when the range for oak was reduced and pushed south. They can carry as many as 5 acorns at a time in their throats and beaks. I know they are fairly large backyard birds, but wow!, acorns are big seeds!

•Some bluejays migrate, but not all! It is still a scientific mystery why that is so.

•Bluejays have a large vocabulary and can immitate both cats and hawks. They may do this to alert other birds of the dangers of those animals, or they may do it to intimidate and shoo away other birds.

If they can just make it through their perilous adolescence, these birds can live 17 years. Blue-feathered birds seem especially suited to flight, don't they—as if they're made of the very stuff they fly in.

~*~

Reference: http://www.allaboutbirds.org

Parrot Peony

2013-05-13T19:54:00.000-04:00

I've found unexpected peonies in my garden before, but never one like this. The plant is small and this is its only bloom. Could it be a seedling? I'm really not sure, but I know I did not plant it.

I haven't heard of parrot peonies, but that's what I'm going to call this one, at least for now—the striping and frilly-edged petals look so much like those of parrot tulips. I've been amazed by it.

What do you think...tasteful or tawdry?

~*~

Macro Monday

UPDATE 5.20.2013 -- A Peony's Passing

Plant of the Day: Doublefile Viburnum

2013-05-09T12:38:00.001-04:00

Doublefile viburnum (Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum) has finished blooming; the petals have fallen and the berries are forming. The aging inflorescences look like rows of miniature tropical trees up close like this. Spiders have had a field day creating nets between the "trees," and just in time for recently returned hummingbirds that will use the webbing for their nests.

A month ago, blooms looked like this:

And in November, leaves faded like this:

As soon as berries form on this plant, they are eaten up by very enthusiastic birds that seem to adore doublefile viburnum, not only for food, but for shelter. It provides a safe place to perch as they fly back and forth to the feeders, and as they preen. Most years a bird couple decides to nest in ours. The gardener has every reason to be just as enthusiastic— these are beautiful shrubs through the seasons, with an especially generous springtime bloom. They are easy to grow and easy to propagate by cuttings.

~*~

Plant of the Day: McKana's Giant Columbine

2013-05-08T15:24:00.001-04:00

The flower that immediately comes to mind whenever anyone asks my favorite, is native species columbine, Aquilegia canadensis. Even the sound of the scientific name, I love. But when I got a package of 'McKana's Giant' Columbine seeds in a Mother's Day card from my middle-schooler a few years ago, I knew it was time to grow some hybrids.

I waited until the next spring to sow the seeds, a fact that would've made Middle-schooler mad, except for the zinnias in the same card that were planted right away and bloomed beautifully all summer. The columbine seeds were sown first in a seed flat inside in February, and then put out in the garden in April. They grew so slowly at first, and to make matters worse, something munched on a couple of plants which disappeared entirely after that. Deer aren't supposed to eat them, but the next year, they did. So even though the plants reached a reasonable size, with the deer pruning, they never flowered.

This year is the first year they've bloomed! It was a long wait, but Middle-schooler who in the meantime changed her name to High-schooler, is happy. And so am I!

'McKana's Giant', as you would expect, is a large plant. It can top 3 feet tall in the partly-shaded, well-drained soil that it prefers. The flowers are larger than our native columbine as well. Most notably, the spurs are quite long—as long as 4" in length. Hummingbirds and hawk-moths are the pollinators; they're the ones with the right physiques to negotiate that sort of distance to the nectar.

The colors of this hybrid are a range of pastels, from red to blue to yellow. Most flowers will be bicolored, with one color on the the sepals and another on the petals. There seems to be a new flower every day, often with a new color or color combination—variation may be the most exciting aspect of seed-grown plants. 'McKana's Giant' will hybridize readily with other columbines blooming close by, which can make things even more interesting.

One more thing to know about columbines: leafminers will take up residence sooner or later. Those pale, squiggly lines on the leaves are your first clue. Leafminers are the larvae of several different types of insects—flies, moths, beetles—that burrow between the layers of a leaf and chew tunnels.

In spite of the ugly they create (though it has a certain beauty, too, doesn't it?), you don't have to worry too much about the health of your plant. Columbines can feed lots of leafminers without succumbing.

Even if you decide you want to get rid of your leaf miners, there is no need to use a pesticide. The best control is to remove the affected leaves and throw them away (in the trash, not the compost pile).

~*~

Thank you to my daughter for a fun, long-lasting, and very beautiful Mother's Day gift...it was worth the wait!

Plant of the Day: Beautybush

2013-05-06T16:57:00.000-04:00

Beautybush (Kolkwitzia amabilis) is in bloom now. From a distance the flowers look white, but lean a little closer and you can see just how not white they are. You would never suspect all this floral detail if you didn't like to investigate and uncover plant secrets as you wander about outside, now would you? But, I know you are not one to let indifference obscure any of this beauty!

Beautybush is related to honeysuckle (Caprifoliaceae family), but is the only species in the Kolkwitzia genus, which incidentally is named for a 19th century German botanist, Richard Kolkwitz. The plant received the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit in 1923 and immediately became popular in gardens at home as well as abroad. Your grandmother probably had one.

Niche Gardens (where I bought mine as a tiny stick in a pot one March) describes beautybush as a classic passalong plant. I haven't tried to propagate it yet, but I have little doubt one could put a cutting in the ground and it would root. It just looks easy, and I've had good luck rooting shrubs that way.

a fuzzy phone zoom pic of the
first swallowtail of the season
sipping Kolkwitzia

In spite of the cool flowers, I've been tempted to remove my shrub because it is taking up such a good-sized chunk of sun-drenched real estate. I mentioned this to my husband/shrub-remover, and he looked at me skeptically and tentatively replied that he likes the shrub and wasn't so sure about moving it. An opinion about plants is so rare from him that I was taken aback. But when my teenage daughter admired a branch full of blooms and even exclaimed that the flowers were "so pretty!," I decided to join the likers and just admire it myself and forget about adding any more sun-loving plants.

Shortly after making that decision, a swallowtail flitted over and landed on a flowering branch. And then I noticed something else: perfume. Usually the temperatures are 10–15 degrees warmer here when beautybush blooms. Heat evaporates any sweet smell, leaving only the nose-tickly scent of pollen. But in the cool humidity of this spring, there is a very sweet and pleasant French perfume scent, not unlike Clethra.

I'm glad we left it alone for another year.

~*~

The Private Life of Deer

2013-05-05T15:34:00.000-04:00

I didn't take this picture, but I could have. I've been startled by a deer standing nearly right beside me in my backyard several times. It's hard to believe they have become so unaffected by human activity that ignoring us entirely suits them just fine. Yelling and throwing things will cause them to look up from your hosta for a second—long enough to give you a blank stare, a silent "huh?," before grazing some more.

I think this homeowner gave up on hostas and everything else!

I do know the feeling.

If you've followed this blog for long, you've probably noticed I'm a little resentful of deer. My azaleas only bloom on the bottom third of the plant; my rose buds disappear; I've lost entire plants due to deer browsing. I could use a little help gaining an appreciation of these animals.

And that brings me to the point of the post: A new Nature episode, "The Private Life of Deer," will air on PBS on Wednesday, May 8th at 8:00. (Or, you can watch it at pbs.org/nature beginning after the broadcast. )

The deer population has exploded in the last century, from under a million to 30 million. Hmm no wonder we have a deer problem! Surprisingly, research highlighted on the show indicates that we unwittingly created the perfect environment for deer when we moved to suburbia. Open areas with a smorgasbord of plants arranged in thickets is just what they need! Who knew we were doing that?!

"The Private Life of Deer" will shine some light on the social behavior, feeding habits, and that deer-in-the-headlights effect we all know about. And, the rare albino deer of northern Wisconsin forests and the endangered miniature deer of the Florida keys (shown above) will be featured as well.

I recently let you know about "What Plants Talk About," which is part of the same Nature series. This one promises to be just as informative and entertaining.

____________________________
Photo credits from top to bottom: 1) ©THIRTEEN, 2) Katrina Sorrentino ©THIRTEEN, 3) ©THIRTEEN, 4) Katrina Sorrentino ©THIRTEEN

~*~

Plant of the Day: Little Bonnie Spirea

2013-05-04T15:45:00.000-04:00

(Spiraea x bumalda 'BL0601' Little Bonnie™)

I always thought of spirea as bit of a bore. Let's face it, spirea is common...maybe too common. But some new cultivars are making Spiraea a lot more interesting. Although typically described as a flowering shrub, it may be that the foliage of this plant will impress you more.

Southern Living Plants gave me this Little Bonnie™ last fall to try in my garden. I left it in the pot it came in all winter. But recently I moved it to a large terracotta pot where I plan to keep it so I can move it into the sun occasionally if I need to. It should take well to pot culture, because Little Bonnie™ is a dwarf Spiraea, expected to grow no more than three feet tall and wide. It likes well-drained soil and sun, but will tolerate part shade. Southern Living describes it as evergreen, but mine lost all its leaves this winter. Maybe I almost killed it! If I did, it rebounded nicely because it looks great now.

I made Little Bonnie™ spirea my Plant of the Day today because I've been so taken by the soft, friendly foliage and it's pleasant, subtle range of color. I'm in love! I go outside just to gaze at it sometimes. The newest leaves are reddish, but they age to a yellow-green and finally to nearly blue. Fall color is good, too. I see some buds developing, so there will be pinky-mauve flowers soon that are reported to return off and on all summer. I'll be looking for bees and butterflies to visit.

~*~

Plant of the Day: A Small Native Fern

2013-05-03T13:52:00.001-04:00

Today is the first day of a new feature here at A Charlotte Garden—the Plant of the Day. I would rather call it something else, but "Plant of the Day" is descriptive: I will post a picture a day (I'll shoot for at least 3 or 4 a week) of a plant that catches my eye, or that has some quality I think you might enjoy seeing. If you have any ideas for a creative re-naming, please send them my way!

The Plant of the Day will not usually come with lots of words, or even any. I will only post photos that were taken by me on the day of posting, or within a day or two before, and no more than three photos will appear on any one post. I like rules—especially when I make them—even if I sometimes break them. ;) If there are any particular plants you want to see, tell me, and I'll try to oblige.

First up is Ebony Spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron). These are small native ferns, in this case, growing in my backyard. I've been looking for them, hoping they would return, and just this week I found them again. There have always been a couple of fronds growing underneath a particular dogwood tree in my woodsy backyard, but some years there are more than others.

No other native fern (common to the Piedmont) really looks like ebony spleenwort, so it's pretty easy to identify. The fronds are narrow (about an inch wide), and taper at both ends. The rachis, which is the part of the frond that is analogous to the midrib of a leaf, is very dark, almost black. I don't know if it's a particularly good ID character, but the mature fronds are usually nearly vertical, or quite perpendicular to the ground.

There's a native clumping grass in the picture as well, Poverty Oat Grass (Danthonia spicata), so a it's a native twofer on this first "Plant of the Day" day! Just ignore the periwinkle (Vinca minor), which has quite the healthy appetite for territory and no good manners where sharing resources is concerned.

~*~

Lucky Clover

2013-04-30T11:21:00.000-04:00

Look what I found—a five-leaf clover a foot across! Or, so it looks in the picture. It is actually more like three inches across, which is still quite large.

I mentioned my patch of Trifolium repens 'Pentaphyllum' in a previous post. The color of the foliage used to be deep red, nearly black. Here's what it used to look like, except that mine was even a little darker.

I might think my black clover just disappeared and a generic garden clover took its place, except that this patch—which also happens to be in the same spot as the other—keeps sending up four- and five-leaved clovers! And that's why the cultivar I originally planted was named 'Pentaphyllum' in the first place. So, maybe the cultivar reverted to green or lost its unique black color to the plant's stronger tendency to produce green leaves.

I've heard it said that five leaves are unlucky. But it seems to me, the more leaves and the bigger the clover, the the luckier they are. Wouldn't you think? Just in case, I found two four-leaf clovers, too. So I'm covered either way.

May you find a little luck in your garden today, too.

~ Daricia

Flowery Stamps

2013-04-26T11:19:00.000-04:00

Back in the day, before Lisa Frank or Mrs. Grossman's, there were postage stamps—the stickers of a 60s and 70s childhood. Decorating a letter with doodles and squiggles, and then putting a pretty stamp in the corner was fun. Some of us never outgrew the delight in that!

On my botanical stamps board on Pinterest, the ones Germany issued are some of the prettiest. But the USPS has issued some beautiful botanical stamps as well. Some of you might recall the wildflower stamp series from 1991. There were 50 of them, all gorgeous. I would still use them if I could.

Earlier this month, the post office issued a new series of stamps based on vintage seed packet illustrations. Even if letter writing isn't likely to happen, we can pay a bill or two with these instead of a boring generic stamp. And they're better for birthdays and invitations, too, don't you think? Order them online and have the postman deliver them right to your box; you can avoid the lines at the P.O. altogether. Sometimes your local P.O. won't have particular stamps, so online ordering will help you avoid that issue as well.

Also this month, Florida celebrated the 500th anniversary of its naming with a floral stamp depicting several of the state's colorful wildflowers. During the stamp's dedication ceremony, Jo Ann Feindt (U.S. Postal Service Southern Area Operations Vice President) said, "From the moment Ponce de Leon arrived on these shores, Florida has been a destination for dreamers. This state occupies a special place in the American imagination, and so these stamps give people another way to share the wonders of Florida." As a Floridaphile...and lover of wildflowers and stamps, I'm in. What about you?

Both the Vintage Seed stamps and the La Florida stamp are Forever stamps, so you can buy as many as you like and continue to use them even if/when the P.O. raises rates again.

~*~

Pitcher plants flower, too!

2013-04-24T08:41:00.002-04:00

We don't normally think of pitcher plants having flowers—it's the leaves with their ability to feed on insects that fascinate us and get our attention. But before the pitchers form each spring, buds swell and flowers open for the business of pollination, giving pollinators a chance to do their thing before the threat of being devoured manifests.

The purple pitcher plants (Sarracenia purpurea), formerly in my tiny bog garden, are sending up buds now; other species may bloom any time between February and May. Below a copper-top pitcher shows off it's lovely leaves in the pine savannahs of Brunswick County, NC.

Pitcher plant flowers have adaptations that make them as unusual as the rest of the plant. A beautiful Sarracenia diagram with all the parts labeled is here. See below how some of the anthers have fallen into the cup-like style where insects (primarily bees) will be unavoidably covered with it before they exit.

There are believed to be eight native species of pitcher plants in the United States, and seven of them are found only in the southeast. The wetlands habitat for these plants has been reduced by over 90% and severe poaching continues to threaten their survival in the wild. It is estimated that only 5% of the original stands of Sarracenia still exist.

Pitcher plant fruit forms after
pollination and fertilization.
Seed dispersal is in the fall.

But pitcher plants are easy to grow in a pot—wouldn't you like to? First start with plants from a botanical garden (UNC or UNC Charlotte, for example) or reputable retailer (such as Niche Gardens). Soil should be approximately 1/3 peat, 1/3 sand, and 1/3 potting soil. Put the pot in full sun, in a dish, and keep the dish full of water at least most of the time. I let mine dry out a bit occasionally, especially in the winter, but it should never get bone dry. You can fertilize occasionally with fish emulsion. The liquid-filled tubular foliage is fun to inspect—you'll be surprised at the large number of bugs in there!

Recommended reference: The Savage Garden by Peter D'Amato, Ten Speed Press, 1998.

~*~

Wildflower Wednesday

Remembering Mimosa

2013-04-23T16:07:00.001-04:00

Several large, beautiful mimosa trees grew in the neighborhood of my childhood. I remember once playing under the ferny leaves of one, leaning against the smooth, gray bark, merrily chattering with my best friend Karen about one day. One day we would have our own house, and though our dreams weren't yet clear enough to say garden, in the yard would be a beautiful mimosa tree just like that one.

It was a rude awakening to later find out that, in spite of its pleasing qualities, mimosa (Albiza julibrissin) is no longer considered a lovely ornamental, but an invasive exotic. Throughout the sandhills and coastal plain of North Carolina, mimosas edge every field of crops and drop very fertile seeds by the thousands into the disturbed ground. They probably show up in your garden, as they do mine.

Yet, I can't say I instantly disdained the plant when I heard the news—it is still disappointing—but I no longer aspire to having one in my yard; I remove the occasional seedlings that pop up. There are several native trees that are nice substitutes for mimosa—redbud, fringetree, buckeye—so I'll plant those instead. And, I'll appreciate the native wildlife those trees support.

But when I am out with my dog and he pulls me past a mimosa branch in full bloom, I'm still going to stop and admire the light fragrance, and remember how I would brush my baby son's cheek with the silky flowers and watch his eyes close.

~*~

Weekend in the Woods

2013-04-22T13:32:00.000-04:00

Besides finding morels in the woods of my backyard, I've found a few other treasures in the woods lately. The North Carolina Native Plant Society's Spring trip for 2013 was last weekend. On Saturday, we went to Wilson Creek near Lenoir, North Carolina. It was a first time visit to this area for me and my first out-of-town field trip with the NCNPS.

If this looks like a rushing stream, it isn't really. It was just a little trickle I found
up under a rhododendron. I almost fell in trying to get the picture.
I was told these thickets are called rhododendron hells
because they're hell to get into, and hell to get back out of again.
It did seem that way.
~

Lenoir is at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, with an elevation of around 1100 feet, but hiking above Wilson Creek, the altitude is closer to 2000 feet. Tulip poplar, maple, oak, and white pine were common trees and the understory was filled with rhododendron, mountain laurel, spice bush, and blueberry. It was fun finding Cunila origanoides along the path, a native herb with an oregano scent.

Wilson Creek was a summer hunting ground for the Cherokee in centuries past. Once pioneers began to settle (after 1750), substantial logging took place and communities began to spring up. A railroad took the lumber to the mill, and the people in and out, but floods and fires eventually took their toll, and the creek—which has remained quite remote—was designated a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System in 2000.

Halberd-leaf Violet (Viola hastata)

The cool spring we've had prevented many of the things we normally would have seen from blooming yet, but there were plenty of plants to enjoy.

Round-leaf Violet (Viola rotundifolia)

Buckeye (Aesculus sylvatica)

Ground Cedar (Lycopodium sp.)

Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea)

Besides the plant life at Wilson Creek, the geology is interesting as well. Past major geologic events contribute to a wide diversity of rocks in the area. Mountains folded up from the ocean floor leaving sea fossils and sandy soil in some spots. Then millions of years of erosion exposed layer after layer of other rock and soil types. No doubt this, and the fact that glaciers didn't make it so far south, made for a wonderful flora here.

Rock tripe lichen (Umbilicaria mammulata)

A closer view of the rock trip lichen.

I loved the greens and grays of this rock. We were parked on the side of the road and I was looking straight up from the car window to take the picture.

Leaving the mountain, a quick stop was deemed mandatory as we passed these cliff-side plants conveniently growing at eye-level.

Our first trillium sighting! Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) is at its feet.

Looks like the picture is sideways, but this Fraser's sedge (Cymophyllus fraserianus) is growing out of the side of the cliff.

Here's Fraser's sedge in a more respectable position.

Trillium erectum or T. sulcatum? There was some debate, but a resident expert declared it T. sulcatum, based on the fact that the stamens are more exserted than they would be for T. erectum. I think that's the story.

Trillium sulcatum

The deep red was hard to stop looking at—or taking picture of.

Liverwort (Hepatica sp.)

On Sunday, we took a walk through a private garden and the woods beyond, in Happy Valley, a part of the Yadkin River Valley.

Happy Valley

Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica)

Mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum) just emerging. The green umbrella leaves will open up soon.

A lichen- and moss-covered tree stump—more beautiful color and texture

Brand new leaves of a tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)

Sassafrass blooms (Sassafrass albidum)

I had never noticed sassafrass blooming before. Tree blooms are always kind of surprising and fun to see up close—they're often up high and out of sight.

Horsesugar (Symplocos tinctoria) was an unusual plant we saw in Happy Valley, unfortunately I didn't get a picture! You can take a look at some nice ones here, or look for the trees in southeastern coastal plains. Yes, I did say coastal plains! Horsesugar is rare in the mountains, but they're here in Lenoir. Could it be because Lenoir used to BE coastal plain eons ago?

One more tidbit: Japanese knotweed grows throughout the Wilson Creek area. I love how the introduction of invasive plants can often be traced back to the actual event that brought them to a place. In this case, they believe a man, Bill Crump—who lived in one of the creek communities and had established a furniture manufacturing facility there—is responsible. He ordered a pretty ornamental from the Sears and Roebuck catalog and planted it outside his home. The pretty ornamental has turned out to be a devourer of native habitat, covering acres of land and threatening untold numbers of native species! If they had only known then what we know now!

~*~

You are welcome to join the North Carolina Native Plant Society, too. These trips are one of the many benefits. Information about membership is available at NCWildflower.org, along with articles and links of interest to plant lovers.

Last Day

2013-04-19T20:56:00.000-04:00

Ornamental ~~kale~~ cabbage was attractive all winter with mustard, violas, and some trailing oregano, all in a pot together on the front porch. But once the weather started to warm, it (and the mustard) bolted and started to bloom. It looked kind of messy and wild, but I liked watching the process, so I left it alone. But tomorrow the time has come—the kale and mustard will be compost, the oregano will be resituated in the herb garden. The last frost date has passed. Time for a new look.

Not five feet from the end of my driveway...

2013-04-18T16:09:00.000-04:00

Absent-mindedly taking inventory of this and that out in the garden, I was walking with my dog and pulling oak catkins out of my hair, when I spied these mushrooms. Gasp!

I found a tiny couple of them once before, two years ago—close to the same date as today—but they were on the other side of the yard. I've looked at that spot for more ever since, but have never seen another.

I believe they are yellow morels, which are a wonderful delicacy, I understand.

If I weren't such a mycophobe, I would eat them. Instead, I'll watch them grow and then decay—with great botanical interest—but that will have to do.

A garden surprise is there for anyone who looks for one, isn't there? What have you found in yours?

~*~

Chewed Leaves, Perfect Bloom

2013-04-17T10:01:00.000-04:00

Tulipa batalinii

You came by too early to get this pretty flower, deer. Haha! Score one for the gardener. There's a chipmunk tunnel within inches, though. What are the odds the bulb will survive another year? But that's part of gardening and part of life, isn't it? You never know what tomorrow will bring.

~*~

Fabulous Foliage

2013-04-16T11:32:00.000-04:00

April's new growth on this pieris (Pieris japonica 'Mountain Fire') is a striking contrast to the mature leaves. Can you believe the red? The tips of all the branches look like this. As I'm looking at the foliage on screen, I wish I could blow that dusty layer of pollen off, but that's true to how everything looks outside right now.

I posted a fall photo of this spirea (Spirea x bumalda 'Goldflame') with the foliage at it's neon red stage. I started the shrub from a cutting and haven't seen it flower yet, but I wouldn't care if it never did. You can see that the new growth is just as pretty as the ready-to-fall foliage.

Lady's mantle (Alchemilla mollis) is a plant I've loved since I first read about it in Emilie Tolley's book, Herbs, back in the 80s. The sprays of tiny chartreuse flowers, and pleated leaves that hold tiny dew drops along their toothed edges, completely stole my heart.

I looked for it for a year or two before I found it, and then I planted it every year for the next decade or so. It succumbed every time after a year or two of weak growth and a poor response to the high heat of summers in NC.

Last year I found a species which looks very similar but which seems to have much better heat tolerance. (Alchemilla sericata 'Goldstrike') I've been very happy so far. Will keep you posted on how it progresses during its second year.

I am really not sure what this sedum is but it's likely to be Sedum makinoi 'Ogon', or Japanese golden sedum. Mine started from a tiny pinch which rooted easily but never grew much last summer. Now that I've read a little about it, I think it might prefer a shadier locale. It's cute, isn't it?

There are a couple of basil seedlings beside the sedum from boxwood basils that I had last summer. I don't know if they will come true from seed, but I'll try to move them when they get a little larger just to see. Really, basils are all nice, so it won't matter too much. Did you know that even the seed leaves you see here already have a strong basil scent?

Look how cool hostas are as they are just leafing out! I love to watch the whole process, from pointed little horns pushing up through the soil to fully unfolded leaves, some as large as a foot across or more.

I'm growing all my hostas in pots now, after trying for years to get them to grow in the ground. Deer just devastate them and the dry soil doesn't help, either. But they seem to love pots—all of them are getting more and more lush each year. Hostas are a little easier to see and appreciate raised off the ground in pots, too.

~*~

Foliage Follow-up Day

A Very Ornamental Bloom Day

2013-04-15T14:48:00.000-04:00

Spring was slow to arrive, but it's definitely here now. All my favorite ornamentals are showing off! The brightest spot in the garden this April Bloom Day is a clump of petticoat daffodils (above). Narcissus bulbocodium is a species daffodil, native to Meditteranean regions. Big cup, tiny petals, grass-like foliage—it will reseed under the right conditions, and can be naturalized in lawns, if you like that idea. Mine are near the sidewalk, underneath the Endless Summer hydrangeas.

Close by is a very pregnant hellebore. This plant is superb at every stage, really. Sure the foliage gets kind of ratty by the end of fall, but you can cut it off after the weather gets cold and before long the flowers will come and then the new flush of greenery.

Violas of many species are blooming now. I love them all! I saved a dry, shady part of the garden by my hot driveway just for them. How thoughtful of me, right? What an awful place to try to grow! But they don't seem to mind—they're spreading. This year I have shades of purple I never had before.

Another favorite is fairy wings (Epimedium spp.). Remember when I posted this picture? Well, here is what happened to that flower spike! Heart-shaped leaves and spurred flowers are irresistible, and both on one plant at the same time? That makes fairy wings a garden must-have for me. There are lots of great Epimedium; there are many fans and collectors of the different types. It is a beautiful, satisfying plant to grow in dry shade.

Another bright spot in the garden, though a tiny one, is the maiden pink. This blossom is about a half inch across, but you can see it from quite a distance. I am so thrilled with these! They smell nice and bloom beautifully for months. The semi-evergreen foliage clumps are neat and attractive, too. You can see a long shot of them here.

The most impressive plant in my garden right now, I've saved for last. The Shasta viburnum looks like a bride at her wedding. It is glorious! Here you see underneath the lacy flowers, looking up into the sky...

...and now, looking down. Shasta viburnum is easy to grow in shade or sun, moist or dry soil; it's easy to propagate from cuttings, and easy to find at garden centers. Berries follow the flowers and good fall color comes after that. Birds build nests in ours every year, and love to perch in it as they flit back and forth to the feeders. If you don't have one, what are you waiting for?!

What's the best bloom at your house this month?

~*~

My patio is blooming!

2013-04-12T09:38:00.000-04:00

This is what the patio looked like last night before the rain started. This morning it is mostly green, but at least refreshed—and free of the yellow dust that has covered everything for days. The purple (blue?) flowers are Mazus reptans. Bottom left is a quickly growing clump of clover that used to be very dark colored, almost black (Trifolium repans 'Pentaphyllum'). It seems to have completely reverted to green. I'm not sure I want it there anymore.

Up against the wall, Sedum 'Angelina' mingles with the mazus. I like the difference in textures—makes you want to touch—and the extra color. Further down along the wall, is a surprise spot of pink.

It was too sunny when I took this picture, but I wanted to show you anyway. (Just imagine how pretty it really is!) The pink oxalis was here when we first moved in 20 years ago. It's a plant that I'm sure I could spend the rest of my life trying to eradicate. We do try to keep it under control, but it has tiny bulbils that remain in the dirt no matter what you do to get rid of them! Though I wouldn't recommend planting it, when I saw some pop up in the veronica ('Waterperry Blue') and mazus, it was easy to understand how someone thought it was a good idea so long ago. It is charming, isn't it?

Any garden plans this weekend? The weather should be beautiful!

~*~