The Garden Buzz

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: February 15

2012-02-14T20:59:54-08:00

Once again while I'm down south for winter, I am "borrowing" blooms for GBBD. Hope you don't mind.

One of my favorite past times is poking around old cemeteries. It's more about history and heart than the macabre. My daughter found this secluded cemetery when we made a quick return trip to Charleston for some J. Crew and another round of shrimp and grits at the Hominy Grill.

Down a shady, narrow path, tucked among the shops on King Street, you enter a cemetery much different than many in the low country. Often the graveyards here are a contrast of bare dirt and billowing azaleas; draped in gray Spanish moss with hot pink flowers popping against aging stone.

The Unitarian Cemetery at Archdale Street is lush with flowers and vegetation, the greenery knitted together almost as if to hold the leaning stones and crumbling tombs together against the slow passage of time. What a hidden gem.

Cemeteries are known to be the repository not only of souls but that of tough and sometimes long-forgotten plants. I would love nothing more than to spend a year researching all the species thriving in this intimate space. With only a few hours, I settled for a stroll among the late-winter and early-spring flowers.

Spring snowflakes, (Leucojum vernum) , the "poor cousin" to Snowdrops (Galanthus)

As I find so many southern plants I can't grow up north, I made a mental note to plant some of these delightful little bulbs next fall. Hardy to Zone 3! The little white petals on these bell-shaped blooms are tipped with a spot of green, resembling little fairy hats.

These old-timey narcissus literally glow in the soft golden light of late afternoon.

I did do a little research later, coming to the conclusion this variety of daffodil is a southern heirloom called Grand Primo, harking from the 1800's.

A soft pink, single-flowered camellia by this inviting bench

A recently planted, young Edgeworthia chrysantha, commonly known as paper bush, this may be the cultivar called 'Snow Cream'.

The unique blooms are cherished for their lovely fragrance.

Azaleas are just beginning to bloom

Not flowers, but still noteworthy, ferns of all sorts.

Toppled stems blanket these graves

The church and cemetery have survived a fire, an earthquake and hurricanes. The damage is still seen here and there. Large trees fell on many of the graves crushing stone and ironwork.

Even with all of that turbulent history, it seems a peaceful resting place. The kind of place where a gardener might want to turn in her trowel.

Hearts in Nature

2012-02-13T15:34:17-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day

Inspiration for Spring 2012: My Latest Window Box Photos from Charleston!

2012-02-09T07:18:43-08:00

Who doesn't love a window box? Considering the popularity of last year's post on Charleston window boxes, not many. Charleston is an easy 2-hour trip from Savannah, a hop, skip and a jump to a whole 'nother horticultural paradise. You might remember my first visit there last year and the garden tour photo fiasco.

After that I decided all the window boxes on the street were fair game, and occasionally I poked my camera through the conveniently-spaced bars of a wrought iron gate. This year I followed a similar plan and saved myself those $45 tickets! Sorry Charlie, I mean Charleston, no photography, no tour.

Charleston is known as the Holy City due to the large number churches, and seeing all the majestic spires rising above the historic district, I can see why. But I think it should just be known as the Pretty City. Even the people are pretty. So many of the women walking on King Street have that pulled-together look of Parisian ladies. And the men, well, nobody rocks a bow tie like Charleston men.

Anyway, here it is February and Charleston's spring window boxes are already in fine form.

It may be too early for many of you to start planting window boxes, but it's not to soon to be inspired by these beautiful plantings.

Enjoy....

Love this fresh green/white combination, notice the sedums. The Garden Buzz

Cyclamen, torenia, kale and alyssum; the yellow bloom on the kale sets off the gold lettering so beautifully

Ivy, lobelia, violas and some spiky thing in cheerful orange and blue shades

A storefront box with foxtail fern, dragon-wing begonia, is it an animal theme?

The street was perfumed with this alyssum arrangement, I suspect it's the prolific, new 'Snow Princess' from Proven Winners.

Viola, rosemary, holly fern and snapdragons along Church Street

Begonia and ivy just taking off in this box attached to magnificent mansion

Edible landscape: Window box filled with herbs in another storefront planting

These red shutters and scrolled ironwork set off this new planting

And these green shutters complement the white petunias and and orange violas

Simple pansies look like little smiling faces.

If you can't get enough of Charleston window boxes, I suggest Southern Living garden writer, Steve Bender's (AKA The Grumpy Gardener) blog post showing more window boxes at their summer peak. I especially like his window box "recipe"..

Join Me on an Early Morning Walk?

2012-02-04T08:28:17-08:00

Don't worry I'm not walking for any kind of cause. You can join me without forking over a donation. I was just out wandering around, like I do, seeing what I could see. I'm used to heading out each morning to see what's going on in my garden. Here I can partake of the greater communal garden that is Savannah.

I go on and on about the hidden gardens of Savannah I long to see, but in spite of my constant complaining, there's plenty of gardening right on the street to enjoy.

Of course, if you want straightforward, pretty pictures of Savannah scenes, I'd suggest you buy one of the hundreds of books for sale about this city. When I go walking I'm on the lookout for a unique perspective and sometimes a one of kind moment.

I never know what I'll find. And if I don't find it that time, I keep a mental note of how the light might work better at another time of day, whether a bloom or shadow might be more fully developed the next time, you know.

And then there are the moral dilemmas...there's a fading bouquet of magenta roses on a table, in a mansion, that keeps their drapes open, showing off their gorgeous white upholstered furniture right at eye level. And this bouquet from through the wavy glass, well it's weighing on me as potential photos I covet sometimes do. I could go back tomorrow when the light is the same but then all the churchgoers across the street will see me. Hmm. The next day the roses might be gone.

Of course, with the iPhone, photos like these are easy and discreet. Here's a little glimpse of what I encountered this morning:

I hadn't seen this vining curtain-like window box before.

Love how these ferns just spring out the brickwork.

An odd assortment of things outside an antique store with an aloe bloom bonus.

I always think this courtyard looks forlorn and in need of some love, I used the "antique" filter to emphasize this. Wish I could tend it for them.

Always amazed at the different ways this creeping fig is used, love the garland effect.

Ok, one pretty garden picture. This is a favorite of mine, in May this fence is festooned with yellow Lady Banks roses. Dreamy.

The camellias have a few weeks of blooming left. I've got just a few weeks left down here too. If I were the kind to use sad-face icons, I would insert one here.

Squares of Savannah: Sometimes It's Hip to Be Square

2012-01-28T08:29:57-08:00

I'm not getting around to as many blog posts down here as I'd hoped for during my stay in Savannah. I expected time for exploring and writing, unfortunately health issues for myself and some family members have taken necessary time away. And then my car was smashed the other night while parked along the street. Even though I don't drive as much here, it's always something, isn't it?

I'll be busy this week too since I have a friend coming to visit, so I thought I would at least link to my Star Tribune post where I temporarily leave off my obsession with courtyard gardens and talk about the lovely squares of Savannah. It's not quite gardening but it is all about making beautiful spaces.

Here's hoping things calm down and next week I'll be back to my usual garden espionage!

The fountain on Lafayette Square The Garden Buzz

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: January 15

2012-01-14T20:15:35-08:00

I'm "borrowing" some blooms for this January Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.

Camellia japonica on the square The Garden Buzz

Without my own garden I've resorted to photographing a few of the flowers blooming here in Savannah while I sit out the coldest part of winter up north. I pass these beauties every day while walking so perhaps that gives me some small right to claim them.

Lots of shoe leather The Garden Buzz

I have vague memories of camellias growing up in California, as well as from my time living in Memphis, however I have never 'owned' one. They are most appreciated blooming now while everything else waits for another month to get started on spring.

Camellia buds ready to burst The Garden Buzz

I pass a particular venerable camellia in one of the squares, Chippewa Square I believe, that has two distinct colors, one side is that soft warm pink almost coral, while the other side has a stripey pink and white, candy-like variegation. Grafting gone bad or perhaps intentional? One of those two-in-one specials from a catalog?

Meanwhile, there is a shrub, blooming all over Forsyth Park at the moment, that I feel I've seen before but am struggling to identify. It's probably a common one, but just out of my realm. Is it just a double, ruffly camellia? It's about 4x4 feet wide. Maybe a savvy southern gardener can clue me in?

Mystery shrub?

I'll repeat this photo of potted pansies, because they are just that cute.

Potted pansies on the steps of Fabrika, a darling fabric store in Savannah

And I'll include these not very bloomy but very lovely containers of winter greenery southern style.

Large fern in windowbox with containers below
Urns with green motif

A dog friendly town if there ever was!

I'll end with this sweet little rose bouquet from our bistro table at the Paris Market today.

Peach roses...my favorite.

I hope to have lots more to show come February, by then I'll have probably "adopted" a few more worthy specimens! Until then, Happy Bloom Day. And as always thanks to the lovely and talented Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

And last but not least a birthday shout to DesaRee and Stella,my sweet nieces who share this birthday.

Forbidden Fruit: Seduction in the Garden

2012-01-11T05:20:41-08:00

From the kitchen window of this little "mouse house" I'm renting for the winter, I can see them, huge golden lemons; they hang heavy from the limbs of not one but two potted trees sitting in the courtyard of a grand home behind my little cottage. A stout iron gate protects this citrus from my impulsive need to harvest unappreciated fruit.

The entry courtyard to yet another inner courtyard

In this case the idea of forbidden fruit is twofold. The entire idea of the courtyard here in Savannah is to cordon off a little privacy from the bustling street scene. Life here is a mix of the gritty and the genteel.

This green gecko figure appears to guard the gate

At this moment, lamplight burnishes the red-papered parlor of the posh inn across the square, while at the other end of the street, revelers at Pinkie Master's bar loiter outside on smoke breaks shouting and cursing, the sound reverberating through the high walls on this short street off Lafayette Square. In between and in perfect counterpoint sits a soaring cathedral whose punctual bells contribute to the cacophony.

St John the Baptist Church, a few days ago on 12th day of Christmas

I can understand the need for an oasis, a safe island within the fray. And yet I find all these courtyards so frustrating. I want to see inside them. I want to sit inside them. I want to pick those darn lemons!

Ripe lemons dangling just beyond my reach. For goodness sakes, someone, pick them!

There are a few courtyards with solid, shuttered doors, with no possibility of entry or even a peek. Those people will pay for that privacy with a lack of air circulation on hot, humid days. But most of the courtyards are screened with see-thru hedges and iron filgree fences, allowing for a quick glom here and there. Gates otherwise are the best chance for a lingering glimpse.

Given this idea of a patio peep show, it's hard not to write about the concept of the courtyard in such terms as flirtatious, titllating and seductive. A courtyard is nothing more than a coquette that leaves the outsider wanting more.

The locked courtyard through the screen of my kitchen window

The idea of sitting in the cool shadows beneath umbrella-like banana leaves, while glinty water trickles from a fountain shaped like a fantail fish or some Roman goddess. It all seems very otherworldly and exotic and wonderful.

For now I'll just walk the streets and try to be discreet while I gawk at these little almost secret gardens. As I tell my kids, it's good to have something to wish for.

Escaping Winter, Almost: Savannah Getaway

2012-01-03T18:42:30-08:00

If you're a regular reader you know my daughter's a grad student at Savannah College of Art and Design, otherwise known as SCAD, and that I visit whenever I can. This winter I count myself very lucky to spend two months here in beautiful Savannah, escaping the Minnesota winter and all that entails.

The often-photographed fountain in Forsyth Park The Garden Buzz

I guess it's ironic that this Minnesota winter, unlike last year's record-breaking one, has been relatively mild and pretty much snow-free! And in the past few days, it's already been summer and winter here with me walking in a 13 degree wind chill this morning. It's so funny to see Savannahians in Ugg boots and parkas.

Still I'm excited to be "living like a local" down south. I'll be back to my usual courtyard-snooping and square-sitting, and sharing my photos soon.

I hope to explore and share more pictures of nurseries and historical gardens too. Can you believe it, the camellias are already blooming!

I've got lots of garden writing work to do while I'm here. And my daughter is starting her thesis. Let's hope we can be disciplined enough to get our work done and a little fun too.

The journey down here included Henry-dog and the trip was not without it's moments. My car decided it needed a new differential the same week we were leaving. With winter weather to avoid and a wedding to make too, we went with plan b and drove my husband's smaller car, mailing our clothes ahead.

It's a two-ish day trip if you push it, but with the dog, we made it in three, with time for Hannah to visit friends at Mizzou and then a little time for good food in picturesque Franklin TN, where you never know if you might run into Jack White or Ryan Gosling. We didn't, but it's fun to imagine them hanging around in this cute little country-western village just outside of Nashville.

Henry-dog isn't the best car tripper. He likes to whine about not getting to sit in the front, bark at strangers and stand up the entire time so as not to miss a single thing. The rest of the family insisted he would settle down, but two days in, we braked at a pet store and bought a little something called Comfort Zone. It's a spray that mimics the pheromones produced by nursing mother dogs. Miraculously, it calmed Henry down quite a bit. Not enough to lay down for more than 30 seconds, but enough.

I am pleased to say that Henry's recent stay at "boarding school" has helped him to control his enthusiasm and contain, as Hannah describes it, his "zest for life", in order to be a proper Savannah-walking-dog now that's he out of the car. This is important since Savannah is extremely dog-centric and you'll learn the locals not by their name but more than likely by their dog's.

Meanwhile here's what I saw in the rear view mirror for 3 days.

Poor baby.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T03:56:11-08:00

Are you ready for 2012?

I'm in Savannah where they're stocking up on black-eyed peas for luck. I'll be back to blogging soon.

Happy New Year from The Garden Buzz!

Merry Christmas to Everyone and Happy Holidays for All

2011-12-22T02:03:24-08:00

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