A Tidewater Gardener

Bloom Day - After The Beat Down

2009-11-15T06:13:00.001-05:00

This was the Bloom Day post that almost wasn't. The three day Nor'easter finally ended Saturday, and I just got my electricity back last night after being out for two days. My neighborhood, the city and a good part of Hampton Roads were left a real mess after the storm. There are trees down, lots of waterfront property damage, debris in the streets, newly leaking roofs and many flooded basements, including my own. Thursday night was the peak of the storm, but Friday was not much better. The worst problem with this particular storm was the tidal flooding. The official high tide mark was 7.7', only 2 inches below that of Hurricane Isabel, but the official mark was not recorded here on the recently expanded banks of the Lafayette River. Talking with several of my neighbors, the consensus is that the tides were at least half a foot higher than Isabel.

With no electricity, we had to keep ourselves entertained the old-fashioned way with conversation, board games, reading by candlelight and going to bed early to the sounds of howling winds and the distant (and not so distant) wail of sirens. Even without the howling and wailing I could not have slept Thursday night - I had very real visions of the water rising into the brand new, never been fired furnace. However, a good friend helped me sleep easier on Friday by reminding me that our combined troubles are minor compared to what far too many less fortunate people endure when these events occur.

After we got the basement emptied, I was able to assess the garden, rake a few leaves and find a few things to proffer for Bloom Day.

Ajania pacifica (Green and Gold Chrysanthemum)

Amsonia hubrichtii (Thread Leaf Blue Star)

Iris - Unknown Rebloomer

Fatsia Japonica

Arbutus unedo 'Compactus' (Compact Strawberry Shrub)

Arbutus Fruit

Rosa x 'Caramba'

Camellia sasanqua 'Kanjiro'

Camellia sasanqua 'Yuletide'

My temporary water feature

My new compost pile

I hope the rest of you have a less eventful Bloom Day. If you would like to see what other gardeners are posting, please visit Carol at May Dreams Garden.

Island Living

2009-11-12T09:10:00.004-05:00

Things are a little wet and windy here today. We are in the grips of a powerful Nor'easter with lots of wind, rain and tidal flooding. Many of the areas roads, bridges and tunnels are closed effectively turning Hampton Roads into a collection of islands. Because of the strong northeasterly winds, the waters back up into the area creeks and rivers and don't get an opportunity to empty at low tide, and consquently high tide is magnified. These pictures are from my neighborhood at the end of this morning's high tide - the worst flooding is predicted this afternoon.

Season Opener

2009-11-08T19:25:00.004-05:00

Living here in the upper reaches of zone 8, one of the great consolations to the impending winter is the beginning of Camellia season. The first to bloom are C. sasanqua, C. hiemalis and the hybrids, with November being their peak month. Depending on the weather, these fall bloomers will continue flowering well into December and sometimes even into January if it stays mild enough. The majority of these Camellias are hardy to zone 7b or 8, but there are quite a few newer hybrids that can carry Camellia season into zone 6. Most of these cold hardy varieties were developed by Dr. William Ackerman from research done at the U. S. National Arboretum in Maryland. If you want to try one of these more cold tolerant selections, look for Camellias with the words Winter, Ice, or Snow in the name, but check the zones on the tag to be sure.

This past Saturday I went to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens to visit the Hofhiemer Camellia Garden and to look at the fall bloomers. This was also the day the Virginia Camellia Society held their fall show and sale. The show was judged, and like similar events, there are very particular rules and categories as to what and how the blooms are exhibited. After I toured the gardens I went inside to see the show, but was able to restrain myself from making any purchases.

Here are just a small portion of the blooms in the garden and some shots from the show. If you want more you can go here.

Camellia x hiemalis 'Bonanza'

Camellia sasanqua 'Midnight Lover'

Camellia sasanqua 'Pink Butterfly'

Camellia x hiemalis 'Pink Goddess'

Camellia hiemalis 'Shishigashira'

Camellia sasanqua 'Showa-no-sake'

Camellia sasanqua 'Sparkling Burgundy'

Camellia x 'Winter's Hope'

'Simmon Trees

2009-11-06T20:25:00.003-05:00

Racoon up in de 'simmon tree

Possum on de ground

Possum says to racoon

Please shake some 'simmons down

The American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) is one of our underappreciated native trees. They range up and down the Eastern Seaboard and into the Mid-West. These trees are tough, growing in the poorest of soils where they withstand the occasional drought, as well as the occasional dose of salt in coastal areas. Though they have fairly good fall color, this time of year it is the fruits that are of interest, which fall off the tree when ripe, creating a feast for wildlife. They are also quite edible to humans, provided you don't eat them prematurely. The astringent tannins in an unripe Persimmon will turn your mouth inside-out for a small eternity. Without the foliage or fruits on the tree, it is easily identified by its distinctive bark.

Although I promote native trees whenever possible, when it comes to Persimmons I prefer to eat the Asian varieties (Diospyros kaki). There are many cultivars, but they can be put into two basic groups: astringent or non-astringent. The astringent varieties can only be eaten after they are fully ripe, otherwise they will do that same nasty trick in your mouth as an unripened native. The ripe fruit from the astringent group is achingly sweet and has a gooey, almost gelatin-like texture. I prefer the non-astringent varieties, which can be eaten while the flesh is still firm and crisp like an apple. They are also not so cloyingly sweet. Even if the fruit is not eaten, these trees are worth growing just for their color - both from the fall foliage and from the fruit, which hangs on the tree like so many orange ornaments.

High Tide at Chippokes

2009-11-01T15:48:00.008-05:00

Last Friday, feeling a need to indulge my wanderlust and see some fall foliage, I headed west to Chippokes Plantation State Park. When this blog visited Chippokes before, I mentioned that it is one of my favorite places to get away to, and fortunately it is a only a pleasant hour's journey from home. However, when I got there they were having day 1 of their Plantation Christmas Festival, and the center of the park was crowded with vendor tents and shoppers. Apparently it is quite a big deal as there were people selling their handmade wares from all over the country. I know many people enjoy this sort of thing, but for me they are little corners of hell. I told the costumed gate attendants that I was there to hike, not for the festival, so they waved me through the gates and crowds at no charge, to a preferred parking spot behind the mansion. It made me feel very special.

Since most of the activity (and fortunately the crowds too) was centered around the mansion, I did not go into the gardens, but they are not why I visit Chippokes. However, on the edge of the gardens I noticed some Camellias blooming, mainly C. sasanqua and C. sinensis which are in season right now, but I also noticed this C. japonica which was several months early to be this showy.

Camellias are not the only thing under cultivation at Chippokes. Part of the mission of Chippokes is to maintain the nearly 400-year-old farm, so they keep the fields planted in a variety of crops as well as manage a heard of cattle.

Glycine max (Soybean)

Growing along the edge of the soybean field was this pretty little plant, often listed as a weed. It is a species of Polygonum, possibly P. caespitosum, and I want to thank Phillip of How it Grows for helping with the I.D.

My first destination was Lower Chippokes Creek, and when I got there I noticed how high the tide was. I knew we were having a mild Nor'easter and that the water was backing up in the rivers closer to the ocean, but I hadn't considered that the storm's reach would be this far inland.

My next destination was the beach along the James River, and in order to get there I travelled along the edge of the fields next to the old forest. Here were many natives putting on their final show of color before winter's temporary shut down.

Callicarpa americana (Beautyberry)

Aralia spinosa (Devil's Walking Stick)

Celastrus scandens (American Bittersweet)

Rhus copallinum (Winged Sumac) - Thanks for the correction Phillip

Liquidambar styraciflua (Sweetgum) foliage with the trunks of Platanus occidentalis (American Sycamore)

Toxicodendron radicans (Poison Ivy)

Before I got to the beach I was worried that the higher tide would make the way impassable to my favorite grove of Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum), but it was mostly clear with only a few places where the boots had to be removed.

I don't know where the rest of you were Friday morning, but anytime I'm on this beach, I feel like the only person on the planet.

While on this beach last June, I found a string of black pearls clinging to a stump. This time the beach gods left me a string of black stars on an Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana).

Other treasures were found, including this Monarch dying among the state fossil of Virginia, Chesapecten jeffersonius. This extinct scallop lived in a shallow warm sea that covered this area 4-5 million years ago.

I'll end with a gratuitous shot of my travelling companions for the day. Both dogs will not swim on their own, but Loretta likes to wade and lay down in the water. Penny was more comfortable using her bear like claws to walk on the tree trunk, but since they were tethered together, Loretta ended up pulling Penny into the water where she did not drown, nor melt.

If you are interested you can see the rest of the day's pictures here.

Fall of the Dead

2009-10-28T19:08:00.003-04:00

This past weekend while driving along Monticello Ave., I became distracted as a powerful force called my name from the other side of the cemetery wall. It was not the wail of the dead, but the foliage of a Crape Myrtle - a bright crimson red. The extraordinary rains we had in late summer may have made my favorite trees bloom with an added vigor, and though Crapes usually offer good fall color, I think this year's added moisture has caused that color to be unusually brilliant.

Elmwood Cemetery is not Norfolk's oldest, but it is perhaps the most elaborate, being developed in the 1850's and growing during the age when such places were considered destinations for quiet leisure, picnics and reflection. Just after the cemetery was opened it began filling with Yellow Fever victims, Civil War casualties and the prominent citizens of Norfolk. However, it did not fill with African Americans, Jews or Catholics - people from those demographics had to have their own places of burial. Do the dead care who is next them once they are gone? Somehow I don't think so, but even today, Norfolk's modern cemeteries are still somewhat segregated, not by decree, but by the choices the living make when buying plots. No matter the era or location, cemeteries are places created for and by the living, not the dead.

Happy Halloween!

Caledon Natural Area - Potomac River Trip Pt. III

2009-10-23T07:15:00.000-04:00

On the far outer reaches of the vast sprawling northern Virginia suburbs lies Caledon Natural Area. Here on the Potomac River, less than 60 miles from Washington D.C., are over 2500 acres of old growth and virgin upland forest. This area was first settled in the mid 1600's and remained in the same family's hands for centuries. It was donated to the Commonwealth in 1974, and it was easily apparent how special this gift was. Not only was it home to a very ancient forest, but it was also home to a recovering Bald Eagle population. Soon after it was donated, the shoreline here was designated a no-boating zone, part of the trails are closed during the nesting season, and today Caledon has the largest concentration of Bald Eagles on the east coast.

As much as I think the Eagle is a magnificent bird, I came to see the trees, besides we had already spotted half a dozen flying over Westmoreland. The forest at Caledon is primarily made up of different Oaks (Quercus sp.), Red Maple (Acer rubrum), Beech (Fagus grandifolia) and Dogwood (Cornus florida), but the queen of the forest is the Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera). They are by far the tallest of the trees, and though I am not always that good at judging heights, I would guess the largest of these are close to 150' tall. They are not Redwood tall, but for this side of the continent, they are magnificent. Underneath these giants is surprisingly little undergrowth, mainly a carpet of leaves and in wetter areas ferns. Also on the floor are the broken skeletons of previous giants knocked down during storms, plus there are still a few remnants of the American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) that succumbed to Chestnut Blight during the first few decades of the last century.

Also at home on the forest floor is a plant that is listed as protected in Virginia, Lycopodium digitatum or as it is known here, Running Cedar. This plant was once a traditional Christmas decoration and was over-harvested throughout the state, hence its protected status.

I brought along my favorite son as a reference so you can see how large and tall some of these trees are. Here he is, not sitting on a tree trunk, rather on a fallen branch from one of the large Tulip Poplars.

Caledon is also home some forbidden, inter-species love. Though I got the impression that the Beech (on the left) is not as committed to the relationship as the Oak (on the right) is.

I was hoping to see a little more fall color while we were there, but it was still too early. There was a lot of green with only a few hints of what was yet to be.

Caledon is part of the National Park Service's National Natural Landmarks Program which "recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of our country's natural history". There are close to 600 sites already designated and if you click here you can see which sites are in which states.

Thanks to a generous gift, good decisions and wise management, Caledon looks as it may have 100 years ago, and could likely look the same way in another 100 years into the future. If I were a tree, I would be happy to call this place home.

Submitted to the 41st Festival of the Trees - "If I Were A Tree"

Stratford Hall - Potomac River Trip Pt. II

2009-10-19T07:05:00.000-04:00

While on our camping trip last weekend, we were able to go to nearby Stratford Hall, a place I have wanted to see since I was young. Although the place is thick with history, I have long been more fascinated by the architecture of the place. The house was constructed in the 1730's by Richard Lee and was built to impress. It was home to many members of the Lee family including Richard Henry Lee and Francis Lightfoot Lee - the only pair of brothers who signed the Declaration of Independence. It is perhaps best known as the birthplace of Robert E. Lee, though he just lived here for the first four years of his life.

The house was built in the Georgian style and the name of its architect has been lost to the ages. As our tour guide informed us: the three most important aspects of Georgian architecture are symmetry, symmetry and symmetry. The house appears much bigger than it actually is, and when you get inside you realize the amount of family living space is not what you might expect. The floor plan is that of a giant "H" with all of the family's rooms on the upper story and with storage and service rooms in the ground level basement. The main entrance of the house is easy to find at the top of the massive steps and leads you into the great hall, which is one big room that occupies the entire middle of the house, front to back. On either side of the great hall are three to four rooms in each wing. The most prominent feature of the house are those fantastic chimney stacks, which were once linked by a roof deck where the occasional dance took place.

On either side of the house are walled gardens. The west garden is primarily planted with fruits, vegetables and herbs, both medicinal and culinary. The east garden is more formal and ornamental with plantings set among boxwood parterres (it couldn't be an old house in Virginia without lots of box). Among the gardens are four large, original out buildings, symmetrical to the main house. Here meals were cooked, laundry was done and gardening tools were stored. In one of the orchards there was small brick building called the Octagon, and it appeared to be used as a summer house.

Magnolia grandiflora

Fig (Ficus carica) and Winterberry Holly (Ilex verticillata)

Hydrangea paniculata and Winterberry Holly

Devil's Walking Stick (Aralia spinosa)

The foundations and fortunes of Stratford Hall (and the whole state of Virginia for that matter) were built from this pretty plant not normally grown for its flowers - Nicotiana tabacum.

Dogwood (Cornus florida)

I saw this plant in the East Garden and thought it must be some kind of fall blooming Crocus or a regular one blooming out of season. However, when I examined the foliage, it looked like something else, and one of my co-workers later helped me ID it as Sternbergia sicula.

The house is oriented to the Potomac and a strip of the forest is kept clear so the vista remains. This shot is the rear of the house as it faces the river, the smaller building is the Octagon.

Our tour guide for the main house was extremely informed and passionate about what he did. He made a real effort to relate our lives to those lived in the 1700's. My only issue about the tour and the visitor's center is the all too brief mention of slavery, in fact the tour guide kept using the word "servant" when "slave" may have been more appropriate. I had to finally ask how many slaves it took to run the plantation. He told us at one time the plantation had 130 slaves, as well as 130 indentured servants (so I became a little less indignant). I know this historical issue is a difficult one to convey, and there are many places, like Colonial Williamsburg, that have embraced the ugly parts of our history and have worked it into their interpretations.

Well behind the main house, off on the edge of the woods is a cabin. In its small yard is a memorial to "Uncle Wes" and carved into the stone is what I am sure were well meaning words when they were written, but in 2009 they come close to sounding patronizing. Perhaps my preference for seeing the big picture was making me misread how history was interpreted here.

Stratford Hall is fairly close to other attractions in Virginia and nearby Washington D.C., and if you get the opportunity you should visit. The admission is very reasonable and the private foundation that owns and runs it could use the revenue. On a beautiful clear fall Sunday, when the place should have been very busy, we had it to ourselves.

(If you are interested, there are more pictures here.)

Westmoreland State Park - Potomac River Trip Pt. I

2009-10-16T18:24:00.003-04:00

Over Columbus Day weekend, my son and I headed to Virginia's Northern Neck for a few days of camping at Westmoreland State Park. Opened in 1936, this is one of the Commonwealth's six original state parks and was created in an earlier economic stimulus package by the Civilian Conservation Corp, but its history is much older than that. The park is next to the Potomac River on land that was once part of Stratford Hall, home of the Lees. It is also just down river from the birthplaces of George Washington and James Monroe.

The park has several nice trails and is heavily wooded with most of the forest in the climax stage of growth. Large maples, oaks, beeches and tulip poplars dominate the landscape. Underneath these trees the forest floor is relatively clear, but you can see American holly, ferns and mountain laurel - lots of mountain laurel, I need to come back late next spring to see them bloom. Our camp site was in a less wooded area, but it was still nice and had wild grapes hanging over the tent pad.

The trail behind our camp led us through the rich forest, down nearly 200' of steep slopes to a wetland and then out to Fossil Beach and the Potomac. You can guess why it is called Fossil Beach. 15 million years ago the whole area was covered by a warm, shallow Miocene sea that was teaming with marine life, including 20 species of shark who were constantly shedding their teeth only to fall to the bottom to become covered in sediment. We spent quite a bit of time looking for fossils, especially the large teeth of the giant Megalodon shark. Unfortunately we only found some of its smaller cousin's teeth.

One of the more exciting parts of our trip was a guided kayak tour. Although the skies were gloomy when we put the kayaks in the water, the weather was otherwise calm. There were about 15-20 people on the trip and soon after we left the landing the winds came up and so did the waves. Water was coming into the kayak and we were getting soaked; I was afraid the water-proof bag would not protect my camera from the salt water, but it did. We were lucky compared to others, several people ended up in the water and had swim to shore. The ranger ended the trip early and had us beach the kayaks underneath Horsehead Cliffs, where you are not normally allowed to go. The cliffs are fragile and have a tendency to slough off huge hunks of earth, sandstone boulders and large trees. The weather never calmed, and we ended up having to abandon the kayaks and walk back to the landing, but this gave everyone something to remember and an opportunity to look for more fossils.

I was hoping to see some fall colors while we were there, but things had only entered the early stages and were still mostly green, but green is a color too. Nevertheless there were plenty of things to look at including Baccharis in full bloom, fruiting deciduous hollies, wild rose hips and native Viburnum.

My next post will take us to Stratford Hall, a place I have always wanted to visit. If you would like to see the rest of my Westmoreland Park photos, you can visit my Flickr page.

Bloom Day - It Was a Dark and Stormy...

2009-10-15T06:17:00.000-04:00

The local forecast this week is calling for a rain and wind event with highs in the upper 50's and our first dip into the 40's since last April. I have tropicals that should come in the house, but will not yet, and I am just not ready for the change. I also hate the fact that it is getting dark so much earlier now, and I miss the days when I could come home from work and play in the garden for a few hours before the night set in. I go through this funk every fall and at my age should be used to it. Not only have there been changes in my gardening routines, but in other areas as well. Since I am married to a teacher and our child is a student, my access to the computer has lately been superseded for the greater good of public education, and so you will likely see a little less of me (unless I stay up later or get up earlier). Meanwhile the rest of you have been very busy, and I have had a hard time keeping up. I went camping this weekend (new posts to follow) and even though I was only gone for three days, I had 102 new postings on my Blogger subscription list which I am still trying to get to.

Because of the wet forecast I took my pictures Tuesday morning. I still have a lot of the same plants blooming that have been seen in previous Bloom Day posts, but will only show a few of them. October is a transition month here, with a few signs of change combined with many still colorful reminders of what has been. Let's start the tour with a few annuals. This Impatien came up randomly from seed in another pot. I am glad I left it because I like the pink, orange and purple combination.

Angelonia

After the swallowtails gnawed it to nothing in August, I did not think I would get anything else from this tropical Butterfly Weed (Asclepias curassavica), but it has rebounded complete with colors appropriate for the season.

The bright Maragrita Sweet Potato Vine (Ipomoea batatas 'Margarita') is making a nice backdrop for the drabber Sedum 'Autumn Joy'.

Salvia leucantha (Mexican Bush Sage)

Tricyrtis hirta (Toad Lily)

This nurseryman is not good about writing down the names of everything he plants, like this Dahlia, nor does he stake when he should.

Ruellia brittoniana (Mexican petunia)

The last shot is of Poet's Laurel (Danae racemosa) and its fruit, a nice October orange.

Finally, I would like to share with you something that happened at work today. Just as we were closing, I got a call just from a man looking for an "enema", to who I said "what"! He repeated and just as I was getting ready to hang up, he said he read the article in The Daily Press this past Thursday that used my picture of Anenome x 'Honerine Jobert' and listed the company I work for as a source. We try not to laugh at the many mis-pronounciations we hear at work, but this one brought tears to our eyes.

Please visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens to see what others are showing for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. In the meantime, I will be dreaming of May as well.

It Might Get Loud

2009-10-07T21:47:00.004-04:00

(Apologies in advance if you tuned in for anything to do with gardening)

We decided to accompany my son and his godmother to dinner and a movie this past Saturday. The past week had been a very busy one for me at work, and I was not involved in the details of the evening, which were fortunately left in the hands of others. I did, however know we were going to be eating at San Antonio Sam's where they pour delicious Margaritas, and at the mention of the "M" word my brain would not move past it, until my thirst was quenched - more than once. The movie was next door at a local treasure, the Naro Expanded Cinema, and I only knew ahead of time it had something to do with electric guitars.

It Might Be Loud is a documentary film about three generations of guitar divinity meeting to discuss their music, influences, instruments and biographies, as well as to play together. Guitar god Jimmy Page was one of the three filmed and looked every bit the cleric with his silver-white hair, long black trench coat and frilled shirt. Coming of age when electric guitars first hit the scene, Page bridged musical worlds creating a new one in the process with his work with Led Zepplin. The next generation was represented by demi-god, The Edge of U2 fame. He also represents what can be accomplished when skilled talent meets the technology of the digital age. Demi-god-in-training Jack White rounds out the trio and is best known for his work with The White Stripes. White plays a grittier less refined, less digital guitar, but it is soulful and close to rock and roll's origins.

The majority of the documentary was filmed in a studio where the three engage in discussion and music. However, there are plenty of segments showing each musician in his element, and there is a lot of archival video and a lot of music. My only complaint with the film is that just when each piece of music gets going it is stopped and the film is cut to another sequence. So you get just enough of the music to make you hungry for more. Overall, it was a good movie for rock and roll enthusiasts and offers great insight into three pillars of the genre.

Too Many Jelly Beans

2009-10-03T22:08:00.005-04:00

There is a definite change in the air here in Tidewater. Not only is it cooler and less humid, but there is a change in the way things smell, I even caught whiff of wood smoke coming from someone's fire pit tonight. Frequently as you are strolling through the neighborhood or driving around town, you will come across a very sweet, sticky smell - the unmistakable odor of the Eleagnus bloom. It is hard to describe just how overly sweet this smell is, but it always triggers a memory for me. The smell reminds me of an Easter nearly 40 years ago when I ate way too many jelly beans, not those minuscule Jelly Bellies, but the larger old-fashioned variety made by Brachs. The flower of the Eleagnus smells like those jelly beans (in particular, the pink ones) that I nearly made myself sick with so long ago, and to this day causes me a twinge of nausea.

There are many species of Eleagnus, including several that are on invasive plant lists, but the most common varieties seen in this area, and the ones currently sweetening the air - are Eleagnus x ebbingei and E. pungens. Both of these evergreens grow extremely quick providing fast screening and hedges. They are also remarkably drought and salt tolerant making a great seashore plant. One of the several common names of this plant is Silverberry, and this must be a reference to its silvery foliage. There are also brown spots on the leaves and stems which are often mistakenly thought a fungus. Eleagnus is sometimes called Russian Olive, but one of my Russian customers indignantly said she had never seen any in the Motherland.

The flowers begin blooming in the fall (although they seem a little early to me this year) and can continue into late December. They produce fruits that swell and ripen in winter and resemble small brown olives that eventually turn red and provide needed late winter nourishment for some birds. If you were hungry enough, you could eat them too, in fact there are other species of Eleagnus grown specifically for the edible fruit. In this area they are planted more for their ease of growth and are often used by the highway departments for stabilizing embankments and for screening. There was once a locally famous patch in the median of Interstate 64 east of Williamsburg that had to be removed. It seemed the Cedar Waxwings could not resist the lure of the fermenting fruit and many impaired birds were unable to maneuver the gauntlet of busy traffic after their snack.

I prefer the Eleagnus x ebbingei because it lacks the thorns of E. pungens. There are also several interesting variegated cultivars like E. pungens 'Hosoba Fukurin'.

This is E. pungens 'Clemson Variegated'. I really like variegation when it appears tie-dyed.

The last variety is Eleagnus x ebbingei 'Gilt Edge' which we have planted at work in a very neglected spot where it thrives. I also planted some of these at the neighborhood dog park when it opened knowing how tough they are. However, nothing I planted including the 'Gilt Edge' survived the multiple daily "waterings" from the dogs.

Hermitage Foundation Plant Sale

2009-09-28T07:17:00.001-04:00

On Saturday I went to The Hermitage Foundation for their Fall Heirloom Plant Sale. My intention was just to go and see what there was to see, maybe take some photographs and stroll the grounds of one my favorite places here in Norfolk. I really had no intention of buying plants, afterall I work in a garden center, but looking wouldn't hurt. I ran into several good friends and also got to speak with the enthusiastic Yolima Carr who is the Curator of Gardens and Grounds. I have also been wanting to see the results of their wetland restoration project, as a similar project will be starting in my neighborhood of Colonial Place this fall.

This is not this blog's first visit to The Hermitage, and if you want more information just click on the links. However, I will say it is an oasis of art, brick, wood, gardens, forest and marsh, set on one of the busiest waterways in the country. The first photo is from the courtyard where the plant sale took place. This border was full of heat loving Sun Coleus, Lantana, Margarita and Blackie Sweet Potato Vine and Magilla Perilla.

Mirabilis jalapa - Four O'Clocks

Lantana camara - Lantana

Seedhead from an unknown Clematis

They were setting up for a wedding in this side garden, and I must say that the gardens looked to be in great condition. Over the years this has not always been the case.

Through the archways you get a glimpse of the wetland restoration project along the Layfayette River. This was quite an undertaking to correct years of erosion that threatened the grounds and gardens. Now you wouldn't know that anything every happened - the marsh has matured, and the natives planted around the shoreline above the normal tideline have filled in.

Quercus virginiana - Live Oak

Maclura pomifera - Osage Orange

This Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) is the first sign I have seen that fall is near. If you would stand still long enough in these woods, either the Creeper or English Ivy would likley run up your leg.

You may have already guessed, but I did come home with plants, and in my defense, I know we do not currently have them at work (besides, it was for a good cause). I bought a Callicarpa americana (American Beautyberry), Agastache x 'Tutti Frutti' and a Ruellia brittoniana (Mexican Petunia) with a bonus Rain Lily (Zephyranthes) in the pot.

(you can find the rest of the pictures here)

Watery World

2009-09-25T17:37:00.007-04:00

This past weekend the three of us went to the Virginia Aquarium in Virginia Beach with my wife's out-of-town cousin and his wife. I really enjoy going to this place and it has both fond, and melancholy memories for me. We have a great picture of my late grandmother holding our son silhouetted against the sea turtle tank. At the time, she was a few months away from being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and he was just old enough to somewhat understand and enjoy what he was seeing. On that same visit my chronic back pain prevented me from keeping up with my son or the rest of my family, and this spurred me to get the treatment that eventually returned me to a more normal life.

The aquarium is made up of two buildings separated by a nature trail that winds its way along the the shores of Owl Creek. One of my favorite customers is a member of the Council of Garden Clubs in Virginia Beach, and I helped her secure some hard to find Virginia natives to plant along the trail. In the main building are exhibits that focus on the oceans and the Chesapeake, as well the obligatory IMAX . The focus of the other building is life on and near shore. Here there is a coastal aviary, a fantastic river otter exhibit and other more terrestrial topics.

The lighting inside the buildings was very low and made taking normal photos difficult, but I was able to get a few shots you would expect to see at an aquarium. However, the pictures that came out best in my mind, are a bit more abstract and continue my penchant for watery images.

Did you notice the ghostly face in the last image?

We will be going back again in the next few months when the aquarium opens a major new exhibit that will be much more exotic than what you would normally see nearby. Among others, there will a Komodo Dragon installation, and I have always been fascinated by these creatures. I wonder if they will be fed live goat like they get on TV nature shows?

You can see all of my pictures here.

Norfolk Botanical Gardens Sept. 09

2009-09-19T09:05:00.001-04:00

This past Friday there was a garden blogger's mini-meet up here in Norfolk. Racquel of Perennial Gardener Lover and Janet the Queen of Seaford met at my house where I was able to show them my little patch of Earth. Between the barking hounds and the workmen installing a new chimney liner, it was a little chaotic. Fortunately it was much more peaceful at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens where we went next.

I don't usually go to the Gardens at this time of year which is a shame, because there is no shortage of things to see, and this summer's abundant rainfall was evident in the thriving plants. Ornamental grasses were at their peak and are used in many places throughout the Gardens. Here is Miscanthus playing a supporting role to Agastache x 'Tutti Frutti'.

I don't normally like white Buddleia but it looked good with the Gaura lindheimeri 'Whirling Butterflies' .

I did not get the name of this clean white Japanese Anenome.

This fountain is the center piece of the Baker Perennial Garden. Its rills were lined with Salvia x 'Coral Nymph' and a linear leaf Zinnia.

We spent a lot time at the WOW (World of Wonder) Children's Garden where there are lots of activities for the kids set among gardens full of child-friendly plants such as Agave, Hardy Orange and Oleander.

The Bicentennial Rose Garden was deeply inhaling its second wind and was looking nearly as good as it did in May.

This Zinnia was nicely backed up by a bed of Black Pearl Peppers.

The Morgan Wildflower Meadow was tall with Ornamental Grasses, giant Ageratum, spent Verbena bonariensis and 6' stalks of yellow.

Also gaining in altitude was the Okra.

This spider and her sisters set up shop in a completely intoxicating Orange Flowering Osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrens 'Aurantiacus').

Whenever this treehugger sees a Chinese Lacebark Elm (Ulmus parvifolia), he can't keep his hands off of it.

I took a lot pictures of this ancient Crabapple. Underneath of it was one of September's iconic plants, Lycoris radiata which was all over the Gardens.

I think this recently irrigated Elephant Ear is Xanthosoma aurea 'Lime Zinger'. It and the plants in the next few shots helped me get my chartreuse fix.

Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’) was paired with what I think is a Veronica.

Margarita Sweet Potato Vine (Ipomoea batatas 'Margarita') and a white Rain Lily (Zephyranthes candida), two colors I would not normally think work together, but they do here.

Thanks to Flowergardengirl for introducing me to this bizarre plant, Asclepias physocarpa which has many common names including Monkey Balls and The Family Jewels.

Tie-dyed Thai Eggplant is in a similar configuration.

The last shot is like the first shot with Miscanthus in a supporting role again, but this time for one of my favorite fall perennials, Salvia leucantha (Mexican Bush Sage).

If you are interested, I have many more photos of the day on my flickr page, but if you are looking for pictures of Racquel, Janet or myself, you will be disappointed. I was too busy chatting it up and enjoying the Gardens to take any people pics.

Bloom Day - I Think I'd Like To Have Another

2009-09-15T06:12:00.000-04:00

September's Bloom Day post seems like a perfect time to reflect on the summer that is soon to end. The people here in Hampton Roads should feel as if the weather gods have been smiling on them all season, particularly with what has been going on in other places. Some of our Yankee and other cooler climate friends have been watching Late Blight steal the very life from their tomatoes. The poor people in Texas have been baking in an unrelenting dry heat. The usually cool and hip Pacific northwest broke heat records this summer. Hot as it was in those places, at least the land didn't burn like it is in southern California (which it seems to do so increasingly every summer). I am sure there are many other places where the weather was a story this summer.

In this corner of the world it has been a weird summer too, but weird in a good way. Temperature wise, we had an unusually low number of days when it rose into the 90's and only one day where it even approached 100. The real story was our rainfall. Since August 1st we have had just shy of 20" of rain, 5.5" of that fell last week in one day. Needless to say, most of the plants have loved it, but I have lost a couple of things from too much rain. Given the choice of what we had the past two summers and what we got this year - I think I'd like to have more summers just like this past one.

On to the blooms. Let's start with a few from the front porch. The first is Indian Dunes Geranium (Pelargonium 'Indian Dunes'), which has gotten a second wind from the cooler temperatures of the last couple of weeks.

Impatiens

The Plumeria did not bloom last summer, but has made up for it this year. I wish you could smell it.

In the front garden, the Pat Austin Rose has been enjoying the same cool spell as the Geranium.

Fireworks Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks') is just coming into season and without all the drought induced spider mites from last summer.

Hardy Begonia (Begonia grandis)

Dahlia x 'Bishop of York'

The bees have been extremely busy on my Black and Blue Salvia (Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue'), and it is by far their favorite plant in my garden. Knowing how funky (not in a good way) this plant smells, I wonder if the honey made from this Salvia's pollen has that same funk.

Now to the back yard. The limbs of the Hardy Orange (Poncirus trifoliata) were bowing down from the weight of all the fruit. If you have ever inadvertently backed into one of these trees, you will know why I had to cut several branches that blocked the sidewalk for taller folk.

August Beauty Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides 'August Beauty')

Hardy Plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides)

Pickerel Rush (Pontederia cordata)

Finally, despite the extra rainfall my Hibiscus coccineus has been reluctant to bloom, at least until this week. I guess it was just holding out for Bloom Day.

If you would like to see what is happening in other gardens around the country and around the world, head on over to see Carol at May Dreams Garden as she is the hostess supreme for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.

Sprague Lake

2009-09-12T08:24:00.000-04:00

Our final destination in Rocky Mountain National Park was sort of chosen randomly. The Sherpa Girls told us that the eastern side of the park was a bit more crowded as it was closer to population centers, especially to the very touristy town of Estes Park. However there were several places we could stop before we left the park. Reading the map I noticed an area known as Sprague Lake. This intrigued me as my grandfather was a Sprague, and the Sherpas had never been there, so they were up for it too.

Because of my ancestry, I was interested in how the lake got its name and at the Moraine Park visitors center asked yet another helpful NPS employee. He was a summer intern, and as we were leaving the center I heard his supervisor ask him outside to talk. We were walking right behind them, and I was able to hear her say how much she valued his work and how well he fit in. She was leading up to asking if he wanted a permanent position there. I heard all of this but as our paths diverged I could not here his answer. Anyway, this young man told me that Abner Sprague came to the area in 1875 and was an early supporter of Rocky Mountain National Park. He was one of the first settlers and was from the mid-west, maybe Illinois. He had come to find gold, then tried cattle ranching, but he (nor the cattle) were prepared for the extent of the winters. He finally found his niche operating a guest ranch that allowed visitors a taste of the west, where they could ride, hike, and hunt for abundant local game. They could also fish for trout from a lake that Sprague enlarged by damming it and thus - Sprague Lake.

In the picture below, Abner Sprague is the bearded gentleman just right of center.

Today Sprague Lake is used a little differently. You can still fish, but through the financial assistance of numerous companies, it has been made completely accessible for wheelchairs. There are even trails leading away from the lake into the wilderness where the disabled can enjoy back country camping.

Just a mile or so away from the lake is Moraine Park where Abner Sprague first settled and where a small town eventually developed. Later on his nephew even built a golf course here before the whole areas was sold to the park service in the early 1960's. In Colorado many places have the name Park in their name, and usually it indicates a relatively flat area surrounded by mountains. Geologically Moraine Park is what it is now because a once powerful glacier scoured the valley floor pushing everything out of its way. In the picture below, the ridge on the far left side of the shot was made up of boulders pushed aside by the glacier.

The eastern side of the park typically gets less rainfall and the plant species change accordingly. Thickly growing Spruce and Lodgepoles give way to more open areas full of Ponderosa Pine with its distinctive orange bark.

Apens seem to grow on either side of the park and this grove was outside the entrance to Sprague Lake, underneath was a carpet of wildflowers.

I could not identify all of the wildflowers, but there was a lot of pink Mondarda, blue Campanula and the interesting Mariposa Lily (Calochortus gunnisonii).

Before I wrote this post I tried in vain to see if I could trace any of my ancestry to Abner Sprague. I have not run into many people with that last name so I thought the connection would be possible. Apparently it is a very common name in the north and mid-west, but not so in the south. I don't know how true it is, but part of my family lore is that my great-great-grandfather Sprague fought for the Confederacy while his brother(s) fought for the Union and the two sides of the family fell out of touch. Since I am not sure I am related to the Colorado Spragues, I'll hang on to the possibility.

Since this is my last Colorado post (until our next trip), I think it only fitting to end with a quote from Abner Sprague, " ...there are those you can call nothing but tourists. Those that go tearing from coast to coast and back again on their vacations are tourists. When they reach home from their travels they are not certain where they saw this or that...". I want to assure my maybe-so maybe-not uncle, that now that I have reached home, this tourist does indeed know where I saw this and where I saw that, and I have filed enough memories to keep my mind wandering for years.

Some Scenes From Trail Ridge Road

2009-09-05T17:33:00.000-04:00

Trail Ridge Road is the main route through Rocky Mountain National Park and links the western entrance at Grand Lake with the eastern entrance at Estes Park. It is touted as the highest, continuous, paved road in the country. I was not nearly as thrilled with this superlative fact as I was with the superlative views. This first shot looks south down the Kawuneeche Valley over the site of the Never Summer Ranch and a very juvenile Colorado River (feel free to click and enlarge). The brown cast on the mountain side is not early autumn color. Rather, it is from dead and dying trees, victims of the pine bark beetle mentioned in my previous post.

At times you feel as if you are riding along the spine of a giant beast. Other times you are clinging to the side of a cliff with no room for driver error. It was on these cliff sides where I could only steal glimpses of the scenery from the moving car and mainly kept my eyes focused straight ahead. I was thankful someone else did the driving and stopped often for us to drink the view.

Trail Ridge Road eventually took us out of the park, but not before we made a stop a Sprague Lake, and this will be our next and last Colorado post, at least until the next trip.

Lost Among The Lodgepoles

2009-09-01T21:19:00.003-04:00

One of the hikes we took was on the Tonahutu Trail which follows, appropriately enough Tonahutu Creek. We picked up this relatively easy trail in the parking lot of the Kawuneeche Visitor's Center. Most of the trail goes through a forest of Lodgepole Pines whose botanical name is Pinus contorta. There is nothing contorted about these trees. Their trunks are ramrod straight, with no side branches. These skinny, but relatively tall trees (50-80') made ideal building materials for Native Americans and the pioneers. The foliage is at the top of the trunks and the trees grow very close together blocking out a great deal of light, thus keeping the diversity on the forest floor to a minimum. Lodgepole cones will persist on the tree for years and require temperatures above 115 Fahrenheit to melt the wax that holds the seeds to the cones. In other words there needs to be a fire.

And there will be a fire very soon, and it will be big. Many of the Rockies iconic trees like Spruce, Fir and the Lodgepole are being attacked by a pine bark beetle. This native insect has destroyed several hundred thousand acres in and around the park. The beetle has taken advantage of several situations. Many of the trees are under stress from years of drought, and many of its forests are in the words of a park volunteer "in a vulnerable, geriatric state". I was concerned that this seeming calamity had something to do with the hand of man, but was told it was an overdue part of the natural cycle. I also asked the volunteer if the beetle had any natural predators, to which he replied - fire, and the critters are busy making lots and lots of firewood. This conflagration will produce lots and lots of Lodgepole seedlings.

On the edge of the trail and in clearings, more light falls to the forest floor, and in these areas there is more diversity.

Pyrola asarifolia - Pink Wintergreen

Heracleum lanatum - Cow parsnip

Linnaea species - Twinflower

Wild Rose

Campanula rotundifolia - Harebell

Aconitum columbianum - Monkshood

Lest anyone think that the forest is all black and white, here is a photo of Shepa Girl B. and my son walking among the Lodgepoles, green carpet at their feet.

If you are interested, there are a few more pictures from this hike on my flickr page.

Next Colorado Post: Some Scenes From Trail Ridge Road

The Never Summer Ranch

2009-08-26T19:04:00.000-04:00

Near the western entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park lies the Kawuneeche Valley. Towering over the valley are the Never Summer Mountains, which I think is a great name even though summer does pay a visit, albeit brief. In 1917 German immigrants Sophia and John Holzwarth settled here after their Denver bar was closed due to prohibition. They soon turned their working ranch into a dude ranch named appropriately enough The Never Summer Ranch. Here they hosted city folk who wanted to hunt, fish, ride horses and generally play cowboys and cowgirls. In the early seventies the ranch became property of the National Park Service, which has now designated it as the Holzwarth Historic Site. Several of the older buildings from the original home site have been preserved and are open for tours. However, the newer lodge buildings located in the meadow were removed so the area could return to its natural state.

The first shot is looking south down the valley, across the meadow towards the town of Grand Lake. I kept expecting to hear dramatic music rise as Lorne Greene approached on horseback.

This little stream is actually the Colorado River only a few miles from its source. The picture below and the one that follows it were taken within yards of each other. Looking north a fast approaching storm was moving in, and to the south postcard skies.

Ligularia bigelovii - Bigelow's Groundsel

Oxytropis splendens - Showy Locoweed

Potentilla fruticosa - Shrubby Cinquefoil

Further up the valley we stopped late in the day at an area called Beaver Ponds. The setting sun was playing off the water and illuminating the emerging insects into little points of darting light.

Next Colorado Post: Lost Among The Lodgepoles

Posting From The Swamp

2009-08-24T19:07:00.005-04:00

We interrupt our scheduled Colorado programming to bring you this weather bulletin. Southeastern Virginia is turning into a swamp! So far we have gotten 12" of rain and the month is not over yet. Normally we get about 48" for the whole year, so we have gotten 25% of our yearly total in less than a month. Please don't think I am complaining, especially when I reflect on what August of 2007 and 2008 were like, with little to no rain, and I am still very thankful.

We had planned on going to Corova, North Carolina this past weekend, but Hurricane Bill changed that for us. Although he was far out to sea, the forecasters predicted waves well above average, beach erosion and wash-overs on the Outer Banks. This is particularly problematic going to and from Corova. To get there you need to travel in a 4WD vehicle, on the beach, 11 miles past the last paved road. Instead we did some things around the house and around town, including heading out to First Landing State Park for some flatland, sea-level hiking with no danger of altitude sickness. Since this blog has been here before, I will post a few pictures from a different perspective.

Wherever you are, I hope that at the very least you get the weather you need, and if lucky, get what you want.

On Top Of The World

2009-08-21T09:01:00.000-04:00

During our visit to Rocky Mountain National Park, we made several stops at the Alpine Visitor Center. This place is a very popular spot in the middle of the park, just off of Trail Ridge Rd. near its highest point. The Visitors Center has one building used mainly for information and education and one building that is a huge gift store, restaurant and snack bar. They are linked by an expansive stone plaza, and all three places share a spectacular view. The facility sits on the rim of a glacial cirque, which is sort of like a three sided bowl where glaciers were once formed before flowing down the valley.

The weather at the center can be very chilly, even in high summer, in fact they don't normally even get the road plowed until sometime in May. I was curious about why there were so many tall poles in the parking lot and along the road. The Sherpa Girls informed me that these poles, many of which exceeded 20', are used by the snow plow drivers as guides. It keeps helps keep them from plowing into stone walls or damaging buildings buried by the snow and from running off the road. There are few guardrails, and at many points a distracted driver has only about a foot between the edge of the pavement and a deadly plummet. I can't imagine having to plow 10-15' of snow off of a road you can't see, in a big unruly tractor, next to a sheer drop off - my hat is off to the professionals.

On each visit to the Center, the air was filled with many languages, most but not all were European. One large group was speaking something that sounded like Icelandic, and all of them had this impossibly blond hair. The parking lot was full of cars from all over North America, giant RVs, tourist buses and there were numerous bicyclists. I could not imagine pedaling through the park, fighting the inclines and dodging drivers distracted by the view - my other hat is off to the determined.

On our second visit, the clouds started rising up Fall River Valley towards the center, and by the time we left the view was completely obscured from the Visitor Center. However just below the rim on the western side a wind was blowing the clouds back into the cirque. One thing that will stick with me about the Rockies is how quickly the view, the weather and the biology can change, even differing on opposite sides of the same road or trail.

The last three shots were all taken from the same location within a day of each other.

(the cute critter is a Marmot, and he/she was working the crowd)

Before we leave the center, I need to turn away from the view and make a comment about some of the people that work in the park. Every NPS employee, park ranger and park volunteer we came in contact with was pleasant, knowledgeable and enthusiastic. While on the Ute trail one hiking ranger stopped to ask us how we were doing and did we have any questions. He even dug into his backpack to pull out one of his well-worn reference books to help us ID a wildflower, all the while carrying on a pleasant and informative conversation. This "park culture" among its employees and volunteers is amazing considering the general state of the underfunded park system. My last hat is off to the passionate.

This stood in stark contrast to the people who work for the private company that holds the contract to operate the snack bar and restaurant. The mainly young people employed there stayed very busy - very busy conversing with each other about which one of their fellow coworkers pulled their share, who was a slacker and whose shift was over when. Too busy to even look a paying customer in the eye, saying anything beyond "that will be $10.49", let alone uttering anything along the lines of "thank you". What was even more disconcerting was that the worst offenders where the American employees, the foreign-born summer help was more hospitable. Now that this grumpy, nearly-old man got this off of his retail oriented chest, we can get in the car and head back down.

Next Colorado Post: The Never Summer Ranch

The Ute Trail

2009-08-18T21:35:00.000-04:00

Our trip to Colorado filled me with memories to replay over and over in my head - to pull out as needed for years to come. However, if I am asked to name the highlight of the trip, I would have to say it was my hike on the Ute Trail. In my mind, it was more beautiful than the grandest cathedral and as closer to God than you will ever get kneeling at an alter.

As the name implies it is an old Native American trail used by the Utes and Arapahos to get over the Continental Divide. We started at the Alpine Visitors Center (which we will visit in the next Colorado post) at about 11,700' in elevation. Being this high is quite a feat for someone who has spent the better portion of his life at sea level. The altitude will tax you if you are not acclimated to it, but fortunately I did much better on this trip than I did 5 years ago. Back then I thought I was having a heart attack while we were visiting Mt. Evans, which is over 14,000'. People are not the only ones who struggle in this environment. It amazes me that any plant or animal can survive here. There can be strong winds, harsh light and eight months of winter, with falling snow recorded in every month of the year. In several of the following pictures you can see there is still snow lingering around even on a late July day.

The first picture is the view from the trail head. If you click to enlarge (which can be done on any picture) you can make out the trail itself in the lower left hand corner. The foreground at first appears fairly barren and full of rocks as we are in alpine tundra where no trees will survive. At this point it really did not matter to me what the ground looked like, I just ate up that distant view of the mountains and the high drama skies. I could be satisfied with that for a lifetime. However, on closer inspection you realize that the ground is not just covered in rocks, but also in little treasures living their lives, trying to attract attention and reproduce in the few short weeks of summer. The wildflowers were everywhere and July is their peak month. This left me with a dilemma - should I look up, out and beyond or look down and between the rocks - oh, and also make sure you don't take a misstep off of the path. I managed to compromise and do a little of each.

Sherpa Girl B. helped me with the identification of the wildflowers, and I have also checked out the only two reference books in the Norfolk Public Library system on Rocky Mountain flora. I hope I have gotten the names correct, but if anyone knows different, please let me know. The first one is Lidia obtusiloba - Alpine Sandwort.

I was glad to see one of my favorite group of plants represented by this Sedum lanceolatum.

Castilleja occidentalis - Western Paintbursh Yellow Form

Pedicularis groenlandica - Elephanthead

The portion of the trail we took is just over 4.5 miles, and about a third of the way through we began dropping in elevation and struggling trees and small ponds began to appear as we entered Forest Canyon Pass.

Here at slightly lower elevations the environment becomes less inhospitable and the plants take advantage of that.

Elk were easily seen at higher elevations in groups made up mainly of cows and juveniles. We spent about 15 minutes watching a herd on a very distant (they looked like ants) and nearly vertical snowbank, in what could only be some sort of frolic, chasing each other in ever expanding and contracting formations. The only bull elk we saw was this one, and as we turned a corner on the trail, here he was in all his glory, totally unconcerned with our presence.

The lower we descended the taller the trees got, and at first we were looking down on their crowns, but eventually came closer to their roots.

For us the trail ended near this rock formation above Poudre Lake at Milner Pass.

If you are ever in the Park, this is a great hike, and since we started at the top and worked downward, it was not as strenuous as you might think, plus it is easy access from the main park road, Trail Ridge Rd. If you would like to see the remainder of my pictures, including more of the wildflowers, please visit my flickr page.

Next Colorado Post: The Alpine Visitors Center

Boom Day - After The Deluge

2009-08-15T06:32:00.000-04:00

We are interrupting our Colorado travelogue because it is the fifteenth of the month, which can only mean it is Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, a wonderful on-line institution founded by Carol at May Dreams Garden.

When we got back from our trip west, I could tell that we had recently had a good rain, but I could also tell that most of the time we were gone it was dry. There was a little browning around the edges on some of the plants and a general weak look to others. However, August has proven to be a very wet here in Norfolk with 8.3" of rain so far in a month where 4.5" is usually the total for the entire month. Last week we had close to 4" of rain, and Wednesday we had 3" with most of that falling in a little more than an hour. It came late in the afternoon, just before rush hour, closing interstates, flooding tunnels and swamping many cars. Unfortunately this flooding is not that unusual of an event here. When you have miles of flat land barely above sea level, fast falling rain goes nowhere fast. God help us if we ever have a real hurricane (and no, Hurricane Isabel was not a real one).

Anything remotely tropical, like my Siam Ruby Banana (Musa acuminata 'Siam Ruby') has enjoyed the rain.

Angelonia angustifolia (sorry I do not remember the cultivar)

Alabama Sunset Coleus (Solenostemon scutellariodes 'Alambama Sunset')

Lantana camara (another cultivar whose name escapes me, the nurseryman should get a small note book and write something in it from time to time)

New Gold Lantana (Lantana camara 'New Gold') - Neither this one nor the one above are supposed to be perennial here, but this will be their second summer.

Profusion Fire Zinnia (Zinnia angustifolia x elegans 'Profusion Fire') - If you are not growing Zinnias from this series, you should. The are quite prolific, mildew free and will go until a freeze.

Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia milii)

I know Liriope (Liriope muscari) is as common as dirt, but a coworker and I noticed this one among all the others as standing out for a bigger, more colorful flower. So we bought it and split it.

Sunrise Abelia (Abelia x grandiflora 'Sunrise') - I am not an advocate for regular pruning, but this plant needs it.

I gave up on trying to pull the Sweet Autumn Clematis (Clematis terniflora) out from under one of the Crape Myrtles and decided to just let it be. Anything that is willing to grow where this plant does can have at it.

Speaking of Crapes, this is their shedding season, and I even like this aspect of them. There outer layer of bark exfoliates in huge long strips as if they went to the beach and forgot the sun screen.

I am going to end with one of my garden visitors enjoying the Fennel. I believe this will turn into a Black Swallowtail.

Please give Carol a visit to see what other gardeners are enjoying this August.

Grand Lake, CO

2009-08-11T20:57:00.013-04:00

After a few days in Denver, we headed into the Rockies, over the continental divide to Grand Lake, Colorado. Grand Lake is the state's largest natural body of water, and together with several nearby man-made lakes, it helps provide water for other parts of the state. It was formed when glacial action dammed several local streams. The indigenous Utes called it Spirit Lake as they believed the souls of the dead called its cold waters home. The waters were indeed cold - cold enough for this Southern boy to stay out thus avoiding a swim with the departed.

The Ute's crossed the mountains from the prairie each summer to hunt here, but had enough sense to head back before winter came with its heavy snows and cold. Non-natives began settling here permanently in the late 1800's and the town of Grand Lake began to take shape. From its infancy the town depended on tourism, but when Rocky Mountain National Park was formed and the town became the Western entrance, this reliance became concrete. The main street is Grand Ave., and it has wooden sidewalks, many of which are covered and remind me of a scene from an old western (except I don't recall seeing such colorful hanging baskets and planters in the movies, or Lupines growing in the streets). I think I saw only one saloon, many of the businesses were selling dubious and serious western themed art, lamps made from antlers, blankets, t-shirts, post cards and such. There were a few places selling nice stuff, and one in particular had a great garden out back that overlooked the lake.

Away from Grand Ave., down by the lake shore is a scenic old yacht club, a municipal park and a small swimming beach (for people from Greenland). Also near the lake is the Kauffman House, which is an old hotel made from logs that has been restored with many original furnishings and is used as the town museum. It offered a nice break from all the commerce half a block away and gave us a good look into the area's past.

One of our intrepid hostesses, Sherpa Girl B. found us a lovely cabin on the outskirts of town near Lake Columbine. However, the word cabin is a bit misleading, this place was bigger, more well appointed, cleaner and generally nicer than our own house. The gardener in the group was as equally pleased with the cabin's landscape, or lack thereof. Nearly all of it had been left natural with Lodgepole Pines and Blue Spruce coming up through a very thick carpet of mostly unfamiliar wildflowers.

Potentilla fruiticosa - Shrubby Cinquefoil

Hordeum jubatum - Foxtail Barley

Ipomopsis aggegata - Western Scarlet Gilia

One of the other attractions of the cabin was being entertained by the ever-changing skies, especially at dusk and at night. After dark the clean, clear air made it possible to see the Milky Way, fast moving satellites and shooting stars.

Next Colorado Post: An Alpine Hike