Sunday, 31 March 2024
at home
My gardening mission today was to get as many of the mail order plants in the ground as possible, after a good start a few days ago. But first, a bit of garden appreciation.
I started by digging out the frustrating slow weeping willow that I got from Forest Farm last year. It has failed to take off. It didn’t have much of a root system to show for a year’s effort.
I replanted it elsewhere, in a not very auspicious spot, and replaced it with a tall golden weeping willow from Tony Tomeo. Perhaps it was not wise to choose the tallest of the three that he brought me. I was impatient to have a tall weeping willow before I die.
I dug up a Lonicera ‘Baggeson’s Gold’ that was right where I could put a conifer from Tony, although I have no idea whatsoever what it is. I don’t worry too much about planting trees that will get too big, since my family average life span only gives me ten to fifteen more years in the garden.
The lonicera (box leaf honeysuckle) went into this bed by the east fence…
….which has some golden barberries and other gold leaved plants, including the golden Choiysia (Mexican orange) that kind of languishes year after year.
Allan helped me plant a heavy pot of osoberry that I had gotten from Ed Bendzick, who is opening a nursery section at Peninsula Landscape Supply. The circle in the photo shows the willow I had just planted on the other side of the deep swale.
Allan did another project for me before starting to mow our neighbour’s lawn: The phormium that I had growing in a galvanised trash can had finally kicked off this winter. Even though I had gone off phormiums several years ago, growing it in the trash can was not an ironic statement. I was inspired by the courtyard of a restaurant near Heronswood Nursery where, in 2003, where, in the company of my old friend Montana Mary, I had the most delicious cold cucumber soup that I have ever tasted. It was called Molly Ward or Molly Ward Gardens and I loved their phormium in a trash can.
Today, the era of the trash can phormium ended.
We knew the trash can’s bottom had rusted out but figured that the sides might still be strong enough to save. Allan pushed and dug the old roots out from the bottom.
A Seaview gardener came over to get a start of pink turtlehead, which she had been seeking. We have met before, but this time a mutual friend connected her and me and the turtleheads of which I have a too-large patch.
Meanwhile, Allan was mowing Alicia’s park-like lawn.
I then planted almost all the plants that I had stashed on Alicia’s patio. Several went into the two new half circle beds.
Morina longifola from Far Reaches Farm: “A favorite from the Himalaya, this thistle mimic is pretty outrageous in the garden. Robust clumps of gently spiny leaves and taller stems bejeweled in rank upon rank of long-tubed, white flowers which turn pink when pollinated. Nice to see we aren’t the only ones who get a sexual flush during pollination.
Full sun, moist, moderate.”
A couple of Echinacea pallida from Digging Dog. I love them but have never had good luck growing them. I will not give up!
I love all heleniums. This one from Digging Dog went behind the bench in the big east bed.
I also love verbascums. Two from Digging Dog, in the east half circle :
Also in the east half circle, a Dierama ‘Tomato Red’.
Cistus Nursery: “We originally got this South African iris relation from Far Reaches Nursery in Port Townsend WA. These our seedlings of said plant have Orangy-red flowers on stems to 2-3 ft. Grass-like foliage is evergreen (don’t cut back) and will slowly form a clump to 2-3 feet across. Full sun and good drainage and occasional summer water were dry. Hardy to below 10F. USDA zone 8a.”
By one of the purple portal posts by the fire circle, Clematis ‘Haku Ookan’ from Digging Dog.
In the west fence bed, I planted my replacement Luma ‘Glanleam Gold’ by the one that I think has died (although it has one tiny leaf).
The Far Reaches tags for the same plant got less fancy since last autumn!
I planted a nicotiana that I’ve grown before in the same semi shady spot where it did well before. (they usually don’t survive the winter here.)
I had taken one plant of my favourite, Nicotiana langsdorfii, into the greenhouse for the winter and planted it out again today.
A tiny plant of a special lily, which I so hope a snail or slug won’t find:
From Far Reaches Farm:
Lilium mackliniae – Robust form “Seed-grown plants of a rare form of a rare lily rarely available from one rare plant grower in the UK. We are eschewing subliminal suggestions and going right to the heavy hammer of repetitive rarity. This form came about in cultivation from seed-raised plants in the UK and when mature is twice as tall as the typical species. Nice soft pink flowers. Part shade, part sun, moist “
I am hoping that being almost retired means I can walk around frequently to check on all these new plants.
I planted a Escallonia ‘Gold Brian’ from Digging Dog in front of my green escallonia hedge (that we cut back hard last year) even though I don’t know if I will like it. I love golden foliage but for some reason I feel this one is not going to look right. But I finally had to try it.
The hedge is growing back pretty quickly.
Also in that bed, I am trying Aralia ‘Sun King’ again, which I have tried and failed to grow before.
Another view of the same area where the podocarpus that I moved from its unhappy spot in the front garden, and then it greened up, looks disappointingly yellowy again.
An Inula magnifica was still quite dormant so I do hope it grows. I had it once before and didn’t like it, found the foliage too coarse, but I think my tastes have changed.
It went into this bed…
…along with a Panicum ‘Warrior’ and Pennisetum ‘Moudry’.
In a box planter in the bogsy wood because I couldn’t think of where else to put something so special:
Coniogramme emeiensis from Far Reaches Farm: “A dramatic species from Sichuan Province in China with most collections coming from Mount Emei, the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains in China. Gorgeous dramatic large leaves with leaflets striped in yellow. A patch of this will temporarily stop conversation. Deciduous, Fern, moist”
For some reason, I got two of them, and am saving the other in its pot till it further breaks dormancy and till I can think of the perfect spot. Maybe in Allan’s fern garden if he can find room!
Another special Far Reaches plant in one of the edge gardens of the bogsy wood, Trautvetteria applanata :
“A seed collection by botanist Aaron Floden from Campbell County Tennessee where a population of this attractive woodland species was found growing along Stinking Creek. Location alone should be reason enough to grow this. Who else is going to have a plant from Stinking Creek? This species is found on the Cumberland Plateau and we listed it briefly for a day as T. caroliniensis until corrected. Moist shade will result in large mapleacious leaves and white flower puffs held well above said leaves.”
My brain is suddenly fried about exactly where I planted it, so I will have to quest for it tomorrow.
I tried a polyganatum, again, still dormant, and I have never had any luck with them but I want to.
I can dream. “Polygonatum huanum (syn. kingianum) This is indeed the king. One of our most coveted plants, this is an especially fine form from our friend Philip MacDougall. This beauty can reach 12′ tall with subtle hooks on the leaf tips to help it hang onto neighboring plants. The best thing is the ORANGE flowers in abundance in the leaf axils. Swoon City. Part shade, part sun, moist.“
My Solanum crispum ‘Glasnevin’ which was as tall as the house is slowly dying. I got a new one from Annie’s Annuals and Perennials and found a new spot for it outside the table gate. It’s now too dark and gloomy in the spot it was in before.
I planted a Sarcococca ‘Dragon Gate’ from Cistus Nursery by a hardy fuchsia in the back garden, having failed with one in the front garden a couple of years ago. I saw it in a garden down the Oregon Coast and fell in love. It’s tucked into shady nook.
“Discovered in 1980 by Roy Lancaster in Yunnan China, and named Dragon Gate for the temple entrance near which it was found. With this prestigious provenance, a 4 ft, arching shrub with staunchly evergreen leaves, looking much like Danae racemosa. Very late autumn to mid winter flowers of creamy white followed by copious quantities of rich red berries. A wonderfully fragrant and handsome addition to the winter garden. Tolerant of deep shade to nearly full sun in all but the hottest climates. Appreciative of some summer water where dry. Frost hardy to 0F, USDA zone 7.”
I used to plant the most wonderful things and then be too busy at work to monitor them.
In the front garden, I removed a white escallonia cutting and planted a Camellia x ‘Yume’ instead. Paul Bonine posted some beautiful photos of this camellia last month. I MUST keep a close eye on it. Paul’s nursery, Xera Plants, doesn’t have mail order, so I got it from Cistus Nursery.
“Translating as “Dream”, this unique hybrid bears lovely single 3″ flowers of alternating pink and white petals from fall through spring, with a sweet fragrance coming from the C. yuhsienensis parentage. A moderate grower, with a loose, open form to 10′ tall and wide in time. Sets seed freely, so may be useful in hybridization efforts. Prefers part shade inland, with moderate water in well-drained, acid soil. USDA zone 8, possibly lower.” (Cistus)
I planted a erythronium that I’ve had since autumn, which bloomed in its pot, along the edge of the shady east fence bed.
“Erythronium dens-canis ‘Purple’ King’ from Far Reaches Farm. “This really should benefit from the heraldry of trumpets when it bloos since royalty does enjoy the pump of lavish circumstance. But the flowers are such a nice fuchsia purplish pink with a red throat that the trumpets and all the trappings are implied. Good mottled leaves.”
Finally, after misplacing them and then finding the in a wheelbarrow, I planted a couple of primulas from Digging Dog.
A cold wind had come up, kiboshing the idea of having the first campfire of the year, and I was heartily sick of planting although I did my best to think good positive thoughts toward the plants. They must not know how much I do not enjoy planting them.
Last of all, I up-potted up a pineapple guava from Forest Farm that might like to be in the greenhouse till May.
I might have put a couple of still dormant plants, like that one extra of the special fern, on a table to wait for a bit. Other than that, all the mail order plants are in the ground…I think some are still arriving later from Digging Dog, which tends to split their orders depending on what the plant likes.
I am so glad that it is done so that I can get to my favourite garden task, WEEDING. I have much to do. And just maybe for the first time in my gardening life, enough time to do it.
Tangly Cottage Gardening 