Dirty Fingers Muddy Knees

Plants I Dig: Rare Plant Trials

by Susan | May 23, 2016 | Plants I Dig

Most of you know I like a challenge. Whether it is growing something that many people can’t, killing something many people don’t, or knowing a plant that someone sends me a photo of. Rare plants can be a challenge. While I love the happy prolific plants in my garden I really love the difficult ones. Maybe because I’m difficult? Perhaps…

I’m also impatient. I stress about a plant that I think I’ve lost in the garden. I search and can’t find it where it is supposed to be. Then I make a call, click a button, or go on a hunt and there is another one to replant. Most of the replanting is followed by ‘Oh there it is’. Now I have two, or three (it is good to plant in sweeps).

Paris polyphylla ‘Heronswood form’ - blooming

This lovely Paris is a Heronswood form (Paris polyphylla ‘Heronswood form’) and something I’ve lusted after for a while. I purchased one several years ago and lost it in the garden. Last year I purchased one from the Heronswood sale, and planted it close to the house. This year I searched for evidence of the plant still there. It is in a spot that tends to get animal activity (dog, cat, bird, rabbit) and although fenced off I felt I lost it. Off I go last week and grab another at Windcliff plant sale. This one (number three) I decided to plant up in the shade garden next to the upper pond. Maybe it would fare better there and be out of danger of being trampled. I grabbed a couple of coleus to fill in the spot where my other lovely plant should be and low and behold there is the leaf pushing out of the ground. It is definitely there just a tad slower to show up. Looking on the bright side, now I can experiment with site placement to see which place is better. Hardy to zone 5 with average soil, regular water and bright shade it should be easy to experiment with. The green flowers are amazing!

Exotic and mysterious is the Roscoea cautleyoides. It is from a ginger family Zingiberaceae. It looks very orchid like to me and grows well under the apple tree with the Paris and a Dactylorhiza maculata. This one is blooming early and happily next to the slow Paris. The lovely yellow blooms are brilliant in this little shady spot and, unlike most Gingers, it likes part sun/part shade. It gets a good blast of sun in the afternoon. It does like to be moist and is surprisingly hardy to zone 6a.

Out of all the things that are blooming in my garden I can’t get over the orchids. Again and again they scream for my attention. Not that they are big and loud, they simply have a quiet mystery that calls.

Dactylorhiza maculata is also surprisingly easy to grow. The upright cluster of purple orchid flowers is held above wonderful spotted leaves. It loves moist ground and will grown in shaded spots or even full sun with good moisture. This one came from Cistus Nursery two years ago and is increasing in this bed. I will probably experiment with site placement in the fall and move some of it up to the stream side upper pond.

Tempted into a little more difficult orchid, the Epipaticus sabine fit the spot. Even though it is touted by Kelly at Far Reaches to be easy to grow, I was worried. But as you can see it is happy in the garden by the upper pond. There are several stalks of lovely orange red flowers. It does like moist rich soil and a partly shady spot. Hardy to Zone 5 with promise of multiplying well I’m excited to see how it does going forward.

Some gardeners have a hard time spending a lot of money on just one plant. Even though I have lots of room for ‘test’ garden and most of my experiments have benefits for my clients, I am also cautious about spending too much on individual plants. Knowing I can succeed with specific cultivars boosts my confidence in growing more of the same. But I like to be sure they are not on my ‘I killed that’ list before investing more time, money and garden space. I encourage you to try just one or two things out of your comfort zone this year. Here is the plant combination that I used. Try one, try them all, I’d love to see what you come up with!

Plants I Dig: April

by Susan | Apr 8, 2016 | Plants I Dig

This time of year there are so many plants that are at their peak that it is hard to choose a favorite. One that always makes the cut is the yellow Camilla ‘Jury’s Yellow’. I didn’t know that there were yellow Camilla’s until a few years ago. I had a client that wanted one included in her garden. At that point I had to order them from Oregon and they came to me in a box UPS.

Lovely double flowers are very impressive in their size. Soft yellow with cream in the centers brighten up the landscape from a distance and are equally lovely from close up. Typically loving an acid soil with good moisture it makes a great background plant. It could also be a specimen at the end of a path or surrounded by other spring blooming plants. Part-shade to shade is best with a smaller structure than most camillias.

Black Magic Camillia came with me to the new house last year. It has a very lush dark red flower. It has wavy dark red /black leaves. This has a larger scale that the Jury’s Yellow Camilla. The leaves are a dark glossy green with a little serrated edge. Light shade with acid soil and moisture will give you wonderful background shrub for years to come.

Orchids have become easier to purchase for the home garden. Close to me is Far Reaches Farms. They have many orchids that are fairly easy to grow. No reason why not to try! Very sweet little Pleione formosana ‘Blush of Dawn’ looks like a tropical beauty. It is hardy with shelter in our area, and grows in the shade to part sun in moist soil. Good drainage is important and is sometimes achieved by planting in a hollowed out log. It blooms in May and increases as it gets established. I have an orchid from my old garden so I put them together in the part shade by near the upper pond.

Snow Drop Fever: Beguiling Galanthus

by Susan | Feb 14, 2016 | plants, Plants I Dig

I remember seeing my first snowdrop as a child in my Grandmothers garden. She didn’t have much else going on in the garden but the old established clump of snowdrops came up every year.

I’ve always planted snowdrops in whichever garden I’ve established. This year however I became more interested than ever before. When I lived in the UK I knew they were passionate about Galanthus but never really knew the obsession. Maybe I’m starting to. The mystery of Galanthus cultivars and their variations are what drive the galanthophile to search, pay high prices and even steal rare bulbs. To understand more clearly I looked for what some call the ‘Snowdrop Bible’. This is book, called ‘Snowdrops: a Monograph of Cultivated Galanthus’ by three experts in England is the undisputed authority on Galanthus. It is also undisputedly the most expensive book I’ve ever coveted. No I did not buy it (Amazon can get someone else to spend $2,221.00 on it). I mentioned it to a friend and he said he had one. I begged to borrow it and promised not to spill coffee on it. He had no idea of its Amazon value and thought that John Grimshaw one of the authors had probably given it to him.

Reading and studying everything Galanthus became an afterhours treat. The more I read the more intrigued I became. I ordered bulbs from Turkey and from Carolyn’s Shade Gardens (great U.S. source), purchased some from the nursery near me, in Seattle, the wholesale nursery, ‘Far Reaches Farms’ and even moved some from my old garden. Hmm… maybe the obsession is catching.

As I studied them the realization of what I didn’t know became clear. Some galanthus simply labeled ‘Snowdrops’ with no botanical name had variations within in the pots. They are probably a collection of Galanthus elwesii based on the way the leaves are held, color of leaf and size of leaf. Many of these variations are created within a group of galanthus while they are in the ground. If a new variety is found in England it is studied and grown on for several years to see if it is worthy of a name and becomes valuable because of its form. This often takes several years. I don’t think there is any such protocol here in the U.S.

I’ll share with you the variations I have found within the pots I purchased and the variation that has been growing in my garden for several years.

Galanthus unknown 3 – This was purchased at Well’s Medina Nursery. It was in a pot with other bulbs that looked to be normal cultivars of Galanthus elwesii. This one, however, had a mostly solid green X on the inner petals. The species have a small green W on the tips of the inner petals.

Galanthus unknown 4 – This was in a flat labels ‘Snowdrops’ from Valley Nursery. The entire flat was normal species type except this one bulb. It has a pronounced X up the inner petals and the outer petals fly upward.

Galanthus unknown 5- This was in the same flat labeled ‘Snowdrops’. The thing that is different about this one is the top is mostly yellow. Sometimes a snowdrop will have a yellow ovary and yellow in the blossom. I will wait and see what develops with this one.

Galanthus unknown 2 – This is from my old garden. It is growing under less than ideal conditions very close to a large cedar tree. However, they are doing well and the clump is increasing each year. It is a consistent color variation. The green on the inside is the opposite of a regular snowdrop. The white is the small part on the bottom and the green is in the main body of the inner petals. The outer petals have a green blush on them, most unusual for Galanthus. We will see how it produces in this garden.

The ones that are named from nursery sources are also wonderful.

This one is Galanthus ‘Blewbury Tart’ from Kelly at Far Reaches Farms. It is a very nice double that faces outward instead of upside down.

Galanthus Hippolyta is a sweet double with clear green mark from Wells Medina Nursery in Seattle. I have more on the way from Carolyn’s Shade Garden.

This Galanthus poculiformis groupl ‘Lady Mary Grey’ is not mine yet. It is in a friends garden and is most unusual because the inside perianth is very short and white, very different than a regular Galanthus. I will be able to get a start as it goes into dormancy.

This is another Galanthus that wants to come home with me. It is Galanthus elwesii x plicatus ‘George Elwes’. It is growing on the edge of the driveway and has good large blossoms that hang nicely in the wind.

Is that enough to make you start thinking about a collection of your own? How can you not love them?

Growing Galantus

Exposure: Like light dapple shade with high canopy.

Soil: Moist soil that doesn’t get to dry in summer. Light humus rich, some experts say lime is best but they seem to grow fine here in our mostly acid soil.

Zone: 4 -9

Planting: When planting ‘In the green’ be careful not to disturb the root systems as much as possible. Don’t allow bulbs to dry out. When buying as bulbs, be careful of dry, soft bulbs with no green showing. They will probably not produce a plant.

Designing with Galantus

These are lovely in big sweeps. They usually will propagate themselves easily with bulblets. It is hard to reproduce from seed. Dividing clumps is a good way to increase the quantity. Use them along edges of pathways where they can be observed easily. On top of rock or ledgestone walls is also ideal. Good companions are early blooming small narcissus, Wood anemone, and Ranunulus cultivars (I love Ranunulus ‘Brazen Hussy’). They can also be naturalized in grass. Wait until finished blooming and dormant before mowing. English Daisy and crocus look good with the grass bedding.

The In-between

by Susan | Feb 7, 2016 | plants, Plants I Dig

In between winter proper and spring proper is when the rarities and oddities that make up a well-structured garden shine. Now is the time to seek out the in-betweens to fill in the seasonal lull. Helleborus species is one of the most intriguing plants blooming in my zone 7 garden right now. Yes, even though it feels bitter outside with a howling wind and sideways rain (only in Washington do we have at least 100 different names for rain), it has been fairly mild this year. Nurseries are open but there are plenty of parking spaces right up front. Bare Root trees and shrubs are in bins and hellebores line the shelves. Helleborus are sometimes called ‘Christmas Rose’ or ‘Lenten Rose’, but here they should be called an In-between Rose. They were still dormant at Christmas, not wanting to stretch their heads above the soil as if there were no hot toddy’s waiting. Lent and Easter, changing as they do, are hard targets for a plant to hit on schedule. But right now, enjoying fitful, scarce sun, bowing to the blustery wind and creating color for raindrops to reflect are these wonderful hellebores.

Recent introductions have created so many beautiful colors and shapes that even the hellebourophile (think Galanthophile) can find one never seen before. The Mardi Gras collection from Charles Prices breeding program are stunning. From the Slate Shades colors with plums and dusty purple/black to the Apricot Shades with sunny yellow touched with warm pink edges. They are so welcome this gloomy time of year.

Another favorite breeder of mine is Marietta and Ernie O’Byrne from Northwest Garden Nurseries in Eugene, Oregon. They hand pollinate the seedlings they select and have made some beautiful, amazing helleborus. This lovely ‘Painted Double’ is one of theirs.

Occasionally there is a hellebore that catches my eye and has no name. This one is unmarked at the grower but I love the clear yellow/green with darker green micro petals. The small freckles of dark burgundy are just a touch of color. Maybe I should grow it on and name it, Freckled Rose maybe? After my sister Rose who has freckles.

Designing with Helleborous

As for design tips they are one of the most versatile plants I know. You can use them as evergreen ground cover with the flowers as an extra. The Mardi Gras Series have really nice palmate leaves that look good through the winter. Under planted with snowdrops, aconites, and anemones they will create an unforgettable display. I had one that I displayed in a large urn by the front door. I simply pulled it out of the garden about now and popped it in the urn. It was really easy to see as the elevation of the urn helps being able to view the downward facing flowers. After they started to fade I pulled the whole clump out of the pot and put it back in the garden. I used the same plant in this manner for about 5 years then changed to another more ‘current’ variety. They are really easy and forgiving (obviously).

Growing Helleborus

BLOOM – January – March.

PLANT – Moist, (not wet) loamy soil, lighten with leaf mold.

HABIT – Hardy to Zone 5, spreading slowly 15 – 18” high and up to 2 feet in spread.

WHERE – Plant them in half shade to full shade. I find they flower better with a good splash of morning sun. They like shelter of big trees and open shade.

TYPES – Helleborus argutifolius, hybrids, nigers and foetidus with lots of promiscuity thrown between them

WHAT TO EXPECT – Plants, that when happy spread, produce seeds and seedlings to share, can be used as cut flowers. Some helleborophiles cut the leaves off in the spring so the flowers show to advantage. They will cross-pollinate in your garden so you may someday have a seedling that no other gardener has.

Lighten Up!

by Susan | Jan 22, 2016 | plants, Plants I Dig

Gone are the days of festive Christmas Decorations. Tree is down and baubles and bits are packed away for another year. There is something about the excess and over stimulation of Christmas that calls for peace in January. Likewise when all the surfaces are clear of clutter it’s time to add something calming, soothing, and bright. White is the solution.

I raided the greenhouse for plants and set them into white containers is a perfect fresh look. White candles in gleaming votive holders, keep the dark outside at bay. I like to use a fresh scent like ‘linen’ in the main living area and a lovely floral like ‘gardenia ‘ in the bedroom. Both fragrances replace the smell of baking, pine, and cinnamon of the holiday season.

A trip to Ravenna Gardens (http://www.ravennagardens.com/) yields a lovely airplant and container while a stop to Windmill Gardens (https://www.windmillgarden.com/home) adds a staghorn fern to the mix. The staghorn fern has a wonderful grayish white on the leaves. I can still find paperwhites (narcissus species) to force in the nursery near me so in a container they go with some curly willow to hold up the leaves. Windmill Gardens also had some 4 inch pots of snowdrops (Galanthus sp) and Muscari ‘Golden Fragrance’. These are planted in re-purposed white containers and brought inside to watch as they grow and bloom. Muscari ‘ Golden Fragrance’ is new to me this year. It looks to have an unbelievable yellow flower with a purple topknot.

Even these pottery vases look calm and beautiful on the galvanized gray table. In the middle are cuttings of White Forsythia being forced.

Outside at the front door the white theme continues. The white sleigh and white birch from Christmas remain but I put up the snowflake lights and early blooming plants crowded around the base. Hellebore ‘Winter Jewel Cherry Blossom’ throws its first flower up with more to follow. The Camellia ‘Buttermint’ is budded heavily. A couple of Daphnes are just starting to push flowers and the edgeworthia buds are tight and fuzzy but beginning to show their lovely yellow/cream color. Not to be missed are the evergreen fingers of Mahonia ‘Soft Caress’ contrasting with the upright branches of the February Daphne.

Dig These Plants:

MUSCARI ‘ GOLDEN FRAGRANCE’

Yellow Grape Hyacinth –Early spring blooming bulb, grows 6 “ to 1 ft and spreads. Blooms in early April Zone 5 -8 in full sun to part shade. (photo by easytogrowbulbs.com)

DAPHNE O. ‘ZUIKO NISHIKI’

Winter Daphne Evergreen compact shrub in zones 7 -9. (photo by www.plantlust.com)

WHITE FORSYTHIA

Abeliophyllum Distichum Deciduous shrubs reaching 3 – 5 ft in height. Produces fragrant white forsythia type flowers. Low maintence growing in full sun to part shade. Zone 5 – 9

DAPHNE MEZEREUM ‘FEBRUARY DAPHNE’

Deciduous in Zones 5 -8 Upright growing with purple flowers on bare branch in late winter. Fragrant and reaching to 3 feet. (photo by Kurt Stüber)

EDGEWORTHIA C ’NANJING GOLD’

Paper Bush. Up to 6 feet tall in Zone 8, loving Sun to part shade. (photo by www.plantlust.com)

MAHONIA E.’SOFT CARESS’

SOFT CARESS OREGON GRAPE -Long slender evergreen foliage with a fragrant yellow flower blooming in early spring. Part Shade to full shade in Zones7-9.

Plants I Dig: January

by Susan | Jan 15, 2016 | Plants I Dig

Even in the cold and dark of winter there are plants to observe and enjoy. It has been in the 20’s for the past week and the ground is frozen. Even in this the Hellebores in my garden are starting to show color. In the open garden they are showing but are slower to raise their heads. The leaves are more damaged and they look a little rough. The one above is ‘Yellow Lady’.

This white hellebore is near the house under the eves and looks better. In the long run they will both be full and lovely but it will be fun to see the difference in growth. I usually cut the damaged leaves off so the blooms can show to best advantage.

This hellebore is ‘Peppermint Ice’, one of the winter jewel series. It is a double white/blush with red edge.

Nandina ‘Firepower’ has beautiful winter foliage. Being evergreen it creates great structure in the winter garden. The winter color is red, purple and burgundy. The summer color is bright green with red tips. The leaves are wider and loosely held which creates good wind movement. Hardy to zone 6 and tolerant of most soil types.

Veltheimia bracteata, South African Forest Lily

The January plant list wouldn’t be complete without something from the greenhouse. This South African Bulb is not hardy here but it winters well in the greenhouse and blooms early in the year. Veltheimia bracteata or South African Forest Lily. This was my first complete year growing these bulbs. During this past summer they looked terrible. Every leaf fell off and I was thinking they were dead. I continued to water them lightly but still no leaves. Then in the fall they started to sprout leaves and became very robust. Now they are fabulous and blooms are shooting up from the main bulbs. There are several offshoots and they are creating new bulblets in the same pot.

After the Christmas holiday with all the decorations put away it is time to bring the Veltheimia inside. Now they are in the window and I can enjoy their buds opening. Seed catalogs are beckoning and the Garden show is looming but for right now I can just enjoy the winter garden.

Plants I Dig: November

by Susan | Nov 7, 2015 | Plants I Dig

One of the things that I am most passionate about is plants. From the beginning I have been enamored with different species, types and hard to find cultivars. The first time I went to the Northwest Flower and Garden show in 1997 was to see the display gardens and check out new plants. Even though I didn’t have a big garden I wanted to put in something that other gardeners would not know. I once applied for a job at Heronswood so I could be close to the rarest of plants.

I regularly look for unusual plants whenever I go to a nursery, in trade and gardening magazines, and order things that look interesting online. I’m thinking that many of my you have the same interest and would love to take a peek at my favorites of the moment. So I’d like to introduce the Plants I Dig series. You can look forward to a monthly post about the plants I’m currently ‘digging’ at the moment. Here’s what I’m digging for November.

Weigelia ‘Spilled Wine’ Shrub

At my local nursery (Valley Nursery) I ran across a new Weigelia. This charming little dwarf, ‘Spilled Wine’ (she’s the one with the dark leaves in the back) has the blackest of leaves that stay dark throughout the season without turning red or green. Previous dark leafed Weigelias had a problem with fading throughout the season. The size is perfect for blending with front of the border plants and the accent of the dark leaves creates drama for other plants.

Plant in sun or shade, deciduous with red/dark pink flowers in the late spring, early summer. Zone 4-8 and deer resistant to boot.

Try paring it with Lamium White Nancy, Black mondo grass, white heather Alicia, and a sprinkle of black sorbet violias.

Albuca ‘ Frizzle Sizzle’ Bulb

Another gem I discovered at Ravenna Gardens in Seattle is Albuca ‘Frizzle Sizzle’. It has spikes of fragrant orchid-like chartreuse flowers. The foliage looks like onions but twisted in to tight curls. It is one of the plants that is summer dormant so it comes into full flower in the fall. It is not happy in the cold so tuck it under cover and bring it in when it is ready to bloom.

It likes full sun to part sun, in a warm spot. Zone 8 – 10. It is a bulb but would appreciate a greenhouse in the winter.

Mine has a spot on the counter right now so I can enjoy its vanilla scent. The soil needs to dry out a little between watering.

Polyspora longicarpa ‘MonSaPaRby’ Fullmoon Polyspora

The Fullmoon Polyspora a beautiful Dan Hinkley introduction with Camilla like flowers and shiny new red leaves. The original seed was collected by Dan Hinkley in China. Related to Stewartia, and Camilla it blooms late winter to early spring. This is a perfect evergreen shrub to use as an accent or in hedging. Zone 7 in sun or part shade with few pests.

One thing I like to do is to keep new plants close to me so I can observe them. Sometimes I put them into a container with other seasonal plants or sometimes by the door to my office so I can go by them and touch them. If they have a scent I can enjoy it, if they change colors I get to observe that too. Experimenting with color combinations and cultural placement can be done and easily changed on a whim. It’s good to plan where they go before you buy but we’ve all purchased something on a whim and then struggled to place it. Keeping it out of the ground for a bit will help you decide where it goes. You can even add it in the garden without taking it out of the pot if you really aren’t sure.

What interesting plants are on your ‘Dig List’ right now?

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