If Ever I Would Leave You...

Cornus alternifolia

Winter is the time for Northern gardeners to dream, not just about plants, but about garden visits. I'm getting my plans together for the 2012 Garden Bloggers' Fling in Asheville, NC, in May. That's right, May. As I've repeatedly stated, it takes a heck of a lot to get me to leave my garden in May when the Woodland Garden is at its peak of beauty.

The Woodland Garden at peak bloom, with Phlox divaricata, Dicentra, Dodcatheon media, and Stylophorum diphyllum

Asheville must be pretty special to achieve that. I've never been there, but I've wanted to go, for there is a thriving artist community there. I've also wanted to see Biltmore, but neither of these things could possibly entice me to go in May. There's only one thing compelling me: I'll get to see Christopher's mountaintop woods Outside Clyde, filled with blooming spring ephemerals.

As you probably don't recall, it was Christopher who stumbled across me having my "moment" in the woods surrouding the Shadracks' house in upstate New York during the Buffa10 Fling. But the woods in summer, or even fall just don't compare to the splendor of the woods in bloom in spring.

Mertensia virginica (bluebells) Trout Park, Elgin, IL

I'm sure there will be plenty of woodland native wildflowers to enjoy in Asheville in May, such as redbuds (Cercis canadensis),

Thalictrum thalictroides a/k/a Anemonella thalictroides  (rue anemone)

and Trillium.

Even if you're not the huge woodland wildflower fan that I am, the Asheville Fling promises to be a good time, with plenty of great gardens and fun people with whom to share them. While it's great to enjoy our own gardens, sometimes it's good to go beyond to seek new inspiration. Come to Asheville and walk in the woods with me.

This post is part of Wildflower Wednesday, hosted by Gail of Clay and Limestone.

Postcard from Wauwatosa

Nervous feet while waiting to take the stage for the treble reel.

Were you expecting an image of flowers or even bare trees? Sorry, but it was -2F when I walked all the way across the parking lot Saturday morning for the Wisconsin Winterfeis. That's just too cold for me. (This is the number one reason I don't live in Wisconsin; it wasn't quite that cold when we left home.) It's also too cold for my vehicle's washer fluid jets; they froze up solid during the drive north. Fortunately, it became downright balmy by the time the girl and I got home on Sunday. There was even a thunderstorm that night, which handily disposed of the 8 inches of snow that fell on Squirrelhaven on Friday. However, it's back down below the freezing point again. In short, activities for cold weather wimps like me must move indoors. Stay tuned to find out what I've been doing besides watching Irish dancing and reading plant catalogues.

Outdoor Blooms for January

Galanthus elwesii, giant snowdrop

For the first time in a very long time, I have outdoor blooms to show off for January Bloom Day. Winter finally arrived here in Chicagoland with, yes it's true, actual snow. The girl and I couldn't be more pleased. Endless Fall was turning into Extreme Early Spring before the snowstorm Thursday dropped about 5 inches. It's not cheating for me to post a shot from Wednesday of my snowdrops. Just because they are no longer visible doesn't mean that they aren't still blooming. 


Also on Wednesday, I noticed that there were serious buds on several of the hellebores. The furthest along is this one on Helleborus x hybridus 'Pink Lady Strain'. 

'Pink Lady Strain' hellebore 

Of course it won't actually open for at least a month, despite the return to above freezing temperatures this week. So many things are already sprouting and seem to be about a month ahead of usual. (Note I'm not saying "normal." I doubt there is such a thing anymore.) 


While snowdrops may be exciting for me, if you want real floral excitement, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens for all the Bloom Day posts, where gardeners from around the world, including those from California and other places warmer than here, will be showing off their blooms.

Too Many Flowers?

Eryngium 'Jade Frost', Hydrangea macrophylla 'PIIHM-I' (Twist-n-Shout),  Lilium 'Cobra', Arrhenatherum elatius  'Varigatum', Phlox paniculata, Cornus kousa, Dianthus 'Cranberry Ice' and Lavandula 'Hidcote' in one of the driveway beds in July 2011.

Rose at Prairie Rose's Garden has asked a question* about a quandary that has arisen over her desire to have another garden bed. Her husband objected with the rationale that she has "enough flowers." Boy did that ring a bell. Bicycle Man and I have had the exact same discussion. He has reached his limit on the amount of ground he is willing to cede to "garden." Granted, our property is much smaller than Rose's, but I believe the impetus driving our spouses' objection must be the same. Rose asked whether it is the money or the time to which our spouses object.

I seriously doubt that her husband is concerned about her growing addiction. Bicycle Man knew of my gardening addiction before we started dating. When we married, he moved into my house which already boasted a good-sized shade garden in the back. He even helped me to increase other beds in the back before he objected to further garden expansions in the front in '08. 

'Carefree Beauty' rose presides over The Neutral Zone on which I am trying to encroach in the background. The two beds bordering the driveway (installed in '08)  have been a bone of contention.

I don't believe money is the heart of the issue either. Like Rose, I don't spend much on clothes or jewelry or on golf anymore. Many of the plants that are going into the new beds are divisions from existing plants. In any event, I would have bought certain plants anyway and tried to stuff them in somewhere in the garden because I simply had to have them. 

One of last year's must-haves: Knautia 'Thunder and Lightning' in one of the driveway beds.

While I may be wrong, I believe the answer comes down to one simple thing: lawn. There are many men who love their lawn. I'm not talking about the devoted nuts, the "Lawn Rangers," like the neighbor behind us growing up, who mowed his lawn every afternoon. No, I'm talking about men who enjoy the open, uncluttered (in their minds) expanse where a man can walk (or mow) freely, without watching his step, where he can feel like a part of the neighborhood, with its expected swathe of manicured green. It's a vision deeply embedded in the American male psyche -- house, with a few trees and shrubs, driveway and lawn. Think about the pictures children draw of a house. It invariably is square, with four windows, a door in the middle and a chimney on top. And in front of the house there is green, a lawn. Oddly, this is a near universal phenomenon; children around the world draw the exact same picture. Is it any wonder that a man who is not a gardener will resist a threatened encroachment on that domain?

Forget logic, forget trying to argue that a lawn is a waste of fuel, a source of air and water pollution, a sterile monoculture. While the husband's brain may accept and even agree with these points, in his heart, in the place where the boy still lives, he will balk. So we must accept this need for lawn and make compromises as we have learned to do in other areas of married life. 

Making the mowing easier by installing a flat mowing strip can help, agreeing to limit the size and location of beds is another option.

Status quo: the 2 driveway beds; across the driveway one small bed (at far left), a bed under the trees, and foundation beds.

Designing our gardens to include a continuous open area of lawn, bounded by beds is probably the best solution to the conflicting needs and desires of spouses, with generous use of containers filled to the brim and overflowing with all the plants we need to grow.

View of the back lawn and border, end of May 2011.

Rose, I hope that helps answer your query. It is the solution on which my husband and I have achieved detente in the Lawn Wars.

*I hope Hortense Hoelove doesn't mind.

A Great Disappointment

Helleborus niger

Greetings from the State of Insomnia. I just can't seem to shift off holiday schedule, but the unseasonably warm weather has called me outside anyway. While it appears that the first snowdrop is in bloom (it's difficult to tell when it's been so cloudy), the Christmas roses (Helleborus niger) most obviously are not. I was hoping for some precocious activity, but on closer inspection, it appears there may be no blooms at all this year.

Something is very wrong with this picture. Here's what it's supposed to look like at this point.

December 31, 2010

I suspected something might be wrong with them last spring,

April 2011

but then promptly forgot to do anything about it. I suppose I'll just look on this as an opportunity to try a different hellebore in this space. 

1/2/12

In music, the beat 1-2, 1-2 signifies "cut time," meaning the music goes twice as fast as standard 4/4 time. During the holidays, it feels like we're living in cut time. Even when life returns to a regular schedule, we often are rushing through it, trying to meet all the demands of work, family and life.

I'm not one to indulge in resolutions, but wouldn't it be wise to attempt, starting right now, to change the pace, to get out of the mad spiral of cut time and instead to live more deliberately, to organize our time to get the most out of it, to slow down to enjoy the people and things that bring us joy? My plan is to address things promptly, rather than let things slide into "later." With less things hanging about in my mental inbox, I'll have fewer things clogging up my brain and my creativity. At least it's worth a try. I'm starting this morning with winter sowing. I already have two milk jugs filled with potting soil sitting on the back step, ready to go.

May this new year bring you joy.