Each Little World

Flowers at the CBG Fair

Though the Chicago Botanic Garden calls its annual event an "Antiques and GARDEN Fair" there were not as many items which could actually find a home outside in the garden as I would have liked. On the other hand, there were some wonderful indoor flower and garden displays that we greatly enjoyed. The theme of the show was “Color in the Garden: An Artist’s View.” 

As you can see from the picture below almost all the vendors also had some kind of flowers or plants included in their displays. I thought this was a particularly charming idea with its row of matched pots in ascending and descending sizes.

The artist below actually used dried flowers to create flat patterns that reminded me of Indian textiles with their bright colors and repeated motifs. The yellow one uses cosmos and the pink one at the right uses straw flowers. They are pressed paper thin in a hydraulic press. 

At the entrance to one of the tents were a pair of charming potager-style vegetable gardens by The Organic Gardner.

Craig Bergmann Landscape Design had one of their usual tour de force floral creations on display in the center of the tent. Can't you just fantasize doing this instead of the typical Christmas tree?

Maria Smithburg with Manfredini Landscape and Design created a dramatic tulip walkway with glossy red cylindrical planters. 

Depending on where you stood, the effect of the display constantly changed.

The containers made me think of those painted red trunks in the garden of Jack Lenor Larsen's Long House (below). They both have that same element of scale and drama.

You can see through the doors that the next garden display was equally dramatic but in a much more subtle way.

The space down the center of this gallery has been home to many incredible displays over the years, including this one by William Heffernan Landscapes.

I liked the combination of fantasy with the mirrored reflections and practicality with decorative squares of edible plants. I noticed that someone had added a small square of pink paper on the sign at the beginning of this garden with the hand-written notation "cherry trees." Clearly they'd been getting a lot of questions about the pink branches!

Since there were vendors in the hallways outside the conservatories we took advantage of the location and strolled through three different growing environments.

I've been reading a lot of interior design and decor books lately and the plants above and below both suggested color and texture combinations for paint and fabrics to my eye. 

My other posts on this event:

CBG Antiques and Garden Fair

CBG Antiques Fair: Inside the Tents 

Guinea hens among the widows

I treated myself to Ken Druse's latest book — "Natural Companions" — for my birthday last Spring. The scanner photographs by Ellen Hoverkamp are breathtaking, making for a book that is incredibly beautiful, while it's filled with Druse's usual wit and wisdom. While pouring over the images of flower combinations, I discovered this grouping. I quickly realized that while I am growing all three plants — Geranium phaeum, Fritillaria mileagris and Euphorbia 'chameleon' — it had never occured to me to create this particular combination.

ELLEN HOVERKAMP PHOTO

I'm sending off to Old House Gardens where I can buy the dark maroon guinea hens, aka checkered lilies aka snake's-head Fritillaries. It will be easy to intersperse the bulbs amoung my numerous clumps of "mourning widow" geraniums. The Euphorbia self-seeds so I'll just need to find a couple of errant plants elsewhere in the garden and move them where I need them to create my own version of this display. 

It is already late in the game to be placing my first order for spring bulbs. Some of my favorites from OHG are already sold out. But there are still some tulips and lilies that I am lusting after. I love bulbs from OHG because they all come with history and a story. Both are things that are important to me as a gardener.

And I've also had great luck with their bulbs, many of which are not found elsewhere.They are not necessarily the cheapest bulbs but there are discounts for volume and the unusual selections just can't be beat. Among the OHG bulbs I've grown, and can personally recommend, are daffodils 'Daphne,' 'Dreamlight,' 'Pheasant's Eye,' and 'Rose of May.' Tulips are mostly the orange flowered ones, excpept for the intriguing Acuminata, Clusiana (above with grape hyacinths), and the voluptuous 'Schoonoord.'

I clearly seem to be entering a murky purple flower phase because I just edged the bed underneath our Purple Fountain weeping beech with Iris pumila 'Cherry Garden ' (above) which I've been growing since 1990. And I plan to fill the inside of the bed with Black Parrot tulips from OHG and Tulipa humilis 'Odalisque' from Brent and Becky's Bulbs. The latter bulb (below) is a little hot pink number that should provide some pizzazz for the Parrots. 

DISCLAIMER: As a professional garden writer, I receive a discount on my own OHG purchases. But I'd be happy to share my high opinion of their company and plants even if I did not receive a discount. 

Flower Factory

This hot, dry weather has kept me from plant shopping mid-summer as I usually do, but I finally went out to the Flower Factory last week to get some drought-tolerant plants for the Traffic Island. I put in four sedums, a Hummingbird mint (Agastache) and some Alliums that were being shaded out elsewhere in the garden. A little rain and a follow-up hit with the hose and everything seems to be settling in nicely.

Also picked up a Geranium dalmaticum with tiny leaves that was too cute to resist and two ferns: Parsley and Holly. Both of those ferns have done fairly well for me elsewhere in the garden given this difficult summer.

While at the Flower Factory I had a nice chat with owner Nancy Nedvick who told me they opened in 1988, another record drought year. Given the terrible gardening conditions we've been having, the Flower Factory looked fabulous with beautiful displays as lush and lovely as always — well worth the trip!

First lotus

We added water lilies to our pond the first summer after we created it — 1998 — and they've been doing beautifully ever since. This year's early Spring and hot, sunny weather have give us a bumper crop of both lilies and leaves. We've always dreamed of growing lotus as well. But it wasn't until I discovered a dwarf version that we decided to give one a try. 

We ordered 'Baby Doll' from Lilypons and added it to the pond in early May. It's been slowly putting out leaves which have floated on the surface of the pond. But suddenly the leaves are getting bigger and standing up the way you so often see them doing. Now we're just waiting to see if we actually get any flowers. Stay tuned for updates.

Peony postscript

Given the interest in sustainable agriculture, it was only a matter of time before someone applied the concept to flowers. Now there's a book and a blog on the topic: "The 50 Mile Bouquet: Seasonal, Local and Sustainable Flowers." The blog is fascinating because it really makes you think about where flowers come from and who grows them. The site has a link to the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers where you can find the growers in your state and area if you want to join this particular "buy local" movement. There were 14 entries for Wisconsin.

But the most interesting tidbit I discovered was the video, "Empowered Peony Picking," featuring peony grower Joan Thorndike. As a professional peony grower, it's critical for Thorndike to pick peonies at the perfect moment to send them off to her floral customers. She picks them when the buds feel like marshmallows rather than marbles, which she talks about in the video. Thorndike said you can also cut peonies at the marshmallow bud stage and hold them in the fridge — wrapped in paper — for a month. Then you bring them out, recut the stems, put them in water and voila: you've got peonies.

So I tried it and it worked! Since this was my first attempt, I have a few kinks to work out but I will definitely do this again next year. I think my buds were not quite marshmallow-y enough when I cut them, so the flowers are smaller than they would be when blooming on the bush. But I cut these flowers on May 17th and they bloomed this afternoon, June 17th — literally after a month in the crisper bin in my refrigerator. 

I took them out on June 13th and by the afternoon of the 14th — when I hoped they would be ready for a party — they weren't doing much of anything. To get them out of the way during the party, I stuck them in the cool, dark garage and forgot all about them. Brought them back into the light and heat last night (the 16th) and recut them. This morning they were clearly opening and I had peonies by mid-afternoon. Too cool! 

Another gorgeous peony

I ordered this 'Coral Sunset' peony from Klehm's Song Sparrow Nursery last fall. Amazingly I had a flower this very first year, opening on May 18. And though it was only one bloom, it was spectacular. The bud started opening a lipstick coral and it only got brighter as it unfurled. Then it aged through an array of pinks. Three very hot, sunny days after opening it still looked good but by then was a delectable baby pink moving towards white! I can hardly imagine how gorgeous this plant will be in a few years.

The catalog described it perfectly: "Intense coral blossoms with overtones of rose and accented by full, deep yellow stamen centers. Outstanding plant habit. Roy's (Klehm) favorite coral. Slightly fragrant. American Peony Society Gold Medal Selection." Worth every penny! And so bright you can spot it across the garden peeking out from behind a group of yew spheres (top).

If you love peonies, stop by the West Madison Ag Reseach Station at 8502 Mineral Point Rd. When I was there on Friday (5/18) to help set up the WHPS sale, there were two peonies blooming right outside the office at the end of the parking lot. They were identified as "Coral N' Gold", which had an amazing gold center, and 'Abalone Pearl' which was pink fading to white. Both were outstanding in flower shape, color and the plants were huge and holding up the flowers very well. It's a great chance to see unusual cultivars in full bloom.

I picked 'Coral Sunset' to contrast with a weeping purple beech tree that is its neighbor (above). Here it is in the early moring light four days after it first opened (below). This group of pictures gives you a sense of what a mature plant of this variety might look like as the flowers come and go.

Even though time of day and the light can make colors look different depending on when a photo is taken, these pictures are all untouched 'Coral Sunset' peony.

Seneca Hill rockii type peony

Two years ago I ordered a rockii type peony seedling from the late great Seneca Hill Perennials in upstate New York. Here's how the catalog described it (and yes, I actually copied it down on my plant i.d. index card for future reference needs just like this):

" Just for fun . . . these are robust seedlings of a gorgeous plant that we raised from seed over a decade ago, and that utterly floored us by growing into a fine shrub laden with huge lazily-ruffled bright pink flowers with deep maroon basal blotches. Who knew? The only seedling of this plant that we've bloomed is pink like its mom, but with much more strongly ruffled petals. No guarantees, but there's no reason these seedlings shouldn't all make good plants. $14.99"

Two years later I've got a plant that is so stunning Mark and I both photographed it. However, it is not pink. It's snow white which I actually prefer. But no basal blotches on these first two blooms. Maybe some of the future flowers will sport blotches which I would love.

On the other hand, after only two years it is a huge shrub and, as you can see for yourself, the flowers are breathtaking. I was literally running out to the garden every fifteen minutes watching the first bud unfurl. The big flower held up surprising well to the wind and rain that followed the sun and warmth that made the it open so quickly. 

Since it is an unnamed seedling, I am christening mine in honor of the nursery, "Seneca Hill Snowstorm." If anyone reading this is growing one of these seedlings, I'd love to hear about your experience.

For those who are interested, you will note I have a Seneca Hill Perennials catagory on the blog where you can find posts about all the plants I grow that I purchased at that nursery.

My Rhodie blooms at last

This Rhododendron — R. yakushimanum 'Yaku Angel' — is nine years old. I bought it from the late Roslyn Nursery where I also got my other Rhodie, R. yedoense poukhanense 'Alba.' They are growing next to each other in more shade than they probably would like as well as in soil that is more alkaline than acidic. 'Alba' has always flowered and now is easily covered with 70 blossoms.

'Yaku Angel' has never done anything but slowly grow. Michael Dirr says it should be 3' x 3' after 20 years; it's currently about 24" high x 30" wide.  I love it for its thick leaves whose undersides are covered with fuzzy brown indumentum, so I've never minded that it hadn't flowered. But last fall it clearly set what looked like a couple of buds on the tips that get the most sun (above). 

I freaked a bit when I first saw the buds coloring up hot pink this spring. I am definitely not a fan of the typical pink and purple PJM Rhododendrons that I most often see in gardens. But my notes from the Roslyn catalog said "pink buds opening to white flowers," and sure enough that's what's happening.

'Alba' blooms with pairs of white flowers while 'Yaku Angel' opens up with a whole handful of blossoms. It's certainly been worth the wait. And if it never happens again, I don't know that I'll be heartbroken since I'll always have the gorgeous leaves to enjoy. 

Both white rhododendrons are located in my mini "white garden" in the Birch Grove. In addition to the rhodies there's a white bleeding heart, a white Trillium grandiflorum, Pulmonaria 'Sissinghurst White," ferns and Vancouveria which gets a small white flower a bit later in the season. 

Sweet Hepatica

The name Hepatica always reminds me of one of those women's names from colonial New England, names like Hepzibah. I picture her as someone who can stand up to whatever the elements send her way. She's not a show-off but has a certain quiet winsome charm. The same can be said of Hepaticas. I currently have three on order from Plant Delights Nursery. I also planted three unusual ones from Hillside nursery last year but none has yet appeared this Spring. This little charmer below is just one of the nameless seedlings in my garden, but she's a delicate lilac rather than the bright blue-violet of my largest and oldest clump. 

A Valentine flower for your favorite gardener

Dicentra spectabilis 'Valentine' is high on my wish list of new plants for the garden. This version of the old garden classic Bleeding Heart has cherry red heart-shaped flowers that "dangle from arching, dark red stems in spring. This newcomer offers a different color than the typical pink form, but keeps the same tall, graceful habit of the old fashioned Bleeding Heart," according to the Klehm on-line catalog. In the photo from the Klehm catalog directly below you can easily see the color is as described. 

Tony Avent, in the on-line catalog of Plant Delights, notes that the flower color actually was as good — if not better — in person than in the photos he'd seen, having initially been concerned that the red coloration was more Photoshop than reality. He also points out that the grey-green lobed foliage emerges with a reddish tint. I've included the Plant Delights catalog photo below because I think it provides a better view of the foliage than the Klehm image. Even though the new flower color is the selling point, it is the foliage that we will live with for most of the season.

Though Dicentra spectabilis is often listed as a partial to full shade plant, in my experience it can take a fair amount of sun as long as it has enough moisture. It is hardy in Zones 3-9, and will grow to about 2' x 2'. Klehm's Song Sparrow Nursery is offering Dicentra spectabilis 'Valentine' for $18.95 for a 2.06 qt. container, 3 for $53.00. Plant Delights is offering it for $16.00.

Locally the Flower Factory also lists it in their 2012 catalog for only $9.00. I am going to take a chance that it will be available at FF and plan to get there early on opening day, April 21. Their plants are always good size and, at that price, if I thought it was too small I could always buy two and still come out ahead of mail order shipping costs.