Each Little World

Wisconsin Garden Journal

It's been a "Think Globally, Act Locally" kind of week in this little world. So, if you'll allow me one last mostly local post, I have a prize for one of you. I have an unexpected giveaway because the co-editor of the 2010 Wisconsin Garden Journal just sent me a review copy — and I've already started writing in the one I bought a few weeks ago!

The 190-page WGJ is an annual publication of the Madison Area Master Gardeners Association (MAMGA). Though I'm a member of the group, I don't do anything with the calendar other than use it. This is the fifteenth edition and, as always, it's as beautiful as it is useful. Essentially it's a weekly engagement calendar designed specifically for gardeners. So each month begins with a list of tasks — broken down week by week — along with space for weekly notes. Each day also has a space to record the high and low temps.

In addition to wonderful color photos marking the beginning of each month, the WGJ is filled with a multitude of illustrations by local artist/gardeners and short, informative pieces related to the 2010 theme: The Natural Garden. The WGJ would make a great gift for almost any gardener on your list. But for those who are trying to go native, it would be perfect. 

That's because it contains three original and highly informative articles: Kate Heiber-Cobbs explains the hot buzzword "permaculture" or how to garden ecologically and sustainably; UW Arboretum naturalist Molly Fifield Murray gives you specifics on how to actually use native plants in your own garden, while UW Landscape Architecture prof Evelyn Howell looks at garden design using native ferns. The WGJ also contains a section of "yellow pages" which has hardiness charts, tables of recommended Wisconsin native plants, along with bloom time charts and design grids to name a few items that will help you get started hands-on gardening. 

I've always used mine more as a straightforward engagement calendar while I enjoyed all the extras. Because I already have the 2010 calendar in hand as I'm doing fall clean-up, I'm beginning to make notes about what to do next Spring based on my observations now. And since I will see the notes at the right time — rather than discovering them on a scrap of paper weeks after I needed that info — I'm hoping the calendar will give me a head start in the garden next Spring. Order the WGJ online or purchase it locally at garden centers, book and gift shops, including Orange Tree Imports where I work.

MAMGA is a non-profit organization and the profits from the calendar fund community garden grants in the Dane County area and other non-profit activities. The calendar is geared to those who garden in the Midwest in Zones 3, 4 and 5. If you fit that category and need a great garden tool/journal/calendar, leave me a comment and I will do a random number drawing next Friday, November 13th. 

Garden tourists

The garden touring season kicked off this week with visits to three private gardens in nearby towns. All were quite different from each other in size and topography but shade was the predominant condition in the group. 

The photos here are from the third — and smallest — garden of the evening. But it was a plant-a-holic's dream with a vast assortment of unusual plants, the latest varieties, and quirky colors all tightly packed into the front, sides and rear gardens of a 110-year-old Victorian house — that was also open for a peek.

This garden contained lots of artwork, including large sculptures and a beautiful iron entrance archway. The garden included the sunny front curb (with roses and society garlic) and a narrow strip between the driveway to this house and the neighbor's drive (filled with shrubs including a number of 'Tiger Eye' sumacs). No turf remains on the property.

The home and garden are the work of Dylan Hart and Ed Lyon. Lyon is the director of the Allen Centennial Garden on the UW-Madison campus and has done stints at the Chicago Botanic Garden, Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison and Rotary Garden in Janesville, WI. He is a consumate plantsman as his design and plantings at ACG show. 

So it was not surprising to see dramatic containers (above) with plants that had us clammoring for names and info — which Ed sometimes could not remember on the spur of the moment. (I believe this is Acanthus mollis 'Tasmanian Angel').

If some dramatic plants had pride of place in containers, other equally important specimens were barely visible — hidden behind more robust neighbors.

This garden is barely two years old but contained some real treasures like the tree peonies pictured here. The lavender one above is 'Yagumo' while the pink one below is 'Yoshingawa."

We've had a long, cool spring but the temperature was perfect for our garden visit. The day was sunny and quite warm — topping out at 84 degrees. It was pleasant enough to linger outdoors as the fading light popped the flower colors!

This clematis — Guernsey Cream — drew lots of praise and questions from visitors. Ed took a lot of good-natured ribbing from the other gardeners who wondered if he'd been out in the garden with a blow-dryer to get such an explosion of blooms. My Guernsey Cream opened the same morning as Ed's, so I could attest to it being a natural effect.

I am not keen on too many garden ornaments but I do have a soft spot for frogs. And Ed and Dylan had two perfect examples on display.

If Ed Lyon is a creative and intelligent plantsman, the same must be said of many of the folks visiting his garden — as they are members of the Wisconsin Hardy Plant Society and the local Master Gardeners association. But what's really noteworthy is that these groups know how to behave in a garden. They find the owner and ask lots of questions — that's Ed gesturing (below) in the black and white shirt in the center of the front porch.

And they know how to stay on the paths. Luckily there were more than enough routes through the garden to accommodate the crowd. (That's me in the hat on the sidewalk leading to the front door, taking notes while Mark takes the photos).

Shopping and shoveling

My Christmas shopping may just have gotten a whole lot easier. When it's shopping vs. snow, I learned long ago that snow always comes out on top — and all around you. You can't live in this climate without starting your shopping early or having a Plan B. I did the former and now it looks like I may have to do the later as well.

A whopper of a storm has just started with snow currently falling at the rate of two inches an hour and winds that are expected be gusting up to 30 miles an hour while I'm tucked up in my bed. The snow should taper off sometime Friday morning. But with 8-10 inches predicted, it's going to take a session with the snow blower as well as some serious shoveling to even get our driveway passable. More snow is predicted for Saturday night into Sunday morning and Monday night into Tuesday night.

The good news is the weather should be clear for Christmas Eve and Christmas day gatherings. The better news is that my husband and I both planned to be home today and Saturday so we can ignore the weather until we're ready to hit the driveway with all the energy we've got. 

The best news is that I only have a few presents left to buy and the same gift will work for most of those still on my list: the 14th annual Madison Area Master Gardeners 2009 Wisconsin Garden Journal.

The theme of this year’s calendar/datebook/garden journal is gardening for the senses. The MAMG Journal includes information on how to create gardens that appeal to all five senses but it offers much more: monthly gardening tips, beautiful images, space to record weather information, seed and plant inventories. I've written articles for past issues and my husband has contributed photos because we appreciate the mix of aesthetics and practicality. 

In addition to being a beautiful and useful gift, it’s locally produced as well as aimed at local gardeners. But since it covers USDA Zones 3-5, it works for almost anyone who's gardening in the upper Midwest in those zones — like you, perhaps? What's nice about this gift is that since it's a weekly engagement calendar, it works for almost anyone — even if they're not really that into gardening. But for someone who's trying to learn or wants more information, it's an especially valuable gift.

It’s available in a huge number of bookstores and garden centers from Madison to Spring Green to Kenosha to Hudson, so you should be able to find it without a long drive. Or you can order it directly from the MAMG.