Still more images from Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison. This group concentrates on all the myriad ways the staff plant and display containers. They include subtle potted groups that reflect the surrounding landscape . . .
. . . planted pots set deep within the larger garden
. . . planted pots rising out of similarly colored floral areas
. . . same colors as above but using different plants for a completely different effect
. . . one plant per container for drama and emphasis
. . . these pots are a perfect way for those of us in cold climates to enjoy tropical plants in the garden but still easily bring them indoors in the fall
. . . a reminder that pots don't always need to be planted to have an effect in the garden
. . . a secret spot for a conversation with only a potted plant separating the speakers (note the sedge lawn instead of grass)
. . . and the pots de resistance at the garden entrance.
All gardens benefit from planning with the long view — meaning long term planning and design — in mind. But there is another kind of garden long view, one that most of us can only dream about. I mean, literally, the long views of allees, pergolas, reflecting pools and green walls that take the kind of space that most home gardeners don't have. The ability to experience and enjoy those long views are one of the reasons to visit public gardens like Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison where Mark took all these images. We've been members of Olbrich for probably close to twenty years and have watched the development of many of these gardens from their creation. Seeing them in all their glorious maturity is even more enjoyable since we remember them in their infancy and know how far they've come!
August is going out in a blaze of glory. I would've said the garden didn't have much color at the moment — other than shades of green — but I'd be wrong. There's the intense orangey gold of LIgularia 'Osiris Farnaisie,' the softer lemony gold of Kirengeshoma palmata Koreana group, the delicate rose-gold of Nymphae odorata 'Sulphurea,' the pitted green-gold of Macintosh apples and the reflective gold of one of our favorite garden rocks recently transformed with an application of gold leaf.
Woke to the sound of rain and a cool breeze blowing through the bedroom. So comfortable that I grabbed a blanket and slept in. Got up to sunshine and .72" of rain in the gauge; the garden and I both perked up. The rain is much needed. While we're not having a drought, it has been a very dry summer. Using the rain gauge in our garden, my records show that we only received 2.12" of rain in June, 2" in July and 1.55" so far in August.
It was still early enough that I made coffee and then headed over to the West Side Market. Came home with green beans, tomatoes, corn picked this morning, my favorite caraway rye from Madison Sourdough. Also got a gorgeous bouquet for a mere $5.00. And two end of season herb plants — basil and parsley — neither of which are doing well in the garden this year. I'm making Anna Thomas' cheese and onion pie for breakfast tomorrow so I also picked up Jarlsberg and gruyere cheese, butter and heavy cream. So Wisconsin!
As I was packing up the car, I heard someone exclaim at the "vanity" license plate of a nearby vehicle, so I had to walk over to see what it said. It was on a silver car sitting in full glaring sun and my phone couldn't get a good image. The license read:
"THNX WI 14"
A perfect footnote to what is clearly going to be a great day.
Forty years ago this summer, my friend Monte and I packed up a home-made tent/trailer and drove 7,000 miles (or was it 10,000?) on a massive cross-country trip. We were roommates as well as art teachers, so we left when school recessed for the summer and returned Labor Day weekend. It was a great trip, resulting in lots of adventures which I remember via the first journal I ever kept.
All of this came back to me during my recent visit to Atomic Interiors where I purchased the Dansk BLT plates. Among the wonderful mid-century treasures the store offers was a set of four Bennington Pottery plates and bowls. Potter's Yard in Bennington was one of our stops in July, 1971, and we fell in love with their delightful dishes. I fell prey to temptation and memory at Atomic again and bought the eight pieces of Morning Glory Blue spatterware. Again, at $9 for the dinner plates and $7 for the bowls, Atomic's prices can't be beat. The current prices on-line at Bennington are $24 for the plate and $26 for the rimmed soup/pasta bowl. The pieces I bought at Atomic were made in 1961/62 when I was a freshman in high school; the company's been making stoneware dishes since 1948.
Along with notes and bits and pieces glued into that first journal was the this recipe for salad dressing (below) that we enjoyed at Potter's Yard.
BENNINGTON DRESSING
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly cracker white pepper
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepepr
1/4 tsp. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. finely chopped fresh garlic cloves
5 Tblspn. good tarragon vinegar
2 Tblspn. olive oil
10 Tblspn. vegetable oil
1 raw egg
1/2 cup light cream
Put all the ingredients in a jar and shake well to combine. Chill before serving.
Alas, I did not make any notes as to what kind of salad this might have dressed.
These hot sunny days have been just what the water lilies and garden lilies need. The water lilies will keep going for another month but this is the end of the ones growing in the garden.
This one (first two images below) is Lilium oriental 'Time Out' from Brent & Becky's Bulbs.
The next four images are Lilium henryi or Henry's lily. According to Old House Gardens (where I bought this lily), it is a wild Chinese lily and takes sun to light shade.
These are reaching for more sun but still fully blooming. I kind of like the curving stems so I may leave them where they are.
I planted these lilies in memory of my late father-in-law whose name was Henry. He's also represented in the spring garden with Iris ensata 'Henry's White."
I've looked at my plant I.D. cards and assorted garden journal entries from 2008, which is when I received these beautiful red speckled lilies from Brent & Becky as trial plants. At the time, I marked them in B&B's catalog so I would remember the name. But the catalog, along with the name, is long gone.
The coloration is reminiscent of the famed 'Stargazer' lily, but the flowers are more recurved than the typical Oriental lily. Any guesses?
Starting in mid-July our garden becomes an oasis of green with fabulous foliage and few flowers until the fall asters, Anemones and toad lilies arrive. Here are a few favorites chosen for their form: arcing, draping and drooping.
Tricyrtis macrantha /Yellow bell toad lily (first three images)
Tricyrtis hirta 'Golden Gleam'
Hakonechloa macra 'All Gold' / Golden Japanese forest grass (more chartreuse than gold at this point in the season)
Hakonechloa macra / solid green Japanese forest grass
Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola'
Fargesia rufa 'Green Panda' / Green Panda clumping bamboo
Last week four of us took a break from the heat and spent the day immersed in Chinese art and culture at the Milwaukee Art Museum's (MAM) blockbuster exhibit "CHINA: 3,000 years of Chinese Art / Five Exhibitions / One Summer." It's all part of a year-long celebration honoring the ten-year anniversary of the Museum’s Santiago Calatrava-designed Quadracci Pavilion. If by chance you haven't been to the museum to experience the wings of the Burke Brise Soleil, that alone is worth a trip — as you can see from this little video.
The centerpiece of the exhibitions is "The Emperor's Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City," an assortment of 90 works ranging from cloisonne and clocks to carved furniture, screens and scrolls and huge architectural and garden elements. This is being shown in only three cities and Milwaukee is one of the stops. All the items are from the Qianlong Garden, a two-acre complex within the Forbidden City that was built as a retirement home for the Qianlong Emperor and included 4 courtyards, 5 rockeries, and 27 buildings and pavilions. All the structures and gardens were named, and I was so taken with them that I had to write them all down:
The Gate of Spreading Auspiciousness
Pavilion of Properity
Pavilion of Picking Fragrance (a reference to cut flowers perhaps?)
Studio of Self-Restraint
Pavilion of Soaring Beauty
Three Friends Bower (the three friends are bamboo, pine and plum trees)
The Qianlong Emperor was a calligrapher, poet and art collector with a taste that embraced Western as well as Eastern objects and imagery. Mark's favorite quote by the Emperor:
"I want to be called a person with nothing to do."
Mark believes that he himself has reached this stage of life but I have not! He's probably right given that I am sitting here blogging at 7 a.m.
Madisonians Tom and Mary Riddle have a stunning Hosta garden with every plant in perfect condition and perfectly labeled as well. They open their garden a couple of times during the growing season for a sale of their plants. Last weekend my sister-in-law and I took advantage of their mid-summer Hosta sale to do a little bargain hunting.The labels identifying each plant in the garden had a star indicating if that one was available for sale that day! I came away with four plants: 'Sagae,' 'Designer Genes' (yellow leaves and red stems), 'Gypsy Rose' and 'El Nino.'
Hostas are the ultimate foliage plant and a garden staple for foliage fanatics like me! What that really means is that I find Hosta flowers are generally forgettable. On many of my plants I clip them the minute I see them, never even giving them a chance to bloom. That is particularly true of those Hostas that I use as groundcovers; I want them to be a soothing river of green with no distractions.
There is only one Hosta I've ever brought home for the flowers and that's 'Royal Standard' aka the "August lily" (above). The flowers are large, pure white and fragrant — beautiful in the garden or indoors as a cut flower. The only other Hostas whose flowers I leave alone are those growing in the streetside garden (below). They're barely visible from the house but they make a summery statement for folks driving or walking by. What about you? Do you have a favorite Hosta flower, one that deserves attention as much the leaves?
Click on any photo in a post to enlarge it, so you can see all the details.
Words & Images
The copyright to photos on this Web site is held by the photographer, Mark Golbach, unless credited otherwise. Original text is copyright by Linda Brazill. Please contact for permission to use.
