Studiology

Early Meadow Rue

When I closed my nursery in 2005, I grabbed a few plants and brought them home to plant. I regret not pulling plants all of the years I had the nursery since I have had to buy many of the perennials I once sold. The plants that were left (after months of cut rate sales), were mostly little known natives or dormant plants. I was able to plant scads of smilacena, hardy cyclamen and a few Thalictrum dioicum or early meadow rue in my garden. So the years have passed and my specimens have spread, the smilacenas are great big sweeps now, the thalictrum have grown into large clumps, not seeding or spreading, just growing larger. I set out to photograph the early meadow rue recently and my 2 clumps appeared to be 2 different species. The flowers were very different, even the height was varied. Funny how I had not noticed that before. So a little research and things become quite clear, early meadow rue is Thalictrum dioicum, which means a thalictrum of 2 sexes. The Greek meaning of dioicum literally means "two households", one plant is female, the other male. Wind pollinated, the light pollen is scattered to the wind and picked up by the female, which appears to be a little more robust in growth, possibly stronger to grow a good crop of seedlings. The industry doesn't separate the 2 in the trade like some other plants but if you search for dioica, dioicus or dioicum you will find several species of plants split by male and female, many that you never imagined might produce 2 different types of flowers with only 1 producing seed. Examples include; Aruncus dioicus, Gymnodladus dioicus or Kentucky Coffee Tree, Silene dioica and Urtica dioica or stinging nettles.  How exciting to learn something new, something that has been growing right under my nose was completely overlooked. One can truly say that gardening is never boring!

male flowering Thalictrum dioicum

  female flowers, Thalictrum dioicum 

Got Weeds?

A hostile take over is at work in your garden. Little things, like small weeds, can become big problems. One particularly bad boy is hairy bittercress, the short weed that flings seeds in all directions. An ephemeral plant, which means it lives for a very short time, the short life is more than made up for with abundant seed. The power to launch seed from the seed pod is amazing, each tiny gift of life can fly 16 feet through the air to land far away from their origins. Of course this was the plan all along, another demonic threat "we will take over the world". The plant itself looks innocent enough, tiny white, 4 petaled flowers are produced in succession along a slender stem. A cardimine, specifically Cardimine hirsuta, one of 200 species of which 49 relatives can be found in Virginia. Not a native, but related to dentaria, our native toothwort of shady places with larger white flowers. We should consider ourselves lucky, only 1 presents itself as a real weedy invasive. 

A few of our weeds not only spread by seed but by trailing stems. Dead nettle does just that, covering the fields in purple as it comes into flower with hairy leaves that are also purple. The leaves are edible, if you can get past the smell and hairy leaf. Super rich in antioxidants, consider a smoothie with crushed dead nettle leaves, bananas and citrus. This member of the mint family is called dead nettle because it doesn't make the stinging nettles of a close relative (stinging nettle). Yes, it's an odd way to describe its lack of painful barbs. If you wander through your weed patch enough, you might find another dead nettle species, Lamium amplexicaule, meaning lamium with stems clasping. The difference is in the color of the flower and the lack of purple in the leaves. If you could call a weed pretty, it's this one. And with that I should mention that lamiums are pretty, hybrid forms are for sale at your local nursery, you may have a few in your garden proper. Names like  'White Nancy' and  'Purple Dragon' describe the flowers but the leaves are often silver or patterned with silver. Not native plants, but certainly happy enough to thrive.

On a personal level, my worst weed is Glechoma hederacea or gill-over-the-ground. The common name basically means - flirty girl over the ground. Speaking from experience, she's more than a flirt! This perennial spreads rapidly when temperatures are cool. The flowers are small and purple and the plant is capable of spreading by seed but rarely produces viable seed in our climate. A native of Eurasia, I can't imagine her being any happier than in my garden.  Glechoma will spread into your peonies and iris like there's no tomorrow. An interesting snippet of information, the oil in the leaves was once used to clarify beer, before hops. Used by the Saxons, or early German tribes, you know before the merger of Anglo-Saxons. I would suggest that we consider going  back to that, gather all of that flirty girl you want, er.... glechoma.

 

A Few of My Favorite Things

A much needed rain arrived last night, an inch on my rain gauge. If you haven't noticed, its been dry. The garden is busting forth though, and many of my favorite plants are just beginning to flower. My shade garden sits beneath white pines, a challenge in so many ways. The ground or soil is built on years and years of dropped pine needles, you can literally jump on it and feel the spring. Keeping plants watered in this spongy loam is a challenge all its own. Add the density of shade from pines, with no break in winter (as deciduous trees loose their leaves), means I have few perennials I can really count on to grow, much less thrive. Epimedium or barrenwort is one of them, oh joy for a plant that can grow so well on so little. 

Epimdium pinnatum ssp. colchicum

Epimedium x versicolor sulphureum

Epimedium 'Wudang Star'

I also grow a special primrose, Primula vulgaris ssp. sibthorpii. A little known primrose, generally sold as a pale lavender, my selection came from Heronswood, once the source of so many special plants for the discriminating gardener. I consider their selection much better with a richer color. 

About 7 years ago I bought a fragrant muscari, best known as grape hyacinth. This little oddity has been reliable and oddly fragrant. A hint of lemon and maybe chrysanthemum foliage describe the fragrance, it's certainly a bulb that I recommend because it grows for me in sun and shade, although far better in the sunny parts.

Muscari fragrans

With our recent spike in temperatures I wanted to pass along some advice I was once given. If we see eighty degrees in early April, in ten days we will have frost. Now this doesn't always happen, weather can certainly change. The warm air will exit to the east and pull down cold air from the north-west, or at least that's how it often happens. So with ninety degrees on April 10th, it would follow that April 20th might bring us a frosty night. Just sayin.

Piedmont Blue Ridge Horticultural Societies Spring Symposium

I will be a speaker at the Piedmont Blue Ridge Hort Societies Spring Symposium on Saturday, April 20th, along with Janet Draper of the Ripley Gardens in Washington DC. This will be an outstanding day of lectures. My topic is the mixed border, a look at my favorite shrubs to use with perennials. We meet in the library at Blandy or the Virginia State Arboretum.  The PBRHS hosts garden tours and lectures throughout the year, click on this link for more information. Blandy should be in great shape with lots of plants in flower for late April,  consider walking one of their many trails before or after the lecture. Their tree collections make a visit to Blandy great anytime of the year.

Happy Spring!

We will finally be in a nice stretch of weather, one that makes you kick up your heels in delirious joy. The gardens are coming alive, you can smell it in the air. Time to get to work, the spring reminder to work those muscles, yes you know which ones.  

Here's a little preview of what's to come. 

eremurus or foxtail lily at Oak Hill

myosotis or forget-me-not

Dicentra canadensis or Dutchman's Breeches

honeybees on poppy

Eleutherococcus sieboldianus 'Variegatus' or false aralia with mophead hydrangea

Have a wonderful day!

Mexico City and Tepoztlan

Mexico City is a wonderous place, full of colorful markets, great food, nice people and a powerful energy. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and certainly learned a lot about this massive city and environs. On our first full day there we went to the Bazar Del Sabado (Saturday market) near San Angel. The streets are made of cobblestones and very narrow. Most of the vendors were selling local art and I could have bought one of everything. 

In the market's center were dancers with castanets, stomping to the rhythm of the music.

The food is scrumptous, incredibly fresh and inexpensive. Elin, our guide and host  took us to great restaurants where we didn't have to worry about drinking the water or eating salads. I learned about cheladas, a local favorite, where you put the juice of a whole lime in the glass, dip the rim in course salt and pour in your beer choice - Corona for me - naturally! In some locations a Corona was 15 pesos, which is equivalent to $1.25 - if you ordered a coke, it was also 15 pesos.

 In the center of the city there is a large town square or Zocalo, surrounded by cathedrals and the National Palace. A large Mexican flag hangs from the center which is raised at 6 A.M and lowered at 6 P.M., all with a great deal of pomp and ceremony.

In 1978, while some utility work was being done, a relic was found only one block from the National Palace which lead to the discovery of pyramids buried beneath the city. Today the pyramids have been uncovered and a museum built to house the artifacts. Museo del Templo Mayor houses the findings from the former city of Tenochtitlan and its aztec pyramids. 

Maybe you've noticed the abundance of skulls in Mexico? 

I realized that I was clearly influenced as a young adolescent living there, I mean this was an epiphany! If you could see my studio space, you would understand. 

We had a great dinner, complete with a frozen concoction that contained mescal.

A trip to Tepoztlan was scheduled for the end of the week. I took pictures of the agricultural fields and a store front with caged fighting cocks for sale. 

In the fields they were harvesting heads of cabbage. It was nearing the end of the rainy season and fields were being prepared for corn planting. I did see agaves planted in rows and small herds of sheep and cows, all with a herder near by (so no one steals them).

 There were incredible markets lining the streets of the old town of Tepoztlan. I bought a mask from this gentleman, who then posed for a picture.

This arch is made from seeds.

There were so many tropical and desert plants that I did not know. This particular vine was gorgeous, might you know what it is?

We finished our last night with a fabulous dinner in a restaurant in Tepoztlan, surrounded by tropical plants and great people. How's this for a fancy sangria, it's half lemonade (freshly squeezed - of course). Cheers Mona!