Studiology

Father's Day

Today would be my father's 90th birthday, he passed at the age of 85. I'm the oldest of 3 girls, born when he was 30 in 1955. We shared milestones in life with years that end in zero and five, so I guess it came as no surprise that the day he died was 10/20/10. 

His birthday always coincided with Father's Day, often one and the same. He had only one brother, an identical twin, they were born under the sign of Gemini, depicted by a set of twins.

He was a kind person, highly sensitive, employed by the CIA for 30 years, his training taught him to observe and react. He was a photographer, undercover, his life spent recording history. At the age of 25 he had opened his own photography studio in Washington D.C., a small part of what preempted his career. 

Born in Webster Springs, West Virginia, his father owned a country store. The twins left to fight in World War II, both returned, my father suffering only a shrapnel scar on his chest that ran from his shoulder to his belly button. 

In his retirement years he wrote memoirs for his daughters, a large paperback with 144 pages. Included are a lifetime of photographs and stories of his life as a spy. He was highly honored when he retired, one of the first allowed to actually retire as a CIA agent rather than a state department employee. 

There is a quote he used in his autobiography, "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift." A great  expression for a Father's Day celebration. 

Happy Birthday Dad and Happy Father's Day!

 

Oenothera or Evening Primrose

One of my favorite plants has begun to flower and always heralds the return of summer; these are the evening primroses, better known as oenothera. There are 124 species of annual, biennial and perennial oenothera and not all open just at night. A few species, commonly known as sundrops, remain open during the day. Two examples are O. perennis and O. fruiticosa. These are exceptions to the rule as most greet you with large open flowers in the late evening hours, closing my mid-morning. They do so for many weeks, often months. 

The flowers on evening primrose open over a period that extends from 4 to 10 pm. Most open so slowly that we aren't patient enough to sit through the process. Although there is one exceptional plant that pops open as you watch, which has prompted people to set up lawn chairs and gather around for the show. This particular evening primrose is Oenothera glazoviana, named after Auguste Francois Marie Glaziou (1828-1006). Possibly a cross between O. grandiflora and elata, the flowers quiver and shake before unfurling. Lemon scented, moths arrive to pollinate, which just adds to the show. This species is a biennial, growing a  low rosette the first year, flowering the second year and dropping seed to begin the process again. 

Oenothera odorata's petals are a soft peach, like old parchment. Very fragrant, which is implied by the botanical name, each flower opens for only one day but is followed by others, this ensures a fresh show every morning. The largest flowering species is Oenothera macrocarpa, (previously known as O. missouriensis), with large yellow flowers that appear on a plant that grows low to the ground. The species name, macrocarpa, refers to the seed pod, simply stating that it's a large carpa or seed pod (shaped like a star fruit).

This genus is native to North and South America with an old favorite originating in a field outside of Middleburg, VA.  Back in the days that I still had Windy Hill Plant Farm, Polly Rowley (a frequent customer) brought me a wonderful small plant of an unknown oenothera she had taken notice of. Flowering for an extended time, open all day, the small yellow flowers were produced on a plant that stayed low, produced a lovely bushy mound and grew through heat and drought. She wanted it named 'Cold Crick', after her farm and we set about propagating it to sell. I know we sold at least 500 plants a year, it was a huge hit and happily now, I see that its gone main stream. Touted as sterile, we were never able to confirm a species and assumed it to be O. perennis. I feel hugely proud of this plant and so happy to see it's popular all over the country. Discovered right here in Loudoun County, thank-you Polly!

The Why

My night garden is coming along nicely. One brugmansia or angel's trumpet is on its third year, dug up in fall and stored inside, this beast should be glorious this year. What I look for is the shape y in the branching which tells me that the buds will develop on those branches. The good news, I already have buds on these y shaped branch joints. 

The variety is B. 'Frosty Pink', which has been incredibly floriferous. I might have flowers by early July.

The night garden also functions as a pollinators garden with nectar and host plants for various butterflies and moths. The sphinx moth is particularly fond of Four O'Clocks or mirabilis, a flower from Peru. The fragrant flower opens at night, is closed during the day and does not open at four o'clock as promised, but a bit later. Is it on Peruvian time?

I have collected a number of wonderful abutilons for summer. An all time favorite is Abutilon venosum, the species name references the veins on the petals. 

The nicotiana and bronze fennel are left to seed, as is Asclepias curassavica or the tropical milkweed, all of which easily number in the hundreds. With this much food for hungry larvae, it's no surprise to find feeding caterpillars. This morning it's the black swallowtail on fennel.

Yum, Yum, munch, munch.

Digital Photography, a Beginners Class with a new twist

A new 2 day class will be held at The Center for the Arts in Manassas, VA on Saturday, June 27th and July 11th. In the past this class was held for a day and open to all camera types. In order to help you learn more, I will be teaching the Nikon class and Don Flory will teach the Canon class. In my first class students will learn basic operations and then have the chance to work with this information before we meet again. In the second class we regroup, review and then learn about composition, histograms, and storage of digital photographs. I'm excited about the new format, the fact that each student will be able to work for a week with their camera will help a great deal when it comes to questions about the digital process. 

If you own a Nikon DSLR camera with detachable lenses and want to learn how to use it, this is the class to take. 

Galavanting

Last week I visited gardens with some wonderful gardening friends, people that know a thing or two when it comes to horticulture. For me it was not only a fun trip, but one that tested my horticultural acumen. Plants I hadn't seen since I sold them at the plant farm, or entirely new (goosebumps) wonders. We began with Ladew Topiary Gardens in Monkton, Md., 22 acres in size and chock full. They even pruned the spires with garland strung from one to the other.

Trimmed hedges came in all shapes and sizes, meandering here and there, formed of various types of woody plants. 

The rose garden is a central feature, and in full bloom this late day in May, truly a wonder to see.

The gardens of Mt. Cuba Center in Pennsylvania were next on the agenda. Former home to Mrs. Lammot du Pont Copeland and now home to plants of the piedmont, a study of native plants that grow from Georgia to Pennsylvania. Late May is an ideal time to visit. The mountain laurels or kalmia where in full flower.

Cypripediums were also in flower. Here is Cypripedium kentuckiense or the southern lady slipper orchid.

Relatively rare specimens have found a home here and grown to enormous proportions. This Rhododendron maximum towered above the walkway. 

Stewartia malacodendron  (silky camellia) was beginning to bloom, glorious in every way. 

Mt. Cuba tests native plants in special garden plots and then introduces them to the public. The baptisia were in full bloom and this particular cultivar caught our attention, Baptisia 'Lunar Eclipse'.

Our last stop was Chanticleer Gardens in Wayne, Pennsylvania. I hadn't been in 2 years and was ecstatic to be back.

This is where the horticulturists finds a challenge around every bend. Uncommon plants abound. Growing at the edge of the parking lot was this little known salpiglossis, also known as the poor mans orchid, a cool season annual. 

I was reminded of the glories of May with this combination of Dianthus 'Mountain Mist' and wooly thyme.

Home after 2 days of galavanting, all I wanted to do was go back. A great thing about gardening, it changes every day, there's always something new.