Studiology

That Crazy March

Following February, the disturbingly warm February, we entered March. Freezing cold winds, a wee  bit of snow, but enough to declare a state of emergency (oh how my northern friends laugh), and maybe a return to normal (what is that?). 

Before the first freeze, literally on March 1st, I made this little bouquet. 

Two types of Spirea thunbergii, Rhododendron mucronulatum, daffodils,  and helleborus. The spirea and rhododendron froze, buds and flowers gone, the garden looked horrible. The helleborus bent down, almost touched the ground and came back up. Resilient! 

Last week I made another flower arrangement, a little bit of everything in bloom.

The helleborus are not good for flower arranging, they go down the next day.  Various methods are recommended, I will work on that (the burning  tips trick didn't work). Pieris japonica and corylus or Harry Lauder's walking stick are phenomenal. Daffodils are always good and this is a favorite, Daffodil 'Lemon Glow', which goes from a soft yellow to white. 

Daffodils can be so wondrous, little dainty flowers or big, boisterous, double explosions. On Tuesday, April 11th, the 54th annual daffodil show will be held at Buchanan Hall in Upperville, Virginia. Open from 2 to 5 PM, it's a real treat to behold the choices and make a list. Gardeners love to make lists, otherwise there are too many choices.

So good-bye March, you leave us with rain,  which is appreciated.

PS if you have any say with February, make it colder next year, we like our cherry blossoms

Spring Blues

Dribbles of blue can easily be achieved in early spring. Possibly the best time to plan and plant for the elusive color, the gardener's Holy Grail, true blue. There are a few choices for later in spring, say amsonia, larkspur, and a few rare salvias (that are blue, not purple), but the blue of early spring can be rich and vibrant, standing alone without competing greens. 

Spring bulbs play a major role. Various grape hyacinths or muscari do a great job in March and early April. Small single and double flowering varieties can be inexpensively planted, almost thrown into the garden in fall when the bulbs are for sale. Although it can't go without saying that they are persistent enough to loose all of their charm come May, when the straggly post flower foliage is far from beautiful. A robust covering of foliage from taller perennials is the best way to cover them up, and they don't seem to mind, flowering with gusto the following spring.

Another little bulb with glorious blue flowers are the spring starflowers or Ipheion uniflorum, the latter meaning single flower, as there is only 1 flower per stalk. A minor bulb, the size of a marble, there are several hybrids and shades of blue. Sometimes the palest blues are the most effective, especially in the company of royal blue.

 In perennials the low growing veronicas flower early and provide a skirt for the minor bulbs to cozy up to. Commonly called speedwell, this derived from a bouquet of blue flowers given to travelers to wish them "speed well". My favorites are Veronica austriaca 'Crater Lake Blue' or V. 'Venice Blue', both superior for that rich, rich blue color. Ground hugging in habit of growth, they can tumble over a wall, be scattered in a rock garden or edge the front of the perennial border. This wash of blue options can stand alone or be punctuated with Euphorbia polychroma (chartreuse flowers), or Sedum 'Angelina', which has chartreuse foliage accented with orange in early spring. 

All of these can also be the filling for planters, add a pansy that is truly blue, or maybe some lobelia to hang over the edge. Early spring is the best time for noteworthy blues, so don't wait for the perfect delphinium, or iris, think March and April. 

Guinea Fowl and Art

As the wind howls tonight, I watched my last two guinea fowl go up into a cryptomeria tree. They will be chilled to the bone by morning with wind chill temperatures at 8 degrees tonight. Their usual roost is a thin white pine tree, which is far windier. In late February we lost 1 to an owl attack. Last week there was another owl hit, but a miss, which landed the 2 on the ground by our front door. Then came the fox and I woke up to pandemonium. It was still dark but lights were put on, the dog was sent out to spread his scent. With dawn I found a large pile of feathers and was certain we were down to 1. Turns out we still have 2, one has a bald place on his back. It must be dreadfully cold and drafty. 

Normally I'm still at the studio, missing the evening wanderings of my last 2 guinea fowl. Their chances of survival are extremely low, they generally have a crappy life, trying to get by. You have to wonder, do they mutter to themselves in disgust? Curses on you weather! Wind! Cold!!!!

As the official move date looms and I have to be out of the art studio, I feel depressed. So silly, I could be outside in this horrible weather with much larger problems. A small space has been opened in this tiny house and new work began today. A relief as boxes have been opened and some things gathered to start fresh. It reminded me that a couple of pieces have not been posted, the last to be finished in the studio before packing. 

The giraffe sold the day after I delivered him. A sign to continue, a good omen. 

And a better photograph of my piece from New Orleans, "The Seafarer".

Stay warm!

Witch Hazels

Before the bitter cold of this coming  week (bitter, bitter damn'd cold), I was able to photograph some of the witch hazels at Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria. With the warmer February, they were out in full color. Our predicted snow will help plants on the ground by insulating them,  but won't shield the larger woody plants from low teen temperatures. Any that are still in flower will freeze, but truthfully, it was a pretty good show for February and early March.

When judging a witch hazel, I'm always hoping to find the flowers crammed on each branch. All but one were from the hybrid swarm intermedia, a cross between H. mollis (from China) and H. japonica (from Japan). The intermedia refers to the intermediate appearance of the two. The only North American hybrid was with the witch hazel species -  H. vernalis, also known as the Ozark witch hazel. The names are listed at the top of each one.

Hamamelis intermedia 'Agnes'

Hamamelis intermedia 'Bernstein'

Hamamelis intermedia 'Birgit'

Hamamelis intermedia 'Chris' - for me the clear winner when it came to flower power

Hamamelis intermedia 'Cyrille'

Hamamelis intermedia 'Harlow Carr'

Hamamelis intermedia 'Orange Beauty' - one of the most fragrant!

Hamamelis intermedia 'Strawberries and Cream'

Hamamelis intermedia 'Twilight'

Hamamelis vernalis 'Kohankie Red'

Yellow is probably the preferred color, it shows up well, but some of the bicolors were interesting. Green Spring Gardens is home to many witch hazel hybrids, a project started by Chris Strand, who moved on the Winterthur Gardens in Delaware. We are lucky to be able to enjoy this great collection where you can go and pick your own favorites, ranking them by winter flowers and then fall color, which can be outstanding.  

Developments

This entire blog was named and started because I had acquired a studio space. The most wonderful place on the planet, it came to me through The Center for the Arts of Manassas, Virginia. My initial concept was to record my growth as an artist. Seems I had a lot more to say, gardening was not going to escape this platform, since it is my daily job. So, the content was shared and ended up with personal stories about guinea fowl, grandchildren, and travel.

At the time, December 2011, I was still a photographer, showing at the Lorton Workhouse. The studio space was organized with backdrops, lights, props for models, a place to hang my framed work. There were numerous artists in this space, including Linda Carlson, we even shared a show at the Center for the Arts.

All of this preceded my first trip to New Orleans and meeting Michael deMeng and other assemblage artists. By the end of 2011, my intent was to change my art form, to become an assemblage artist with shows that contained no photography. Easily said, but incredibly difficult to accomplish. My first such show was only 2 years ago. Each piece requires a lot of time.

Sadly this time has come to an end. I have to vacate the studio, move my belongings and begin over again in a different place. The spiritual advisers are coming back home.  

Of  course I'm not surprised, just sad. And so much has to go. Framed art, backdrops, my collection of stuff (many would call junk). I will bring home many boxes, hoping that something better will come of this. My gutting of other art stuff has begun. There are fabrics, encaustic supplies, etc...

It's frustrating.

Little did I know that I would keep this studiology blog going . To date I have over 51,000 views and this will be my 374th blog post. I'm not saying good-bye, just things will be different. And I don't know how, just yet.

And if you have wall space, need a beautiful, framed piece of art to hang, or some photography transfer supplies, encaustic stuff, much of which is new, leave a comment, these things are free. My time is limited. 

Thank-you so much Center for the Arts, thank-you, it was incredible.

Scheduled Events

I can't ever remember a winter like this with so many scheduled garden lectures. As it's time to return to work, there are a few more, big  and small in the works for 2017. 

March 4th, Green Spring Gardens - 10:00 AM"

Landscape Rejuvenation" - Numerous concepts are covered in this lecture, from mass or weight of plants, to flow, the "Fibonacci Theory", and renewing an area that has been lost to weeds. There is a fee but registration can be handled at the door, here is a link.

April 16th (Easter), Merrifield Garden Center, 10:00 AM 

"A Primer on Annuals" - More of a lecture on tender perennials (often called bedding plants), we will look at my favorites. Lots to cover, with some amazing photographs to prepare you for a fabulous spring, summer, and fall. Free and no registration required.

Historic Garden Week in Warrenton, Virginia

Eastwood - April 26 and 27th

6195 Eastwood Drive, Warrenton, Virginia, click this link for more details. Tour hours are 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM both days. Single site tickets can be purchased for $15 (on site), the entire Warrenton tour is $35.00. The gardens have been designed by Donna Hackman, I am the maintenance person, albeit only one of a very big team. These splendid gardens and buildings are not open to the public, so this is your opportunity to see something amazing! Numerous historical buildings have been reconstructed here. The gardens are always wonderful, but with nearly 8,000 bulbs planted over the course of 2 years this will be a very special garden to see at the height of spring. I hope to be there all day on Thursday, the 27th. 

June 24th, The Garden Bloggers Fling, Washington D.C.

This event runs June 22nd to June 25th. Limited to folks that have garden blogs, you can find details on this link. I am the speaker for Saturday night with a presentation on plant exploration at Meadowlark Gardens. The rest of the week is full of tours to public and private gardens. Garden experts will be traveling from far, far away places to attend this special event.

September 26th, The Garden Club of Virginia - Richmond, Virginia

My lecture is titled "The Unlikely Cut Flower", which is self explanatory. I am very excited with plans for some very unlikely floral and foliage choices for flower arrangements. More information will be posted as details become available.