Studiology

The Art of the Fling

Put 100 garden bloggers on buses and send them out to see fabulous gardens for three days, and it might be heaven on earth. Our fearless leader, Tammy Schmidt holds a special place in my heart for her efforts, as well as her team of assistants. 'We were wined and dined, driven, and motivated, day after day. When this group gets together, they call it a fling, it's exhausting!

There was plenty to get excited about, the first full day was our Washington DC day with a morning at Hillwood Estate, Museum, and Gardens. It's on Linnean Avenue - of course. And so began my appreciation of art in the garden, because here the two collide. The embarrassing part, I've never been there; shame, shame!

Once home to Marjorie Merriweather Post, the only daughter of Ella Merriweather and Charles William Post, the founder of Postum Cereal Company, later named General Foods Corporation. As a businesswoman, inheriting the company when she was only 27, she became one of the wealthiest women in America. Marjorie also collected art, exquisite, rare, glorious art. I could easily have spent the entire day here.

The inside of the house takes your breath away. Room after room of paintings, Russian art, Faberge eggs, jewelry and more. I stopped in front of this painting by the Russian painter Konstantin Makovsky, painted in 1883, titled "The Boyar's Wedding". The light is magic, the warmth, and the size, it's a life-size painting.  

And so much more...

This began my appreciation of art in the gardens which continued into Maryland and Virginia. Much of it was humorous, some even utilitarian. You may find the soul of the gardener in their plants and flowers, but I really think you find it in their art.

 

This elaborate wood form is designed as a habitat for pollinators, particularly bees, located at the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden,  on the mall in DC. 

I will highlight the containers, plant combinations and various other wonderful things that were all part of this not so far flung fling.

 

Enjoying a Fling

Something new for me, I am participating in a convention of sorts, a gathering of bloggers, garden bloggers. Since it's happening in my neck of the woods, I am taking off from my various jobs and getting on a bus everyday to visit a few gardens and fraternize with folks from all over the United States with a few from Canada and England. These are social people, social media people. Represented are "Garden Design Magazine", Harris Seed, and John Magee of "The Native Plant Podcast", just to offer a sampling of participants, and it's intimidating. 

I will be the speaker on Saturday night with a presentation on "Plant Exploration". This is a wonderful lecture which looks at some big players, going back to John Tradescant, Lewis and Clark, John Bartram, and ending with Ernest Henry Wilson and Joseph Rock. Most of my digital images have been acquired through The Arnold Arboretum's library. A search of their library will highlight a specific explorer, at least those that were hired by the arboretum. For example, Ernest Henry Wilson was hired by The Arnold Arboretum (1899) to go to China twice and Japan once. He carried a large format camera with glass plate negatives, these belong to the arboretum and have been scanned, all available for public use.  When I created my 1999 plant catalog for my nursery and highlighted "Men in Horticulture", this was the source. These images are amazing, the first real photographs of people living in remote areas of China. There are 2,500 images from Ernest Henry Wilson and almost that many from Joseph Rock. 

For many months I have been reading over the various publications that were created from their journals. Photographs of large trees almost always had someone standing next to them for scale. A few times they were hugging the tree, a real eye-opener when it came to comprehending size. This photograph shows a ginkgo tree, it measured 19 feet, 6 inches in girth at 3 feet from the ground.

Or this Cryptomeria japonica:

I find the photographs of people so amazing. 

Ernest Henry Wilson was not one to ride in the unsophisticated traveling chair that was supported by strong Chinese carriers, but it became a symbol of power or prestige, so he would allow it. This is a photograph, taken by Wilson.

I have a feeling that it will be an exhausting weekend, in a very good way! More to come....

 

 

Art Stuff

The clouds have been remarkable for the last 2 months. I have paid more attention because I have been painting cloud studies. It began with a piece I was building for the gallery - "Art A La Carte" which required a background of clouds. With this last piece, I continued, going so far as to search for cloud paintings on the internet. It came as no surprise that people will spend years painting clouds, of course no two are alike. My work did not require an extensive amount of paint, or shall I say detail, I just wanted to practice before I laid paint on the real piece of art. 

The assemblage piece turned out great, at least I was pleased. I can also add that it sold in 2 days, which is the way things have gone for the last 2 months, sales exceeding my greatest expectations.

There was also this little show in Wisconsin. I sent a few pieces off, one of which was something I titled "Once Upon a Time". 

A fellow artist curated the show and asked if I might be interested? This was a first for me and incredibly exciting as it was a shared show with some artists I really respect, including Michael deMeng!

Happily this one sold as well, a father's day gift. I'm a happy camper!

Next.... finish the new studio.

 

 

Coneflower

Summer is here, defined by warm, humid days, who better to represent the summer garden than coneflower? A tough member of the aster family, the largest family of plants in the entire plant world, best recognized as daisies or rayed flowers. Cousins include fleabane, gaillardia, and sunflowers, arriving as butterflies become active, drawn to the petals that surround a prickly center, each with a rich payload of nectar and pollen. Butterflies slow down to land atop each horizontal platform, they work the ring of tiny flowers as they open in a spiral pattern to the center, sipping and moving pollen from plant to plant.

 Of the nine species, Virginia is home to four. The highest concentrations occur in high-magnesium soils of the piedmont mountains. Areas with a higher pH or limestone are not as suitable which are generally located in the western counties or south central regions of the state. Both Arkansas and Missouri are home to five species, (the epicenter), although not all are plentiful. The harvesting or poaching of roots, particularly with Echinacea angustifolia for herbal use has prompted these states to enforce laws protecting them. 

The word echinacea is from the Greek echinos or hedgehog, which refers to the prickly center of each coneflower. There are numerous examples of the Greek root used to classify plants, fruits, a moth, and sea urchins. In cactus we have echinocactus and echnocereus as well as echinocarpus for a prickly fruit. 

A little over ten years ago, there was an explosion of hybridizing. The Chicago Botanic Garden's work with coneflower began the surge, working with Echinacea paradoxa, the yellow flowering species and crossing it with E. purpurea, creating a rainbow of colors. Other's followed, some working only with Echinacea purpurea or E. tennesseensis. In 2003, a selection was introduced, the first double flowering form, discovered in a cut flower field in Holland. Once again, another wave of hybridization followed which hasn't slowed. Various heights, degrees of doubling, and crazy colors have been brought to market. 

Butterflies and various insects are still lured to the flowers, although fully double forms are generally mutated to the point that they don't offer nectar or pollen. As garden perennials go, they are still outstanding for long bloom, tolerance of summer drought and beauty. 

I recently picked up Echinacea purpurea 'Green Jewel', with green edged petals. Some new hybrids, because of their pairing with separate species, do not produce seed. If your interest is keeping a wild space or natural habitat, plant Echinacea purpurea, either from seed or young plants. Over time volunteers will sprout and you will have a fine garden plot of food for butterflies (and honeybees), that can tolerate the vagaries of a Virginia summer. 

 

Gathered Flowers

With this surge of heat, work in the garden is best split into early mornings or late evenings. With long days, the evenings are one of the best things about summer. It's also one of the best times to cut flowers for arrangements, something I've been doing every week as I prepare for a lecture this fall. At first, as in March 1st, I was supplementing with commercial flowers, like roses. As the season changes and more plants come into flower, I'm able to cut exclusively from the garden. Hydrangea time is upon us, as is lily time. Coneflower, phlox, beebalm and liatris will be next. Which doesn't include the bedding plants and numerous summer bulbs I have planted, specifically to cut. 

I'm trying just about anything and everything, some with a super short vase life. Magnolia grandiflora literally only lasted one day and one night. But the show and the fragrance were well worth it.

Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle' is a wonderful shrub to use for cut flowers. As the first buds arrive, they are green with subtle hints of blue. Just plunked into a vase, many things can be used for floral filler. This is feverfew or Tanacetum parthenium with the early buds of Hydrangea 'Annabelle'.

One week later the flowers of Hydrangea 'Annabelle' have expanded and tripled in size. Just in time for the first lilies, in this case Lilium 'Royal Sunset'.

My goal is not to show how well I can arrange flowers, but more of an experiment to see how long things last and to record the seasons on a weekly basis. The simpler, the better, just a few cut stems in water with a little thought as to shapes and colors. 

I admire gardeners that expand their gardening palette by gathering flowers for inside. It's outside of my usual garden experience and it's nice to be challenged. 

Occoquan Art and Craft Festival

Tomorrow and Sunday is the huge, giganormous  "Occoquan Art and Craft Festival". Vendors come from all over to sell their wares. Art of every sort is sold, the streets are closed so visitors must come into town via shuttle buses. Use this link to find out where you can park to catch a shuttle. I will be working at the gallery and am so excited to be a part of this extraordinary day. The weather should be perfect!

Even though my studio is under construction and most of my collection is still in boxes, I managed to build one piece. His name is "Frenchie" and he is a French Bulldog, in a French military uniform - no less. His accomplishments have been many, attained over time and with great tenacity. No youngster this metaled hound with a pedigree, he holds his head high. 

I named him "Frenchie", singing the words to Frank Zappa's "Dirty Love" almost the entire time I was building him - "The Poodle Bites - come on Frenchie". He seems a bit reserved for a Zappa song. Oh but things were very different then.