Studiology

From Snow to Sunshine, White to Green

The temperature is forecast to hit 65 degrees today, hallelujah! I needed a little soil prodding and plant checking. It's been determined that I don't have enough beds to prod as I seek spring arrival of bulbs and perennials. Shrubs have already been pruned, new compost has been added to existing beds, there is little left to do but sow seed. 

There were long periods of snow this winter, good when temperatures dropped to single digits and insulated any soft shoots, hopefully it's all gone now.

As a long time gardener and observer, I have always believed that as temperatures drop, stems also bend down, letting flowers come close to the ground for potential insulation and protection. A slow thaw is best and all recover in an amazing way with stems that stand upright again. 

Witchhazel 'Westerstede' has taunted and teased me but is finally opening with warmer temperatures. Honeybees are frantic, or so it seems. As they visit the snowdrops, any pollen and nectar is soon devoured, the next quest is to try and open flowers that are mostly closed, and they are persistent.

In art I have decided to do a series which I'm calling "Conflicts of Interest". It's my way of coping with the current disorder, the insanity of greed, ignorance of science, attack on nature and ecology (I"m sure you know what I mean).  First was a locust driving a truck loaded with corn. Titled "When the Locust are Running the Farm". 

Next came "Beaver Lumber Company". The beaver den is made of fancy lumber, the conflict is real! Who needs it more, says his expression.

Work on this theme is taking a break while I go to Mexico for another art retreat. A nice change, this is my annual trip for the season of Carnival. 

Meanwhile the greenhouse is ready, and the desire to sow seed is exasperating. The day I return, will be the day I begin. Doesn't everyone need a greenhouse?

It's Complicated

My computer has struggled of late, it kicks and screams, refusing to contribute when it comes to photographs (photoshop completely shuts it down) and a few keys don't work. I think its time is short. So I finally went back to Macintosh and am still struggling with some items but have gotten far enough to conquer a few and with time, it should get easier. I wish technology was less complicated!

My little man, who is balanced on a ball is a new piece. He is part of a show for November of 2025 and I will try and be quiet about that until much later. He is only two inches tall! Made from wire and clay, I was very proud of the fact that I could make such a little man. The title is "And the Crowd Roared", so I painted little people in the background. 

There is also a new heart and a smallish piece with a lemon tree. These are available at art galleries in Charlottsville, in fact I have finally restocked everywhere after the holiday sales.

and sadly there is still the issue with the right side chop of my photographs..

Outside is still snow covered but it has been interesting to see the difference between mowed areas and gardens. The front meadow and wet meadow have been left to feed the birds and there is no doubt as to how well that works. The front meadow is always filled with birds, and I suspect a vole or two for hungry hawks. Little footprints in the snow are testament. 

I continued to play with frost orbs and have a long way to go, but it's been fun.

And lastly I wanted to share these orchids. I purchased Brassavola nodosa, or so I thought, and it ended up a hybrid with no scent at night (the reason I love it). She is commonly known as Lady of the Night, so I recently bought the real brassavola and behold, with only one flower, she is incredibly fragrant and lovely! I can't wait for her to get bigger.

As I switch computers, it should get easier! Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Winter

It's officially winter with another drab and cloudy day. The gardens are dormant, but promise is evident with buds on witchhazel, helleborus, and a few native azaleas. Lettuce is under cover, the texture gives the perfect crunch, the taste as good as it gets. In our climate so little is required for great winter crops. 

I am also growing bulbs in pots, sunken for better insulation and topped with row cover, an experiment to see if I can force them early. The greenhouse is finally set-up with electricity and plugs, the next step is to finish the floor. With that done I should be able to utilize it as the bulbs mature to the point of bud set. 

This morning was another hoar frost, and the front meadow was a glistening white. My photographs don't convey the beauty, but it was lovely. The lack of color is par for December and I'm fortunate to have all of the color I need in my art studio where lots of projects are underway.

 

If you lay down and photograph at an angle to the sun with a macro lens, you can capture frost orbs. I intend to get better at this.

 

Late Flowers

The last of the monarchs are still passing through. Without a hard freeze, there is still nectar to be found and my garden is a good source, I have seen more in October than all the rest of the year.

 

One of the monarchs favorites is Mexican flame vine, found in Mexico but also native to the south and northern parts of South America, it produces floppy stems and is considered a vine. I originally knew it as Senecio confusus, which translates to a confused senecio. To realign, the name was changed to Pseudogynoxys chenopodiodes, which means; looks like it belongs in the genus Gynoxys (all from South America and in the aster family) and resembles a goose foot. In searching for Mexican geese (in an attempt to understand the epithet), surprisingly even our Canadian geese will overwinter in northern regions of Mexico as well a few other species of geese, so maybe there is some basis for the species name. Bottom line, the name will probably change again, and DNA test will resolve any relationships, we can hope for a botanical name that's not such a mouthful.

The salvias have also been a hot spot, specifically Salvia leucantha. The species name translates to "white-flowered" but there is a great deal of diversity in the flowers, something hybridizers are searching for. I have a selection called S. 'Phyllis Fancy' which has been going strong for at least 3 months. Before the hummingbirds migrated, this was their primary source for nectar.

There are still zinnias, more salvias, and a third sowing of sunflowers, which are busy with various bees. 

PS for some reason my photographs are displayed as half of what they really are, despite the fact that nothing has changed other than my poor internet. I am publishing this post to see how they display when clicked on and am waiting for an answer from Typepad as to what I'm doing wrong. This has been a big part of why there aren't more as this has been very frustrating! Hopefully this will be fixed and refined at a later date.

 

Fall is Afoot

Subtle changes are evident as leaves are beginning to change. Most of the garden is tired, the energy is directed towards seed, unless you grow a few select salvias. Another spin around the gardener's clock brought me back to Salvia mexicana and S. leucantha, two that grow and grow until the days shorten in fall before they even consider blooming.  I bought three of each and watered them this summer, even though they come from a place where a dry season would have occupied much of their growing days. In this spoiled state they have grown to eight feet and five feet with an almost equal spread, swallowing all around them, to the delight of hummingbirds. 

Salvia mexicana is barely beginning, this snapshot gives only a hint of the show that is about to begin. The deep blue flowers emerge from a bright green calyx. With eight foot floral stalks, it will be incredible!

By chance I found a polyphemus moth building a cocoon one day on a small maple. It takes only two weeks for the adult to emerge and within that same day, the female emits a pheromone to lure a male. Their life cycle is about five days, with much of that time spent laying eggs. As I kept an eye on the cocoon, I was fortunate enough to find the mating pair shortly after she hatched. In moth size, they are huge. Sadly, I also watched her die in a time period that was less than a week. Hopefully, if all goes right, I will see many more emerge next year from maple leaves that will fall to the ground for winter. Another reason to keep your leaves where they fall, late in the season.

September also included participation in the Virginia Native Plant Society's Annual Meeting in Harrisonburg, VA. A three-day event, fieldtrips to rare habitats included Cowbane Prairie, a nature preserve in Stuarts Draft, Virginia. Portions of the preserve are wet prairie, home to Filipendula rubra or Queen of the Prairie, we were greeted by waves of goldenrod with a few surprises tucked between, it was too late in the season for the Queen.

The primary pollinator of closed gentian are bumblebees, which buzz loudly as they struggle to open the flowers. The lure, the reason to even attempt entry, is for the sugary nectar. 

Our next fieldtrip was to the Mount Joy Pond Natural Area Preserve in Raphine, Virginia. A very rare sinkhole and home to some rare native plants. Our guide was John Townsend, a senior botanist for the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation and he knew the site well. After a recent burn and targeted logging, the sassafras trees were responding to increased sunlight and just beginning to turn color for fall, they were gorgeous.

The primary focus is on restoring the pond, which has dwindled due to an overabundance of maples, which are essentially sucking the area dry. The fires have no effect on the oaks and help pinecones open to drop seed. This preserve is home to a rare sneezeweed (currently endangered), Helenium virginicum, which had finished flowering, but we did find a small, late flower.

complete with a small crap spider

To understand the practice of botanizing, it helps to see the scale in which one might be working. A very small dodder (which is a parasitic vine that sucks nutrients from surrounding plants without ever rooting into the ground), was found on site as it wrapped around a Stachys hyssopifolium or hedge nettle. The tiny flowers are from the dodder, which number 9 species in Virginia. And clearly one that is very, very small.

The weather forecast is for a week of rain, which I'm sure will help a bit on this site. Just prior to this trip I planted 2 plug trays of natives in my own front field (100 plants), so there will be no complaints about the rain. Especially when I was shoveling directly into shale. Good luck guys!

 

What a Difference a Month Makes

August has turned into a very nice month, rain and pleasant temperatures, not the way we often think of the height of summer. My freezer is full of frozen salsa, so much so that the remaining tomatoes had to be canned for lack of space. Sweet potatoes and melons are coming on strong, thank-goodness for changes in the vegetable garden.

The flower beds are also morphing, busting out on all sides. Sunflowers were sown 3 times with the second sowing in flower now. Finch, Cedar waxwings, wrens, and cardinals are frequent visitors/feeders, to the point of scolding me when I visit. In the background the hummingbirds get a bit more brazen, and monarchs are nowhere to be found. 

One of the most frequently visited flowers for hummingbirds and the hummingbird clearwing moth is Salvia 'Summer Jewel'. A reseeding annual, once it's been placed in the garden, it will forever return there (and over there). 

I have it planted with Coleus 'Campfire'.

A few tuberose are flowering, dug from last year and stored in the garage. The first night I caught the fragrance, it was a flood of familiarity, so powerful I had to step back. Nothing has such a wonderful scent and after scent.

The brugmansias or angel trumpets are also going strong, only 2 years old, they are gigantic (6' tall, by 5')! The fragrance is light and different from other night fragrant flowers.

I purchased a new phlox, Phlox paniculata 'David's Lavender', a sport of P. 'David' (which is white). The flower heads are large and full, but the color reminds me of the species. It makes me think it's trying to revert.

Here is the comparison from the wild species growing along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The Maryland senna or Senna marilandica is in full flower. Small nectaries arrive prior to the flowers to lure ants, which arrive in great numbers to protect and serve. 

 

And as luck would have it I stumbled onto this Viceroy caterpillar. Munching away on poplar, which is very common in this area of the Piedmont.

The adult is often mistaken for a monarch, they share the orange coloring to dissuade predation, a color that signifies poison or bad taste. The larvae also mimic bird poop (to avoid being eaten), which a few caterpillars share and are very good imitators. The viceroy butterfly has a much more erratic flight (the first giveaway) and an extra bar of black lines on the lower wings. With so many poplars here, I find them occasionally, whereas I never saw them further north.

A very full and beautiful moon is expected tomorrow night, the Super Blue Moon or Sturgeon Moon. It will be time to sow root crops once it has passed, think beets, carrots, and turnips. The gravitational pull will reverse and encourage root growth. And September is just around the corner. 

 

 

Summer!!!

July has been a month of transitions. With two recent rains at one inch each, the terrible drought is easing up. Perfectly timed for my trip to the Cullowhee Native Plant Conference in North Carolina, an event that is a must for all who love native plants. This year the attendance reached an all-time high of 516 people with many new, young faces. The event actually sold out of fieldtrips and meal tickets in record time, which says a lot about the direction of horticulture. All of the speakers were spectacular as we learned about the need for fire to preserve natural landscapes that are quickly disappearing (Heather Holm), saving grasslands of the Southeast with Dwayne Estes, and possibly my favorite, "Fungal Dynamics" by Tradd Cotter. The fieldtrips onto the Blue Ridge Parkway just intensified the experience with so many specialized habitats found nowhere else in the world with their own plant rarities. 

I have so many photographs that I will just include a few. As usual if you scroll over the photograph, it will reveal the botanical name. We were at high elevations for most of the Blue Ridge Parkway which meant it was cool with a breeze that felt like air conditioning. Some of the plants, trees and perennials are also found in Canada. In fact, this little run of mountains offers refuge for some migratory birds that would usually only be found much further north. We saw and heard juncos and winter wrens, which would normally spend their time in Canada for the summer months.

I first saw this asclepias at Dolly Sods in West Virginia and noted how it grew at the forest edge. I now have it in my garden here where it grows in partial shade, which is unusual for a milkweed.

These are from a vertical bog and a specialized habitat. Water dripped down the rocks continually where you could find sundews by the hundreds as well as a few salamanders. 

Once home I took a few more photographs in my garden. It's only been 2 years, but things are looking good.

Tammy Winters-Schmitt shared some seedlings of annuals which included a range of colors in scabiosa, one of my favorite plants! The butterflies love them too.

And all of this proves that there is no shortage of flowers for summer. 

 

A Romp Through the Garden

We hit 100 degrees the day before we received 1" of rain. With the state of Virginia in a drought, that rain was delightful. The big front meadow looks a bit crispy and how plants have survived, I don't know. The 45 solidago I planted have stayed alive despite that fact that they went in on a rainy day and never saw rain again for over a month (and basically lived in an oven). The wet meadow is supplemented, and the center of activity with pollinators. So here are a few highlights from the gardens:

Of the 50 plugs of filipendula, this single plant was far richer in color. I have isolated it for seed collection.

The birdbath is just over 4' tall. The most frequent visitors are honeybees, wasps, and house finches.

I was hoping to mix a couple of daylilies with echinacea or cone flower, and this one is a winner. From Woodhenge Gardens.

Gloriosa lilies are indeed glorious! I plan on leaving these in the ground to see if they survive the winter. Fine tendrils are used at the tip of each leaf to climb. I've noticed that the tendril will unfurl and curl around something else as the days go by. Fascinating plants.

In due course I will have lots of summer vegetables, the tomato plants have never looked this good! Honeydew melons, watermelons, corn, and zucchini are just around the corner. Despite the current drought situation, days that are long with the occasional temperatures in the 80's are superb!

Some Like it Hot, Some Don't

The lettuce is bolting and the bitterness makes it inedible. But it was a great run, one of the best salad greens stretch ever! Root crops are also finishing, the beets will be the last to open space to plant something else. The best greens came from the All Star Gourmet mix which had butter heads and romaine. Very leafy, it gives a long run with early harvest and a good run in early heat. The first to turn bitter for me were Alboreto baby leaf (clearly labeled for early small leaf harvests), and Lollo (heirloom variety). 

The question comes up a lot, what do you put in the space that cool crops leave as they finish? Sweet potatoes, bush beans, a second crop of corn, or flowers; zinnias, sunflowers, annual scabiosa, even eucalyptus (surprisingly easy from seed). These guys all like it hot, just be ready to water. 

The mini wet meadow is incredible. There has been no appreciable rain for a month, so I have had to supplement. Planted only 2 years ago, I am in awe of how it has matured. I have set a chair next to it for entertainment, always in motion, even the sound is amazing as a constant buzzing.

Sadly, I have only seen 2 monarch butterflies despite the fact that I have plenty for them to eat and nectar on. My very large front meadow is for dry, upland plants and it's oh so dry. I dribble water on new plants and am amazed how they are even alive since many were put in and then the rain stopped.  Certainly not for wussy plants, time will reveal who can take it!

Lastly, I have purchased a pass for Monticello which is only a few minutes' drive from my house. This allows me to go as often as I like. Between the vegetable garden and flower beds around the house, it's a real treat! So here's just a few photographs from my last visit, there will be many more.

Heirloom blue peas.

and my trail cam took a picture of me strolling the gardens in my PJs.

Send rain.

 

 

It's Hard to Get Out of the Garden

This glorious day just delivered a short series of rain squalls, just enough to water in the multitude of new plants and seeds just planted. Behind the rain came a clear and coolish day, enough to add an extra layer to be comfortable. Prior to the rain I spent some quality time with my salad greens, harvesting and experimenting with texture and taste. After many years of planting various blends of lettuce and small head types, it has come down to a few favorites that are relatively resistant to heat and turning bitter. Here is a rundown of varieties I've come to like for various reasons, especially how they look when combined into one big salad.

From left to right: Red Butter (also considered bibb lettuce), Alboreto baby leaf, Lollo (an heirloom loose leaf), and All Star Gourmet. The latter is truly outstanding as it produces various leaf types with an early harvest and great taste. 

From left to right: Ruby Red Orach (a spinach substitute), Truchas Romaine (mini heads), and Salanova's Green Incised which is so frizzled, it's beautiful all by itself.

In our climate we have to look at varieties with an early harvest to beat the heat, and all of these do. The Romaine (Truchas) makes mini heads, so it's ready to harvest in as little as 45 days. Spinach that has overwintered is going to flower now, but still tastes good with a nutty flavor. It's feast time for these wonderful salad greens which can be combined with baby carrots, radishes, and nasturtium flowers. 

In the flower gardens there have been many surprises, one of which is this orchid that traveled from my old garden in a clump of hakone grass, overwintered in a pot and then produced this wonderful flower. 

I bought a handful of varieties from Carol Allen many years ago and lost them all, or so I thought. It would be nice if someone would give me a clue as to which variety it might be. I also bought some Clematis viorna at the Cullowhee Plant Conference and they are in flower. The scope of this species is gigantic with lots of variation. It's an adorable little vine that needs to be more popular.

My wet mini meadow is swelling everyday. My forecast for full bloom is early July. Some native perennials were not happy with the moisture and moved to higher ground, like Monarda bradburiana, which is beautiful right now.

A few others that are looking spectacular are Gillenia trifoliata or Bowman's Root (a native) and Epimedium x 'Pink Champagne', which is still going strong!

Finding time for art projects has been difficult, although I have 5 started and 2 recently delivered. I'll leave that for another day. A rainy day.