Plant Talk

The Architecture of Winter - Shape and Form in the Landscape

By now, the leaves have all fallen to fully reveal the architecture of the garden. Trees and shrubs are unclothed, and the bones of the garden remain. Perhaps the most beautiful expression of this can be found in Japanese gardens, where cascades of maples and spreading cherry trees have been beautifully pruned for decades. Every turn of the path in such a garden is a lesson in the satisfying simplicity of line and form.

But today, on a walk to the pastures in Langley to visit a little black December lamb, I was impressed by the gnarled dignity of old hedges, fruit trees and a weeping willow, surely untouched by pruners for many years. Standing starkly against the winter skies these trees have their own austere and enduring beauty, branches garnished in lichen and moss......

This old willow, a mass of green in summer, has an elegant tumbled grace in winter.

The remnants of an old orchard still bear apples in summer

Up close, even this messy old hedge has its own mossy beauty

These bare, black limbs seem the essence of mid-winter...the nearly-horizontal tree is a favorite of the sheep that rub their backs on it... 

And here's the woolly black baby lamb, born in the dead of winter but surviving just fine....

 

 

Gardening is the Ultimate Localism - the Proof is in the (Fruit) Pudding

Gardening is all about localism; to grow plants successfully we need to garden where we live. Sounds obvious, but  the banana/canna tropical rage - mostly killed off (quite literally) in the tough freezes of the last three winters - was nothing if not climate denial. Or perhaps the triumph of imagination over reality, until winter bared its fangs, anyway.

Which brings us to fruit, and why you should buy local to ensure you end up with fruit-bearing trees and plants that will actually ripen in our climate. We're lucky enough to have two fabulous fruit nurseries nearby - Raintree in Morton, and Cloud Mountain Farm, which is opening for the season on February 1st.

The folks at Cloud Mountain tell us they'll have bareroot fruit trees available next week, strawberries by February 10th or so, raspberry canes in mid-February. They suggest calling to make sure what you seek is ready before driving to the Farm to pick it up - 360-966-5859. Cloud Mountain features fruit and nut trees and native plants, Japanese maples, and a gorgeous setting - be sure and check out the new Mott's Pink Apple, with watermelon pink spring blossoms, and two new varieties of high bush blueberries...

And here's a good reason to make the trek north to Everson (near Bellingham) - Cloud Mountain offers free Saturday workshops, beginning Febrary 5th, where you can learn  to prune fruit trees, grow grapes and berries, and incorporate Northwest native plants into your garden. The February 5th workshop is on growing apples and pears, 10:30 a.m. to noon. Dress warmly, as you'll be outdoors; this workshop, with information on how to renovate older fruit trees as well as how to prune newly planted dwarfs, will be repeated February 12 and March 12.

Through June, Cloud Mountain retail hours are Monday-Saturday 10-5, Sunday 11-4. To learn more: info@cloudmountainfarm.com; 6906 Goodwin Road in Everson.

Pantone Color of the Year Is.......Pink???

Pantone is a self-described "world-wide authority on color"... I'm sure the company is influential in home decor, furnishings and even clothing. But the last couple of years they've trended too sweet - last year turquoise was the color of the year, and they've just announced honeysuckle pink for 2011.

Why are they picking colors that remind me of baby  toys, little girl's party dresses, and paper napkins at kids' birthday parties? Give us some saturated colors, some deep or pale or....interesting greens, oranges, rusts, ivories, more sophisticated, subtle colors....well, you can tell I like the colors of nature and the earth and sky. And "honeysuckle", despite its fragrance-evocative name, isn't even a pretty pink, like a warm peach or soft shell pink, but a flat, reddish pink that reminds me of the bathroom tile we once had in a 1950's house, and I always despaired over....sorry this is such a rant, but I hope plant breeders won't think we gardeners are searching for more pink flowers...there are plenty out there, and most of them much prettier, including honeysuckles, than Pantone's pick.

It's Mulching Time Again....Freshen The Garden and Feed Your Plants

 
Nothing makes a gardener's heart flutter like a big pile of dark, manure-rich mulch. (There's a Valentine's gift idea for the gardener in your life....).

Well-composted manure feeds the plants and breaks down over time, along with the bark in the mix,  to improve the soil. In the meantime, a fresh coating of mulch hides winter debris, and makes your garden look as if you've got great soil. Keep adding manure mulch once or twice a year, and that'll be true.

I'm afraid my garden isn't cleaned up enough yet to spread mulch - but my more-on-top-of-it neighbor had this beautiful big steamy pile of mushroom compost delivered last week, and just the thought of it down the alley from me is enough to get me out there cutting down old lily stems and tidying up enough so that I can top my beds off.

Now through February, before the bulbs are up much, is the perfect time to spread mulch. Don't push it up too close to woody stems, or smother the tops of perennials as you work. It's time for water-proof boots, gloves, and recruiting a friend with a strong back to help with the shoveling doesn't hurt either...

If it's mulching time, spring can't be far away....

Gloom Busters...Cravable New Plants for 2011

 

 
A reader responded to a recent post on showy new plants by calling them "gloom busters" - a great term for how just the thought, let alone photos, of fresh new plants dispels January bleakness. So on this soaking wet January day, let's evoke the spirit of  spring, with a couple of gloom busting, cravable plants coming on the market in 2011.....

How about a thornless quince (Chaenomeles speciosa 'Orange Storm') with double citrus-shaded blossoms? Old-fashioned shrubs never looked so good as these new quinces without messy fruit or sharp spines - the camellia-like flowers also come in pink and red.They grow to 3-4 feet tall, are tough, hardy, and drought resistant once established, and bloom February through April. I've always loved quince branches and blossoms for flower arranging, but was put off by the size and the spines - not problems with 'Orange Storm'.

Look for this especially beautiful new red and white hellebore hybrid in nurseries soon - Helleborus 'Ice Follies' is beguilingly freckled, new for 2011, and worth tracking down....hellebores are easy care, have evergreen foliage, and will come into bloom in the next few weeks.  

  And for a dose of summer, how about a new sunflower called 'Snacker' because it produces so many large seeds?  Each foot-wide yellow flower is said to produce a pound of seed, surely enough to feed both gardeners and the birds. 'Snacker' grows quickly to about eight feet tall on sturdy stems. You can sow indoors, or outside once threat of frost is past - don't we love that thought?

 

 

 

 

 

The Soggy January Garden Offers Up Bouquets from Casual to Elegant

Not much more than witch hazel is in bloom out there on these dark and soggy days, but it's surprising how much mileage you can get out of its curious little fragrant flowers and stiff branches. Really, witch hazel is better in a vase than in the ground, for out in the landscape the blossoms can almost disappear, and all you see is the gangly vase-shape of the shrub itself. Indoors, close up, the flowers are intriguing, with their spidery filaments and sweetly clean, astringent scent.

 While a modern metallic vase might seem an odd choice to hold such rustic looking branches, I like how  its slim, shiny sweep glams up the matte of the bark and dark flowers.  The metal's silver sheen shows off the copper color of the Hamamelis x intermedia 'Jelena' flowers. While these darker witch hazels aren't as cheery in the garden as the more common yellow-bloomers, up close their flower color is so unusual. The bottle is by Kirkland artist Deloss Webber.

In the kitchen, I've mixed sprigs of the same witch hazel (I only have room for a single one in my garden) with heart-shaped cyclamen leaves, pine, camellia leaves, and hellebore buds in a little white vase designed to hold a bunch of single stems. A Christmas gift from my friend Richard Hartlage, I can't wait to display tiny spring treasures like anemones, crocus and dwarf narcissus in this favorite new vase...but for now, it's pretty much witch hazel...

The Garden Is In Bloom Out There Despite Freezes, Rain and Wind

My dog Bridget would rather curl up on the couch than go outdoors on these wet and windy days. After last week's freezing temperatures, and this week's record rainfalls, you wouldn't expect our plants to be showing much more enthusiasm than Bridget.

But when I ducked out yesterday between rainstorms to sweep up and look for something to cut for a bouquet, I was amazed to find my copper-colored witch hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia 'Jelena') in full bloom - I'd expected it to be slowed down by those mid-20 temps a week ago. And while the hybrid hellebores are still in tight bud, the silver-leafed Corsican hellebore is opening its pretty litte green flowers....

This time of year you have to look closely to find what's in bloom but it's worth it - the garden is in full January flower, with more hellebores, snowdrops, sarcococca and even daphne not far behind. The lure of flowers fresh from the garden, so prized on a winter's day, won't get Bridget off the couch, but hopefully it'll stir you to go outdoors and find out what's going on in your garden.

'Jelena' is a cross with a Chinese witch hazel parent, which means it has a strong sweet/astringent scent, especially when cut and brought into a warm room.

Helleborus argutifolius 'Silver Lace', with soft green blossoms centered in chartreuse stamen, is an early bloomer with jagged, silvery green leaves.

Plants to Crave in 2011 - Fresh Variegation Brightens the Day

It's pouring rain in Langley and the wind is wuthering around the house - the garden is about as sodden as it ever gets. But the thought of new plants for spring is a sure spirit-raiser, so here's a couple of fragrant beauties, just coming on the market, to lighten up your day.

Forget that my Daphne odora 'Aureomarginata' is mostly defoliated from hard freezes - hope springs anew with a colorful sport discovered in England called 'Rebecca'. It has the same sweetly scented pink flowers flowers in March, but the leaves are more vividly variegated than the original.  The stripes are wider and more buttery yellow, and perhaps the flowers are a softer shell pink. As you can see, it's a gorgeous little shrub, but the true excitement will lie in finding out if 'Rebecca' is as fragrant and how it holds up to winter weather...

I love wallflowers for their sturdy, old-fashioned little flowers, sweet scent, long bloom time, and for how well they hold up in the garden and in the vase. New Erysimum 'Fragrant Star' is boldly variegated, with bright lemon yellow flowers. It's more compact than the familiar 'Fragrant Sunshine', and it blooms from April to at least July, and may well continue into autumn if you give it lean soil and good drainage. The chocolate/purple buds contrast well with the pale foliage, and the bright flowers will cheer up our gardens just as I hope their photo lifts January gloom for a few mintues, anyway...

 

 

Pruning Columns Controversy - Is Topiary Folk Art or Plant Torture?

The pruning kerfluffle started with a "Plant Life" column I wrote for Pacific Northwest magazine about the concentration of fantastical topiary on Beacon Hill. Joel Lee, art-maven, non-gardener, and blogger at BeHi Bonsai, sees the topiary as cool, neighborhood-centric and a fresh expression of folk art.

Much as I enjoyed the fun Beacon Hill urban safari Joel took me on, and as impressed as I am by his enthusiasm for shrubs sheared into weird shapes, last Sunday I felt the need to run a rebuttal column, quoting Cass Turnbull of PlantAmnesty about her despair over all the shrub shearing going on in Seattle these days.

Joel's response to Cass's words? He threw down the challenge of a slightly incendiery blog post, as well as designing the T-shirt logo above. I love working with such creative people!

So check out PlantAmnesty's shear madness campaign to promote better pruning vs. Behi Bonsai's January 9th post wondering why PlantAmnesty gets to decide aesthetics...

 

From Vegetables To Cyclamen, January is Ripe With Gardening Events You Won't Want To Miss

  Now, in the dead of winter, gardeners have time to store away information for the coming season like squirrels with a hoard of nuts. And there's plenty going on this month to launch us into a great gardening year...

This Wednesday, January 12, Portland garden designer Lucy Hardiman kicks off the lecture season for the Northwest Horticultural Society.   "Gardening Where We Live: A Pacific Northwest Convergence" is her theme, and she'll tell us about cutting edge nurseries and innovative designers. In words that give you an idea  how lively the talk will be, you'll see and hear about gardens that are "bodacious and beautiful, functional and fun, original and organic, sustainable and sassy, plant driven and productive." The lecture costs $5 for NHS members, $10 for non-members; reception starts at 6:45 and the lecture at 7:15, at the Center for Urban Horticulture, 3501 N.E. 41st St. near University Village. No reservations needed.

On Sunday, January 23, Colin McCrate and Brad Halm of Seattle Urban Farm Company are giving a class on how to grow vegetables organically from seed to harvest, at Sky Nursery. These guys are the boom - remember that cool pick-up truck with the chickens and vegetables in it at last year's Northwest Flower and Garden Show? They created it...also the rooftop vegetable and herb garden at Bastille Restaurant in Ballard...). You'll learn about garden planning, organic pest control, and succession planting...from people who were ahead of the curve on urban farming. Sky Nursery is located at 18528 Aurora Ave North; the class is from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.

Cyclamen are the treasures of the winter garden - how can anything look so delicate yet be so tough? On Saturday, January 29, and Sunday February 6, Bouquet Banque Nursery is holding their 2nd Annual Hardy Cyclamen Sale. Judy and Bill have been testing and growing cyclamen for a decade, and offer thousands of specialty coums, hederifoliums and more... "We open the cold frames, spiff up the garden, heat up the workshop, and bake some sweet breads for two glorious winter garden days...." is the welcoming way Judy and Bill describe their event....which runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.

Bouquet Banque Nursery is in Marysville: