Meandering Randomly writing about whatever garden subjects pop into my head

Everything is washed clean from the rains.

Lover of sunshine that I am, it sure was nice to get a couple of true rain days.  My little world here at Woodland Cottage is washed fresh and clean.  It’s sparkling in the intermittent sunshine this morning after heavy rain overnight.  This is rain day #2.  I’m getting lots accomplished.  I realized yesterday that it was the first rain day we’ve had this long Spring that simply didn’t allow us to work outside.  We’ve sloshed through all the showery others.

We’re now in that “in-between” time here in the magical Mid-Atlantic–between the flowers of full Spring and the first flowers of early Summer.  It is almost Hydrangea Time.

'Nikko Blue' Hydrangea budding up

'Annabelle' Hydrangea in a pot. They make great container plants.

Rain days allow me to:  Write my Spring newsletter (I’m tardy by two months :/–and yes, I did get it written and to my talented friend, Peter, who does the layout ).  Vacuum the floor.  Write a blog post.  Catch up on billing and paperwork.  Get started on some magazine articles (the deadlines loom).  Delete the junk from my e-mail inbox.  Clean off my desk.

It's clean! I can even see my favorite picture of Steve!

Sunday, I spent a day in my own garden.  I got most of the pots and the windowboxes planted (and fertilized), all the rest of the houseplants outside and organized, and some planting and transplanting accomplished–just before the rain.  In my brain, I feel like I’m so late this year because the gardens are so advanced compared to the usual mid-May.  The reality is I’m finishing some things earlier–I usually don’t get around to the pots and annuals until after Memorial Day.  Some things will wait until after Memorial Day–I want to pick up a few favorites in Wilmington that weekend–but it feels good to be this much ahead.

I have some new additions this year in my front yard:  giant, white Alliums (flowering onions).  The variety is ‘White Giant’.  I love them.  I’m astounded, also, that they all stood up to the heavy rains last night.  That surprises me.

Look closely, and you'll see the Allium 'White Giant'.

One of my clients was cleaning out their pond earlier this Spring and had a huge crop of tadpoles.  I brought home a couple dozen and put them in the lower pond.  I’ve been so busy, I haven’t had time to check and see how they’re doing.  Sunday, I took a look and saw a few–they seem fatter and happy.  Then during a water break in the kitchen, I looked out the window and saw this guy/gal sunning him/herself on a mossy rock by the upper pond. Because my friend Mike Ferrara and I are working our way through the ‘Lord of the Rings’ series on Sunday nights (and because I name just about everything), I’ve decided to call him/her Frodo.

"Frodo" the Frog

My friend Ronn Payne gave me some gourd birdhouses this Spring.  I’d admired them at his mother’s place in the Virginia countryside, where he grows the gourds.  He surprised me with three.  I hung them immediately: one in a Live Oak out front (I can see it from the dining room); one in a Crapemyrtle on the side (I can see it from where I’m typing right now); and one in a Darlington Oak in the back (which I can see from my downstairs desk and bedroom).  Very quickly, a tiny little bird with the most wonderful song (very garbled, happy and sing-songy) moved in, the same kind of bird in all three.  They are very energetic, and so fun to watch and listen to.  You cannot imagine the joy I get from “my” birds, all types.

It's blurry, but here's one of the gourd birdhouses.

Everything is sparkling and happy from this morning's rains.

What a Spring.

.

Posted under Animals in the Garden, Container Gardens, Random garden thoughts, Spring Flowers, The Spring Garden, The Summer Garden, Water in the Garden

Here is a link to an article I wrote in the May 2012 issue of Wrightsville Beach (NC) Magazine, titled ‘Designer’s Favorite Plants’.  Thanks to Marimar McNaughton for the opportunity to put together the article.  Enjoy!

http://www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com/article.asp?aid=824&iid=103&sud=27

Posted under Gardeners, Media, Southern Gardens

Happy Earth Day.  It’s a day to celebrate the Earth and all that she gives us, like this gentle, soaking rain we so need here in the magical Mid-Atlantic.  Everything is so green! The trees are smiling.

I showed an earlier photo of the Chinese Snowballs, Viburnum macrocephalum, in their green stage, before they whitened up.  Here they are in full, glorious bloom, and the rain enhances the effect.  They’ve been in bloom now for many days.

Posted under Holidays, Spring Flowers, The Spring Garden

She is stopping traffic right now, literally…people are jumping out of their cars with their IPhones and snapping pics.  I don’t blame them.

Here she is, climbing an arbor in my yard, and the adjacent plants.

Ain’t she pretty.

She is the Lady Banks Rose, Rosa banksiae.  Also known as the Lady Banksia Rose, depending on from where you hail in the South.

In my experience, it is the earliest blooming Rose in my area of the magical Mid-Atlantic.  I think it’s the northern limit for her, as well, in terms of hardiness.

Look closely and you’ll see a red/orange Honeysuckle vine mixed in with her butter-yellow flowers.

My dear neighbor, Mr. Jimmy, gets to see this view from his kitchen window:

He’s originally from the Deep South, and he says it brings back memories.  I like that.

Here’s The Lady climbing my Weeping Yaupon Holly:

Oh, isn’t this a Spring to end all Springs?  Ain’t life grand…

Posted under Southern Gardens, Spring Flowers, The Spring Garden

As in all gardens, each Spring day brings something new.  Here at Woodland Cottage, we are passing from early to mid-Spring.  Soon, we’ll be in what I like to call “full Spring”–when the Azaleas and Dogwoods are really kicking.  It occurs usually when the mid-season Azaleas come into bloom.  That will be soon.

We landscape designers have been hopping double-time this Spring!  I haven’t had much time to sit down and write to you–I apologize.  I hope these photos will make amends for my slacking off!

Happy the Buddha is glad it's Spring!

Epimedium rubrum next to the waterfall

I love the new growth on Fatsia japonica. I have several.

This is my favorite Camellia japonica.  I’m not sure of the variety.  Does anyone know?  It is one of my latest blooming varieties…just finishing up now.

Camellia japonica, unknown variety

An old-fashioned favorite, Calycanthus floridus, is a native here.  I call it Sweetshrub; some call it Carolina Allspice.  My dear friend, Catherine, has it encircling her screened porch–heaven.  She calls it Spicebush.  Here it is, the dark brown/maroon flower in the foreground.  It has a sharp, spicy scent.

Calycanthus floridus, foreground

Chinese Snowball, Viburnum macrocephalum, just coming into bloom.

I have an unknown Variegated Pieris, Pieris japonica, with spectacular red growth in the Spring.  It fades to the variegated, green leaves over time.  With a background of Bloodgood Japanese Maple, Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’, the pair is a real show-stopper.

Wow! Variegated Pieris, foreground, with Bloodgood Japanese Maple in the background.

Spring bursts forth on the back hillside...

...as Ralph, my wise old gnome, oversees it all with happiness.

Posted under Spring Flowers, The Spring Garden

I just got my prized copy of ‘The Tuscan Sun Cookbook.’  My dear friend, Dean, graciously gave me a copy, which Frances Mayes promptly signed.  Here’s the cover:

Cover of 'The Tuscan Sun Cookbook'

What has a cookbook got to do with gardening? Everything.  Cooking is the culmination of gardening, especially if you grow your own food.  Or herbs.  Or both.  Cooking allows you to ingest what you’ve grown and share what you’ve grown with others.  And then there’s entertaining.  Entertaining!  You get to share ALL you grow–your garden, your vegetables, your herbs, your flowers.  Drinks on the patio? Your guests see your garden.  Mint julep?  Your guests taste your mint.  Supper?  They taste your home-grown veggies.  Table centerpiece?  They see your showy flowers.  And that’s just the beginning of it.

I’m not Italian and I’ve never lived in Italy longer than a month at a time, yet I think I was Italian in a past life.  Italy resonates with me.  I love the countryside, people, food…I love it.  I’ve been there many times, though not in awhile, I’m sorry to say (I need to resolve that issue, right?)  Tuscany is where I’ve spent the most time:  Florence, Chianti, and all through the Tuscan countryside.  This cookbook brings it to us.  It really does.

I’ve met Frances and Ed a few times.   We’ve gotten to know each other through our blogs, mostly, and then, luckily, we’ve been able to meet face-to-face.  Steve and I visited them at their home here in the States.  They are charming, relaxed and hospitable.  The conversation flows delightfully through many subjects.  While I would by no means presume to call them good friends–we don’t have the history and time spent together behind us–they make us feel as if we are old friends.  That’s their way.  Even with their insanely busy schedules and travels, they stop and make us feel like they have all the time in the world.  So Italian.

And I buy their Bramasole extra-virgin olive oil.  Liberally.  And I USE it liberally!  They’re right:  good olive oil and fresh ingredients make the food.  And that gets us back to gardening:  they grow their own olives, make the oil, which goes on the food they grow.  And then they eat it.  What a yummy cycle.

Over twenty years ago, supervising a landscape job that was going in that day, the owner (an old, dear friend) said to me, in passing, “Have you read ‘Under the Tuscan Sun’ yet?  I think you’d really like it.”  I listened to her advice, and wow, am I glad I did.  I’ve worn my friends out, talking about every, single one of Frances’ and Ed’s books.  I’ve read them, again and again, during the busy seasons, because they take me to another place and lifestyle, one which profoundly relaxes me.  They started my yearning and love for Italy.  They’ve influenced my house (it’s a stuccoed bungalow; my dining room even has a fresco), my decorating, even my garden.  They’ve made me look at things differently, or at least they remind me to stop, take a breath, and relax a bit more.  I don’t think I’m exaggerating or being overly dramatic by saying they’ve touched my life in more ways than I can count.  And I can’t thank Frances and Ed enough for keeping them coming for over 20 years!! Memoirs, novels, movies, cookbooks…constantly bringing on something new, something to look forward to (with great anticipation!)

Which gets me back to gardening (okay, okay–EVERYTHING in my world gets me back to gardening, I know…).  Isn’t that really the essence of what gardening is all about, anyway?  ANTICIPATION.  And Ed and Frances are serious gardeners, both here in the U.S. and in Italy.  They get it.

I sat down and read through this cookbook, cover to cover (though not each recipe ingredient and instruction, I’ll admit), and it sent me to the kitchen.  The recipes are simple, with few ingredients, and mouth-watering.  They bring the taste of Italy back to me.  Yum.  Can’t wait to cook my way through it.

Go buy their book and get cooking!  (and then go out to your garden to work it off!!)

Posted under Cooking and gardening

Beautiful week one is now running into beautiful week two here at Woodland Cottage.  It’s astounding.  I’ll let the pics speak.

Camellia japonica

The same Camellia, looking out through the dining room windows...

The Loropetalum has never been more floriferous…

Loropetalum chinense 'Zhuzhou'

Heavenly scent…

Variegated Daphne

Pieris japonica

Vinca minor

Corydalis

Edgeworthia papyrifera (against an English Boxwood)

A beloved, late-blooming pink Camellia japonica

Posted under Climate Change, Fragrance in the garden, Southern Gardens, Spring Flowers, The Spring Garden

I noticed Anne Raver wrote a piece in the New York Times recently about Nancy Goodwin and her garden in Hillsborough, NC, “Montrose”.  Here’s a link. Nancy wrote a book about her garden and her experiences there, Montrose: Life in a Garden.  It’s a lovely, informative read.

The garden at Montrose in early Fall

Steve and I visited there two Winters ago, and we had a personal tour through the garden with Nancy.  It was magical.  I wrote about it here.

The garden at Montrose in late Winter

Hillsborough, NC, is the American home, also, for Frances Mayes, (“Under the Tuscan Sun”) and her husband, Ed.  They’ve just completed a new cookbook, The Tuscan Sun Cookbook, which will be released next week, on March 13th.  Can’t wait!  Following the book’s release, they’ll start their book tour.

Posted under Garden Tours, Garden Travel, Gardeners, Media, Southern Gardens, Writers

Tornadoes over much of the East today as we enter meteorological Spring.  Terrible and sad.  It’s the season for unsettled weather.

We had temperatures in the mid-80sF here in Wilmington, NC, yesterday.  I had some surprises on my ‘coffee walk’ this morning around our garden.  The most astounding bloom is the Bearded Iris (Iris germanica) that popped into flower overnight in the thick, humid air.  Here’s what I saw this morning:

Even the Azaleas are confused.  I saw a bud showing color–this bush is on the South side of the house, against a brick wall, so it does bloom earlier than others.  But March 2?  The Azalea Festival in Wilmington is not until mid-April.  And this is a mid-season bloomer, the Indica variety ‘Formosa’.

Sunday, I head back to Arlington, VA, for my Spring season.  I understand much is blooming in my garden at Woodland Cottage.  Can’t wait to see it!  But always sad to leave Wilmington behind.

Posted under Climate Change, Southern Gardens, Spring Flowers, The Spring Garden, Weather vagaries

Here’s an article I wrote last week, Rash of Spring, Fever or Freeze?  It was published in Lumina News of Wrightsville Beach/Wilmington, NC, on February 16th.  Enjoy!

Posted under Climate Change, Southern Gardens, Spring Flowers, The Spring Garden, The Winter Garden, Weather vagaries