Month: February 2012

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THE CUTTING GARDEN

Between trying to weed, (while avoiding the bees) clearing the  remaining winter debris, feeding & pruning the clematis that have already budded,  trying to finish the seed selection and ordering … it has been a busy time. Spring is here…there may still be cold snaps but we are on our way.

                                                               

Above, scenes from the Bothy and the endless ‘to do list’

                                                            

The daffodils in the cutting garden are slowly diminishing and should be replaced this fall. Some have lasted several years, others just one or two seasons at most. Replanting this area is quite a challenge since there are no guidelines in the autumn. One thought was to plant the bulbs in peat pots and then transfer them to their appointed rows in spring when one can see where they are needed, but that plan never came to fruition. 

Several years ago I devised another scheme …  transplanting Muscari where the daffs had failed. Muscari sends up its foliage in the autumn so it would simply be a matter of trading the Muscari for a daff bulb. But when the spring came and the blue Muscari bloomed with the remaining daffs, the scene was so spectacular that I decided to leave it. Now however, this area needs attention.

                                                             

 Some Daffs have come up ‘blind’ this year; that is lush foliage but no flower bud. I am attributing this to the lack of cold weather…we will know for sure next spring, but this section of the cutting garden is a big disappointment this season.

                                                      

Above, these were 100 Tete`a Tete (head to head) narcissus..now it is only ‘Tete’ and very few are left. They did give a wonderful show and filled many mini vases over the last few years. I will replant that variety.

Do you have a favorite variety of daffodil?

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THE WORDSWORTH MEADOW

“For oft’ when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood

They flash upon that inward eye…”

                                                                                 

 The meadow is a moment in time.  The  living garden, evolves…. the daffs fade… this moment is gone.

                                                                                                

 One looks forward to this annual ‘happening’ with much anticipation and it is celebrated with much wine.  Spring has arrived!

                                                                                         

“I gazed -and gazed- but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought.”

                                                      

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HELLEBORES

                                                                            

 Hellebores are by far the most important perennial in all the garden. These are the widely grown  Helleborus orientalis .

                                                                                     

They form a carpet among the camellias and under the hydrangeas.  Stunning when they bloom, they exhibit handsome foliage  all year-long and are tolerant of the shade the hydrangeas provide during the summer when many are hidden under their  foliage.

                                                                               

 Below, is the Heronswood “Party Dress Strain’.  It is tiny with absolutely no landscape value whatever. 

                                                                                      

In a vase as a dinner companion, however, Joy!

                                                                                      

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THE DAFFODILS

The Wordsworth Meadow is in full glory. The very first time I looked at this property, before I saw the interior of the house, I imagined this area flooded with sweeps of Daffodils “fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”

                                                                                

It was a privet and wisteria  jungle that took me months to clear. Then the planting began. the first autumn I ordered  500 bulbs recommended for the south.  The following year I planted more, but when spring arrived, only a fraction of the original planting returned. 

                                                                         

Does this look like 500 daffs? Today,this is what is left of the original planting.

                                                                         

Devastated, I thought my plan for this area would have to be abandoned untill I passed an old deserted homestead with a neat line of daffodils… big, fat,full clumps with many blooms. If these daffs could survive and INCREASE over the years….they were for me.

                                                                          

And so it began, sourcing,  digging, dividing and replanting.  Yes, I ALWAYS ASKED FOR PERMISSION.  I still regret those that were bulldozed to make way for a strip mall before I could find the owners.

                                                                                   

There are no words to describe the joy these bring every spring as I watch them multiply over the years.

Do you think it was worth the effort?

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CAN IT BE ….SPRING?

I can’t believe I went from this..Image

to this in one day!!Image

How wonderful to be back in Georgia, where it appears we are in full-blown spring….

The gardening to do list grows daily as the overwhelming season is upon us.  Trying to separate the list into A) what will make an impact in the garden visually, and B) plant requirements. e.g. weeding  and feeding.

                                                                                       

All the camellias, both in the Circle of Friends, and the Camellia Walk are in bloom along with the Hellebores.

                                                                                          

Permeating the air is the fragrance of Daphne odora…. The garden is truly magnificent. A celebration of all the senses.

                                                                                             

The daffodils… well, they deserve their own  post.