March Madness

Hacquetia epipactis

No, not basketball.

I mean the madness that engulfs me every year as plants begin to break dormancy and bulbs push their way out of the soil. I mean the madness of checking the garden twice a day to see what's progressing. It's madness because we are just approaching the official start of Spring, we are still having morning frosts occasionally, and the soil has barely warmed at all.

Still…

I could blame the snowdrops and Iris reticulata—they have already bloomed (although some snowdrops are still in bloom). Hellebores have be going strong for several weeks now, including "Ivory Prince," seen with the Hacquetia epipactis in the first photo. We had several of these in our Vashon Island garden; this one was in a container, so it came with us to the new house in 2010. It's a reliable performer, sending up ever-larger clumps of blooms each year. We remove all of last year's foliage when the flower stalks emerge; new, fresh foliage will form soon.

The little charmer in the forefront is Hacquetia epipactis, a charming little oddity that pushes its "flowers" directly out of the ground until a low mound of color forms. The only species in its genus, it prefers moist woodland settings and spreads gently by both rhizomes and self-seeding, although never thuggishly. We have these tucked under the skirts of a hardy fuchsia, which offers some protection from late summer sun.The "flowers" are actually just the yellow centers; the "petals" are actually sepals. In any case, it is a fabulously fresh color for early spring.

Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost'

Another hard-working plant that b rightens the early spring garden is Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost.' Just before the main leaves emerge, a cloud of clear blue forget-me-not flowers forms; on mature plants, this cloud can be two to three feet tall and wide. This blue really carries!

As the cloud develops, new leaves push up, green with an incredible overlay of silver patterning. In our Vashon Island garden, we had many of these as they prefer at least part shade and are unpalatable to deer, perhaps because their leaves are stiff and rough. We have one in our small shade bed and two in a bed that gets more sun. Unfortunately, they get too much sun later in the summer and they burn to a crisp. Perhaps this will be the year we get around to moving them to a more shaded position so they look great until fall.

Helleborus x hybridus

Also going strong right now are an assortment of hellebores, including this stunning unnamed seedling from Peter Ray at Black Dog Plants on Vashon Island. We bought this as a small plant at the Vashon farmers' market about four years ago. This year it has over 20 of these beautiful blooms.

The Helleborus argutifolius that was here when we bought the house bloomed spectacularly last winter and spring, with mounds of acid green flowers over the toothed glue-grey leaves. Then, we moved it.

We really had no choice. We completely redid the front yard, and anything we wanted to save we had to dig and either pot or plant elsewhere. This hellebore sulked all summer, although it didn't die outright, and it didn't bloom this year. However, new growth is sprouting from the roots, so we've cut down all the old tatty foliage and will see what happens. This plant produced one seedling last year, which is happily growing in one of the new beds in the front garden. In our makeshift nursery (we all have them, no?) we have about a dozen little hellebore seedlings coming along in 4-inch pots. Who knows what colors they will be? You never really know with hellebore seedlings until they bloom. We will probably plant these out in the new beds later this spring.

Hyacinthus orientalis 'Jan Bos'

Finally, here is a small clump of hyacinths, an old named cultivar that has a little more space between the individual flowers. Hyacinths are useful spring bulbs, although they come in a limited range of colors. I still want to plant some of the dark blue ones; perhaps this fall?

These are happy at the foot of a Mahonia x intermedia 'Charity' and are surrounded by a sea of Sedum 'Angelina,' which is just taking off for the season.

Next up—lots and lots of narcissus, three kinds of species tulips, chionodoxa, leucojum, and parrot tulips, followed by alliums, eremurus, and lilies. By the time the lilies are up, peonies will be surging toward bloom, along with hardy geraniums. The madness of waiting impatiently will give way to the thrill of full beds and problems revealed.

Obsessed with Plants

I'm even more obsessed with plants lately than I usually am. With a large area in the front garden available for planting, plants seem to be the only things on my mind.

This beautiful foliage belongs to Actaea simplex Atropurpurea Group. We don't know the exact cultivar, but it's possibly Hillside Black Beauty.

 The steely purple-silver blooms of Allium christophii pair nicely with the flowers of an Itoh hybrid peony.

Clerodendrum trichotomum 'Carnival' will grow into a small tree. It has foliage that smells like peanut butter and small flowers that pack a big scent.

 This spiky gem is Eryngium venustum. There's nothing else that quite looks like this. Planting these is going to be somewhat of an adventure!

 Geranium 'Ann Folkard' is quite a rambunctious scrambler, its intense magenta and black flowers waving on long stems above golden foliage. The growth rate of this geranium is astounding.

A beautiful dark Siberian Iris, with luscious velvety petals. This iris has a very upright habit.

Ledebouria cooperi is a tasty rock garden bulb from South Africa. Love those stripes!

Dramatic foliage of Lorapetalum chinense 'Zhuzhou Pink.' The hot pink flowers of this Chinese Fringe Tree look great against the maroon foliage.

A variegated Nerium oleander with red flowers.

 Ugni molinae 'Flambeau,' or Chilean Guava, grows to about three feet by three feet. Variegated foliage and reddish stems pack a lot of pizzazz.

 Uncinia rubra 'Belinda's Find,' the New Zealand Red Hook Sedge, is a great, tidy, small-scale grass-like plant for mixed borders. When winters are mild, no spring maintenance is required.

Zanthoxylum piperatum, or Japanese Pepper Tree.

Another Siberian Iris. I think this is spectacularly beautiful.

Planting and Plants, Part 1

 Now comes the fun part.

This first bed, which welcomes visitors to our home, is now nearly completely planted. We will add sedums and other gentle ground covers, such as wooly thyme. Plants here include Kniphofia northiae, Lobelia laxiflora var. angustifolia, Heuchera 'Peach Flambé,' Solanum laciniatum, Euphorbia griffithii 'Fireglow,' Geranium 'Rosanne,' a terrestrial bromeliad whose name escapes me, Agave parryi var. truncata, Olearia lepidophylla, and Eryngium agavifolium.

These plants waiting placement include Agapanthus 'Midnight Blue,' Eucomis 'Sparkling Burgundy,' Hesperaloe parviflora, and Yucca rostrata 'Sapphire Skie.'

Some interesting foliage and texture from Gaura lindheimeri 'Siskiyou Pink,' and a variegated Ugni molinae. Our granite frog awaits final positioning.

This little cutie is Agave parryi var. truncata. This species is cold-hardy, but doesn't like winter wet. Some people build rain shelters over their agaves in the northwest, but we think we'll take our chances because of our good drainage. Those black spines are sharp!

This agave relative is Beschorneria albiflora. It needs to be planted away from the edge of the path due to its eventual size of 4-5 feet wide.

More perennials and grasses wait their turn.

So much more to do…

Remaking the Front Garden, Part 6

The crew is finished, the larger plants are planted, the sidewalks swept and washed, and the compost spread. It's starting to look like a garden.

 Here's the view from the street. There's still a lot of areas to plant with perennials, grasses, succulents, and groundcovers. We have some of that on hand, but we know we'll be making more trips to the nurseries we like.

In this view from the mailboxes, the tree on the left is Parrotia persica 'Red Vase' and the conifer is Picea orientalis 'Skylands.' Evergreen and flowering deciduous shrubs will eventually provide some screening from the street.

I'm already thinking of this areas as Kniphofia Knoll. Once these start to offset and flower, this area has the potential to be spectacular. The tree on the right is Magnolia grandiflora 'Little Gem,' a particularly upright cultivar.

Another shot of the giant Kniphofia northiae jungle-to-be.

We'll be spending a lot of weekends on our knees planting more things over the next couple of months, then installing soaker hoses everywhere.

In the meantime, lots of watering.

Plant Shopping

Now that the front garden hardscaping is nearing completion, it's time to do one of our favorite things: shopping for plants. The top photo shows part of the plants we found at Cistus Nursery, on Portland, Oregon's Sauvie Island. Lots of interesting things!

An assortment of perennials. We have a lot of ground to plant.

 This little cutie is a Pacific Northwest native, Erigeron glaucus, or beach daisy. This is a tough, tough plant that thrives with little attention. We love the flowers.

Monstrous red-hot pokers, Kniphofia northiae, native to South Africa.  These send up enormous flower spikes. The blue-grey foliage in front of them is Melianthus major 'Antanow's Blue.'

 Who wouldn't love this look? Plus, the foliage smells like peanut butter!

Out temporary nursery. Many things to plant…

The grey-green mass of foliage belongs to Zauschneria septentrionalis 'Select Mattole,' the most cold and wet tolerant of the California fuchsias (not true fuchsias). Profuse orange-red flowers will draw in the hummingbirds later this summer.

Clockwise from lower right: Hesperaloe parviflora, Beschorneria albiflora, Yucca rostrata 'Sapphire Skies,' Agave parry var. truncata, Picea orientalis 'Skylands,' Agave harvardiana, and Cryptomeria japonica 'Araucarioides.' The pot in the upper left holds a Callistemon viridiflora.

We're looking forward to playing with placing and planting these (and all the ones not shown here).

Remaking the Front Garden, Part 5

With the hardscaping about 90% complete, we are nearing the end of what we will have the designer/installer do. We'll then start figuring out where plants go, a fun process for us.

One of the things we're looking forward to is softening the overall look of all this rock and paving with green and woody things. We'll start with a few small-to-medium sized trees and a handful of shrubs and work from there. Figuring out plant placement and combinations is one of our favorite aspects of gardening.

A tall pot will go in the middle of that circle, probably with something dramatic in it. I wonder what it will be?

The first plant to be planted is this Parrotia persica 'Red Vase,' a Persian Ironwood tree. As gardeners, it was a real thrill to see the first plant go in! Parrotias have great fall color, and, with age, fascinating bark. In the spring, tiny red flowers appear on the bare stems, revealing its relation to the witch hazels.

The crew assure us it will be just one more day, then they will be finished.

Then the real fun begins…

Remaking the Front Garden, Part 4

 Larger rocks help define areas of interest around the circle and along the paths. More soil will be mounded in the beds to break the flatness.

The juxtaposition of rock and pavers creates interesting texture.

There will be a wide berm across the front. Once planted, it will form a semi-open screen that provides some privacy, yet allows views into the garden. This is also where all three of the major trees will be planted.

The front steps are now mortared and looking fantastic. We're really happy with these.

Remaking the Front Garden, Part 3

 Now things are happening!

After looking at the size of the front steps as they were taking shape, we decided we wanted the whole thing bigger. This new size will have some mass and make more of a destination, not to mention being more functional.

All of the old plants that we were not keeping have now been hauled off. It is an unpleasant feeling for me as a gardener to watch healthy plants that have some age being destroyed. Unfortunately, most of them were not what we wanted or were not in the right spot. We decided to save the cut-leaf Japanese maple by the head of the new sidewalk, as well as an unknown old rambling rose that is shocking red. We'll probably move the rose next spring, but it's fine where it is for now.

The paved circle makes a statement. The gravel paths through the garden feed off of this as well. It will be further edged with Montana slate in irregular slabs as a transition to the planted areas. I can't wait to have things spilling onto this!

We're liking the edge detail. This will be more colorful once the concrete dust has been washed off.

We're in high plant lust mode now, making lists, planning shopping trips. First up: Cistus Nursery near Portland, Oregon. We're renting a van for that one.

Still to come: large rock placement, dry stream construction, massive amounts of dirt and compost hauled in and contoured, and many other details.

Remaking the Front Garden, Part 2

It's amazing what people with strong backs (and a jackhammer, and a sod cutter) can get done in just two days.

All of the grass is gone, for good. Today, they busted up the sidewalk, the front steps, and a big concrete slab that had been hiding under the front deck. It was loud. Things shook all day in the house!

This state of destruction is both distressing and exhilarating, because it's currently a mess, but will soon start to take shape in its new form.

Next up, I think: digging and potting all the plants. That should be interesting!