Monday Report

The question was asked by Tina of
In The Garden, a fellow Tennessee garden blogger, if there was no posting done here on the weekends. That is true, although there is gardening and some blog reading done, maybe some photos taken, the weekend is a time for one to relax and reflect. Sometimes the movement of events and schedules goes at a faster pace than is in our best interests. There is no good reason to race ahead to the next happening, it seems right to savor each blink of an eye slowly and thoroughly. But here comes Monday again, as ever, and feeling renewed and invigorated, it’s back to the blog.

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You, gentle readers, are going to be vexed at seeing so many photos of the azaleas for the next couple of weeks. It will seem like we are a record, as in vinyl, stuck on the same note, playing over and over. Bear with us, for the blossoms on these shrubs are our heart’s delight. The incredible color of the above Rhododendron ‘Mandarin Lights’ will please your senses also, it is hoped. In the background, in one of our luckier planting combinations, is the early bird R. ‘Admiral Semmes’. This is his third time featured in the annals of Faire Garden. If the weather holds, you may be graced by his presence another time, or two.

R. ‘Cannon’s Double Yellow’, blooming earlier than is usual due to the fact that this little one is newly purchased. We have a more established older one that is one of the last of this group to bloom, a good thing to protect it from the occasional late frost damage. But when offered for sale, most plants are ahead of schedule, being grown in greenhouses and brought into bloom for the buying public. Many of the deciduous azaleas have dark reddish buds that open to yellow, an enchanting feature.

As promised, R. ‘Admiral Semmes’, opened fully, and fully filling this section of the property with its beyond wonderful scent. First to open, and first to finish, the Admiral leads the way for others to follow.

Attention grabbing from even one hundred feet away at curbside, the golden yellow hue draws the eye to its beauty. We are often asked what type of plant this is, for the public is more familiar with the pinks, reds, whites and purples of the evergreen azaleas planted in most yards here. A yellow azalea is a rarity to most.

We do have other new flowers opening. This gladiolus byzantinus was ordered last fall, one hundred small corms, and shared with the offspring in groups of twenty five, one group held for planting here. They are shown to their best effect planted all together. This is a test of the offspring gardening ability, not really but it is a role that is enjoyed by us, to see if they’ve got what it takes. They all are fans of the hybridized glads, confused by the pretty pictures shown in catalogs and on bag tags of masses of gaudy colorful clown like flowers. These more subtle beauties are hardier and shorter, being proportioned by nature to not need staking with appropriate flower size to stem thickness. Ours are planted in a pot and will go out in the garden in a place suited to their color and stature after the bloom is finished. Being in a warmer zone than the offspsring, our glads will be the first to bloom. It shall be judged against this bloom as to who are the bestest green thumbers, hooray for sibling rivalry. ;->

The everblooming bleeding hearts, dicentra eximia, are just beginning. Not as showy as the D. spectabilis, these ferny leaves and reddish blooms will go until frost and have given us the bonus of self sown surprises at every shady turn. These are grown in a cement block planter that has been ravaged by voles, and have survived where other plants have been lost to the underground marauders. The ripening foliage of crocus ‘Pickwick’ is seen surrounding the young plants, which bloom almost immediately after emerging. Many of the crocus have been lost as varmint dinner, but a few always get past the knife and fork.

Moving on, this simple lonicera sempervirens, a native here, is showing us the brilliant orangey gold within the coral trumpets.

Planted to disguise the disentegrating Ferngully, the honeysuckle is evergreen and multi bloomed. The hummingbirds are rumored to enjoy the color and shape of these flowers. It is hoped that we will be able to see if that is the case.

These variegated solomon’s seals have naturalized in the woodland corner. A clear picture has been attempted over the last several weeks, they have been displaying these charming green tipped bells for that time span, but the wind and light and just a lack of patience on the photographer’s part have prevented that wowee zowee macro shot, so this group shot will have to do.

Ah, the maidenhair ferns planted in the trough are peeking out. There will be so many photos of these most delicate of ferns, their pattern will be etched in our viewer’s craniums. Reddish in the beginning, but turning a most delightful black when stiffened by the elements, the stems are now like a cinnamon bun expertly wrapped by the baker.

Almost capturing the magic of the unfurling fronds.

We must slow our pulse after those last two photos. There now, all calmed down. The scent of the yellow wallflower, grown from seed, but so far no self sown volunteers, will soothe our brow and still our anxiety. Growing behind is one of the Japanese Painted Ferns.

The serenity of the coloration of these ferns in addition to their plentiful numbers allows them to be used all over the garden in any semi shady position. This group has evolved from the dropping spores from the planter suspended on the shed above.

From whence they came, the window trough on the shed. This wall faces north, providing a cooler habitat for spore formation. We are attempting to get the moss to fill in between the metal stakes of this container. As the moss travels downward, it falls off to the ground below, some with fern spores within its spongey mass. Recently black plastic netting was woven within the metal spokes to help hold it in place. Moss should have been added before the netting, it is seen now as this photo is described. But the planter is too heavy and long to be successfully lifted off and put on the ground so the job could be accomplished easily. That would be a good project, gather moss while ye may, and stuff it beneath the netting, one square at a time. Zen.

We end today’s tour with the first opening bell of the lily of the valley. Planted in a spot that is drier than these moisture lovers prefer, it has been a struggle to get this wondrous groundcover to spread. Slowly with each passing year, there are more green pointed tips arising from the moss. The flowers are shy and enjoy a rousing game of hide and seek with the woman holding the camera. They take extra delight when she has to do a headstand to snap their portrait. Extra points if it is windy.

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That wraps up another Monday report. So glad you could drop by and see what’s new around the Faire Garden.

Frances

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