Remembering Cat

It was her smile, high voltage and genuine, one that would light up a room, that I will remember most. Perhaps fitting then, that it will now assist the stars in lighting up the night skies, chasing away the darkness from our lives.

She offered her friendship so many years ago, and asked for so little in return. Ours was a friendship based around a close knit group of friends, seemingly inseparable, where there was one, you would likely find us all. We laughed together and cried together – shared each other’s successes and were there to offer our support when darkening clouds threatened our happiness.

I will forever remember her high school Prom, the matching highlights that adorned our hair, and the ruffled aquamarine dress that perfectly complimented the colour of her eyes. She accepted me for who I was, and we were often spotted regaling one another with ‘boy problems,’ usually on the concrete boat in Centennial Park. The hopes and joys, secrets and frustrations that concrete structure was privy to!   ….and then real life happened!

I remember when she got married, and the dazzling smile of recognition when she spotted me as she walked the aisle on the arm of her Father. And then came the birth of her Son. We were close geographically, but new responsibilities seemed to take a precedence in our lives. Ours was a friendship that weathered the waves of time: It was as though we could simply turn back a page and pick up from where we left off. Today I wish I could turn back a page.

My heart goes out to her husband, Son and family. The world has truly lost someone very special. I take comfort in knowing that her ‘bright light’ will help to guide those who mourn her loss away from grief’s darkness. I have my own special memories of Cat, and I will hold them close in the coming days, months and years. In journeying to the stars, she has shed her cloak of pain. A glance into the nighttime sky will be the solace and reassurance to those she leaves behind that she will always be close by. Rest in gentle peace my dearheart!

Reading and Gardening and Reading….

… the perfect way to spend a day off, don’tcha think? Already there is a familiar scent to the air, especially in the morning, when the chill from the previous evening can still be felt, and you find yourself remembering that its almost September. I have always thought that if they could bottle and patent this fragrance….

I walked downtown after finding myself stopped dead in my tracks by the near endless bloom cycle of Gentiana ‘True Blue’. I have pontificated on them enough to last a lifetime, so I’ll leave it to a photo to describe exactly what I mean! Granted, I did plant, now let me see, I think it was three plants inside of a week of each other, and all of them are in an area that also includes the fabulously chartreuse foliage of both Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’ and Pinellia tripartita ‘Golden Dragons’… so I suppose this would be par for the course, but damn!

I have to admit, and it might come across like boasting, so forgive me, that I am thrilled with the recent revamping of the rare and unusual border. It is after all, the first border that one comes across on my postage stamp sized property, and it was created with the vision that it would be crammed with as many rare and unusual plant selections as if humanly possible…. well for me at least!

 For the past two days, I have been pondering relocating two of my most prized possessions to the R & U border, if only to up the ante even more. I readily admit that in the four years that I have been actively seeking out rare and choice woodland plants, this has definitely been the year to reap the magnificent rewards. I remember two years ago being over the moon when a certain Princess Reginae bloomed for the first time. And to think I considered that the penultimate reward! Hello Anemonopsis macrophylla! Salutations Glaucidium palmatum!

Originally they were planted half way down the length of the Shaded Walk, with the Anemonopsis completely shrouded beneath the foliage of an ever expanding Kirengeshoma palmata, and sadly, Glaucidium found herself competing with the equally captivating foliage of Diphylleia cymosa, in a rather awkward planting combination. In a year of horticultural musical chairs, all three plants now have new homes.

Diphylleia cymosa is now planted across from where you see the water bowl in the first photo of this posting. I was forever crushing his newly emerging stems in the Spring when I add my composted pine bark top dressing. He will remain visible [in fact will be more so!] as you enter the Shaded Walk and will add just the right amount of early drama! Those familiar with the garden layout will also notice that I’ve removed the clump of Ligularia stenocephala ‘The Rocket’ and have replaced it with a second Thalictrum delavayi ‘Splendide’ and Veronicastrum virginucum ‘Lavender Towers,’ both of which are under-planted with Melittis melissophyllum ‘Royal Velvet Distinction,’ Phylittis scolopendrium and Triosteum himalayanum. ‘The Rocket’ – well he was just too commonplace for my revamped garden vision.

While you cannot detect his presence, Anemonopsis macrophylla now resides to the right of the foliage of Helleborus x hybrida ‘Cotton Candy’, which is another recent addition to the R & U border! Is it possible to have too much of a good thing Martha? I relocated a Polemonium alpina that seemed to struggle against the bolder foliage of Aconitum kyrlovii, and it was there that I relocated my Glaucidium. [I have yet to take a photo – leave it to the camera battery to let me know I was finished with the glamour/posterity shots for one day!]

Oh…. and then I walked downtown, visited my favourite independent bookseller, Roxanne’s Reflections, where I picked up Dan Pearson’s new book! [See previous video post!] I am enjoying it immensely, even more so that it is riddled with some of the very plants that reside here in Teza’s Garden. You will note a wonderful Clematis tubulosa that the camera lands on once or twice in the previous video posting…… it is doing exactly the same thing in my garden as I type! I wish more people could see beyond the clamoring vine species that to me are far too susceptible to wilt, and would embrace the beauty of the herbaceous woody species that exist!

…. and now I am going to go and immerse myself in my new book yet again! Tomorrow I might just have another wonderful garden surprise…. blue to boot!

Dan Pearson: Home Ground: Sanctuary in the City

Here is a promotional video for Dan Pearson's newest book which chronicles the creation of his own garden sanctuary.

If I Were to Die Today…..

… I could honestly say that the greatest rewards in my gardening career were witnessed this year! Ironically, for one who doesn’t consider patience to be one of his stronger virtues, one need only examine the length of time I am more than willing to wait in order to be rewarded with the sublime beauty of a single bloom! Already this year I have witnessed the first bloom of Erythronium japonicum, followed shortly thereafter with the forced bloom of Roscoea cautleyoides ‘Kew Beauty’ and the resurrection of the diminutively beguiling Anemonella thalictroides ‘Cameo.’ Gardening life within Teza’s Garden was proving itself to be the best year ever!

 Four years ago, while under the employ of Lost Horizons, I was busily tidying the row upon row of plants that made up what I referred to as ‘the shade connoisseur’s hoop house.’ It was here that one found a gluttonous treasure trove of rare and unusual shade perennials ranging from the exotic Asian Arisaema species, to the more unusual plants, one of which immediately caught my eye, if only for its amazing foliage that seemed to possess an almost blue/green sheen. Further investigation revealed its name: Anemonopsis macrophylla. A quick referral to Larry’s infamous catalogue, and I was more than willing to part with close to two hours wages so that I could add this intriguing plant to my ever growing rare and unusual repertoire!

 

…And the waiting game began! I’d researched the growing requirements and discovered that like me, it truly was a shady character, despising bright afternoon sunlight. It would be happiest as an understory plant where it would thrive in the shadow of other shade loving plants….. and God only knows, if there was anyone who had a plethora of such plants, it was I! It was pure and simple fate that our paths should cross! Planted beneath a stand of Kirengeshoma palmata, I kept a vigilant eye on its progress. S_L_O_W is the only word that comes to mind. Slow as in molasses running uphill to be exact! I worried that slugs would be drawn to its delicate, sumptuous foliage and considered moving it somewhere closer to the house – in the Rare and Unusual Border perhaps, but then worried that it would get lost amongst the towering ferns and Aconitum? What to do, what to do? In the end I left it where it was. I would simply implement a near daily visit to ensure its safety.

It bloomed for the first time last year, but I wasn’t able to witness its fully opened bloom. A severe wind storm broke of its only flowering stem, leaving behind a near perfect pearl shaped bud. But this year…. all hail and rejoice, I have my very first bloom!  Its beauty leaves me speechless, so I shall borrow the words of Larry Davidson, plantsman extraordinaire and owner of Lost Horizons, the woodland plant nursery where this diminutive beauty came from: ‘A delicate, Japanese woodlander, with attractive, glossy, dark green foliage. In mid to late summer thin, dark stems are topped with eloquent, cup-shaped,nodding flowers 3 cm (1.25") across. Each flower has waxy, lilac sepals over rows of smaller violet petals.

Another Lost Horizons Beauty…..

A recent trip to Lost Horizons [click here for posting] solidified my penchant to update the Rare and Unusual Border of Teza’s Garden. A rather robust Heuchera ‘Mocha’ and several Tricyrtis hirta plants were annexed to other sections of the garden to make room for plants such as this!
As a member of the Hydrangeaceae family, Deinanthe is sadly very obscure in cultivation and is generally only found in connoisseur’s collections – not surprising then, that I would first be introduced to this most beautiful of plants at Lost Horizons!
Deinanthe bifida [pictured above] was found and first described in 1863 by Russian botanist Carl John Maximowicz , who came across it growing in the southern woodlands of Japan. As its specific epithet implies, the species bears leaves that terminate into two distinct, pointed lobes, [ bifid] are approximately 20cm in length and are a rich green, with a slightly leathery texture.. Terminal clusters of nodding, waxy white flowers are held by ghostly pedicels, slightly above the foliage on stems to 45cm. As with some Hydrangea inflorescences, some of the florets along the outer perimeter of the inflorescence are completely sterile and are simply there to attract pollinators towards the fertile flowers towards the centre.
I hesitated in bringing home the crown jewel of the genera, its Chinese counterpart, Deinanthe caerulea, if only because I need to find a larger space for it. It was first discovered by Irish physician Augustine Henry in Hubei Province. It is an exquisite woodland plant and is truly a ‘Holy Grail’ selection, sought after by true woodland plant enthusiasts and connoisseurs like myself. Here is how plantsman Daniel Hinkley describes it in his tome ‘The Explorer’s Garden: Rare and Unusual Perennials’: ‘The leaves, rich green and coriaceous, are produced in pairs along 30-40cm stems that terminate in lovely clusters of nodding, lilac suffused flowers, each with a gorgeous assemblage of lavender-grey stamens crowded inside. Like the shy demure blossom of so many within the genus Helleborus, it requires those wishing to admire the blossom, to either bend or kneel to truly appreciate its beauty! Note to self: Continue the ‘annexation’ of more readily available plants to make room for this ‘Holy Grail’ addition as soon as possible!

Both members of this delightful genus are considered perfectly hardy in Zones 4-8. Successful cultivation requires a shaded position with adequately moist, rich endaphic environments. Too much sun results in burnt and blemished foliage. Propagation can be exasperatingly slow. Inspection of even the smallest clumps, dug in late winter will reveal large numbers of dormant buds that will not break into growth unless removed and planted independently.

A Morning Visit with Grandma: August 16, 2011

I could sense her presence with the gentle golden fingers of sunshine that filtered in through the bedroom window, and hesitant that I should linger in the gentle breeze of the fan, I shook myself awake and headed outside.

  We ‘meet’ on this day every year, a private garden tour if you will, where I show off the ‘kids’ but more importantly give thanks for all that she taught me as a child. The importance of  the preservation of nature, the nurturing of all that is green, and an appreciation for beauty that goes well beneath skin deep! How else does one spot the last mesmerizing droplets of dew atop the foliage of Thalictrum delavayi?

On this day, I add a single plant in her memory. This year, remembering her affinity towards ferns, I added Athyrium nipponicum ‘Burgundy Lace’ in the hopes that her fronds will in time resonate with the deep flush of wine colouring that provides a wonderful contrast to the silvery pewter background. It basks in the shadow of my personal favourite Athyrium ‘Dre’s Daggars’ with its dramatic criss crossing pinnae that results in a lattice like appearance – a truly three dimensional experience to behold!

Beauty was everywhere one looked! Tricyrtis ‘Taipei Silk’ looked ravishing against the fabulously chartreuse foliage of a recently installed Aralia cordata ‘Sun King!’ We all know how I feel about that colour! Need I say more?

I found time slowed itself, allowing for me to fraternize with the ever increasing number of plants, that over the years have won over my heart and affection! Some of them were first introduced to my by my Grandmother, while others allowed me the pleasure of being able to introduce them to her: the thrill of it hummed through my body like a song that only gardeners are aware of!

I could hardly wait to introduce her to two of my more recent additions: Acer campestre ‘Carnival’ and Thalictrum ichangense ‘Evening Star’ – both of which have delightfully surpassed all expectation! While ‘Carnival’ is noted for possessing a notoriously slow growth habit, I must confess that he is twice the size he was when I first brought him home back in June, and ‘Evening Star,’ what can I say beyond bloom your delicate and lovely head off! Non stop, for well close to two months and no sign of his slowing down. If you haven’t sought out this diminutive beauty, do it now!

It is this time of year that I am rewarded with the delightful ram’s horn shaped flowers of Strobilanthes attenuata ‘Atropurpurea’ – a wonderful perennial with handsome slightly tomentose foliage, that this year, thanks in part to the wonderfully damp Spring and early Summer, has rewarded me with growth to almost 2m in height! I’m not certain that Larix decidua ‘Horstmann’s Recurva’ is equally happy, as she now finds herself dwarfed in the background! I shall have to rethink placement for either or in the coming months.

Euphorbia cornigera ‘Goldener Turm’ is a personal favourite, with its handsome upright habit, fresh foliage with the delightful silver striping down the centre of each leaf, and its fabulously chartreuse bract like flowers in Spring!

I could practically hear her giggle when I explained the taxonomic humour derived in the naming of Saruma henryi, a plant that to the unsuspecting could easily be misidentified as Asarum – a delightful anagram if ever one existed!

Always one for pontificating on the beauty of coniferous trees and shrubs, I knew she would approve of Abies koreana ‘Horstmann’s Silberlocke’, but I am sure she would be beside herself if she knew how much it cost me! Grandma, some things in life are priceless!

‘You always were attracted to the rare and unusual!’ Oh, you have no idea Grandma! But then again, with every passing year, you must realize that for me, the rarer and harder to find the better! You always said that life was what one made of it, and for me, its all in the hunt for new and exciting plants! Don’t bore me with pansies and geraniums!

A slight shifting in the air, a diffusion of the morning’s sunlight, and I sensed that our time was coming to a close. How is it that seven years have passed? I need only look at the garden to realize that indeed time stands still for no one! One last story to tell: How I waited patiently for three years before I was rewarded earlier this year with the first ever bloom of Glaucidium palmatum, the wonderful plant whose dramatic foliage is front and centre of the above photo. And her bloom: How soon we all forget…..

  The enveloping sense of an embrace, here in Teza’s Garden, amongst what have quickly become my ‘children’, and she is gone, having returned Into the Distant Light, where, although she is but a thought or memory away, I feel blessed to know that a part of her will forever remain here in Teza’s Garden. A few  stray tears, so similar to the drops of dew on the Thalictrum earlier, and I am suddenly aware that the pain of loss has been replaced with a sense of reunion, if only for a brief moment in time!

Into the Distant Light

 

I envision her just beyond my grasp, a million brightly shining particles that make up her familiar, surrounded by the sound of an orchestra of birdsong. This is my greatest wish.

I feel her presence every time I enter the gardens: in the drop of early morning dew, in the shy petals of a partially opened Gentiana, her eyes the same summer blue that invokes the sky descending to kiss the garden.

I hear her voice, its contagious excitement whenever I find yet another special Arisaema to add to the ever growing collection – this was after all the very first genera to hold me spellbound in it’s thrall!

I experience the pain of separation most during the ‘gloaming’ hour of the day, when the sun casts its magical glowing rays across the multitude of foliage that is Teza’s Garden.

And yet, it is in the garden where she visits me most.

In loving memory of a wonderful Grandmother, mentor and friend who slipped softly into the distant light seven years ago today. I shall set aside precious time to visit with her in the gardens.

A Sense of Satisfaction!

The weeks vacation is coming to a close. Seems like only yesterday M was calling to see where I was – seems I was pushing the whole ‘on vacation mentality’ just a wee too much!

 I made a return engagement to Lost Horizons with gardening friends D, J and K this past Wednesday and returned home, wallet lighter and plant budget blown to hell, but with a wonderful selection of new rare and unusual acquisitions to help return the R&U border back to its glory. On Thursday A [my boss at LittleTree] and I ventured off to Connon, one of our suppliers with an empty cargo trailer and pick up truck! Egads people, what were we thinking? It was time to freshen up the benches in time for the late summer gardening season which is upon us! Lots of delightful new additions found their way home with us: Diervilla ‘Cool Splash’, Origanum ‘Bristol Cross’, Thalictrum ‘Splendide’, three or four new Echinacea cultivars, and of course, another tray of Gentiana ‘True Blue’ with a delightful upright almost shrubby habit! It was interesting to note the surprising variations in growth habit when comparing two different suppliers. Not sure which I preferred, so I ended up with a couple from both! One can never have too many Gentiana in the garden!

  A day at D’s allowed for me to stay atop her garden maintenance, which, as the season wanes, is slowing itself to a more relaxed pace. The tour and a few garden parties behind us, its time to focus on the ominous task of dividing and conquering that comes with a garden’s maturation.

I had promised the ‘kids’ that I would spend time with them every day whilst I was off, and true to my word I would be out puttering amongst them first thing every morning. Even in the rain I was weeding and contemplating the R&U border’s next progression. Overall I am rather pleased with the results. I am anxious to see what next year will bring. I am still of a mind that I need to remove the narrow strip of grass between the garden edge and the sidewalk.

Oh, and I’ve been getting my feet wet on a new Facebook group entitled ‘PlantPorn.’ A staggeringly brilliant group of gardeners who all share a similar wicked sense of humour! The group is by invitation only so let me know if you’d like to experience it! It can be intensely addictive as you can attest to if you’ve noticed the recent posts on my Facebook page!

All in all a rather delightful and immensely self satisfying [wait a minute, that doesn’t sound right now does it?] week. Anxious to get back into the swing of things and start foisting the newest arrivals off to my loyal clientele!

Back To Where It All Began

Sixteen years ago it started with a meager strip of garden against the side of the garage. Mine is a house where the garage juts out from the front, in the left corner of the overall structure. Gardening wasn’t exactly the obsession/career that it is today. A wild Vitis riparia was positioned in the centre of the bed, in hopes that in time it might cover the brick of the garage. Anything to soften a rather boring expanse of brick.

New the the community, most of the plants came from, and here I shudder with dismay, the local supermarket as well as Zellers and Canadian Tire. I hadn’t yet been introduced to the two local garden centres. In time I made my way to both, and a somewhat more comprehensive selection of plants were gradually introduced. The bed is roughly fifteen feet long, and at the time of its creation had a scalloped edge. Some of the initial plantings included Clematis ‘Blue Boy’ which is there to this day, and other shade tolerant plantings since the border only sees sun until about eleven thirty in the morning. Digitalis and ferns stick out in memory and I remember a year when a rather robust Digitalis grandiflora ‘Alba’ was the talk of the neighborhood. It stood close to five feet and was covered with the largest, most pristine flowers imaginable.

As horticulture permeated into my retail addled brain, I began searching out more rare and unusual plant selections, including what has since then become my ‘signature plant’ – Corydalis flexuosa ‘Blue Panda’ with its fabulous shoal of icy blue sea horses that float above a tumultuous sea of blue grey foliage! [Interesting that as one delves deeper into the fascinating depths of horticulture, their vocabulary seems to develop exponentially as well!]

Slowly these rare and unusual plants began to culminate in this same bed. Granted, I would eventually have to construct what is now known as the Shaded Walk – an expanse of space in between my house and the neighbors, but for the time being, I wanted them to be front and centre! Braggarts rights so to speak!

I spent most of the years between then and now seeking out some of horticultures most beguiling and under-appreciated plants. It was here that I planted my beloved Cypripedium reginae, only to wait for three years before she graced me with one of her pristine pink and white blooms. The tomentose heart shaped foliage of Saruma henryi was assured of eliciting questions by garden visitors as were two Aconitum, both featuring whipped buttery yellow flowers that were nothing like the traditional helmet shaped blooms that one associates with the blue, purple or bicoloured varieites. These, if anything, looked like miniature smurf hats! My recently departed friend ‘M’ said, ‘it looks like the hat that the Pope wears!’ I have since learned the term is ‘mitre.’

An ensuing tenure at Lost Horizons, Ontario’s leading woodland plant nursery, ensured that I would be able to continue my dream of creating what I now began referring to as, ‘the rare and unusual’ border.

 My current obsession is what is without a doubt, my second favourite genera ever! – Gentiana! Oh how those delightful alpine beauties seduce with their true blue trumpet shaped flowers, ranging from the powdery blue of Gentiana makinoi ‘Blue Magic’ [pictured above] to the seductive blooms of Gentiana asclepidea [Willow Gentian] and Gentiana septempida var. Lagodochiana Select: [respectively pictured below]

This past week witnessed a return visit to Lost Horizons which netted eight new rare and unusual beauties for the border of the same name – but there was one small [well, not so small to be honest!] problem: [lets all say it together shall we!] ‘Where the hell are you going to fit them in!?! Perhaps a photo montage might allow you a better visualization: This series shows the Rare and Unusual Border, all fifteen feet long by three feet deep, from far left to where it ends and the veranda begins!

  I trust I’m not the only one who has trouble saying ‘NO’ when it comes to rescuing what can best be described as ‘plant orphans’ – you know the ones, the last lonely selection at the end of a season, the one sitting so forlornly by itself….. how can you conscionably pass it by? Trouble is quite frankly, I cannot help myself!

Rest assured, I was able to find the space. In some of the photos of the border, you can actually see bare soil – so now the bed is actually four foot deep in some places – and the fancy scalloped edge? One day soon the border will end at the walkway, which itself is much wider than it need be! I’m sounding like a true addict on the prowl for space, aren’t I? Some of the, and how shall I word this and not offend any of the ‘children’? Simply put, some of the more easily recognizable selections have taken up residence along the length of the Shaded Walk. Its time to reintroduce the ‘WOW!’ factor to the Rare and Unusual Border! Two delightful new selections of Gentiana, a delightful climbing Aconitum austroyunnanense, the fabulously chartreuseness that is Aralia cordata ‘Sun King,’ the enchanting Epimedium Sakura Maru, and last but not least, a second Paeonia mlokosewitschii will all ensure that come next Spring, Rare and Unusual will be back where it belongs…. front and centre here at Teza’s Garden! And what do you know…. we’re back to where we started! Sweet Jesus, but I’m totally enamored with the combination of Gentiana scabra ‘True Blue’ when combined with the fabulously chartreuse foliage of Pinellia tripartita ‘Golden Dragons!’ A partnership made in hort heaven!

The Perfect Way to Start the Day~

If ever there was an example of being an over achiever in the garden, this divine pair of blooms on Kirengeshoma koreana would win hands down. I spent close to ten minutes with this charmer alone!

There is everything to love about this plant! It emerges with a fabulously shimmering silver overlay to its stunning palmate foliage. As the plant matures, the stems take on an almost ebony coloration which, combined with the silvery foliage and the delightful waxy whipped buttery yellow shuttlecock shape of the flowers, resulting in what this gardener considers a MUST HAVE when it comes to creating a shaded woodland garden! Interestingly, its cousin K. palmata is showing no signs of wanting to flower. Its flowers tend to hang down moreso than this one as well!

  I mentioned in an earlier post that I’d added not one but three new Gentiana scabra ‘True Blue’ to the rare and unusual border. I am but days away from being rewarded with what appears to be a strong flower performance. After my beloved Cory, Gentiana wins my heart hands down!

My wonderful ‘Carnival’ continues to shine! I am going to have to see about dividing a rather large clump of Lamium orvala that is crowding him out!

I must remember to look at this photo when the water bill comes in later this year! I simply could not allow for my kids to suffer on account of Mother Nature’s less than humorous recent dry spell!

I awoke to the sound of water splashing into my new bowl. It was finally raining! It was a wonderful way to spend the morning…. even after the phone call telling me that I was actually supposed to work! Talk about being overly eager to start one’s vacation!

 Even I have to admit that the newly installed Thelypteris decursiva pinnata [Japanese Beech Fern] is the perfect finishing touch to the recently introduced mirror! I can see you, can you see me?