Having been away from this blog for the better part of two months, I have decided that I will try and recapture the excitement of the growing season that has been thus far! No one needs to be reminded of the 'winter that was,' so I fill forego the whinging and head straight into the photos. As usual, Blogger has already inserted them into this post in an order other than what I specified so it will likely appear as if I am jumping all over the board -and yes. I am! As only a Gemini can be forgiven for! I was staggered at how late it was [the first week of July] before I saw Arisaema consanguineum 'Perfect Wave' emerge from his winter slumber. He then seemed to morph almost overnight into the photo above. He must be .5m in height, and still maintains his stunning whorled leaf arrangement, not to mention the gorgeous pewter inlay of each rippled leaflet. Does it sound as though I am in love? Indeed. Completely besotted!
An aerial view of the various textures, shapes, colour that all make up the area between my and the neighboring house. This photo doesn't really do justice to how lush it looks, thanks in large part of our unseasonably cool, somewhat moist summer that we have been blessed with. Yes. Blessed! Damp, cool, overcast.... my ideal summer conditions.
I have quickly learned that the longer one obsesses over a specific genus [one being himself] the more expensive the selections become. I fell to my knees in supplication when I stumbled across Epimedium 'Windfire' last summer, ignoring the fact that it set a personal record insomuch as the price I have willingly paid to maintain my Epiphile status! I was stunned equally so this Spring when I discovered that my meagre plant had trebled in size and is also a rebloomer!
The preceding three photographs help to sum up my less than conventional planting style. I refer to it as the Plantaholic Layering method. Usually only one of each plant, but positioned in such a manner as to accentuate each plant's best attributes. I adore Acer shirasawanum 'Aureum' and knew he would look best positioned against the burgundy siding of the house. He had spent the entire growing season last year contained in a pot on my veranda, but come winter I knew his only chance of survival was if he was transplanted into the garden.
Joy, the two preceding photos are for you! I knew I was being a tempestuous vixen when I sent them to you with no ID. Bastardio! He was a lonely orphan sitting my his lonesome on a visit to Whistling Gardens this past June. I'd tried to order one in earlier in the season from a different supplier, but they were short shipped, and with heavy heart I put it on the 2015 wish list, not really thinking I would be able to find him anywhere else. Surprise! Acer pseudoplatanus 'Eskimo Sunset' is a sublime smaller species with stunning foliage that is a creamy greenish white heavily mottled as the foliage opens, with a jaw droppingly beautiful reverse to each leaf that morphs into a sublime wine colour. His heavy variegation demands that he have a placement in dappled shade. He currently resides in a pot.
The above two pics are without a doubt two of my favourite plants that reside here at Teza's Garden! Although Paeonia mlokosewitschii [lovingly referred to as 'Molly the Witch to those in the know!] is supposed to emerge a pristine, clear yellow, there are also clones who open pink before morphing to a rose-yellow as it ages, which as the photo can attest to, is what I am blessed with. It is her foliage that I am entranced with. Blue, grey, ovate shaped leaves actually emerge from the ground looking like rich velvet claws! And I cannot help but squeal with delight every Spring when I am blessed with the satiny poppy-esque flowers of Glaucidium palmatum. It is actually more closely related to the genus Paeonia that Papaver!
Once upon a time there lived a precocious lad who, on weekends, ventured into the 'Darkling Wood,' with his Grandparents, where he was introduced and initiated into the magical, mystical world of woodland gardening. Forty some odd years later, he remains equally besotted with the allure of those shaded woodlands. Arisaema will forever be one of my all time favourite genera, and as such, when I was given the chance to grow Arisaema griffithii early this Spring, I jumped at the opportunity. The following photos do not do justice to the serpentine beauty that it afforded me over its transformation!
Two of my other favourite species include Arisaema thunbergii var. Urashima [above] and my all time favourite Arisaema candidissimum, that beguiling species with the pink, white and green spathe that stops visitors dead in their tracks. It emphasizes the importance of sequestering a diva or two for the woodland garden!
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And what better way of closing out this post than with what is blooming at this very moment here at Teza's Garden.
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