Archive | January 2012

Exciting Plants for Shade

Jan25

While there was general agreement that Camellia japonica ’Lemon Glow’ was not winter hardy and would not survive here, thanks to the recommendation of my friend Bridget who actually grows the plant, it is now flourishing in my garden. Experience trumps theory every time. With pale yellow flowers–as rare in color as they are elegant–and shiny dark evergreen foliage, the plant is a knockout. And so floriferous, it’s bursting with buds every year. (The only problem–and my Public Enemy # 1– is the vole, but that’s a tale for another time.) 

I garden in the Hamptons, New York, Zone 7, though I don’t think that means much anymore. The weather has gone loony: We are in Siberia one day and in Miami the next. So far, the plants seem to be taking it in their stride–better than this gardener, I might add. But there is something important to keep in mind with Spring flowering camellias: Early Spring bloomers may open buds in Winter if the weather is unseasonably warm; to avoid this, buy late Spring bloomers. Great advice from camellia guru David Parks of Camellia Forest Nursery.

From a rare pale yellow camellia to a rare purple witch hazel: I now have on order Hamamelis vernalis ‘Amethyst’. The flower color will stop you in your tracks. (Check out the photo in the 2012 catalog of RareFind Nursery.) Other attributes? Well, there’s the grey-green foliage, which turns a brilliant scarlet in autumn, and the spicy perfume of the flowers. More than enough for me.

My go-to references for camellias and witch hazels respectively are: Ackerman,William, “Beyond The Camellia Belt”, and Lane,Chris,”Witch Hazels”.

Franklinia alatamaha

Jan24

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I like plants with a backstory, a history, and there’s none better than Franklinia alatamaha. It all began with John Bartram (1699-1777), a botanist and nurseryman from Pennsylvania, who traveled extensively in colonial America collecting native plants for customers in the colonies as well as in Europe, including the English aristocracy.

As reported by Andrea Wulf in her fascinating, informative book, The Brother Gardeners, in England, ”a landscape garden filled with Bartram’s trees and shrubs had become the way to show one’s wealth and taste.” The Duke of Richmond, for example, planted 400 different American species at his estate. This “taste” for American plants led to a rash of plant thefts, which in turn, Wulf tells us, led to a Parliamentary Act providing that plant thieves could be sent to an American penal colony.

An American penal colony? Did Wulf confuse us with Australia?  I decided to do a little research of my own and discovered that from 1620-1776 about 50,000 British criminals were transported to the colonies in North America to serve out their sentences, primarily as indentured servants. It wasn’t until 1787 or 1788 that convicts were sent to Australia. But I digress. Back to John Bartram.

On a plant-hunting expedition in 1765, Bartram and his son William discovered Franklinia along the Altamaha river in Georgia. The plants were not in flower, so they could not collect seed. William finally accomplished this task on a solo return trip in 1776, and successfully grew plants from the seed at the Bartram farm in Pennsylvania. A good thing too, since after 1803 Franklinia was never again seen in the wild.

John  Bartram died in 1777 and, sadly, never saw the flowers of his wonderful discovery. The plant was named Franklinia alatamaha in honor of Bartram’s great friend, Benjamin Franklin, with whom he founded the American Philosophical Society. (To their discredit, European botanists called the plant Gordonia until 1925 when they finally recognized Franklinia alatamaha as the legitimate name).

In well drained acid soil and with adequate moisture, Franklinia will produce  radiant, fragrant, snowy-white flowers in late summer-early fall. When the flowers fade, the rich green foliage takes on shades of vibrant red and orange.

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Even without a history, the plant would be a worthy addition to a garden. I have two.

 

2011 Successes

Jan2

Rhododendron fortunei

I purchased this shrub because it was celebrated for its intoxicating perfume and I’m a pushover for fragrant plants. But for years, it produced not so much as a single flower bud. It  just sat around and didn’t even feign embarrassment or shame for its sorry performance. So I gave up and avoided eye contact. 

Sure enough, as soon as I ceased  hovering like a helicopter Mom, R. fortunei burst into fragrant, glorious bloom. And she’s quite a ‘looker.’ A big 2011 success.

An important lesson learned:  Mother Nature sometimes does things in her own time and, however difficult, we gardeners have to learn patience.

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Rosa ‘Golden Fairy Tale’

This shrub rose is one of the Kordes  introductions from Germany which are grown without pesticides and toxic sprays,  and which undergo years of extensive testing before being offered for sale to the general public.  My Rosa ’Golden Fairy Tale’ bloomed soon after planting and didn’t stop until hard frost. And she is, true to her reputation, disease free — an ideal plant for an organic garden.  Moreover, she’s a beauty, with abundant, fragrant, buttery yellow, old-fashioned multi-petaled  flowers.  A complete package and a new favorite.

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Mandevilla hybrid?

I received this plant as a gift, and what a gift it is! It came without a name tag, but because it produced oceans of beautiful, mandevilla-like, fire-engine red flowers, I assume mandevilla is one of its parents.  Unlike mandevilla, the plant is not a vine, but rather an ever-blooming annual. For me, it was a show-stopping summer- fall container plant which I never want to be without.

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