Here's one bit of the garden, looking its winter-worst:
I raked several buckets of fallen leaves, exposing a few things I'd either forgotten were there--or was unaware of.
Because it was covered with a pile of fallen rose and clematis leaves, I'd forgotten all about Sesleria caerulea, common name Blue Moor Grass, which looks like a clump of Marathon Fescue turf grass, only better. One side of the leaf is fescue-green, the other has a frosty white overlay on a bluer green, creating a clump of contrasting color, and giving an effect of coolness. This little clumper looks absolutely exquisite in a 4" nursery pot, which is why I bought it--I could not resist such neat perfection. After I got it home, I thought: what the heck am I going to to with this?
A single small clump of grass is a hard thing to place correctly. Multiple clumps are required for use as edging or for grouping in a area. One solitary clump looks lonely and out of place. It's been here and there in the garden, growing large enough so that I could split it a couple of times. It likes moisture and shade and due probably to our warm winters, it has never bloomed. Many grasses can't survive in shade; S. caerulea loves it. Its blue cast contrasts nicely with the golden form of Hakonechloa macra, another shade-loving grass, so I should make then neighbors.
Another thing hidden under a lot of fallen foliage was this Hydrangea 'Ayesha' stem.
Because it was growing into Rosa 'Geranium Red', I cut the hydrangea stem off and tugged at it, discovering in the tugging that it had rooted itself in two places. Great! Two new 'Ayesha' plants, whether I need them or not. 'Ayesha' only blooms once a year, though because of the thickness of the flower bracts, the flowers last for months, looking good all the while as they slowly turn from medium pink to light green. I'll find a place.
Hydrangea 'Ayesha' in late summer:
The camellia 'Snow Chan' was originally plentiful in my yard, but all the copies have seriously declined in vigor. I got a distinct vibe of anxiety about them from the landscaper, so I think they were iffy specimens to start with. A couple of other camellias I planted myself have thrived, so my garden is camellia-friendly.
Raking and dead foliage pulling and rose pruning exposed a few lovely flowers. While 'Snow-Chan' survives, I will enjoy it.
Now, back to pruning...
I raked several buckets of fallen leaves, exposing a few things I'd either forgotten were there--or was unaware of.
Because it was covered with a pile of fallen rose and clematis leaves, I'd forgotten all about Sesleria caerulea, common name Blue Moor Grass, which looks like a clump of Marathon Fescue turf grass, only better. One side of the leaf is fescue-green, the other has a frosty white overlay on a bluer green, creating a clump of contrasting color, and giving an effect of coolness. This little clumper looks absolutely exquisite in a 4" nursery pot, which is why I bought it--I could not resist such neat perfection. After I got it home, I thought: what the heck am I going to to with this?
A single small clump of grass is a hard thing to place correctly. Multiple clumps are required for use as edging or for grouping in a area. One solitary clump looks lonely and out of place. It's been here and there in the garden, growing large enough so that I could split it a couple of times. It likes moisture and shade and due probably to our warm winters, it has never bloomed. Many grasses can't survive in shade; S. caerulea loves it. Its blue cast contrasts nicely with the golden form of Hakonechloa macra, another shade-loving grass, so I should make then neighbors.
Another thing hidden under a lot of fallen foliage was this Hydrangea 'Ayesha' stem.
Because it was growing into Rosa 'Geranium Red', I cut the hydrangea stem off and tugged at it, discovering in the tugging that it had rooted itself in two places. Great! Two new 'Ayesha' plants, whether I need them or not. 'Ayesha' only blooms once a year, though because of the thickness of the flower bracts, the flowers last for months, looking good all the while as they slowly turn from medium pink to light green. I'll find a place.
Hydrangea 'Ayesha' in late summer:
The camellia 'Snow Chan' was originally plentiful in my yard, but all the copies have seriously declined in vigor. I got a distinct vibe of anxiety about them from the landscaper, so I think they were iffy specimens to start with. A couple of other camellias I planted myself have thrived, so my garden is camellia-friendly.
Raking and dead foliage pulling and rose pruning exposed a few lovely flowers. While 'Snow-Chan' survives, I will enjoy it.
Now, back to pruning...
Comments
Post a Comment
Always interested in your thoughts.
Any comments containing a link to a commercial site with the intent to promote that site will be deleted. Thank you for your understanding on this matter.