the garden

Where am i?

Have i been transported
to another land?
Perhaps southern England
or northern France.

It is very mild in these parts.
As a British friend says,
"We're having a proper English winter."

At Greenwood last weekend
there were snowdrops!

wintersweet was in flower
and filling the soft breeze with its heady perfume



(Don't let those diminutive
blooms fool you. Their perfume fills the air!)
However
it usually doesn't flower around here
until March.

And, then...
at home
in the chilly front room
where potted plants spend the winter
a viola!

Greenwood Weekend

the morning light is soft
moist.
July's buds and blooms glow.





The sun at noon
feels firey on the skin
and in the veins

 

and one grows
woozy



Even the insects seek shade.



the trees cast long, soothing shadows
where the grass leaps up
celebrating the rains that finally came
(tho one will have click and peek at the larger view).



Later
when the sun sinks and
just before shadows swallow the light
hot pink oleander flowers
atop long, pruned stems

Why it's called a "tulip tree" & Playing catch-up with more magnolias

It is also called "tulip poplar"
but this is a misnomer.
It is not a poplar.
It is a member of the magnolia family. (here is an excellent article
with a very nice illustration showing that the outline of the tree's leaves also bring to mind tulips.)

Speaking of magnolias
i am finally remembering to share these images
of the huge, intensely fragrant flowers of Magnolia x 'Judy Zuk'
named for the wonderful and very much missed President of Brooklyn Botanic Garden












And here are a few photos of the flowers on another misnamed (if you ask me) tree
Magnolia sieboldii 'Colossus' doesn't seem to fit for a flower that i can hold in my hand.
Perhaps the name was given for the size of its leaves (one source says they can reach 12" in length)



The flowers actually dangle
facing downward rather than opening to the sky

Falling in Love...over, and over again

i keep telling myself that there are enough wonderful plants in the garden
that i really don't need to add anymore.

i was already in love with nigella--the flower
although the famous Nigella person is pretty swell, too.
(Don't you just love gorgeous people who don't seem to know
just how gorgeous they are on the outside?)

Two weeks ago, i met and fell in love with this rose
and decided on the spot i need her
(do click on the image, to view it larger...and you'll see the nigella, too)



This is Mme. Gregoire Staechelin.
She is growing in the nursery bed at Greenwood Gardens.
Louis, the Director of Horticulture, has been collecting plants to use throughout the garden once the current renovation project is complete. That bamboo "trellis" is temporary
or at least we all hope so
the original target date for completion has been extended at least 3 times.
Hopefully, she will be moved to her permanent home next spring.
Anyway...

According to Internet sources, this beautiful pink climber was introduced by the Spanish hybridizer, Pedro Dot and is also known by the name, "Spanish Beauty"
And now that i've met her, i can't for the life of me understand why she is not more widely available.



Searching the Internet, i find only one source here in the U.S.:
Rogue Valley Roses--who claims it is "deservedly popular".
Hmpf.
Maybe in the rose crazy land of western Oregon, but it is certainly not popular enough to find its way into most mail order sources--not even the revered Antique Rose Emporium.

Country Garden Roses in the UK praises it very highly:
A fine climbing rose with huge blooms of soft rosy carmine with crimson shadings.
Summer flowering but a breathtaking sight in full bloom.
If spent blooms are not removed, very large pear shaped fruits are produced that change slowly from green to yellow gold.
Dark green foliage with good disease resistance.
Can cope with a North wall.
Scented.
[Her perfume is very similar to sweet peas, if you ask me]
Has won numerous awards including.
Bagatelle Gold Medal 1927
American Rose Society John Cook Medal 1929
Royal Horticultural Society Award Of Garden Merit. 1993.

So, hey RHS...why wait until 1993 to honor Pedro's fabulous rose??
She is so worthy of love, admiration, and a prominent spot in the garden.

Sleeping Under the Stars

Buddy, in the nigella at Greenwood
doesn't want to budge
but he's listening to my every move
and watching out of the corner of one eye...

 

Fascination

Magnolia x wieseneri Greenwood, May 8th & 15th

 

Dear Pamela and Kelly

In honor of my big sister Pamela's birthday and her daughter Kelly's "angel day" i am posting a few photographs of trees that make Greenwood special

Pamela loves trees and misses living here in the northeast where
we are rich in arboreal delights

i know she would be charmed by the puddles of spring beauties flowering
in the lawn of the sycamore allée

and the pristine blue sky-light illuminating the soft pink dogwood and new leaves of the giant chestnuts

And walking beneath these, i can hear her say,
"So that's why it's called a copper beech"

Kelly, who adores her father and mother would be looking for the fruit trees
(of which there are only ornamental ones)
and asking all sorts of practical questions
while her mother continued looking up, all around, and sighing with contentment.

Pamela loves her home, which was near her daughter's
but has flown in the company of good friends to tour Eastern Europe
where
i trust
there are many, many beautiful grand old and new, young trees
marvels and wonders
music, art and histories to pull her mind and heart out of the grief
if only for blessed moments of relief.

Dear Father in Heaven,
You have asked a lot of our sister, taking three of her children and her husband back to where You are.
Please wrap Pamela--who has always put her full trust in You
in Your comfort and love
especially on this day and all the rest of her days here with us.
You have asked her to endure much and therefore we trust You will honor her unwavering faith
and continue to buoy her, and to help her find solace and balm in the company of her friends while she journeys.

Mama Duck

i've introduced you already to Buddy, the cat
who lives here at Greenwood
and some of the chickens and geese.
As much as i enjoy all of them
i confess that the little Call ducks just may be my favorites.

Small bantams, these little ducks are no bigger than
the foot of my big muck boots.
And yes, they do call
Often. and they are very loud.
Three of them live here, and as soon as they
see you or Buddy approach they sound the alert for the whole barnyard.
All three of them at once.
And they carry on, and on, and on.

If i were to ever have birds
i'd make sure i did not put my call ducks anywhere near my bedroom window.

Whenever i go into the coop, they commence their calling
but generally quiet down after a little while.
As you can see, they even stop running about
and may even settle quietly enough to pose for a photograph



However, everything is different this weekend
because the females are now Moms
having laid their first shiny, silver-blue eggs.



Notice how the one female remains calm and on her nest
while i fill the feed bowls and freshen their water?

 Well.
You should see--and hear--the other young lady whenever i come around.
When i first entered the coop yesterday morning
she raced off her nest and charged me
pecked my foot several times
then began waddling about in circles, quacking all the while
charging me again
then stumbling about, dragging a wing
pretending to be injured and luring me away from the nest and outside of the nesting area.

Her male companion raced to her side.
I could barely take a step
she scooted around me, faster than i could turn
darting this way and that
pecking my feet then
running off to the furtherest corner
leading me away from her nest
scolding me constantly.

If I didn't have thick rubber boots on
i might have been alarmed.
But she is so adorable, so cute as she flutters and flusters
i could only smile and laugh.

She was determined to keep me away from her eggs.
Yes, i'll admit it. they are so beautiful i did think about stealing one.
But she is so protective, so proud of her eggs
that i could not. Will not.

The sweet new Mom would not give up.
She was alarmed and so was her companion.
So i left
as soon as she would let me make my way out the door.
But not before i captured this tiny little video for you.

P.S.
As Lucy notes, they are quite noisy--so, you may wish to lower the volume on you computer before hitting "play". Sorry, Lucy!! i should have warned you all!

In honor of Mother's Day
and to calm her sweet young heart
i will not go into the coop any more than necessary today
but try to watch, only, from a distance she feels comfy with.

Easter Eggs

Last week, it was the endlessly entertaining and generous
chickens and geese at Greenwood who provided the colorful eggs

See those two lying to the top and right of the nice brown one?
It's difficult to tell in this photo, but they are a lovely pale green.
The only white one is that big goose egg.

My favorites are the little slender blue ones
and cream-white plump ones laid by the bantams.

A few quick snaps
(they refuse to pose)
of some of the contributers:

The hen at the top (an Araucana) and/or her sisters
 provide lots and lots of the beautiful blue and green eggs.
The two little Buff Cochins in front lay several of those little plump creamy-white eggs everyday.

This sweet, curious little Siberian Blue hen follows me all around the coop
and tho she may not have the prettiest face
she is the one who lays those adorable little blue eggs.
Up close, her coloring is exquisite




Her rooster is a very little fellow
who is, nonetheless, confidantly cocky



i believe the goose egg was donated by one of the fluffy Sebastapols
who kept an eye on me the whole time



tho it could have been from a Toulouse

 

Spring Kiss

All puckered up
just waiting for a few more hours of sunshine
and ripening