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Put ornament in the winter garden

3/2/2019

Every winter I'm fascinated by the way snowfall transforms the garden. Trees acquire new definition, as do now-leafless vines, and shrubs take on softened shapes. Snow has a way of sculpting the garden, giving it an entirely different visual presence.

Most articles about 'The Winter Garden' focus on the structure and interest that untrimmed perennials and grasses lend to the landscape. Some writers suggest pruning shrubs or small trees in a specific way to capture snow and add winter interest.

But I agree with Marlene Mullet, an Ohio reader who commented in Fine Gardening, "Arbors, birdhouses, rocks, and other garden decor along with untrimmed vines and shrubs also look lovely with snow cover. Every year I try to come up with more ways to keep my winter gardens from looking dull and drab. It's another way to enjoy the garden all year!"

Marlene's rustic winter arbour is an example of how simple structures and ornaments can create winter interest – if we plan ahead.

Photo: Marlene Mullet

Ceramic containers and fragile ornaments have to be put away in the fall, of course, but other pieces can stay in place. Post-mounted bird houses, lend charm to the winter garden as miniature rooftops gather snow.

Photo: Lynda Bobinski

Even small metal ornaments – like this cheery little frog prince – can offer a happy surprise when they peek through the snow.

I hung an old lantern in late fall and watched it transform with the arrival of a wet snowfall. Another suggestion: grapevine weathers well and when woven into a wreath, it lends texture to a fence or trellis. A wreath can last several seasons.

And here's one of my favourite images. A heavy birdbath stays in place year 'round in a friend's yard, proving that snow brings true poetry to the winter landscape.

'Holding up Winter'
Pihoto: Geoff Hudson

The structures we place in the garden are a wintertime diversion. When temperatures plummet and we must stay indoors, these 'snow catchers' give us something to admire from inside. And wouldn't you love to have one of these giant pine cones created by Beamsville, ON metal artist Floyd Elzinga? Out-sized and simply marvelous.

Photo: Floyd Elzinga

As writer Jodi DeLong observes in Saltscapes Magazine, "Winter is more than a season of hibernation in our gardens; it offers insights and visual delights... It’s a softer, more subtle sort of garden, especially when snow wafts gently down or sunlight adds watercolour shadows to the mix. We just relax, enjoy what’s already planted, and think about what we might want to do next spring."

In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.
― William Blake

Special thanks to L Bobinski and G Hudson for their photos. Unattributed photos in this post are by therebloomsagarden.com.
How do you put ornament into your winter garden? Share in a comment.

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Kalanchoe – Carefree, colourful succulents

7/1/2019

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Photo: original image may be credited to
Joe Rockwell (on Instagram)
Shared on Facebook by
There Blooms a Garden, 07 Jan 2019

The image of a spectacular Kalanchoe blossom jump-started some online investigation this week. I wanted to know more about this popular succulent and this image in particular.

It turns out the plant in the photo is actually Bryophyllum delagoense, often called Mother of Millions. It is frequently placed in the Kalanchoe plant genus and is labelled as such. The small structures you can see in the image are tiny plantlets that break off and ultimately take root. It's a great adaption for success.

I should have realized this colourful bloom couldn't belong to
Kalanchoe blossfeldiana (also called Christmas Kalanchoe, Florist Kalanchoe, Madagascar Widow’s-thrill or Flaming Katy). But then, every plant family has its 'colourful' relatives, right?

The more common Kalanchoe I know grows well indoors, given judicious watering and good drainage. When its blooms are spent, it can be coaxed into bloom again with a simulated six-week winter. It takes a little effort, but with such bright rewarding blooms, it is worth it.

I browsed several articles about Kalanchoe. I recommend reading Kalanchoe blossfeldiana Care & Reblooming (2 Jan 2018) by fellow blogger Kat McCarthy at The Succulent Eclectic. It's an excellent primer. Then head off to the supermarket or florist to purchase one of these sweet little succulents. What a nice way to brighten the winter days.

Photo: Peter Miller | Kalanchoe cultivar

Want to know more?
Kalanchoe is among the top ten most difficult common plant names, according to David Beaulieu, who compiled the list in his article Why We Use Scientific Names for Plants. Kalanchoe has four pronunciations, all of which are correct!

KA-luhn-KO-e
kuh-LANG-ko-e
KAL-uhn-cho
kuh-LAN-cho

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I needed a reminder

24/12/2018

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Two things came my way today – a beautiful picture and a meaningful quote. These two things remind me – or gently admonish me – that it's high time something bloomed on my garden blog.

The Picture ...
This bellflower (I cannot name the campanula cultivar) was photographed quickly in the front yard of a gardening acquaintance. It was blooming happily in a perennial bed that earlier in the season I'd help to redesign.

Photo: therebloomsagarden.com

As I consider this photo, I am reminded of how often we look at a garden without really seeing. How often we centre on the 'accomplishment' of what we've grown rather than the simple beauty that is quietly unfolding before us. I was lucky – I realize all these months later – to have returned in time to catch a glimpse and a photo of these violet blooms.

As another year comes to a close, I'll hold on to this reminder. In the coming season, I'm going to work harder to see and appreciate what my garden and the gardens I visit have to share. And then, I'm going to share too. For you see, that brings me to the other reminder I received today.

The Quote ...

Sharing experience is a natural impulse for most gardeners. I like to think I'm fairly generous in sharing the things I've learned in my garden. Still, I hadn't thought about 'not sharing' in quite this way. I think Annie Dillard is right. When we fail to share what we've learned – and that reaches across all areas of life – it does become lost to us. I've found what is true in life is true in the garden and vice versa. The lessons flow from one to the other. So I ask you – could a garden writer receive a stronger prompt to get busy and write?

Until the next post ...

A further note:
Annie Dillard is an American author, best known for her narrative prose in both fiction and non-fiction. She has published works of poetry, essays, prose, and literary criticism. Her 1974 work Pilgrim at Tinker Creek won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. See the author's official site.

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Gardening memoir offers passion and advice

13/4/2018

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Like most novice gardeners, when I first took an interest in growing things, I didn't know what I didn't know. As I gathered bits of advice at the nursery and from friends, I also gathered stories. I discovered the delightful value of reading gardeners' memoirs.

Tottering in My Garden by Midge Ellis Keeble was the first book in this genre to come my way. Billed as "a romp through 40 years of gardening," this Canadian actress, broadcaster and teacher describes the six gardens she has established in the various places she has lived. She conquers many challenges, including clay, sand, shade and tired soil.

I learned two important lessons from this book. First, that every gardener has more than one garden within. And second, that gardening is an endeavor worth sharing through story.

During the time I was building my current – and fourth – garden, I picked up Elizabeth's Garden: Elizabeth Smart on the Art of Gardening at a book swap. "During the last years of her life, Canadian author Elizabeth Smart devoted herself to creating a magnificent garden around her cottage in Suffolk, England. She documented her gardening in a series of eleven journals and twenty notebooks," says Google Books' thumbnail sketch of the title: The resulting book, edited by Alice Van Wart, includes excerpts from Smart's writings from 1967 to 1984, and "describes the evolution of her garden, and herself as a gardener."

This last observation – the evolution of the gardener – is the reason I love gardening memoir. I am always curious about the motivations and passions of the people who create gardens. These stories remind us that gardens thrive on imagination as much as they do on compost.

Rose | Photo: moguerfile.com

hese stories also tell us as much about the gardeners as they do about the gardens. In recounting the autumn catastrophe of hunting hounds pounding through her lovingly-created pond and the sad job of re-establishing it, Elizabeth Smart observes, "You have to abandon pride along with sightly fingernails when you take up gardening."

Sadly, Elizabeth Smart's book may be difficult to track down I suggest making a request at your public library if you want to read it.

Just this week, a colleague shared Alexander Chee's story, The Rosary, published in The New Yorker (April 18, 2018). It's a rather improbable account of establishing a rose garden in the ruined yard of a Brooklyn apartment. It's a story of blind faith and rambling rugosas that strikes at the heart of garden memoir. It made me smile.

If you need a break from watching the snow melt or your tomato seedlings stretch toward the light, I highly recommend stories shared by other gardeners. They will cheer you. They will encourage you for the season ahead.

A little more detail...
Elizabeth Smart (1913-1986) was a Canadian poet and novelist. Her novel, By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept, detailed her romance with the English poet George Barker. Published in 1945. her book is widely considered to be a classic of the prose poetry genre.

Midge Ellis Keeble (1913-2011) was an actress, author and broadcasting pioneer who worked in the early days of CBC. Her obituary in the Globe & Mail.

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Get some 'seedy' know how

2/2/2018

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Emerging seedlings | Photo: iStock.com

Seed catalogues are growing dog-eared. We gardeners have visions of growing things  dancing in our heads. This is seedy season – that wonderful time before the real gardening work begins. It's that time when the exchange of seeds and gardening tips is taking place all across the country.

Chances are a Seedy Saturday event is planned in your community. Judy Newman of Seeds of Diversity, explains that "these non-profit, public events are organized by individuals and community groups that see a need for gardeners, seed companies, nurseries, gardening organizations, historic sites, and community groups to have a low-cost local venue where they can learn from one another, exchange ideas and seeds, and purchase seeds and plants in a comfortable, social setting."  View the list of Seedy Saturday events for 2018.

Not everyone has access to a formal seed exchange. That makes online sources for seed very important to many gardeners. Seeds of Diversity has a marvelous annotated list of Canadian seed houses that you will want to peruse. Many of these seed providers offer heritage seeds.

If you are new to seed starting or if you've not been successful in the past, the all-Canadian garden magazine, Garden Making offers some practical help. Register online to download two free Garden Know How resources:  Starting Seeds Indoors and Starting Seeds Outdoors. Both publications offer basic information and useful tips for seeding success.

Over the years, I've been impressed with the calibre of information for both expert and beginning gardeners offered in Garden Making. The editors readily share information at no charge through these Garden Know How publications, a regular e-newsletter, and a garden blog. It's not easy to sustain a magazine these days and this one is worth supporting, in my view. Garden Making is guided by editor-in-chief Beckie Fox, one of my garden heroes.

Feeling pretty proud ...

I've reached a milestone.
There Blooms a Garden has been online for FIVE YEARS as of January 2018. Thanks for all the comments, shares and feedback.
I hope you will keep reading.

― Holly Rupert

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