Wollemi Pine
Baby Tears
Vriesea Foliage Hybrid
Persian Queen Geranium
Lettuce
Angelina
Sum and Substance Hosta
Yellow Butterflies Magnolia
Tree
I Had No Plan
I had no plan to to talk about asparagus today-but there they were last night, poking up and already a foot tall.
Buck and I picked 10 stalks; 4 made it to the kitchen counter. I know next to nothing about growing vegetables, except as ornamentals; I do not cook and I have yet to ever read a recipe. I have been in a grocery store maybe 4 times in the last 15 years. I have worked seven days a week for the better part of 24 years, so a grocery store is not my idea of where I would spend my free time. I would just look at the cans with great labels, and imagine them planted with tomato starts for budding gardeners under the age of 9; Buck does the shopping and cooking.
For better or for worse, I have planted my asparagus between my roses. I love how their ferny foliage masks how awkward and poor a rosebush looks, as a plant. Though I know perfectly well how to plant asparagus roots in a trench, other people tell that story much better than I, in particular, Margaret Roach.
If you do not read her blog, A Way to Garden, I would encourage you to do so. She will tell you how to grow asparagus, and anything else you might have a mind to grow. Or prune. Or nurture. Or abandon-she addresses all her topics with a great eye, and voice. She puts enough of herself out there to make anyone want to keep reading. She is a great writer to boot. I demand all my staff read her-and I give pop quizzes. She makes it possible to learn something without feeling like you are taking medicine.
But I have to say the asparagus word today, as its pushing aside the mulch and coming up like crazy-not on my schedule, but on the asparagus schedule. Home grown asparagus, raw, with the end of the day glass of wine, or barely cooked; even this peanut butter and butter girl appreciates the miracle of home grown asparagus.
Many times, driving in Michigan, I see old abandoned farms. Sometimes the house and barns are gone. But if there ever was asparagus, it is usually still there. It is incredibly long lived, like peonies, and old fashioned lilacs. As much as I admire endurance in gardeners (as Henry Mitchell said, “Defiance is what makes gardeners”), I also admire endurance in plants. 
Posted on: May 1, 2009 4 Comments
Thank You Rochelle
Rochelle Greayer, whose garden blog, Studio G, I read every day, was kind enough to mention my blog, and my post on butterburs a few days ago. Her blog is so wide ranging-I can’t think of any topic relating to gardens, gardening and landscape that she is not interested in, and game for. I like this kind of open minded point of view. Anyway, here’s the latest stage of the butterbur flower fright show, Rochelle; thank heavens the leaves are finally coming on. I am so pleased there will be butterburs in your future.
Posted on: April 30, 2009 Leave a Comment
Air
Earth, air, fire and water; the mythology is long and varied. My simple version: the sculpture, which is the earth, makes for life. No less important is air-every living thing breathes.
Air can be wind storms, or breezes. Air can be still and palpable; one remarkable things about fog is how still the air is. Air conditions influence the performance of a landscape as much as the earth. Frost, air laden with freezing water, sinks into low spots, and damages or kills plants. Air moving over water, off a lake, is intense air-whether we’re talking hot, cold, or strong. Hot winds dry out plants; cold winds make for winter burn. Wind is a force to be reckoned with-do you need a windbreak first off-so you can garden in peace?
We had big winds and 80 degrees, today-in April, for pete’s sake. We watered all day. The lettuces in my spring pots had that windblown look-it was not a good look. A straight line wind ripped the roof off my building a few years ago- in seconds. Wind makes very large buildings sway. Windy weather affects everything in a landscape-plan on it.
I cannot figure out how to take a picture of wind-I could only photograph the debris it picks up, the petals it scatters, the rain it drives sidesways. The unseen air can make for airy-loose and beautiful. Good air circulation is an enemy of mildew, and a friend to root development in all plants. Airy is the texture of some trees, where you might want a view through to a far landscape element. A breeze makes for that motion that makes a meadow so beautiful. Heavy foggy moody days soften the view and invite retrospection; a sharp crisp fall day is invigorating. Air at great speeds can make for hell on earth. I think this is a good description of nature- what you are least expecting, happening on a regular basis. Taking nature into account when you design, and when you plant, will help you be successful. I am interested in people being successful with their landscapes; who doesn’t enjoy what they apparently are good at? Some success makes the inevitable failures easier to bear. Sensational landscape design begins with an understanding and respect for the elements. A plant you really like, that requires protection from winter winds, will prosper from the companionship of a windbreak. Farmers plant windbreaks, maybe you need beautiful enclosure.
Posted on: April 30, 2009 Leave a Comment