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How Long Will It Last?

How long will it last? This question applies to no end of various and not necessarily garden related situations. To follow are just a few of those topics. How long will these things last? A moss basket, a new refrigerator, a manicure, a bad cold, the flowers on the hellebores, a fancy bar of soap, a pair of boots, a power outage, the rain, the bloom on the coneflowers, a headache, – you get the idea. The duration of any situation is of interest to everyone. Sometimes a brief duration or quick finish is perfect. Other times, a finish taking years to achieve is a treasured goal. Gardeners do make decisions based on longevity. Why wouldn’t they? It is an individual decision. Peonies and asparagus are very long lived-foxglove not so long. For those gardeners who would not do without foxgloves, the investment in the short term is worthwhile, despite their ephemeral nature. I know gardeners who plant oak trees that are 10 inches tall. They are in it for the long run. Those gardeners who plant peonies and asparagus also understand the long view. Those of us who plant seasonal containers know their time is exactly that-one season.

An investment in container plantings is considerable-both in materials, and time. That interest represents a love for a season that is but 3 months long, but incredibly satisfying. Some gardeners plants lots of containers-others avoid that planting and maintenance in the same way they would avoid trouble. In my opinion, they are missing out on one of the best parts of summer gardening. But every gardener in charge gets to choose how they wish to garden. I support individual expression-it makes the gardening world interesting.  But for those of you who planted containers for summer, I have a little advice. Though our summer season is fading, I do believe that containers well maintained throughout the summer are good to represent on into the fall.  A late spell of very warm weather has kept my container plantings happy. To the last, they look great. How long my summer containers last is not strictly weather driven. How long they will last is not a question that has an obvious or definitive answer. Seasonal containers that get great care from the start have a much better chance to thrive long into the fall.

Dead heading annual flowers is part of what keeps annual plants blooming into the fall season.  Annual plants bloom, and move on to setting seed. If the dead flower heads are removed, annual plants will set more flower buds. Their mission is to set seed. Your mission is a summer full of flowers. A duel-how I love drama in the garden! Cutting off dead flower heads is a tedious job, but the time it takes means more flowers, and an extended blooming season. This argyranthemum “Pure White Butterfly, or marguerite, will bloom heavily all season long, provided it has some encouragement.

Cutting the flower head off at the top is not enough. The stem needs removing as well.  Once a stem has budded, bloomed, and matured, that stem will not bloom again. Leaving the stem means the plant will put energy into curing the that stem-energy that could better be spent on flower production.

I save my dead heading work for a time when I have time to do a thorough job of it. A month ago I fixed a cup of coffee on a Sunday morning, and went to work. I had no plans. No place to be. This was a perfect time to focus, and cut away dead blooms and stems. I was interested that this container that I had planted in the spring would bloom on into the fall.

The petunias that had been planted as a skirt in May got a serious shearing. The short spring flowering white daisies that faced down the white marguerites got replaced with the foliage plant commonly called “icicles”. All of this thorough chop, and tune up took place a month ago.

The 20th of September, my daisies look fresh and vigorous. They are thriving, given the care they have had all summer long. I would not advise planting marguerites in your summer containers if you are not able to keep up with their blooming cycle. But if you have a soft spot for daisies, this one will soldier on with a little regular help from you.

September 21, this basket that was planted the beginning of May looks good to me. The big idea is simple. Whatever you put in to a garden, what comes out will surely delight you.

 

 

 

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The Little Things

The more time I have to spend with these new French glazed pots, the better I like them. These were made at one of the few potteries in Anduze still hand throwing, or rope throwing, their pots.  These pots rank among the best quality available in handcrafted French pots.  Originally produced to provide homes for citrus trees, these pots have been in production for centuries.  The custom glaze created for us is more olive than blue green, and less shiny than the traditonal French glazed pots.  This particular design by renowned French potter Jean Gautier in the late 18th century features the faces of cherubs, garlands, and fleur de lis-a stylized depiction of a lily so strongly symbolic of all things French. The double roll of clay just beneath the garland is a detail from the original that takes much time and skill to model.   

This ornate French cast iron pot and its base, hand hewn from a solid block of stone, dates back to the 19th century.  It is an antique ornament that exudes French garden history.  Colonies of lichens have made homes here.  I am sure once they are exposed again to rain, they will regain their volume and color. If you like classical garden ornament, this is a breathtakingly beautiful and one of a kind example.   

This coupe, or cup shaped, planter is my favorite of the glazed group.  The bacchus medallion and garlands are modelled in sharp relief; the shape is exquisite. The glaze sunk into the deeply incised cuts, and appears almost black.  This pot, I would have.  There are a lot of new things here, given a pair of containers from France, each object in each one chosen to give pause.  There are lots of stories, and history that comes with them.  But that is no means all there is to see.  Rob has a particular gift for the little things.  He does not overlook those small things that satisfy.  What constitutes a small thing that satisfies?  An old trowel that is a favorite trowel.  Warm winter boots that have spent the previous night warming up on the radiator.  A zinnia poking its head through the soil just days after sowing the seed.  Cruising the garden after work.  A favorite perennial freshly in bloom.

We will have a house full of fabulous for the spring-new, vintage and antique.  One of a kind and handmade.  Ornament, sculpture, tools, structures-and of course, the pots.  Great French platters for the summer dinner table.  But we do none of this at the expense of the little things.

In 1668, a law was passed in France stipulating that only olive oil based soaps made in strict accordance with ancient methods could be labelled “Savon de Marseilles”.  Olive oil, alkaline ash from sea plants, and salty water from the Mediterranean are heated in cauldrons for ten days, after which they are poured into open pits to harden.  This Savon de Marseilles happened to be poured around a series of stout branches.  Soap on a stick.  A little thing this-but what gardener would not be pleased to see it, and use it, over and over again?  Company coming?  Soap on a stick in the powder room-friendly.  Engaging.

This chicken wire cloche has a wood top, and a stout rope attached.  The intent here is to keep the rabbits away from your spring lettuce.  Its a small thing, keeping the rabbits from getting to your lettuce first, but an important thing.  A very simple structure made from the most ordinary of materials that works-excellent.

A ball of twine is a little thing that gives great pleasure.  The balls are wound in a beautiful way.  This is French linen twine.  The texture, color and scent is irresistable.  It might be used to tie up a plant to a stake, or wrap a package for a good friend having a birthday.  On the right,  a hank of raw flax fibers-the material from whence linen is made.  The fibers have been carded into parallel strands known as roving.  Lustrous and beautiful, this.  What would I do with it?  All the possibilities for this are part of what I would call a gardener’s simple pleasure.

These white French glazed terra cotta pots and lanterns are striking.  The simple and unpretentious woven baskets on the left will hold flowering bulbs, annuals and early spring vegetables, come spring.  A little basket of spring for my front porch-a small and simple pleasure.

This small candle comes with a chalkboard stick inset in the wax,  and its own piece of chalk. What could be written on that stick?  You decide.  

Rob found this collection of miniature pots at a flea market.  They are maybe 2 inches across.  Who made these, and why?  I spent time looking and thinking about them-many more than 2 inches of my time.    

These little concrete sculptures frogs have a great surface.  They would occupy next to no space.  The place a gardener reserves for the little things is an important place.  Packets of seeds rubber banded together.  A great dibble.  A thermometer.  A hard cultivator, or a decent pair of muck boots.  A favorite pair of gloves.  The little things can be about those very personal things.

If you wonder what these are, I did too.  This is a French terra cotta watering bell-for seedlings. The bottom of this bell is terra cotta, perforated with lots of holes.  You immerse the entire bell jar in water-there is an unseen hole in the top.  Once the jar is full of water, you put your thumb over the hole in the top.  When you move your thumb off the hole in the top, a gentle shower of water exits the bottom. Watering a seedling tray with this-a little pleasure.  

These small vintage French terra cotta pots came with rusty wire handles embedded in the clay.  Rob bought substantial spherical candles with long wicks that fit perfectly into these little pots. A few hung in a tree near the terrace and lighted-a little thing attending a quiet dinner in the garden. It is not a simple thing to remember the little things that give gardeners great pleasure, with great style.  I greatly admire Rob for how and that he does this.   

 

The 62nd Birthday

pruning boxwood

Pruning.  As in Mindy, who owns M and M Flowers with her sister Melissa, sent her crew to prune the boxwood and Techny arborvitae at the shop, on June 15,  my birthday.  If you pruned your boxwood in early April, ahead of that string of killing frost nights in late April, I can only say that better things come to those who wait. Next year, wait until the spring growth on your boxwood fully flushes out-this means the first week of June-and then prune. We only do this once a year; it is a day worth waiting for.  Not so much frost damage is visible now.

Poem. As in a gift from Jenny.  Jenny handles all of our internet inquiries, sales, and shipping.  She keeps the website updated via her photographs, and writing.  She wrote this poem as a gift to me for my birthday.  If you read the poem, you will see clearly that she sees me.  She is good at that with many people-not just me.  I can only say it feels good to be seen.  I could never pay her for what she is worth-that part of her is a gift to me. She has an astonishingly inventive artisanal publishing company which produces great work for clients, in her off time.  I wish you could hold the paper in your hand, and study the type.     

Portrait. A graphite portrait of the Corgis.   Pete and Tine are the sum total of my blood family-they live far away.  They commissioned Sheona Hamilton Grant, a Belgian artist who specializes in equestrian and canine portraits, to draw my beloved Corgis.  Apparently Rob provided photographs.  The drawing captures their spirit, and my love for them.  I was so shocked and so delighted-having unpacked the crate. They are the best blood family any girl could hope for, and Sheona is a very talented artist.     

 

Providence.  As in the protective nature of Of God, or of nature, as a spiritual power-this from Wikipedia.   17 years ago, Rob hauled a concrete statue of the Madonna up to the north side of my house-he placed it under a rough roof supported by pipes.  I was certain that structure was a shrine to the Madonna.  She would look out and after me, and my garden.  But a few years later, my Madonna was stolen.  She has been gone for 9 years, this year.  For my birthday, Buck replaced that statue.  Why at 62 does this mean so much?   I am a Catholic of the sort that believes in the miracle that is nature.  As for God-oh yes, I am a believer.  I so believe the stories of all of the saints, but I especially treasure any sculptural expression of the Madonna.  My life and garden is once again under her protection now, thanks to Buck.             

Playing it forward.   20 years ago Rob came to work for me.  16 years ago I bought a building, and made plans to open a shop devoted to all great things for the garden. Rob was there every step of the way.  Cheering the both of us on.  Shopping overseas.  Giving his all.  Those early Detroit Garden Works years were tough.  We worked day and night.  He loaned everything he had to this project.  His eye, his talent, his energy and his heart.  Back then, there were no shops devoted to fine ornament for the garden.  We were foolhardy, and patient.         

Detroit Garden Works is quite a place.  Have you been there?  If you go, you will see Rob’s influence everywhere.  You will not get better help with a project or an issue in a garden anywhere better than his help-of this I am convinced.  On the afternoon of my birthday on Friday, I went to my attorney and put the shop in trust for Rob.  It will go to him.  Saturday night Buck cooked up a birthday dinner for all of the Detroit Garden Works staff.  I had a special tee shirt made for everyone to commemorate the event.  Everyone at work was in on the plan-Rob had no clue what was coming.  Needless to say it was a very emotional and happy occasion.  Becoming 62 meant to me it was time for him to know the shop would eventually be his, when I am  still around to help.  With him more involved the the DGW business, I might have more time to spend on writing and taking photographs-and myy first love-the landscape.  I am happy and to say I have I have made a change that makes turning 62 worth it.  The best part-I paid it forward to a person with whom I have had an important relationship for 20 years.  I cannot tell you how good this felt.

Party-as in a true cause for celebration.  The Detroit Garden Works staff is very fond of Rob-this was a move they approved.  One birthday present from Rob-glow sticks.  We all wore them.  Buck cooked brats, and made potato salad. 

Present.  As in we were all present, and Rob had another present that so tells the story of what a remarkable human being he is.  Wish lanterns-have you ever heard of them?  I had not.  He regularly advises me about things I have never heard of-this is just one of the thousand reasons that I treaure him.  They look like a small paper version of a hot air balloon.  You light the base on fire, wait for the warm air to fill the paper balloon, and gently send them skyward.  Make a wish.   Go for broke.  Launch something.       

 

I sent no wish aloft for Rob.  He doesn’t need any wishes-He is chock full of talent.  My wish was entirely for my own 62nd year-hopefully full of surprises, challenges, and meaningful work.  This was my happiest birthday ever-no kidding.  

 

 

Leaf Magazine Spring Issue

 

Leaf cover

As my landscape superintendent was on holiday this past week, my time was largely devoted to my crew.  But I finally had the time to read through the second issue of Leaf Magazine.  This digital magazine is the brainchild of Susan Cohan (noted garden designer and author of the garden blog Miss Rumphius Rules) and Rochelle Greayer (garden designer, and author of  the garden blog Studio G).  The issue really is quite remarkable, and fresh.  142 pages worth, chock full of interesting topics, great writers and writing, and excellent photography.  My favorite article?  The Bark Garden, by Ken Druse.  The photographs by Clive Nichol  are breathtaking.  The article about flower markets around the world was so interesting.  I am not one bit surprised that they already have 80,000 subscribers.  But don’t take my word for it, look for your yourself.   

http://www.leafmag.com/site/