The Garden in Late June*

Summer has settled in here at Squirrelhaven. There is less color in the Woodland Garden than a month ago. It's all very green, even the lawn is lush and green. At least the Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snow Queen' is in full bloom.The Woodland Garden has to rely on the Dicentras,geraniums (this is Geranium nodosum 'Svelte Lilac' with what is purportedly Phlox maculata 'Rosalinde'), Clematis, Aquilegia and Astrantia for color now.I would have included Hydrangea macrophylla 'Penny Mac' in there, but it's such a drama queen, going from this:to this after the sun hits it, and it doesn't perk up again until evening.
I want to emphasize that Illinois is not in a drought now.This just happens to my soil if it's not constantly raining. It's a dramatic example of "dry shade." After taking this photo I filled the crack and covered the area with compost.
The front garden is mostly waiting for the Echinaceas, Liatris, and Alliums to start blooming. In the woodland, the garden waits for the Lilies and the Daylilies. At least the Hostas are starting, as is this Astilbe, which is either 'Veronica Klose' or 'Visions.' I have both names written in my garden journal. I'll need to dig further through my scrawls to figure out if I killed all the 'Veronica Klose' and replaced it with 'Visions,' or whether I have both. I suspect the former.



*Apologies for the intentional grammatical error. I know it should be "late in June," but it just doesn't sound as well.

Beauty Beyond Blooms

Clematis 'Evipo23' (Cezanne)

When the Clematis are blooming, it's hard to see anything but the flowers. While cutting back and fertilizing 'Vyvyan Pennell,' I noticed the foliage for the first time. Its perfect heart-shaped leaves look a lot like those of a Redbud. Then I noticed how different they are from those of Clematis 'Natascha,' which are long and narrow. Different again is the foliage of Clematis 'Madame Julia Correvon,' with its divided leaves. Clematis 'Crystal Fountain' has red stems, but its foliage is similar to that of Clematis 'Evipo 23' (Cezanne).The foliage of Clematis 'Evisix' (Petit Faucon) is tinged with red.
No, it's not a Clematis. This leaf belongs to the native Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisamea triphyllum). I just couldn't resist the large, tropical look of it.

Zen and the Art of Deadheading

Some people get into a Zen-like state mowing the lawn, others watering. Me, I find my Zen when deadheading. I posted about how untidy my garden is with plants flowing out of beds, spilling into the paths. Where my obsessive-compulsive impulses show is in the removal of spent blossoms. During the summer, I'm usually out every morning, pruners in hand, deadheading. This is not the Zen-deadheading to which I am alluding.

That, instead, happens most often with plants that need lots of individual spent flowers cut off at once, without shearing, plants such as this Geranium maculatum, or Campanula persicifolia. What many would find tedious and repetitive, I find relaxing. It is not strenuous and does not require me to work up a sweat. I can sit on the garden path and mindlessly cut off the faded flowers, being as one with the garden, feeling it breathing, hearing its song (only if I'm not singing something to myself). Time becomes meaningless, worries fade away. Until it's time to go in.(These photos were taken a couple of weeks ago. The Geranium maculatum is done blooming now.)

While there is not much art to deadheading Geraniums, deadheading Phlox pilosa involves some discretion. The gardener must determine from where the new growth will sprout for rebloom. Sometimes it's obvious, other times it's guess work. In any event, the finished product is a vast improvement.
How do you find your garden Zen?

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Today is the start of Astronomical Summer.* Summer actually arrived a few weeks ago, and we've been enjoying summer temperatures with highs in the upper 70s to low 80s and lows in the 60s. Perfect weather for Zen deadheading. Happy Midsummer's Day and have a great weekend!

edit. 6/20/08
(VIS has just informed me that it is "Astrological Summer," not "Astronomical Summer." )
(edit. 6/23/08 Have recently learned that Midsummer's Day and the Summer Solstice are not one and the same.)

The Best Garden Center in Chicagoland

This is it, the one I make a special trip to at least once a season, The Growing Place, in Naperville. There is a second location in Aurora, but it is even farther from home, so I haven't been there yet. The Naperville location is the original one, and on a sunny morning late in May it took me about 40 minutes to reach plus a couple of tolls. It was definitely worth it.

Why do I think The Growing Place is the best garden center around? It could be because of the incredible selection of plants, many of which can only be found at mailorder nurseries. This year's catalogue is over 170 8"x 10" pages long of listings, and many of the offerings at the nursery aren't even listed in the catalogue. I saw that Whale's Tongue Agave that is Pam at Digging's signature plant for sale here. (Of course it was much smaller.) Those gorgeous annuals that Jodi at Bloomingwriter is always posting about, but I couldn't find? Also at The Growing Place. This is where I got my Calycathus 'Athens.' The catalogue lists 27 different Heucheras. They have Eryngium 'Jade Frost.' (I'm still kicking myself for not buying it. I had it in my hand!) Not only does The Growing Place have a large selection, but the plants themselves are properly displayed and well cared for. Nothing that I bought was rootbound or stressed.
But are those are the only reasons? No, The Growing Place is worth visiting for the display gardens alone. What's your dream color scheme? It's probably there.Ruby and gold with a shot of blue. Purple and green? I've got to get some of these Alliums. How about peach and blue?In the background is a brown theme. There are all different types of gardens on display: a water garden with a Japanese bridge, a formal Rose garden,a shade gardensunny gardens,a shabby chic/recycled items garden,and a rock garden.There's just so much here to inspire.
And then there are all the containers and ornaments for sale. (Click on any photo to enlarge.)I'd really like this dog.

I saw rustic high-backed chairs for plants with a tiny birdhouse on each.
There was also a narrower, taller bottle tree.

The Growing Place is also a fairy lover's delight.For those not as talented as Frances, there are lots of pieces of fairy furniture for sale for creating a fairy garden.Need a place for your fairies to live? There's a wide selection, from the secureto the quaintto the grand.One can't forget about plants for the fairy gardenor tools and garden ornaments.You can even get minignomes to do the work for the fairies. I think another trip is in order, this time with my daughter to pick out things for a fairy garden of our own.

June Bloom Day 2008

It's that time again, when Carol, of May Dreams Gardens, hosts Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. (Thanks, Carol!) I'm experimenting with smaller photos in the hope that this will load faster. I'm a bit behind on getting this together, what with technical difficulties with copying photos and helping VIS take apart a couple of our lousy Boxelder Trees that broke in the early Friday morning storms and fell into the neighbors' yard.Yes, that's the fence we're going to replace this year. Sometimes procrastination pays off.
Even though it has finished blooming, I had to include a photo of the plant formerly known as Smilacina racemosa (Maiathemum racemosa), because it bloomed after May Bloom Day. This is one of my favorite native wildflowers. It's not done for the season, however, as it develops red berries where the "plume" was, and the foliage turns yellow in the fall.
Say goodbye to Orville Fay, he's nearly done blooming. Last year he didn't bloom at all, so I was very pleased that he put on such a good show this year. He's a tetraploid Siberian Iris, so the flowers are larger and the foliage more upright than my other Siberian Iris, which missed both Bloom Days.
Also on its way out are the blooms of Calycanthus 'Athens.' This one still smells fruitylicious. Nearly done also is Thalictrum 'Thundercloud.' I love the color.
The Campanulas are in full bloom, C. garganica 'Dickson's Gold,'C. perscifolia 'Alba' and 'Telham Blue,' and 'Sarastro,' looking better than ever. It's planted with Heuchera 'Raspberry Ice.' H. 'Hollywood' is living up to its billing. When the sun hits it, it is visible across the yard. The flowers of H. 'Lime Rickey' aren't as flashy, but they look good with those of Alchemilla mollis, which is also in full bloom.
Looking dazzling for such a baby, my Cornus kousa 'Beni fuji' is loaded with large flowers.
All the Columbines are still blooming. Here's a 'Leprechaun Gold' seedling blooming with one of four groups of Solomon's Seal (Polyganatum camutatum/biflorum). It's a native. Although not actually blooming, the native Prairie Smoke is grown for it's showy seedheads. Right now, it's smokin'. Another native that blooms in June is the plant called 'Bowman's Root' (I have no clue why) (Gillenia trifoliata), seen here with Aquilegia 'Woodside Blue.'
The Clematis parade continues with the divided and transplanted 'Henryi.' He outgrew his space, so I've moved him to the back of the garden. In his place is my only double Clematis, blooming for the first time, 'Vyvyan Pennell.' Also blooming for the first time is 'Betty Corning.' I think I'm really going to like this one. I posted a closeup of 'Silver Moon' already, so here's the plant on its new trellis. It is loaded with buds. 'Crystal Palace' is now Crystal Puffs.Just this morning 'Venosa Violacea' opened for the first time.It got chomped on by Earwigs before it opened. I'd appreciate any suggestions for dealing with Earwigs. I'm trying overturned pots filled with shredded newspaper in a couple of areas, but that doesn't seem to be working yet.

The Astrantias are just coming into bloom. My current favorite in the garden is 'Claret,' shown here with Dicentra 'King of Hearts' blooming in the background.
Very soon, Hydrangea macrophylla 'Penny Mac' will start blooming. It has this large bud and two smaller buds, while poor 'Endless Summer' has just one, much smaller bud. Hydrangea quercifolia 'Snow Queen' is also just starting to bloom. It's going to be great this year.

Things still blooming from last month:
Tiarella 'Iron Butterfly'
Thalictrum/Anemonella thalictroides, white, pink and double forms
Heucherella 'Burnished Bronze' and 'Sunspot'
Lamium maculatums
Stylophorum diphyllum
Phlox divaricata
Jack in the Pulpit
Dicentra 'Zestful'
Dicentra 'Candy Hearts'
Corydalis 'Blackberry Wine'
Brunnera 'Jack Frost'
Geranium macrorrhizum
seedling pink Aquilegia vulgaris

New this month:
Penstemon 'Husker's Red'
Phlox pilosa 'Eco Happy Traveler'
a creeping yellow flowered Sedum
Clematis 'Natascha'
Physocarpus opulifolius 'Monlo' (Diablo)
Heuchera 'Smoky Rose'
Cotinus 'Nordine'
Cotinus 'Ancot' (Golden Spirit)
Geranium 'Rozanne'
Geranium nodosum 'Svelte Lilac'
Campanula 'Samantha'

mystery Peony

Astrantia 'Primadonna'

Things in bud:

'Black Dragon' strain Trumpet Lilies
Astilbe 'Veronica Klose'?
Clematis 'Evipo 023' (Cezanne)
Clematis 'Viola'

All My Aquilegias

First, let's get one thing straight, I am Not obsessed with Aquilegias. Really, I'm not. They are not my favorite flower, they aren't fragrant, they don't bloom all summer. I don't even have the native species (although I have been thinking about getting 'Little Lanterns' or the all yellow-flowered form). I don't like the Clematiflora types or the huge McKana's Giant types.

What I do like are Aquilegias with variegated or chartreuse foliage. They look good even when not in flower. I started off with ordinary Columbines when I first planted the garden. My plain green foliaged, purple flowered Columbines are offspring of 'Henson Harebell' (or as I used to call it, 'Henson Hairball') and Aquilegia alpina and Aquilegia vulgaris. This pink is a seedling of the 'Biedermeier' strain. These poor, neglected Aquilegia have been relegated to the border on the north side of the house. I keep these plants because they seem to bloom longer than the variegated types. I deadhead these plants consistently, because I don't want any more plain foliaged Aquilegias. So why, then, was my most recent Aquilegia purchase this plain foliaged Aquilegia alpina? Really, I'm not obsessed.

Over 10 years ago, I discovered variegated Aquilegias. I don't have good luck with commercial seed, so I bought plants mail order. I started with 'Woodside Blue.' This is the last of the three original plants. Many gardeners complain that Aquilegias are not long lived. This plant is over 10 years old. I'm not an Aquilegia expert, I haven't published any monographs on Aquilegias, but from observing these plants in my garden, I have concluded that not allowing the plants to go to seed will prolong their life. I generally let only one or two flowers per plant go to seed. Similarly, the Aquilegia 'Leprechaun Gold' on the right is also over 10 years old.

Somehow, all these Columbines cross bred with the 'Woodside Blue' to yield something very much like 'Woodside Golden.' I like these more than 'Woodside Blue' and have begun selecting these seedlings, but that doesn't make me obsessed.

'Leprechaun Gold' breeds true to form so that I have more purple Aquilegia than anything else. While I like the purple against the green and yellow variegation, I'm selecting plants for mostly gold foliage. I love the incredible contrast (I swear I'm not obsessed).

I've found seedling Aquilegias do better if I dig them up from the garden and grow them on in pots, although fresh-sown seed does well in containers also. Really, I'm not obsessed, just because I have all these seedlings (and more) growing in containers. I transfer them to gallon pots if they look promising. At the moment, I am attempting to breed my new favorite Aquilegia, 'Sunburst Ruby.' Last spring, I ordered three 'Sunburst Ruby,' and I planted three 'Sunburst Ruby.' I now have one 'Sunburst Ruby.' One died and the other is pink flowered (you know how promiscuous those Aquilegias are). So I allowed one flower on each plant to go to seed and this spring I have been transplanting the babies to pots. I'm hoping for at least two more with the golden foliage and ruby flowers. I'm thinking of hand pollinating 'Sunburst Ruby' with pollen from its own flowers. That way I'm more likely to get the true strain. Besides, the nasty Carpenter Bee has screwed up the pollination of the Aquilegias this year. I suspect that all of the variegated forms are related to each other as they all have semi-double flowers, although a single plant can have both types of flowers.

Aquilegias are not perfect plants. They have to have their foliage cut back after flowering because it gets disfigured by leaf miners. The last several years have seen attacks by Columbine sawfly larva, which look like little green caterpillars. Left unchecked, they can defoliate a plant, prevent it from blooming and seriously weaken it. I check the leaves every day for the little beasties that squish so easily between my gloved fingers. (So far, I haven't found any yet this year.) Now that doesn't sound obsessed, does it? And even if it does, can you blame me?

The Plot Thickens - or Is It a Pale Pink Herring?

Just when I thought I couldn't get any more confused about my Peony, it changed color! Here are petals from the same plant that I gathered from the ground after the weekend's storms. How embarassing, it's carpels are showing! Could this be la belle 'Sarah Bernhardt'? Or is it that French gentleman 'Monsieur Jules Elie'? Or could it be 'Edulis Superba' (in the Billard Room with the candlestick)? Or something entirely different?

The Pink Peony Mystery

The Peony is blooming. This was one of the few perennials that was here when I bought Squirrelhaven 15 years ago. At that time, it was struggling under the shade of three Austrian Pines. Eventually it stopped blooming. Because there are power lines overhead there, the trees had to go. The Peony was thrilled. Now it is loaded with blooms, and its strong scent perfumes the whole garden. The only fault of this Peony is its tendency, like all the other large doubles, to flop not entirely unlike boiled spaghetti, especially after a rain. It's quite pathetic, even with a hoop support.

The question is, what is this Peony? Here's its mug shot.Here's the side view.It starts blooming between the end of May and the middle of June. Does that make it an early or a mid-season Peony? It has a very strong fragrance. It gets about 36 inches tall. (At least it does before it flops.)(This photo was taken before Saturday night's rain.) Does anybody recognize this Peony?

Suddenly Summer

Time to change from these to these.

Last week I turned off the heat. On May 27th, the high was 50F. Yesterday it shot up to the upper 80s with high humidity. This morning the low was in the 70s and the current heat index is 90 degrees. Welcome to Chicago, where the seasons change abruptly and dramatically. The rain that has been pounding downstate (check out Prairie Rose and Dragonfly Corner) and western Illinois has skipped around us and all we've had is wind and a couple of drops. I don't like hot weather. I'm the product of a couple of thousand years of life in a temperate climate where it rarely snowed and never got hot. Recognizing my limitations, I tend to retreat to the AC in this type of weather. My all-day gardening sessions will be few and far between until September. Heavy digging and major planting will also have to wait for the return of cooler weather. Okay, that's enough self-indulgent whining. I can hear the groans coming from the Austin gardeners from here.

And now for the garden: the Clematises (Clematii? Clematis?) have started blooming. The first is also blooming for the first time, 'Natascha' (not to be confused with Clematis 'Natacha').I planted this two years ago and it was worth the wait. It is loaded with buds.
I transplanted 'Asao' last autumn.Although it only has one bloom, I'm just happy it survived the winter. I expect much better from it next year. Also making its debut this year is 'Crystal Fountain.'(Continued from June 6, 2008.) This morning Clematis 'Silver Moon' started opening.This captures the color very well. This is the best established of my Clematis. Last year it had 27 blooms. It looks like it should perform just as well this year. It'll look even better now I've gotten it a trellis.

Well, due to technical difficulties, we're out of time. More from the June garden will have to wait for another post. Stayed tuned for the Pink Peony Mystery and All My Aquilegias.

The Big Bad Bee

There may not be any Columbine seeds this year in my garden. A Big Bad Bee has been climbing the outside of the flowers, poking a hole in the nectaries & sucking all the nectar out, completely avoiding the pollen.(Here it is attacking Aquilegia 'Sunburst Ruby.')
I have never witnessed this apian behaviour before, nor have I seen such a large bee. I enjoy watching the Bumblebees trying to get inside small dangling flowers. I don't know what species this is, but it is not welcome in my garden, the big parasite. Completely worthless excuse for a bee! (Sorry, I got a little carried away.)


(Edited June 6, 2008)
On Gail's suggestion, I researched nectar-robbing bees and I think I have identified the culprit: the Easter Carpenter Bee, a known nectar thief. It's not completely worthless as a pollinator. It pollinates open faced flowers. It steals nectar from flowers with long nectaries that it cannot access. The problem is that Honeybees will then use the hole to get the nectar, rather than crawl into the flower.

I Gotta Wear Shades (and the Dogwoods are Blooming)

I'm as bad as Gail. I have to post another shot of Phlox pilosa. This is 'Eco Happy Traveler's' closeup with Pulsatilla seedheads. It's in full bloom now, so visitors get treated to a wonderful scent as they walk to the front door.
Also in the front is my baby Cornus kousa.It's a happy little tree, even though it needs mulching. It is allegedly 'Beni Fuji,'although to call these bracts "pink" would be using the term extremely loosely.

In the Woodland Garden, the Pagoda Dogwoods (Cornus alternifolia) are in full bloom. I finally got a curved path with a hint of mystery to it.

Musing of June*

I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine:
There sleeps Titania sometime of the night,
Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight

William Shakespeare, "A Midsummer-Night's Dream," Act II, Scene I.

June is the start of Meteorological Summer here in Chicagoland. Here comes the heat, the humidity and the glorious evenings of al fresco dining. Before the kids were born, VIS and I used to go golfing on the evening of the Summer Solstice, playing the last holes as the sun went down. Now, we usually just sit outside with a glass of wine to watch the sun set. Do you do anything special for Midsummer's Eve?

*For other Muse Day posts, go to Sweet Home & Garden Chicago, where Carolyn Gail is the hostess.