Snow !

Just a few pictures taken after the snow stopped. We only got a few inches, but it was quite wet, sticky snow and just hung on every branch to make it truly a winter wonderland all over the gardens. Although these are color pictures, most of them after the first one look more like black and white. How odd to have so little color in a garden.
I'm going to start a series on medicinal plants in January. Stay tuned.
Jane

I'm still here!

I've been feeling guilty about not writing every day (or every month for that matter) lately. I got a note from Sylvia in England yesterday checking in to be sure I was all right and so here I am this morning with a short note.
We had a very long fall with an extremely late frost, and with so much to do outside, we were starting very early and working late. I am thankful for the extra time to get things done, but the long hours were really exhausting, expecially because some of it involved cutting down trees and cutting and splitting some for firewood (and stacking a few cords of wood for the winter) and then many days of hauling brush out of the gardens. Most everything on the 10 acres got weeded, even some places that have been sort of neclected for several years. I'm really pleased with what we got done, but it cut into my computer time a lot. I still don't have our new catalog up for next year, so I've promised myself to get that done this weekend, now that cold weather is starting to keep me inside.
In addition to all of the outside work, I had another project keeping me busy. A shop in town is taking my hand made teddy bears and dolls on consignment, so in addition to everything else, I was squeezing in a couple of hours of sewing every day. I finally quit that just before Thanksgiving since I think I had enought made, and I really needed to get the things made for my grandbabies for Christmas.
So, you see, I've not been lazing about watching soap operas and eating petit fours.... My plan right now is to spend the next few weeks sorting and labeling several thousand photos that I took this past year and to start organizing things to write here. Expect me back for the season no later than January 1st. Not exactly a New Year's resolution, but it seems like a good way to start off a new year and a new gardening season.
Jane

Pleioblastus variegatus

I think I'll stick with Pleioblastus and show you this one. It is variously more green or more white, depending on what I don't know. Simply called variegatus or sometimes listed as Dwarf White Striped Bamboo. It is a bit taller than the last one, up to 3 feet, and a bit more of a spreader. It is still quite well behaved compared to the large bamboos. It prefers shade and seems to like a damp spot. I don't think I mentioned it with the last one, but they are both deciduous. Some of the larger ones are evergreen here, especially on a mild winter.
Pleioblastus variegatus is widely cultivated in Japan, but unknown in the wild, so the supposition is that it is a selection of an all green form. I have been told it is hardy only to zone 7, but it grows just fine here in zone 6.
Jane

Pleioblastus viridistriatus

Pleioblastus viridistriatus is probably my favorite bamboo. The leaves are pretty nicely striped in the spring, but by this time of year they are more of a gold/chartreuse color.
This is a small bamboo, about 2 feet tall, which prefers shade. The leaves will actually curl up in hot afternoon sun. It also likes ample moisture. There are very few bamboos which I would recommend for the garden and this is one of them. That's not to say that it won't try and take over eventually, but it is small and the underground runners are just below the surface, so it is easy to control. It is also slow getting around to spreading beyond its original clump. One of the easy tricks to controling any of the bamboos is to have them in a place where you can mow around them. Mowing keeps them from spreading beyond the area where they are supposed to be growing. Forget underground barriers unless they are thick steel and go down a foot or so into the ground. Bamboo runners have an extremely sharp pointed end that can go through most materials. Of course you can always grow one that is tasty and use the bamboo shoots for Chinese cooking, which will also effectively stop the growth of that stem, at least temporarily.

You might also see this one listed as Pheioblastus auricomus.

Gentle rain right now and much less heat than yesterday. Yeah!

Jane

Bamboo flowers

This is the flower at the end of a bamboo stem. You rarely see it bloom, and that's a good thing because the clump will usually die after blooming. The whole planting will usually flower (and die) at the same time. On this clump we had a few blooms last year and now some this year, so I'm not sure that is always true. This one is barely hardy here and has always struggled. If it does die, I'll probably find something else to take it's place rather than replanting this Fargesii.

I have a bit of a love hate relationship with our bamboos. I love how they look and they serve many useful purposes in the landscape, but most are just so unruly that they are difficult to love sometimes. Over the next few days, I think I'll write about some of the easier ones to grow in a garden and keep under control.

Off now to pick some green beans and take some photos before it gets too hot.

Jane

Cyrilla racemiflora

Cyrilla racemiflora, otherwise known as Titi (rhymes with bye-bye) Shrub. This is a small tree or large shrub. It is native to damp places on the east coast of the US from Maryland south. The usual height is 10-15 feet though in optimal conditions they can be twice that tall. In nature, they prefer to form a thicket, but a single specimen is quite a handsome tree/bush. It is deciduous in the north, evergreen in the south. Leaves, which are a shiny green, turn orange/red in the fall. It prefers acidic soil and a damp place, but once established it can tolerate a more dry location, so if that is all you have, just keep it well watered for the first season or two. It can be propagated from seed or root cuttings. The flowers are quite fragrant and contain a large quantity of nectar which the bees just love. The trunk eventually becomes quite gnarly and interesting and so pruning the lower branches back after a few years will expose the trunk and add yet more interest to the garden. These are not seen all that often in garden centers or even catalogs and are probably best found from someone who sells native plants.
Jane

Hibiscus

A photo of the bog where a lot of the perennial hibiscus grow. These are the ones with the huge flowers; the ones that you cut back after frost. They are gorgeous right now in shades of pink, white, red and purple. These are tall plants, most taller than me and some up to 10 feet tall. The bog is pretty much always damp except in the dryest summers and wet in winter. It's where lots of frogs lay eggs in the spring. There are also iris and ferns growing there along with a few other things along the edges. It's so nice to have all of this color just when the daylilies have about finished up. They are easy to grow and the only pest I've seen on them would be the occasional Japanese Beetle, though we have very few of those little bugs here since spreading Milky Spore many years ago.

Just a quick break from weeding - back to work

Jane