This is Irvin and Ethel Pott, Mary Pott Unger's brother and sister-in-law. I know you can't judge the year it was taken strictly by the cars in the upper left corner, since people didn't buy new cars as often back then, but judging from the clothes, it was probably in the early to mid 40s. I think it was taken at the farm, looking from the house across the road. I don't know much about either of these people, though I vaguely remember them still being alive when I first met Berry, though I'm not totally sure about that. I don't think I ever met either of them, though I'm sure they lived around Reading since I don't know of any family members who moved away.
Big day today with the Hosta Club tour at noon. I made all of the cookies, actually an extra batch since one of them came out really badly. The chocolate ones with the Hershey kisses in the center were supposed to stay as round balls that you rolled in confectioner's sugar. Unfortunately they ended up as flat things with little lumps in the center, kind of reminiscent of the drawing in the beginning of The Little Prince of a boa constrictor that had swallowed an elephant. I had forgotten about that until I started reading it in French. Anyway, I just have to make the pizza bread and the lemonade this morning and set everything out. Leslie will be here at 10:30 to help get organized before they get here. Not sure if she'll have too much to do while we're giving the people the tour since I don't expect too many customers again until the daylilies are in full bloom in a week or 2, but she's working in exchange for 6 daylilies and lunch, so not a bad deal for either of us. For the 3 hours, she ends up making about $12 an hour for potentially doing absolutely nothing but eating chocolate cookies. Good work if you can get it.
Love,
Mom

Wednesday in the Hollow

I love Forget-Me-Nots. I got my first pot of them when my late husband and I sent to Charleston on my birthday back in the 80s. We always did that since April was a good time for plant shopping and I always got some new things for the garden for my birthday. These will grow in sun or shade, but are happier in shade. They bloom a lot right about now, but will continue to bloom sporadically until frost. The dainty blue flowers really brighten up a shady spot. It does spread and does seed around, but a patch here and there is a good thing.

This next one is Acanthus 'Snow Angel'. (at least that's the name I remember) It is very similar to the Acanthus we grow in the garden, but is only hardy to zone 7 so it lives in the greenhouse over the winter. I haven't seen it bloom in the 3 years it has been here, but with leaves like this I guess it doesn't have to bloom. It can take quite a bit of sun.


This is a Columbine that is native to the midwest, Michigan I think. It is a prolific self-seeder, but I love it anyway. I just sell the extra or move them to a better place. It is a tall one, probably 3 feet and blooms over a long period of time. Full sun or part shade.

We have 2 Weigelias in the yard, one with variegated leaves and pink flowers and this one with gold leaves and hot pink flowers. This is my favorite. It is a large bush and is easily seen from a distance, especially when it is in bloom.

It's a little hard to see, but there is a velvety burgundy clematis growing in this dogwood. We have clematis growing up lots of trees, but this is one of the best combinations. I don't think anyone passes this one by without commenting on it.

An unusual plant here, though you may be somewhat familiar with it as it has been featured in a number of catalogs lately. It is a Paris. We have had it for 4 years and this is the first time it has bloomed. The plant is still just one eye so I think this is not something for those who need some sort of instant gratification. It starts out with a whorl of 6 leaves and then the 4 leaves form on top. After that a small red center appears and finally the 3 spikes which start out small and take over a week to extend. I think from the beginning of the flower starting to form until it was fully out took at least 3 weeks. Since this was the first year it bloomed I had no idea it would take that long and faithfully checked it every day to see if it was out yet (and took a picture just in case something ate it before it was in full bloom). I think this is what we get for a bloom and though the red is not as pronounced as in the catalog picture when I bought it, the shape and size seem right.

Rain today so I need to get my daily weeding done early. We got lucky yesterday and were able to get a lot done - including picking the first strawberries of the season. I going to cover them with mesh this morning because the bird pecked holes in a few. I don't mind sharing, but I wish they'd just pick out one berry and eat the whole thing instead of tasting 3 or 4.

Jane

More Pictures

We waited quite a few years for this Lady Slipper Orchid to bloom. The bloom seems to be quite long lasting, at least a week, and just lovely. We also have a yellow flowered one, but it didn't bloom this year. These are hardy orchids that like a woodsy setting. My mother remembers when they still grew in the woods/park behind their house. No longer, unfortunately.

This is iris 'Enfant Prodge'. Besides the lovely color, it is tall, long blooming and multiplies very rapidly. We have it growing in several of the small ponds and will have it in several other places soon since it needs to be thinned again.

This one is a species iris, Fulva, and also primarily a water iris, though we do have it growing in a place that is merely damp. This is the species from which the red in all other iris cultivars was originally obtained. There is also a creamy yellow form.

Poppy 'Patty's Plum' has to be one of my favorite poppies. It was difficult to establish, but now has made a large clump and is quite a dependable bloomer.

Last for this morning is iris colchesterii. Very few people who see this in bloom and have a pond or wet place to put it leave here without a clump of this one. Another rapid multiplier, we fortunately always seem to have enough to divide.

Yesterday was August in June - hot and humid. A thundershower cooled things off a bit mid-afternoon, but for most of the day it was just too hot to do much. We managed to weed in the shade for the morning, but after lunch photography was the only things we could manage.

A note for those who are coming to see the daylilies in the garden this year. We have scapes everywhere, so plan on peak bloom in about 3 weeks, at least that's my best guess. I'll keep you updated. All of my potted daylilies will be $5 this year. I've potted up a lot of new things so there should be a good selection of colos and types for everyone. Prices on those I have to dig will be the prices published on the website catalog, so the already potted ones can be a real bargain. I think there are a couple of $25 ones included in the mix.

Jane

New Photos

I'm not done with the peonies, but it's taking a bit of thought and research and since I want to do it right, I'll keep working on it and post when I have it done. In the meanwhile, here are some pictures I took yesterday when it was too hot to do much except take pictures (and maybe a little hot for that too in the sun).
First is an Anemone which is from a bulb we planted this spring. They were assorted colors and this was the first to bloom. I don't think the other colors can be any better than this.

Next is the first bloom on Calycanthus 'Venus'. The smell on this one is definitely heavenly. This was a hard plant to find to buy and hard to get started, but I think it's happy now.

I don't know the name of this rose, and it's been in the garden forever, but I think this was the most perfect bloom it has ever had. It grows in the middle of a daylily bed that started out life as a rose bed.

The Dragon Arum has just opened its bloom. It is quite an amazing thing and though lovely to look at, is one of those things that smells really, really bad since it wants to attract flies to pollinate it and so smells like something died and is rotting in the garden. Always a conversation piece on garden tours. Unless the weather is terribly hot, the bloom will be out for about a week, I think.

This is Blue Eyes Grass. I tried planting a fancy version of this once, but without success. This is one that planted itself and is quite happy. We have it in several places in the garden. It is tiny and dainty with the flowers only about a quarter of an inch across or less.

Iris 'Chance Beauty' will grow at the edge of a pond or bog or just in the garden. It is a tall one, probably close to 4 feet tall.

The cactus flowers are starting and this one was just lovely yesterday. We also had a tangerine colored one, a red and a yellow in bloom. Their season is just starting and will go on for a few weeks. The winter was hard on come of the cactuses, but most seem really covered with buds.

I'll try and take some more pictures today to share. So much is blooming right now it is just nice to wander around the gardens.

Jane

Paeonia officinalis

Not an especially good picture - not sure what happened to it between the camera and the computer, but you get the idea of what it should look like. I'm just happy to finally get back to blogging.
This was the first peony named by Linnaeus and originally covered all the peonies he knew. The species officinalis is the peony of Pliny. It grows in northern Italy, Switzerland, France, the Tyrol and Albania. It is 15-24 inchs in heght and has 4 1/2 inch red flowers. Up to 1815 only the double form was known in England. The name means of practical use to man. It is tetraploid. (all information for this and the following posts will be from the book "The Peonies" by John C. Wister.)
This one looks like what most people thinks a peony should look like. More species tomorrow - unless our phone service is out again. 2 days without phone is not fun. They finally found the problem in the main office after re-doing the box down at the road and the box on the house. I guess we shouldn't have any problems soon since we have lots of new wires. At least I hope so.
We'll be very busy this week prettying up the gardens for the Columbus Hosta Society (COHS) and the Perry County Master Gardeners, both groups coming in the next week to visit. Wish all of my readers could visit. I'd love to meet you all.
Jane

Peony - Species

I'll try and post later today on the species peonies. It is taking a lot longer to sort out the many kinds that we have and get the pictures with the descriptions. I've not forgotten - just overslept and have waterlilies to dig for a customer who is coming this morning to pick them up.
Jane

Peonies - Herbaceous

Way back when, I knew only these as peonies, and I suspect that's where most of us started out. Tree peonies just weren't grown where I lived when I was growing up. These are the peonies (pineys in local dialect) that are blooming now in most of the cemeteries around here. Usually they bloom around Memorial Day. The name peony is derived from Paeon, a mythical physician, who was turned into the flower by the god Pluto to save him from death at the hands of his teacher, the physician Aesculapius, who was jealous of his healing powers.
Today's pictures are of the three colors and the form that most people associate with peonies. White, pink and red and a very large, full bloom. While I love these, their downside is that when it rains a lot, like it has here this year, if you haven't provided some sort of support for the plant, the blossoms get so heavy that they may end up face down in the mud. Not a pretty sight.
This first on is 'Prairie Belle'. It is not one of the old standards, but looks pretty much like it.
Next is 'Dresden Pink'.

And the last picture for this morning is 'Red Dandy'. None of these are the old ones that you could buy in the feed store, but are close enough in looks that you probably couldn't tell them apart.

When you go to buy a peony, always look for a division that is at least 3-5 eyes. More is better because you will get bloom sooner and isn't that why you're buying a peony in the first place??? As with tree peonies, bare-root plants can only be dug and transplanted in the fall. Potted ones can be planted any time during the growing season. If you order peonies by mail order expect them in the fall, though you probably are better off ordering in the spring when the catalogs first arrive because stock on the nicer ones is often limited and sells out quickly. Most peony nurseries are family businesses, not large companies and although they may stock a large variety, may not have a huge number of each one.
Peony leaves vary from the very thin and grassy to wide and rounded lobes. The plants can be a foot tall or up to 5 feet. Blooms can be as small as an inch or 2 or up to maybe 10 inches and can be single, semi-double or double. Peonies come in all flower colors except blue, though yellows aren't very common. The bloom season here starts in late spring and continues for 6 - 8 weeks. The more different varieties, the better chance for prolonging the bloom season.
Tomorrow I'll start with some species peonies, since that's where all of the hybrids originate.
Jane