Thankful for the Return of Snowdrops

“YES!” I exclaimed! “They came back!”  Before me was the cupped blade of a single snowdrop piercing up from the soil.  I scraped some leaves back and found more shoots.  “And, another!  And, another!” I added. 

It was early November, and I was so ecstatic. I have been searching for bulbs to grow in east Texas outside of those that have a reputation for thriving here. Autumn-flowering geophytes that don’t need significant winter chilling to flower I felt held promise as our lack of vernalization is the limiting factor for many species. Galanthus elwesii var. monostictus (one-spotted greater snowdrop) was high on my list to try. 

Galanthus elwesii var. monostictus has a single upside down heart-shaped spot on the inner tepal tip, while Galanthus elwesii has a second green blotch above the spot at the base.

My introduction to this late autumn flower was from visiting Nancy Godwin at Montrose Gardens in Hillsborough, NC. She turned a handful of bulbs years ago into thousands of plants that now carpet the understory behind her home.  I have multiple memories of visiting Montrose around Thanksgiving for one of her snowdrop walks with friends. And, now mine were blooming right on cue.

I had bought some bulbs from Nancy before and tried them in a container thinking that the soil here might be too dry, but I lost them twice.  I figured third time was the charm, and I acquired more bulbs in the green from Nancy last winter.  I decided to be brave and try them in two in-the-ground locations; both spots I amended with grit and lime to improve the soil conditions.

I planted a few in my fenced in patch where they would be protected from uprooting armadillos and able to get more water during the summer when I irrigated summer cut flowers and veggies.  Years ago, I read in Scott Ogden’s Garden Bulbs for the South that most Galanthus should not dry out during the summer and often like wetter spots. 

However, Nancy told me that where she has these autumn-flowering snowdrops in her woods turns bone dry in the summer. Therefore, site two was higher and drier underneath trees in a new bed that magically appeared after we lost some azaleas in the freeze of February 2021. I didn’t water this site all summer.

This shaded spot is where I have found snowdrops emerging first, and they are further along than those in the patch where a scraping of soil showed the bulbs are still intact but haven’t produced foliage yet. I’m sure autumn rains are a trigger for emergence, but I ponder if they also need to have cooler temperatures to appear, which they are able to get sooner from the waning shade of sweetgum and oak? 

There’s no way that I can grow the multitude of selections my colleagues do further north—well, in absence of a walk-in cooler that is—nor do I wish to become such a collector. But, I’m happy to potentially add yet another geophyte to my garden cast of characters. I may be counting my snowdrops before they have hatched—er, make that returned again next year—but I do believe that seeing them this year in flower is a good sign. I’ll give them my choicest compost with some bone meal, and I’ll hope that next year I can once again be thankful for their return.

The Blessing of Seedheads

Today looks cold enough to snow with the low gray sky. I’m more used to this weather in February than I am November. The forecast said the high won’t break 50ºF today. Alas, the only thing falling from the sky will be rain.

I do a final walk around before the clouds burst. We’ve now had a few frosts, one hard one this past weekend. Looking out over the garden, most of the flowering plants are now done. I’m afraid even my late flowering ‘Halloweenie’ glads (Gladiolus dalenii) that haven’t bloomed yet (and with their tardiness in past years I’ve joked should be named ‘Thanksgivingie’) are going to get hit with more freezing temperatures we have coming this week.

So on this walk I’m thinking of frost-proof winter interest I have for the next few months in the garden. I’m counting my garden blessings if you will to see what at the end of the season I can appreciate.

Seed heads are at the top of the list as they have such a prominent presence in the winter landscape. They are skeletons of the past that, a glimpse of what the garden once was in the height of its empire.

Near the house Helianthus radula (rayless sunflower) still looks spectacular as the black stems pop against the froth of Eragrostis spectablis (purple lovegrass, header image). On the other side of the lovegrass rise the black buttons of Pycnanthemum tenuifolium (narrow-leaf mountain mint). It is one of my favorite perennials for its multi-season interest in the landscape. I make a note to pair more blacks with the winter foliage of the love grass for next year.

There are also some Lilium formosanum (Formosan lily) in the bed that rise up and have started to release seeds from their brown chalices. I just transplanted them to that spot this spring, so their height is much shorter. I quite like their more diminutive nature.

Pycnanthemum tenuifolium

Lilium formosanum

As I walk further along the bed, I see the spherical seedheads of Hyptis alata (clustered bushmint). They will last the rest of winter, though I have to be careful whenever I remove them come spring because they are loaded with seed that I’ll be weeding for months afterwards if they spill.

Hyptis alata

Nearing the orchard, I startle some Dark-eyed Juncos. They are the first I’ve seen this year, and I’m delighted the cold fronts have brought them back to the garden. They dart under the glimmering split-beard bluestem (Andropogon ternarius). Even on a sunless day, the plant still shines. The clumps are now in their second year, and I realize the site I put it on is too fertile as some have lodged and thus made an even better hiding place for the juncos and other little brown birds mixed in the flock. Next year, I’ll have to cut them back in mid-summer much like they do when mowing the roadside to help keep it shorter for lasting winter interest.

Andropogon ternarius

There are still a few Baptisia alba (white wild indigo) in the orchard beds. For us they start going dormant in late August or early September. It’s always a hard call for me to ask do these dead twigs stay or do they go. But, I seem to always err on letting them stay. Some have already blown away with their tumbleweed action, and I have found them next to a fence or in the ditch by the road. It’s a creative approach to seed dispersal.

Another Baptisia, yellow wild indigo, is nearby in the front of the patch and has more spherical fruit, hence the epithet sphaerocarpa for the round (sphaero-) fruit (-carpa) it forms.

Baptisia alba

Baptisia sphaerocarpa

Vernonia baldwinii (western ironweed) also looks good in its last moments. I have found they have staying power into the winter with their feather-duster seed heads. The pappus is such a nice light tan and pops against the dark stems.

Vernonia baldwinii

A flock of winter birds is once again startled as I make my way back toward the house. I think how seedheads are not just a blessing for me. I know that the winter birds enjoy them, too. That’s why I admire them while I can before they and the wind spread the seeds. Such thoughts warm my soul, perhaps as much as the corn chowder I’ll have tonight after a cold autumn day.

The Gift of Persimmons

The first NIKITA’S GIFT persimmon I ate was a present. I and a few colleagues were eating dinner with Brie Arthur in Raleigh in 2013. And, after dinner Brie pipped up that she had some NIKITA’S GIFT persimmons to share. We were to take a few and let them sit on the counter for a week or so to ripen and become soft.

I followed her advice, and sure enough about 10 days later, the fruit gave with a gentle squeeze. After one bite, I can still remember nine years later the sweet and tropical flavor—almost mango like—at the advent of winter. And, there was little astringency.

I had to have more.

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Once we moved into our current home, one of my first tasks was planting an orchard for I knew it would take time for fruit trees to grow. NIKITA’S GIFT was at the top of my wishlist of trees. It’s not your normal persimmon. No, it was bred in Ukraine at Nikita Botanic Garden by crossing our native Diospyros virginiana with Diospyros kaki. It has the flavor of American persimmon but more vigor and larger fruit and leaf size like Japanese persimmon. Officially, the cultivar name is ‘Nikitskaya Bordovaya’, but Northwoods Nursery trademarked the name NIKITA’S GIFT; therefore, I’m following the practice of capitalizing the name to indicate name protection since the Americanized name is not a cultivar.

I ordered three one-gallon plants online in autumn of 2018, and after they arrived, I took great care getting them established.  I picked out a perfect spot for them in the orchard-to-be where they would be visible from the house and where the morning sun would would irradiate their future orange orbs on the trees.  The rootballs had J roots, a condition where the root grew down to the bottom of the pot, turned, and then grew back up.  After some teasing, I had the problem mostly fixed and the plants firmly set in the soil. I caged the trees to protect from deer, a wise decision seeing the other trees they’ve destroyed on the property. I mulched them, provided fresh leaf mold for their bases each year, and watered when needed.  Then, I waited.

I was delighted in 2020 to see them bloom. Their blooms were large, larger than I remember them being on a native persimmon. However, no fruits followed. They bloomed again in 2021. This time, fruit followed, but they fell off. I became concerned that even though we have persimmons around in the forests, the trees weren’t getting pollinated enough. I thought I would give them another year or two, but I had begun to consider grafting a wild male American persimmon bud onto the tree to ensure pollen was available.

 But, then this year came, and the trees were loaded with fruit. One tree had easily 50 fruit on it.  But, in midsummer, they began to fall off again.  I decided to take an extreme approach and prune most of the fruit off until there was only 10 fruit left on each tree.  My suspicion was the fruit were dropping because so many had been pollinated, but the tree could only support so many. 

The fruit ripening is like watching a slow, long burning sunset. The orbs started changing color in September as the green fruit shifted to a bright golden yellow and then made their way through hues of orange in October until they display that last fiery red now that November has arrived.

The reddening NIKITA’S GIFT persimmon is almost ripe!

Of course, I tried to cheat and take a persimmon early, but you can’t rush ripening on a persimmon. Even the fruit sitting on the kitchen window for two weeks isn’t enough. One bite and my mouth turned dry.  I gargled water at the spout on the kitchen sink trying to cure my dry mouth.  Dad always said fruit needed a frost before the wild ones were ready to eat. Same for NIKITA’S GIFT, too, I suppose.

Finally, the other afternoon my patience paid off.  Three weeks after a light frost, I picked my first ripe persimmon off the tree under the late cloudy skies of an autumn afternoon. The fruit gave a bit when squeezed in.

The taste was heavenly.  It had taken me four years to grow it, and it was the same taste I remember from trying my first NIKITA’S GIFT in graduate school so many years ago. It was like eating an even sweeter American persimmon with hints of the tropics but without the seeds.  I’m still surprised how red NIKITA’S GIFT is when ready to eat. The fruit appears more like a small tomato than a persimmon.

I’ve got around 30 fruit total between the three trees.  And, the are continuing to ripen as their yellowing leaves fall to reveal spheres that have been hidden in the foliage all season.  The trees are still young, and I can’t wait to see them in future years even more laden with fruit for autumn, glowing orange-red against the browns and tans of a frosted landscape.  Perhaps one day I’ll have so many I’ll have no choice but to gift NIKITA’S GIFT to others. Something so good must be shared.

Autumn Inspiration from the Dallas Arboretum

Last weekend, I took 23 students to the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden. Each fall, they turn part of the arboretum into a fairy tale village built with pumpkins, and this year they used over 100,000 of them to create such a spectacle. I wanted to share some photos from our trip. Though you may not be able to build a display of thousands of pumpkins, there were other great plants there that can help to enhance your garden for next year. Enjoy the inspiration!

A photo of yours truly (third from right) and other students from SFASU who went on the trip. For some it was their first trip to the Dallas Arboretum.

It is amazing to see how they craft and decorate buildings using pumpkins, squash, and gourds.

A lovely pumpkin mandala pattern surrounds this pumpkin house.

Many areas of the pumpkin village had a theme. Here is a design that features the story of Jack and the beanstalk.

And, here of course is the sword in the stone… err… pumpkin.

I find myself mesmerized by the pumpkin patterns, seeing them all laid out and in such abundance.

A close up of the pumpkin mandala pattern.

These white and gray pumpkins were used to convey a sense of water in one area near a bridge.

Outside the pumpkin village, the arboretum held other beautiful sights. Symphyotrichum oblongifolium (probably ‘Raydon’s Favorite’) bloomed en masse along this curve.

Here’s a useful lesson in photoperiodism. I was wondering why these asters that were right down the path from the ones in the image above weren’t flowering very well. I suspected at first that the shade had something to do with their lack of blooms, but once I looked up, I saw there were lights in the trees. Asters need short days to initiate flowering, and the blooms were interrupted by the lightning. Those along the lower edge are probably shaded enough to flower.

Hamelia patens 'Grelmsiz' LIME SIZZLER (firebush) is a wonderful foliage plant for sunny spots, and the leaves redden with abundant light. Here in the deep south our seasons are long enough to even get some black fruit to form (center right).

Another shot of Hamelia patens 'Grelmsiz' LIME SIZZLER (firebush), only this time the plant was in full shade. Like with the asters above, as a curious plantsman I love seeing plants growing side by side in different environments and how they react accordingly.

From top left to lower right, Canna ‘Cannova Yellow’ (canna), Plectranthus scutellarioides ‘Main Street Beale Street’ (coleus), Alternanthera ‘Little Ruby’ (Joseph’s coat), and Portulaca ‘Colorblast Double Yellow’ (purslane) fill this bed with color. In the Plantery, we’ve had good success with both ‘Main Street Beale Street’ and ‘Little Ruby’ in summer annual plantings.

The Dallas Arboretum plantings capitalize on creating a show. To me it is interesting to see the juxtaposition of the rising tropical Alocasia (likely ‘Portora’ elephant ear) and the fall Chrysanthemum (mums).

I love visiting plant trials at the Dallas Arboretum to learn about what cultivars do well in our area. Here, left to right are Euphorbia hypericifolia DIAMOND SNOW, DIAMOND MOUNTAIN, and ‘Inneuphdia’ DIAMOND FROST. DIAMOND FROST was a good intermediate between the two for growth, not too short and not too lanky.

I was eager to see their Profusion zinnia trial to see which cultivars looked best late in the season. The three I was most impressed with were Zinnia hybrida ‘Profusion Fire’, …

…, Zinnia hybrida ‘Profusion Lemon’, …

… and Zinnia hybrida ‘Profusion Red and Yellow Bicolor’. My colleague Carol Reese turned me on to this cultivar for how the ray florets shift from a rich yellow and red at opening to a faded pink over time.

I’m a sucker for a good celosia, and I was most impressed with Celosia plumosa ‘Flamma Orange’, which was named a 2022 All American Selection winner. I’ll be sure to add this cultivar to next year’s seed wish list.

I was surprised to see an anise hyssop thriving in Dallas. Usually, we are too humid for them, and they melt. But, the peach-colored Agastache MEANT TO BEE ‘Queen Nectarine’ looked fabulous.

I was reminded in seeing their Osteospermum trial that I need to try my hand at more African daisies. My favorite selection was this BRIGHT LIGHTS HORIZON ‘Sunset’with its warm, vibrant pink flowers.

‘Candy Cane Chocolate Cherry’ pepper has variegated leaves and variegated fruit!

Last fall, I was very impressed with Celosia argentea var. plumosa ‘Dragons Breath’ (celosia) that we grew in the Plantery. The foliage turns brilliantly colored red as the days shorten in full sun, and they are topped with fiery panicles of blooms.

We saw a couple of Monarchs working this Salvia ROCKIN’ PLAYIN’ THE BLUES. Even in the fierce winds, they clung to the racemes with all their might. They seemed to really like this cultivar. They would fly off and come right back.

An Autumn Entrance

The past several weeks have been brutal with the lack of rain. I feel all I’ve been doing with my gardening time is hauling hoses. Every day I find something else wilting from the lack of any water.

And, then I found where an armadillo dug up some plants, and a buck decided to obliterate the bark on my prized Prunus mume ‘Dawn’ (flowering apricot).

These valleys in the gardening experience are so frustrating.

However, one thing I have taken delight in is Karen’s growing interest in gardening. From cut flowers to growing milkweed for Monarchs, she has really blossomed as a gardener. She has been so proud of her design of the side entrance to the house, and it has looked great under her stewardship this fall.

We made a stop at Blue Moon Gardens a month ago and loaded up on some autumn color after picking up pumpkins at Trader Joe’s. The pumpkins and two mums provide seasonal color, but there are other plant gems tucked in here.

Most plants offer colorful foliage. We have a few houseplants in the mix like the variegated Dracaena trifasciata ‘Laurentii’ (snake plant) and a gold splashed Codiaeum variegatum var. pictum ‘Petra’ (croton). Even I integrated my three year old silvery Cissus discolor (rex begonia vine) into the display by allowing it to clamber over the railing. And, then of course we have her mixed batches of succulents, many propagated from our wedding favors from 2016.

The black pearl peppers pop against the foliage of Capsicum annuum ‘Onyx Red’ (ornamental pepper). A few volunteer seedlings of Celosia argentea var. plumosa ‘Dragon’s Breath’ (celosia) returned from last year. It colors up a brilliant red in full sun, but with some shade it has more green in the foliage.

A few planters that offer fall color by our side door entrance featuring Capsicum annuum ‘Onyx Red’, Celosia argentea var. plumosa ‘Dragon’s Breath’, and Euphorbia × martinii ‘Ascot Rainbow’

We moved a few celosia into a larger pot, and in the back we stuck a plant of Euphorbia × martinii ‘Ascot Rainbow’ (Martin’s spurge). ‘Ascot Rainbow’ was discovered as a branch sport by David Glenn of Ascot, Victoria in 2005 and has since spread around the world as a variegated Euphorbia with incredible color that intensifies as winter progresses and then blooms.

A closeup of the variegation on Euphorbia × martinii ‘Ascot Rainbow’

I grew ‘Ascot Rainbow’ in my 100+ container collection back in grad school for reliable winter color. It really does go through a myriad of hues, intensifying as the weather gets cooler and what little winter sun we have shines bright.

A photo from a January day 10 years ago shows the rich color that Euphorbia × martinii ‘Ascot Rainbow’ can turn in winter.

It’s amazing how a cultivar returning under my care brings back so many memories. The smell of winter in Raleigh. The constant noises of apartment living. Piling snow around the pots during a freak snow event to protect them from freezing temperatures that night. Somehow I lost it in the move, but now the memories come flooding back.

Karen asked why I don’t do more pots. She thought that maybe they were a bad practice or out of vogue. I was just burned out on container gardening. Having lived in an apartment for six years in grad school and a rental house three years here in Nacogdoches, I was mostly done with containers and ready for some in the ground growing. And, really, I was mostly done with watering (though I chuckle writing that with all the hose dragging I’ve had to do lately).

In grad school I didn’t have a hose, so I had to craft some tubing with fittings that would hook up to my shower head to fill two trash cans outside. And, then I would dunk watering cans to water pots every other day during the growing season unless it rained. Every pot had a saucer to help hold the precious water. And, for many years that was my life.

Once we bought our house, almost everything went into the ground as I and my plants said goodbye to nomad living. My houseplant collection dwindled as I only kept the plants that were precious and would need to be moved back and forth inside or that wouldn’t do well in the ground here in Texas. And, honestly, I haven’t thought much about containers since.

But, I have forgotten how good these pop up gardens are for the creativity they can cultivate. The thing I loved about containers were they were a miniature lab, an experimental place to see how things do. They had a modularity about them where if something looked bad, it could be swapped out or moved around.

And now that I have someone to help water and care for them, there are even more opportunities to create magic.

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The rains have returned, the mums are petering out, and we are about to move the houseplants inside. We got our first frost of 28°F this week, four weeks early. Karen has already started talking about what we should do for the coming holidays in this space.

I can’t wait to see what she creates next.

Perennial Plant Association Symposium 2022: Visiting Stoneleigh

The Perennial Plant Association held their annual symposium in Lancaster, PA this past August. It was our first time back together since the beginning of the pandemic, and it was so wonderful seeing many of my horticultural brothers and sisters.

I’m processing through photos and notes from the symposium, and I’ll be doing photo essays on the different places to share what I learned with some great plants along the way. Our first tour day was visiting Stoneleigh, The Scott Arboretum, Terrain, and Longwood Gardens.

Those who follow my work are familiar with Stoneleigh, both from a post on my previous visit in June 2021 and my podcast interview with Ethan Kauffman, the director of Stoneleigh. I’ve realized that this botanic garden has hit a nerve with my audience, and I have gotten a number of positive comments about it from blog readers and podcast listeners. I think it’s partly because of the garden’s newness but perhaps more for their creative use of natives in the landscape.

Sometimes with unfamiliar native plants we need some guidance on how to use them in the landscape, and Stoneleigh provides that. So enjoy these photos from Stoneleigh and consider using a few of these natives in your garden.

Ethan Kauffman (right) gives a tour to Perennial Plant Association attendees. Each staff member showed a small group of 15 visitors around.

Right off the bus in the parking lot I’m inspired by a color echo I haven’t seen before—the purple peduncles of Sambucus nigra (elderberry) and the wine-colored foliage of Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Center Glow’ (ninebark). The peduncle color will hold for a few weeks, too.

On our tour Ethan shared with us a 120 year old Aesculus parviflora (bottlebrush buckeye) that had suckered itself into a large space. It’s a lovely shrub for an edge habitat.

I love Stoneleigh because I learn about natives I never knew existed. Take Silphium glutinosum. It is native to one county (the famed Bibb County) in Alabama, and that’s it. Overall, this aster family member’s habit is great and not too tall.

The spaced out rays add a daintyness to the flowers of Silphium glutinosum. It’s not too harsh of a yellow, either.

Also, check out the steely blue stems of Helianthus eggertii (Eggert’s sunflower)! Even if it didn’t flower, the stems are worth the color. This perennial sunflower was listed as an endangered species in 1997, but conservation efforts allowed it to be delisted in 2005.

One of my favorite parts of Stoneleigh is the bog gardens where Sarracenia and friends thrive. I also like the repetition of erectness with the cylinder pitchers and the hedge of fastigiate Pinus strobus ‘Fastigiata’ (eastern white pine) and Thuja occidentalis ‘Smaragd’ EMERALD GREEN (American arborvitae) in the background.

Here’s a funky native Ethan shared with us in the bog plantings. Macbridea caroliniana (Carolina birds-in-a-nest) is a threatened species. It grows in blackwater swamps and acidic wet spots. The common name comes from the flowers looking as if baby birds are opening their mouths in a nest.

One of the poster childs of plant conservation, Franklinia alatamaha (Franklin tree) blooms its pearly white flowers with golden center stamens. While this native is extinct in the wild, it is safe from loss due to it being well represented in botanic gardens.

I’m an huge HQ fan, and the sharp, heavily dissected foliage of Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Hqopr010’ ICE CRYSTAL (oakleaf hydrangea) provides a great option for garden texture.

A new addition since my last visit in June 2021 was this water feature in Catalpa Court. Native aquatic plants grow in the center, and water spills over the side to create a nice ambience.

If Ethan hadn’t mentioned this one, I would have walked right past Taxodium distichum ‘Little Leaf’ (bald cypress) thinking it was a struggling tree. Ethan said that this miniature-leaf form was at least 6 years old and probably closer to 15 years old.

A close up of the little leaves on Taxodium distichum ‘Little Leaf’. File this selection under funky!

Parthenocissus inserta (thicket creeper) makes a great groundcover. It doesn’t have the adhesive disks that produce calcium carbonate like Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper) does.

The pergola at Stoneleigh is planted with a native border that features a diversity of textures.

I admired this lovely fuchsia pink Hibiscus along the pergola. Ethan commented how this one—Hibiscus laevis ‘Lufkin Red’ (Halberd-leaf rose mallow)—came from near me in Texas. It was selected from a population of seedlings grown from leaf-spot resistant rose mallow collected from east Texas.

Phlox paniculata ‘Jeana’ (phlox) was everywhere during our trip. I have made regular trips to this area since my Scott Arboretum internship in 2008. I don’t remember seeing it very much, and I’m amazed at how its use has spread. It is beloved because the plethora of smaller flowers are a butterfly magnet. There were Tiger Swallowtails working this one, but of course, once I got close, they flew off.

Glandularia canadensis (rose vervain) finishes flowering for us in April in east Texas, but this selection of ‘Anna’s Pink’ from Indiana blooms longer through the season.

Senna marilandica (Maryland senna) is a handsome addition to the garden with its dissected foliage and yellow flowers, and it acts as a host plant for various sulphur butterflies.

Diospyros virginiana 'JN5' MAGIC FOUNTAIN (American persimmon) is a lovely weeping cultivar. It is a female and will produce fruit, but a few people commented the plant is brittle, and branches break easily.

This majestic frame of a dead Taxus baccata (English yew) was left for the architecture it provides.

In my last post on Stoneleigh, I shared their practice of espaliering Hamamelis up the side of the house, and Hamamelis virginiana ‘Lemon Lime’ (American witch hazel) has made it further up the wall since my last visit.

Lonicera reticulata 'P015S' KINTZLEY’S GHOST (grape honeysuckle) scrambles up a light pole. The silvery perfoliate bracts beam in the bright sun.

Liatris pycnostachya ‘Eureka’ (prairie blazing star) makes a nice pairing with Panicum amarum ‘Dewey Blue’ (bitter switchgrass) and Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Little Goldstar’ (black-eyed susan). This blazing star was a 1975 cultivar release from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

An interesting addition for a magnoliaphile’s collection is Magnolia acuminata ‘Ellen’, a selection of cucumber magnolia that has variegated leaves.

The columnar Juniperus virginiana ‘Taylor’ (eastern red cedar) give the plantings around the house a formality, much like Italian cypress.

Though not native, it was neat to see a Cercidiphyllum japonicum (katsura tree) had found purchase in the massive Plantanus in front of the house.

I’m always on the look out for new native bulbs, and seeing Allium stellatum (autumn onion) flowering in August makes me want to try this in Texas.

I tried Eriogonum allenii ‘Little Rascal’ (shale barren buckwheat) a few years ago, and killed it, but seeing these in full bloom make me want to try this selection again. It’s native to a narrow section of the West Virginia-Virginia mountains, and from photos I’ve seen, it grows great right out of the rocky sides of mountains.

Eragrostis elliottii ‘Wind Dancer’ (Elliott’s love grass) creates a faded haze as it enters full bloom. We’ve had success with this native grass in Texas and found it to be tolerant of dry conditions.

Acer rubrum ‘Snow Fire’ (red maple) looked spectacular the last time I saw it here at Stoneleigh with the red blushed tips of new foliage. However, later in the summer, the red is gone, but the variegation is still present on upper leaves.

Copper Plant

While the calendar said that fall arrived this week, the thermometer wasn’t so sure. It’s been a scorcher, one of the hottest last few days of September that I remember. Every day is clear, and the sun bakes us by mid-day. But, it’s different from July. There is at least a relief in the mornings that wasn’t there a few months ago.

There are other differences from the summer. As autumn arrives, I love seeing copper leaf colors intensifying as the days get shorter. A few months ago, they were a paler pink, but now the leaves are reddening as the season comes to a close.

I can’t think of another plant that pairs well with so many different colors. I planted them to play off our dark brown log cabin, thinking their warm tones would pair well. A dusting of Gomphrena globosa ‘Ping Pong White’ beneath them plays off the older, off-white leaves. Now that we’ve put pumpkins on the porch, I’ve realized copper leaf has even hints of orange. And, at the Plantery, students sited them next to pink as a color echo.

A close up of Acalypha wilkesiana ‘Tricolor’

Who says you can’t pair orange and pink? I feel like you can with Acalypha wilkesiana ‘Tricolor’. We let the Senna alata sow themselves around last year near the house, and I left them for texture and for their late season yellow blooms that will be appearing soon.

In the Plantery, the students paired Acalypha wilkesiana ‘Tricolor’ with Vinca ‘Cora Pink’ for a nice pink color echo.

It’s interesting to me how the leaves play off different colors. As I told my Landscape Plants class, flowers are for a day but foliage is forever. At least until we have the first good frost. Until then, I’ll be enjoying all the warm colors in copper leaf until the forests around us can take over the autumnal show.

Asters of Autumn: Part 1

We got an early taste of fall this week in east Texas. The mornings were in the 50’s. Though it warmed up quick, the air still held a base chill throughout the day. Or, maybe it was just the cold front knocking the humidity down.

With the return of the cooler weather, albeit short-lived cooler weather, the asters have started in earnest, and I so love them. In the past few years, they have become one of my favorite groups of plants since moving into our log cabin. How can anyone not love natives smothered with light blue, purple, pink, white, and every color in between.

As I reviewed this week in plant id, asters have a classic head inflorescence, ray florets on the outside that advertise the bloom to pollinators and many disk florets on the inside where the pollination and seed set occur. It’s a successful pollination strategy, a testament being the aster family is the largest family of flowering plants in the world. And, the flowers are good at communicating. Many asters disks florets will change colors to indicate to pollinators that the flower is finished.

It seems I’ve inadvertently started an aster trial here at my house. I didn’t know how many I had until I compiled my list from my notes and realized I have over 20 taxa here. I have been tracking their flowering week by week so that I can build a calendar to know when they bloom so I can site them appropriately.

I’m working on a bloom calendar for the asters in my garden. Note that the colors reflect an approximation of the ray florets.

A few notes on care. Almost all asters were cut back at least once in late May. I’ve learned this is good practice to prevent them from looking haggard by the end of summer, where they have bare stems with tassels of leaves at the top.

I also struggle with some plants being triggered into flowering in March. Asters are photoperiodic and bloom during short days. I thought it was our security light messing with their rhythm; however, we had that turned off, and yet they still try to bloom. My hypothesis is that here in the deep south we have such good growth early in the spring that the plants have enough leaf tissue to perceive the changing light and attempt to bloom. Pruning back helps to prevent that.

Below I have shared images of the aster with the week it started blooming. Basically, if I saw one flower open that Monday, I counted it as coming into bloom that week.

AUGUST 23

Symphyotrichum lateriflorum ‘White Lovely’ started to bloom first. I’ve written about this great aster before. It is the first aster each year to begin blooming for me, and the white flowers with yellow centers are a breath of freshness as we leave August.

Symphyotrichum lateriflorum ‘White Lovely’ in early September

Symphyotrichum lateriflorum ‘White Lovely’ in mid-September

AUGUST 30

I’ve had Symphyotrichum oolentangiense since 2019 when I picked one up at the Chicago Perennial Plant Association meeting. When it starts blooming, it lives up to its common name sky blue aster, as if the rays have reached out to the horizon and dipped themselves in a light blue sky. The flowers here in the south quickly fade more white. The habit seems to be a bit lax, the inflorescences flopping a bit. But, the early flowers are worth its relaxed growth.

Symphyotrichum oolentangiense

Also starting this week was ‘Coombe Fishacre’, one of my new favorite asters for color and floriferous growth. I was blown away how loaded with blooms this cultivar was, and even though it dates back to the 1920’s, I wondered why I had never heard of it before. ‘Coombe Fishacre’ is likely a hybrid between Symphyotrichum ericoides, which would explain the vigor, and Symphyotrichum novi-belgii.

Symphyotrichum ‘Coombe Fishacre’ in early September

Symphyotrichum ‘Coombe Fishacre’ in mid-September

Another aster that started blooming for me in late August was Eurybia hemispherica, a lovely, little used native aster that has spiky foliage and is adorned with starry flowers on top. ‘Pink Dawn’, a pink selection found by my colleague Dawn Stover, features a pink hue instead of the typical blue-purple seen in this species.

Eurybia hemispherica ‘Pink Dawn’

SEPT 6

Symphyotrichum ‘Bridal Veil’ is another incredible flowering aster that started flowering the first full week of September. This cultivar was bred by Dr. Jim Ault of the Chicagoland Grows program. Aster ericoides 'Snow Flurry' is reportedly a parent. The stems are very prostrate and loaded with small white flowers

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae 'Purple Dome' and Symphyotrichum novae-angliae 'Violetta' both also started blooming this week. I was hesitant against trying these since they are selections of a more northern genus; however, I realized in writing this post that the species does extend down into Mississippi and Alabama, so I suppose it is possible there is some heat tolerance there. ‘Violetta’ is a darker purple than ‘Purple Dome’, but it has a little less vigor so far. They are two of the darkest colored asters I grow.

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae ‘Purple Dome’

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae ‘Violetta’

Also starting to bloom this week was an aster I’ve had since I moved in. The first fall, I ordered a variety of plants, one of which was Aster novae-angliae 'Harrington's Pink'. It has struggled in the bed I had it in due to low soil pH and also trying every year to bloom in May. I moved a couple of small pieces to a new spot, and it has exploded into growth. Like ‘Purple Dome’ and ‘Violetta’, the flowers tend to be closed in the morning and open as the day progresses. That must be a characteristic of the New England asters.

Symphyotrichum lateriflorus 'Bleke Bet' is a classic calico aster where the center changes color after pollination. It starts a creamy white, and then after the flower is finished, the disk turns a much darker color. Again, this color change helps pollinators find the flowers that are ripe for pollination.

Symphyotrichum lateriflorus ‘Bleke Bet’

The blue-purple Eurybia hemispherica began flowering this week. You can compare the blue with the pink above to see the markedly different coloration. In growing this species, I’ve learned it is quite rhizomatous when happy.

Eurybia hemispherica

Symphyotrichum lateriflorum var. horizontalis 'Prince' also started blooming this week, but it is a very sad plant so far. I’m curious to see if it will do better next year. I’m not even posting a picture of the little sprig.

SEPT 13

Sadly, Symphyotrichum lateriflorum ‘Lady in Black’ does not achieve the dark foliage color I have seen in photos. Alas, but it’s nice to have the small flowers bloom. I’ve noticed unlike ‘Bleke Bet’, the disks don’t show as much color change over time.

Symphyotrichum lateriflorum ‘Lady in Black’

I have about a dozen more asters coming into bloom as we continue into fall, so I will do a part two later likely in November to continue sharing which ones are growing well for me. Stay tuned!

The Return of Oxblood Lilies

I’ve been doing a happy dance. We were blessed with another 2.5 inches of rain this week, which brings our total since mid-August to over 4.5 inches. The precipitation has certainly set the stage for fall, and everything just feels cooler with the ground and vegetation primed with water. The garden looks so much fresher. Leafless twigs have new growth emerging, and plants that were sulking have a vibrancy they have lacked for months.

With the return of the rains we also see the reappearance of autumn geophytes like oxblood lilies. And, my, are they making a show this year. They looked quite funky a few days ago as the scapes emerged, like gnarled red fingers rising from the earth. And, now that they are in full bloom, I am amazed. I don’t ever remember them looking so good or all blooming at once. Perhaps they’ve finally settled in. The red is such a brilliant crimson. If I’m honest, I’ve never been very impressed with their performance here, but this year has changed my mind. I’m so glad that I planted them.

Rhodophiala bifida flower scapes rise from the ground after a soaking rain

I lined thirty rescued bulbs of Rhodophiala bifida out in our patch a few years ago in turf to hold them until I could decide where would be a good spot for them in the garden. Beside these additions, I have found a few bulbs that were here when we moved in five years ago. A handful of Rhodophiala were grouped with Lycoris radiata and Leucojum aestivum under an old oak, and over the years, I sorted them as they finally developed enough to bloom. Who knows how many years they held on in dense shade before I relocated them.

I was delighted to find a couple more in another part of the yard today. I’m surprised in the five years we’ve been here I’ve never seen them bloom, but the bulbs were just under the drip line of a live oak we lost from the February 2021 cold spell. My guess is with the tree gone, they’ve been able to finally capture enough sunlight to bloom. I spotted the backlit red inflorescence from 250 feet away, and I thought perhaps that hillside would be a perfect spot for more. It’s amazing how perceptible their red is at a distance.

When I compare the flowers from all the bulbs, they seem to have the same flower structure and color. I believe all of them to be clones of the ‘Hill Country Red’ strain that has graced Texas gardens for years. Scott Ogden writes in Garden Bulbs for the South that while Rhodophiala bifida is native to Argentina and Uruguay, the vigorous, polyploid form seen in Texas gardens is absent from its native lands.

It is believed that Peter Henry Oberwetter, a German immigrant, is likely responsible for finding this vigorous selection. He introduced oxblood lilies to the US between 1860 and 1915.

Seeing how they are still holding on at old home places is a testament to their staying power. The flowers may be gone in a week, but the plants won’t be. They will continue sitting there quietly, soaking up their sunshine, and then singing with crimson bells when the autumn rains return year after year.

The line of ‘Hill Country Red’ Rhodophiala bifida at home.

Gomphrena and the Dog Days of Summer

Every August I pay attention to what plants don’t look like they’ve just been through the oven. I want the garden to look fresher in midsummer without having to water so much. One species that I’ve learned I can depend on is Gomphrena globosa.

Yes, it might seem odd to suggest an annual that has to be planted every year as many of them are dependent on irrigation, but it is so worth having globe amaranth for the explosive growth come the dog days of summer. Before the glorious two inches of slow rain this week from tropical systems, we were bone dry, and yet, Gomphrena continued to thrive and bloom. In Armitage’s Manual of Annuals, Biennials, and Half-hardy Perennials, he quotes a Texas cut flower grower joking that the plant grew at the gates of hell, hence its ability to take the heat.

One of the reasons that Gomphrena is able to tolerate the hot, dry Texas summers so well is that it is a C4 plant. C4 plants have a different type of photosynthesis where they are more efficient at capturing carbon during high heat and drought conditions. It is not unique to Gomphrena as C4 photosynthesis has evolved in different families. Corn and sugarcane, also good warm-weather growers, also share this type of photosynthesis.

Wild and wooly with Gomphrena globosa ‘Ping Pong White’, Zinnia elegans ‘Benary’s Giant’ cultivars, and Gossypium herbaceum ‘Nigrum’

I’ve had the goal to enclose the patch where I have my vegetable garden, cut flowers, and trial plants with a double fence, and I finished building the inner front fence of the patch this past winter. There’s two beds on either side of a narrow pathway in the six feet of space. I envision this front area as a place where the planting scheme will change with the seasons. This year, I planted a plethora of Gomphrena globosa ‘Ping Pong White’ in the beds between the fences. It acts as a groundcover for Zinnia elegans ‘Benary’s Giant’ cultivars (zinnia) and Gossypium herbaceum ‘Nigrum’ (black-leaf cotton).

But, the Gomphrena have grown so thick we can’t see the ground of the path. It amazes me how plugs planted two feet apart now hide any bare soil.

Karen has taken to drying more flowers this summer, and the pathway becomes visible again once she makes a pass through cutting flower stems. Our backporch has become a drying room for Gomphrena and other stems. It is a wonderful cut flower and dries well. At night we sit on the porch and strip leaves and make posies of the flowers to preserve this celebration of summer a little longer.

The first of many posies to come of globe amaranth

I’ll likely thin the plants out in the next month. Underneath them are over 1,000 Lycoris radiata bulbs ready to spring forth. I thought the red and white together would be a nice combination.

But, I will leave a few until frost. Years ago when we first planted globe amaranth, the plants the froze in the fall, and the White-throated Sparrows loved tearing the flowers apart and scouring the ground underneath for seed.

The dog days of summer are fading, and I can’t wait for the winter birds to return.

Cut flowers have been filling a pitcher we brought back with us from the Hauser & Wirth farm store in England. This week, it is festooned with Gomphrena globosa ‘Ping Pong White’.