Catching Up in the Labyrinth

If the Redbud bush is blooming, then Spring must be on the way!  This is a Cercis Candensis 'Don Egolf' that I bought from the National Arboretum several years ago, and it is finally getting to a significant size.  Not that it won't get a lot larger.  This year, with the sudden shift to warm daytime and night time temperatures, it is blooming at the same time as the Serviceberry tree next to the shed.  Usually the Serviceberry is several days ahead. 

A few of the hellebores are visible at the base, and it looks like there is room for more.  I do have some that need to be moved out of the North Garden, and this spot has potential.  Of course, once the Redbud leafs out, they won't be able to be seen.  But that is the why they will fit - seen when blooming, blending into the background the rest of year.

I will be happy when the Redbud will be visible in this view, across from the other side of the labyrinth.  As it is, if you look closely, behind the tree trunk, the very tips of the branches.   Lots of the bulbs are up, including the new grape hyacinths and anemones in the front, pink and blue Dutch hyacinths, yellow and white daffodils.  We scattered the bulbs, hoping and expecting that they will multiply over the years, to become large clumps over time.  That is already happening with the daffodils that were put in a year ago, and it is very satisfying.

You can see the zoysia grass is just beginning to turn green.  I also hate to admit it, but some of that green is wild onions.  I need to mix up my nasty blend of RoundUp with dish detergent.  Using a cotton rag and wearing gloves, I wipe the leaves a few times, and the detergent strips off the waxy coating, allowing the weed killer to penetrate. It is slow, but over the years, I have radically eliminated most of the onions with using extensive amount of chemicals.

 Here is a close-up of one of the hyacinths behind the new growth of the false indigo, with a bright yellow/green ground cover.  The early spring colors for many things seem so much more intense than later in the year.  The fast growing foliage has a flush of color once the plants attain their full height and harden up for the intense heat and light that is coming up.  Very soon.  There will be turning back once the cold air is gone, and the sun become more intense.

Finally, there is a Spring ephemeral making its first appearance in bloom, planted last year with the hope it would match the catalog description.  This is a Ranunculus ficaria 'Brazen Hussy.'  Bought from the Plant Delights Nursery I am particularly delighted that it was introduced by Christopher Lloyd, whose garden, Great Dixter, captivated me many years ago.  I have learned a lot from his books, and am pleased to have a plant that he introduced into broad use in horticulture.

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Transitions in the Seasons

As the fall wraps up its process of shuttling down plants for the cold winter months ahead, there are also last glimpses of the color and beauty of last summer. 

This is one of the remaining coleus on the front porch. While there has not been a hard frost yet, which would have been immediately seen in blackened foliage on the various false indigo plants, the annuals have shut down.  These coleus have done better since they are in a protected spot near the warmth of the house.  We probably won't take cuttings this year, since it is hard to carry them through until the next spring.

The berries on the Ilex verticillata Winter Red have fully developed their color for the winter, while holding onto the leaves.  Once the leaves drop, the red of these berries will provide a great splash of color through February if the birds don't eat them first. A few will be cut to use for house decorations, but the bushes are still too small to do much of that yet. They can be added into any arrangement of greens or shown to dramatic effect by themselves on the bare stems.

It has taken several years to find a place for Winterberry, a deciduous holly grown particularly for these large berries on bare stems.    The ones planted down on the side of the ravine always struggled during dry spells, never getting enough water.  Once stressed, they would drop their berries.  Even one summer when watered through soaking hoses, they never got enough.  Two different varieties were tried in two different places with no success.

These two female bushes, with a pollinating male only a few feet away, are at the back edge of the labyrinth, up where they will get attention and water.  Actually, since this is the spot where the rain water from the other side of the street streams through on its way to the drain, they get lots of water without being constantly wet. While the site would be a bit crowded if they ever grew to their full size of 8 feet by 8 feet, they will be kept in place by pruning for decorations every year.

Just about fifteen feet away, along that same back edge with the neighbors property but close to the road is a Redbud .  It is Cercis canandensis 'Don Egolf,' named for the breeder at the National Arboretum who developed it.  It is a dwarf variety that will only reach ten or twelve feet tall. That was an important consideration since it sits right in front of the view from another neighbor's house to the Bay.  Their house sits high enough that when the tree is full height, they will be able to easily see over it.

These are the many buds that will explode with a brilliant magenta color early in the spring.  Redbuds bloom earlier than most other spring flowers, so the color is particularly satisfying against the grayness of their surroundings.  Since this is more of a bush in shape, it will provide lots of eye candy when there is little other.

This was planted in the year before my mother died, and only after telling my sister about it did I learn that Redbuds were one of Mom's favorite trees.  I think about her when I see it blooming, along with Lemon Lily (a yellow day lily), peonies, iris, hardy hibiscus, and a paper bark maple planted in her memory.  She is still a part of this garden. Once there are pictures of everything, I will put together a page of all of them.