Tulipa clusiana ‘Chrysantha’

Name: Tulipa clusiana ‘Chrysantha’

Zones: 5b – 9a

Size: 8 – 12 inches tall

Conditions:   Moist well drained soil while in spring growth.  Hot well-sunned soil during summer dormancy

Perhaps it’s the orange that speaks to me.  I do like orange, especially when it’s combined with a cadmium-colored yellow.  Tulipa chrysantha, sometimes sold under the name, ‘Chrysantha’, is orangey on the outside opening to a yellow inside.  The colors seem to have some spice to them.  Tulipa chrysantha is planted
in Helen’s Haven’s rock garden, front and center, so as not to be missed.  Each spring, these species tulips return to charm me out of winter, leaping me forward into spring.

My original planting of 5 Tulipa chrysantha bulbs has grown as the grouping reproduced offsets, increasing their numbers.

The petals open in proportion to the brightness of the sun.  On overcast days, Tulipa chrysantha will remain partially closed; when doing so, the beauty of the bicolor exterior petals, is on display.  The tiny bulbs like to be planted deep — a full six inches deep.    Tulipa chrysantha may need to be lifted and replanted if they begin to show a slowed performance.

This fall, I plan to add more Tulipa chrysantha and other species Tulips.  They may not pack the punch of a Dutch hybrid tulip, but they offer a lot of pizzazz from such a little bulb; one that just can’t be matched.
Helen  Yoestis a garden writer, speaker and garden coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

The room was old and worn.  There were no freshly painted walls, of some realtor vanilla; rather, they were tattered and tired, as if it was once occupied by another being, abandoned after being bored.

The lightly crusted walls left  a faint feeling of love.  Yes, the space had once been loved; I could feel it. But it’s been a while.  I also could hear the voices of those who spent time in the room.  They were happy voices.  Vines hung from the ceiling; the floor was crunchy and brown.  There was some light in the room, but I couldn’t tell from where it came; perhaps it was covered by vines.

Often, I would fantasize about a room of my own, taking my re-occuring dream and reliving it in the light of day.   Virginia Woolf wanted A Room of One’s Own and I wanted one too.  Even when I wrote about design techniques, I would use the Garden House as an example.

There were many things holding me back. I had to first recognize the room of my own was not within the house; rather, it was a house within the garden.  I will dub her — The Garden House.

Several years ago, I reviewed Debra Prinzing’s book  Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways.  My review included a description of what my room would look like.  This room has been wrapped around my mind, heart, and dreams for far too long, it seemed more of a premonition than just a dream.

About 10 years ago, I sequestered a natural area of our half acre lot for the children’s play set.  At the time, my three kids were 1, 2, and 5 years old.

For about a year now, the kids have been done with their play set.  They tell me it’s time for me to have a room of my own. Happy of course, I mapped out the space for my Garden House and a place to one day also add chickens.  I’ve now found the perfect house, (Market Imports in Raleigh, NC), so I’m  all set. But then those pesky emotions started in.

I’m not often stymied by such emotions, well maybe I’m a bit sentimental.  Most often, I can reason through the emotions with, this was their life then, they have moved on to other interests, and the like. But as I pulled back on the sledge hammer to begin the dismantle, I got a little choked up. There were so many years of fun on this play set. The cousins, neighbors, play dates.

For hours after dark, particularly, by the light of the low voltage lights, added to the oak tree looking down at the play set.  This, of course, was by design to extend many hours of play.  My husband and the kids made up a game called swing ball, where he would throw the ball a the kids feet as they were swinging.  Even the neighborhood friends could be heard laughing and giggling along side of mine saying, Me next, me next.  

The play set had a fort area that served as a teahouse, a place for picnics, as well as, a place to acquire bruised knees and skeeter bites. During the winter, we would make a fire near the play set, gather, and make ‘smores.  We had it down.  It became our routine.

Today, my oldest child is too busy reading her books to care about the play set and the younger two, affectionally known as the babies, only pass by the play set to get to their bikes from the shed. They are done with it.  It’s time to move on. 

I was able to get past my emotions when it dawned on me that the play set will, in part, be used in the Garden House.  Pieces of wood will serve as the footing. And maybe more in the form of a bench or shelf.

As I laid out the dimensions of the Garden House, with some pieces of recycled wood, I noticed the remains of  many summer paint projects,  they were lightly crusted, with a faint feeling of love.  I could hear the voices of those who use to spend time in this room.  There were limbs with branches as thin as vines hanging over my head, blocking my light; as I moved around, the brown mulch crunched under my feet.  Then I realized,  I was standing in my dream.  I was living my dream.  It was then that I knew it was time for me to have a room of my own.

Post script – In anticipation of this week’s delivery, I cleared out the new area and laid out where the Garden Houses will go.  I had to take down a weeping cherry tree and move 3 blueberry bushes.  The bench will be moved to the area behind the Garden House and will be apart of the future design.  In the meantime, most of the play set remains.  I think I need to gather the kids to say our good byes, while toasting ‘smores. 

Coming soon to Helen's Haven™

I    

This is a week of transition.  From my babies to tweens; from dreams to reality.

Helen  Yoest is a garden writer, speaker and garden coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

I like catching their garden in various light.  Regrettable, when returning from a late afternoon  spin around the lake, I stopped by to visit the garden and found the light to be just right, but my photo card was full.   Each day thereafter, I returned to the garden at the same time,  7PM, in hopes to get the photo that got away.  It got away.  I have it in my mind, though, that special way the afternoon light hit the grass, probably a Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ - Feather Reed Grass, against the conifer .  It was magic!

If the gardens weren’t enough, during each visit, we all benefited from Jim’s handwork in the kitchen.  This visit added smiles, yum, and pounds with frosted banana nut bread and two batches cookies, one specifically bagged for  my son — thank goodness — I can respect that.  Otherwise, I would have pounded them back.

The gardens and food gave a welcoming feeling as if I was a guest at an inn.  

As they apologized for the state of their garden with comments such as, you should have seen it last week, I continued to snap photos at every turn.  The Laskarin garden is charming and delightful, full of color with borrowed backdrop not required.  Yet, the sight of Pine Lake did, indeed, add value to my visit.  Until next time, Jim and Jo….

Helen  Yoest is a garden writer, speaker and garden coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

With anticipation, I drove two hours from Northern Indiana, to a suburb of Chicago, for a visit with my long time blogging friend, Barbara Pintozzi, author of Mr. McGregor’s Daughter.  We talk nearly everyday through social media and we’ve met before, at the blogger’s Fling, held in  Buffalo July of 2010; however, I had yet to visit her garden.

the Nano Prairie at Squirrel Haven

Barbara's non-rock garden. I think I need this for my Rock Garden. Barbara, please remind me of the cultivar?

Barbara modeling her new garden gloves

Visiting gardens is a passion of mine; when the garden is that of a friend, built through passion only found in a dedicated gardener, the anticipation swells beyond the mere excitement of seeing a great garden.  There is just something wonderfully special about sharing a friend’s garden — through her eyes; through her hand; through her heart.

I was not disappointed visiting Squirrel Haven, the ironic name Barbara dubbed her suburban lot.  Barbara is plant collector and one who manages to keep plant names on the tip of her tongue, with the ability to roll off the most complex pronunciation of the most complicated Botanical Latin.  I don’t know how she does it, particularly since I know she is not a trained horticulturalists, but rather, a lawyer.

Barbara’s passion as a gardener was evident throughout her garden.  It was such a joy to see and walk the garden I’d been reading about for years.  Her collection of clematis, blooming on and off throughout the summer, the phlox she collects, as she continues to look for the perfect color; the wildlife her garden attracts, bringing both of us to the same point, stepping on each other’s toes to get a better shot.

I was reminded when visiting, she is a variegated and  chartreuse aficionado.  She has a way of making her colors pop with contrast and compliments.  If a color isn’t just right, she will pull or tweak until she is satisfied.  Her efforts have paid off.

Through her dealings with squirrels, Barbara has put to use some clever ideas, like this one here, where she repurposed a basket from a thrift store to protect her Heuchera ‘Havana’.

I was most anxious to see her Becoming Green Women, garden art she made for her welding class project.  Recently, a tree fell on it, causing a bend, but otherwise weathering the storm, to overlook Squirrel Haven for years to come.

After a two hour tour, we had to rush off since Barbara made arrangements for me to visit another garden in town.  I regret having to cut our  tour short, but I had limited time.  Next time, I plan to invite myself to stay for coctails.  I noticed her back patio sat in the afternoon shade, overlooking the back garden, looking all to welcoming.

Until next time, Barbara…

Helen  Yoest is a garden writer, speaker and garden coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

Origanum pulellum

Name: Origanum pulchellum, showy oregano

Zones: 5b – 9a

Size:  Under 6 inches

Conditions: Full sun, can take a little shade

The color of Origanum pulchellum is hard to describe, perhaps a pale pink or a rosy mauve, in any case, the color of Origanum pulchellum, also known as showy oregano or showy marjoram, is calming in a hot rock garden. I often find myself looking it with a second stare, as if it were something I’d find greeting me at the Pearly Gates.

Origanum pulchellum hails from Asia, but it has adapted well to my rock garden, located at the base of the Piedmont region of North Carolina. I often see our native bees flocking this exotic plant, too.

Staying low and wide (18ish inches), forming in clumps, it’s as if made for my Rock Garden. If you care too, they also make great cutting plants. Cut the long branches of fresh blooms, place in a vase without water, and let it dry naturally. It will hold it’s color and charm for some time to come.

Helen  Yoest is a garden writer, speaker and garden coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

Actually, that is one of the very best parts of all the on-line friends I’ve made, age matters not.  We all have a common interest — gardening and writing about gardening.  Plus garden travel, garden art, garden plants, fellow garden bloggers, garden books, gardening magazines, and just generally sharing our loves and laughs in the garden, across some cosmic contraption called the Internet.

I hope you enjoy Pam’s perspective of a visit to my garden,  Helen’s Haven™.

The artful collector’s garden of Helen Yoest

While visiting my dad in central North Carolina last week, I was invited to pop over to Raleigh blogger Helen Yoest’s garden after a morning visit to Plant Delights Nursery. My family and I spent several hours at Plant Delights and then had lunch, so by the time I arrived at Helen’s the sun was aglare and the temps steamy. Helen wasn’t fazed a bit. After introducing our kids to each other, she pulled on a hat and led me into her lovely garden for a tour.

Pictured above is her front-yard garden, anchored near the house by this visually refreshing tiered fountain. Helen has planted this full-sun, sloping site with xeric perennials for seasonal color and with plenty of evergreen trees and shrubs to give it interest in the colder months.  Ream more…

Helen  Yoest is a garden writer, speaker and garden coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

Those glorious, glossy magazines I’m so fortunate to write for, are often left unread. Oh, I look through them; every page, in fact. I begin with the cover, reading the captions of what lies within. They pique my interest and I get all giddy knowing what’s to come. But then, I get stuck studying the cover shot for every detail. As I crack open the mag, I find myself staring at the photos. Often, I’ll start a story, only to be drawn back to the pics. They mesmerize me. However, religiously, I read the photo captions.

If the caption hints to something the photo doesn’t explain, I go back to the story to find out more. But I realize there are many times, a photo caption doesn’t give enough details and I find out later, when talking with friends, I may have missed the gist of the entire story.

During a recent trip to Des Moines, meeting with James Baggett, editor of Country Gardens magazine talked about writing captions. He said, generally too many captions are written as an afterthought. His advice to me was to give my captions as much thought as the featured piece. He’s right. I should know; there are others out there, like me, reading the captions and nothing else.

This has changed as I mashed my read more do-over button. I want to learn more from the story than the pretty pictures tell. I want to learn form the experiences featured in the story. That’s what it’s really about. If I read more, I might learn not to make the same mistakes, or even better, learn the root of their inspiration, sparking my own. And I want the pictures too.

By reading the entire story, I not only get to see the pretty pictures and glean the story from the captions, but I get to understand the rest of the story. So, the next time I’m with friends, I can say, “Wasn’t it amazing how that gal from Raleigh managed to anchor 20 foot tall tri-fold mirrors, made from old Church windows originally from Canada, but found at a Georgia garage sale, where she traded out the clear panes with mirrors and place on a stone stand in her Raleigh back garden?” Then it will be my friends saying to me, “What? I missed that, I thought it was just a neat idea about reuse.”

Have you mashed any do-over buttons? Today, I’m reading more, ,
I’m talking more and I’m writing more I’m happy to report, I’m better for it.

Helen  Yoest is a garden writer, speaker and garden coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

With paths gone and after adding an additional 600ish pounds of #78 Chesapeake gravel from Charles Luck Stone, in Wake Forest, NC., the garden has formed.

Finally, I was able  get down to the business of plant selection.

Keeping to plants under 12 inches tall and  liking a well drained, sunny location, I continued adding plants for the spring and summer; figuring fall finds would await me later in the year.

My first shopping trip took me took me to the JC Raulston Arboretum spring plant sale. Passing by big, bold, and lusty plants, one’s I’m usually drawn too, I honed in on the minute picks.  Seeking out Tim Alderton, Research assistant at the JCRA, and one of the ones I hold responsible for getting me to this point of creating a rock garden, I asked for his recommendations from what was available. That trip landed Iris cristata ‘Vein Mountain’ (Dwarf Crested Iris,) Bouteloua gracilis ‘Blue Grama Grass’, Phlox carolina ‘Kim’ (thick-leaf Phlox) in the garden.

The next day, while at Lowes, a Tiarella ‘Spring Symphony’ jumped into my shopping cart.   This Tiarella needs shade and the Rock Garden is primarily sun, so it went on the east side of an Osmanthus near the edge of the garden along the old path.  Derysimum x ‘Bowles Mauve’ and Armeria pseudarmeria ‘Ballerina Red’ nuzzled next to the Tirarella in the cart and came home with me as well.

My eye keeps turning towards each spring blooming pretty faces.  I need to pace myself and choose for summer, fall and winter too, or I will quickly run out of room.

Then I went on a garden tour in South Carolina with friends (other volunteers from the JCRA) with a keen eye on rock garden plants.  I scored.  I hope not too much so since, I do have other seasons to satisfy.  Since I’m primarily filling the Rock Garden with plants from garden centers, the plants available are those in bloom at the time of purchase.  As such, I MUST STOP and wait for the arrival of late summer and fall selections.

Still, I pretty tickled with my latest selections:

Prunella grandiflora ‘Bella Blue’

Sedum dasyphyllum ‘Major’ Corsican Stonecrop

Geranium x cantabrigiense ‘Karmina’.  The mature size will be 12 – 15 inches; still an OK size for a rock garden plant.  I would prefer for it to stay on the lower side tho.

Helinthemum ‘Hartswood Ruby’

Sisyrinchium angustifolium ‘Lucerne’ Lucerne Blue Eyed Grass (Thanks Barbara, for pointing this one out.)

Lotus corniculatus ‘Plenus’ Double Bird’s Foot Trefoil.  I’m afraid this little guy might too wide for the space.  Reported to get only 3 – 4 inches tall, but 12 – 23 inches wide.  I’m OK with the tall side, not so much with the wide side.  But, we’ll see.

Heucherella ‘Alabama Sunrise’

Juncus tenuis ‘Blue Dart’ Blue Dart Rush

Also, my trial plants arrived from Proven Winners, including the little beauty Echincea purpurea ‘Little Annie’.  The Rock Garden is the perfect place to trial this plant. ‘Little Annie’ will not be released until the Spring of 2012.

My new challenge is to wait out the fabo cordoon which is just a tiny bit out of place in the Rock garden, as well as, the yarrow that is taking over.  I was going to wait to remove much of the yarrow until it bloomed, but I think I need to work on it when I’m in the garden next.

Feeling feisty, I removed a the giant cardoon just as it was beginning to fruit.  Heresy!  And, I yanked out the aggressive yarrow before it bloomed.  I was on a mission and I’m happy for it.  This left a gaping hole.  But as that door closed, Montrose had an open garden.  With the open garden was a plant sale where I picked up the following:

Zephyranthes flavissima

Aethionema grandiflorum

Cryptomeria japonica ‘Duke Gradens Nana’

Scutellaria var. parifolia

Calylophus serrulatus

Helianthemum ‘Buttercup’

Orostachs erubescens

Origanum puchellum

Panica granatum ‘Nana’

Tubaghia violacea ‘Silver Lace’

Allium seescens subsp. senescens

Salvia chamaedryoides

Chrysanthemum weirichii

The Rock Garden could also be dubbed, The No Regrets Garden. A true labor of love and a place to showcase little lovely plants.

If veggie gardening is the gateway drug to ornamental gardening, then…journal entry 1

Rock garden journal entry 2

Rock garden journal entry 3

Rock garden journal entry 4

Rock garden journal entry 5

Helen  Yoest is a garden writer, speaker and garden coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

Helen  Yoest is a garden writer, speaker and garden coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

GARDENING WITH CONFIDENCE™

THIS MONTH IN THE GARDEN

Mid-Atlantic Region

INTRO
June is a good month in the south; the humidity has not likely arrived, the days are long and school is out putting us on summertime.  A change in the daily routine is a welcomed change indeed!

BULBS

If your daffodil foliage is lying on the ground, it is now OK to cut back.

How well did your daffodils perform this year? Great? then leave them be; poorly?, then dig up the bulbs and divide once they finish maturing (as indicated by the died back leaves.) They are probably overcrowded.  Daffodil bulbs can be planted immediately or stored in a shade, well-ventilated location.

Remove the Amaryllis bloom stalk.

Remove German bearded iris bloom stalk to tidy up the plant.  During the 6 weeks or so after bloom time, next years flowers are forming.   It’s best to wait until the fall to transplant or otherwise disturb these plants or risk next years show.

The soil has warmed enough to plant caladiums and elephant ears.

Late spring is the time to plant autumn crocuses.

Dahlia tubers can still be planted.

ANNUALS

Tender annuals can still be planted: begonias, basil, coleus, impatiens.

PERENNIALS

Up until about the 4th of July, many plants can be pinched back to maintain shape, delay bloom time, and keep from getting leggy.  Give your garden Nip and Tuck; Plants that benefit from a nip include: Asters, Basil, Joe-Pye weed, heliopsis, Mint, Mums, Salvias, Sedums.

Keep flower heads deadheaded.

TREES & SHRUBS

ROSES

Remember to cut your faded rose blooms to encourage more growth.  Cut the stem just above the first 5-leaflet leaf below the bloom.

Remember, roses are a thirsty and hungry bunch.  The watering rule of thumb is to water each plant 5 gallons per week.  Fertilize every six weeks with a complete rose fertilizer.

HERBS

Rosemary can take a hard pruning.   Now is a good time to shape, shear it, prune to manage its size.

Its easy to plant more herbs than you can use  plan to share with friends and neighbors.

WATERWISE

As summer begins, so do summer vacations.   This also arises the need to have your garden looked after while you are gone!.  There is no need not to have container gardens just because you are going on vacation and don’t want to be bothered.  Why let a week or two away keep you from coming home to some nice plantings?  Here are some tips to caring for your container gardens and houseplants while you are on vacation.  These tips are for those with and without automatic irrigation systems.

Bring houseplants outside under the cool of the porch or eves of the house.

Get a neighbor kid to come over everyday to check on things and to water.  Most pots will need watering everyday.

Pool you pots together near a water source and out of the afternoon sun.

Add extra mulch to the base of the plant.

Add water lines to your containers from your irrigation system.

Don’t have an irrigation system?  The big box stores sell automatic systems that hook up to your spigot such as Mister Mister.

Helen  Yoest is a garden writer, speaker and garden coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.