Category Archives: education

Five Seasons

design, education, native plants, rambling thoughts

This afternoon I was able to attend a screening of Five Seasons : The Gardens of Piet Oudolf by Thomas Piper. The filmmaker attempts to give us a peek into the mind and creative process of the Dutch garden designer, Piet Oudolf. We are able to watch beautiful footage of Oudolf’s designs transition over a span of seasons. Being in Zone 6a during February, this was a welcome distraction and opportunity to be inspired by a fellow gardener.

Looking for Something Different

When discussing his approach to designing a garden, Piet discusses how as a young man he was looking for something different than the traditional garden design. He was searching for a more spontaneous appearance, one that would look interesting in all seasons. For example, he describes a beautiful winter palette of browns, gray, and blonde. Having been gardening for a bit now, winter and beautiful palette aren’t usually riding on the same train of thought for me. But wow, when the light hits those stands of grasses and fading asters in the film, it’s pretty breathtaking.

I put plants on stage. And I let them perform.

– PETE OUDOLF

Overlooked Plant Elements

When selecting plants for designs, Piet Oudolf looks beyond flowers. At one point in the film he even warns against too many blooms. I feel most gardeners would have a designer’s head on a stick for those words, but I do understand. If everyone is yelling, no one is heard; right? Here are a few things I’ve been trying to pay more attention to when observing plants.

  • plant structure / form
  • seed heads
  • changing foliage color
  • movement

All of these things can add to the atmosphere created by a garden. Piet mentions throughout the film how he’s not really a botanist or a landscape designer. He wants to create environments with plants that invoke different emotions in the viewer. I feel this is why many people throughout the film refer to him as an artist using plants as a medium.

Recharging the Batteries

One of the more delightful scenes of the film caught Piet driving through the Texas to view wildflowers. I laughed when he began to exclaim and point to the highway median, covered with orange swaths because of the native blanket flower (Gaillardia). I had just had the same experience this past spring when I traveled to Austin for the 2018 Garden Bloggers Fling!

Oudolf is seen throughout the film constantly snapping photos, collecting inspiration. Thank you digital cameras! He speaks about “recharging” his creativity. Scenes from the film show him wandering through the woods and wading through prairies. I agree. Nature is one heck of a muse, isn’t she?

The Gardener’s Partner

At multiple points of the film, Piet Oudolf praises his wife Anja for her continued support. He credits her with supporting their young family while he began his career. This stood out to me because I live as one half of a pair. Partners of gardeners (who don’t also garden) could start their own support group. But when they’re supportive, it makes all the difference.

The Other Half has been a rockstar in supporting my gardening obsessions. He doesn’t care when I pull the car off the side of the road to get a photo of that plant. His teasing is playful when I take a photo 1. of the plant, and 2. of the plant with my hand in it for scale. He’s even made a game of taking pictures of me while I take pictures of plants. (For reals. We have some in every vacation photo album he’s shot.)

Public Gardens by Pete Oudolf

Pete Oudolf has a huge portfolio of gardens he’s designed over the years. The layouts I find most interesting are those set in an urban environment. Here are a few:

Coming in 2019

So, I was SUPER-geeked to find out Pete Oudolf has been asked to design a garden for Belle Isle in Detroit. That’s a day trip for me!!! Who signed up to volunteer for install? This lady. Can’t wait!

The Lot Levels Up

education, loki bed, native plants, pollinators, rambling thoughts, the Lot

As I’ve wrote (preached?) about multiple times, the Lot is being arranged, planted, designed, arranged again for more than The Other Half’s and my benefit. I enjoy spending time in the garden and will not turn down garden compliments from anyone willing to shower them upon me. But as I’ve continued to learn about gardening, I’m wanting more and more to develop a tiny ecosystem on the Lot to support a whole variety of critters.

Enter Swamp Milkweed

In 2014 a handful of native plants were integrated into the assortment of flora on the Lot. One of these plants was Asclepias incarnata or Swamp Milkweed. This perennial plant likes full sun, though it can tolerate a bit of shade. It’s happiest in medium to wet soil.  When you see it in The Wilds, it often is near wetlands. It has a tall, slender silhouette growing 4 to 5′ that does not require staking. Swamp Milkweed can be grown in USDA hardiness zones 3a-8b. Here is a shot of the plant in bloom on the Lot during July of 2015.

Monarch Nursery

Swamp milkweed is also known to attract monarch butterflies, not only for a nectar source but also as a host plant for their young. Monarchs will lay eggs on the plant, the eggs hatch, and voila there is a buffet awaiting the hungry, hungry caterpillar.

I have waited SO long for what happened today. Mom G and I had returned from a day wandering a beautiful lavender labyrinth and herb garden and then participating in retail therapy at a great nursery. I was placing an anise hysop near the swamp milkweed because I plan on expanding the bed and making it a pollinator patch. I was moving to straighten up again when I came eye to eye with this little one.

The Other Half has joked my squeals of delight (in regards to plants and kittens) reach beyond the audio range of the human ear. This was one of those times. I literally was dancing in place and motioning Mom G over to take a look. On the swamp milkweed was the first monarch caterpillar I have ever noticed on the Lot.

Plant It and They Will Come?

There are many, many guides online that will coach you through which plants to select for monarchs. However, your best bet is to get your facts from a university extensions page or an entomology department. Here is a monarch plant guide from the Michigan State University Extension office.

Also, I’ve read numerous times for any pollinator garden, larger stands of the plant have a better chance of attracting that pollinator you desire. In the front, South bed I noticed I have the most pollinators when the large stand of purple coneflowers is blooming. As mentioned above, I’m installing a stand of plants this year that will hopefully serve as a big grocery store signal for bees and butterflies. I’ll keep notes on its progress.

Oh, and then there’s patience. ARGH.

Smells Like Teens

education, fieldtrip, the Horror!

Have you ever been an uber fan of a celebrity, such as a film star, author, or musician? You always get really excited when talking about she or he. Meeting the person brings a bit of anxiety because you really want to meet your celebrity, but what if the person isn’t as amazing as you’ve thought?

The Frederik Meijer Gardens had sent out a message via their Facebook Page that their corpse flower was getting ready to bloom. “Putricia,” as they call it, is an 18 year old Amorphophallus titanum being grown by the horticultural staff. I’ve read about this species of plant many times, but couldn’t believe I  was getting the chance to meet it in person while it’s blooming! The bloom only lasts from 24 to 36 hours, so of course I spent my lunch break going to meet Putricia.

The “Other” Fans

So apparently I am not the only one who thinks huge, stinky flowers named after rotting meat are pretty rad. When I arrived at the FMG, the line to see Putricia was enormous. It snaked the perimeter of the lobby, down the hall, through the arid house, through the seasonal display, through the victorian house, and back out into the hall.

I finally reached the tropical conservatory, having stood in line long past my allotted lunch break. It was a bit frustrating because this time-sensitive event was happening, but the FMG did not extend its hours to accommodate it.  I was committed though, so a quick text to my boss ensured I would still have a job when I returned to my computer. In total I stood in line for a little over 2 hours.

Putricia was stunning. I of course had my photo taken with her.

Being both a fan of Stranger Things and Little Shop of Horrors, I was wondering how long it would take for Putricia to begin eating the children.

Amorphophallus titanum

The corpse flower, also called titan arum, is the “largest unbranched inflorescence (a cluster of flowers on a spike)”. In nature it can be found in the rainforests of western Sumatra, a large Indonesian island. The plant usually grows “up to 12 feet tall in its natural habitat and about six to eight feet tall in cultivation.”

The Bits and Pieces

The frilled part of the corpse flower that appears to be a petal is actually a spathe, which is a modified leaf.  The spathe is a creamy, pale green and mottled on the outside, but a crimson color on the inside. The spathe wraps around the spadix, which is the flower-bearing spike in the middle.

Near the base of the spadix, there is a ring of male flowers and female flowers. When ready for pollination, the spadix heats up and emits the infamously foul smell. This smell, along with the evening timed flowering, has led Wilbert Hetterscheid to believe the plant’s pollinators are carrion beetles.

What Does the Corpse Flower Smell Like?

Putricia’s perfume was putrid. When I stood beside it for my photo, it was giving off a fairly strong odor of garbage left out in the sun. As I took more photos of the plant, I noticed a couple of flies buzzing around the spadix, that tall fleshy spike.

After leaving the conservatory, visitors were encouraged to write down what they were reminded of when encountering the corpse flower’s scent. Some of the answers were quite funny such as “my hopes and dreams,” but many mentioned rotten cabbage or eggs, garbage, or some form of dead animal.

When Will the Corpse Flower Re-bloom

In an interview with the Detroit News, Steve LaWarre (Director of Horticulture) said we won’t have to wait another 18 years for the next bloom. Since Putricia is grown and has bloomed, a re-bloom may only take 3-5 years. That’s no time at all!

Resources

The Rapidian

Detroit News

Kew Science