Category Archives: rambling thoughts

Spring Walk About

backyard bed, bulbs, front bed, rambling thoughts, spring

2020 has been quite the trying year for our Small Blue Dot so far. During December of last year, there was word of a new virus spreading through China. At the end of February, the first death related to the virus was reported in the Pacific Northwest of our country. On March 23, Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order to Stay Home Stay Safe. In our state, nonessential travel is prohibited. We are not to leave our homes except as necessary “for health and safety reasons, to get groceries and supplies, for certain outdoor activities, and to care for others”. Today that order was extended to April 30th.

White Primrose

The Other Half and I are fortunate our jobs allow us to continue working. We are both able to telecommute, so for the most part our income is uninterrupted. However, there are many who will be facing an unplanned and sudden loss of income. It’s a real test of our species’s ability to support one another.

Nature Still Progresses

As we walked through the Lot this early evening after work, the Other Half and I noticed the continuing progress of the plants. During a time the world’s societies seem frozen in place, nature is still on the move. It’s a humbling reminder the human species is not the center of the universe as we often believe ourselves to be.

Frilled Daffodils

In the south bed, these frilly daffodils are blooming. The tulips are on the way, the foliage already out of the ground.

Detail of Frilled Daffodil

We left the confines of the Lot to take a stroll down to the park to see what else was blooming. On the way, we found these peonies against a south-facing brick foundation. They are well ahead of the peonies on the Lot, which do not receive as much sun this time of year.

Peonies Emerging from Ground Near Brick Foundation

In the park we found more daffodils in bloom. This west-facing bed also had some peonies breaking ground.

Bed of Daffodils and Emerging Peonies

Just opening are the forsythia shrubs. We clipped a few small branches to bring back and place in a vase at home.

Close Up of Yellow Blooms on Forsythia

And finally, the magnolia trees are also just starting to open.

Magnolia Blooms Against Blue Sky

Winter Arrives

berms, rambling thoughts, seeds, the Lot, to do

In our area of Zone 6a of the midwest US, I have mixed feelings about the winter months. I enjoy fresh snowfall and snowy days curled up on the couch with the four-footed garden management. For me, it allows a type of recharge, both physically and mentally. We gardeners in this corner of the Blue Dot do not have many months to spend in the garden. However, we hit it hard when we do. Now is a time for rest… and daydreaming about next season.

Most of the plants on the Lot have been hibernating for a solid month or so now. The only activity has been from the Hellebores as the temps flux up and down. “Winter Interest” can only do so much to counter consistently gray skies and rain/snow sleet mix. There isn’t much sun to speak of to show off all those carefully planned arrangements of brown in the garden beds. However, today we had our first good snowfall. The Lot was blanketed in a cozy cover of white fluff. Winter is fully here, which means Spring is on the way.

Big Dreams in All the Spaces

As we wait for Winter to play its part, I’m already thinking of plans for the Lot this year. Here are a few I’d like to log and revisit later:

  • Plant a sedge lawn
  • Create a rock garden berm
  • Plant more Mexican sunflower in the back garden
  • Try again to start some annual ornamentals from seed

TOTALLY doable in one season, right?

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!