Fake bloom! Fake butterfly! ‘Crystal Peak’Fennel bloomMandevilla climbing the Sweet Gum treeLiriope finally booms after being moved from outside the fence! Sorry deer!Curcuma! Love all the gingers!Crossandra
Thanks go to Jon the Propagator who hosts Six on Saturday. Pop over and see what’s blooming all over the world. Our poor world, needs more gardeners.
A week of rain and humidity should encourage growth, yes? But a bit of sunshine is needed to keep the photosynthesis going! A few things blooming…
Summer waning, hydrangea tooDahlias, not show worthy, but bloom is welcomed!Canna, the fawns like the blooms, so this is rare!Tall dahlia, out of reach of deer.Hedychium ‘Disney’, a favorite of hummingbirdsCrinum, I wish you could smell this!
We began July with a cross country trip, cavaliers on Board, first stop Birmingham AL. The visit with an old friend included an evening in her garden!
Another cross country tripBirmingham AL garden
On to Dallas, and I have nothing to say about that stop, except the La Quinta across from the Four Seasons was one of the best we stayed with our pets along. Would’ve liked to stay at the Four Seasons! It irks me that my two perfectly clean and coiffed dogs would cost so much extra just to sleep in their own comfy dog beds. I am sure they are cleaner and better behaved than the typical 3 year old, and the kids are free!
Taos after several years, feels like a second home. and now son and his wife have added land in Angel Fire, so that is a new destination. Their dogs love it, especially the lake, but it much too wild and rural for the likes of the cavs.
The puppies and Mom, with son
We took a packed lunch to Angel Fire, watched the dogs swim in the lake, observed wildflowers everywhere, even at 10,000 feet, and tried to identify the birds from their song. What an amazing afternoon to just be in the mountains. Peaceful beyond words.
From our window in the newly refurbished casita, the sunsets blaze, the cows and horses graze, and we feel so happy to be in the Land of Enchantment.
Casita evenings
Our morning walks through this beautiful countryside start each of our days with a serenity that is hard to find anywhere else.
Crepe MyrtleCanna ‘Bengal Tiger’EchinaceaFennelCleomeSalvia ‘Black n Blue’LantanaMarigoldSalviaPhysostegiaSmall EchinaceaMandevillaFavorite begonia todayCrossandra ‘Orange marmalade’That’s all for June in my low country home…
Just some sights of Savannah as summer wheels this way.
Datura seen on a garden tourSkidaway Island border on garden tourMagnolias bloom in a Savannah squareThe new ZunzibarGarlic harvest from Skidaway FarmA Covid needlepoint finish
Steamy days ahead! Less time in the garden, more time for reading, stitching, And viewing of all sorts,
Recently I travelled with friends by boat through the low country to Ossabaw Island. There is no other way to arrive there. This barrier Island off the coast of Georgia is one of the few unspoiled areas along the 100 mile Eastern coast of Georgia. One family had owned it, until the last heir died this past year at the age of 108.
There is so much history here, but I wont attempt to delve into that in a short post. Our trip was possible through the Ossabaw Island Fooundation, and I recommend visiting their web page for more information, http://www.ossabawisland.org. I would like to show you some photos.
We left from Butter Bean beach near Skidaway Island.
After a 40 minute ride along the river, arriving at the dock, this island was a serene outpost where I could not imagine one woman living alone for decades..”Sandy” Torrey West (1913-2021) was an inspirational and enthusiastic protector of her island, where she lived full time from the age of 75-103.
Waterway to Ossabaw, low country of GA
She loved the wildness of the Island and kept it that way but invited visitors from the world of the arts who were able to retreat to this natural space. She also loved her menagerie of wild animals. Some donkeys remain there, and most certainly some wild hogs.
Alligator tracks?
She was born to a wealthy family in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, and her debutant-like upbringing did not prepare her, as such, for the life she was to lead when her parents bought the Island in 1924; 26,000 acres of forest, marsh and wild animals.
She allowed the wild animals to roam free on the 26,000 acres when she inherited the Island from her parents. Some of the donkeys remain along with alligators, hogs and many wild creatures.
We hiked into an area where she housed visiting artists over the years.
The Foundation now invites artists to take up residence, to this day. We walked the paths, and found some remaining slave quartes from a distant past.
Tabby slave quarters
We saw many decrepit out buildings, but were not invited to view the main house which the Torrey family built by 1926. From reports, it was once was a majestic home but is now in need of repair. This Island has 4,000 years of human habitation, from Native American Indians, colonial plantation owners, as well as enslaved and tenant farmers. The stories of those people add to the imaginative mind that is overwhelmed when stepping foot on this magical Island.
I hope to return to this incredible ecosystem which has lessons yet unlearned.
Spring has arrived in Savannah. Azaleas are popping, more people are vaccinated, and human life is catching up with the natural world. All through this pandemic, fungi has been doing its thing, don’t you know? I learned more about that today, when the Landings Garden Club hosted a ‘Shroom Walk with mushroom grower and businessman, Ancil Jacques.
Ancil is the owner of Swampy Appleseed Mushrooms. He is very entertaining and his expertise was shared with some stalwart members of the Landings Garden Club this morning as we took a Mushroom Walk.
We met Priest Head Landing, on Skidaway Island. In this remote area of the island, the walking trail showed its treasures this morning as we learned so much about mushrooms and the importantance of fungi.
Some ladies took home a block of specially formulated sawdust with spores of an edible mushroom, and some like me, were content to buy a bag of mushrooms.
I am thinking risotto tonight?
I think a trip to the Forsyth Farmers Market this Saturday morning in the heart of Savannah’s historic district, is where you will find me, purchasing more mushrooms from Ancil….he is there every Saturday morning to sell his marvelous mushrooms!
After a long, too long, period of consecutive rainy and gloomy days in Savannah, the sun appeared yesterday. We were ready for an adventure. We got in the car, dogs and their gear packed, and took an excursion off Skidaway Island.
This is camellia season, so a return trip to Masse Lane garden, home of the American Camellia Society came to mind. Though it is a 4 hour trip to get there and 4 hours back, we were undeterred. What we did not reckon was our dismay at being inside a car for all those daylight hours on one of the BEST days we have had in Georgia in a long time.
First stop was Lane Orchard Farm store. They were open, with Covid protocols in place. You have to stop for the fresh peach bread, and since peach season is a distant memory, a jar of peach jam found its way into the cart. Lane is famous for its peaches and for its pecans. A croissant stuffed with a delicious chicken and pecan salad was gobbled along with a lemonade. Dogs were walked; they are welcome at Lane Farm store but not in the restaurant area. A row of white rocking chairs is perfect for outdoor dining, but we contented ourselves to eat inside our car, ignoring the drooling cavaliers in the back seat.
Next stop was the Garden itself. The sunshine is so strong in Georgia, but gratefully the camellias are planted along beautiful paths with a high overstory that shades enough to make viewing pleasureable. To me that is quintessential Georgia- bright sun streaming through old shade trees, casting long shadows to make viewing the natural world so pleasureable.
In the last post I made mention of Camellia ‘Debutante’ aka Sara C. Hastie. Another giggle from this camellia because when purchased, the label on my plant said it could make a nice hedge planted with other Debutantes. The missing piece of information was how tall this camellia can become! This one was at least 15 feet tall; that’s a very tall hedge.
We arrived back home in Savannah just as the sun was about to disappear below the Moon River marsh, and then to witness the glow of the golden reflections as we drove over the bridge to Skidaway Island was bliss. A day to forget about restrictions, Covid, vaccinations, masks and separation. Just to drive the open road and regard the camellias in bloom was enough for the day.
When a plantsman has developed a new Camellia and feels certain it is a variety never seen before, that person is compelled to name the plant with a distinguished moniker that will forever describe it.
While walking long, oyster shell paths among mature and stately camellias this past week end, I saw a few labels, but most of the older specimens were a mystery to me. I came back to my study and reviewed my photos and compared some of the blooms against those in older books on camellias. One such book, CAMELLIAS by G.G Gerbing, printed in 1950, is very helpful. Many of the mature camellias found in the Savannah area might have been planted in the 20th century and can be identified using these older books. Some are no longer easily available in modern day nurseries.
The author wags a finger and rightly so – “Another deporable trick, to be chalked up against visitors to Camellia gardens and nurseries, is the habit of taking cuttings from rare varieties while the owner is looking the other way.”
I feel that thievery is beyond reproach, and I was surprised many years ago, when an otherwise quite proper garden club lady proudly gave me a peak into her purse. She had the tools of a practiced garden thief – sharp scissors, plastic bags with moistened paper towels and labels for identification. I was appalled, and wondered how she would feel if a like minded thief visited her noteworthy garden with similar intentions!
One thing I admit to on my garden walks is taking way too many photographs. So, I have devised a method to be able to recall the name of the plant if available. First I take the photo of the bloom with some foliage included.
And then immediately following, I take a photo of it’s corresponding label.
Camellia japonica ‘Silver Wings’
Another interesting section in this book dealt with confusion in Camellia Nomenclature. This goes back to naming a camellia. Apparently there have been some shady nurserymen who will give a different name to a camellia, all in the name of a good sale. Mr. Gerbing named some camellias that have been given more than one name. I was surprised to find a camellia that I just planted last week, Camellia japonica ‘Debutante’ on the list! Apparently there is an identical camellia to be found with the name Sara C. Hastie. So, who is the culprit there? A fashionable lady who dabbled in propagating new camellia varieties? Or some nurseryman of bad repute who lost the label, and just gave the plant the name he liked? It is fun to speculate and wonder about the origins of old camellias.
This is it – 2021 camellias are blooming! Not slowed by a pandemic; they bloom brightly to cheer all those who take a look.
What am I thinking about this week? I am bursting with garden thoughts. After almost a year of isolation, my Zoom life has taken charge and in just this month, I have attended more live zoom calls and meetings than in all other months combined. So, one thing on my mind is botanicals.
From a garden lecture
I virtually attended the January meeting of the Trustees Garden Club in Savannah GA. Jenny Cruse-Sanders from the State Botanical Garden gave a fascinating Zoom presentation on Plants, Nature and Gorgeous China.
For centuries, the science of studying the plant world has informed through the gorgeous renderings by botanic artists. The life of the plants translated on porcelain is immortalized and we can enjoy these treasures hundreds of years later.
Imagine the time when we can again gather, set a table of beautiful botanic China, and enjoy friends and family in 3D. Until that time, isn’t it great that we can turn to Zoom to stay connected with people, ideas and yes, the garden.
Jayne In Georgia 