GBBD: November 2017

Wishing and hoping can't stop winter's approach, but an old cotton sheet can keep a few annuals blooming!

We've had two frosty evenings and I knew the weather would rebound to the sixties and pollinators would be buzzing around looking for flowers. So, I covered my two favorites must have fall blooming supportive players, African Blue Basil and Salvia 'Mystic Spires'.

As you can see they survived the light frost and are blooming for all the late fall visitors.

Also, blooming today is Willow-leaf aster.

Symphyotrichum praealtum is also known as 'Miss Bessie'and she's a very, very, late blooming flower. Blooming in mid to late October, just as the Little ex-asters are starting to fade, Willow-leaf continues to bloom through much of November.

It always survives light frosts and is blooming in my garden today for any pollinators that venture out as the day warms up...As you can see they have!

Hamamelis virginiana is still lighting up the shady garden. Frost doesn't faze it and neither does a heavy freeze.

Fall blooms can't last forever, my friends, and sheets can't stop winter. I am going to miss all the pollinators when winter arrives, in the meantime I will enjoy each and every flower that is still making me smile.

xoxogail



 Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the blogosphere celebrate their blooms, so pop on over to Carol's and take the Mr Linky magic carpet ride to see what's blooming.

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

The witch-hazel is blooming and that makes me happy

That it's the best bloom in years adds to my delight.

Every branch is covered with fragrant spidery crepe paper flowers that never fail to charm as they furl on cold days and unfurl on warm ones!

It's a darn shame that it is overlooked by most nurseries in favor of the flashier non-native witch-hazels. Just step away from those Chinese witch-hazels and ask for Hamamelis virginiana! You won't be disappointed and that's a promise.


H virginiana is a great all around small tree/shrub for most gardens and those of you who garden for wildlife might consider planting it for the good wildlife value it adds to a shady garden.

In case you are still thinking non-native!

• A tough, adaptable plant suitable for a variety of garden settings (Hardiness Zones: 4-9)
• Tolerates clay soil and poor drainage  
• Since it's often the last blooming plant found in most woodlands it's invaluable for providing nectar to late visiting pollinators
• It's upright spreading branches are good nesting sites for birds. 
• Some moth caterpillars predate on it
• The dispersed seeds are eaten by birds and small rodents. Now don't turn your nose up at the mere mention of rodents, yes, they are pests, but, they are also extremely important critters for hungry owls and hawks.
• Lovely fragrant, bright yellow flowers that bloom from October through November.
• Great fall foliage color 
• It's native to eastern North American, including Louisiana and Texas. 

 xoxogail

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Dear Friends, won't you come out and play...

We can wander the garden and see the last of the fall blooms.

One of my favorites is a little witch hazel tree that never fails to bloom the first week of November. It lights up the shade and glows when in bloom.

flower visitors are rewarded with sugary nectar and sticky pollen

If we stand very close and the day is warm, we'll catch a slight sweet scent. That sweet scent attracts the small gnats, flies and bees that pollinate it.

I've shared this before, but, just in case you're a new visitor~This garden wasn't a garden when we moved here. We live on land that was at one time a forest of hardwoods that was the source of building material for a growing Nashville. A woodland of secondary growth oaks, hickories and ash trees replaced the old growth forest. Many years later (mid-fifties) developers carved roads, built houses and created deep lots with expansive lawns. My yard has shallow soil and exposed limestone. It's not a cedar glade (too far from them to be one) but, it has some cedar glade characteristics that make gardening a challenge. It also had some very charming wildflowers in the woodland edges, declining redbuds, several lovely Ostry virginianas and absolutely no shrubs.

It took me a few years to figure out and then plant the shrubs and small trees that would make sense (survive) on the shallow, clay soil that was wet all winter and dry most of the summer. Hamamelis virginiana was one of the first to be planted. It's a slow grower, but flowered that first autumn. I love them so much I added one more and then, a few years ago, I planted three Hamamelis vernalis in the Garden of Benign Neglect (back yard) and one in the front garden to honor my mother. The Ozark witch hazels bloom in late winter for the earliest pollinators.  

 The question I ask you gentle readers is this: "Can there ever be too many beautiful late fall or early blooming small trees/shrubs in a garden? I think not! There's always room for flowering plants that offer a sweet scent to the garden and food for pollinators.

If you walk with me in the garden, I might wax poetically about witch hazels. Would you mind if I tell you how much I love them?

I love the odd little flower that blooms every autumn.
I love its spidery petals that curl open on warm days and curl up on cold ones.
I love it's soft sweet scent.
I love that it rewards pollinator visitors with sweet nectar and sticky pollen.
I love that it blooms as the rest of the garden is going to seed and shutting down for the winter.

I love the leaf shape and how it yellows up in autumn. 

I love that the fruit ripens into little capsules that pop open to expel the seeds in fall.
I love that the branches were once used as divining rods to find underground water sources.
I love that it's happy in my garden!

If you take a walk with me we'll stop and admire the yellow blooms against November's beautiful blue sky, we'll look for pollinators and we'll get close enough to smell its fragrant flowers. I am sure you'll agree with me when I sigh and exclaim, "Nature is brilliant and amazing."

xoxogail

It bears repeating...If you want to have pollinators in your garden and visiting your witch hazels and other fall blooming flowers you must never, ever, ever, ever, ever use pesticides. I mean never!


Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Blooms and Foliage December 2014

Today, there's not a bloom to be found at Clay and Limestone, the way too early Arctic cold front flash froze everything except two stalwart plants, Hamamelis virginiana and Symphyotrichum praealtum. They put on quite a nice show until just last week, so I felt fine sharing them for my Bloom Day post!

Willowleaf aster

What's left to make a gardener smile on a winter's day?

Ostrya virginica

 Trees that hold their leaves all winter!

Foliage that twists and curls.

 Grasses that accent evergreens.

 Ex-aster's seed heads.

 Amsonia hubrichtii beginning to curl

Fluffy Goldenrod ready to spread its progeny out into the world!

Copper tubing, cobalt containers and golden panicums!

Hypericum frondosum

Hyper-colored Hypericum frondosum!

I hope your garden is making you smile!

xoxogail

Now make this garden blogger smile and pop over to May Dreams Gardens, where our delightful hostess, Carol, has set up the Mr Linky magic carpet ride to take you to more Bloom Day posts than you can imagine and to Pam's Foliage Follow-up on Digging....because blooms aren't alone in making a garden beautiful.

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

An almost Wordless Wednesday: Hamamelis virginiana

Is blooming in my Middle Tennessee garden right now.

It's a splendid little native tree that is too often overlooked for its flashier Asian relatives. How any one could think this tree unlovely or unworthy of a place in their garden is beyond my understanding!

The crepe papery blooms look especially enchanting with a backdrop of golden Shagbark hickory and Hophornbeam leaves and the Autumn blue sky!

xoxogail

PS I've written about witch hazels several times and you can read their story at Wildflower Wednesday: In praise of a native tree and When a tree blooms in Autumn.

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Wildflower Wednesday: In Praise of A Native Tree

When we moved to this property there was a canopy of secondary growth shagbark hickories, oaks, a Slippery Elm and a few hackberries all growing in a weedy lawn. Other than a diseased redbud and a lovely Ostry virginiana that was being smothered by a white wisteria vine there was absolutely no understory.

blooms from October to November

It took me a few years to figure out that any shrubs or small understory trees that were going to be planted needed to be able to thrive in heavy, neutral, clay soil that is soggy wet in winter and dry all summer. Surprisingly, there are more available than one might think and one of the first ones I added was a native witchhazel, Hamamelis virginiana. (go here for a post about understory trees for Middle Tennessee)

Hamamelis virginiana is a small multi-stemmed slow to moderate growing deciduous tree or large shrub with arching branches and fragrant yellow flowers that bloom in October and November. It's native to eastern North American, including Louisiana and Texas.

it has wonderful qualities that would appeal to every gardener

That was many years ago and it's still one of my favorites. It's growing in a small woodland garden beneath the swaying branches of a shagbark hickory and The Dancing Tree, the little Ostrya virginiana that I rescued from the strangling wisteria. It's perfect for woodland gardens and generously shares the ground beneath with woodland favorites like Christmas ferns, wild ginger, phacelia, trilliums, Dutchman's Breeches and other spring ephemerals.

There's more to witch hazel than a pretty face

It's a darn shame that it is overlooked by most nurseries in favor of the flashier non-native witchhazels. Perhaps, the problem is that the flowers aren't as large and can be missed in a landscape filled with glowing autumn leaves. But, there's so much to be seen when you take a close look at its bloom.

I might have missed the nectaring bee mimic/hover fly had I not climbed into the woodland bed to look into the pretty flower face.

it takes a year for the seeds to mature

If you don't take a close look you'll miss seeing the marvelous seed capsules. They explode when mature, sending the seeds more than 20 feet away from the parent tree to ensure the seed's best chance for germination.

You certainly don't want to miss their delightful, fragrant spidery crepe paper flowers that never fail to charm as they furl on cold days and unfurl on warm ones!

H virginiana is a great all around small tree/shrub for most gardens and those of you who are wildlife gardeners might consider planting it for the good wildlife value it adds to a shady garden...

• A tough, adaptable plant suitable for a variety of garden settings (Hardiness Zones: 4-9)
• Tolerates clay soil and poor drainage  
• Since it's often the last blooming plant found in most woodlands it's invaluable for providing nectar to late visiting pollinators
• It's upright spreading branches are good nesting sites for birds. 
• Some moth caterpillars predate on it
• The dispersed seeds are eaten by birds and small rodents. Now don't turn your nose up at the mere mention of rodents, yes, they are pests, but, they are also extremely important critters for hungry owls and hawks.
• Lovely fragrant, bright yellow flowers in late fall
• Great fall foliage color 

You can't go wrong with a Hamamelis virginiana. I've loved this plant since I first saw it and my affection has never wavered. Yours won't either if you decide to add it to your garden.

xoxogail

It's a holiday this week and company is arriving at my house on Tuesday, so I am posting Wildflower Wednesday on Monday and it will be up all week.  Feel free to join in at any time. 

Welcome to Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday celebration. WW is about sharing and celebrating wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Remember, it doesn't matter if they are in bloom or not, and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. It's all about celebrating wildflowers. Please leave a comment when you add your url to Mr Linky. 




 Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Wish you were here to celebrate the sun with me

It was a lovely weekend and I wish you had been here to see the golden color that is the hallmark of our autumn.

I love this time of year when the colors are bold and glowing, the air is cooler and sun shines every day.

For the first time in months the garden is brightly lit from above and from within.

 Once upon a time this woodland shade garden was sunnier, of course, it was never a full sun garden, but more light was able to reach the understory and daffodils and tulips would bloom in the spring. I love the spring ephemerals, the woodland wildflowers and the understory shrubs and trees, but, I long for the sun when the trees leaf out in late spring. 

Hamamelis 'Diane, Ex-Asters, Cotinus 'Grace' and various Amsonias

I used to dread the falling leaves because it meant hours of back breaking raking and mulching and the inevitable arrival of our grey winter, but, now I appreciate the open canopy that lets the sun reach into my garden again.

Spicebush/Lindera benzoin, Hydrangea arborescens 'Ryan Gainey' and a Japanese Maple

Just on schedule the leaves are falling, the canopy is opening and the sun is spot lighting plants with its brilliance.

Rhus aromatica 'Gro Low'

My favorite (you do know that they are all my favorites, right?) perennials, shrubs and small trees take center stage in the fall sunlight.

 Porteranthus stipulata has a small footprint, but what it lacks in size is more than made up for in its brilliant golden fall color.

The lantern was a gift from Frances of Fairegarden

One of my favorite groupings~Panicum virgatum, Aronia arbutifolia, Physocarpus opulifolius 'Little Devil', Itea 'Henry's Garnet', Juniperus virginica 'Grey Owl',  and Salvia leucantha 'Midnight'.

Cornus florida is a mixture of gold, orange and red~It's covered with buds~I love this promise of spring as we move towards winter.

 Did you know that Phlox paniculata had this marvelous fall coloring?

Ostrya virginiana the Dancing Tree

Or that a tree could dance in the breeze?

Last, but not least, is Amsonia hubrechtii, not new to the garden, but new to this spot. They're planted beneath Viburnum rufidulum along with Clethra Sugartina Crystalina™,  Penstemon 'Husker Red' and for leaf texture and color, Hosta 'Gaucamole'.  If you want to see what Amsonias can do after they lose their color see my post Amsonias, After The Fall.

Lucky for me and the visiting critters the very best Ex-aster just begun to bloom! I can continue to enjoy and celebrate the sun, the flowers and the critters until we have a serious frost and even then there still might be color in my garden.

xoxogail

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.