I Am Not All About Wildflowers!

But, I am a lot about them!

I'm also pretty fond of the native shrubs and trees that make up the understory and canopy at Clay and Limestone.

They are ornamenting the garden with their brilliant costumes as the entire garden prepares for the annual Clay and Limestone Autumn Dance.

Not yet dressed in her golden ball gown

No one will argue that the Queen of the garden is the Dancing Tree. She is guarded over by the tallest oaks and hickories. She has a graceful presence matched by no other at C and L.

The King of the garden,  Rusty is waiting patiently for the Dancer to make her entrance. He's donned his famous rusty red fall dinner jacket and is wearing a drupe boutonnière.

Soon the Queen and King will lead the procession across their small garden kingdom. Rusty and the Dancing Tree will dance the last dance before the long winter rest. She will be adorned in golden yellows and he will sport a deep burgundy suit with hints of green.

The crowd will  bow to their beauty.
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.

Thanks Rusty Blackhaw, For An Absolutely Perfect Present

Today I planted the two Rusty Blackhaw seedlings that  I found growing under the Mother Tree in my front garden.  I was almost instantly transported to another time when a younger gardener met a very generous older gardener and was gifted five beautiful Viburnum rufidulum seedlings.

The rusty haw on Viburnum rufidulum

I had never heard the term Mother Tree before I met Amy, nor had I ever met a Rusty Blackhaw.   Her yard was the other natural garden in our neighborhood and I had really wanted to meet her.  I  had a chance to introduce myself to her early one morning when I saw her working in the garden.  During that serendipitous visit and garden tour she told me that her goal was to create a wildlife sanctuary that did not offend the neighbors who were, in her words, “traditional, lawn and foundation people".  She was a passionate and eloquent spokesperson for native plant gardening and wildlife habitats and I could tell how very much she wanted others to appreciate both.  When she offered me the Rusty Blackhaw seedlings I was sure she was being overly generous and even tried to talk her out of giving me so many.  She assured me that her Mother Tree would make more. I remember dancing home and making plans for my garden.

I was deeply touched by her generosity and know that I received far more that day than those five seedlings. 

This afternoon when I dug the seedling/suckering roots from the ground, gently teasing the roots and cutting  the baby away from the Mother Tree,  and then when I  planted them nearby,  I thought of that long ago generosity and kindness. I remembered the plans and dreams of the young gardener who danced home holding her little tree seedlings.  I thought about the years that have passed and the native plant and wildlife friendly garden I planted.  When I patted the last little seedling from my Mother Tree into the ground, I knew, without a doubt,  that she really had given me more than just those five little seedlings. 

Thank you Amy for my absolutely perfect Christmas present.

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."

Take Time To Sit In Your Garden

Give yourself permission to revel in the beauty around you.

Celebrate what you have created.

 Focus on your successes not the defeats.

 There's always a list and there's always a project, but, how many beautiful fall days will there be like today?

When the autumn sun  lights up grasses;

makes leaves glow a brilliant red;

or,  highlights simple fruits? 

Soon, I will miss the golden colors and the warm days, but, not today. 

Today, I will sit in the garden and revel in the beauty. I hope you will, too.

xxoogail

I'm joining Dave's Fall Color Project 2011,  please visit The Home Garden for more beautiful fall gardens.

Photos:
1. Ostrya virginiana
2. Cotinus 'Grace'; Juniperus virginiana 'Gray Owl'; Basil
3. Panicum virgatum 'Northwind'; Aronia arbutifolia
4. Garden of Benign Neglect~Viburnum rifidulum/Rusty Blackhaw
5. Panicum 'Northwind' (here)
6. 'Glowing Embers' Japanese Maple developed for the south
7. Aronia arbutifolia berries~
8. Carya ovata/Shagbark Hickory
9. A little of this and a little of that~ Ex-aster, juniper, River Oats...


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."

Winter's Gray Herald

Early this morning winter made its first appearance in Nashville. It came with the cold, brisk wind that dropped the temperature 20 degrees.

But autumn color is guaranteed to continue at Clay and Limestone for a little longer~~(all photos enlarge with a click)  

The Japanese Maples in Woodland Garden have taken center stage.  

Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood' looks her best among the golds and yellows.


Most of the year Acer palmatum is a lovely soothing green,

but, each fall she erupts into fiery color.  Such a beautiful view of them both is offered from the porch.  We love to watch the changing fall scenes.  You can't believe how beautiful it is with the lower angle of the sun.  The maples are stunning when backlit!

'Natchez' Crape myrtle is just beginning to show her fantastic good looks.

She's a young plant, but already the bark is becoming more prominent.  There are two other Natchez in the front gardens...the fantastic bark, white flowers and fall color,  so worth  repeating.

Rusty/Viburnum rufidulum is also just beginning to
color in the shadier front garden. Isn't his form perfect. The shade slows down his color change but eventually he does get to burgundy.  We've planted five small  V rufidulums  about the yard for color continuity.  I do love Rusty!

Not wanting to be left out, another Rusty has put on his burgundy tuxedo and is dancing in the Garden of Benign Neglect ( a future post).

Finally, we have

oranges and reds in the understory and shrub layer (Witch Hazels 'Diane and Virginiana, and Japanes Maples beyond).

  

to compliment the yellows (Shagbark Hickories).

It's true, we can no longer deny that winter will soon be here. Much colder weather is predicted! A possible killing frost. I suspect it will reach its icy fingers into the south facing and protected garden and soon...

Possibly tonight,  will take out

the last of our blooming beauties...(Salvia leucanthus)

Today, there were no bees in the garden.  Not even on the  native  asters.  Not a Bumble in sight ...it is too cold for them to be out and about.  When the flowers are  gone there will be no  food for any hungry visitors.

Life in the garden will go on.  But I will miss the bumbles and other pollinators. This time I am positive  that they are gone for the season.  Well, I am pretty sure....We'll see! It is magical here!

Thanks for visiting and have a lovely day!  

Gail

I Love Rusty

About 10 years ago a neighbor gave me five Rusty Blackhaw (Viburnum rufidulum) trees. I had introduced myself to her one day on a walk. Her yard was the only one in the neighborhood that was natural like mine so I had to meet the gardener who created the lovely yarden.

She gave me a tour and told me about her philosophy and her plants. She wanted to create a wildlife sanctuary in her yard but, she also did not want to offend the neighbors who were traditional (lawn and foundation plantings, if you please).

She introduced me to two native plants I had never seen before... Rusty Blackhaw and Rhus Aromatica. It was a late fall day and the leaves of those two beautiful plants were gone. When she offered me the Rusty Blackhaw I was thrilled... I knew that native trees were rare and expensive in the nurseries. I remember asking her if she was sure she wanted to give them away, hadn't she another spot for them...She assured me she had plenty and that there would be more where they came from.

She spoke so reverently about the Rusty Blackhaw mother tree ....I really wasn't exactly sure what she meant at the time, and wondered how long it took for those 'treelings' to grow from seed. I was thrilled to get 5 native trees.

It wasn't until Rusty Blackhaw was firmly established in my own garden that I realized what she meant by 'mother tree'. The little trees hadn't grown from seed, they where the mother tree's suckering root shoots that she had transplanted. Now I have several mother trees which are producing their own root shoots.

She was one of the first generous and hope filled gardeners that I met. She gave with such joy. She wanted me to know and love the plants as much as she did. I know I received more than 5 trees from her.




Now let me tell you about my mother tree.

Rusty BlackHaw (Viburnum rufidulum) is a native tree of the southeastern United States. If you can't grow Rusty try her cousin Blackhaw (Viburnum prunifolium) but I think Rusty is the superior tree!







Rusty is a understory tree with glossy dark green, leathery, serrated leaves and lovely clusters of white flowers up to 4 inches wide appearing in March and April. The flowers are striking and noticeable from a distance, especially against those glossy green leaves. If you look closely at the photo you can see some of the rusty fuzz on the back of the leaves, buds and young stems. Aren't those leaves incredible. Don't you just want to touch them?





Rusty Blackhaw is slender tree with a small trunk and usually grows to about 18 feet with a lovely open and airy vase shape. I think the bark which is rough with rectangular blocks is part of this trees good looks.






Because Rusty Blackhaw is a slow grower, you don't have to worry about it taking over your garden bed either. Viburnums want to colonize, so when a shoot shows up you have two choices: you can cut the shoot off or dig it up. The Mother tree is in a bed beneath a large Hackberry (Celtis) tree, so far there has been one suckering root shoot. See it is slow! Also, Rusty isn't a surface rooter so the St. John's-wort, ferns and wildflowers aren't crowded.


Rusty doesn't complain much and seems quite a home in the heat of the south in either full sun or semi-shade. It is drought tolerant (a necessary requirement for Chez Cedar Glade). It doesn't seem to be bothered by pests or disease (cross your fingers). And you know he transplants easily. I think you might get better flowering in full sun. But you won't hear me complaining...I think the tree shape and green leaves are pretty terrific.


But Rusty really shines in the fall when she puts on a burgundy red show and dangles those bluish seed pods.






Gail