“How come I haven’t gotten one of those, you know...blogs...you know... those pictures and things
you send”
Well...it's called DIRTIER and it joys me
to hear things like this, so here is some of the
bounty that was summer.
Clematis never happier...
Little Betty Corning bloomed and bloomed
and though this is just a little portion, Jackmanii
strecthed across half the width of the
Sargent’s Weeping Hemlock, which is
quite an expanse
Fading leaves of ‘Black Mambo’ with hot orange seed head of Arum italicum
Bicolor Lespedeza flourishing under the magnolia...
The precious late-summer blooming Allium pulchellum
Darmera - the roundest of the
Circular Garden
Turk's cap lily embracing the sugar Maple as seen through
the weeping Datisca display
A garden that is only green is not so bad
SLUG PATROL
What is that ugly thing?
you say...
Well, it is a Bell Jar filled with salt and dead slugs.
Though despicable, not nearly as bad as
my slug-gnawed holey
leaves...
I recently learned that the two
things slugs do not like
are
Salt + Coffee Grounds.
So, like crazy I'm spreading all the coffee grounds
I can get my hands on at the base of the plants
they like best
(hydrangeas, dahlias and
all of my big leafy things)...
which, let me tell you - takes a lot of coffee -
especially since this is a one cup a day household,
so the gathering of the grounds has become
another entire occupation)
This seems to be working somewhat,
but
picking the slugs off the leaves by my own
Little Black Glove-covered hand
seems to be most effective.
Even the little baby ones that think they can sneak in
unnoticed
are fair game.
As far as I know, slugs serve no good purpose ⎯
unlike the snake and other things that might initially appear to be creepy ⎯
As for the alternatives,
I have tried filling tuna cans with beer.
It is too disgusting. I have spent a fortune on slug bait, which
doesn’t work and turns into mold while the slugs still slither and so,
each evening at home I try to allow about 30 minutes before dark ⎯
when they are the most voracious and audacious –
sliming around right on top of the leaves...
easy to pick
So, 'Slug Patrol' has somewhat saved some
of the garden...
Tomato as art….grown by Round Swamp Farm,
East Hampton
Is there a hypernym for GARDEN?
.... or even a generic word?
i.e. dog is a hypernym for Cocker Spaniel, Briard, Japanese Chin, Poodle etc;
house is a hypernym for villa, shack or cottage or mansion
but a garden is a garden
And in the garden there are lilies – in every season
(more or less) and on most corners of the earth,
in one or another forms, grows the LILY
Here are some from this summer’s array:
The first to plump up on very strong stems –
the leaves and the buds are almost reward enough -
The old-fashioned charmer
Lily martagon
And I have finally found a few Asiatic lilies that I like...
usually too stiff and plasticy...
which is good because they bloom earlier and fill
the gap after the iris.
This is Netty’s Pride, an ungainly name but very early to bloom and lasts a long time and looks good
with everything.
( the pale one with the burgundy blotch)
the dark lily next to it ...you would think that would be my
first choice, yes?
Well, no, it is named Landini, and is a good color, but lasts
a mere fleeting few days –
so who needs it...
But this one...so full of vigor, such a heady color, lasted forever...
Found it in
Breck’s catalogue
but they don't seem to have it this year
Now, here’s a different thing entirely, and very nice
Called Purple Prince, these came from
Van Engelen, earliest blooming of the trumpet sorts (of course,
not considering the ubiquitous Easter lily, which actually blooms
in summer in my yard)...nice, yes, but also quick to go...and this first
year ⎯ only 1 bloom per stem ⎯
so no gold stars - yet.
Called an Orienpet...all the catalogues have it
and you know,
it takes a few years for lilies to really get going.
Like the extraordinary ‘Black Beauty’...
some reached, I’d say
8 feet this year... growing behind the Magnolia macrophylla, which keeps them in check
a classic Tiger lily peeking around an Oakleaf Hydrangea
CALLA Means BEAUTIFUL in Greek
and so much so in the garden...
the abundance of Calla Lilies this year made all that fall digging and endless late spring replanting
Very Worthwhile...
This one...incredible...started blooming in June and
went on and on.
I think it is ‘Mango"...my labelling of the dried old
tubers not very precise
White ones, the hybrid sort ⎯ not aethoipica
How about this: two purple Callas (the one with the black-edged
leaves is the greatest: Black Star) neighboring a left-leaning Eucomis
‘Sparkling Burgundy’
I adore the chic black edge on the leaves
Fantasy array of Calla colors
A few other sorts of lilies:
Pineapple lily in the lower left and my hardy
VooDoo lily next to the Ganesha
and of course, Casablanca Oriental lily,
everyone else’s favorite but not mine
I'll take these beautiful last-to-bloom
Species Lily 'speciosum Alba'
These "Easter lilies" below are the real thing...
actually lilies that were potted on the altar of our Church at Easter...
blooming last week in the garden.
Philippe Petit celebrated the 40th Anniversary of his World Trade Center Walk by crisscrossing
LongHouse pond exceedingly gracefully four times,
while Paul Winter played the alto sax on a raft disguised as a
lotus leaf and Melissa Leo performed Philippe’s feelings like only a
real actress can
.
me with him
He not only walked on this wire...
(same length - same everything as WTC
but not as high)
he laid on it and got himself up with one foot.
Amazing...he is now 65 ...
takes the fear out of getting old.
FIGS....!
My stepsons have been showing off their figs for
a month already,
but Sonoma is Zone 8 and we are
the cold side of Zone 7...so
we will not be cowed by this from their gorgeous crop
Photo: Mark Benson + Charles Sullivan
But We shall have our own Figs too!
I think...if the sun keeps shining
Right here on Davids Lane
This is due to the impressive winter-wrapping
of our fig tree 'Brown Turkey'.
The total credit goes to Lys Marigold
and her old bathrobes and sheepskins.
So for her and her determination to replicate her
father’s one-time fig orchard in Connecticut,
I have grown this Hollyhock.
A little gardeney for me, but she likes them
and so I nestled it next
to the brick patio (they are suppsed to like protection and walls) and supplied a strong
obelisk-like trellis to give it stamina...
et voilá-
still blooming in September !
Grapes too, are another of her things, though unlike the appealing shape and leaves of the fig tree,
these sprawling vines are actually a mess.
OTHER SORTS of HIGHLIGHTS of AUGUST
Me and godson Jordan Fotouhi-Scholder
A tennis player, almost 16 - isn't he great?
Opera al Fresco at LongHouse...this choice young tenor
is Steven LaBrie.
The Wildlife Rescue Benefit
And a most wonderful experience, August 16 and 17 doing The Tempest
the first
Bay Street Shakespeare Initiative –
with my extraordinary friend John Glover and nine other GREAT actors - eight of whom I had never met before
I apologize for not letting you all know about it,
especially since the first performance was FREE
in Mashashimuet Park ⎯
but the 2nd night we did it on the banks of an estate
on Shelter Island.
It was not Free, but it was great.
Imagine actually doing The Tempest on an island
with the sea and the night sky behind us...
Great Guild Hall Garden as Art Tour:
Look at that Hamptons blue sky over David Salle’s
splendid studio and grounds
A stone table to covet
A trio of Fastigiate
maples at RoundHouse
(different than my Monumentale sugar maple,
and maybe, not as tall)
Dead tree as trellis/sculpture...not sure if this is an invention
of Jack Larsen or The Bergsmas, the new owners of RoundHouse
Judy Bergsma
And the most fabulous fruit tree I've ever seen in the crazy bounteous orchard of
Bettina and
Fred Stelle...
these are lousy pics, but the real thing is to die for
It's an Italian weeping Plum
In real life, the leaves glisten blue-silver and the plums are succulently black.
Flanking the crazy orchard is a formal,
color-coordinated vegetable garden.
The cobalt planters mixing with the
blue-green-purple-aqua-celadon
leaves is quite fashionable,
ne c'est pas?
WHY DID I SAY YES?
The Minnesota State Horticultural Society is coming
to tour the garden on September 14th...
The following pics are all of the things that
were in full throttle this past week...
But they will NOT see them next weekend.
Good late summer stuff like:
Caryopteris divaricata ‘Fairy’ from the great
Glover Perennials
found at the abundant
Southampton nursery
Lynch’s
has just lost its blue flowers
The white turk’s cap lily, speciosum alba
blooming even after Formosa
is officially finished as of this morning...
So, no lilies and
not much beyond some dessicated leaves
and overripe seedpods.
But hoping these Minnesotans have an eye for detail, there are still –
at least as of this writing – some stunners:
A Eucomis flower spike teasing out the pinkness in Hydrangea ‘Little Quickfire’ ⎯ A real
Proven Winner
And another ripening Eucomis flowerhead among my beloved Abies koreana ‘Silberlocke’
And though the Arisaema are all long gone
Thankfully, their seedheads linger on...
and these garden-lovers might spy this unexpected Glorioso lily climbing way up among the
birch and the willow with the catkins
The Moss Garden is quite green...
and there are always special corners like this,
though all are looking a little tattered
So, bring ‘em on...
(though why they are visiting Long Island gardens
in mid-September is quite the mystery)
This is a little piece of bad news:
There are no more Japanese clippers.
I think this will come as a blow to some of you.
They have become too expensive for me to import and I am saving the last few for people who opt to
BUY EVERYTHING,
So they are not included in this
Fabulous
Autumn Opportunity
Just in time to get back into the garden,
and Lordy is there a lot to do....
For my special Readers only:
20% OFF Everything Else
(Use coupon code:
20%OFF)
I wouldn’t wait too long to stock up on
Yard Bags...
they too are about to become a thing of the past
as my Philippine supplier is now asking for
a huge minimum,
which makes no sense for my dear little
Best@DianneB business...
So, don’t say you weren’t warned...
And of course, not from me,
but...
Have you ordered your bulbs?
Did you get enough Allium? Snowdrops?
Dog-tooth lilies? Fritillaria?
Tulips???
You know, when they start blooming...you always curse yourself for not having planted enough.
BEAUTIFUL SEPTEMBER DAYS to ALL
