Aaaaaahhh ~ it's time

DIRTIER ....The Newsletter Volume 56    April 2014 Dianne B Frailty...where is thy blush? Well – Here it is... Fragility personified.   The utter delicacy of Hepatica among the fuzzy casings of magnolia buds and overseen by fritillaries all in the moss     The variegated leaves of Sasa Veithchii became parchment during the cold winter...ethereal, no? See the scalloped leaves actually embrace the red stems of Sanguinaria canadensis ‘Tennessee Form’ To me, this is the height of frailty. And of course, Happy Birthday to William Shakespeare and my apologies for mashing together the first and third acts of Hamlet; but I have Hamlet on the brain.... and it is no wonder BECAUSE There is to be an extraordinary production of Hamlet next November right here in East Hampton in the beautiful John Drew Theater at Guild Hall. Produced by the Round Table Theater Company with young, handsome, talented Tristan Vaughan as Hamlet and, yes, ME as his mother Gertrude. Here is a preview from last year’s Acting Class. Next November will be the real thing, and speaking of the real thing, for you Shakespearians especially, the actual lines are: Frailty, thy name is woman!, Act I, scene 2 Oh shame, where is thy blush?,  Act III, scene 4 In both cases, Hamlet is not talking about the garden, but about his mother... yes, her.     HEAVENLY  BLUES To some, all little blue flowers look the same, "Oh - look at the cute little blue flowers" but to we gardeners, there is a vast world of difference. The almost inconspicuous, but gorgeously hued, Mertensia virginica (real life color better than this) The intricate anther-heavy bloom of the treasured blue-flowered Hepatica The baby-size blueness of Muscari azureum... The earliest for me – paler and exceedingly charmante Not exactly blue, but with a tiny little blue stripe,  Puschkinia The simple but energizing Chionodoxa luciliae or Glory of the Snow The nascent tubular flowers of Corydalis solida I think it is positively racist to hear them all referred to as “little blue flowers”   WE  LIVE  IN  A  MAGIC  PLACE You know, there is a reason that places like the various Rivieras and Bali have huge reputations and attract a certain kind of people I think it is largely because they are beautiful. The same goes for The Hamptons (though no one actually in the Hamptons refers to them as The Hamptons). Anyway... As of a few days ago, the immediate neighborhood of East Hampton looks like this: Look closely and see the deer crossing the bridge at the Maidstone Golf Course The American spirit a portion of Steven Spielberg’s  ¼ mile of daffodils daffodil symmetry Our Church Our sky looks like a hoaky paint-by-number in this picture, but in real life it is just divine And for the myriad daffodils that are plumped, pre-determined, arranged and manicured   there is surely something to be said; but it is these growing in the wild that have captured my heart     DIANNE’S  DOs & DON’Ts : DON'T mistake an emergent clump of crabgrass for the bourgeoning leaves of allium Another example of the cleverness of weeds. DON’T leave your tender plants wrapped in their winter blankets for too long These are screaming  “Let me out!” and I hope soon everyone around here will take those damn burlap wrappings off their pristine little boxwoods and let them breathe... DO believe that things too good to be true are usually just that. I thought I was such a smarty pants finding a source to buy 12 Fritillaria imperialis for a modest price. Well, the bulbs looked OK, so I was excited to see them break through And begin to emerge Oh boy, I thought, 12 new robust  riotous ‘Tears of Mary’ . BUT...the excitement ended there. The leaves just unfurled and unfurled and soon it became apparent that there was to be no flash of color, no fabulous crown and definitely, no tears. In other words  - no flowers -  just swirl after swirl of shiny leaves, so...no bargain after all. On the other hand, I almost never expect Fritillary persica to bloom, But those vase-shaped blue leaves come back year after year and are almost as good as the dark dangling bells.  DO buy expensive bulbs from Odyssey Bulbs. This Dog Tooth’s Violet (Purple King) took my breath away. Especially those purple anthers, not to mention those extraordinary leaves, and the proprietor Russell, is really nice and attentive. MORAL:  You usually get what you pay for.   DON’T be so quick to rid your garden of every old, overworked branch.  Here is the frame of a decaying juniper that was in the front border before I got here... I find it quite dramatic among spring’s new growth   DO  have faith in La Grande Mere Nature Gardeners all over Long Island were cursing the un-like April 16th frost; but you know ... it didn’t seem to disturb a thing and most of all   DON’T Ever, I mean Never, plant ivy in the garden Where are my reliable old Ipheion I was thinking...and those new Thalia that I worked so hard to plant...where are they? and then I realized... they are buried under that aggressive ivy, along with several other things... I am still working at unearthing it   HELLEBORE  HEAVEN Hellebore augutifolia, the one with the fatter leaves And the shyer habit takes even longer to establish than the others. This one since 2007, but finally, it sure is sweet The double black gets more purply as it develops, but stunning still White Flower Farm calls this pink/red Hellebore ‘Winter Thriller’ It comes to me courtesy of them and the Garden Conservancy in thanks for participating in their OPEN DAY And speaking of the Conservancy, the  first OPEN DAY of the season is Saturday - MAY 10 And it happily coincides with the  St. Luke’s House and Garden Tour My garden will be open to both: so PLEASE – come and see me by BUYING  YOUR  TICKET for the St. Luke’s House and Garden Tour or Showing up at the gate for The Conservancy Open Day 10am - 2pm $5 for the Garden Conservancy Tour May 10 is the day before Mother’s Day For the St. luke's Tour, all 6 homes and gardens are located in the Village of East Hampton The most spectacular has NEVER BEEN OPEN to a Garden Tour BEFORE An Italianate walled garden almost a century old, which boasts Sara and Gerald Murphy in its history, is something not to be missed. Call the Church  631.329.0990 $75 Will the magnolia still be in bloom? Will the tree peonies open? Will the rabbits have eaten all of the tulips or just some of them? These and other mysteries will be revealed on Saturday, May 10 In 4 Quartets, there is a line The  Garden has the “look of flowers that have been looked at” So COME and LOOK Oh yes,  T.S. Eliot   WEEDS! Think of all the things one might accomplish if there was no weeding to be done... books to be read plants to be divided websites to devour nurseries to peruse pruning mulching edging endless And it's not only me - the entire NorthEast of America is extremely hospitable to ALL TEN of the UGLIEST and MEANEST weeds. I am trying to approach them with aplomb instead of having them educe from me an often-mean-spirited hiss... And while I am tugging on and prying at them, I often wonder which one it is I am cursing. Well, here is the answer. The lowdown on The Top Ten Weeds brought to us by Preen, the weed killer.     RATED XXX OK...this is something unexpected, if not shocking.   If I were to compare gardenbitchs.com to the nastiest shows on TV, it means that I must admit that I have watched things like Orange is the New Black and Shameless, but so be it... Gardenbitchs.com is vile, horrible, offensive really; but whoever this bitch is – we more or less approach gardening, if not language, in the same way. Judge for yourself.   RATED  GGGGGGGood   Seeds, like words, ‘behave like capricious and autonomous beings’, so if we give them a space to perform, perhaps we stand a chance to inherit their intelligence. This seems like a wiser choice to me, rather than to force our intelligence upon them. Scott Chaskey, from his new book Seedtime... Scott is the Noah to the Hamptons ark, or maybe the largest voice, as well as presence, in our do-good community THIS AIN’T NO VAN GOGH Even though he too was born in the quaint little Dutch district of Zundert, and with all of his glorious imagination and feel for color, do you think he could have ever imagined this? This is the Dutch Bloemencorso Parade... And all of the floats are made from Dahlias... millions of them... Can you believe it? PEOPLE SAY THE NICEST THINGS This is about my wonderful English Garden Twine from the WordPress blog: French Gardener Dishes. "The supermarket hanging basket was just too high to be appreciated and seen so I transferred it into a more decorative metal planter lined with cocoa fiber (just plunked it right in, as is) and I hung it at eye level by the front door with my favorite hard-working, all purpose garden rubber twine from England. I order it from “The Best @ Dianne B”, a great online garden store which sells only a handful of quality garden products." This very twine is included in the FANTASTIC DIANNE B GARDEN GIFT SET And so is the sling-it-over-your-shoulder Dianne B. Yard Bag (note on Yard Bag, before it gets filled up, when you want it to stand erect waiting for your weeds and clippings, just fold it over like a turtleneck... it works every time). also included is the good old 14” Best Trowel and If you place your order before May 5th  I promise it will be delivered BEFORE MOTHER’S DAY The trug is not sold separately. I assure you that it is great for everything, for hauling bulbs while planting, weeds while weeding – All sorts of garden tasks; plus it looks great in the kitchen holding eggs or kumquats or anything. It is only 15“ long, so it is just right. Especially look at the beautiful myrtle wood and the copper nails This is quite a gift and a real bargain at only $99... (plus shipping) So, ORDER  RIGHT  NOW Make your mother, or sister or lover or even your enemy happy. And don't forget the Peeping Stick: Every hellebore, every fritillary, every dogtooth's violet has inner mysteries that can only be revealed by lying on the ground or viewing it with The Peeping Stick.  Exclusively here at Dianne B. Should it continue to rain... Let a Leaf Be Your Umbrella And don’t forget to be thankful for all life’s joys And really – don’t forget to place your orders at The Best @ Dianne B. HAPPY  MAY  DAY   Visit DianneBGardens           Visit Our Website          Find Us On Facebook