Posts Tagged: penstemon
Remnants
Last of His Kind
Today, I read a story about the death of a man who was the last member of an indigenous tribe in Brazil. This man “known as the “Man of the hole” had lived in complete isolation for the past twenty-six years on the Tanaru indigenous land, deep in the Brazilian Amazon in Rondonia state.” Source: CNN
This completes the genocide of this man’s tribe. “The rest of his tribe was wiped out by several attacks since the 1970s mainly from cattle ranchers and land grabbers.” Source: CNN
I do not suspect this story will make headline news but reading about this man’s lonely and tragic death related directly to the message I wanted to convey with what will eventually be a series of posts related to hoary vervain and the remnants of the once vast prairies of the Great Plains.
When It’s Gone, It’s Gone
I often wonder how many of my fellow humans experience the same amount of exhausting sadness as I do when it is learned that some living entity has either disappeared completely or is on the verge of doing so. Granted one species or another will naturally die out for whatever reason as part of natural selection. BUT – what bothers me is when the human species is directly responsible for the extinction of any living organism.
With our ever expanding numbers and our insatiable desire for things, precious land is cleared. Habitats for millions of other living things vanish. Entire ecosystems are destroyed. I could speak of rain forests, swamp land, or temperate forests, but this series of articles will focus on the quickly disappearing North American Prairie.
The Mesic Prairie Systems Have All But Disappeared
According to National Geographic, all but 1% (ONE PERCENT!) of the Great Plains’ original plants have been replaced by farmed grasses. Source: Rootwell.com
Imagine an area stretching from Canada, through the entire middle to western US and then down to Mexico covered in swaying grasses. Mixed in would be the purples, whites, pinks, yellows and reds of various wild flowers. The vast array of plant, insect and animal species that once made up the North American prairie ecosystems must have been (and to a lesser extent still is) astounding! Flowers such as alliums, milkweeds, spurges, partridge peas, coreopsis, prairie clovers, prairie blazing stars, penstemons, royal catchfly, cone flowers and of course vervain. That is just a small subset of the plants that can call a prairie their home. Not to mention the multitude of insects, invertebrates and other animals!
Royal Catchfly from my own garden. There IS a story associated with this plant and I will definitely be sharing said story in a future post.
Interlude:
During my time on earth I only ever wish to make things better for others and for our planet. This is why I garden. I often embark on many online journeys researching plants or the other amazing forms of life that call my garden home. During one of these journeys, I was fortunate enough to discover the Prairie Ecologist Blog by Chris Helzer of The Nature Conservancy in Nebraska. His work, his words and photographs are so inspiring. I consulted him for advice for this blog and Chris’s words will appear in one of the next installments. In the interim, because of his exceptional photography skills, I reached out and asked him if had an image I could use demonstrating a healthy prairie showing grasses and flowers. This is what he sent. Thank you so much Chris!
A very healthy and diverse prairie. Photo compliments of Chris Helzer of the Nebraska Nature Conservancy
Hoary Vervain, A Prairie Plant for Every Garden
In time, I may create articles on many of the plants mentioned above but for this series of articles, I want to focus on the many attributes of Hoary Vervain. There are several reasons for this. To learn more of my thoughts on this plant, please be sure to visit next month when I shall continue with Part II of this article series.
I wish to thank all of you once again most sincerely and humbly for taking the time to read my garden musings. I appreciate your presence. Until next time, I wish for you and yours the very best in health and all things. Many blessings.
As always, here are some current photos of the garden. Enjoy!
The amazing beauty of the swallowtail butterfly.
My corn patch with mountain mint in the foreground. The mint attracts the pollinators who in turn help pollinate the squash nearby. I will be creating a post on this later when I discuss my three sisters bed.
The beauty of an emerging sunflower.
Some say love, it is a flower and I am so in love with this beautiful pink rose.
The story behind this photo: A random seed blew in and attached itself to this dried flower stem. I just love the intricacy of the design.
The beautiful down of milkweed seeds
Penstemons — A Must For Your Xeric and Hummingbird Garden
Hello everyone and welcome! It is a tremendous blessing to have you here.
’tis the very best season… Spring! It has been a rainy day and we have been blessed with the best type of rain… that slow, gentle, constant rain. The ground is slowly soaking it all up and that in turn will work wonders in this very dry, Colorado garden. Welcome rain!
First, some updates:
Primula Denticulata: From my last post, I would love to be able to share with you my overwhelming success with growing this plant. Alas, I did not have any seeds germinate, not even indoors. I will not give up though. I will set a note next January to create a space outside where I can set aside some small dedicated pots with JUST primula seeds added and see what happens.
The Bird’s Nest Fern: As Charlie Brown said of his little tree, I killed it. Perhaps the root rot had already set in. I have not had the best of luck with these plants so this shall be my last endeavor to grow this plant.
Let’s Talk Penstemons
This coming Friday, May 6th and Saturday, May 7th I will be volunteering at the spring plant sale, specifically the Water Smart Division at the Denver Botanic Gardens. There has not been an in person sale for the last two years so I am looking forward to attending once again. This for me is a wonderful opportunity to talk about plants and emphasize the importance of growing natives and embracing a more Water Smart way of gardening.
Though I love all of the plants offered for sale by the Water Smart division, there is one plant I am rather fond of and that is the penstemon. I had never thought of growing them until I discovered them during my opportunity to volunteer at the annual spring plant sale. Since that time which was five or six years ago, the penstemon takes pride of place in my garden. I currently have them growing in a gravely bed and within the steps that lead to the top of the garden. This year, I have noticed I have MANY little volunteers appearing here, there and everywhere. I will be digging up a lot of these to share while relocating others out of the way of my normal walking paths.
The rain has subsided so I went out just now to capture these images.
Just look at all these volunteer penstemons!
What’s so special about penstemons?
Do you love hummingbirds? Do you prefer to garden with more native plant varieties that don’t require as much water? If you answered yes and yes, then this plant will reward you handsomely.
First, the hummingbirds: When your penstemons flower, they will be visited by hummingbirds daily. They will prefer this to any feeder.
Next, saving water: Within large portions of the western United States, it is becoming integral that we conserve water in all ways we possibly can. Converting your growing space to a Xeric based landscape will help with that. The penstemon is one of the best plants you can use for your water saving endeavors.
These are but two attributes associated with growing these amazing plants. When in bloom, they are, in my opinion, the most beautiful plants in the garden. Have a look at this:
Looking Forward to Growing New Varieties
It has been brought to my attention that this year the James’ penstemon (Penstemon jamesii) will be available at the spring plant sale. Looking at this plant’s profile on the Santa Fe Botanical Garden website, I have fallen in love. I currently have some open positions in the garden and these plants will be perfect! Look at those leaves and that color! I am getting very excited.
For Next Time
I am sure I will have a lot to talk about in my next post including the treasures I brought home from the spring plant sale. Until then, I wish to provide for you a little penstemon care sheet I created. You can download that here: penstemon-care
I wish to thank you most sincerely and humbly for taking the time to read my garden musings. I appreciate your presence. Until next time, I wish for you and yours the very best in health and all things. Many blessings.
As always, here are some current photos of the garden. Enjoy!
All being well and we don’t get any hard freezes the rest of the season, I could very well end up with a LOT of apples! Fingers are crossed.
Remember my bellis perennis obsession? Well! This image is of one of many volunteers appearing below the flax bed.
One of many sets of emerging columbines.
Beautiful phlox in the rock garden.
Do you see the little bug?
Another huge success! I have so many common violets growing now and I could not be happier since I very much wanted this plant to thrive in my garden. They are naturalizing beautifully.
We Need Some Plants There
From age 10 through age 18, I lived in a modular home in the small town of Mountain View, Wyoming. Although my parents owned the plot of land where our home was, they never did anything with it. The yard was full of rocks and the only plants that grew were hard stubbly grass and of course dandelions. I remember that some of our neighbors actually grew things in their yards. Some even had proper gardens with snow peas and flowers and I knew then how important it was to beautify the outside of your home just as you would the inside.
I did not try to persuade my parents to grow plants or flowers. Instead I went about growing my own. Please bear in mind I was only ten and my resources were limited of how and what I could grow. I knew that when the dandelions were no longer yellow and instead little puffs of white, that the things that blew off were in fact seeds. I went around and gathered up as many seeds as I could fit in my little hands. I then went about digging a hole with an old shovel and at the same time clearing out rocks near the side of the house. I couldn’t dig very far because the ground was extremely hard. I put all the seeds I gathered into a neat row in the hole I dug. I then buried them. I went into the house, got a glass of water and watered them and continued to water them daily after that.
I can not recall how long it took the seeds to sprout but I would like to say two weeks. I do remember how excited I was when I saw green poking through the dirt. For me, there are not many life experiences that compare to the excitement of helping something grow from a seed to a plant. It is magical. You start out with little fluffy seeds, you bury them, water them and before long you have brand new plants emerging from the ground. I loved my little row of dandelions. Yes, I realized this was only a “weed” but I helped these particular “weeds” grow.
Every day I would rest on my elbows and take a mental note of how much they were growing. I always made sure they were watered and they thanked me by getting bigger. After some time had gone by, I was blessed with flowers. I remember taking one of the flowers and putting it in a book so I could have it forever. I of course don’t have the book any longer but it would sure be great if I did.
As the weeks turned into months, I was quite pleased with myself. What started out as a rocky barren piece of ground in front of the house now had several dandelions growing and thriving. When winter came, they would die back but would return again in spring in larger numbers.
And now some photos from the garden. I hope you do not mind but I got a bit artistic with some of these. I thank you for reading and until next time, happy gardening!
The humble dandelion in seed.
Viola with lavender effect
Heavenly Hummingbird
Heavenly sunflower seedling
Artistic Poppy
Bright Red Yarrow
Will It Rain Today?
Yes, actually, it will and has done so off and on for the last week. This in itself is a blessing. I have once again the unintended miniature pond I spoke about in my last blog post all the way back in September. Funny that the last blog post I managed to create was when we were having so much rain and here I am again writing when the rain is plentiful.
Prior to last week, it was not so plentiful and the idea for this blog post has been one that was formulated as I sat staring at my garden — thirsty, begging for water. Grass, non-native perennials, vegetables, etc. It does not help that my garden is sloped which makes watering a tricky task to say the least. That aside, I began to contemplate the very life force that made my garden….. a garden. WATER. I think constantly and by that I mean, several times a day every day about water. It is the life giving force on our planet and I become so exasperated when it is taken for granted. It seems some of our fellow travelers on this planet do not give a second thought when it comes to littering or what it means to have pure, clean water. So long as a faucet can be turned on and this precious liquid flows freely, there is not much more to think about or so it may seem.
As I was saying, I sat staring at my garden and I thought of the moral aspects of tending a flower garden. I do grow a few vegetables and herbs, it is true but nothing substantial and if I am being honest, these plants are not nearly as cared for as my non-edible plants. As such, my contemplative self realized I am using up precious water for mostly aesthetics. This plagues my conscience and it is something I must reconcile in some way. This growing season is just about half over so there is not much sense in changing everything now though it is tempting. Gears are grinding though and already I am formulating a plan to ease my conscience and my dependency on supplemental water.
First, I believe I should reverse my habits and focus on growing more vegetables and fruits. This way any water I use is for something substantial and life supporting. I know I can convert many of my planting areas for this purpose and with proper mulching, etc., I could use very little water that does not fall from the sky. I have a 70 gallon water barrel and when there is a good amount of rain, I ensure I am out there filling up five gallon buckets so I can almost double the amount of water I am saving. As I type, my barrel is full as are ten five gallon buckets along with eight three gallon watering cans. I have not had to run the sprinkler system for the week it has been raining and that is a blessing.
The cool temperatures that have brought this bounty of moisture will soon end and with it, my supplies of water will also run out. To top it off, in a week I will have to run the sprinklers again to keep that grass green. Oh yes, I am making strides there by trying to replace grass with varieties of clover. Interesting note here — once, in the not so distant past, lawns were PRIMARILY clover in arid areas (of which Colorado is definitely one of those areas). Then, folks started moving around and upon arrival to new destinations — that may or may not receive the same amount of moisture — they brought along their desire for grass lawns and so it began. I digress but will write more on that subject later.
I am sitting near the window as I create this entry and gazing out at the garden I am condemning. Thunder is rolling, small drops of water are falling from the sky and that beautiful cloudy diffused light is gently illuminating my creation. I do see some plants that would suffer in my quest to wean myself from supplemental irrigation but I am now realizing that I do have a lot of water smart plants. Let’s consider this entry a preface of a new evolutionary step in my garden. As days pass, I will monitor what does and does not do well with supplemental irrigation. Plants may have to be replaced but if I am half the gardener I think I am, I should be able to come up with ways to mulch and cultivate the earth so I can enjoy the beauty I so long for. The grass is a different animal altogether however and should my clover experiment not pan out, well, it has to go.
What are your thoughts on this? I would love to hear from you.
Until next time, blessings to you all and happy gardening!
And now some photos:
Cyanotype Pansies
Penstemon Leaves in Sepia
Spotlight on Geranium Flower
Elderberry Flowers
Sweet Cicely
26 May 2013
06:35 a.m.
The title of this post immortalizes the feeling I had the day I planted four of these seeds. They were unusual looking seeds and I am looking forward to them sprouting.
Here is an excerpt from my written journal I created that day:
I sit now in relative peace and quiet and it is very relaxing. I was up with the sun and I feel blessed to have seen it rise. As I write these words I am reminded of Diane Lane in Under the Tuscan Sun as she writes a postcard for someone else. I am reciting what I write in my head just as she did in the movie.
There is a slight breeze which makes the aspen sing; this combined with the bird chatter creates a peaceful melody.
There should have been more to write in my journal that day but as it turns out, three hours later, I was rushed to the hospital due to a nosebleed that just would not stop. When all was said and done, the suspected cause was stage two hypertension and the severe nosebleed was a symptom to alert me to this. What an alert it was! After that, I could not do any work in the garden for over a week which was very frustrating considering all there is to do.
Mass of seedlings competing for space.
Beyond the sprouts in this pot, there has been a prolific amount of growth everywhere in the garden and each day’s new discoveries are so humbling. There is a beautiful sort of magic that only tending a garden can provide and I am so blessed to have such a tremendous amount of beauty surrounding me.
Viola rescued from grass
Volunteer viola via plant purchase
Aspen stems with dead leaves
Back in February I wrote an article about how I was waiting for some Impatien seeds to sprout within containers inside the house. Well, to date, none have but a few weeks ago I nonchalantly threw a few into the whisky barrel at the front of the house and today I am pleased to announce I have sprouts! As I added all the varieties I purchased from Plant World Seeds, I do not know which will come up but the fact that any are growing at all is very exciting. I will provide updates over the coming weeks.
Before closing, I wanted to journal some plants I purchased from Wilmore Nurseries over last weekend (15-16 June 2013). The main reason for going there was to replace a St. John’s Wort, Mother of Thyme and trumpet flower that did not break dormancy. While there, I purchased some new plants to help fill in some blank spots. Here is what I purchased:
Two Delphinium grandiflorum ‘Blue Butterfly’
Two Penstemon “Scarlet Bugler”
One Lemon Balm
One Mystery Grape Vine
Two ‘SunPatiens’ Compact Deep Rose (Note, I really should have looked at the labels of these plants. I do not like engineered plants really. Despite being for the sun, these were placed in the shade)
One more thing for the journal is to note that the Strike It Rich rose did not make it sadly. I was able to exchange it and I chose this as a replacement:
Olympiad Rose Bloom
Olympiad Hybrid Tea
Description: Each large bright true-red bloom is held on long stout stems and holds their color to the very end. Distinctive grey-green foliage on a very vigorous upright plant.
Color: Bright true-red
Height/Habit: Medium-tall/Upright
Bloom/Size: Medium-large, double
Petal Count: 30 to 35
Fragrance: Light fruity
Parentage: Red Planet x Pharaoh
The world of gardening is probably best summed up as ordinary miracles happening every day. Being a gardener is a sheer joy and to make something out of a little bit of earth is a blessing. I hope you are having an amazing start to the growing season and until next time, Happy Gardening and Blessings to you all!
Grass gone to seed
Delphinium
Cranesbill Geranium
Morning Glory Seedlings
Snapdragon Bloom
Hollyhock Seedling
Mystery seedlings in pot
Artistic photo of Day Lily Leaf
Purslane Growing
Container tomato flowers
Red Yarrow
Artistic photo of white dutch clover bloom