A Sense of Place

I was surprised today to see Viola grypoceras growing in a pot containing a large Agave. They were quite brilliant in the sun, and although they were very leggy, the flowers were large and very prettily coloured.   They had self seeded around the Agave, and having gone through a dry period had dried to a crisp. For the last few months I had forgotten all about them, but now had obviously responded to the watering I had given the pot only days before.  The irony is that I find V. grypoceraas a bit of a weed, and in my garden a bit of a disappointment, I rarely see them in flower and when I do they are almost inconspicuous., they do however still produce lots of seed and are always present in the garden cropping up in the most unexpected places.   Leggy Viola grypoceras growing around an Agave . Although they were very leggy, the flowers were unusually large.

Tradescantias are such common house plants, so it was interesting to discover  an interesting species that differs in many ways from the more common forms.  It is a native of Mexico an is equipped to deal with hot and dry conditions, having evolved thick succulent leaves, it stays close to the ground in the hottest months, and with the rainy season grows longer stems and finally flowers. Grown in lean conditions T. navicularis forms colonies of tight succulent leaves. T.navicularis emerges from lean soil and gravel mulch.

I was happy to see Joseph Tychonievich 's enthusiastic post about Cyclamen, and in particular  his love of the diverse markings and shapes of C. herifolium.  I too find extraordinary the degree of variety in these plants, and like Joseph, I have a fondness for the elongated lance shaped leaves that show up occasionally in pots of seed grown hederifolium. This is not to underrate the others that conform to the usual five point ivy-like shape, as these too, are among my favourites when they also have wonderful markings and textures. C. hederifolium with silver,  lance-shaped leaves. Lance-shaped leaves with typical C. hederifolium markings. Lance-shaped leaves with light green centre graduating to a darker edge. Silver leaves with less elongated form. Ivy shaped leaves with a striking silver and green markings. A more conventional leaf shape, but with beautiful markings. Another Ivy-shaped leaf with very distinct markings.

I live only a kilometre from Lake Ontario, and benefit  from the mild weather that results from this proximity. Even now at the end of November we have experienced only a few light frosts and can still enjoy the last few flowers that survive the cold nights.  The roses are the most dogged survivors and despite the fact that they have lost much of their foliage, they continue to bloom.  It is only a question of time, of course, and winter will take hold and force these hold outs into dormancy.  In the meantime we are enjoying these last precious blooms.

The mild weather we are experiencing has given Helleborus niger 'Praecox' the time and ideal conditions to show off its stuff.  I've never noticed any seed or seedlings around this plant and assumed that its out of sync with the life cycle of most pollinators. It's certainly ready for procreation with pistils and stemens forming a spectacular pinwheel that would seem irresistible to any bumblebee or wasp. Perhaps this year with unseasonal warm days there is a chance of these flowers being pollinated, but so far I've only noticed a very sleepy bumblebee clinging to the outside of one of the sepals and a fly stopping by for a brief reconnoitre.   Although it only now occurs to me that I could go out and pollinate the plant myself. Helleborus niger 'Praecox' 'Praecox' up close.

Toronto is one of many cities renowned for its cultural diversity,that is to say it is a city which has been settled by people who , like me, have come from other parts of the world. I live and walk through a neighbourhood with such a diverse mix of cultures and find that certain attitudes survive and are evident in the way people present themselves via the appearance of their  property. These two gardens are made by immigrants from two great Asian nations of the world, with two very definite aesthetics. Never the twain shall meet. An  exuberant mix of perennials, shrubs and trees.  Complete control and orderliness.

 Although in some climates it can be a bit invasive, Hedera helix 'Goldheart' is pretty much well behaved in zone 6b. I have one in my garden that has slowly covered a large part of a west facing wall and never fails to attract attention from visitors. After many years it has finally reached maturity and has gone through the transformation of form that is typical to this plant; as it climbs the leaves turn from being five pointed to three pointed and finally becoming elongated and arrow shaped. Also at this stage it produces flowers and fruit or otherwise produce congested stems of elongated leaves that have the appearance of an exotic parrot. This metamorphosis only happen when the plant is able to grow vertically and will not happen when plants are being grown horizontally as a ground cover. Leaves mature from left to right. Only mature stems produce flowers. Mature stems also produce these feathery leaves.

Almost every garden blogger I read (in the northern hemisphere anyway) seems to be writing about the same thing, it's what Eleanor  Perenyi describes as "... a feeling of suspense: When will the curtain fall?". The weather is still mild and and the cool evenings have given certain plants the conditions they like best. The Arums have taken advantage of  cooler conditions to throw up a fan of dramatically marked leaves, that grab the last few days of autumn sunshine.  Helleborus niger 'Preacox' has sent up flowers as well as foliage and will be in bloom well into early December. It can take the cold winter weather and will still have a few flowers left in the Spring, however the marginally hardy Mexicans Amicia zygomeris and Salvia leucantha will have to be lifted soon and brought into the greenhouse before the curtain falls. Arum italicum Arum italicum 'Chameleon' Helleborus niger 'Preacox' Amicia zygomeris Salvia leucantha...

Pelargonium sidoides has lovely silver grey foliage and equally beautiful flowers that are an extraordinary intense red/purple. The stems, about 12 inches in length, drape away from the main plant and in this case drop  below its pot and onto the foliage of a little Prunus that I have growing in trough below.  The resulting colour combination could only happen in Fall when the Prunus leaves turn a vivid red. This would, perhaps, be a little to hot in the Spring or Summer, but Autumn allows all sorts of dramatic colouration. Pelargonium sidoides foliage. P.sidoides flowers against the foliage of a small Prunus.

It has been a long, hot summer and during that time, I fell out of love with a number of plants that, despite being given lots of extra care and gallons of water , never looked their best.  The japanese maples were amongst these, and in fact, they looked so miserable that I had plans to get rid of the majority of them in the Fall.  Now of course, having survived the heat of Summer, they are at their best producing brilliant colour as the days shorten and the nights get colder. Well, now everything is forgiven and I chide myself for forgetting how wonderful these trees are in Autumn and Spring. One thing I have noticed is that the japanese maples I have that are grown from seed and therefore growing on their own roots, are generally more robust than the named varieties that are grown on grafts. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this? These two Japanese maples have finally come into their own.  On the left is A. japonicum 'Atarii' and on the right, A. shirasawanum...

The finishing touch to my garden re-invention is the placing of this large circular alpine trough in the centre of the space that used to be the lawn.   The opposite point of view looking towards the house.

It has been coming for some time, last year I contemplated the removal of the two obelisk shaped beeches, that are a major feature in my garden. It has been evident for a decade or so, that they were planted too close together and were out of scale in my small city garden. The very mention of this to friends and neighbours was met with gasps of horror and I finally yielded and instead gave the two sentinels a very hard prune this Spring and I am now convinced that they can be kept in scale and are worth preserving. Well, that was last year and I was still eager for change, this time looking at the lawn (in fact more of a green space) with a keen editorial eye. It was uneven, weedy and constantly under attack from skunks and racoons that tore up the sod in search of subterranean grubs. My inspiration was Japanese and Mediterranean gardens that used gravel as its open spaces, but the very mention of digging up the existing sod was again met with disbelief by my friends. I finally got m...