Dig In- Tips from Nettie at Uncanoonuc

photo by Andrea Geesaman

Ferns for the Garden

Ferns, glorious ferns. They grow now, as they have since the misty days of pre-history, all over the world. We in the north are blessed with a long list of hardy types. Some native to New England, some not. There are so many of them - with marvelous forms, textures, and, yes, even colors. Some for many different kinds of garden, wild or tame. Ferns for sun as well as shade, for wet, merely moist or quite well-drained soils. There are delightful miniatures and magnificent specimens.  Many are lush, fluffy fillers with a glory all their own. None of them blossom. They reproduce by spore not seed, who needs flowers? Ferns offer the gardener such compelling beauty - blossoms aren’t missed. At all. They can stand alone or they can be other plants’ flattering companions. Their often fine-textured foliage magnifies the impact of bold leaves, think hosta and hellebore. Their often soothing colors can be effective foils for bright blossoms, like the classic lady fern - true lily combo. Here the fern also masks the declining foliage of the post-bloom lily, a worthy job in itself. The brighter colors of some ferns can reflect and magnify the impact of nearby blossoms like the maroon and silver of the Painted Fern playing off the pink or red spires of astilbe. Many have rich tawny to yellow fall foliage color. I’ve grown ferns for at least twenty-five years and add more to my garden every year. Here are a few oh-so-garden worthy ferns.

The Common Ground Fair

The Common Ground Country Fair is coming up in just a week!  Largely a volunteer effort, the fair is organized and produced, by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA).  This celebration of Maine rural life has outgrown several fairground sites through the years as its popularity has continued to grow.  In 1996 MOFGA made a decision to purchase a 200-acre site in Unity, Maine as a permanent home for the fair and opened its doors to the public there for the first time in 1998.  Since its inception, the fair has clearly struck a chord with a lot of people.  Around 10,000 people showed up the first year it opened, in 1977! Last year, close to 60,000 came through the gates of the fairground in Unity.

Out Now

When backlit by the sun, the infloresences of this Pennisetum 'hameln' planted next to
Daphne 'Carol Mackie' look like 4th of July fireworks.

To see more of what's out right now in the garden, click 'read more'

Theatre In The Garden

The Stalagmites (Zak Grace, Jana Zeller, Shoshana Bass and Darden Longenecker)
perform "The Orb"

It was gorgeous New England weather this past weekend when over 700 people enjoyed Puppets in Paradise, a two day extravaganza of theatre arts that took place in the enchanting gardens of Gordon and Mary Hayward in Westminster West, Vt.  Ten spectacular short performances were repeatedly presented throughout the day, according to a masterful schedule that gave visitors a chance to see the entire program.  Each performance was set against a different backdrop in the beautiful Hayward gardens.   And, there was delicious food, wonderful music and a celebration of community!

Puppets in Paradise is a presentation of Sandglass Theater, a non-profit theatre company located in Putney, Vermont that specializes in the art of puppet theatre and performance art.  For more information on Sandglass Theater you can email them at info@sandglasstheater.org or check out their website at www.sandglasstheater.org.

For more photos from this weekend's event, read on...

The Color of Inspiration

Every once in awhile you run into gardeners who are truly inspiring.  This was the case recently when I visited a garden in Pennsylvania that, for the past 48 years, has been lovingly nurtured and maintained by Merle and Beulah Cordell, a couple in their eighties who, by comparison, make me feel like a lazy slug.

Giving It All Back

C.D. Friedrich (1774-1840)

Gardens are so ephemeral.  And you can go ahead and call me a pessimist or a glass-half-empty kind of guy but every time I see a beautiful garden, there is one nagging question that always pops into my head:  What will happen to that garden when the gardener is gone?  Considering all the hard work that goes into making a good garden, wouldn't it be nice to think that if some fate would separate the gardener from the garden, a supremely confident, yet beneficent, garden avenger (yes, maybe even wearing a mask, a cape and a pleasant smile) would swoop in and rescue the whole thing from the clutches of Mother Nature who, as we all know, is obsessed with the entire notion of ecological balance and likes nothing more than to give everything an equal shot at life, including things like weeds, pests, deadly viruses, and even telemarketers?  But this almost never happens. Few gardens outlive their creators for very long. This became especially clear to me last week when I visited family in Pennsylvania.

Puppets in Paradise

Next weekend marks one of the most entertaining weekends of the summer for both adults and children.  If you like beautiful gardens, creative theatre arts and delicious food then this event is for you!

Garden Notables

Who are these people and why are they in my garden?

Edward Augustus Bowles (1865-1954)

A self-taught gardener, botanist, botanical artist, garden writer and plant hunter, E. A. Bowles was the author of many books, scholarly articles and scientific papers. He received the Victoria Medal of Honor from the Royal Horticultural Society in 1916.  Over 40 plants are named for him that are still available today.

Eryngium Giganteum

Ellen Ann Willmott (1858-1934)

A prominent member of the Royal Horticultural Society, Ellen Willmott was one of only two women to have received the Victoria Medal of Honor, in 1897.  She funded plant hunting expeditions to China and the Middle East and at one point employed over 100 gardeners in her own garden. She was known as a demanding employer who would sack a gardener who allowed a single weed to grow in one of her borders.  She is thought to have cultivated more than 100,000 different species of plants but perhaps is best known for the legend that she would surreptitiously spread the seeds of Eryngium Giganteum in any garden she visited;  today Eryngium Giganteum is also known as Miss Willmott's Ghost.

Dig In- Tips from Nettie at Uncanoonuc

Ornamental Grasses

Ornamental grasses have come into their own as more and more gardeners get to know them and embrace their many attributes. There are grasses for every garden from an intimate doorway vignette to expansive municipal plantings. Some are imported beauties, but many are our own native daughters. They offer texture, structure, movement, contrast, color and multi-season appeal. Their flowers and foliage often make wonderful subjects for arrangements, fresh or dried. Most are low maintenance perennials. This is a brief introduction to some great grasses, tried and true performers here at Uncanoonuc. As their popularity continues to soar, more and more different grasses are being introduced - an exciting prospect for us all.

How This Garden Evolves

I knew it would happen eventually.  I have finally been framed.  Well, not exactly...