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Cosmos in the Garden

Raise The Red Lanterns

10/28/2013

Sometimes writing about garden life confronts us with uneasy choices. One of them is called Physalis alkekengi or Chinese Lantern. I do feel awkward now when I want to praise the plant and at the same time I cannot forget about its less praiseworthy "idiosyncrasies". Chinese Lantern can boast about its rare- looking bright, orange red inflated calyx, and many of them, each a home for a single scarlet berry residing inside, but it can also be accused of exceptional vigour which is hard to control. And if not controlled, the plant easily escapes from the confines of the garden and becomes a noxious weed. Sad, isn't it!
Keeping in mind the fact that Physalis is often labelled as a plant with aggressive tendencies let us see the whole picture. And the view of a late fall garden where Chinese Lantern poses a threat to everything growing around is quite spectacular. Its hanging super-ornamental red papery husks are the only bright spots illuminating the flower beds at that time of year. Vicious plants do not behave like that, do they?

"this flower shames me..."

10/24/2013

* * *

this flower
shames me
with its bitter proficiency at smell
I am unable
in the gold of simplicity
to look the rising sun in the eye
I do not know
how to confine the sun
in the hue of my words
like it
confines in the warm presence of petals

so with a fierce indifference
I annihilate
its luminous wisdom
tearing off petals
petal after petal
Halina Poświatowska
(Polish text Copyright 1989 Wydawnictwo Literackie, Kraków, Poland: translation by Marek Lugowski)

Jarek

Chinese Fountain Grass

10/22/2013

Some grasses need to be called ornamental if they want to be noticed as though it was not enough for them to look the way they look and be decorative. I am sure that my observation reflects the quite harsh reality almost all grasses have to experience: being a grass is not sufficient to be satisfactory. Of course, there are exceptions and a lot of people like grasses but that appreciation requires preliminary good will and effort: to place structure and texture before colour( which is almost always green), and that is not easy. However, the moment you reshape your expectations a little, you will see a wonderfully subtle world of straight lines and wavy curves, all dressed in various kinds of green tones and undertones (sometimes other paints as well) and fascinating intricate inflorescences. How about a short encounter with Pennisetum alopecuroides, a very uncommon grass commonly known as Chinese fountain grass? I am sure it can reshape and enrich all your expectations. Let us start!

Crinum

10/18/2013

Happy are those who live in mild and warm regions of our beautiful planet where the word "winter" sounds equally exotic as the name Crinum sounds here, in the so-called temperate climatic zone. Temperature differences are the major cause of all garden inequalities which foster jealousy and trigger a lot of work for those who "enjoy" the extremes of four seasons. I would love to have a garden full of flowering crinums without any extra worries which come every late fall. Well, I do not have one. But the desire to take pleasure in heavenly flowers of crinum is powerful enough to transform my envy into a series of scheduled responsibilities and get - from time to time - a wonderful reward: a cluster of fragrant white , slightly pink flowers. They look so divine that I easily forgive and forget all my jaundiced thoughts about mild and warm, and..., etc.

Chonosuki Crab

10/15/2013

Still labelled in various catalogues as speciality tree which usually reads as rare, unknown, uncommon or unimportant. I hope my interpretation is wrong. But to see Malus tschonoskii in gardens or parks is a rare view because this exceptionally ornamental tree is quite unknown. While its spectacular orange, red and bronze leaves in the autumn are truly uncommon, I keep asking myself this question: why has it been of little importance to us? I do not know the answer although I have my suspicions. Maybe the fact that Malus tschonoskii isa real apple tree we sort of expect beautiful flowers and edible or at least brightly coloured little apples. Who wants to grow an apple tree for leaves? Well, I am sure everybody providing they see Chonosuki crab clad in royal reds and purples every fall. The view is breathtaking! And that's it!

Beautiful Helen(ium)

10/9/2013

It could not be otherwise. The name of this spectacular plant reflects the charm attributed to one of the most beautiful women known to human mankind, Helen of Troy. Just like her name reflects the enchanting luminescence of the Moon. Wow! No wonder she looked so outlandish because Helen was a daughter of a...swan. Of course, the swan was not an ordinary goose-like bird but it was Zeus in disguise. Knowing that, no one can reject the suspicion that his flamboyant fantasies cast a spell on the poor girl who developed into a jinxed beauty, the principal cause of the Trojan War. But the spell ends there. Fortunately, helenium has nothing to do with any fake swans or military conflicts. Its presence in the garden always brings pure joy and satisfaction.

Why?

10/6/2013

A helpless question. First frost bites are merciless and do not leave room for any hope. When you see your beloved dahlias without life, anger is usually the instant reaction although we were prepared for such an unsightly sight. Suddenly, the perspective of long dreary winter months becomes almost tangible. On the other hand, the idea of perpetual repetition of life-cycles seems incredible, hence childish indignation. But poor dahlias can help here. Their tuberous roots need to be dug up and this very physical activity forces us to concentrate on more down -to -earth thoughts and actions. I am positive that not only dahlias can give us a helping hand and save a lot of energy we might squander on depressing divagations like...the idea of passing. I know, I know, it is all unavoidable. OK, I understand, but before I accept it, I want to deceive myself and enjoy the last happy moments when the world looked definitely more colourful, however vulnerable. Just before the unwelcome thrusts of inevitable and ruthlessly cold nights. Why not accompany me?

Jealousy In Disguise

10/3/2013

St. Augustine believed that "He that is not jealous is not in love". In my opinion this brave observation justifies a lot of situations whose justification seems to be -at the minimum- problematic. That was the famous case of Othello, who probably spent too much time reading St. Augustine's Confessions without due reflection and later did what he did to poor Desdemona, taking her life away out of love, of course!
The names of both tragic heroes have been given to a pair of beautiful flowering perennials whose yellow and orange flowers might stir jealous -like emotions in everyone who happens to see the cultivars in full bloom. It is one of that rare cases when jealousy is thoroughly accounted for unless it leads to strangulation of anyone. Now, having been warned, you can rush to a garden center and look for the most trustful Othello despite the obvious oxymoron heard in this description.

Michaelmas Daisies

10/1/2013

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