Six on Saturday: Garden Magic

Spring is simply magic unfolding hour by hour, week by week, to transform the bleak winter landscape we’ve gotten accustomed to into the vibrant, colorful garden we’ve held in our heart. Each opening bud sparks recognition, like the face of a friend who has been away for a while.

I bought a hellebore late last season and put it into a pot on the patio. All summer I looked at it with curiosity, wondering about the color and shape of its bloom. It has remained vibrant and green through all of the seasons, apparently happy in its spot. But no hint of a bloom. Until earlier this week a few buds emerged. So soon enough we’ll see its face.

It can be easy to forget exactly which flower a Camellia shrub or Iris clump produces. And then they unfold at exactly the right moment, and we say, ‘Yes! Of course! I remember now!” Sometimes I wish I’d left the photo plant labels sticking up near each stem and clump as a reminder, or maybe made the detailed labeled garden maps some more organized gardeners keep.

I often plant in a moment of inspiration and then move on, sure that I’ll remember. And then I promptly forget what is where. It happens… especially with the ephemerals like the spring bulbs and the deciduous ferns. But then their reappearance and growth feels all the more magical when they return, usually multiplied over earlier seasons.

That is where garden photos come in handy. I’ve spent hours this week looking back through photos from previous years to locate photos of specific plants. Late winter is a good time for me to look back at how beds and pots have evolved over time, and make some mental notes about what plants and associations I want to grow in the coming gardening year. It is a little nudge to remember what is where, what to expect to emerge and what may need to be replaced.

One reason that I was looking for all of those photos is because I’m in process of moving a series of articles that I wrote last year for a local newsletter to this website. The series was called ‘Plants I Love…. and Deer Ignore’ to highlight tough, easy to grow plants that deer leave strictly alone. I’m no longer keen on ‘deer resistant’ plants. Those disappear in the night to the deer who ‘didn’t get the memo.’ I’ve been observing plants in this garden for a dozen years now to learn what plants deer won’t bother, and writing about those plants.

All parts of daffodils are highly poisonous, and deer, rabbits, and voles won’t bother them.

I thought that other gardeners might appreciate a ‘go-to’ list of reliable, easy, deer-proof plants. So I began writing the series last May. You’ll find all of them posted to Our Forest Garden by the end of this coming week, and I’ll continue adding plants here over time. My plant list is sometimes controversial in some circles, so I will continue the series here on Our Forest Garden.

I am interested in functional, beautiful plants that support wildlife, sequester carbon, hold my steeply sloping ground against erosion, and perhaps colonize a bit to reduce the number of plants I’m buying each year. I hope that others find these plants useful for their own purposes.

There is a great deal of debate in American gardening circles these days about ‘good plants’ v. ‘bad plants.’ About whether plants should be chosen for their aesthetic, or for their function in the local ecology; and about whether non-native plants should be planted at all.

Early Crocus help support early pollinators

I came across an interview with Dr. Doug Tallamy in the March/April Horticulture Magazine this week, which helped put it into perspective for me. He observed that about 14% of our native plant species here in North America support more than 90% of the butterflies, specialist native bees, and other insects we need to support (and save from extinction, really) to maintain the entire food web. Our concern shouldn’t be ‘native plants’ v. ‘non-native plants.’ Rather, it should be ‘functional native plants’ v. ‘all other plants.’

That rings very true to me. Dr. Tallamy goes on to provide lists of the essential native plants, like oak and maple trees, which support the majority of insect species. If our gardens provide these essential native host plants, then we can still plant and enjoy our hellebores, daffodils and Dahlias and other beautiful plants that we enjoy. Many of these flowering ‘non-native’ plants support pollinators and birds, and are otherwise functional in our gardens. They just were originally found in other corners of the planet.

This is one of the ‘mystery hellebores’ I’ve been waiting to see bloom.

Part of the magic, for me, is finding beautiful birds, butterflies, turtles, frogs, and so many other creatures living in the gardens that I tend. If they can support themselves and raise their young in my yard, maybe I’m doing something useful for the greater environment and not just creating a beautiful space for myself.

Dr. Tallamy first wrote about his concept of creating ‘Homegrown National Parks’ in his 2020 book, ‘Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard.’ I have been writing about those ideas this week, and you’ll find my article, Invitation to a ‘Homegrown National Park,’ on our local Master Gardener website.

Signs of life have emerged all over our garden this week. New birds have turned up, and the Forsythia is blooming. I’m finding wonderful surprises as the hellebores and daffodils bloom. We have a spot of warmth this weekend before temperatures plunge again in the coming days. I’m itching to plant something, and it is a good time to get back out into the garden.

Corylus americana in bloom

With appreciation to The Propagator, who hosts Six on Saturday each week.