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Summer is leaving town with Persicaria (Fleeceflower) holding on. Photograph on Shaw Island One November 2021. One day following our first frost of the year. Gatehouse Garden, Reefnet Bay Road, Shaw Island, San Juan Archipelago, WA. |
"As one fine gardener of England put it, his was a garden made by doing unnecessary things that he could not afford at the wrong time of the year."
Courtesy of, Henry Mitchell on Gardening. Boston/ New York. Houghton Mifflin. 1998
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Malcolm Cameron (1902-1975) "Winter Storage" Cameron's Shaw Island reefnet boats escort the last crop of seeds harvested; Rosa glauca heps, Yansen farm fat Cardoon pods, pods of perennial Sweet Peas, as they also hunker down for winter storage. A healthy supply for the Gatehouse seed rack, Reefnet Bay Road, Shaw Island, San Juan Archipelago, WA. Fourteen October 2021. Thanks, Diana. |
"Two sounds of autumn are unmistakable––the hurrying rustle of crisp leaves blown across the street by a gusty wind, and the gabble of a flock of migrating geese."
American writer Hal Borland.
A "V" of migrating geese were seen flying east over the Yansen farm yesterday headed for their safe "winter storage" in the Skagit River valley.
Autumn carries more gold
in its pocket
than all the other seasons.
jim bishop
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Maturing seedpods of the wild perennial Sweet Pea (Lathyrus latifolius) courtesy of the Yansen Farm, drying for the Gatehouse collection. The tray under the seeds is a handwoven basket from Buka Island, in eastern Papua, New Guinea, 1976. Photograph 13 September 2021. Shaw Island, San Juan Archipelago, WA. |
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Chilean Lobelia tupa Growing on Shaw Island, San Juan Archipelago, WA. Unenhanced photograph. September 2021 |
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Chilean Lobelia tupa A survivor for several winters on Shaw Island, WA. (USDA Zone 9.) Photo was taken August 2021. Click image to enlarge. Seed packets are available at Gatehouse Seeds, Reefnet Bay Road, Shaw Island, San Juan Archipelago, WA. |
Botanical name: Lobelia tupa
Chilean name: Tabaco del diablo
Common names: "Chilean Lobelia," "Devil's tobacco"
Family: Campanulaceae
Origin: Chile
Plant type: Herbaceous perennial
Hardiness: to USDA Zone 07-10
Mature size in 10 years: 8 feet high and 4 feet wide.
Exposure: Sun
Bloom time: July-October.
Moisture needs: Average. Drought tolerant but appreciates occasional watering.
Attracts: Bees, butterflies, hummingbirds
Resistant to: Aphids, rabbits, slugs, and snails.
Culture: Very easy. Grows to 2 meters very quickly, at least in Chile. Short dry periods of not more than 1 month. Prefers good drainage but is undemanding, and will grow in almost any type of soil, including heavy clay soils.
Features: Very large, felted gray-green leaves and strange-looking, beautiful red flowers which bloom for a long time.
The best method of propagation for this striking specimen is from seed.
Spring sowing: Lobelia seeds need light to germinate. Leave them on the surface or cover them with a thin layer of vermiculite. Cover with film and mist every day. Emergence in ca. three weeks. Once 3-4" high and well-rooted, carefully lift and pot on into 4-5" pots with free-draining compost. Grow on for a month or so and then harden off for a week before planting outside. Delay if there is any chance of a late frost.
Avoid winter wet locations. Cut flower seed stalks to the ground once the foliage begins to fade in autumn.
Winterizing: The cut stalks are useful for a winter blanket in the Pacific Northwest, along with a few fir branches with needles on top for a covering with ventilation. This method of winter protection for the Lobelia has succeeded since 2017 for the specimen growing at the Gatehouse garden in USDA Zone 9, not tropical.
There are 300 species of Lobelia, mostly tropical and sub-tropical–they belong to the bluebell family, Campanulaceae. Some are highly prized as garden ornamentals and nectar for hummingbirds.
Chilean Lobelia tupa is one of the favored plants growing at the Gatehouse garden along Reefnet Bay Road, a darling–tall, colorful, and comes back to greet us in the Spring.
Uses: excellent ornamental value.
💀💀💀💀According to Michail Belov of Chileflora.com, this plant is poisonous. "It was used by the Mapuche natives as a ritual plant, the leaves of which were smoked. It has two medicinal effects, narcotic and analgesic (especially for toothache), but the whole plant is poisonous, so we must be careful with it."
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Chilean Lobelia tupa
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Reaching for the stars, it is Stipa gigantea. |
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Golden Oats Grass |
Botanical name: Stipa gigantea
Family: Poaceae
Native to: Spanish Pyrenees
Life cycle: Perennial
Hardiness zone: USDA 05-10
Foliage: 18" evergreen hummock with arching evergreen gray-green leaves.
Bloom time: May until early July. Seedheads soaring to ca. 8-feet, last until late summer or early autumn. These are useful in dried flower arrangements.
Tolerates: Drought after it has been established; also resistant to deer.
Sow: Spring.
Notes. This grass brings texture, form, and movement to the garden. It has a long period of interest. Popular for its soaring silver stems and golden drooping awns. The flowers make a great see-through "scrim" in gardens. It has a long period of interest.
Do not fertilize or it could cause the long stems to droop.
It can be tidied by raking through the clump to remove dead grass. and cut back in late winter or early spring for a cleaner look. If it is not a vigorous plant cutting it back can kill a weak or young plant, according to the Elizabeth Miller Library, Seattle.
Stipa gigantea was awarded an A.G.M. distinction by the Royal Horticulture Society in 1993 and is on the Seattle's Elizabeth Miller Library noted "Great Plant Picks" list.
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Seed capsules of Golden Oats grass (Stipa gigantea) Source: the Gatehouse garden 5 August 2021 Clay art by Jodie and Terri |
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End-of-season Two-toned Lupine blooming on the Yansen Farm, USDA Hardiness Zone 8-b Reefnet Bay Road, Shaw Island, San Juan Archipelago, WA. photo courtesy of Diana. July 2021. |
Botanical name: Lupinus polyphyllus x Russell hybrids.
Life cycle: Hardy perennial
Hardiness zone range: USDA 03-10
Native growing region: Western North America
Preferred climate: Temperate
Soil type: well-drained, moist to wet.
Sun: Full sun to partial shade.
Height: 3-4-ft
Blooms: Early to mid-summer in shades of bi-color pink and blue-purple.
Tolerates: Drought and usually deer resistant.
Degree of difficulty: Easy to grow and one of the easiest perennials to propagate from seed.
Description: According to Diana these are vigorous, self-seeding plants.
Attracts: Pollinators, hummingbirds.
Germination: 7-14 days.
Planting: Tough seed coat so nick lightly with sandpaper or soak in water overnight. Plant outdoors only 1/4" deep where they receive full sun. Lupines have long tap roots so plant in their permanent location. Thin to 18-24 inches.
Notes: This plant is an important food for larvae of some butterflies; wildlife eat some of the mature seeds following the bloom cycle.
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Lupine seeds have been unpacked from their mature pods and installed in new packets. They are colorful, nitrogen-fixing, pollinator-friendly plants growing on Shw Island. Available at Gatehouse Seeds, Reefnet Bay Road, Shaw Island, WA. |
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Columbines in spring (Aquilegia vulgaris) Gatehouse Seeds USDA Zone 8b Reefnet Bay Road, Shaw Island, San Juan Archipelago, WA. |
Scientifiic name: Aquilegia vulgaris
Type: Herbaceous perennial
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 to 8
Height 1.5 feet to 3 feet.
Bloom time: April to MayAttracts: Hummingbirds
Tolerates: Rabbits and usually deer.
Culture: Easily grown in average, medium moist, well-drained soil. Remove flowering stems after bloom to encourage additional blossoms. When foliage dies, plants may be cut to the ground. Aquilegia may be easily grown from seed, will naturalize in the garden over time. Seed collected from garden plants might not come true because different varieties of columbine may cross-pollinate in the garden, producing seed that is at variance with either or both parents.
Notes: Genus name comes from the Latin word for eagle (aquila) in reference to the talon-like spurs on most flowers. Columbine comes from the Latin word columba, meaning dove-like.
Garden Uses: Borders, rock gardens, cottage gardens, woodlands, or naturalized areas. A good selection for a hummingbird garden. Continue to water plants after bloom to enjoy the ground cover effect of the foliage.
Source of some of these notes: The Missouri Botanical Garden.
There are a few solid white-colored columbine seeds mixed with this lovely blue strain. They are too beautiful to extract from the Gatehouse Garden. You may rogue them out, but they agree with me.
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Seeds from a beautiful bluish-purple shade of Columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris) while the supply lasts, with a few white-white columbines mixed in. May these self-seeders enjoy life tenancy in your garden and mine. Packets available at Gatehouse Seeds Reefnet Bay Road, Shaw Island, WA. |
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Rosa glauca Unenhanced photo Single species rose this day of 12 June 2021 Shaw Island, San Juan Archipelago, WA. |
Deadheading is the one profoundly rewarding war. It tidies away the signs of death and encourages yet another show of flowers. It was wonderfully understood by Vita Sackville-West, in her garden at Sissinghurst Castle.
"Deading-heading roses on a summer evening," she wrote, "is an occupation that carries us back into a calmer age and a different century. Queen Victoria might still be on the throne. There is no sound except the hoot of an owl and the rhythmic snip-snip of our secateurs."
Vita Sackville-West |
Rosa glauca Species single rose nestling in with native Alders of Shaw Island, San Juan Archipelago, WA. This day of 12 June 2021. |
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Rosa glauca seeds |
