Home fernishings

Scientists tell us that ferns have been around for as long as 400 million years.  

Eons ago, before much of anything interesting existed, ferns covered much of the prehistoric terrain. In the company of club moss, horsetails and other ancient plants, ferns flourished, died and decayed, creating a cycle that possibly contributed to the formation of rich coal deposits.

Because they were hardy and adaptable, ferns evolved in all but the world’s most hostile climates. Along the way, a host of diverse varieties appeared -- some were water babies, others epiphytic. 

More than 10,000 species of ferns have been identified, and many more await discovery. Approximately 200 species, including the familiar Christmas fern we have here in the mountains, still populate the temperate areas of the United States.

Prior to the 18th century, naturalists knew little about the intimate activities of ferns. Spores were not associated with reproduction, and since no one ever observed any seeds, people concluded ferns possessed supernatural powers. In time, the delicate plants were linked to good luck and the ability to make one’s self invisible.

In medical circles, ferns were used to treat lunacy, stop bleeding and cure baldness. Ferns were also employed to deter witches and predict the future. Even in recent times, a relative of the decorative rabbit’s-foot fern has been touted as a potential cure for cancer. 

Today, for the most part, ferns are valued as airy, ornamental accents – when they decide to cooperate. Modern in-house fern cultivation is about as predictable as it was in the 1840s when plant enthusiasts first attempted to grow ferns indoors. The Victorians quickly discovered what we know all too well in 2014: some ferns make it; others don’t.

So if ferns have been around for more than 400 million years, why can’t most of us keep a plant with such a track record looking good for even a few weeks? The answer isn’t as complicated as it seems. The fact is we can successfully raise ferns – if and when.

If we have the proper light, and when we select the right plant. If we provide adequate humidity, and when we water at the correct times. It can be a delicate balancing act.

Experts agree that light and humidity are the keys to success. In most homes across the country, humidity levels hover around 25 percent. A 40 to 75 percent level is necessary to keep ferns fit and healthy. In addition, ferns despise cave-like conditions. They need light – bright light, and a dose of liquid houseplant fertilizer monthly, except in winter.

In choosing the right home for your ferns, your best bet is a well-lit bathroom. The Boston, staghorn, maidenhair, button, petticoat, and “footed” ferns are all ideal for the bath area. The Boston fern and rabbit’s-foot fern in particular will thrive in a bathroom with good southern exposure.


In other areas of the house, choose a window with bright afternoon sun and set the plant on a tray of pebbles to increase humidity. The tray should be as big as the spread of the plant so water can evaporate around the leaves. For homes with bright morning light, the bird’s-nest and holly fern are good choices.

Once you have the right humidity, the right light and the right fern, you must tackle the tricky watering problem. Plant manuals plainly state that when leaves turn yellow or brown, the fern is a victim of over- or underwatering. Which one? You can either cut back or step up your watering program. If the plant dies, you guessed wrong.   

 
To avoid these problems, try filling your plant saucer to the brim with water, then let your fern sip it up all week. Since most ferns come from moist environments, they don’t mind having their feet wet. As an alternate method, water your plants thoroughly until the excess runs into the saucer two or three times a week. 


Whichever method you choose, mist your plants occasionally and be sure to give them a dose of fish emulsion monthly. They’ll thank you for it.

By now, you may be agreeing with the experts that raising ferns is definitely a challenge and probably an art. Then why do so many of us still feel compelled to adopt a fussy fern?
 
The answer begins at the garden center. Every fern on display looks lush, green and irresistible. It’s easy to envision one of these healthy specimens gracing some lackluster corner of the den or bathroom. So home it goes. Then, even if it eventually winds up looking like a faded watercolor, the desire to try again triumphs.

Hope continues because they’re beautiful, they’re unique, and because no summer porch is truly complete without the delicate presence of at least one Boston fern.
 
But mostly, we will keep attempting to tame the fractious fern because, despite our 21st century know-how, there is something magical about a plant that has survived since long before the dinosaurs.

And no doubt, with or without our help, ferns will be around for another 400 million years.

 
 

Farewell 2013. Thanks for the memories.

The roses almost floated away with 30+ inches of rain in July

When I was a kid I used to hear people say how quickly time passed as they grew older. And my reply was always “are you kidding? It’s at least a million years between Christmas and summer vacation.”

Now that I am approaching a certain age, it seems those folks were right. If pressed for an explanation, I could not tell you what happened to 2013. I remember falling asleep before the ball dropped in Times Square to end 2012. And I recall watching it drop the other evening to usher in the New Year.

Luckily I have my photos to nudge my memory as to what happened in between. 





I discovered some new waterfalls while walking this past winter. No worries about bears and snakes so I feel confident about wandering around in the woods.


My Shortia bloomed along with a host of other new wildflowers including Soloman's Seal and Shooting Stars.

 

Shooting Star

Soloman's Seal is a native that blooms in April and May

 

Shortia Galacifolia

We visited Christopher Carrie and his wonderful Mother Bulbarella and enjoyed an afternoon seeing their wildflowers and spectacular rhododendrons.
 

Rhododendrons thrive outside Clyde

A fox, barred owl, turkeys and assorted bears stopped by this summer.

One of our more interesting visitors

 
Memorial Day was memorable at the Biltmore where I was greeted by the intoxicating scent of over 2500 roses and did research for an article on the International Rose Trials. (I am now on the judging panel which is quite an honor.)

Doug Gifford invited us back to see his unforgettable mountain garden and once again, we were gobsmacked.

In early October I once again judged the Garden Club of Virginia Show at Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond. A perfect bloom of Randy Scott stole the show, but the Butterflies Live! exhibit stole my heart.

The Conservatory at Lewis Ginter

A Chocolate Pansy landed on my sleeve – that means good luck!

Julia

My iBook The Dirt Diaries earned a 5-star rating in early October!


 


 A new adventure for the Hunts! Dear friends invited us to join them for a few days in Nantucket, an area of the country I'd never visited. What a feast for the senses.

Virtually every home and business displayed spectacular window boxes

Cranberries are still harvested from this bog

We'd had so much fun in New York last December. we decided to go back for the sights, the sounds, the lights. And an encore performance of A Prairie Home Companion.

The fabulous Garrison Keillor talks about Lake Woebegone

Bright lights, big city

The  tree beside the skating rink at Bryant Park

Of course all year long I looked for birds who were willing  to have their picture made. Some cooperated, others skedaddled. That is only appropriate because for me, this year simply flew away.

Oldies but goodies, poinsettias remain a holiday fave

When we think about “decking the halls” for the holiday season, most of us envision boughs of holly, evergreen wreaths and fragrant firs or pine. But in addition to traditional greenery, one plant has become a Christmas icon -- the poinsettia. With more than 65 million sold each year, this colorful plant has moved from the desert into three-quarters of American homes to become a holiday superstar.

           

The poinsettia is a Euphorbia, a succulent from the arid regions of North and Central America. It was named after Joel R. Poinsett, a Charleston native who was appointed ambassador to Mexico in 1825. Poinsett was a keen gardener who was captivated by the plant’s vivid color. The bright scarlet objects many thought to be “flowers” were not flowers at all, but petal-like leaves called bracts. The actual flowers are those little yellow dots at the center of the bracts.

           

Because the yellow flowers and attractive bracts emerge during the holiday season, the poinsettia has been a part of Christian celebrations for hundreds of years. In the 17th century, Franciscan priests in Mexico carried poinsettias in nativity processions. The Aztecs were said to have prized the plant for its color and medicinal properties.

Although poinsettias were well known in Mexico and Central America, it was a family of German immigrants who spied the plants in the desert and created the Christmas favorite we know today.

           

In the early 1900’s, Albert Ecke and his family left Germany to establish a farm in California. One day his son Paul noticed an unusual plant growing in the wild and decided to develop it as a cut flower. Before long, the family’s fields of poinsettias in Hollywood became a huge attraction.

In the 1920’s an amateur hybridizer in New Jersey bred a poinsettia called Oak Leaf, which was the first to resemble modern varieties. The Eckes family further developed the plant, then devised a system to distribute cuttings to nurseries throughout the country. Today, the Paul Ecke Ranch holds the patents on most popular varieties and is the largest supplier of poinsettias in the world.

           

 Of course, the traditional red poinsettia remains the top holiday choice, but interest in white, cream, pink and mottled varieties is on the increase. In fact, the popularity of the red poinsettia has been steadily falling over the past decade thanks to the introduction of new and more colorful varieties each year. (However, I must say the blue ones creep me out.)

 In addition to new colors, we can thank breeders for giving us plants that are longer lasting and more vigorous. Today’s poinsettias aren’t too fussy and are relatively easy to care for. Above all, don’t over-water -- plants should be kept on the dry side but don’t allow them to get bone dry. Keep them away from drafts and sources of heat like a fireplace.

Poinsettias like bright light and will drop leaves and get leggy in a location that’s too dark. A window will provide the light and cool nighttime temperatures plants need to thrive.

           

 It’s possible to keep a poinsettia alive and blooming from year to year, but like most people, I toss mine out about mid-February. It seems sad and cruel to throw away something that was so lovely during the holidays. But by next Christmas, another showy poinsettia will catch my eye, and this year’s beautiful blooms will be just a happy memory.

Here’s hoping your holiday season will be filled with happy memories, too.

PS We’ve all heard the rumors that poinsettias are poisonous. Apparently this urban legend started in 1919 when it was reported that a two-year-old had died after eating a leaf. According to the American Society of Florists, poinsettias have been tested more than any other plant and the verdict is they are safe for people and pets. But you still wouldn’t want to eat one.

American rose lovers, here are the David Austin English beauties for 2014

More glorious English roses are bound for American gardens

In a time when pumpkins and mums have been dominating the garden landscape, it’s a treat to see some of my beloved roses making their final appearances of the season. 

These last roses of summer can often be the sweetest – the nip in the air deepens the colors and the blooms themselves are sometimes a bit larger than usual.

However, after a couple of early and ugly freezes, most of the roses are now gone and all that is left is a sad looking garden filled with dead leaves from surrounding trees, untidy bushes and mushy annuals.

But there is no need to despair! One look at the calendar tells us that in just a few short months, we will be back in business, sprucing up bedraggled bushes and adding brand new roses to the mix!

Loved Cottage Rose, but so did blackspot

Of course as Dirt Diaries readers know, I am a huge fan of David Austin English Roses, and quite often shout their praises from the housetops. But to be honest, not all of the varieties I’ve planted over the years made the grade in my garden. A few of my favorites from years gone by did fall prey to disease and malaise. (To find out if one of your prized older English roses is still highly recommended, check for a small flower next to its name in the Austin catalog.)

As my rosarian friend Paul Zimmerman points out, it has been 13 years since Knock Out was introduced and focused attention on the health of the overall bush, not just the beauty of the bloom.

However, even before Knock Out exploded on the scene, top hybridizers including David Austin were working diligently on addressing disease resistance issues. Over the past decade that hard work has paid off with the creation of plants that are both alluring and healthy. 

This year’s introductions may be the most disease resistant ever.

And they may also be the most beautiful and prolific.

Here are the new David Austin 2014 introductions to tempt you:

Boscobel 

Michael Marriott, Technical Manager of David Austin English Roses, believes Boscobel may well be the most popular American introduction for 2014.

According to Martin Ogden, the garden designer also known as The Teddington Gardener, it is an absolute beauty with rich colors that vary from peach to pink as temperatures warm up or cool down. As the red buds open, they gradually develop into sumptuous blooms in the form of a classic rosette. Catalog copy tells us “the numerous small petals are of varying shades, mingling to provide the most pleasing effect.”

Martin also reports that Boscobel has the strongest fragrance of almost any recent English rose.

By the way, Boscobel House was built in 1632. It is famous for the fact that Charles II hid there in an oak tree, while being pursued by Cromwell’s soldiers during the English Civil War.

Heathcliff 

 

Of course I am a sucker for the red Austins (Darcey Bussell, Sir John Betjeman, Munstead Wood, Tess) so Heathcliff was a must have for my garden.  He is described as having very large, fully double, rosette shaped flowers of deep crimson. Teddington Gardener says this rose is reminiscent of Falstaff or L.D. Braithwaite. The color stays red and does not meander over to purple. The growth is strong and upright.

There is some disagreement on fragrance – some say it has none, others report the scent is a blend of Old Rose with a hint of cedar wood.   

So the jury is still out on some of the attributes of the rose, but I am more than willing to give this bad boy a try.

 Royal Jubilee

A unique rose for a unique occasion – it was introduced in celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

Royal Jubilee features large rounded flowers of deep pink with the petals curving in. It is vigorous and bushy and will form a large shrub 5 feet or more in height. It has a strong rich fruity fragrance with hints of blackcurrant.

The Lark Ascending 

There is often a big difference between the way David Austin English roses perform in the UK and how they do here. Lark Ascending may be one that is so robust, it will need to be trained as a climber in parts of the US.

Martin Ogden tells me it is a very different creature, a very healthy, bigger plant for the back of the border or for growing with wilder roses. It sports semi double blooms of light apricot (that are said to be luminous) with a light fragrance that varies from flower to flower.  

  
Tranquility 

 

I’ve read that some gardeners consider Tranquility to be the best of the white Austin roses. Martin says it is a formal rose, more hybrid tea in style with a touch of lemon in the center.

The creamy blooms are very weatherproof and have a light apple fragrance. Its large sprays of flowers are held upright and are framed by light green Musk Rose foliage. I can’t wait to see this one in bloom! 

 

The Lady's Blush has a creamy white eye

I have two other Austin roses coming next spring: The Lady’s Blush and Fighting Temeraire. I wrote about them in the 2013 intro posting. The Lady’s Blush is a pure soft pink with a white eye in the center of the semi-double blooms. I’ve heard from my UK friend Richard Stubbs (who also works at the David Austin nursery) that it is always in bloom in his garden.

Fighting Temeraire

Although Fighting Temeraire isn’t my color fave, it is getting rave reviews so I will add it to my new “yellow” bed that includes Midas Touch, Julia Child, Sungold and an unknown grocery store mini that is a bloom machine.

Once I’ve had a chance to see how they all perform in the mountains, I’ll let you know which of these English beauties catches my eye and captures my heart.

The window boxes of Nantucket: gorgeous, then gone

Recently we were invited to join some dear friends for a few days on the island of Nantucket. I had never been to that part of the country before and had no clue what to expect.

Sankaty Head lighthouse

I knew the roses were pretty much gone for the year, but I was hoping to discover what else might be blooming in mid-October. So after a flight from Boston on a plane not much larger than my living room sofa, I set off to explore the island that was once the foremost whaling port in the world.  

Cranberries are still harvested from this bog

Nantucket is 3.5 miles wide and 14 miles long. The entire island was designated a historic landmark in 1966. There are quiet harbors, lighthouses, sandy white beaches, cobblestone streets, imposing mansions, widows’ walks, museums, shops – even cranberry bogs. There are no traffic lights, neon signs or fast food joints.

 

A triple-decker

 

There is much to see wandering around town and the waterfront. As a result of strict building codes introduced in the 1950s, the gray-shingled homes, cottages and businesses look much like they did two hundred years ago. But despite the charm of the architecture and lure of the harbor, it was the sight of so many gorgeous window boxes that captured my attention.

The first thing that struck me was that no two houses had similar window box designs. Some featured a mixture of annuals or perennials, but others were a creative combination of fruits or succulents. Then during my second day of window box mania, I noticed some of the displays had disappeared.

 

Later that afternoon, I wandered down to one of the beaches where I spied a pick-up truck overflowing with all manner of lush plants. As I moved closer (to take a picture of course) I could see the beauties had been pulled out of the window boxes, thrown in the back of the truck and were now headed for the town dump.

So many gorgeous plants on their way to be trashed

It seemed such a shame, but the workers informed me “the season was over” and the owners wanted the boxes dismantled and stored for the winter. They were not able to give any of the plants away, although they said there was a very happy man at the dump waiting with a large garbage bag to take away as many plants as he could carry.

Good for him.

 

Our visit was magical, but too quickly came to an end. I spent most of the last day on the island checking out the Nantucket lightship baskets (I couldn’t afford one) and investigating quiet lanes where a few window boxes remained.

Thanks to my Nikon, they will live forever.