Summer Fun

Who's ready?

I have been on the looking for a croquet set for a very, very long time. I grew up playing an extremely competitive version with my family and I missed those games. My search started last summer while I was still in New York, I had dreams of picnics and croquet tournaments (everyone must wear white) in Central or McCarren Parks, but I never found the right set. Fast forward a little over a year and my stepmother surprised me with this set. I am totally excited to finally have my picnic and croquet. This is what summer is to me.

K is for Kerria

Happy Bastille Day!

To celebrate, a plant from Japan? I know, but at least the blooms kind of resemble fireworks.

Kerria is an airy prostrate shrub of attractive habit. Once mature, the shrub will take more of an arching form.  It is deciduous, but comes back in Spring with these gorgeous little yellow blooms of about two inches in diameter.

How can you not be happy when looking at this little flower?

J is for Juncus

Juncus effusus

also known as Soft Rush or Corkscrew Grass. I was first introduced to this by my stepmother who planted it in an urn at the center of a pond. It was/is such a novel sculptural specimen.

Juncus is kind of a really cool genus, with species that thrive with wet feet and brackish water. They were definitely a plant of choice for my Ecological Restoration class. J. patens is a native to California and Oregon and is more drought tolerant than other species...it just doesn't get the crazy spiral stems.

Buddha in the Garden

In my continuing documentation of the lovely and novel garden ornamentation people put in their yards, I bring you the Buddha of Red Hook.

Found a few years ago in Brooklyn while traipsing around for some site analysis, I came across this Buddha in a side yard. I was impressed with the curation of the view through the outside gate, not sure if it was purposeful or not, but it provided a good picture.

I is for Ipomea

and I really find myself wanting to say Ipanema and be on a beach in Brazil.

 The flower belongs to I. indica and the vine leaves are I. batatas.

In particular Ipomea batatas, commonly Sweet Potato Vine, or Ipomea indica, commonly Blue Dawn Flower, but the genus has upwards of 500 species including many morning glories. The ornamental trailing vine I am writing about has leaves ranging from a vibrant chartreuse to a deep bronzy purple. Good in full sun to partial shade. I have been using these in a lot of the planters at work because of the size/shape/colors of the leaves and their tolerance of sun conditions.

Helpful (and amusing) lessons from the Jepson Guide

The question happens with some frequency: How do you say this? or Am I saying this correctly? Many botanical names are difficult to articulate. I have trouble enough with small words sometimes, so when faced with a multi-syllable word with runs of letters that seem very foreign to me, I get nervous. It doesn't help the cause when you are corrected by someone who presumes to know all.  Awhile ago I was given a helpful tip and I have been searching for this list and the quote ever since.  I love the quote and the list because I find them to be rather irreverent towards those fussy types who take things a bit too seriously sometimes.

"Botanical Latin is essentially a written language, but the scientific names of plants often occur in speech. How they are pronounced really matters little provided they sound pleasant and are understood by all concerned" (William T. Stearn, Botanical Latin)

Jepson Guide: Pronunciation of Scientific Names
1. Divide the word carefully into syllables
2. Pronounce each syllable
3. Listen to others and practice what sounds good to your ear; conviction is important.
4. Attempt to accent all syllables equally, this is likely to show where the accents fall.
5. Develop your own standards for pronouncing the common endings and commit to them.
6. Retain pronunciation of proper names used in scientific names
...and the best of all
7. When someone presumes to correct your pronunciation, a knowing smile is an appropriate response.

I wonder if Ms. Emily Post helped with the wording of the last rule?

H is Heuchera

These shade tolerant, evergreen clumps come in a rainbow of colors, deep greens and purples to light shades of apricot and have a characteristic wisp of a stem providing support to airy clusters of little flowers. Also known as Coral Bells, their foliage is particularly suited for bringing bright color to areas of shade.