joene's garden » Sites to see

Post-Fire Views of Devil’s Hopyard State Park

joenesgarden — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:45:00 +0000

The early spring fire that burned an estimated 150 of the 860 or so acres of Devil's Hopyard State Park in East Haddam, Connecticut, was noteworthy because brush fires that burn up to tree tops is an unusual occurrence in this region of Connecticut. But this fire was not nearly as destructive as those out West where forest fires frequently consume thousands of acres, leaving remnants of charred dead trees that once towered overhead.

At the Hopyard, most of the park remains untouched by the fire, looking as it has for decades. There are many trails to hike if you want to avoid seeing fire damage.

Along stream banks where Skunk Cabbage and False Hellebore grow, life is completely normal.

But follow the orange trail that leads to the Vista and eventually you'll find fire damage. The photos below were taken April 1, 2012, about a week after the fire.

As the trail winds higher toward the Vista you begin to see evidence of fire here and there. In many areas it's clear that fallen, dead trees burned but not nearby dead leaves.

Other areas burned more completely.

But life goes on. The hole at the base of this tree shows evidence of use one week after the fire.

Below, fallen leaves burned but underbrush holds natural color.

I find the contrasts fascinating. The tree trunk here burned nearly to its top, yet nearby trees were unscathed.

I don't know if the unburned paths below are evidence of man's intervention or just the way fire acts.

Looking down from the Vista shows remains of the fire below.

The Devil's Hopyard fire offers an unusual opportunity for Connecticut residents – the chance to watch a forest regenerate. In many of the charred areas fire burned the top layer of fallen leaves, but did not reach lower leaf layers. I expect that a period of rain will encourage a rash of undergrowth and, before long, green will again dominate most of the blackened forest floor.

Categories: Sites to see.
Tags: Connecticut, Devil's Hopyard State Park, East Haddam, forest fire.

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Celebrate Autumn Gardening in East Haddam

joenesgarden — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 12:41:51 +0000

This is one October weekend when locals don't have far to drive to find great garden bargains or an intriguing garden. That's right East Haddam residents … all can be found within town boundaries.

For garden-related bargains it's tough to beat one of the tag sales run by Ballek's Garden Center. If you missed their summer tag sale you missed out on some great plant deals. But don't fret, you have a second chance this Saturday and Sunday, October 8 and 9, 2011. Ballek's staff start filling the tag sale area early Saturday morning and continue adding goodies – plants, shrubs, trees, ornamentation, pots, and other garden stuff – throughout the weekend. The photos here show Ballek's before their last October sale. You'll have to visit to see what's waiting for you this year. Get directions to Ballek's here, and if you miss the tag sale you still have the chance for 20% off deals on most perennials and all shrubs, trees, outdoor planters and outdoor furniture, and up to 50% off some other items.

Head to Staehly Farms with kids in tow to stock up on Staehly-grown apples, winter squash and other vegetables, choose pumpkins, gourds and Autumn decorations, grab a few gorgeous mums, and find end-of-season bargain perennials. Staehly's has a large supply of Jack-o-lantern ready pumpkins just waiting for a home and plenty of unusual, even bizarre, shaped large gourds for the more adventurous Jack-o-lantern carvers. The kids will get into the Halloween spirit after a walk through Staehly's special Halloween maze. Pick up a gallon of cider, choose fresh CT-made pies and cheese, and try one of Staehly's jarred condiments. A visit to Staehly's (directions here) is the perfect Autumn family outing. My granddaughter calls Staehly's Gail's House … Gail and Chris really know how to welcome kids.

Gardeners and garden lovers looking for inspiration and, maybe, some ideas on how to use their newly found plant bargains have a rare opportunity on Sunday, October 9, 2011. From noon until 4pm, East Haddam gardener and garden writer Lee May opens his Asian-inspired, herb, sedum, and ornament gardens to visitors. You'll have to pay $5 for the privilege, but collected fees do good, they support educational programs offered by The Connecticut Horticultural Society (CHS). In addition to the many wonderful educational meetings CHS offers to members and the public, CHS ran multiple tours of private gardens this year. Lee's garden happens to be the last of the season. Visit CHS Garden Tours for more information on the tour. Maybe I'll see you there. If you can't make it to the tour you might get some peeks at the garden at Lee May's Gardening Life.

A beautiful weekend is forecast so get out and enjoy the local offerings.

Garden thoughtfully,

Joene

Categories: Garden Blogs, Garden Centers/Seed Suppliers, Gardening, Seasons, Sites to see.
Tags: Autumn decorations, Ballek's Garden Center, Lee May's Gardening Life, plant bargains, Staehly Farms, The Connecticut Horticulture Society.

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Striking Plant Combos at Elizabeth Park

joenesgarden — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 12:49:46 +0000

Rose lovers head to Elizabeth Park in Hartford, CT to view the 2.5 acre rose garden filled with 15,000 rose bushes.

The arches and surrounding beds are a wonder to wander through, even on a rainy weekend morning in early June just before the roses hit their peak.

But Elizabeth Park's 102 acres offers more than roses. Visitors can stroll through other gardens to observe many different plant combinations. Some of the combinations may only spark interest, others may inspire plantings useable at home. Below find a handful of interesting plant combinations you can find at Elizabeth Park.

I was drawn to the herb garden and this fantastic use of thyme as a ground cover.

The perennial garden displays the eye-catching nature of plant groups. Lady's Mantle (foreground) and the pink astilbe in the far end of this bed are so much more striking in large masses.

The shade garden shows foliage combinations – no flowers needed - featuring brunnera in the foreground and hakonechloa to the rear.

The annual garden is a series of different planting beds. Many were still in the state of planting during my visit but two combinations caught my camera. Whether or not you would plant … or like … this bed of just Japanese blood grass edged by artemisia, it will certainly say 'wow' when it fills out.

And, this mass planting of coleus already screams for attention.

A flagpole in front of one of the park's buildings was adorned by a mass planting of globe allium.

Next to a driving path rests a garden-variety Old Glory.

As with most public gardens, Elizabeth Park is ever-changing. A visit today, just two weeks since these photos, would look very different. It's creatively stimulating to stroll through gardens planted by others … my curiosity may just draw me back to see how these plantings mature.

Categories: Garden Design, Gardening, Perennials & Annuals, Sites to see.
Tags: Elizabeth Park, Gardens in Connecticut, plant combinations.

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Garden Bloggers Visit Logee’s

joenesgarden — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:29:47 +0000

Good company, lively conversation, tasty food, and an enveloping walk around and under growing and blooming greenery … this is my idea of a great way to spend an early spring day. Add in a few other garden bloggers and it's a recipe for fun. I met garden bloggers Cyndy from Gardening Asylum, Scott from Blue Heron Landscapes, and Layanee from Ledge and Gardens, at The Vanilla Bean Café in Pomfret, CT – it's a great little lunch spot if you're in the area – then we caravanned to Logee's in Danielson, CT.

Logee's consists of a group of greenhouses, primarily for tropical plants, and a thriving mail-order nursery run by Byron Martin and Laurelynn Martin. As a fellow blogger at Logee's Tropical Plants Blog, Laurelynn was kind enough to come out to meet and greet our crew after we finished touring the greenhouses. The photos below are for everyone's enjoyment, but I specifically want to share what we saw with our garden blogger friends that could not join us. We missed you Debbie (A Garden of Possibilities) and Laurrie (My Weeds Are Very Sorry) … this is for you.

When you enter the main door it's clear that plants have thrived here for a long, long time. Ivy climbs along the ceiling.

Walls are covered by a multitude of ferns.

The aisles are narrow and tightly packed, on both sides, above, and below with plants. Here a row of white Easter cactus (Rhipsalidopsis hybrid 'Sirius') await new homes. A few of these beauties now live in the care of the other garden bloggers.

That's Cyndy grabbing one of her amazing photos, while Scott and Layanee inspect a rather large genistra.

A walk through Logee's greenhouses gives one an intimacy with plants most northerners consider houseplants. We rarely see them growing to large sizes. A stroll through Logee's greenhouses is like walking through a large tropical greenhouse maintained for the public by a botanical garden, but without the bells and whistles. … just the foliage and flowers.

There's Angel's Trumpet (Brugmansia hybrid).

Heliconia stricta – a member of the banana family – caught the interest of my camera lens.

As did this Passion flower. I think this Passiflora may be 'Lady Margaret'.

Begonias galore can double as abstract paintings.

You'll find rows of citrus full of fruit; gardenia and jasmine, orchids and bougainvillea, clivia and hibiscus in various stages of bloom; foliage plants to suit all tastes; and even hardy garden perennials for planting outdoors.

But the most spectacular of all the blooms we saw was the turquoise flower of the Jade vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys). Yes, the flowers really are this color, and though my focus was slightly off, I kind of like the effect.

Logee's is a true Connecticut gem. When you go, make sure to bring a friend or two … it helps turn a pleasant visit into a lasting memory.

Categories: Garden Centers/Seed Suppliers, Sites to see.
Tags: CT Garden Bloggers, Logee's, The Vanilla Bean Cafe, tropical plants.

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National Park Visits–Arches’ Fiery Furnace and Natural Designs

joenesgarden — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 11:00:00 +0000

As promised in my last post, here we wander through the Fiery Furnace region of Arches National Park. We signed up for an afternoon ranger-led tour through the spires and hoodoos. Since we visited Arches in October, we were able to sign up for this tour in the morning. It's advised to make reservations in advance if visiting the park during peak summertime months.

We started the 3-hour tour (cue the Gilligan's Island theme song) with about 25 other park visitors. The ranger led the way and we took up the rear, wanting to dally for photos.

We were not crazy about following along with a good sized group – we tend to be loners - but this tour was our means to safely wander through this amazing collection of fins.

We set off with good hiking boots, comfortable socks and clothing, water, a raincoat, and a camera. You can get hot and chilly on the same hike, and afternoon rainstorms build fast and, often, furiously.

Downpours turn the narrow fin passages into raging rivers within minutes.

You can imagine how quickly water builds and flows, always finding the lowest spot to fill first.

One wrong turn could put you at a dead end with no way out but through quickly rising waters.

Remnants of the previous day's rainfall are still evident in the sand around the plant in the photo below.

Natural rills capture water and give opportunistic seeds a place to grow and thrive.

You cannot possibly get the feel of this place unless you venture within its sandstone walls.

At times we gingerly scurried over crevices …

Other times we had to frog-crawl over crevices.

The ranger – what a cool job he has – led us to a spot he calls his secret garden.

This looks like a rugged landscape but, like other semi-arid regions of the Colorado Plateau, it is really quite fragile. Water-trapping potholes contain microscopic shrimp that only survive here. One touch from a human hand or foot can alter these tiny ecosystems to the point of demise.

Plants find a niche in which to grow. Nature sets out designs in perfect balance for all to imitate.

You see junipers of all sizes as they contort to the shape available for their growth. Utah junipers self-sacrifice one branch to insure other, more viable branches survive.

Mormon tea (Ephedra spp.) and Pinyon pines survive where nature placed them.

Native grasses nestle where sand and water permit.

We left the tour wanting to see more … so much more.

And Arches does not disappoint. At every stop, around every turn, behind every standing spire you find another subject for the camera.

Another design to model.

Another secret garden to explore.

Categories: Sites to see.
Tags: Arches National Park, Fiery Furnace, virtual escape from winter in Connecticut.

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