Glorious Roses

Rose 'New Dawn' with Clematis 'Etoile Violette.'

In late May my garden explodes with bloom, and roses, my mother's favorite flower, are the main feature. I love this particular combination of the climbing rose 'New Dawn' with the Clematis 'Etoile Violette' that is starting to spread over the porch.

Rose 'Double Knockout'

The rose 'Double Knockout' planted three years ago is really living up to its name, and the pink 'Petal Pushers', now two years old is making a nice show, along with a red 'Simplicity' behind. The two hybrid tea roses planted last fall, 'Peace' and Veteran's Honor' are still struggling to become established in my rocky shale, though I did get one lovely flower from 'Peace.'

Rose bed

Hybrid tea rose 'Peace'

The Flame azalea planted two springs ago is also developing nicely, and will probably become the subject of a painting as soon as I can find some time. I wish my trees would grow faster and provide more shade so I could plant more rhododendrons and azaleas--the mainstay of spring gardens in this area. But a gardener must be patient... sometimes it seems the more desirable a plant, the more delicate and slower it grows.

Flame azalea

Red Alchemilla with white salvia, lavender and peonies.

In the meantime, herbaceous perennials in other colors brighten the surrounding flower beds. As a painter, I love a riot of color in flowers and foliage. As a gardener, my greatest fault is that I tend to change my mind about where a plant looks best, so I end up moving bedding plants and even trees after I've planted them when I see a better spot, or realize the plant is not prospering where I've put it. I believe that like in art, changing the position of an element or two can improve the overall composition.

Bluebells

A few years back I dug up a new flowerbed under the maple tree in my front yard and planted Virginia bluebells, a Bleeding Heart a fern and some European ginger there. My idea was to have a progression of blooms from early spring through summer, perhaps extending into early fall. The following year I added some crocuses and blue Grape Hyacinths, and some Lamium to extend the blooming season. The plants have been slow to get established because of the maple roots and the compacted soil, but they are finally starting to pay off with a lovely blue and pink color scheme.

This is the first year my bluebells have actually blossomed and I am so pleased to finally enjoy their lovely flowers here at home! I wish I had time to do a botanical illustration of them from life, but life is going at so fast a pace these days, I know I won't get around to it this year. Their growing season is so short, the blossoms will be gone in another ten days, and the plants will disappear by mid-May to lie dormant until next spring.

 I want to do some botanical studies of this native plant, it may yet become part of my Botanical Illustration Certificate project. That would involve digging up at least one of the tubers to illustrate the root structure, but I am not about to do just yet; not until the plants have managed to propagate a bit more.

Bluebells at Chapman Forest

Bluebells at Chapman Forest, watercolor, 10" x 14"

My dear friends Patrise and Linda live in southern Maryland, very close to Chapman Forest, a large estate on the Potomac riverfront established in colonial times. The old estate has been preserved by a local group and contains many acres of old-growth forest, among which are several large upland patches of Virginia Bluebells, an unusual occurrence. Most large bluebell patches are found along riverbanks where the spring floods help the plants propagate in sandy loam. I wonder just how many years it takes for bluebells to form a patch this big... fifty, eighty or a hundred years undisturbed?

The weather looked pretty chancy for the weekend, but I decided to risk it, since the blooming season for these beautiful flowers is so short, and it had been a couple of years since I'd been down there in the spring. I drove through several showers on my way south from Columbia, and we encountered one more downpour as we were getting underway for our hike, but we got lucky and it didn't rain during the afternoon. We saw other wildflowers during our hike: Dutchman's breeches, tiny white violets, smooth yellow violets, and Jack-in-the-pulpit.

The storm clouds make a dramatic backdrop for this hill covered with bluebells, and the purple-pink color of the redbud flowers is the perfect complement to the tender greens of the emerging foliage. I'm selling it for $100, shipping and handling is additional. If you are interested in buying please drop me an E-mail.