I’ve just posted new paintings here. Thank you everyone who came to the open studios!

Clover and Corsican mint

Originally uploaded by mulysa_may

Hoya

Originally uploaded by mulysa_may

A little beauty blooming in the studio.. love that light.

The time of year when the studio is not boiling or freezing has passed, but I’m not letting that get in the way of finishing a lot of work in time for the open studios weekend next month at the Boxlift Building.

I’ve been painting seeds, sprouts, plots, cloud-like garden islands, more seeds and a garden-like cloud island. Mark your calender to come check it out! As usual there will be music, refreshments and over a dozen other artists to meet.

Saturday, June 13, 4 to 10 pm
Sunday, June 14, noon to 5 pm

Kirengeshoma palmata
HYDRANGEACEAE, The Hydrangea family

This very pretty shade lover blooms in late summer when there’s not much else happening in the woodland garden. I’ve read that it is traditionally planted near entrances in temple gardens in its native Japan and Korea. The nodding flowers are seen as a sign of humility.

I grew this flower in Minnesota and saw it coming up a few weeks ago when I was there visiting. And now I have one to add to my shade garden here. The leaves are vaguely maple-like and sort of powdery as they unfurl. Multiple stems come up from the ground and grow 2 - 3 feet tall.

Camassia

Originally uploaded by mulysa_may

Camassia quamash
LILIACEAE, Lily family

Here is a ‘pool’ of Camassia at Catherine Creek yesterday. There was also a few meadow death camas growing nearby, which has white flowers but very similar looking bulbs. And as the name suggests, it’s pretty poisonous. I was just reading about how Native Americans weeded the death camas out of the areas where they harvested camas, which was a staple food that was dug and steamed in pits on hot stones overnight. Some was then dried for later use. The patches were tended throughout the year to encourage and protect the important food source. But development along the river has shrunk what were once extensive fields to isolated patches.

Bitterroot

Originally uploaded by mulysa_may

Lewisia rediviva
PORTULACACEAE, The Purslane family

A lovely walk at Catherine Creek - these pale bitterroot were blooming in rocky crevices and on outcroppings near the natural stone bridge. A few were much darker - almost the color of autumn crocus.

There are many cultivated varieties that can be grown in gardens. They especially like a deep narrow pot with a well-draining soil mix.

Larix kaempferi ‘Pendula’
PINACEAE, The Pine family

Normally, I’m not a huge weeping conifer fan. But this species is not just your usual random oddity that waggles in front of the golden arches. Growing about 6 feet tall and as wide, or taller with staking, it makes a subtle statement. The needles are held in bundles, like all larches, and they are a bright, light green when they leaf out in spring, and also sweetly fragrant. That’s right, they lose their needles and reveal their pendulous form in winter, then sprout fresh foliage in spring. A deciduous conifer! The fall color is golden - a nice feature in itself.

Today I planted one of these in a client’s garden, at the head of a water feature at the entryway. It was really the perfect thing there, adding to the elegance of the garden. It’s satisfying when things work out that way.

Hardy in USDA zones 2 or 3 to 7.

A friend in Seattle just sent me this:

“Mulysa,

I have a question for you. I saw a ground cover plant from the bus, seemed like strawberry, but yellow flower, height is like 5-7″. do you recognize it? it’s so pretty, and looks really healthy.

If you know, let me know.”

This is a good question.

That sounds like barren strawberry (aka Appalachian or false strawberry), Waldsteinia fragarioides. This plant is native to the Eastern United states where it is listed as threatened, endangered or as a species of special concern. It could also be the species from Europe, Japan and China, Waldsteinia ternata. Mobot has good pictures (see links above) that will help determine which species it is.

It’s in the Rose family, like the strawberries which are genus Fragaria. Barren means fruitless. It does have a fruit but not the pretty, edible kind you’d expect from a plant that looks so much like a strawberry. It’s fruit is a kind of spiky-looking ball of achenes.

Waldsteinia is named after an Austrian botanist, Count Franz Adam Waldstein-Wartenburg (dang!). The specific epithet, ‘fragarioides’ means ’strawberry-like’. ‘Ternata’ means three leaflets.

It’s landscape use is great, as you saw. It’s pretty tough in fun or partial shade and slowly, or very quickly depending on who you ask, forms a dense enough mat to shade out weeds and has some seasonal interest with the showy flowers. Only drawback? It’s only semi-evergreen.

By the way, you must have eagle eyes to notice all that from the bus!

Ps. To loyal zone 4 readers: this one is hardy in USDA zones 4 to 7.

Berberis darwinii
BERBERIACEAE, The Barberry family

They may be a bit spiny, but they are gorgeous when the orange flowers are backlit by late afternoon spring sunshine. Later it will have powdery blue berries that are good for attracting wildlife. And it’s drought tolerant.

Companion plant ideas: Phormium ‘Sundowner’, if you dare, Orange sedge, Euphorbia wulfenii, Eleagnus ‘Clemson’s Variegated’, Nandina ‘Gulf Stream’, Ninebark ‘Coppertina’, Tulip ‘Ballerina’

To pick up the color elsewhere in a planting: Wall flower- orange/rust colored varieties, German Iris varieties in gold/rust tones, Geum ‘Mango Lassi’, Deciduous Azalea ‘Mandarin Lights’ or ‘Gibraltar’

To echo it later in the year: Crocosmia ‘Solfatare’, Turk’s cap lilies or Columbia lily, Yarrow ‘Terracotta’

Outside today, in freshly turned soil, seeds of:

Spinach ‘Red Trooper’
Turnips Greens ‘Seven Top’
Collards ‘Champion’
Broccoli ‘Calabrese’
Arugula ‘Mediterranean’
Salad mix - packet that came free with an issue of BBC Gardens Illustrated. It contains red Russian kale, rocket (arugula), chervil, mizuna and tatsoi.