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red martagons and gleaming baneberries

martagon-lily-claude-shrideA S IF TO CHEER ME ON DESPITE 7 INCHES of rain that fell the last two weeks, the screaming red martagon lilies are open again, right on time. I just thought I’d remind you in case you’re not the kind of visitor who digs through the archives compulsively (but if you did, you’d see that the similarly screaming red baneberry fruits are colored up now, too). If I had a red rainsuit and boots and perhaps a red umbrella, things would be picture-perfect here.

Related posts:

  1. martagons: what’s not to love?
  2. fruit you definitely don’t eat
  3. scratch and sniff this cimicifuga post?
  4. slideshow: bulbs in my garden
  5. beloved conifer: japanese umbrella pine

Comments

  1. Balsamfir says:

    About that discussion on coveting things…

  2. Margaret says:

    @Balsamfir: Hahaha. Exactly right. First time I saw them I had to have them, too. I got them at Klehm’s Song Sparrow as I recall…have to check if they still have any. Or you could just do a drive-by. :)

  3. Fred from Loudonville, NY says:

    Margaret, I have ALWAYS felt that coordination is EVEYTHING, so in your “martagon lily” red ensemble you would even match the trim of your house. The lily is my favorite flower, be it asiatic, oriental, or day. If my home was not called Whimsey Hill, it would be titled Lily Lawn.

  4. g says:

    I adore martagon lilies – in the Pacific Northwest I used to grow some that were a dusty pink-rose in color.

    I recently wrote a post on my own blog about another Turks cap lily, the Humboldt Lily, native of California. You might enjoy the photos.

    http://doves2day.blogspot.com/2009/06/humboldt-lilies.html

  5. Margaret says:

    Welcome, g. My other martagons, a peachy-pink color, came from my friends’ garden in Seattle. Thank you for the pink; the Turk’s caps are lovely indeed. See you soon again I hope.

  6. Terri says:

    The martagons always surprise me and there could be no better time than the late June garden. I too love my single actea with its red drumstick fighting it out with the velvety gray foliage of my hieraciums. One can really see, even with its low-to-the-ground stature, why cimicifugas were reclassified to this group of plants.

  7. Charlotte Cantrell says:

    It’s to darn hot here in N. Florida to even go outside. Let alone enjoy the flowers. It’s been weeks of 95 to 102 degrees. we sure could use some of your rain. My tomato plants are dying of heat stroke. And it’s only June. We don’t get our “hottest” month until August! :>(

  8. Chase Cline says:

    what is this splendor? wow.

    i love how out of everyone i know, i like to think i’m the “plant master,” but you keep me humble. I bask in your amazingness!

  9. Balsamfir says:

    Last I looked, they sold out. So I’ve got to get on an email list and see if I can make the cut next time. But I may have them. I’ve got something mysterious that I planted a few years ago and is just now putting up buds, although its been making babies happily. So I’m waiting to see what I bought and forgot before buying another martagon. Am I the only one who does this?

Speak Your Mind

The Sister Project

The Confessional

Some stuff really gets A Way to Garden-ers going. Weigh in, or just lurk while everyone else shares about these hot buttons:

Compost, Compost, Compost

I am as proud of my compost heap as I am of any part of my garden. It is the archaeological record of my garden past; it is the stuff from which future gardens will arise. I read a lot about, from sources like these: Garden Organic, a 50-year-old British charity; Journey to Forever (don’t worry, not some into-the-bunker survivalist cult); and the vast Cornell Composting archive. Dig in.

Juicy Bits

375 VISITORS, 1 BIG RHODIE: spring garden open day, in a virtual visit. How it looked, and also what they all asked about

keeping deer out DEER FENCE: I tried every potion and anti-deer trick till I finally got real and fenced. Strategies for every garden situation.

secrets to great tomatoes TOMATO TIPS, seed to harvest: Dozens of tricks for a better crop.

yes, even in dry shade MY 4 TOUGHEST GROUNDCOVERS perform even in the worst spots, like dry shade. Maybe these tough perennials will serve you as well?

5 great small trees GARDEN-SIZED TREES can’t just be the right scale; they need to have multi-season interest, too, to earn a spot here. Maybe you have room for one of my 5 favorites?

10 underplanting do’s and don’ts MAKING MOSAICS—that’s what I call good underplanting of trees and shrubs with a tapestry of plants for many months of enjoyment. Here’s how I do it.

a ribbeting bullfrog whodunit LET BULLFROGS BE BYGONES? No way. Where have all my biggest frogboys gone? The latest frog mystery explained.

stars of the spring shrubbery BEYOND LILACS (and forget forsythia!), a slideshow of some of the finest spring shrubs you may not grow (yet).

speeding up the compost DRIVE BY, HIT-AND-RUN composting is my latest craze, and speeds up the decomposition process while making good mulch quickly. Here’s how.

making a 365-day garden THINK FALL (YES, FALL): Don’t get sucked in by spring-bloomers only when nursery shopping. A great garden happens 365 days a year: Shop smart to make it so.

the facts about bulbs SOMETHING UP with a flower bulb? Paltry bloom, or wondering when to feed or cut off the foliage? It’s all here.

must-read garden poem MY FAVORITE GARDEN POEM celebrates loss, one of gardening (and life’s) realities. It does it with humor: "Why Did My Plant Die?” is a must-read.

12 steps to sanity? HELP FOR GARDENERS: Hi, my name is Margaret, and yes, we operate a 12-Step program here. Welcome.

orchid rebloom made easy I REBLOOMED MY FIRST ORCHID last year (finally!) and it turns out to be pretty easy going. Here’s how.

my seed-starting 101 WHAT ABOUT SEED-STARTING in general? The A Way to Garden method.

crispy refrigerator pickles WHAT IS IT ABOUT refrigerator pickles that makes everybody so happy? Get those cukes growing now. And then some.

hail the stewartia I LIKE PLANTS THAT EARN THEIR KEEP. By that I mean they do more than a week or two of showing off; they look good in more than a single moment, or season. The small-ish to medium trees in the genus Stewartia are a good bet if that’s the kind of multi-season interest you are looking for. Sound good?

can-do pruning REPEAT AFTER ME: I can prune. I can prune. If you follow this simple method for starters, your woody plants will thank you.

the ‘other’ peonies JUNE IS PEONY TIME, the big raucous kind of peony time, but just before that another kind of peony you might want to consider adopting does its subtler, wonderful thing.

which lilac to plant? SO MANY LILACS, so little space. Browse a glossary of some of my favorites before you shop—maybe you’ll like them, too.