We had a surprise visitor flitting about the garden during the volunteer gardeners’ Friday morning work. Papillio rutulus aka, the Western Tiger Swallowtail is a common butterfly often seen during Oregon’s summer months. The females lay up to 100 eggs on cottonwoods, aspens and willow trees, making them a familiar site along riparian areas. The adults seek out nectar and our visitor was finding plenty in the Gaiety Hollow garden!

Something new is kicking into bloom every day, and the diversity of pollinators is a wonderful sight. We are working on establishing an Integrated Pest Management plan so volunteer gardeners are always on the lookout scouting for pests. Finding pest populations early in the game allows us to reduce the use of pesticides if that option is used. Butterflies, bees, even wasps and spiders are a sign of a healthy garden!

A big thanks to the dedicated garden volunteers who bring their enthusiasm and knowledge to Gaiety Hollow every Friday!

Happy Gardening,

Mark

Each Thursday morning, a wonderful group of gardeners shows up at the historic Lord and Schryver gardens at the Deepwood Estate. I am grateful for this dedicated crew who work hard to keep these sophisticated gardens – located within a public park – looking great. Most public parks never receive this level of care and attention.  Although the work is ever-changing, these volunteers do a great job, rising to any task that comes down the pike.

The Thursday volunteers in the Teahouse. left to right, Ruth Roberts, Sue Peterson, Lisa Case, David Lichter, and Lysa Hall,

The Scroll garden after the Boxwood Trimming and the Zinnia Benary Giants starting into bloom.

The Scroll garden during the Tulip Bloom and before the Boxwood trimming

The Teahouse garden with the Roses starting into bloom, the Four ‘Iceberg” on standards were reintroduced this year and are looking great!

It really is a heartwarming feeling to be working in the Scroll or Teahouse gardens and  hear the “ooh’s” and “ahh’s” as visitors turn the corner and view these beautiful gardens.

We are always on the lookout for volunteers. If you interested in joining this group, please drop me a line at: mark@lordschryver.org

From the transcribed “Lord and Schryver Personal Garden Notes” found in Special Collections #98, Box 16, Folder 6 of the L&S archive collection at the University of Oregon, Knight Library, Eugene OR:

June of 1936

“Delphinium. Pretty good. Canterbury Bells [Campanula medium] can be pinched off and will bloom in July in time for Phlox.

Use more Astilbe + Phlox in back of garden. Need more pink and white.

New Columbine good color – well with pale blue. Give more space to it.

Take out Belladona D [Delphinium x belladonna] near S. Rose and plant white Phlox there.

Put Lilium – Tulips and Canterbury Bells [Campanula medium] back of Jar. Both Hemerocallis very pretty. Advise taking out other varieties – bloom early when not needed.”

Petunia’s and Marguerite Daisies hold up to the heat well.

The Delphinium are standing tall with the Foxglove.

The flower walk

Erigeron, Lobelia, Verbena don’t mind the heat and the modern breeding work on Viola has made them remarkably heat tolerant as well.

Fly on the Marguerite Daisy

One of the best things about a garden journal or the more modern version, a garden blog, is the ability to track planting activities, weather, bloom times and more over time. I’ve been reading through the transcribed garden notes of Edith and Elizabeth and really appreciate the detailed observations.   Although often sparsely worded, these journals include a wealth of knowledge to guide us in the Gaiety Hollow garden.

If I was recreating a similar journal entry today, I would note “Delphinium good this year. Need to try that Campanula pinching trick to see if it works.”

I love how Elizabeth and Edith tracked the weather in the garden notes, making for a very interesting read.  Of course, the big news now is the warm weather…94 degrees at 4:20 pm.

Hope the blossoms don’t fade too quickly with the heat!

Mark

Check out the collection of Dianthus barbatus, aka sweet William, blooming at Gaiety Hollow today!

Dianthus barbatus is a biennial or short-lived perennial native to the Pyrenees, Carpathian and Balkan mountain ranges as well as several disjunct areas in China, Korea and Southern Russia. It makes a fantastic cut flower with its long stems and slightly spicy scent.  Sweet William was often used in classic Victorian cottage gardens.

The majority of the sweet William at Gaiety Hollow was propagated by seed.  I’m a big believer in starting plants from seed as the genetic variability allows you to make your own selections based on personal preference.

This winter, I’m looking forward to working with the Gaiety Hollow Gardeners to locate seeds that best represent the works of Lord and Schryver. Many modern cultivars propagated in nurseries don’t quite fit the color palette preferred by Elizabeth and Edith.  But by pouring over seed catalogs, especially of rare and heirloom varieties, we can make our own selections.

Another reason to start your own seeds is to stagger your plantings to maximize bloom times. I like to start a tray of plugs, plant out half as plugs into the garden, then pot up the rest into 4″ pots and let them mature for a few more weeks. This way, when you plant them out, you have variability of maturation and bloom times, resulting in longer lasting color.

Don’t forget to visit Gaiety Hollow on an upcoming Open Garden to see the sweet William and other seed-grown beauties in bloom.

Happy Gardening,

Mark