Feral Coleus

So many thanks to the talented Lauren Lopez for designing the Rooted Blog when I miserably failed at the same task.  As she & I met to consider the look for the blog I thought of a photo Kevin & I took in Ecuador.

Here's the set-up: we had hired a guide to take us hiking through the Amazon.  As we were walking through the farms bounding the jungle we came across this coleus:

Beautiful, right?!  Last year we had a surplus of coleus and lined our own front beds with the plant.  It did OK, but not great.  I really wanted to see what was working so well here.  Obviously, someone planted the coleus.  It's hard to see, but there's barb wire fence above probably to keep in some livestock.  This is how someone began to edge out their property.  However, the coleus looks like it's taken on a life of its own.

Obviously, it gets heavy rains, which taught me that maybe coleus wants better irrigation than I had previously provided.  I also love the density of the coleus.  Some plants respond really well to more of their own kind or companion plants.  For years, I kept aloe in my home & rarely found much growth.  A few years ago I changed some key practices.  I re-potted the aloe less frequently.  I'd heard that they like somewhat tight root balls.  I also made sure I had two aloe plants from the same cutting growing near each other.  I have no idea if this is the key factor or if it's due to less frequent re-potting, but those aloe are growing like gang busters.  One last change?  I rarely water.  When it rains and the temperature is above 50 degrees I put the plants outside to soak.  If it rains a ton, I only do this once in a month's span.

Kevin took this photo when I cut my hair.  Ignore the hairs & focus on the aloe twins.  Despite our house being fairly dim, they're happy & thriving.

Plants are migrating with people.  Plants that are considered native to the Delaware Valley region can be traced back to many different parts of the world.  I'm not saying this to criticize or laud the practice-- it just is.  What's interesting to me is paying attention when we find a plant really happy.

I'm so glad that Lauren took me up on creating a coleus border for our blog.  Every time I see it, I think of that border between a human hand and a plant's own determination in finding water, light, and health.  I think of functional farms with the jungle just beyond.

In Praise of Witch-Hazel

Driving home from the library yesterday, I nearly swerved when I saw this beautiful witch-hazel. I crept past the house and stared at the tree. After passing, I continued towards home but was compelled to turn the corner, round the block and park. If the homeowners were looking out their windows I'm sure they were a bit concerned about the odd man walking around their tree and feeling its blossoms. I was too enamored with it's beauty to notice.

In late Spring I would likely have driven by without acknowledging it. That is the beauty of the witch-hazel. At a time when everything else is barren, when hydrangeas and crape myrtles are barely shuddering out of their winter slumber, witch-hazel is shining.

This ornamental witch-hazel, Hamamelis mollis, flowers in late Winter or early Spring, often the first blossom of the New Year. It's similar looking relative, Hamamelis virginiana, is native to the Eastern U.S. and flowers in the late Fall or early winter.

This past December I was hiking in the Shenandoah Valley and happened across a patch of native witch-hazel. Among a forest barren of leaves their fading golden blossoms were eerie and sad. Now, with the days growing longer and brighter those same blossoms look hopeful and rich, and make me grateful that Spring is nearly here.

Dreaming of Inhospitality

Winter is the perfect time for on-going education.  The plants are dormant & the ground frozen-- well, usually, back when December didn't feature 60 degree temperatures.  Kevin & I spent the last two Mondays in a Soil and Plant Relationships class.  The world of soil and plants is absolutely intriguing.  My imagination had me envisioning the earthy depths as a marine biologist would the Mariana Trench.  

On day one we studied soil chemistry before plant and soil biology.  On day two we got to reach towards geology before profiling plants that thrive in really inhospitable conditions.  Kevin & I catalogued or reorganized plants that would create a great palette for a job in generally wet soil or arid and infertile regions.  There are so many beautiful plants that can thrive in these conditions, as well as a huge roster of plants that add nutritive benefit to their habitats.  

This time of year feels something like dreamy hibernation.  Cataloguing rainy day visions of bald cypresses and brushy, proud native grasses.  I've been toying with a wet region in my own yard for some time now.  Some days I plan to build a drain to move the water.  Other days I consider adding soil to change the topography.  Today I go back to my favorite idea of planting tall reeds.  

Now we're just sitting on our hands rather than signing up for every other course on the roster.  Learning about plants & environment is contagious!