Lavenders are picky plants -- especially when grown in East Tennessee. There's always a reason for lavender not to perform here, whether it's too humid, too cold, too wet, too dry, too shady, too fertile, too much! Lavender 'Provence' is special because it performs in spite of the cards that are stacked against it. The real key to success with 'Provence' is to know when -- and how -- to prune.
'Provence' makes a silver mound that flowers prolifically two or more times a year. To encourage flowering, plant in full sun and deadhead as flowers go to seed. When lavender spends less energy developing seeds, it will flower more.
As with any lavender, don't prune in fall or winter. Leave the plant's "winter coat" to protect the crown and help ensure survival through the cold season. It's best to cut back after the danger of frost has passed in the spring. For Knoxville, prune lavender after April 15th.
Cutting back to about 8 inches keeps growth compact and upright, prevents falling into a "donut" shape with an empty center, and limits old growth from turning a dingy brown color.
By pruning 'Provence' lavender a just a few times a year, you'll be rewarded with silver, compact, floriferous, perennial growth.
Like many other herbs, 'Provence' lavender likes to a site with well drained soil and full sun. Water deeply and regularly for a couple months until the plant is established. Once the lavender has rooted in, water only as needed. If 'Provence' is thirsty, its flowers and branch tips will start to droop.
What is a “Grass Dance”?To me, the phrase conjures up visions of Hawaiian hula dancers, but this was not really the case.Grass dances began with the Sioux nation, which was located in and around what is today the state of South Dakota.The Sioux used grass dances as part of their war ceremony, so essentially at grass dances originated as war dances.Although this was a music associated with war, it spread to from the Omaha, to their neighbors, through the plains, and across North America.Tara Browner in “An Acoustic Geography of Intertribal War Songs, pointed out that these grass dances had in fact “grafted” on to indigenous warrior society.
When the U.S. government formed Bureau of Indian Affairs, one of the bureau’s functions was to limit communication between the groups of native people.The reason was to prevent these nations from organizing greater resistance and attacks, but an indirect result was preventing “cross fertilization” of music between these nations.This means that the grass dance style spread across North America, but then began to evolve with tribes and nations in isolation.This resulted in different styles of grass dances, one of the main differences being the Northern and Southern styles, which were first, observed in the 1920s (Browner).Although grass dances began as war music, in modern times they are more functional as an important part to pow-wows (Gay).
Now that we have a grasp of the history of grass dances, what did they sound like?Again, the image of hula dances comes to mind, but truly the musical style of Sioux grass dances are a far fling from the familiar soft strumming of the ukulele.The example that we listed to in Musicology 115 started out with the male vocalists singing in falsetto.Their sound gets lower, and then the women join in.There was not really any harmony and not many words.Instead of words, these singers used a great deal of vocables.The range of this song didn’t follow the musical scale that we of European descent are familiar with, but rather used a sort of pentatonic scale characteristic of much Native American music (Gay).These songs may be strophic in verse, have internal repetition, and have an energetic beat (Browner). To quote Frances Densmore who founded the Native American collection at the Smithsonian, in the lines of this music one may find a “sense of indefiniteness”.
The musical texture of the example of a grass dance that we heard in class was difficult to determine.One could argue that it was polyphonic (multiple melodies that can be imitative) or that it could be heterophonic (based on simultaneous variation and embellishment of a melody).Dr. Gay argued that the example in class was heterophonic in texture, and I am inclined to agree.This is because variation and embellishment seem to fit right in with Harold Courlander’s description of traditional Sioux music.In “Music of the Sioux and Navajo”, Courlander said that this style of music was “exhibitionistic and individualistic dancing for entertainment”.So, it logically follows that a music characterised by the participants being exhibitionistic and individualistic would fall into a texture described as being based on variation and embellishment.
So, what did a grass dance look like?According to Densmore, the dancers would imitate eagles and other birds.In the grass dances of the Omaha, the leader of high enough rank would “wear ‘the crow’, a decoration of the highest order”.But, this isn’t called the bird dance; it’s called the grass dance.In class we learned that dancers would wear intricate skirts of woven grass (Gay).Densmore went into more detail, describing how each member would carry a long branch of grass.The rank of society the participant was in would determine how this bunch of grass would be braided and attached to the dancer’s waist.Densmore described it of looking something like a tail.The grass’ symbolic meaning in the song was that it represented “abundance and charity” (Densmore).
As a major in plant sciences with a concentration in public horticulture, to me there would be no greater tribute to a musical arrangement than a floral arrangement. My goal was to capture the spirit of this music with plant life.This began with the nation that started these grass dance songs – the Sioux.Their native range was concentrated around South Dakota, spreading into the surrounding states (Hickerson).
For the purpose of this project, I attempted to use vegetation native to the Sioux’s traditional range.For the grass component of the tribute I used Schizachyriumscoparium, which is commonly known as little bluestem.I collected it in a field by my house where with the recent cold snap is has just turned from its fall crimson color to a more sandy color.
The field where I collected the Solidago, Yarrow, and Little Bluestem
I made a hungry friend who kept eating my winterberry holly fruits
Making the arrangement after collecting all the components
Another native plant that I collected from that field is Solidago, or Goldenrod.I collected it in three stages: bright yellow still in bloom, spent flowers that have dried but are still yellow, and big puffy heads that have completely gone to seed.I decided that the tried but still yellow flowers worked best for the creative purpose of this project.In the arrangement itself, the goldenrod represents the male voice in the song – starting in a high falsetto and falling in the arrangement.
A third native plant from that field is Achilleamillefolium, or Common Yarrow.At this point, the flowers had been spent, but they left very interesting and architectural seed heads.I added them into the arrangement to add some nice texture, the way that the female voices added to the texture of the Grass Dance song.
Finally, to symbolize the drums in this arrangement I used the yellow leaves of Acersaccharum or the familiar Sugar Maple.I placed them around the inside of the vase, the same way that the drums were constant throughout the song.The leaves also served well in hiding the unsightly stems that could be seen through the clear vase.
This left the arrangement looking somewhat bland and just too yellow, so for color I incorporated some plants that are native to the U.S. but not necessarily to South Dakota.I feel that this is alright because the Grass Dances spread throughout North America and are used in pow-wows of North American nations where these plants are native to.These include Illexverticillata or Winterberry Holly, which had red berries that really brightened up that base.To add some red to the top of the arrangement it chose Cornussercia or a Red Twig Dogwood.This helped the red of the berries flow better throughout the arrangement.
Because European technology is what captured and recorded this and other grass dance songs, I attempted to symbolize that in my arrangement.The vase that is holding the arrangement is a glass vase, something the Native Americans did not have or use.I began to research what sort of vases that were popular with white Americans during the 1920s (the time period that Alice Fletcher and Frances Densmore were researching the Sioux and other native peoples).In the end, I simply used a glass vase that was already in my possession, because as an undergraduate student I do not have the time to do any extensive antiquing or the monetary resources to buy an antique vase.
The final result was an attractive, colorful, fall dried floral arrangement that I feel is a nice tribute to the Sioux Grass Dance song.In fact, my Souix Grass Dance tribute was so pretty that it is currently on display in my apartment as part of my fall festive décor.
Works Cited
Browner, Tara.“An Accoustic Geography of Intertribal Pow-wow Songs”.Music of the First Nations: Tradition and Innovation in Native North America.Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2009.131-140.
Courlander, Harold.“Music of the Sioux and Navajo”.Ethnic Folkways Library Album no. FE 4401.New York: Folkways Records and Service Corp, 1949.
On this plant list in particular and also throughout the semester there have been a few plants labeled something like, "Plants You May Find In Your Grandma's Yard" or as Michael Dirr may say "The Over The Hill Gang". These are the plants that used to be really popular but were eventually replaced with newer, more trendy plants. As a landscape designer, horticulturalist, or someone in production, hearing this information in class may have deterred you from ever using these "stale" old plants in any area. After all, this seems to be a strategy many professionals seem to be taking since really, these plants don't appear in modern landscapes hardly at all.
As someone kind of partial to these old favorites, here's a few exciting varieties worth taking a second look at:
Syringa vulgaris or Common Lilac: The straight species of this in renouned for its intensely fragrant flowers, and great lilac spring color. But, it is also scraggly, prone to mildews and diseases, and confusing when it comes to pruning. Cultivars such as 'Little Boy Blue' (blue) and 'Prarie Petite' (pink) have a more compact habit which makes it more versatile in the landscape. 'Prince Wokonsky' has double flowers, and 'Elsa Maasik' (deep purple) is more disease resistant than the straight species. 'Albert F. Holden' is bicolor.
Chaenomeles speciosa or Common Floweringquince: This may be dismissed as too scraggly or wild, but the flower show is what really makes planting a Floweringquince worth it. Going from there, lots of different flowering varieties have been released covering the gamete between white and dark red. 'Jet Trail' (white), 'Minerva' (red), and 'Texas Scarlet' (red) are a few of the more compact varieties if the Floweringquince's legginess is too much for you. 'Scarff's Red' is a thornless variety available, although the thorns may come in handy for a barrier or hedge.
Spirea prunifolia or Bridalwreath Spirea: ... Ok that one may not have any hot new varities, but take a look at it at this time of year. Its one of the greatest for full white spring flowering, and attracts tons of wildlife including honeybees and ladybugs (both of which are necessities for any healthy garden). And the rest of the year, it makes a nice green mounded background for your summer and fall flowering colors.
Sources:
Dirr, Michael A. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants. 215-216, 962-963, 986-991 Common Lilac picture 'Albert F. Holden' from http://www.naturehills.com/images/productImages/SyrvulgAlbertFHoldenLilacviolet_big.jpg Floweringquince picture 'Texas Scarlet' from http://www.jparkers.co.uk/images/new_products/ST0403.JPG Bridalwreath Spirea picture from http://www.donnan.com/images/SpireaBridalWreath.jpg
Since the dawn of civilization, man has come up with currencies with which he would buy, trade, and sell things. In early Egypt, grain was a great commodity; in the Americas and some African countries, beads were used. As Americans, we are more familiar with copper, nickel, silver, or paper which represents the value in gold of what we are buying. In 16th and 17th century Holland, the insatiable desire for tulips (of all things) drove the country's economy until 1637 when the economy basically collapsed. How did the Dutch even get to that point?
Introduced to the Netherlands by a botanist at the University of Leiden, it was discovered that the very bulbs that performed so-so in other European countries happened to thrive in Holland. Struck by the beauty of the flower - the ones discolored by a mosaic virus were particularly sought after -- the royalty and the wealthy of the area would pay outrageous sums to possess the bulbs. Later on in the Tulip Craze, they would even pay for the promise of a tulip, which could take more than ten years from sowing the seed to the actual flowering. Because these seeds were hybrids and not propagated from bulblets, these people had no idea what the flower would even look like. All this in the hopes that when their tulip flowered, it may be the next hot variety -- possibly the desired black tulip (like our 'Queen of Night' today).
As could be expected, the Tulip Mania brought out some real maniacs. In his book The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan tells a story of a poor man who finds a black tulip growing in his yard. He sold it to some wealthy businessmen for an outrageous sum of money. When they came to collect it, they threw the bulb to the ground and crushed it. When the man in horror asked what they were doing, they told him that they had developed a black tulip of their own and they didn't want his to compete with theirs on the market. Thats all pretty nuts for a bulb that only flowers for about two weeks max once a year, and only produces a single flower!
Although tulipomania and other factors brought the Dutch to economic ruin, the Netherlands remain the world's greatest tulip producing country. So when installing a mass of tulips in a large-scale project, or a nice clump in your home yard, be careful -- this bulb has a dark past.
Works Cited:
Currency: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency#Early_currency Tulip Mania: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania The Black Tulip story: The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan 'Queen of Night' picture: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1113/533012602_da3d30cc9d.jpg Cracked tulip picture: http://www.free-photo-download.com/large_images/tu_002.jpg
Ophiopogon or Mondo grass is a staple of the landscape industry. Its a great groundcover that thrives in a variety of sun, soil, and moisture conditions. This flexibility is why landscapers often depend on Mondo grass so heavily, and why you should be able to find it in many of the landscapes around town. While I wouldn't say that it is an overused plant or that its boring, the genus Ophiopogon has too much variety in it to simply plant the straight species. It is for this reason that the current test list includes the dwarf and black varieties, and its important to know them and keep them in mind. Black Mondo grass can be used with bright foliage or flowering plants to help enhance their colors by contrast. Mondo grass also comes in silver varieties such as the cultivar 'Silver Mist' and golden varieties such as 'Spring Gold'. Also, instead of only mass planting one type of Mondo grass, consider mixing different colored varieties in a mass to make things more interesting. A good example of this can be seen in the shade garden at the UT Gardens where different colored varieties of Liriope brighten up a shady area. Even the straight species looks good in a smaller mass like around Morgan Hall.
Try planting these varieties for yourself and find a combination you're happy with. But whatever you do, try to make it interesting.
There are several different myths on the origin of the Narcissus flower, but probably the most well-known is the Roman version told by the poet Ovid. According to the legend, there was an exceptionally handsome young man named Narcissus -- a man so handsome that every girl who saw him fell in love with him. But for some reason or another, Narcissus wasn't interested in women and denied all their romantic advances. After one particular incident where Narcissus broke a young woman by the name of Echo's heart -- the heartbreak of which reduced her to only a voice -- Narcissus came upon a pool of water. When he bent down to take a drink, Narcissus was struck by the beauty of the man looking up at him. And so he spent the rest of his days sitting by the pool of water, staring at his own reflection until he was no more. But from the spot where he sat by the water sprang a flower -- the Narcissus we're learning in class.
In the legend and today, the love of Narcissus is something experienced by many. As it goes with just about any plant or flower, there are several groups dedicated to developing new varieties, informing the public about the care of Narcissus plants, and more than anything, just coming together to experience the beauty of this beautiful plant! Last year, I had the opportunity to attend the East Tennessee Daffodil Society Show and see the huge variety of plants growers had tenderly cared for and selected in the hopes that their Daffodil would be recognized at the show.
Daffodils are judged by their category, and over the years 13 categories to classify each type have emerged, and miniature varieties of most divisions. Below are photographs of an example of each category from the American Daffodil Society website - www.daffodilusa.org
1. The Trumpet Division: When I remember this, I picture someone playing a trumpet. These daffodils' cups are at least as long if not longer than the length of the petals. Also, like many of the daffodil's we're familiar with, it has only one flower per stem.
the trumpet division
2. The Large Cup Division: These cups are still large, but smaller than those of the Trumpet division -- between 1/3 the length of a petal and the length of a petal. These also have only one flower per stem.
the large cup division
3. The Small-Cup Division: This cup is smaller than the Large Cup division; that is, the cup measures 1/3 the length of a petal or less. Again, there is only one bloom per stem.
the small-cup division
4. The Double Petal Division: Instead of having just one set of petals, there are two, lending a more ruffled appearance. There can be more than one flower per stem on this type.
5. Triandrus Division: Take a look at the picture below, and your first thought may be that these flowers look kind of like hanging bells. According to the American Daffodil Society, this type usually has at least two if now more flowers per stem.
6. The Cyclamineus Division: Looks like a person with long hair being blown back by the wind. One flower per stem.
7. The Jonquilla Division: These are the Jonquills we hear so much about living in East Tennessee. Some of the older generation are so familiar with Jonquills that they are prone to label all Narcissus as Jonquill, but really Jonquills are only those in this category. The Jonquill flowers are really fragrant, with flat petals and narrow foliage. Can have as many as three blooms on a stem.
8. The Tazetta Division: These fragrant flowers clusters generally come with more than three on a stem. This profusion may be the reason why the stems are so thick -- the plant needs to transfer more up and down the stem than if there were only a few flowers.
9. The Poeticus Division: White petals with a crinkley disk. The disk color generally follows the same color scheme: green, yellow, red rim. Also fragrant with just one flower per stem.
10. The Bulbocodium Division: This is a weird hybrid division, where the flowers look like a woman wearing a hoop petticoat that fell over.
11. The Split-Cup Division: Instead of having a tea-cup, petticoat, or trumpet shaped cup, these flowers' cups have split to fall with the back petals usually at more than half the length of the back petal.
12. Miscellaneous Division: These flowers don't fit into the previous 11 divisions, probably because they're a hybrid between two or more different divisions.
13. The Wild Division: Narcissus as you might find them in nature.
14. The Miniature Division: Blooms tend to be less than 1.5 inches in diameter.
Narcissus are great to use in the landscape as specimens (for a little while at least, as they divide relatively quickly), mass clumpings, or even as an alternative lawn! And if you're interested, you can find daffodils that flower in early spring, or early summer. In my home landscape, you'll see daffodils from late February until early June. But keep in mind that these bulbous plants don't like to be planted in poorly-drained soil. I'd recommend planting at the top of a slope or hill, or maybe a container. Another thing to remember is that even after the flower is gone, you should leave the foliage so the plant can store up energy for next year's flowers. As this isn't very attractive, try inter-planting with a summer-flowering plant like daylilies that can mask their foliage. Like most plants, daffodils like to be fertilized, you just have to do it at the right time. If you fertilize in spring or summer, you risk burning their delicate roots. The best time to fertilize is definitely fall, because it won't damage the roots and it will boost your flower performance the next spring!
To learn more about the genus Narcissus, you should go experience some first-hand. If you take a look at the UT Gardens this spring, you will surely be able to find several of these types of daffodils. Another great way to learn more is to check out the East Tennessee Daffodil Society Show that will be in the Hollingsworth Auditorium in the Ellington Plant Sciences Building this March 15-16. Its really interesting and there are plenty of informative people to talk to about these beautiful flowers!
Over the years in my yard, I've made several attempts at creating a woodland wildflower garden. Having two dogs in the yard has made this particular task difficult. Over time, the dogs' trampling, digging, and shady naps on all the hot summer days has weeded out the Trilliums, Toad Lilies, and ferns from those beds. All that not only survived, but thrived under this abuse was the Lenten Rose.
The early spring flowers of Helleborus orientalis come in a wide variety of colors including creams, pinks, greens, speckles, and purples so dark they could be black. These dark varieties are especially unusual and add great specimen interest to any shade garden. These "black" varieties come in the typical petal type (one layer of petals) as seen in 'Black Diamond'. Even more dramatic is the recently released double-petaled 'Onyx Odessey'. In February's issue of The American Gardener, published by the American Horticultural Society, Doreen Howard mentioned in her article "Plants and Trends for 2009" that she had tested this Lenten Rose variety in her garden. According to her, it was the first in flower and its ivory stamens (Helleborous typically have yellow stamens) provided a great contrast to its dark petals. Howard went on to suggest interplanting with green flowering varieties of Lenten Rose for a nice contrast in the landscape.
So if you're looking for a resilient plant with early blooms and a striking color, don't forget about the "black" cultivars of Lenten Rose.
Howard, Doreen G. "Plants and Trends for 2009". The American Gardener. January / February 2009. 18-19. or http://www.ahs.org/publications/the_american_gardener/09/01/excerpt1.htm
Stills, Steven M. Manual of Herbaceous Ornamental Plants: Fourth Edition. 340-341
Like many other herbs, 'Provence' lavender likes to a site with well drained soil and full sun. Water deeply and regularly for a couple months until the plant is established. Once the lavender has rooted in, water only as needed. If 'Provence' is thirsty, its flowers and branch tips will start to droop.
