s e r e n d i p i t y
ORIGIN 1754: coined by Horace Walpole in a letter, stating that he formed the word “serendipity” from a Persian fairy tale, The Three Princes of Serendip, whose heroes “were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of.” The fairy tale dates back to a famous poem, The Eight Paradises, written in 1302 AD by Amir Khusro.
String Gardens from the Netherlands ~ hanging sculptures for the garden porch.
The bare roots of selected plants are wrapped in a sphagnum moss and soil mixture, then covered with green sheet moss and wrapped with twine. The root ball is about the size of a grapefruit. Care: submerge root ball in water until air bubbles disappear, allow to drip-dry and then re-hang.
January, and that means the Lenten Roses are blooming. Bloom swoon!
You’ll get non-stop delivery from this evergreen perennial, season after season. The Lenten Rose Helleborus orientalis blooms in late winter before anything else, and has the energy and resistance to stand up to late frosts. Bloom season is January through March, and even the faded, nodding flowers are beautiful at the end of the cycle.
It’s best to choose plants when they are blooming so you can pick “true colors” that are best for your garden palette. Nurseries tend to stock plants only when they are blooming, so a visit to the local nursery will reveal the color choices for this perennial.
Even better, these plants are deer and rabbit resistant, so plant them with confidence in the garden. They will self-sow, very slowly, so dividing is rarely necessary unless you are willing to share them with friends, family or neighbors.
My two favorite colors are coral and turquoise, not necessarily in that order. It’s mid-February, and it’s just occurred to me how much “coral” you can find in the garden this time of year. (I’ll talk about turquoise another day.)
One of my favorite trees, the Coral Bark Maple, has brilliant red branches in winter, especially the ‘Beni Kawa,’ a personal favorite.
And low and behold, my favorite short-lived winter annual has arrived in the nurseries: the Primrose. This one is called Coral Rose, and it’s typical of the lovely jewel tones this annual is notable for.
Use Primrose to fill in winter garden containers where the cold might have killed off an annual or two. These plants will carry through for another month or more, with regular watering & feeding.
Just imagine if you could plant these daffodils, so that they came up through a bed of yellow and coral Primrose! This Daffodil is ‘Pink Palmares.’
And if you are lucky enough to find Lenten Rose Winter Jewel Series, your late winter coral garden is perfectly aligned!
