TRANQUIL TIMES

The Newsletter of Tranquil Lake Nursery

Fall 1997

Contents of the 1997 Fall issue of Tranquil Times:
Demystifying Dividing
Plant Structure in the Garden
Plant Listing: Structural Foliage
Recipe: Daylily Cheesecake
A Dinner of Flowers
Perennial Border Basics
Collection: Anniversary Collection
Collection: A Compositioin of Blue and Yellow
Tranquil Lake Nursery Daylily Soap
1997 Daylily Benefit
Vegetable Garden
Garden Design
Blithewold Day
Visiting the Nursery

Demystifying Dividing

Division of perennials allows for the propagation and rejuvenation of overgrown plants. Even "low-maintenance" perennials, such as daylilies and Siberian iris, eventually need to be divided, though they can easily be left in the garden for five years or longer. Divide when you see a loss of vigor and bloom, development of a dead space in the center of the clump or when weeds and other plants invade the clump.

Digging your perennial borders, amending the soil, dividing perennials and replanting will reward you with vigorous plants that will produce an abundance of new growth and flowers. You do not need to be dexterous with chop sticks, possess a degree in physics or have the strength of Hercules to be successful!

"Give me a lever long enough and I'll move the earth" is a boast credited to Archimedes, the mathematician who formulated the principles of the lever and fulcrum. For many gardeners, lifting, dividing and moving over-grown perennials may seem as daunting as moving the earth.

Tools of the trade needed for dividing perennials include a spading fork, shovel, spade, assorted knives and a tub or pail of water. Use a fork to dig plants from the soil, in order to sever as few fibrous roots as possible. The ideal is to raise the entire clump out of the ground. If a giant clump of daylilies or Siberian iris cannot be wrested from the ground whole, quarter it in place with a sharp spade, cutting through the center and between the foliage. The individual pieces can then be freed with a fork.

Daylilies, Siberian iris and hosta grow and expand by sending out side shoots from the crown. These side shoots can be gently teased apart by carefully shaking and pulling by hand. Dunk the clump in a tub of water to wash away excess soil, so that you can see more clearly and also separate inter-twined roots with minimal cutting.

The point of a sharp knife is useful for cutting through the basal crown to separate individual shoots that have their own root system. Care should be taken with fibrous-rooted plants, such as Siberian and Japanese iris and hosta, to prevent excessive drying or exposure to the roots. Wrap divisions in wet newspaper or peat moss until replanted.

It is best to divide perennials in the spring and fall. At Tranquil Lake Nursery, we dig Siberian iris from the time the top growth appears in the spring through late May, and then again in late August through October. Late summer and early fall weather conditions offer more predictable rainfall, moderate air temperatures and warm soil conditions that are ideal for establishing perennial divisions.

Although fibrous rooted, iris can only be dug in the spring and fall, daylilies have fleshy and fibrous roots that allow for division throughout the summer, even while in bloom. The foliage should be trimmed back to compensate for root injury or loss. Plant early enough to allow roots to establish and grow. Mulch well, so plants won't be heaved by frost in the winter.

Astilbe, goatsbeard and monkshood develop a woody basal crown with fibrous roots. Use a sharp knife to cut apart divisions. Coreopsis verticillata spreads by creeping roots and can easily be cut up into clumps. Whether you want to increase your favorite plant, or your borders are filled with sluggish overgrown behemoths, dig in and divide.
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Plant Structure in the Garden

Every gardener is not so fortunate as to have a garden site with castle-like ruins and a tower around which to build their own Sissinghurst-style garden. However, the garden's backbone or structure need not rely solely on stone or masonry construction. It doesn't require all woody plants either, such as yew or box that has been sheared to interpret masonry.

Whatever the style of the garden, its design will be enhanced by attractive structural elements used to delineate and hold the garden composition together through the changing seasons. Repetition of a plant characteristic as an ornamental feature, such as foliage color or form, helps define space and structural balance in the garden.

Structural plants are catalysts in the chemistry of garden composition. They enhance their companions and the whole garden theme. They may not be show-stoppers by themselves, but they work together with the other plants to create a symphony.

Perennials that are being used as structural elements must have attractive foliage, form and sometimes even flowers that produce seed heads that last into winter. The color of the foliage of the perennial is very important. Dark green foliage should have a shine and enough substance to look fresh throughout the summer. Bluestar (Amsonia tabernaemontana sp. salicifolia and Amsonia hubrectii), Siberian iris (Iris sibirica), peony (Paeonia), or Hosta ventricosa are just a few examples of perennials with foliage that is as attractive as boxwood or holly.

Colored foliage, such as chartreuse, yellow, blue, gray, red or variegated, enhances the structural quality of perennials. Chartreuse or yellow-green is a fresh spring color and helps keep plant compositions alive through the late summer doldrums of sagging foliage or fungal plagues. Molinea caerula 'Variegata' is beautiful in combination with other yellow flowers and foliage. Molinea's variegated tussocks echo the form and color of Yucca filamentosa 'GoldSword'. Add Coreopsis 'Moonbeam' for a long season splash of yellow in a sunny border. The bright foliage of Hosta 'Gold Edger' and Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola' perk up astilbes in a shady garden after blooms have faded.

Perennials with blue and gray foliage offer an excellent foil for any color composition, whether pale pastel or flaming hot. Blue or glaucus foliage doesn't tend to look "weedy" in the garden, remaining ornamental throughout the season. The blue color of blue oat grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens) and a cultivar of switch grass named 'Heavy Metal' (Panicum virgatum 'Heavy Metal') makes them distinctive from meadow grasses. The stately plume poppy (Macleya cordata) towers to six or eight feet in height, with blue-green scalloped leaves that have white undersides that shimmer in the breeze. As a structural accent combine plume poppy with Rudbeckia nitida 'Herbsonne' and Hemerocallis 'Yellow Pinwheel' in a bed bordered with blue oat grass in front of Coreopsis 'Moonbeam' and Sedum 'Autumn Joy'.

The red and maroon foliage of plants such as Euphorbia dulchis 'Chameleon', Imperata 'Red Baron', Heuchera 'Palace Purple' and Berberis 'Rose Glow' give additional visual weight in the garden. Though diminutive in scale, masses of red foliaged Euphorbia dulchis 'Chameleon' in the foreground can balance much taller perennials in the rear of a border.

Foliage texture and form are also important to consider when composing structural plantings of perennials. Strong contrast and visual weight is achieved by combining fine-textured grasses, such as Helictotrichon, Molinea and Pennisetum, with the fat succulent leaves of Sedums and round leafy forms like Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla) or Heuchera 'Pewter Veil'.

The next time you are rearranging a border or reach a stumbling block in composition, examine structural plants. Maybe all your garden needs are some judiciously placed Panicum 'Heavy Metal'and Amsonia hubrectii. Cancel the plans for the tower.
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Structural Foliage
Alchemilla mollis
Amsonia hubrectii (ciliata)
Amsonia tabernaemontana
Artemisia 'Powis Castle'
Artemisia stelleriana 'Silver Brocade'
Baptisia australis
Crambe maritima
Euphorbia amygdaloides 'Purpurea'
Euphorbia dulchis 'Chameleon'
Geranium macrorhizum
Heuchera 'Ruby Veil'
Iris sibirica
Ligularia dentata 'Desdemona'
Lysimachia ciliata 'Atropurpurea'
Macleya cordata
Phlox 'Nora Leigh'
Sedum 'Autumn Joy'
Yucca filamentosa 'Bright Edge'

Grasses
Acorus gramineus 'Ogon'
Helictotrichon sempervirens 'Sapphire'
Imperata cylindrica 'Red Baron'
Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light'
Miscanthus sinensis 'Purpurascens'
Molinia caerulea 'Variegata'
Panicum virgatum 'Heavy Metal'
Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Hameln'

Shrubs with Colored Foliage

RED
Berberis thunbergii 'Crimson Pygmy'
Berberis thunbergii 'Rose Glow'
Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple'

BLUE-GREEN
Caryopteris x clandonensis
Fothergilla x 'Blue Mist'

SILVER-GREY
Salix alba argentea

YELLOW
Berberis thunbergii 'Gold Nugget'
Caryopteris x 'Worcester Gold'
Physocarpus opulifolius 'Luteus'

VARIEGATED
Cornus sericea 'Silver & Gold' Weigela florida 'Variegata'
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Daylily Cheesecake

This creamy, not-too-sweet cheesecake glides easily over the palate when paired with Westport Rivers Vineyard's Imperial Sec or Noble Chardonnay.

Ingredients:
1 lb. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1 cup half and half
2 cups daylily petals, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Coat a nine-inch cake pan with non- stick spray.
Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer on high speed until fluffy.
Stream in the sugar and beat until dissolved.
Beat the eggs in one at a time on medium speed.
Reduce the speed to low and stream in the half and half until completely incorporated.
Fold the daylily petals in by hand.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Set into a shallow roasting pan and fill with warm water at least halfway up the outside of the cake pan.
Bake for one hour or until the center is just set.
Chill until completely cooled.
Remove by setting the pan in a shallow bowl of warm water for about ten seconds and turning out onto a plate.
Serve with fresh berries in a daylily.

Kerry Downey Romaniello
Westport Rivers Vineyard
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A Dinner of Flowers

On Tuesday, August 19, sample a dinner of flowers from the summer garden at Chardonay's Restaurant in Seekonk. Executive Chef George Petzold will prepare a feast that includes daylilies stuffed with smoked salmon mousse; mache, nasturtium and chive flowers in a sambucca vinaigrette; pan- seared beef tournedos with three-color flower butter; and macadamia-nut tart with lavender ice cream. The price of $35 per person includes four different wines which will be served to complement each course. For reservations or more information, call Chardonnay's Restaurant at (508) 336-0967.

Tranquil Lake Nursery will supply daylily flowers for garnishs and for the appetizers. Look for your favorite nocturnal variety of daylily.
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Perennial Border Basics

Tour the gardens and nursery plants at Tranquil Lake Nursery on Saturday, August 16 with acclaimed garden author and gardener Sydney Eddison. She will use her 30 years of garden experience to guide and inspire you; removing the mystery, but not the magic of gardening, as she makes suggestions for combining plants in your garden.

Sydney is the author of several garden books including A Passion for Daylilies ( Harper Collins, 1992), A Patchwork Garden (Harper and Rowe, Inc., 1990), and The Unsung Season (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995). Sydney's newest book The Self-Taught Gardener ( Viking, 1997) was released this summer.

In the Self-Taught Gardener, Sydney Eddison offers a user-friendly, readable guide to every step a new gardener needs to take, from choosing a garden location to buying the best tools, to selecting complementary plants. In addition to this practical advice, the book abounds with the author's love of gardening, and her belief in the joy a garden can bring.
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Anniversary Collection: Plants We Recommend Heartily After 10 Years

1997 makes the 11th year of our operation at Tranquil Lake Nursery. In that time, we have seen many, many new and exciting plants and developments in the hybridization of daylilies.

As we look over our fields we also see many fine plants that aren't quite as new, but still excite us due to their color or performance. This collection represents a selection of daylilies that we recommend as colorful, enduring and sure to be a hit in your garden.

One each of Hemerocallis

Decatur Jewel

Glowing Delight

Holiday Delight

Orange Prelude

Prides Crossing

Zagora

6 plants for $50.00 plus shipping
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A Composition of Blue and Yellow: Perennials for a Sunny Border

3 Veronica 'Sunny Border Blue'
3 Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian sage)
1 Hemerocallis 'Toy Trumpets'
1 Helictotrichon sempervirens (blue oat grass)
1 Coreopsis 'Moonbeam'
1 Panicum virgatum 'Heavy Metal' (Heavy Metal switch grass)

10 plants for $75.00
(This collection is only available at the nursery and can not be mail ordered)
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Tranquil Lake Nursery Daylily Soap

This year, for the first time, we are pleased to offer a gardener's soap made with Tranquil Lake Nursery daylily petals and Jonny Cake corn meal. Made by the Grist Mill Soap Company in Portsmouth Rhode Island, this soap is the finest, hand-made and hand-cut soap that we have seen.

This all natural soap has a wonderful fresh scent and is a terrific cleaning soap for gardeners. It is also gentle on the skin; made from a combination of saponified soy, coconut and olive oils blended with white Rhode Island Flint Corn, daylilies and other essential oils. All soaps are made in small batches and aged to insure quality.

The spring batch, now available, is made from some of our earliest blooming gold daylilies. The five-ounce bars are the color of dark honey and smell great too! Quantities are limited. Available at the nursery or by mail.

$5.00 per bar or four bars for $18.00
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1997 Daylily Benefit

Each year Tranquil Lake Nursery donates daylilies to a non-profit organization in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. We are pleased to announce that the beneficiary of this year's Daylily Benefit is the Rehoboth Youth Soccer Association. This new, but spirited, group of parents, young players and fans have an amazingly ambitious task ahead of them. Their goal is to develop an area for several playing fields near our current Town Hall. As can be imagined, the price for this will be staggering.

Daylilies will be picked up at Tranquil Lake Nursery on Saturday, September 20th, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Some collections of daylilies will also be available for purchase on that date.

For more information, or an order form, please contact Marijoan Bull at (508) 336-4482 or Tom Blythe at 336-7156 or Harris Gorab at 226-2121. You may also look for flyers around town starting in August.
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Vegetable Garden

One of the display garden at Tranquil Lake Nursery is an Ornamental Vegetable Garden. This cheerful garden is bounded by a row of sunflower and paths are edged by a living fence of willow sticks that have been bent into an arch. Bottle gourds and scarlet runner beans climb the teepees.
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Garden Design

Does your garden need perking up, expansion or a complete reworking? Fall is an excellent time to plan for a beautiful display for next year. Tranquil Lake Nursery offers creative design advice and quality installation. Let us plan a perennial border, walkway or house front planting for you. Call Warren Leach at the nursery at 508-252-4002 to make an appointment.
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Blithewold Day

Blithewold Mansion and Gardens and Tranquil Lake Nursery will co-sponsor a lecture again this year. It will be held at Tranquil Lake Nursery on Saturday, September 13 from 10-11:30 a.m. Warren Leach will introduce a floriferous assortment of new and unusual "Plants for the Late Season Garden." A percentage of the days sales will be donated to Blithewold. The program is free and open to the public. Support a worthy institution while you expand your late-season borders.
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Visiting the Nursery

Tranquil Lake Nursery is open 7 days a week from 10 a.m. to 5. p.m. in July and August. In September we will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The nursery is closed on Labor Day.

Directions: Tranquil Lake Nursery is located just north of Route 44 in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, about 8 miles east of Providence, Rhode Island. If you are traveling east on Route 44, take a left turn onto River Street immediately after you pass Winthrop Old Farm Nursery. Continue on River Street across Broad Street. The nursery is the fourth driveway on the right. If you are traveling west on Route 44, turn right onto Danforth Street just after passing the sign for Hunter's Rest -- (there is a stuffed elk on top of the sign). Take the first left from Danforth Street onto River Street. Tranquil Lake Nursery is the fourth driveway on the left.
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