Making Friends and Garden Memories

A few days ago I drove a couple hours up to Scottsboro, Alabama to meet Eve, whom I have corresponded with through her blog, Sunny Side Up. Eve rides a Harley and enjoys gardening and photography. I suspected we would get along well, and I was right. We were like old friends, right away.

We met at John's Native Gardens, a nursery which specializes in native azaleas and also has a wonderful assortment of Japanese maples, ferns, and many other plants. As I turned my car off Highway 79 and drove up a winding country drive, I could tell I was in for a treat.

I looked over rolling fields and a huge pond, and a feeling of peace settled over me. LaRue Anderson gave us a tour of the gardens. LaRue's husband planted most of the gardens before he passed away some years ago, and now she maintains and adds to it. Eve and I followed her, examining trees and shrubs. The assortment of Japanese maples, conifers, and flowering shrubs is breathtaking. When I thought there couldn't be anything more beautiful, we came to a path winding through the woodlands. Delightful fragrance pulled us toward mature stands of native azaleas and rhododendrons, and every turn revealed ever more beautiful blooms. And THEN we came to plants for sale! I brought home two native azaleas and a sweet shrub, as well as a tiny Alabama snow wreath seedling, which LaRue let me dig up for free. This is a plant on my Most Desired list, so I am very grateful.

After leaving the nursery, I followed Eve to her place, where I enjoyed more beautiful gardens, a woodland walk, and two cute doggies. And before I could make it back to my car, Eve was digging up passalong plants for me. And did I mention the sandwich, apple cake, and iced tea? I think most gardeners are nurturing souls who love the soil and have generous hearts, and LaRue and Eve both seem to be like that.

So my life is richer today, with new friends and new plants, and sweet garden memories to dream upon. Thank you, Eve and LaRue!

If you are in the area, give LaRue a call (256-582-4549). She would love to see you!

A Special Wildflower

Last year I purchased a liver leaf plant, Hepatica nobilis, for my woodland garden. An evergreen herb, it was used to treat liver ailments in medieval times, though it's no longer used for that purpose. I didn't know much about it, but I liked the fuzzy mottled leaves. The tag said it was a native woodland plant. It was small, about three inches across, and I almost forgot about it as the months passed. It was covered by leaf litter in the fall, then buried a couple of times by light snow falls this winter. 

About a week ago I investigated the spot where I had planted it. I lifted off a layer of wet leaves, and to my delight, the liver leaf was flourishing, more than doubled in size. The leathery leaves had acquired a pleasing purplish undertone. I was happy with my liver leaf and went searching local nurseries for some more. It is not so common. I found only a single plant, which I put near the original one. I hope more will be available when plant retailers get in their spring stock.

A few days ago I had an even better surprise. It blooms! And it is a beauty:

Although the small flowers look delicate, it is a tough plant. One of the first to bloom in spring, hepatica flowers can persist up to two months, and they come in shades from pure white to soft pinks to electric blue. Native to the eastern half of the United States, as well as parts of Europe, liver leaf will grow in acid to neutral, humus rich soil. It likes partial shade to shade. The leaves are up to two inches across and shaped with three lobes like a liver (thus its common name). There are a couple of varieties, one with rounded lobes and another with more pointed leaves. The old foliage dies back as fresh new leaves come in after blooming. It's interesting that liver leaf seeds attract ants, which carry them off to new locations, thus helping with propagation.

This is a beautiful plant. Mine is beside a woodland path, so I can enjoy it. A clump of them would look wonderful tucked at the base of a tree or perhaps peeking around a rock. It just needs a press agent to tout its attributes to the world — and I would vote for a new common name!