Successful Move

Fringed polygala, Polygala  paucifolia, has held a fascination for us since we first found it growing in our woods.  Its numbers were small and some years we could not find it in bloom.  Unable to find a source to buy gay-wings we considered taking one plant.  Our forest floor is thick with ferns and briars. Any previous attempt to pry common plants out here ended in frustrated failure.  I could not separate the ground's fiberous root mass from the plant I wanted to move.  Knowing that polygala grew from a large underground system of slender branching root stems, I left it alone.  Last summer I found a plant growing around the edges of a sizeable flat stone. Carefully the stone was lifted.  The network of roots was visible.  With great care and gentle prodding, the entire plant was lifted and replanted in our shade garden.

When the snow melted this spring we were surprised to find green leaves still on the plant.  In the upper right corner of the photo, the dark green leaves are last year's growth.  Evergreen in nature makes polygala suseptible to smothering by fall tree leaves.  Fortunatly our shade garden is in a windy location.  Fallen leaves are quickly blown away. Stick like stems from our locust tree hold some organic matter in place but the polygala easily grows through them.  New bright green leaves and flowers seem to indicate that the move to our garden was successful.

An orchid by structure, this flower captivates me.  Its color is a draw but the diverse arrangement of its parts holds my attention.  Reproduction is by a cleistogamous flower.  This on the ground flower has so far eluded me.  Daily inspection of this transplant may allow a sighting of the fertile flower.  For now we will take good care of this plant recognizing it for the treasure that it is.

Spring Fever 60 and Rising

With the snow melting, I was unbelievably excited to get outside with the camera today. I know my photography teacher would say this is a picture of dirt and so it is, but isn't it gorgeous? The plant in the center is one of Ed's beloved cardinal flowers. In spite of being inside a cage it has been trimmed level to the ground. Now who do you suppose did that?

The trumpet vine has a firm grip on this weathered locust fence post.

Can you believe the number of spruce tips scattered on the ground by the squirrels? I wonder just exactly how unhappy I am about this? They are cute and funny for a rodent, but have they crossed the line into unwanted varmint status?

Ahhh! Here we have more dirt, a catnip that needs pulling, emerging bulbs and perhaps some Siberian squill from seed!

Just yesterday snow had these plants covered and flattened. My salad burnett and this Johnny jump up flower are well pressed. One has to wonder if that flower was there last fall and got pressed to the ground by the snow, like the flowers Mom used to press in the dictionary.

The snow drops and tulips don't let the tree peony leaves stop them from growing. They just pierce the leaves and head upward. Rose campion had a great winter here. There are way too many of them at the top of this picture.

Never before have I seen fringed polygala leaves in the spring. Last summer Ed moved this plant from the back woods to the shade garden. It had always been May before I even looked for them. Located in my front yard, they will now receive daily scrutiny. The dark green leaves with purple underneath make me see how this plant once was called flowering wintergreen. It is too soon to declare the transplant a success but these new leaves are certainly encouraging.

This picture of lichens, moss , stones and oak leaves is no doubt a result of my reading Wiseacre's blog. In the past I might have ignored these things completely, but now I have to stop and get a picture. I didn't want to stop, but the camera insisted on a battery charge. Well fine then, even more snow will be gone tomorrow!

Happy Mother's Day

Many of our plants spend the night and cold days in the relative warmth of the basement. Today definitely qualified as a cold day and these plants remained inside. Imagine my surprise when this newly opened wood lily flower was discovered. By waiting to remove the bud for the good of the plant we got to see a new flower. Plant and blossom spent Mother's Day on the kitchen counter. The flower will be removed and the plant returned to the basement to wait for warmer weather and its move to a permanent location.


Wild fringed polygala, Polygala paucifolia, is our traditional Mother's Day flower. Extreme cold temperatures today kept this flower tightly closed. Freeze warnings are out for tonight. We will likely experience heavy loses of flowers and fruit. Checking the condition of the polygala will be on tomorrow's must do list.

We have been unable to find a commercial source for this plant. 36 plants were found in the back woods today. Their numbers seem to be dropping in the wild. Bringing a plant into the garden is under consideration. Mrs. William Starr Dana describes polygala as having long underground shoots. Woods soil is usually a tightly interwoven mat of various roots. Add to that our stony ground and moving this plant sounds like a recipe for disaster. A single small cluster was found today growing at the edge of a movable flat stone. When our weather settles, peeking under that flat stone sounds like a place to start. Impossible to move is the most likely outcome. If success is not possible, then we will leave the plant unharmed.

As a footnote, Mrs. William Starr Dana described polygala's underground shoots as bearing cleistogamous flowers. This term is totally new to us. We will look for the concealed fertile flower when the flat stone is moved.

Fringed Polygala, My Favorite Wildflower

Of all the wildflowers that grow here at the stone wall garden, I think Fringed Polygala, or Gaywings is my favorite. They bloom around the time of Mother's day depending on the weather. I never saw these tiny little orchids until we moved here. You have to watch carefully. They are very small and hard to spot, but when you do it's a real "Eureka!" moment. The funny thing is once you find one, if you stand in that place and look around you always see more. Why the first one is so much harder to see is a little bit of a mystery to me.

My friend Ingeborg always said: "If you want to improve your mood,don't take St. John's wort. Go look for it." It's too early in the year to look for St. John's wort, but looking for Fringed Polygala sure worked for me. OK the warmer weather didn't hurt any!

Fringed Polygala

Fringed Polygala or Gaywings

Flower still in bud, perhaps 1/2" long

Yesterday was a great day for garden fun. In the afternoon, I always try to go for a walk in the woods on Mother's Day to look for this tiny little wildflower. If the weather is terrible, I go as soon as I can during the following week. I hate to miss seeing this beautiful flower. I never saw it before we moved here. This is not a wildflower that you can see from a distance. It's about 4" tall with a flower less than an inch across. This year the flowers have just begun to open. I should get a chance to visit them again. This tiny orchid like flower in my favorite color is a real treat.