Number One



First, let me say….


    It has been a novel year thus far at Windcliff, our home and garden near Indianola, WA. Despite an extended heat wave late in May, which in previous years has spelled ruin for the foliage of our Gunneras and extensive collection of Hydrangeas, the  garden has never looked better(well, except for those few things that are dead that look pretty bad).  I owe this to more fully established root systems, now better positioned to maintain hydraulic conductivity to the plant's tissues.  Getting older isn't always a  negative thing.
    Yet there are some other exciting inscriptions of inaugural content to discuss.   The Spiral Aloe, Aloe polyphylla, is blossoming for the first time on the south side of our home.  I have planted two of these under the eaves in sharp draining soils. exposed to the elements during winter(a third specimen, subjected to the full assault of PNW winter rains, gave it up during its first year). 
     A factoid that most of you already know, this species, native to the snowy highlands of Lesotho in southern Africa, comes in two distinct forms, i.e. poly(different)phylla(leaves). Some individuals unfurl their fleshy foliage in a clockwise fashion while others counterclockwise. I do not know if there exists in the wild a greater number of either form; if any of you do, please illuminate me.   After one of the harshest winters on record, I was excited to see an emerging flowering stem from our clockwise specimen(very, ahem, timely).  It is now fully in flower, with pendulous tubes of soft tangerine and yellow on a branched stem to 15", visited daily by both Anna's and Rufus hummingbirds(see below).
    A stone's throw from the Aloe is a specimen of Nolina beldingii,  also flowering for the first time.  It is not terribly far removed, botanically speaking, from the genus Aloe, however physically speaking they are apples and oranges. Collectively and aptly called the Razor Grasses(the margin of the leaves being as sharp as Ginzu knives) Nolina beldingii sets itself apart from the other members of the genus I cultivate by a curious leaf tip which naturally desiccates by mid-summer, plastering the crown of its upright rosette with a rather beautiful,  web-like entanglement of fibrous hairs. (see above) A specimen with a restricted root system is sending forth numerous spikes of creamy flowers that I assume will rise to about 5' over time.  Over time will tell.
    There will be more to report in the weeks to come(I can barely contain myself).  Yet, in finishing, though away from the garden proper, a final note of firsts.  Yesterday, while on a short hike with our beloved Springer to the north of our property, I was drawn to the most outrageous sounds in the distance. Very Jurassic Park meets PeeWee Herman.  As I approached, it became quite clear that a Great Blue Heron rookery had been established this summer and was filled with screeching young and bellowing parents high in the trees. It is virtually in the shadows of our active Bald Eagle aerie, whose sole eaglet is now nearly the size of its parents yet still unable to fly.  
    Wishing you all a good 4th of July, and Canada Day, with many new and pleasant 'firsts' in your gardens and lives.  

Daniel J Hinkley

June 24th, 2009

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