From Leonard Moorehead

2/23/09

Dearest Elizabeth, My dearest Elizabeth I can barely contain myself with such wonderful and good news. Today I found an unmistakable totem of spring, a patch of favored snowdrops, the ever noble Galanthus. Yes, it was a sunny spot that probably bakes solid each July and is sheltered from cold northerly winds; blessed in its southwestern corner. Let’s not take anything away from these harbingers of spring and like the red winged blackbirds along shore marches let’s raise our voice in song.

Spring that elusive mythic season, still a concept not yet a reality is ever closer as Galanthus offers its pure ivory blooms. They are a true white, nothing shy or pastel here. They are low to the ground like you and I to rise barely above our shoes. Each cluster is among the greenest fine stem leaves. Snowdrops are friendly late winter bloomers and are often at their best while snow lingers in shady spots or in heaps at the end of our driveways.

There’s a chance that snow will return and neither of us is willing to peel off our gloves unless it is the most delicate task. Perhaps that might be to lean over and stare ever closer to the snowdrop, our heads bowed, our hands spread in mimic prayer.

It’s remarkable that our garden doesn’t host these perennial spring bulbs. The bulbs themselves are little larger than lima beans and fun to plant. The trick is to remember their promise at planting time, late September or October. It’s forgivable. Like a smile on a stranger’s face, snowdrops are against type, it’s still cold and no one would consider an unheated house. Still, perhaps it’s the earliness of snowdrops and the persistent snow in our garden that keeps us behind this friendly display.

Snowdrops naturalize and once established endure for year after year. Colonial houses in Providence have snowdrops established so many years ago that like the cobblestone lanes and side streets a quiet claim on eternity is a statement of fact and not a wishful hope. How charming they are! They often enjoy modest shelter under their Victorian cohorts the deciduous shrubs, like spirea and quince. Galanthus is a sure sign of fertility. There are some gardeners that ignore them and that’s fine. Snowdrops do not need fussing; after all they defy snow, sleet, storm and summer. Whenever snowdrops naturalize among trees and other taller plants the gardener is at heart’s ease. Snowdrops thrive best in thick deep loam, the gardener’s goal and reward. No wonder they are left to their own as we compost and till, bury and shred, lime and fertilize other plants. There’s so little left to do for Galanthus. They are winter’s amuse-bouche.

They are not alone in their vigil. The hazels are in bloom and offering their subtle fragrance. Snow accents their pure fragrance and distinguishes the star like clusters of golden flowers. Hazel is unassuming and so like Providence in their attachment to former times. The past is everywhere around us and beneath our feet. Like Galanthus, the Hazel loves fertile soil and my favorite grows supine close to a granite building from 1882. I can just make it out from my window and its subtle blooms lend color to a dark east west passage. Like bird song and snowdrops, Persephone is calling to spring and her siren call stirs us. We are watching and waiting.

How I wish we grew bamboo in the garden! There is so much to recommend this species of giant grass! Bamboo will always be a visitor in Providence and never a native. Even for most residents Bamboo is a type of rolling paper! Yet, in corners, some public gardens and behind restaurants, bamboo is here and we are better for it. Bamboo is a broadleaved evergreen and offers many bird species shelter. Clumps of bamboo are not quiet places. Rather they are reservoirs of music and song. Birds sing their hearts out to one another and the stalks rub and clack. Leaves compose a choral crescendo. If you’re lucky, bamboo encourages sitting and reflection. I quickly shed the cares of living among the bamboo. They are not solitary specimens, bamboo grows in thickets. Like its relatives, common lawn turf, bamboo forms a tough rooty matrix. Plant bamboo with a lot of thought. It loves sunshine, is a heavy feeder, and does best in moist loams. A near neutral soil is excellent.

An entire class of people associates bamboo with aggression and bad habits. Let’s let those qualities roost where they belong, among those who wear flip flops and short shorts. The infinitely superior bamboo rises above these arguments. The gardener must choose the permanent bamboo planting carefully. To remove bamboo rootstock is akin to a construction project and may require heavy machinery. Bamboo rootstock is tenacious and unyielding. Each spring, bamboo sprouts emerge a few feet from the nearest stalk. They nearly jump into height and please gardeners no end with their vigor. It is a minor task to mow them down with a power lawn mower or snap them off at the ground. Once or twice and the expansive season is over.

There is so much more to like about bamboo, Elizabeth. Let’s plan on putting some into the garden this year, we can harvest poles for the beans and peas, create tepees for squashes, and as always, preserved the garden as a place for our friends the birds.