Visit to EO's place (photo intensive)
Hello everyone,
Last weekend I had the pleasure of spending a few hours with our guru of water propogation, Esther_Opal, also known as Wild Dog, or Butch. I also met his lovely wife, Patsy, his granddaughters, and a handsome assortment of dogs.
He has a lovely stone and log home tucked behind one of Indiana's famous rolling hills. What I noticed first was that there are hostas and conifers everywhere. They are around the ponds, in the stream, in the woods, around the house, in buckets along the driveway, in posts along the side of the house, and seedlings sprout underfoot in every direction.
Wide Brim seems to be the dominant hosta, and there are quite a few Sum and Substance, and Blue Angels. But there are little gems like So Sweet, and Grand Tiara that appear among the wild orchids and myrtle.
Here is the pathway out of the woods, lined with Sum and Substance:
Deep in the woods, lives this handsome specimen of Jack of Diamonds:
Even deeper in the woods, I got lucky and spotted the delightful EO, himself:
And his dog-friend, Maggie:
EO has planted beautiful groupings, such as 3 or 4 Junes all together under the canopy of an oak, or in this case 3 different cultivars of Pulmonaira in dappled shade:
Here's Olive Branch growing in a bucket, with the now-famous EO system of reservoir watering:
There must be 80 buckets like this one, most in full sun, planted with cultivars from ventricosa to RhinoHide. Yes he does have the famous Rhino Hide and I have to say the substance of that hosta is magnificent. Alas, I did not take its photo.
But here's a photo that will really knock your sox off. This is Winter Lightning, growing in a pot, in full sun.
Isn't it incredible? Every leaf is different. EO maintains a casual air about even the most precious hosta. He showed me his Zumberized seedling. I remember gasping when I saw the photos in which he had sliced off the leaves and cut down to the crown to stimulate growth, but I saw the plant in real time and it had roots and eyes popping all over it! He was growing a Jewel of the Nile from just a teeny piece of crown, not even 25% of a crown, and it had two leaves and 3 roots. (He gave this one to me and I'm proud to say it's doing fine in it's reservoir of lava rock and water.)
After walking through the woods, seeing the ponds and the stream, I got a closeup look at the bog. I have to say it doesn't look as I thought a bog would. It doesn't even look wet, but the water is just under the surface, seeping and being filtered by plant life and the limestone that is the native soil and rock of Indiana. EO doesn't waste any water. He turns all his grey water into bogs and the plants all seem to love it. I have to say, his audacious experimentation has really paid off. The robust hosta, lilies, ferns, conifers and wildflowers are all a testament to his gardening abilities.
Butch himself is a delight, very good at conversation. He has the brain of an engineer and thinks up systems to do what he wants to do, then builds them to see if they work. But more than that, he is friendly and kind. It was a great pleasure to meet both Patsy and him and to see his garden.
Thanks Butch, I had a grand time.
Lainey
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