Honeysuckle and Caladiums

Honeysuckle is in Shakespeare, sometimes as woodbine.

Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my arms.
So doth the Woodbine the sweet Honeysuckle
Gently entwist; the Female Ivy so
Enrings the barky fingers of the Elm.

--- Midsummer Night's Dream, act iv, sc. 1 (47).

There are two ways to garden vertically. One is to go down with root crops, like carrots. The other is to go up with vines.

Our fence on Mrs. Wright's side is booked for the summer, and the opposite side is reserved for roses. Therefore, the best supporters left are the trees.

I chose our dead tree for the honeysuckle. I have never grown it before, but various sources claim the vine is vigorous, butterfly, bee and hummingbird friendly.

The little pot of honeysuckle was growing green, but I still soaked it in rainwater for a time. Last fall we covered the base of the snag with newspapers and wood mulch. All winter the soil had a chance to convert the weed-choked base to compost.

The shovel went smoothly into the soil near the tree trunk, and the plant went in the hole. I poured more rainwater in to settle the soil and tucked the mulch around the plant.

The vine seems to need help in climbing, so I may need to provide some extra support. However, it is called twining, which may help. The abundant flowers attract all kinds of insect life and hummingbirds. Hummers do not hover for the nectar. They need insects too, so their tweezer beaks are ideal for grabbing them while sipping the sweetness of the vine.

Sweetheart Caladiums love shade.

I did not want to spend rose dollars on tender bulbs, for another reason besides the Scrooge Prime Directive. They are work - not at first - but later when they need to be recovered in the fall. Spring (tender) bulbs are spectacular in their beauty, but they do not tolerate frost.

Catalogs do not sell bulbs but flowers. The glossy close-ups send gardeners into reveries where labor cost and price fade away. I thought these might be colorful under the maple but we will soon prune the maple. When someone helps out, trampling the new flowers is a consideration.

The bulbs were ugly, like little lumps of mud. Directions told me to plant the bumpy side up, but the each cluster was bumpy all over. They should say "smoother bumps on the bottom." Ultimately it does not matter, so I troweled out mulch and soil to plant them. When I showed their picture to Mrs. Ichabod, she said, "Great. We always had them at home, every year."

Another win.