The Gardener's Eden

Sunrise through Icy Birch Branches on Thanksgiving Morning

Wishing All of You a Warm, Peaceful and Beautiful Thanksgiving Day!

The Beauty of a New November Day

Honey-Crystal Sunrise

Sparkling Hops Vine (Humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’) in Morning Light

Photographs and Text ⓒ Michaela Medina/The Gardener’s Eden. All photos, articles and content on this site (with noted exceptions) are the original, copyrighted property of The Gardener’s Eden and may not be reposted, reproduced or used in any way without prior written consent. Contact information is in the left side bar. Thank you!

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Drips Frozen in Motion: Ice-Glazes the Branches of this Halesia tetraptera (Mountain Silverbell)

Setting aside my busy-work for an hour this morning, I found myself wandering along the garden’s ice-clad pathways; camera and steaming teacup in-hand.  With pink sunlight illuminating glassy tree-tops, I couldn’t resist a peek at Sleeping Beauty —the garden deeply slumbering— in all of her blush-tinged, glistening glory…

Ice-Pink Dawn

Cornus kousa’s Spectacular Branches

The Studio Balcony in Winter

Deceptively Beautiful Danger – With heavy, ice-laden branches crashing to the forest floor, I enjoy this stunning winter spectacle from safety of my woodland clearing…

Morning Sunlight on the Ice-Covered Hills…

Blushing Birch Bark (Betula populifolia x Whitespire ‘Royal Frost’)

Icy Globes: Frozen Viburnum bodnantense buds appear suspended in unfurling motion

Ice, as delicate as tissue paper, clings to stone in the morning light

These ruby-red branch-tips (Acer palmatum x dissectum ‘Seiryu’) are a pretty color-contrast to the lovely moss-clad stone

As if reaching from beneath the rock-walls, Winter’s icy fingers emerge from every nook and cranny in the garden

Lichen and Moss Warm Winter’s Stone in Fuzzy Green and Rust Tones

The Secret Garden Door Stands Open to Winter’s Gusts and Freezing Showers

And the Skeletal Blue-Green Dragon Catches Sunlight on Her Lacy, Red-Tipped Branches

I Wonder, While She Sleeps, Does the Garden Dream of Spring’s Sweetness?

Frozen Droplet (Viburnum bodnantense ‘Dawn’)

Hole in the Golden Hops (Humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’)

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Article and Photographs are copyright 2010, Michaela at The Gardener’s Eden

All content on this site, with noted exceptions, is the property of The Gardener’s Eden Online Journal, and my not be used or reproduced without express written permission.

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Luminous Humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’, the Chartreuse Beauty of Golden Hops Vines

Gloomy morning. Shifting, filtered light — melancholy as an old bow, dragging across a cello— traces murky shadows in the morning fog. The garden’s saturated colors —maroon, deep green, burgundy and rust— hint at summer’s end. There is a touch of sadness within the garden walls. A beautiful wistfulness hangs heavy in the air; clinging like raindrops to the dark, moss-covered rock. The somber mood lifts when, through the grey sky and lingering mist, a golden, chartreuse glow appears; like the light of paper lanterns filled with a million fireflies…

Tiny buds capture raindrops and glow like paper lanterns in the morning fog…

Humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’, commonly known as the golden hops vine, has become one of my favorite perennial climbers. I like to use it in unexpected places —modern fences and dark, masculine structures– adding a luminous touch of feminine lace. Hardy in USDA zones 4-8, this twining, citron-beauty prefers full sun (for best color), and even soil moisture. Rapidly clamoring up walls, fences and pergolas, the golden hops vine can reach a height of 15-20′ in a single season. Brilliant in combination with dark colors —black, maroon, burgundy and dark blue are particularly lovely— Humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’ brightens gloomy spaces and sings against tobacco-stained wood. Although the vine dies back each year, the papery buds persist throughout winter; adding delicate, textural interest to structures when traced with snow or ice. In spring, golden, new shoots appear from the base of the plant, rapidly covering nearby surfaces as it races to its mature height before blooming. For a neat appearance, old growth can be cut to the ground as soon as new shoots appear (usually by April here in New England). In more casual spaces, I leave some of the old vines (tidied up a bit) to serve as a guiding ladder for new shoots…

Tendrils of Golden Hops Glow Against the Blackened Siding

Although the golden hops vine is a vigorous climber, it’s no garden-thug. Easily trained, each year I encourage the vine’s shoots along each cable-rail of my balcony, where it softens the hard structure and contrasts beautifully with the rusting steel, oxblood planters and charcoal-colored siding of the studio. Wayward tendrils, weighted with little lanterns by midsummer, droop from the balcony, dangling into the Secret Garden below. As temperatures cool with autumn’s approach, the chartreuse leaves will slowly burnish to rusty-speckled yellow and orange; eventually deepening to a warm, golden brown…

Humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’, off at a rapid pace, twining across the balcony in mid May

Humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’ in late autumn rain

Humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’, Dressed in a Cloak of Ice

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Article and photographs ⓒ 2010 Michaela at TGE

All content on this site, (with noted exceptions), is the property of The Gardener’s Eden and may not be used or reproduced without prior written consent. Inspired by something you see here? Great! Please give credit where credit is due. It’s a small world and link-love makes for fond friendships. Stealing makes for bad dreams…

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