Ep 205. Lotus Effect and Lady's Mantle

Mary Stone delves into the beauty of water droplets called the Lotus Effect on plants such as Lady's Mantle and Nasturtium, and insects such as butterflies and dragonflies. She reflects on Lady's Mantle's folklore, its benefits in the garden, and how Nasturtiums protect vegetable gardens from pests. Mary encourages listeners to embrace and learn from the cycles of life and nature that bring joy and lighten the heaviness in our world.

 Related Podcasts and Posts: 

Benefits and Folklore of Dragonflies - Blog Post 

Ep 188. Benefits and Folklore of Dragonflies 

Reasons to Prune – features the story of my aphid invasion.

Ep 29. Aphid Invasion, Beneficial Ladybugs

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Mary Stone, Columnist & Garden Designer
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Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.

It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.

Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
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Transcript

Ep 205 Lotus Effect and Lady's Mantel

Sat, May 10, 2025 6:27PM • 10:44

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Lotus effect, Lady's Mantle, native plants, morning dew, garden design, medicinal purposes, drought tolerance, vegetable garden, aphids, beneficial insects, folklore, nature inspiration, screen porch, garden dilemmas, pollinators, nasturtium.

SPEAKERS

Mary Stone

Mary Stone  00:00

Mary, Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary Stone, and welcome to garden dilemmas, delights, and discoveries. It's not only about gardens. It's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learn from Mother Nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about. 

Mary Stone  00:26

Hello there. It's Mary Stone, and welcome to the screen porch on the day after a rainy day, a deluge of a day, really complete with a tornado warning one touchdown in Bangor, Pennsylvania, the home of the press for whom I write, but all fared well, gratefully, which reminds me of a time when I was a girl. Next door to us was a turkey farm. It was actually quite primitive, and it was a small, little barn that went up in a small Twister that hit down there. I wasn't sad about that because I used to have to cross the turkey farm to get the mail when it was my turn to do so, and I dreaded it when they had the harvest for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and sometimes Easter. Let's just say there were Turkey parts left on the ground. Not a pretty thing. 

Mary Stone  01:17

Anyway, I look forward to sharing a story about the Lotus effect and lovely Lady’s mantle. But before that, I want to thank you for reaching back after our last chat about dividing iris and multiplying gifts. I'm glad it inspired many of you to add more native plants to your garden, such as the native Iris. We spoke about Iris versicolor, known as Northern Blue Flag. It is a lovely iris, and so it's a nice addition to your gardens and rain gardens, by the way, maybe a topic for another time. I encourage you to send stories of gifted plants and the lovely folks who gave them to you. And I received an email from Tara leading to this week's story that starts like this.

Mary Stone  02:00

 Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. I adore it when clients send photos of their gardens as they grow. Tara from Sparta, New Jersey, sent a photo of her Lady’s mantle with the headline Morning Diamonds. So lovely. I adore the Lotus effect. Thank you for sharing; Was my note back. Indeed, there's more to gardens than the textures of leaves, the heights of plants and colors of blooms. There's the attraction of bark and stems and how some flowers and plants are beautiful when dry or dormant. Another delight is how some plants capture the morning dew with droplets that glisten in the morning sun, like Lady’s mantle, Alchemilla vulgaris, one of my favorites. Tara's Lady’s’ mantle was part of a lineup in her garden design we worked on together. The gift that came from the project and the plants we arranged is the friendship that has grown since. She is such an amazing gardener and just a delightful person. I enjoy visiting with her each season. 

Mary Stone  03:02

My lady's mantle came from my dear friend and designer colleague, Marty Carson of Three Seasons. Inc, I know I've spoken a lot about her recently. There are so many gifts that I've received from my friendship to Marty and all the knowledge she shared. They have self-seeded in the nooks and crannies of the natural stone walkway, which I adore staying miniature in size and softening the path. The leaves are fan shaped with tiny teeth at the tips, though admired mostly for the foliage, which is chartreuse, petalless clusters of flowers adorn her from spring into summer. And there's something else I hadn't noticed about them. If you look at the leaves closely, you will see a lineup of hearts. They are shaped like hearts with those little teeth on the top, so lovely.

Mary Stone  03:51

Like lotus leaves, Lady’s Mantle doesn't absorb wetness easily and holds water droplets that clean dirt from leaves. And the reverse is true. The leaves don't dehydrate readily. Despite being tucked between the hot stones in the summer, they are no worse for the wear. The perfect spherical droplets left after rain or morning dew are eye-catching and oh-so-charming in the garden and the nooks and crannies of the walkway. It is drought tolerant as well and makes a magnificent ground cover in sun or shade, and thrives in acidic soil, clay soil, dry soil, loamy soil and sandy soil. Plus, Bambi is not fond of its fuzziness and bitterness due to its tannins. Tannins, by the way, are the compounds and plants that add an astringent taste and texture to things like wine and coffee, tea, dark chocolates, and certain fruits and nuts, and they're known for their antioxidant benefits. And so this perennial plant is considered an herb in the rose family, and it's used for medicinal purposes. Interestingly, a lot of those medicinal purposes have to do with female issues and ailments. Kind of fitting, isn't it, that it's called Lady’s mantle, and roses, by the way, also make lovely companions to the little Lady’s.

Mary Stone  05:11

Hardy to zones three to nine. It grows about a foot tall and wide and is native to Europe, temperate Asia, and North America. There are other plants that have the Lotus effect, such as nasturtium, prickly pear and the winged insects of butterflies sport the Lotus effect, how we adore their dance pollinating flowers and vegetable gardens. Dragonfly wings do, too. Those fascinating creatures with an unusual life cycle and folklore to match that benefit our gardens by controlling pests. We spoke about them in episode 188 I invite you to tune into the benefits and folklore of dragonflies. Speaking of nasturtium, I think of it as a colorful must have in my vegetable garden, they attract pests like aphids, keeping them from attacking the vegetables. They also deter squash bugs, so planting them amongst your zucchini or other summer squash is wise. Plus, they attract pollinators, including butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. I grew them in my garden last year, and they went crazy. They were so lovely. And when I would pick my tomatoes, I would be picking some of the leaves and eating them. They are really quite delicious. I felt funny eating the flowers, though. I saved those for the bees. That's right. Nasturtium flowers, seed pods, and leaves are edible, and they're delightful in salads with their peppery mustard-like tastes that deer generally don't like, and so they tend to stay away. They're easy to grow with bold yellow and orange blooms and saucer-shaped foliage, adding color and texture to your vegetable garden. There are trailing varieties and Bush types, also called dwarf, which are the ones I suggest using in the vegetable garden. The other ones do go a little bit crazy. I didn't realize that until I tried it a while ago. 

Mary Stone  07:00

A brilliant idea just came to me as I continue to struggle with the aphids attacking my leather leaf viburnum. Now they've moved to other varieties of viburnum nearby, as well as the one on the front corner of the house I'm looking at right now from my screen porch—darn things. I think I'll plant the nasturtium below them. Why not? Right? I spoke about this dilemma way back in 2016 in an article called Reasons to Prune. Desperate Measures call for rejuvenation pruning. And here we are, nine years later from that original article, and I'm still battling the suckers, literally sucking the life out of the leaves, making them an unsightly, curled mess. 

Mary Stone  07:40

So, back to Tara's morning diamonds. Lady’s mantle is rich with folklore and numerous cultures for generations due to the fascination of a lotus effect, some believe the dew droplets do turn into diamonds, or it can turn metals into gold. Others believe sticking their little toe in the dew during the full moon in May would help you look young and beautiful forever. Legend has it that you have to be naked when dipping your toe. So, surrounding screen trees may be in order; I'm just saying. But rather than that, let us let go of our opinions or judgments of beauty or attachments to what society defines as such; there's beauty in the aging of plants and people and the cycles of comings and goings. Just as water is continually and repeatedly on the move, eventually returning to the ocean, everything returns to its source. Perhaps I'm talking myself into a new view of the aphids wreaking havoc. They are a food source for beneficial insects and birds, including those ladybugs we spoke about, and their honeydew attracts ants that help aerate the soil, break down organic material, and pollinate plants, a beautiful thing. Garden dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone.com.

Mary Stone  09:01

So, while I was putting the plants back out on the porch for the season, Jolee found a little bumblebee who was rather stunned lying on the floor. She has a habit of stomping such things. But I arrived in time to save the little guy, and I put him outside on the napkin in which I grabbed him, and I watched to see if he was going to come back to life, and it was a delight to see that he did. I don't know there are so many beautiful things that we can take part in. There was actually an inchworm that was crawling on my shirt just a bit ago, and I threw that little guy outside too- gently, that is. Anyway, embrace nature. Love nature, find the magic in it all, because it really is, indeed, something that we can not only learn from but find the joy in which lightens up a lot of the things in our world that seem so heavy and that is a beautiful thing. So, thank you again for coming by. I always enjoy our time together, and I look forward to the next time on the screen porch. Oh, and would you mind please sharing the podcast with a friend or two so more can join us? That would be wonderful. Thank you again. See you next time on the screen porch. 

Mary Stone  10:14

You can follow garden dilemmas on Facebook or online at Garden dilemmas.com and on Instagram at hashtag. Mary Elaine Stone. Garden dilemmas, delights and discoveries is produced by Alex Bartling, thanks for coming by. I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch and always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden of life. Have a great day.