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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Friday, March 4, 2016

Random Friday

Sort of random.  These are all shots from my garden on a recent and rare sunny day.

I'm lucky to have sevaral daphne odora perfuming my garden.  These have a reputation for being fickle.  Here are my tricks for success.  Plant in horrible soil, don't worry about the amount of sun, step on the small plants several times a year, abuse the plant horribly.  This might explain why I'm not horribly upset that some jerk passerby snapped off a new variety that I'd planted in the parking strip  About three inches of it are left sticking out of the ground and it has leaves and blooms. (This obviously isn't that one.)

Speaking of jerks and the parking lot,   I was thoroughly enjoying walking past this Hellebore that this year hit it's stride and was quite full of bloom.  There were even a couple of photographers snapping shots of it a couple of weeks ago.

Someone decided that their personal enjoyment of the blooms was more important than leaving them to brighten everyone's day.  I put out a sign that says, "Please leave the flowers for everyone to enjoy." Much nicer than what I was thinking.

Who can stay angry when the sun is shining and crocus are spreading about so nicely.

Speaking of spreading nicely (no, not my waistline but good guess,) this clump of sweet violets continues to grow and choke out the grass in the front lawn.  I'll help it along with violets that must come out of a flower bed inside the fence. These are evergreen, don't seem particular about light or soil conditions, stayed green during the drought this summer that killed most of the lawn, and never need mowing.  I'll look for some other colors to add.

Narcissus 'Tete-a-Tete'  

 Meanwhile, out in the greenhouse the amaryllis (Hippeastrum) are going at it. 



Last year these hyacinths were planted in a pot, put outside, and brought inside when they started blooming.  The pot, bulbs and all got put on a shelf and kept bone dry all summer. The intent was to either put them in the ground or discard them if the bulbs looked too small to bloom again. Summer and fall got busy in the garden as they will and they were forgotten.  Imagine my surprise at finding them when looking for a pot for something else, foliage beginning to emerge from the bulbs.

Clivia beginning to bloom and on the left, the Manihot grahamii which I thought would be evergreen but seems to want to drop it's leaves each winter and convince me that it's dead, is coming back to life.

There's always some abutilon or other in bloom. 

It might be time to tidy the greenhouse a bit!

Nah, let's go back outside instead where the Stachyurus praecox is putting on it's late winter show.

An early species tulip.  Several clumps were planted for the first time in the fall.  I hope these will spread!

Meconopsis 'Lingholm'  (blue poppies) bloomed so beautifully last year, have returned and some seedlings are present nearby where I shook the seed heads.  How lucky am I?

Furry little Syneilesis leaves pushing out of the ground.  Isn't spring grand?  It's like a family reunion when beloved plants return.  I guess it's more like living in  resort town where one's rich relatives have summer places while you're left there as caretaker of the properties all winter.  Anyway, spring's cool.

Like every reunion, there may be a strange cousin or two.  The leaves of this poor Syneilesis are being eaten, maybe by weevils.  Coffee grounds on the way, hold on little plant.  Maybe this year, you'll get planted in the ground!

Happy weekend and happy gardening all!

23 comments:

  1. What a bunch of fabulous random shots from your garden! You ARE so lucky that the Meconopsis seem to be thriving. I have no luck with them. I didn't realize that Stachyurus dropped its leaves over the winter. I thought my brand new little variegated one was dead, but it has put out some flowers, so I guess not.

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    1. Stachyurus salicifolius, the willow leaf stachyurus, is evergreen but S. praecox is deciduous so yours is going just fine!

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  2. Seems like spring is definitely arriving for you! The bloom thief has some nerve! In my neighborhood I just blame the deer, but maybe it's some human jerks instead sometimes?

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    1. Much nicer to think of it as deer. Come to think of it, I have seen deer not far from my house recently. Okay, we'll blame them.

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  3. Really? Some ass-hat picked your Hellebore flowers? Grrrr. So coffee grounds work on weevils? I never knew!

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    1. Word from the N.W. Rhododendron society is that weevils don't like walking on/through coffee grounds. After spraying beneficial nematodes for several years and not seeing much of a change, I tried the coffee ground thing. It's just organic matter, right? It seems to be helping but must be at least an inch or two deep and re applied as it deteriorates. Fortunately, I love to drink coffee. If not, Starbucks and maybe some others now, give their used grounds away for use on gardens.

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  4. What a treat to have Meconopsis 'Lingholm' return from seed. The Meconopsis Group webpage says it is "variable" from seed: "There is perhaps more variability in the foliage than in the flowers. Nevertheless the emerging rosettes of young leaves which appear in early spring are very distinctive." We're so lucky to be able to have this genus do well in our gardens.

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    1. We are lucky! There are definitely returning rosettes (perennial like) but also seedlings. Fun! They do best for me in large pots where I am better about giving them consistent irrigation in the summer when most of my beds only get occasional water.

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  5. I hear Hellebores are extremely poisonous...we can only hope.

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  6. Heh, I like Ricki's thought. I detest selfish, thoughtless people like that. My clivias are both pushing up bloom spikes out in the greenhouse, but they're still pretty low down in the leaves.

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    1. In my misguided youth (college days) I filched flowers a couple of times so maybe it's karma getting me back. My clivias sat near a heat source so were a bit warmer all winter.

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  7. What a lovely post! Except for the beheaded hellebores. I hope they immediately wilted on whoever picked them, as they tend to do.

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    1. Or perhaps they'll cheer someone who has only a brief time left to live. (See Ricki's comment above.)

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  8. I'm angry on your behalf about the Daphne and the hellebore. But the crocus, violets and every else are absolutely lovely. Clearly, the garden wants to comfort you and wipe away any bad energy. As for the miscreants, bad karma for them this weekend!

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    1. It does make me angry that people decide to take flowers that don't last all that long anyway and if left, can be enjoyed by everyone but if picked last only a short time and can only be enjoyed by the thief. Oh well, There'll be more.

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  9. I just love Stachyurus, although mine is still tight in bud.

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    1. We've had a relatively mild winter this year but I think mine is usually open by late February.

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  10. Stachyurus praecox against the blue face? priceless. Is this the fence you were wondering whether to paint or leave natural?
    Lost 2 Daphne odora... I'm trying 'eternal fragrance' now, maybe she would live longer.
    I’m intrigued by the viola. Never consider them for anything but a filler in a pot.

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    1. The blue is the wall of the garage/greenhouse. There's only a bit of wood left showing so I decided to paint it that vibrant color.
      Fickle Daphnes!

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  11. I also welcome violets into my lawn. They're green, have nice little flowers, and you can walk on them. What's not to like? In beds and borders, though, not so much - I often dig out clumps that I try to transplant.

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  12. Lovely to have a look round your garden and greenhouse and to see your treasures. How heartbreaking to have your Daphne and hellebores stolen. Specially the Daphne which is so slow growing.
    My Stachyurus is still in tight bud, your garden must be warmer. I love violets too, they are always welcome.

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  13. Lovely to have a look round your garden and greenhouse and to see your treasures. How heartbreaking to have your Daphne and hellebores stolen. Specially the Daphne which is so slow growing.
    My Stachyurus is still in tight bud, your garden must be warmer. I love violets too, they are always welcome.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.