Flowers. 4.2.19

Daffodils.  4.2.19

 Some nice flowers blooming now.  I love this season.

Last fall I planted most of the daffodils in rows.  Rows are easier to manage, and I can't be Martha Stewart or some kind of HGTV gardener.  These are just for me to enjoy, anyway.  I like this double one a lot.

I was about to give up on the helleborus, but now it's a blooming machine.

I've been trying to naturalize violets from my old yard, in the Battleground yard.  Despite a reputation for being invasive, they've been slow to settle in.

This is one of the larger patches of violets here, now.  These are in full sun.  Nothing seems to bother them, not rabbits, or deer, or slugs.

Ornamental Quince.  4.2.19

Local Violets.  4.2.19

What's blooming. 2.11.16

Epiphyllum NOID cactus in bud.  2.11.16

Helleborus.  2.11.16

 In february there isn't much blooming here.

In the sunroom, an epiphyllum I picked up for a dollar or two, a couple of years ago at Home Depot.  I didn't know or expect for it to bloom, but there are the flower buds.

Some of the Epiphyllum orchids are blooming in the sunroom.

Helleborus are blooming around the yard.  This one was a volunteer seedling I moved last year from the old yard.

Dendrobium.  2.11.16

Dendrobium.  2.11.16

Helleborus

This was available a few weeks ago at a local grocery store. It's a nice concept, since Helleborus can be planted permanently outside when it's done inside. They bloom mid winter, when very little else is blooming or growing. I have others at home.

This variety is "Jacob". I had 2 plants at work, which is warmer and more light. On those, the leaves are more faded and flowers are about done, so I planted them outside today.

Hellebores have a place in herbal tradition, as "medicine" and as a poison. I wouldn't eat them or anything made from them - they are known to be poisonous. Apparently deer and rabbits know that too, so the plants are left alone.

One of these came with the house, 11 years ago. It's in a shaded, dry spot with a fence on the north, the house on the west, and a big tree on the east. It blooms every year.

The flowers are nodding.  So you have to get down low, or have them on a retaining wall, to see the full appearance.  This illustration is nice, but I don't think it's very accurate as a depiction of the flower.

I obtain these old illustrations from sites that describe them as before 1912, so are over 100 years old. This one is by Botanical illustrator Elizabeth Blackwell.

Out in the yard

Pieris is blooming. It's easily taken for granted, but what else blooms in early february? I like the old name, Andromeda.

I transplanted this oriental poppy from a hidden, inconvenient spot. I grew it from seeds about 8 years ago. Nice big red flower. The inspiration was, my grandfather grew poppies from seeds. Something tells me he thought they were opium poppies. They're not! I've been beleiving they're too sensitive to be transplanted, but I don't know where I got that idea. The plant and its roots looks a lot like a dandelion, which can be chopped off and regrow, so maybe it's more resilient than I thought. I hope so.

These are some of my "Quincy" chinese chives, descendents of plants I grew from seeds 40 years ago. I left on the dried flowers to mark the spot and protect new shoots, but I like the appearance of new plants coming up through the dried stems.

Shiro plum. Closer.... closer.....

Radishes planted 3 weeks ago in barrel. The chicken wire is there to reduce cat and squirrel digging. Seems to help.

Close up of radishes. It's been raining.

Chinese chives in barrel planter. These clusters are about 5 years old. This is a promise of dumplings in March or April.

Helleborus. The flowers tend to droop, so it's good to grow them in a raised location, such as a retaining wall. Quite pretty. And blooming in early February. Cool!

This helleborus is even droopier... and prettier.

What's blooming?

Daffodils
These have grown undisturbed for 8 years.

Quince

Forsythia. This is the forsythia that I grew from a discarded stick, picked up while walking the dogs. Turned out nice. The location is shaded, NOrth of the house, but it is coming into its own.

Closeup of Sunny Delight peach.

Sunny Delight peach

Chinese Mormon Apricot.

Hollywood plum. this is the second year of growth - I wonder if the blossoms will set?

Honeybabe Peach

Trilite peach.

None of the peach trees appear harmed at all by the plastic wrapping method. I haven't sprayed a second time. I have a 6 inch tall peach seedling, slearly offspring from one of the genetic dwarf peaches, that has been growing for 2 years. It has not been treated wtih leaf curl prevention, and it does have leaf curl. So far, the other peach trees appear free of the disease. It is too early to say for certain.

Other developments:
The wild cherry seeds that I planted last summer are grown into 2 inch tall plants. I removed 3 to flower pots. The long term goal is super-pruning them like the other trees, in the style of "Backyard Orchard Culture". Can it be done? I don't know. Everything is a gamble.

The pear buds have opened into clusters of flower buds, but the flowers themselves are not yet open.

Last sunday I also went around with a little paintbrush, taking pollen from flower to flower among the peaches, then between the twp apricot trees, then between the plum trees. The Shiro plum has just 4 flowers, so who knows if it will fruit. The Hollywood plum is said to be self fruitful, and has many more flowers. It would be cool to have a crop of plums, second year after planting the tree. The peaches are also said to be self fruitful, but playing the bee shouldn't hurt anything. A few apricot flowers fell off while I was pollinating. That may mean it't too late to make a difference. We'll see.

What's growing? What's Blooming?

Blooming in February? You gotta be kidding! We may yet be hit by a killing frost, even a hard freeze. I hope not - I don't have much control over the apricot and plum buds that are starting to swell.




Pussy Willow (Salix) - These are from a young bush, just a stick 2 years ago. I cut off all of the flowering stems, it will help the bush become bushier. This summer's growth will be next year's flowers, so cutting flowers now is just a way to prune for increased flower production next year.

Helleborus is always good for a super-early show, even before snowdrops. They love moist, shady locations, North side of house. The only down side is the flowers tend to droop, so you need to get up close to see them.

Globe allium. Onion-family plants thrive here. This was one bulb a few years ago, now it's 5.

Garlic chives (Chinese chives) - our favorite for dumplings. This barrel on south side of house, soon will be harvestable size. Another barrel, on north side of house, shoots are barely visible. I also have them in the ground - much more difficult to manage, due to weeds and grass. Once grass invades, it's next to impossible to pull out from a grassy plant like chives or chinese chives.

Another helleborus. Cool!

Pre-Spring Garden Log. What is growing?

Helleborus, unknown variety. It's been growing in this dry, eastern exposure spot since we bought the house, so at least 7 years old. It was large then so probably much older.
Victoria rhubarb. This received a layer of chicken house compost, then some coffee grounds, then a layer of yard choppings as mulch. That was done over the past several weeks.
Salix chaenomeloides, Japanese pussy willow. OK, I cheated. This was planted 2 weeks ago, a bare root from Fred Meyer, already in bloom.
Forsythia, unknown variety. This was grown from a stick that I picked up on the street while walking the dogs, about 2 years ago. The shrub is 6 feet tall, but only a few stems. Not ready to bloom yet.

Dreary Mid February. Rhubarb emerging. Pruned roses. Helleborus.

Ning likes to plant garlic cloves close together and shallow, and let the leaves grow to about 6 inches. He harvests the leaves to use as a vegetable. The cloves can support several crops of leaves. The Chinese word for this is "suan miao" which means "garlic sprouts".

Tamora is one mean rose - the thorniest in the garden. I sustained multiple lacerations while pruning this shrub.

According to Celtic legend, Tamara was a protective goddess of the river Tamar. She must have been a spiteful goddess.

According to Wikipedia, Tamara also translates to Sanskrit as "spice", which does describe the scent.

Spelled differently (with entirely different meaning?) Tamora was Shakespeare's queen of the Goths, who was taken prisoner by the Emperor Titus, Titus had her son killed in sacrifice for victory. In this review, Tamora had "menacing femininity" - she becomes the lover of the next Emperor of Rome, Saturnius, and arranges for a brutal revenge.

It may be too early, but the back rose bed is now pruned. Last year I pruned even earlier, and the buds emerged, then were frosted by a laste frost. However, the buds were emerging anyway, so I don't know if it matters. In a couple of weeks, the surface of the mulch will be cleaned, a layer of compost added, and the bark mulch added. Then it's ready for the year.

This is my favorite rose, for it's color, spicy scent, disease resistance, and rugged persistance.

OK, I cheated. I planted this 3 weeks ago. The other helleborus around the yard have buds but are not blooming yet.

It's nice to have something blooming in the gloom and grime. The slugs dont seem to bother these either, so far. Here is a website devoted to helleborus.

Emerging from the mulch (looking more like the muck currently). See prior entry for rhubarb to see what this looked like last summer. Here is another reference with some rubarb history and traditional medicinal properties (yum, the root - not the leaf stem - was used to induce vomiting).