Lilium asiatic ‘Netty’s Pride’
Ok, this is way late for Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day. No Excuses. Everyone has gardens to build, weed, water, and harvest. But what really slows me down in posting is when I find a lovely flower that I acquired years ago and can’t figure out what the name is. And that leads me to the internet and well, you know how that goes. One thing leads to another and pretty soon you are buying another few plants instead of posting about the ones you have.
Anyway here are some of the flowers that I should have been sharing. Lillies and Iris are foremost. The Spuria Iris are some of my favorites.
Spuria Iris ‘Cinnebar Red’
Spuria Iris ‘Shelford Giant’
The Spuria are generally pretty tall, but Shelford Giant is especially high up before it flowers.
Spuria Iris ‘Shelford Giant’ showing height
I used to focus on the bearded Iris but I’ve found that many of the other species Iris are more reliable and enjoyable. I’ve never had the Iris borers focus on the other species the way they can on the bearded hybrids. In particular the Japanese Iris have a way of making nice clumps in the perennial gardens.
Iris ensata ‘ Agripinella’
A new Japanese Iris for us this year is this four-foot tall specimen from Plant Delights.
Iris ensata ‘Flashing Koi’
The Blackout Lillies are creating their normal smashing display of vibrant dark red.
Lilium ‘Blackout’
And in anticipation of setting a new height record for us the Trumpet Hybrid Pink Perfection is now higher than the 8 foot piece of granite in our Monument Bed.
Pink Perfection Lily next to Monument
Our potted lily wanna-be from the Amazon is in full flower at the moment.
Hymenocallis ‘Sulphur Queen’
I need to single out the last of the Arisaemas now in fully display. Both A. fargesii and A. candidssum took until June 4th before they showed their first pointed tips coming out of the soil. I especially love the pink of the A. candidissums.
Arisaema candidissimum
Arisaema fargesii
Just a few other shots from around the yard before I go…
Knockout roses ‘Pink’
Asclepias tuberosa ‘Hello Yellow’
Mix of wine cups, spotted orchid, Brodiaea ‘Queen Fabiola’, and Gladiolus alatus.
Dactylorhiza fuchsii
Stewartia japonica
Bulbine frutescens
Raspberries
Blueberries
And let me close with another gem from the greenhouse…
Habranthus tubispathus (sometimes called copper lily)
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day May 2016
Clematis ‘Niobe’
Ok, it’s Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day for May and I’m already late (again). Everything is flowering (or so it seems). The peonies, iris, azaleas, rhododendrons, alliums, and so on. Let me share some of the main headliners and then get to some of the more unusual flowers.
Rhododendrons are represented by three of our standards. First the ultra-reliable R. chionoides which spends more and more of its time lying on the ground with various prostrate branches.
Rhododendron chionoides
Then a scintillating pink that we have mixed into our camellia bed.
Camellia Garden Rhododendron
And I always have to share one of my favorites, R. ‘Viscosepala’, which has a magnificent fragrance.
Rhododendron ‘Viscosepala’
This was the happy result of crossing R. molle and R. viscosum in 1844 at the famous Waterer nursery at Knaphill in England. I think it deserves more recognition. You can sit on the deck in the evening and smell this honeysuckle-like fragrance surrounding you.
The peonies always go through a progression of tree peonies to species to Itoh hyrids to herbaceous. The tree peonies and species types are just finishing now after serveral weeks of simply splendid flowers.
Tree peony just finishing
And the Itoh hybrids are lovely to look at right now.
Itoh Peony ‘Morning Lilac’
The unopened bud of the Itoh hybrid ‘Sequestered Sunshine’ looks like a giant rose.
Itoh Peony ‘Sequestered Sunshine’
The first large bearded Iris are in bloom now and I just noticed a number of flowers on the Japanese Roof Iris yesterday.
Japanese Roof Iris (Iris tectorum)
Now let’s explore some of the less common flowers around the yard.
The Lamium orvala never fails to elicit comments when I point out the orchid-like flowers hidden under its leaves.
Lamium orvala
In one of the shade beds I see that one instance of the Rue Anemone has semi-double flowers that also seem to be bigger than its relatives.
Semi-double white Rue Anemone (Anemonella thalictroides)
In the front bed my planting of Dianthus spiculifolius in the large tufa rock seems to have taken hold.
Dianthus spiculifolius
Also in the front yard I had planted a Snow Poppy several years ago. It has spread but I had never seen it flower. Until this year.
Eomecon chionantha
The Snow Poppies are in a shady area near where the Woods Poppies (Stylophorum diphyllum) have long since taken over, and where the large Japanese Maple limits the sun and moisture in the summer time. I’m happy to have them spread at a reasonable pace.
Snow poppy colony (the curly leaves are the Woods Poppy mixed in)
At the GreenSprings Garden Plant Sale on Saturday I picked up a very nice little Calanthe hybrid orchid for the monument bed.
Calanthe hybrid hardy orchid
As we walk back to the Alpine garden I discovered a little ornithogalum growing with the little alpines and I couldn’t imagine how it got there until I reread my bulb order from last year. Ornitogalum exscapum is described as compact and flowering from the base and indeed that seems to be the case so far.
Ornithogalum exscapum
Nearby two of the Lewisia are in bloom.
Lewisia ‘Little Plum’ (Lewisia longipetala x cotyledon)
Pygmy bitterroot (Lewisia pymaea)
And in the trough in front of the greenhouse one of my favorite campanula relatives is just coming into flower.
Edraianthus pumilio
This makes a compact little cushion that is a wonderful example of why I like growing alpines. That’s a little Dianthus alpina that is showing nearby.
And in the Greenhouse I was delighted to discover last week that two of the three rare Scillas that I planted last January are starting to grow.
Scilla madeirensis in leaf
These are very beautiful plants and I’m hoping to see flowers before they go dormant for the summer.
Let me close with an Iris relative, Gelasine elongata, also growing in the greenhouse.
Gelasine elongata
This flowers at the end of a 2 ft. long stalk. It is said to be marginally hardy here so I may give it a try outside.
Seed Tales
Labeled Tulipa sprengeri, (Zephyranthes dicrhomata?)
I was pleased to see a bud coming out of my planting of Tulipa sprengeri this past week. But what emerged is very likely Zephyranthes dichromata. That’s pretty much par for the course on starting some of these unusual plants from seed. You can wait years for a seedling to emerge and then discover that it was either a mislabeled package or some friendly neighboring pot contributed some viable seed. It’s likely that the Zephyranthes jumped from a neighboring pot because they do seed freely. But then there are the successful outcomes like the big Paradisea that is just finishing in the greenhouse right now.
Paradisea lusitanica
This is a beautiful lily-like plant more than 2 feet high that came from seed distributed by the Pacific Bulb Society in the spring of 2013. It grows wild in the mountains of Portugal and might be barely hardy here. Another successful seed sowing from the PBS in 2013 was Dichelostemma multiflorum which grows wild in California.
Dichelostemma multiflorum
I’ve planted a lot of seeds over the past few years and managed to lose of lot of my seedlings last year when the water timer failed while we were on vacation. I’ve kept all those pots just in case, but decided last week to go through the hundreds of pots and reclaim the soil and pots.
Hundreds of pots to be reclaimed
I was delighted to find that some of those pots had seedlings just starting.
Brimeura amethystina seedling starting 3 years later
Fritillaria meleagris seedling
This all serves as a reminder that you have to patient to allow good things to happen. Another sort of patience comes with waiting for the first flowers. Four years ago I bought a tiny little seedling of Paeonia rockii from Wrightman Alpines. It has taken until this year to produce it’s first flowers. I think you will agree that it was worth the wait.
Paeonia rockii
Another delightful species Peony that is flowering right now was obtained from Plant Delights
Paeonia obovata ssp. obovata var. willmottiae
So returning to topic of planting seeds I should note that many of the seeds come up in abundance. They are often very cute as they so immediately resemble the plants that they will eventually become.
Draba parnassica
Antennaria rosea ssp pulvinata seedlings
Phyteuma scheuchzeri seedlings (BotanyCa)
Silene acaulis seedlings
Gentiana dahurica seedlings (BotanyCa)
Altogether, looking at the three alpine seed exchanges that I participate in, the results are just short of 50% of the seeds successfully started so far. In other words, so far, so good.
The other part of the seed topic is collecting the ones that are appearing right now. Many of the spring ephemerals are putting out seeds in quantity now.
Eranthis hyemalis ‘Schwefelglanz’ seeds
Hepatica seeds
Often the spring emphemerals have elaiosomes on the seeds that make them attractive to ants. So there is a brief 3-5 day window when you can just knock off the seeds to collect them. Otherwise, if they fall, the ants will gather them up and take them home for planting.
Ant carrying Hepatica seed
And, of course, every seed is not only a potential new plant, but also acts as currency if you are involved in seed exchanges.
Let me close with a few more of the flowers that have bloomed over the past two weeks.
Tulipa humilis ‘Alba Caerulea Oculata’
Corydalis turtschaninovii ‘Eric the Red’
Borage
And lastly a beautiful new Allium from Odyssey Bulbs
Allium (nectaroscordum) tripedale
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day April 2016
Panorama of Front Yard
Well for this Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day there is no difficulty with finding things in flower. April is a fantastic time for a Maryland gardener. Just a few days ago we were assessing the damage from killing frosts (Toad lilies and the asian Disporum are surprisingly vulnerable), but right now we are relishing the blooms. Daffodils and Tulips headline the show. For example, there is this new addition to the woods.
Narcissus ‘Precocious’
And old favorites in the front bed.
Tulipa ‘Monte Carlo’
A naturalized tulip for woodland areas.
Tulipa sylvestris
And this new addition from Odyssey Bulbs last year.
Tulipa ‘Goldmine’
But the various smaller plants always capture my attention.
Erythroniums are at their peak right now.
Erythronium ‘Pagoda’
Erythronium multiscapideum
Erythronium dens-canis ‘White Splendor’
Close by is a new Scilla relative that we added this past year (also from Odyssey Bulbs).
Fessia hohenackeri
Note the lovely blue anthers.
There are also the epimediums, seemingly delicate plants that are oh-so-hardy.
Flowers on Epimedium grandiflorum ‘Lilac Seedling’
In this case the leaves are as special as the flowers.
Leaves on Epimedium grandiflorum ‘Lilac Seedling’
An aquilegia that my eldest son grew from a Scottish Rock Garden Society seed distribution begs for attention right now (very dwarf).
Aquilegia flabellata ‘Nana’
And there is a Muscari that I got from Brent and becky last year that is growing in very difficult place between maple roots and an American Holly.
Muscari latifolium
In the camellia bed we find a lovely little corydalis that has lasted for several season now (hard to do with the blue ones).
Corydalis turtschaninovii ‘Eric The Red’
The name comes from the leaves, not the flowers.
Nearby is one of my favorite trilliums.
Trillium ‘Roadrunner’
Also in the Camellia bed is one of the tiniest Hepaticas I have seen, the result of several seedlings I planted from Hillside Nursery.
Hepatica japonica seedling
The Alpine bed features a very nice Daphne, that has all the fragrance that you expect from a Daphne.
Daphne collina x cneorum
And in small trough #2, there is the most beautiful little phlox that is doing alll that you expect from a phlox.
Phlox sileniflora
And from the greenhouse there are a couple of plants that have come into the house recently.
Hippeastrum striata
This small Amaryllis-want-to-be is also called the Barbados Striped Lily though it is actually from Brazil and it is multiplying in it’s small pot like mad.
And a south african plant originally purchased from Annie’s Annuals.
Ixia ‘Buttercup’
This is at the tip of two-foot long stalks this year.
Finally, I should mention the various flowering trees. This is right now the peak of the crossover between the various fruit trees, crabapples and cherries, giving way to the dogwoods.
Crabapple (variety long forgotten)
The apple trees in the orchard are in the midst of one of the finest bloom cycles I have seen.
Mutsu Apple covered with blossoms
These are the highlights on Ball Rd. What is growing in your garden?
Something Special
Lachenalia contaminata
In my last posting Jessica of Rusty Duck asked about the fragrance of a Freesia I had posted. The question made me check not only the fragrance of that flower (it had a hint of fragrance) but also to check the scent of a number of other flowers that are flowering right now. I realized that in many cases I had been presuming that I knew the fragrance of a flower merely because I had checked on the scent emanating from other flowers in that genus. I should have known better. I’ve been growing a number of Lachenalias. Partly because the seeds were readily available through the PBS bulb exchange and I love exploring with new plants. And then they multiplied like little horticultural rabbits. One of the biggest flowered of the Lachenalia that I have also has an amazing fragrance, which I had totally missed until now. Think baby powder. Very sweet smell. This particular Lachenalia got its species name from the red dots that ‘contaminate’ the stems. Actually it just makes them more interesting.
Lachenalia contaminata
This is what the Lachenalia corner of the greenhouse looks like right now.
Lachenalias in the greenhouse, L. contaminata in center and left, L. splendida on right
Here’s a closeup of of the Lachenalia splendida. No scent but quite pretty in its own right.
Lachenalia splendida
Also in flower right now is a a Geissorhiza which I don’t think I’ve shared until now. It has a number of pretty mauve flowers on each stem, much like a small Freesia.
Geissorhiza inaequalis
And let me close, before returning to the garden to get some of those rapidly growing weeds, with another shot of the Spiloxene in the greenhouse.
Spiloxene capensis
It’s another South African native, also called the Peacock Flower for it’s colorfully marked star-like flowers.
Belated Garden Blogger’s Bloom Post for March 2016
Corydalis solida ‘Gunite’
It is way past the normal mid-months sharing of what’s in bloom for Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day. My only excuse is that I was in Florida taking pictures of all kinds of birds. Meanwhile Maryland had warm enough temperatures that many things accelerated right through their bloom cycle while I was gone. Today we are back to cold and intermittent snow, but I did get some pictures yesterday before the weather changed. Given the hour and lateness of the posting I will try to focus on just a few of the unusual flowers and you can assume that the daffodils, crocuses, Glory of the Snow, Leucojeum, Hellebores, etc. are all doing their spectacular thing.
One group of flowers that is really shining right now is the Corydalis solida.
Corydalis solida ‘Decipiens’
Corydalis solida ‘Beth Evans’
Close by is the first of the Erythroniums
Erythronium dens-canis ‘Rose Queen’
The Hepaticas are well into bloom now, though they seem to be staggered in time. Some are ready and others just poking through.
Hepatica nobilis ‘Pink’
Hepatica nobilis large form blue shade (single flower)
One of my favorite spring ephemerals are the Jeffersonia, both the Korean and American types.
Jeffersonia dubia
We also have a new snowdrop with very exotic markings that came to us from Lithuania last year.
Galanthus ‘Dionysus’
The same source, Augis Bulbs, also sent us a big flowered little tulip (i.e., big flower for a dwarf tulip)
Tulipa hissarica
I have to spend some time with the Adonis as they continue to fascinate me. For the first time we have Adonis vernalis (also from Augis Bulbs).
Adonis vernalis
The foliage is quite different from the ferny foliage of the other Adonis that we have. Note how even when the flowers are gone the Adonis amurensis ‘Fukujukai’ makes a very pretty clump.
Adonis amurensis ‘Fukujukai’ flower clump
The Adonis amurensis ‘Sandanzaki’ continues to flower and to give a sense of it’s flowering habit let me share the picture of both the overall plant and then the individual flower which began opening almost a month ago.
Adonis amurensis ‘Sandansaki’ flower clump
Adonis amurensis ‘Sandanzaki’ near end of triple bloom showing the full lion’s mane
Adonis amurensis ‘Sandansaki’ bud still starting it’s second stage
We also have the last part of the flowering of another unusual Adonis that mostly flowered while I was in Florida.
Adonis amurensis ‘Beni Nadeshiko’
There are a couple of nice Drabas flowering in the troughs right now.
Draba aizoides
Draba acaulis
Also in the small trough is the first bud for a pasque flower
Pulsatilla patens in the small trough
Well, there is more on the outside but let me finish up with a few plants from the greenhouse. The Spiloxene is pretty special right now.
Spiloxene capensis
And there are a couple of other related South African plants flowering too.
Gladiolus tristis
Freesia grandiflora
And last but not least is the first Ferraria that inspired me to grow these ultra curled flowers.
Ferraria ferrariola
Joyful Moments
Eranthis pinnatifida opening
My granddaughter raised a question in a video-chat dinnertime conversation the other night which was something along the lines of ‘what would you be doing when you are happiest?’ For me it is somewhere between lying on the grass in the warm sun contemplating the leaves overhead and the discovery of ‘new’ plants that are the result of what I planted last year and have completely forgotten about. The latter has been happening a lot lately. Either because I forget more than I used to or I was really busy planting last year. Day after day I am finding delightful new additions to our garden and it makes it really rewarding to explore the yard as though it were a new place each day. Last week it was Scolliopus biglovii (how’s that for a mouthful), a Christmas present from last year that I had quite forgotten about. Probably no flowering this year, but still a nice surprise.
Foetid Adders Tongue (Scoliopus bigelovii)
And now this week the Eranthis pinnatifida.
Eranthis pinnatifida
I discovered this little gem in an issue of the International Rock Gardener that focused entirely on Eranthis. I hadn’t any idea there were so many variations of the Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) which we have grown for forty years. We imported the Eranthis pinnatifida from England last year. At the same time I ordered a creamy yellow cultivar of Eranthis hyemalis from Lithuania and that was visible for the first time this week as well.
Eranthis hyemalis ‘Schwefelglanz’
Yet another new arrival this week was a rather unusual Fritillaria that we also obtained from Augis’ bulbs.
Fritillaria stenanthera ‘Ihnatshai’
This promises to be a very interesting flower as it opens up.
The small species Iris are also showing up in the Monument bed just now.
Iris danfordiae
And then there are the three yellow flavors of Adonis — plain, special, and extra-special.
Adonis amurensis
Adonis amurensis ‘Fukujukai’
Adonis amurensis ‘Sandanzaki’
In the greenhouse the Ferrarias are continuing to open up. Here are three flavors of Ferraria crispa.
Ferraria crispa
Ferraria crispa ssp.nortierii
Ferraria crispa
The wonderful Scilla peruviana has flowered extravagantly and earned a spot inside the house.
Scilla peruviana in pot
Also in the house right now is a pot of Freesia.
Freesia leichtlinii
And soon to be arriving is this Tulbaghia that is just opening up.
Tulbaghia simmleri
I was busy photographing the water droplets on the Aeonium in the greenhouse when a surprising visitor popped in front of my lens.
Waterdrops on Aeonium
Jumping Spider (Sitticus pubescens?)
I’m just guessing at the species from web photos. There are a lot of spiders in the world. Anyway, that was another joyful moment…
Hello Springtime!
Adonis amurensis ‘Fukujukai’
Is it just me or has spring been incredibly slow in arriving this year…
Anyway, with a few warm days it looks like all the normal players are contributing to the daily walk around interest in the yard. Key for me are always the Adonis which got a little bedraggled from the back and forth of snowstorms and freezing ground. But even the special Sandanzaki is beginning to bud out.
Adonis amurensis ‘Sandanzaki’ just opening
The little species crocus have been popping out in the lawn where I scattered them years ago
Small mixed species crocus in the lawn
And there is an especially nice tommassinianus that I would recommend to anyone.
Crocus tommasinianus ‘Roseus’
Just today the little histroides iris that has been threatening to bloom since December has finally opened up.
Iris histrioides ‘George’
Another standard for the early garden is the primrose that dots the spring pastures in England.
Primula vulgaris
With things starting to pop outdoors it is ironic that some of the most fascinating flowers right now are in the greenhouse. There’s a spectacular Moraea that opened up today.
Moraea elegans in bud
Moraea elegans
And a little Romulea that is the first of its clan to flower this year.
Romulea monticola
A couple of years ago (thanks Dick) a friend gave me some peruvian scilla bulbs that I potted up for the greenhouse. Mine were in the outside garden and have since perished from two really cold winters in succession. Anyway these squill have chosen to flower out of the pots this year and they are spectacular. There are 5 bulbs in each pot and this what just one of them looks like.
Scilla peruviana
There’s a another Oxalis that I got from Brent&Becky last fall.
Oxalis adenophylla
It has lovely crinkled foliage and is said to be hardy as well (I put a few in the flower bed so we shall see).
We have three good sized Clivia and they are flowering now as well. Nice enough that they earned a spot in the house.
Clivia miniata
Everyone should have clivia, they are so carefree and reliable.
And last but surely not least the first of my Ferrarias has come into bloom.
Labeled as Ferraria uncinata but I think it is more likely one of the crispa forms
Starfish lily is another of the names that the Ferrarias go by. It is hard to imagine a more complex curling of the flower petals (claws) than on the Ferraria. This was another acquisition from the Pacific Bulb Society’s Bulb Exchange. I don’t know of any other way to get these little jewels. Can you picture what a field of these looks like in South Africa?