Tree Peony detail

Well it is Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day again and the general question is what’s blooming on our hillside.  The answer is almost everything!  We look around and see flowers everywhere.  There are still straggling daffodils showing up, even virginia bluebells still remain in the woods, and the first bearded Iris and roses are to be found.  But the focus in the yard right now is Peonies.  A smattering of species types have shown up however the Tree Peonies are dominant right now.  They are so gorgeous and artistic it takes the breath away.

White Tree Peony in the rain

Dark Red Tree Peony in the rain

The Itoh intersectional hybrid peonies are still a day or two from flowering but the first herbaceous is now in bloom.

Paeonia ‘Scarlet O’Hara’

Of course there are azaleas everywhere, but one would have to be half-blind not to notice the Exbury hybrid azaleas with their vivid colors.

Exbury Azalea ‘Gibraltar’

Exbury Hybrid Azalea ‘Klondyke’

A special favorite is always the Azalea visco sepala which has a powerful fragrance which covers a wide area.

Azalea visco sepala

One of the unexpected pleasures this May is a single Russell Hybrid Lupine that I planted last year.  It didn’t flower last year and often doesn’t really succeed in our muggy summer, but this extended cool spring has been perfect for the Lupine.

Lupine ‘Russell Hybrid’

Lupine ‘Russell Hybrid’

Lupine detail

Our Japanese roof Iris has put in an appearance.

Japanese Roof Iris (Iris tectorum)

and the Clematis at the front door is doing a good job in shielding the electricity meter.

Clematis ‘Nelly Moser’

At this point let me share some the more unusual flowers in our May garden.

Moraea ramossisima

This one came from Annies Annuals last January and it will not be hardy in our zone.  But it should be worth carrying over in the greenhouse.

We first grew the Lamium orvala last year but it remains a very unusual plant with exotic flowers.

Lamium orvala

This Mexican Shell Flower was the surprise in the greenhouse today.  I’ll have to move it outside tomorrow.

Tigridia chiapensis

This one can be grown like gladiolus.  The bulb should be dug at the end of the season.

On the other hand the following three exotics could winter over in our climate.

Glaucium grandiflorum

Calochortus clavatus var. clavatus

Dactylorhiza fuchsii ‘Bressingham Bonus’

It’s getting late to be technically publishing on Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day so let me close with this lovely little rock jasmine which is flowering at the full right now.

Androsace sarmentosa ‘Chumbyi’

Lewisia tweedyi

Pleione formosana

Boechera (Arabis) koehleri (planted January 24)

When you are using your greenhouse to grow special plants like Lewisia tweedyi or Pleione formosana, or seedlings of an unusual western rock cress, you might be forgiven by reacting to the first sign of aphids with an immediate fog of insecticide.  However, I decided last winter that I would try to make the greenhouse as much of a natural environment as I could.  The windows open to the out of doors on warm days without screens so that insects are free to come and go.  The greenhouse manufacturer said that people liked this idea for pollination but I was thinking more about insect control.

In early December when I first began operations I saw a few ladybugs taking refuge from the cold.  I had hoped they might settle in, perhaps laying eggs.  And last week I saw my first ladybug larva busily patrolling the leaves for aphids.

Lady Bug larva

They are voracious eaters (think of teenagers eating between meals).

And yesterday I spied a praying mantis.

Small Preying Mantis

I had seen an egg case in the hillside garden and put it into the greenhouse in February.  Though I never saw the hatching take place, they are apparently growing fast.  Unfortunately a few minutes later I saw this one get trapped in a spider’s web.  While both seemed to be about the same size, the spider definitely won the battle.  But there should be many more praying mantis wandering around the greenhouse at this point.

While i was watching the praying mantis and spider struggle I looked up and saw the dominant actor in the food chain.

Large wooly spider on citrus leaf

This guy was alert and ready for action.  So while I do see aphids here and there, nature’s enforcer’s are busy keeping things within bounds.

Spider with turquoise bib

Hepatica japonica ‘Shigyoku’

This spring I invested in two small and ridiculously beautiful double flowered Japanese Hepaticas from Thimble Farms in Canada.

Hepatica japonica ‘Wakakusa’

They are the result of years of breeding in Japan.  But even the less specialized Hepaticas are delightful to look at for their short flowering season in the spring.

Hepatica nobilis v. pyrenaica

And they are also sufficient reason to look into propagating them from seed.  It turns out that Hepatica seed is best sown very soon after harvesting so that now is the time to be seeking it from whatever source you use.  Or, alternatively, harvest your own Hepatica seed and pot it up now.  I found some very good references online for harvesting Hepatica seed but I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking for.  I had never actually observed them to fall in the garden.  But this week I noticed the seed heads hanging over the neighboring pots were dropping little seeds on the gravel.  As I fished them out with my knife, I knocked some more seeds loose and pretty soon I had a handful.

Hepatica seeds falling off

Hepatica Seeds

For the outside plants I ordered some paper tea bags with drawstrings that I could put around the seed heads and thereby catch them if I wasn’t there when they came loose.

Tea bags for seed collection

Tea bag on Hepatica seed head

While I was going through this process around the yard with some other interesting plants like the Adonis, I noticed a little seedling in the pathway.

Tree Peony seedling

In the over thirty years that those Tree Peonies have been in place this is the first time I’ve seen a seedling.  Peonies are slow to develop from seed so this little guy is precious indeed.

Chaenomeles japonica ‘Toyo-Nishiki’

One of the features of posting regularly on Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day is that you can look back and see what was happening on other years.  I was surprised to see that despite 3 days in the 80′s-90′s a week ago we are still behind most years and way behind last year.  That sounds good to me as I would like Spring to stick around a while.

As usual there are so many things flowering right now that one can afford to be choosy and I’ll ignore the hundreds of daffodils pouring in right now

Daffodil cluster

and the many Hellebores that continue their display both inside and outside.

Hellebores in a bowl

Instead I’ll focus on some of the more unusual gems to be found around the yard and greenhouse.

First up is a Kalmiopsis leachiana.  This is a rarity that I received as a gift this Christmas.  It’s a small relative of the Mountain Laurel that was not discovered until 1930 in a remote part of Oregon.  It’s now the centerpiece for the Kalmiopsis Wilderness in southwestern Oregon.

Kalmiopsis leachiana

We will do our best to keep it happy in Maryland, but I suspect it will not appreciate our hot, humid summers.

Another small delightful evergreen his the Dahphne ‘Lawrence Crocker’.  It flowered last fall but seems quite happy to flower again for springtime.

Daphne ‘Lawrence Crocker’

Another small gem showing the last of its flowers is the dark blue Hepatica.  This was obtain from Seneca Hill Perennials (now closed) and for a time was carried by Plant Delights but I’ve no idea how to find it now.

Hepatica nobilis ‘Lithuanian Blue’

The standard trout lilies (Erythronium americana) are just about finished but the more unusual ones are just coming into bloom.

Erythronium revolutum ‘White Beauty’

Erythronium ‘Pagoda’

The Erythronium Pagodas are mixed with a few Trillium luteum which flower at exactly the same time with their matching yellow petals.

Trillium luteum detail

One of the flowers that I associate with the trout lilies is the bloodroot which always flowers at just about the same time.  Just afterward comes the multiflowered bloodroot which is more spectacular and also lasts longer.

A reliable yellow flower, reflecting the sunshine, is the Tulip tarda.  Those are flowering in the front rock garden at the moment.

Tulipa dasystemon

I was quite taken by the leaves and flowers of the corydalis last year and so we have quite a number of them that are new to us this spring.  One is Corydalis ‘Abant Wine’, another of the solida hybrids.

Corydalis wendelboi ‘Abant Wine’

Our Camellias are mostly flowering now.  Especially nice is Nuccio’s Gem which was added last year.

Camellia ‘Nuccio’s Gem’

The epimedia are all beginning to flower now.  One of our first was gift from the kids and it has masses of flowers at the moment.

Epimedium Grandiflorum ‘Lilac Seedling’ cluster

I need to give some praise to the little Primula kisoana.  Despite the fact that I’ve discovered it’s a bit of a thug in the garden and I had to evict to one of the more diffcult garden areas under the neighbor’s pine tree, when it actually comes into flower it is startlingly colorful.

Primula kisoana

I’ve moved some out to the woods and it’s flowering in a spot where many a previous plant has failed.

I need to share also of couple of shots from the greenhouse where some early forcing of bulbs has been going on.

Dutch Iris ‘Symphony’

Ixia hybrid ‘Buttercup’

The Adonis continues it’s remarkable season of flowering…

Adonis amurensis ‘Sandansaki’

And I will close with the scene that greets me on the way to pick up the paper from the mailbox in the morning.

Magnolia stellata at dawn

Greenhouse panorama

So, as we are nearing the end of the period where frost is a threat for the outdoor plants, it’s worth asking what’s happening in the greenhouse.  Despite fears from some quarters that this would be just an expensive folly, it was merely expensive but not a folly at all.  At least in my plant-centric view of the universe.  I had originally pictured the greenhouse as an opportunity to reproduce the climate of my Southern California upbringing on the east coast.  While it has done that (I kept the minimum temperature at 40 degrees this winter), it has also opened up the whole world of seed exchanges for planting unusual species from around the world.  I’ve joined the North American Rock Garden Society, the Alpine Garden Society, the Scottish Rock Garden Society, the Pacific Bulb Society, and the Species Iris Group of North America, all of which have wonderful seed exchanges for an opportunity to obtain seeds that are not only inexpensive but not generally available in common seed catalogs.  In addition I’ve ordered seed from the Göteborg Botanical Garden in Sweden, Silverhill Seeds in South Africa and from the plant explorer Vojtech Holubec in the Czech Republic.  A total of 155 seed packets have been planted from December through April.  Nearly 70 have germinated so far and just the process has been very interesting.  With the automatic watering and fan with window ventilation, the greenhouse has stayed pretty disease and insect free (I think I sprayed a branch of aphids on the citrus and bougainvillea twice).  Given that it’s open to the outdoors it seems to be less prone to runaway insect problems like I used to get in the basement.  Here’s what the benches look like in a little more detail.

Greenhouse view 1

Greenhouse view 2

Greenhouse view 3, showing purchased plants as well

And then some of the seedlings that are making progress.

Calandrinia (sown Jan 24)

Boechera (Arabis) koehleri (sown Jan 24)

Campanula zangezura (sown Jan 24)

In addition the greenhouse has been used for holding over plants bought for outside planting and some that are indoor plants.  In the latter category was a Babiana that I bought in January from Annie’s Annuals.

Babiana villosa

Interestingly the Babiana that I’ve grown from seed are not all that much smaller than the purchased plant that is now flowering.

Babiana purpea (planted Jan 16)

Some of the other purchased plants are awaiting planting outdoors including a Spring Pasque Flower from Evermay in Maine.

Pusatilla vernalis

A Chinese May Apple and an exquisite Ranuculus from Far Reaches Farm

Podophyllum delavayi

Ranunculus constantinopolitanus ‘Plenus’

And a brilliant Cana from Plant Delights

Cana ‘Orange Punch’

There is also a tray full plants from Thimble Farms in British Columbia, but I can’t show everything

The other really valuable purpose of the greenhouse is to enable frutiing of some of the tropical plants that we’ve had for years.  The Fig has fruit appearing on it now.

Fig (Black Mission)

And the citrus are all growing better than they ever have.  The blossoms on the Naval Orange would seem to predict a goodly number of Oranges next year.

Orange ‘Washington Navel’

Temperatures today are predicted to hit 90 degrees and although the watering system is nominally automatic I’ve found that I need to up the duration of watering as the temperatures rise.  In mid-winter I was watering 10 min every 4 days.  Now it’s 20 min in the morning and 10 min in the late afternoon.

Time to get out to the greenhouse and see what popped up today…

Corydalis solida ‘George Baker’ from Odyssey Bulbs

It looks like the weather girl is finally going to cease her romance with old man winter.  Just less than two weeks ago we had snow covering everything and freezing nighttime temperatures.

Helleborus Ivory Prince in the snow

But now all the usual suspects and then some are emerging from hibernation.  And with temperatures going to the 80′s this week we are going to zip through some of the spring ephemerals that I would like to see linger.  I can’t complain about zipping through the Adonis though.  The first blooms appeared in January and now the first offset runner from the original Adonis has put forth three buds that are in the various states of bloom that illustrate the richness of Adonis amurensis ‘Sandansaki’.

Adonis from above

The new offset is in the lower left of the picture above.

New offset of the Adonis

A. ‘Sandansaki’ in bud

Adonis amurensis ‘Sandansaki’ flowering stage

Adonis ‘Sandansaki’ flower in advanced stage with full lion’s mane

Ok, so it will disappear by May but what a nice four months of bloom!

One of the first things I look for in this season is the Hepaticas with their hairy little buds rising above the soil before opening to bloom.

Hepatica acutifolia

Hepatica acutiloba

There are many variations in Hepaticas, some not so easy to find.  Seneca Hills nursery had some beauties when they were in existence.

Hepatica nobilis large form blue shade

And I got a nice pink form from Hillside nursery two years ago.

Hepatica japonica pink

Just at the same time as the Hepaticas we see the Jeffersonia dubia.  I have two plants one a deeper violet than the other.

Jeffersonia dubia

Of course the lighting for the photo also influences how dark the coloring is.

In terms of dark coloring it is hard to beat Scilla siberica ‘Spring Beauty’.  The cobalt blue on the outside is matched by the blue color on the stamens.

Scilla siberica ‘Spring Beauty’

Spring Beauty stamens

Almost in the same blue realm is the Scillia bifolia which is a charmer in its own right.

Scilla bifolia stamens

We also saw the first of the Bloodroot this week.  Even encountered one in the woods where I had planted it a few years ago.

Every day in the Springtime is worth lingering over…

Draba aizoides

Well it’s Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day for one of the best month’s of the year.  In addition to the daffodils that are starting to appear, there are some really choice additions that are making themselves known on our hillside.  The little Draba shown above has to be sought out but it rewards careful inspection.  It’s among other little plants that claim my attention right now.

The Hepaticas are starting to bloom including one that I got from Seneca Hills when that nursery was still active.

Hepatica nobles blue shade (from Seneca Hills)

And one of the Hepatica japonica seedlings is just beginning to open with what looks like double flowers.

Hepatica japonica seedling

The Adonis continue their flowering with the standard Adonis amurensis.

Adonis amurensis

As well as another bud on the Adonis amurensis ‘Sandansaki’ that is actually an underground runner from the original so I’m pleased to see they are propagating.

Adonis amurensis ‘Sandansaki’

The little Scillas are getting into the act too with the Tubergeniana coming into bloom with their lovely blue veins.

Scilla mischtschenkoana ‘Tubergeniana’

Scilla mischtschenkoana ‘Tubergeniana’

The first of the Anemones is also showing color.

Anemone blanda

And of course crocus are everywhere, including these Ruby Giants.

Crocus tommasinianus ‘Ruby Giant’

It’s late so I’m just going to share a few more flowers and then hit the sack…

Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’

Pulmonaria officinalis (Liverwort)

Fritillaria raddeana

Helleborus x hybridus Goldfinch

Helleborus x hybridus ‘WD Elegance White’

And then finally an illustration of the daffodils that represent spring for so many people.

Narcissus ‘Little Gem’

What’s blooming in your garden?

Lilium maculatum ssp. davuricum f. rebunense

I should take a minute to share my visit to two Carolina nurseries as part of my annual Spring Training trip to Florida.  I stopped at Plant Delights on my way south and then again at Plant Delights and Pine Knot Farms on the way north.  Each time the weather was on the cool side.  In fact on the way south it was a miserable 37 degrees with cold rain falling.  Plant Delights was not nearly so crowded as I’ve seen it on other occasions.  They even had a portable oil fired heater set up just so the people at the checkout stand could work without gloves.

Checkout with oil fired heater to keep frozen hands working.

Portable Oil-fired Heater

But it did mean that I had my pick of the plants.

Checking out at Plant Delights

On my return north I stopped at Plant Delights again and picked up my plants which they had graciously agreed to hold for me over the week (a few more jumped into the car while I was there) and then I went another hour north to the Hellebore Festival at Pine Knot Farms.

Hellebore Festival at Pine Knot Farms

Also at Pine Knot Farms was John Lonsdale who maintains a choice set of unusual plants at his Edgewood Gardens in Pennsylvania.  His website is well worth exploring if you want to indulge in plant lust.  He had brought with him a variety of cyclamen and I had already decided to expand the range of cyclamen that we have so it was a very good fit indeed.

John Lonsdale and his Cyclamen

Some of the many cyclamen that I brought back from John Lonsdale

By the time I got home there were four tubs of plants in my Prius…

At this season the showiest newcomers are probably the Hellebores.

Hellebores brought back from Carolina

Helleborus x ericsmithi ‘HGC Winter’s Song’

Helleborus x hybridus PDN double bicolor

Helleborus x hybridus PDN Yellow

Helleborus x ballardiae ‘HGC Pink Frost’

Helleborus x hybridus ‘Cotton Candy’

Helleborus x ‘Penny’s Pink’

But there were some other very interesting additions as well.  A dwarf Lily from Japan’s Rebun Island which is already in flower at 5 inches high.

Lilium maculatum ssp. davuricum f. rebunense

A nicely detailed version of the table fern

Pteris cretica ‘Korean Petticoat’

A Begonia that might possibly make it outside here with just wonderfully hairy stems and pretty foliage.

Begonia heracleifolia ‘Nigricans’

An interesting old print and description of this “Hog-weed Begonia” is found at a branch of the American Begonia Society.

There is also the very lovely little Viola Dissectas that I picked up from John Lonsdale.  I can think of a lot of places in the garden to tuck in these little beauties.

Viola dissecta

I’ve also started to get very enthusiastic about trying some of the more exotic Oxalis since seeing one in bloom over the holidays in California.  I couldn’t miss the unusual foliage of this Palm-Leaf False Shamrock.  It’s said to be tough to get to flower but with these leaves the flowers would just be a bonus.

Oxalis palmifrons

And while I thought I already had enough Canna in the yard with last year’s planting, I could turn down the vivid orange in this specimen.

Canna ‘Orange Punch’

Finally, I grew up with ice plant in Southern California.  They were everywhere because they grew where many other plants wouldn’t.  We played with them (they squish with lots of water released).  So I have been reluctant to take them up.  Besides in a cold climate they must freeze right?  But apparently they are hardier than I thought and I can now start to image how these little sunlit jewels fit into a rock garden…

Delosperma ‘Rise and Shine’

Anyway, that’s some of what I did on my spring vacation.  Now I’m looking forward to making gardens they can fit into…