Babiana curviscapa
The weather has been crazy cold for us this year. Extended low temperatures beyond recent memory. The ice storms last week left a lot of people without power but we were fortunate in only being out of power for four hours. Actually we were doubly fortunate in being out in California for ten days so we mostly read about the cold weather while we were in our shirtsleeves enjoying the sunshine.
Our place of refuge with this kind of winter has been the greenhouse.
Greenhouse in the snow
From within the greenhouse we can generally count on 60 degrees or more on a sunny day no matter how could it is outside.
Greenhouse on the coldest days
Part of what I’ve been doing in the greenhouse is planting all the seeds from the various seed exchanges I’m involved in (the Scottish Rock Garden Club, The Alpine Garden Society, the North American Rock Garden Society, The Species Iris Group of North America) and some unusual seeds from Alplains in Colorado and The Gothenburg Botanical Garden. I’ve been iterating on the seed mix and the pots that I use, now pretty much tending to 3 1/2 inch pots that are extra deep with a mix of sand, miracle-gro potting mix, and turface. I lay the seeds out on the surface and then cover them with medium sized gravel.
Planting from seed exchanges
So far I’ve planted 97 separate species and cultivars with another 34 in hand for planting. The first ones were put in on January 18th and the draba and dianthus are sprouting. This is an enjoyable part of the season just to see what has popped up each day.
An interesting encounter in the greenhouse a couple of weeks ago came from looking closely at a pot of Herbertia (relatives of Tigridia and Cypella) which seemed to be going very dormant. I was uncertain as to whether the Herbertia tigridioides that I planted last May was actually going dormant or just dying off. When I lifted the pot I noticed a little bulb trying to escape the pot.
Herbertia tigridioides moving outside the pot
When I emptied out the pot I found that not only was the Herbertia not dying but it had grown quite vigorously over the summer.
Herbertia tigridioides
Herbertia tigridioides
Apparently these are bulbs that like to dig themselves in deep. I’ve separated them into several deeper pots and we’ll see how they do with flowering this year.
We’re expecting another 10 inches or so of snow tonight so I may have to content myself with the greenhouse for a while longer. We did get to visit Anza-Borrego while we were in California last week so I will leave with a tidbit from that trip and a promise of more to come.
Arizona Lupine
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day January 2014
Yellow Orchid with Red Markings
It’s not been a January with a lot of flowering outside the house. So for Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day I am leading off with one of the orchids that is astounding inside the house. I counted 32 blossoms and buds on this one this morning. Even the buds are very attractive as it arches over the kitchen counter.
Yellow-red Orchid in bud
But the outside does have a couple of noteworthy elements. In particular thanks to the prodding from Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day (thanks to Carol and Elizabeth Lawrence) I see that the Witch Hazel ‘Diane’ is not only blooming but has been doing so for several days.
Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Diane’
This is the first time Diane has been earlier than the conventional yellow witch hazel in blooming.
There are also many instances of snowdrops blooming about the yard. They are always here for early bloom.
Galanthus elwesii
But the Helleborus niger ‘HGC Jacob’ has been smashed down by the snow and is not very presentable at the moment. And the other Hellebores are all taking there own sweet time to come into bloom. So it’s more fun to contemplate the things about to come into bloom. The Adonis are all above ground and the Cyclamen coum are showing pink buds. A new early flower is the Gymnospermium in the Alpine bed.
Gymnospermium albertii
Nearby is the one of the Saxifrages that is exquisite even without flowers.
Saxifraga paniculata
There are also flowers about to happen in the greenhouse, especially the Ferraria. I have never had Ferraria flowers before so it should be quite interesting to see how these turn out.
Ferraria ferrariola
Of course it wouldn’t be an official posting this winter if I didn’t show one of the Oxalis in bloom. They have been so endlessly rewarding it’s hard to sing their praises high enough.
Oxalis obtusa
It looks like the weather is going to remain seasonal (meaning cold) so it may be a while before anything else jumps into bloom.
Deep Freeze
Frozen Quince
This morning it was 6 degrees when I woke up. That’s about 10 degrees below what I consider acceptable for our location and I mean to write a letter of complaint to the weather gods. It was the biggest challenge that the greenhouse has had to face. Last night as I was watching the greenhouse temperature dip to 36 degrees when the outside temperature had fallen to 11 degrees by 1am I put on my down jacket and carried another heater out to the greenhouse to stabilize the temperature. That seemed to do the trick because the max-min thermometer showed that was as low as the greenhouse temperature got last night. It never got above 16 degrees outside today and we’re headed for another single digit overnight so I just left the supplementary heater in place.
Greenhouse during snowstorm
The greenhouse remains a place of refuge for weather like this. Another oxalis species has come into bloom.
Oxalis simplex
and I even found a ladybug exploring the greenery last week.
Lady bug in the greenhouse in mid-winter
I have no idea what these temperatures will mean for the outdoor plants. Some plants that I have put in have never seen temperatures this low. The evergreens are tightly wrapped up against the cold.
Rhododendron carolinianum
The Rhododendron carolinianum is one of the first to bloom but I think the plant certainly looks stressed at the moment. I’m particularly concerned about the camellias as this is certainly pushing the edge for some of them. Helleborus niger ‘HGC Jacob’ was looking great before the snowstorm last Thursday, but it’s pretty smashed and browned off at this point.
Helleborus niger ‘HGC Jacob’ before the storm
Helleborus niger ‘HGC Jacob’ after the storm and at 6 degrees
At the same time the Lathyrus aureus has popped above the ground and seems completely untroubled by the temperatures.
Lathyrus aureus at 6 degrees
Perhaps I’ll have more promising whispers of spring this weekend when the temperatures are supposed to climb back to the 50’s.
Post-Thanksgiving Delights
Oxalis densa
We came back from a wonderful Thanksgiving in NY to find some more special flowers to celebrate the end of 2013 with. In particular, the oxalis remain delightful with each variety taking it’s turn on stage. The oxalis densa is remarkably compact with very large flowers for the size of the very hairy stems. The back sides of the petals are streaked red so the when the bud is rolled up it’s a bit like an abstract painting.
Oxalis densa showing rolled up bud
Next to it we have the oxalis adenodes which has a wonderful sheen to the petals in the late afternoon light.
Oxalis adenodes
And I cannot shake a fascination with the oxalis purpurea ‘Skar’ which looks so well-formed and colorful in it’s tight little hairy bud.
Oxalis purpurea ‘Skar’
I had two surprises in the greenhouse when I got back from Thanksgiving. Both were from bulb distributions from the Pacific Bulb Society which has a wonderful online database and a very active mailing list. One was Freesia fucata, a cheery white african flower with yellow markings. It’s a small plant overall which makes the flowers that much more remarkable.
Freesia fucata
The second addition to the blooming category was a small Narcissus that would survive outside but would be lost amid all the other flowers of spring time.
Narcissus cantabricus ‘Silver Palace’
In the Greenhouse it gets a full portion of daily appreciation.
At the same time the house had an explosion of Orchid to share with us. Our prettiest cattleya was fully in bloom and it’s scent every bit as good as the velvety texture of the flower.
Cattaleya in full glory
Meanwhile, the outside garden had it’s own surprise. The crocus specious, which I had thought might not even join the bloom party this year, had popped fully open. It is truly a very pretty flower with the stamens having a signature bright orange that contrasts vividly with the purple flower.
Crocus speciosus
Of course that was the first week of December. Since then we’ve had two snows and the back yard looks like this.
After December winter storm
Ever the optimist, I can’t help but wonder what is going on underneath that snow…:)
A Primula Arrives Early to the Party
Primula allionii ‘Wharfdale Ling’ peeking out
I was surprised to see a glint of color in the Alpine bed yesterday. Indeed it was actually a first flower from the exquisite little Primula allionii ‘Wharfdale Ling’. This tiny little primula species is relatively rare in the wild but has been widely propagated and hybridized because of the size and beauty of the flowers for such a small plant. Jim Jermyn has a great write-up on this species and its natural growing conditions. I’ve just finished my seed order for the Scottish Rock Garden Society seed exchange and I’ve included a different Primula allionii selection on my list. This one has the honor of being the first plant to flower in the new alpine bed — months ahead of time.
Early blossom on Primula allionii ‘Wharfdale Ling’
It’s been generally a great week for gardening. Crisp mornings but sunny afternoons. I spent this afternoon cleaning the moss off of pots in the greenhouse. But not before noting that yet another oxalis species had come into flower.
Oxalis densa
Notice the little hairy leaves. The oxalis are all so different. The buds on these are yet another distinctive image — I need to get a picture. Back to the moss, it had really built up on some of the small bulb pots. As it turns out when you use a gravel top dressing the moss just lifts out taking the some of the old gravel with it and doesn’t disturb the underlying bulbs. And then you just replace the gravel.
We took off one day on an excursion looking at garden art at Alden Farms and the unusual plants at Susanna Farms. Many of the items at Susanna Farms were landscaping specimens beyond our price range, but we did come back with two very nice additions.
Rhododendron nakaharai ‘Pink ES’
The fall coloring is just great on this prostrate rhodie. It will be interesting to see how it flowers out in the spring. It’s said the flowers appear at nearly the end of the rhododendron season which would make them very late indeed.
Crytomeria japonica ‘Little Diamond’
We have always liked Cryptomeria. Our biggest one is 30-40 feet high at the back of the yard. This one should stay within the 2-3 ft range.
The garden art visit was equally fun. We met David Therriault, stone designer and walked through his sculptures. He works mostly with salvaged materials and repurposes them into artwork. We saw several pieces that we liked (it’s Beth’s birthday present), but the one which was our favorite seemed to large for the new garden that we’ve built this fall. However, when we came home it seemed like it could fit after all. To check our perceptions I photoshopped a copy of the sculpture into place, and indeed, we think it fits.
Garden without totem
Garden with Totem
This is all part of our growing love for stone of all sorts. We went to the local stone dealer yesterday and came home with some very pretty pieces from their loose rubble. It’s like buying plants except you don’t have to water them…
Stone with character
Silverlake strip
Emmitsburg-Brown
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day for November 2013
Camellia sasanqua – red
As is traditional for this time of year the red fall camellia leads the parade of things that are always in flower now. For Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day one can see the progress of the seasons and by looking back to previous years to see how this year compares to previous years. I find that because our weather has been so dry we actually fewer of the old favorites in flower now. The pineapple sage is an exception as it is still flowering up a storm in the herb garden.
Pineapple Sage
It truly does smell like pineapple when you crush the leaves.
Fortunately there are some newcomers to fill in the flowering gap. The new Mahonia that we’ve put in the extended Peony bed is a real winner.
Mahonia eurybracteata ‘Soft Caress’
Both flowers and foliage are exceptional. I hope this one gets through the winter ok because it looks very nice from the kitchen window.
I gave Beth a couple of choice little daphne’s for her birthday. Here is one of them in flower.
Daphne collina x cneorum
Of course it has the fragrance that you would expect from a daphne, but this one should only get about 15 inches high when it becomes a grown-up.
A surprising flower that came out of the Rock Garden Society seed exchange is this little Rock Cress.
Rock cress – yellow
This doesn’t match the seed package title so I’m not sure of the true identity. It seems to be happy to flower even with frost though.
Another plant that seems to be defying the season is a very tiny Vitaliana primuliflora in the Large Trough.
Vitaliana primuliflora
Barely visible with the naked eye this one flower is way ahead of all it’s neighbors. The whole plant is about the size of a baby’s hand. Another name for this plant is the ‘Golden Primrose’.
My greatest flowering pleasure for the moment is coming from the greenhouse. I walked in a few days ago to see a little Lachenalia in bloom and I hadn’t even seen it coming.
A Fall Flower surprise – Lachenalia longituba
The lachenalia was nice treat but the oxalis have been a daily bonus. I have to thank Diana Chapman of Telos Rare Bulbs for introducing me to the wonderful world of oxalis.
Oxalis bowieii in profusion
They are frightfully easy and continually in flower. One after another each variety has been interesting to observe as they untwist their flowers to open for the sunlight and then close at night.
Oxalis versicolor in tight bud
Oxalis versicolor in bud
Oxalis versicolor open
Oxalis flava – yellow
Oxalis purpurea ‘Skar’ in bud
Oxalis pupurea ‘Cherry’
There are more varieties to come — and they are all delightful.
Turning of the Season
Colchicum autumnale ‘Pleniflorum’
We’ve had our first killing frost right on schedule — October 25th. However, it just barely hit the most tender plants and many others are enjoying the extended nice weather we’ve had since then. Especially the Colchichum that I planted in the revived wildflower bed.
Cochicum autumnale ‘Byzantium’
I’ve been able to get in some delightful gardening outside including planting some of our bulb order in the new garden (daffodils, corydalis, erythroniums, scilla, and chionodoxa). I also put some Chiliean crocus in the alpine bed. It was an opportune time to do some transplanting too. I put in a Virginia Waterleaf that I had been saving up for the last six months.
Virginia Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum)
This is a very interesting looking plant just for the leaves but the pictures on the internet promise very pretty flowers as well.
I continue to be fascinated by the Oxalis which are flowering in the greenhouse right now.
A profusion of Oxalis bowiei blooms
I have to thank Diana Chapman of Telos Rare Bulbs for alerting me to the interesting variety in Oxalis bulbs.
Oxalis bowiei from the back
Oxalis hirta ‘Gothenburg’
Oxalis hirta ‘Gothenburg’
Oxalis hirta
Oxalis luteola ‘Glauca’ MV 5567
Oxalis luteola ‘Glauca’ MV 5567
I have seen aphids attacking the Oxalis, but I’ve also seen some natural protection.
Crab spider waiting for visitors to the Oxalis
On a warm afternoon I also found many Ladybird Beetles trying to get into the greenhouse (it’s not hard, they just need to find the open windows).
Ladybird beetle on outside greenhouse
There were perhaps fifty on the outside looking for a warm place to spend the winter. I helped many of them out. And in return they were busy in the greenhouse.
Ladybird beetle scarfing up tiny aphids in the greenhouse
I’ve also noticed a Praying Mantis eggcase in the greenhouse which is a nice sign for next spring.
It’s Spring Again!
Bowie’s Wood Sorrel (Oxalis bowiei)
Well, it is spring in South Africa anyway where this Oxalis comes from. I’m finding the rebirth of many South African bulbs is reproducing springtime in my greenhouse. I was originally a little anxious about how to treat the many little bulbs which prefer a truly dry summer rather than Maryland’s hit or miss summer — sometimes we get bucket-loads of rain and sometimes none. Since my greenhouse is programmed to rain 2-4 times a day it was clearly the wrong place for things that were dormant. So I ended up just taking most of the pots to the basement for the summer (it’s a fairly dry basement). To be honest, I thought that many of the plants had just plain died as opposed to going dormant. And for the summer dormant bulbs that arrived last summer, I just let them sit in the box they arrived in.
On September 4, I decided spring would officially start for these plants. I brought the pots out of the basement and put them in the greenhouse and I potted up the many Oxalis that had arrived along with Ferraria, Lachenalia, Albucca, Zephyranthes, Tulbaghia, and Cyrtanthus (Let me put in a shameless plug for the Pacific Bulb Society, which has been the source many bulbs at this point. They have a very active bulb exchange with a wide variety of bulbs and seeds). It has been wonderful to see how rapidly the bulbs responded to water. Just about everything that I took to the basement with deep foreboding has come back in style. And all the new little oxalis bulbs are growing rapidly, though none more so than the Wood Sorel pictured at the intro to this posting. It’s acting like it’s late for the flower awards and wants to get its bid in early. The giant shamrock leaves provide a pretty backdrop for the flowers.
Oxalis Bowiei & friends
I’ve been delighted to see things sprouting again and I’m more than charmed by the Oxalis. The leaves are very different in each species and in some cases would justify growing them even without the flowers. Diana Chapman of Telos Rare Bulbs (the source of a number of these Oxalis) makes this point with regard to Oxalis lava in one of her Bulb Maven postings.
Oxalis flava yellow
Oxalis palmifrons (from Plant Delights) is another with wonderfully interesting leaves and apparently delightful flowers if you can get them to show up.
Oxalis palmifrons
But they all seem to bring something to the party as they are sprouting out.
Oxalis hirta
Oxalis purpea
Oxalis luteola Glauca
Notice the hairy undersides and red coloring to the backs of the Oxalis luteola leaves.
As an example of the plants that were banished to the basement for the summer, the various Babianas grown from seed are all coming back and this must resemble there appearance in the wild as they return from the dry summers.
Babiana stricta
The Ixia was not grown from seed, but it seems to have multiplied ten-fold over the summer dormancy so I should end up with more bulbs to share after the next dormancy.
Ixia hybrid ‘Buttercup’
This is what the flower looked like last Spring
Ixia hybrid ‘Buttercup’
Happy South African Spring Everyone!