Posts Tagged 'trees'

Crocus chrysanthus ‘Ard Shenk’

Well, I’m one day late on celebrating Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day.  But the flowers were there in any case.  Let us begin by celebrating the little white crocus that are splashed about the lawn.  I normally take February 21 as my first crocus date and also when catchers and pitchers report for baseball’s spring training in Florida.  But the baseball is beginning early this year and so are the crocus.  It’s appropriate that this very early crocus is the first of the year.  It’s namesake was one of Holland’s great speed skaters.

I really have to return to one of the standards for this time of year in citing the Witch Hazels.  It seems to me that they are having a great spring.  The long straps seem to be impervious to cold snaps and shine yellow against the blue sky on sunny day.

Witch hazel (Hamamelis mollis) from below

Witch hazel (Hamamelis mollis)

Witch hazel (Hamamelis mollis) close-up

There’s also the spectacular strong red in Diane, a Witch Hazel hybrid.  This is a small shrub at the moment but it’s growing strongly and I think it will qualify as a tree before long…

Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Diane’

Out in the front yard our winter aconite continues to thrive.  Since I’ve observed they have spread to the other side of the yard I think I’m going to grab some seeds this year and see if I can aid the process.  Everyone should grow these little droplets of sunshine.

Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis)

I was pleased to see that even the Primrose is getting into the act.  The first blossom has come forth from our collection of common English Primrose.

First Primrose (Primrose vulgaris)

And of course snowdrops are popping up everywhere.  What’s not to like about a plant that can flower for more than a month at this most unseasonable of times.

Galanthus nivalis ‘Floro Pleno’

Oh, and it multiplies too…

Finally the Adonis continue in bloom.  Think of Buttercups on steroids with much prettier foliage to boot…

Many flower buds on Adonis amurensis ‘Fukujukai’

And then there are the Hellebores, but they are worthy of a post all by themselves.  Now what’s blooming in your garden?

50 year-old pine tree uprooted the deer fence

It has been almost 2 weeks since Hurricane Sandy ripped through a good part of the east coast, including our little hillside.  Given the difficulties that many have faced with loss of homes and struggles for power and services our own difficulties pale in comparison.  Nonetheless there has been an impact.  Not the least of which was the loss of internet for 5 days, which slowed my abilities to report on the storm, but it was compounded by viral bronchial infection that hit both of us — hard — for about 10 days.  Fortunately the good folks at Comcast came through in the end and a local contractor repaired the roof damage very quickly.  Also, thanks to Chris and Kevin, the same young guys that installed our deer fence, we have the deer fence intact again.

We were without power for only about 4 1/2 hours when the storm first hit.  And given the way the trees were uprooted along our street it could have been much worse.

About 100 yds along our road a fallen tree in the forest knocked out power and internet cables

We live about 1 mile from the Monocacy River and the state highway bridge across the river was really not far above the water.

Monocacy River was well over its banks

In addition to the 50 year-old pine in our neighbor’s yard that came down in the storm without hitting either house, we lost the 35 year-old sugar maple that has regularly been a feature of our comments on fall color.

Sugar Maple toppled by the storm

Numerous white pines in the forest and pasture were felled or broken off halfway up by the storm.

Fallen Giants

Fallen White Pines in the windbreak

Many breaks were halfway up the tree

Losing these trees along the windbreak gives one a whole different impression about what the descriptor ‘windbreak’ might really mean.  All the white pines were planted back in 1976 from seedling trees from the Maryland Forest Service.

On the good side of the ledger the greenhouse, newly constructed, withstood the storm with flying colors.  We are beginning to feel healthy again.  The repairs have been made.  We have a new semi-shade garden spot where the neighboring pine used to starve other plants for light and water.

Restored Deer Fence

And some more firewood…

Remains of Sugar Maple

The fall, despite the storm, remains remarkably mild.  I have seen viburnum and azaleas beginning to flower.  Even the spring blooming camellias are beginning to put out blossoms.

Double Camellia showing spring bloom

And the Geranium hybrid ‘Rozanne’ is just a non-stop flowering wonder…

Geranium ‘Rozanne’

And with that I will close just counting our blessings, including four more years with president who doesn’t believe that 47% of the population can be dismissed just because they weren’t born into wealth…

Iris enseta 'Agripinella'

It’s appropriate to begin another Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day with another Iris.  They have been really rewarding this year.  We seem to go from one outstanding Iris species to another.  Even the ensatas do not finish the Iris crowd, there’s another nice hybrid waiting in the wings.

Of course what June is really about is the lilies.  The Asiatics have been flowering all around the yard, but now the big guys are starting to weigh in.

Golden Trumpet Lily

I’m not sure which one this is.  I used to think it was Luxor but now I’ve figured out this is not any kind of Asiatic hybrid and I can’t seem to locate it in my records.  It stands at least 7-8 feet tall and has a pure golden hue with many blossoms.

And then there are the pseudo-lilies.

Alstroemeria 'Sweet Laura'

The Alstroemeria are well represented in our yard by Sweet Laura which not only lives over the winter here but multiplies and competes well with other strong growing perennials.

Some other harbingers of summer are the Rudbeckia and Butterfly weed.

Rudbeckia 'Prairie Sun'

Asclepias tuberosa 'Hello Yellow'

On the bank near the drive the crownvetch and perennial pea are competing to smother the weeds.

Pennsylvania crownvetch

Perrenial Pea (Lathyrus latifolius)

These guys were intentionally planted but for some people they might constitute weeds.

In addition to the flowers we have moved on from a bumper crop of strawberries to an excess of blueberries.

Blueberries

Finally, I need to take note of the Stewartia which is covered with flowers right now.

Stewartia japonica flower

I think it waits for the early flowering trees to be done so that it can strut its stuff in private.

I hope this blooming day finds your garden growing like ours — always one step ahead but inspiring us to catch up…

Iris tectorum

The Japanese Roof Iris is actually from China where it is widely distributed.  It is just finishing blooming and GBBD seems an appropriate time to take note of it.  It’s many bearded cousins are in full bloom right now and we have many different varieties — all with that delightful iris fragrance.  We’ve failed to weed them at all this year and they have simply blithely grown up right through the weeds.

One of many bearded Iris

As I noted in my previous post the herbaceous peonies are fully engaged right now.  None more spectacular for us than ‘Honey Gold’ as it recovered from this morning’s rain.

Peony 'Honey Gold'

The other group of flowers that is busting out right now are the roses.  We’ve never had so many happening at once.  The knockout Roses are just that and several of the David Austins are also in gear.

David Austin Rose 'Charlotte'

It was way too long a day for me to note all the flowers in bloom right now (I finally finished planting all the perennials that I had bought in various places) but just a few still worth mentioning.  The Persian Cornflower (Centaurea dealbata) is a delightful strong grower in full sun.  It makes a nice companion to the more common Centaureas.

Persian Corn Flower (Centaurea dealbata)

Years ago we planted Tradescantia that we obtained from White Flower Farm.  It has easily spread to various places in the yard and the flowers are always welcome.  The plants fit well with iris and day lilies and they are very hardy.

Spider Wort (Tradescantia)

Another strongly colored perennial is the Baptisia, in this case ‘Purple Smoke’.

Baptisia 'Purple Smoke'

Looking out over the yard the Kousa Dogwood fully claims one’s attention right now — though it’s best seen from above.

Kousa Dogwood

And then finally a couple of wildflowers to wind up this posting.  One of my favorites as a transplanted californian is the lovely California Poppy.  It’s persisted for about 5 years now after an initial wildflower planting.

California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)

And along side the poppies are Mexican Evening Primrose (which look very poppy-like themselves).  They are also a result of the same wildflower mix and at this point, like the California Poppies, simply reseed themselves.

Evening Primrose (Oenothera speciosa)

If you have enjoyed these flowers I suggest visiting May Dreams Gardens, the central site for Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day, to see what other gardens are growing…

Adonis amurensis

The first Adonis showed up well ahead of time.  In fact, this picture is from a week ago.  I’ve been on vacation in Florida for the past week and I had been intending to post these images that were taken before I left.  We’re on the plane for home tonight and a thoroughly wintry forecast implies that all the flowers that were showing before we left are going to have to withstand a very cold night.  But getting back to last week, the Adonis is one of our chief harbingers of spring.  Think giant buttercup that is very well behaved.  I don’t know why these are so hard to find but they are.  This particular plant came from Blanchette Gardens near Boston.  And I’ve order two more for this spring from British Columbia (Fraser’s Thimble Farms).  We have two other Adonis in slightly different locations.  One is barely showing (I think it got nipped by cold weather) and the other shows some damage, again probably cold weather because Adonis are not really animal targets.

Adonis fukujukai with bud coming

Even though I see some damage to the tips of the blossoms and stamens I’m very pleased to see that there is another bud coming up beside the first so THEY ARE SPREADING.  This is very good indeed.  Of course we’re a long way from the huge bank of Adonis that they have at Winterthur.

I’m running out of time before the plane comes but here are a few other plants that were blooming nicely before we left last week.

Lungwort (Pulmonaria)

Algerian Iris (Iris unguicularis)

This is a repeat for this very early iris thus confirming what others have said about this being a repeat bloomer.

Helleborus MG Apricot in bud

I’ve also noticed a lot of hellebore seedlings.  There is apparently no problem with propagation in the hellebore camp.

Helleborus seedlings

Witch hazel (Hamamelis mollis)

Standard Pink Camellia

yellow species crocus

And then finally here’s how the deer fence looked as we finished the garden side.

Deer fence complete next to garden

Next week I hope that the guys are able to enclose the rest…

Hepatica nobilis 'Lithuanian blue'

Well it is an April Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day and as you might expect there are a plethora of flowers to choose from in reporting what is blooming.  This is the crossover point between the smaller spring ephemerals, the bulk of the Tulips and Daffodils, and the major flowering trees and shrubs.  There is no way that I’m going to enumerate everything that is blooming today and I’m not going to repeat some of beauties I’ve reported on recently.  Instead I’m going to single out some of the most photogenic of the lot and that is, of course, a very subjective filtering.

The little gems are well represented, not only by the Hepatica above but by the following.

Jeffersonia dubia

Anemone lipsiensis

Rue Anemone (Anemonella thalictroides)

First Epimedium in flower

Trillium pusillum ‘Roadrunner’

That is my absolute favorite Trillium.

A particularly rewarding little guy is the White Trout Lily which we had never succeeded with before.

Erythronium 'White Beauty'

I don’t want to ignore the Daffodils and Tulips.

Tulip 'Portland'

This one sits just outside the backdoor.  And out in the front yard is a wonderful display of Tulip tarda.

Tulip Tarda display

Tulip tarda

Daffodil cluster in the front yard

A particularly nice double daffodil

Two of the classic flowering trees have started — our double white cherry and the volunteer dogwood by the front porch.

Double Flowering Cherry

Flowering Dogwood

And for shrubs it’s hard not to mention the Spirea at the back of the garage or the Flowering Quince beside the garage.

Spiraea thunbergii ‘Ogon’

Chaenomeles 'Toyo Nishiki'

It’s also true that some things look almost as good before the buds open.

Viburnum carlesi

Glaucidium palmatum

Virginia Bluebell in bud

And as a final mention I should note that some of the Camellia flowers are getting full enjoyment in the house including this giant single.

Big single pink Camellia

The fall leaves dominate the backyard and flowers are scarce

Well this November Bloom Day finds us with a limited number of flowers and a powerful number of brilliant fall leaves.  We have had an extended sunny autumn with many of the plants making a comeback as they (falsely) assume that the cold weather will never get any worse than the 28 degrees that we’ve seen now and then this fall.  It’s been altogether a great time for fall bulb planting (all completed this week), garden chores (never complete), and photography.

The few flowers that let us still claim this as bloom day are the Gallardia, some random snapdragons, a few bedraggled salvia, and some very nice little Calendula.

Gallardia grandiflora 'Arizona Sun'

There are a few other sources of flowers besides the perennials though.  In the pasture the dandelions have had a rebirth and I’ve also seen the Yellow Toadflax showing it’s cute little butter and eggs flowers.

Yellow Toadflax (Linaria vulgaris)

Another plant that persists in flowering beyond all reasonable expectations is the Loropetalum.  I first saw this plant in a posting from Les at A Tidewater Gardener.  It has already grown rapidly from 1 gallon plant this spring to a fairly decent sized shrub with pretty fuschia flowers that have strap-like petals.  The question will be how it survives our winters.   Stay tuned…

Loropetalum

Strap-like flowers on the Loropetalum

One other source of flowers are the plants we’ve brought inside in pots.  A particularly lovely violet shade is on the bougainvillea which is happily flowering (or what passes for flowering on a bougainvillea) in the basement.

Violet Bougainvillea

The various grasses have yielded their seed heads, some more colorful than others.  I couldn’t help noticing the fine scale of the pink muhly grass since Beth has brought several stalks into the house.

Pink Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris)

But the real color of the season is the leaves.  Everywhere you look there are various shades of leaves doing their thing.  The gigantic Red Maple in the backyard has turned a vivid yellow this year.  And it contrasts nicely with the other maples.

Red Maple with yellow fall leaves

Depending upon the light in the morning or evening the outline of the Japanese Maple leaves against the sky can also be quite artistic.

Japanese maple leaves in outline

The japanese maple leaves are also quite persistent as we move toward winter.

Speaking of persistency, one of my favorite trees in the forest is the American Beech.  The leaves turn from golden to a warm brown shade and last well into the winter.

Beech leaves

Although they stand out even in a mixed forest, if you can find them in a grove setting it can be perfectly wonderful.   We have one such grove along one of the trails at the Worthington Farm, a part of the Monocacy National Park.  It is a delightful, almost mythic place, at any time of year.  But in the fall it really comes alive with golden yellow-brown.  Seek such a grove out and treasure it.

American Beech (Fagus grandiflora) in forest grove

Go to May Dreams Gardens for other Garden Bloggers Bloom Day posts…

Cosmos bipinnatus 'Sensation'

We’ve been just missing predicted frost the last few nights but I think this may well have been the last of the frost-free nights.  It’s hard to complain because the average date for first frost in our area is October 25th but I thought that nature was trying to make amends for the disastrous summer growing season with high temps and no rainfall.  We’ve had a lovely October and the vegetables that I, with only the faintest of hope of success, planted in the dregs of early August has been yielding in abundance.

Late Fall harvest

Everything is growing as though the parched summer was only a distant memory and it does help rekindle my enthusiasm.

Fall lettuce

It’s quite unusual for us to have squash this time of year because it’s usually long gone to the squash borers by now.

Summer Squash

In addition to the green beans which are doing nicely, the original planting of Swiss Chard went right through the drought as though it were no problem at all and the small patch has been flourishing this fall.

Swiss Chard

This wonderful fall weather has brought out the color for some of the trees and shrubs.  It’s always amazing to see the variety of colors and forms that jump to the camera at this time of year.  Let’s start with the Amur Maple that provides the backdrop for the MacGardens header.

Amur Maple (Acer ginnala)

This is a reliable treasure with consistent strong reds and golds on small leaves that flutter in the wind.

Another really strong red is the Sour Gum that grows wild in the second pasture.

Sour Gum (Nyssa sylvatica)

It always colors up pretty early compared to a lot of the trees.

Sour Gum leaves

We also have a lot of wild sassafras that has pretty nice oranges and yellows in trees that line the pasture.

Sassafras

In the same area we have a lot of Bigtooth Aspen that not only color up nicely but flutter their leaves in the wind in a gentle whispering characteristic of the Aspens.

Bigtooth Aspen (Populus grandidentata)

Of course you can’t go anywhere on our property without noticing the dogwoods, both wild and planted, that have to be one of the all time best four-season plants.

Dogwood (Cornus florida)

A couple of standout favorites for fall leaves are the Sweet Gum and the Sugar Maple.

Backlit Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua)

The Sweet Gum is one of the first trees that we planted when we moved here 35 years ago.  Followed only shortly afterwards by the Sugar Maple.

Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum)

Finally a treasure at the bottom of the pasture is a pair of Pecans that color up very nicely in a good year.  They always look very nice against the backdrop of White Pines that form that part of our boundary.

Pecan (Carya illinoinensis)

Of course they look pretty nice with just the sky as a backdrop as well…

Top of Pecan