raked the litter off the front garden and found sieberi in bloom everywhere-as the years pass i like the little bulbs more and more- other than their beauty and their earliness the reason is that i grow them mixed in the beds, the first of may when the beds seem to be full of drying grass i wonder if even the tinies are worth it, then in a week or two the perennials have covered the evidence and all is well-the foliage of the larger things-narcissus, hybrid tulips- never seems to go away-in midsummer there the wretched evidence is for all to see -usually right in the middle of something otherwise perfect-the weather continues fine-the sky so blue and pure that laying on my back i feel as though i am falling upward
four inches of snow last night and light snow all day-every branch and twig bears its light burden-the air utterly still-under the snow spring continues to work -when it melts -perhaps only a few days away-where only dozens bloomed yesterday there will be hundreds-the species tulips have peeked above the ground-both because of their nature and their location-north side of the house-they will be the last to bloom just at the end of spring
yesterdays snow is melting before another storm comes in tomorrow. everyone is hoping the storms we didn't have in winter will come in spring. took out an amelanchier alnifolia-the last survivor of a different garden idea . i would have left it-it's enormous-but it is blocking the humulus aurea and the vitis purpurea that are at the center of a new scheme-isn't scheme a great word almost as though we are in a conspiracy to bend mother nature to our will, but then we are, aren't we? The vitis will have a clematis warsaw nike twining through it, the humulus a julia carrnevon- i see them as impossibly opulent. the plantinf also contains gold elder, gold variegated elder, buddleja dartmoor and rosa hugonis-the possibilities i think are for grandeur but--maybe not-comments would be appreciated
is there anything-other of course than a fast compost heap-which makes a gardener feel more godlike than propagation? whether seeds or cuttings, reality and lets face it good sense go out the window in the lust of creation. in a time of small gardens how many of one thing does one need-a dozen rosa nevada-certainly-two dozen buddleja alternifolia-why not? flats of this , rows of that and one day you realize-where will all these orphans go? friends who congratulate themselves on their adventurousness when they add a flat of zinnias to their regular marigolds and petunias gaze on my gifts with suspicion verging on panic-well there it is, the burden has been passed-on their heads be it
with spring near no matter what the thermometer says vigorous root growth will be starting on the plants that make great root cuttings. if you have an extra(or an old) eryngium or anchusa, or any other strappy, tappy rooted plant-jackpot. loosen the soil all the way around and gently lift from one side, cut the white, vigorous roots so that you will have pieces about an inch long. pot them into damp medium fine sand put them in a cool, shady place- in a month or less you should see little nubbins-is that a tautology-are there big nubbins? once growth appears handle as usual.
i live north of watford (!) and our crocuses have been in flower for the last 2 or 3 weeks now!! also, i had my first daffodil blooming 5 weeks ago but then it got hit by the first lot of snow. my second and third daffodils then got sideswiped by the second lot of snow! and today, i saw my first painted lady, luckily my wallflower 'bowles mauve' has flowers on it!! mild weather indeed!!
winter has returned to reno 5 feet of snow in the sierras cold and windy here in the valley. the day before last weeks snow a clump(more than 20 blossoms)of crocus aurea was blooming-supposed to be in the 60s on sat- great clumps of hellebore foetidus are ready to flower-spring isnt really here because the wonderful limy green that everywhere announces the season has yet to appear- bowles mauve is not reliably hardy here although other wallflowers seed around and about
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raked the litter off the front garden and found sieberi in bloom everywhere-as the years pass i like the little bulbs more and more- other than their beauty and their earliness the reason is that i grow them mixed in the beds, the first of may when the beds seem to be full of drying grass i wonder if even the tinies are worth it, then in a week or two the perennials have covered the evidence and all is well-the foliage of the larger things-narcissus, hybrid tulips- never seems to go away-in midsummer there the wretched evidence is for all to see -usually right in the middle of something otherwise perfect-the weather continues fine-the sky so blue and pure that laying on my back i feel as though i am falling upward
four inches of snow last night and light snow all day-every branch and twig bears its light burden-the air utterly still-under the snow spring continues to work -when it melts -perhaps only a few days away-where only dozens bloomed yesterday there will be hundreds-the species tulips have peeked above the ground-both because of their nature and their location-north side of the house-they will be the last to bloom just at the end of spring
yesterdays snow is melting before another storm comes in tomorrow. everyone is hoping the storms we didn't have in winter will come in spring. took out an amelanchier alnifolia-the last survivor of a different garden idea . i would have left it-it's enormous-but it is blocking the humulus aurea and the vitis purpurea that are at the center of a new scheme-isn't scheme a great word almost as though we are in a conspiracy to bend mother nature to our will, but then we are, aren't we? The vitis will have a clematis warsaw nike twining through it, the humulus a julia carrnevon- i see them as impossibly opulent. the plantinf also contains gold elder, gold variegated elder, buddleja dartmoor and rosa hugonis-the possibilities i think are for grandeur but--maybe not-comments would be appreciated
Hello David,
You're painting such lovely pictures with your words. Is there any chance of you adding some photos to this thread? It all sounds very picturesque.
Emma
gardenersworld.com team
at the moment i am technologically disabled but will try pictures in the future
is there anything-other of course than a fast compost heap-which makes a gardener feel more godlike than propagation? whether seeds or cuttings, reality and lets face it good sense go out the window in the lust of creation. in a time of small gardens how many of one thing does one need-a dozen rosa nevada-certainly-two dozen buddleja alternifolia-why not? flats of this , rows of that and one day you realize-where will all these orphans go? friends who congratulate themselves on their adventurousness when they add a flat of zinnias to their regular marigolds and petunias gaze on my gifts with suspicion verging on panic-well there it is, the burden has been passed-on their heads be it
with spring near no matter what the thermometer says vigorous root growth will be starting on the plants that make great root cuttings. if you have an extra(or an old) eryngium or anchusa, or any other strappy, tappy rooted plant-jackpot. loosen the soil all the way around and gently lift from one side, cut the white, vigorous roots so that you will have pieces about an inch long. pot them into damp medium fine sand put them in a cool, shady place- in a month or less you should see little nubbins-is that a tautology-are there big nubbins? once growth appears handle as usual.
i live north of watford (!) and our crocuses have been in flower for the last 2 or 3 weeks now!! also, i had my first daffodil blooming 5 weeks ago but then it got hit by the first lot of snow. my second and third daffodils then got sideswiped by the second lot of snow! and today, i saw my first painted lady, luckily my wallflower 'bowles mauve' has flowers on it!! mild weather indeed!!
winter has returned to reno 5 feet of snow in the sierras cold and windy here in the valley. the day before last weeks snow a clump(more than 20 blossoms)of crocus aurea was blooming-supposed to be in the 60s on sat- great clumps of hellebore foetidus are ready to flower-spring isnt really here because the wonderful limy green that everywhere announces the season has yet to appear- bowles mauve is not reliably hardy here although other wallflowers seed around and about
David, here are some daffodils blooming on St. David's day (Mar1st) in the south west in the Bristol Botanic garden.