More Spring Blooms

I have a very pretty clump of daffodils that have been in a shady bed in my garden since I was a little kid. They don't tend to bloom every year; more like every other year. I will never know why (maybe it is the shade) but when they do bloom they are very beautiful. This year the clump made 7 flowers for me.

This brooding black Iris is the darkest one I have ever seen. I just bought it a couple weeks ago. The first two flowers have opened, and as they are squished together, they just look like a mass of black petals. Hopefully I will get a better photo sometime.

Pulsatilla aurea is an alpine Pasqueflower species. The leaves are lacier and less-hairy than is typical, and it has greyish yellow, smaller flowers than other types. Quite a little novelty I think.

Many of the trees in my yard are flowering now, including this chokecherry, which a friend of the family gave us many years ago as a little cutting. Now it is a huge tree, at least 15 feet tall.

Finally we have Pulsatilla vulgaris, the most commonly-seen and grown Pasqueflower species. Its velvety purple flowers never fail to impress.

Meconopsis x sheldonii

Meconopsis, or blue Himalayan poppies, are one of my favorite perennials. It doesn't get any bluer than this. In case you have yet to see one in person, the photo doesn't lie: they are true sky blue. The unfortunate thing about these magnificent plants is that they tend to be monocarpic in my climate, meaning they die after they flower. In cooler, more humid climates, they will live for 20 or more years, flowering year after year. The M. x sheldonii that I pictured in bloom last year I had bought the year before, and it died after it flowered. This new one I recently purchased in flower, and I am going to plant it in full shade, in the coolest spot in my garden, to see if I can get it to survive. I also bought a smaller M. grandis that should bloom next year.

Reptiles of the Garden

Arisaema sikokianum (top) is commonly known as dragon arum, dragonroot, Japanese Jack-in-the-pulpit, and snow rice-cake plant. It is likely the showiest of all the Arisaema species, shown here in its variegated form. The last two photos are of a wonderful Arisaema species that I just acquired today: A. kiushianum, or cobra lily. It is oone of the species with the long tongues - simply astounding.

A Study on Cypripedium Hybrids

Of late, Cyp hybrids have been all the rage with hardy orchid afficinados. According to the lucky Cyp growers who have had much experience with many of these hybrids, they are more robust, more vigorous, easier to grow and have larger flowers than the species. Over the next couple seasons I will do a direct comparison between Cyp. Emil (parviflorum x calceolus, top) and Cyp pubescens (bottom). Both had just one blooming size shoot last year and are growing next to each other. The Emil this year has four shoots, two blooming sized, while the pubescens has just one blooming size shoot, same as last year. I will update my readers on this weekly.

Dodecatheon 'Aphrodite' x meadia

Dodecatheon 'Aphrodite' is a recently-introduced cultivar of shooting star (I believe it is a hybrid between meadia and pulchellum or something like that) which has much larger flowers and is more vigorous than any of the species. This plant here is something I had previously never seen before: a hybrid between 'Aphrodite' and meadia. I just bought it last week. Hybrid Dodecatheons are rarely offered! This one so far lacks the large size of the 'Aphrodite' parent, but perhaps that will change as it ages. It is a pretty robust plant, has attractive leaves, and the flowers somehow seem more dainty and colorful than meadia. I'm happy!

New Plants for the Season

I have been lucky enough over the past few days to acquire a number of plants that I've been eyeing for the past few years. I will be showing them off over the next few days.

Corydalis lutea (top) is the seldom-offered yellow corydalis species (the most common corydalis species are blue-flowered, and the popular C. solida is pink to red-flowered). It is quite different from more familiar corydalis varieties, with smoother-cut foliage resembling columbine leaves.

Sanguinaria canadensis f. multiplex (second) is the rare double form of the beautiful native woodland plant, bloodroot (S. canadensis), so named for the red-colored liquid contained within the roots. I find it rather resembles water lilies, and the foliage makes the plant attractive even when not in bloom. They bloom early in the spring.

Pulsatilla 'Papageno' (third) is actually not a new plant; it is in its second year now in my garden. A delightful Pasqueflower variety, it is the first plant to bloom in my garden this year.

The last photo depicts my favorite iris: Iris germanica 'Chivalry', which I have been eyeing at local greenhouses for a few years and I finally bought it last week. It has the most gorgeous shade of blue, and it produces up to 8 flowers per stem. The flowers are also very large and have a wonderful fragrance.

Coldframe Pleasures

The Cyp pubescens I have been posting about over the past few weeks has pretty much opened its flowers now (all of those Cyps are now in the coldframe). It is pictured in the first pic. The Arisaema sikokianum that has been accompanying the Cyps is also in the coldframe (second pic) and is almost totally opened. The next two photos are of a Cyp 'Gisela' that I just purchased today (not the one I have been picturing - it is darker and is still far from blooming). I very much like this variation and it is a very robust plant. the last photo is of a very uncommon Dodecatheon species, D. dentatum (dentate shooting star). The white-flowered species are always harder to get, and this one also has unique foliage and, as you can see, much shorter stems.

Spring is Here - Finally...

...and I have been shopping! The bottom three photos show some of the plants I have bought so far, which are currently residing in the coldframe so they can be hardened off before I plant them. Pictured are Iris hookeri, Dicentra 'Candy Hearts', and a bunch of different plants in a group photo. Iris hookeri is sometimes regarded as a variety of the dwarf I. setosa. Dicentra 'Candy Hearts' is a great new variety that I almost like more than 'King of Hearts', my old favorite. In particular I bought a number of lilies, though they are not pictured.

The potted Cyps and Arisaema are outside now (at least during the day); pictured are Arisaema sikokianum (second photo) Cyp. parviflorum var. pubescens (third photo) and Cyp passerinum (top photo). The latter I just purchased a few days ago. It is in bud and I am very excited; these are difficlut to get.

More Cyp Progress!

I am very excited now as the Cyp pubescens (top) reveals 2 flower buds. The Cyp. 'Gisela' (middle) is really coming along too. Not a Cyp, but Arisaema sikokianum's shoot is bursting open as well.

Cyp Progress

Cyps generally develop quite qiickly once the shoots break the soil. You can see that after another week, the potted Cyps on my growing shelf are really coming along. Pics in order: C. reginae, C. parviflorum, C. pubescens, C. 'Gisela'.

More Cyp Stuff

The top photo is the Cyp. parviflorum var. pubescens I pictured a week ago, with its leaves fully unfurled. It won't flower this year although it did last year; this I find is common with this species. After they take a year off however, they produce larger and more flowers the following year. The second pic is the Cyp. reginae I pictured earlier, still slowly, as reginae does, emerging. The third pic is another pubescens which I brought in a week ago, just peeking through. This one should (hopefully) flower - it flowered on two stems last year. It seems to have suffered some frost damage from the pot being plunged too high in the hole in the ground. I have also brought in a 'Gisela' which has not appeared yet.

Playing in the Dirt

Yesterday evening I decided to move my oldest Cyp. reginae plant, which bloomed for the first time last year, to a more favorable location in the garden. I gave it better soil, and a little more shade; the previous area was borderline too hot. It had nice long, healthy roots, so I dug it a bigger hole, as well. Soon I plan on moving my oldest Cyp. pubescens as well; it is getting too much shade and won't multiply.

Early Cypripediums

Regular readers of this blog will know that I grow a lot of Cypripediums, or hardy lady's slippers. I am experimenting with growing C. parviflorum (second pic) and C. reginae (first pic) in pots, which allows me to "wake them up" earlier in spring than the plants in my garden will rise (these are active at least a month before the garden plants will be). I am also growing some second year Cyp seedlings this year: C. californicum (third pic) and C. reginae f. albolabium (white form of C. reginae - fourth pic). The last pic shows the size difference between the rising C. parviflorum and the fully active seedlings.

Early Spring - Sempervivum

Sempervivum, or hens and chicks, are great little rock garden plants that spread to form a carpet of this beautiful evergreen foliage, flowering in the summer. I have three different varieties, which are visible again now that the snow is melted.

Signs of Spring

April in my area is the first month of spring. As the snow melts, the plants are always eager to peek through the soil. By the end of the month, I usually have tulips blooming (although this year is moving along slowly so it will likely not be until May). From top to bottom: tulips, Allium 'Purple Sensation', Tulipa tarda, Aquilegia jonesii.

Coelogyne tomentosa

Coelogyne are wonderful epiphytic plants from Asia that can quickly form large specimens like the one pictured here. This plant is growing in a 12" hanging basket. I find it quite difficult to keep because I have limited space, but I found this plant at such a great price in the fall and couldn't pass it up. I was surprised and excited one morning to find this spike in bud, and it is now in full bloom. Usually a plant of this size would produce many spikes at a time, but I have just a single spike - probably because I can only provide the plant with so much light. I plan on dividing this plant in the spring so that I can save some space - since it is only producing one spike at a time anyway. Besides the flowers being so attractive, they have perhaps the most pleasing fragrance I have ever observed in an orchid, making this a desirable plant indeed.