Each Little World

The dotty line

My lovely Podophyllum 'Spotty Dotty' is surrounded by babies. I kept referring to them as "seedlings" until I realized this plant spreads by rhizomes. It sends up erect growing stems from buds on the rhizome which produce a single, umbrella shaped leaf. You don't, however, get flowers until there are two leaves.

I had to laugh once I figured this out as it is so obvious from this photo. Look how all these new plants are growing in a row, shooting up along the length of the rhizome which I've indicated with that green line. At least that's how it looks to me. There is a similar line of spotted babies on the other side of the "mother" plant. In a few years this will be a spectacular clump if I'm lucky.

IVOM: Before the frosty weather

Last week we had four nights where the overnight low was below freezing, which meant I spent an hour covering plants to protect them. It seems to have worked.

Before I started that process, I cut bouquets for the house and two for friends who I visited. All were variations on the one I kept for my self. Interestingly enough, the star of this display, Fritallaria thunbergii, sailed right through temps down to 23°F with no damage to the flowers. 

The Chinese gentleman got to enjoy the display closeup. I cut a stem from one of my Helleborus foetidus to get something that would hold everything in place. It's the greenery in the center and its flowers are not particularly obvious here. 

Unknown daffodils and yellow Epimedium flowers add a note of color contrast.  

I really put this vase together, however, to showcase the Frits. They are a pleasure from any direction.

A cold Spring

Last night's overnight low temperature was 30°F. (-1.11° C.). Tonight and tomorrow night are going to be even a few degrees colder. Our last frost date is early May, so these temps aren't that surprising. But April began with unseasonably warm days that pushed the garden quickly into overdrive.

Last year my Martagon lilies, among other plants, never flowered due to frost kill. This time I am not taking any chances. Peonies, lilies, and assorted new shrubs all got covered.

The garden is a crazy assortment of bags, bins and sheets! The question is: Will it kill things to leave them covered all day since it's going to be cloudy and only get up to the low 40°F.? Can't decided if I want to chance it.

But it is a chore to cover and uncover all these plants for three days running. Ugh.

GBBD: 4.15.2021

The sudden drop in our daytime temperatures, to say nothing of near-freezing overnight lows, has most of the flowers in my garden in bud — still waiting for a bit of warmth of open. Thus I offer these two plants that were willing to open despite the chilly weather. 

Marsh marigold (Caltha palustris)

Primula juliae 'Springtime'

The Peonies are popping

Our unseasonably warm weather and a bit of rain have the species Peonies bulking up quickly. These Peonies are very early in any year, but they are making quite a statement for mid-April. I have a number of different varieties, including a few that I thought disappeared and then showed up again; as a result I am definitely confused about names.

This is a seedling I moved that turned out quite differently from what I was expecting. Or was it a plant resurfacing that I put in this new spot. Just ordered a Peony book from the library to help me make sense of all my varieties. 

This is P. mairei, a Chinese Peony and the first to bloom in my garden every year. 

A few warm sunny days and these buds will be open. 

P. japonica is hot on the heels of P. mairei. 

I am assuming the tiny clump on the left is the same as the big Peony obvata willmottiae on the right. But given my propensity for moving things, I am not positive. 

We are supposed to get down to 32°F tonight and low 30s for the next few nights. Very unnerving. I will be covering these and lots of other plants whose buds might freeze with such a low temp. Don't want to take any chances. 

In a Vase on Monday

I love watching the foliage emerge on our small trees, like this Acer tschonoskii aka Korean butterfly maple. 

I was clipping a few crossing branches and decided to bring them indoors to enjoy, along with my first daffodil of the season. 

A simple celebration of spring.

But nothing ever seems to bring a smile to this guy's face. 

Spring perfection

We're in a stretch of unseasonably warm weather. That means it's great weather for working in the garden, but the spring ephemerals are bursting into bloom and won't last long at all. After waiting so many snowy months for this moment to arrive, I hate to have it pass so quickly. That said, there are treasures everywhere I look in the garden.

I discovered this Hellebore buried under fern fronds. It's a Pine Knot Farms hybrid selected for foliage. 

When I bought this, I noted their website said that the flowers were larger and more colorful than the usual species crosses. I find it hard to even notice the foliage when the flower is this beautiful. 

I love Hepaticas but have completely lost track of who's who. 

Erythroniums are another plant I love but I have not had a lot of success with them so far. That means I am confused more often than not when they appear. My best guess is that this is E. dens-canis 'White Splendor.'

Foxgloves are popping up everywhere. I've planted them a few years in a row and let them seed. I'm hoping that means I will have flowers every year from now on.