Garden quirks of 2021

We began the 2021 gardening season with frost right up until the end of May, followed by temperatures hitting 90°F. in early June. So plants growing like crazy and blooming ahead of schedule should come as no surprise to this gardener. But I admit that I am a bit taken aback.

. . .

The flowers on my Kirengeshoma palmata began opening yesterday, July 21st. Last year they started to bloom exactly a month later on Aug. 21st and on Aug. 14th the year before that. 

I planted Angelica gigas last year, having bought a small plant at Flower Factory's end of season/retirement sale. I let it self seed as it is a biennial. It came up this spring in the same location and nowhere else that I've noticed. It looks like it is about to bloom again this year. I am so unfamiliar with this plant that I don't know if these are flower buds or even if it typically behaves this way. 

A few of my Epimediums, like E. 'Domino', are having growth spurts and even flowering in July. This one is ten years old and suddenly has leaves floating at 24" above the ground. See that stem rising above the rock?

This one and a few others are also sending out large and oddly misshapen leaves like those round ones that are reminiscent of the foliage of native wild ginger, Asarum canadensis. When a variegated stem pops up all green, I know to cut it off. But I am unsure whether I should remove these stems with odd leaves or just ignore them. 

It's always new and different and a learning experience in the garden. 

Comments

[Kris P]

It is a weird year but at least all (or most - I'm not sure about those mutant leaves) of your garden quirks are positive. My sense is that a lot of my own plants are seriously off-schedule too, although I haven't done a deep dive into investigating that perception. However, Hemerocallis 'Spanish Harlem', which finished up its bloom cycle a month ago, has just produced a new bloom stalk. It's a reblooming variety but this is months early for that.

[Lisa at Greenbow]

This has certainly been an odd year weather-wise and the plants have responded in like.