Each Little World

That was then. This is now.

Our weather continues to be frustrating. One nice sunny day and then it's back to cool, windy and gray. I looked at images from last spring after a stroll through the garden yesterday afternoon. It's not my imagination that the garden is behind last spring in bloom dates. 

'Valentine' Bleeding Heart: May 3, 2021

May 8, 2022

Cinnamon fern: April 16, 2021

May 8, 2022

Fritillaria thunbergii: April 19, 2021

May 5, 2022

Today's high is supposed to be 76°F, a prelude to the following four days whose temps are forecast from the mid-80°s to likely hitting 90°. It pretty much feels like we've been stuck in late March/early April for weeks and now we're barreling into August. Luckily I found enough flowers to manage a small bouquet to brighten my mood.

This and that in the garden

Our weather has been so up and down that I've got more and more plants waiting to get put into the ground. In the meantime, I've done a lot of waiting, walking around with a notepad, changing my mind about what goes where and waiting some more. Things are so behind in making their appearance that I can't be sure where the empty spots are that I have plants ready to plug into. So I've been noticing quirky things that might not have caught my eye if I'd been busy planting. 

Iris lacustris 'Alba' is a lake Iris that typically grows in "slightly acidic, shallow, moist, sandy, or rocky soils." This area of the garden near the edge of the pond was very pebbly once upon a time, but has slowly accumulated enough soil to become mossy. Apparently the Iris don't really mind.

One of my Dryopteris crassirhizoma ferns has developed three separate crowns. That means I can divide it and have three of this gorgeous plant. Doesn't always happen, but what a thrill when it does. 

Last summer I kept noticing a clump of foliage on this woodland Peony that looked different. I kept thinking I was imagining it. This spring, there's no question that a potentially different Peony has moved in. I'm hoping once they both bloom I will know if my eyes are playing tricks or if the Peony is. 

Adiantum venustum is so assertive in my garden that I thought it had fatally consumed this little gem: Pteridophyllum racemosum. It looks like a fern but has delicate white flowers. I will move this to a safer spot tomorrow. 

Wordless Wednesday

IOVM: Hellebores

I read a long article from the U.K. about how to use blooming Hellebores as cut flowers. After trying the tips, I decided that if I want a fresh Hellebore flower in a spring bouquet the best idea is to float it. The flower is facing up so you can see it and they last for days this way. 

I love these little 19th C. teacups with no handles and deep saucers. They're perfect for floating a flower — or two.

H. 'Kingston Cardinal'

A pair of H. 'Royal Heritage Strain'

I always buy a few pomegranates in December for holiday decorations. I continue to use them as they slowly dry and are preserved.

Since rain was forecast for the weekend, I decided to do a bowl of Hellebores. I concentrated on pinks and pinky reds with a few whites. Love the bit of carpet that's visible at the edge of the coffee table where I set the bowl. 

The coffee table is always covered in books and magazines. I had to move them to take the photo above and decided it made more sense to move the bowl and keep are piles of reading material in place. 

I was shocked as soon as I set the bowl down in its new location to see that the blossoms were all red-violet and the pomegranates definitely were not. How did I not realize that before?