What do you see on your garden walks? 2012

[RickR]

The very first thing I do with any flowering plant, is take a whiff, for me it is one of the primary aspects of gardening.

Alas my nose doesn't always detect what other people do.  Gardenias, for instance, have no smell for me!  I do smell things other people can't, though.  I have a friend with a particularly good sniffer, and sincerely loves to smell flowers, etc.  When she comes over, I take good note of her "experiences" as we walk the yard.

[Fermi]

Around the garden this week we have the first of the Belladonnas, Amaryllis belladonna - most likely a hybrid - in a cerise/deep pink form

Lycoris sprengeri

and Lycoris incarnata


We can't grow Gaultherias but the berries on this Eremophila debilis almost make up for it!

cheers
fermi

[McDonough]

We can't grow Gaultherias but the berries on this Eremophila debilis almost make up for it!

cheers
fermi

Fermi, you folks down under have some of the coolest plants ever, the fruits on that Eremophila are fetching!!!  Never heard of Eremophila, so looked it up, what a suprise, a large and colorful genus (beautiful flowers too), all endemic to Australia.  Here are some highlights:

Eremophila, Emu Bush, Poverty Bush or Fuchsia, 215 recognised species, all of which are endemic to Australia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eremophila_(plant)

The genus name Eremophila is derived from the Greek words eremos (desert) and phileo (love), alluding to the species' adaptation to arid environments.

E. subfloccosa
http://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/interns-2006/eremophila-subfloccosa-pl-700.jpg

Google images:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Eremophila&hl=en&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&ei=prY7T7fvEuPX0QHHu6S6Cw&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&sqi=2&ved=0CAwQ_AUoAQ&biw=1340&bih=560

[McDonough]

The very first thing I do with any flowering plant, is take a whiff, for me it is one of the primary aspects of gardening.

Alas my nose doesn't always detect what other people do.  Gardenias, for instance, have no smell for me!  I do smell things other people can't, though.  I have a friend with a particularly good sniffer, and sincerely loves to smell flowers, etc.  When she comes over, I take good note of her "experiences" as we walk the yard.

I'm one of those people with a particularly good sniffer   When visiting gardens, I might point out how this or that plant is sweet smelling or aromatic in some way, often a complete surprise to the gardener who has grown the subject plant for years but hadn't yet bothered to check for scent.  I guess I'm just a hand's-on and nose-on sort of gardener .  I have heard it said that woman have better sense of smell than men, not sure if that's urban legend or has any basis in fact. 

But it's the aspect of scent that can actually influence my planting decisions.  For example, I planted a clump of Aster pilosus at the base of my deck stair, grows to 4'-5' tall with myriad very late white blooms that waft an enticing scent of vanilla, reminiscent of sugar cookies baking.
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=159.msg1037#msg1037

[Tim Ingram]

Fermi - nice to see those Lycoris flowering. I have a few that originated from Jack Elliott's greenhouse and which I have tried outside; they grow but have very rarely flowered, presumably lacking sufficient summer heat (even though they are against a south wall). I wonder if anyone has tried crossing them with nerines? They do have a wonderful range of colours.

[McDonough]

Not an impressive display yet, but I believe this is the earliest date in my garden that a crocus has opened a flower, in 25 years that I have been here; Crocus vitellinus showing its first flower on February 18, 2012.  Always the first crocus to bloom, but typically not until March. The shiny strap foliage nearby is Sternbergia lutea, foliage always stay evergreen and in good shape through our winters, with or without snow.




Back to my precocious Colchicum kesselringii; the flower on the left is the same one I showed taken 8 days ago, it has narrow pointed petals, the one on the right is a different form with larger flowers and wider rounded petals, just showing up.



The nights have gone down as low at 10 F (-12 C), but these blooms seem unfazed, their early showing from a non-ending succession of very mild winter days, mostly sunny, into the mid 40s F, was 48 F yesterday.  Still no snow, this might be a snowless winter, a rarity.

[Hoy]

Nice, Mark! It is always a pleasure to welcome the first crocus in spring!

Just come back from England early this morning (about 1 AM) to a very wet but snowfree garden (been on job, no holiday and no time to visit gardens  ).
Rain all day and although the garden is full of flowering snowdrops, crocuses and spring snowflakes they do not open fully in the rain and I didn't bother taking pictures. Also the mahonias and witch hazels are in bloom.
Sadly no rest however, as we set out for Oslo early tomorrow!

[Fermi]

Mark,
glad you like the Eremophilas, they are a very varied clan.
Not in our garden, but not far away in a vacant block is a great flowering of the South African Amaryllis belladonna,

cheers
fermi

[cohan]

Mark,
glad you like the Eremophilas, they are a very varied clan.
Not in our garden, but not far away in a vacant block is a great flowering of the South African Amaryllis belladonna,

cheers
fermi

Ah, to have such lovely weeds!

[RickR]

It looks like we may actually get some winter this coming week.  I guess this would be the start of it: last night about 3 inches or so of wet snow.

Unlike many (most?) Euonymus, this one holds its fruit all winter.
     Euonomys bungeana 'Pink Lady'

        

Thuja occidentalis 'Pumila Sudworth' on the left, and Pinus ponderosa.  The Ponderosa pine is from the Black Hills disjunct population's seed.

        

The Wintergold White pine (Pinus strobus 'Wintergold') continues to delight.

          

[RickR]

Neither Carex nigra (Black Sedge) or Fibigia clypeata have been discovered by birds...yet.

          

The Amur chokecherry (Prunus maackii) displays well against the white background.

               

The Chinese Dragon spruce (Picea asperata) demonstrates its rubbery branches, only slightly weighted by small snowfall.  Also shown is its normal summer habit for contrast.

          

[cohan]

Nice to see the winter texture... I guess the moisture must be much needed..

[Hoy]

At home from the wintery mountain landscape (Rick, still winter at your place?)

   


- and back to spring! This morning was very promising although the temperature dropped barely into the freezing regime the sky was clear blue without any clouds. However it didn't last - when I went out to take some pictures the sun hid itself behind a thick layer of clouds suddenly appearing from nowhere. The weather has cleared a bit now some hours later but the sun is setting fast. The air is warmer too so no frost tonight.

Crocus tomasinianus is among the first bulbs to flower and almost as early as the snowdrops and snowflakes.
           


C baytopiorum is early too and a lot of others will follow soon - with a little more sun in the afternoon (my garden faces west).

       

[Lori S.]

Beautiful pictures, Trond!  (It would be nice to experience one of those zone 8 "winters"    - quite a difference from here where we are again under a fresh snowfall!)   The blue crocus is really special.  I guess I need to start trying some bulbs from seed, as it doesn't seem that bulbs are very available around here for anything but the mass-produced crocus varieties.  How long ago did you start planting?

[Hoy]

Beautiful pictures, Trond!  (And you keep trying to convince us that you live in a place that has real winters... ppffftt!  )   The blue crocus is really special.  I guess I need to start trying some bulbs from seed, as it doesn't seem that bulbs are very available around here for anything but the mass-produced crocus varieties.  How long ago did you start planting?

Lori, thank you! The pictures aren't quite good - my camera has a damaged lens. A new lens costs the same as a new camera
I started planting when I bought this property about 25 years ago but the C tomasinianus has really started spreading the last few years. Now I get 1000 new seedlings every year. If want to try sowing I can collect seeds.

The special blue one is C baytopiorum. Haven't seen seedlings of it yet.