Image of the day

[Hoy]

Here's one that neither deer nor slugs eat: Vinca minor. It is a little humble in flowering but not in growth! Still, it is one favorite starting rather early, being in flower a month already. Furthermore it stays green all winter which the bigger cousin, V. major not always does.

[Todd Boland]

Mark, Juno are impossible in Newfoundland...several of our members have tried and no one has been able to keep them alive after a single year.  Even bucharica only survives 2, maybe 3 years then nothing.  Quite a heart-break.

Trond, Vinca is a vicious weed in my garden..I am constantly fighting against it.

Here is my photo of the day...Heloniopsis orientalis.

[McDonough]

Mark, Juno are impossible in Newfoundland...several of our members have tried and no one has been able to keep them alive after a single year.  Even bucharica only survives 2, maybe 3 years then nothing.  Quite a heart-break.

Trond, Vinca is a vicious weed in my garden..I am constantly fighting against it.

Here is my photo of the day...Heloniopsis orientalis.

Todd, your new camera is showing off it's muscle with that second shot of Heloniopsis orientalis; beautiful in-focus detail of the stamens.  I've only seen Heloniopsis orientalis in a paler form, your form is a good color.  An intriguing plant.

[Hoy]

Trond, Vinca is a vicious weed in my garden..I am constantly fighting against it.

Here is my photo of the day...Heloniopsis orientalis.

Yes, Vinca is a weed but I let it loose in shrubbery and woodland.
I haven't been lucky with my H. orientalis plants, don't know why; and I have never succeeded in sowing it.

[McDonough]

Today's pic; Trillium grandiflorum roseum has been in flower a couple days, but the sun came out today to show off the flowers.  The gusting wind is relentless today, so these shots were "live motion" pics... just couple a bunch until I got a couple in focus

Attending my local New England Chapter NARGS meeting and plant auction a couple weeks ago, a 1-stemmed plant of this went for $50  

[Hoy]

I am not sure I would have paid $50 for one plant but I would love to grow such plants in my garden!
I have had ordinary T. grandiflora several times and a huge clump of T. cernuum and others too but they have all suddenly disappeared - and I don't know why.
But I will try more, I know several Trilliums growing well other places.

[RickR]

We can maybe get that kind of $$$ for a planted trough at our sales.  Your Chapter really knows their plants!  (And a very nice one this is.)

[Hoy]

Corylopsis, not exactly a typical rock garden genus, is still a gardenworthy group of plants. This "extremely" cold winter has delayed the blooming for a couple of weeks.

[McDonough]

Corylopsis, not exactly a typical rock garden genus, is still a gardenworthy group of plants. This "extremely" cold winter has delayed the blooming for a couple of weeks.

Trond, it's a beautiful shrub, what species is it?  The first photo really captures the charm of this early bloomer.  I've been wanting to add Corylopsis to my garden for years.  Every garden needs some choice trees and shrubs, as they create planting opportunities underneath them for the smaller plants.

[Hoy]

It is C. pauciflora. Sorry, I forgot to write it.

[RickR]

I am hoping someday I will come across a form in the genus hardy enough to survive my cold climate. 

[Lori S.]

Having melted out from under 20 cm of wet snow today, here's Pulsatilla campanella, not looking too much the worse for wear.

[McDonough]

Having melted out from under 20 cm of wet snow today, here's Pulsatilla campanella, not looking too much the worse for wear.

Lori, that's an adorable little Pulsatilla!  It's interesting hearing about "snow" now; I always think of my New England climate as late in terms of other more temperate regions (well, not this year with our record-breaking early spring), but we forget that gardeners in more northerly regions still await spring to arrive in earnest.

[McDonough]

A short-lived floral treat from Paeonia japonica, the flowers only lasting a couple days at best.  It is such a simple beauty, handsome in foliage too, and not as large as many Paeonia, suitable for a choice spot in the woodland garden.

[Hoy]

I have some peonies but have not seen japonica before! My peonies are late this year - we have northerly wind from the Arctic although sun it is cold. Here is one of mine, not the dainty japonica but a coarser one, P. lutea ludlowii threatening to bar the way.