Spring Beauties and Viburnum 'Dawn'

These tiny ephemeral flowers appear in the spring and can carpet an area. The flowers, at least when they first come out, have a pinkish cast to them. The leaves have just appeared here so the flowers can't be far behind. The whole thing is over pretty quickly and by the time really warm weather has come, they will be gone. I leave them in flower beds when they appear since they don't get in the way of anything, even when there are a lot of them. I have always loved these little gems. Don't know if they transplant well or not. They seem to get around just fine all on their own.

Lots of things appearing in the garden right now. The Corydalis solida are in bloom (more on them tomorrow), the Virginia Bluebells are starting to come up, the first Primroses are in bloom and then there is this lovely bush, not all that well know, which is putting on the best show it has for many years. I realized when I went to get the picture, that it was just of the leaves. That will be fixed as soon as I get outside and I'll add a pictures of the flowers. This shrub has been in the garden forever and is one of the best pink early bloomers we have. It's only problem is that if we have a warm spell in January or February, it thinks spring has come and starts showing color on its bud - may even start to open. This just means that it will be frosted with the next cold snap. Like most Viburnums, it is nicely scented - this one not being overwhelming like some of them.

Back later with the flower picture and the full name of this one.

Jane

Hellebores - some unusual ones

Helleborus foetidus is one we have all over the garden. This one is evergreen here no matter how bad the winter and sets its buds in late fall. They can sometimes get winter burned, but usually come out in early April. They are a pale greenish color. This one self seeds readily and also transplants easily so we are establishing colonies in several places.

Next is Helleborus odora. It is a chartreuse flower. The plant is only a couple of years old and still small. It seems to have a smaller flower than some others.

This lovely picotee bloom is a volunteer seedling, so you can see the range of possibilities if you just let them go to seed. The babies are all coming up now around the parent plants - so far just the two shiny green leaves. I'll send a picture of them so you know not to pull them out when you're weeding. Only a few survive till the next year, but I've found that you can transplant them with a pretty high success rate.

We have a few doubles but this is one of my favorites. It is unnamed except for a tag which says it is from Pine Knott and it is a double. We have several other double in various shades of rose or pink. This one seems to hold its flowers out better. No point in having a double if all you see is the outside of the bloom which will look just like a simple, single bloom. The blooms are heavier with all those extra petals which is why they tend to look downward, but this one seems to be the exception.

I had a picture of the Lady in Red back when I talked about dark foliage, but I couldn't resist putting it in again since it is so unusual. This is a strain and so not every plant will be identical. This is probably our darkest, but all are similar.

Helleborus viridis has very green flowers. It is a tiny plant, probably only about 8 inches tall. The flowers are also smaller and have a heavier texture than most others. It doesn't keep it's leaves over the winter.

This is a relative of the last one. Helleborus viridis ssp. occidentalis has the same green on the inside of the petals, but is a dark, dusky violet on the outsides. The petals are also more pointed.

This last one is another of the Pine Knott series - this one yellow. The picture just doesn't do it justice. The color in person is a creamy egg yolk yellow with petals that have a very waxy, shiny appearance. This is a big plant and vigorous. Only two years old and already getting to be a good sized clump.

This is just a sampling of the unusual hellebores that you can find. With all of our shade, they have been an easy choice to fill in all over the place. Nothing seems to bother them, bugs or critters and that's always something I have to think of here with the amount of woods that surround our gardens.

Jane

Muscari - part two

This first one, Muscari botryoides 'Album', is less common, doesn't seem to spread as readily and is just all around more tempermental. That said, it is still well worth growing because it is unusual. It seems to bloom a little later than some of the others. The plant growing at it's base is Ranunculus numularai 'Aurea', a wonderful ground cover.
This next one is Muscari latifolium. I like this one because it is unlike any of the others and quite different. Instead of a clump of leaves, each plant has just one and if you look at the center leaf in the picture, you will see the bloomscape hiding inside. So cute. They are a dark blue and eventually, as you see, come out of hiding.

This one is Muscari neglectum. Though you can't see it in this bloom which isn't quite all the way out, neglectum has a tiny white rim around each floret. It is also lightly fragrant.

Last is one of my favorites, Muscari 'Valerie Finnis'. It is an ice blue and multiplies nicely into a larger clump, though doesn't seem to end up in other nearby places.

A couple of odd ones I don't have pictures of, but that you might want to try are Muscari plumosum. This is, as the name implies, a feathery plume of a bloom, lavender in color. We added a yellow flowered one last year, the name of which I don't remember (though I do see it offered in catalogs). It doesn't seem as showy as the other colors as the tiny yellow flowers just seem to fade into the background. Maybe this year it will put on more of a show.

After complaining about impending drought, we have had almost 2 inches of rain over the last couple of days. More expected tomorrow. Maybe the gardening season is saved after all.

Jane

Muscari - part one

Another of the lovely blue flowers of spring - well at least most of them are blue. The Muscari, Grape Hyacinths, resemble miniature Hyacinths, though I don't know of any with the delightful scent of their larger counterparts. They are from the Mediteranean region and Asia Minor and are nearly all very hardy here in our garden (zone 6, mostly). Bloom time here is late March through about the end of April, but that depends on how early it gets hot. They are long lasting in the garden so long as the temperatures don't turn summer-like. Sizes range from about 4 inches tall to some that are probably 10 inches in height. These will naturalize over time, so don't put them where they won't be welcome in a group. Misplaces seedlings are easy to transplant, though. They also make good, long lasting cut flowers.
This first on is Muscari armeniacum 'Blue Spike'. It is a very commonly available double flowered form.
Next for today is Muscari armeniacum 'Saffier'. This is what I think most people picture when they think of Grape Hyacinths.

Last for today is Muscari azureum. It is also known by the name of Hyacinthella or Hyacinthus azureus. These are also native to Asia Minor and are ealy spring bloomers. They tend to have lighter blue flowers at the top and darker at the bottom. Sometimes it seems to be a gradual transition and other times there is a definite line in the middle of the bloomscape dividing light and dark flowers.

All of these will be happy in most any soil as long as they get full sun, or mostly full sun. We have some in light, dappled shade that also do well.
Tomorrow I'll do the rest of the Muscari. No turtle hunting yesterday because we got rain most of the day - and it's raining again this morning. The gardens really need the water as foliage was starting to look a bit limp as if we were already in a drought. Not a good thing this early in the season.
Jane

Leucojum

I think that these are not as commonly know. Leucojum aestivum 'Gravetye Giant' is the one in both pictures, the second picture just a close-up of a flower. These are often called Summer Snowdrops because of the similarity to regular Snowdrops and the fact that then tend to bloom once it starts to get hot - late May or early June here. I've also seen them called Summer Snowflakes. The seem to grow in sun or shade, but do better in some sun. Our shady ones come out later and don't seem to make nice clumps even though they have been growing in the same place for at least 25 years. These are native to central Europe.
There are many flowers on an arching stem, unlike regular Snowdrops which tend to just have one. These are also quite a bit taller, probably about 18 inches. My bulb book says that this will grow along stream banks, but I don't think I'll try that since our streams are all very shady along the edges and tend to flood with heavy rains. We do have some growing at the edge of the bog where wetness is more in the winter and spring, less in summer and fall, and they seem to like that.

This is another plant that doesn't seem to have any enemies. Nothing has ever eaten the leaves or flowers and the blubs must not be tasty since out clumps have been right next to vole runs with no damage after all these years.

Turtle update - no sightings yesterday, but it is early for reptiles. I expect with a few nice sunny days to raise the water temperature we will have move luck. We did have another deer sighting. That makes 3 days in a row we saw the same deer in about the same place. Not sure with all the nice rain if we'll see him this morning. I'd really rather not see him here at all since he tends to do so much damage.

Jane

Petasites

As promised, a post on Petasites. These large perennials are commonly called Butterburrs. They are related to our early spring wildflower, Coltsfoot and some have leaves that resemble it. These are hardy in zones 5-9 (can't imagine how early they bloom in zone 9 if they can bloom in late February here) and like partial shade, especially in the afternoon and a moist place. They spread by underground runners to make a colony over the years.
This first one is Petasites palmatus 'Golden Palms'. We had a bit of trouble finding this one a few years ago when we discovered it. It doesn't seem to be available too many places. This one is growing in total shade. The spot is bright, not depressingly dark, but it gets no direct sun. It is also a bit wet there in the spring as it is planted near a seep. It seems to thrive in these conditions. The leaves are quite golden when they first come out in the spring, but turn more chartreuse as time goes on.
This next one is the first one we got and is Petasites japonicum (some say japonicus) 'Variegatum'. We have this one growing in both part shade/part sun and in shadier spots. It is taller in the shade and wilts horribly in the sunnier spot (It was under a pear tree, but the tree died and now it has only morning shade). This one is pretty popular. Don't plant it in a space where it need to stay in a tiny spot. It likes to spread out. In too much shade it will occasionally revert to an all green form. A bit of sun, though better in the morning than afternoon, will give you more and better variegation.

I hope you can see the wonderful burgundy colored undersides of these leaves on Petasites japonicum 'Purpurea'. The tops of the leaves are a darker green than on Variegatum, maybe because of the dark undersides, and the leaves have more of a serrated edge. These seem to take a bit more sun and we even have a patch of them growing in a full sun, dry spot. They are considerably smaller than those in dampness and shade, but do well anyway.

These are the big guys, Petasites japonicum 'Gigantea'. The leaves on this can be 3 feet across with no trouble. It is also taller, probably at least 3 feet tall, sometimes more and have a much thicker petiole on the leaves. More moisture gives you the biggest plants, though I don't think it wants to have really wet feet all of the time. Definitely a fun plant for kids since they can sit under it.

This last grows in dappled shade and is Petasites japonicum 'Hybridus'. Not a very original name I don't think. The leaves are more kidney shaped and have a heavier texture than Gigantea. They are almost, but not quite, as big, though they are easily as tall. This one is doing well at the edge of the bog and definitely gets pretty wet feet for a good bit of the season most years. It is dry in the summer, but that doesn't seem to bother it.

If you aren't already growing any of the Petasites and have a garden with space and a damp spot, I would definitely recommend them as they are pretty carefree perennials. They aren't eaten (at least so far) by rabbits or deer and I've never seen them get any insect or other pests. I know there are more species out there and I'll be adding some of them as I find them.

In the continuing turtle saga - yesterday we walked to Lake Amanda after we finished weeding out the vegatable garden to plant the onion sets. I saw a turtle tail sticking out from under some foliage. It wasn't the same turtle, but a smaller one. Now I know there are two turtles in there, probably Mr. and Mrs. Turtle. Not a good thing. They won't be doing much until the weather warms up, but I definitely don't need two snapping turtles in my pond where I need to get in to take care of the plants. They eat plants and also fish, frogs, tadpoles - pretty much anything that I want to have living in mu pond. I'll keep you updated on the progess in convincing them to live elsewhere.

Jane

Abeliophyllum - a bit more

I posted close-up pictures of the Abeliophyllum a few days ago, but didn't have a picture of an entire bush. I finally got it taken and downloaded and so here it is. I so often just take close-ups and I know people like to see how the whole thing might look like in their garden. Although Abeliophyllum is exceptionally cold hardy, blooming before almost anything else, it does have its limits. We had a temperature of 19 degrees (F) the other morning and although the bushes are still good from even a relatively close distance, right up close to the flowers you can see that they suffered a little bit of damage - some brown spots on some of the petals. Not enough to detract from the beauty except with your nose almost in the flower, but damage nonetheless.

There was a comment on the Petasites and so although the leaves aren't up yet, I do have some good pictures of them from last year and I'll post them tomorrow with all of the cultural information on them.

Jane