Why I Oughta...

A fall-planted Allium bulb that is a stand-out in our garden is the Allium Christophii that we have in various spots around the front and backyard gardens.  Below is a pair of the star-shaped foliage that emerges in early Spring from these alliums.  This is in the original IB2DWs bed - and you can tell that based on the bronze Bald Cypress needles that these are growing-in: When I think about Fall bulb planting, I'd add more of these alliums to the list of 'wants'. 

I have planted zero Crocus bulbs.  Yet, I have a couple of Crocus flowers that have shot up this Spring.  See below for one of them.  I've begun to think about a 'bulb lawn' - vs....where I used to be:  a perfect lawn.  This naturalized Crocus might have pushed me over the edge in that direction.

 Below is a photo of the small colony of yellow daffodils that we inherited in our backyard.  They've sort-of naturalized a bit and have moved over time - but they're always in the bed behind the Northern Red Oak tree on the south side of the lawn.   The clumps of those strap-like tips are a sure sign of Spring: Last year, these were further along by early March .  And were blooming the first week of April .  We're a week away from April and these are no-where-close to blooming.  The flower buds haven't even come up.   I don't know what caused the slower-to-emerge cycle, but I'm noting it for everything else.   We had a VERY MILD Winter from December 2023 to March 2024.  So much so, that the ground was un-frozen enough for me to begin excavation of the pizza oven in February .  February!   I'll see if this two-week delay holds true to other perennials this Spring. 

I figured we had a total dud with one of our Amaryllis bulbs this past Winter.  It never took off.  But, look at what we're seeing right now:  the tip of the flower bud has emerged - see below.  Will it take off?  Or is is this all we'll see this year?  Guessing failure to launch will persist, but...for now, I'll keep it inside and watered.   

Down in the IB2DWs bed near the sidewalk are now the home of one of the FIRST signs of Spring.  Some of our tulip bulbs have sprung tips and they've emerged in a purple-ish cone-shape that is peeking through the soil and mulch.  See below for the first couple of these Spring flower bulbs arriving.   Last year, we had a very mild Winter and the tulips emerged in early January .  Yes..January.  We're about a month-or-so behind 2024.   We're CLEARLY NOT done with Winter, so these will stay in this state for a couple more weeks before putting on any vertical growth.  But, seeing these sure warms my gardening heart and makes me remember that the season is right-around-the-corner. 

We grew two Amaryllis bulbs this Christmas season - an Exotic Star Amaryllis and a Double Dream Amaryllis .  Both were 'nice' bulbs from the garden center - not a big box store kit-type bulb.  I don't seem to have posted about these in December, but one of them - the Exotic Star - took off.  While the other one (Double Dream) stayed dormant.  That has held true all the way until today - early January. The Double Dream is still dormant.  But, the Exotic Star is in full bloom with three flowers opening up and showing their stripes.   See below for a what the Exotic Star looks like currently.  Note those bottom (and side) petals being a tad LONGER than the one sticking up at the top.  That's part of the 'design' of Exotic Star Amaryllis .  So, too are the red stripes on white petals and the 'green apple' highlights.   Once the stalk(s) started to get a couple inches from the bulb, I started to water this one with the diluted alco...

As is the custom around here, we planted some Amaryllis bulbs in small containers in the time right around Thanksgiving.  We picked this one up - the Double Dream - at Wannemaker's.  Below is the bulb set in the soil and below that is the plant/bulb tag showing the fully-grown pinkish full bloom of the Double Dream Amaryllis.  

The scourge of our neighborhood is in peak form right now.  Wild onions - with their waxy, thin green foliage can be spotted in lawns and beds all over our neighborhood.  And they seem to be getting WORSE.  Starting back in 2019, I've conducted an annual removal process of these things.  Some years - much more than others .  But, I've dug up and tossed Wild Onion bulbs every April. I was out cleaning up some of the edges this week and decided to dig some of the bulbs out.  I hate them. Turns out, wild onions are biannuals - they come back every two years .  That means that you REALLY have to be diligent for two consecutive seasons if you want to control them.  As for the lawn vs the beds - I'm coming around on the lawn, but think I'd like to attack them in the beds (especially around the tree swing tree).  

The pink tulip bulbs that are planted down close to the sidewalk IB2DWs are up and showing out this week with blooms that are opening up.  This area was grass until September of 2021, when I declared this a 'hard-to-grow' spot that wasn't supporting turf.  Between the poor soil conditions (clay + gravel from the driveway and sidewalk installation) plus the heat that radiates from those during the Summer made this an inhospitable spot that held Kentucky Bluegrass turf that ALWAYS went dormant during the heat of the Summer.  Look back here for a photo of this section when it was grass .  In the Fall of 2021, I planted a number of tulip bulbs down by the sidewalk and they had their first Spring in 2022 .  That makes this (2024), their third year of blooms. That same Fall (2021), I added an ornamental grass - Panicum Shaenandoah Red Switchgrass in that same bed that has come back each season.  Last Fall, I planted a pair of variegated sedums - Sedum Kamtschat...

Right around one month ago today, I posted photos of the inherited daffodil bulbs that were showing their annual strap-y foliage that had emerged for the year .  Today, they're in bloom.  Well... *some* of them are in bloom.   Below is a look at the colony of daffodils and a close-up of the yellow bloom that are on these.  (Note: to the top, right of this photo is the pile of material that I excavated for the pizza oven and tried to smother with arborist wood chips .).  By my count, I see just six flowers this year.  More than 2021 .  This spot in the garden has not been addressed yet, so I see NO reason to do anything other than enjoy these yellow blooms.  For now.  

The tulip bulbs that are planted (somewhat randomly) around the bed behind the large Northern Red Oak tree (Tree Swing Tree) have emerged for the year.  These are purple and yellow and white flowers that live amongst hostas, ferns and grasses.   And...wild onion.    Here's a couple of photos (below) that show the location of the bulbs - they're *mostly* scattered behind the tree trunk in the bed.

Right around this time every (early) March, the green tips of a set of daffodil bulbs emerge from the mulch in the bed behind the secondary Northern Red Oak tree.  These were inherited - and I didn't plant them.  I've observed them over the years - as far back as our first Spring here (2018) -  and here's last year's post .  They have flowered exactly ONCE.  Just once - in 2021 .   Will they bloom this year?  I doubt it.

Last year, I started to learn how to put together cuttings from our garden into countertop arrangements .  I made a number of them from late Summer to Fall that were primarily anchored by the Disneyland Floribunda roses.   By the end of the season, I came the conclusion that I needed to get outside of my foliage-gardening 'comfort zone' and start to add some flowers.    On a late-season whim (sale), I planted a few new (to me) flowering perennials including May Night salvia , coneflowers and some Agastache 'Blue Fortune' to the front IB2DWs beds.   I also pulled the trigger on a small dahlia tuber order from Longfield - where I pre-ordered some Melina Fleur (Decorative) and Cornel Bronze (Pompon) tubers .  My (current) plan is to put those in by the Disneyland Roses on the side of the house.    I also bought some Cut-and-Come-Again Zinnia seeds that I'd like to start inside and move to my containers in the back  - to replicate the...

We've had a VERY mild Winter.  There was a span of about three weeks when it was brutally cold and it seemed like it snowed every.single.day.  But, overall...it was mild.  And that's likely turned a number of gardening variables on their ears.  Emergence.  Bloom time.  Exposure to late Frosts.  And, more, I'm sure. One of the 'mild Winter' related change that I saw VERY early in January was that the tulip bulbs that I had planted around the parkway tree had ALREADY come up, out of the mulch.  By January 5th.   J A N U A R Y. That seems VERY early.  It was BEFORE that three-week spell of 'brutally cold' weather that I mentioned above.  But, tulips being tulips, the foliage didn't mind the weather.  (or...the snow blanket was sufficient insulation.) I'm *very* aware of mulch volcanoes around trees and worry that every year - when we add another layer of mulch - that I'm burying things and creating problems.  Everyone sa...

It is still Amaryllis season in our house with three different varieties all working on their own (different) schedules in terms of bloom time.  The fastest one - out of the gate - was the La Paz .  It is a Spider Amaryllis and has a different look than the traditional spade-shaped-petals of most Amaryllis that we've grown.  Our La Paz Amaryllis bloomed in mid-December .  And is still putting out blooms today.  Pretty good.  The next one - the feature of this post - is the Rilona Amaryllis.  This is another unique (to me) bulb in that it isn't red and it isn't white.  And it isn't red and white.  It is salmon-colored.  And quite lovely.  Doesn't have the same OOOMPH that a dark red one does, but still a really lovely flower and the color sure brighten ups the dark days around here in January.  Reminds me of the Disneyland Rose . Here's a post showing the three bulbs when we bought them at Wannemakers . Here's a post just about ...

Imagine my surprise when - on my walk to take the trash cans to the curb this week - I notice that there's some new, green foliage tips that have emerged from around the large Maple parkway tree in the front of our house.  "It's January 1st", I said to myself.  "What the heck is going on?" What is going on is (apparently) some of our tulip bulbs have begun to wake up and begin their 2024 growing season.  Here, below, are a couple of photos showing these confused (or, just too-early) tulips.  The first is a wider shot, the second is a close-up of the same tulip tips: Our tulips emerged in mid-February in 2023 .  This is a full six-weeks earlier.   That move to Zone 6a - from 5b - sure is meaningful, huh?   I suspect that these tips will remain just that - tips - for the next month-plus.  We haven't really had a lot of cold, cold Winter (yet), but I know it is coming in January.  

In my 2023 recap post, I included a list of ten 'lessons learned' or takeaways from the year .  They were a mix of looking back and a few looking ahead.  One of them was about flowers.  I wrote that " Flowers continue to be a little bit outside my comfort zone. Change that. I started this Fall, but plenty more room to grow/go. Countertop arrangements need flowers. Try some dahlias, too. " When I said that I 'started', that meant the late-season plantings like the Blue Fortune Agastache , a Pow Wow Wildberry coneflower , a pair of May Night Salvias and some purple foliage Pentstemons (all IB2DWS).    And, I've had a lot of fun with the Disneyland Roses - including in arrangements.   I've also done a little bit of dabbling with Dahlias over the years.  But, I've always treated them as annuals and haven't invested much in the tubers.  I grew Night Queens .  And some orange ones.  And Cactus dahlias, too .    ...

Back in mid-November, we bought three different Amaryllis bulbs and planted them indoors in three identical terracotta containers .  In some years, we get blooms timed right up with Christmas.  In other years, we end up with blooms that arrive in January or later.  Either is great - having blooms early or having them arrive late.  This year, we *may* end up getting a bit of both.    As I mentioned in the intro post , the La Paz (Spider Amaryllis variety) was off to a fast start.  That has continued with (now) three flower stalks that have shot up and the first of which is already opening.  See below for the La Paz Amaryllis: With a couple of weeks until Christmas, I'm thinking we'll have Spider blooms come December 25th. Next up, and a little behind the La Paz, is the Rilona (Galaxy variety) Amaryllis.  This bulb has shot up one bloom stalk (so far), but it is much more compact that the La Paz.   See below for the current state of t...

'Tis the season for indoor Winter gardening.  It wouldn't be the Christmas season around here without growing some Amaryllis flowers from bulbs.  I've worked with the kids for a number of years to plant and grow some Christmas flowers.  Here's a look at last year's Amaryllis bulbs .   We picked three bulbs out at Wannemaker's Holiday Open House in November and planted them up.   The three varieties we selected were new to us:  La Paz - a Spider Amaryllis.     This La Paz is a Spider Amaryllis or 'Cybister'.  This post details how they're different: Over the last decade, Cybister Amaryllis have become increasingly more popular. Originally hybridized in South America, Cybister Amaryllis have narrow, somewhat spidery flower petals that appear more species-like than their big saucer-shaped cousins. La Paz has upper dark coral petals, while the lower petals are greenish-white edged in dark coral with darker midveins and a starburst ...

A brief, visual update on a few of the Elephant Ear bulbs that I planted in the landscape as bedding plants - lending a tropical vibe to the garden (underneath the kitchen windows).  I last posted about these in July when the foliage was just showing up and unfurling .  Here, below is what they look like currently - in early/mid September.  Some of the leaves are REALLY big. Are they the largest leaves we've ever had?  I'm not sure, but they sure look like the largest - compared to these previous giants .   The bulbs in the corner container are growing big leaves, too.  See below: Next year, I'd like to try the black-stemmed version that I spotted at the Morton Arboretum earlier this Summer, but if I can't find those, I'll still turn to these traditional Esculentas as I've made them a 'seasonal' addition to our garden - in both containers and in the ground.  Maybe next year they'll go over by the Disneyland Roses to fill in some of those gaps, too...