What's blooming in January?

Well, there is the mortar sand. I can see that being builder's sand, too.

Interesting.

http://www.blurtit.com/q420706.html

You are so good katie.

I just like to do searches on interesting topics. :-)

Michigan sand is rounded and large. The small ones have blown into the water and so it its rather unique. But not available in Seattle. It is wind blown and smoothed.

I hope the Michigan dunes are not being sold off and disappeared bit by bit to be drainage in peoples' yards. My family went camping there, and I spent long days running up and down those dunes when I was a kid,. They hold a special place in my heart. There are some great dunes on the mid Oregon coast as well.

My Jelena witch hazel is starting to come into its own. I wish it would get bigger soon! Please forgive the picture, I have to go clean my camera lens now.

And Rosamundi is showing color! (Lens still needs cleaning.)

I enjoy the early start to spring. I have not been able to maintain even the heartiest Witchazel to survive the dry blasts of Montana summers. I miss the early blooms!

Now that is sad, Soferdig. I do love the witch hazels. Even the form of them is beautiful. But they are such slow growers. Don't hold your breath, Sharon. But that's a nice one.
I think my hellebores are ahead of last year. I'll have to compare photos to see for sure, but even the ones in the back, which never see much light at all in the winter, are starting to bloom. If it would stop raining long enough, I'd take a couple of photos. My Daphne odora is starting, too. It has a lot of frost damage this year on the leaves. Also, today I saw my Pulmonaria 'raspberry splash' blooming its little heart out. Such a cheerful color on a dreary winter day. Drumstick primulas are sending up flower heads, and snowdrops are in bloom. Cyclamen coum is still blooming strong. My hyacinths are up about 3 inches already.

Sofer, I agree with Pixy that not being able to grow any of the witch hazels is a darn shame. I just adore them... true heralds of spring! I actually got to walk the yard in the light this weekend, and found that spring is really starting to show itself. This is my new Hamamelis x intermedia 'Sunburst' which is still a little dink, but is going to be absolutely stunning when he is bigger. I planted him last spring, and chose the top of my driveway where I will see him when I walk to Mom's on the weekends. He positively glows!

This is Hamamelis x intermedia 'Diane', which is in too much shade to have the dramatic fall color it is supposed to, but I love it anyway!

And my oldest one "Arnold's Promise" who actually scents the air very nicely outside my bedroom this time of year.

I went heather crazy about five years ago (got a Heaths and Heathers catalog and couldn't help myself!) and I adore them as well because they have many different colors and textures throughout the year. One of my favorite early purples (was too tired to bend down and find the tag after my out of shape self had spent all weekend raking and mulching!) is in full glory right now under the grape arbor.

A close up so you can see how pretty it is.....

And my last picture for now.... my tree heather which I just adore is getting really close to blooming. This beauty is about eight foot tall now, and that's after pruning!

Love those tree heathers. And the witch hazel is really nice. Your wooded slope is very pretty.

I love the Arnold, he is the one I tried 2 times. They are supposed to take the cold but none of them can take the hot dry that we suffer with in late August. Diane is too tender. I do appreciate your picts though. It got dark up here in Petersburg at 4Pm. Bummer long nights.

Thanks guys! Willow, my woods look very pretty this time of year. The green is so very vibrant, and I have built my gardens to encompass the woodland background.

Sofer, would you like me to try to root a cutting of AP so you can try it again? If I am successful, I could bring it to the gathering in June. I have to prune the heck out of mine, and as you can see, I have some branches that need to be cut back right now, which should be a good time to try cuttings. Would be more than happy to give it an attempt rather than just toss them in the compost.

Yes Julie I think if I put it in the woodland and deepen the humus it should do ok. The last two I planted I got from Wells Medina and they were quite expensive. Could you do two so I can try multiple locations? Thanks.

Steve, Consider them attempted! I have a cloner now, so maybe that will help ensure success. If you would like to try some fresh cuttings yourself, I would be more than happy to send some to you for insurance. I don't give any guarantee when it comes to starting woody cuttings, but I will give it my very best shot!!

Yes I would love to try my luck at some. Send them to me. I'll give you my address. Thanks!

Steve - I have H. Pallida. If Julie wouldn't mind rooting them, I'll give her some cuttings at Melissa's seed swap in a couple weeks. Let me know!

Katye, I would love to give it a couple a try for myself as well. I would be happy to try for both of us.

Steve, D-mail me your addy and I will send some cuttings probably on Monday. I would rather mail them at the beginning of the week so they get to you asap (not to mention that it is easier to take cuttings in the daylight!)

Okey doke.

I love that tree heather! I cannot wait for mine to look anything at all like that.

Now let me get this straight: you have to prune a witch hazel 'like crazy'? Mine grow so slow I can see them growing! I thought they all grew that slowly, but now the evidence is piling up that my soil may actually be *gasp* not as fertile as I thought!!

Pixy, I have to prune my AP twice a year to keep it small enough for the spot I planted it in. (small enough is about 6' tall and 4' in diameter) I mistakenly believed the 4-6 foot listing and planted in the middle of my roses and poppies. My yard is more fertile than most because it has a nice layer of humus over the clay, and it was "virgin" when I started my garden. I did not disturb any of the natural land behind my house when I planted, but formed my gardens around the rise and fall of the woods, and have grown some crazy happy plants there. I dread the time when the natural bounty runs low and I have to try to work supplements in between the cedar roots!

I bought two new tree heathers from Heidi at Dragonfly this last year (well, actually Mom picked them up for me as I had to work when you all headed there), and they are happy little kids this spring. I can't wait for them to match their predecessor... it is one of my favorite plants in my garden. I think that when I prune it this year, I am going to try cuttings..... what can it hurt?

Well, I'll have to do a little research to see if my varieties are slow growers. I bought myself one of those handy dandy little soil testers by Rapidtest and I am unpleasantly surprised by the results of my testing! I thought my soil had such high fertility because I always compost and in most areas have a nice layer of fallen leaf litter or fir needles. Turns out NOT! Probably the clay content is too high for the nutrients to be available, although the acidity is not bad - between 6.5 and 7.0, so really about perfect. I followed up with a test that looks at the three major nutrients, but the results were difficult to read. Either the test was old, or my soil basically has no nutrients at all. I can't believe that, so I'm thinking I better retest. I'd send a soil sample in to the WSU extension, but I'd have to send about 10 different samples since I have so many different areas of the yard, each with different gardening histories.

My pyracantha is not a bloom, per say, but it sure brightens up a dull January day.

I am building my witch hazel area with sawdust and manure and shredded needles and leaves to compost in the 24" of top dress that has accumulated where the others failed. Wet humus is their favorite world and relative humidity off the chart. I will wait for the sambucus to wall off my area and top spray the area 2 times daily. At least that is my plan. I have planted strawberries over the area to test the soil. then I think to rototill it in and plant cover crops for 2 years to build N.
I then need to soil test and see in 2 more years. I have been working on this for 4 already.
Melissa you may need to add some sulfur based inorganics to start fast.?

Sofer, what do you recommend? I am shocked at how low my soil is testing. Then, when I think about it, I only fertilize individual plants, never all of the soil at once.

How about using Tagro? (Yep, it is on my brain, just unloaded another pickup load today.)

Why didn't I think of that???Duh!

I forget what Tagro is?

Tagro.com
I will bring you a container of it at Roundup, if I can.

No worries, Lynn. I'm thinking I will just order a delivery of it. I can have it delivered for a fee of around 10$, I think. I need so much of it, that it will be easy to use a truckload.

I want to order a truckload, too, but Joey is worried that the neighbors will complain. I am concerned, though, about the weight of the truck on the new driveway.

Are you going to get 15 yards of it? You can't beat the $10 delivery fee for you.

It must be human waste?

Yes, I know it sounds disgusting, but it really isn't. Look at the site Tagro.com

I have two witch hazels that are blooming, and the hellebores as well! A few other shrubs (I forget their names) are showing tiny little green leaves. Some bulbs are sending up shoots. Exciting!