What is in full bloom in your garden now? April 16 to 30

While Julie is enjoying her weekend away with her DH, I will take the liberty of starting this thread for her:

Asking for your help to continue to create our PNW bloom record

I am updating the bloom record database as quickly as I can, and I will try to post a note here whenever I have had a chance to update the record.

The spreadsheet in progress can be found on the right side of the page of our PNW cubit here:

http://cubits.org/PNW/forums/view/pnwgardening/


Please give us as much information as you can regarding the plants that are in "full bloom" or "full color" in your yard or neighborhood right now. Pictures are awesome too! After all, how else are we going to be tempted by those plants that we NEED to add to our own gardens?

Thanks for your help!

Julie
This tulip is "Daydream". it starts out yellow and ages to a wonderful orange color. It is also good agout coming back year after year.

Another tulip but don't know which variety. It was also supposed to be orange. LOL.
This is its third year in the planter, however, which redeems itself to me.

My sweet cherry tree is also now in full bloom. Interesting that it is at exactly the same time as last year in spite of the early spring we have had.

The flowering cherry finally opened up with the sunshine this week.

Great, Sharon! I hope Julie is having a good time with her DH and that after this weekend he will be so under her spell that he will give up on the chicken issue!

Narcissus 'Thalia' is in bloom now.

Some pretty tulips

And Pulmonaria 'raspberry splash', which, BTW, is planted on the north side of the house behind a hydrangea and underneath a Peris japonica, so it never even sees any direct light.

Violets growing up through the bricks in the courtyard.

Hi Willow!
That evergreen clematis whose name is somewhere in my mind, this is the 'snowdrift' cultivar', is in full bloom. As are the yellow things in the back, commonly called 'japanese roses', the name of which will come to me as soon as I finish posting this. Pooh.. I hate these estrogen moments.

A pretty little bulb everyone wanted the name of but I don't know.

What a pretty courtyard, Pixy. Willow, I should know the name, but am also having an "estrogen" moment.

Love this Erythronium. Will be digging it up this fall to spread it around.

Your garden looks so beautiful Pixy

Here's a wider shot. Maybe not so fuzzy.

Willow, that unknown pretty little bulb sure looks like the picture on the box of 'Star of Bethlehem' Ornithogalum bulbs that I just had decided not to plant based on the 'it will take over your world' posts in the Plant Source. But maybe it's a different type of Ornithogalum that isn't so invasive?

My ornithogalum rotted. It's invasive somewhere?

Hi Kim, If it is that class, it is different. I had the old-fashioned 'Star of Bethleham', I finally did dig it out but it is still coming back a bit. You're right they do look similar.

Katie I don't know anything about ornithogalum to be honest, but the thread here on DG about the type called Star of Bethlehem is full of people vehemently warning you not to go anywhere near it. I have this little carboard box with two bulbs in it that are labelled Star of Bethlehem - but the characteristics don't sound quite like the invasive one that is being discussed. For example the box says this bulb will get to 32", while the common Star of Bethlehem is more like 6 or 8".

I'm usually the type to just throw something in the ground and figure if it spreads that's just more plants for me... but since I'm currently taking a break from cursing and pulling up buckets of Hyacinthoides hispanica, maybe I'll listen this time. Perhaps I'll put it in a pot and see what it does.

Regardless, sorry yours rotted, and I'll be curious to know what Willow's bulb really is.

Well, I probably bought it out of Wayside Gardens catalog.

I put in 3 ornithogalum the Fall before last, don't know what kind but they were short. The were certainly anything but invasive, as they struggled along and did poorly, putting up pathetic,scraggly little flowers. They have not even started popping out of the ground yet this Spring, and have possibly died. So I can't say I would recommend them, but for an entirely different reason. The flower sure looks pretty in the catalogs.

I wonder if it's like Buddleia - invasive some other places, but not so here. I have heard that the bulbs have a tendency to rot, so maybe the PNW is just the thing for them. I love the blossom. Interesting about Star of Bethlehem - I'll have to look that up.

So you don't like the Spanish Bluebells? LOL They are prolific, but I like that they do so well on their own. I wonder if I shouldn't be trying to encourage them here.

The dear deer came in this morn and ate my bluebells down to the ground. It's that little buck, he eats everything. Will be glad when he goes off by himself probably in June of July.
Those bulbs of mine have been in the ground for years and only put up some tiny leaves. Then two years ago I added compost and every bulb I had just sprang to life. Increasing and blooming like crazy.

That is such a sad tale. They ate your tulips, and now your bluebells. Do you like venison?
We have 5 deer that graze in our yard. BIG DEER! Big appetites.

No I don't like venison. Used to be married to a hunter/fisherman and didn't enjoy it at all. Well I do love fish. Besides these guys have such cute faces and love their apples. I love it when I open the garage door they come running over.

I think this picture shows why Spanish bluebells and I have issues. This is the second tub of bluebells that I pulled out of ONE BED today (the alligator on top was also found in there).

But I guess they should be added to our in bloom record!

And here's the bed once I was done cleaning them all out - those are the Daydream tulips that Sharon and I like so much in the background.

Holy cow. Yes, that's a LOT. My SIL has had them for 20 years and I don't think that she even has that many . . . the alligator is a nice touch!

Yeah, the alligator was one of my better finds - but I'm forever finding kid toys in my flower beds. You guys have deer and voles - I have two boys who feel the need to be bouncing balls or flinging alligators at all times. So far this spring the damage has been pretty minimal. I think I've gotten off easy.

Love all the brick and nice looking beds. You look to young to have two boys by the way. I'd keep the alligator too.

Great looking rain barrel too.

Melissa - Japanese Roses: Kerria japonica?

thank you Katye! I should have known you'd remember! Yes, that's the one. Kerria japonica. Mine are the double blossoms.
I have a boy who takes parts of branches off with his airsoft gun. I found the tip of a branch to my magnolia tree lying on the ground and knew immediately he'd been target shooting. Plastic bb's meet soft growth. Bad. very bad.

And boys never truly grow up. My husband and his buddy were recently shooting some kind of gun from our backyard down the hill to the pond, trying to pick off my water iris blooms. Luckily neither was a very good shot, and both got a sound scolding.

Crabapple, M. Royal Raindrop, is humming with bees.

And so is my favorite cherry, P. 'Sam' (planted for my son, delicious dark sweet cherry).

Vinca major

I was poking around on the bulb forum, and I think I've solved Willow's mystery bulb puzzler from a few posts up the thread. I'm pretty sure it's Ipheion: http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/Ipheion/Ipheion_Alberto_Castillo1_JL.jpg

(And in closing, may I just say that after a gorgeous weekend my garden is in much better shape than I am. Ouch! Why does spring hurt so much?)

It's a good hurt.

That certainly looks like it. What a big clump.

Bonehead, that husband of yours sounds very naughty to me! He probably should sit in the 'time out' chair and think about his actions! :)

OMG, Bonehead. What were they thinking? Sometimes I think that two males or more shouldn't ever be together unsupervised (by a female).

Kim - I'm with you. The first long weekend is hell on the hamstrings. On a good note, though, I finally got my lawn mowed. It took 2.5 hours. At least now the grass is shorter so it can start to dry out a little . . .