Apropos of Nothing v.21

Love the color of this Lewisia.

An unknown Hellebore. I think I got this one from Heidi and it was unmarked.

One more.

Beautiful Pix - I love your paths!

Your garden is incredible.

Thanks, guys! Did anyone lose hydrangeas this year? I have at least 6 hydrangeas that, while not dead, are having to come back from the roots. The bark is split on several of them, likely from the early deep freeze in November. Anyone else have this level of damage to theirs?

I call this one 'Plant Porn'. And that's all I'm going to say about it. (Except that it's an ornamental rhubarb.)

Oh my Oh my!!!!

Ha ha - too appropriate, because I for sure have been lusting after that particular bit of plant porn :)

Grew this from seed (no pun intended...) a couple of years ago. I hope it's not monocarpic. I'd hate for this to be its last year. If it sets seed, you are welcome to some.

Hahahahahaha. I've never seen this before.

Just don't turn your back on that thing.

Many of my hydrangeas are coming back from the roots. But others of the same type in the same location are not. Go figure. I have a friend on Sammamish who thinks she lost her established Ayesha, but I suspect a similar thing is happening with her.

I have two mature Nikko Blue macrophyllas right next to eachother at the front of the house in a relatively protected spot. O.ne leafed out a full month earlier than the other showed any signs of life at all. The second is now leafing out (not coming out from the roots). I have no idea why

Hope springs eternal, then. I hope some of mine decide it's okay to leaf out.
That rhubarb grows inches per day! It's about 6 feet tall now.

My two hydrangeas look great, but my rhubarb that I planted last year is looking so-so. It is alive but not growing very quickly.

This is the first time I have lived in an area that has defined seasons. San Francisco has seasons, but less markedly, and coolness pervades throughout the year. I am flabbergasted by the way the garden can go from winter bare to coming alive in the spring. It's a beautiful thing, and I can sit in my garden for hours, just looking around.

I hope everyone has an exceptional Mothers' Day!

Some of my favorites. Cherry Trees in their full glory! My neighbors hate these trees. Blossoms and leaves Oh my. They are neet freaks! I'm not!

Yellow Rhododendron and my holding house for annuals. Never had to do that before.

Last of the daffodils. Promise of clematis, daylilies and phlox. If that was Eremurus foliage one of those too.

They hate cherry trees? What is wrong with those people? Love the yellow rhody. Mine are just beginning to bud out. That border is looking beautiful!

Back home from a quick trip to Oregon for Mother's Day. The dog behaved and I came home with three flats of plants - a good weekend!

Here's a picture of the bank out front that I'm working on - pulled out two overgrown trees last year and am working on removing all the grass :)

Tahiti daffodil with euphorbia, clary sage, and aubretia.

Has anyone here grown clary sage from seed? I planted it last year and it's a biennial, so this is when it is going to do its thing. But I saw something on line over the weekend that says it is invasive and a noxious weed. Is that right? Should I pull it before it blooms?

I've not ever heard mention of it being invasive. It's surely beautiful!

My theory is that nothing is invasive per se. I often read dire warnings about something, and ask the local Master Gardeners who have so far always said "No, not here, anyway".

I think that we tend to forget how much climate varies from spot to spot, even within one hardiness zone. As Shaw pointed out, we think that the customs of our tribe and island are laws of nature.

A species is invasive only where its needs are met. For example, something that needs moist soil year-round ought not be invasive where there's a long, dry summer. (Unless it's seeds get into a creek.)

Something killed by frost might or not be invasive in, say, Zone 6, depending on how vigorously it re-seeds and how long the seeds survive in the ground.

Anything that can't stand being rained on a lot, 8-9 months per year, is NOT invasive in the PNW!

Corey

We have a real problem with purple loosestrife here, and we also have parrotfeather invading the freshwater streams. Unfortunately both are very happy here...

Oh I agree Corey - I definitely take invasive warnings with a grain of salt. But this one is specifically listed as invasive in Washington state. Annie's Annuals site says they cannot ship the plants to Washington. But what I cannot tell from surfing around so far is if the variety of seeds I have, Salvia sclarea var. turkestanica, is supposed to be controlled along with the species.

I guess unless I see something that clearly says otherwise, I'm going to assume not and let it happily reseed and do it's thing alongside Rose Campion and Jupiter's Beard and the other reseeders/invasives I welcome in my garden :)

I think for sure that "you keeping an eye on it" for a few years will tell you how invasive it is in your neighborhood.

>> But this one is specifically listed as invasive in Washington state

Eastern or Western?
Dry high desert with severe hot/cold swings?
Temperate Mediteranian coastal bog?
Gravelly mountain streams?
Under forest cover?

I'm kidding, just making the point that "a state" has many wildly different climates.

There's a tiny National Park on Cape Cod, at the Marconi site, where a very short walk takes you through seven very different microclimates. The plant life changes 100% every few tens of yards. I'm sure there are plenty of species invasive in any one of those zones ... that won't grow at all 50 yards away.

Corey

Apparently birds have delivered blackberry seeds to my garden - I have dug out 3 this week. Birds can carry seeds for long distances!

Those blackberries are very persistent, and tough. I do love the berries though so I let them colonize here and there. They are also pretty in the fall.

Last night when I got home from work, I parked the car on the street and noticed that a purple euphorbia planted in my sidewalk strip was shaking and quivering even though the day was quite still. This euphorbia is only about 18" or so high - and is actually the same one in the picture upthread with the daffodils and clary sage - but when I looked closer there were four small chickadee size birds stuffed into the plant hopping about on the stems and enthusiastically pecking at the bracts. I sat and watched them for several minutes, and it was so cute, as if the euphorbia was a chickadee sized tree planted just for them.

Propagation question?
Do sedums return from a rooted cutting the next year? What experience do you have?

The reason for this question is I had the opportunity to visit Skagit Gardens ( the big whole sale place in Mt. Vernon) anyway the tour guide was telling us about sedums. She said that if you don't catch them at the right time all they will do is send up a single flower then die. They will not return the next spring.

Needless to say I have taken cuttings and given them away many times. However I have never kept the cuttings. I had some sedum cuttings at Lynn's house so I was wondering if those of you that planted those out did they return this year.

Different sedums are different, I suppose. But many of those I have are 'cuttings' or pieces that have rooted and gone on to become full-fledged plants. I haven't ever heard this before. I'm sure that's how nurseries propagate and sell them . . .

Julia, I was the lucky recipient of some of your sedum cuttings and I know at least some are doing just fine. I did put them out in the new flower bed last year, and haven't had time yet this spring to do much investigating of how things are doing yet. It seems that when the weather is at all cooperative, I have to get right to tasks rather than taking time to walk around the see how things are doing. I will make it a point to look this week and perhaps send a picture or two.

I am wondering if the guide was referring to the century plant types or perhaps the hen and chicks group which do seem to die out in the center once they have bloomed?????? I know I have been less tahn successful with some of the latter when they look so big and wonderful when I take them home, but fail to flourish.

Julia, just did a quick trip in the front yard. I believe Butterfly Pea and Cloud Walker are both from you. Needless to say, they haven't grown much yet but are definitely still alive and in decent shape. Do you THINK it might have been too wet for them lately??????????

Sharon,
Thanks for looking. Hope you didn't get soaked. It is raining here like the hose is on full.
She was pointing to some that I have Matrona (sp) and I think Postmans pride. The tall ones. I'm going to keep a few cuttings this year and see. I wonder if they just tell you that so you don't try to propagate. Oh shame on me.


I think that Butterfly Pea was an annual vine. I had complete failure with that and reused the tag. Bet the real name is on the other side.

I will have to look "on the other side" !!!!

Julia, looked on the other side of the tag and it read only "Heb Gray" I did also find another, Frosty Morn.

Those are the sedum names. They are coming back this year then. Good. That would disprove the statement then from the tour.

Look what we found this morning. Their nest is right outside the front window. It is the coolest thing to see. We can see 2 beaks, so that must be the parents. A few minutes after taking this picture, their tails were up in the air.

Springcolor, the lilies are coming up in spite of their late planting and the dog digging them up. I will post a picture later. Thank you so much for coming down to help me. You don't know how much I appreciate what you did. My back surgery is finally healing, and the Park is getting under control better, so I am finally getting to do a little weeding. I am still waiting for the 2nd back surgery to be scheduled. I better weed while I can!

AWESOME Lynn! How exciting to watch. I'd never get anything done.

Lynn
Love the nest! So it was the dog and not critters? I was wondering what happen to you. Not many posts from you. Happy that you are now getting out a bit. Take care!

Beautiful little nest. I would think those were the babies. A gal posted hummers a few years ago. Pictures of the whole process and the babies always either had their tails or heads sticking out