Gita, it's interesting how that tree looks so dead yet still has lovely flowers.
Holly, I love that bed! What kind of vines do you have planted in that area?
This message was edited Apr 28, 2014 8:16 PM
FIRST FLOWERS OF SPRING Frost..What the??
Gita, that is a *great* tree for birds!! :-)
Now I wish I'd gotten a kwanzan cherry instead of the snowfountain cherry...
Greenthumb, Ric and I visited the local creek with our camera today looking for a couple of interesting ducks I saw the other day. Well besides the thousands of Va Blue Bells we found a huge Arum growing down there. I've never seen one that wasn't in someones garden. Are they native plants or did this one get away from someones yard?
Holly---
Nice visit with David--or was it just a stop-over on the way home from your trip?
Looking at your pictures above--I am a bit concerned about the VA Bluebells
growth habit. Seems they sprawl a bit????
I am concerned because I bought 2 pots of them--still not planted--maybe
thinking they are the same as the "Clustered Bluebells"...Me thinks NOT!
Can anyone tell me if they stay put in a nice "bunch'--or do they sprawl around????
Thanks--Gita
Just starting to bloom: Antennaria plantaginifolia - Plantain-leaf Pussytoes, Woman's tobacco (?!? I'd like to know the story behind that) - host for American Painted Lady butterfly.
Sedum ternatum (Wild Stonecrop) has been flowering for a few weeks now.
Viola striata (striped cream violet), a host for Fritillary butterflies. After I took this photo, I scraped away the mulch and saw what appears to be quite a lot of babies. If they're Violas and not bird seed sprouts, I'll pot some for the swap.
Last but not least, Myosotis sylvatica (perennial forget-me-nots).
Oh, those bluebells are beautiful!! Great photos, Holly.
Gita, not the same as Clustered Bellflower. I think VA bluebells spread themselves around a bit, but I wouldn't say they sprawl.
My Arum italicum (?) gets red berries in fall, so I would think that patch could've been started by a seed umm sown by a passing bird.
I didn't know anything about them before your question, Holly, but the native Arums seem to have non-variegated leaves, like this one: http://grownative.org/plant-picker/plant/arrow-arum/
We have just 2 clumps of Virginia bluebells, and they may have slightly increased in size, but are by no means sprawling. I had several quite a few years ago in another spot in the yard, and rather than expand, they disappeared completely. I think that along the stream bank, they are very happy and do spread. Walking along the C&O Canal where it is right next to the river, they grow quite lushly.
Muddy, put us down for some of your bird seed sprouts. :-)
Holly, I'm confident that the Arum in your photo is Arum italicum, a non-native plant that has escaped from captivity. While hiking along the C & O Canal I have encountered Grape Hyacinth in remote locations and wondered how on earth they managed to wander so far from road and habitation.
Gita, I think you misinterpreted Holly's post. I think she used my name to question me about the Arum, not to indicate that I engaged in a visit or activity with her and Ric. In answer to your about the Virginia Bluebells, they do not spread by runners or rhizomes, but will form colonies by self-seeding. They do not do this rampantly and are easy to pull, so do not be afraid to introduce they in your garden.
Well, it is obvious we have more than one computer in our house. :-) Here is a shot of one of our above-mentioned clumps of Bluebells taken yesterday.
Nice photos Holly! I like that bed in your first photo set :)
Time for a new start:
We're heading over here http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1358264/
Thanks David and Pat---
Two computers for sure.....you both posted just minutes apart.
I am trying to imagine where, in my tight beds, I could even grow a clump
of these Bluebells??? Maybe by my shed bed? That gets dappled shade
and is a pretty moist bed.
Maybe in front of your existing yellow Foxglove??? I'll figure something out...
Maybe I will allocate a home for the Bluebells somewhere in my YUK bed...
Are they hardy enough to fight the existing situation with roots there?
So far--I see no sighns of my big B&B Salvias coming up there...
Nor the Cardinal Flowers...I am patient to a point.....
OK! Gotta get ready for work. Thanks for the picture. Gita