Are your daffs and crocus starting to show green? (Part II)

Here we are: The "Moss" Garden. (Sagina) It features the oddball and mini bulbs that benefit from a nice green, flat backdrop.

I started to go for a gold/black scheme last year.

I just love this one, taken today.
K. James

James yes the coprosma is an evergreen, it only loses some of the lower older branches as it grows but very few, I just snip them off. I'm amazed myself, it always does go a deep colour but that is the most amazing I have ever seen it! I've jhad it for approx 6 years from a small plant, it went through a very cold winter in the greenhouse, to 16F and prolonged frost when small and thankfully survived!

The compost is full of organic etc, but when you get close up all the 'bits' in it look so big! This is the stuff that gets all (most!) of my plants through the cold.

The plant behind is a Washingtonia filifera, seed grown, I think in it's 5th year, I have 2. My daughter brought back some seed from Tenerife. This is their 2nd winter in the greenhouse, I kept them inside for a start over winter, they did slow down a bit but needed to harden up, besides the house is bursting at the seams! Still a good size.

Is your last picture a Trachycarpus fortuneii? I put mine in the ground a year ago and the stem has got quite thick, it's in PF.

I have Ophiopogon p. nigrescens amongst purple paddle slates around my Phormium Evening Glow (something about that name!), I put crocus around the outside edge and most are yellow with some purple, they go well wiith the black. Took a pic yesterday with others

That Phormium has got big and lost a lot of it's bright colour, I took a digi of an old pic I think in it's 2nd year in the ground, the Ophiopogon has spread a lot and you can hardly see the paddle slates now

All I can think of saying is "Oh, baby, Nice!" The ruddy Phormium and gold just jive... Purple paddle? Please enlighten this sping chicken.

I did have more to say, but it was so off topic, I'm D-mailing it.
K. James

Purple is the colour of 'paddle' shaped slate stone! It is rounded at the edges and longish as opposed to rough shapes and sharp, they put the price up by double later, they haven't had those bigger ones for some time, just smaller chips. It was about $0.35 a kilo (2.2LB).

Oh, I see. Pity you do not live where a person can just go out with a pickup to roam where all the rock to be had can be had. For comparison, relatively cheap quarried flagstone will beg $.14 USD per pound locally here.

Wow wallaby! Love the color and texture contrasts and echos. It's really cool how the strong blue of the roof and strong purple of the stones are tied so beatifully together with the plants. The echo of blue in the delphinium and of plum in the poppies-just stunning!

Yay - I spotted my first purple crocus - I guess they will come back here after all! Found two violet ones today also.

The 'plum' in the poppies is correct! It's callled Patty's Plum.

We have one excited Texan here! purples are later, mine are standing in bunches waiting for the sun to open them!

gemini is the blue on the roof the sky reflecting in the greenhouse you can see?

Thanks Wallaby - your yellow ones almost look like they're coming from the same bulb or cluster of bulbs!
I have all kinds of stuff starting to bloom - check out these daffs

My Erlicheers in the container along with other stuff - and my yellow hyacinths are finally popping out!

Daffodils in back along fence line

Vuurbaak hyacinths

Marieke daffodils from last year - it hit 70 degrees troday and was sunny and stuff is starting to open all over the place

In front

More stuff coming up

A little purple tulip is hiding!

OK one last one - look - gladiolus leaves!!!!

Wow it really is spring! Things are popping up before my very eyes! I sense the excitement in the air, the smell of spring wafting through my computer!

Snnniiiffffffffff, sssnnniiiiffffffff, Hmmmmmm, very nice!

:) I guess we'll need a new thread ~ "Are you daffs and croc's showing BLOOMS?"

This does not make sense (says a houstonian green w/ envy). How can you guys up north have some much coming up ahead of us down here? Frostweed, now you, Steve. That ain't right, it just ain't right, I tell ya.

But pls keep the pics coming so I can continue to be jealous...

wallaby, that's funny- I kept staring to figure out if that was sky or a roof I was seeing; it's both! Just say you planned it that way, and accept the compliment LOL.

Steve, you've been inspiring me to get my beds tidied to best show off what's coming very shortly. I have 1 solitary clump of crocus blooming and strangely the deer have just nibbled 1 of them. I guess they don't taste as good as the heucheras. Feel like I'm running a buffet!

You're right, Moby.

Steve, just admit that you have laid down three-hundred and fifty-two thousand feet of heat cable in you flower beds just to razz us (especialy Vossner!).

Tidy away Neal, I'm quite curious to see your handiwork.

Other than Wallaby and Myself, who else thinks that the strongest indicator of spring is the smell?
K. James

New thread, these lovely pictures are taking a bit of time- I am on dialup today and realize how patient some folks have been!

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/579445/

Thank you all - I am enjoying your pictures as well!

Just returned home from a week's vacation today, and we've got tulips and daffodils up about two inches. That happened while we were gone.

Daffs in the ground just poking up through the snow; forcing daffs are about 3 inches tall and two have buds pushing up already - too warm in the house for them. I've been putting them outside during the day and letting them cool down in the evenings.

BTW, I've grown Iris reticulata in zone 9. They will come back most years, but sometimes on a warm winter they didn't always bloom. Probably if I didn't have "new home clay backfill" at the time, and actually put them in soil and planted them a little deeper, they would have been more reliable. As it was, I was surprised they came back for several years.

ONE good thing about leaving zone 9 - this fall I'm gonna plant tulips - and stand a chance that they will bloom more than one season in a row. Of course, I'll have to encase them in chicken wire as we have lots of critters running wild around here (so far I've seen jack rabbits, cotton tails, chipmonks and possums - oh, and at least 3 different types of mouse-looking things).

Good luck on that! Ambition is your sharpest tool, my friend. I forsee some interesting animal threads in your future...

Very small, one inch across but it still qualifies as my first flower of 2006.
Found this in the lawn this afternoon.
Andy P

Woo Hoo Andy!

Mine too are peeking their heads out but I'm worried if we get more snow I might loose some..

Loretta...

I feel dumb asking, but I must. The leaves on my Pipit daffs are about 10" tall, but I don't see so much as a hint of flowers. is that how it's supposed to be?

This message was edited Mar 6, 2006 9:19 PM

Isn't Pipit supposed to be a dwarf? I used to have catalogues with them all in, kept them for years and then chucked them! When they do that they are often not mature enough to flower, or are too crowded and need splitting. Try moving them when the foliage dies back. lift and leave dry for the summer, replant in the autumn giving 6" between. I'm not sure if you can do that in your climate, but that is what we would do here if they were in a tub and you wanted to plant something else.

It might be a good idea to give them a bit of food to build up the bulb.

I just bought these and planted them after chilling for 60 days. shouldn't be crowded but I am going to be terribly dissapointed if these are immature bulbs. thanks, wallaby

I've seen 'Pipit' bloom after tall foliage, and also just following 4" foliage at my friend's garden.

When did you plant them, vossner?

late dec 2005, I believe.

Well vossner, you did plant kind of late, so I would not give up hope yet. They have only been in the ground for about 3 months or so.

Yoo, hoo... excuse me... out of the 238 posters on this thread do any of you grow Onithalgolum Magnum?

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/581403/

I need advice please on combination plants for them over on this other thread and no one is helping me there (boo hoo)...and I know someone here must grow it...Wallaby, maybe, and Steve and K James try everything? And Voss?

We still don't have anything blooming here, but lots of stuff peeping out of the ground. Lilies are peeking out of their containers. Should they be doing that? My giant allium got a little frozen/shriveled I think. So too bad.

Will post a good pic soon, I hope.