Spring Bulbs Pictures & Discussion: Part IV

Yeah KB!!! Haviland has officially joined the bulbfest.
Tam

LOL @ Tam. YEAH!!!

Yey! The bulb show moves north! Chionodoxa roseum and several other snow crocus opened yesterday, so all giddy with excitement here. Also been finding the budding new growth of some perennials I planted last year, things that are new to me and I did'nt know what to look for in spring (I'm so bad for weeding something I don't recognize out, but I'm being very careful this year-if I don't know what weed it is, it stays!). I was extra excited to find the Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) popping up. I saw a large stand of them underplanting Mt.Hood daffodils at the Lexington Cemetary and have wanted to duplicate that scene ever since, just beautiful!

And spring is officially just 4 days away!!! Time to celebrate!

kb the other bulbs do look like narcissus, congratulations! Nice country backdrop you have there!

critter I think vossner is having a break, she'll be back!

Neal I hope you don't intend on recreating the whole cemetary scene! Spring may only be 4 days away officially, you tell that to the weather gods! Still forecast cold here for at least the next week, we always have a really warm spell 3 weeks into March, the most we can expect next Friday is 8C, 46F, I do hope they have got it wrong once again!

I have a single deep pink primrose outside my front window, a struggling plant that's been there a few years, I keep peeping at it but can't get out to take a photo, 1 pic would be a bit lonely. I love Mertensia, have often thought I will get it.

LOL, Janet, I just realized how the Lexington Cemetary sounded! If you don't live close you would'nt know that the Lexington Cemetary has lots of elaborate gardens, ponds and water gardens, many labeled, mature trees and shrubs(the rows of weeping cherries you can drive under are incredible!), coi and ducks and geese that people feed. My high school horticulture class even took a field trip there. Another funny thing is I have been wishing for the space to create a sort of gothic themed garden since I saw a thread (I can't remember who or where) with someone asking for suggestions for one. I've always wanted a dramatic way to showcase black/near black flowers and foliage, and that thread got the wheels turning (Oh no!). I love gargoyles anyway, and that would be the contrived space to use them. For now the idea is still just fermenting, but when the right spot for it opens up, hmmm.

"but when the right spot for it opens up, hmmm."

as long as it's not a gaping hole in the ground! Your choice of words is hilarious, "fermenting"!

Sounds like a very peaceful place anyway, well it would be wouldn't it!

Hey, I could leave a gaping hole, and tell my friend's who have a habit of bringing their dogs out here to the woods to play, that it's for the first man or beast to set foot in my gardens! LOL

The chionodoxa roseum!

Another:

The baby trout lilies are sprounting! The immature ones always show up first, but I love the mottled foliage. I think one of my grey hairs is flying across the camera lense,lol.

Can you see all the tiny red pips? Those are all trout lilies!

My chionodoxa rosea are just beginning to bud. I will have to check to see if my trout lilies are emerging yet. How do you get them to multiply like that? I think I only have the original 3 I put in 4 or 5 years ago. They bloom but I have never had any babies. Do they multiply from seed or bulb division?

My chionodoxa have not even come up yet. :-(

Neal, I'm going to have to road trip to KY some spring just to see your garden (and daylillydaddy's too)... you've put in so many amazing varieties! Folks, did you know that Neal & George ordered thousands of bulbs between them last fall??

Those little trout lily leaves are adorable... I remember searching for them every spring in a tiny park near our home that was famous (at least among those few enthusiasts who had found it) for its wildflowers... what a rush! There are some huge drifts of them at Cunningham Falls State Park (north of us), but we've only managed to catch them in full bloom once... looks like you've got your own spectacular drift of them popping up there, Neal!

Definitely road trip material. LOL

Neal, what species of Trout lily? I don't know if my old (native ) grandiflorum survived the rework/quadruple-digging/rototilling of the garden. But I do have 'Kondo.'
I have dreams about "pillows" of chionodoxa, as they seseed so well, blooming the second year.
Question for everyone: What blooms first for you usually, Scilla siberica or the Chionodoxa?
K. James

I don't have Scilla siberica (I don't know why; it is one of my favorites) but my next door neighbor has it and hers always blooms before my Chionodoxa by maybe a week.

Hey everybody, I'm back. Went away on vacation. Hubby's on spring break and really needed the time off from all that studying. We chose to leave the laptop behind to really get away from our routines.

Came home to some beauties. Will take pics tomorrow and post.

Hey everybody, I'm baaaaaack. Went away on vacation. Hubby's on spring break and really needed the time off from all that studying. We chose to leave the laptop behind to really get away from our routines.

Came home to some beauties. Will take pics tomorrow and post.

Look - a Bearded Iris!

Steve, you bragger! Just kidding, brag on! Actually, loving it, and so looking forward to iris and peonies.

Thanks all, and come on down! Really, I would love to host a small, informal plant swap this spring or summer. I think it's gonna be a good year (fingers crossed, weather allowing).

I'll have to check my records on the Trout lily species, but it's the wild form; I did'nt plant it. They were already naturalized beautifully when I moved here, but since the area has been mowed in summer and maintained (as it's the front yard) they have multiplied like bunnies! It was practically a carpet of those mottled leaves last year, but they look much thicker. They're so strange to; the little bulbs have this foot-like root that apparantly pulls the bulb deep into the ground. Since the soil here is so deep and loose, a bulb the size of a pea will often be 8" deep. So as abundant as they are, I've found them a real pain to move.

You've posted pretty pictures... how about one that's not so great? Here are my ugly-duckling daffodils - unfortunately, they don't get any better than this. I got two bulbs of this five years ago - they were rogues in a batch of bulbs that I actually wanted. Since then the darn things have multiplied and I have about 20. The picture shows some of the better flowers - often they do not open properly because the petals get caught up in the frilly cup. The petals have rough edges and the cup tends to be very ragged. I guess this was either a mutant or a failed breeding experiment that inadvertently escaped.

I think they're cool looking - why don't you like them??

Steve, loved your Iris and look how tall that lily is. I have 2 feet of snow on my gardens. Can't wait to see your first lily!

TomH3787,
Those are awesome. A mixed-bag whacko that any person with a sense of humour should enjoy greatly.
Neal; our native grandiflora grows up in alpine habitats (little spots of z2 and 3) and has retractile roots that pull them 18"to 24" down to stay warm. (I am not suggesting that I have dug any up, but man, it was hard to get to the bulbs without destroying the wispy link to he surfaced leaves.) They come to the surface and wait for the snow to recede, and bloom right on the melting edge. The smell very similar to Freesia.

Tom, those are beautiful! They put me more in mind of one of Ginger Roger's dancing gowns than ugly ducklings :)

Kenton, that's the problem I had. 6-8" of a thread like stem between the bulb and the leaf is very difficult not to break. I think I did notice a light fragrance last year from them, but I don't often get my nose that close to the ground, lol.

And I must share my joyous suprise. I just found a Frittilaria Imperialis sprout! I planted 3 and of course have been checking regularly for signs of life, but yesterday I found the first, and 2 sprouts are coming from 1 bulb. Now anxiously awaiting the arrival of the other 2. I've only ever seen them in pics, so if I finally witness them in person I'll be doing another happy dance!

Speaking of Crown Imperials, Blooming Bulb is having a sale on Fall bulbs right now. I think the CIs were 4.15 a bulb. for the reds. I planted five last year among my other bulbs hoping it might deter mice and such. They are so expensive.

Thanks beaker - wow it is late for that much snow isn't it???

The first ones here usually bloom sometime in mid to late April - I have lots of stalks popping up everywhere! Most of the hyacinths and probably the majority of daffodils here are finished, though - so I wish I had a way to hide that foliage till it dies off!

Steve -- DAYLILIES! I've been planting them in my new (well, new-ish) daffy bed... once everything gets established, I think they'll do a great job of hiding the yellowing daffy foliage. My daffs are getting plump buds, and some of the daylilies have just barely started to poke up green tips, so it looks like the timing will work.

Thanks critterologist - I already have lots of them - but maybe my placement of them is off though! Oh well I guess we can always add more! Most of mine have a lot of foliage now. Do you plant them directly on top of your daff baeds? I think I have been avoiding doing that and put them more between clumps - maybe that is what i am doing wrong?

March is our snowiest month, so nothing unusal here. While it is not at all enjoyed, I've seen it snow on Mother's Day. Our last frost date is May 30.although most people around here treat May 15th as the last frost date. If it warms up here after the 1st of April, we'll probably be seeing our first spring bulbs sometime between the 15th and 30th.

You haven't noticed all the Minnesota Snow Birds in Texas? My sister just got back from San Antonio. Brought me back two nice 14" pots and told me she fell in love with a cowboy!

I've been putting them between the daffs because both my daylilies & my daffs are new & haven't started multiplying yet... but in time, they will probably be pretty much existing on top of one another, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. maybe just divide your daylilies that are elsewhere and tuck fans all over in your daff beds... probably it'll be easier to put a daylily division right next to a daff than actually directly on top of it... their roots can just duke it out (and since they're active at different times, I don't think they'll compete particularly). It'll take some time before my daylilies actually completely hide the dying foliage of my daffs, but at least they'll screen it a little & give me something fresh & green to look at! Also, while everyone says to leave the daff foliage on as long as possible, by the time it's turned really unattractive I doubt it's adding *that* much in the way of stored energy to the bulb (not trying to start a debate here! :-).

critter, that's what I do and it works great. Either daylilies or hostas cover most of my daff foliage. I tend to plant in layers since I want color as much of the year as possible everywhere. Yes, I know, I'm a glutton for punishment, lol. When it comes to the garden, the whole less is more idea is lost on me.

Me too.... in the garden, More is more! I do try to restrain myself a little in the front beds & plant in drifts rather than cramming in as many varieties as possible.... gives a more formal look... but out back, it's "anything goes!"

I like the idea of overplanting with hostas, but I will have to wait until my baby trees get big enough to provide a little summer shade. My daff/daylily bed runs around & between a mimosa (which is probably large enough to shade a few hostas already, hmm) and two little maples, sort of an elongated kidney shape with the middle tree planted a little further back than the end ones (I'm not into planting anything in straight lines... can only imagine what our landscape would look like if my "such an engineer!" DH did the planning!). The daffs in that bed are getting fat buds... will post a pic when they pop! :-)

My Chionodoxa don't even show their buds yet, too cold.
It's been cold this week, down into the teens at night.
These little Crocus are really showing up well now, clumps like this are popping up all over. Snapped this pic today.
I'm anxious for something else to bloom. 2 or 3 more weeks I think.
Andy P

Lovely buttery colour on those crocus, Andy!

Warning: I have a small mess of pictures. Things are only in their first year, and most of these are specimens, so it is a collector's interest and a failure as far as "pow" at this point.

This is how crocus look after they have been "randomly distrubuted" by a rototiller.

Helleborus niger looks so promising after its old leaves completely winterburned.

Endearing little crocus (Blue Pearl and Ruby Giant) who still manage to make it through the ivy. 2zeus has inadvertantly convinced me to remove the stuff. I had a look today and it threatens to eat my lily garden and cover my favorite palm.

Here is an unknown Hyacinth that has blue bases and muddy pink color otherwise. I have the urge to tear it out (no fan of pink) when I walk by. Who wants it?