What's happening in your early spring garden?

Be careful with the native strawberry - a pot is the right place for it. If it gets loose in the garden it's very hard to get rid of.

That would make sense! Ours goes everywhere, which is good, as that's what we planted it for. It goes under the bridge and steps and just keeps going!

Edited to reply to Doss - it's not going to hurt anything where it's growing here. But thanks for the heads up; I will be careful where I transplant it.

k

This message was edited Mar 4, 2009 4:26 PM

wonderearth, lol = laughing out loud. Rotflol = rolling on the floor laughing out loud.

got it. just slightly behind the text generation.

Took me a bit too, but I got it. Poor plant in confinement, shame on you wonderearth! ^_^
ROTFLOL once I got it.
Just plain confused til then.
WIB,
SW

Gee, you start weeding and you can find all kinds of stuff. LOL!
From the GH.
White and purple flowering shamrocks.
WIB,
SW

In a few weeks my patio will be covered with purple wisteria. They are starting to bud out.

I love wisteria SW. I had a really beautiful one that died a quick death. Can't imagine what happened to it. :-( I planted a clematis montana in it's place.

I got seed fresh from last year. Are you patient enough to wait five years or more for it to bloom? Wait till you see it in bloom. I lost a few too, but I'm patient and persistent. Sometimes that is. LOL!
WIB,
SW

I am death to seeds. I do have two others but they have refused to bloom for me. Oh well. Maybe this year is the one. Thehellebores are more beautiful than they have ever been this year. They are finally getting mature. Maybe my wisteria will get happy too. I do love the clematis where it is though.

I thought my Wisteria was only good at creating leaves. Then one year the first one I planted bloomed. (The other two died.) I planted two more which have survived, but don't always behave themselves. I hope that yours decides to bloom this year for you!
I'm going to have to look up the hellebores, but am glad that they have brought some beauty into your life. ^_^
AH, Clematis, one of the most beautiful flowers of all (they are all beautiful!). I was so envious of my sister's and never been successful at growing them. Maybe this will be my lucky year with the Clematis! LOL!
Where did you plant yours?
WIB,
SW

Weeds, we got weeds everywhere, Doss. But I do appreciate your asking, nonetheless.

Linda (pouting)

Twin,
We all have weeds, we console ourselves with calling them wildflowers! LOL!
Pretty rock work, I like the green between. Also like that pretty pooch.
WIB,
SW

My Iris is getting ready to bloom, found the first buds today.
WIB,
SW

My brugmansia lemon twist is in bloom now!

I'm jealous! What are you feeding them? Are they outside or in the Green House? They are beautiful and they do have that light lemony color. Lovely! ^_^
WIB,
SW

Lots of water, love, occassional miracle-gro spray and osmocote. This brug is outside in the ground. I wish I had a greenhouse!!!! Or an acre or two for that matter.. Thanks SingingWolf! I can't wait until the RU!!!

Wow ! I can't believe it's blooming NOW - that is some good lovin'!

Love the curly pooch :) - I like the green coming thru, looks pretty.

We should start a thread weeds you love. my oxalis is all over but it gives so much beautiful yellow color and contrasts nicely with red tulips and it like a grounds cover. it surpresses other weeds.

Oxalis is a weed? Naw, it's a beautiful wildflower!
Definition of a weed is any plant growing where you don't want it to.
Definition of a wildflower, and indigenous plant that has a bloom grows where it pleases when it pleases. I got lots of wildflower photos I've taken right here on the farm. I suppose that I should start a thread on just them, since we don't go out of our way to cultivate them usually. Is there already somewhere that has a thread on this topic? I was kind of hoping to do regional wildflowers because they differ so much from state to state. What do you all think?
WIB,
SW

I know that old definition of weeds but, believe me, it doesn't apply to tumbleweeds! Those suckers are the devil's work.

There is a Natives forum, but I don't find it of much use because most of the posters are from other areas and we don't have their plants here. Some DGers are really paranoid about saying 'native' anything, because they get hung up on the definition. Before the Europeans? I go by the CA Native Plant Society and the state list of what's native - good enough for me. Besides, there are degrees: CA native, North American native, etc. I prefer the former. I think 'regional' is a nice compromise - maybe we'd avoid disturbing anyone with that one! LOL I'm sure they have some stuff in NoCal that I wish grew down here!

A wildflower thread would be great! I went to Joshua Tree National Park last spring and it was amazing! What about a dragonfly thread? I've had 2 kinds visit my garden.

Tulip bakeri Lilac Wonder --these were planted 7 years ago and bloom every year.

SW, yeah, Oxalis must be a flower. I mean . . . it looks like a green poodle!!!! It can't be a weed, can it?

Linda

Here's "Peace," looking not so peaceful.

And "Golden Showers," which I love with all my heart. So reliable, forgiving, beautiful.

And "Simplicity."

And a new Magnolia "Royal Star" in a 5-gallon pot which I plan to plant in my front yard. It's a "dwarfish" version of the magnolia tree. I understand that its habit is 10-15 feet, which allows me to keep it relatively contained as a multi-trunk shrub-tree at the outside corner of my British Pocket Garden. I just love it. I am hoping that it will provide me with nearly year-round visual interest, as it will be on the outside corner, opposite the inside corner, which will house a multi-trunk Crepe Myrtle. I am excited about the "find."

Look at the little flowers. Ummm, February interest. March/April will provide leaves. Winter will provide the trunk arrangement against my 4-ft Star Jasmine vine-covered fence.

Make sense? Am I missing something here?

Linda

Oh, ChrisW, your tulips are beautiful. What pretty little blooms. Where are they planted? In a bed in summer shade? Could I plant something like that under a deciduous canopy throwing leaves in March/April?

What a pretty little cultivar. I've never seen a tulip like that.

Linda

Beautiful tulips, Chris.

Linda, I love your roses and that magnolia is to die for. Such interesting shaped flowers.

Linda, love the "Irish poodle" shot! Pretty magnolia--is it fragrant?

Lovely photos Linda. How lucky to have roses so early in the season. Mine are really just beginning to leaf out. LOL on the poodle. That magnolia should be beautiful where you are planning it.

Here's an hellebore blooming now.

I think I must have (get) a hellebore.....Doss, what variety is that nice low-growing pink in your photo?

This message was edited Mar 10, 2009 10:32 AM

That's a seedling so it doesn't have a name. There are many wonderful ones on line but they should be in the garden shops right now blooming. Hellebores are real workhorses in the shade garden as they will compete with the birches for water and grow in dark corners.

Doss, KaperC,

The magnolia is planned for this spot. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=5537445

I am continuing with the work of my front yard British Pocket Garden landscape design and implementation. I have managed to plant my fence and the Star Jasmine straps to begin growing the 4-ft architectural barrier fence. I've also planted numerous hostas back under the Fruitless Mulberry trees you see at the top of the maggie corner. The maggie is planned for that front corner of the lot. I wanted a dwarf maggie for the year-round interest it will provide and to balance the crepe myrtle at the opposite corner, a formal layout, if you will.

I'm actually pretty amazed at having gotten this far in such a short time (short is longer today than it was b4 cancer, bTW, LOL). The lot sat barren of anything but weeds for 5 years and my neighbors don't deserve to suffer my neglect any longer. So I've hired a 17YO muscleman to help out, which is helping gr8ly. It's exhausting for me, but at least it's doable this way.

Here's another pic of that poodle, all 70 pounds of him. My main man! I love Sir Bozo a bunch. And his princess Olivia loves him as well.

Warmly,
Linda

Doss, a seedling doesn't have a name? That's like saying an infant doesn't have a name! What the heck is that about?

Linda

Speaking of roses, take a look at this bed! Those red leaves are a not-so-peaceful Peace, exploding. I'm not a huge fan of tea roses, but these are such lovely blooms I had to have them. I'm much fonder of grandiflora-like roses. It always seems like I lose control of the tea rose bush's shape throughout the summer.

Seedling from a hybrid? I know plumeria seedlings don't have names, they are "a seedling of...."

Your neighbors will be gobsmacked by your garden, Linda. (British term for your British Pocket Garden!)

I'm not a big rose fan, though we have two Lady Banks and some native roses. But I saw the Knockout rose on Paul James's show recently and it looks beautiful.

Doss I love your plant combo with the Hellebores. The combination of different textures is just stunning.

Here is a "double Iris"! lol...It's actually 2 blooms on the same stalk, it looked pretty incredible, too bad I only saw it at night when I came home from work, otherwise I'd have a better picture!

About seedlings: Hellebores, like Japanese Maples, don't grow true from seed so any plant that is grown from seed is a seedling and won't have a name. In Japanese Maples they do grafting of named trees. I don't know how it's done in hellebores.

Nice bizarre iris rob. Some of mine are on the way up too with buds. I've even got some daylilies making an attempt to bloom and I have to say that the result isn't too far from what you ended up with the iris.

I think that I've lost quite a number of my sea lavenders to that frost we had this winter season. :-( I love them so much but it's getting prohibitive to keep replacing them.