5/3/2013
I usually think of March as Pieris japonica month but it is one of those plants that blooms for a loooong time. Here’s some photos from May 3. From a distance it still looks in bloom, albeit in a dingy get-it-over-with kind of way. An up close look shows the reason for the dinginess. Go here to see my original post on Pieris japonica.
5/3/2013
Sometimes my brain thinks in botanical names and sometimes in common names – hence wallflower (Erysimum) with Heuchera (coral bells). Most of the colored leaf Heucheras don’t have coral bells (unlike the old-fashioned green-leaved versions you still see around here and there) so coral bells seems like a misnomer. As for the the wallflower, I find Erysimum a bit of a tongue twister, even in my head. As for the plants… Read more »
May 1, 2013
Aren’t the little pink cones adorable? Of course, they won’t stay pink, they’ll eventually turn brown but this would still be a nice plant to have in the garden. Dwarf conifers add great permanent texture; the needles act as a great foil to larger-leaved plants and contrary to popular belief, some conifers clearly display some great seasonal color. Read more »
It seems like a good idea, putting down an impermeable layer to suppress weeds and then covering it with mulch but it’s not. Really, don’t do it. I’m sure there are occasions and places where it works but more often than not, you end up with weeds anyway AND ugly bits showing through AND crappy bits of plastic/landscape fabric that you have to try and get out of the soil – so just don’t do it. Read more »
4/20/2013
Okay Puget Sounders, if you are headed to Portland between now and Mother’s Day, plan on a brief detour in Woodland to see more lilacs in one place than you ever dreamed of – the Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens.
Hulda Klager, born in 1863, was a farmer’s wife and mother who fell in love with hybridizing lilacs. Around the turn of the century she ordered some nice Lemoine lilacs to work with; the cows stomped on all but 3. Read more »
Pine candles, 4/14/2013
These pine candles are about as long as they will get but still soft enough to perform candling. Check out how much they lengthened in a month. Interested in the art of pine pruning via candling? Go here for more info. Read more »
Alright, I’m having a mental block. All my attempts to come up with a pithy yet evocative description of these plants falls short so today, I’ll just let the pic explain itself.
Veronica peduncularis ‘Georgia Blue’
Blue flowers still wow me. I’ve been gardening in Seattle for 20+ years and every spring I still marvel at the Lithodora diffusa. I can’t believe I live in a place where a common rockery plant can have such jaw-dropping electric blue flowers – and it’s not alone. Less common but with blue flowers that are just as wowsome isVeronica peduncularis ‘Georgia Blue.’ Read more »
Koelreuteria paniculata showing the salmon-pink of new leaves. It would be easy to walk right past this tree without noticing anything, the leaves at the moment show up only as the slightest of hazes from a distance. Up close the intricate salmon-pink leaves are beautiful, although I have to say the leaves are stupendously photogenic. The reality definitely was cool, but not so striking as it seems in the photos. Read more »
Pine candies?
It’s easy to get caught up in the glory of big. blowsy flowers, especially this time of year when everything is blooming, but don’t forget some of the small delights that are out there. Sara Malone and Janice LeCocq of the Form and Foliage blog have some photos of glorious treats left by the Easter Bunny up on their website. Read more »
