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 »
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 »
Late winter seems to specialize in little flowers at your feet. Cyclamen, snowdrops, winter aconites have all been in plentiful bloom (okay the cyclamen aren’t usually plentiful but the pleasure they give is bodacious) and flowering merrily along with them are the crocuses. Read more »
Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ (left) and Magic Carpet spirea 3/2/2013
There’s something to be said for being a laissez-faire gardener who is dilatory in cutting back you plants. Here, the autumn hues of Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ stems are beautifully complemented by the brilliant orange new growth of Spiraea japonica ‘Walbuma’ aka Magic Carpet spirea. A moment in garden time soon to be lost as the stems of the sedum inevitably get cut back to let the new stems, now just tender little blue-green nubs, have their time in the sun and the fiery orange leaves of the spirea fade to chartreuse. Read more »
Oh, those crazy Ranunculaceae – clematis, buttercups, delphinium, nigella, hellebores, aconitum, meadow rue, columbine – all in the same family. You could build the whole herbaceous part of a garden out of members of the family Ranunculaceae and have a flower in bloom most every month of the year. Read more »
Cotoneaster lacteus 12/23/2012
I went past this Cotoneaster in December and it looked like somewhat had decorated it for Christmas. I went back a month or so later and although the birds had clearly been at the berries, it still was a bright, fresh note to the gray and green of a typical winter day. Read more »
Fuchsia magellanica 1/27/2013
Fuchsia magellanica. It blooms and blooms and blooms and then it is dead. Not actually dead but dormant and of an ugliness surpassed by few plants that haven’t been badly pruned. The moral of course, is to plant Fuchsia magellanica where a bunch of sticks going every which way won’t be a blight on the winter garden.
The Cornus kousa from previous posts on January 12, 2013
Slender and lacy, the winter silhouette of this Cornus kousa is so lightweight it barely shows in this photo.
The original post on Cornus kousa in November when it was strutting its autumnal colors can be found here. In a few months I’ll have some shots of it leafing out.
I saw some little Cerinthe seedlings starting up the other day, pleasing signs of beauty to come on an otherwise dull, gray January day.
Cerinthe seedlings 1/14/2013
In the right winter light, the branches of Acer palmatum ‘Sango-kaku’ glow. This photo was not taken in such light but the tree is still pretty eye-catching. Read more »
