Spring Flowers

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh spring is finally here!

anemone in my garden...

'Golden Ducat' Daffodil

Monique Lilac

The wild lilac has lots of buds!

Dutch hanging out in the garden...

Another garden sign, this one on phlox...

And Duke breathing in some fresh spring air...

...what's spring like in your NW habitat?

Primarily wet this year!! This year the old joke that Oregonians don't tan they just rust isn't so funny. Thank goodness we seem to have finally gotten away from lows down in the low 30's or high 20's. It means that I can finally get some of my plants started on hardening off. If this rain will ever stop we should start getting highs in the mid 60's to the 70's - then Spring will really be in gear. Dotti

Gorgeous anemone. Tell me more about that wild lilac - is that a ceonothus? It doesn't really look like it. But it doesn't look like any lilacs I've seen either. I want to see another pic when it's in full bloom!

Gwendalou

Tell me more about Dutch who is the most handsome, furry garden bloom I've seen is a long while..... Tomorrow, time permitting, I will get a photo of my all-time favorite spring blooming vista.

That is indeed a ceanothus. After researching and looking at local nurseries, I settled on a mini-leafed variety. Funny, I can't think of the specific cultivar right now; will need to look it up when I get home. I think it could be Julia Phelps ... http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/15172/

I think I got a bit carried away with purples in that corner...everything tall is purple. I'll have to add more variety in color in front besides the two peonies (red and pink) and yellow spring daffs. Our neighbor on that side already thinks we have a thing for blues (house color)...I'm sure it'll be a matter of time before he comments on all the purple flowers this year. Seems that everything up so far is either yellow or purple, with a tinge of pink. Hehe.

Dutch is a 3-year-old 103 lb Golden Retriever. He's a sweet little flower...a very loving, happy dog. He reminds me of the cowardly lion from the Wizard of Oz because he's a big scaredy cat.... Dutch is afraid of little things like whooshing and tinking noises (like blowing on a bottle or tapping on a plate).

Both Dutch and Duke are darling!

I'll have to look for the smaller ceonothus. We had a huge one by the kitchen door that we yanked out last fall. It was blocking a bleeding heart, growing into a wisteria, and collecting bees right by the door, so out it went even tho I like them. We have another that is in an awkward spot that probably will be gone within a year. But I do like them a lot so maybe I'll get a small one to put in a better spot.

Gwendalou

Tiffany Dutch sounds so cute! If you tap on a plate around here, within seconds you'll have your thigh or foot warmed by freshly falling dog slobber courtesy of our retriever mix!

Here are my favorite spring blooms: trillium. I put a patch across the driveway nested at the foot of a giant leaf maple amid wild bleeding hearts. I transplanted these from a clearcut woods, with the neighbors permission, of course. They're doing great. Can anyone guess what the upright sticks are?

Nice grouping of Trilliums. Are the sticks there to remind you where they are during winter?

jb

I was out picking a few things yesterday for a table centerpiece and was pleasantlly surprised what was blooming. The grape hyacinths are weeds to some but I just love that vivid blue, tulips are finally really starting to come in, erysimums are blooming especially Bowles Mauve, primroses, hellebores, ipheons. I have a lungwort that is more blue than pink that is really looking gorgeous.
And of course the grass is beginning to grow like gangbusters, out with the mowers .

I love ceanothus, something that will grow, thrive, and bloom under the fir trees.

Lenjo, I am one who thinks that of grape hyacinth, but there is something about them this year that I am really enjoying. I usually rip them out as soon as they come up because I don't want them to take over (they were here when we moved in), but this time I think I'll let them stay. It's nice to see some color in my yard!

There were tons of grape hyacinth with their blinding color lining beds up at the tulip festival last week- gorgeous!

Good guess on the upright sticks jb-but no; they are ADD's-- Anti Dog Devices LOL! This motly crew of neighbor pooches frecuents the yard and apparently have no affinity for my poor trillium. The trillium are planted a few feet from the maple trunk you see in the background- fair game for wandering paws.
( plus I leave a pile of sticks there after they die back, for the very reason you guessed.)

I seem to lose my trilliums every year to my poochies. Do the sticks work for you cause you have a beautiful trillium bed. One of my favorite childhood memories was sitting in the woods in michigan and seeing the trilliums when I was out mushrooom picking.

I love the Trilliums. Reminds me of the ones in the woods where I grew up. Bleeding hearts and trilliums.

Do the sticks keep the dogs from digging? Duke's a crazy yard digger when if stays outside during the day. (In comparison, Dutch just hangs out and plays with his toys.)

Your pooches are adorable! :-}

The little ceanothus is pretty young... it's tag said it can get ~6ft tall! I am hoping that it will take to some pruning as the years go by to keep it at a cute/small height. We'll see. The worst thing that can happen is I can kill it. LOL. That's one thing that's great about plants...if it dies, you can get another and try again.

...now if I could only get them to come pull on my sleeve when they need watering.

Those aren't even my dogs! They just visit daily. All three have been here much of today. It's sort of a casual country neighborhood here, and the dogs all migrate my way. I consider it a great honor until they start knocking down plants!
The sticks really work, just to give them a visual not to walk, romp or run there. I've done perimeter training outside garden beds with all of them, but if they get excited about a noise in the woods- perimeter training goes right to he** in a handbasket. I wish I could put anti dog sticks in front of all doors with low windows LOL!

I love trilliums too, or would it be trillia? To me they are among the first signs that Spring is really here. Frecuently I will bushwhack with dogs in tow through the woods to find new patches of them and revel at each new one or group I find. Great little flower.

Tiffany, I failed to mention I like your signs! Wayward plants LOL! Duke is handsome too- looks so studious. Is he a Springer Spaniel? we just have a new Springer Spaniel building a house down our road. He visits too and at the rate he travels, there will be no perimeter training for him! Fast as lightning.

Finally enjoying a nice dry day here, although I haven't been able to get outside YET.

Not your dogs...that is too funny!! I literally laughed out loud when I read that. When I lived in a little mom-in-law apartment in Woodinville (early 90s), my neighbor's dogs used to come visit me like that. It's funny to be adopted by neighbor's dogs. Makes me wonder why they find us so interesting and worthwhile to be adopted. ;-)

Duke's a Brittany Spaniel. Kinda like a smaller Springer and not quite as hyper. His hyperactivity lasts for about 15 minutes for each new visitor coming over, or when we come home from work, errands, etc. Then he calms down and is a regular ol' couch 'tater.

LOL@low doors and windows. I bet they slurp at your windows!

The signs are pretty fun. I have another one that says "garden created by trowel & error" and it has a little garden trowel on it.

...been making all kinds of little goodies like those signs. Yesterday I was contacted by a new arts/crafts shop in Seattle that would like to sell some of my goodies...yay!!! I'm so excited!! I love doing the arts/crafts but selling at the venues is really kinda taxing...I wore myself out last year working full-time plus crafting and selling at a 4-day spring show, two months straight of weekend Farmer's Markets, 3-day Meeker Days Festival, 2-day Sumner Summer Festival, and three Christmas shows...that was just WAY too much. I much prefer the idea of making stuff and letting someone else do the selling. Hehe! I really hope this business opportunity works out. (I'm crossing my fingers and my eyes for extra luck!)

Brittany Spaniel: I knew that! I get them mixed up always. My husband had a Brittany when we first dated, and spent hours running through town calling for "Rags" who did nothing but run when allowed the slightest bit of freedom. She did not know the concept of "couch potato"-ever.

Good for you, on your sign venture! I can't imagine how tiring working fulltime weekdays plus weekends must have been. I wish you good luck and don't be shy about telling us where your signs will be available! They are cute.

Is Meeker Days in Kent WA, perchance?

Hehe. Duke is a couch potato in the house, is easy-going in the backyard, but the few times he's escaped through the front door he runs, runs, runs...and doesn't listen. Maybe that's a Brittany trait?! LOL.

Meeker Days is in Puyallup. A bit too big/commercial to do again craft-wise; though I'll probably go to check out next year's crafts as a shopper. [Booth rental last year was $155 for 3 days. I figured before operating expenses (insurance, craft supplies), minus the booth fee, I had made about $0.30/hour setting up, manning, and taking down the booth. Just wasn't commercially viable for a small-time crafter like me.]

I'm in the process of setting up an arrangement to sell in-store in a new art/craft store in Ravenna district of Seattle. I'll let you know when that's official; their grand opening is May 1st. My Web site -- bluekidney.com -- also points to upcoming shows 'n' such. And if you're a Round-Robin fan, I generally put a few handcrafted items in the boxes as they come by or when they start out...signs too. :-)