Spring peeking Vol. 2

Holly, I had been pondering that geranium/whatever photo since I posted about it, knowing I had seen leaves like that in my yard... and having had cranesbills in the past, thought it looked like the leaves of that cultivar. I think Debbie's right - it is probably a weed - I don't have THAT many cranesbill geraniums planted around, and I've got it all over the place too. It also SORT of looks like leaves from eranthus (winter aconite), but much smaller, and I don't think that's what it is because that would have bloomed quite some time ago.

Sorry! Wish it WAS a geranium!

But it is a Geranium - I could believe it's G. pratense, or the G. carolinianum rcn48 mentioned, which is a native plant endangered or threatened in a couple states. So if it's that "weed", it's not causing ecological damage like most weeds.
Some of the weed sites call anything that's not a cash crop, an ornamental, or a lawn grass a "weed".

Helleborus hybrid up, blooming & spreading.

Dead Nettle

I don't know what this tiny blue striped wildflower is but it is charming.

I was poking around the nurseries today and one of them had Cranesbills. I got a good look at that and it's not what I have.
Buttoneer, Is that some kind of creeping speedwell.

Well--FINALLY! A nice day and i am off from work at the same time! Wonders will never cease!
Worked my tail off outside today! As much as i could--taking a break to eat a late lunch/early dinner while watching Dr. Phil and Oprah.

--Mowed my lawn for the first time today....SO thick and succulent! Had to go slow....
--Raked all the leaves out of my flower beds and bagged them all
--Loosened the soil around my Roses (7 of them), fertilized them and gave them their
only seasonal dose of Epsom Salts (promotes new canes from the base).
--Mulched all the Roses (after fertilizing) and the Peonies...
--Put rabbit fencing around the bed where my Spinach is sprouting. Where the Birch was.
--And--after my break--I finally planted out my flat-full +one(that's 42) Violas here and
there. I hope they ARE perennial???? Would love to see them blooming again next
Spring!

My body said "STOP!!!" So now I am inside now! It is so hard to get all your bones and back used to this kind of activity AGAIN after a winter of nothing too physical! OUCH!

I am off tomorrow too--and if it is not raining--will continue.....

--On the agenda is spraying all my Roses and my Butterfly Bushes.
--Need to mark the clumps of daffs. that are to crowded and did not bloom, DIG UP!
Something to share! Buy new ones and plant...gotta mark the spots!
--BIG! BIG! Project I am not looking forward to.....Taking apart my S.E.M. (composter)
and separating the NOT composted from the GOOD stuff at the bottom and then
putting the "NOT" back in and hoping this stupid earth machine (S.E. M.) lasts another
year! It is all cracked at the rim....

Hmmmmmmmmmm..and--as long as it is so nice--I just may take all my "babies" (seedlings) and cuttings out for some fresh air--in the shade--of course...like my front steps.....

OK! I digressed.....This IS about Spring Peeking....
Took some pictures today. Nothing spectacular, mind you...just sharing.....

Here's a full view of those clump, fragrant daffodils I posted above and people were trying to ID. This may help?

Here is what the unopened bud clusters look like....

This is the long side-bed of my house. It faces South-West and is one of the beds i have that is relatively free of any invasive tree roots.
Right now--there are only bulbs all over the place, but this is also the bed where I have 4 of my beautiful Roses and where my Daturas and 4's will be growing. It has many other plants and flowers in it--not yet apparent....Lilies, Irises, Balloon Flowers, Phlox, a few Digitalis, a Clematis, a transplanted, tall white Hibiscus. I can't wait to see it now that it is freed up from the chokes of the red one! Should be so pretty!

I expect it to also have a lot of "volunteers" from my Grandpa Ott MG, and also my Broken Colors 4's. They look SO alike! It will be hard to discard all the Ott's and keep a couple of the 4's.....I will also plant a few new things in this bed....
Space for me is such a premium for anything new!!!!

edited to say--that you can see that I mowed the lawn today and how all the tires left "tracks" in the lush, moist grass....I cut my last and first mowing a bit lower--at 2 ". Usually--I cut at 3" all Summer....

This message was edited Apr 9, 2009 7:12 PM

Now--I have a serious question. This is a "Monkshood" plant. (Aconitum cammarum sparkianum).
EVERY Spring--it comes up great--and it seems to have spread and is doing OK.

It grows and grows--but it never blooms until VERY late in the fall--and by then the plant's spikes are all yuk and browning and all that....lucky if I see one of them bloom!
I just read in one of my books on perennials, that it is supposed to bloom late Summer to fall.....I do not know why mine is always deteriorating as the season goes on. ?????

Here are the "stats".....
--This bed is a bit on the moist side
--It gets some early sun--but then mostly bright shade the rest of the day. It does face kind of South, but the trees and my tall evergreens at the back of the yard shade it a bit too much.

I have always thought of moving it to a better draining and a bit sunnier bed--but in the book I read today--it says that Monkshood suffers "SEVERELY" if moved!
I have now had this plant here for many years--and I have yet to see it bloom worth diddly!
Looking at how much new growth there is in the Spring--and thinking that each cluster would send up a stalk, and bloom, would just make me so happy! WHY does it deteriorate as the Season goes into Fall and all that????

I will post this on the perennials Forum as well and see what anyone has to say there

Here is what it looks like now--ALL full of promise......EVERY Spring--I see that it has spread and is doing OK! So--what is wrong???????????????

Thanks, Gita

Gita, that's a healthy clump of Monkshood! You're doing nothing wrong, we have the same problem. I love the fact that this one is a late bloomer but you're right, by the time they bloom the foliage is pretty beat up :( I think the heat and humidity just wreaks havoc with them because when I grew them in Maine they never looked as pitiful as they do here! If you decide to move them, do it ASAP. Their roots are deep and they need to be moved before the hot weather kicks in to give them time to make the adjustment to their new home. The good news is that when, and if, you move them you'll get tons of divisions as their crowns fall apart easily :)

Four oclocks will have opposite, paired leaves
Morning glories will have alternate leaves one at a time
^_^
Ya'd be amazed at what Gita makes of that bed by late summer. Overflowing with good stuff.

Thanks, Sally! I didn't know that! You are too smart!!!!.....;o)

Seemed last Spring, when they both were coming up in the bed--right in front of my "Sweet Surrender Rose", the only, minute difference I saw was that--the MG cotyledons had a deeper indentation in the leaves than the 4's. Very hard to distinguish....

I didn't even seed any of the Broken Colors this year--being 'sure" that i would get some coming up.....
I KNOW, because I SAW how many of those big, round seeds just rolled off the tops and fell to the ground below.....as I tried to catch them......
Of course--when I had to pull down the "ott" MG vine-all dried up--from my "Multi Blue" Clematis trellis, the seeds rained down like........well..... rain!

I NEVER, EVER want to have a MG going up that trellis again! I much rather see the Clematis "own" that space...

See you soon, Sal! Gita

Gita - I can only agree with Sal & Debbie - I too grew up with them in our garden, mom dug them up from somewhere & used them as a "hedge" around a flowerbed - I think they do better in cooler/shadier areas - very pretty, but oh so poisonous

SOOO! Is it more poisonous than the Daturas and Brugs? The MG's and the 4's? The Moon Vine?
All these are toxic--Night Shade family---but ONLY if ingested.....

I DO wash my hands after shelling seeds from all the Datura pods.....that is really a hands-on job....stinks too.....
I do not, generally, freak out about touching something--even if I know it is toxic. Not a fool--mind you! Caution is great!

I moved 2 small divisions of the Monkshood today to my East-facing bed and planted them smack against the concrete of the house. I will see how they do.

Of course--right in front of them will be one of my BIG Brugs....talk about shading something out! Oh well--they will have to fend.....

Did a lot of garden work all morning--now it is time for my break----to eat a bite and to watch Dr. Phil and Oprah. How i wish they were not in the middle of the afternoon!!!! BUT--it DOES give me reason to take a break....

Repotted a bunch of Tiger Lily seedlings today! Have 7-3" pots full--4 plants in each.
I think these were the ones that I did not see come up last year--but I kept the little cell-packs knowing SOMETHING was in there!

Hauled out all my Canna roots I have saved from last year.....too many for me to keep!!!!
Re-potted the surviving Caladium roots I had saved.....seems some of them went soft--kind of whitish/mushy--NOT firm.....

SEE! This is the "disease" we all suffer from!
GOTTA save...save...save.....Propagate....propagate....propagate......when--if you think about all the time and effort it takes--you could just buy a pack of new bulbs and be done with it! But then--we would not all be here on DG!

AAAAGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I am sick!!!!! Haul me away! Put me in a strait-jacket!

Teee...heee....I know i will meet you all THERE--wherever i will end up!!!

Have a great gardening day!!!! Gita

Oh, by the way---I an so happy to see my Proteus Clematis has survived!
This is the Clematis in my tiny bed by the kitchen steps (Sally knows!) where I dug up my HUGE KK Hibiscus last year and moved it to a bed in front of my house.
So good to see a healthy shoot coming up from this Clematis....it is a dreamy light blue!

This picture is from last Spring.....

Here's the info on Monkshood -
The common monkshood is a high plant with slim stem and beautiful blue blossoms. It is native to mountain slopes in Europe and east to the Himalayas. It grows on wet grassland, stony or rocky slopes, and near forest streams of altitude that is larger than 1200 m. During the blooming season, the plant is very prominent against the background of other plants and attracts the eye.

Wolfsbane is a perennial herb of the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. The plant is successfully cultivated, often as a decorative element in parks and home yards.

The common monkshood is one of the most poisonous plants of European flora. Since ancient times, people have known that it is poisonous and have used it as a weapon by coating their spears and arrowheads with its strong poison. The plant was used for killing panthers, wolves and other carnivores. The ancient Roman naturalist Plinius describes friar’s cap under the name “plant arsenic”. It was often used for criminal purposes.

Here is a today picture of the "Proteus" Clematis sprouting. Behind it is the label that came with it....I do love the color--but I have never seen my blooms as a double--as on the tag....

Here is th red Species Tulip open. Kind of late in the day--almost starting to close.....
I just planted these last fall...

YEAH! My Spinach is finally up!
Sure too it's sweet time!

By the time there is anything to eat--it will be hot...hot...hot...and the Sinach wil go "pheeewt"....

This message was edited Apr 10, 2009 6:36 PM

This is the bed wher mu old Birch Tree used to be.....
Figured--it had decent soil so I planted the Spinach there....also sprinkled some Dill seeds....Nothing yet from that!

Had to put my rabbit fence up so the little bunnies won't chew down everything.....

Gita, you crack me up. I was envisioning you in your straight jacket being pushed and pulled along by all of your MA DG buddies toward this large mental hospital with beautifully manicured gardens!!

Here's narcissus Elizabth Ann, planted in honor of my sister, an Elizabeth Ann

I'm not sure who this is. Possibly Topolino.

This message was edited Apr 10, 2009 8:28 PM

These are Fortissimo.

These NOIDS did not come with the house. I actually planted them!

stormyla- your daff pictures look perfect. I seem to have a lot of trouble getting good daff pix. The blooms end up being too bright or washed out.
This is my best bang for the buck." Hawera" has multiplied well, and each skinny stem puts up a big cluster of flowers.

Sally--

stormyla is KNOWN for her gorgeous photos--and she shares them often.
Show us some of your kaleidoscope photos, please! She has posted many pictures on the "Best and Worst" Post......

I imagine she has a really good camera--right, stomy????

Gita

Sally, Your Hawera are great and your bed looks beautiful. Everyone's pansies here are still really tiny, except maybe Judy's. Her flowers are so beautiful and early that it's hard to believe she is north of me.

Gita, I'd love to accept those accolades, but unfortunately you've confused me with someone else. I'm a very novice photographer. I do have a better camera, but rarely take it into the garden as I keep ruining cameras as they jumble around in my pocket with garden tools, cell phone and other doodads!!

My little Viburnum Bodnantense Dawn that I planted last fall is all abloom. Note the Permatil/Voleblock moat around it!

Ahhh--yes! Is it "dragonfly" then????
I think so.....

I have proof that the Easter Bunny is real ^_^

(Note to self - tripledogdaring Chantell is the way to get her to do something!)

The hat made for interesting stares from other guests - AND synthetic fur does not mix well with pasta!

This message was edited Apr 11, 2009 12:05 AM

You bedda wook out...I'll hit you wif my ears again...long as that waskely wabbit doesn't twhy to take mine again...

This message was edited Apr 11, 2009 12:48 AM

GREAT Easter Bonnet, Chantell - thanks for sharing the pic, Bec! You guys really are the Dynamic Duo, aren't you? LOL.

I was slogging out in the yard a bit this afternoon, even though the winds were really blowing. I was mostly digging out the blasted onions and dividing some hostas, but decided to take some pictures of the new blooms.

Another view of my old Hellebore - it probably has a name - I need to dig around behind it and see. It is an oldie, but a real goodie. I've got many offspring from this one scattered about.

This daff is 'Kissproof'

This is 'Precocious' - a little raggedy after the rains on Saturday, but still pretty.

And this one is 'Spring Pride'.

Here is one of two shots of my white Bleeding Heart - Dicentra Spectabilis 'Alba'.

And a close-up, backlit by the late afternoon sun.

Diva, I love that Kissproof. It's charming. You Dientra Alba is beautiful, makes me impatient to see mine bloom.

My Quince is putting out a nice bloom.

The Frittilaria are starting to pop open everywhere.