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Well into spring, which just happened

Well they’ve gone and “improved” the website again. I’ll just be brief until the updates come

BRIEFLY(!), things are happenin’ early this year, I think. Most bulbs coming up though Chocolate lily is just erupting in its clumps, and some of the recently purchased Fawn Lilllies. Most of the perennials are at least poking up if not leafed out. Poor Delphimium, three plants coming up great to ~1 1/2 foot with flower heads and two plants were attacked by slugs, with partial destruction. Too bad it isn’t poisonous to slugs like it is for mammals. A few Fawn Lilllies are just starting to bloom as are Shooting Star pulchellum, Douglas’ Grass Widow, and some shrubs: Indian Plum, all the Archtostaphylos plants like Hairy Manzanita and Kinnickinnick, all the Currants – yellow, red and wax.

Found a couple of plants along a path where the hot tub removal dudes had trampled…..I’d just planted a bunch of seeds and had a few smaller plants along that path, and am waiting to see what comes up (lower back yard from the hot tub deck to the street below…and they were all Samoan dudes!). We didn’t have anything valuable lost, I’m just curious, and also I’d have to replant/sow if things didn’t show up. A couple of Trilliums came up, including Chlorpetalum, which has pretty speckled leaves and fragrant flowers, and a planting of Trillium seeds from three years ago.

Ducks have arrived a few days early, actually the last week of February! They didn’t come back until last week, though it was still early, around the 10th, and it is usually the 18th or later. They are scare-dy ducks, though, and are too skittish. We used to be able to mess with them standing near the pond, now they fly away when we open the door! Jeez!!

End O’ January

First of the Shooting Stars, Desert Parsley, mature Trilliums and Delphiniums poking up . LOTS of Brodiaea shoots and now Ookow/purple Brodiaea. First White Camas, which looked very strong last year.

Just a hint of paintbrushes, pussytoes, and white, yellow columbines. None yet of Jacob’s ladder, gaillardia, asters.

Took out two huckleberry bushes in the meadow area of the back yard. Sowed a bunch of seeds there, hoping something will take hold. I had over 50 packs of seeds, only some of which I planted into pots, the rest was spread around the whole yard…we shall see what develops!

We’re gonna be in Sunset!

Apparently next March, with the photos that were taken this past May at and just after the Native Plant Society garden tour. A freelance writer showed up at the tour and asked to take picture, which we of course said yes to, cuz why not? He introduced himself with his name but didn’t say that he was a writer and also didn’t say he was tentatively representing Sunset. Apparently he sent the photos to Sunset that day to see if they were interested in our garden, because he was, that’s the reason he took them. Then a local freelance photographer buddy of his (whose native plant ID book we now have) wanted to do the piece, which we were by that time aware of, so he asked if HE could come out and take pix, so we said sure, cuz why not? But then Sunset contacted us shortly after and asked if ANOTHER photographer could come out. He was here for two half days, because it got too sunny on the one day. We had so many great flowers, and sooooooo many bees, that’s what first impressed the writer. We had the first showing of Beargrass, the tall and gorgeous White Camas, and the Yellow Desert Parsley, to name a few). Anyway, this year Seattle Times, next year Sunset!!

Winter bulb fun!

I noticed a few years ago that Brodiaea leaves come right up through holes in leaves, instead of just pushing their way up. I figure that they probably produce a substance that dissolves the dead leaves, leaving a clean hole. I took a bunch of photos of them. This year I tried an experiment, and secured several squares of paper over patches of Brodiaea, including newspaper, lined notebook paper, copy paper and card stock paper. The newspaper actually dissolved a few days after getting wet, of course! But the brodiaea came up through the copy paper and the sturdier notebook paper. The card stock has only been outside a few days yet. There are small dark dots and then they poke through. I’ve noticed that the tips of the leaves sometimes have a tiny drop of clear fluid at the top, that’s probably where the enzyme is. I took a few drops with a stick and dotted them on two spots on the paper, also, next to one of the leaves coming through. But, these drops dry out and so I had to reapply it. Not sure if there has to be continuous wet for it to keep working, but if it is an enzyme it does. I laid a stick with the tip wetted with these drops on the paper, in case that would help, but I think it has to be done a little more properly than that..don’t have lots of time, the leaves will be done trying to emerge soon!

Autumn has finally arrived

Of course, I always a deny the fall until it’s almost over, since we have some plants that persist into November and December. With the first freeze this past week, it’s basically winter and soon spring will be here! First snow, too, which was unusually on a Saturday instead of me having to drive through it, but it wasn’t heavy or sticking to the roads much anyway. It did stay around the yard all week, though, since it was freezing.

Planted some new seeds (in pots), mostly from eastern Washington . Synthyris/kitten tails, large flowered clover/trifoliate macrocephalum, Penstemon Gainderi, Penstemon deustus (white flowered), paintbrushes/Castilleja Elmeri and Miniata, Phlox Viscida, Balsamroot Serrata and Trollius Albiflora. Also planted in pots some white and small purple camas, bear grass seeds, and Purple avens (we have a few but not enough and we have too many of the large leaved yellow variety).

Many other plant seeds sewn in little areas (Dave calls them “clumps”) all over the yard. I had almost 50 packets of seeds of various types and quantities to sow in total. I try to mark them with white pumice so I don’t end up digging them out accidentally (I’ve seen some plants grow up together due to that if I’m lucky, who knows how many were lost, though). I’m still reluctant to put valuable plants, bulbs or seeds in areas that have been ravaged by moles in the past, even though the moles were much less active the last few years, or to plant them around aggressive plants like salal. So, I still end up putting most of these in certain places, but I finally have so many seeds of some types that I can be liberal. Too many to name, but lots of bulbs and plants that are underrepresented .

Below is not the snow we got last week, that was nothing by comparison. This is a winter wonderland from a couple of years back:

We’re in the paper!

Our garden was featured in the Seattle Times’ Sunday garden section, as a native garden. The pix were taken last year, in May, so things have filled out more since then, but the photos were good anyway…our garden can be very photogenic and not hard to find many good shots.

Next up, Sunset! We were photographed in May of THIS year, during and after the native plants society tour on the 17th. I have to say, those pix are likely to be much better – there are more and larger plants that are relatively new, more filled out, and a few plants bloomed for the first time, including the gorgeous White Camas and White Brodiaea ass well as Bear grass…these pix really don’t do them justice!.

Summer’s glory!

We have been blessed by the garden gods with an excellent summer again this year. Elements that make up this type of summer include long stretches of sunny days, maybe some fog in hype morning, and rain about every 3 weeks. The plants meanwhile love it, and they are thriving to show their appreciation.

We have a couple of new plants growing, including healthy looking foliage of Scarlet Gilia, and a few baby starts of Bog gentian that we need to put in the newest, third bog area (two others are in a raised planter structure and part of the pond). I also have healthy looking starts of orange flowered Globemallow, River Lupine, Monkshood and the taller, red flowered Common Paintbrush, but I won’t plant them out till fall so I don’t have to struggle to keep them watered and alive.

Lots of seeds collected, mostly ones I want to plant. I collected a bunch of native “sunshine mix” for Sarah, which is camasses, Iris tenax, Nodding onion, Sea thrift, red columbine and a few others. Selected ones include two pods of Trilliim Chloropetalum, Harsh Paintbrush, Ookow, White Brodiea, purple brodiaea, white Camas, White and pink Shooting star, triteliaea (purple), Wild Ginger, Bear Grass, hookers onion, small camas, chocolate lily, Fawn lily, tiger lily, leopard lily, pussytoes, Geum Aveum, Desert Parsley/Lomatium

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The squirrels and Jays have just about finished off the hazelnuts. Too bad it will be another ten years or so till the Garry Oak produces acorns, it’s supposed to take about twenty years.

New pix for spring!

Desert parsley, trillium, shooting stars, fairy bells, camas, fawn lillies and bear grass

Planted out seedlings of Scarlet Gilia, Hyssop and Desert Parsley.will leave the Mariposa lillies and other bulbs in the planter pots until this fall.

Some early bloomers

Starting with one of our actual Bear Grass blooms, which is starting to open up for real. Some others below, including new Yellow Desert Parsley, Fairy Bells, trillium starting to turn purple, shooting stars, fawn lillies, orange Harsh Paintbrush and small camas:

Bear grass is blooming !

Almost, but it’s been years since the oldest plant was planted and this is the first time we’ll get a flower. There are actually two plants which will bloom, out of three. The flower stems are tall and the flowers are a billowing, roughly diamond shaped off white flower, the leaves like a tuft of sedge. The pic is not my flowers, though, I got it online. Mine will probably be in a week or so. Not sure how long it takes, the buds are still just a grassy knot.

The small camas is in bloom, as are the shooting stars, a peek of harsh paintbrush, the currant trees, and just a hint of the onslaught of penstemon blooms we’ll get!

New seedlings that are doing well: 2 mariposa lilies, scarlet Gilia, gaillardia, yellow desert parsley, a few hyssops. A few standbys: fawn lillies, hopefully the pink kind, small (dark purple) camas, light blue camas, Ookow, and Hooker’s onion.

Lots of trillium seedlings from my banner crop two years ago, in just about every spot I planted them, both front and back yard. I collected the pods, cleaned the seeds after about two weeks in the fridge, and planted them at about four weeks. Also a batch of about ten three year plants, too