Disorganized bulb gardening

I'm not much of a spring bulb fan. Actually, I like the little or offbeat spring bulbs, like snowdrops and Persian tulips. It's the huge King Alfred daffodils, massed armies of hyacinths and the garish Dutch tulips on steroids that I don't really care for. So last year at this time, I was looking at posts on Linda's whatsitgarden blog and wishing I had some small species tulips in my garden. Tulipa hageri x aucheriana 'Little Princess' filled the bill. I bought some online and tucked them away, as usual forgetting about them completely until late in the year.

I was cleaning out the garden room some time in November and found them, along with several Camassia quamash bulbs I ordered at the same time. In desperation, I looked for any sunny spot to plant them and pretty much threw them into the soil. Records? Planting location? Ummm, no, I didn't make any notes.

So what do you think these are?

From their location in the Northwest Territory, I'm hazarding a guess they may be the Camas emerging. What do you think? Do these look like Camas sprouts to you?

I had several pots of Ornithogalum, known as Star of Bethlehem, a South African bulb I bought from New Seasons at Easter time. When I researched them, it seemed worth taking the chance and planting them out in the garden. Whether it was our mild winter (so far) or the bulletproof nature of the bulbs, they (I think it's them, anyway) are peeking out now. They usually flower in summer, as I remember. Of course, that would be summer in the southern hemisphere, so all bets are off after forced flowering last Easter anyway.

Do any of you know Ornithogalum? Does this look like it might be them?

I feel slightly more confident about the location of the aforementioned 'Little Princess' tulips.  My confidence is boosted by the buds I see forming in the centers of the bulbs.

This looks like a tulip flower bud, right? Of course, it would be nicer if it got a bit of a stem, but I'll settle for tulip flowers growing straight out of the ground at this point.

This last group is a dead giveaway because of the distinctive buds. It was a pot of Narcissus 'Tete a Tete' someone gave my dear old dad last year, that I tipped into the ground in late November. I'm not crazy about them, but I just didn't have the heart to toss them on the compost. At least they are the tiniest daffodils you can get.

So one out of four is my embarrassingly low ID count for spring bulbs.  And if they actually produce flowers and I can positively identify them, I promise myself I'll record the locations.

Yep, this is the year I'm really going to get organized.

Bloom Day, February 2012

What mild weather we've had for the past month! It's not exactly balmy, but many shrubs are blooming this February Bloom Day. In fact, almost every plant I showed this month last year is included this month, except for a few sad demises. Here goes:

Camellia x 'Winter's Snowman' continues its show from the past few months.

I'm glad the plants have decided to bloom well into the new year...that's when I need and really enjoy them the most.

Little Rosemarinus prostratus 'Bonnie Jean' is making tiny purple-blue flowers.

Even when temperatures are considerably colder, Rosemary is a winter performer.

Vinca minor (some the straight species and some 'Bowles Mauve') are taking hold, I fervently hope. Many people are aghast that I want to encourage this rampant spreader, but I have such an inhospitable location (with local dogs and their pee-mail) that I am ready to encourage almost any ground cover that will survive (no thank you on the Bishop's Weed, however!)

Vaccinium ovatum 'Thunderbird' is just opening.

Arctostaphylos x 'Austin Griffiths'.

The scent of Sarcococca hookeriana var humilis is perfuming my front garden and doorway. These tiny flowers are hardly noticeable, but their powerful scent can't be missed.

That's it for Bloom Day here at Longview Ranch. Click over to our host, Carol, at May Dreams Gardens to see what else is in bloom today. Happy Bloom Day!

Pasadena in January

This past weekend, we flew to Pasadena. That sounds rather blithe, but this family reunion to honor my late mother-in-law had been planned for over a year. I'll be posting about other parts of the weekend, but I'm beginning in reverse with our last day: Monday was very wet and our plans to visit the Huntington Gardens were ditched in favor of exploring some public buildings in Pasadena.

The Mulch Man was interested in finding out more about any structural damage from a freak high wind event that happened there in November and arranged to talk to a City of Pasadena building official. Afterward we wandered over to the main building of the Pasadena Library.

The lovely old building was somewhat marred by this unattractive orange mesh, apparently protecting people from falling into the ongoing fountain repair project.

The main Pasadena library has a feel something like the downtown Portland main library, and it's probably about the same age. Inside, along with a wonderful children's library, we found the Pasadena Centennial Room, a reference room devoted to publications specific to California and Pasadena.

Of course, I made a beeline for the horticulture books.

That tiny field guide in the center is from 1911. It had some beautiful drawings, but I wasn't permitted to photograph them.

There were other great titles: I was surprised to read about the large number of Opuntia species endemic to Southern California in California Cactus.  The Mulch Man discovered a book on wild food by an old school friend, Chris Nyerges, in the collection. And I didn't even get inside Big Trees of California.

The large room was full of readers, but I wasn't allowed to photograph people, either, so these shots are necessarily limited.

Leaving the library through the courtyard, I enjoyed the potted plants (Dasylirion?) and a big planting of the irrepressible Bird of Paradise.

Across from the library was a bed of Agave attenuata, one plant of which had a huge, arching bloom.

As we walked back toward the car, we saw what I assumed to be evidence of the wind damage from November. The bloom stalk on this Agave americana (variegata?) was broken, although its companion's was intact. Maybe the second one came up after the windstorm.

Further down the street, branches that had fallen out of trees were still languishing over the plantings.

The size of these plantings is hard to tell from my pictures, but some of the Agave americana were over eight feet high.

I just love the huge, ropey arms on these big guys.

 Here's a sight that made my heart beat faster: an entire planter filled with Agave truncata! (correction: Agave parryi var truncata ... had a brain fade there.)

And here's a lovely couple. I'm guessing from the the empty bottle in the picture below and the weedy, messy state of most of the beds that the City of Pasadena is dealing with some of the same economic issues that Portland is experiencing. Maintenance certainly appeared to be taking a back seat to other priorities.

The view back to the happy twosome along the Agave truncata planter. That's quite a bloom stalk that Agave americana is sporting.

Check out this planter full of aloes!

Some were blooming, oblivious to the wet weather. Do want!

I think that gorgeous orange is a dead ringer for Tangerine Tango, Pantone's recently announced Color of the Year for 2012.  It's certainly my idea of perfection.

Snow Load

Now I know why architects must calculate the weight of snow on roofs in cold climates. My garden is showing the effects of just one night of wet snow, and it's already melted, not 24 hours later.

The Pampas plumes are broken and the plant is smoothed down like a beehive hairdo.

The Eucalyptus pauciflora ssp. debeuzevilli was already listing. Now it's leaning seriously and I'm wondering what intervention, if any, would help.

 Plants all over the garden are broken and battered.

The worst damage I've found was sustained by the center plant of the three 'Winter's Snowman' camellias I just posted about for Bloom Day. The leader has ripped apart from the middle of the plant.

Now this middle shrub is about half the height of the two on either side of it. So much for privacy for another several years...

At least my grandchildren had some fun with the snow!

Did your Portland area garden survive this snow event better than mine?

Bloom Day, January 2012

In December I had a brief post about the only two plants blooming in my garden. This month's post is briefer still, species-wise (although I got excited and took more pictures.) My solitary garden blooms this Garden Blogger's Bloom Day are on three Camellia x 'Winter's Snowman'.

'Winter's Snowman' blooms so early that the flowers often get damaged by winter's wet weather. Some years the blooms have looked rather depressingly like little blobs of wet tissue stuck all over the plant. This year has been relatively dry, and the blossoms are lasting longer and looking much prettier.

I mentioned in an earlier post about this particular camellia's open structure and the fact that we are not overwhelmed by their ability to create privacy for us. The way they are performing so far this winter though, I'm quite prepared to enjoy them as the stars of my garden this Garden Blogger's Bloom Day.

The soft blush of pink on the opening buds is a delightful surprise up close.

Pop on over to May Dreams Gardens to see what's blooming in other gardens this January. There's always something there to enjoy!