Mid-winter pup report

I'd like nothing more than to see my agaves in the ground. I know some of them can (thoretically) make it through our Zone 8 Portland winter. But I'm too much of a novice at growing them, and I'm not willing to risk their little spikey lives to the icy Columbia Gorge winds we usually get at least once each winter. So for now, they live in pots that can be carried indoors in autumn.

We have a nice south-facing exposure with a sliding glass door, and even a bit of floor space to accommodate them. But they don't really like being indoors, and they need water and a little cleanup several times during their incarceration. I was doing that yesterday and that's when I discovered the pups. Lots of them.

This is Agave parryi 'Cream Spike'. I knew it was a prolific offsetter, but it surprised even me with its speed this time.

Three pups are already growing alongside the mother that I repotted just this past summer.

The third pup is the largest: it's lodged right beside the mother and is hard to see under her flat leaves.

Agave titanota is jammed into a very narrow pot but that doesn't seem to be hurting it in the pup department.

Wait, maybe I've discovered the secret to inducing self-propagation.

My Agave geminiflora surprised me with a hard to see pup.

Can you spot it leaning out to the left from the mother?

 Agave parryi var. truncata is being taken over by several robust pups.

They seem like small gray-green parasites that could devour the host if they're not removed soon.

There are the tougher agaves I haven't risked outdoors yet either, but I know they are good candidates for wintering over in well-prepared beds. Maybe this summer I'll risk it. These agaves start out offsetting with a bang and are just getting bigger over winter indoors.

Agave bracteosa 'Calamar'

Agave bracteosa 'Monterrey Frost'

Here's Pearl showing us an excellent use of an agave spike (if you're an itchy cat.) This Agave scabra pup survived indoors while its poor mother that I ignorantly planted in the ground several years ago died a slimy winter death. The "pup" is now larger than the mother was.

Which appears to suit Pearl just fine.

Bloom Day, January 2013

It's slim pickings in the garden this cloudy, cold Bloom Day. After a milder than usual December, January in Portland, Oregon looks a little nastier and less floriferous. But there are a few blooms for Bloom Day, including several you saw last month:

Rosemarinus prostratus 'Bonnie Jean'. This grows on the south side of our house, so I only see it when I walk around the garden. If I had more sun near either door, I'd happily move it to where I could enjoy its bright blue flowers as I come and go in the winter months.

The proud flowers of Camellia sasanqua 'Yuletide' got iced over the last three cold nights. I'm sure the buds that open later will be fine if we don't have a repeat freeze at exactly the wrong time.

Several blooms on Rosa 'Perle d'Or' are hanging on in a covered area.

Daphne odora 'Variegata' is showing lots of color, though not yet fully open.

The remnants of Fatsia japonica blooms still adorn the plants near the front door.

Indoors, an Aglaonema is blooming.

And the Schlumbergera is putting out a solitary, intensely orange bloom.

Visit our host, Carol, at May Dreams Gardens to see what's happening in other January gardens. Happy Bloom Day!

2012 in pictures

While most of the world is now focused on looking forward, I want to savor the past year in the garden one more time before I move into 2013.  Here's a brief retrospective of my 2012 gardening year, with each month showing some favorite plant action.

In January we visited Pasadena, where I spotted this huge planter full of Agave parryi var. truncata.

In February, I was heartened to see Arctostaphylos x 'Austin Griffiths' beginning to bloom.

March is such a wet month here in the PNW that I have learned to embrace moss in all its forms.

The Northwest Territory shone in April as Mahonia aquifolium bloomed.

A sea of Helianthemum set off the steely blue spikes of Yucca rostrata in May.

My favorite color, orange, plays out in June as Phygelius 'Passionate' fronts Trachycarpus fortuneii.

In July, I visited the hillside McCulloch garden as part of the Hardy Plant Society's Open Gardens program.

Meliathus major 'Purple Haze' looked good enough to eat in August. Its scent, reminiscent of honey, explains its common name of Honey Bush.

September is the month for Caryopteris blooms in a saturated shade of periwinkle blue.

With perfect fall coloring, Libertia peregrinans 'Broad Sword' and Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii' warmed up October.

In November this NOID heather turned a lovely orange and set off Yucca rostrata's cool blues.

The fun of sputnik blooms on Fatsia japonica is a great way to end the year in December.

And with that fond look back at 2012, I may actually be ready to move forward into 2013! Happy New Year!

Holiday Greetings!

Cheers! I hope the holidays bring you and yours many small joys...

... and a peaceful and rewarding New Year full of LOTS of gardening!

A very late Bloom Day post for December

Yikes! I am four days late posting my bloomers for December. I actually ran out and took these pictures during a rain break on the 16th, but it's taken me two more days to put the post together.

So what did I find out there?

I'm still grooving on the recently planted Camellia sasanqua 'Yuletide' I showed last month. All three are blooming now, and their amazing flowers have held on through torrential rains and some pretty substantial winds as well.

A few Evergreen Huckleberries (Vaccinium ovatum) are already opening. Our lack of cold weather is encouraging growth of all kinds, but I wonder what the downside may be later.

Abutilon 'Tangerine', still pumping out a surprising number of blooms.

There are a few blossoms on Salvia 'Black and Blue'.

This is the exact same Kniphofia 'Timothy' bloom I showed a month ago for November's Bloom Day. Clearly, it has weathered, but it's still hanging on.

Fatsia japonica is such a kick at this time of year.

 An unknown rose.

A couple of random Ceanothus thyrsiflorus 'Victoria' flowers surprised me.

And it wouldn't seem like December in my garden without a few Rosemary blossoms. Rosemarinus prostratus 'Bonnie Jean' is reputed to be hardier than most prostrate varieties, though last winter and what we've seen of this winter have not been much of a test.

Visit our host Carol, at May Dreams Gardens, for a look at mid-December blooms in gardens all over. Happy Belated Bloom Day!

Bud Patrol

Yes, I know it's just early December. We haven't even passed the winter solstice yet. Leaves are still hanging on the trees around us. But thank goodness many plants are preparing themselves attractively for Spring's blooms and foliage, so here's what I'm seeing as I look hungrily for signs of that renewal. It just can't come fast enough for me!

Huckleberry, Vaccinium ovatum.

Camellia sasanqua 'Yuletide'. Many of these buds have already opened as you can see in the background.

Camellia 'April Kiss'.

Mahonia aquifolium.

Gaultheria shallon.

Pinus contorta.

Daphne odora 'Marginata'.

Arctostaphylos x 'Austin Griffiths'.

Embothrium coccineum with its fuzzy red buds. It's years from flowers, but I'll settle for new growth this spring.

 How about you? Can you "be here now", or are you already jonesing for Spring?