Friday, March 25, 2011

Spring Progress - March 24, 2011

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Lilium 'Black Beauty'
Well, it's been about a week, so it's time for another update on what's popping up in the garden, as well as a few progress shots. Above is Lilium 'Black Beauty', which just emerged this past week...much to my relief, as I was walking around in the area last week and was afraid I might have stepped on them just as they were about to emerge...eek!

Amsonia Hubrichtii March 20 2011
Amsonia hubrichtii
I'm sure i had this is the last report...these are so slow to get going in the spring...it seems like they've been at this stage for at least a month!

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persicaria
Persicaria 'Red Dragon'
I just wanted to post this in comparison to my previous post about the Lan Su Chinese Garden...look at the difference! Granted, they are in a little walled urban heat island :-) This does bring up one interesting thing I've noticed this year, plants in my garden seem to be a good 1-2 weeks behind where others in my neighborhood are. Some of that could be that the other plantings are a slightly different cultivar...or maybe just the fact that they are, for the most part, more established plantings. Still, it can cause some anxiousness,as I'm always sure my plants are dead, rather than just late to the party ;-)

Euphorbia Dixter March 20 2011
Euphorbia 'Dixter'
Success! I bought this plant at the PDX Yard Garden & Patio show last month, and it's finally broken through...can't wait to see how this one performs!

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Allium 'Purple Sensation'
While I actually prefer to randomly plant the smaller "Drumstick" allium around for burst of spontaneous color, I did plant some of the larger "Purple Sensation" last fall...sadly, only 2 or the 6 seem to have made it through...unless the others are just sleepheads...let's hope!

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Crocosmia 'Orangeade'
While I noticed them a few weeks ago, these are just now big enough to get a decent photo...not that they don't just look like blades of grass! I can't wait to see how big they get during this, their 2nd full season in the garden.

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Sanguisorbia 'Pink Elephant'
The Sanguisorbia continue to unfurl and lengthen...love their odd, crimped foliage.

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Rhus typhina 'Tiger Eye Sumac'
While some people have trouble with their sumac being a bit too aggressive, this one has struggled in my garden for the past year...I'm thinking it may really not like my heavy, HEAVY, HEAVY clay soil (did you know my soil is really heavy?) Nevertheless, it looks like the little buds are fattening up, so hopefully this is the year it settles in and really takes off.

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Anemone 'Honorie Jobert'
This little thing has been up and growing for quite a while...it seems to be happy in its location.

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Astrantia major
The Astrantias continue to grow, albeit slowly, although none of the 'Abbey Road' has really popped up yet, I could swear I saw a spot of green the other day...I'm not giving up on them yet!

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Agastache 'Golden Jubilee'
Love these, they grow faster than anything else in my garden...they are already starting to turn yellow...with the newest growth still stained purple.

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Agastache 'Desert Sunrise'
Agastache as such variable creatures...these "Southwestern" types typically keep a small amount of basal foliage during the winter (and if they don't, they don't seem to do as well the following season). The eastern types (Like Honey Bee Blue, Blue Fortune, and Black Adder) die back completely and don't usually emerge until quite a bit later in the spring. As such, I'm still waiting for any of the eastern types (except for the previously-mentioned 'Golden Jubilee', which is an exception to the rule) to emerge.

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Geranium 'Blogold', aka 'Blue Sunrise'
Last, but certainly not least, is Geranium 'Blogold', another plant I bought at the Yard, Garden & Patio Show this spring. I was a little worried that no growth had yet emerged, but alas, yesterday after work I finally spotted the first few sprigs of growth! Ah, gardening, each little sprout is a victory of sorts!

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Oh wait...one more thing!!! I have a bunch of these mystery seedlings all around a section of the garden...I'm still waiting on the first set of true leaves to ID it accurately, but an thinking it may be a nearby Echinops bannaticus...I hope that's the case, as I'd love more to spread around the garden.

How about the rest of you...what's up and growing in your garden...have you had a chance to take stock of any losses over the winter? I'm pretty sure at this point that my Ornamental Rhubarb has passed on to a better place...as it really should have shown up by now...then again, you never know...it might just surprise me yet!

12 comments:

  1. Scott you have some great plants emerging from your Heavy heavy clay. I also have clay...what a mess! I plan on getting Rhus tyohina 'Tiger Eyes'. I hope mine is happy....time will tell.

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  2. Oh, there is no sign of my lilies yet, but I'm sure I'm behind you. I planted some of them last Fall, and others recently, that I just bought at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. One of them was Black Beauty, which I remember oohing and aahing over in your blog last summer. No sign of my Astrantia either, I'm hoping it just pops up late.

    Great to see all your plants emerging, especially the Golden Jubilee. I'm going to look for that one this year.

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  3. My crocosmia looks more tattered than yours, it almost looks like the squirrels are chewing on them but I'm sure it's slugs. I just started putting out a little bit of slugo in all the beds. I don't see any slug damage in these pics, is that just a matter of framing your shots or do you have some magic?

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  4. You managed to capture the promise of spring in this post. Such a strange year, I refuse to give up on anything just yet...but all of the plants we share are way behind yours.

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  5. Oh, that beautifully fuzzy Rhus typhina 'Tiger Eye Sumac'! I don't have a place for a sumac, but that one is just like a slim teddy bear! You have me a bit worried about my agastaches: I've just popped out to check, and there's no sign of new growth and I think they are that "southwest" style you mentioned, though I've never had a basal clump winter over. Hmmm.

    Isn't it amazing how well we are attuned to the smallest signs of growth this time of year? I swear that fully one half of gardening is eager anticipation.

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  6. It is so exciting seeing those fresh green shoots coming up out of the ground.

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  7. I love this time of year and seeing what new sprouts are coming up. Every year I'm surprised by some plant that I forgot I had. My lilies are just a little ahead of yours, but the Astrania is about the same. No sign of 'Golden Jubilee' though, I'm afraid it got buried when we did all our front yard work. I think I better get one if I see it at a nursery just in case, I love that plant.

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  8. This is a favorite time of year, when it seems that things are visibly growing in the garden. Enjoy the sprouts!

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  9. Janet: Hahaha..yes, is there anything quite as unappealing as digging though that soggy, heavy mess…I hope you get the Sumac…it's unbelievably lovely when its happy…I've seen some locally that would knock your socks off!

    Alison: Yay! I hope you love Black Beauty as much as I do…its stunning and sophisticated…a total winner (doesn't hurt that it's tough as nails either!) I have 2 different kinds of Astrantia…this is the straight species (or as close as you can get, I believe) my hybrid is still a no-show too.

    Ryan: I bet it is slugs…little bastards. You know, the slugs haven't seemed to be as bad this year…last year I swear I would scatter Sluggo around my plants every single day…this year, just a few times…maybe I have so voracious snakes in the garden keeping them under control! I did frame the pics NOT to show the dandruff-like covering of Sluggo pellets, though…man…I think we Portlanders keep that company in business!

    Ricki: Me either! I'm giving everything another month, at least…until I call them goners…I've been checking my photos from last year, and we're a good 1-2 weeks behind where we were last year.

    MulchMaid: I love the Sumac…I honestly don't have room for it…but I couldn't resist it when I saw it at the nursery…at least it only gets 5-6' tall and wide, not the 20-30' of the species! I'm crossing my fingers for your Agastache…they are kind of hard to rely on…I am still waiting on a few…and a few I really think may have bit the dust :-( Which ones do you have…Rupestris? I have a few of those and while they are really hardy, it looks like 1 or 2 didn't fare so well over the winter…I'm guessing they got too wet :-( I agree about the joy of anticipation…just like Christmas when you're a kid…it's AWESOME!

    Phillip: Totally!

    Catherine: Good to know we are neck-n-neck ;-) I know how the accidental burying goes…I think I may have inadvertently stepped on a few of my Astrantia a few weeks ago…eek! Love Golden Jubilee too…such a great plant…and it's nice when such a beauty is so carefree too!

    Tim: I know…every day is like mini-Christmas!

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  10. This is one of my favorite times of the year. It is very exciting. I did have some snow drops up last weekend and then we got a dump of snow mid week, so everything is covered once more. We are getting some beautiful sunny days and the temps are just over zero, so hope is there.

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  11. I now have sprout and shoot envy, since my plants are all sleeping underground...we had snow and another freezing cold spell here so we're a long way from lily 'noses' and such yet! Good to see yours, however.

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  12. You west coast people and your long growing season... I guess I could take some greenhouse pics and make some people envious.

    Like Jodi, I got more snow last week. It was a balmy 18 degrees when I left for work this morning. It's looking up though, we're going to see high 30s this week! :)

    Rhus Tiger Eyes has no problem with clay. It just takes some time to get established. When it does, be prepared for the invasion. Regardless of the fact it's an aggressive spreader, I love this plant and wish I had an appropriate site for it.

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