Spring Colour

Day 209: My yard is beginning to colour even though the flower beds immediately below my windows are only beginning to bud for the most part. Lilac scents the air, the pink dogwood wears a rosy crown although its lower branches are rather thin, the Sitka mountain-ash promises a bounty of fruit for the cedar waxwings and robins this fall. A few straggly Lily-of-the-valley survived my remake of the front bed, and will soon be overtopped by alliums, now still in the "knobby-wand" stage of development. The peonies have walnut-sized buds with rich blood-red peeking through the initial cracks, and a few columbines have spread their skirts. Still, it feels like we're off to a slow start here. Nights remain chilly even when daytime temps hit the 70s. I have to keep reminding myself that it isn't even mid-May yet.

Spring Whites

Day 220: Although one could hardly say it's a hard-and-fast rule, I've noticed over the years that there are "colour seasons" here in the Pacific Northwest. The blues come on first, followed by whites, then yellow, trailed slightly later by reds and oranges, then back into purples and blues to close. Certainly, there are strays, particularly when non-native species join the parade, but by and large, we have Camas, Dogwood, Scotch Broom, Paintbrush and Arnica, shading out into Asters and Gentians. Currently, we're in white mode, and that includes nursery plants. Snowball bush, Mountain-ash, Lily-of-the-Valley and Spiraea are in full flower in my yard, with the Columbines just beginning, and an embarrassed early Peony hiding its red face shyly behind their foliage. My flower beds will peak in two or three weeks, then slowly taper off until I start thinking I should buy some Chrysanthemums for fall. But I never do. It seems so silly to add them when I know first frost is just around the corner.

Old-Fashioned Favourite

Day 219: On the heels of yesterday's post about False Lily-of-the-Valley, today I bring you the real thing. This may well be the first time the two plants have bloomed concurrently in my yard; one usually follows the other by about two weeks.

One of the fondest memories of my childhood is of sitting on my grandmother's back step, flanked by beds of Lily-of-the-Valley on either side. To this day, the scent is one of my favourites. It will be at its best on warm evenings which, unfortunately, have been rather scarce here in western Washington lately, but I can't bring myself to cut a bouquet to put on the mantel. It's rare that I cut flowers, the exception being the occasional bunch of daffodils when they're at their peak, and that only because removing the flowering heads before they can start forming seed makes for stronger bulbs. Flowers last longer when they're alive, and if I want to enjoy them, I just need to step outside. This philosophy is not just better for the plants; it's better for me as well. Rain or shine, I take a daily dose of "outdoor tonic" with a walk around my flower beds and berry garden.

Virtual Tour

Day 227: My readers have often heard me speak of my lackadaisical approach to gardening, but over the last several years, I've put more effort into it than previously, putting in new flowerbeds, planting trees and shrubs, working in soil amendments and so on. Well, I am reaping much greater rewards than anticipated for the little effort those labours have actually been, and this year, I am pleased to say that my yard actually looks like a gardener lives here. Please join me for a virtual tour of a few of the plants currently in bloom.

We'll start in the upper left corner with Bachelor's Buttons. They are regarded as something of a pest by many people, but they remind me of my mother's garden when I was very young. I nicked my plant from a roadside ditch where it had strayed from someone's garden. It grows like a weed, so I maintain it to keep it from spreading.

The second image is of the Bridal Wreath Spiraea I added to the front yard last year, again a plant which recalls the gardens of my youth. My grandmother had a huge one. Mine is only about two feet tall, having grown about a foot since I planted it.

Next in line is a commercial cultivar of the blue Columbine familiar to most Montanans. I purchased it as a tiny start a year ago as part of my colour replacement plan to substitute blues for pinks. It is my favourite Columbine.

The daisies in the fourth photo are Delospermum, an annual. They fill the top of a small strawberry jar. They are succulents, and therefore can survive near-drought conditions. I couldn't decide which of three colours I liked best: orange, yellow or red, so I got all three.

The bottom row starts with Siberian Iris, and yes, these can also become quite a pest. Mine came with the house, and I thin them out every few years to keep them from taking over the yard.

Next is the lilac, and thereby hangs a tale. It was not in good shape, so I took the recommendation of a gardening handbook and hacked it off a foot above ground level. The manual assured me that it would come back to full glory in four years. Only this year, approximately fifteen years from its major surgery, is it in full and lavish bloom. Lesson learned. I'll never do that again.

Oriental poppies are a flower I can't hate but can't exactly love, either. They also grow like weeds and spread wildly. It took me ten years to remove the last traces of this one's forebears from the east-side flowerbed, but I couldn't bear to kill it off entirely. It now lives in the "Barren Wasteland" between my house and garage, happy as Larry and providing a blast of colour where it's really needed.

Lily-of-the-valley brings back memories of sitting on my grandmother's back steps when I was three or four years old, surrounded by sweet fragrance. The scent was one Grandma also wore as perfume: Muguet de Bois.

Last is Lithodora, its vibrant stars so shockingly blue that visitors can hardly believe they're real. As far as I'm concerned, it can take over the entire bed beside the driveway, a spot in which it seems to be quite happy.

There are other things in bloom in my yard as well: Bleeding-heart, Kerria, fat blood-red peonies, heather, snapdragons, the Akebia vines...and there are even more things to come, to say nothing of shrubs and ferns and other foliage plants. When I look out over the garden now, somehow I forget all about those days of weeding until my back ached and my fingernails were broken and filthy. It's been worth it all.

Nostalgia Garden

Day 200: As I walk around my yard, I can't help but notice how strongly my choice of plants has been influenced by what was in my grandmother's garden. When I began selecting perennials for the beds, my "must-have" flowers were almost exclusively those I had seen in cultivation before I had attained the ripe old age of five. I recall clearly sitting on her back porch step, enveloped in a thick perfume of Lily-of-the-Valley, and braiding coronets of the stiff, arching stems of Bridal Wreath Spiraea. No garden of her era was complete without Bachelor's Buttons and Columbine, nor without single Hollyhocks growing against a sunny back wall. Ironically, it was my grandfather who was the gardener; my grandmother simply reaped the rewards, and although the garden dwindled after Grandpa's death, my association with sweet-smelling, beautiful flowers is firmly tied to her.

A Day In The Garden

Day 225: Since moving into this house 25 years ago, I've gardened in varying degrees. At first, it seemed that the battle against the weeds would never end. The flower beds were overgrown with grass when I took possession of the property, and with the help of a friend, we excavated them to a depth of 18", sifting out weeds and rocks, replacing anything which looked like it might turn into a desirable plant. It took three or four years of diligent weeding to bring any semblance of order to the chaos, and during that time, I planted mostly annuals so I could pull up anything green which sprouted the following spring. Later, I began to add a few perennials to the ones we'd unearthed, and now I've abandoned annuals almost entirely. The garden is at last manageable with a minimum of care.

This year, however, good weather came early, and I went a bit berserk when the grubbing-in-the-dirt mood came over me. I laid new beds, planted shrubs and trees, shifted perennials to better locations and added new ones to fill in the gaps. Finally, I can honestly say that I am enjoying gardening rather than looking upon the activity as something more or less demanded of any homeowner. Now I am seeing the real rewards!

From left to right, top to bottom:

This variety of Osteospermum carries the enchanting name "Spoonflower." Can you see why?

An old-fashioned favourite, this yellow Columbine was one we salvaged.

The Wisteria was one of the first things I planted. It has borne more flowers this year than any time past.

Lily-of-the-Valley was a must-have because as a child, I enjoyed it at my grandmother's home.

Sarracenia "Carolina Yellow Jacket" is my newest carnivore. It stands in a dish of water to keep its feet wet.

The pink Columbines came with the house. Not my favourite color, I am phasing them out gradually.

Bloomin' Beautiful

Day 227: Because I am so proud of my garden this year, here are a few more photos from around the yard! There will be more to come at a later date. The irises are just budding and the delphiniums are only starting to put up flower spikes. I see nodding heads currently the size of hazelnuts on the poppies, and several other perennials are still in the vegetative (non-blooming) state. This promises to be a colorful summer!

I put the hardy fuchsias ("Genii" and "Dollar Princess") in the ground yesterday, but I am not quite brave enough to commit the tomatoes ("Sweet Million" and "Oregon Spring") to Mother Nature's whims. Although the forecast would seem to indicate a trend toward mild temperatures, we've had killing frosts here as late as mid-June. Consequently, the tomatoes will remain in their pots until the first of June. I'll have to risk them then or take a chance on going fruitless due to our short growing season. Tomatoes are a hit-and-miss proposition any year (and the only edible I try to grow, with the exception of some herbs).

The yard suffered one fatality, however. The Whatzit Tree was ailing, so I had my neighbor take it down. I still have to dig out the roots (a project which may wait until next year). The front yard wants a fast-growing shade tree, and I am entertaining three options to replace it: black walnut, horse chestnut or a big-leaf maple. Decisions, decisions! But that's what makes gardening fun.