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Backyardnotes

~ All things botanical in photos and words—in my West Seattle garden and elsewhere; seeing and creating art and assorted musings.

Backyardnotes

Category Archives: Spring flowers

WHISPERS OF SPRING

16 Monday Feb 2015

Posted by backyardnotes in Blooming, Flowers, Gardening, Spring flowers, Winter flowers

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double Narcissus, hellebores, Pink Cyclamen, plenty of sunshine, Spring, Spring flowers, WHISPERS, White Camelia, White Cyclamen, witch-hazel

FauxRoy

THERE ARE WHISPERS OF SPRING HERE EVERYWHERE I LOOK. While the eastern portion of the country is buried in snow, it definitely feels like spring here with 60 degree temperatures and plenty of sunshine. After unusually heavy rains a week or so ago, the ground is starting to dry out a bit.

Leaves, buds and flowers are bursting forth. Camelia, hellebores, crocus, cyclamen, witch hazel, pulmonaria, early tulips. Here is a little pictorial sampling of what’s happening in my little corner of the world.CorcicanHellbore_2

DoubleNarcissusWitch hazel_1WitchHazel_2CoriscanHellbore DarkHellbore DkPinkhellbore_1
MottlePinkHellbore PaleYelHellbore PinkCyclamen Pulmonaria_1 Pulmonaria_2 WhiteCamelia WhiteCyclamen_1 WhiteCyclamen_2 WhiteCyclamen_3 WhiteHellbore WhitePinkHellbore

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APRIL PHOTO A DAY: THE PERFECT DAISY

02 Saturday Apr 2011

Posted by backyardnotes in April flowers, Parks, Spring, Spring flowers, Walking

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I picked up my daughter and grand-daughter and we went for a leisurely walk through Westcrest Park this afternoon. I snapped this photo of Sophia picking a couple of everyone’s favorite harbinger of spring, little bellis perennis. For me it was the best photo of the day and I had to share the sunny optimism it evokes.

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WE FOLLOWED THE SUN

19 Wednesday May 2010

Posted by backyardnotes in Native plants, Rain, Spring flowers, Washington travels

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desert, Eastern Washington, fava beans, hiking, sun

I’VE GOT THE TRAVEL ITCH, so last Thursday we headed for the other side of the Cascades to explore the Potholes Reservoir, in the Columbia Basin and the national wildlife refuge. Just just three hours away from home the weather was near 80°. We camped at Potholes State Park, went looking for birds and did some short hikes in the refuge south of the reservoir.

Some fair bird watching although most of the spring migration is over. We did see quite a few yellowheaded black birds which we do not see on the west side of the mountains, so that was exciting for us. Also, at the north end of the reservoir is a very large rookery for Great Blue Herons, Great White Egrets, Black-crowned Night Herons, and Cormorants. The rookery area is closed at this time of the year and the birds can be viewed only with binoculars or a good scope.

This is rumex venosus, or winged dock and we spotted it growing in sand dunes and near the rookery. This was new to me and I was able to identify it and other flora spotted on this trip thanks to this website, a real find with beautiful photographs of wildflowers found in the Pacific Northwest. A common culinary variety of rumex is sorrel, a perennial, tart garden green.

Before we left I picked enough fava beans for a salad dressed with lemon juice, a fruity olive oil, and some shavings of pecorino cheese for our first night out. They were sweet, small and green…heaven! Today, I was scanning DigginFood and saw a way to use the green fava leaves—new to me—so I will give them a try since I have two long rows of plants.

Since I am interested in plants wherever we travel, this trip was no exception. The plant life in a shrub-steppe-desert environment is vastly different from the wet side of the Cascades. A lot of sagebrush, many types of grasses, and wildflowers. On Sunday we hiked up to the Goose Lakes Plateau for a splendid view of the seep lakes and channeled scablands. Vertical basalt walls rise about two hundred feet above the marshlands and lakes.

Salvia dorii. On the left the pre-bloom stage, on the right in bloom.

As we pulled up to trailhead parking on the Morgan Lakes road we saw these tumbleweeds piled up at the bottom of east facing cliffs. Where did they come from? We saw no evidence of tumbleweeds growing in the vicinity. It was a curious and oddly beautiful tableau.

Alas, the weather turned on Monday and we headed back west to Vantage for a side trip to the Ginkgo Petrified Forest, only to meet rain from Vantage to the east slope of Snoqualmie Pass, but found sunshine at home in West Seattle. More to see around the Potholes in another trip. Maybe some fishing next time too.

This afternoon we we’re back to spring rain.  Good for the garden and indoor art projects.

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HAIL MAY! FLORAL FANTASIES IN VICTORIA

09 Sunday May 2010

Posted by backyardnotes in May flowers, Narcissus family, Spring flowers, Travel, tulips

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

formal gardens, mother, Sisters, tulips, Victoria

THREE SISTERS AND TWO MOTHERS PARADED THROUGH BUTCHART GARDENS on Wednesday afternoon and were rewarded with the stunning sight of thousands and thousands of blooming tulips and more. It was a fitting way to spend a pre-Mother’sDay in May. The sisters gifted the trip to Victoria, British Columbia to the mothers (one MIL) at Christmas. We all decided that May would be optimal for spring flowers at the Butchart Gardens. We departed Seattle for a 3 hour ride across Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Victoria, on the 8:00 a.m. sailing of the Victoria Clipper. From the harbor in Victoria we boarded a bus to Butchart Gardens, about an hour north. Weather was partly cloudy and a little cool to begin our walk, but the sun made full its presence later in the afternoon. A panoply of color and form greeted us at every turn.

The gardens were created in an old limestone quarry by Jennie Butchart, wife Robert Butchart the quarry owner: “As Mr. Butchart exhausted the limestone in the quarry near their house, his enterprising wife, Jennie, conceived an unprecedented plan for refurbishing the bleak pit. From farmland nearby she requisitioned tons of top soil, had it brought to Tod Inlet by horse and cart, and used it to line the floor of the abandoned quarry. Little by little, under Jennie Butchart’s  supervision, the abandoned quarry blossomed into the spectacular Sunken Garden.

By 1908, reflecting their world travels, the Butcharts had created a Japanese Garden on the sea-side of their home. Later an Italian Garden was created on the site of their former tennis court, and a fine Rose Garden replaced a large kitchen vegetable patch in 1929.” —Butchart Gardens.com

The floral fantasy is the garden’s overwhelming use of tulips and narcissus at this time of the year. Could this ever be possible in your yard? I doubt it–a full time job just to deadhead. My only complaint is a lack of identification for the tulip and narcissus varieties. The garden planners have made extensive use of airy, blue and white Forget-Me-Not, myosotis scorpioides as filler to beautiful effect.

There are broad vistas layered with color and structure throughout the garden to draw one into the garden. Is this a garden or an arboretum? It certainly combines all the elements of each.

In a garden that is a marvel of design and color, the sunken garden is the centerpiece. It is a startling, OH MY GOSH! sight as you come around a shaded, curving path that opens out to this view.

Thousands of tulips are woven together with Japanese maples, rhododendrons, azaleas, and conifers to spectacular effect. At the far end of the sunken garden is the quarry lake.

This flowering cherry had great form and lush blossoms and situated above the path so you are forced to look up into it. The white is kind of blown out in this photo, but not too bad.

Strolling along the paths here is like being the proverbial kid in the candy store, where do I look next? Candy colored flowers abound. Another filler with tulips is erysimum cheiri, commonly known as Wallflower and charming little English daisies, bellis perennis, in myriad colors.

The very seductive peony-flowered tulip, ‘Angelique’.

Looking back into the sunken garden.

Walking up out of the sunken garden we spotted this clever use of old quarry carts in a boggy area below the path.

Walking out of the sunken garden brought us to a broad, open lawn planted with cherry, very old apple and rare specimen trees. Looking out over all of this were a couple of totem poles. This little scenario caught my eye: from one bird to another…

Here is one of the rare specimens, wollemia nobilis from Australia and until quite recently (1994) thought to be extinct. A garden caretaker gave me a quick lesson about its history. This one was planted about six years ago and appears to be thriving.

Let’s wrap up the tour with a few shots from the tranquil Japanese Garden before heading back to Victoria and little rest in our rooms before heading back out for dinner and a little walk around the inner harbor.

Who doesn’t want a beautiful moss garden with maidenhair fern and a running stream?

And finally, a look at the harbor and the Provincial Parliament building. After a morning walk with Deb, our last day was spent wandering the downtown area with a little shopping thrown in. We had a lovely time over two days. We’re already making plans for our next mothers and daughters trip: taking the train to Portland, Oregon around Rose Parade time in June 2011!

P.S. We finished the afternoon with a group photo that Deb’s mother-in-law Patsy took of the four of us in front of a small flowered lilac, syringa meyeri that we all loved. Just have to find it locally Grows to about 5ft x 5ft, not too large.

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PARTING SHOTS OF APRIL

30 Friday Apr 2010

Posted by backyardnotes in April flowers, Native plants, Spring bulbs, Spring flowers, tulips, West Seattle garden

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April, columbine, friendship gardening, hosta, peonies, tulip

EVEN WHEN RAIN IS FALLING AND THE SKY IS MULTIPLE SHADES OF GRAY, the view from inside to outside is full of color. So one last post to showcase April’s floral bounty.

Tulip clusiana Cynthia, bright and sunny sunny.

Aquilegia vulgaris ‘Leprechaun Gold’ has beautiful foliage and unremarkable dark blue flowers.

Sweet and tiny flowers of my bay tree, laurus nobilis.

The sweet smelling flowers from the bolted brussels sprouts attract all types of bees and bee-like flies.

This beautiful, blue camassia leichtlinii is native to Oregon, and quamash is native to most of the west and British Columbia and Alberta. These were planted in 1997. They stand about 3ft tall. The white variety blooms in May.

The Pacific Bleeding Heart dicentra formosa is native to Pacific coast states and British Columbia.

What is more perfect in nature than circular form of an unfurling fern frond?

A superbly delicate blush of blue is the highlight of the Striped Squill, pushkinia libanotica.

This is ‘Salmon Jewel’. I think it has some form of mosaic disease that is causing the wild color variations; it quite lovely but it should look like the ones below.

These were planted about ten years ago. I am amazed that they have survived in the mass of roots from the red cedars.

This lovely tulip is Professor Monserri, planted in 2008.

When my friend and former neighbor Sarah lived in West Seattle, she gave forced bulbs as gifts at Christmas. Mostly paper whites and tulips. This one, lonely tulip was in one of the mixes. I planted the bulbs in the ground and now every year when it comes up I am reminded of her and her friendship and that is part of what makes having a garden enjoyable.

The hosta below came from Deb’s via Grandma T’s. I have no idea what cultivar it is, but certainly  striking and it has large leaves like the sieboldiana types.

I also promised a piece of  hosta ‘Frances Williams’ to Deb and divided it last week. I planted it in 1997 so it was high time to divide! I was able to get five divisions from it. This is one of my favorites and it is very large.

The original clump.

The first division.

One division stayed in the original spot, one went to my neighbor, one each to my sisters and the fifth one went along the driveway under the lilacs and white snowball viburnum.

And last, the lavish blooms of Grandma T’s tree peony with four blooms this year–a record here.

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