Monday, February 16, 2015

February Bloomday, 2015

I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date! As you may know yesterday, February 15th, was Garden Bloggers Bloomday…however since I am still in a spin from 3 days in Seattle, 2 spent at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show, and barely arrived home in time to get some sleep and get up and head to the HPSO talk (Shirley Watts) on Sunday, I didn’t get a chance to post. Still, I can’t break my streak of Bloomday posts going back to April of 2009! Especially when we’re experiencing very spring-like weather here in the Pacific Northwest…

Above is Acacia baileyana 'Purpurea' as seen through the plastic walls of our “greenhouse,” here’s how it looks when you’re inside (it’s not reliably hardy in my USDA Zone so lives in a container)…

I was feeling terribly indecisive so you get 3 images of Euphorbia rigida…

And 2 of Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow'…which isn’t even quite blooming yet but is doing its pre-bloom nod…

Edgeworthia chrysantha 'Nanjing Gold'

There are finally enough flowers on this plant that the fragrance is powerful.

The ants like it too.

This is Edgeworthia chrysantha ‘Akebono’…

Which is always a little behind 'Nanjing Gold' – so I wasn’t worried until I noticed some of the buds are doing this…augh!

Arctostaphylos x 'Austin Griffiths'

Arctostaphylos densiflora ‘Sentinel’

And the hellebores, there must be blooming hellebores in the garden in February. Helleborus argutifolius…

Helleborus foetidus

Helleborus x ballardiae Pink Frost

And Helleborus x hybridus 'Jade Tiger'

I’ll close with the promising buds on my recently acquired (in January) Ludisia discolor, something to look forward to next month!

All material © 2009-2015 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

28 comments:

  1. It would have been very unusual if you didn't participate but better late than never :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. So many lovelies in your garden right now. Arctostaphylos is a new one on me, I must look up more information. Your collection of Hellebores is amazing, such a variety of colours and forms.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for commenting Angie. There are so many beautiful Arctostaphylos! They're native to the west coast of the U.S., not sure that you can track them down in your part of the world...but there's always mail order!

      Delete
  3. That Edgeworthia is such an elegantly shaped plant. How long did it take to reach that size?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If I remember correctly I bought it in 2012, so three years. I think.

      Delete
  4. Oh no how upsetting that the Edgeworthia buds have gone over. Mine has some buds but they are very immature, hoping it will flower, it was your posts this time last year that led to me buying it.
    Euphorbia Ascot Rainbow is new to me, I only discovered it last week in David Culp's book. Have found a supplier here so will be ordering soon

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Is yours yellow or orange blooming? The yellow blooming plant is much more vigorous.

      Delete
  5. I love the Arctostaphylos and Edgeworthia. It's wonderful to see spring.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I do love the yellow flowers of that Acacia - maybe I could put one in a pot here to keep its growth within bounds. I can only imagine how my neighbor would react if a 30 foot tall, 40 foot wide yellow-flowering tree appeared, obscuring her view ;) Or maybe I could plant one at the bottom of the slope when the Yucca muck degrades...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh gosh...that neighbor. The bottom of the slope is a great idea!

      Delete
  7. I was wondering where your post was! I sat on my butt just about all day yesterday and the day before, sorting out my Garden Show pictures and putting together Bloom Day and FF posts, as well as a stack of show posts! I can't wait till my two Arctostaphylos are old enough to have flowers. What a bummer about your Akebono. Makes me wonder if I'm going to have to cover mine for the winter when I get it in the ground.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sitting on my butt sorting photos sounds lovely. I might be able to do that, let's see...Wednesday? I did download them and at least put them into folders by subject.

      I think I put my Akebono in a bad location, I'm scouting around for where I can move it to. Also I don't think it's a hardiness issue, so covering wouldn't really help. I've been told by several people (in the know) that it's just a less vigorous plant than the yellow.

      Delete
  8. Oh no! Is that Edgeworthia less hardy than the yellow one? Just when I had decided for sure that my gift certificate was going there. Ludisia keeps getting better and better.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't think so Ricki, it's just an overall less healthy and vigorous plant than the yellow. Or so I've been told. The one at Lan Su doesn't seem to have any issues though...but it's Edgeworthia chrysantha ‘Red Dragon’ (don't ask me what the difference is, I don't know!).

      Delete
  9. Thank you for those beautiful hints of spring. I'm especially joyed by the blooms of the Hellebores. When I start seeing them on garden blogs, it's a hopeful sign that spring is just around the corner. Mine usually bloom in late March or early April. Your Edgeworthias and Euphorbias are lovely, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you PP, I felt a little guilty about the beautiful weather we're having when I read all about the snow in the SE in the paper this morning.

      Delete
  10. I'm glad you included three photos of the euphorbia. Sometimes you just can't capture every angle in one picture and it can look so different to how it does in real life (I struggle with that anyway!). I look forward to seeing those ludisia blooms!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! I cheated a little with multiple shots of some of the plants. I agree that many times one photo can be deceiving.

      Delete
  11. I posted a day late too, so you're in good company... Just can't seem to keep up! I covet your Ludisia. Saw one at the show, and fell in love with its velvety black leaves - so cool! May I ask where you got it? I also love the Acacia. I was foolish enough to plant one in the ground last spring, and - guess what? It died a miserable death during that cold winter we had. So bummed...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Portland Nursery on Stark, in the houseplant section. Look up though, they're hanging from the ceiling.

      Delete
  12. So many beautiful plants...! My Dr. Seuss-ish 'Ascot Rainbow' is also getting ready to bloom -- yours looks gorgeous. And I love, LOVE Arctostaphylos x 'Austin Griffiths.' In other news: it's been very spring-like here in SoCal. Hot, even. And no rain :~(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It figures that if we're having warm sun you all are already suffering with heat. I'm sorry!

      Delete
  13. Beautiful blooms. What is happening with the edgeworthia chrysantha ‘Akebono´ blooms? is it fungus? lack of water? I hope it gets well soon.
    What a busy and exciting week you are having! have fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Definitely not a lack of water, we've had plenty of rain. I noticed yesterday afternoon that a couple of flowers had opened, even on the "heads" where some where curled up and brown. I don't know what's wrong with it...

      Delete
  14. A late bloomer this month but only by a day. I love this mild winter and early spring and all the wonderful blooms it's brought to your garden. Sorry about your orange edgeworthia! There's been a whirlwind of activity for you lately and the Portland show is only 10 days away!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Some of your blooms remind me of the winter we are not having. I had lots of budded hellebores, but only one insipid pale pink was barely open. Now they are all covered by snow, but I know they will arise to bloom on some other day.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to comment. Comment moderation is on (because you know: spam), I will approve and post your comment as soon as possible!