Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Garden Blogger's Bloomday — March 2017

Last week at this time I thought spring would be skipping Portland gardens this year. Cold and grey rainy day after cold and grey rainy day. Then something magical happened last Thursday and suddenly we could go outside without it hurting. I've since gotten in a couple long days of garden clean up. There is hope...

Of course the plants are happy too, they soaked up the warm sun and lifted their faces to the sky.

And thus I have actual Euphorbia rigida flowers to share on this, March 15th edition, of Garden Bloggers Bloomday, hosted my Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

So so happy! (them and me)

While shooting the Euphorbia I discovered my first ever Daphne x houtteana bloom. It's not much to look at, but I'm thrilled the plant is happy enough to bloom.

It's also fixen to push out plenty of new foliage to replace all that winter took away.

Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow' is a little behind in opening it's flowers.

Sill plenty of color though.

Arctostaphylos densiflora ‘Sentinel’continues to bloom.

And even though big chunks of my sprawling Rosemary died (too cold? too much ice?), the bits that lived are blooming.

Speaking of cold and ice, Edgeworthia chrysantha 'Nanjing Gold' wasn't fazed a bit. Even though the buds were completely covered in ice they still opened to form this amazing ball of yellow flowers...

I wish you could smell them. Intoxicating fragrance...

And there are so many of them!

The orange flowering version, Edgeworthia chrysantha ‘Akebono’, is a little behind it's yellow counter-part but still looking grand.

I love the varied shades of orange as the individual flowers open.

The plant is finally putting on some size too.

In other Euphorbia news, E. amygdaloides var. Robbiae is about to burst into full bloom.

And I finally managed to stake the Grevillea victoriae 'Murray Queen' so it's upright again (heavy snow and ice had it bent over).

The leaves and flowers are all a little confused and facing the wrong direction now, since they had gotten used to life at a 45 degree angle.

I got all excited about my first Grevillea miqueliana flower and then forgot to photograph it for this post. Hence I stole this image from my own Instagram feed.

Sonchus canariensis, aka soggy monster dandelion flowers.

There are lots of blooms on the Jasminum nudiflorum this year, it's about time!

Here's a pair enjoying life with my mossy rock.

Okay, finally, the Hellebores, Helleborus argutifolius...

Helleborus 'I lost the tag, but isn't it grand'...

Helleborus 'I can't remember and winter wasn't kind'...

And finally the ones I've purchased new this year. Yes, they're all still sitting right by the back door where I placed them when I bought them weeks ago. It's been so ugly outside that this is the only place I was guaranteed to see them every day, here they can brighten my spirits and remind me there are many sunny days ahead.

Helleborus x 'Black Diamond'

Helleborus foetidus

Helleborus x 'Golden Sunrise'

And finally Helleborus 'Ice N' Roses Red', which is much more wine colored than it looks here. You guys....SPRING!!!

Weather Diary, March 14: Hi 57 Low 49/ Precip .67"

All material © 2009-2017 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

29 comments:

  1. Everything looks beautiful. All those bursts of color are such mood enhancers in March, esp. given all the really bad weather you've had.

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    1. Mood enhancers is a great way to put it, they give me the feeling the garden may once again look presentable.

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  2. Hooray for spring and GBBD! But we are back to a lot of rain yesterday and today. Slightly warmer temps though. I did too much and now my aged, aching body is paying for it.

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    1. Monday - Wednesday saw almost 2" of rain fall here in Portland. It is truly ridiculous.

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  3. Absolutely lovely. I was hoping for early spring, but 30 inches of snow and subzero temps have put it quite a way off. It's refreshing to see it, even if only on the web.

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    1. This winter has been a difficult one for gardeners everywhere. I hope you get spring soon!

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  4. Beautiful as always. Isn't grey and rainy and cold normal anyway? :)

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    1. No, not at the extremes we've seen this year. We usually have a couple weeks of "false spring" under our belts by now.

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  5. Hope you're still having a bit o' sun. We're back under the oppressive grey stuff (nearly an inch of rain in the last 24 hours.) Your pictures of Edgeworthia are some of the best I've seen. Funny, we're growing some of the same hellebore varieites (lost tags/don't remember/does it really matter?) Is your Sonchus canariensis outside already or still in the S.P. greenhouse?

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    1. We're there with you under the wet grey skies, again. Thankfully today, Thursday, looks dry. The Sonchus was kicked out of the SPG, anything that could take (and/or needed) a little water was evicted last weekend. I needed some room to tend to a few things.

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  6. Beautiful flowers, and I love the multi-colored foliage plants, too!
    Great collection of Hellebores!
    Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!

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  7. I think that 'I lost the tag' is an exceptionally common cultivar name and causes so much confusion..... :) Looks so good as I think about the frozen tundra outdoors here. Warmer weather on the way, though. Your Euphorbia rigida is such a wonderful plant. Those colors on the flower bracts are amazing.

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    1. It was a little touch and go with the E. rigida for awhile there, they looked pretty sad in the worst of the snow and ice days. I'm so happy to see them recover.

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  8. You have a great plant collection, Loree - the dark hellebores are wonderful. Wish there was a scratch n sniff for the edgeworthia!

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    1. Thanks Eliza, and I really wish someone would get on inventing that scratch 'n sniff internet app!

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  9. Nice showing for March GBBD. Didn't 'Sentinel' start blooming in December? That's amazing.

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    1. Ya it's definitely the energizer bunny. 'Austin' comes on strong but doesn't have the lasting power, and 'Harmony' is always lagging behind.

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    1. I thought it ha forgotten about us this year...

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  11. Your early spring bloom is impressive, Loree, especially as all your plants deserve battle pay given the winter you've had! Your Euphorbias and hellebores look better than my pampered specimens. Maybe the old adage that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger has some truth to it after all!

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    1. Now if the Abutilons would just start leafing out and let me know they made it through the nightmare...

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  12. I'm tempted to try an edgeworthia. So tricky here and not exactly a cheap experiment. But oh how beautiful they are.

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    1. Well, for what it's worth I think you should give it a try!

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    2. Let me encourage you, rd. I'm in zone6b in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains in Virginia, about 1200 ft. above sea level, and had blooms this year from one planted in spring 2015. It's planted in one of the most sheltered spots here, against the east wall of the house, so has protection from wind (almost always from the west) and afternoon shade in our longer and hotter summers.

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  13. Despite your brutal winter, so many beauties. Your garden is about to Spring. Enjoy!

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  14. Your 'Sentinel' is a prize specimen. Gorgeous!

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  15. I swoon over your Edgeworthia! Those babies would definitely be in my garden if I was in a milder climate.

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