Monday, April 16, 2018

Bloomday, a day late but with a vase

A chance to combine my Bloomday post and In a Vase on Monday seemed too good to pass up. Although in all honesty this post is primarily a result of my being too busy to post my Bloomday photos yesterday, on the the "real" Bloomday (click on over to May Dreams Gardens for links to all the other bloggers who've posted blooms)...

Euphorbia rigida is still the the star bloomer in my garden this month.

Although I need to get out there and cut them back soon...

Seeds, they are about ready to POP!

Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow' is nearby, but not nearly as likely to take over a garden.

Euphorbia amygdaloides var. Robbiae is one that spreads by underground runners. Some people have issues with it but mine's pretty well behaved.

Euphorbia griffithii ‘Fireglow’ is slowly being shaded out, I wish I had a good place to move it to because I love those orange bracts!

Grevillea juniperina ‘Molonglo’ is covered in buds, some of them now open. I love this plant.

Grevillea miqueliana is a bloom factory!

Edgeworthia chrysantha ‘Akebono’ is wrapping things up (''Nanjing Gold', the yellow-bloomer, is already done)...

But there's still some goodness in there for visitors to enjoy (not the best pic, but that fat bumble was insistent that he get in my photo, so I must oblige).

The flower buds on my Daphniphyllum himalaense ssp macropodum 'Variegated' seem more numerous this year. While they'll open a bit more than this the show certainly isn't tantalizing.

Epimedium 'Amber Queen'

Brunnera macrophylla 'Hadspen Cream' was one I bought for the foliage, thinking I'd dislike the blooms — but they aren't bad.

Cerinthe major 'Purpurascens' would be opening by now, if not for these numerous rainy, cloudy, days..

Ceanothus 'Dark Star'...love the pinky/purply about to burst buds.

Daphne x houtteana is still going strong...

The Arctostaphylos densiflora ‘Harmony’ flowers are all fully open now.

The shrub is covered.

The Poncirus trifoliata buds are about to open, I can't wait!

The NOID rosemary plant is still covered with little blue flowers.

The Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum 'Hindwarf' is pretty florific as well, although the plant is a lot smaller than the rosemary.

I would have thought the Magnolia laevifolia would be open by now, others around town are...soon! Pay no attention to the pollen marred leaves. The air is thick with pollen here...such is spring in the PNW.

Stachyurus salicifolius

Vaccinium corymbosum 'Pink Icing', those blooms are gonna be blueberries! (hopefully)

Another, Vaccinium Perpetua Blueberry. Did you know that blueberries are buzz pollinated? Of course you did, but I didn't. I found this article very interesting: BEES ARE GREAT AT POLLINATING FLOWERS—BUT SO ARE VIBRATORS.

Finally, there are a couple of spring bulbs working their magic, Tulip 'Rococo'...

And Tulipa 'Little Beauty'. I'm new to the charms of the species tulips and find them quite lovely.

The main attraction are the flowers (of course), I love how there are more than one on most of the stems. An a important bonus is the foliage is much smaller than on the flashy tulips, thus easier to ignore (I'm hoping) once the floral show is over.

It's 'Little Beauty' that made it into my vase today, as well as several cuttings from the Grevillea australis I let go of last week (talked about here) and a few stems from the Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum 'Hindwarf'...

In my mind's eye I thought I would create a low "lawn" of Grevillea and then insert a few tulips into the mass of green. It would have been so cool! But it just didn't work out that way. Oh well...

Hey hitchhiker! I see that little snout now, in the camera close-up. Could this have been a root weevil? Damn. If so should have gotten rid of him, instead I just moved him outside to live on.

For more "in a vase on Monday" creations visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden...

Weather Diary, April 15: Hi 51, Low 43/ Precip .26"

All material © 2009-2018 by Loree Bohl for danger garden (dg). Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude — that means YOU greenpotted

29 comments:

  1. The first picture of the Agave ovatifolia, Yucca rostrata, and Euphorbia rigida is breathtaking - a stunning combination! Love the arrangement, especially from the top.

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    1. Thanks Outlaw, that vignette is always a favorite but it really comes alive this time of the year.

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  2. Oh what a range of lovely shrubs you have - that dark daphne is especially gorgeous! And what an intriguing collection of material you have in your generous vase - you will get so much pleasure from admiring the contents every time you pass it :) I like the species tulips too because of their size and ther durability

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    1. The flowers on the species tulips are so much more garden friendly. They're not big exclamation points screaming for attention.

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  3. Great rundown of your flowers! That arrangement did turn out to be more of an explosion than a lawn. Are you hoping to keep the Euphorbia rigida from sowing itself this year?

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    1. I always leave a few blooms on the E. rigida, both to watch them age and for babies. But if I left them all...OMG. I can't imagine!

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  4. Love the combo of euphorbia and agave, truly a standout. And your arrangement is lovely, a fine mix of warm and cool colors.

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  5. These are all gorgeous, but I am a sucker for euphorbia and ‘Little Beaty’. I wrote a post devoted to euphorbia last week, and ‘Little Beauty’ is the star of a post today about tulips! I love how you have combined them.

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    1. Thanks Ali, I just realized my Euphorbia polychroma is MIA, must go see if it's disappeared!

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  6. Euphorbia rigida seems much more enthusiatic about your garden than mine but perhaps I just haven't given it enough time to spread. In contrast, Euphorbia 'Black Pearl' hasn't hesitated - it's so aggressive I'm seriously considering removing it. This post is another reminder that I must find Grevillea miqueliana - what a beauty! Your tulip-Grevillea arrangement is pretty sweet too. Species tulips are definitely going on next fall's bulb planting list!

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    1. It took a little while for E. rigida to take hold, but it appears to be quite happy now.

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  7. I adored seeing your garden filled with exotic blooms at least for this NE gardener....the combo you created for the vase works beautifully and I saw that little stinker hitchhiker! :)

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    1. I'm glad I spotted the hitchhiker before adding the arrangement to the dinner table.

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  8. So many awesome flowers and colors! I know you like leaves but the flowers in your garden are so intriguing and attractive.

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    1. Foliage is the star but what fun would it be without flowers!?

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  9. Lovely, all of it. Happy April!

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  10. You have some wonderful colors and textures in your garden! I recognize some of the flowers but others I will have to check out!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, I enjoy your blog!

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  11. Made perfect sense to combine both especially you have a fine selection of blooms on hand. Great arrangement as always!

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  12. I love how all the Euphorbias just make everything near them pop. And that is the most dramatic Daphne I've ever seen. Yummy.

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    1. All the drama goes into the flowers on that Daphne, there is little to know fragrance.

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  13. I love that last shot of your vase. I think it turned out great even if it was different then then your vision.
    When you cut back Euphorbia rigida, how far back do you cut it? And is it to encourage new growth or discourage reseeding?

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    1. I cut the flowering "arms" completely off. The new growth is already starting at the base of the plants (you can kind of see that if you look closely at the plant in the bottom right corner of the fist photo). By cutting them off I'm letting the new growth get light and keeping 120,000 seedlings from popping up!

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  14. I love your garden! Everything is unknown to me except for the tulips. It was a pleasure touring!

    Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry.blogspot.com

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  15. Wow, you have some exceptionally interesting plants. The Euphorbia are all wonderful and the Daphne just went on my plant list.

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  16. That Edgeworthia chrysantha ' Akebono' inflorescence is a beautiful color. I work as a tour guide at the New York Botanical Garden, and they have the species ( yellow flower) and a cultivar called 'Snow Cream' ( yellow flower), both lovely, but your red-orange flowers are a special treat!

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