Friday, April 30, 2021

April photos from my phone, the foliage

Yesterday it was all about the April flowers, today... it's time for the foliage. Photos randomly snapped with my phone as I moved about the garden. We'll start with an Agave americana 'Variegata' as it gets kind of intimate with Paeonia 'Smith Opus'.

New foliage on Mahonia gracilipes.

I was sure Astelia  'Silver Shadow' was a goner after our week of winter in February, but no! 

This saxifraga sends me, in a good way. Soil? We don't need no sticking soil! Maybe a quarter of this plant actually has it's roots in the ground, everything else is growing right over concrete.

I think it's Saxifraga 'Primuloides'.

Impatiens omeiana

Schefflera brevipedunculata, new foliage.

Syneilesis aconitifolia with Podophyllum 'Red Panda'.

Syneilesis aconitifolia with Epimedium wushanense 'Spiny Leaf Form'.

Daphniphyllum macropodum subsp. humile

And the variegated version...

Foliage is slow to emerge on the variegated gingko, but here it is!

Akebia longeracemosa 'Victor's Secret', the foliage looks much larger here than it actually is.

The containers that overwintered in the shade pavilion greenhouse are all out on the patio now. They're much easier to acclimate to the sun than the ones in the basement. Here's my Pseudopanax ferox.

Mahonia x media 'Marvel'

Quercus dentata 'Pinnatifida'

Persicaria microcephala ‘Red Dragon’ and Comptonia peregrina.

Syneilesis aconitifolia with Adiantum venustum and Adiantum x tracyi.

Podophyllum peltatum and Adiantum venustum.

More of the above, with a couple of dish planters.

Adiantum aleuticum (Western maidenhair fern) and Veratrum californicum (false hellebore).

The new fronds of Blechnum penna-marina have a nice copper/red-tinge to them.

As do the new leaves of Mahonia eurybracteata 'Indianola Silver'.

But the new fronds of Woodwardia unigemmata, the jeweled chain fern, win that contest hands down.

Every. Damn. Time.

Just a couple more. The usually dramatic patterns on the "leaves" of Agave 'Baccarat' are even more dramatic here...

And the dark foliage of Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' is always a show-stopper.

Weather Diary, April 29: Hi 81, Low 49/ Precip 0 

All material © 2009-2021 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

Thursday, April 29, 2021

April photos from my phone; the flowers

When our weather turned non-stop sun I kind of lost track of time. I could look at the calendar and see it was still April, but mentally I couldn't wrap my head around it, July! July! July! Was all I could think/feel. On the 21st our local weather guy Mark Nelson wrote this on his blog: …how many times can you recall waking up to sunshine for 11 consecutive days? It’s nothing unusual if you live east of the Cascades of course (drier climate). But west of the mountains, even in summer, it’s rare. From fall through spring it doesn’t happen because we have weather systems moving through from time to time. In July and August, we get occasional surges of cooler marine air and low clouds. So even in the peak of summer we typically don’t see more than 7 cloudless days."

With all that sun I wasn't able to move plants out of the basement (no clouds = sunburn on leaves that haven't acclimated to outdoor conditions), and it just didn't seem like the best time to plant, so my time in the garden was kind of random. Combinations of clean-up, repotting containers, watering, and scheming. Oh and being confused and feeling like I was wasting precious time. I did manage to snap some phone photos and that's what I'm sharing now. Today the flowers, tomorrow the foliage. Paris quadrifolia...

Citrus trifoliata, aka Poncirus trifoliata

My one and only Pacific Coast Iris hybrid, 'Wildberry Shortcake'


Disporum cantoniense 'Night Heron'


Magnolia laevifolia




Okay not flowers, but berries... Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens'

Stachyurus salicifolius


My newest Rhododendron! I wanted R. forrestii for the form and foliage, but wow...

I am in love with those flowers!


Pretty fabulous, right? (thank you Roger Gossler)

The blue blooms of Ajuga reptans 'Black Scallop' always catch me by surprise. I forget about them, until suddenly there they are.

This is one of many plants in my garden that was a gift from Alison, who used to blog at Bonnie Lassie. I do hold out hope that someday she'll decide to blog again.

Solomon's seal (Polygonatum) 

I'll wrap up this post with the tiniest flowers in my garden, on Pittosporum divaricatum. This was a gift from Sean Hogan years ago, and I don't know that I've ever noticed it flowering. I would have probably missed it this time around except for the fact I was at my friend Ann's place and she pointed out the flowers on her plant. I came home and checked mine, voila!

Weather Diary, April 28: Hi 72, Low 46/ Precip 0 

All material © 2009-2021 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Wednesday Vignette, agave-spiked!

Wanting to be COVID safe on our beach-getaway last month we visited a grocery store upon our arrival, stocking up to eat-in as much as possible. That's where Andrew spotted the Cacti...

He knew I'd be bothered by the fact it's essentially calling an agave a cacti, which they are not—succulents yes, cactus... no!

In case you're wondering no, we didn't give it a try. Nine cans is quite the commitment, what if it was bad? Have you drank a cacti?

Weather Diary, April 27: Hi 66, Low 43/ Precip 0 

Wednesday Vignettes are hosted by Anna at Flutter & Hum. All material © 2009-2021 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.