White at William Baffin

Tulips are everywhere here right now either in bud or in bloom. These are the white part of a tulip mix I bought years ago called plum pudding mix. They were a mix of purple and white. Oddly, this patch never did have any purple in it. There is another patch of them in the sun gardens and it has this white with a dark purple and a dark purple/white. I like the white better on its own.

The Unknown

My unknown tulip has opened. I really have to pull out my maps. The variegated leaf narrows the possibilities down but the colour is off for anything I can think of off the top of my head. My best guess for the moment is 'Happy Generation'. It should be less pink and more red though. If I get around to looking it up, I will let you know.

Tulips are Starting

The tulips are starting but they were all moved last year and I have not dug out my maps yet so I am having trouble identifying some of them at this stage. A lot of them are in bud, one or two are already open. It all happened today while I was in the city and it was almost too dark to take photographs by the time I got home. I did manage to get a few and plan to get a lot more tomorrow.

I think this one is Happy Generation. I also think Davenport is getting ready to open. The open ones include Zurel, White Plum Pudding, Salmon Impression and a yellow I cannot yet name. I am pretty sure it came from Judy's so I will have to check with her.

This is when it all gets exciting!!

Turkestanica

It was the day for mini botanical tulips in my garden. The tarda have been up for awhile and today were joined by turkestanica and puchella eastern star. I had thought turkestanica was lost so it was a delight to see. The puchella were planted in 2010 and this is their first bloom here. It was an all-round great day for spring bulbs here!

It starts with tulips...

It actually started with a little dried up crocus that bloomed about a mile from the house that I did not notice until at least one dog had stepped on it! But tulips are next and it is hard not to notice them. 'Chopin' was the season opener. A single bloom, left behind when I moved them last year.

Everything else is coming along. Delphinium, iris, creeping jenny, carnation, sedum, lamium and cerastium are all up with the tulips. Lily are not showing up yet, along with a long list of others that I am sure are coming.

I decided not to have a plant sale this year for my divisions. If there was anything you were looking for, waiting for or wanting, give me a shout. I am already dividing here.You can also check out the Asher Design stand at the Farmer's Market. I happen to know she is carrying almost everything I have this year.

Garden Note

Fall has set in and despite my relaxed timetable for gardening, I am actually closer to ready than I am most years. Must be the extended fall. There are very few plants left in pots and even less bulbs not yet in the ground. Today I planted hens & chicks with blue sedum (from the green pot) next to 'Big Daddy'. Unkown tulips are planted between the speedwell and liatris in the front garden. The sun stone, green pot and blue butterfly metal stake were brought into the house with the sand sun dish. The little girls metal summer pens are packed up and stored in the shop. The red sun pot and all of the plastic pots are in the shop as well. Snow was forecast for today but never arrived. I am really hopeful it will stay away another couple of days.

Tulips Missed

Well, it has been a long winter but my garden is coming up for another season now. This season, we hope to move and in preparation for that, I dug up all the tulips last fall and shipped them off to Linda. I knew there were many that I did not get because I decided on the plan too late in the season. I only stopped digging them because the ground froze. I guess it was a faulty plan! The tulips I missed are all starting to come up now. It would seem that I missed most, if not all, of the Zurel so there are huge patches of them poking through. I did surprisingly well on the others though. Not too many coming up that I have to deal with this year. I am not sure which varieties they are so I will have to pull out my map. Regardless, I am taking all the tulips. They are easy to move.

More Fall Garden Record Notes

Another busy day in my garden. Fall chores seem endless but it was a beautiful day for gardening again and forecast is for a few more of those yet. Good thing too because despite getting a ton of work done today out there, I probably have twice as much to go before I can say the garden is put to bed for the winter.

Lifted Dahlia 'Parkland Glory', 'Ferncliff Cameo', 'Hy Cutter', 'Taratahi Ruby', 'Yvonne' and 'Wine & Roses'. My Spring map was good but not quite good enough. I have two Dahlia tubers of which, one is 'Taratahi Ruby' and one is 'Hy Cutter' but I don't know which is which. Good thing 'Hy Cutter' is white so it will go with anything and I will figure it out next year when they bloom.

Lifted Gladiolus 'Passos', Border Gladiolus, Calla 'Picasso' and all the Freesia. Potted up two more Geranium cuttings. Planted Speedwell from Judy which is different than the one I have here already. I put the Speedwell beside the two patches of German Purple Iris at the rock edge towards the Knautia. Planted Bouncing Bet in two spots: beside the Stargazer Lily in the Bird Sanctuary (to the house side) and right off the front deck beside the trellis where the Euphorbia was planted this year. Planted Monkshood beside (lawn side), the Knautia that went in the Bird Sanctuary. Moved the 'Angelique' Tulips marked in Summer to two places: in front of the furthest Delphinium in the Front House Garden and immediately right of the sidewalk where the bushline was taken down. Dark came too soon today. I was on a roll.

Flower Power

A garden journal post with photo links so I don't forget to tell Linda anything :) I am always amazed at what continues to thrive despite my gardening philosophy of what can't survive on neglect should be in someone else's garden. I have no time for fussy plants that need any special attention, nevermind those that need to be literally coddled ! I am so glad there are so many plants that are not fussy. Although it looks like a pink Lupin patch, I planted yellow as well. Six buds opening today and they are all pink. The rainstorm turned the 'Therese Bugnet' into a pink carpet. I got a shot of Benedict's Abu Hassan open although it is just about done. I think if I blew on that flower the petals would fall but it is still stunning. The second bloom of the dark yellow Iris opened while the sun was out along with the red Columbine. The double blue Iris look very purple in the sun and the blue and whites opened on the other side of the entryway today. The mixed pinks - red, pink and white are opening but so far only a single white. The pink spirea, sanctuary peony, and white Bleeding Heart are all in bud. The peony are full of little red ants that bite and I keep forgetting that until I am getting bitten on the wrist, just above the glove. My first food crop besides edible flowers is Swiss Chard 'Bright Lights' and they are up. Miles' fern patch got cleared out a few days ago and it has grown to sixteen. Iris was the word of the day though and they are blooming everywhere. Oh, and you asked me to mention when my delphinium started. It was a busy day in the garden here. I couldn't use the shovel so I decided to use the camera.

Grand Opening

So much more is open today after 2 days of sunshine. This columbine, which is my oldest and moved here with me, is the first to open. The unknown red Columbine is getting ready to open though. (Linda, I don't think it is the same as the one I lost but it is still red. Looks like red and white or red and yellow). The creeping thyme, white spirea, several iris and all of the pinks are blooming. Although the 'Antoinette' are finishing, the 'Ice Cream' beside the Columbine are just starting to puff up. I seeded Cosmos today, got the rest of the annuals in, planted more Dahlia and got about half of the roses pruned. I am resisting the urge to go buy impatiens. I am not buying anything to plant until everything I have here is planted. Really :)

Happy Sunday !

It is not open all the way and I am already taken with this 'Flaming Parrot' tulip. In fact, I am really happy with all of the new tulips this year. They have been spectacular. Tulips have come a long way since I started gardening. The 'Gavota'  are just finishing now and the 'Mickey Mouse' are open wide along with the 'Happy Generation' which have finished turning red. The purple have started to open in the 'Plum Pudding Mix' and a single 'Blushing Beauty' appeared under the bird feeder at the end of the path. The 'City of Vancouver' are just starting so tulips are everywhere. Or so it seems. Wile E. is slowly learning this year not to dig in the garden. We had no rain today and quite a bit of sunshine. All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better Sunday in the garden.

Benedict's 'Abu Hassan' Tulips

Most of my plant experiments are really pushing the gardening envelope and many of them flop. Every once in awhile though, one of them works. These 'Abu Hassan' in the upper level of Benedict's Garden is one of those that worked. They are growing in almost complete shade and are opening about a week behind the same variety in full sun. Next step is seeing if they come back next Spring.

Slide Garden Sunny Spot

Well, if I can't have a sunny day, this view and no rain is the next best thing! I got the Zinnia and Bidens in, several delphinium moved and more weeding done. The 'Happy Generation' tulips are almost done turning red, although I quite like the yellow. The 'Flaming Parrot' buds are opening along with the Cerastium getting started. I reorganized the upper level of Benedict's Garden so the dogs can use their favorite shady nap spot without crushing anything. We will all be happier.

Turn and Face the Changes

The 'Antoinette' started turning raspberry and the 'Happy Generation' started turning red. The 'Ice Cream' tulips finally started to grow and open today so I expect they will change daily for awhile since they will look much different than this by the time they are fully open and (hopefully) taller. The 'Davenport' also started to open when the sun was out this morning. They immediately closed by 9:00 am when the rain came and the grey stayed. They say no sun until Wednesday now. Sunday was sunny and it made a real difference with the tulips so I am wishing for one more full day of it before tulips are finished. Annuals didn't get in due to rain. Lots of things postponed due to rain. I guess Wednesday will be busy.

'Gavota'

The 'Gavota' opened yesterday for awhile but today we had Sun all day and they opened right up! I have two good sized patches of them and today I dropped Nigella seeds all around them. The 'Davenport' are in bud and if we get another day of Sun tomorrow, I am sure they will still open. I went to the city today and planted my Aunt's garden. Tomorrow, the rest of the annuals I had picked up are going to be planted in mine.

The Chameleon

Today was all about tulips and weeding. We had some sun and the tulips started to come alive finally. This is Tulip 'Antoinette', which opens pale yellow and constantly changes to end up bright yellow with raspberry markings. From the picture of it in the catalogue, I expect the parts that look white in this photo will be the raspberry. It also has great variegated foliage. The 'Happy Generation' were budding up today and should look like Red 'Zurel' tulips with variegated foliage when they are fully open. The 'Lipgloss' are getting more pink by the day and are starting to look more like their catalogue picture too. The Plum Pudding Mix that was looking mostly white got another purple bloom today and I was able to get a pathway shot with the 'Lipgloss' and 'Salmon Impression' together. I tried to plant in the ground but only got a couple of dahlia in when it became really clear it was too wet to dig. Our soil can turn to concrete if you dig it when it is too wet so I settled for planting in the firepit pots. I got a lot done and it was a good thing because tomorrow I am planting my Aunt's garden and I am told that Monday we are getting rain.

'Salmon Impression'

It rained most of the day today but it stopped in the late afternoon and I was able to catch these 'Salmon Impression' Tulips in bud next to the 'Lipgloss' Tulips. I got alluminum sulfate on the begonia and one of the 'Endless Summer' Hydrangea. I haven't decided yet why I would want blue flowers when I like the pink so much so I only ammend the soil at one of them. I still have tulips coming everywhere and one day of real sunshine would make everything open. Maybe that will be tomorrow.

Bird Sanctuary Path

Weeding, weeding, weeding for at least another few days but it's great. I keep uncovering things and found more tulips in the nursery. Two patches of red and two patches of what look to be pale pink but are not yet open. I caught these two open this morning while weeding in the bird sanctuary. The hosta and phlox are coming nicely on the other side of the path. My first purple bloom of the 'Plum Pudding' Mix opened and the 'Princess Irene' still look great. I managed to get almost all of the Shade Bridge Garden weed free with only a small patch behind the peony to the bushline needing work. I had friends drop by for coffee today so the rest will have to wait for tomorrow. One of the wonderful things about the garden is that it always waits, usually with little consequence.

Sunny Daze

Today I feel as sunny as this little Tulip 'Ballerina'. The sun was out most of the day. I moved all the Daisy that was popping up in the drive to a little section between the bush and the Orange Lily Garden, then added the Forget-me-not that was taking over the raspberry pathway. I got a lot of weeding done and several plants are blooming today that were not yesterday.

Olympic Flame

At least I am pretty sure they are 'Olympic Flame' tulips but I would have to check my map to be positive and I am way too tired to look at maps ! Rain again today but I managed to get pictures of open tulips yesterday. I even cut my first table bouquet of the season. The vase my sister made me many years ago is full of Zurel Tulips which are the only ones blooming in enough volume to cut. All the others are coming though and most are in bud with a few in bloom. It is starting to look like a good year for tulips which tells you how impatient I can be in the Spring. The garden is good at teaching patience which is a life long lesson for me.