There simply are no words to describe the vivid color of Oriental poppies. The photo does not do them justice!. Each bloom is a full four inches across, and they are the most brilliant orange-red you will ever see. They are deer resistant and tolerate poor soil. They are difficult to transplant but very hardy once established. The foliage dies back after blooming, and they remain an unattractive clump for the remainder of the season. Thus it's best to plant them behind something that stays green all season and is tall enough to hide the leftovers.
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The early spring daffodils and tulips have faded and the only color on the ground in most gardens right now is creeping phlox and a few remaining late tulips. Many of the azaleas were stressed by the extra cold winter and are barely blooming, if at all; but today I found this fabulous tree peony in full bloom. The other more common peonies may start blooming in a week, but certainly by June 1st.
This is one of two small heathers I put into the ground in September last year. The cultivar is Easter-Bonfire. They survived the extreme winter, but everyone I know who has heather has lost all or most of theirs. One of my regular client's has a well established and well protected patch of heather that appeared to have died completely this winter. It was completely brown above ground and all the needles had fallen off. But when I went to cut it at the ground, I saw a few tiny green needles and the stems appeared green inside right at the base of the plant. Apparently it was not completely dead.
A friend who planted heather earlier than I did last fall lost all of his. I can only guess that my two brand new heathers made it because they were planted in fabulous fine soil in a place that tends to stay wet. It is recommended that heather not be placed where they get exposure to harsh winds. This particular location is somewhat protected - it is not a hillside where it is very exposed, but there is a large open space to the south. So if your heather is all brown before digging it up, check carefully for signs of life! On April 13, I posted a photo of these delphiniums as they were just poking through the mulch. Already, less than 3 weeks later they are a full 18" tall despite the cool weather we have had! There are about a dozen stems in this clump, so I am hoping for each to produce a nice tall flower. In the past I have had poor luck with delphiniums, so this is quite a delight for me. The soil beneath this raised bed is a very heavy gray clay, and many plants in this bed do well the first year or two then wither. My lupines especially have not fared well in this space probably because they have deep roots that eventually cannot get what they need in that clay. Hopefully, I can post the progress of these delphs over the next year or two.
Today was a weeding day, and I would estimate I dug up at least a thousand tiny maple seedlings from in between the tulips and rose bushes at a client's home. I have been finding hundreds and hundreds everywhere I have been in the past two weeks. I have never seen anything like this number of trees sprouting - It is quite remarkable. I noticed that the sweet gum trees also produced a much larger than usual number of seed balls last fall that are lodged in the nooks and crannies of the flower gardens. One can only wonder why nature behaves the way it does and produces such a bounty one year and not in others. Was it the very wet weather we had last season? That would be my guess, but it is only a guess. I'd like to hear if anyone has any other interesting theories to explain this?
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AuthorBarbara Eaton, M.Ed. is a Master Gardener, a garden designer and an artist. She works as a professional gardener caring for the gardens of several regular clients. She is a published author, retired educator and a fool for flowers. Archives
January 2019
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