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Spring is Springing!
30 March 2023, 09:17 AM
Steve MillerSpring is Springing!
Yesterday I saw a cardinal - the first I’ve ever seen. I also heard Killdeer.
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Life is short. Play with your dog.
30 March 2023, 09:29 AM
wtgThey're so common around here, at first I was astounded to hear it's the first one you've ever seen. But then I remembered that the full name is "Northern Cardinal" and you were in California for so many years, so.....duh....
In addition to cardinals, we've got lots of robins, mourning doves, woodpeckers (downy, hairy, and flickers). And my yard is overrun with rabbits. I have three of them wreaking havoc back there.
I've been out for some short stints working in the garden, mostly cleaning up the winter debris and also downsizing the collection of old nursery pots I keep for transplanting/giving away. It's been getting warmish during the day, but below freezing some nights, so the ground is still hard.
The buds on the currant bushes are starting to swell a little. They're the early birds.
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We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home. - Australian Aboriginal proverb
Bazootiehead-in-training
30 March 2023, 12:46 PM
Steve MillerThe landscape crew is here!
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Life is short. Play with your dog.
30 March 2023, 06:29 PM
AdagioMThe cherry trees are blooming!
Portland Oregon cherry blossoms by
pianomom2001, on Flickr
30 March 2023, 07:19 PM
Ninaquote:
Originally posted by AdagioM:
The cherry trees are blooming!
I'm going down tomorrow!
30 March 2023, 07:51 PM
Steve MillerBeautiful!
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Life is short. Play with your dog.
30 March 2023, 09:37 PM
AdagioMquote:
Originally posted by Nina:
quote:
Originally posted by AdagioM:
The cherry trees are blooming!
I'm going down tomorrow!
Have fun! Here’s hoping any rain is gentle, and that the blooms are long lasting!
01 April 2023, 06:20 AM
DanielMarch 20 was spring (Spring?) and I had to Google it this morning.
01 April 2023, 10:39 AM
Steve MillerApril 1 appears to be the day all of the stores start selling plants again. Every store, all at once. Remarkable.
Costco is selling bulbs cheap. If I plant them now do I have to wait until next year for them to flower?
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Life is short. Play with your dog.
01 April 2023, 11:08 AM
wtgDepends upon what kind of bulb it is.
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We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home. - Australian Aboriginal proverb
Bazootiehead-in-training
01 April 2023, 11:34 AM
Steve MillerWhat would you suggest that might flower right away?
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Life is short. Play with your dog.
01 April 2023, 12:20 PM
wtgHere's an overview of bulbs and things that aren't bulbs but are often called that anyway...
Some bulbs are winter hardy, some are not. Some bloom in spring, some during the summer, and a few in the autumn. They have varying light requirements.
Let's start with the spring blooming winter hardy ones, which are planted in autumn and will flower the following spring after they go through the cold weather (they actually need it to bloom). These are the usual suspects...snowdrops, tulips, hyacinths, crocuses, daffodils. Those won't be available in bulb form right now. Look for them around Labor Day.
https://www.thespruce.com/when...spring-bulbs-4164060The only winter hardy summer-blooming bulbs I can think of off the top of my head are allium. Basically...onions...really cool big round purple balls on top of a long stalk. They need full sun.
https://www.thespruce.com/how-...ental-onions-1402878There is also an autumn crocus, which is kind of cool. Here's a plant profile (note the toxicity element if your dogs eat plants). But it might not bloom the first year.
https://www.thespruce.com/autu...lant-profile-4768180 Then there are the non-hardy bulbs that bloom in summer, probably what is available now at Costco.
Canna lilies (not really a bulb, but everyone calls them bulbs) are used a lot, but they have to be dug up in the autumn and stored inside. Or I guess you could treat them as annuals and toss them at the end of the season.
https://www.thespruce.com/growing-cannas-1402837Also dahlias. Beautiful flowers.
https://www.thespruce.com/grow...-for-dahlias-1402255Oh, wait...there are gladiolus...technically a corm. I think people treat those as annuals...plant them in spring and they'll blossom this year. Your winter is too cold, so they'll die over the winter unless you dig them up
https://www.thespruce.com/gladiolus-flowers-1315704From wtg's personal gardening notes...
The only spring bloomers I put in are snowdrops, daffodils/narcissus/jonquils and grape hyacinths (not regular hyacinths). Squirrels usually don't dig up the bulbs and rabbits won't eat the leaves. They do okayy in less than full sun. They naturalize beautifully. I love crocus and tulips but they almost always fall prey to the varmints.
I don't have enough sun for allium, but love them.
I have planted cannas and dahlias but I've had trouble overwintering them indoors. They seem to either dry out too much or they rot. Plus I tend to be pretty busy with leaf raking in fall, so adding another chore to the list digging up bulbs just doesn't work out for me.
What else does Costco have out there now?
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We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home. - Australian Aboriginal proverb
Bazootiehead-in-training
01 April 2023, 01:33 PM
Steve MillerSo I guess the cannas I planted last year aren’t coming back up?
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Life is short. Play with your dog.
01 April 2023, 01:38 PM
wtgLooks like they're ok down to USDA hardiness zone 6a, and that's where I think your town is (I had to look it up). I think we're zone 5b here in Chicago, so I tend to think in terms of where I'm located.
It was a pretty warm winter. And better still if they were close to the house and/or well mulched....
I'd say there's a good chance they survived.
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We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home. - Australian Aboriginal proverb
Bazootiehead-in-training
12 April 2023, 11:10 AM
wtgThings are really hopping around here garden-wise. Besides the three huge rabbits...
All the berry bushes are leafing out. Well, except the alpine strawberries that look dead, but I think I see tiny signs of new growth. I should know in the next few days, as temps are in the 80s here.
Daffodils are blooming!
Mertensia (Virginia bluebells) are up and the buds are forming. Really nice ephemeral perennial. Comes up now, bloom, and completely disappears in June.
The primroses are up but not blooming yet.
And I'm seeing star magnolias in bloom all over the place. We may actually get to enjoy them this year. Most years they get hit by a nighttime frost and they turn brown and drop the petals. Not happening this year.
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We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home. - Australian Aboriginal proverb
Bazootiehead-in-training