An unapologetic plant geek shares advice and opinions on gardening, the contrived and the natural landscape, as well as occasional topics from the other side of the gate.

March 15, 2016

Bloom Day with Katharine

     Seemingly overnight spring has sprung. Perhaps a string of unusually warm 70 degree days had something to do with it. Whatever the reason, local landscapes have come alive with color, including my own.

(Hovering over the photos should give you the plant names, if I know them.)

Ipheion uniflorum 'Rolf Fiedler'

Forsythia 'Variegata'

Edgeworthia chrysantha (1)

Chaenomeles x 'Hime'

Camellia japonica 'Crimson Candles'

Camellia japonica 'Cherries Jubilee'

Viola, Hyacinth, and Leucojum

Viola and Narcissus

Veronica umbrosa 'Georgia Blue'

Narcissus 'Cum Laude'

Narcissus and Silybum marianum

Leucojum

Leucojum (2)

     One of the plants that I am enjoying right now is Iris 'Katharine Hodgkin', which I had nearly forgotten planting. I have coveted this dwarf iris since seeing it on other's Bloom Day posts, so I was thrilled to see a pack for sale at a small local garden center this past fall. I put them on the only slope I have in hopes that improved drainage might increase their odds of being perennial. They popped up four days ago among the annual Euphorbia helioscopia (Mad Woman's Milk, Sun Spurge) which is an agricultural weed I pulled from my cousin's soy bean field several years ago. Each year more reseed, and I pray the gods of horticulture forgive me for spreading this potentially noxious weed, but my judgement becomes cloudy under the influence of acid greens and yellows.
Iris 'Katharine Hodgkin'  and Euphorbia helioscopia (1)

Iris 'Katharine Hodgkin'  and Euphorbia helioscopia (2)

      To see what might be impairing other gardeners at this time of year, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens. On the 15th of each month she graciously hosts the Garden Bloggers Bloom Day meme. Speaking of memes, I am currently hosting a Winter Walk-Off challenge, and if you are interested in joining in just visit here for details. I am accepting entries through midnight March 19th.

34 comments:

  1. WOW! Thanks for this post of your magnificent plants. Now I can name the plants in my pictures.

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    1. Hopefully they are labeled correctly.

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  2. Great photos! That iris is like a piece of Asian or Dutch blue and white porcelain.

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    1. That is what attracted me to them in the first place.

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  3. I have had no luck with Hodgkin coming back for me. There is another similar variety and I thought I might try it instead. Is that an Arum italicum with that daff in the 5th photo from the bottom?

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    1. Linda, that is a spotted milk thistle, which I have seen being a little weedy, but I will take the chance.

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  4. Beautiful!
    I especially like the blues and yellows together.
    Have a wonderful week!
    Lea

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    1. Last March I realized there was too much yellow, so I have been trying to remedy that by adding blues and purples.

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  5. Your area really is blossoming. The iris is adorable and a beautiful color. We are so behind the rest of the country, but I suspect we will have a mass of flowers all at once. It is warming here too at about 60 degrees.

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    1. Thankfully the weather has taken a cooler turn, so hopefully that will slow things down a bit.

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  6. All those blues are particularly striking. I see we have at least one plant in common - the leucojum. Happy Bloom Day.

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    1. Leucojum does very well for us here, much better than Galanthus.

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  7. Katherine's a beauty! Love those freckles. :o)

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    1. They kind of remind me of a watercolor.

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  8. Just scrumptious. Happy Bloom Day!~~Dee

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  9. 70 degrees? 'Katharine Hodgkin'? I hate you!
    On a serious note, I admire your pictures! And, the 'floating' names of the plants - how nice!

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    1. I can take no credit for the floating names, it is a Flickr thing, but I like that it keeps the page a little less cluttered.

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  10. 'Crimson Candles' is very impressive!

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    1. Yes, that one is a very heavy bloomer. The flowers are not large, more like sasanquas, but it makes up for it in sheer numbers and hardiness.

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  11. Happy GBBD! I love the deep blue/purple of the opening shot. It's so gray and brown in Maine so thanks for sharing your local color.

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    1. Thanks Sarah, I like the color in that shot too, which is not a color so easy to find in flowers.

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  12. Katherine is a beauty, but I love the Ipheion and Chaenomeles also.

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    1. Thanks Jason, I love the Chaenomeles too, mainly for its long bloom time.

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  13. Hi Les, you do have lots of blooms. We are supposed to get down to the mid 20s the next couple of nights. I think the plants that are up should be OK. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

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  14. I share your love of acid green, and dwarf iris. Your camellias are as glorious as ever. Bendigedig, as they say in Welsh.

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    1. I had to google translate your Welsh. Good word.

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  15. I envy you your string of days with 70 degree weather. The snow is gone here, but the temperature is 5 degrees C. Yesterday the sun shone for the first time all week, but it was darned cold.
    I enjoyed seeing your lovely red camellia and I love the Narcissus 'Cum Laude'. Can't wait for some spring flowers to appear here!

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  16. It's hard to resist the bright chartreuse blooms of any Euphorbia this time of year, especially when it's so close to the ground and complimenting your iris so perfectly. I say, go on praying.

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  17. Oh yes, spring has certainly sprung in your corner of the world! Gorgeous! Spring has definitely started here, but we're taking a few steps backward during the next few days with some snow and cold. I'm glad my garden wasn't farther along because then there would be more damage. Those Camellias are stunners! I saw some similar deep red ones last week when we were visiting family in San Diego.

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  18. Looking ever so beautiful!

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