Flowers and Plants

Daffodil ‘Arkle’

Photograph taken on Saturday, March 14, 2020 by Henry
Daffodil ‘Arkle’

Daffodil ‘Arkle’

As mentioned yesterday, the daffodils are really starting to come out in great numbers. This is one called ‘Arkle’ and it’s a big, bold, beautiful yellow flowered variety. I planted these back in 2014 and they are very well established. Daffodils are long lived and form nice clumps. Where you put one bulb, you will eventually have a group of them, each putting up flowers, so the longer they are in the ground, the better. Others that were planted more recently, a variety called ‘Marieke’ that has similar but slightly larger flowers is still putting up only 3 or 4 blooms per clump. But they should continue to get better each year.

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Star Magnolia

Photograph taken on Friday, March 13, 2020 by Henry
Star Magnolia

Star Magnolia

The star magnolia (Magnolia stellata) is a really nice flowering tree, relatively slow growing but eventually getting up to about 20 feet tall and nearly as wide. It flowers rather early in the spring and it’s not uncommon, at least here, for the blooms to be killed by a late frost. We’ve been spared that this year and they are blooming all over right now. The generally later saucer magnolia (Magnolia × soulangeana) is starting to bloom around the neighborhood, also. There are some cherries blooming and the daffodils are coming out in great numbers. It’s a pretty time of year.

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Amaryllis

Photograph taken on Thursday, March 12, 2020 by Henry
Amaryllis

Amaryllis

We have two amaryllis bulbs from last year that we pretty much neglected after they finished blooming. They had leaves for a while but we stopped watering them and they just sat on shelves in the kitchen after that. They normally bloom around Christmas time, which is lovely, of course, but we weren’t paying them any attention. A week ago I notice this one had sent up a shoot with a bud on top so it got a little water. It has rewarded our neglect with two lovely blooms. It now has a spot on the kitchen counter. I had to add two stakes to hold it up because the flowers are pretty heavy and the pot it’s in is not.

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‘Tete-A-Tete’ Daffodils

Photograph taken on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 by Henry
‘Tete-A-Tete’ Daffodils

‘Tete-A-Tete’ Daffodils

Daffodils are starting to bloom all over. The early varieties, particularly in warm locations, have been in bloom for a week or so. These are our first to get fully out. They are called ‘Tete-A-Tete’ and they are a nice, little, clump-forming variety that I really like. We have them in a few places and they are very happy, blooming as the others are still forming buds. They are only about 8 to 10 inches tall, so not suited for growing in with too much ground cover. So, in the pachysandra we have taller varieties, like ‘Arkle’ which is big and bold but blooms a little later.

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Ficaria verna

Photograph taken on Monday, March 09, 2020 by Henry
Ficaria verna

Ficaria verna

This is Ficaria verna, formerly known as Ranunculus ficaria, commonly called the fig buttercup or lesser celandine. It is a weed and is listed as a noxious weed by a bunch of states and banned in at least two. It’s growing wild in the area around the pond next to my building. I’ve had enough experience with invasive weeds that I understand the desire to keep them out so I wouldn’t ever plant this. Nevertheless, I can appreciate the beautiful, bright yellow flowers. It is a tuberous rooted, herbaceous perennial native to western and central Asia and Europe. After flowering, the leaves die back by early summer and the plant goes dormant until the next spring.

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Camellia japonica

Photograph taken on Saturday, March 07, 2020 by Henry
Camellia japonica

Camellia japonica

I went over to my mom’s this morning to see her and to do a few things around her apartment. After the minor chores, we took a walk around the loop she walks most days, about a third of a mile. We started by taking a slight detour to see the two Camellia japonica bushes that are in bloom outside the enclosed walkway just past the dining hall. They are absolutely covered with pink and white flowers, both varying somewhat from almost all pink to mostly white with pink lines. I have three plants in my yard, all small (and one is very small). One of them has buds but none are blooming yet. Looking forward to that.

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Seed Pods, Hardy Hibiscus

Photograph taken on Friday, March 06, 2020 by Henry
Hibiscus moscheutos Seed Pods

Hibiscus moscheutos Seed Pods

I stopped at Meadowside Nature Center on the way home today and walked down to the pond on the Pioneer Trail. There were a pair of geese on the pond and they paddled away from me as I approached. I got some pictures of these seed pods and wasn’t sure what they were. I’m pretty sure they belong to a hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos sometimes called swamp rose mallow). They are lovely, I think. They look a lot like the seed pods on crape myrtle except they are on non-woody stems and are much larger. I walked up to another small catchment pond and startled a pair of mallards who flew off to the larger pond as I approached. It’s supposed to get cold tonight and tomorrow night but spring is pretty much around the corner, with forecasts of temperatures greater than 70°F for Monday.

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Veronica persica (Persian Speedwell)

Photograph taken on Thursday, March 05, 2020 by Henry
Veronica persica (Persian Speedwell)

Veronica persica (Persian Speedwell)

I went outside today in the early afternoon and walked to the empty lot next to my building. It still looks mostly brown but there are little bits of color if you look hard enough. The seedling pears are just about to start blooming and there is a small amount of pink in their otherwise white buds. The hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) is starting to bloom everywhere. Those flowers are white and not terribly conspicuous. Even less conspicuous because they are so small are the beautiful, tiny blue flowers of Persian speedwell (Veronica persica, also known as bird’s-Eye speedwell). You really have to look for them, but once you start to see them, you’ll notice them everywhere.

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Lenten Rose ‘Mango Magic’

Photograph taken on Sunday, March 01, 2020 by Henry
Lenten Rose ‘Mango Magic’

Lenten Rose ‘Mango Magic’

Our oldest Lenten rose, with its deep maroon colored flowers, has been in bloom for a while. We had such warm weather that a lot of things have been coming up early. We had a cold spell. Not terribly cold but with nighttime temperatures in the 20s. That damaged some of the tender leaves that were just coming up and also some of the buds that were starting to open. This Lenten rose, a variety called ‘Mango Magic’, was not quite as far along so was less damaged, although even here the petals of a few flowers were burned by the frost. Hopefully we’ll have more flowers to come, as it’s warmed up again.

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Cornus mas

Photograph taken on Friday, February 28, 2020 by Henry
<em>Cornus mas</em>

Cornus mas

The cornel (Cornus mas, sometimes known as cornelian cherry) is an old-world dogwood that should, I believe, be grown more here. The trees are fairly slow growing and the wood is very hard and dense, actually being dense enough that it doesn’t float. This, along with ash, is the wood that was used in ancient Greece for making spears. According to the 2nd century A.D. geographer Pausanias, the Trojan horse, built by the Greeks was built of cornel from a grove of trees sacred to Apollo. For me, it’s the very early flowers, which are not much individually, as well as the cherry-like fruit that makes the tree attractive for the small garden.

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Maple Blossoms

Photograph taken on Sunday, February 16, 2020 by Henry
Maple Blossoms

Maple Blossoms

We happened to be in northern Virginia this afternoon to meet some friends for brunch. We got there a little early so we walked in a park near the restaurant and I took some pictures of three different plants that are in bloom. First, and seen here, are maple blossoms. I think this is a silver maple (Acer saccharinum) but I didn’t take the time to identify it carefully. I’m pretty sure it isn’t red maple (Acer rubrum) but it could be a sugar maple (Acer saccharum) or a number of other species. It’s a bit early even for the early trees to be blooming but it’s been such a mild winter so far, I’m not terribly surprised. It may get cold yet, of course. It’s still only mid November.

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Walnut Half

Photograph taken on Wednesday, February 12, 2020 by Henry
Walnut Half

Walnut Half

Cathy called me early this afternoon and said she was walking around my building and asked if I would come down and walk with her a while. I did and brought my camera with me. I didn’t end up taking many photos but I took a few of this half of a walnut shell on one of the tables next to my parking lot. We stopped and admired the snow drops (Galanthus nivalis) but since I took pictures of them a few days ago, I didn’t take more today. I think walnuts are pretty and of course they’re tasty, as well. The walnuts we get in the store are Juglans regia, variously known as the Persian walnut, English walnut, Carpathian walnut, Madeira walnut.

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Rieger Begonia Leaf

Photograph taken on Tuesday, February 11, 2020 by Henry
Rieger Begonia Leaf

Rieger Begonia Leaf

My mom was given a Rieger begonia a while back and she gave it to me. It was covered in pink blossoms when I got it and it bloomed for a while but since then it’s been growing but so far hasn’t rebloomed. I’m not sure how likely it is to rebloom but it seems happy enough in a west-facing window along with a pothos plant (a.k.a. Devil’s ivy, Epipremnum aureum), a jade plant (Crassula ovata) that Dorothy started from a leaf, an African violet (Saintpaulia species), and with a large, fiddle leaf fig (Ficus lyrata) growing in a pot on the floor next to them.

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Tulip Poplars

Photograph taken on Sunday, February 09, 2020 by Henry
Tulip Poplars

Tulip Poplars

Cathy, Dorothy, and I went to Seneca Creek State Park this afternoon and walked just short of 3 miles in the woods. It was a cool but pretty day with deep blue skies. The woods are predominated by tulip poplars (Liriodendron tulipifera) with a significant number of other deciduous trees including oaks, maples, beeches, and various smaller trees. I think the fact that they grow so quickly accounts for their numbers, as they outgrow the slower growing but longer lived hardwoods. Eventually, the oaks, maples, and beeches will outlive this first growth of poplars and it will all even out or even lean towards the others. But for now, the wood is filled with the straight trunks of the tulip poplar.

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Snow Drops (Galanthus nivalis)

Photograph taken on Tuesday, February 04, 2020 by Henry
Snow Drops (Galanthus nivalis)

Snow Drops (Galanthus nivalis)

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the snow drops (Galanthus nivalis) are coming up in our yard. I remembered that the snow drops in the woods around my office are generally two or three weeks ahead of those in our yard. I went out with my camera this afternoon and sure enough, they are in bloom. There are two large areas, one in the back amidst fallen logs and the other on a steep bank leading down to a stream on the front side of the building. They really are lovely flowers, so simple and yet elegant, especially at a time of year when the ground and most of the things on it are brown.

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Daffodil Leaves

Photograph taken on Monday, February 03, 2020 by Henry
Daffodil Leaves

Daffodil Leaves

February is generally the middle of winter but it’s been quite warm lately, with highs in the 60s. The daffodils are coming up in our yard. That’s not all that unusual, as they generally start coming up during a warm spell in the winter. They are remarkably cold hardy and will be just fine, even after winter returns as it’s bound to do. I don’t mind a little green in the garden, as it reminds me that spring is not too far away. We actually have Lenten rose (Helleborus species) blooming and the snow drops are coming up (meaning they are probably already out in the woods near my office!). I’m a big fan of witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) which is a small tree that generally blooms in mid February in our area. We don’t have one but it’s something I’ve considered getting to give us a bit of color this time of year.

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Winter Colors

Photograph taken on Sunday, February 02, 2020 by Henry
Epimedium Leaves

Epimedium Leaves

Around here, winter colors are mostly browns and greys. The sky is often still blue, of course. Lawns and evergreen trees and shrubs are still green. But walking through the woods, which are mostly deciduous, brown and grey predominates. There is still color to be found, if you’re willing to look. We have a number of things that are various shades of burgundy right now. These epimedium leaves are lovely. They are only semi-evergreen, so some have fallen off, but those that remain are really nice. We also have a Lenten rose (Helleborus species) blooming and it has deep purple-red flowers that are wonderful. There are sedums in the front whose leaves and stems turn this color in the winter, as well. So get out there and look down. The color is there waiting to be found.

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Ranunculus

Photograph taken on Friday, January 31, 2020 by Henry
Ranunculus

Ranunculus

The Ranunculus that I photographed on January 17 continues to deliver. The flowers have opened up and are bright orangy-red with interesting centers. In another day or two they’ll be finished, I think, but we’ll get a little more enjoyment out of them. This time of year, flowers on the table are a nice extravagance. It’s actually getting a bit warm for this time of year and the forecast is for warmer still for a little while. I have no doubt that winter will return before long, though, and we’ll want to stay indoors.

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Ranunculus asiaticus

Photograph taken on Friday, January 17, 2020 by Henry
Ranunculus asiaticus, Persian Buttercup

Ranunculus asiaticus, Persian Buttercup

While she was in Alaska from July to December, Dorothy got a job at a florist shop. She’s been exposed to flowers and plants to one degree or another all her life, having been dragged to various botanical gardens and arboreta. More recently she has come to appreciate them more than she did as a child. Nevertheless, her time at the florist has served to increase her love of flowers. This is a Ranunculus asiaticus, the Persian buttercup, and Dorothy brought home a bouquet of them for the dining room table. They are quite beautiful and I love the many overlapping petals of the deep crimson blooms.

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Bramble Thorns

Photograph taken on Thursday, January 16, 2020 by Henry
Bramble Thorns

Bramble Thorns

I went out into the empty lot next door to my office this afternoon. It was a cool, breezy, but sunny day and it was really nice to be outside. Before going next door, I walked down to the pond between my building and the next, on the other side from the empty lot, and I took a few pictures of reflections on the water, but they aren’t really anything to speak of. In the empty lot, I took some pictures of sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) leaves with the sun shining strongly on them. They have a lovely texture and color. In the end, though, I decided to go with these bramble thorns. The genus Rubus contains the blackberries, raspberries, and all the related species. In addition to their generally wonderful fruits, they often have pretty stems, leaves, and thorns.

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