Flowers and Plants

Mushrooms

I went out into the woods next to my building today. It was overcast but mild and a nice day to be outdoors. I had only walked a few paces into the woods when I spotted these little mushrooms by a fallen log. I got down on the ground and took a bunch of pictures but I’m not really all that pleased with any of them. The contrast between the white tops of the caps to the dark undersides was just too much for the sensor in my camera to take. But, it’s what I have a picture of today. Hopefully tomorrow will be more interesting.

Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis)

The lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) is up and in bloom. There was some of this in a bed under some trees in the back yard when we moved here. Cathy has transplanted some to a few other locations and this is growing around the southeast corner of the house. It’s such a pretty little flower and I love looking at them every year. They don’t last a long time so when they come out I can’t wait around. But for the short week or so that they are in bloom, they are worth taking time for.

Pink Flowering Dogwood

This pink flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) is in front of our house and it’s coming into full bloom. I really love pink dogwoods, although they don’t do as well these days because of anthracnose and the dogwood borer, one of which I photographed on Tuesday, August 21, 2012. It’s a pretty little thing but they do significant damage to this pretty, native tree. There are not reliably pink kousa dogwoods (Cornus kousa) and they have fewer pests, at least so far. They bloom later and have pretty fruit. I’d also like to get a Cornel cherry (Cornus mas), which has small, yellow flowers a bit earlier than the flowering dogwood.

Myosotis sylvatica (Forget-Me-Not)

We’re coming into the period with the most blooms now, and it’s the time of year when I get lots of pictures and have a hard time picking which to post. I got some pictures of a Camellia japonica called ‘Dad’s Pink’ growing beside my garage. I also got pictures of the cherry tree that’s also on that end of the yard. But the picture for today is of forget-me-not flowers (Myosotis sylvatica), growing in the back yard. There were quite a few of them in years past but they are short lived perennials and tend to migrate across an area, growing where they haven’t grown and not renewing themselves as much were they were. These are out in the grass and will need to be moved or they will get mown before too long.

Narcissus ‘Suzy’

Here’s another daffodil (all of which are varieties of the genus Narcissus). This one is called ‘Suzy’ and it’s a really nice little thing. I planted them in the fall of 2014 so this is their third spring. Actually, I’m not sure if they are ‘Suzy’ or if they are ‘Falconet’. The two varieties are quite similar in appearance but ‘Falconet’ has multiple flowers per stem. I can’t find the paper where I wrote down which I planted where that fall, though, so I may be wrong. In any case, they are quite pretty and I’m happy to have them growing in two places in the back yard.

Narcissus ‘Pipit’

This is a really find daffodil and I recommend it highly. It doesn’t have really large flowers but what it lacks in individual flower size it more than makes up for in bloom count. I planted these in 2009 around a large oak tree in the front of our yard. The oak was dying and has since been removed but the bulbs continue to thrive. I really should get some more of these, although there are lots of other varieties that I could try. These are somewhat variable. The corona (the cup in the center) is somewhat yellow in these but in others it is nearly as white as the base of the surrounding outer perianth (the six ‘regular’ petals).

Papaver nudicaule ‘Spring Fever Orange’

It was an absolutely glorious day out today so when we got home from church we wanted to do something outdoors. We were tired, though, so decided against doing more yard work. That isn’t to say that we’re all done, by any means, but the yard and garden is in better shape than it’s been this early for many years. We went to Stadler Nursery in Laytonsville and looked at plants and flowers, thinking about what we might get to add to our garden. I took some pictures, mostly things I thought looked nice rather than those I was particularly interested in buying. This Icelandic poppy was quite amazing in its orangeness.

Camellia japonica

I was down at mom’s today to have lunch with her and with my cousin Dana, his wife Barbara, and Seth. It was a beautiful, clear day and when I went outside to take pictures of the camellias that are in full bloom, I thought I really should get one against the sky. So, that’s what you get, a big, bold, red Camellia japonica against the blue, spring sky. I don’t remember for sure what camellia this is. Perhaps mom remembers. As tomorrow would have been dad’s 90th birthday, though, I think this is an appropriate day to celebrate his remembrance through the camellias he planted. Thanks, dad. It’s been more than seven years and I still miss you every single day.

Tulip

I’ve bought a large number of bulbs a few times since we moved to our current house and twice I’ve received a bonus of five tulip bulbs from the place I ordered them. Tulips are not generally as long lived as daffodils, in my experience, but then, my experience is fairly limited. I planted the ten that I’ve received in one area and this year five of them bloomed. Obviously this is one. While I have a lot of daffodils and quite a few other, smaller bulbs, I do confess to liking the view straight down into a tulip flower.

Scilla siberica

Scilla siberica, sometimes known as Siberian squill, is a small bulb native to southern Russia. It is notable for its ability to grow under black walnut trees, which is useful if you have a black walnut and are looking for things to plant under it. I don’t but I still love this spring ephemeral. It is similar to the related Chionodoxa forbesii but the flowers on that are turned upright while Scilla’s face down. It was getting late in the evening when I took this (6:55 PM) and although the camera was steady (on a bean bag), there was a slight breeze moving the flowers around a little.

Muscari

I don’t know that we’re finished with frost for the spring, but it is definitely spring. It was very pleasant out today and Cathy and I got a lot done. Over the winter we generally leave last year’s stalks and seeds of Rudbeckia, Echinacea, Verbena, etc. for the birds. It’s time to tidy up the yard, though, in preparation for this year’s growth. I used a hedge trimmer to cut them all down near the ground and we cleaned up most of the garden in back and a little of what’s needed out front. After most of that was done I took a break and spent some time photographing flowers. These Muscari are growing under a cherry tree at the north end of our front yard.

Spiraea japonica

This largish Spiraea japonica was in our back yard when we bought the house. Every few years I cut it back quite hard and it rewards us with a wonderful show of airy, white blossoms each spring. There’s actually a cherry seedling growing up through the middle of it, which I need to chop down one of these days, but that’s neither here nor there. The small white flowers are pretty on their own but of course it’s the effect of a seven foot shrub covered in them that’s the real show. Aside from the occasional once over with a hedge trimmer, it takes virtually no work at all.

Grass

I’ve been over to one of the other buildings on campus a fair amount lately, for teleconferences with our client, working through the transfer of a system from our server to theirs. It’s dragged on longer than seems like it should have done but we will see it through. One nice thing has been that I’ve had more opportunities to walk through the woods between the two buildings. It’s the more direct but slightly slower route. Of course stopping to take pictures slows it further. The seed-head of this grass was shining in the afternoon light and I thought it looked nice. I’d be curious to know what you see in this image (beyond the literal, of course).

Chionodoxa forbesii ‘Pink Giant’

This pink glory of the snow had started to bloom before our late snow and I was a little afraid that they were not going to come back from that. I shouldn’t have worried, as they are apparently made of sterner stuff. These are quite tall for Chionodoxa, although that isn’t saying much. They are tall enough to hold their flowers above the top of the pachysandra among which they are planted. They came back after the snow and are quite lovely. The regular, blue Chionodoxa forbesii growing nearby are also doing quite well and happily blooming now that the snow has gone.

Purple Hyacinths

As I think I’ve mentioned before, hyacinths are not my favorite flower. They’re pretty enough and at a distance, I like them just fine. I find the fragrance to be awful, though, so as a centerpiece on a dining room table (for instance) I would just say no. Not everyone shares my opinion, I know. In fact, I know people who actually like the fragrance. It is in their honor in general (and for Julia Y in particular) that I dedicate this photo of purple hyacinths, blooming in our back yard.

Rhaphiolepis indica ‘Moness’ Enchantress™ Indian Hawthorn

It was raining this morning but we wanted to do something outdoors. We picked up Maggie and went to Brookside Gardens, where there are both indoor and outdoor parts, so we could come inside if it continued raining and go out if it stopped. As it turned out, by the time we left the sky was mostly blue and it was a lovely day, so we wandered over most of the grounds as well as spending some time in the greenhouse.

This is indoors as it’s only hardy in USDA zones 8 to 10 but it’s a lovely shrub with fragrant, delicate pink flowers less than a centimeter across.

Vinca minor (Periwinkle)

The forecast for tonight is snow. The heaviest snow we’ve had so far this year didn’t even cover the grass completely, so this will be, assuming it lives up to the hype, considerably more than we’ve see so far. They have backed off from the forecasts of 10 to 15 inches and are now calling for 4 to 7 inches here. Central Pennsylvania and up to New York City are likely to get considerably more than us, with forecasts ranging from 15 to 24 inches. So, here’s one more picture of spring, before winter returns. It’s actually quite a bit colder already, but the precipitation should finish off most of the blossoms that have already opened. Hardy plants, like daffodils, will continue to bloom but I have a feeling many cherry trees are done for the year.

Begonia rex-cultorum

It got quite a bit colder after the rain we had yesterday and this morning it was quite chilly. We wanted to go out and because it’s felt like spring, we wanted to see some plants. That helped us decide to go to Johnson’s outside of Olney, where there is a greenhouse and both house plants and a few outdoor plants that it will be safe to put out soon. This is a Rex begonia, one of a great many cultivars developed specifically for their exotic leaf patterns. This one has a wonderful spiral that really caught my eye. The Rex begonias are only hardy in zones 10 to 12, so can’t be grown outdoors except in a container that comes in for the winter. They also need considerable humidity and indoors that’s a problem for those of us with forced air heating systems, which tend to dry the air in the house far too much. But it’s beautiful. If I ever had a greenhouse, this would be something I’d look at more seriously.

Cherry Blossoms

It was a very wet day this morning and everything was dripping as I went to work. After taking my things out to the car I got my camera out and took some pictures of flowers in the rain. Mostly I took daffodils because they are really starting to bloom but then I noticed that one of our two cherry trees has started to bloom as well. It’s forecast to get cold as the rain tappers off later today and there is significant snow in the forecast early next week. We’ll see what that does to the flowers. The cherries in particularly won’t appreciate it.

Chionodoxa forbesii

The glory-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa forbesii) has started blooming. As the common name implies, it’s an early spring bloomer and it isn’t unusual for it to be up and blooming well before the threat of frost is past. We’ve been having quite mile weather lately although the forecast is saying cooler weather is coming shortly. In fact, there seems to be a possibility of significant snow early next week with the cold starting tomorrow. We’ll see. In the meantime, I’m enjoying the spring ephemerals.

Another Amaryllis

This is my third amaryllis photo in just over a week but I’m not going to apologize for it. These are really beautiful flowers and well deserving of the attention. The first of the three photos was of an amaryllis with mixed red and white flowers. The second was of the bud of this one, which has solid red blooms. I’m glad I got the pictures of this when I did because within 24 hours of taking them, the plant tipped over and the blossoms were smashed a bit. They still look good (those that are still attached) but it’s a little the worse for the fall.

Snow on Monarda

We had a light snowfall overnight. It wasn’t much and in most years would barely register as a snow at all. Nevertheless, it was the biggest snow we’ve had so far this winter. It melted on paved surfaces, so the roads were quite clear but it nearly covered the grass, with only a small amount of green showing through. I went out back and took some pictures of things with snow on them, including this Monarda didyma (scarlet bee balm) seed head near the back fence. By midday all the snow was gone. I don’t know if winter is over but with the exception of a few days in the single digits, back in December, this has been a very mild winter indeed.

Amaryllis Bud

I know I’ve already done amaryllis recently but I’m afraid it’s going to be a repeat of sorts today. The picture is different enough, fortunately. The one I posted two days ago was in full bloom. This is another that Cathy bought and planted at the same time, but it’s at least a week behind. It’s also six or eight inches taller. Finally, I think this one is solid red where the other was (and is) pink or red mixed with white.

Dad used to grow an amaryllis most years for Christmas so I associate them with dear old dad. That’s a good thing, of course, but it does have a tendency to make me a little melancholy from time to time. I guess that’s one side effect of getting older. When we are young, if we are fortunate (as I certainly was) we don’t have a lot of loss in our lives and things we consider terrible are usually relatively mild in retrospect. As we get older, it’s almost inevitable that we will have significant loss. I’m not sure if I deal with it in a good way or not, but I do it my way (as Paul Anka might say). Having things that remind me of the loss is, for me, part of how I deal with it. I don’t want to forget, even though it’s painful.

Schefflera arboricola (Umbrella Plant)

It rained pretty hard all day today and I didn’t get out to take any pictures. I met a few guys at Dogfish Head Alehouse after work but didn’t really have an opportunity to take any pictures there, either. So, when I got home I took some pictures of houseplants that are growing in pots in our kitchen. Many of them move out onto the back patio in the summer (or we move them, anyway) but they spend the colder months vacationing in our kitchen. There’s a pretty good amount of light from the afternoon sun so they seem reasonably happy there. They’d probably do better if the air in the house were not so dry, but they get through it. This is a Schefflera, an umbrella plant, and a fairly common houseplant. In the tropical climate of its native Taiwan it grows to 10 to 25 feet tall but as a houseplant it rarely exceeds 6 or 7 feet.

Amaryllis

Cathy grows at least one amaryllis pretty much every year. This year she has two and although they were both growing their flower stalks at the same time, this one opened well ahead of the other, coming into full bloom before the other even started to open its buds. I took a few pictures of it this evening, doing my best to eliminate the harsh shadows on the wall behind it by bouncing my flash off the ceiling. Generally she tries to get them started early enough that they bloom around Christmas but this year didn’t get them into their pots until January, so we have them now. No complaints from me.

Daffodil ‘Tete-A-Tete’

It was a fairly busy day today, with church as usual and then a fellowship lunch with Crusader Baptist at 2:30. I made a big batch of qaubili pilau with braised beef and we enjoyed a huge meal and a wonderful time of sharing. I took a few pictures but they will mostly be of interest to those who were there. When we got home I took a few pictures of our early daffodils, a variety called ‘Tete-A-Tete’, which have started to bloom along the side of our front yard. There will be many more to come and since it turned cool today, they will slow down a bit, but spring is definitely in the air. ‘Tete-A-Tete’ is a small daffodil classified in division XII (Miscellaneous Daffodils) and I’m quite fond of it, not least because it comes out so early and lasts quite a while.

Lenten Rose (Helleborus orientalis)

Another early bloomer, if your in the market for such things, is the Lenten rose (Helleborus orientalis). The genus name comes from the Greek words bora meaning food and helein meaning injures/destroys in reference to the plant’s toxic leaves, stems and roots which are poisonous to humans if ingested (source, Missouri Botanical Garden). There are various cultivars in a range of colors and we have a few light colored varieties in the yard. Nevertheless, I really prefer this deep wine color. The blooms are not terribly conspicuous, being mostly downward facing and often covered by the new leaves, but what you see of them makes it a plant worth growing.

Yellow Crocus

I went over to Ralph’s this morning to drop off something with mom. While we were there I took some pictures of things blooming in his yard. In addition to this little, yellow crocus, there was winter aconite still in bloom (but mostly done). Also, a winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) was in full bloom with its lovely, yellow flowers all along its green stems. I also took some pictures of winterberry berries. Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) is a deciduous holly, native to eastern North America and is known for its profusion of bright red berries on bare stems that last throughout the winter.

Cattails (Typha latifolia)

It was another spring-like day, well into the 70s, and mostly sunny. I took a walk on the other side of W. Montgomery Avenue at lunch time, hoping to find things to photograph and generally enjoying the fresh air. Although it feels like spring, the woods are still in their mostly brown, winter garb. There were a pair of geese that seemed to be protecting a nest and they didn’t want me to get too close. I caught sight of a king fisher and small woodpecker but wasn’t able to get pictures of either. There is a small drainage pond with what appears to be a beaver lodge in it. The pond is surrounded by cattails (Typha latifolia) and that’s what is featured in today’s picture.

Galanthus nivalis (Snow Drops)

There have been some snow drops out in our neighborhood for over a week now. Outside the building where I work are two large areas covered with them and they are in full bloom, as well. These are on the north side of the building, on a protected slope below the parking lot, leading down to a stream. I wasn’t able to get pictures but I saw two butterflies and one very large wasp of some sort on them. I don’t think about there being many flying insects about this time of year but if there are flowers, there are bound to be pollinators. It’s been quite mild out, but this is just about when the snow drips (Galanthus nivalis) normally blooms.