Flowers and Plants

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)

The dogwood in our yard are starting to bloom. The flowers are still small and there are a lot more to come bit I got a few nice pictures of some this afternoon when I got home from work. This is the native and very common flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), of course. I’m hoping to have another of the dogwood species, the European cornel (Cornus mas), once I make room for it. I have a nearly dead Colorado blue spruce that I need to cut down and I’m hoping to get that done on Saturday. Then I’ll dig up a cornel tree that’s growing next to the driveway at my mom’s and plant it there. At least that’s the plan but we’ll have to see if it actually happens. It’s a busy time of year.

Daffodil Pollen

I’ve been playing around with a microscope the last few days. Today I rubbed a little pollen from a daffodil onto a slide and looked at it under three different objective lenses: 10x, 40x, and 100x. The photograph here is with the highest magnification and although it isn’t the sharpest thing in the world, you can still see what the pollen looks like pretty well. I’m still learning about all the adjustments that can and should be made on this microscope and hope to have some better pictures for you in the days to come. They are about 45µm long, which isn’t particularly small when it comes to pollen, but still, small in a general sense. I’m hoping to get some oak pollen next.

Maple Samaras

Spring is in the air. It was cool and wet yesterday, with heavy rain all morning and showers and wing in the afternoon. Today was cool and dry with a fair amount of breeze. The forecast is for a freeze overnight and the possibility of snow tomorrow. Not snow that accumulates on the ground, but snow or at the least freezing rain. But it’s spring and that’s what spring looks like in the mid-Atlantic region. One day it will be in the mid 70s, the next night we can have a hard frost. Some days the sky is a wonderful, cheerful blue, others it’s grey and dreary. But that’s spring. I love spring.

Daffodils After The Rain

This is a daffodil called ‘Falconet’ (division 8, Tazetta). I have a bunch of them growing around the eastern edge of the bed under our Colorado spruce (on the side towards the road). The spruce isn’t doing very well and probably needs to be taken out and replaced with something else. But the daffodils and other things growing under it are doing pretty well. We had a fair amount of rain today. That didn’t bother me too much but a bunch of my coworkers were heading to the National’s home opener and the weather could have been a lot better for them. But that’s the way it goes in early April.

Helleborus ‘Mango Magic’

The fall before last I planted five Lenten rose (Helleborus) plants in three different varieties. One of them is a variety called ‘Mango Magic’ and that’s what this flower is. The other two are called ‘Rose Quarts’, and ‘Red Racer’ and I planted two each of those two. This one is doing the best of them, though, having bloomed last year as well. It’s still small but these things are incredibly hardy and will eventually get themselves set for the long haul. They were bought as quite small plants from McClure and Zimmerman: http://www.mzbulb.com/.

Flowering Almond

We have this little shrub by the top of our driveway. It is a dwarf flowering almond, Prunus glandulosa and it blooms reliably and beautifully each spring. I sort of expected it to get larger but it dies back a bit in cold winters and we’ve had a couple of them lately. That’s a bit surprising, as it is listed as being hardy to zone 3, but there you are. This past winter wasn’t particularly cold, so maybe this will be its year. The flowers are small, only about a half inch across, but are jammed with petals of a lovely pink.

Muscari

I’ve planted quite a few little Muscari bulbs over the nine years we’ve lived in this house and many of them are in full bloom right now. This one, I’m pretty sure I didn’t plant. It’s growing in our lawn in the back yard, about eight feet from the nearest flower bed and at least 20 feet from the nearest Muscari that I planted.

Because I assume it’s a seedling and because even if a squirrel dug it up and replanted it, I don’t know which variety of Muscari it is. I’ve planted three, M. armeniacum, M. neglectum, and M. latifolium. So, it’s probably one of those or possibly a hybrid (I don’t know how easily they hybridize).

It isn’t in a very good place because the first time the grass is mown, it’s going down. I should dig it up and plant it somewhere safer before that, but the grass is getting long and I probably don’t have more than a week, if that.

Magnolia × soulangeana

Magnolia × soulangeana, also known as the saucer magnolia, is a hybrid between M. denudata and M. liliiflora. The cross was first made in 1820 by Frenchman Étienne Soulange-Bodin (1774–1846), a retired cavalry officer in Napoleon’s army, at his château de Fromont near Paris. They are quite extensively used in our area and are quite beautiful. Their flowers range from nearly pure white to fairly dark pink, almost purple. There are very similar trees with yellow flowers but these are a somewhat different hybrid, between M. acuminata and M. liliflora, and called Magnolia x brooklynensis, first made by Mrs. Evamaria Sparber at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. In any case, they are lovely flowers and bloom early, so are quite welcome after winter.

Daffodils

Sorry for the delay in getting pictures up from the last few days. Rest assured they are coming (for the very few of you who actually come here to read this text). It’s been a busy weekend and I have some pictures for you. On Thursday (which is ‘today’ in terms of the posting date) we went to Laurie and David’s in the evening for a small Maundy Thursday gathering. We were a few minutes early so I took some pictures of the daffodils in their front yard. It was just getting dark and some of them didn’t turn out, because I didn’t have a tripod with me, but a few turned out alright, including this one of a nice two-color daffodil.

Scilla siberica (Siberian Squill)

Along with the Chionodoxa that was featured here a few days ago, the Siberian squill (Scilla siberica), is now in full bloom. There are some named varieties of this, as well, but for my money, there isn’t much to improve on over the species. The blue flowers are quite beautiful and borne in abundance. I don’t know that I could have too much of this and I certainly don’t have enough. They are especially beautiful when seen in bright shade, when the blue is most intense.

Daffodil

The daffodils in our yard are in full bloom. Well, some of them are, anyway. I have three types of daffodil that bloom earlier than the rest: ‘Marieke’ are big, bold, bright yellow, sort of the quintessential daffodil (Division 1 — Trumpet); ‘Tete-a-Tete’ is a smaller, more delicate daffodil with a bright yellow corona (the cup) and paler yellow perianth (the outer petals)(Division 12 — Miscellaneous); and this one, a daffodil from Division 2 (Large-Cupped Daffodils) whose name I don’t know. They are growing along our front walk, between the walk and our house, and they are quite happy there. Along with the ‘Marieke’ daffodils just outside the walk, they practically light up the walkway on a dark evening.

Cardamine hirsuta (Hairy bittercress)

I went out into the woods beside my office this afternoon and took pictures of two very small flowers. The first, pictured here, are the flowers of the hairy bittercress, Cardamine hirsuta. These are a pretty significant pest weed in our lawns these days and are quite remarkable. They flower quite early in the spring and continue to produce flowers for a good while. They go from opening buds to fully ripe seeds in a remarkably short time and the seed capsules are designed to burst explosively when touched, sending the seeds flying far from the parent plant. If you walk though a lawn covered with these in seed, it’s quite an experience.

Chionodoxa forbesii ‘Pink Giant’

The glory-of-the-snow, more properly known as Chionodoxa, has started to bloom in our yard. This is a variety of C. forbesii known as ‘Pink Giant’ and it’s strikingly different to the regular varieties, which are generally a beautiful, pure blue. I do like this one, too, but the blue is really my favorite. The other difference is this one is noticeably taller so it’s usable when there is ground cover that would completely hide the other varieties. Anyway, another real sign of spring.

Cherry Blossoms

Is spring here? We’ve had snow drops (Galanthus nivalis) and winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) but I generally consider both of those to be late-winter blooms. There are daffodils blooming and in the last couple days many cherry trees have opened. I don’t mean an occasional blossom, either. These trees in King Farm were in full bloom. I was in the area to have lunch with my former (now-retired) boss and on the way back to the office I stopped to get some pictures of the cherry blossoms. It certainly felt like spring, with the high temperature being in the low 70s F.

Snow Drops (Galanthus nivalis)

Just over a week ago (on Saturday, February 27, 2016 to be precise) I posted a picture of the first snow drop (Galanthus nivalis) blooming in our yard. I heard from a few folks saying they had those and other things blooming. Now, near the parking lot around my building, along the edge of the woods, there are quite a few snow drops blooming. I park out that way and this morning decided to take the time to get a few pictures. One of my coworkers saw me lying on the grass and wondered momentarily if I was alright. He said he saw me lift my head and then figured out what I was doing.

Stump

I was stumped for a subject for a picture today. It was an interesting day and when I came home to Cathy’s mom’s house, I was wandering around the back yard thinking and looking for something to photograph. I found and photographed a few things that I thought would make nice images for the old blog and I decided to post this image of a stump. I really like the intersecting lines of the tree rings with the radial splits of the drying wood and then the big gap between the bark and the wood of the tree.

Eranthis hyemalis (Winter Aconite)

In addition to the snow drops (Galanthus nivalis) blooming in our yard, the winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) is also up and out. It’s a bright yellow, so more obvious than the snow drops but it’s also quite small and there is only one small plant remaining. I really need to plant a bunch more. It is in a bed that has gooseneck loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides) and that doesn’t really do it any favors, although they bloom and actually do most of their growing at different times of the year. I wouldn’t mind replacing the loosestrife with something a little less vigorous (to put it mildly) and perhaps with a little more color.

Snow Drops (Galanthus nivalis)

Are you ready for spring? With the notable exception of that snow storm we had January 22 and 23 it’s actually been a fairly mild winter. By some reckoning spring starts this coming week here. Those of you further south may already be well into it. Of course we know that we can still have snow well into March. In any case, the snow drops are coming up and starting to bloom, so if you delineate spring by when things start to bloom, it’s here. This one is in our yard and there are others more fully open, but those were in the shade and not so suitable for photographing.

Raindrops On Tree Branches

I’ve been taking and posting a photo a day for over five years now. That’s over 1,800 photos and of course some days I’ve posted multiple photos, either grouped together in one post or in separate posts. I may be overestimating the quality of some of those photos but I think that today’s photo is possibly the worst photo I’ve posted in all that time. Certainly in the bottom ten. When I took it, I thought it had promise. This tree, bare and bereft of leaves, was glittering with water droplets and in the light on the side of the building, it was sparkling and quite beautiful. Alas, this photo doesn’t even begin to capture that. It’s a photo of a tree at night, taken by artificial light. But the reality was so much more. At least I tried.

Thanksgiving Cactus

Dorothy is packing up to head back to school tomorrow and one thing she has to take back with her is a small box with a half dozen plants, including two Thanksgiving cacti. Thanksgiving and Christmas cacti are similar and related, both being cultivars of plants in the genus Schlumbergera. Christmas cactus are Schlumbergera x buckleyi, a hybrid between S. truncata and S. russelliana, while Thanksgiving cactus are S. truncata. There are a few distinguishing features of the Thanksgiving cactus, besides the earlier bloom date. The stem segments (those are stems, not leaves) have pointed teeth, their flowers are not symmetrical (the top is different to the bottom, the technical term being zygomorphic), and they have yellow pollen. The Christmas cactus has rounded stem segments, symmetrical flowers, and pink pollen. They are both native to the Organ Mountain range north of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

Frost on Sedum

It has gone from temperatures in the 60s and even 70s for a couple weeks down to about 10°F this morning. It’s noticeable. Yesterday is was cold but without much frost. Today there was quite a bit of frost and I decided to spend a little time in the back yard taking pictures. This is a small sedum plant growing in a container (thus the terra cotta color in the background) on the back patio. As you can see, it’s nicely rimed with tiny ice crystals.

Amaryllis

A few days ago I posted a picture of an amaryllis bud. In fact, it was this bud, which has now opened into a fabulous, bright red flower. This is one of four, as is usual for amaryllis blooms. We had to tie it up to a stake because it is so top heavy but that doesn’t really detract from it’s beauty. We have another coming up, so just about the time this one finishes, the next one should be about ready. It’s certainly nice to have flowers in December (and January). The orchid is still bloomimg, as well.

Amaryllis Bud

Dorothy is home for Christmas and when she came, she brought this amaryllis with her. Fortunately, she didn’t fly home, or that would not really have been possible. It would have been sad to have left it at school, though, because it’s going to bloom in a week or less, and it would have been done by the time she got back, particularly without any water in the meantime.

It’s sitting on our kitchen table now, and starting to open. We’re all looking forward to it’s full splendor when the four flowers open up, deep clear red.

The plant also reminds me of my dad, who liked amaryllises and would often have one at Christmas. It’s a funny old thing, life, with changes you’d rather not face or remember but which cannot be avoided. Every year seems to bring more of them (the changes) and as we get older, they seem to accelerate. I’m ever so thankful for the things we have (mostly for the people we know and love) but always conscious of those who we have lost.

Bramble Leaves

I got outside again late this morning. It was quite pleasant out, warm and mostly sunny, and I walked around looking for color. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the predominant color outside now is brown. Of course, there is always a significant amount of green, as some grasses keep their color throughout the year. But other colors are a little harder to find. Many of the bramble bushes have lost their leaves and are only providing color in their rusty red stems and the red, hairy thorns that coat them. But I found one large patch that still had quite a few leaves, mostly a dark, mahogany color, but with a few that were bright crimson.

Rose Hips

The leaves have all fallen, except those of the young beech trees and some oaks, which hold their dried leaves ’till spring. The fall color has mostly faded to brown and the brighter colors are mostly subdued. But there is still a little color to be found. This afternoon I went out into the woods beside my office and took pictures of two sources of color. This the first, is of rose hips from a multiflora rose growing among the trees, it’s bright hips happy in the afternoon sun. The other was of the red fuzz on bramble stems, forming a glowing mist in the lowering sun.

Phalaenopsis Orchids

I’ve been bad about keeping the houseplants in our kitchen watered lately. I think I went about three weeks without watering our orchids, which is a bit too long. Then, earlier this week Cathy noticed that this one was in bloom. So, I guess I didn’t do any permanent harm to them. I’ve watered them now, and will try to keep it up better, but in the meantime, we’re enjoying these beautiful blooms. We’ve had this Phalaenopsis orchid for a while now and it blooms about once a year. The flowers last for more than a month, if it’s taken care of while blooming, which is pretty impressive for a flower so delicate.

Frosty Oak Leaf

It was a chilly morning today, feeling like early December, and although there was frost on the ground, I hesitated to go out to photograph it. I was too comfortable indoors. As I was taking things out to the car, though, preparing to go to work, I figured I was already out, so I might as well get down on the ground and take a few. This is a portion of a red oak leaf, rimed with tiny ice crystals, which I found quite pretty.