New and Unread Tree-Mails
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Name: Neal Linville Winchester, KY (Zone 6a)          gemini_sage Mar 5, 2011 11:37 AM CST |
| After a long, cold winter, I'm giddy with excitement with spring weather and the emergence of so many spring bulbs. While the show may not last that long, I find spring bulbs to be among the most important garden plants. They're such an inspiration for me to get outside and start my gardening efforts for the season. Tell us about your spring bulbs, what's blooming in your neck of the woods? Photos always most welcome! "...and don't think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It's quiet, but the roots are down there riotous." Rumi |
Name: Susan B East Tennessee (Zone 6b)  lakesidecallas Mar 5, 2011 2:30 PM CST |
Our first daffodil is in bloom. I think it's called Minnow, and the flowers last a long time. I don't know the name of this one (or rather, I've been told several times but always forget). H brought this back from his daughter's house in Michigan, they have them growing throughout their lawn and hate it! Tsk!  Crocuses also started this week.  And this isn't really a spring garden bulb, but I attempted to water some of the plants I could reach in the basement and found this (sorry, bad pic) It had a second flower spike that was bent in half, and I cut it off and stuck it in some water. That one also opened today.  Today we went in to "the big city", Knoxville. On the way home we saw forsythia blooming on the hill next to the freeway (I was tempted to stop and pull them up), and also saw wild daffodils (or narcissus, I call everything yellow a daff) in the woods next to the road as well. Kind of exciting! Everything else is still gray and dead looking, but you just know spring is on the way! |
Name: Neal Linville Winchester, KY (Zone 6a) gemini_sage Mar 6, 2011 6:47 AM CST |
| Great, Susan! Don't ya just love it, each time you're outside you discover something else sprouting or blooming! I believe the little blue flower is Scilla siberica, I love the way they naturalize and spread into the lawn. Those and Chionodoxas too, are such great, inexpensive blues that look pretty with everything. "...and don't think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It's quiet, but the roots are down there riotous." Rumi |
Name: Susan B East Tennessee (Zone 6b) lakesidecallas Mar 6, 2011 11:32 AM CST |
| You are right, that's what it is! A few years ago I bought a lot of Chionodoxas and planted them along our path into the woods. Unfortunately most of them looked more pink, and then our dogs stomping on them and kicking and scratching after their "business" have displaced most of them. I do love this time of year, and seeing everything sprout. And then we get days like today, 40 degrees and cold rain, yuck! |
Name: Neal Linville Winchester, KY (Zone 6a) gemini_sage Mar 6, 2011 12:41 PM CST |
| Uuugg, it's 34* here today, how quickly I've gotten spoiled! "...and don't think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It's quiet, but the roots are down there riotous." Rumi |
Name: Dahlianut Calgary, AB Zone 3a NE Alumni          dahlianut Mar 9, 2011 6:03 PM CST |
awwww just look at that little cutieputootie daff awwww  http://cubits.org/DahlianutsDi... Share the Joy |
Name: Susan B East Tennessee (Zone 6b) lakesidecallas Mar 10, 2011 2:29 PM CST |
 I think it's cute, but my husband (who thinks the only gardening should be for FOOD) just loves it! |
Name: Neal Linville Winchester, KY (Zone 6a) gemini_sage Mar 10, 2011 3:36 PM CST |
| Susan, I think my partner is even worse- I'd have to be growing ribeyes before gardening would be considered a worthwhile venture, LOL. I think your sweet little Daffodil is 'Tete-a-tete'. It's drizzling rain and cold out here now, on the verge of turning icy. But the 'February Gold' Daffs are opening anyway! Some old split corona Daffs are opening today to, they look to me like a sport of 'Ice Follies', but I've long forgotten what they are. I took a brief walk through the yard this morning, and saw some yellow Daffs opening, one of those sold as 'King Alfred', which these days just means it's yellow (the original King Alfred isn't sold much in commerce nowadays). We had a few more days of mild weather earlier in the week and I took advantage of the opportunity to get some more weeding and mulching done- I may actually see most of the bulbs blooming in tidy beds this year, which will be a first! Typically it's seeing those blooms among all the debris that get's me off my butt to clean out the beds. We had some pleasant weather the last couple of weeks of February that enabled me to get a head start this year. Last summer the tree trimmer guys were working a lot in our area clearing out growth along the road, and offered the mulch to folks nearby. Everyone close had all they needed, and I told them to just keep bringing it here- I've got plenty of room for it. Well, it was during the horribly hot time of year, and I wasn't spending much time outside. I could see from the house several piles, but wasn't aware till long after the fact, that they had been bringing load after load and depositing them behind the piles I could see. When I did go out and realize it, we had a mountain range of mulch piles! Not that I'm complaining- I've never been able to afford to mulch my beds, so I'm a happy camper! A lot of it has got to go though, so we can mow and get to those parts of the yard. I've read that you should let it set for a year before using it, and it's all at least 6 months old now, so I'm going ahead with it. I've got about 2/3 of the gardens done now, and am determined to have them all done before spring gets under way. I'm going to be busy with wedding work in May and June, so I want to come home to something pretty rather than beds full of weeds that make me feel like a turd, LOL. "...and don't think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It's quiet, but the roots are down there riotous." Rumi |
Name: Susan B East Tennessee (Zone 6b) lakesidecallas Mar 10, 2011 8:22 PM CST |
| As usual, you are right with Tete a Tete. We liked it so much I got some smaller ones, and one of the new ones was Minnow- small but has white on it as well. We have the same rain and cold, yuck! Sounds like you have a lot of work to do with all that mulch, girl! |
Name: Neal Linville Winchester, KY (Zone 6a) gemini_sage Mar 24, 2011 5:27 AM CST |
| It's an unusual spring here. We've had several days in a row of temps in the 70s, and the bulbs have gone into overdrive. The warm temps have shortened the life of the blooms of most of the early bloomers, Crocuses are all done, and the the first Daffs to bloom have faded. However the mid season and late bloomers are coming along quickly, the doubles are blooming, and even the Tazettas are starting, and this is extra early for those. I don't recall ever seeing those bloom in March, normally it's mid April when I see the garden this far along. For a few nights I even slept with the window open! Last night it dipped back down into the mid to upper 30s, so we fired the wood stove back up, but yesterday I even wore shorts to work for the first time this year, and quite comfortably too. Susan, with Minnow, I've found some have white petals and some yellow. I'm guessing they're variable. They've just started opening here, are yours in bloom now? "...and don't think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It's quiet, but the roots are down there riotous." Rumi |
Name: Rita North Shore, Long Island, NY Zone 6B        Newyorkrita Mar 24, 2011 12:46 PM CST |
Early Daffodils are starting to bloom here. We had a dusting of snow this morning. |
Name: Rita North Shore, Long Island, NY Zone 6B Newyorkrita Mar 24, 2011 12:48 PM CST |
The other side of the yard has daffs planted too.  |
Name: Susan B East Tennessee (Zone 6b) lakesidecallas Mar 24, 2011 6:22 PM CST |
Mine are opened and closed already!  We had some hot days that got into the mid 80s, so I think that killed off the Tete a Tetes and the Minnows. Rip Van Winkle is also done:  We have another small one that has a group of flowers on one stem, that is still going strong:  And an unknown that was a freebie when I ordered from VanVeen bulbs (unfortunately no longer in business) that is so pretty!   Tulip Purple Prince is blooming:   Muscari is going strong  And last of all, (this isn't a bulb but is so cute I had to include it) Hoary Puccoon! Isn't that a funny name??  |
Name: Izhar ul Haq Karachi, Pakistan  Izhar Mar 25, 2011 6:25 AM CST |
| Beautiful pics... |
Name: Rita North Shore, Long Island, NY Zone 6B Newyorkrita Mar 25, 2011 9:24 AM CST |
| I don't have any of the really small flowered daffs or are they all narcissi? Mine are all one on a stem, I never tried the muliti bloomers. Not sure I would like them yet yours look so nice in the pictures. |
Name: Susan B East Tennessee (Zone 6b) lakesidecallas Mar 25, 2011 11:05 AM CST |
| Thank you, I'll try to get a better picture of the multi. A few years ago I bought a large bag of mixed bulbs to plant along a path we have going through the woods. Out of those, we got the one small Tete-a-Tete, and my husband loved it so much I bought some more small ones the next year. That's the extent of my knowledge of daff/narcissus, they're one of those bulbs I don't care what they're called, I just like them, lol! |
Name: Rita North Shore, Long Island, NY Zone 6B Newyorkrita Mar 25, 2011 2:41 PM CST |
| I usually buy mixes of daffodils. Even when I don't and buy them all one kind in a batch, I never mark what they were called after I plant them. I just really want lots of spring color and love the daffs. |
Name: Rita North Shore, Long Island, NY Zone 6B Newyorkrita Mar 26, 2011 3:09 PM CST |
About the only color in my garden are the earliest of the daffodils. My crocus were completly flattened and seem to done in by the dusting of snow afew days ago. Even the perennials are not up yet with the exception of afew lupines stating to grow near the south foundation.  |
Name: Rita North Shore, Long Island, NY Zone 6B Newyorkrita Mar 26, 2011 3:11 PM CST |
 These daffs are in the same sideyard bed with the lupines. They just opened today even though it is cold out. |
Name: Neal Linville Winchester, KY (Zone 6a) gemini_sage Mar 26, 2011 5:08 PM CST |
| Spring has landed in New York- yaaaayyyyy!!! Those first Daffs among the snow are such a heartwarming sight. Can't wait to see those Lupines in bloom! Susan, I thought the Hoary Puccoon was a Wallflower at first, what a bright gem! Is it easy to grow? I can tell you're a few weeks ahead of us there, but we had some days close to 80 that took out several early bloomers too. Your double one looks like 'Tahiti', which is blooming now here, and Muscari has just started. I just got back from a couple of days in Nashville, and was surprised to see spring is not as much ahead of us there this year as I've seen in years past. It's gotten cool again throughout the area now; I'm not altogether sad to see it, as it's making the blooms last a little longer. As I understand it, Daffodil and Narcissus are synonymous, with Narcissus being the genus name for the whole group. In older books I've seen Daffodil used for trumpet types, and Narcissus for smaller cupped types, but that's no longer considered a reliable delineation. "...and don't think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It's quiet, but the roots are down there riotous." Rumi |
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