First Blooms in the Alpine Garden

This is a small post for a small plant: Draba polytricha has bloomed in the alpine garden. This entire plant is about the size (and shape) of a golf-ball. It is a tight little bun of a plant and clearly very hardy, as it lived through two winters so far, including the terrible one of 2009. It looks like a hairy little grey-green bun the rest of the year and probably will look really cool many years from now, as it expands into its rocky crevice.

This photo reminds me that I need to get a useful tripod for my heavy camera and moderately heavy new lens. Unfortunately, I don't exactly know what to get. These little alpine plants require getting pretty low and close. Any photographers have some good ideas?

First Bloom

I was surprised to see my first bloom of the year in the alpine garden. It wasn't a spring bulb either, which usually brings me the first color of the year. This tiny little Draba polytricha is about the size of a walnut, with tiny little yellow flowers on its bun-shaped mound of hairy blue-grey foliage.

I finished cleaning up the dead growth out of the raised beds today, a project that takes about 6 to 8 hours altogether. As I was working, I heard some squawks and honks and rhythmic beating of wings, as a large V of Canada geese flew north above me. Welcome back, geese.