First Spring Flowers

I am back from a two week trip in BC and SK. Today is sunny and beautiful, so I had an opportunity to admire the first spring flowers. Resident lawn-mower-man (aka dear husband) was commissioned with recording the date of the very first bloom in my absence. The dwarf irises bloomed on April 15 this year. From my "extensive archives", first bloom was April 18 in 2005 and April 10 in 2006.
The Pulsatilla vulgaris (prairie crocuses) have buds but no blooms. The botanical tulips (Tulipa tarda Daystemon, Tulipa turkestanica, Tulipa pulchella Eastern Star) are about 2 inches tall and will bloom in mid-May. I hope to see more of them this year, since botanical tulips (aka species tulips) are extremely long-lasting and are supposed to multiply each year.
The first of the snow crocuses started blooming today. Snow crocus "Advance" has a tiny little yellow flower, the whole plant being barely over one inch tall. I have planted several clusters of these itsy-bitsy crocuses, but unless one studies the rock garden very closely, one could easily overlook them. You would probably have to plant at least 100 of them in a cluster to make an obvious show.
Of course, the regular purple, yellow, and white large-flowered crocuses are enjoying the sunlight today, with clusters of them planted at the bottom of the large bank of sedum.
Thankfully, the mosquitoes are still asleep in their mosquito lairs. Soon I'll be putting the bug spray out with the garden tools!

Guerilla gardener goes on vacation

I am sitting here in the beautiful Okanagan, British Columbia, visiting family. The Okanagan is known for its favourable climate, which is ideal for growing tree fruits and grape vines. A drive into any agricultural area is startling though. Fruit trees are being sawed down and burned. The contours of the land are recreated by machines and acres of milk cartons sheltering little grape vines are springing up everywhere. The wine industry obviously is more lucrative than apples and apricots. It's sad but true.

While here, I had to visit the local garden center to see the fresh spring offerings. The bare dirt at the folks' place was gnawing at my gardener's heart. How could you live in zone 6 and have nary a hellebore or rhododendron in your yard! So you have the occasional urban deer who grazes on your plantings? Throw in some fritillaries for their stench and some pretty spring daffodils.

The bare containers made the place look so stark, so I filled two of them with pansies, yellow narcissi, and tulips. Yes, potted tulips. Ordinarily, I would have a problem with the laziness inherent in buying a pre-chilled and greenhouse-grown potted tulip, but I suppose that's why you pay more for the potted plant than the bulb. I also considered that this uncalled-for planting is as near as I have come to guerilla gardening -- a political, nonviolent gardening action done on someone else's property. I'm not sure what my political statement was. but you can be sure there was no violence involved.

Germination Determination

Currently, I am in the spring manic phase of seed starting. I am planting far more seeds than I could ever grow, and potting up as many seedlings as I could possibly have room for. Some seeds germinate easier than others. As yet, my Pulsatilla, Cleome, and Campanula carpatica have been a no-go. Currently, they are sitting on the garage window sill in hopes that fluctuating temperatures might help do the trick. The only thing that is growing in these pots so far is moss!

My Saxifraga mix seeds are potted and in a ziploc bag in my fridge until May 1. The package says they need cold stratification to germinate and I've had success with the refrigerator in the past. So far, no guests have noticed the little pots of dirt in baggies in my fridge...

The pretty little green and pink-leafed plants are Coleus Kong Rose. These were fairly expensive seeds, but luckily, all germinated easily.

Of course, it is still rather cool and snowy outdoors, but I am quite proud of my lettuce and herb project. These are growing very well indoors and I uploaded a picture of a basement-grown salad I made last weekend. I didn't grow the cucumbers and tomatoes, but the basil, parsley and lettuce were all homegrown. I do have 3 grape tomato plants under the lights though, and they're going to be planted outdoors in June. Hopefully we'll get to eat vine-ripened tomatoes this year, though that is a real challenge in this climate. Last year, we picked nearly all of them green to save them from the first frost. The season is just too short for tomatoes, unless they get a real head-start.