April 2019 in the Northern Hemisphere

[Robert]

Hi Leena,

I enjoy the scenes from your early spring garden immensely.    It always reminds me of early spring in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. Next week I will be hiking in the higher terrain of the Sierra Nevada. There will be much snow still, but it will also be very beautiful. In the bare spots where the snow has melted there will be new growth.

Thank you for sharing your garden with all of us. 

[Robert]

Another set of blooming plants from our Sacramento, California garden.



Triteleia laxa has been blooming for a number of weeks now.



The first Calochortus amabilis opened its flowers.



Good forms of Sisyrinchium bellum produce many flowers over a long period of time. Some Sisyrinchium species can be weedy. I now only grow our California native species and avoid the weeds. The genome of Sisyrinchium bellum, S. elmeri, and S. idahoenese var. occidentale, our 3 local native species, is under utilized. I find great pleasure working with these 3 species and discovering their hidden treasures.



Castilleja affinis ssp. affinis is long lived for us and blooms all spring and summer. What a fantastic species! I have even had success growing some of our annual Castilleja species, such as Castilleja attenuata. I just checked my seed pans this morning and found Castilleja nana has germinated. We have so many fine California native Castilleja species to trial in our garden.



I have a great passion for many of our California native annuals. There are a number of challenges maintaining some of them in our garden. One way I measure success is when a species starts reseeding itself in our garden without my help. After 4 generations of selection it appears that I have finally achieved success with Layia gailardioides. There are other success stories with our California native annual species that I hope to share this season.

[Yann]

Robert what a striking lupinus 

[David Nicholson]

Lots of colour there Robert.

[Robert]

Robert what a striking lupinus 

Yann,

Yes, Lupinus albifrons var. albifrons is very striking! 

One plant in our garden must have 30 flower spikes on it right now. Sadly, that photograph did not turn out well.

By the way...

You often have very fascinating postings.    and I sometimes have questions.
A while back you had a posting of wild? Galanthus growing near your home. If you remember, were they indeed wild or just naturalized? Did you know the species or maybe they where hybrids? I was very curious and know very little in this regard. If you remember that would be great, if not, that is okay too. I am sure I will have questions in the future.

[ruweiss]

Flowering everwhere in spite of the rather low temperatures we have now.

[Yann]

You often have very fascinating postings.    and I sometimes have questions.
A while back you had a posting of wild? Galanthus growing near your home. If you remember, were they indeed wild or just naturalized? Did you know the species or maybe they where hybrids? I was very curious and know very little in this regard. If you remember that would be great, if not, that is okay too. I am sure I will have questions in the future.

Robert all the Galanthus we find in the region are naturalized, most of them are nivalis or elwseii hybrids. Near my home it's elwesii.

[Yann]

Flowering everwhere in spite of the rather low temperatures we have now.

It's may be cold but the colors are warm 

[Gabriela]

Yes, lots of colours from Europe and California

Here spring is very slow, just like in Finland. Crocus, Eranthis, few reticulate irises and other buds just showing. Spring cannot make up its mind, few days are with 10-12C, then we go down to 1-2C again.


Helleborus purpurascens - first time to flower, from wild coll. seeds


Galanthus (nivalis?) a small gifted clump two years ago, it does very well (I know I should divide it)


Hepatica acutiloba knows is time to flower, but...

[Leena]

Hi Leena,
I enjoy the scenes from your early spring garden immensely.    It always reminds me of early spring in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. Next week I will be hiking in the higher terrain of the Sierra Nevada. There will be much snow still, but it will also be very beautiful. In the bare spots where the snow has melted there will be new growth.

Thank you for sharing your garden with all of us. 

Thank you Robert.  It is so different here from what it is in your garden, but also I enjoy your pictures, and especially your hikes in the mountains (though I don't comment much).

Here spring is very slow, just like in Finland. Spring cannot make up its mind, few days are with 10-12C, then we go down to 1-2C again.

It is just like that also here this year. This week it's been barely above zero and cloudy, next week the forecast says it will be sunny and +15, but we'll see. Actually I like it when it is not too warm, though I hope the freezing nights would end soon.
How pretty furry H.acutiloba. Here is a picture of my just germinated H.acutiloba from your seeds.
Also two Helleborus pictures, H.x hybridus are still in bud waiting for the weather to warm up, but H.multifidus just keeps on flowering, and H.niger from wild collected seeds (from Italy by Holubec, sown 2013) is going to flower for the first time. This plant has the prettiest leaves than any of my other H.niger, and the flowers look like they are also going to be really nice.

[ian mcdonald]

A couple of native saxifrage, S. granulata (with Primula farinosa in the background). S. cespitosa. Lady,s smock, Cardamine pratensis.



S. granulata, Meadow Saxifrage.



S. cespitosa, Tufted saxifrage.



Lady,s smock, Cardamine pratensis.

[Gabriela]

It is just like that also here this year. This week it's been barely above zero and cloudy, next week the forecast says it will be sunny and +15, but we'll see. Actually I like it when it is not too warm, though I hope the freezing nights would end soon.
How pretty furry H.acutiloba. Here is a picture of my just germinated H.acutiloba from your seeds.
Also two Helleborus pictures, H.x hybridus are still in bud waiting for the weather to warm up, but H.multifidus just keeps on flowering, and H.niger from wild collected seeds (from Italy by Holubec, sown 2013) is going to flower for the first time. This plant has the prettiest leaves than any of my other H.niger, and the flowers look like they are also going to be really nice.

Yes Leena, I also wait for the freezing nights to come to an end. Glad the H. acutiloba is germinating well, I got feedback from others and also kept samples and it seems all varieties are germinating very well, including some of two years ago.
I cannot tell why some seeds will gerimnate in the second year even if sown fresh/moist kept.

Very nice Helleborus species:) H. niger looks special indeed! I have a very poor flowering specimen only (or it may be it's planted in a bad spot).

[Robert]

Robert all the Galanthus we find in the region are naturalized, most of them are nivalis or elwseii hybrids. Near my home it's elwesii.

Yann,

Thank you for the information.  I have very little knowledge concerning native and/or naturalized plants in Europe. It seems that Galanthus are widespread both as native species as well as naturalized populations beyond their native range.

Yes, lots of colours from Europe and California

Gabriela,

Spring is well advanced here in the lowlands (Sacramento Valley) of California.

From what I see, it appears that the snow has just melted in your area. You grow some interesting plants, things that most likely would not be very happy in our hot, dry summer climate. It is a pleasure to see such plants. For me it is a bit of a vicarious gardening experience. Thank you for sharing the photographs.

Thank you Robert.  It is so different here from what it is in your garden, but also I enjoy your pictures, and especially your hikes in the mountains (though I don't comment much).

Leena,

I enjoy the postings from your garden. For some reason they remind me of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I guess this is kind'a strange as Finland must be very different from the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California.

I am happy to hear that people read my plant diary from the Sierra Nevada Mountains. For me, writing the diary is like flying the "Spirit of Saint Louis" (an airplane without a front windshield). I really cannot see where I am going with the writing and just hope for the best. I will be getting out next week and I will be adding to the diary soon.

[ashley]

Mistletoe, Viscum album, is not at all common in Ireland.  Here flowering at the National BG in Glasnevin.

[Robert]

I guess that it is the peak of the blooming season here in our Sacramento, California garden. So more photographs…



A bit slug eaten, but a nice peach – pink Pacific Coast Hybrid Iris.



Something I get excited about. One of my best seedlings of Iris macrosiphon from seed I gathered in Colusa County, California. It has a very deep rich color and attractive markings.



Another Iris macrosiphon seedling from seed I gathered in Lake County, California. Each year brings a new crop of seedlings into bloom with many pleasant surprises.



Another “happening” that gets me excited. Mimulus (Erythranthe) bicolor. These are self-sown seedlings that have survived and are blooming without any help on my part. This is a major step forward in establishing this California native annual in our garden.



A pot full of Phacelia purpusii. I never sowed the seed. They just came up on their own, including in the soil around the pot. This is a very unusual form of this California native annual. I am extremely please with the results. I will be spreading the seed around various locations in the garden this autumn.