March in the Northern Hemisphere

[arisaema]

Allium aff. funkiifolium looks very interesting - what are its needs in the garden?

It's very easy and hardy, grows in similar conditions to Allium ursinum, although a lot slower to multipy.

[Mariette]

Thank You for Your information, arisaema! It would be great if it wouldn´t self-seed like Allium ursinum, which is a terrible weed in my garden. Otherwise the purple tinge of the leaves make it look very attractive!

Another allium which I estimate for its leaves is A. victorialis var. platyphyllum, which starts growing earlier in the year and looks nice with snowdrops. This never self-seeded, unfortunately.



It flowers about the same time as Allium ursinum, old pic.



Another plant which self-seeds is Ficaria verna ´Randall´s White´, conquering even the meadow.



Also a self-sown seedling, in this case of Scilla ´Norman Stevens´. I wonder if that plant is Scilla bifolia, indeed, as it shows features of what used to be called chionodoxa.



Also self-sown is this mahonia, but welcome, as it´s a good match for the white chaenomeles.

[Robert]

After 3 days of strong, dry north winds, the weather has turned calm. Warm sunny spring-like weather appears to be the trend for the next 10-14 days.



Arctostaphylos glandulosa ssp. glandulosa RMB 741 is blooming for the first time in our Sacramento garden. This accession is from an elevation of 3,272 ft. (997 meters) on the lower slopes of Snow Mountain, Colusa County, California. It is a very typical specimen of the species and has been easy-to-grow in our garden. Exceptional forms of this species would be well worth developing for garden application.



A number of Pulmonaria are coming into bloom in our garden. All except one have been grown from seed. Self-seeding in the garden is encouraged. A range of color forms and leaf patterns appears from these self-sown seedlings.



Pulmonaria ‘Benediction’ is the only named variety of Pulmonaria in our garden. This variety has rich blue flowers.



Pulmonaria ‘Benediction’ looking good with our Sweetwater Creek form of Erythronium multiscapideum.



Phacelia campanularia is still looking fairly good after the windstorm.

[Robert]

Narcissus obesus is a good late blooming Narcissus species. This species thrives in our garden and is the parent of many new hybrids coming along in our breeding program.



Our Ranunculus occidentalis hybrids are looking great despite the wind storm.



In this photograph, the long blooming stems of our Ranunculus occidentalis hybrids can be seen extending well above the basal rosettes at ground level. The hybrids now seed about freely in our garden. The goal is to create large swaths of yellow flowers throughout the early spring garden. This is an image I see all the time in our native Californian landscape and hope to replicate in our Sacramento garden.

[MarcR]

Robert,

We grow many of the same or similar plants; but, mine are about 5 weeks behind yours.

Those were some lovely blooms in the last 2 posts.

[Leena]

Corydalis flexuosa, a recent collection

Corydalis fumariifolia showing a huge variability in foliage

Arisaema, that is a very nice foliage in C.flexuosa.
Your picture of C.fumariifolia variability in foliage is interesting. I have two plants bought as C.fumariifolia, and they have different foliage, and I've been wondering if they both are fumariifolia, but perhaps they are when also your plants have so much variability. How can you tell C.fumariifolia apart from C.turtschaninovii?

[Leena]

Mariette and Robert, wonderful spring colour in your pictures.
I especially liked the view with Ranunculus ficaria and combinations with other plants, and Pulmonarias in Robert's pictures. I find it interesting that they grow well even when your temperatures are so much higher in summer than here.

[Robert]

Hi Leena

It must be getting close to complete winter snowmelt and the emergence of your early spring plants in your garden. I always enjoy the pictorial tour of your garden and all the beauty.          

Pulmonarias are such versatile and easy-to-please plants. Yes, they grow extremely well in our garden despite our long, hot summer weather. I have other plants that I work with intensely, so I am very content letting them seed around the garden. I also like to stretch the limits of creativity. No rules here! Common/ rare, easy-to-grow/challenging to grow – for me it is about creating something beautiful that pleases me. I guess the American, Rick Rubin, has influenced me. I do not even know who this guy is. Jasmin read to me an article from NPR radio about his creative philosophy. Hum…. It seemed good enough to me and very liberating. 

Currently our weather is warm and sunny. Daytime high temperatures are running about 75 F (24 C). Our garden is exploding into growth.



The front yard strip is starting to look good. The spring Crocuses and Narcissus species have finished.



Tulips are starting into bloom. I grow generic varieties found at our local garden centers. This is good enough for me. The question is how do I use them creatively in our garden.



I like this low, mat-forming, gray-leave Potentilla. It grows very slowly and the yellow flowers and gray foliage are very attractive. I have no idea what species it might be, but this does not natter. What is important is that it works in our garden and I like it a great deal. I have grown this species for over 45 years.



This Erythranthe guttata seedling has attractive reddish foliage during cold weather. Now that it has turned warm the leaves will turn green. This species will bloom profusely for many weeks a little later in the spring. I work a great deal with this species and have a number of distinct lines I am developing.



This is a combination I hope works well – Phacelia campanularia with Eschscholzia lobbii ‘Sundew’. I like the light dark combination. They also might be near the opposite ends of the color wheel. I would need to ask an artist.

This front strip also has other Erythranthe species, Diplacus species, a number of Clarkia species, and various Penstemon species. I am hoping for flowers into early summer. I am working with California native Symphyotrichum, Doellingeria, Eurybia and other potentially late summer-early autumn blooming species to complete the blooming cycle throughout the growing season. We shall see how this turns out.

[Robert]

In the back yard Diplacus pictus is coming into bloom. This tiny species is best grown in tubs or raised planters where the tiny plants can be protected and the flowers appreciated.



I grow this Gladiolus alatus in a tub. The bright colors work well in our California style garden.

[Robert]

Hi Mariette,

Currently, Erythronium oregonum is coming into bloom in our garden. I thought you might find these photographs interesting.



The group of plants in this set of photographs is a little over 10 years old. Compared to Erythronium multiscapideum they have produced few or no offsets. They are even markedly slower to produce offsets than our Deer Valley form of Erythronium multiscapideum, which is very tight growing (in this case a quality I like).

Many of the plants produce beautifully mottled leaves. I have hybrids with our Deer Valley form of Erythronium multoscapideum. They have a few more years to go before they bloom.



10 years old and no offsets.



10 years old and only one offset.



10 years old and three offsets, yet no flowers. I cannot remember if this plant bloomed last year. I will have to pay closer attention each season.

[Leena]

I also like to stretch the limits of creativity. No rules here! Common/ rare, easy-to-grow/challenging to grow – for me it is about creating something beautiful that pleases me.

I liked what you wrote, what a good philosophy to garden!
And your pictures show how beautiful your garden is in my eyes, too. You are lucky that you have so many interesting and beautiful native plants to work with.

By the way, I got Dodecatheon (primula) frigida, pauciflorum and hendersonii seeds from the seed ex, have sown them now outside in pots, so they get first cold for a month or so (I hope it is long enough), and hopefully germinate later in the spring.

[Robert]

Leena,

...., I got Dodecatheon (primula) frigida, pauciflorum and hendersonii seeds from the seed ex, have sown them now outside in pots, so they get first cold for a month or so (I hope it is long enough), and hopefully germinate later in the spring.

      I am going to be extremely interested to know how these species preform in your garden, especially Primula (Dodecatheon) hendersonii. By any chance do you know the origin of the P. hendersonii seed? This species has a huge geographic range throughout North America and grows under diverse climatic/ecological circumstances. The origin of the seed might strongly influence the probability of success with this species in your garden.

.... and your pictures show how beautiful your garden is in my eyes, too. You are lucky that you have so many interesting and beautiful native plants to work with.

Thank you.    I equally enjoy the beauty of your garden - even when there is snow cover. There can be such beauty in the texture of the snow and the shapes created as it mounds over plants. Snowmelt can be especially nice as flowers and green shoots emerge through the melting snow. When I lived full time in the Sierra Nevada foothills, I enjoyed the Crocuses blooming through a light covering of snow.



I am so pleased with this healthy pot full of Viola sheltonii seedlings. It has been such a difficult species for me to please. I have made continual efforts to cultivate this species with many failures. I learn something from each failure, so steady progress is being made to create enduring, healthy plants for our garden. I can now maintain this perennial species for more than one year. Hopefully these seedlings will bloom next year and produce viable seed. This will be another important leap forward with this species.



Lupinus albifrons var. albifrons is another species I am making progress with. This species thrives and is long-lived in our garden, however superior forms can be found in their natural habitat. I am growing and evaluating more seedlings hoping to develop better forms that will breed true from seed.

[Leena]

Leena,
      I am going to be extremely interested to know how these species preform in your garden, especially Primula (Dodecatheon) hendersonii. By any chance do you know the origin of the P. hendersonii seed? This species has a huge geographic range throughout North America and grows under diverse climatic/ecological circumstances. The origin of the seed might strongly influence the probability of success with this species in your garden.

I'm sorry, there is no way of knowing the origin of seed from seed ex, unless the donator happens to read this.
I knew that they might not be hardy enough to grow here, unless the seed is from higher mountains, but we'll see.

[Andre Schuiteman]

The early-spring flowering Cypripedium formosanum from Taiwan can form wonderful clumps when it is happy, as it seems to be here. The flowers are frost sensitive and in some years they have turned brown early as a result. Other enemies are slugs and caterpillars that can reduce the flowers to shreds overnight. Fortunately, they don't seem to find the leaves very tasty, just the flowers. This plant grows in very gritty soil mulched with some leaf litter between two deciduous shubs (Rhododendron Crosswater Red and Vaccinium corymbosum 'Chandler') that provide shade during the summer, while allowing plenty of light in the spring.

[kris]

that is an impressive clump