Garden Post

It's always exciting when a plant blooms for the first time. I have had several "first blooms" this year; on the other hand there is a Davidia tree in the garden that the nursery assured me would bloom the year after I bought it (2009). Still nothing! Maybe next year...

Hope you all enjoy some of the following photos.

This first plant doesn't look like much but it was one that I was most excited to see bloom. It is a rhododendron species, R. edgeworthii. Many of the species take years, if not decades, to bloom. It is a tender plant (+15) that I've kept in the garage during winters. I bought it in 2010 and put it in the ground for good this spring. I'm hoping it is large enough now - and is in an area with enough protection - to keep it alive. But if not, at least I've seen it bloom! This is a beautiful foliage plant and the blooms are sweetly scented.

See how teensy it was in 2012?

2015

Here is another rhododendron, the hybrid 'Trinidad'. Only a 4-year wait for this one.

Lilium taliense, a 'Turk's Cap' lily.

Here are a few photos of Magnolia microphylla ssp. 'Ashei' (big leaf magnolia, umbrella tree). I've had this one 4 years as well, it does blooom at a young age. The leaves are huge - up to 20" long and 10" wide. You can get a pretty good idea of the proportions in the close-up photo. It is truly a magnificent plant! I'm so happy it blooms at a young age; another magnolia I've had for 14 years still shows no sign of blossoming.

Spent magnolia pistil. Interesting, isn't it?

Last but certainly not least are several photos of the aptly named Cardiocrinum giganteum (Himalayan giant lily). I purchased this in early 2009. I can't top the description from an old Heronswood catalog:

After up to 7 years, during which time a large basal rosette of glossy, heart-shaped leaves is produced, a swan song of towering stems to 15’, topped in wonderfully fragrant 10” lilies, is sent skyward, absorbing all of the enormous bulb it has formed, though young ones can be found attached to the main bulb and planted for blooms in 3 to 4 years.

So the little bulbils may come to fruition again in 2022! Good lord, I'll be REALLY old then. Hey, 70 is the new 50.