Sunday, February 20, 2011

What's Blooming This Week

I felt discouraged today seeing that the temps will be dipping down to 15 degrees on Friday - if the weather forecast is correct. I was hoping we were through with this cold, I can't really put anything new in until it begins to warm up a bit. So I thought I'd post a few pics I took last week - a taste of all the color to come! Click on the image for full size.

Beautiful crocuses




Olive - my earliest blooming rhododendron.


Close-up


Salix gracilistyla var. melanostachys - Black Pussy Willow


Helleborus x multifidus ssp. hercegovinus
This Lenten Rose is the only "free" plant I ever got from Heronswood Nursery; it sprouted up next to a completely different plant!


Sarcococca hookeriana var. digyna - the most fragrant of the Winter Box species. Sorry it's sideways, I rotated it in my files but blogger wouldn't cooperate, apparently. Halp, magic Fayre or lewy!



Close-up


Primrose


Rhododendron 'Praecox'


One of my many pulmonarias. You can see why they are commonly called 'Boy & Girl Plants'.


Abeliophyllum distichum - Korean 'White Forsythia'. It doesn't look like much but it's only been in the ground about 9 months. It was hard to come by and when a nursery got this one for me I was happy to take it (even considering it was the most root-bound plant I've ever seen!). But it will eventually reach 4' and has welcome blooms during our grey, overcast winter and a wonderful fragrance.


Close-up


Extreme close-up!


It's nice being able to share these with my friends, hope you all enjoyed it.
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38 comments:

  1. floranistaFebruary 20, 2011 at 11:21 PM

    I hope Aridog will be pleased with this last shot, I think my close-ups are improving.

    ReplyDelete
  2. RadioMattMFebruary 20, 2011 at 11:42 PM

    From what I remember, evryone enojoys you posts, Florrie. You do good work.

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  3. RadioMattMFebruary 20, 2011 at 11:43 PM

    Iknow I love them.

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  4. floranistaFebruary 20, 2011 at 11:47 PM

    Thanks so much, Matt.

    Gardening is a joy in my life.

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  5. FayFebruary 20, 2011 at 11:48 PM

    Oh florrie this is just a gorgeous post. Thank you. I love "Olive", rhoddies are my favourite Spring blooms. We went up to Fort Langley yesterday and one of the gardens we saw had random purple crocuses all over their front yard. Brilliant!

    I also saw a Sarcococca hookeriana var. digyna in the garden shop but didn't know what it was until I saw your pic.

    Spring be here SOON!

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  6. RadioMattMFebruary 20, 2011 at 11:52 PM

    Hmmm. Florrie likes gardening. Who'd a thunk.

    All I know is that I like Florrie. And I know she does wonders in the graden.

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  7. floranistaFebruary 21, 2011 at 12:05 AM

    TY, Fay, I know you love flowers too! Ditto our lady red :-)

    I am soooo ready for spring. Normally I enjoy all the different seasons but I'm tired of the cold and just want to get outside more. Spring can't come soon enough...

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  8. Garden FayreFebruary 21, 2011 at 12:06 AM

    Methinks mefixedit!

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  9. annieFebruary 21, 2011 at 2:23 AM

    What beautiful pictures florrie! You'd enjoy being here right now. It's still officially winter, and it's been pouring, bucketing down with rain, but our temps are in the 502-60s (on a cold day :p). It went up to the mid-70s on Shabbat and is due to so again in the next few days.

    And now the hills and countryside are all green again. The almond trees have sprung into blossom, the orange trees are full of fruit, the smell of honeysuckle and jasmine is just overpowering. I love winter/spring here.

    And then the hot hot summer will come again...

    ReplyDelete
  10. annieFebruary 21, 2011 at 2:36 AM

    Here's "my" almond tree, across the road from my house, taken on Tu Bishvat

    imgw:"http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/annekl/DSC07063.jpg"

    And here it is in full bloom, taken a few years ago:

    imgw:"http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/annekl/annie.jpg"

    ReplyDelete
  11. annieFebruary 21, 2011 at 2:45 AM

    In case you were wondering what Tu Bishvat is, here's a link: Tu Bishvat. It occurred just exactly a month ago.

    And here are my orange trees! One of them anyway. :) You'll recognize the pic from my blog icon. I chose it because my hometown was/is famous for its orange groves.

    imgw:"http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/annekl/orangetree-1.jpg"

    ReplyDelete
  12. lady redFebruary 21, 2011 at 4:14 AM

    Oh florrie, what a lovely post! Your plants are a joy for the heart and the eyes. :)

    The daffodils here are up and have just a hint of yellow at the tops of the wee green stalks...they should be blooming within another day or so. My irises are waking up too! Even though it's only February, the trees are heavy with buds. It IS spring, and an early spring at that!!!

    Thank you florrie, this is a wonderful way to start a Monday. :X

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  13. AridogFebruary 21, 2011 at 9:40 AM

    Florie # 1 ...

    Your close ups are great. Now you are ready to learn more about control of depth of field, which requires setting the camera to "aperture preferred" mode and using a tripod if the shutter speed slows below 125. You already know to shield flower subjects from wind when necessary, so the next step is control of depth of field....e.g., sharpness of image from front to back of the subject.

    It's done by smaller apertures (meaning higher aperture numbers) such as f8, f11, or f16, to bring the front petals in to the same effective focus plane as the most rearward features. The more telephoto effect you are using, the more important it becomes ... wider angle settings automatically increase depth of field.

    We can talk via email or phone for more detailed Depth of Field
    stuff, like Hyperfocal Distance =)) and Optical Cardinal Points.

    Actually, your camera will do the work, just start using "aperture preferred" mode and start with f8 and see what happens.

    The oldest rule in photography, I think, is "set for f8 and be there."

    ReplyDelete
  14. AridogFebruary 21, 2011 at 9:53 AM

    Florie ... here are two photos by my friend in Montana (from his days in Hawaii) that illustrate depth of field control on flowers close up (Orchid Christmas card) and in extreme close up (Hibiscus center)...

    imgw:"http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/aridog/Christmas2005.jpg"

    imgw:"http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/aridog/Hibiscus_10x10.jpg"

    ReplyDelete
  15. LutherFebruary 21, 2011 at 12:12 PM

    Great post, florrie. Though it makes me wish you were my gardener. :) That's too bad about the cold temps, though maybe it will be your last. Our 15 degrees here devastated many of our plants. We'll have to do a lot of new planting in a couple of months.

    Have you ever visited Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens down in Woodland. Not that long a drive for you and I'm sure you would enjoy it.

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  16. floranistaFebruary 21, 2011 at 5:19 PM

    Thanks, y'all! Annie, do you actually get almonds? I sure envy you the weather right now.

    I really appreciate the help, Aridog. I use a "cheat sheet" from an email you sent me (just noticed it's dated February 15, 2005!). I copied it as I, er, sometimes forget details. Those pictures are beautiful, the second one looks like an O'Keefe painting.

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  17. Garden FayreFebruary 21, 2011 at 5:55 PM

    Chopped liver R I

    ReplyDelete
  18. floranistaFebruary 21, 2011 at 7:21 PM

    No! You aren't chopped liver!

    TY, Magic Fayre...












    er...except now it's upside down :-) heh, that's ok, it looks pretty much the same either way...

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  19. lewy14February 21, 2011 at 10:19 PM

    florrie, great post! Spring is indeed right around the corner - except - we're 'sposed to get snow here around Portland later this week. Ugh.

    annie, the Mediterranean climate is like northern California - I used to live just east of Sacramento, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada - coming from New England, it took a while to realize that Winter and Spring were the Happy Fun seasons, and that Summer and Fall were dread misery. In August I would walk out to the parking lot after work and burn my fingers trying to get in my damn car.

    But in February and March, the hillsides were green and vibrant and fragrant.

    So very briefly.

    ReplyDelete
  20. AlphieFebruary 22, 2011 at 12:11 AM

    florrie- I love, love, love your gardening posts. It's one of the things I've missed most the last year or so!

    The photos are great (even upside-down!). I was surprised to see that they actually were yours, and not from a nursery website. Beautiful- especially the close-ups. Really makes me ache for spring. All of the snow we've had piled up for the last two months finally melted (well, mostly) only for it to snow again last night. Doh! Nevertheless, we have this one monster hyacinth that's already poking up out of the ground in the corner of our garden. Since the squirrels ate all of the crocus bulbs I planted several years back, that big smelly (it really is overly fragrant) hyacinth has become our first official sign of spring here in Fortooland.

    ReplyDelete
  21. annieFebruary 22, 2011 at 12:47 AM

    Lewy14, yes, our climate is very similar to California's. Only our winter is very mild too. It's only the summer that is pretty unbearable - although it lasts most of the year...

    Winter in Jerusalem or the Golan is a different matter, much colder and if snows occasionally too. Last time we had snow down in the central plains it was 1951 apparently, and that was a freak incident. (And before my time. Honestly!) :)

    Florrie, I assume we do get almonds but since the tree is not my personal tree I don't really know. I'm not sure who picks the fruit, if anyone. It was planted by my upstairs neighbour when he was a boy. I should ask him about the almonds.

    By the way, I should add that I greatly admire your photography as well as your plants themselves. I'm lucky if my photos come out in focus at all, let alone all this fancy shmancy aperture stuff whereof Aridog speaks... :))

    ReplyDelete
  22. floranistaFebruary 22, 2011 at 1:14 PM

    Isn't it nice to see the first bulbs come up, Alphie? TY for the nice comment, now that we are staying put (hopefully), I will only be posting my own garden pictures. I've put in lots of rhododendrons this year and many will be blooming in April & May, I can't wait!

    ReplyDelete
  23. floranistaFebruary 22, 2011 at 1:17 PM

    And thank you, annie, for sayiing that about the photos. Although, in the interest of full disclosure, I have followed Aridog's advice and take MANY shots of each thing. That way I can usually get 1 or 2 good pictures, lol!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Magic FayreFebruary 22, 2011 at 11:52 PM

    "er...except now it's upside down :-) heh, that's ok, it looks pretty much the same either way... "

    Stupid Garden Fayre! That's what happens when you hire anti-podeans :)

    Magic Fayre turned it upside down. Now it be upside right.

    ReplyDelete
  25. floranistaFebruary 24, 2011 at 1:20 PM

    I took that from right where I'm sitting at the computer :-) It was kind of comical seeing them slide down on that wrought iron thing that holds the feeders, they just couldn't get a grip, they are such big birds.

    Of course, I went out and tried to pound the thing in the ground so they wouldn't have such a hard time...

    ReplyDelete
  26. floranistaFebruary 24, 2011 at 1:25 PM

    Er, had to resize the pic because blogger chopped up the photobucket image. Hope this one works.

    imgw:"http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y117/floranista/DSC01910.jpg"

    ReplyDelete
  27. LutherFebruary 24, 2011 at 4:27 PM

    Those are such beautiful birds. We didn't see them all that often in LaCenter but loved it when we did.

    Now, I would name it but can't remember the damn name. IHGO.

    ReplyDelete
  28. floranistaFebruary 24, 2011 at 4:53 PM

    They are flickers, Luther, from the woodpecker family. I had named it in my original comment but the picture I posted got resized and cut off his tail.

    I think they're beautiful too :-)

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  29. floranistaFebruary 24, 2011 at 4:58 PM

    I hope I did this right, I don't want to keep posting pictures but...since you like flickers, Luther
    here he is balancing on the suet holder

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  30. lady redFebruary 24, 2011 at 5:21 PM

    Beautiful photo, florrie! We had four bluebirds in our front yard yesterday, but they'd flown away before I could get my camera out. It's spring!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  31. floranistaFebruary 24, 2011 at 7:53 PM

    I wish we had bluebirds, lady red! I love birds, I think I spent a good hour watching them today.

    ReplyDelete
  32. LutherFebruary 24, 2011 at 7:54 PM

    Yes and thank you, florrie, for the name. You'd think I could remember that.

    And nice shot of flicker on the suet, always hungry those guys, especially when it's cold.

    My all time favorite though, up there, was the Cedar Wax Wing. What a magnificently colored bird. They too, were only around for a couple of weeks at most. But damn, they had status... if that makes sense. There are different versions/genus... I may have found the wrong one. But they are all pretty similar.

    ReplyDelete
  33. floranistaFebruary 24, 2011 at 9:22 PM

    He's a beauty, Luther. I thought we had waxwings here in Washington so I checked the Audubon site and sure enough! But I haven't seen one. Yet. :-)

    I've left mahonia, snowberry and other fruit-bearing shrubs on the property in the hopes of attracting lots of different species of birds. Maybe this year I'll see one...

    ReplyDelete
  34. AridogFebruary 25, 2011 at 8:14 AM

    Florie said: "I've left mahonia, snowberry and other fruit-bearing shrubs on the property in the hopes of attracting lots of different species ... "

    ... like BEARS! =)) :-o

    ReplyDelete
  35. AridogFebruary 25, 2011 at 8:22 AM

    Uhm uhm...bears like those shrub berries ...

    imgw:"http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/aridog/DSC00355-Semi-cropped.jpg"

    But the "Watch Bird" will protect you ...

    imgw:"http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/aridog/DSC_2136-Norm-FOAD-Avatar-1.jpg"

    ReplyDelete
  36. floranistaFebruary 25, 2011 at 12:28 PM

    LOL!

    er, I meant to say bird species.

    No bear around my neighborhood although I do often have deer in the yard.

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  37. AridogFebruary 26, 2011 at 5:43 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  38. AridogFebruary 26, 2011 at 6:01 AM

    Yeah, bears avoid populated areas and bird feeders.

    Oh, wait ...

    img:"http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/aridog/4382461.gif"

    ReplyDelete

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