Garden chat & photos for torts and people ♫ ♫

[KevinGG]

 

[Yvonne G]

I had a few narcissus bloom, but besides the flowering trees, nothing else has come up. Your purple iris is very pretty! I have an iris bed, but the leaves are just now starting to come up, not going to bloom for a while yet. For some reason (unknown to me) they bloom colors the first couple years, then slowly, year after year, they all eventually turn either yellow or white. I had some really beautiful colors and color combinations, but mostly what I have now is either yellow or white.

 

[KevinGG]

I had a few narcissus bloom, but besides the flowering trees, nothing else has come up. Your purple iris is very pretty! I have an iris bed, but the leaves are just now starting to come up, not going to bloom for a while yet. For some reason (unknown to me) they bloom colors the first couple years, then slowly, year after year, they all eventually turn either yellow or white. I had some really beautiful colors and color combinations, but mostly what I have now is either yellow or white.

Hm. Irises don't lose their color. Just looked it up and it sounds like your yellow and white irises outcompeted your other varieties. Found this:
http://willtaft.com/do-iris-flowers-change-color/

 

[Oxalis]

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Lovely photos! Thank you for posting.

 

[Jacqui]

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Pretty!

 

[Jacqui]

Hm. Irises don't lose their color. Just looked it up and it sounds like your yellow and white irises outcompeted your other varieties. Found this:
http://willtaft.com/do-iris-flowers-change-color/

Aren't those colors hardier since they are closer to the original iris? Also the pale blue ones. Are the blooms also a wee bit smaller?

 

[KevinGG]

Aren't those colors hardier since they are closer to the original iris? Also the pale blue ones. Are the blooms also a wee bit smaller?

Yeah. At least that is what this article says. They need to be weeded out to allow the other colors space to grow. Some compost might help also. They're probably starved of nutrients.

 

[KevinGG]

Well, things are really coming to life now. Trees leafing out, bulbs growing (and dying), azaleas flowering, and the fruit trees budding. This is a Santa Rosa Plum.



The bulb of this Amaryllis is the size of a softball. One of the oldest we have.



Red Ruffles Azalea



This is that first year bloom Iris. Or 'first year I've seen it bloom' Iris.



This a huge variety of Azalea. Cant remember the name, but like a huge version of "Coral Bells".



Can't leave out the Narcissus.





The "Butterfly" Japanese Maple is leafing out.



And the elephant's ear is recovering nicely after the frost. It'll be huge in no time.



Here's the pond. You can see a couple varieties of narcissus, behind those the elephants ear, red ruffles to the left, and at the back edge is a mini weeping willow just starting to leaf out.



These are the beginning stages of the garden coming back into its full, lush self. Will try to get more pictures as the maples leaf out, azaleas and fruit trees fully bloom, and the perennials start coming back.

 

[Yvonne G]

Beauties - all!!

I think your elephant ear is also called a giant rhubarb. My sister has one from Africa and the leaves get to be 5 or 6 feet across. I bought one, but it comes from S. America. Doesn't get quite as big, but I keep forgetting to water it. they need an awful lot of water, and it's in the greenhouse for the winter. I forget to go in there.

 

[KevinGG]

Thanks Yvonne. I've seen those. They are pretty amazing. I believe I have the smaller variety too. They'll still get pretty big, but the leaves will stay relatively the same size. I chose that spot because when the pond overflows from rain it drains right near the rootball. I also use drip throughout the warmer months. They can handle frost. Might be worth it to plant in one of your tropical habitats. Just use lots and lots of mulch.

 

[Yvonne G]

Yes, when it gets bigger (and hardier) I plant to put it in the ground in the rainforest. I've been toying with the idea of planting it next to the pond, but don't know if the pond saturates the ground well enough to keep it as wet as they like it, and for sure I'd forget to water it out there!

 

[KevinGG]

Yes, when it gets bigger (and hardier) I plant to put it in the ground in the rainforest. I've been toying with the idea of planting it next to the pond, but don't know if the pond saturates the ground well enough to keep it as wet as they like it, and for sure I'd forget to water it out there!

When I visited Monet's garden in Giverny last year, they had an elephant's ear that's was 8 feet tall by 8 feet wide. It was planted on the pond bank. Not sure if size of the pond plays into why it thrived there or not.

 

[Oxalis]

Here's the pond. You can see a couple varieties of narcissus, behind those the elephants ear, red ruffles to the left, and at the back edge is a mini weeping willow just starting to leaf out.

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Looks wonderful! I kind of want to vacation there...

 

[KevinGG]

Thought I'd share this with you @Yvonne G . I went to Golden Gate park today and found a few groupings of elephants ear. Here are a couple that are kept on the banks of ponds.





And here's a really large grouping in almost full shade with, I think, no irrigation.



Just a couple of shots from the around the park and the conservatory:

 

[Oxalis]

My husband sent me this neat article, and I thought you gardening fans might enjoy it, especially the spineless cactus! It took 2 decades to remove the spines but was a commercial failure. Interesting stuff.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/57818/10-crazy-creations-plant-wizard-luther-burbank

 

[Pearly]

What lovely pictures!!!! Ahhhh! Spring!!!! My garden so far just couple of single roses. This one, then this one with beautiful peppery-rosy fragrance, and this one think this is my Double Delight, very nice scent. The trees are budding, pollinating and Red Buds and wild cherries blooming, first ornamental bushes begining to bloom also found this iris, variegated vinca (neither are in my tortoise garden)Spiderwort, have this one in lavender-blue, and lavender-pink and this little viola has come back from last year's plants. I think my Texas (yellow) columbines will be opening up tomorrow and i saw yellow iris bud getting real big today. I just LOVE this time of the year!!! Thank you all for sharing your spring experience. Kevin you pictures are breathtaking

 

[Pearly]

And this is what my mom sends me from Florida @Yvonne G I thought you might enjoy these pictures. This particular pics may have come from the web but on my Mom's street there are several houses with those cacti blooming like that in the morning, the flowers close by the afternoon ca. And last one from her think it's called Cat's Tail (or Cat's Paw....?... not sure)

 

[Jacqui]

And this is what my mom sends me from FloridaView attachment 201610 @Yvonne G I thought you might enjoy these pictures. This particular pics may have come from the web but on my Mom's street there are several houses with those cacti blooming like that in the morning, the flowers close by the afternoon caView attachment 201611. And last one from herView attachment 201612 think it's called Cat's Tail (or Cat's Paw....?... not sure) View attachment 201613

so neat!!

 

[Jacqui]

Here is as far along as we are here...

That is a lilac just starting to bud out.

 

[Yvonne G]

Thought I'd share this with you @Yvonne G . I went to Golden Gate park today and found a few groupings of elephants ear. Here are a couple that are kept on the banks of ponds.

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And here's a really large grouping in almost full shade with, I think, no irrigation.

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Just a couple of shots from the around the park and the conservatory:

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Thanks a lot for those pictures! I lived in San Francisco all through my growing years up until I got married and moved away. I have never been to the Conservatory.