After a frigid start to the year, we seem to have entered a warmer weather pattern. Temperatures on Thursday and Friday reached the mid to upper 70s (~25 C). Today is 46 (8 C), but the next week will be back in the 60s and 70s. Early spring bulbs and a few perennials have suddenly started to flower, but I’m sure that we haven’t seen the last cold weather for this winter.
1. Ligularia japonica ‘Chinese Dragon’
A relic of last summer.
2. Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten rose)
Perfectly timed for the beginning of Lent, the first Helleborus x hybridus flowers have opened. This plant was part of a mixed batch of seedlings given to us by one of my wife’s colleagues who has them naturalized in her woods. Most of the others have white flowers and are still in bud.
3. Dwarf Iris
A small Iris whose name has been lost in the mists of time. The scattered corms bloom reliably every year, but the flowers have an unfortunate tendency to flop over.
4. Yellow daffodils (Narcissus hybrid)
Cheap and cheerful. These are growing through the remains of last year’s Conoclinium coelestinum stems that I haven’t gotten around to cleaning up.
5. Scilla sibirica (Siberian squill)
Despite the name, this species is native to the Caucasus and Turkey, not Siberia.
6. Trichocentrum splendidum
In the greenhouse, a large Oncidium relative from Guatemala is flowering. T. splendidum has rigid, succulent leaves often compared to mule ears. In late winter, as the intensity of the sunlight increases, they become suffused with dark red pigment, and shortly thereafter a 4′ (1.2 m) inflorescence rapidly grows straight up. The flowers are each about 3″ across and last two to three weeks.
For more ‘Six On Saturday,’ get thee to The Propagator. After enjoying his post, check out the comments for links to other participants.
What is dwarf iris? Is that one of those Iris reticulata?
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Yep. I’ve lost the label, so I’m not sure if it’s I. reticulata or a hybrid with one of the related species.
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/ReticulataIrises
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Amazing these dwarf irises! otherwise, seed pods of ligularia are as beautiful as the flowers of last summer!
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I’m not one for weird decorations, but I can see someone wanting to spray paint the ligularia seed heads as a cool garden ornament. Maybe a copper color, they already look sort of metallic.
Always such an interesting variety coming out of your garden.
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Bad posture not withstanding, that white splash on the iris makes it worth bending over to see. So glad you spared us our own contortions w/your photo. Really stunning. And that Guatamalan greenhouse fella, just super wow. Does it have a scent? A wonderful Six.
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No fragrance from the Trichocentrum, sadly.
Glad you liked the pictures.
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I love scilla sibirica! I have to get my magnifying glass out to find mine – they seem to have dwindled to one or two since last year. I think I keep accidentally digging them up when I’m dividing perennials.
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I love the color, but I must admit I was a little disappointed the first year they bloomed. They’re much smaller than I expected. Bulb catalog photos can be deceiving.
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