amazing

CG didn't even take his camera for his morning round thru the backyard.

What could possibly change after a cloudy, rainy day?

After taking a second & third look at the California Poppy, CG had to go back for the Canon S3.

Truly amazing. First, surviving a harsh winter outside of its climate zone.

Second, thriving to surpass all of last year's growth in 5 weeks.

And, amazingly -now, it's setting buds.

CG would like to claim credit for part of the plant's success, but he can't.

Over 2 dozen of the annuals didn't bloom last year.

CG did however, adhere to the 'not all in 1 basket' mantra.

The poppies were planted in 3 different areas that received varying degrees of sunlight and windbreaks.

CG is considering planting back-up poppy plants, just in case of an unforeseen botanical tragedy.

{CG also considers the return of this poppy to be a sure sign of pending economic recovery.
California, having taken the brunt of the recession, is primed to lead the way out of the depression
-at least according to one amazing little poppy plant}

uhh, Dad...

I don't think this is a good idea...

As a souvenir from our trip to the river, CG picked-out a piece of 'current wood' (assuming drift wood is of the salt water variety). The plan was to place it in the trunk for the ride home. The problem was that the ideal piece of current wood didn't fit. Settling for a smaller piece was not an option. CG Jr voiced his opinion about sharing his space in the car with a large, foreign object. CG gave the 'no telling Mom' look and made the getaway. The circle of trust was established over frozen treats.

New home for the current...maybe 'white water rapid wood' sounds better.

the iris beds are getting less purple every day!

They Might be Giants

 even though they are CG's non-favorite color, these are keepers

 the blooms are giant- easily double the size of other iris

 

these are a large, royal presence in the front river birch planting area

-elsewhere in the garden

 

lots of new growth from this aster

Be Green: 
 Never use chemicals to control bagworms. 
Plant asters (perennial) instead. 
Asters attract micro-wasps (harmless to people & pets) which prey naturally on bagworms. 
 

only a few daffodils remain, a few are budding, and some are still just pushing-up

 

 cannas are coming back

Iris Time

full speed ahead

It's only the second of (hopefully) many non-purple iris.

With temps in the 80's already, it's full speed ahead with another growing season.

Some of what CG will be monitoring in the next few weeks:

forsythia- continued strong growth will help sustain them through the summer

asters- needed to keep bagworms out of river birches

 

although this soon-to-be jumbo purple iris has some potential intrigue

 

CG will have to do some Spring harvesting from the farm bed if he wants to have any room for $1 specials this year.

overwhelmed

 Last year, CG vowed to thin-out the purple bearded iris.

It didn't happen.

Now, the cut flower bed and the back corner bed are awash with purple.

The excuse last Fall was that none of the iris were marked, and CG didn't want to risk giving-away some of his rare non-purples. So, the plan this year is to mark/tag only the non-purple iris, and give away 75% of the purples. CG could also consider installing a new planting area of entirely purple iris with purple-blooming ajuga and liriope as ground cover.

 

yea! the first non-solid-purple iris have started blooming!

2010 Azaleas

less pink...still weak...years away from a naturalized mass...the north-facing farmbed azaleas already look better than some of these east-facing siblings

First Siberian

Misty Glenn

(not too impressed- center of flower was supposed to be very green)

While these might have under-achieved, there were many over-achievers.

-And, the Misty Glenns are a perfect combination with the Lemon Glow variety of dafodils. As the LGs begin to fade (large, long-lasting blooms), the MGs were just beginning. It's as if CG knew what he was doing.

First Iris/Triad Motivation

this year's first bearded iris bloom

it's 2 weeks later than last year's first iris

 

motivated

for another full year

of planning, perusing, and planting

Flower Record

a nice first-year patch

(CG needs this same result [times 100] next year)

Mount Hood

While the daffodils thicken-up over the next few years, CG has the opportunity to work on his photography skills of singular blooms. There is a 10 minute window in the late afternoons when the sun is just right for the perfect warm, glowing results. Still, quantity helps as well -for every posted photo, there are ~100 that get deleted. Furthermore, there's only one out of a thousand that will compare favorably to this one. 

Nature, though, gets it right every time.

Iris on the way/Dwarf B-Bushes

 first bearded iris bloom is not too far away

(purple ones are first again)

-will try in the Fall for some to find/plant some earlier blooming ones

 

dwarf burning bushes are getting ready for another nice year

River Birch Green

The landscape is greening-up really fast. Almost overnight, it seems like sometimes. There aren't any signs of greenery from any of the crepe myrtles, however. For the past few years, the crepe myrtles have been the first to green, only to be zapped by a late frost. The danger of a late frost this year  is lessening every day (fingers and greening-up thumbs are crossed). 

CG will be planting some Spring bulbs this weekend, with the remainder of the plants (mainly bagged daylilys) being planted the middle of next week.