Ipheion Uniflorum "Rolf Fiedler"

My small patch of Ipheion Uniflorum "Rolf Fiedler" is blooming in the sunset flowerbed. 

This variety of spring starflower is such a vibrant blue. While the whole clump is only 5" X 5" and just 4" in height, it is such a showstopper! How can you not love that stunning shade of blue?

Considering that my starflower patch was started with only 4 bulbs, planted back on January 8th of 2012, it has expanded quite nicely. It would be very interesting to dig up this patch in July when it is dormant, to see how many bulbs it has naturalized to over the past 4 Springs. Such a wonderful little plant to enjoy each Spring.

First 80 Degree Day of the Year

Mahonia Aquifolium "Oregon Grape" in full bloom

Today we enjoyed our first 80 degree day of the year. It hit just 80 degrees but felt so very warm. The air is full of tree pollen and the plants are bursting with growth. Due to the abnormally warm weather, many plants are wrapping up their whole bloom cycle in less than a week which is a shame. We wait a year to enjoy the beauty of so many things and to have them appear and then disappear so quickly is such a disappointment. Last year we didn't see our first 80 degree day until May 9th, so I don't know what that means for this year; even more heat and drought or just an abnormally warm week. I am certainly hoping for the later.

Welcome Spring

Happy first day of Spring! It's a typical Oregon Spring day here today. Periods of bright sunshine interrupted by storm cells bringing torrential rain. But the days are now as long as the nights and the temperature continues to rise, bit by bit. Blessed Ostara!

Plums in the Forest

Each March, the forests in the surrounding hills are filled with small pockets of white. Birds have long ago dropped plum seeds that have germinated and thrived. While these "wild" plum trees aren't native to our woods, their lovely displays each Spring are eagerly anticipated and welcome. A burst of white in a mostly brown and green world.

Happy Earth Day

Oregon Grape

As I took a walk along the Highway, I flash of bright yellow caught my eye. It was flowering Oregon Grape, mahonia aquifolium.

Oregon Grape if the State Flower of Oregon. It grows profusely on our property, in semi-shaded areas. To be honest, I don't really notice it most of the year.

But each Spring it sets these pretty clusters of bright yellow flowers. When pollinated, they will produce purple/black grape-like berries, which the birds really enjoy. 

Plant Nerd Night

Tonight we went to Plant Nerd Night, presented by the Eugene Garden Club. The club invites local specialty plant vendors to come and sell a selection of what they are carrying this year. Often they bring their "latest and greatest". A percent of the proceeds form the sale fund a scholarship program for the Garden Club. Beth and I went to Plant Nerd Night for the first time last year and had a fun time. This year Mom was able to join us. We got there right when the doors opened at 6:00 PM. I was disappointed to find that Log House Plants didn't come this year. I do love to see what Alice Doyle brings to sell. However there was still lots to see and enjoy. I ended up bringing home two plants:

Iochromoa "Royal Queen" purple tubeflower. This plant grows from 36-60 " in height. It covers itself with blooms that are sprays of deep purple tubes. Hummingbirds love this striking plant. Cool nighttime temperatures are needed for flowering all summer. Annual

Rudbeckia "Prairie Sun" An All-America Selection and Fleuroselect winner. Very large 6" distinctive flowers with light yellow tips on golden petals that encircle a green center. Branching 28-32" plants have strong stems. East to grow and maintain. Perennial

Spring Fever

Today I decided to stop by Down to Earth. It had been quite a while since my last visit and I was in the mood to surround myself with plants and seeds. As always, they had lovely signage throughout the nursery and store. I liked the simplicity and truth on this sign....Plant, Grow, Eat. That's what gardening is all about.

I began by visiting the greenhouse. It was full of early Spring vegetable starts. Nothing says Spring in Oregon like tender young pea plants. Now is the perfect time to plant them.

How pretty are these packs of "Red Romaine" Lettuce.

Another early season crop is Swiss Chard. The multi-colored stalks on "Bright Lights" are garden art in their own right.

After I explored the nursery I went inside the store. The Seeds are Here! Isn't the bean seed boarder on this sign stunning! So cool. I desperately need to get my act together and make a garden plan so that I can put together my seed buying list. I spent quite a bit of time roaming the seed display racks.

Seeds of Change is one of my favorite companies from which to buy.

I also love Renee's Garden. Here is small selection of the vegetable seed that she sells. The beautiful artwork on each packet makes you want to buy it! They are as pretty as the old packets from the early 1900's.

As I was leaving, I found this lovely magnolia blooming out in the nursery. Just beautiful.

Who's that is the Daffodils?

I received this wonderful metal goat for Christmas this year.He has been living out on the covered front porch all Winter, protected from the elements. He has "moved" around a bit over the months and it now appears that he has his eye on a lunch of daffodils!

The First Day of Spring

Happy first day of Spring! I am glad to report that we didn't have a snowmaggedon today like we had last year. Instead, we had a quintessential Spring day - a little sun, a little hail, and a lot of downpours! Best of all, we were treated to a rainbow around dinnertime. Welcome Spring.

Late Winter Sunshine & More Spring Promises

Now that March has arrived, the flower beds are really starting to come alive with color. It might still be Winter on the calendar but it looks like Spring outside.

We have a couple of different clumps of crocus. They haven't completely opened up since we haven't had any full sun but they are still beautiful closed up tight. I love the purple veining against the white petals.

The Iris Reticulata are always the first iris to bloom each year. They are small in stature but have wonderful, vivid colors.

This group of snowdrops are fighting their way out from underneath a grass clump.

A perfect clump of "tete-a-tete" daffodils.

We also have lots of bulbs growing in pots. Another pretty variety of iris reticulata.

Bright red cyclamen and sunny, yellow pansies.

Snowmageddon 2012

As we went to sleep last night, the weather service mentioned that there was an outside chance, if everything lined up perfectly, that we could have a large snow accumulation overnight. Well, since these things never line up perfectly here, I assumed the snow would be a non-event. How wrong I was! I woke up a little after six to a winter wonderland. Everything was covered in white and it was still snowing hard. Then at 6:30 AM the power went out. Oh no!

It snowed hard until 11:00 AM and we ended up with over 7" of very wet, heavy snow. There were trees down everywhere and it was a bit of a challenge getting to work. But with 4-wheel drive, and going in a different route, I was only an hour late. The poor Plum trees took it especially hard. They had just flowered out and the extra surface area, combined with their naturally brittle structure, caused them to snap and split. One the bright side, the world did look beautiful all covered in a thick layer of snow. It is just so unusual for us to receive this much snow and this late in the year. Happy 2nd day of Spring!

Everywhere you looked all morning the snow was piling up by the hour.

The wet snow caused the fencing around my kitchen garden to collapse. Fortunately, it will be a fairly easy repair and the snow covered up all of the edibles. There are garlic and peas planted in there somewhere!

Parvati spent the morning in the top of her cat tower watching all of the bird action outside the kitchen nook window.

Even in the heavy snowfall the feeders were filled with the smaller birds. The big suprise - we saw the first Violet-green Swallow of the year fly by during the storm. It must be wondering why it returned so early to Oregon!

This pretty Robin rested on top of the birdbath.

And the female Hairy Woodpecker stopped by the peanut feeder during the snowfall. She didn't seem too upset by the storm.

As the day progressed it became apparent that we won't be getting our power back on any time soon. As dusk fell we lit a fire and settled in for a long, cold night. However, you can see that the cats grabbed all the best seats before the humans could!

*authors note- this post was published on Saturday, March 24th after the power came back on after 3 days and 2 hours!

Happy First Day of Spring!

Well, today is the first full day of Spring. Judging by the weather outside, one really can't tell any difference from Winter! It's cold, the sky is grey and it's raining hard. The last two weeks have been a steady parade of rain, snow showers, hail and colder then average temperatures. It is now starting to get a little bit frustrating. I had hoped to get my cold weather crops planted in the kitchen garden by now but there just hasn't been any break in the weather pattern. Even the daffodils are slowing down. It's now the 20th of March and we only have 5 varieties in full bloom - "Tete-a-tete", "Segovia", "February Gold", "Early Sensation" and "Jet Fire". Tonight I was running back and forth from the house to the shop through the rain and spied this leopard slug climbing up the stem wall. A perfect picture for this first day of Spring!

It's Cold..and that's a Fact!

Yesterday's local paper had the headline "Not Your Imagination: It's Been a Dreary Year". Well that certainly sums things up! The story went on to confirm what we Oregonians knew - this Spring has been cold and wet! In fact, April was the fifth coldest April on record since 1890, with temperatures averaging 5 degrees below average. With half of May know gone, daytime highs are running 4 degrees below average. This is all being attributed to a confluence of three things; the La Nina pattern, the start of a cold Pacific Decadal Oscillation pattern, and fallout from last Spring's eruption of the Icelandic Volcano. You can see the effects of the cold as you walk around our property. The Sweet Gum trees have just begun to leaf out.

The Douglas Firs are also beginning to show their new growth. I have always loved how the new needles are such a pretty mint green color and are soft to the touch when they are newly emerged.



Out Like A Lamb.......

Well, after a month of cold, overcast, damp days, we finally got a small taste of Spring today! There were still clouds in the sky, but at least you could see some blue. And by 5:00 PM the temperature read 65 degrees. After work I was able to come home and take a small walk around the house without a coat on. This is progress! And the most exciting part of today..the return of the Swallows! There were 4 or 5 flying high in the sky when I left for work this morning. By tonight we must have had over 20 circling. They have already been checking out the houses, taking notes. I love hearing their familiar "chirping". It is finally feeling like Spring, at least for a day.

My companion for tonight's walk was thrilled with the change in the weather too. Tom-Cat quickly ran to his favorite bench and flopped.

Fortunately, he was so busy enjoying some bench time that he didn't spy this sweet little guy who was munching on the fresh, green grass. I hope that you got to enjoy this first bit of Spring weather today too!

* edited note: The newspaper reported the next day that we received at least a trace of rain everyday in March! No wonder it felt so miserable. The total rainfall was 6.24 inches, the most since March of 1997.