Shooting Stars

As I was walking back from the Big Garden this weekend, I spied a flash of purple alongside the road. Upon closer inspection I discovered a native Shooting Star in full bloom. I really love these delicate wildflowers and they always remind me of my late grandfather, who referred to them as Rooster Bills. While shooting stars aren't rare in these parts, they can be very particular about where they grow. That always makes finding one in full bloom a treat.

The Pink Current

Our pretty pink Current in the sunset flowerbed is in full bloom.

It's branches are covered in beautiful hot-pink trusses.

A few times, as I have rounded the sidewalk to admire it, I have spied a hummingbird working its blooms. No matter how much I have tried, I haven't been able to snap a picture of it. But you can certainly see why the hummingbirds are attracted to these vibrant, lush blooms.

Crab Apple

The "Royal Raindrops" Crab Apple traditionally blooms somewhere around Mother's Day. But like everything else this year, it is going to be in fill bloom early. I noticed this past weekend that it is already covered in mature buds, just waiting to burst into bloom. With the warm weather that is forecast for later this week, I am guessing that it will begin to bloom as early as next weekend.

The Salad Beds - Week #6

What a difference a week makes. This last week we enjoyed our first spell of nice weather this year, with the last three days all hitting at least 70 degrees. Suddenly, I needed to be mindful of the kitchen garden each day and water. But my young plants loved the warm days and their growth seemed to explode. My whole "Mild Mustard Mix" section is doing great. I Like the combination on rounded leaves and jagged leaves.

Next to it the "Renee's Baby Leaf Blend" is also doing really well. I think I will be able to cut my first small harvest next weekend.

A close-up of those delicate young leaves.

In the next bed over I have my "mistake bed" where I under planted  the "Catalina" spinach with the "Wasabi" arugula. So far the spinach is winning this battle. Hopefully some of the arugula will get enough room and light to mature.

Next to those two I am growing  a 1/2 bed of "Sweet Greens and Red" lettuce. It is doing well but the red lettuce varieties are growing at a much faster rate than the green varieties in this mix. I don't know if that is common trait among all Red Lettuce or just the type in this mix. But either way, the pretty little green ruffled lettuce in this group better hurry it up.

A close-up of this bed.

The last raised bed is quite a bit farther behind than the other two. I did plant the "Charger" spinach two weeks after everything else, so it has an excuse.

But I am really disappointed in the "Heirloom Cutting Mix" lettuce. This variety did so well for me last year. But with the exception of the far left row, the germination was really poor this year. I guess the lesson learned is to always buy fresh lettuce seed each year. I do love this mix, especially the "Speckled Troutback" lettuce pictured below.

Opening Weekend of The Farmer's Market

Today kicked off the official opening of the Lane County Farmer's Market. While the Market has been running for the last few months, it had shortened hours and a limited number of vendors. Today most all of the vendors were present and the Saturday Craft Market was open as well. Even though we just left Winter a brief few weeks ago, the Market vendors still had an amazing abundance of produce and other foods for sale. This beautiful Rainbow Swiss Chard caught my eye at the very first stall.

Spinach is a productive cool weather crop and there was no chortage of it for sale today.

One of my favorite places to buy plant starts is Mountain View Farm. Their booth was packed with tempting , healthy young plant starts. With the warm weather it was so tempting to buy tomatoes and peppers but I know better. I will be back for some onion plants in a few weeks and tomatoes and peppers in Mid-May.

They have a nice selection of both sweet and hot pepper plants.

The other vendor from whom I purchase plants starts is Hayhurst Farms.  This beautiful Mustard immediately caught my eye at their booth. I might have to try this variety next year.

Radish is another cold weather crop that was well represented. 

Lonesome Whistle Farm  is a wonderful resource for your local foods community. They specialize in grains, beans and corn. Today they had baskets of unique grains that you could buy and mill at home.

We are just entering asparagus season in the Willamette Valley and the few vendors who had asparagus to sell were doing a brisk business.

A basket of purple flowering broccoli. And below, an end of season sale on fruit trees. At just $5-14 each, many trees were getting snatched up. It was a perfect first Saturday for the Market to begin.

Trilliums

Down in the shady corners of the Big Garden lawn, I have quite a sizable trillium patch. These Spring beauties are now coming into bloom and are brightening up the forest under story.

Wild Trillium are quite common on our property but like most wildflowers their blooming period lasts only for a few weeks. It can be even shorter if the weather is warm. Just as I begin to appreciate all of the flashes of white along the forest floor, it seems the blooms begin to fade and the show is over for another year.

First 70 Degree Day of the Year

Well, this March certainly came in like a Lion and is going out like a Lamb. We hit a high of 72 today; our first 70+ degree day of the year. Last year we hit this milestone on  March 9th, so this year is a bit more "normal" than the last 2 years have been. Everyone - plants and people alike - are loving this warm, dry spell. A quick walk down the secret path lead to a thick patch of Lamb's Tongues beginning to bloom.

Unwrapping the Dahlia Tubers

Four short months ago, I finished up the huge project of digging/dividing/washing/and storing my dahlia tubers for the year. And now, on Easter Sunday, it's time to begin the task of unwrapping my tubers and sorting them. It's a time consuming job, but also a little fun too. As I check each variety for tuber health and a live eye, I also need to look ahead to this year's garden. I must decided now how many plants of each variety I wish to grow this year, so I can donate the rest of my tubers to friends and my local dahlia society. Some tubers "wake up" earlier than others. The waterlily form is always on the the first to sprout each Spring and this year is no different. Pictured below, 2 healthy tubers of "Carmen Bunky" a dark pink waterlily. 

A Magnolia Tour

We took advantage of a break in the rain today and drove out to Gossler Farms Nursery in East Springfield. They had a spur-of-the-moment open house to celebrate their magnificent magnolia collection which is currently at peak bloom.

The magnolia trees aren't labeled, so I can't identify them by name in each picture. But I can say that many of the trees have huge trunks and must be decades old.

This gorgeous one was covered in deep violet blooms.

A close-up.

This tree almost looked like it had billowy rose blossoms.

Each bloom was a rounded mass of pink and white.

I don't think this magnolia could fit any more blooms on its branches!

Heavenly.

This magnolia had the most interestingly shaped buds and blooms. They were so pointed and cone-shaped and were a striking deep purple. When the bloom opened each petal was long and narrow. It gave the blooms an open, airy look.

Here's a pretty white bloom that had a under pink blush to the lower petal region.

I always forget that there are yellow magnolias but I really like them. The soft butter color really stands out in the trees.

And you can't forget the white blooms. Most of them were discolored from the rains but I found this perfect bloom on the end of this branch.

This grand tree is near the homes on the property. It is an un-named variety given tot he Gosslers by a magnolia hybridizer many years ago. He gave them the young un-named tree to grow and then passed away before naming it.

I loved the open center of each bloom.

Besides magnolias, the Gossler Farm property is s showroom for the many other shrubs, trees and perennials that they sell. This shrub was covered in these beautiful yellow cascading blooms. The air was sweet with its fragrance and the blooms were buzzing with happy pollinators.

This pine caught my eye. I fell in love with its cones, in all three stages. Here are some clusters of newly formed cones.

In middle-age the cones separate, turn a shocking lime-green and stand up straight down the branches.

In maturity the cones turn into these sweet, fat, brown sentinels that are dripping with sap.

Around every bend in the gardens there is something beautiful to see. We loved this old, moss covered bench getting slowly consumed by a rhododendron. And down by the creek we found a mass of lilac erythonium in bloom.