Spring Fragrance for GBBD April 16, 2014

Welcome to my blog, today I am linking with-

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, hosted by Carol of May Dreams Gardens

Orange you Glad It's Friday hosted by Maria

Saturday's Flowers hosted by Denise

Saturday's Critters hosted by Eileen

Macro Monday 2 hosted by Gemma and Mystical Magical Teacher

I Heart Macro hosted by Laura

I was amazed how many fragrant flowers are in bloom already, so decided to feature them.   I was weeding and a delightful scent wafted my way, it was Daphne tangutica, which is now a 4' ball of flowers, after 13 years in my garden.

Another delightful spring-blooming Daphne that is not very fragrant but with pretty purple flowers, and dark glossy leaves on a small rounded bush, D. 'Lawrence Crocker'.

A medium to large Daphne that is also like a giant bouquet is D. x caucasia (x transatlantica) 'Summer Ice', which is amazing for not only spring bloom but also continues into summer and even fall.

Another major wafter now is the large Lilac which is seen here from the second floor window,

One of the fragrant Osmanthus family does well for me, O. delavayi, which has tiny glossy leaves and can be pruned into a nice sculptured shrub, I'm trying to learn that skill.  It has very fragrant tiny flowers in spring.

Another plant with tiny fragrant spring flowers is Lonicera syringantha, Lilac-flowered Honeysuckle, which is a rather rangy unkempt bush.

The Mexican Orange Blossom shrubs are blooming now too, Choisya ternata-

and  the choicer 'Aztec Pearl'-

Late addition to the fragrant flowers, the native False Solomon's Seal, Maianthemum racemosum, is beginning to bloom, it has the most marvelously delicious scent of any of them.

Still to come in the Spring bloomers are the Mock Oranges and Lemon Lilies.  Other plants blooming now are some daffodils, remaining Camellias, various Ajugas, Muscari, species tulips, and surprisingly early Geum 'Cooky'.

Some shown last week are Trilliums, Lunaria, Berberis darwinii, and the week before, Anemones, Primulas, and Virginia Bluebells.  The Pulmonaria are also still blooming, and the hellebores which were my first flowers this year.

Spring is also a time for baby chicks.  Here are some of my latest grandchicks-

They will be a strangely mixed flock, I don't know how well they will get along.

The succession of spring blooms is earlier than usual on the west coast, so I'm wondering what summer and fall will bring.   I hope the magic of spring is wafting on the air where you live.   -Hannah

©Weeding on the Wild Side, all rights reserved.   I enjoy your comments and will visit your blog and comment there unless only google + is allowed, in which case I will comment here instead or email if provided.

More Shade Garden Ideas April 12, 2015

Today I am linking with-

Saturday Critters  hosted by Eileen

Today's Flowers hosted by Denise

Macro Monday 2 hosted by Gemma and Mystical Magical Teacher

I Heart Macro hosted by Laura

Here is another shade garden I've been developing under a large Big-Leaf Maple tree, Acer macrophyllum.

Some Lunaria annua, also known as Silver Dollar plant from their seed pod disks, reseed themselves here faithfully, the magenta ones are taller.  It is another plant that is perfectly adapted to our wet and dry seasons, a biennial that blooms its second year, with heart-shaped leaves.

Some also have white flowers that look good with the variegated Vinca major.

Another variegated plant here is Phalaris arundinacea, Ribbon grass.  These plants are very invasive so not good for small lots, but good here to suppress weeds.

Another invasive that made its way here is the annual Herb Robert, but at least it is easy to pull out, and seems really good at supressing other weeds.  It is rather ferny in appearance with little magenta flowers that match the Lunaria, and also makes a medicinal tea.

I also planted a hellebore here, and Cyrtomium fortunei var. clevicola fern-

The large and spreading Berberis darwinii, blooming now with gold flowers

among the tiny glossy holly-like leaves.  Berberis are nice to plant here because they are too prickly for deer to eat.

A native Trillium grandiflorum is blooming here, it always looks like a bouquet.  It is another ephemeral plant that is perfectly adapted to the wet and dry seasons, coming up in the rains of late winter, blooming, then disappearing in the heat and drought of summer.  I tried some California native annuals here which should also be adapted, but they disappointed in that they did not reseed.

  

Here is another Trillium growing by our pump house-

I tried sowing Trillium seeds I collected from the plants before with no apparent result.  Then my husband replaced the roof for the pump house, and left the old roof on the ground next to the pump house for a while.   Many tiny Trillium plants sprang up underneath!  So now I have a clue how to start the seeds.

It seems the caterpillars are out already, a Ranchman's Tiger Moth cat, Platyprepia virginalis-

Celeste enjoying the ambience and pear blossoms-

I hope the weather is treating you well.   Hannah

                                                        or cameras are macro

©Weeding on the Wild Side, all rights reserved.  I hope to read your comments, and will visit your blog to comment as well as long as google + is not the only option.   We all need to breathe.

Celebrating the Shade Garden and Easter Flowers April 4, 2015

Welcome to my spring Easter flowers, today I am linking with-

I'd Rather Be Birding hosted by Anni

Saturday's Critters hosted by Eileen

Wild Bird Wednesday hosted by Stewart

Today's Flowers hosted by Denise

Macro Monday 2 hosted by Gemma and Mystical Magical Teacher

One of my favorite new gardens is a shade garden with Primulas, Virginia Bluebells, a hosta, some ferns, Celandine Poppies, Pulmonaria, Hellebore, Trillium, and others.  What I enjoy most is that shade seems to render most of my obnoxious weeds unable to grow.

Celandine poppy, at the bud stage, a great ephemeral shade plant with spring bloom-

Primula "cowslip", red, seed grown-

Primula 'Silver-laced'-

March 31, winter took a parting shot, I hope, and dumped quite a lot of small hail on the early flowers, here another bed of Anemone nemorosa, but it seems without effect-

Another Cowslip primula does well in what I consider a difficult place, on the edge of the ramp, the yellow are charmingly more upfacing than the red-

Delightful Virginia bluebells that was planted last year and is blooming, they look a little bluer in real life, I love those borage family blues-

A Red-breasted Nuthatch trying to camouflage himself as an Easter egg-

We managed a daytime trip to Portland, and saw these luscious cherry blossoms, which remind me of my Washington DC honeymoon when the cherries were in bloom, 47 years ago-

Across the street was a fabulous old house, one of very many in Portland.  I would love to experience living in such a grand house-

I hope spring is finally arriving at your locale, have a blessed Pesach or Easter.   There was another momentous lunar eclipse  last night.   This is from last fall, last night was cloudy here.   -Hannah

©Weeding on the Wild Side, all rights reserved.   I enjoy reading your comments, and visiting and commenting on your blog if not prevented by not belonging to google+.  He is Risen!