I visited West Seattle today for Brother Tim’s birthday celebration.  We walked all over and saw some amazing things.

First, on the way out, I saw this blooming in the pot with the Osmanthus:

Corydalis solida, which gets forgotten every year because it goes dormant so early, comes back with a lot of fanfare in early spring!

This seems happy in the pot, even though the soil is full of Osmanthus root.

Also on the way out, I noticed raindrops and sunshine on the primroses in the pot near the porch.

I wasn’t sure about flower colors, but I think springtime allows for brighter combinations without worrying about too much brightness or contrast.

Below are more crocus pics–they are just so photogenic!

Here is a foliage standout–Persicaria “Red Dragon” in the Douglas fir bed.  This was a big, robust grower at first, but I think it is unhappy now and it just throws a few stems each year.  This is probably an okay thing, as I gave starts to my friend Jeff and they turned into monsters in his yard–tall and wide thugs that had to be tamed!

Another hyacinth picture, with the light and raindrops–love these white ones.

And then on to West Seattle.

These were some amazing pots we passed outside a business.  I’m not sure what these gray leaved beauties were–tried to find them online (centarea, senecio?), but couldn’t find them.  They were brilliant!

A close-up of a particularly attractive Hellebore in one of these pots.

I photographed this same Rhodie last year around the same time.  It is extremely beautiful.

Camellias are a mixed blessing.  Lots of pretty flowers and a giant mess underneath!  I had a gardening job years ago in a job with HUMONGOUS camellia shrubs and I spent hours and hours picking up the dropped flowers from the ground/lawn.  They were heavy.  I filled whole garbage bags with them every spring!

Like last year, we had a gorgeous day to explore and the magnolia flowers looked great against the blue sky.

On the same gardening job, I had to pick up saucer magnolia flowers after they dropped–they were even worse than camellias!  They stuck to the lawn and had to be raked out of it.

Aubrietas growing in a rock wall.  The flowers don’t last long, but they are fun.

Some amazing grasses were still looking good after winter.

Red-flowered currants were blooming.  I love them for maybe two weeks, but not enough to add any to my yard.  Brother Tim says they are worth it for the hummers they attract.

I’m not a fan of bergenias normally, but the below white one (possibly Bressingham White) was very pretty.

And here’s a close-up.

Below are the catkins on a contorted Colylus avellana

I love Magnolia stellate, and there were some stunning ones in West Seattle today, perfectly pristine.

Next, we went to Schmidt’s Preserve, where we walked through some great wilderness, including some old-growth trees.  Only the plant-geek Petersons would be mostly impressed by all the skunk cabbage plants throughout the area!

The leaves on these smelly water plants will extend out to 3 feet or more.

And there were some salmon berries blooming (Rubus spectabilis)

The forest was really wet and I saw these mushrooms growing on a nurse log:

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the beach, this amazing log covered with ivy vines was laying on the sand.

And a bird sighting–these appear to be Barrow’s goldeneyes!  So amazing!

And the other amazing this was to see how WARM it is in West Seattle vs. my house, just 12 miles away!  This acacia was growing outside in a sheltered corner:

All in all, it was a fantastic day, celebrating my big brother’s 58th birthday outside in a beautiful world!