I didn’t make it out to the garden this weekend, except to look around.  This afternoon it rained like mad, which was fine with me.  I took the opportunity to dip a lot of water out of the rain barrel and thoroughly water the greenhouse plants.  I haven’t had to use the hose yet for any watering…which is great for the plants and the water bill, but tells you how wet the weather has been, as well.  It takes 6 or 7 watering cans full of water to hit all the greenhouse plants and that takes the barrel down pretty low for the three goldfish that live in there.  Today, though, it was raining so hard that the water was filling in as I pulled it out.

On the fence behind the house, this Clematis montana variety rubens blooming smartly.  The flowers smell of vanilla and perfume.

Lit from the front and photographed from behind–these flowers are short-lived, but really welcomed on these wet, gray days.

The display area of the greenhouse showing the two Hippeastrums in bloom.  A third bulb is spiking on the shelves there but it is far from opening.  I suspect it is the white-starred red one that I’ve had for many years.  This little red one is gorgeous!

One of my original Abutilon “Bella Select Mix” seedlings.  This one is probably close to ten years old.  The plant is a bit of a mess, but the flowers are big and showy.

I was happy to see some of the perennial seedlings up in the trays I planted last weekend.  These are yarrow seedlings.  There are three types of yarrow in the tray and all of them are showing growth.

This nasturtium is becoming a monster.  But I can’t get mad at it–it is blooming so brightly already!

If there was a “weed of the year” contest, Freesia laxa might win.  These are flowers on my original pot of them from Edelweiss Perennials maybe five years ago.  Each flower forms a pod filled with gorgeous red-brown shiny seeds that pop out into all the surrounding pots.  I tried moving some of the offspring into the garden, as they are said to be hardy, but I haven’t seen any of them come back up.  Luckily, there are dozens more popping up every minute!  The color here is a bit brash.  The other types I’ve started from seed are either bluer or whiter and would be easier to mix into displays.

This is one of the pitcher plant flowers (there are two this year for the first time).  Very odd and interesting flower structure.

Photo of the Masdevallias still in full flight.  The bonsai wisteria from brother Tim about 25 years ago is twining up the orchids.

Another photo of the air plant blossoms.  The coloring and design are irresistible to me!

This is one of the Pelargonium (geranium) seedlings started indoors earlier this year.  It has a tiny flower spike, despite being only 2″ tall!

 

 

 

My schedule this weekend included moving the Cymbidiums and the Clivias from the greenhouse to the brick circle around the Doug fir bed.  It took the better part of the afternoon yesterday to fertilize, water and move them all.  Most are reasonably sized, but a couple of the Clivia plants are monsters–probably close to 40 pounds for one windowbox-shaped pot with three divisions in it!  I woke up sore this morning, but I also felt accomplished.

Below are some pictures of the goings-on in the garden.

Brother Tim helped me get this chore done–the raised veggie bed with lettuce, endive, and tomatoes.  We also put in some pumpkins in the herb garden behind.

Hippeastrum blooming in the greenhouse.  This is “Green Dragon” and an unknown mini red.  The red pot has three scapes coming up!

Close-up of the red flower.  Very clean red color.

I created a display of the flowering plants left in the greenhouse–still some great color in there.

The potted Daphne from sister Cate pictured in the last blog.

Another sister Cate Daphne–this one is a lovely lavender and smells even stronger than the other one, but is a more hesitant bloomer.

Lots of Clematis blooms on the back fence.

Another Clematis cultivar–might be “Markham’s Pink.”

Nasturtium vine that climbed up the greenhouse wall and is blooming already.

An air plant blooming in the greenhouse–an amazing color combination.

Pitcher plant blooming in the greenhouse.  It has two flower scapes this year.

“Green Dragon” close-up.

Another view of “Green Dragon.”

Another view.

My favorite of all the Clivia seedlings so far–just the right amount of pastel yellow and salmon.

Another view.

I planted the two Sisyrinchium striatum plants out yesterday in the bed in front of the greenhouse.  The flowers were much showier this weekend than last.

Close-up showing more flowers blooming around the stem.

 

I took a paint brush out to the orchard bed and driveway bed today to try to pollinate the fruit trees.  I only saw one bee all weekend!  It is extremely worrisome.

Below are some garden and greenhouse highlights.

Clematis alpina “Willy” blooming on the fence behind the house.  There aren’t as many blooms this year.  I plan to cut this vine way back after blooming, as it has gotten too big for its own good.

Another close-up of these delicate, graceful blooms.

Here is the potted daphne from sister Cate blooming on the patio.  The fragrance is fantastic!

A few species tulips persist in the woodland garden.  I believe these are Tulipa batalinii–such a vivid red.

Choisya ternata blooming along the fence in the woodland garden.

I just read that Choisya is in the rue family, and that makes sense–I’ve never liked the smell of the plants themselves, but the flowers are wonderfully sweet.

Gorgeous rhody blooming in the woodland garden.

The path in the woodland garden is surrounded by blooms–Dicentra, Muscari, Hyacinthoides, and Choisya.

 

Cymbalaria muralis (Kenilworth Ivy) blooming in a pot on the back patio.  I started a bunch of these from seed last year and now they are in many of the seedling pots on the shelves near the greenhouse.  

Interestingly, the “Red Deer Tongue” lettuce that I transplanted last week are now of two distinct colors.  The ones I left outside are now deep red, while the ones in the greenhouse are still green with just a hint of red.  I’m not sure if this is a temperature issue or a sun issue.

Masdevallias are going NUTS in the greenhouse–there must be more than twenty flowers open at once!  Quite a show!

These wispy flowers are from a scented pelargonium.  It sulked for a year, but now it is spreading its cute flowers far and wide on the top shelf.

The mystery irid opened a few flowers today.  I think it might be Sisyrinchium striatum, and it may well be hardy–so out it goes into the garden when the weather warms!

Close-up of flower.

Another photo showing interest way the flowers appear on the stalk.  Online photos show that this plant can be very showy when it is well-grown.  The leaves make a stunning fan, as well.

Pelargonium blooming in the greenhouse.

Rhodohypoxis baurii putting on a wonderful show in the greenhouse.

Clivia clone blooming in the greenhouse.  This reddish shade is a nice contrast to the usual orange/yellow.

Pelargonium papilloniaceum really going crazy in the greenhouse.

Beautiful tillandsia blooming in the greenhouse…

Abutilon hybrid blooming in the greenhouse.  I plan to pull everything out of there next weekend if the weather cooperates, and the flowering maples will go into the ground.  They are not hardy, but I can get cuttings in the fall to keep them going.

Some cutting-grown Abutilon megapotmicum in the greenhouse.  I expect these will be hardy, so they are getting planted outside next weekend.

Another seedling Clivia clone–this one with large flowers with interesting white markings in the throat.

The plants I purchased for brother Tim’s p-patch plant sale are starting to grow.  They are slow due to the cool weather, but I think they’ll be just right when the sale comes around.

 

Polygonatum multiflorum popping up in the Doug fir bed.

Cherry “Morello” in full bloom.  The one bee that I saw was on this productive little tree.

Cherry “Vandalay” blooming  nicely for a small tree.  I tried to pollinate this one with the Morello, but I have no idea if it worked or even was the right thing to try!

There aren’t many tulips left in the garden, but these three are sturdy and stunning.  These might be Arabian Mystery.

Lamium blooming near the Jeff Tangen arbor–very pretty ground cover.

More Lamium maculatum near the arbor.

Lovely violet blooming in the driveway bed.

The scorpion senna is about to be in full bloom.  It is a mess, I admit, but I still love it!

My gardening hasn’t advanced to a point where I feel like there are a lot of beautiful vignettes to be happy about.  However, near the fence of the orchard bed, this welcoming sight makes my heart sing.  These are wallflowers and bleeding hearts, with a nice mix of foliage types in and around them.

The columnar apple trees blooming nicely in the orchard bed.  I worked the flowers over with a paint brush today and will again in another day or two–hoping to fill in for the missing bees!

Goumi berry shrub starting to bloom in the orchard bed.

 

Another part of the visually appealing fence-bed in the orchard garden.  This golden bleeding heart is from sister Cate.

Another view–you can see just a bit of yellow in the richly colored wall flowers that pick up the golden color of the Dicentra.