Another Clivia seedling from a seed sown seven or so years ago. I think this is the second year this plant has bloomed. It has interesting, buttery yellow flowers that don’t open all the way, but aren’t as tubular as Tony’s Tubular Peach.

My 2020 plans for this plant will be to topdress it and move it to a shady spot and keep it fed and watered until I move it back to the greenhouse for the winter.

Virginia bluebells are native to the U.S., but not to the Seattle area. They are a charming woodland plant, however. I had tried to get them established under the Douglas fir for several years, and finally, the last planting seems to have taken. I consider them ephemeral, as they bloom in April and then completely disappear. They are in the borage family, one of my favorites, and the blue flowers are brilliant.

This is the third year this plant has bloomed for me, but I think it has been in the garden for four years. There are some native Mertensias in Washington–I’ve seen some growing near our cabin in Tonasket. If any are native to western Washington, I plan to try to grow those in the native plant garden that’s getting started this month.

Another seedling from a sowing seven or so years ago, this is a cross between a peach clone and a salmon clone. I absolutely love the color–it is a wonderful peachy salmon. The flowers don’t open fully, but they still put on a show. I think this plant has a lot of potential if it gets more blooms per spike in subsequent years.

For 2020 goals, I will topdress this plant after the flowers fade and keep it outside for the spring/summer/fall. It will need to be repotted next year, likely.

Another seedling Clivia that I raised during my Clivia mania phase. This plant is likely seven years old or more. It bloomed for the first time this year.

I’ll work to get an updated photo tomorrow of this plant to see how the flowers are aging and how the plant itself is growing.

Plant lovers are encouraged to use Latin names, but if we focus entirely on those we miss some wonderful silliness. This plant is a perfect example. Its common name is “Lawyer’s Tongue.” Since I work for a legal aid nonprofit and both my siblings work in law offices, which could explain why we enjoy pruning these plants so much.

Brother Tim brought me this sturdy succulent and it has grown well for me. It exudes pups freely and also blooms well every year with interesting flowers.

I thought of this as a Plant-A-Day today when I was repotting it and pulling divisions aggresively from its roots. I ended up with a healthy mother plant that still has multiple pups around it, as well as eight pups that I potted up separately.

A graceful lily that I planted decades ago in our woodland garden (no idea where it came from). I transplanted it and divided the clump about seven years ago and both divisions have continued to do well. Sadly, I often miss the flowers of these plants because they are tucked out of sight of the windows and I forget to wander out and look at them. However, I chanced upon them today and immediately remembered how beautiful they can be.

These bulbous plants are ephemeral and will be completely gone in a month or so. My 2020 plans will be to drop a handful of organic fertilizer near these clumps and to try to get some better photos this week.

My siblings have had an autumn tradition of wandering through the Washington Park Arboretum to enjoy the fall foliage and late bloomers. Occasionally, and through no fault of our own, seeds from some of the plants there follow us home. Tree peonies are a favorite. These plants are about ten years old from seed. They are growing strong now, but have never bloomed….until this year! The strongest growing one has four flower buds on it. I’m anxious to see what the flowers look like,, since I am unsure of the provenance of the seeds.

Here are photos of the flower buds and the plants.

My 2020 plans for these plants are to feed them well and keep an eye on the bindweed that always wants to smother them. I will get photos of the flowers and drop them here when they open.

I started these seeds from Chilterns in the UK back in 2018 and they grew so slowly, they just went into the memory garden last year. I had forgotten what they were because the leaves seem very different from the Erodiums I had previously met/grown. These leaves are somewhat coarse and rough. But the flowers look like they will more than make up for that.

My 2020 plans for these plants are to keep them fed and watered and watch how they grow in the coming year, their first out in the exposed garden.

Well, the sun is stimulating me, for one. Sadly, I’m trapped indoors with the stay-at-home order, but I wander around on my breaks and on weekends. Below is a gallery of photos from the greenhouse and garden over the last few weeks.

The reality of tulip planting in Seattle for me is that the plants usually only last a year. I have tried many of the tulips that are noted for perennializing and found them only slightly permanent than the other types. I have planted hundreds of tulips over my 25 years on this property and aside from the most recently planted ones, only about five bulbs remain, sad and lonely, spread out all over the yard.

Could Flaming Purissima be different? I planted a row of clumps of these tulips in the fall of 2018 and they provided a wonderful show in the spring of 2019. And as I write this in April of 2020, they are back again in full force and blooming wonderfully well. Lately, I’m attracted to tulips that don’t just feature one color, and those that change color over time–they just seem to give a little more than the single-tone and stagnant colors. Flaming Purissima is a combination of every color between white and carmine, and the flowers look different every day. They open wide and happy when the Seattle sun peaks out, giving us even more to celebrate.

I plan to feed these bulbs a few times in the spring with a general organic fertilizer and bulb food. We’ll see if they continue to impress next year.