Crocus 'Unfortunate Name'
The scrub jay, Aphelocoma coerulescens, is my constant, ever-squawking companion in the garden.
Favas are blooming. Perhaps there will be beans before I have to convert this planter to cucumbers.
I decided to start some lettuces. I usually don't grow greens.
And pumpkins!
Potted Hamamelis 'Diane' is flowering. You know fairegarden is the place to see this plant in its full glory.
(H. 'Primavera' is blooming now too, but no good pictures of it yet.)
Recent rains have knocked out the Hardenbergia flowers. It's winding down now anyway.
I can't quite tell whether Ceanothus 'Ray Hartman' is coming or going.
And the buckeye has substantially leafed out. Now, it's working on growing new wood.
The rest is chaos.
Look how this passionflower bud filled with rainwater.
14 comments:
Well I wasn't expecting that name when I clicked the crocus link. What is that bird?
Ah, yes. That's a scrub jay, Aphelocoma coerulescens. Western US to Mexico, and also Florida.
Isn't there some edible to be planted when the crocus emerge? Get your salad spinner ready you're going to have greens galore... Oh and pumpkin pie!
Scrub Jays or as I call them Blue Jays can be trained to come land on you to get a peanut. They are very friendly(-: Some people don't like them to much because they are aggressive to other birds but so far, at least here they seem to get along with all the other birds that come to my feeders.
I have not seen any crocus blooming in my garden yet. I enjoyed seeing yours.
That tweet from Xris made me peek at the 1910 crocus - and the "troubling anachronism" of its name. It's a lovely little flower.
MSS of Zanthan Gardens & I were recently browsing the Great Outdoors Nursery in Austin. We happened upon a large vine in a container, growing on a trellis. Because it looked familiar I checked the tag and immediately squawked out something about "ChuckB" and "Hardenbergia" and "California". This public display of geekiness would have embarrassed a non-gardener but luckily MSS understood. The plant was pretty but not in the budget.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
waaaaaaaaou.
I heart your garden, Chuck and i love your blue bird too. You are a great photographer and a marvellous gardener.
Hi Chuck, I love your chaos! That is the way gardens should be. Thanks for the link love too, hooray for your Diane! Those flowers on the broad beans are beautiful. I planted some for the first time ever recently, they have not germinated yet. It said to plant them at the same time as the sugar snaps. I did and they are not up either, but it has been quite cold, warming today though so maybe they will pop up. Are you going to let your little daffs seed about?
Frances
Yes, quite an unfortunate name! I checked online and as Annie says its from 1910 when I guess things were VERY different. My husband, who is biracial, and who is fortunate to have very rarely encountered racism in his life, found the name a bit amusing but of course to others who have, it would be offensive. I know there's Hollyhock "Black Watchman" but at least that's not undignified.
I don't want to be over-sensitive about Crocus 'NB', but I also don't care to have America's race history played out in my garden. Not interested, at all.
Am planning to let all the Daffodils "seed out"...never heard of that construction before, but it's very apt!
Fava beans are commonly planted throughout fall and winter here, and turned under as a covercrop in the spring. Those roots are loaded with nodes of N-fixing bacteria. This was my first time.
I don't have a lot of planting schedules tied to blooms, but I think that's a neat idea. As it is, I just go by the calendar.
I want to try hand-feeding the scrub jay!
Annie, I'm glad to hear someone finally brought the Hardenbergia to Texas! Of course, I hope it turns out to be a well-behaved garden guest there, and not a conquering invader. Prices will go down, I imagine.
Your chaos is lovely, a bit of urban wilderness. The crocus is beautiful too, in spite of its name. Did you know that fava flowers are fragrant? And the tender young fava leaves are edible, although I haven't tried them myself.
I did not know that! Although I am not surprised. Will go check it out this morning. I will often break off the new growth on the snap peas and eat that.
We have Steller's Jays here. I think they have similar personalities. Very noisy and bossy to the other birds. I can't wait to see that many flowers blooming in my yard!
Ah, but such glorious chaos. Revel in all that green, it's gorgeous.
I like your scrub jay, I hope you can get pics if he eats out of your hand. I'm trying edamime beans this year, along with many other veggies. Gotta put my garden to work so it can fill the freezer!
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