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Ocelot Iris wowing me in the spring garden…

This ocelot iris just opened and it’s living up to it’s advertising. It’s a tall beared iris and I planted it in the front bed in September of ’08. It’s only bloomed twice. Those years, its bloom was a very faded creamy yellow and a dusty mauve — no where near the vibrant colors I fell in love with when I ordered them from Spring Hill. And I even complained about it on my blog here.

But this must have been the year. Maybe it was the drought. Maybe it was the rains. Maybe it was the mild winter.

Whatever it was, I’m happy. She’s a beautiful vision of ruffled loveliness.

Ahhh, spring! Do you have irises blooming in your garden now?

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:17-06:00March 22nd, 2012|Blog, bulbs, iris, Ocelot iris, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

Replenishing, rejuvenating rain in the garden…

We’ve been given another gift of rain this week. Tied up in a lovely wet bow, our gardens are drinking it in, happy to have the thirst-quenching relief from our frightening drought.

We’re not out of the woods yet in Central Texas — we’re still in an official drought. But our fall and winter rains have reduced the severity of the drought. It has been down-graded from the most critical level of last summer — exceptional — to moderate. (There are five levels outlined by the U.S. Drought Monitor – from abnormally dry to exceptional.)

A brief bout of garbanzo bean-sized hail at our house yesterday gave me quite a scare — I was cringing for the daffodils, blue bonnets and vegetables. But they’ve all weathered the storm and are doing fine. They are a little droopy today, but not damaged. (I realized after tweeting that yesterday that only a gardener would describe the hail as garbanzo-bean sized, since it was bigger than pea-sized. It only occurred to me later that non-gardeners might have called it marble-sized!)

The mountain laurels are in full bloom here, and the row along the driveway is looking green and juicy with all the rain. And I can’t seem to get enough of their wonderful grape-like aroma, which conjures up summer Kool-aid memories for me.

My rain barrels are all full — which is great — but it’s still raining. I wish I had more of them, but we’re talking about getting a rainwater collection system. Maybe that needs to move up on my to-do list for next week so we don’t miss any more of this precious spring rain.

Are you enjoying some rejuvenating rain in your garden today?

By Diana C. Kirby|2019-07-15T19:14:40-05:00March 10th, 2012|Blog, bulbs, drought, rain, Sharing Nature's Garden, Texas Mountain Laurel|0 Comments

Daffodils and spring bulbs in bloom…

Almost all of my daffodils are up and putting on a spring show of blooms. Only one late-blooming variety is waiting to open. This one is a Double Campernelle, or Narcissus odorus plenus.
These are the ‘Yellow Fortune’ daffodils – I’ve lost quite a few of them in recent years – I suspect the drought has been hard on them.

I cannot locate the label for these pretties right now – they are packed away in a massive garage clean-out before installation of cabinets next week (cabinets to hide away all my garden *stuff* that seemed to have taken over the garage). These are my first pale yellow daffodils and I must say I like them. They seem almost illuminated on a pretty day.

I think this is Jonquilla ‘Simplex’.

These are the lovely and always prolific “Tete a tete” — a shorter variety — about 8 inches tall and very dense.

My new Muscari ‘Dark Eyes’ are all coming up and filling in nicely, making a pretty, purple textured carpet against the grey of the winter mulch.
Pretty in purple are the hyacinths of unknown variety, courtesy of HEB’s indoor planter two years ago.
This Hellebore is Helleborus x hybridus `Gold Finch’ with beautiful contrast. I just had to have this one since we have so many goldfinches in the wooded garden bed where this is planted.
Another unlabeled Hellebore (also known as a Lenten Rose) — I just love those wispy markings in the center. They are hard to see and photograph, though, because of their growth habit and how they demurely keep their blooms bowed down. It also means I have to lie on the ground and hold up the foliage to try to get a photo.
This is muscari golden fragrance. They are a delicate yellow and have a wonderful scent.

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:40:02-05:00February 24th, 2012|Blog, bulbs, daffodils, double campernelle, Hellebore, hyacinth bulbs, hyacinths, Jonquilla Simplex, Muscari, muscari dark eyes, narcissus, narcissus odorus plenus, Sharing Nature's Garden, tete-a-tete|0 Comments

Spring bulbs are starting to bloom…

Ah…the promise of spring.

When renewal is in the air and the garden begins to awaken from a long winter’s nap. Well, not really this year. It was more like a quick cat nap.

I love it when the early spring bulbs start coming up and making buds. The daffodils, the muscari, the irises … they are are all putting on their finery.

These are the true harbingers of spring.

And they are some of my favorite favorites in the garden. (I really have too many favorites to count.)

I’m especially fond of the daffodils – there are up to 200 different species of them. I just have a handful of the different varieties, but it’s so much fun to see how unique they can be.

Japanese quince is another reliable plant that signals the arrival of spring. I think of it as an nice old historic plant – you often find very large ones in the gardens of older homes in central Austin. I imagine them being lovingly planted decades ago and being cared for by successive families over the years.

Mine is still small, but those delicate salmony-rose blooms are sure to bring a smile to my face every time I pass by.
These sweet little peeks are traditional muscari (grape hyacinths) that came home from the grocery store with me in a mixed bulb pot and then found their way into the garden to bloom another day. And bloom they do. This will be their third year to perk up the mulch on a drab day.
These are very special little specimens — muscari golden fragrance. Unlike most muscari, these are not the tell-tale purple, but rather a soft yellow and they have a wonderful scent. They are very low to the ground – about 5 inches high – so I literally have to get down on the ground to get a whiff of them. But it’s worth it!
Are you enjoying any early season bloomers in your garden yet?

By Diana C. Kirby|2016-04-14T02:40:02-05:00January 27th, 2012|Blog, bulbs, daffodils, hyacinth bulbs, hyacinths, japanese quince, Muscari, quince, scented blooms, Sharing Nature's Garden, spring|0 Comments

Spectacular Sprekelia

This Sprekelia is one of my favorite plants. It’s also known as an Aztec Lily or Jacobean Lily (Sprekelia formosissima).

But it’s not really a lily at all.

Sprekelia is a small genus of only two species in the Amaryllidaceae family from Mexico. So, it’s more like an Amaryllis.

Mine are about 16 inches tall and grow very well in dappled shade with some afternoon sun. They take a normal amount of water (whatever’s normal for Central Texas!) I do water them — they are not drought tolerant.

Once they’ve bloomed in late spring, the foliage just disappears completely in the summer, like other spring bulbs.

The plant does not set seed and its flowers are sterile.

They grow slowly, though. I’d love to share, but my cluster of them hasn’t expanded much over the last 6 or 7 years that I think I’ve had them, so they aren’t ready to be divided. (Or, I’m not yet ready to divide them)

The are right outside our breakfast room window, so I get to look at them every time I eat or work at the table, and they are in front of the birdbath, so it’s a lovely sight.

I love all the plants in my garden (well, most of them). But there are a few favorites that bring special joy, and my Sprekelia are among them.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:23-06:00May 20th, 2011|amaryllis, Blog, bulbs, lily, Sharing Nature's Garden, sprekelia|0 Comments

Sunshine sprouting in my garden…

The days may be gray outside right now, but the promise of spring is sprouting in my garden. Many different bulbs are peeking up out of the earth.

Most of my bulbs are daffodils. I love that bright yellow against the backdrop of winter. And since there are deer roaming here, this is one of the bulbs that they generally leave alone.
This is a fragrant yellow Muscari, Muscari macro ‘Golden Fragrance.’ While I strayed from my daffodils on this planting, I did choose a unusual yellow muscari to keep with the color theme.
Welcoming seasonal surprises is part of the fun of gardening for me. (Sometimes it’s part of the frustration as well!) I don’t remember what I planted here. Though I wrote down all the bulbs I planted in this whole bed last year, I don’t remember what went in this specific spot.
I do know that these are passalong irises from one of my many garden blogging friends.
These are my new favorite daffodils — they are teeny-tiny and the blooms are just precious. They are Daffodil Jonquilla ‘Simplex.’ I wrote about them last spring in this post.

So while I am bundled up inside reading seed catalogs and planning the vegetable garden, my bulbs are outside, getting ready to shower the spring garden with a little sunshine.

By Diana C. Kirby|2017-11-29T23:27:25-06:00January 13th, 2011|Blog, bulbs, daffodils, Jonquilla Simplex, Muscari, Sharing Nature's Garden|0 Comments

bulbs

Ocelot Iris wowing me in the spring garden…

Replenishing, rejuvenating rain in the garden…

Daffodils and spring bulbs in bloom…

Spring bulbs are starting to bloom…

Spectacular Sprekelia

Sunshine sprouting in my garden…

Escape in the garden