Don't you just love spring - everything is so fresh and lovely? I love everything you have posted. You have a wonderful plant collection.

Michelle

Marie, so very few of your lovely flowers are the same kinds that I grow. The Anemone blanda, and the narcissus are the only ones, and I don't have that particular narcissus ( I'm sure).
Most of yours are most likely not right for here due, to our humid summers, and milder winters.
I love all of your pics. They are excellent.

Which variety of corydalis it that? Also the first epimedium...? I've tried several of the blue corydalis with no luck here. The white stuff seeds around like crazy. I love it but I'd like some blue ones too. That purply-blue epimedium is a stunner! Are these Lost Horizons purchases...?

Wonderful pictures, Bug! I always love to see what's going on at the farm!

Wow Marie, everything looks absolutely fabulous! What a wonderful display you have this time of the year. Love all your primulas and epimedium.

Deanne

Woody, I posted a reply earlier...but it has vanished. I'll try once more.

The corydalis was a weed at a friend's house. Before she eradicated it I managed to get a couple. Perhaps they'll take over here too? We'll see.

The nicest blue corydalis in my opinion is C. elata. I've had it for years and love the color and the neat form. It is the only blue one that returns for me. I bought it locally, so keep an eye out for it when you visit nurseries. Do you ever go to Terra? Maybe they have it? There must be other nurseries near you too.

The epimedium may have come from LH but I'm not sure. I haven't been there in a while. He tends to carry Asian epimediums at a hefty price. I have found that less expensive ones do quite well, like lilafee, which is lavender and floriferous.

Hi flowerluvr! Glad you dropped by.

Hi Deanne! I even bought coleus the other day. Can't help but think of your cuttings when I do that though...

Marie, I think I've looked at these about 10 times already-so exquisite ! I love the epemediums, something I have never tried; I think you have tipped the scales with these photos. I have aspot under a birch that I think would be perfect and now features nemerous things that I would not be sad to lose.

Look forward to more !

Kathy in Napa

I'm glad you posted another thread, Gardenbug, you have so many spring beauties! You have a few that I haven't tried yet. The Corydalis, for one, very interesting form and color. I'm wondering what the name of the last epimedium is? The Erythronium is very exotic looking. Is that hard to grow? Picky about location or soil? I love Fritillaria but so does the dreaded Red Lily Leaf Beetle here. I haven't seen that yellow one before, so elegant. That Gillenia has such different and lush foliage, I really like it and hope you will post a photo of it when it blooms. Hellebores are on my hot list lately. You have some very full and healthy clumps there. I don't think I could choose a favorite, they each have their own charm. I keep buying more and more. That is one healthy, fine looking Pasque Flower. Between you and Michelle, I may have to get me one of those. The spring green tulip is also very elegant. You must be so excited to get home in time to see everything blooming so nicely. And no flood this spring? Thanks for the tour! I look forward to installment #3. :-)

GB - thanks for identifying those - I will look for them. I've never had any blue corydalis return at all but I'll try again... There are several Terras around here and I do go to them a fair bit - they usually have a good range of stock at reasonable prices. I haven't been to any garden center so far this year. I'm waiting until the new bed is finished so I have somewhere to put things! I've really run out of space here now so have only limited places to add new plants - one of the big drawbacks of smaller gardens!

I have an important clematis question for you.... I want to rejuvenate the Vyvyan Pennell clematis on the front porch. It makes such a lovely show but gave up climbing a couple of years ago after being winter-killed on the top half two years in a row. I'm thinking that, after it flowers next month, I'll cut it almost totally down to the ground, give it fertilizer and hope it regrows tall again. What do you think? Will that likely work or am I likely to kill it entirely?

Woody, I don't have much experience rejuvenating this type of clematis. I have had rabbits do it for me...and had only very feeble return of the vine taking several years. Why not try a less drastic approach and cut it back to eye or shoulder level. Besides, there will be winter kill again in the future no doubt, so why not enjoy it sooner? Maybe you'll even get bloom on it in late summer and more growth from the base. I guess I'd compare it to a gradual approach in getting a shorter hair style. ;)

GB - the problem is that it is already way below eye or shoulder height - more like ankle to knee level! I'd be quite happy if it achieved eye or shoulder height :-) Here it is from last June 20th or so:
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It's been at that height for several years now and is a tangle of messy stems under those flowers. It's also leaning out over the kerb onto the driveway and walkway so gets broken off a lot. Maybe if I just cut all the stems to the lowest pair of growth points?

Winterkill isn't really the right word - more like spring frost-kill. In the first couple of years it grew to the top of the lattice but then kept trying to leaf out in March/early April so the new growth got zapped by frosts. I figure if I can get it to grow tall again, I'll throw horticultural fleece over it on frosty nights instead of letting it tough it out on its own. I really should just yank it I know and replace it with a group 3 but it is so beautiful when it blooms that I can't quite bring myself to do it!

Woody, I have a Huldine (group 3) which does the same thing. It was tall and glorious for 3-4 years and then it settled into this new knee-hugging spreading pattern. It is still pretty, but I guess after being used to a tall vine it comes as a bit of a disappointment. Every year I tell myself that I will attach the new shoots to the trellis as soon as they appear to encourage height, but I seem to miss the timing...like this year when I was in Edmonton. I'm still going to try. I fertilized it plenty before I left.

But mine is a different case because it is a different pruning group. Yours is certainly a wonderful bright spot just where it is though. :) Maybe keep trying to train the shoots upward as much as possible. I used to have clips for this but I guess that horticultural green tie tape would work too. It is a fussy delicate business though. Keep me posted!

Woody, I would be tickled pink if I had a clematis that lovely! I have had only two that even came close to that many blooms. The first was Dutchess of Edenburgh,a double, but it has since become mostly hidden by an over exuberant spreading juniper. The second is Ernest Markham, which is bare up to about 4' on the trellis, thanks to the deer? Both are white blooms.

Marian, I wonder if you put wire caging around the base of the clematis if the deer would leave it alone and allow it to fill out a bit. EM is a clematis that gets pruned back in early spring normally. The problem I see is that EM is NOT a white clematis, so I wonder what you are dealing with! ;)

When I was in Alberta I saw amazing cages to protect trees from the mule deer that wander about there. I took some pictures of them for the Idylls and will go look for those now...

Found them. Aren't they ugly? I suppose by the time the trunk is strong that the cages can be removed.
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And the deer.
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Woody...Your clematis blooms better than many I've seen and is gorgeous. It would be a shame to try to move it and lose it. I wonder if you could just keep the growth around the bottom that is getting in the way trimmed back and add another clematis that might climb better for you to give you the height, if you could maneuver it to grow up behind this one. Maybe a Group 3 that blooms later and is more frost tolerant? The only other thought I had was, what about mulching it heavily in the hopes it would take longer for it to start coming up?

I have thought about maybe trying to add another one - a group 3 (what is that beautiful one you always suggest gb and I keep intending to get but can't think where to put it... Huldane maybe or Etoile Violet...?) The big problem is - if you look at the space, there's barely room to grow what's there now - the bed's only about 1' wide at most and the driveway comes right up to the kerb you see. Heaven knows how we got it planted there in the first place! I do keep trying to tie stems in to the lattice; maybe I'll just keep trying harder but it only seems to produce short stem now. The other thing I'm thinking I might try is just dropping in morning glory seeds and let the morning glories do the climbing. Ripping off the morning glory stems shouldn't be too hard each fall or spring. Maybe I'll give that a shot....

Oh good heavens! Why did I say "Ernest Markham???? I 'know' it is red! The single white that I was speaking of is Henryi !

I keep misspeling Duchess, too. :-(
I add a 't' as if I thought it is Dutch!!!!
I worry about myself!

Gorgeous Spring you're having GB! I am really falling in love with epimediums and plan on adding many to the Goddess Garden.

Woody, that is one ugly fencing job. I believe I'd give in to the deer before I'd live with that :)

I think that Clematis that has decided to become a groundcover for Woody is beautiful. I'd be inclined to cut it right off and see what happens, personally. Dear friends of our's (who owned a nursery for years) always maintain that plants would rather live than die and that if at least some of its cultural requirements are met they'll continue on. I wonder if the microclimate near the house and the walkway (a heat sink) encourages it to bud up too soon?

Lol about the comment on the fencing, Saucy. A flashlight a rifle and a belligerant dog might help, too. ;)

'bug, I love Epimedium and have a particular fondness for groundcovers in general. Your's are really handsome. And the checkered regularity of the Fritillaria is just super. Though, like PM, I am cautious about them, since the arrival of that horrid (but beautiful) Lily Leaf Beetle.

I just love the delicate beauty of early spring flowers and you have captured them exquisitely. Epimedium is one of my new favorites too. I found a lilafee a couple of years ago after you showed photos and adore it. Thanks for sharing!

Mary

Wonderful!! I can't get over what a fantastic assortment of plants you have! I love that Corydalis and first Epimedium too! I agree with you on Gillenea, it is a great plant and has a nice fern-y habit. Stellar plants and pics!
CMK