Siberian bugloss/Brunnera 'Jack Frost'

Karen

Caryl

Sue

Brad AKA Moonwolf

Lois - from what I've read/heard, growing Siberian bugloss from seed is nigh on impossible. If I think I can harvest seed, you can bet I will try. I bought the original plant and last year it was large enough to divide so now I have two. I'm hoping our 8 ft. of snow last winter means they'll have plenty of moisture this summer.

Shirley - I bought 'Jack Frost' 4 years ago. It didn't do well where I originally planted it in part sun so now it's in nearly full shade with just early morning sun. It also doesn't like dry so I'm surprised it survived last year's drought.

Caryl - I think what you asked about was photo #3 which is cushion spurge/euphorbia polychroma 'Bonfire.' Cushion spurge is one of those "plant it and forget it" perennials...comes up in the same spot every year, grows to exactly the same size, doesn't self-seed or need watering, pruning, pinching, staking or fertilizer. I've had my original plant, which has green foliage rather than purple/burgundy, for 20+ years--even moved it here from my old house.

cAROL - I took a wide shot of the bench with the daffodils behind it but haven't uploaded it yet. I'll post more photos here later this evening. I've been busy potting up sprouts today and opening jugs so they could soak up the sun.

Sue & Brad - photo #3 is cushion spurge/euphorbia polychroma 'Bonfire.' #6 is Fritillaria imperialis/crown imperial. It's a bulb. My mom planted 4 about 35 years ago (that's all she could afford--they're awfully expensive) and when I dug them up there were 40 of them about 2 ft. down. I gave some away to her neighbors that looked after her and planted the rest in the big flowerbed where my bench is. They're spectacular...and smell like SKUNK!!! The leaves, the flowers, the stems...even the bulbs themselves stink of skunk which is why there's not a critter on earth that will eat the bulbs. The foliage is not, unfortunately, unappealing to the dreaded red lily leaf beetle.

:)

Pulmonaria/lungwort 'Raspberry Splash'

Leonard Messel magnolia

Periwinkle

Hellebore/Lenten rose 'Regal Ruffles'

Up next: the white bleeding heart. Here's a shot from last year to whet your whistles:

Sure wish I'd get some flowers on my Hellobores. I bought them as plants (7, bare roots, about 3 seasosn ago). The foliage is up and looks stronger than ever, but no buds.

But keep posting your photos. They're beautiful and so enjoyable.

Caryl

Can I ask, how are you getting your pictures up without a link? My understanding was that if the GW forum has a camera next to it you can upload, but if no camera you need to add by linking to another site. I'm clicking on your pics and they are static. I'd love to add some of my own, but can't figure out h ow!!!

Beatrice, posting photos is a little awkward, but you must upload the photo to a photo hosting website or folder on a web server, and then embed a link to the photo in your post.

Usually you can copy the html code for the link from the photo site or type it yourself (if you can do a little html). Then the photo will display in the middle of the post!

nan-6161 - I'm SO tempted to post a picture of a dandelion!!! I waited (not patiently) 2-3 years for flowers on my hellebores so don't give up on yours. When they bloom, it'll be worth the wait.

Gardenunusual - I think they're gorgeous too!!

Caryl - Thank you! Glad you enjoy the pictures. Send me an email and maybe we can work out which photo was confusing you. Cushion spurge doesn't resemble a daffodil so I think we have an identity crisis with the pictures. I'm looking forward to the verbascum 'Milkshake' I WS last year blooming this year too. It has lots of healthy, new green growth on it but I haven't seen any signs of flower stems yet. Posting pictures is no walk in the park but once you know how...well, it doesn't get any easier if you ask me but at least it's finally possible .

tomva - I love the whites too! They just pop against all the green/purple/red/pink/yellow etc.

Shirley - I'll be glad to keep posting pictures since I enjoy seeing them as much as the rest of you. The white bleeding heart is 4 years in that spot which is full shade on the north side of my garage. Mom & Dad practiced organic gardening here for 40+ years before I moved back home so no matter where I dig, the soil is dark brown and healthy with big, fat worms. Those white bleeding hearts have produced more and more blooms as each season passes which tells me they're pretty happy right where they are. Do you have yours in full shade/part shade? I don't think my red/pink ones ever had so many flowers where I lived before as the white ones do here. Oh, and go ahead and fret after your petunia seedlings while I fret over my California poppies that haven't sprouted. We might as well fret together!!!

beatrice - The lenten roses require patience and this year I was finally rewarded for mine. My pulmonaria were both from White Flower Farms (which = NOT CHEAP) but I figured the drought last year finished them. They're up again but neither 'Gaelic Sunset' nor 'Raspberry Splash' is looking too robust thus far. I upload my pictures to Imageshack.com and then copy the path from their website and post it here with the brackets around it. It's free and I don't store them on the website--just use it for uploading.

There, I think I covered everything/answered everyone's questions. I took a few more pictures when I went walkabout this afternoon--the poet's narcissus are blooming and they're adorable!

Great photos! Spring here has some catching up to do, many blooms are late this year!