Spring rules

[KyushuCalanthe]

Lovely time of year around the yard.

First, the backyard. Spanish moss, a long way from home, but it doesn't seem to be complaining.

And the side yard by the office. Sedum and oxalis.

Then there's the street-side wisteria.

Lucky me can also play behind a neighbor's house in a place I call "the woodland garden". This really white flushing hosta is always startling. I think it is the form known in the west as 'White Feather'.

Continuing with the white theme is American bloodroot 'Multiplex' doing its thing.

Or how about this coffee relative, a native of the local forests, Ophiorrhiza japonica, easy to grow here at least.

Still not impressed? I like this multi-petaled unnamed Hellebore I got on sale a couple years back as a seedling, more green than white, but nice.

This blue form of Anemone nemorosa brightens the woodland orchid bed early in the season.

Continuing with the blue theme is a woodland native gentian, Gentiana zolleringeri, a common roadside "weed".

All this and spring ain't over yet.

 

[NYEric]

Wow for that hosta! Thanx for sharing.
When I first looked I mistakenly thought the was a post from biothan. I'm surprised to see the moss alive in a place w/ such varied temperature swings!

 

[paphioboy]

Beautiful... My season here is the direct opposite of yours now. I'm amazed plants can photosynthesise without green leaves (the hosta)...

 

[Heather]

Very interesting Hosta. I just *love* multiplex!

 

[Shiva]

A white Hosta? That's news to me. I also love the Wisteria, something I haven't be able to grow here. Quite a nice place you have.

 

[Hera]

Everything is beautiful, I'm partial to the Hosta. Thanks for the look at spring. Its not gotten very far here.

 

[Marc]

I like the bloodroot and the hosta a lot. I have a nice shadow section in the backyard were I have about 5 different types of hosta.

 

[Dido]

Nice pict thanks for share

 

[ohio-guy]

I think this hosta will green up some as the season progresses. But wow, it certainly is striking at this point isn't it? There are a couple cultivars like that.

 

[W. Beetus]

Great pictures! I like the bloodroot a lot!

 

[etex]

Awesome plants and blooms! Thanks for giving us a peak!

 

[SlipperFan]

I'm definitely impressed!

I bought a couple of those white hostas a couple years ago. They didn't do so well last year, so I'm hoping they are sill alive.

 

[Heather]

I think this hosta will green up some as the season progresses. But wow, it certainly is striking at this point isn't it? There are a couple cultivars like that.

So is this true? Will they turn more towards the fairly common variegated ones or more yellow/limey overall or what?

I was taken in the other day by an article in the most recent issue of Martha Stewart's magazine (don't laugh, her iPad version has made me never want to buy another print magazine again, it is so well done!) where she does a white garden which includes a lot of the spring ephemerals, including bloodroot, trillium, some lovely white tree wisterias, variegated hostas, etc. and coupled with the photos here, and the fact that I am missing my New England wilds, AND that most of my orchids now are white and variegated, it has all gotten me thinking about ideas for the future! I dislike common hostas, but they would be at home in a garden like that!

 

[Yoyo_Jo]

Beautiful photos of spring! :clap:

 

[JeanLux]

Great pics of your yard plantation Tom!!!! Interesting gentian 'weed' !!!!
As Eric, I wonder if the spanish moss could spend winter outside at your place? Jean

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Glad you all enjoyed the pics. It is a fun time, but also terribly busy for me between my school and the gardens.

Eric, Spanish moss likely was native to the south end of the Delmarva Peninsula when that area was covered in swampland. Nowadays it is found as far north as The Dismal Swamp near Norfolk, Virginia. Jean's suggestion that it might live up your way is very likely a bit optimistic I think though. I think the key issue is high average humidity and an average temperature above the freezing mark. It can take down to the high teens at least, but not on a continuous basis. The climate here is quite moderate and the temperature swings are not that great really with the absolute coldest at perhaps 23 F and hottest around 97 F. It rarely gets below 30 degrees or above 94 however.

Heather, the hosta does indeed turn light green in summer and also flowers nicely. It is of course most interesting right out of the box with those yellow/white leaves. As an interesting side note, this year I've got some white flushing Cycas revoluta sometimes called the "golden cycad". They too flush yellow/white and light green by late summer.

 

[JeanLux]

Thanks Tom!!! It is not able to endure luxembourg winter outside; this has been tested here !! Jean

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Here's a clump of Cyp. formosanum that started from just a single growth 5 years ago. It currently has 10 growths and 9 flowers. Once these get going they expand nicely.

Sorry about the "soccer goal" background. Gotta keep the critters out.

 

[paphioboy]

Amazing clump of cyps! You gotta have 11 of them to make a soccer team..

 

[Marc]

Never seen this cyp before but I'm impressed, thanks for sharing!