Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Wildflower Wednesday and a Few Other Things

Our high today was 54 degrees, so Heidi and I went out to take photos to replace the snowy background and header photos on the blog.  I noticed a post today for Gail's Wildflower Wednesday, so took some photos for that, too, but then, when I went to my last month's post, saw that I had already put most of the little plants coming up in that one.  I also put a couple in my Foliage Follow-up post, so, I am just going to put one in.

I just planted a few of these Golden Alexanders last summer, and they haven't even bloomed yet.  I am very excited to see new growth, and hope they bloom this year.



I decided to emulate Gail and write information on growing Zizia Aureas, but when I went to do some research, found conflicting information.  Maybe it depends on what part of its range you grow it in.  It is a member of the carrot family, Apiaceae.  Some places said not to let it dry out, others said it can handle dry soil.  The size of the plant varies from 12 to 36 inches.  It has small yellow flowers on clusters that remind me of parsley blooms.  One of the reasons I was drawn to it, is that it is a host and nectar plant for black swallowtails.   I'm tickled to see the plants survived winter, and hope they grow well.

Some of the hellebore blooms (not native or wild) are now open, and I am so excited at the prospect of spring approaching!


I decided to include some photos that were taken the 19th.  The crocus blooms, also not native or wild, were more open than when I first posted them.


When I looked to see what kinds of veggies I had to make soup with, I discovered some carrots I had picked just before our first hard freeze.  Yuck!  


I'm glad I was able to pull these out of the mess, and clean them for the soup.


I hope you are having a great week, and enjoying the stages of spring you see on different blogs and wherever you live.  I am hoping by next month, I will have a better offering for Wildflower Wednesday.

24 comments:

  1. Beautiful Hellebores!
    Wonderful to salvage those carrots!
    Have a great day!
    Lea
    Lea's Menagerie

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  2. You have big carrots there, it looks sweet and crunchy!

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  3. Spring is popping up here too! Can't wait to see everyone's garden in a month or so!

    The Bama Gardener

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  4. Those carrots sure cleaned up nicely! I think I will try carrots again this year. I have never successfully grown them.

    My poor lonely little hellebore is doing zilch! Maybe it doesn't get enough sun?

    I like the promise of the new header. Won't it be fun so see it all leafy and flowering!

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  5. Wish I could grow hellebores, but alas. Love seeing your crocus blooms.

    Glad you were able to salvage carrots for some soup.

    Enjoy the beginning of spring.

    FlowerLady

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  6. Sue,

    Tasty tiny carrots from the garden are not for soup my dear.. These are snacks and very tasty, I gathered a few carrots yesterday, they never made it into the kitchen.

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  7. A member of the carrot family, how intriguing. I look forward to seeing it grow, and I hope you get lots of swallowtails!

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  8. Good to see your Golden Alexanders putting out new growth, Sue. I have been thinking about planting some of these myself this year. I saw some in full bloom at the Chicago Botanic Garden a few years ago, and they were stunning. Looks like we're about at the same stage in the garden--some of my crocuses are blooming, too, and I just found the first hellebore bud yesterday.

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  9. Sue, I'm ashamed to admit, but I've NEVER heard of Zizia before! It looks wonderful, I'll have to see if I can find some online :-)

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  10. Sue, signs of life are everywhere in your garden. Not the same here, yet, but that's ok. I hope mine sleeps a good two months yet, I'm not ready to hit the dirt.

    Love your hellebores and I bet those carrots were delicious!

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  11. I agre, those are yummy looking carrots! Sue, I planted zizia and look forward to seeing its bloom this year! It must need the cold you get to turn that cool purple! gail

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  12. I just finished looking outside at the puffy snow coating our backyard. I said "I'm thinking about going outside to get some shots." And my husband said, "I'm thinking about staying inside and having some shots." He was joking of course, but a heavy snow is my current fate. The spring blooms will have to wait. But the snow is very pretty. Can't wait to see your Hellebores in full bloom!

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  13. Hope more plants springs up and beautify your lovely garden.
    Cheers.

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  14. Hi Sue, I've not heard of Golden Alexanders. You do have some unusual plants in your garden. Your spring plants are way ahead of ours. I have no blooms whatsoever, and in fact, we got a big snow overnight.
    blessings, Beth

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  15. Hi Sue, I have golden Alexander and I love it. I originally planted heart-leaved Alexander because someone recommended it to me for the swallowtails. I've had it for several years but it has never done much. I don't think it gets enough moisture in my garden, since I rarely water. But then I got Golden Alexander (which I think is actually more commonly known even though it took me longer to find out about it) and it bloomed spectacularly the first year (which was two springs ago). The second year, last year, I had a two clumps. I vaguely remember intentionally picking some seeds and then immediately dropping them in a bare spot but it was the work of a moment. Now I dream about having a whole swath of them, because they were just so pretty at a time when I don't have much else, except I think I forgot to spread the seed around this fall. Still, it's good to know how easy it is to propagate and I will try to remember again this fall. I hope you find them just as easy and enjoyable.

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  16. Hello!
    Thanks for your visit and comment on my blog. I often wonder what my blog looks like to other people. I am new to blogging, and so need all the advice I can get! I have found width adjustments to be especially tricky.
    I enjoy reading your blog.
    Have a great week-end!
    Lea
    Lea's Menagerie

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  17. Looks like spring was in the garden when you took those photos. It's always exciting to see the plants you haven't seen for months perk themselves up again. The zizia is a plant I'd love to have in my garden, something about the delicate blooms.

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  18. Great pictures. Thanks for sharing.

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  19. I always enjoy pictures from your garden. I forget about my garden through the winter months and then sometime in February/March, when the warmer climates are heading into their spring, my interest in gardening reignites and long for sunny days outside with my shovel and spade! :) The carrots look yummy (after the cleanup that is!) and I hope your soup was great! Going to have to go back through posts that I've missed for inspiration! ;)

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  20. Darn! I was in the middle of typing a comment and it all mysteriously disappeared. Hope you don't get it twice.

    Conflicting information in the gardening world! Imagine that! LOL That bowl of orange carrots look so pretty to me. No crocuses blooming here. We're expecting 50s this week so maybe then I'll see some action in the flower beds.

    No, the birds didn't eat much of the seed hearts because the squirrels managed to lift the ribbons off the hooks and then runaway with the hearts. My husband found one heart buried in the dirt (where there had been some thawing) with only the red ribbon sticking out. Thanks for asking and thank you for being such a faithful blogger friend.

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  21. Hello. Everything is looking wonderful!

    Diane

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  22. Nice carrots, Sue. I've never heard of that first plant you feature and the leaves look a lot like a miniature rose. Love your hellebores and crokies. Yep. Spring is trying to come.

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  23. I have never heard of Zizia. Intersesting that it is a plant for the Black Swallowtail. A perfect reason to grow it n my book.

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I welcome comments and questions from anyone, including those who do it anonymously. Some people find my posts by doing searches, and I like hearing from them. I guess spammers won't even read this message, but I will delete spam as soon as I see it.