Some Photos from Dec. 30, 2010

We haven't had much snow in my part of Nebraska, and it has all melted so far.  It is supposed to snow most of this weekend, and I am excited for a nice white blanket.  I just remembered that I was going to go out and plant some lettuce seeds in case it took a long time for the last snows to melt like it did last year, but I didn't make it out there.  I figured they wouldn't come up until the soil warms up enough, and if they didn't survive, I could always plant more.  I wonder if I can throw some onto the snow tomorrow.

I haven't been out to take photos since I took the tomato photos from the last post, December 30th.  I was tired of that being my last post, so decided to show how the curb bed looked then. It should be looking quite different soon.

When it gets to be this time of year, with the days getting longer, I get very excited about the prospect of the return of spring.  I have dreams where I'm starting to dig a garden, then realize it's an inside floor, and I wonder how it will grow, or else go by the gardens of others, and they have everything up, and I haven't planted anything yet.   Sometimes I dream that we've moved and I'm trying to figure out where I'm going to plant things.  Maybe because of getting garden fixes through blogging, I don't think I've had any of those dreams so far this winter.  Do you dream about gardening?

Arum italicum through the Season

I have done profiles of how different plants, such as amsonias and mountain mints do in my yard. I have been planning some more, and arum is one that I've had fun taking photos of at different times of the season. About 5 years ago, I picked out several kinds bulbs at a local nursery. I didn't know what arum was, but liked whatever I read on the tag. I planted 2 clumps that come up every spring, and die back as they are produing 1 to 3 weird stocks that get berries on them. The first year, my son liked them, and after looking them up, told me they were supposed to be in the shade. At first, I thought too much sun was why the leaves were dying back, but later found out that is normal. They actually have afternoon shade.

After looking it up this evening to see if there was anything else I should tell you about the plant, I found out it is invasive in warmer climates, and very hard to get rid of. I also found out the leaves and berries are poisonous. I recently transplanted a clump to the newest area of the street bed that was created as a result of the curb and street repair that was done this summer. I hope I'm not sorry. I'll have to keep my eye on them, but so far, they have not spread much. There are several interesting reviews of the plant at Dave's Garden. Here is a link to Rainy Side Gardeners for their information.

I just took photos of one of the clumps for these photos. This one seems to do better than the other, which doesn't always send the stock up. After seeing the photos on the web, I am wondering why this one doesn't send more up. It's probably drier than it would prefer.

5/6/09:

5/24/09:

5/30/09:

6/2/09:

6/9/09:

6/18/09:

6/28/09:

7/7/09:

7/7/09:

8/11/09:

8/16/09:

8/16/09:

9/18/09, it's died back:

10/6/09, it's coming up right in front of and in the lavender:

10/10/09:

11/25/09:

11/25/09, the clump I dug and planted in the new area a couple weeks before this, and forgot to water more than once:

So, let us know what experiences you have had with Arum italicum or tips on keeping it healthy, but not invasive.