Cold Climate Gardening

Yes, I know the Garden Bloggers Bloom Day was yesterday the day before yesterday. I didn’t get finished in time. So just pretend this is May 15th, okay? (As always, hover your mouse over any thumbnail for a caption, and click on any photo for a larger image.)
Narcissus
Let’s start off with the narcissus. The early daffodils are all gone, but the later ones are in their prime. Do you remember those new ones I told you about? Let’s start with them.

Left to right, the most recently opened first: Malin Head, Achnasheen, Rimmon, Eland, and (second row) Vernal Prince. Angel doesn’t look like it will bloom, as Mr. Burdick suspected. It’s been a cool spring–until today, when it got up to 88F–and many of my daffodils have remained good looking for a long time. Here’s more that are blooming right now:

Popularity: 50% [?]

In September 2004 I planted 4 different Corydalis bulbs that I had ordered from Odyssey Bulbs. They promised to be exquisite, so I could hardly wait until spring, and started patroling the vicinity as soon as the snow had melted. I especially wanted to see Corydalis bracteata (not offered this year), which owner Russell Stafford described thus:

Take Corydalis solida, enlarge its flowers, color them a rich, buttery yellow, and increase its vigor, and you’ve got this lovely species.

Did I mention I love yellow in the spring? Tragically (this is a gardener speaking), I never got to see this wonderful plant. There was a vole tunnel going directly to the spot marked by the tag. Voles! I screamed internally. Why was there no mention of rodents in the catalog? I could have taken precautions! Having thus become attuned to the grave threat to all my corydalis darlings, I looked over the rest of the planting locations with trepidation. Phew. Everyone else seemed okay.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Some of you may recall that my first acquistion of Colchicum byzantinum ‘Album’ was an impostor. This beauty is undoubtedly the real thing. Not only is it white, but it has the same structure of petals and general floriferous character of the species. I just received and planted this earlier this autumn from Odyssey Bulbs, and it bloomed like a well-established clump. I had thought the first photo was as good as it was going to get, but I was pleasantly surprised. Whoever edited the Colchicum species …

Popularity: 9% [?]

I bought this from Odyssey Bulbs because I wanted to see how it compared with the C. speciosum I had gotten from another source several years earlier. Wouldn’t you know it, I forgot to take a whiff of the newcomer. But it looks pretty much like the other speciosum. I guess having a lilac tube is no longer considered typical. Photo taken September 23.

Popularity: 7% [?]

My two plum trees arrived yesterday. I have been very pleased with the condition and packing of everything that I’ve bought from St. Lawrence Nurseries. The plants are always well wrapped and in good condition. I can tell a lot of personal work went into packing the plants. So far I’ve bought grape vines, a cherry tree, an apple tree, and now two plum trees from St. Lawrence Nurseries. These plum trees are the largest trees I’ve received from them. They both stood at around five feet with good root systems. A good deal for only $6.50 each.

Popularity: 4% [?]

It’s colchicum season again, both for planting and blooming. What’s a colchicum? Well, I gave this brief explanation last year, when colchicum season was in full force. Since colchicums bloom in September and October, they need to be mailed out earlier than the other bulbs you plant in the fall. My colchicum order from Odyssey Bulbs came yesterday and I planted it today. Here’s what came in my box:

Popularity: 6% [?]

The peonies from Reath’s came on Monday the 7th, but because of various commitments I couldn’t plant them until Thursday. They came wrapped in plastic with wood shavings to keep them damp, and then the whole shebang was packed in straw or hay–the first time I ever saw that used as a shipping material. I was anxious about leaving them go for so long, alternately fearing they would dry out or rot from too much moisture. I opened up the plastic bag and kept checking them to reassure myself. At night I would seal the bag back up.

I figured each plant would get a 3 ft. by 3 ft. space, which is what I gave all the other …

Popularity: 21% [?]