Happy Birthday Hanna!

Animated image courtesy of Bull Creek Jack Russells

Today is a special day for Hanna and both of us ... she'll be celebrating her very first birthday! (And her 3+ month tenure as the reigning pup of the house!) On the (albeit) sketchy vet records we got from her Foster Mom (which date from 10/20/08), their best estimate of her age at that time was 6 months, so counting back, that means she was probably born around April 20, 2008 ... so lacking a more precise (or verifiable) date, we decided to adopt that as her "official" birthday. So today, we're going to make her day all about her as much as possible ... when Fernymoss gets home from work, he'll take her on a nice, long walkie and when she gets back, she'll have a special dinner to celebrate ... no cake, of course, but I did stock up on the treats today and we'll likely spoil her rotten tomorrow night and stuff the Kong at least once (if not twice) and give her (even) more cuddles and love than we usually do, so she knows that something special is going on....

Sunday night I realized we hadn't taken any recent "cuteness" pictures of her so I commissioned Fernymoss to come up with something I could post ... We decided to see what we could get by giving her one of her favorite (non-meaty) treats to play with ... a couple of ice cubes! These three shots are the best we could come up with (Hanna didn't seem to want to do "cute on command" tonight!) ... Here she is getting ready to pounce again on the ice cube.

For some reason, here she seems a bit perplexed ... again, one of those moments when we wish we could read what she was thinking at that particular instant....

And here's the inevitable "chomp!" as she's done playing with the ice cube and gets serious about devouring it. I know it's a kind of paltry advance on a birthday treat, but hey, we were trying to force cuteness, and this seemed the quickest way. We just need to be more consistent about having the camera handy downstairs to capture the more spontaneous moments we see every day....

Sunday marked the two week waiting period after the end of her course of medicine for the Giardia parasite she was positive for on her last fecal exam, so we had to collect another sample to take in for analysis. With any luck, I won't hear from the vet's clinic on Tuesday, which means she's clear of the parasite and we can stay away from the vet's until Fall when she gets her rabies vaccine renewed. We really like Dr. B, but the fewer visits we can make out there, the better! She's now totally current on all her vaccinations and has a 6 month supply of her heartworm preventative and we'll be starting the Frontline (flea and tick preventative) as soon as we can get back to Petco and they actually have the one appropriate for her size in stock (last time they were out of the <20 pound formulation).

We also had them scan her microchip today just to make sure it was reporting the correct number (and yay! it did!), because her Foster Mom called me last week to tell me that the clinic where she has her rescue dogs microchipped had contacted her saying that some of them apparently weren't scanning correctly and she wanted us to check, just to make sure that Hanna was registered correctly. So that was a relief ... so if ever she should get lost, she'll be registered with the microchip service, as well as the city (via her license) so she won't ever end up in a pound or a shelter again. It seems like these past 3 months since she came to live with us have just flown by and we feel like she has been with us much longer because she has adapted so well to her new environment. We were just talking last night about how easy the transition has been for all of us ... none of the typical "Marley style" puppy trauma and drama (except for those two "acting out" episodes that happened while I was gone) one usually expects with a new pup. For a little girl who is just hitting the one year old mark, she's remarkably well adjusted and mature and seems to love her new life here with us ... she knows the routines now and is so quick to learn (and loves) new things. We're really looking forward to the summer months when we can be outside with her more and work on some of those agility activities we're planning for her (and get video of that!).....

Once again, we can only consider ourselves truly fortunate that she came into our lives when she did, because she has brought nothing but joy and energy to help fill the void left by the departures of Pepa and Rolly. Of course, I remain convinced that they and my previous dog Coco had their paws in the whole adoption ... if there's such a thing as doggie Guardian Angels, they are certainly watching over her and helping her chart a great and very happy path....

In my previous post, I had mentioned that on Friday I had started to get some shots of the gardens after work, but didn't get very far before Fernymoss got home from work ... so here's a couple of pictures of just how floriferous the Daffodils have become over the past few days ... after taking what seemed forever, they now seem to be popping all at once! The Tulips and Hyacinths aren't too far behind, and I've been seeing some Tulip buds setting on, and the Species Tulips (the dwarf varieties) should be blooming in just a few days, so you can expect to see those beauties soon!

This time of the year is what makes the whole effort of planting bulbs worth it ... seeing our old friends return in force to spread their color around the garden areas ... of course, like any of the flowers we have, it's fleeting, but these are the times to savor as the real gardening season gets going in earnest. On Saturday, we saw that our favorite garden center (located at a local grocery store where we shop) had opened up with their first stock of the season. They don't have a whole lot yet, but they did have some exquisite Pansies and organic peppers and herbs, so we picked up some Serrano peppers (which are hard to find around here for some odd reason) and a new "giant" variety of Italian Flat Leaf Parsley (the only kind to plant) that we're going to get planted very soon. Given the pathetic performance of our peppers the last few years, I think I'm just going to plant these in large pots this year and see what happens. The Parsley will go in the ground in the herb bed next to the patch I got started from seed last year. Pretty soon it will be time to plant the Cilantro and Basil, once we're more confident that there will be no further frosts (never a sure thing here in Zone 5a until well into May).

Yes, FARfetched, things are really revving up here around Urban Oasis, so there's going to be plenty more to report on in the coming months.....

Sunny Friday Bulbular Delights

Finally, Friday arrived ... with abundant sunshine and a balmy high of 72F, perfect for bringing more Spring bulbs forth to join the colorful parade around Casa IVG, and here I was, stuck inside working furiously at finishing a report for work. Hanna and I were both antsy to get outside to enjoy some of the first truly warm weather we've had (except that anomaly of the first day of Spring), yet trapped inside (albeit with heat off and windows open!) until 6:00 p.m.....

Just as we eventually managed to get out to survey the progress of the bulbular show (I was walking Hanna on my tour around the gardens), Fernymoss came home from work and interrupted my attempts to get some shots of what's currently blooming ... but never worry, tonight I'm pleased to present some of his work from late yesterday afternoon, when he got home earlier, so any comments on the photos are all for Fernymoss.

Alas, the Crocuses are starting to wind down for the season now, ceding the stage to the Daffodils, imminent Tulips, Hyacinths and others yet to arrive (Wood Hyacinths, Camassia, Alliums, Fritillarias). Though it's a bittersweet transition for me, I take comfort in the fact that many of last year's planting are still coming up here and there, especially in the Woodland Garden, so their time is not yet over, though their most dramatic plantings in the front are quickly fading to clumps of foliage.

This shot is, of course, another planting of 'Pickwick' (Giant Crocus), and if you look closely (click through, as always, to the larger version), you'll see that we're not the only Crocus admirers in the garden ... you can spot small leaf hoppers and flies on the flowers here, and down at the bottom left, it appears that someone has been munching on the blooms, probably a rabbit. Whoever it was, at least they didn't devour the entire stand of flowers!

This shot is yet another planting of 'Pickwick' ... as I promised in an earlier post, we have a lot of these charmers planted in various spots around the front Boulder Bed and in random spots in the Woodland Garden. In the background you can see a rather tardive yellow Snow Crocus coming up, undoubtedly another of last Fall's planting. I can only imagine how this spot will look in a few years when both varieties have had a chance to colonize a bit ... it should be quite impressive!

This is another one of the "new" plantings from last Fall ... and I really like the pairing we got here, with the delicately purple veined white trying to compete with the flashier 'Pickwick,' by no means failing in the attempt, but providing a subtle, yet complementary contrast with its showier cousin. Again, I'll be delighted to see how they increase over time, amplifying this pleasing effect!

And now, for something totally different! These are, of course, perhaps our favorite early Spring blue flower, Scilla siberica, which has been gradually colonizing areas of the parking at the front of our property. This year, it has definitely increased its coverage of the area, but has yet to achieve the true "drifts" that we see in others' yards around the city ... but it's steadily getting there! It's often difficult to get a "head on" shot of this flower, but the rear ends are equally lovely ... and note the luscious purple stems leading up to these exquisite blue flowers....

Here's another view of our growing "Squill Colony" in the parking by the sidewalk....

And this shot is of the "surprise" colony emerging by one of our (sadly diminished) plantings of Tulips in the corner Boulder Bed ... I think this was Fernymoss' handiwork from a couple of years ago when he was "Squilly Seeding" the bulblets produced from those planted elsewhere, but no matter where their origin, they're certainly welcome here! And curiously, we have yet to see the Grape Hyacinths (Muscari armeniaca) coming up here ... there are a lot planted around the Tulips, but we have yet to see any signs from them so far ... more winter casualties? We'll see what happens....

And finally, here's a Daffodil bud that just screams out "Feed Me!" for some reason ... it's one of the many we have planted in a sunnier area of the Woodland Garden and they're rapidly advancing into bloom by the hour, it would seem. When I went out today, there were at least 20-30 in full bloom, so they're just beginning to announce to the world that Spring has truly arrived! I'm glad to see them providing such a big splash of color, and just hope that this year no one decides to "poach" them ... We never cut them to bring inside because we feel they should complete their cycle as Nature intended, and think that in a small way we are helping the neighborhood celebrate Spring with us. Maybe when we have them in the hundreds (if I live that long!), we'll use them as cut flowers, but until then, they're part of the gardenscape!

Here Comes the Sun ...

The sun finally made a welcome return to Casa IVG today, along with a high of 65 (!), and proceeded to bring about a few minor miracles in the garden, among which was the opening of our first two Daffodils (at long last)! I can't decide whether I get more excited about seeing the first crocus or daffodils or tulips (okay, I'll fess up, the crocuses rule my world), but somehow for me Daffodils signal the true arrival of Spring and the promise of all the flowers to come over the growing season....

These are the first two blooms of many yet to come ... years ago I planted some of our first Daffodils in a "tree ring bed" in the parking of the northeast corner of our lot and though they've been faithful bloomers for us (though once they did skip a year) ever since. Until this year, that is. Where there used to be about 25-30 bulbs, there are now only two remaining. Now, whether this is due to "natural" causes or something more nefarious, I have no idea. I've mentioned in previous posts (from last year) that there was a huge Daffodil die-off in Des Moines last year, though ours appeared to be spared, so perhaps this year it was our turn to take our lumps. Fortunately the 150 or so naturalizing daffodils we planted in 2005 in the Woodland Garden are thriving and multiplying and currently budding out, so you'll be seeing those soon. In any case, these first two are the "Dutch Masters" variety I planted back in 2000 (yes, they were Martha Stewart bulbs, lol) and I think they're one of the prettiest varieties ... real classics of their kind.

Let's move in for a closer look, shall we? I took these shots in the late afternoon sun, and I love capturing the glow and shadows this particular lighting gives these blooms....

I also revisited the Chionodoxa today, hoping to get a better shot that would capture a more accurate blue hue ... well, this is definitely an improvement over the one from Sunday, but still doesn't quite render the correct shade (they should be a bit darker). I guess I'm going to have to pull out the manual and read up on setting things manually as FARfetched so helpfully suggested in the comments of my previous post. (Thanks, FAR! You're a pal!) I'll keep at it until I get a shot I'm happy with, or else resort to some tinkering with the image with my photo editor. (Of course, my preference is to get the most "natural" shots I can.) One thing I neglected to say about this particular bulb is that it also comes in shades of pink and white, for those so inclined to those colors ... we're fans of anything blue in the garden, so we only planted the blue variety ... so stay tuned for many more shades of blue to come....

This lonely white crocus appears to be one of our Van Bourgondien Snow Crocus Mix that was planted last fall, because I don't recall seeing it in this particular spot before this year, but am happy to welcome it to the party! You can see the remnants of some Snow Crocus 'Dorothy' petals at its base, but apparently Fernymoss just popped one white into this particular planting. I guess that's a sign of things to come, because as the yellow crocuses are the first to appear, they also are the first to depart the scene ... farewell, my fiery lovelies, I'll be glad to welcome you back again next Spring and make sure to bring lots of your friends and relatives along with you!

As you can see, we still have a lot of raking and clean up to do in the Woodland Garden, but weekend weather just hasn't permitted much work the past few weeks (cold, rainy and even snow) and since Saturday is supposed to be rainy (again!), we may not get to this area until Sunday at the earliest. Still, this hasn't impeded the emergence of one of our favorite Columbines, the 'Alpine Blue.' There are a couple of others still to show themselves, but I'm sure once we get the leaves cleared out, they'll show up (I suspect they're still lurking underneath). In a way, it's probably just as well we didn't get to this area back on that great sunny weekend a while back, because we have had several cold snaps since then, but those now seem less likely as April slithers to a close....

Here's another 'Pickwick' crocus planted last fall ... now I'm beginning to see what Fernymoss did that day I was sick and couldn't help plant them ... I'm seeing the lone one or two crocus popping up in all sorts of odd spots around the place! Though I would have preferred planting at least 3-4 at a time, I'm sure that given a few years, we'll have some nice little colonies developing, so I just need to temper my impatient Leo ways and be patient until that happens....

While I was out taking these shots, I left Hanna on the porch so she could at least see what I was doing and keep tabs on the neighborhood goings on while I was occupied. The next two shots were impulse photos I took as I opened the porch door to go back inside ... there was such an adorable puppy waiting for me that I just had to give her her due. I've found that since Hanna is such an energetic dog who moves all the time, the best way to capture her is to put the camera in continuous shooting mode and just snap away ... so here are two of the results.

Why can't I go out and run around out front with you Daddy? I'll be good!

That was not the answer I wanted to hear! Remember, I'll be one year old on April 20! I think I'm a big enough girl!

The Crocus Parade Continues ...

Today we finally had some sun again, which pretty much finished off the rest of the snow lingering from Sunday's "storm," so the crocus were able to show their faces again to the world after spending two days closed up and shivering. The temperatures have also begun to moderate slowly and with any luck, we'll be seeing the upper 50s by the end of the week, with partly sunny days in store. That's a Spring I can start to believe in, but it's still too chilly at night to begin putting anything into the ground (other than early planted seeds).

My goal for this weekend is to get at least one afternoon spent cleaning up the back yard because it's a mess! If you recall, after the tree came crashing down last October, the weather turned cold very quickly and there's still a lot of branches and stuff that need to be picked up and disposed of, and then there's the matter of getting the tree taken out. Fernymoss finally got a lead on a reasonably priced tree service, so we'd like to get that taken care of before too much longer, not only to get rid of the unsightly mess, but also to ensure a sunnier back yard this summer. I can see my tax refund disappearing already ... but it has to be done soon!

Now we return to our regularly scheduled Crocus coverage, already in progress...

Note: the shots in this post are also from my most recent session on April 3, 2009.

(Be sure to click through to see the larger, more detailed versions.)

I'm a bit baffled as to exactly what variety of Giant Crocus this one is ... it definitely came from one of our Van Bourgondien mixes and I thought it might be Blue Pearl, but after looking at that one in the catalogue again, I'm not so sure. It's definitely not Pickwick (shown below) because it doesn't display the prominent purple striping that characterizes that variety. But whatever this one turns out to be, it's another reliable bloomer and has been multiplying quite happily over the past 3 years or so out in the front boulder bed, and at this point has grown into a respectable, showy clump that stands out in the bare ground of the central bed.

This is one of our small clumps of Pickwick that we have scattered around the front beds ... I suspect this is one of the more recently planted groupings because it doesn't show signs of having multiplied just yet. Though this variety doesn't seem to colonize as quickly as the other Crocus do, it's definitely one of the more dramatic cultivars with its white tipped petals striped with deep purple hiding the brilliant orange stamens. We should be seeing more of these soon, and though this shot doesn't really do it justice, it's the best I have for the moment. The only drawback I can find for this variety is that, like Jeanne d'Arc, it's really prone to lose its petals in a heavy rain or strong wind, and its bloom period is somewhat shorter than most of our other Giant and Snow Crocuses. Still, it's a very worthy crocus to have in your garden and would make a nice planting companion to others like Jeanne d'Arc and Golden Yellow. Have I sold you on the virtues of the Giant Crocuses yet?

I have no clue what variety of yellow snow crocus this is because it was in a grab bag mix I got from Park Seed several years ago ... this little clump is one of many I planted along the line of the sidewalk on the Woodland side of the house (on the north). When I planted them, I just mixed up a bunch of crocus and Muscari (Grape Hyacinth) and planted them in groups of 5 or 6 every foot or so down the sidewalk line. This year, this is one of the first ones to show up, and there are still quite a few more that should be appearing sometime soon, so consider this a sneak peek at more to come....

I was really happy to see these little guys coming up in profusion last weekend when I was out with the camera! Though at first glance one might mistake them for Squill (Scilla siberica), they are actually Chionodoxa forbessi, aka 'Glory of the Snow.' These cheery little star shaped blue flowers with white centers and yellow stamens are really a great naturalizer that can go just about anywhere you want a splash of blue among the early spring bloomers and would look good with snow crocus, because they start (at least here) blooming just about the time the snow crocus are on the way out (but while their foliage remains). I think we have about 3-4 clumps of these near the edge of the front boulder bed, where they have been happily colonizing for the last several years. I think I started with about 5 bulbs in each planting and I've definitely noticed that every year more and more return in the spring ... they're definitely a bulb you need to plant in masses, because the sight of one or two lone flowers just wouldn't do them justice ... they need to be seen in groups for the full effect! I'll also note that getting good photos of these flowers is a real challenge for some reason ... if there's not enough sun, they look muddy blue, too much sun and they end up looking bleached out. I hope I have better luck capturing them this year than I have in the past few years. You'll see soon enough....

Now these are a bit of a mystery so far, but one thing's for sure, they're something that Fernymoss planted that day last fall when I was sick, so I don't know where anything he planted is (and he can't remember what went where). My best guess is that these are either Nectaroscordum ('Sicilian Honey Garlic') or Fritillaria 'Fox's Grape.' Now that I think more about it, I think they might indeed be the Fritillarias because they are up so early and are supposed to bloom in April or May, while Nectaroscordum doesn't bloom until May or June ... so time will tell what they really are! If anyone can positively ID these just from the initial foliage, please let me know what you think it is, otherwise we'll just have to wait until they bloom....

This is a bit of a wider view of one of our mass plantings of Daffodils, Tulips, Hyacinths and Crocus we have on the Woodland side of the house (where, as you can see, we haven't gotten much cleaning up done yet!). I'm cautiously optimistic that some of the tulips we had there that didn't return last year may be back this year, because it seems that I'm seeing more there than last year. These 'Yellow Trumpet Daffodils' are a very basic version of the flower bred primarily for naturalizing, which is exactly why we bought a whole half bushel back in 2005 to plant all around the garden. We have experimented with some of the fancier varieties in the past and been disappointed that, like the fancy tulips, after several years they either disappear entirely or revert to some kind of unattractive mutant Narcissus resembling the stinky Paper Whites we made the mistake of forcing one winter. That's an experience we won't repeat again because those pestiferous things stunk up the entire house and we ended up sticking them on the porch to kill them!

Fortunately, these Daffodils come back true every year (so far) and have been multiplying nicely in the 3 years they have been blooming for us. And they even escaped the great Des Moines Daffodil holocaust that hit so many gardeners last year, who lost entire long-established beds of them for some as yet unknown reason. Our neighbors across the street used to have masses of lovely Daffodils next to their house and their bed was decimated last year and only a few still remain ... yet ours were seemingly untouched and actually thrived last year. It looks like they're gearing up for a good show again this year, so we're looking forward to their appearance soon!

And for those of you who need a puppy fix, here's Lil Miss Hanna ...
I call this shot "Inscrutable"

What dog owner hasn't wanted to peek into the mind of their dog when s/he gives them one of these kinds of looks? Of course, Terriers are notorious for their staring capacity and can stare the best of us down (Pepa was a pro at this too) ... actually this shot kind of reminded me of that old Frasier episode that had a section called "Stare Master" where Eddie got the best of Frasier, despite the latter's best efforts to out-stare Eddie. Hanna definitely has the talent, so when you combine that with her incredibly expressive face and her frequent brow wrinkling and you get truly inscrutable looks. How do you interpret this gaze? Is it Hanna concocting some devious plan? Is she merely expressing concern? What wheels are spinning inside her head at this moment? Let me know if you have any good ideas....

Peter Stuyvesant Hyacinth and Bonus Bug

This planting of Hyacinths and daffodils is part of the area we call the Woodland Garden along the north side of our house adjoining Woodland Avenue. As you can see, this particular grouping is just popping with color right now (not to mention smelling quite nice too!).

One interesting note about these Hyacinths is that when we originally planted them there were only two bulbs, and now, happily, there are three! The 'red' one is called Jan de Bos and the purple is the classic Peter Stuyvesant Hyacinth (perhaps my favorite of the many varieties available). Before we planted these, I used to pooh-pooh Hyacinths because so many one commonly sees planted are the plain old boring pink and white ones ... then we looked into them seriously and discovered they come in many brilliant hues as well. They're real show stoppers when planted among other bulbs such as Tulips and Daffodils, where they add a lot of dramatic flair, and of course, their heady fragrance to the mix ...

By the way, if you'd like to see what a difference a year has made since last year's disastrous spring, see this post for comparison.

These shots were taken by Fernymoss on 26 April, 2008 using the S700. The first is, of course, a wider shot, while the second is a very nice close up of one we have planted near the steps that lead up to the front porch. Of particular note is the 'Bottle Fly' he captured taking in the heady fragrance ...

Daffodil Butts

We (and I suspect most people) don't ordinarily tend to pay much attention to the backsides of flowers, but as these two shots demonstrate, there's still a lot of interest going on behind the front side of the early spring show. Fernymoss took these on a whim over the weekend just to see how they would look from this perspective, and I have to say, from a textural point of view, they are quite attractive in their own right! These angles also really show the structure of the mature flower and just how they're put together.

You can already see the (obviously pollinated) flower's ovary swelling, so I expect this bloom is on its way out and well into the next phase of its reproductive cycle. I've never really let them go too far in this direction and once the flowers are done, I usually just cut them off so the leaves can spend their time storing up energy for next year's show. After last year's disaster when they barely bloomed at all, at least they appear to have weathered the winter relatively unscathed, unlike other gardeners' daffodils. Fernymoss asked his co-worker again about her bulbs today and it appears that most of her tulips perished as well, and those that did come up are doing poorly, just as ours are. *Sigh* I guess we're now resigned to having to replant a bunch in the fall, so we've already been looking at which ones we want to get ... mostly the Olympic Flame, Red, Yellow and Purple Darwins (pretty much what we had before). We'll know more when the ones that did survive manage to bloom, but they're looking really unhappy and stunted, so what usually is a really bright show in the front garden is going to be rather bittersweet this year.

One note about Daffodils: I have noticed in past years that a lot of people just mow them down once they're done blooming, which is a truly idiotic thing to do ... (People also do this to peonies, which really gets me wagging the finger and lecturing!). Just let them die back when they are ready and just pull them out of the ground when they've pretty much dried up. I once saw Martha Stewart suggest braiding the leaves to get them out of the way and still let them store up energy. Nice idea, Martha, but honestly, what gardener has the time to spend braiding them when there are more important things to be done in the garden! And when you have upwards of a couple hundred bulbs planted ... it would just become an absurdly impractical thing to do. We prefer to just let them complete their own natural cycle, which might be the lazy gardener's way, but it's always worked for us!

Photos by Fernymoss, taken on 26 April, 2008 using the S700.

More Daffodils and Bonus Bugs!

Here are some more of Fernymoss' shots of the daffodils currently blooming in the Woodland garden on the north side of our house. (Taken on 21 April, 2008) Today they were nearly in their full glory, although some plantings are a bit behind others --more in the shade-- but we like them to stick around a little longer, so we don't mind at all.

As for first picture in this series, it's obviously the bee venturing into the flower that commands the center of attention. It's good to see the bees coming back already ... I've seen a few bumblebees recently, as well as the occasional honey bee (of which we don't seem to see many).

In one of my recent posts about the Crocus, I talked about how I had inadvertently gotten a very small Lacewing in the shot. Now, we're not sure it's the same one (I have no idea how fast they grow), but in two of these shots you can see a Lacewing in pretty good detail ... the first and second ones show it in full view, and in the third you can see it off hiding behind one of the petals. And then it flew away, as winged insects are likely to do when the lens is focusing too intently upon them ...

I took a few pictures today after work, and though it was clouding up (rain is on the way tonight) and it was a bit on the breezy side, I did manage to get a nice couple of shots of the Hyacinths that have just opened up (last night). I'll soon be adding those to a post on Hyacinths I've been preparing for a week or so ... just to chronicle their progress from buds to blooms. Actually both Fernymoss and I went on an inspection tour out front when he got home from work, and as I had been suspecting, we both concluded that we've lost a significant number of tulips since that nasty, long freezing spell last year. We're hoping for the best but it now looks like we will have to be replenishing the tulip plantings again in the fall.

And I'm afraid those weren't the only casualties ... Unless something akin to a miracle happens, I fear we have lost both of our big Fritillarias as well. As I mentioned in an earlier post, they really got zapped last year ... came up early, froze off and disappeared. Add that to the list of bulbs we'll be replacing in the fall as well. (Sigh)

On a more positive note, it appears that other bulbs are taking it in stride and actually increasing their share of the real estate. The Purple Globe Alliums we have out front have definitely been multiplying ... from three original bulbs planted, we easily have 8-10 coming up this year, so those should be exciting when they bloom next month! We also have a Hyacinth that seems not only to have multiplied but mutated in color as well ... In short, there's a lot going on out there right now. I'm also planning a post or two documenting the emergence and growth of some of the perennials, because a lot of them have appeared and are gearing up for their moments in the spotlight. Things such as the Dicentras (Bleeding Heart), Columbines, Ferns and even one of the Toad Lilies ... And on a closing note, I should also mention that a bloom on one of my Primroses (Primula polyanthus) was open today! They too have been busy multiplying and what were once five plants now appear to be about 7 or 8! More on them later too ... But for now, enjoy the daffodils and bugs.

As Promised ... Daffodils!

I finally was able to get out after work today and snap some more pictures around the front garden areas and managed to catch a nice sunny moment to take these shots. At least the wind calmed down today and these were only subject to occasional breezes. Finally, the first Daffodils of the year have arrived and much happier than they were last year after being frozen for almost a month during that cold spell!

These were some of the very first Daffodils we planted back in ... well, let's just say they've been there for probably about eight (?) years. This variety is called 'Dutch Masters,' which is just about my favorite Daffodil of all time. With their brilliant yellows that positively radiate in the sun, a nice tendency to naturalize freely and carefree non-maintenance ... what more could you ask for? And unlike their 'fancier' hybridized cousins, they come back true to form every year no matter what. We've come to disdain the latest and greatest varieties constantly in development because they just don't have the reliable longevity of the simpler, classic varieties. And the others just don't naturalize like you (well, WE) want them to ... usually after about 3-4 years they devolve and then just disappear. That's the same reason we tend to avoid the fancier tulips as well and stick with the tried and true Darwin varieties.

I also got some nice shots of the rapidly declining crocus --*sigh*-- and some of the perennials now emerging ... I may post some of those soon while we await the big tulip parade. As of today most of the columbines are up, as are the bleeding hearts and I also noticed that the Ligularia is poking through the ground. And with a high temperature of 78 today I'm sure more things are beginning to wake up ... unfortunately we're due to another few days with rain and cooler temperatures, but nothing in the freezing range and no mention of the 'S' word to be seen!