A Few Favorite Plants

Spring in the Seattle area is a feast for the eyes. So many plants in bloom! And when one wave of blossoms fades, another begins. We've had over two months of color to enjoy so far this year and we still have the month of May to look forward to. Here are photos of a few of my many favorites at this time of year.

Akebia quinata is an exquisite vine that blooms in early spring. The flowers have a faint clove scent, which is easy to miss because the spring breezes tend to dilute the fragrance. This vine is light and doesn't need much structural support. I grow mine on a rose tower near my front door.

This shrub with its distinctive blue-purple flowers, a rare color in the landscape, is Ceanothus. Its common name is California wild lilac, because most species are native to that state. Only a few cultivars of this plant are hardy enough to survive winters in Seattle. I'm fairly sure this one is C. impressus, which is doing quite well in the park looking across Elliott Bay toward the Space Needle.

Hellebores add elegance to the garden from winter into spring. This one, the Corsican hellebore (C. argutifolius), blooms early spring. It holds its bloom a long time, unfazed by the pelting rains and strong winds we get with spring storms. I have one planted outside my living room window where I can enjoy it every time I look out.

Solomons Seal (Polygonatum odoratum) is an herbaceous perennial, meaning that it dies down in fall. After I've cut away the faded stems in fall, I forget there was ever a plant there. So when it rises up from the ground in early April, its arching stems going from zero to three feet in a matter of a few days, it always seems like a miracle to me.

And here are the flowers on one of our native trees, the vine maple (Acer circinatum). These flowers are  small and most people don't notice them, but they are lovely to observe opening up just as the leaves begin to emerge.

Now it's your turn. What are your favorites in spring?

Keeping Daphne Happy

In Greek mythology, the maiden, Daphne, had herself transformed into a laurel tree to escape the amorous attentions of the god, Apollo. So if laurels were called daphnes, I could understand that. But they aren't. Laurels, members of the Lauraceae family, aren't even in the same family as the shrubs we call Daphnes, who are members of the Thymelaeaceae family.

About the only reasons I can think of that these shrubs were named for the lovely Daphne is because of their beauty and, above all, their fragrance. Winter Daphne, Daphne odora, fills the air in winter with it's intense perfume. Daphne x burkwoodii 'Carol Mackie,' shown above, blooms in my Seattle garden in April, filling the space with a subtler scent - one that I find a welcome companion while I am working outside. Daphnes tend to have an attractive form and require little pruning. Some cultivars have white or creamy margins on the leaves (see above) that give them visual interest even after the flowers have faded.

Although Daphnes are popular shrubs in the Northwest, they have a reputation for being fussy. They can be planted with all the loving care and attention you can muster, and yet fail to grow. They don't like soil that is too wet, but they don't like to dry out, either. They seem to be doing well, then suddenly, and without warning, die.

There is a trick, however, that you can use to increase the odds of your Daphne's survival. I've been using this trick with great success for almost 20 years. It is simply this, plant your Daphne near a concrete walkway or (better) throw a couple of pieces of concrete rubble into the planting hole. The reason this works is this. Our soils in the Northwest are acidic, perfect for acid lovers like rhododendrons, azaleas and blueberries. But plants, like Daphne, that prefer more alkaline soil, struggle. The lime contained in the concrete leaches into the soil a little bit each time it rains or when you water. That lime sweetens the soil around your Daphne slightly, making for a much happier plant. And when Daphne is happy, she brings beauty to your garden.

A Walk in the Park

A friend and I went for a " tree walk" yesterday morning at the Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle. We walked the length of Azalea Way, which, within a few weeks, will feature wave after wave of azaleas and rhododendrons in bloom. Right now, however, the cherries and magnolias are putting on the show.

It was cloudy yesterday, but the pale blossoms of this weeping cherry brightened up the landscape.

This stunning magnolia stopped us in our tracks.

Spotting this patch of skunk cabbage was a surprise. The best part of the surprise was that there was no odor! At first, I wasn't sure it was really skunk cabbage. I can usually smell this plant a long time before I see it.

Cloudiness seems to heighten the contrast between light and shadow, making the canopy of this cherry tree appear to float.

Here's another ghostly tree.

I was at the adjacent Japanese Garden a week ago and noticed that the cherry trees had not yet bloomed. The buds were still pretty tight. I expect them to be showing color in the next week or so, if the weather remains mild.

In the meantime, if you are in the Seattle area, there's lots to enjoy at the Arboretum, and a big show to look forward to on Azalea Way when the rhodies bloom.

Daffodils, Lingerie and Snow Geese

According to the calendar, it is still winter, but here in the Seattle area, yesterday sure felt like spring. It was sunny, temperatures close to 60 degrees, trees in bloom everywhere. It was the perfect day for a little road trip and, lucky for me, I had a destination - the Style Show at the Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner, Washington. My friend, Kelly Lyles, was an exhibitor, and she and another friend involved with the event had invited me to attend. 

So I tossed my trusty little Canon PowerShot into my purse, loaded Songs in the Key of Life into my CD player and headed north on I-5. La Conner is located in Skagit County, about 75 miles from Seattle. When you exit the freeway up there, you drive at least 10 more miles to the west, along picturesque roads that wind through farm fields to reach the town. As I rounded a bend on one of these roads, I saw a field covered in white to my right. 

If we hadn't had so much warm weather lately, I would have assumed it was a late winter snow. But whatever snow we had in the lowlands this year has long since melted. As I got closer, I realized what it was - the field was covered in birds, hundreds and hundreds of them.

I had forgotten that this area is part of the migration path for many birds, in this case, snow geese. These birds overwinter in the Skagit Valley, foraging and building their strength before the journey to their nesting grounds in the tundra of northernmost Canada. For more details on these amazing birds go here. I pulled over to take photos, fascinated by all the activity: birds milling about feeding on insects, seeds, whatever, while others flew overhead. What a sight! A road trip bonus, for sure. 


Then it was on to the MoNA Style Show. The museum, upstairs and down, was filled with artist's booths, each featuring some kind of wearable art or items for the home - jewelry, jackets, sweaters, dresses, hats, pillows, ceramics, and Kelly's matchbox car necklaces and humorous paintings. Beautiful items everywhere. Great color and design. A visual treat. 


One section consisted of art pieces created with the theme: Lingerie. (Unfortunately, photography was not allowed in the show, so you will have to rely on my memory of some of these, plus your own imagination.) There were some great interpretations on this theme, including a sort of long-line corset made of basketry. There were a couple of diaphanous gowns, one trimmed in vintage lace and tatting, that looked as though they had come from a dream. There was a classic, black bra with gold embroidery, that I thought kind of went with my shoes. And a painting called "Sky Slip," which was the image used for the show publicity posters. All of these items, and more, were offered in a silent auction, so there were lists of bidders and bids posted by each one. Next to a bra and panty set, studded with scary looking spikes, someone had written in the names of "bidders:" Madonna and Lady Gaga. That got a laugh. 


After a late lunch, it was time to head back toward Seattle. I took my time, though. It was too pretty a day to be in any hurry. This area is home to the annual Skagit Tulip Festival, which usually takes place throughout the month of April. There are several spring bulb producers here, including Washington Blub Company, the largest in the US. With spring arriving early this year, I wondered if I might find a field or two already in bloom. And I was not disappointed.

Just a few miles from La Conner, heading toward Mt. Vernon, I spied this sea of yellow daffodils. (That's the snowy peak of Mt. Baker barely showing above the coastal mountains in this photo.)

Daffodils always make me happy. Partly because of their sunny disposition. But mostly because they remind me of my son, Mike. His birthday is in a few days and no matter where I live, it seems that daffodils are always blooming on that day. (He is in the Navy and underway at the moment, so I emailed him some daffodils via digital photography this morning.)


On the way home, I missed the worst of the southbound traffic on I-5 by skipping over to Highway 99 at the north end of Seattle. This route comes south alongside downtown with great views of the city on the left, of Elliott Bay and Olympic Mountains on the right and, on a clear day as yesterday was, straight ahead you see majestic Mt. Rainier rising above it all. What a view! It was the perfect ending to a perfect little road trip. 

Glorious Roses!

The weather in the Pacific Northwest has been surprisingly mild this winter, which means that our spring gardening season has started a full month early. I'm already behind on some of my chores, which include early season rose care. Since I have roses on my mind, I thought I'd share some information about them with you.

If you love roses but hate dealing with aphids, black spot and chemicals, consider planting varieties that are disease and pest resistant. The rose you see above is one of those. It is called 'Mutabilis' - a China rose that has been in cultivation for thousands of years. It's flowers are the simple, old-fashioned variety, with flat, open faces. The flower color changes from hot pink when it first opens to a peachy-yellow as it fades. The flowers and stems emit a pleasant, spicy fragrance not typical of roses, but delightful nonetheless. I've had one of these in my garden for years and found it to be prolific, beautiful and easy to take care of.

Regardless of the type of rose you plant, it is important to remember that roses are heavy feeders. One of the reasons that many of them have severe disease and pest problems is because they are under-nourished. Stressed out plants, just like stressed out people, are more susceptible to health problems.

Here is a 4-Step feeding program for roses that was given to me years ago by a rosarian with a passion for both beautiful roses and keeping hazardous chemical use to a minimum. He has long since sold his nursery and moved out of the area. Thanks, Robert, wherever you are!

1. In February, March or April, apply 1 cup of superphosphate to each rose in your garden. Superphosphate works better than bone meal because it breaks down faster. It builds strong root systems and improves the rose's ability to flower repeatedly over the summer. It also costs less. Use it only once a year.
2. Apply 1 cup of alfalfa meal of 2 cups of alfalfa pellets to each rose in March or April. Some rosarians repeat this application in June. Alfalfa releases nitrogen slowly and releases an enzyme that dramatically increases the rose's feeder root system. This means that the plant can make better use of available nutrients in the soil, as well as the fertilizers you give it.
3. Starting in April, as the soil begins to warm, apply 1/2 cup of granular 16-16-16 fertilizer, and re-apply every 4-6 weeks. Your last application should be in August. (As with all granular fertilizers, water well after application unless you have adequate rainfall to dissolve them.) This step is the core of your feeding program.
4. Apply Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) to your roses to stimulate new, larger canes and to enhance flower color. Use 3/8 to 1/2 cup per rose in May or June. Magnesium sulphate, combined with a complete feeding program, does a good job of rejuvenating old, tired roses. 

Along with a good feeding program, be sure that your roses get plenty of water during dry spells. They aren't as thirsty as lawns, but still - they aren't drought tolerant. Also, roses need lots of sun. There are a few, rare cultivars that will grow in shade, but most will be leggy, buggy and fail to bloom unless they are in full sun.

Be aware that even under the best circumstances, there are some rose varieties that are hopelessly susceptible to problems. If you have them in your garden, you might be better off replacing them with hardier cultivars. Ask at your local nursery for suggestions. There are lots to choose from. Enjoy!