It must have stopped raining enough here in Oregon to send all the flowers into spring fever. Okay not really, but according to beekeepers at February’s Lane County Beekeepers Association meeting they all seemed to think spring was hitting really early here.
Our Camellia bush is very much in bloom. Its not as pretty as the Camellia bush we gave to our neighbors down the street. That one was in front of the house and needed to go. It didn’t die in the summer transplant and is also blooming for them.
We have lots of violets coming up. This first one was given to me by my Aunt last summer. I then tried my best to kill it by leaving it on the porch for three months without water. Well, it survived my best attempts. I’m also assuming it is a violet because unfortunately I already forgot what she told me it was. I will have to ask her the next time she is out and then write it down. I have a VERY bad memory.
I am also assuming that these are violets. Why, I don’t know. Some are purple, some white, and some yellow. Maybe I shouldn’t be saying this as I will be shortly proved wrong. These ones grow wild all over our property.
The Dandelions have been out for a while. Lee wants to eat some of their leaves in salad but we haven’t yet. It has something to do with not being sure where the dogs have peed last.
The Magnolia tree is not going to bloom as splendidly as it did last year. Lots of it’s flower buds came out and then we had a cold snap come through with freezing nights. Many of the buds have brown centers now. I was disappointed as I was looking forward to another amazing bouquet of white. Ah, well, such is life.
The Flowering Quince is out in bloom. Ours is a rather sprangly plant that is in the middle of a Lilac bush. Not much to speak of really, but it is pretty.
The wild Bleeding Hearts are coming up in full force. They haven’t bloomed yet but I love seeing them come up. They remind me of my childhood. They grow wild up at my parents house still. These will not be the fancy Bleeding Hearts that you can buy in the store that are two colors. These will be a matronly color of purple when they bloom.
Oh dear, here is another bush that I was told the name of and already forgot. I am going to ask one of my neighbors again and then write it down. Several of my neighbors have this exact bush in their yards. This one is a less then stunning example as it has a huge blackberry bramble growing through it along with lots of dead looking branches. I am going to whack on it some and see if it helps it’s general appearance. If not it’s no huge loss as I don’t really like where it is located. If I can manage to make it come out in it’s full glory next year then it can stay. Maybe…
I believe that the last photo is of forsythia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forsythia)
Enjoy your blog . . . we have a similar life style here in NY. We too have found that chickens can be a great asset to the garden, but we have to be watchful of the hawks that will trap them and attack if they don’t have an easy access back to the coop.
Yep, I agree with Debbie, the last bush is a forsythia. My mother calls it a yellowbell, too. I love them – my mom trims hers and makes them bloom really well. We have some wild ones that barely bloom out in the woods…they probably were planted and cared for someone long ago, but since then they have been left wild. I think your third flower pics are “johnnie-jump-ups”, but I can’t tell for sure. They are a small violet. I planted them at my last house. We also have wild violet at my current house…
Thanks for the flower pics!
~Lynn
Debbie- you are spot on in the name of that bush. Thanks for that. Lee is probably going to add a cattle panel hoop house out in the garden for added chicken safety. In their original chicken pen area there was a lot of trees so we didn’t have to worry about it.
Lynn- do you know when your mom usually trims her forsythia bush? Lee and I have been talking about taking class on native plants so we will know better what we see around us. I’m so helpless when it comes to identifying plant species.
And you are further north than I am – this hust isn’t fair! We still have lots of brown, bare trees and bushes, and sogginess. Although the grass is starting to green up. But flowers? Only in the house. I am jealous!
OK, so this might be a bit delayed, but reading this post reminded me of the spring flowers over here. We had record rainfall ths winter with beautiful wildflowers as a result. One type of cactus is in bloom with magenta, yellow, and red-orange flowers. Red Mountain has some green on it. It really ispretty!
How pretty Rachael. I remember one time when we drove from AZ through CA and we came upon fields of wild flowers. It was so pretty. I think it was a wet winter so everything was out in bloom. Enjoy those flowers and green stuff over there. That won’t last for long before you start sweating and the sun cooks everything.