Gabriel's Garden Notes

Spring comes late to the northwest.

Have you noticed that trees and shrubs that usually start blooming in late February or early March are just beginning to bloom?  Well I certainly have.  Forsythia and Flowering Plum are just now blooming and no wonder as it is still so cool out there.  I have been keeping my fingers crossed that my tender little veggie seedling wouldn't be damaged by the cool night time temps we had the last few weeks. Luckily I haven't lost any yet and my greenhouse is now brimming with succulent little lettuce, kale, pac choy, tat soi and sweet pea's. 

I am planning to sell a lot of these starts at the Northwest Perennial Alliance spring plant sale on April 19th at North Seattle Community College. I should have plenty left over for my own garden as well as to sell or trade with friends.

My garden is currently under water from the rainfall we had last night and today.  As I walked through the garden today I enjoyed watching my ducks who always take advantage of their personal duck pond.

 

A grass I have in many spots in my yard is Acorus gramineus 'Ogon', also known as Sweet Flag.  This is a lovely grass that lots of people use in their gardens.  It is evergreen and has a lovely bright gold variegation that really brightens a shady corner.  What I have noticed though is that this grass looks its best when it gets a lot of water.  I have pulled it out of numerous gardens where it just never managed to thrive.  Here it is in my garden where I planted them just 2 or 3 years ago and they have quadrupled in size.  As you can see from the photo they are practically surrounded by water this time of year, and very happy indeed.  So if you have tried to grow this plant and failed, it was probably due to lack of water.

Grasses are great in the ornamental garden, just remember to make sure you place them in a spot that they will thrive in. 

Winter flowers

Signs of spring are starting to pop up all around the Northwest.  Winter flowers are so wonderful.  Yesterday I worked in a garden on Lake Washington where the scents of Sweet Box/Sarcococca and Winter Daphne wafted in the breeze.  Early blooming Crocus have been up for weeks.  Planting early bloomers provides needed food for bees and other pollinators.          

Another sign of spring is swelling buds on deciduous trees and shrubs.  Some trees have very distinctive buds that make them easy to identify.  Magnolia's for example have a lovely  soft fuzz on their nice plump flower buds.  Beeches have very slender pointy buds.   

A well designed garden will have something in bloom nearly the entire year.  It will also have plants with intersting foliage that may change color in the winter.  Bergenia is a perennial that is evergreen.  Some varieties of Bergenia have leaves that turn a nice reddish color during winter, in spring this is followed by a spike of flowers in white or pink hues.   

Other plants with year round interest include, Rosemary, Hebe's, many Grasses and Conifers.

A fun way to add some cheer to your lawn is to add English Lawn Daisies to it.  Bees will visit these little charmers so if you like to walk barefoot through your lawn this may not be a good option for you.