Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Spring Into Action!

Well, it appears Spring has finally arrived (actually, it began last Sunday). Things are starting to look up out at the p-patch. I'm particularly proud of my 'Ivory Prince' hellebore (top pic, foreground) that has truly made improvements over the last year. I had to trim back a lot of green leaves as a fungus had infested many of them. But, fortunately, the flower have enveloped most of the plant. In addition, the first of the Spring tulips have announced their arrival. And, I planted spinach, broccoli, and peas a couple of weeks ago. A couple of weeks ago the UW Center for Urban Horticulture held their 4th Annual Ephemeral Sale. The bucketing rain didn't dissuade many folks as hundreds showed up when the doors opened early morning on Saturday. The great thing about this particular sale is the large number of independent and alpine nurseries from outside Seattle are represented. I only picked up one plant (Cyclamen pseudibericum) mainly because I have never seen this species of cyclamen for sale growing in a 4-inch pot anywhere in-state. And, it's in far better shape than the one in a pot on my deck. Picture below...