'Shotgun Wedding' Trillium

Last winter the Pitt County Master Gardeners visited 
Plant Delights Nursery. There was, of course, some serious shopping.

http://www.plantdelights.com/Trillium-lancifolium-Shotgun-Wedding-for-sale/Buy-Shotgun-Wedding-Lance-leaf-Trillium/

I bought this Trillium on Tony's advice to plant only those native to our area, not those offered in the trade from cooler places. Previously I have had no luck with these woodland plants so delighted to find this in the woods. Well protected by an chicken wire cage I am hoping for a stand as in the Plant Delights catalogue picture.

Driveway Daffodils

With some sun and rain the 'February Gold' Daffodils,
 next to the driveway, have come into bloom.

On the other side of the driveway
Crocus tommasinianus 'Ruby Giant'
(I must say I cannot tell the difference
 between this and 'Barr's Purple')
is blooming with some native crested Iris
"Pixie' is dark purple

Moss & Lichen

While we wait for flowers

I took these photos of an old cedar log in the Wildflower garden at the 

Pitt County Arboretum

http://pitt.ces.ncsu.edu/Pitt+County+Arboretum/

First daffodil of February

Well, first of the year too!
Narcissus cyclamineus 'February Gold'

This clump is growing next to a concrete driveway so may benefit from that heat sink.
I usually plant 3-5 bulbs in a hole. You can see this bunch, several years old, has at least 14 blooms ready to burst. February Gold has reliably multiplied and
re-bloomed for me as long as it gets enough sun.

Sabal minor sets seed

In clearing out the dead stalks of the swamp sunflowers (Helianthus angustifolia)
 from the rain garden I found a lot of these little single leaves.
Notice the little pleat already forming at the base.

Last year the Dwarf Palmetto (Sabal minor)
 I planted many years ago produced a flower stalk.  Covered up by the golden rod and swamp sunflowers in the fall I completely forgot about it. Seems it set seed and these already have a significant tap root. The ground is so loose after cold temperatures ice & snow that I was able to just pull these out, but this plant is difficult to dig once established. Breaking the tap root almost certainly kills the plant according to Growing Wild Nursery in Pender county.
http://www.growingwildnursery.net/plants/sabal-minor.html

Sabal minor has looked good all through this unusually cold winter and adds an architectural element to my distinctly wild garden.

Snow Again

Yesterday a powdery snow fell, still there this morning at 26 degrees.
 More to come. A real winter this year.

But, inside the potting shed it is 41 this morning.
I am trying to get a head start on a vertical gardening display recycling an old pallet.
 The workshop is scheduled for April 23rd at the Pitt County Arboretum
http://www.pittcountyarboretum.blogspot.com
I wonder how long it will take for the plants to start looking up!

First Flowers of February

Working in the garden yesterday
 I found these little beauties under the maple leaf debris.

Crocus tommasinianus 'Barr's Purple'

It is said this species is squirrel resistant
we shall see.

Last fall I planted 100 'Ruby Giant'
 but I can't remember where. 
More surprises to come!

Finally Getting Outside

A nice sheaf of sticks for natural stakes in the garden

Yesterday, a nice sunny almost 50 degrees, perfect for pruning. 
Each February I coppice http://www.coppice.co.uk  
Eight crape myrtles that are planted close together as for a hedge.
They yield these lovely straight stakes for the garden. 
Some are 6 feet tall giving an idea of how good the growing season was last year. One thing to be careful of is, if left too long in the ground, they might root themselves!

Signs of Life

After a cold wet period bulbs are starting to poke up through the mulch.

Hyacinthoides hispanica 'Excelsior'
the Spanish Bluebell tolerates our climate well. 
Prefers a shady spot and moist soil. 
The edge of the rain garden makes a perfect place for this bulb. I only plant Excelsior, the blue one, as the pink seems too wishy-washy to me.
The English bluebell does not do well here but I long to create the scene from my childhood of the forest floor carpeted in blue.




Starting to clear away all the dead 'Homestead Purple' Verbena & found lots of daffodils up in the circle. These bulbs have been in place for years and don't seem to mind being covered by this vigorous spreading verbena the rest of the year.