[pbs] carefree garden bulbs
Diane Whitehead
voltaire at islandnet.com
Mon Apr 28 21:26:13 EDT 2008
Winter: November to March
Snowdrops Galanthus elwesii I have one form that begins flowering in
the fall and carries on through Christmas, but most flower in January
and February. They are very variable if one takes the time to look
carefully.
Spring: March and April
Little Blue Flowers (the flower equivalent of Little Brown Birds) -
they started out with various names of Scilla, like S. sibirica and S.
biflora and Chionodoxa luciliae, seeded, hybridized, and cover almost
the entire half acre. I think it is safe to call them XChionoscilla
allenii, but I'm sure you can't buy that - you probably have to
produce your own.
Erythronium dens-canis - my many named forms imported from Europe all
seem to be the same pinky-mauve, but they flower a lot earlier than
our natives, have nicely marked leaves, and creep to form patches.
Anemone nemorosa - I have an unnamed form that produces very long
rhizomes and therefore gallops across the garden. Most of my named
forms produce much shorter rhizomes and therefore increase modestly.
There are enough forms to interest a collector.
Erythronium oregonum and a hybrid between oregonum and the pink
revolutum. Beautiful upturned white or pink lily flowers, and dark-
blotched leaves. These do not increase vegetatively, so it is a long
wait for seedlings to flower.
Trillium ovatum, native to my property. I need to protect its flowers
from deer so that it can set seed.
[I am not including Big Blue Flowers: Bluebells, Endymion hispanicus,
which is winning my war against it]
Summer: May to September
Polygonatum x hybridum yes, it spreads, but it is so graceful with
its tall curved form. It is delightful to see customers carrying pots
of it in flower at local Mother's Day plant sales - all across a
gymnasium, you can see the bobbing flowers, high above heads.
Convallaria majalis - another spreader, but oh! the scent. Lily of
the Valley is open for Mother's Day every year. I have two forms with
striped leaves, and they don't spread nearly as much as the plain-
leaved one.
Summer to frost, which usually comes in November:
Dahlias -A number of years ago I bought seeds of a scented one (Hy
Scent) and a black-leaved one, and they produce masses of single
flowers till frost, and occasionally seed themselves.
Schizostylis coccinea, South African, like a miniature gladiolus in
shades of pink, salmon, and red, plus a weak-growing white.
Fall: September and October
Gladiolus papilio - a rhizomatous South African. The flowers are drab
shades, but there is a yellow one with a red blotch that I have on my
want list.
Diane Whitehead
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
maritime zone 8, cool Mediterranean climate
mild rainy winters, mild dry summers
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