Bulb Log 5

[annew]

Another cracking log - the eranthis is a stunner with those blue stamens, and the narcissi are looking really good too. Are your aconites in the first picture under your bird feeders?

[Maggi Young]

You spotted the black sunflower husks, Anne! Yes, there is a feeder near that clump.... ...you can see little chomp marks on the emerging stems, too... partly from the dunnocks/ hedge sparrows, which seem to poke around them quite a bit and perhaps some slug damage, too 

[tonyg]

Ian your narcissus are magnificent!  Given the challenging light levels in Aberdeen you have worked a near miracle!
The Crocus korolkowii looks like the cv Gold Nugget.
The form of JCA 805 that you show is especially good, nice wide open corona and very uniform.
I don't find Crocus danfordiae short lived ... just short!  It does not increase much though so its easy to see how it might just dwindle away through 'natural wasteage'.
I like the new format - better than before.

[Ian Y]

Yes well spotted Anne, I have added a picture, taken from our sitting room window, of that site as it is just now with no signs of the aconites.
It is a great pleasure to see the birds feeding in the winter but I will move the feeders as to bulbs start to come out as the thousands of tiny tramping feet make a mess of them.
Yesterday afternoon we had around 500, yes that is 500, field fares in the garden cleaning up what remained of the berries on the trees.

Thank you Tony, it is a challenge this far north and the Narcissus stems are always longer than I would like but the flowers are just such a tonic at this time - all those wee faces

I think it is my problem with C. danfordiae, I suspect I keep it too wet for too long and it rots. I have a number of different ones from seed again and will endeavour to hang on to them for longer.

Thank you also for your comment on the new format for the Bulb Log all comments so far have been good with most people prefering the PDF.
I like it and I think that Paul's Wisley Log also looks so good with his own layout.

[annew]

We got excited with our single fieldfare last Wednesday!

[Carol Shaw]

Yesterday afternoon we had around 500, yes that is 500, field fares in the garden cleaning up what remained of the berries on the trees.

We see field fares in the field at the end of the garden but none has, so far, come into the garden itself. We also see red wings in the field but not the garden... those Lidl bins. are proving useful

[hadacekf]

Ian,
Great photography of your superb narcissus and interesting commentary.

[Ian Y]

Thank you Franz, you also posted some very good pictures on the forum showing an early glimpse of Spring in your garden.

The field fares are still around but are a bit more spread around the neighbourhood so we are not getting the same density and they are quite nervous of people a so it is difficult to approach them with a camera but here are a few pictures of them in our garden and on a neighbours recently pruned birch tree.

[Paul T]

It has been many months since I last caught up with Ian's Bulb Logs..... am currently working through the 2009 ones.  I just wanted to comment on this log (even though a few months later)..... the Eranthis pinnatifida is just stunning, and the glorious blue of the Crocus baytopiorum is amazing!  Amongst the other wonders of your logs, anything that stands out must be particularly special. 

Thanks for posting these for our enjoyment Ian.  They're a real treasure.

[Ian Y]

Thanks, Paul.
Yes, I love  Eranthis pinnatifida. It isn't the biggest flower, but the intricacy of it, plus the colour contrast of flower and stamens is what I like.

[Paul T]

Ian,

Well I DO so hope that the seeds germinate that I got this year from one of my lovely friends here on the SRGC forum.    Fingers, and everything else, crossed!!