March 2016 in the Northern Hemisphere

[Hoy]

A neighbour has a swarm of wasps in his chimney stack. They were there last year and the warm weather has brought them out again.

Don't think they are wasps. Wasps start from a single queen in spring. Probably honey bees which hibernate in colonies.

[ian mcdonald]

Thanks Hoy, I have spoken to my neighbour who says they are not allowed to do anything. Looks like they may be bees in that case.

[johnw]

What may well be a solution to our dream of a hardy Camellia japonica for our coastal areas has opened its first flower this past week.  The seed was collected by luck on Daechong Do (Island) in the extreme northeast of Korea, perilously closer to North Korea than home South Korea and the northmost site for this species.  What's especially encouraging is the fact that the buds are very slow moving so the full show on the six budded plants of about 12 seedlings may well hold off for another couple of weeks.  Seed stratified in the autumn of 2008, sown & sprouted in spring 2009 so it's been a bit of a nail-biting wait.  Lots of buds so you can be sure we will be cross-pollinating the lot.

johnw

[Tristan_He]

Still rather slow going, even in mid March, but the garden is starting to wake up here, especially the bulbs:



Leucojum vernum. I only discovered these relatively recently, previously I had assumed that these were similar to L. aestivum which tends to be all leaf and not much flower. These aremuch nicer!



Corydalis wendelboi 'Abant Wine'. Came from Janis and has done pretty well (not all of his Corydalis seem to like our conditions sadly).



Early bulbs in the spring garden. It will turn blue in 3 weeks or so when the Chionodoxa come up but for now it's mainly pink and white. I really need to have a concerted go at the Cardamine bulbifera which is a real nuisance.



Galanthus woronowii under a witch hazel.



Crocus tommasinianus and Cyclamen coum.

[Maggi Young]

Some great combos there , Tristan. Spring bulbs  are just a joy to see  aren't they?

[Tristan_He]

Yes Maggi, they really provide a lift. Decent weather today too, which actually enticed some of the Crocuses to open up!

A few other bits and pieces:



A good form of Corydalis solida.



Crocus 'Shock Wave' from Pitcairn Alpines, starting to go over a bit now. Seems to be clumping up which is encouraging.



Pretty sure this is Saxifraga sancta. One of those things I've had for a while, pulled apart, moved, put bits into gaps etc. Flowering is a bit desultory this year and you can see a lot of brown flower buds which I assume is weather damage from the wet winter. Still a very easy and rewarding little Sax.

[Robert]

A few photographs from our Sacramento, California bungalow



Prunus incisa in full bloom. One of my favorite flowering cherries.



Geranium sanguineum striatum. Our garden has not had much attention for the past 3-4 years. This Geranium seeds around a bit, has a long blooming season, puts up with less than ideal conditions and rarely over-runs other plants. Common? For us a keeper. 



Next week the Japanese Maples will have leafed out more and look great.



For starters - Acer palmatum 'Pixie'



Said to be a dwarf sport of 'Bloodgood'. It indeed stays fairly small.

[Robert]

Our animal companions enjoy being in the garden with us. Common and fragrant Wallflowers with our beloved companions.



Sunflower our canary. He is a rescue. The poor soul was crammed down a night deposit box. Now he has a loving happy home. 



Tovi - hand raised as a chick and completely spoiled. 

Our bird companions are fully flighted. Our home is very "zen" (i.e. not much stuff - like no TV, radio, furniture, etc.). In the house they mostly stay on their play stations, however they can fly around where-ever they like. They like to follow us around as we do things in the house. This is okay except they are curtained away from the cook stove.

In our main room we have large windows looking out towards the garden. Their play stations are right next to the windows where they can see the garden and the wild birds that come to the feeders. It is nice for us too, being able to look out over the garden from inside the house.

[Gabriela]

Lovely spring images!
I really have to give one more try to Cyclamen coum; Leucojum vernum is a good reminder Tristan, it should also do well in our region.

What may well be a solution to our dream of a hardy Camellia japonica for our coastal areas has opened its first flower this past week.  The seed was collected by luck on Daechong Do (Island) in the extreme northeast of Korea, perilously closer to North Korea than home South Korea and the northmost site for this species.  What's especially encouraging is the fact that the buds are very slow moving so the full show on the six budded plants of about 12 seedlings may well hold off for another couple of weeks.  Seed stratified in the autumn of 2008, sown & sprouted in spring 2009 so it's been a bit of a nail-biting wait.  Lots of buds so you can be sure we will be cross-pollinating the lot.
johnw

This would be so great John. Fingers crossed that you manage to obtain more seeds this year!!!

[Chris Johnson]

Corydalis transsylvanica
Corydalis solida 'Transylvanica'

[fleurbleue]

Very nice one, Chris I love this light pink

[Chris Johnson]

Thank you, Nicole.

We have has a few bright days this weeks which has encouraged growth and flowering.

[Tristan_He]

Lovely spring images!
I really have to give one more try to Cyclamen coum; Leucojum vernum is a good reminder Tristan, it should also do well in our region.

What kills them Gabriela, is it the cold? Here they are a very easy plant, happy to share some seed if you would like some (though mine are very bog standard). I think the silver leaf etc forms can be a bit more picky.

I know mine are pretty cold hardy because about 3 years ago we had an extended period of about 3 weeks of freezing conditions in March-April, day and night with no snow. The Cyclamen in the picture survived that; several other bulbs including Erythronium 'Minnehaha' sadly did not.

[Gabriela]

What kills them Gabriela, is it the cold? Here they are a very easy plant, happy to share some seed if you would like some (though mine are very bog standard). I think the silver leaf etc forms can be a bit more picky.
I know mine are pretty cold hardy because about 3 years ago we had an extended period of about 3 weeks of freezing conditions in March-April, day and night with no snow. The Cyclamen in the picture survived that; several other bulbs including Erythronium 'Minnehaha' sadly did not.

My theory is that they disappeared because I had them in a very shaded spot where snow will remain until very long in the spring, in bad years until mid-to late April. And we had a few bad winters in a row. But since I only had few plants, it may well be just a theory. In reality squirrels may be involved too or a combination of both. Anyway I learned my lesson.
I wouldn’t say no to fresh seeds from such hardy plants - thank you, only if I can reciprocate with something.

[Gabriela]

Corydalis transsylvanica

This is a most lovely, soft pink Corydalis, my favourite spring flower and I don't want to disappoint anyone - but there is no Corydalis 'transylvanica'. True that some of the most colourful seed strains of C. solida were found in Romania (Transilvania region) but it has never been a distinct species, not even a subspecies.
So probably Corydalis solida 'Transylvanica' - a most beautiful one