The fairies are ahead of themselves. Yesterday during the surge of energy I
had when I started feeling like I had the flu, I went out to see if there
were any flowers. Well, yes, there were. The little daffodil fairy has a
sense of humor. She teased open one fat one out front on the western end of
the front bed. If we get the snow they're predicting, it'll be clipped and
brought in rather than let the snow burn it. And I have my first
Helebore!!! It was quietly sitting open, all cute and freckled faced in the
Salix garden on the west side of the house. More crocuses open and more
long green tongues poking up indicating that the rest of the narcissus are
not too far behind the early one. No sign yet of the hoops narcissus in the
pot, but lots of varigated tulip tongues poking up where I remember the
Pinochio's, Toronto's, and Waterlily tulips live. And the pot of sedums with
the 'Marilyn' tulip has returned, wheather or not it blooms is up to it this
year. I sprinkled bulb food to make sure................

Spring is close!!

madgardener up on the windy and cold ridge, back in Fairy Holler,
overlooking a cloudy English Mountain in EAstern Tennessee, zone 7, Sunset
zone 36

In article , "madgardener" wrote:

The fairies are ahead of themselves. Yesterday during the surge of energy I
had when I started feeling like I had the flu, I went out to see if there
were any flowers. Well, yes, there were. The little daffodil fairy has a
sense of humor. She teased open one fat one out front on the western end of
the front bed. If we get the snow they're predicting, it'll be clipped and
brought in rather than let the snow burn it. And I have my first
Helebore!!! It was quietly sitting open, all cute and freckled faced in the
Salix garden on the west side of the house. More crocuses open and more
long green tongues poking up indicating that the rest of the narcissus are
not too far behind the early one. No sign yet of the hoops narcissus in the
pot, but lots of varigated tulip tongues poking up where I remember the
Pinochio's, Toronto's, and Waterlily tulips live. And the pot of sedums with
the 'Marilyn' tulip has returned, wheather or not it blooms is up to it this
year. I sprinkled bulb food to make sure................

Spring is close!!

Yesterday the first "Rip Van Winkle" daffodil bud burst open, a small
lonely bloom. Lots & lots of this dwarf's gooseneck buds should follow
suit in a day or two.

I've a small drift of pure wild kaufmanniana waterlily tulip which I
yesterday noticed already have fat buds showing color, but the several
hybrid waterlily tulips & greigiis aren't showing their buds quite yet,
though the fat pointy leaves are everywhere.

The earliest rhododendrons are starting, which seems more surprising than
the bulbs. Evergreen R. pachytrichum has one truss opening wide, &amp two
others have brightly colored buds preparing to burst, "Milestone" &
"Crater's Edge." In past years I think it was "PJM Elite" bloomed first,
but it's going to be fourth in line this year.

-paggers

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

I bet your gardens are wonderous places for your fairies..........G
maddie

"paghat" wrote in message
news
Yesterday the first "Rip Van Winkle" daffodil bud burst open, a small lonely
bloom. Lots & lots of this dwarf's gooseneck buds should follow suit in a
day or two.

I love those little dudes. I always tell myself that I will order some from
Dutch Gardens. You've convinced me sugar!!



I've a small drift of pure wild kaufmanniana waterlily tulip which I
yesterday noticed already have fat buds showing color, but the several
hybrid waterlily tulips & greigiis aren't showing their buds quite yet,
though the fat pointy leaves are everywhere.

Where did you locate the bulbs of wild kaufmanniana waterlilies? I see that
McClure & Zimmerman offer interesting whacky looking species tulips........



The earliest rhododendrons are starting, which seems more surprising than
the bulbs. Evergreen R. pachytrichum has one truss opening wide, &amp two
others have brightly colored buds preparing to burst, "Milestone" &
"Crater's Edge." In past years I think it was "PJM Elite" bloomed first, but
it's going to be fourth in line this year.

Until I have my woods cleaned out, I'm not going to waste the life of a good
rhodie. I have awesome potential of woods for azaela's and rhodies and all
sorts of wonderous things, but I can't do justice until I get down there adn
clean that mess out. After wasting 8 years, I have resigned myself to the
fact that it will be me or no one because Squire is back on the road and I
don't get yard help from sons too often despite that I have oldest one here.
It's whip cracking time when I want that kind of assistance. So I have made
a pact with the fairies and my back and have decided that a little at a time
and I will notify everyone when it's ready to do. I always want to plant
cleaned spot, but that's not logical. I should clean it up first and then
plant it, I just love the plants is all and have no self control when it
comes to this.



I think a lot of gardeners suffer from the gratification button. We buy a
lot of pots because we want an instant flower garden. I'm learning that
smaller means better adapted to my little micro climate up here in fairy
holler. Something you have already attained, Paggers, but better late than
never, eh? g

Where my fairy gardens sound neat to a lot of people, I also have never said
they were more than what they were. Disorderly and chaotic but I love them
never the less. Give me a bit more time and now what I feel is better
motivation, and my gardens will truely be the wonder that I see them as
already. (I find the wonder in one crocus honey, you know that lol)

maddie



-paggers

--

"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.

"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.

-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"

See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

I bet your gardens are wonderous places for your fairies..........G
maddie

"paghat" wrote in message
news
Yesterday the first "Rip Van Winkle" daffodil bud burst open, a small lonely
bloom. Lots & lots of this dwarf's gooseneck buds should follow suit in a
day or two.

I love those little dudes. I always tell myself that I will order some from
Dutch Gardens. You've convinced me sugar!!



I've a small drift of pure wild kaufmanniana waterlily tulip which I
yesterday noticed already have fat buds showing color, but the several
hybrid waterlily tulips & greigiis aren't showing their buds quite yet,
though the fat pointy leaves are everywhere.

Where did you locate the bulbs of wild kaufmanniana waterlilies? I see that
McClure & Zimmerman offer interesting whacky looking species tulips........



The earliest rhododendrons are starting, which seems more surprising than
the bulbs. Evergreen R. pachytrichum has one truss opening wide, &amp two
others have brightly colored buds preparing to burst, "Milestone" &
"Crater's Edge." In past years I think it was "PJM Elite" bloomed first, but
it's going to be fourth in line this year.

Until I have my woods cleaned out, I'm not going to waste the life of a good
rhodie. I have awesome potential of woods for azaela's and rhodies and all
sorts of wonderous things, but I can't do justice until I get down there adn
clean that mess out. After wasting 8 years, I have resigned myself to the
fact that it will be me or no one because Squire is back on the road and I
don't get yard help from sons too often despite that I have oldest one here.
It's whip cracking time when I want that kind of assistance. So I have made
a pact with the fairies and my back and have decided that a little at a time
and I will notify everyone when it's ready to do. I always want to plant
cleaned spot, but that's not logical. I should clean it up first and then
plant it, I just love the plants is all and have no self control when it
comes to this.



I think a lot of gardeners suffer from the gratification button. We buy a
lot of pots because we want an instant flower garden. I'm learning that
smaller means better adapted to my little micro climate up here in fairy
holler. Something you have already attained, Paggers, but better late than
never, eh? g

Where my fairy gardens sound neat to a lot of people, I also have never said
they were more than what they were. Disorderly and chaotic but I love them
never the less. Give me a bit more time and now what I feel is better
motivation, and my gardens will truely be the wonder that I see them as
already. (I find the wonder in one crocus honey, you know that lol)

maddie



-paggers

--

"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.

"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.

-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"

See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

In article , "madgardener" wrote:

Where did you locate the bulbs of wild kaufmanniana waterlilies? I see that
McClure & Zimmerman offer interesting whacky looking species tulips........

I've had them a while, but pretty certain I got them from Bulb Odyssey, a
place with a small stock but always things different from the big
catalogs. I also got from him the pure wild Tulipa vvedenskyi which he
insisted was such a good tulip it should never have been displaced by
named cultivars, & it has certainly been a favorite of mine. The wild
kaufmanniana has not been a favorite because they sometimes tip over with
the first hard rain, but I do like that it produces the big & pretty
seedheads which the ones hybridized with T. greigii lack.

Until I have my woods cleaned out, I'm not going to waste the life of a good
rhodie. I have awesome potential of woods for azaela's and rhodies and all
sorts of wonderous things, but I can't do justice until I get down there adn
clean that mess out. After wasting 8 years, I have resigned myself to the
fact that it will be me or no one because Squire is back on the road and I
don't get yard help from sons too often despite that I have oldest one here.
It's whip cracking time when I want that kind of assistance. So I have made
a pact with the fairies and my back and have decided that a little at a time
and I will notify everyone when it's ready to do. I always want to plant
cleaned spot, but that's not logical. I should clean it up first and then
plant it, I just love the plants is all and have no self control when it
comes to this.

If you select varieties of rhodies that get fairly large, you can just
clear out a smallish area for each one, then let it take over the spot.
As long as it's not competing with something really nasty like blackberry
canes, rhodies hold their own pretty darned well & aren't that threatened
by measily underbrush.

I think a lot of gardeners suffer from the gratification button. We buy a
lot of pots because we want an instant flower garden. I'm learning that
smaller means better adapted to my little micro climate up here in fairy
holler. Something you have already attained, Paggers, but better late than
never, eh? g

Where my fairy gardens sound neat to a lot of people, I also have never said
they were more than what they were. Disorderly and chaotic but I love them
never the less. Give me a bit more time and now what I feel is better
motivation, and my gardens will truely be the wonder that I see them as
already. (I find the wonder in one crocus honey, you know that lol)

maddie

Disorderly gardens rule. I have never so much liked gardens that were
neatly hedged with concentric circles of bright annuals, & shrubs trimmed
to look like unicorns & toads. Well, the unicorns & toads thing can be fun
to see, the way it's fun to see some marginally employable fool in a Goofy
the Dog costume at Disneyland, but it's not the same thing as nature, & I
like a garden that makes me feel I'm in the woods or in a meadow, even if
its only a garden.

-paggers

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/