Kathryn Burlingham wrote:
Hon, I grew up in the snowbelt of Upstate New York, where you grab the
first signs of hope pushing their way through the snow. This is
spring, trust me. There are many flavors of spring here, and it goes
for months and months, with new things unfolding all the time.

Tell me again how it's spring in a couple of weeks when they shut-down
the city because it's encased in ice.

I come from Wisconsin, where winter meant that we were under snow from
Thanksgiving to Easter. But that was nothing compared to the ice storms
we can (and do) get in Portland.

Thirty-five years in the snow belt, including almost a decade driving a
snowplow, so I was the guy who got up before the roads were cleared. I
never used chains. I never knew anyone who even owned chains. Never had
a need. Now that I'm in this place that has "spring" in January, I need
to have chains in my car, and there are times that I definitely need to
use them.

Don't let the lack of snow or sub-zero temperatures fool you. Winter can
be quite wicked here. The frost damage I had last year was quite
extensive. There are times that I miss something as tame as ten inches
of snow.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
Compare the newest tax preparation software apps:
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/taxes/index.html

Adam Schneider wrote:

Our worst weed here so far has been the bittercress -- this is
something they don't have in Minnesota, as far as I can remember, and
there's loads of it all around our house here. It flowers/seeds when
it's VERY small, and it loves winter.

Hm. I'm not sure what you're referring to, and a quick look at Sunset
Western's weeds pages isn't helping. I might know it if I saw it,
though. But perhaps not, we seem to have a different set of problems.

I do get a lot of Johnny Jump-ups, not that I mind much, and clover in
the lawn, also not something I mind. Also various weed grasses, and a
number of things I don't know the names of, but know to pull out when I
see them.

They should really have a weed seminar somewhere, with examples of
various weeds at different stages so you can recognize them, and
suggestions for the best ways to control them. Perhaps the Master
Gardener group already has one, or could be talked into it.

Warren wrote:

Grape hyacinth isn't hyacinth. It's muscari.

Yes, I know.

Muscari started sprouting in October/November. What's in the picture
isn't muscari.

Well the leaves are wrong, now that I go look at the picture. I don't
have any grape hyacinth in my yard, but I have a friend who does, and I
usually see them starting to bloom early spring.

Anyway, Warren, I'm sure you know scads more about gardening and plants
than I do, we'll just take that as stipulated, shall we?

Warren wrote:

Don't let the lack of snow or sub-zero temperatures fool you. Winter can
be quite wicked here. The frost damage I had last year was quite
extensive. There are times that I miss something as tame as ten inches
of snow.

Last year's ice storm was *extremely* atypical. Yes, there will be more
cold and wet and freezing to come, but there's also a lot of growin'
going on. If I want to call this spring, how does that hurt? I'm not
saying the fruit trees ought to be blooming now. Is it not really spring
in April in Upstate New York because they can get snowstorms in May?
Spring doesn't necessarily mean safe!

I've been in Portland for 15 years, to me, spring starts in February.
It's a little early this year, is all.

In article , "Warren"
wrote:

Kathryn Burlingham wrote:
Warren wrote:
Anyway, I'm thinking they look like hyacinths. The warm weather of
the past two weeks has got mine sprouting, too.

Grape hyacinth is a weed in many parts of Portland. Unless you like
it, then whee!

Grape hyacinth isn't hyacinth. It's muscari.

Muscari started sprouting in October/November. What's in the picture
isn't muscari.

There are many commonly gardened muscari species & some wait until
winter's end or spring before they appear, others are grassy starting in
Autumn, still others earlier in winter.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"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"
Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com

Kathryn Burlingham wrote:

Adam Schneider wrote:

Our worst weed here so far has been the bittercress -- this is
something they don't have in Minnesota, as far as I can remember, and
there's loads of it all around our house here. It flowers/seeds when
it's VERY small, and it loves winter.

Hm. I'm not sure what you're referring to, and a quick look at Sunset
Western's weeds pages isn't helping. I might know it if I saw it,
though. But perhaps not, we seem to have a different set of problems.

Here's a couple local pages about the evil bittercress:

http://oregonstate.edu/dept/nursery-...ress_page.html

http://mint.ippc.orst.edu/bittercress.htm


(I'm not sure which species of "Cardamine" is taking over my yard, but the pictures on these pages give the general idea.)


Adam

Our garden has lots of these even though we are a long way away in the
UK. They are Bluebells, but if you are lucky some of the flowers may be
pink or white as well as blue. There is no need to worry about shade
for them as the flowers will be over before the shade gets too deep.If
you want them to continue flowering next year it is important to leave
the leaves to die back naturally to feed the bulbs (at least 6 weeks
after the flowers die).

Adam Schneider wrote:
We just moved into our new house in Portland in July of 2004, so
everything that happens in our yard is new to us. You guys were
helpful in identifying our autumn-flowering cherry tree last fall
(which is STILL blooming, by the way), so I've returned with another
mystery...

All around the front of our house -- under the arbor vitae, the
rhododendrons, the Japanese maple, the hydrangea, and elsewhere --
there are plants coming up. They look like they're some kind of
bulbs,
because of the shape of the leaves, the depth underground from which
they come (I dug down 8 inches with a trowel and couldn't find the
roots), and the fact that there was no trace of them late last
summer,
and some of them are growing in places that will be 100% shaded once
the Japanese maple's leaves come in.

Having come from Zone 4 (MN), I don't know what to make of stuff
vigorously popping out of the ground in January! Hell, maybe they're
just weeds (but if that were the case, I'd think they'd be more
widespread than just around the front yard).

I took some pictures and posted them he
http://adamschneider.net/misc/mysterybulb.html

Can someone who knows about bulbs and the West Coast take a look and
tell me what we're dealing with here?


Thanks!

Adam

Adam Schneider writes:

(I'm not sure which species of "Cardamine" is taking over my yard,
but the pictures on these pages give the general idea.)

seems to be edible. i like eating the enemy.

http://gardenbed.com/source/14/1343_edi.asp

Ann Burlingham writes:
Adam Schneider writes:

(I'm not sure which species of "Cardamine" is taking over my yard,
but the pictures on these pages give the general idea.)

seems to be edible. i like eating the enemy.

http://gardenbed.com/source/14/1343_edi.asp

hm, this seems to be less full of pop-ups:

http://www.arthurleej.com/p-o-m-Mar02.html

"Kathryn Burlingham" wrote in message
...
Warren wrote:

But spring does *not* come in January in Portland. Not even February!

Hon, I grew up in the snowbelt of Upstate New York, where you grab the
first signs of hope pushing their way through the snow. This is spring,
trust me. There are many flavors of spring here, and it goes for months
and months, with new things unfolding all the time.

Don't worry, I'm not thinking of going out and planting peas yet.

It is indeed the beginning of Spring in the Pacific Northwest, as far as I'm
concerned. My primroses have been blooming for a week. My callalilies
began blooming last week and my crocuses and daffodils are up, although not
in bloom, yet. I expect them to be blooming soon. Oh, and my daisies are
blooming wildly. Yeah!

Marg

Adam Schneider wrote:

Here's a couple local pages about the evil bittercress:

[snip url to pictures]

Oh, yes, I have that. Attractive little thing, isn't it? It doesn't seem
to win the fight against some of the other, less attractive weeds I get,
so I bear it no animosity.

I may have to try it in a salad, isn't Ann useful?

Yes, they look like bluebells to me too. Unfortunately, I don't think they are Hyacinthoides non scripta, the delicate English bluebell that creates a beautiful haze of blue in woodlands in May. Instead I think these are Hyacinthoides hispanica (known as Spanish bluebells). They come into leaf much earlier than the English ones and the leaves are thicker and strap-like. They are generally a bigger plant, with paler, sometimes wishy-washy blue-violet flowers. The problem with them is that they are rampant growers - spreading very fast and also hybridising with English bluebells. That may not pose a problem where you are, but you might get fed up with trying to eradicate them from parts of your garden where you don't want them. The bulbs go really deep too, so they are hard to dig out.

Back in January, I wrote:

All around the front of our house -- under the arbor vitae, the
rhododendrons, the Japanese maple, the hydrangea, and elsewhere --
there are plants coming up. They look like they're some kind of bulbs,
because of the shape of the leaves, the depth underground from which
they come (I dug down 8 inches with a trowel and couldn't find the
roots), and the fact that there was no trace of them late last summer,
and some of them are growing in places that will be 100% shaded once
the Japanese maple's leaves come in.

An update, if anyone cares: it turns out they're Spanish Bluebells.
Give yourself a pat on the back if that was your guess. :)

http://adamschneider.net/misc/mysterybulb.html#update

They sure do take up a lot of space, but I'm not too bothered, as our
front "yard" is just covered in bark mulch anyway. If they interfere
with our new Star Magnolia or Mexican Oranges, though, I'll start
kicking some bluebell butt.


Adam

They sure do take up a lot of space, but I'm not too bothered, as our
front "yard" is just covered in bark mulch anyway. If they interfere
with our new Star Magnolia or Mexican Oranges, though, I'll start
kicking some bluebell butt.


Adam

They will have absolutely no effect on your magnolias or oranges.
Just leave them alone until all the leaves turn brown, then trim and
wait for next years bloom. I've had clumps in my garden around
roses, St John's Wort, pansies, spieria, lilacs, etc. and they've
never caused a problem.

You may want to thin them every 5 - 6 years. Just dig deep enough to
find the bulbs, seperate them, and replant.