Snowflakes

Although my two favorite plant books, Botanica and Passalong Plants, both call this flower a snowflake, I have difficulty with the name. 

 Sure, this picture shows a white flower, but it really looks like a bell.  And it has a blue identically shaped friend nearby in the garden. 

Its first name is Leucojum, and its other name is probably aestivum.  This flower appears in early spring, usually in small clumps scattered throughout the yard.   

It definitely is a passalong plant.  Often it seems to travel to the garden with another flower with a larger bulb, and, if asked, the gardener cannot tell where this very welcome flower came from.

Alpine Lady's Mantle

The unusual is usually interesting.  I really like these interesting green flowers--the Alpine lady's mantle, or Alchemilla alpina  A neighbor gave it to me several years ago and since then it has spread happily, blooming in early spring.

Grape Hyacinth

The common grape hyacinth is aptly named muscari neglectum.  It has tiny bulbs and tends to wander around the yard in small clumps.  I heard a lady identifying it as the little plant with grapes on top.  It is unwittingly a passalong plant, usually wandering in on a clump of something else.

More Greenhouse News

The back side of our greenhouse has a nice shelf for my potted plants.  The outside shelf was kind of a neat afterthought. 

I also discovered that  plants make every effort to live as evidenced by the tiger lily that has worked its way through garden fabric and the greenhouse floor to start a new season.

More Primroses

Well, the passalong red and yellow primrose is now blooming.  It is much hardier than the others and tends to spread more. 

 Some other colors are now in bloom.

Greenhouse Progress

The greenhouse seems to be doing well, mostly because of my husband's efforts.  He has tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and watermelon in various stages. He also has a couple of large tomato plants he got at Lowe's. 

 I have some amaryllis about to bloom and some other flowers that are refugees from the basement. 

The weather has been so warm that we haven't discovered how well our heater works.  We had to add some shade, including wrapping backs and sides of recycled shelves with an old tablecloth and a discarded sheet.

Forsythia

The yellow bell is probably the most common shrub that is passed along in my part of North Carolina. It roots easily and is indeed a survivor.  At this time of year it appears that thousands bloom in this area and that large clumps form.  Of course, the flower books call it a forsythia.

Weeping Cherry

So many beautiful flowers to show in just one week.  This beautiful weeping cherry stays full of blossoms for a relatively short time, but it is worth looking at a plain green tree for the rest of the year just to see it for a brief time in its pink splendor.  Our yard fills with fluffy pink petals when it starts to shed.

Saucer Magnolia

The beautiful saucer magnolia that is about the size of a pink dogwood is blooming early again this year.  It always takes a chance on a late freeze, but it is such a beautiful pink-flowering sight that we just hope that the freeze will not bother it.  Its blossoms usually last at least a month if they survive.

Primrose

Another of my favorite early flowers is the primrose.  They are very appealing in the stores, but they do not continue to bloom throughout the summer.  They come in a variety of colors.

My passalong red primrose with a yellow throat is not blooming yet.  It is a true passalong plant.  It is much hardier and spreads more rapidly than this variety.

Sir Harry Lauder's Walking Stick

When the leaves are off the small tree called Sir Harry Lauder's walking stick, it shows its contorted limbs more clearly. 

I have had to cut off some shoots from the bottom, and I probably should trim it back to show its walking stick qualities better.  I just don't have the heart to trim it back. 

It is about five years old and is supposed to grow 8 to10 feet tall. 

It is also called  corylus avellana "contorta."