From my yard. Feel free to post yours!
My yard is a mess! Here are some of the daffodils. In front of them is weed grass and some Chinese chives that I need to clean up.
These started as 3 little bulbs, about 10 years ago. This variety is "Jetfire".
"Victoria" Rhubarb.This started at the "50 cent" table of neglected plants, about 7 years ago. Many pies have come from this plant. It needs to be divided. It is HUGE! I think there are sweeter, redder varieties and have one of those in the yard too. Rhubarb is a great "landscape" plant, big leaves and low maintenance.
Egyptian Walking Onion.A self-perpetuating onion that gives the first scallions of the year, and yields a moderate sized onion in the fall. I'm experimenting with barrel growing, which gives more control and fewer weeds. This is a plastic barrel that cost $6.00 and I drilled many holes in the bottom. Sorry about the plastic, but wine barrels are $39.00 here and don't last as long and are much heavier. The larger plants were from last year. These are larger than the ones in the ground. The barrel warms up faster. The tiny plants were starts from the "seed head" which is what makes them "walk". In the fall, instead of flowers, this variety has "flower clusters" that are little onion sets - some of which produce more clusters of sets. If they are planted, they result in many additional plants. The starts can be planted in spring or fall. I plant them in fall. My great aunt Emma grew these in her yard in Illinois, in the 1930s to 70s. I had some but life moved me around too much to save them, so this patch started from some from the Seed Saver's Exchange. I've been growing them for a decade and have given away many sets for other people to grow. They are pungent, and give by far the earliest scallions of the year, usually starting in January or february here in the Pacific northwest. By the way, if you want some starts, let me know and I'll send them to you in the late summer or fall. If you live locally, I'd be happy to dig up a few for you.
White Potato Onion.Another self-perpetuating onion, this one also gives early scallions. I like it more for the medium size, flavorful onions in the late summer. These have a much richer flavor than the grocery store onions, or other modern varieties. My great-aunt Emma also grew these 50 to 70 years ago. These are also not from her's, which are unfortunately now lost, but I think they are the same variety. I like them a lot. They are not as prolific as the Egyptian Walking Onion but I like the flavor better.
Heirloom German White Garlic. Much more flavorful than the grocery store garlic. Again, experimenting with barrel method. This is less time time consuming than growing in the ground, but does require attention to watering in the summer. Last year's barrel-grown garlic had bigger cloves than the garlic in the ground. I also have a native American garlic Inchelium Red or German Red, but unfortunately have mixed up some bulbs so Im not certain which is which. I saved the ones that grew best for me.
Chinese chives.This stand is about 7 years old. They were grown from seeds that I collected through a few plant-generations, from seeds that my partner obtained in China. When they are 6 inches to a foot, he chops them into about 1/8 inch pieces, adds egg, chopped tofu, and some spices, and makes them into dumplings. We get many crops from the barrel each spring and summer. I also have a stand of Chives that I started as a boy, about 40 years ago. I found their descendants in my parents yard 10 years ago and dug some up to plant here. They have smaller leaves, and a more delicate flavor, than our "Chinese"-Chinese chives. I remember, vaguely, that i grew them from mail order seeds, for the pretty flowers. They have lovely bunches of white flowers, and the bees love them. They annoyed my parents, because they were invasive in their midwest yard. Most likely, the next generation will be hybrids of these and the Chinese Chinese chives, because I don't bother to separate them and I like the idea of genetic diversity.
A pink helleborus. This stand has been blooming for 2 months. I planted it in this location about 5 years ago.
A white helleborus. The flowers are nicer up close. They droop, which serves the plant well in the rainy or snowy winter, but it's hard to appreciate how pretty they are without being close. These are raised up on a retaining wall, so are easier to see.
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Permalink Reply by Joan Denoo on May 4, 2012 at 1:09pm The photos beautifully reveal your garden and I especially like your descriptions about each one. I share your enthusiasm about hellebores. They reseed easily ... I just pop off a mature seed head and throw it on the ground where I want it to grow. The birds eat part of them, scatter them further and some seeds get to sprout. So, it is always a surprise where a new one will appear. These are my "gifts from nature."
Happily, I will share photos on this site.
This iris came from my Grandmother Denoo's old home place abandoned probably 40 years ago, on the Salmon River, Lucille, Idaho. The site was taken over by US 95, however many plants survived and spread. This one spread up the banks of a creek running into mountains, turning the valley up stream a lovely shade of blue at blossom time. It survives harsh hot and cold conditions. I dug this up probably 10 or more years ago and it is now spreading in my garden.
Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on May 4, 2012 at 11:56pm Joan, that iris is SO BEAUTIFUL! It's amazing! I love the iris and its story! If you're ever out dividing them...... :-)
Permalink Reply by Joan Denoo on May 5, 2012 at 12:23am Absolutely, I shall tag it to send you a piece. Glad you like it.
Permalink Reply by Sandi on May 8, 2012 at 9:43am The pecan orchard I work at, freshly mowed. I love it down here right on the Guadalupe River. It truly is a beautiful part of Texas.
A huge tree we found down by the river yesterday, I believe it is a sycamore (?).
A zucchini squash I just 'threw' in this garden to fill a blank spot. It grown perfectly and is sprouting about 4 zucchini's right now.
Permalink Reply by Sandi on May 8, 2012 at 9:46am My friend once took a photo looking up the trunk of a tree. It looked so awesome I have been doing it ever since.
Permalink Reply by Joan Denoo on May 8, 2012 at 6:32pm Sandi, great shots. And I am familiar with the Guadalupe River. The week before I left my husband I took my daughter down there and told her we were leaving. She had just had a terrible episode with her father and I wanted to let her know my decision and the courage and wisdom she wold need through the transition. She was only ten at the time.
She is now grown, has two daughter and two grandsons, and they are an incredibly healthy, physically and emotionally, family.
Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on May 8, 2012 at 9:40pm I love that huge tree. Trees amaze me. tiny seed, gigantic living tree. Beautiful.
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