Friday, May 13, 2016

Garden Update, with Surprise Tulip


When we first moved in here a few years ago, a bulb plant of some kind was growing through the ivy at the side of the garden, beneath the roses. It didn't have a flower, so we weren't sure what it was. Last year it appeared again, but still no flower.

This year, however, our mysterious bulb revealed itself to be a yellow tulip. It's all by itself, so I have a feeling it's been there for some time and outlasted its compatriots.


Our snowflake is blooming once again. This plant always makes me think of Sabine, who identified it for me.


Remember how I said last week that I wasn't sure the Solomon's seal would survive Olga's trampling long enough to bloom? Well, I'm happy to report that we have flowers, or at least buds. (Staking them up did help.)


Our geums are blooming, both yellow and orange ones...


....and the horseradish is finally emerging from dormancy. I moved it to a sunnier spot on the patio for encouragement.

Overall, this year's blooming cycle is a bit behind last year. The gardening shows (yes, we watch gardening shows) attribute this to a cooler spring, even though we had a relatively warm winter.

Things certainly are looking verdant, though!

12 comments:

e said...

Gorgeous! Hope Dave is continuing to improve. Saw a documentary on dog breed discrimination and a lot of the dogs looked similar to Olga, also discussed Michael Vick case, which was terrible for all of the animals...Glad things are blooming!

Nick said...

Even a London environment, it seems, can't stifle nature (well, not yet anyway). Good to see.

utahDOG! said...

Perspective is a funny thing. I love that you talk about this type of stuff in one blog post and then talk about how hectic and busy things are in others. We all are products of our self created environments, but our perceptions about our environments, no matter how different they may be, always seem to be very similar. We all think we are busy. We all think stuff is stressful. Its funny.

Ms. Moon said...

Beautiful, Steve. Thank you for sharing the flowers of your garden with us.

Steve Reed said...

E: He is better! And yeah, that Michael Vick thing was horrible.

Nick: Nature is everywhere! London is a great gardening town, as you may know. :)

Utah: Feeling occasional periods of stress doesn't prevent me from noticing my garden! In fact the garden alleviates the stress, you know?

Ms Moon: You are welcome. Somehow sharing them helps me see them better.

Yorkshire Pudding said...

Having a garden must make living in London much more bearable.

ellen abbott said...

love the garden updates. everything is off kilter everywhere with the seasons so mixed up. I had a horseradish in a pot for several years and then then for some mysterious reason it died last summer. I still have one in the old garden that I can't get rid of. every time I think I finally got up the root(s), it comes back.

jenny_o said...

So much beauty! And the green is as lovely as the other colours - tender perfect leaves are among my favourite garden sights.

Elizabeth said...

Gorgeous, gorgeous flowers. I love your photos so much.

Red said...

I'm amazed that you have all the names for your plants. You can look things up and then know how to look after plants if you know the name. that's why you have a good garden.

Sharon said...

The flowers are gorgeous. That single tulip does need a few friends but it's awfully pretty sitting there.

The Bug said...

Pretty pretty! We have a baby geranium (we named her Rita) that has some blossoms, and the peonies are going to pop any day now. Otherwise it's just green green everywhere here :)