6 on Saturday – 4 Alliums Plus…

Chris Mousseau

Although a cold front moved in overnight and this morning it’s quite cool, wet and blustery, yesterday was glorious. I was able to do some mowing (although there’s still a lot of very soggy chunks of the yard I can’t get the mower into), some planting (although the tomatoes are still waiting to be transplanted…maybe tomorrow), some weeding (of course) and also some picture taking to join Jim at Garden Ruminations for today’s Six on Saturday.

Alliums have started in earnest, thank goodness, adding regal splashes of colour in many spots. All are loved by bees and other flying insects and all have a round head covered in florets. They are distinguished by the shade of purple, the leaf shape and the stem size.

  • Allium schoenoprasum – or common garden chive is now blooming. I love to add the flowers as well as the leaves to salads and soups.
  • Allium ‘Purple Sensation’ – deep purple, slightly larger than a golf ball flower head, generally 12″ – 20″ high stalk.
  • Allium ‘Lucy Ball’ – new to me this year, bulbs given by a friend last fall. These are the first to emerge from the ground in early spring and the flower stalks are very high – three to four feet. Tightly clustered balls of many flowers in a paler shade of purple than Purple Sensation.
  • Allium karataviense – a very short – six to eight inches – flower stalk with a golf ball size or slight larger collection of very pale pink flowers. The leaves on this one are very wide and kinda striped – really beautiful.
common chives
A. Purple Sensation
A. karataviense
A. Lucy Ball

Near the edge of the woods, if you look up, you can spot a few flowers in the cucumber Magnolia – Magnolia acuminata – I started from seed about 20 years ago. When it was smaller and the flowers were closer to the ground I loved their citrus fragrance as well as the lemon yellow petals. This tree is native to a small pockets of southern Ontario (growing mainly in the American Appalachian mountain region) and is on the federal endangered species list here.

We’re a month or so from seeing any lily blooms, but I love the whorls of leaves that surround emerging flower buds on these Tinilco Asiatic lilies:

More emerging foliage…the fresh spring needles on new conifer candles give me joy…

Young spruce tree
Korean fir sending out new growth after rabbits ate most of the branch over the winter

I’ve had a pretty unhappy fernleaf peony – Paeonia tenuifolia – for 10 or 15 years. The clump has never expanded, stalks stay short, there’s only one or two flowers each year…it just doesn’t like the conditions in my garden. Yet it shows up. These peony flowers are the first to open in the spring, but they close up tight until a bit of warm sun encourages them to open. After being battered by several days of wind and rain, it finally opened fully yesterday:

If you’re looking for a good self-seeding perennial try planting Siberian Iris. Unless you dead-head you’ll find them springing up all over. They’re just starting to bloom all over in my garden.

As a bonus shot, this painted turtle must have struggled mightily to get to my soggy front yard this past week. I’m a wide field away from a marsh and a stream (plus a culvert or road or a few driveways to cross) – I think she’s laying eggs. I hope you (and the turtle) have a lovely weekend!

27 Comments

  2. Wonderful to have so many different kinds of Alliums. Interesting flower on the Cucumber Magnolia. Spruces and Hemlocks grow so much in the Spring. That’s nice that the Siberian Iris spreads so well. Awww…in a few months you’ll have cute little baby Painted turtles!

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  3. Does Siberian iris from seed bloom with a variety of floral color, ranging from deep blue to white, or are they all monochromatic? Do they all resemble their parents?

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    1. If I’m around when the eggs hatch I’ll help them along – good suggestion Pauline. I suspect, though, that other critters will find them before I do. The eggs or the hatchlings. Sad….I should do some research and determine how long before laying and hatching…

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    2. Hmmm… just found: “Painted turtle eggs typically hatch within 70 to 80 days of being laid, usually in late August or early September. The exact incubation period can vary depending on weather conditions and may take anywhere from 60 to 90 days, with some eggs hatching as early as mid-August in warm years.” I might find one of those turtle egg mesh protector thingys to same the eggs from raccoons/coyotes…

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  6. Is that the Korean fir that has red new shoots that look like candy? If so, it looks just like mine, the Spanish fir that produces like mini raspberries. I love that painted turtle, you’re lucky!

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  7. I’m impressed by your magnolia grown from seed, what patience! Lovely alliums and I adore Iris sibirica. It never self seeds for me, it needs my help. How fabulous to have a turtle in the garden.

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    1. Thanks Chloris! I’m very pleased with this Magnolia and another one I started from seed (an umbrella Magnolia). I’m not quite so pleased with where I planted them, 20 years ago…the surrounding maples, hickory and basswood trees have also grown 20 feet and everyone is crowding out each other. I need to do some culling but it’s a very hard thing to do!

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    1. So much waiting, in a garden, and then, poof! It’s all over! It’s gotten so that the anticipation, the waiting, is almost as fun and fulfilling as the event.

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  11. What a rich collection of colors and shapes! I love that your turtle came by to admire your garden, too! Maybe she was looking for a well tended home to raise her family.

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  12. Pretty blooms! It’s fun to see the regional differences. I’m southwest of you in Ohio and my alliums are mostly done, but they are gorgeous. And you’ve inspired me to add some siberian iris to my collection, because I’d be happy for them to spread here!

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    1. Do you have any of the smaller Alliums, that flower in the summer? A. carinatum and A. cernuum in particular look great massed and in bloom. They are prodigious self-seeders though, I find…

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