I think we’re done with frosty nights now, and it’s safe to start hardening off the tomato, peppers and marigolds I started indoors last month. They won’t be planted out for a few more weeks but I know they’ll be much happier out on the back porch then stuck indoors under grow lights – at least during the day. Mid May means many possibilities for today’s Six on Saturday – you can see six’s from around the world at Jim’s site, Garden Ruminations.
First up is a another daffodil – the diminutive Narcissus ‘Hawera.’ Thee so small – they really need to be in a rock garden or someplace where you can easily bend down to see them. Or just plant lots together to make a show because they’ll get lost if you just plant them here and there in a garden or lawn. I know…I’ve tried….
Also low to the ground are the wild strawberries now in bloom. The berries are very small and need to be picked at the exact moment when they’re sweet enough to eat but before ants, chipmunks and birds get to them…generally not worth the effort unless you happen to be lazing around and they’re right there. Pretty in spring but the runners spread quickly and it can really take over a garden.
A cultivated edible starting to appear on dinner tables around here is asparagus. I’ll get a few meals from my small patch this year.
Adding to the abundance of yellow flowers in the garden right now are Primulas; specifically, these yellow ones that set seed and spread easily. I can imagine a time in the not too distant future when I might think about doing a cull, but for now they’re quite enjoyable.
Another daffodil photo, this one with some very tall Solomon Seal (Polygonatum) in the background. Daffs have lasted a nice long time this year, thanks to cool temperatures and regular rain. This patch is often done by the time the hanging Solomon Seal’s white bells appear.
Finally, a native spring ephemeral I’m quite fond of and quite lucky to have in abundance on this property – the white trout lily, aka fawn lily, aka Erythronium albidum. There’s a huge colony running beside the road at the front, extending under the thick buckthorn/sumac hedgerow, that extends up the driveway, gradually giving way to the yellow flowered Erythronium americanum. The roadside colony happily survived last year’s excavation for new cable/fibre lines that are going in everywhere in the County.
It’s a long weekend here in Canada – Victoria Day on Monday – and it’s supposed to be mostly sunny with temps reaching the low 20’s for the first time this year. Hooray! Hope everyone can enjoy it!
Is the soil sandy enough to grow asparagus? I’ve never tried it here, but it’s too clayey. It would need a dedicated area enriched with light soil and deep sand.
Have a good weekend!
I have heavy clay as well…asparagus survives here and one variety in particular seems happy but not very productive. Elsewhere in the County there is sandy soil with large asparagus farms.
I could give it a try so… nothing to lose, right ?! 😅
You should! Takes a few years to grow robust enough to harvest but worth the wait.
That white lily! My goodness. Loving white flowers as I do, I especially appreciate that one, although those tiny daffodils are pretty cute, too. I like the Solomon’s Seal. I’ve seen some, but only in east Texas and only in decline. It’s a fun find when I come across it.
The daffs are indeed very cute! Have you come across this Erythronium? It’s supposed to be native from southern Ontario right down to east Texas.
It does make it to Texas, but it’s more northeast than the eastern counties I visit. You can see the range here; it ends just north of my territory. The Native Plant Society of Texas says this:
“Erythronium albidum ranges from Ontario and Minnesota, south to Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, and Northeast Texas. A yellow-flowered relative Erythronium rostratum, grows from East Texas eastward and northward to Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri, and Kansas.”
I’ll have to enjoy yours!
Love that map! I’m a fan of maps. And atlas’s and globes, not that you can find a globe anymore…I wonder if they still exist in schools…
BONAP is my go-to, especially when I’m trying to identify an unknown native plant. I can open the genus and see which species grow in which locations, like this.
Wonderful photo of the lovely Trout Lily. My daughter saw yellow ones, while hiking Mt Tecumseh, in NH last week. Get the berries, before the wildlife does. It’s going to be 75° here today & much warmer next week.
It’s not that warm yet here although the next few days are supposed to be above 20 for the first time. I’m looking forward to getting the tomatoes in the ground!
Wow, I’m so impressed to see the erythroniums growing wild, what a joy. Narcissus ‘Hawera’ is really cute.
Erythroniums are the very definition of ‘spring ephemeral’ – In just a few weeks they’ll have all but disappeared – foliage and flower. I’m quite lucky to have these large colonies on my property and to be able to see them in the woods around here.
Lovely narcissi! Mine are almost done.
A friend is sad our Saturday market got canceled due to wind today, as it is the peak of asparagus season and she was looking forward to buying some!
There’s still one variety of daffodil still to bloom here…we have temps in the 20’s forecast =for the next few days so perhaps they’ll be in next Saturday’s post. Our community/farmer’s markets opened this morning for the first time this year – such a joy to have them back!
Narcissus Hawera is so cute, such a lovely tiny one. I also have lots of Primula veris or cowslip and I’m hoping to transfer them to my meadow in the autumn where they can spread happily.
Do you think they’d compete successfully with grasses etc in a meadow? I’m curious…might want to transplant some of mine as well…
Nice narcissus! Ours bloomed late in winter. It would have been nice if they waited a bit later to miss the rain.
It’s interesting that your small strawberries spread via runners. The ones I have only spread by seeds, so they will be much slower to move around the garden.
The small lily is beautiful!
OMG runners here, runners there, runners EVERYWHERE!! At least they’re liked by insects and birds and chipmunks…flower and fruit.
Lovely to see your garden slowly coming to life. Love those Erythronium – how wonderful to have a colony of wild ones nearby!
It’s the best month (aside from September) I think!
It’s pretty cool!
As a matter of curiosity, what follows on from the Erythroniums, they are very ephemeral and will soon be gone for another year.
They’ve already started to disappear from sight…nothing really follows them since they grow mainly under the high deciduous tree canopy…various shrubs might block the view but it’s simply a forest floor, with leaves, fallen branches etc.
I love the miniature narcissi, so charming!
Very charming! and interesting – most have quite short stems – maybe 6″ – but I’ve found a few with stems elongating to 12″ and even 14″!
Oh the daffs are lovely, especially those tiny variety….and I so like the fawn lily.
The lilies are great – and so short-lived! I always have to be on the look out for the days they’re in bloom…