Monday, April 14, 2014

/who is it? It's an Epimedium Mystery!



We have a very good collection of epimediums in the Asian Collection at the US National Arboretum. It's well labeled and supported by good records. So how did this happen? It seems to have snuck in somehow. Maybe it's a seedling, a cross-pollenated seedling. Anyway it isn't labeled, it isn't mapped, it doesn't match any of our other epimediums living or dead in our records.

It's very attractive and extremely cold resistant. This winter it was the only epimedium not to suffer any winter foliar burn.

Mangave 'Macho Mocha' Spiking in Florida Garden (thanks Bill)

Brad gave me this plant a few years ago. One of the problems with a second garden is that you miss a lot. I've never seen it flower. Someday though....

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Prunus mume 'Okitsu-akabana'

The long cold winter threw of the timing for many of the Flowering Apricots. This lovely soft pink selection is still flowering though the number of blooms seems greatly reduced.

Fern Valley is full of Trout Lilys

There's thousands of 'em. Well, hundreds anyway. It was worth the winter....I guess. It seems that way now. This is the grandest flowering I remember of these lilys. They must have been reproducing in  my absence!

All the other early woodland wildflowers are equally well represented. Toothwort is in full bloom; Virginia bluebells are right behind.

Magnolia Weekend at the US National Arboretum

This is part of the Holly Magnolia Collection.