I visited my community garden plots today for the first time in about a
week. It's about a mile from home. Lots has been happening in my absence.
Today I found these in bloom: Colchicum hungaricum, Crocus chrysanthus
'Uschak Orange' and a nice assortment of reticulate irises (these seem to
be thriving there). Fritillaria are popping up in numbers. F. persica is
about four inches up out of the ground, I can see flower buds on F.
bucharica, a teacup-sized dome of foliage of F. thunbergii is up, two forms
of F. sewerzowii are pushing up thick red noses, and frits in general are
on the move. Eremurus are just barely up above ground. Anemone blanda has
buds, but they are still hanging downward and none has bloomed yet.Arilate
and juno irises are rapidly greening up and raising great
expectations. Lots of gaps among the tulips and crocuses: these gaps are
explained by the fat rat I spotted today scurrying around in our plots. The
rats have evidently learned to recognize the plastic mesh pots as a
potential food source. They will go down a line of pots emptying one after
another.Does anyone know if the Dutch have switched to a newer clone of
Iris danfordiae in recent years? The ones I have now have bloomed reliably
for four years in a row.
Jim McKenneyMontgomery County, Maryland, USA, USDA zone 7, where last week
a friend gave me a tray of six potted collectible snowdrops.
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