I made a few discoveries yesterday while I was on my hands & knees planting bulbs. It taught me a lesson too. I always think I know what's going on in my garden but crawling around at ground level definitely proved me wrong. The first, very exciting surprise was finding a Lycoris radiata bulb in bloom! It was actually past its peak too so it had opened a while ago:
Oh boy, oh boy. How amazing is that? I was mad at myself last fall for spending money on the bulbs (I recklessly placed an order after seeing photos of them in bloom on other blogs). What I didn't realize at that time is that they are only hardy to zone 7 or 8 ~ I learned that after planting. Basically I wrote them off as money wasted (& lectured myself to pay more attention in the future). Because of the hardiness zones (I'm in zone 5) I hadn't even bothered to look for blooms. We had an unusually mild winter last year which must explain how this one survived? However it happened, it was QUITE a thrill for me to find it blooming.
A funny story ~ my neighbor happened to walk by when I was photographing them and wanted to know what I was doing. When I said I was taking pictures of "naked ladies," he got pretty excited. His enthusiasm cooled when I pointed out the red blooms ~ I guess they weren't exactly what he had in mind! tee hee. I'm hoping to get some better photos today ~ I was so excited to find them yesterday that I grabbed the camera and snapped away despite the glare of full sun.
Something else interesting was finding a bud on one of the Primula denticulata plants (drumstick primula):
I planted three of these primulas earlier in the summer but never expected them to try and bloom this year. I was looking forward to a spring display but we'll see what happens with this bud. Low temperatures over the weekend are expected to be in the mid to lower 20's. I don't know if it can withstand that or not? Maybe I should cover it?
This little guy better find a sheltered spot to weather out the cold front too:
because look what it's doing this AM:
Yes, that's SNOW. Can you believe it?? I keep hoping I'm having a bad dream but it's not going away. A fall surprise I'd rather not have...
It is hard to believe it is snowing already. Keep it there please:) Those spider lillies are most slow to get started but each year should increase. it is hard to spot them for some reason. I had one bloom here and mine have been growing in the ground for more than 4 years and this is the first bloom ever so I know your excitement.
Posted by: tina | October 08, 2009 at 12:01 PM
Wow, snow already!
As beautiful as it is, I'm not so sure how thrilled I would be to see some already...
Posted by: liz | October 08, 2009 at 12:04 PM
My father has had his lilies return for many years. We are on the border of zones 4/5. They must be hardier than some folks think.
That nasty white stuff is coming our way. Supposed to have a mixture of snow and rain this weekend. Lovely.
Marnie
Posted by: Marnie | October 08, 2009 at 01:54 PM
This is the second blog I've seen today with snow!
I bet your neighbor was surprised to hear about naked ladies in your garden, that's funny :) They are really pretty, glad the were worth the money!
Posted by: Catherine | October 08, 2009 at 03:44 PM
It's a bad dream Kathleen! It's important that we all support each other in our seasonal denial!
The lycoris is beautiful and the 'naked ladies' story is wonderful.
Gail
Posted by: Gail | October 08, 2009 at 04:57 PM
Surprises! We need to learn from those young bloggers who wrote about recording each and every plant which they put in their gardens. ...Do we need to? I am lazy, I'd rather have surprises! But snow is a bad surprise!
Posted by: Tatyana | October 08, 2009 at 08:24 PM
Tina, you took the words right out off of my keyboard! lol I was going to write those exact same words: Wow, snow already?!
How nice the Lycoris bloomed for you. I see those in places around here where houses used to be, as well as in lots of yards.
Posted by: Sweet Bay | October 09, 2009 at 08:35 AM
The Lycoris is very pretty - what a nice fall surprise! Oh brrrrrr not a nice surprise although I do love to watch it fall! I even like to go for a nice safe SLOW drive when it's really heavy cause ya get dizzy watching it come down on the windshield! hehehe ok I know grow up!
Posted by: RainGardener | October 09, 2009 at 09:48 AM
Hi Kathleen, way to go with the Lycoris! It is a beautiful flower and your shots are great, sun or no. You must be thrilled about it. Ours did not bloom, planted last fall, and now the foliage is showing. Better luck next year for us, and great luck for you! :-)
Frances, no snow, not yet!
Posted by: Frances | October 11, 2009 at 06:07 PM
Hi Kathleen,
I thought about you when I heard it was snowing in CO. You were having snow and we were having record breaking 2 weeks straight 90's in the day and still 80's at night.
Surprises like that Lycoris would make any gardener happy... very pretty. Just say the word "naked" to a man and well... you know. Funny neighbor story. ha.
Hope you're able to make snow angels at least!
Meems @ Hoe and Shovel
Posted by: Meems | October 16, 2009 at 02:53 PM
Snow already? Say it isn't so! Ha, I loved that your neighbor got excited about the prospect of the 'Naked Ladies', lol. ;)
Posted by: Racquel | October 17, 2009 at 02:52 PM