All those leaves and only one bloom. But that's okay - there are nearly a dozen more in front getting ready to bloom:
Back to the first tulip photo - that green blur in the upper left should be a hollyhock that I swiped from the community garden. It was growing in the middle of a path so it wasn't going to last long anyway. The greenish blur behind the tulip is a bunch of purple irises. The green blur to the left is a stand of Siberian Iris - little bitty miniature irises! Well, that's the guess anyway. They didn't bloom at all last year, but the same three or four clumps had gone untended (and unsplit) for many years. So we'll see if they do any better this year. I really hope they do turn out to be mini irises and not just a clump of fancy grass.
All over the yard other things are leaping to life: tons of phlox, astilbe, irises, coreopsis, bleeding heart, wild geranium, peonies, wild violets and bellflower. Our cherry tree looks like it will burst into bloom any moment now:
I am very intrigued by this mystery plant:
I found it struggling along in the side yard last year and moved it up to the rain garden in front. It has probably tripled in size and looks so happy and healthy it's incredible. Now it even looks like it might bloom! It's probably just some standard ground cover... but I won't rest till I find out what it is.
And lastly, Jeremy's mushrooms have been growing like crazy. As long as the temps are over 50 degrees the logs will keep pushing out mushrooms. He's probably picked three our four pounds of Shiitakes in the last several weeks.
I have a tulip that looks just like that! :) Yeay for spring flowers
ReplyDeleteThat flower garden looks great. Also the mushrooms look wonderful as well.
ReplyDeleteI think your mystery plant is purslane.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portulaca_oleracea
http://houstonwildedibles.blogspot.com/2008/08/purslanesedumstone-crop.html
I have it in my garden as a weed. But it is edible, high in omega-3's and tastes a bit like sorrel. We sometimes give it to the chickens and sometimes put it in salads.
But please verify it closely with a reputable source before you taste it. There is at least one other plant Spotted Spurge that looks like it and grows in similar areas and is poisonous.
Thanks Rick. I looked at the photos from your blog - I'm not sure if it's the same thing. Yours looks more like a succulent with those squishy looking stems. The stems on ours are more woody. (Hard to tell from the crappy picture I took.) I'll have to have an expert take a look - it would be cool if it was purslane!
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