More Small Beauties

These gorgeous tulips (tulipa humilis 'Odalisque') fried out in last week's heat before I could even get a beauty shot.  They weren't open in the morning when I left for work, but were crisp when I got home.  And it's supposed to be 26 degrees tonight.  Weather whiplash.

These scilla siberica 'Spring Beauty' look as great with the chartreuse dwarf acorus as I hoped they would.  Sometimes I get it right.

 This arabis blehparophylla (from Home Depot!) loves being in the trough.  It's compatriot died a quick death in the ground last year.  Drainage, drainage, drainage.

 Arabis alp. caucasica 'Snowball'

leucojeum aestivum 'Gravetye Giant'

These varmints were tearing it up in the garden yesterday.

Little Beauties

aubrieta 'Argenteovariegata' rock cress, just starting to open

draba polytricha (covering it in winter seemed to work)

 narcissus 'tete a tete'

magnolia loebrneri 'Leonard Messel', the fastest growing plant in my garden

 unknown Home Depot aubrieta, it's really taken to the joints between the rocks

St. Pat's Day

Something besides plants grows in my garden as well. This lad's going to be 4 next week. 

Newborns

Excuse the crappy cell phone snapshot, but these little guys could only be unwrapped for a minute without drying out.  I spent most of Saturday morning casting these four, and 90 minutes tonight cleaning them up and texturing them.  They are now wrapped in plastic and stowed in the basement for a month to cure.

I'm doing a sale in Morristown, NJ in May and would like to have some small pieces available.  Being 6'2" though, my idea of "small" is different than others'.  It's a hard balance, because bigger troughs provide a more stable, consistent temperature and moisture level.  Small troughs are like skillets in the hot summer sun.  Too big, though, and they are a pain to move.

Late Winter Wonderland

Sarcococcoa hookierana, var. humilis, or sweetbox.  This is a classy, late winter blooming shrub (subshrub?) that I love.  It always, always, always, looks good.  It demurely takes its turn blooming now, when not much else is blooming.  Since the flowers aren't showy, I never notice that it's blooming until I walk by and smell it.  Luckily I knew enough to plant it by the path. 

Although it loves shade, I've been trying this plant out in sunnier spots in the garden and it seems totally happy, as always.

skimmia budded up nicely

iris reticulata

nice weird golden/orange/green color on one of the dwarf chamaecyparis in trough

I just uncovered the saxifrages (they didn't need cover this winter) and they seem happy.

I started casting troughs again this weekend.  I'm a little worried about the frosty overnight temps but I should be able to demold everything tonight and get them into the basement, where they can cure in more moderate temps.

Need I Say More?

It may seem like I only have one hellebore, but I have many.  I just have a huge crush on this one.