Seed pods

Read that I should cut the seed pods off of daffodils and tulips, after the blossom has withered. This directs the energy to the bulb, instead of making good seeds.

I didn't realize that these flowers had seed pods! But, here is a daffodil seed pod that met up with my current pruning activity.

Weather was mid-70s, sunny - perfect! Next day it rained.

Columbine Purple

Columbine flowers. From 0 inches around December to 3-4ft high right now.

Something new about the flower, I found: The ‘columbine’ holds yet another significance- in pantomime, a ‘columbine’ refers to the sweetheart of Harlequin. The flower was once called "lion's herb", because it was believed those great felines ate it. As a consequence, people believed that by merely rubbing their hands with it, they became more courageous and daring.

Weather today is mid-60s, sunny. Calm.

Daffodil Orange

A late bloomer - or perhaps this one is actually on time and since the others were so very early? I like the orange, two tone nature of this'n. Seen after a light rain.

Another daffodil experiment are these 2 containers that I planted on New Years Day 2010.

The blooming of these bulbs started about 5 days ago. They are making quite a show. Now I will leave them in the container til next year and see what happens. I might plant something on top, so the container stays in use during the year.

Weather today - light mist am, but this afternoon, sunny and mid 60s. Beautiful!

Squirrely behavior

Finally caught in the act! I have had this squirrel feeder up for months. At first, no action, the peanuts were left undisturbed. The idea is that the squirrel lift up the lid and grab a nut and the blue jays lose out.

I would come home and find, not the lid, but the plastic window on the front lifted up, peanuts raided. I wasn't sure if the birds were the culprits or the squirrels.

Today as I was taking photos of the daffodils from afar, the squirrel thought he was alone, and demonstrated what he knows how to do! After he raised the window,

he grabbed a nut, and ran back up the tree to sit on a limb chewing his snack. Then a blue jay showed up and pecked up a nut and flew away. The lid is being propped up by that clear plastic, raised, window.

If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,
And from thy slender store
Two loaves alone to thee are left,
Sell one, and with the dole,
Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.


Musharish-Ud-Din Sadi
13th century Persian Poet

The Grape Hyacinth flower (Muscari) is part of the Liliaceae (Lily Family); it is native to Greece and the Middle East and can be found around the Mediterranean Sea from Spain all the way round to Morocco.

Weather sunny, mid-60s.

Failure to Success

Last year I bought a Columbine "Leprechaun Gold" (aquilegia vulgaris), which was flowering at the time. Planted it in a container and never saw another blossom. I thought: buy no more.

The foliage took off and I forgot what the plant was. I really liked the marbled leaves and they added great interest and color to the container. Winter comes, plants die back til this week. It has perked back up, spreading the foliage. I got to wondering what it was, and realized - this is the "failed" Columbine. Failure no more. I'll get more just for the leaves!

Researching about the plant, I discovered this: "COLUMBINE comes from the Latin columba, meaning "dove." The scientific name of aquilegia suggests is derived from aquila, an eagle.

An association has been formed to make this the national flower of the United States, as the rose is the flower of England and the lily of France, for its common name sug- gests Columbus and Columbia, its botanical name associates it with the bird of freedom, it can be raised from seed in almost any of our gardens, and it is native to nearly all of our States.

Weather today - sunny - 65 F.

Turkey & Tulips

When in Turkey last year, I learned that tulips came from there before arriving in Holland. Here is some more information found about this subject.

"Tulips are an everlasting symbol of Istanbul and Turkey, not the familiar varieties with rounded incurving petals seen in northern Europe and North America, but with pointed outward directed petals in the shape of daggers or needles. This stylized tulip decorates the mall between the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia and emphasizes these features, representing an entire period of Turkish history as well as an on-going love affair between the city and the tulip. Today in Istanbul there is said to be one tulip for every one of its 12 million inhabitants. The fuselage of Turkish Airlines planes carries a logo of a tulip as well. Millions of dollars ( even more in lira) have been spent on plantings all over Istanbul with a tulip festival annually.

Wild-growing tulips in Iran and Eastern Turkey were imported to Istanbul before the 15th C but were heavily cultivated in gardens and flowerbox settings in Istanbul as well as depicted in art and craft. From here came the spread of tulipmania to Western Europe and Holland in particular in the 1630's. The English word tulip is derived from the Turkish word for helmet, to which the flower bears a vague resemblance.

Tulip gardening was a hobby of the rich and powerful in Turkey, considered both relaxing and spiritual, and especially favored by the sultans and grand viziers. Surprisingly, even though tulips extended west from Istanbul, the tulipmania of the 1630's in northern Europe did not occur in Turkey until the so-called "Tulip Period" in the early 18th C. Sultan Ahmet III among others was obsessed with gardens, tulips, and garden parties driving bulb prices to insane levels. Others with great interest included Admiral Mustafa Pasa who invented over 40 new tulip breeds.

The Tulip Period was one of relative peace for Turkey with an emphasis on art, culture, and architecture with a Baroque orientation derived from contact with the remainder of Europe. Crushing defeats in European battles late in this timespan brought increasing unrest and outrage against the excesses of the ruling classes and the government stepped in to control the tulip trade, ending the Tulip Period and royal foolishness. Tulips gradually disappeared from Istanbul life, only to be reborn in the last few years."

Info courtesy of the internet:
"THE CITY OF TULIPS" a Istanbul Travel Page by nicolaitan