We had an exceptionally good spring for flowers here at Colehaus. No heat wave, no hail or leaf shredding windstorms. Just perfect spring weather. Mom’s giving herself arm strain patting herself on her back for getting a big bag of starbuck’s coffee grounds sprinkled in all those Rhododendrons and Azaleas in early April. They sure seemed to like it!
One of the oldest plants here at Colehaus (going on 27 years) is this single pink azalea. It was a bush planted by the development builder. About 4 years in, we transplanted it to a more azalea-appropriate spot where the sun didn’t try to burn it to a crisp each summer.
On the other side of the yard, and also originally planted in the 10,000 degree burn zone was the parent of this double petal pink azalea. Mom rooted a lower branch and when ready, just before the original plant fried, moved the rooted new plant to a friendlier spot. We now have 2 of these and sometimes we think Mom should have always been in the plant growing business.
So while, yes, we have a lot of rhododendrons and azaleas because it may be a strict requirement for living in the Pacific Northwest, we have a lot of lesser known azaleas and other plants that are tucked away behind other things and are always a treat to see come back year after year.
This is not our Dutch iris. Maybe it was a gift from a squirrel?
These ARE our Dutch iris, purchased from a bargain bin a few years ago. You can see the spent purple one that flowered first and didn’t last long at all.
Here’s something else someone brought to our garden this year. It’s called a Tragopogon dubius or Yellow Salsify or sometimes called Western Goat’s Beard. It was a European plant until relatively recently and good for bees, rodents and allegedly bears. We’ll certainly let you know if we spy any bears out in our front yard munching away on this. We think it’s yet another bird poop or maybe squirrel poop plant and Mom’s on the fence whether to rip it out by it’s taproot or cut off the dandelion top seed heads when they appear and let the plant grow.
Tuxie Boy insists he did not bring some Dutch iris bulb or goat’s beard anything, but he does insist that he get extra helpings of chicken catnip treats and if we’d dole those out all day, he’d be a much happier Tuxie Boy. Sorry buddy. There’s good food in that bowl though! Boy, he sure enjoys those treats. Wouldn’t even look at the camera!
Sometimes, it’s okay to borrow flower photos. Our neighbor grows vining things like this white Clematis on an old ladder next to our shared fence. If we had an old ladder like this one, we’d plant some similar Clematis on our side and let them be vine buddies. You wouldn’t think old wooden ladders would be hard to find but they are, and when you find one, it’s usually very expensive. Somehow, a new plastic-y, Fisher-Price colored, fiberglass ladder sitting there just wouldn’t look the same.
Another neighbor who’s from the south, loves Dogwood trees and planted one nearby. This is its first, big flowering and we can see the love.
Mom’s unintentional crossbreeding of Columbines continues. Here’s a purple and greenish one that came out of nowhere. In the background is a plant called a Fringe Cup, or for you technical gardeners who spout out Latin names for everything – Tellima grandiflora. We’ve never planted these. These are native growers here. Mom always thought they looked like a houseplant she called Piggyback plant back in another lifetime when she was a greenhouse worker/manager living in the desert southwest. As it turns out, they are related! Also, having fringe cups growing naturally in your yard signifies a good, healthy garden ecosystem. Mom’s thrilled. Maybe that’s why her Columbines are growing so pretty!
Mom’s collected seed from last year’s unexpected pink-tinged Columbine have come up. There’s only 2 plants blooming so far but several smaller ones nearby that may be the same. If they survive, it’ll take a few years of growing to make strong perennial plants. There’s already so much purple growing in that area, pink flowers will break that up very well.
About 4-5 years ago, we planted a double white Columbine that was found languishing in a small, dry pot on a back grocery store nursery shelf. It grew beautifully here at Colehaus, Mom collected seed from it and planted those the next spring. It didn’t come back that year, or the year after and pretty much, she wrote it off as one of those perennials that turn out to be more annual, meaning it grows pretty and then, dies after one season.
Last week, Mom discovered in the same spot as that long-gone white Columbine grew, a double purple Columbine! So, it did come back after a long hibernation and reverted to the purple Columbine color? Oh yes, you can believe Mom will collect seed from this one, too!
Mom, can you stop talking about flowers and give me brushies instead? I’m just as pretty, aren’t I?
Oh, sweet Viola, you’re prettier than old flowers. Brushies coming right up.
Everyone’s doing well here. We’re having a good amount of rain and cooler weather so Quint and Tessa are sharing warming mat beds and blanket forts. Viola has her Island box mostly to herself and gets brushies every day. Dad’s been test-fitted for a wheelchair and we’re pretty sure we know which one we’ll purchase sometime in the next few weeks. He’s starting to have a tough time getting around even with a multi-footed cane and a sharp-looking walker. We have a lot of decisions to make surrounding that whole purchase and his MS and kitchen cabinet reorganization and how to get around and honestly, he doesn’t want to deal with a single bit of it. Mom is beyond flabbergasted.
You can see above what Mom does in her rare spare time when not taking on more responsibilities that Dad’s becoming unable to do. She says she’s tough and will take every day as it comes. And she thanks Friends of Colehaus MC for thinking of us often. Bless you, dear friend. Thank you.
Thanks for visiting us today!
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A Colehaus Cats flashback:
2025 – No post
2024 – Complaints
2023 – No post
2022 – No post
2021 – No post
2020 – No post
2019 – Wordless Wednesday
2018 – No post
2017 – No post
2016 – No post
2015 – Nap Tips with Miss Newton
2014 – No post
2013 – One Word Wednesday – Three
2012 – No post
