Saturday, April 11, 2009

Spring wildflower garden report

We had snow last night. Oh, maybe as much as a melty inch; no big deal, but snow, nonetheless. Furthermore, today was a dreary chilly wet day, not the Arizona bright that I take for granted in April. But then we can always use the moisture. I thought that a few spring pictures might chase the blues away. For example, the trees still offer dangles (above and, below, taken at my table-top studio).
My neighbor is enjoying this bright yellow mystery flower, while I cleverly planted a handful of grape hyacinth bulbs in a tub on a ledge high enough that the javelina can't munch out on them.

The red barbatus penstemon continues to be reliable, with flower stems emerging rapidly. On the other hand, my big desert four o'clock is a good week or two later than last year, suggesting that our current spring is definitely chillier. This stem is growing in the midst of a grass plant, which I've left as a shelter from potential frost. For comparison, check out my wildflower garden report from April a year ago.

In contrast, the amazing giant super paint brush is maybe one flower ahead of the year 2008. To show how fast the plant develops, here are photos from March 31 (above) and April 9 (below). (It looks like I was trying also to contrast late afternoon lighting with morning sunlight -- not my intent, but certainly the result.)

6 comments:

Antipodean Curmudgeon said...

A bit of snow there--ha. Plurey 34C here with a hot easterly blowing off the centre of the continent--so much for autumn. Maybe a dab of moisture tomorrow.

Anyway Easter Greetings atcha.

Hermano

Linda G. said...

Thankss for proof of spring! I love that paint brush! I know it's hard to get it started and yours looks wonderful!
Happy Easter, GJ!

I see I'm linked to your post! How did that happen?
I arrived via a little gizmo on my side bar..hmm..
solb really was a good name for me:)

Anonymous said...

Happy Easter, GJ, and the wildflowers everywhere in the U.S. are so pretty!

A sprinkling of snow just makes the heart even more eager for spring.

~Anon in AV.

Granny J said...

bro -- a Happy Easter right back atcha.

lindaG -- I'm told that paint brush is a semi-parasite, but my experiene has been that if it gets adequate moisture, it will do just fine by you. I've got another good plant up the hill that is getting bigger every year.

anon av -- I'm all for spring -- and all for more moisture -- we had a very dry March & the fields out Chino Valley way did not green up as they usually do at this time of the year. Maybe yestrday's snow/rain will make a difference.

Cheryl Ann said...

I hear 'ya about the rain. We had it in our mountains Saturday (and some new, fresh snow!)...it was a dreary day.

Granny J said...

ca -- the dreary can get to one, but so can the ultra dries. With our forests around here, we worry a lot when everuthing dries out.

 
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