Fragrant Narcissus and Hyacinths Ease a Switch of Seasons

I was lucky enough to teach gardening and flower arranging last week at Rancho La Puerta in Mexico. A few storms blew through, but mostly it was sunny and warm - later in the week I'll post a few photos to show you what was in bloom in these gorgeous Baja gardens...The scent of wisteria and roses catapulted me a season forward.....even the jasmine was starting to open as we left.

As soon as I got back to Langley I went out into the garden to gather flowers, and felt like a time traveler - spring is just beginning to unfold in my garden here.The pasqueflowers are opening, the epimedium are in full bloom, the narcissus are holding their own, the lilacs are budded up... Fragrant hyacinths to cut, and lilies and hostas pushing their snouts up out of the ground helped to ground me back into the beauty of a Northwest spring.

I feel so lucky to have experienced two springs in a single week - a Mexican spring on the cusp of summer, and a Whidbey Island springtime just pushing up out of the ground...

Two bouquets, one for the house and one for Half Moon Yoga....the little yellow flowers on dark stems are kale gone to flower (sometimes it helps to be slow on garden clean-up), a selection of daffodils, purple hyacinth, blue pulmonaria, a lavender drumstick primrose. Can you see the little orange flowers toward the bottom of the right-hand bouquet? That's the darling little bloom on epimedium...love this orange-flowering variety. The flowers, on dark wiry stems, tend to disappear in the landscape, so they're perfect to cut and bring inside to enjoy close up...

k

Comments

[Ruth]

What variety of epimedium produces the orange flower? I have to have add it to my collection!! Thanks!

[Valerie Easton]

Hi Ruth,
The kind of epimedium I grow is Epimedium x cantabrigiense that has coppery orange flowers; there's also Epimedium 'Orange Queen'with larger flowers, but I don't think the leaves color up as well in winter - I bought mine at Wells-Medina about this time of year....
Good luck...they're worth searching down...
Val

[Chris]

What gorgeous, contrasting colors!! I love purple and dark blue with yellow and oranges and you blend them so beautifully!