Spring's Most Exciting Buds

Climbing Hydrangeas

Last year I planted four climbing hydrangeas (H. anomala spp. petiolaris) in front of my porch. This year three out of the four are developing flower buds! Why is this so exciting? Well, from what I've read about climbing hydrangeas, they are famously slow to flower. I had already prepared myself to wait several years for those pretty white lacecap florets. Now I won't have to! I am so pleased that they are happy where I've planted them. I put a lot of thought and research into my choice of plant for this particular spot, but now I feel confident that the plants themselves agree with my decision!

Front Porch Plan

My house is an ugly little mid-century ranch house: one story, boring symmetrical faces with small windows, vertically striped siding. The porch is a narrow concrete slab spanning the front wall. Door in the middle. Four pressure-treated 4x4s appear to hold up the roof. No railing. No columns or pillars or decorative millwork. Trust me when I tell you that it's a sad-looking front porch to come home to. Current budget and skill level won't allow for much in the way of improvements, but I came up with a plan that I think will hide the ugliness of the existing structure with additional supports and a painted latticework facade. The lattice should bring the face of the house forward while still allowing light and air into the covered porch area. I hope to have it all completed by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the hydrangeas have been establishing themselves in their sleepy first-year way. (First they sleep, then they creep, then they leap!) Give them a couple more years and they will shoot up that lattice wall and cover it with bright green leaves and tiers of lacy white flowers. In the winter the leaves are gone, but the peeling cinnamon-colored bark is revealed. They really are lovely plants all year round.

New flower buds on climbing hydrangea, almost one year after planting!
... Aaaaand an orange cat in the background making a silly face.

Plant Points: Hydrangea anomala spp. petiolaris

• Hardiness zones 4 - 8
• Deciduous woody vine
• Climbs by clinging with aerial rootlets, not by twining
• Grows up to 80 ft. long/high
• Can climb up walls, fences, arbors and large shade trees
• Can ramble across the ground as a shrubby groundcover
• Lateral branches grow up to three feet outward from trunk
• Prefers moist, well-drained soil; tolerates clay
• Part shade to full sun
• White flowers in summer
• Blooms on old wood
• Exfoliating bark in winter

Photos from the 2014 Northwest Flower & Garden Show

Here, finally, are photos from the annual Northwest Flower & Garden Show, which Hubby and I attended for the first time last month. Unfortunately, I was so wrapped up in thoughts of how I might apply what I saw to my own garden that all of my efforts were directed toward note-taking, in both text and picture form. All of these photos were taken with my phone and were intended to be used for reference, not for display. Despite the low quality of my photos, the show really was something to see. Be there next year and you'll know exactly what I mean!

More photos after the jump.

Black Bugs With Red Markings

I went out to take photos of emerging leaves and came across this little monster. It took a bit longer than expected to identify this guy on the web, but I eventually prevailed.

This is a "Bordered Plant Bug"

Largus succinctus

The bordered plant bug does eat juicy plant bits, but general consensus seems to be that it won't do too much damage to the garden as long as it doesn't show up in huge numbers.

Interesting to me is that the bordered plant bug is so similar to both the box elder bug (Boisea trivittata) and the red shouldered bug (Jadera haematoloma), both of which I came across in my research on the goldenrain tree (Koelreuteria paniculata). Red shouldered bugs in particular are so attracted to the goldenrain tree that they are sometimes referred to as goldenrain tree bugs. They are also commonly despised by people who have these unique and beautiful trees near their homes. It seems the biggest problem with all of these black and red buggies is their desire to overwinter inside your house. Then they crap all over your stuff and ... well, you get the idea.

So, this bug is more of a pest than a pal, but there are way worse bugs to worry about. I'm going to file this one under Nuisance: Kill on sight but don't begrudge the ones that get away ... and don't invite them in for tea.

Precious Snowfall

This right here is the first considerable snowfall we've had all winter! I'd better go knock some of that snow off the delicate branches of my upright juniper before the weight splays them out too far. My skinny little potted bamboo is looking rather weighed down, too. Fortunately, most of the plants in my yard don't mind a little snow accumulation. This weeping Norway spruce is all bent over because it was trained to grow that way. The snow only accentuates the shape. In fact, this little tree has never looked more beautiful to me than it does now.

Ah, snow!

Not Exactly The Garden Show

Wednesday was the first day of the Northwest Flower & Garden Show and Hubby and I had tickets. I drove us up to Seattle that morning and promptly got us caught in the Seahawks parade traffic. Just exiting the freeway took a ridiculously long time. By the time we'd gotten downtown, all of the parking garages were full. All of them. Vacant parking spaces had ceased to exist ... and probably hadn't existed for hours. Without anyplace to leave our car, there was just no way we were going to get to see the garden show that day. Hours of unplanned-for travel time had already been subtracted from the total amount of time we would've been able to spend at the show. The first of the seminars I'd wanted to attend had already started. The show was going on without us! And here we were, barely moving but unable to stop.

Nuts.

Eventually, I found myself turning a blind corner onto ... a northbound ramp to the freeway! Freedom regained, Plan B was suddenly born. To the University Village we would go. To drink tea and eat gourmet cupcakes and peruse the shops until we got bored. Our tickets were still good for any one day of the garden show. We could go tomorrow! Everything was going to be just fine.

... And while we were at the U Village, we saw what goodies Ravenna Gardens has to offer in the wintertime. We pored over the heucheras and the hellebores and the ferns and the false cypresses. We flipped through the books on hiking and vegetable growing and backyard chicken raising. We admired the fancy gardening tools and the artful glass containers and the expensive potting sheds. Ah, what luxury!

Then we snapped pictures of a few of the container plantings around the Village before we headed back home to sleep. See? It was like our own little garden show ... just not the garden show.

Ferns 'n' stuff. A warm-looking combo in the bright sun of a freezing winter afternoon.

Evidence that heuchera can be a great filler and spiller in a container. Bit of a purple theme here.

Christmas camellia, ivy and black mondo grass. Great contrast.

Hellebores aaaaand ... not sure if those are dogwoods or japanese maples. Brilliant neon winter bark, anyway.

Then off home and to bed we went, plans for the morrow planted firmly in our minds. Goodnight, Seattle! We'll be seeing you again very soon.