Picture Contest- Week 2- December 6, 2009

Welcome
December is showing its form. We had our first cold temperatures of the year. It went down to 12 degrees according to a neighbor’s thermometer. Later this week we will get all excited by the first snow storm. When it finally arrives at least that will eliminate the question of whether I should rake those last few areas of the garden, that so far have missed the cleanup effort.

But amidst the cold and snow and ice, there is the fact that soon the days will start getting longer. It is almost time to order seed. I sometimes like to plant a few things ceremonially on January 1.
So on to the contest.
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Wow- we had a great start to the contest this last week. It was great to hear from so many of you. There were more Comments this last week than I can ever remember.(At the end of the blog there is the place for comments.)

In Week 1 there was a great two picture race, with the Pink Poppies edging out the Bloodroot.
Here is the full voting:
Bloodroot 25+1=26 for 33.3%
Primal Scream 7+1=8 for 10.3%
Caladium 8+2=10 for 12.8%
Pink Poppy 30+5=35 for 44.9%
The first number is the electronic vote on the Poll. The second number is the email vote.
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For you viewing pleasure this week I have 4 great pictures.

First is that magical picture from April 26 with bluebells and epimedium. What a combination. I have Virginia Bluebells throughout the garden. They spread. They bloom like crazy. Then they get out of the way. They do allow for some dramatic pictures, providing blue background to everything from daffodils to hosta. I should add that I have been crazy about epimedium for the last few years. This little variety is called rubrum Sweetheart. It is spreading nicely in its fourth year. I really should divide it in the spring.

This second picture is a close-up of a Japanese anemone. They bloom in the fall. This picture was actually early, on August 30. They last into October and should be on everyone’s list of fall flowers. As far as the contest goes, close-up pictures could be in a class of their own.

The third picture shows one of the short bearded iris that adorn the edge of Fairview Street in late April and early May. This picture was taken on May 2. I prefer the short (less than 10 inches) bearded iris because they stand up by themselves. They are such jewels, and will appear throughout the contest. The color contrast between the petals and that fuzzy thing that looks like a caterpillar, is always interesting.


Finally, with the first snow storm bearing down on us I thought this snow shot would be appropriate.
Every few years, like last year, we have late snow, even after the spring flowers have started. Mostly the flowers are not effected. They have, after all, been doing their flower thing for a long time. This picture is of the winter aconite, that is fast naturalizing in many places in the garden. “Naturalizing” is the garden term for spreading on their own terms. The winter aconite is just about the first spring flower, coming right after the snowdrops. They do look like something out of Rocky and Bullwinkle. (How many of you remember that?)

So vote away. Keep those Comments coming. Tell me what you like about any particular picture.
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I am doing something new this week, at least with the blog. In addition to the post with the contest pictures and text (and bonus pictures) I have posted, right below the contest post, a separate post, essentially with extra garden information. Sometimes I just have more to say that what should be in a regular post. If you are interested in this extra post, just scroll down past the end of today’s post and you will find it. This week I talk about plants that were new this year.

Here are your bonus pictures. There are more aconite pictures. There are more snow pictures. There are more anemone pictures.




I call these pictures "single, double, and frumpy".


The solstice is coming.
Philip