Now there are aconite in the garden. There are not yet the groups from last week's contest. I can only imagine what there will be next week. This is a great time of the year.
We are on the road this weekend so this will be a short post. I should tell you that spring is not yet come to Chicago. It does seem to be in the forecast. Just wait for this Wednesday.
Some of you might remember the pictures of the geese from several weeks ago. I went back and checked and those pictures were taken on March 10, 2010. Well those geese came through or rather above Iowa City this week on Tuesday March 8. They were way up high and there were hundreds of them. They came in waves- maybe 4-5 groups. It was pretty neat.
As to the contest this last week the winner was the orchid cactus. It advances to the final four in two weeks.
The full voting was:
Orchid cactus 23
Frilly Iris 17
Trillium 13
Aconite 11
In this week’s contest there are four more early spring pictures from last year.
First there is this great group of pansies. Pansies can over-winter in Iowa. You plant them in the fall and they will come back strong in early spring. This picture was taken on April 17.
Then there is this April 10 picture of leucojem. They really are like lilies of the valley on steroids. Lots of people know about the usual spring bulbs- crocuses, tulips, and daffodils. I really encourage people to check out some of the other distinctive spring bulbs. Leucojems are in this category along with riticulata iris, and fritillaria.
Next up is this wonderful double bloodroot. Bloodroot is a native wildflower, found in woodlands I assume all over. The double variety is just one of those rare mutations that someone found that apparently are stable and then jumped on by the plant sellers. I will let you know this spring how they spread. I have a little clump that was planted a few years ago and have come back so far.
Finally there are crocuses. This is what can happen if you leave them alone. I will try to find this clump today and put a picture of them in the bonus section- maybe next week. Talk about anticipation.
Vote away. Spring is here. You can smell it in the morning. You can hear it when you go out for the paper.
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Philip
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