mears garden: Week 13- March 15- Spring is here

It has been a gorgeous week. The aconite have joined the snowdrops in blooming in the garden in Iowa City. Warm weather is all around us, to the point that a cold front is going to bring temperatures in the 50'. Really?
We are heading out again this weekend, going south almost 400 miles, to visit my mother in Springfield, Missouri. Going south in the spring is always a garden treat, as one in some ways goes through time. As we travel south we watch for that first daffodil or a blooming forsythia bush. I wonder if there will be crocuses.

Update- from southern Missouri. The elusive daffodil line might just make it to my mother's backyard Sunday. Her first crocus bloomed today (Saturday.) On the other hand we saw several lawns that were naturalized with hundreds of purple crocuses. Her forsythia is also a good warm day from beginning.

We did determine that the most prolific Missouri flower of early spring is our old friend- creeping charlie. Its botanical name is Glechoma hederacea. There can be fields of that awful stuff. It can make almost a solid purple field that the first time you see it, you stop your car to check out what that is.

Last week's winner

The winner last week was the red poppy, beauty of livermore.

The full voting was
Poppy 19
Columbine 17
Single Bloodroot 14
Primrose 8

This week's contest

This week we will select the third entry in the final four.

The orchid cactus, from Week 8 needs no introduction. It is a feature of my garden, helping me move into that new dimension, up. Having filled up the garden in all the expected directions, the only way to add to that is to hang plants from the trees.

This picture was taken on June 21.

I have the first seedlings from one of my plants that are growing in the basement.

Waterlilies have been in the contest for years. This entry carried that tradition in wonderful way.

I think this is the first seedpod to make the finals of any contest. It is actually a seed head. Each one of those little red things is a seed.

This is the jack in the pulpit seed head. The seeds will grow to form bulbs, called corms. These jacks really do spread and will transplant quite easily.

This last entry this week is this spring beauty, the crocus appropriately called tricolor. The picture was taken on April 7. Last year was a late year for the spring. I think this flower will bloom before that this year.

Bonus pictures

For your bonus enjoyment this week I have the class of 2009, that appeared in the contest over the winter of 2009-2010.
Here they are.