Peonies, Hardy Cyclamen, & Bulbs / Hawk 31 October 2008

I love gardening in autumn.  Today was a perfect October day – sunny and warmer than recent days, with highs around 60 F, and a breeze that started out feeling pleasant before the wind started to feel colder.  The soil was cool, but my ungloved hands acclimated.   A friend helped me with work in the garden this afternoon.  We planted the two peony roots (Paeonia officianalis ‘Rubra Plena’ and peony ‘Monsieur Martin Cahuzac’) and the hardy sowbread cyclamen (finally!) – I talked about them in much more detail in my recent post ‘Help! I’m surrounded by bulbs!’ – and some of the spring-blooming bulbs.  We planted some of the snow crocuses, a bag of alliums (Allium sphaerocephalum), Siberian squill (Scilla siberica), Turkish glory of the snow (Chionodoxa sardensis), the original grape hyacinth (Muscari botrioydes), and silver bells (Ornithogalum nutans).  I love working in the yard in autumn because there are so many fewer fellow cityfolk outside, and it’s easier to imagine you’re somewhere other than right off one of the busiest roads in my town. Today was a beautiful day to be October’s swansong.  Happy Halloween, everyone!

As we were finishing up with the bulbs, I looked up and was quite startled to realize a very large bird was sitting above us in one of the backyard’s trees, looking out over the roof of the house to the city spread below.  About one minute later, it took off, flying over the roof and out of sight.  A short time later, after I was inside, I happened to be standing at a window when I saw it fly back this way and over the house again.  I think it was a Red-Tailed Hawk.  I had a hawk in my garden!  How cool is that?

Help! I’m surrounded by bulbs! / Photos 18 October 2008

The great bulb influx has continued unabated.  After receiving the colchicums and fall crocuses and other fall-blooming & early-planted bulbs from Brent and Becky’s (as mentioned in a recent post), I received the second half of my order from Odyssey Bulbs, and then I received my order from Old House Gardens.  I’ve still got my not-shipped-early spring-blooming bulbs from Brent and Becky’s to receive, as well as my spring-blooming bulbs Odyssey order if I remember to make it before they sell out.

I’ve spent a few hours in the garden planting fall-blooming crocuses, and have almost finished doing that, just having the plain saffron crocuses to go (I already planted the more reliably blooming – and thus, more expensive – cultivar of saffron crocus commonly sold as ‘Cashmirianus’).  I also already planted the two spring-blooming colchicums I got (only two because they are rare and thus, more expensive than fall-blooming colchicums).  I find fall-blooming crocuses more difficult to place than many things, because they like the conditions of the front garden, but since they bloom when so much other stuff has already bushed out and hasn’t died yet, I have to place them in spots where they can be seen in my sloping garden.  Spring-blooming bulbs are easier to place, because so little has grown very tall yet in the spring garden when they bloom that I can plant them pretty much anywhere to have them be seen from the sidewalk.

I’ve still got to plant some things that I should have already planted – the fritillaries, the snowdrops, and a few things from the new order from Old House Gardens – two peony roots and a hardy cyclamen and Siberian squill.  The cyclamen is a fall-bloomer known as “sowbread cyclamen” (Cyclamen hederifolium syn. C. neapolitanum), and you can see a photo of it at OHG’s site.  The peonies are ‘Rubra Plena’ (Paeonia officinalis, the peony Europeans and colonists grew [and used medicinally] before the introduction of Chinese peonies; photo at OHG’s site) and lovely ‘Monsieur Martin Cahuzac’ (a P. lactiflora cultivar; photo at OHG’s site).  (Tip:  Be sure to plant peony roots with the “eyes” close to the surface, or you’ll get plenty of foliage but few to no flowers.)  The bulbs, cyclamen, and peonies that I should be planting are all stored in dirt in bags in a cool, fairly dark closet right now.  They’re doing so-so or well (depending on what they are), but I need to get planting soon.  It’s been delayed because of new priorities due to colder nights and threat of frost, which I will discuss more in the next entry I write.   For now, here are a few of the hundreds of photos on my computer that I’ve yet to share here:

Fall crocuses blooming. These are some of the ones I planted last year.

More fall crocuses blooming. Another patch from last year.

A closer view of the same fall crocus patch as the last photo.

Autumn sun shining through the front garden

Aster October Skies & hyssop-leaved boneset

The corner of the front garden: Swan river daisies (2 lavender, 1 white), rosemary Irene (which drapes), goldenrod (Golden Fleece, I believe), Russian sage, ornamental grass Shenandoah Purple, rudbeckia Indian Summer, creeping zinnia (yellow daisy-like flowers; not really a zinnia), and more. Click photo for full-sized version.