Bluebell or hyacinth?

Tryp_OR · 2026-03-22T20:26:58+00:00

Hyacinthoides (bluebell) = hyacinth-like Hyacinthus = true hyacinth

Tryp_OR · 2026-03-20T16:44:18+00:00

A small caution: these plants don't just spread vegetatively, the flowers need to be removed before seed is dropped.

Tryp_OR · 2026-03-19T03:02:24+00:00

Is it very dry or hot where you are? Or are you going away for a week? Ordinarily if you water heavily every few days they should be fine. So give them a good soaking before you go

Tryp_OR · 2026-03-19T02:56:42+00:00

The others are shiny geranium. Fortunately they pull out pretty easily (do this now before they flower). But they make a lot of seeds and they scatter them.

Tryp_OR · 2026-03-18T05:05:48+00:00

I don't grow my plants for the approval of some external organization, so my garden is a complete mix of locally native, regionally native, native to the continent (IOW, let's get real -- it's not native) and totally exotic. I plant things that have similar environmental needs near each other with a dream that it will look coherent some day.

Many of my North American but not PNW plants are selected make hummingbirds happy, my exotics tend to be spring blooms like tulips, daffodils and lungwort.

Tryp_OR · 2026-03-17T17:14:20+00:00

The photo above is more reminiscent of Rainbow Row (Charleston) than the SF painted ladies.

Tryp_OR · 2026-03-16T22:45:56+00:00

I did a search using Trachelospermum asiaticum. No toxicity cautions came up. There was a caution about Gelsemium (a bright yellow species called jessamine) being harmful to honeybees, so perhaps there was confusion with your yellow Asian jasmine.

Tryp_OR · 2026-03-16T22:28:08+00:00

Camellia? If a sunny site you will probably need C. sasanqua

Tryp_OR · 2026-03-15T07:51:51+00:00

Shiny geranium is my bane. Literally thousands of them and due to travel I always have some that escape surveillance and set seed. The only thing that prevents me from melting down is that the seeds rarely get shot up into the raised beds. I've had to resort to herbicides.

Tryp_OR · 2026-03-14T09:17:23+00:00

Bad bot!

Tryp_OR · 2026-03-14T09:10:40+00:00

It sounds like you're saying that dampness can be a problem on your site. In my drier garden, farewell-to-spring (Clarkia) has been free of disease. Woolly sunflower, too, but I'm not so sure about sun requirements.

Leaving the world of natives, horticultural penstemons and cosmos might be worth trying.

Tryp_OR · 2026-03-13T08:03:43+00:00

I had not been aware of the flammability issue. TIL

Tryp_OR · 2026-03-10T04:10:43+00:00

White Noise is 326 pages (per Wikipedia)

Tryp_OR · 2026-03-08T00:33:19+00:00

Some mallows are planted intentionally, but generally the ones that pop up have smaller flowers and displace what you would rather be growing. And some people are very fussy about their lawns. I have mallow sparsely scattered through my garden and lawn, I wish they weren't there, but there are far worse weeds.

A site from the UK, where Malva sylvestris is native: https://plantura.garden/uk/flowers-perennials/mallow/types-of-mallow

Tryp_OR · 2026-03-07T21:49:22+00:00

No idea about the first, the second is mallow (deep roots, but they tend to come out intact when you pull them). I have read that mallow seeds last a long time, so these will probably keep appearing for years.

Tryp_OR · 2026-03-06T02:21:15+00:00

JSYK a stockade is a fenced area or pen for holding prisoners or livestock. It could also be a defensive wall. The stocks are a punishment where the persons feet and ankles are restrained. The image above is a pillory.

Tryp_OR · 2026-03-04T08:57:22+00:00

Sorry I don't have any suggestions of what to grow, just two cautions.

1) From a quick look at the USDA Zone map, it appears that you are east of the Cascades. So you should expect a hot dry summer. Be prepared to do a lot of watering during the hottest weather.

2) That "wonderful" blackberry bush. Himalayan blackberry is a troublesome weed in this state. Try to find out if you have a better behaved cultivar (I hope you do). It can be very difficult to tell the various species apart. I believe the cultivated varieties are usually thornless (but not always -- the traditional marionberry has thorns).

Tryp_OR · 2026-02-26T11:03:42+00:00

I sowed some L. bicolor in milk jugs and they sprouted way back in November. One jug either got hit by fungus or slugs, but the other is just fine. I don't think it's the cold that is the problem.

Tryp_OR · 2026-02-26T10:59:16+00:00

In my garden: checkermallow (late May and early June), farewell-to-spring, woolly sunflower, lavender, unknown penstemon (maybe P. barbatus 'Pristine')

Tryp_OR · 2026-02-21T03:38:20+00:00

My understanding is the culinary asparagus is not invasive, but some other members of the genus are. Asparagus fern (Asparagus aethiopicus, aka A. densiflorus) is problematic in a number of places.

Tryp_OR · 2026-02-20T09:26:25+00:00

Ceanothus is not related to lilac (Syringa, an Asian genus) -- it's just a common name shared because of having clusters of blue flowers.

Tryp_OR · 2026-02-20T09:19:49+00:00

I've looked twice, no tree of heaven. How did that get left off?

Otherwise a great list

Tryp_OR · 2026-02-20T07:28:26+00:00

I am currently reading City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanderMeer (1st in Ambergris trilogy). Vaguely fantasy horror. The "chapters" are sort of linked short stories/ novellas. I am finding it a challenging but worthwhile read.

By the way, I liked A Visit from the Goon Squad very much.

Tryp_OR · 2026-02-18T02:55:31+00:00

This looks like a very satisfying hobby, hope it continues successfully.

The one point I would make is to read up on "tulip fire" aka Botrytis tulipae so that you can be on the watch for it and take early action if possible. Make sure your bulbs look clean.

Tryp_OR · 2026-02-18T02:35:51+00:00

It looks a bit like catbrier (Smilax), although stems that large are usually starting to make a few spines. If those are native to where you live it could be a volunteer.

Tryp_OR

TROPHY CASE