More Spring...

rapunzel47 · Apr 18, 2005

[oops! wasn't watching where I was and got this in the wrong forum! would a mod care to move it to the Lounge for me, please

Gracias!]

This time it's dogwood. This is BC's provincial flower and there are lots of them around town, and around where I live. They are on their first bloom, the leaves are sparce and young, but the blossoms are lovely. In July or so, they'll bloom again, on full foliage. But for now...

And I couldn't leave out the lilac in our back yard. Poor thing should have been pruned eons ago, long before our time, but it wasn't. It was allowed to do its thing, and it grew very tall, and eventually top heavy. The last several years, with one thing and another, it has been leaning toward the west, more each year. But that doesn't stop it from blooming each spring, and giving us these lovely flowers...

Looking up into the branches...

Oh, BTW, would anyone like some lemonbalm??? It just takes over....

gilly · Apr 18, 2005

Originally Posted by rapunzel47

Oh, BTW, would anyone like some lemonbalm??? It just takes over....

I love your pics

I took a few in the garden at the weekend that I might share too.

I think I have something that looks exactly like that lemonbalm in my garden, but it has little purple flowers (when it decides to flower that is!). The leaves look the same as that and it really spreads if you are not careful. It's not the same thing is it?

rapunzel47 · Apr 18, 2005

Originally Posted by Gilly

I love your pics

I took a few in the garden at the weekend that I might share too.

I think I have something that looks exactly like that lemonbalm in my garden, but it has little purple flowers (when it decides to flower that is!). The leaves look the same as that and it really spreads if you are not careful. It's not the same thing is it?

It could be. The flowers come in summer, and are tiny. I wouldn't have called them purple, but so many of these things have a zillion varieties with slightly different flowers -- it wouldn't surprise me to find anything from white to purple. And it sure does spread. That patch is easily three feet wide, and has expanded from maybe a foot or so in the time we have been here, easily throttling mint, lilies of the valley and several other things that got in the way, and I noticed several sprouts of it in the lawn today, a couple of feet away from the main patch.

Bruise a leaf and smell your fingers -- lemon? That's lemonbalm. If it's not lemonbalm, it could also be a species of mint, which has similar leaves. I think lemonbalm is actually a member of the mint family. Mint goes where it pleases, too, unless there's lemonbalm to shove it out of the way. Frankly, I'd rather have mint!

wellingtoncats · Apr 18, 2005

Fran, what lovely pictures! I'd love to be in your yard.

Thanks for sharing!

gilly · Apr 18, 2005

I shall go and have a sniff later and try and get a close up pic of that stuff! (it's just gone 7am here...)

Meanwhile, some pics of Spring to share with you also.

Here is a pic that I have just taken, whilst looking out of the kitchen window, of my garden. I own half the garden as I live in a 1st floor maisonette, finding your own patch of greenery in London is priceless! All the stuff was planted about 1 year ago now - it is really lovely to see everything coming up again now that the warmer weather is here

Btw, Guinness and chums love kicking that slate about! lol

gilly · Apr 18, 2005

Some from Sunday, whilst playing about with my camera in my mum's garden: (Couldn't tell you what they are, but... she has a lovely garden, it is her pride and joy - everything is mature and well cared for)

rapunzel47 · Apr 19, 2005

MMMMMMMMM...very pretty! Nice little patch of green you have there, too.

Thanks, Sam...we like it...not huge, but pleasant.

coolcat · Apr 19, 2005

Hey Frannie, did you take the pics? youÂ´re a good Artist!!!

Gilly nice work you too!!!!

even here we can "take a breath" of you spring chicks!

...

ali012281 · Apr 19, 2005

Ohhhhh lovely!!!

sashacat421 · Apr 19, 2005

Gilly said:
Some from Sunday, whilst playing about with my camera in my mum's garden: (Couldn't tell you what they are, but... she has a lovely garden, it is her pride and joy - everything is mature and well cared for)

hi Gilly!

That's a lovely spot of Columbine there, we have it everywhere at our house. It thrives in the northern climates. And the thorney leaves behind are separate from it, actually, they look like thorny nettle. All of your photos are lovely!

gilly · Apr 19, 2005

Originally Posted by rapunzel47

MMMMMMMMM...very pretty! Nice little patch of green you have there, too.

Thanks

Any full shots of your patch too?

Btw, I think it is lemonbalm that I have

My nose is a little blocked (as I am poorly atm) but I am sure it smells lemmony .... Guin is checking it for me too!

gilly · Apr 19, 2005

Originally Posted by sashacat421

hi Gilly!

That's a lovely spot of Columbine there, we have it everywhere at our house. It thrives in the northern climates. And the thorney leaves behind are separate from it, actually, they look like thorny nettle. All of your photos are lovely!

Hey

I shall tell my mum, cos those close up's are from her garden. I love my parents garden. They spend so much time and money on it. When in full bloom she has this amazing variety of colours, even in winter there is never a dull moment as she has chosen lots of shrubs that keep their vibrant leaves through winter...

When I get a chance I will do more close up's of stuff in mine. I am glad that there's a lot of other green fingered ppl on here. I only started on the garden this time last year (as I left it for a while after I moved in). It is the first garden that I have ever owned so love being out there. I can't wait to plant up Petunia's... they wouldn't stop growing last year and looked so pretty

I am also just learning the names of plants and stuff... it's so complicated! lol

flisssweetpea · Apr 19, 2005

Gilly - the yellow flowering bush is a Kerria bush - it should be full of flowers about now.

Something says the second picture could be a type of Pieris (but I'm not sure about that one).

The bottom picture - I think it may be Lady's Mantle.

flisssweetpea · Apr 19, 2005

Fran - your pictures are lovely, I love the Dogwood. And you're so right - lemonbalm has no problem establishing itself. It has taken over my herb garden and jumped across the path into the next border as well.

rapunzel47 · Apr 19, 2005

Originally Posted by CoolCat

Hey Frannie, did you take the pics? youÂ´re a good Artist!!!

Thanks, Rigel.

Originally Posted by Gilly

Thanks Any full shots of your patch too?

Btw, I think it is lemonbalm that I have My nose is a little blocked (as I am poorly atm) but I am sure it smells lemmony .... Guin is checking it for me too!

If you can pick up lemon with a stuffy nose, that's the stuff!! Some people like to make tea from it. I'm not a tea-granny, so haven't tried it. One of these days, perhaps I'll get into using it in other ways.

Full shots? I think I have some fuller shots from previous years at home. I'll have a look tonight and see what's there. I'll also have a go at some new ones after work. We've got a good sunny day, so I've no excuse! Especially as I actually cleaned up the winter debris on the weekend (the gardener is out of commission at the moment, so his sometime assistant is picking up some of the slack.

)

rapunzel47 · Apr 19, 2005

Originally Posted by flisssweetpea

Fran - your pictures are lovely, I love the Dogwood. And you're so right - lemonbalm has no problem establishing itself. It has taken over my herb garden and jumped across the path into the next border as well.

Thanks.

Fortunately the beast hasn't taken over my herb garden, because the things I'm intentional about (the lemonbalm was here when we moved in) I have in hanging baskets and pots and window boxes on the back porch -- so I can pluck what I want, without having to put shoes on and go downstairs.

But it did obliterate a lovely patch of mint, and I haven't been able to find that particular variety (whose name I don't know) again. Harrumph!

I only ever seem to see spearmint, which I don't like as well, and for some reason doesn't do well for us. Oh, well....

[BTW thanks to the mod who made the move for me]

gilly · Apr 19, 2005

Originally Posted by flisssweetpea

Gilly - the yellow flowering bush is a Kerria bush - it should be full of flowers about now.

Something says the second picture could be a type of Pieris (but I'm not sure about that one).

The bottom picture - I think it may be Lady's Mantle.

Ahhh

now I can show off to my mum! I have two of the bottom picture shrubs in my garden too. I just googled Lady's Mantle and it looks different. From my pic you can't see, but the stems are red and the leaves are green

I think that I am going to have to get some close up's of my stuff so I know what they are! lol (will have to do it tomorrow now as it's 9.15pm and pitch black outside!

gilly · Apr 19, 2005

This should be called, Gardener's Corner

lol

sashacat421 · Apr 19, 2005

Originally Posted by Gilly

This should be called, Gardener's Corner

lol

I think that is a great idea! I wish we could have sticky or perm thread for stuff like this.

gilly · Apr 20, 2005

Just going to bump this again

I think this is the lemonbalm stuff, it looks the same:

There are two tree's outside my living room window and they are just about to come into blossom... I got this pic yesterday (incl. raindrops on the window!)

More Spring...

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