Tangled Branches: Cultivated
happenings in and around my zone 6b gardens in northern Virginia and in central Virginia
Thursday, April 12, 2007
More Blues
The little blue flowers keep on keeping on. The Siberian squills and Chionodoxa are basically finished, but the Muscari and Violas are still going strong. Well, that is, except for the store-bought Violas. They got frosted a bit, but they'll be back.
Some recent bloomers are Muscari 'Valerie Finnis', Ipheion uniflorum, and Ipheion 'Rolf Fiedler'. The Virginia bluebells are just starting.
I planted Ipheion uniflorum several years ago, and the ones that settled in are now nice-sized clumps.
I wish I had planted Ipheion 'Rolf Fiedler' years ago. These are only a couple years in the ground so there aren't nearly as many of them, but the color is so much more striking than the species. I had this next to some yellow Creeping Jenny, but that particular planting was a construction casualty. (Last year's picture here.) I understand there is some confusion about whether 'Rolf Fiedler' is a variety of I. uniflorum, or a separate species. Rolf's petals are more rounded and the foliage seems more prostrate, but you can definitely see the family resemblance. 
I can't make up my mind about Valerie Finnis. (And how does she rate having two plants - an Artemisia and a Muscari - named after her?) Anyhow, her Muscari is a pale blue thing that blooms after the Muscari armeniacum. Most of mine disappeared, but there are a few left. The thing I can't make up my mind about is whether I like the color. Up close and in bulb catalogs, it's very pretty. From a distance, it's kind of a washed out gray-blue.
But it's hard to find a prettier blue than the Virginia bluebells. These should have been a construction casualty, but they came up anyway after being trampled into the clay and having more clay thrown on top for good measure. I think I won't have a chance to get to Bull Run Park to see the bluebells this year, so I'll have to look at last year's pictures and pretend.
posted by Entangled at 10:57 PM ::: Permalink
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Annie in Austin,
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Pam,
Entangled,
Gotta Garden,
