I took some photos a while ago, hoping to write an April blog post but that didn’t happen. It has been very busy around here. Spring is the busiest season at the Medicinal Herb Garden and in most gardens. It always feels like a juggling act with hundreds of seedlings to be planted, unpredictable weather, the challenges of slugs and snails and weeds. The extra stresses of the move out of the greenhouse and having to maintain my plants in multiple locations have sapped my energy a bit, and writing blog posts has been low on the list of things to do. But here’s a slim update.
It was the hottest April on record here in Seattle, and May started out hot, but it is cool and overcast and we’ve had some good rains recently. What a blessing spring rain is in a Mediterranean climate. If we can get another couple of inches before summer hits, I will be very happy. Plus, this rain is good for the morel and spring porcini forecast. Porcini!
Here are some recent(ish) photos from around the garden.
Eriogonum umbellatum (sulphur-flower buckwheat) in full floral display, section C.
Dictamnus albus var. purpureus (gas plant, dittany) in section C.
Chionanthus virginicus (fringe tree) from southeastern USA flowers in May and June and is quite a spectacle. It’s west of Cascara Circle.
Sanicula europea (wood sanicle) in section E is one of the few plants to thrive in the dense shade beneath the giant oak.
Dryas octopetala (mountain avens) is a circumpolar/boreal species from the tundras and mountains. It creeps inconspicuously along until it flowers.
Prunus americana (American plum) west of the woods to the north of Cascara Circle. The drought (or something) last year caused it to abort its fruit. The April flower display this year was a good sign.
You again! Procyon lotor (raccoon) in the woods north of section D. I have nothing against raccoons, but it would be nice to get some more coyotes (Canis latrans) on campus to keep them on their toes.
Valeriana sitchensis (Sitka valerian) in section A. On a backpacking trip in the Cascades, on Pilot Ridge, I collected the seeds to grow these plants. The sour smell of valerian is well known to anyone who hikes the western mountains in late summer.
Malus fusca (Pacific crabapple) with buds getting ready to open (…on April 6).
Rheum palmatum (Chinese rhubarb) in section C, unfurling its leaves after a winter of rest.
There’s so much more to see but this will have to do for now. I’m exhausted and very soon I will need some blissful time in the mountains to recover.
May soil slowly warms
under intermittent rain
flowers appearing
See you in the garden.