It was a wonderful day to work outside.  First off, I potted up a bunch of seedlings–geraniums, peppers, tomatoes and tomatillos.  I put them all in the cold frame to harden off and grow for the next few weeks before I find homes for them.  Some are destined for our garden and pots around the place.  The rest are for gifting and brother Tim’s p-patch and the patch’s spring plant sale in May.

A full cold frame…the coolness and light make for stocky transplants.

Here is a happy greenhouse surprise.  This is an iris relative I grew from seed two years ago.  It is likely a Moraea or a Dietes.  And it is spiking, so I should be able to tell in the next few weeks!  It sports an amazing fan of healthy-looking leaves.

Another fun surprise–the Restrepia guttulata that I’ve had for close to 20 years (from the old Baker and Chantry Orchids near Woodinville) has two flower buds.  This has been a shy bloomer for me and it is so tiny–maybe 3″ high–that it is easy to miss the flowers.  They are spectacular, though, and a bit silly–I’ll be sure to post some pictures when they open.

Gorgeous and graceful, these Coelogyne cristata flowers are the classiest act in the greenhouse right now.  They are supposed to be fragrant, but being nose blind, I can’t tell if they really do or not!  I’m happy just enjoying how they look, though.

The Plant Delights package landed this week and I planted the treasures directly in the garden.  This is Cestrum parqui, which I planted in front of the greenhouse.

The pineapple flower is still shining brightly in the Doug fir bed.

Close-up of the Fritillary flowers.

The Doug fir bed is full of weeds this year.  I dug some up and planted foxgloves out there today that I started from seed last year.  These are both “Foxy” and “Apricot”

Gorgeous, tasteful flower of Kerria japonica–this is the single cultivar that you hardly ever see.  We had the double pom-pom one growing up and it was fun, too, but this one looks less messed with.

More foxglove–I think I put about a dozen in today.

There aren’t many tulips left around the garden, but these white ones have persisted and I’m so glad they did.  They opened wide in the sun today.

  

The bleeding hearts are really starting to put on a show near the fence in the orchard garden.

I planted out all of the geranium seedlings from last year.  These are mostly “Summer Snow.”

Another great treasure from Plant Delights–this is a tree peony–Paeonia ostii Feng Dan Bai.

Buttercups had invaded this flower bed over the winter.  I dug them all up today–never fun because they find their way inside the crowns of other plants, some of which are fragile.  I added another Plant Delights special plant here, Gladiolus Rosy Cheeks.

The scorpion senna is about to burst forth with bright pea-like blooms.  This shrub has grown over eight feet tall–I will cut it way back after flowering to bring it back under control.

From Plant Delights, this is Nerium oleander Mathilde Ferrier.

Another Plant Delights rarity, Antirrhinum glutinosum White Hot

Geranium macrorrhizum blooming in the driveway bed–and also in the Doug fir bed.  These vigorous ground covers help suppress weeds  and they aren’t difficult to control.

Pristine narcissus in the driveway bed.  This clump has actually expanded in size and is blooming beautifully this year.

Lots of great flowers in this clump of narcissus bulbs.

More hyacinth photos–can’t help myself.   They are particular wonderful this year.

And another…