Small Spring Surprises


Cherries!  It's twooh!  It's twooh!  Low chill-cherries are for real!
Quick! Bird protection!
 I was thinking about pulling the trees out because of the drought.  
I think I won't.  
 Another surprise...last summer I bought an Agapanthus on my Fling visit to Joy Creek nursery.  The top growth didn't look great, but the roots were fat, white, healthy, plentiful.  Maybe three months ago the top growth diedOh, well.  Then a few days ago, the Agapanthus reappeared.  100% unexpected. 
Another surprise...a small seedling appeared in the walkway over the winter.  At first I thought it was another weedy seedling from a Salvia that was supposed to be S. patens and wasn't.  Didn't look right, though.  A weed?  A begonia?  Then a couple of days ago, what do I see but the seedling sprouting a flower.  Wow, a Drakensburg Daisy seedling.  I often deadhead flowers and just toss them under other plants.  I didn't know DDs would reseed.  What fun!
Next...another plant back from the dead.  Do you ever plant something in a spot where something else has died, and then the something else comes back?  Aloe cooperi (skinny green leaves) re-sprouting where I planted an Aloe capitata (reddish triangular) seedling.  Wasn't expecting that. 
This big clump of Aeonium has a rosette about to flower.  That's a first.  
 Leucadendron linearfolia has so many cones this year--several hundred--so many their silvery round shapes make an unexpected, wonderful visual impact.  Never would have thought. 
 To finish, the Leucospermum 'Yellow Bird', though still a small, young plant, has been a delight.
 Okay, so this last one is not a surprise.  But it's a beauty!
 
I remember the very first rose blooms I grew, the first seeds sprouted, the first stawberry.  How intense was the feeling of surprise, delight, discovery.  This year, the first bloom from the new 'Radiant Pefume' rose prompted only a thought, "Ah, correctly labled.  Should be good in a couple of years."  


In the garden,  delights and surprises change, morph, evolve, but do not cease. 

Comments

  1. That Leucadendron is just otherworldly. How long will the cones stay on? Temporary sculpture exhibition!

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    1. This is the first year for flowers, so I'm not sure how long they last...6-8 weeks?

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    2. Oh, sorry, I read Leucospermum at first. The Leucadendron cones from last year are still on the plant--they are brown, though, not silver any more. So I guess that correct answer is "at least a year or more".

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  2. Wow! Your cherries worked! Yay! You haven't had them in the ground very long, have you? How old are they? You need two for cross-pollination, right? What do they taste like? Bing? Royal Anne? Sweet? Tart? Tangy?

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    1. I planted them ummm...January 2013. I have 2 'Royal Lee' and 1 'Minnie Royal'; they x-pollinate each other. They taste sweet and fresh.

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  3. Thank goodness for little surprises too, just as fun as the big ones!

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  4. Beautiful plants, it is always a lovely surprise when a plant that we thought had died re-appears or a new plant pops up unexpectedly.
    The cherries look plump and delicious, I would keep the tree if you can. Some of my plants have arrived courtesy of the birds, I found a new plant next to the fence last week, I only noticed it as a lovely orange/yellow flower appeared, I have no idea what it is. I always put my spent flowers in the garden in the hope that a new plant will grow.
    xoxoxo ♡

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    1. It is fun to see what pops up from seed...here it is usually weeds!

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  5. Small surprises are what keep us gardening. Well, one of the things. Love that Leucadendron linearfolia!

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    1. One of many many things. The L. linearfolia is much more interesting than I expected it would be (also much larger).

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  6. I think that leuc might have been my favorite plant in your garden when I visited, even among all the other cool stuff. Really a standout. Where oh where could I plant one? And who knew those gerbera would seed? Hope my orange ones do.

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    1. I never thought in a million years the gerbera would sprout a new plant. My eyes kind of popped when I saw the flower.

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  7. All delightful surprises. I hope my Osteospermum does as well as yours has. Your post sent me into the garden to check my own low-chill cherry tree. Inherited from the prior owner and moved from a high point on the steepest part of our slope where it was almost impossible to water deeply, it only recently began to leaf out and produced few flowers - mine may come out.

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    1. If you get a cherry or two, it might stay! :^)

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    2. The horticultural newsletter I got last week said watering of stone fruit trees can be greatly reduced after fruit harvest--it can help them move into dormancy.

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  8. I've heard some say "nothing surprises me any more". How sad. They should take up gardening.

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