Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Soldier On

"I have seen women looking at jewelry ads with a misty eye and one hand resting on the heart, and I only know what they're feeling because that's how I read the seed catalogs in January."
~Barbara Kingsolver, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle  2007

Well my friends I really must apologize to you. In the previous post about the snow that fell last week, I ended it with my usual listing of what’s blooming. I stated ‘no blooms’, but I obviously missed this little one. Check it out…such a trooper!


This is English Daisy (Bellis perennis), native to Europe and the Mediterranean region. This particular one is a horticultural variety I believe. The original species are single flowers, mostly white with a bit of pinkish tinge. It is a meadow plant that needs good soil, moisture, light shade in hot areas and full sun in cooler areas. It is super easy to sow from seed.


Have you ever been to Victoria B.C., to their parliament buildings? The expansive lawns are covered with these guys. So charming. Two springs ago, I ordered a packet of seed from Nichols Garden Nursery.  I sprinkled some of the seed on my mossy path that leads to my compost bin. I just love diminutive plants amongst the pathway, so long as they don’t trip you and they can handle the occasional foot trod. The seed came up so prolifically I had to thin them out. What fun it is to see their cheerful faces. They bloom nearly non stop, even though the catalog says they are spring blooming. Here it is January and several of them are trying to bloom. Not a huge showing but a few flowers none the less, so on my list they go.

I’ll definitely be sowing some of these treasures in my lawn soon!

In Bloom In My Garden Today: bellis perennis, sarcococcoa, viola

Author’s photo

5 comments:

Cindy said...

sweet lil thing!

I love tiny flowers along paths...makes my smile so big.

and no, never been but I enjoyed your mental picture!

xo

Debra Daniels Zeller said...

How lovely. Is that ice on the top? I want some of those!

Joan said...

Hi Cindy, you'd smile big at all of them in the lawns in BC too...fun.

Hi Debra,
Yes, that is ice, and it didn't faze it at all. Tough little guy. Nichols catalog is full of great goodies both to grow/eat and for eye candy. And they are tried and true for PNW since they are in Oregon.

Shari B. (FitFeat) said...

What a fun surprise to find in your garden! And such vibrant color! Beautiful!

Joan said...

Hi Shari,
Yes indeed a fun suprise! Always a suprise to see things pop up through the snow. Thanks for checking in!