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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Surprises in the Greenhouse


Sometimes things get a bit busy and I don't see the inside of the greenhouse for a few days.  At this time of year, things are happening quickly and there are usually some surprises to be found after a brief absence.   Here are a few that greeted me this weekend.  The church choir is off for the summer so I actually had a two day weekend which I celebrated by not leaving the garden.

the buds that appeared on the Trevesia palmata are beginning to open.  What fun blooms!


Amorphophallus knojac is hardy to zone six but outside it emerges late in June by which time I would have forgotten it was there and planted something else in it's spot.  In the greenhouse, it comes up much earlier and it happens very quickly once it warms up.

Mine came from Cistus Nursery several years ago and now has produced several offsets.  the huge central leaf will be huge again this year.  Why not enjoy it a bit longer by keeping it inside?  It'll need a bigger pot soon. (This is a 5 gallon size.)


A big surprise was this bloom on an Echinopsis subdenudatum rescued from a box store last year.  It's rewarding me for pulling off those silly strawflowers that were glued to it. Looks like there'll be a few more blooms to follow and as if the little cactus to the right will be blooming as well.   Such big, pure, and delicate flowers from such a small and prickly character. 

What's been your favorite garden surprise this week? 

15 comments:

  1. My favorite surprise this week was going around the back of the long driveway border and realizing the ground cover Heuchera and painted ferns I planted there are all filling in and looking really good. Nothing like an idea working well in a spot where no one will see it! Love that white cacti flower!

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  2. An astonishing pure white flower.

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  3. That Amorphophallus is pretty cool, does it flower? My surprise this week was seeing lilies blooming already -- the short orange ones that I dug up last fall to move and then shared extras with blog readers.

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  4. I love the foliage of the Amorphophallus konjac, a friend gave me a division of his plant a couple of years ago but it never returned after a harsh winter. Oh well. My surprise, hmm...the Dracunculus vulgaris bloom opened yesterday, the first of three. It's huge at 17" long.

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  5. That greenhouse conversion has really paid off -- what a delight to find such surprises!

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  6. I'm glad you have a moment to breathe and enjoy your wonderful garden! My favorite surprise this week is that some small green leaflets are appearing on the mimosa (Albizia) tree canopy at last - it's not quite dead yet! My least favorite surprise is that the bunnies are now everywhere...

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  7. I predict your Amorphophallus konjac will bloom next year (it blooms before or instead of producing foliage) and you'll be wishing it was out of the greenhouse. It's one of the craziest foliage plants, isn't it?

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  8. I have never seen an Amorphophallus plant before. You have the most interesting plants. I do have a surprise to tell. I have a Calla Lily growing in the garden. After this severe winter I thought it had died. I was moving a big planter to set where it 'had died' and voile the lily stood there looking at me like don't you dare. It was very late coming out. A friend of mine had told me she gave up on her calla lily. When I saw mine I texted her to not give up. She went out and found that hers was up too, after she had sunflowers planted over it. ha... a surprise for her too.

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  9. Fun surprises from your happy greenhouse plants!

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  10. Cool! Your Amorphophallus is a fascinating plant. I'm not familiar with it, but what an awesome form. I'm going to do some research and read about it. You've probably covered it on your blog before, but seeing it at this stage shows what a unique plant it is. I had quite a few plants take their time to emerge this year, because we had almost no snow cover for most of the winter. But the majority of them are finally coming back. Yay!

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  11. Oh how fun! I wonder if you’ll get viable seeds on your trevesia? Could be an interesting cross.

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  12. It's always a treat to have a peek in your greenhouse you have such interesting plants. And an amorphophallus, what fun. But what about the stink?

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  13. I hate having to be away, but the return and the surprises are always so much fun!
    The amorphophallus is even cooler potted, I think it becomes a piece of sculpture as it unfurls.
    Last year I potted up a hardy arisaema because it waited until the end of August to finally sprout. This year after overwintering dry indoors it's potted up and growing... in June... three months early :)

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  14. What a wonderful Echinopsis bloom! When I was a kid (long time ago) I had a pretty nice cactus collection. It was a lot of fun for me back then to see them growing and blooming over the years.
    My nice weekend surprise was seeing my rambler Bobby James blooming the first time in our apple tree.

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  15. That bloom is so beautiful! I haven't been out in the garden since last Saturday. I'll have to go out and look doer surprises.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.