Unable to resist these cute potted plants, I'd bring them home and try to grow them in a hot, sunny window. Where they would quickly curl up and die.
Windflowers
It took me years to figure out that Primrose is not an annual. She's a zone 3 perennial, regularly abused by the local grocery stores who sell her in all her glory and don't much care what happens to her after that. Truth is... she simply adores the cold, wet weather we've been having.
As do many of the other spring flowers who burst into bloom after our recent rains.
Brunnera
Meet the other 'serial killer.' (Like Mother, like kitty!) It's a wonder young Cat Mint ever makes it to maturity with Buddy prowling around...
Some Daffs weathered the winds better than others.
Every spring I'm again confounded... I know I planted them but I cannot remember who they are:
These are the most beautiful signs of spring YET! Lovely, Kate. Absolutely lovely.
ReplyDeleteBuddy looks like he completely agrees... what an adorable cat!
Hallelujah, Kate, all looks divine! I posted primrose today too.
ReplyDeleteAw, Buddy is so sweet. I have a soft spot for grey kitties (and orange and black and...). Some sedum is strangling one of my primroses, but generally they do OK for me. What has not come back is those wonderful windflowers you show. Pout!
ReplyDeleteI've killed off some primroses but I'll blame the deaths on our wet springs and bad drainage;) Right now I'm lamenting being a serial Bergenia killer.
ReplyDeleteChristine in Alaska
Yay..i love hearing about all your crimes..ha ha..you always make me laugh!! Awww..Lovely kitty..your catmint looks fab!! and your flowers are soo pretty!! Lovely post!!
ReplyDeleteKiki~
Hello dear Kate,
ReplyDeleteBeautiful brunnera... love it in the garden. As for the kitty and catmint, plant lots of it; we divide and divide and the neighbors' cats visit us often. ;) So happy to see you enjoying spring.
Hi Kate. I just love primroses. They have the richest colors. Your Windflowers are so lovely. Do they come back every year?
ReplyDeleteOh dear, I never thought about the stray cats when I planted that Cat Mint last Fall. It is growing well now.
Your double daffodil is a beauty too. So much color coming on now that your snow is gone.
Hi Kate, I'm going to have to try growing these primroses again. I have a Chinese Variety that seem to love where I planted them (the first time!). ha. Cute post!
ReplyDeleteLovely post today, Titanium. And, I see you've reinvented your image again! Buddy is, indeed, an adorable serial kitty. Though, I doubt the catmint would agree...
ReplyDeleteHi, Joey, fellow Primrose lover!
ReplyDeleteThey're the sweetest spring flowers, don't you think? I've enjoyed following your progress 'up at the lake.'
Hi, Monica;
ReplyDeleteBud walks around the gardens with me, much as your kitty does with you. That is, until he finds the catmint. Then he forgets I'm alive.
Hey, Christine;
ReplyDeleteI laughed out loud at your post today. I've been known to kill many "easy" perennials. Nice to know I'm not alone!
Kiki your post, as always, was an inspiration today. If you don't already have a 'this and that' eclectic store I hope you bee line it over to etsy and start one. Your goodies often dwarf the bright flowers.
ReplyDeleteDiana, I did some serious dividing of the catmint this morning. Cat, Buddy, is always a big help with such things... :D
ReplyDeleteHi, Lona;
ReplyDeleteYou've got me very excited for the Hot Papaya Coneflowers!
Yes, the Windflowers do very well here. I just wish they would multiply quicker... I love their pretty blue color.
Hi, Shady;
ReplyDeleteChinese Primrose? Do tell! In all honesty, I planted my half dead primrose thinking they were compost and nothing more. But, they took off and beat the tulips to flowering stage each spring. A friend of mine calls them 'plastic flowers' because they look too good to be true. I kind of like that bold burst of color.
Hurrah for spring! I was picturing you knee deep in mud for the next month. I've killed my share of primroses . . . maybe I should try a few outside! Glad to see those beauties in your garden.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a reminder that spring is really here. I'm still a bit of a shut-in from my last bout of pneumonia!
ReplyDeleteHi, Kelly;
ReplyDeleteThe mud is still pretty deep. Out on the horses this morning and they were sinking in above their ankles. Good thing they have long legs! :D
Oh, no, Granny -- I'm sorry to hear you've been under the weather. Here's hoping for blue skies and better spirits very soon.
ReplyDeleteLovely garden you have! I recently moved to Idyllwild CA since I got married 2 months ago. I'm gardening at 6,000 ft. elevation, it's a challenge and I just started! http://blossomjournal.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteThx, Priscilla - Congrats on the new garden and newlywed status, as well! I think I know where you garden -- Fairly close to Palm Springs? That's a lovely area and I'm sure you'll have all sorts of success. Looking forward to following your adventures. :D
ReplyDeleteBack in the day, when I had a real garden, I had Missouri Primrose. They are wild and hardy, but they did not last, after the mister 'weeded' the garden...
ReplyDeleteWhere have I been? I did not know that a Primrose could be grown as a perennial in the upper midwest. I thought they only grew in the grocery store floral department:)
ReplyDeleteI luv the sky blue flowers on your Brunnera. I have a variegated one that's blooming. During the summer the leaves get huge and heart-shaped.
What you call Windflowers, I call Anemones Blanda.....windflowers sounds so much better. They do sway with the wind, don't they?
Your kitty -- so cute.
donna
I had no idea that primrose is hardy to zone 3! My cats don't pay any attention to the catmint so would probably be immune to the effects of catnip too. My family's previous generation of cats -- a mother and 2 siblings -- were given catnip sewed up in a toy one day. Two were indifferent, while one went crazy over it. In fact I think his affinity for it scared him a little bit -- when he came to he gave the toy an alarmed look and dashed out the door. Buddy looks like he has it under control though, he just looks very happy.
ReplyDeleteI love your windflowers and forget-me-nots, such beautiful spring colors.
Hi, Jan~
ReplyDeleteYour mister sounds like he is as talented in the garden as my friend, Amy's, hubs. She has lovingly nicknamed him 'Chainsaw Bob.'
Hi, Donna - LOL. I thought they were a supermarket flower, too! Give the baby primrose a try. You might be surprised. The one trick I can pass along is to plant them close to big, later blooming perennials. Their flowering is done long before the bigger plant takes over. Plus, they seem to appreciate the shade once the warm weather kicks in. :)
ReplyDeleteHi, Sweet Bay;
ReplyDeleteMy kit cats are the total opposite. They destroy the catnip whenever I try to grow it. Catmint just makes them lazy and happy. In summer, when it's blooming, they take naps underneath the foliage. I discovered this when I watered the plants and sent a few damp kitties running for cover! :))
Buddy, while a plant destroyer, is awfully cute ;-)
ReplyDeleteI love the delicate blue flowers of your Brunnera. I have never seen windflowers before - they are just lovely.
Hi Noelle,
ReplyDeleteI think the windflowers probably need colder winters than AZ. But, they seem to love mountain springtimes.
I love your brunnera! Actually, I love all your flowers. But I just love the color and the teensiness of the brunnera. And I'm jealous because you have such a wider variety than I have, and you're 1,500 feet higher than me!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see all these spring bloomers in your garden, Kate. Buddy is a cutie; I had a similar photo a few posts back of our cat Tarzan chewing on the nepeta. Somewhere I read that cats leave catmint alone--obviously, that writer didn't know what he was talking about:)
ReplyDeletePrimrose have been a lucky accident for me. I planted them one spring, thinking they were annuals, and was surprised to find them coming back the next year:)
Yes, and in full force! Spring is wonderful up there!
ReplyDeletePrimrose is just so amazing. THe colors always look practically fake to me. Are they difficult? I'd definitely be a primrose killer if they can't take good care of themselves.