Two pines

With all this fine weather we have been enjoying in the PNW. I have been hacking things back quite bit .   Leaving far to much fence exposed. Something I really dislike: and have been trying to cover , not very successfully. So, I went out on a visit to my local NW nursery outlet  , were I found my beautiful Katsura tree and a couple of nice sized  Witch hazels a few months ago. I know I could have chosen a much heftier  conifer that would have provided better fence coverage , but I fell for this Pinus strobes 'torulosa' or twisted white pine. I love that it's narrow, spindly, twistiness, with curly needles. And one day it will cover that fence….

And the second pine is  Pinus thunbergii  or Japannese Black pine. My first attempt  at making a Keshiki Bonsai which is a simpler, modern form of making miniature landscapes. The little pot is from the goodwill , the gravel is aquarium gravel, the moss from outside, as my moss spores aren't germinating quite yet. The tree …I did have to buy, but I did snip , bend and wire the pour  thing. I find myself treating it like another pet , carrying it out doors in the day, than back indoors  at night.  I can see I'll soon have many new pets to fuss over.

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Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day , February 2015

The star of this months bloom day, Arctostaphylos' Austin Griffiths' planted in 2010  .  I remember  when I planted   it thinking it would take forever to make a substantial  tree. Now here it at 5 ft !

An area I cleaned up yesterday . With NOID Helleborus and just starting to bloom primulas, crocus , and many other bulbs just appearing that I have or the squirrels have brought in here over the years . It's always a surprise to see what comes up or doesn't .

Heleborus foetidus with Stachyuru Salicifolia with its tiny catkins over head.  Well, that's not bad for a February bloom day .  And for many more blooms visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens 

Perfect day for a tidy up...

Yes it was...a beautiful day to be out and enjoy the garden. I even cut down every thing that was ether  mushy or fallen over, which meant just about everything other than the grasses . I even gave the carex a brush up to remove some of the dead strands.

A new planting of Crocus 'cream beauty' under the Katsura ,  This is a long term project , I need to pile in the bulbs  each autumn …it's a start.

Moss...

While the rain is here ; and I'm not getting much done out doors. I thought I'd try growing  Japanese mountain moss . spores.  I know, I've got plenty of moss out doors. I just want to see the difference , if any. Till  the spores appear, I've  scrapped a bit from outside and potted that up. The spores are behind in the shallow tray…two weeks  to germination.