Motley Monday - March 25, 2024

Another motley assortment of things I've been saving. 

I got this at the grocery store.  There's a smaller one, but for only $1 less I opted for the larger. 

A deodar cedar cone, or "rose." It takes several years for these to form.  I like how this one landed in the Dragon's Blood sedum, which look like its babies!   There is a little winged seed in each cone "petal."

Way to cold still at night for the black cumin, but they are trying their hardest to flower. 

New bronze fennel growth look like young conifers.  Just getting in close for a picture I could smell the fennel.   It smells like licorice.  Bronze fennel is a perennial grown for the pretty foliage, which can be eaten, and edible seeds.  Florence fennel is the kind that forms an edible bulb.  Florence fennel would be a perennial too if it wasn't eaten! 

A borage volunteer.  I expect this one will have white flowers, as it came up about 4' from where the white borage grows.  Plant borage once, blue or white, and you never have to plant it again!   

Sigh... I don't care for tulips.  A few years ago I won 100 bulbs.  I planted quite a few, gave away others.  Then, pulled them out.  Thought I'd pulled out more.  I did leave some with interesting colors, but this is what is blooming.  In an inconspicuous bed in the far back yard, so these are safe!

Magnolia Blossom Tendril peas are taking off.  The big bed has Cascadia, my favorite.  However, I think the neighborhood cats digging has stopped a lot of them from germinating.  I've since added netting around the bed. 

Fire Storm geum is telling us spring is here and it will be warm soon enough! 

One Hood strawberry thinks it's warm enough already.  Early spring is their time, so they can be ripe in June. 

A surprise!  Not a mysteriously appeared sweet William at all!  It's the return of last year's soapwort!  I've not grown soapwort before, and didn't even know it was a perennial.  There's a reason why I mistook it for sweet William, it's also called wild sweet William, or old-maid's pink, although they are in different plant families. You can read about it, and why it's called soapwort, here.  

The wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) is coming back in all the places it bloomed last year.  It was a huge winter sowing success last year!  I love the purple leaves.  It's a native to most of the U.S.   It is related to bee balm (Monarda didyma), but they are different species. 

Speaking of winter sowing (which, by the way, is my A to Z in April - theme reveal here), I transplanted the bachelor buttons yesterday.  There is no real reason to winter sow bachelor buttons, they are an easy annual to direct seed.  

That's all for this Monday.  Next  Monday is April 1st, and A is for... of the annual challenge.  It's not too late to sign up and participate!  It's easy (or hard if you wish).  It can be as simple as posting a photo of something that starts with the letter of the day (one post a day, Sunday's off, in April), or the name of a book.  Look around your house, yard, neighborhood, city... A to Z of whatever you find!  Ramble about anything you can think of, so long as you relate it somehow to that day's letter.  Anything goes.  Really.  

www.a-to-zchallenge.com