In late 2010 Scilla peruviana won me a pair of wellies (garden boots) when I described to Val Easton of Plant Talk the upcoming spectacle of their galactic indigo blooms coinciding with the chartreuse flowers trusses of the Corsican hellebore. How was I to know the scilla would be slackers for 2011?
This year the scilla roused themselves enough to show a few blooms, but the hellebores had flopped to the ground by then, and I’ve let far too many lunaria seedlings into the mix shading the base of the scilla. Between the scilla’s stubbornness and my spinelessness when it comes to thinning things out, a photo of a bloom in a vase is the only option left for 2012. By next year we should have this all worked out…
So sad…I had something similar happen to my Alliums…all the ones from previous years have failed to emerge so far, while the ones I planted last fall are all up already…can’t figure out what happened 🙁 Oh, and I’m a hopeless wimp when it comes to thinning out too…I can’t bear to toss out perfectly good plants…of course, then they all suffer from my lack of resolve 🙁
Even though I am the gardener of the house, I tucked a package of these with the Biltmore House label into an anniversary present for my wife (we honeymooned in Ashville and spent a day at the Biltmore). Just as they were emerging in the late winter, my crazy plant theiving neighbor took them. I have yet to see them offered anywhere but on-line.
Scott, funny you should mention alliums — I’ve actually had some luck with them this year, and a couple schubertii are about to open. I’m not a packrat, but when it comes to thinning out plants, it’s still hard to compost so much potential!
Les, I never thought there’d be a down side to having neighbors who share a love of plants. But sounds like your neighbor has crossed the line and strayed into the dark side. What a nice anniversary impulse that was tho!
Well, it’s still very beautiful and sometimes it takes awhile to get the balance a goin’. 😉
Andrea, true enough!