Narcissus cantabricus ssp.cantabricus var. foliosus

"What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness."

John Steinbeck

Happy Solstice and cheers to the first day of winter! So I hear there is the Ursid meteor shower is about to rain down tonight, a full moon on the solstice known as the Cold Moon will rise, on the darkest and longest night of the year. The federal government is about to shut down and Christmas is right around the corner. What a time it is. I've always appreciated the solstice events, and the equinox and the markings of the changing of the seasons. The first day of winter has always been an interesting one, lots of times we are so busy with the hustle and bustle of Christmas that it barely get's noticed. But without winter starting we couldn't get to spring. I must admit the darkest, longest nights of winter, where you leave for work in the dark and you return home in the dark can be real downer. But starting tomorrow we begin to gain ever so many precious seconds of daylight. So raise a glass to tonight and toast to the Winter Solstice, the sky may be falling and the country may be imploding under bad leadership, but tomorrow will seem just a little bit brighter. Happy Solstice!

Narcissus cantabricus ssp. cantabricus var. foliosus

I thought I'd feature this little gem of a hoop petticoat Narcissus since it's been blooming for a week or more now. If you have followed this blog much you probably already know that it's usually always the last flower of the year and the first of the new one. It doesn't need forcing to bloom right on Christmas. It's been known to science since 1601 when Clusius, received a drawing from a traveler stating the bulbs had been dug up on his journey's through the Cantabrian Mountains. Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, the genius of a swiss botanist, who gave us the concepts of "natures war" and influenced Charles Darwin subsequent works,  was the one who gave it the name Narcissus cantabricus however he too was wrong about the location of origin. This one with it's creamy white flowers and 3 to 8 leaves per bulb actually comes from Morocco. It's an easy grower, the only caveat for cultivation in the temperate rain forest winter's of Western Oregon is keeping the buds dry and slug free for the winter bloom. Cultivation in a cool greenhouse is ideal, as moisture can be controlled and a better eye kept on the slugs who will quickly ravage the tender buds which must come as a delicious treat at such a lean time of year for flowers.

This is probably the last post of 2018, I must admit I was thinking back on this year and the Counting Crows song a Long December came to mind

 " there's reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last"

I said too many last goodbyes in 2018, I saw too many bad things happen to good people in 2018, I felt the hurt and the sorrow of immigrants escaping war and famine, I felt the coldness as America turned it's back on the pale and downtrodden. I felt the cold apathetic hand of "leadership" in the work place slap across my face. I looked on as the feeble minded continue to rule without a thought for the betterment of society. I watched as "Christians" turned hate into "Conservatism" and served it spoon fed to the gullible and weak minded. 

 I'll see you in 2019 with more flowers and a hope that:

 " there's reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last"

Cheers to a better one ahead, 

Mark

Happy Holidays from illahe Nursery and Gardens

"The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why"
Mark Twain

I have been notably absent from the blog for a bit, It seems the Holiday season crept right up on me without warning and before I knew it we were in the thick of it. This time hasn't passed without some fun and adventure however. I spent a fun day for my 42nd birthday cruising around Portland with my daughter Anya. We hit the Lan Su Portland Classical Chinese Garden to admire how well the asian landscaping holds up in the winter season. It's really a spectacular garden with something to see throughout the year. 

I love architecture in plants and the Loropetalum was not only showing off it's great form, but the bark was interesting and it even sported a few flowers to boot. 

The interesting bark of the Loropetalum brings us back to the gardens at Illahe for a moment, This is a seed grown Arbutus xalpensis var. texana going on 7 years old now. It's seemed to weather the winters here well and so we will see how it matures if it makes to a ripe old age this one is a winner for it's lovely bark. 

The Kiddo and I enjoying a day at Lan Su. 

Of course no trip to Portland with Anya is complete without a stop at Powells books, she really is a kid after her dads own heart and book stores and gardens are a perfectly awesome way to waste a day. 

The Mahonia lomariifolia was starting into its winter bloom and that was a treat. 

I was inspired to try to add some walking paths through the gardens at Illahe but not sure if I have the time or resources to put in something like this, absolutely marvelous work makes an ordinary path a work of art.

It has been on the mild side here really, the snow pack hasn't built yet, as evidenced by the lack of a cross country ski trip and we are already towards the end of December. We did have a couple of inches of rain come down the last few days which was fun. I got the ditch cleaned out just in time for it to fill up with the ensuing downpours, still we need things to cool down if we are going to get some snow in the Mountains. I've been sowing some seed orders in the greenhouse and watching the South African bulbs under grow lights for signs of flowering. I'll be sure to post the obligatory Winter Solstice flower bloom  post as we do have a Narcissus or two in the greenhouse flowering now. 

Cheers to you and yours and a wishing you all a wonderful holiday season from our family to yours,  

Mark, Anya, Keta the Labrador Retriever, Sam the cat, and Gilbert the Tiger Oscar.