by Leslie Cox; Saturday; January 11, 2025

Helleborus x ballardiae 'HGC Pink Frost'The weather has been decently mild this week, for this time of year. Temperature highs have been ranging from 8 to 10 °C (46 to 50 °F) with some sun breaking through the clouds once the morning fog has cleared. The bit of rainfall we have had has largely happened in the evening and/or overnight. Perfect conditions to get outside and wander around the garden, as well as to start breaking our winterized bodies back into shape.

Helleborus Ivory Prince - flower & budsOn a couple of walkabouts, I noticed more of my Primula vulgaris plants with developing buds and open flowers. Also really thrilled to see flower buds on my Helleborus x ballardiae ‘HGC Pink Frost’ and Helleborus x ericsmithii ‘Walhelivor’…two plants my mom gave me when I was developing my front garden. (You might know ‘Walhelivor’ by its trade name IVORY PRINCE.)

I am also super pleased with how my Asarum maximum…common name Panda Face ginger…is looking this week. Mind you, it is in a pot and tucked under the protective branches of my red rhodo in front of the house. Such a placement also provides a great windbreak for the ginger from the prevailing SE winds.

Panda Face had been residing in my garden, enjoying pride of place right in front of the living room picture window and doing well in the ground for about four years. Although…it never did produce any flowers in that time period. Eventually, however, the roots from the Acer campestre…European hedge maple… on the other side of the path began to choke the life out of Panda Face and some of the other plants in that bed.

I spent a week on the rescue mission…digging up plants, detangling their roots from the maple roots and removing as much of the matted maple roots as I could from that bed. I did put almost all of the plants back in the bed with fresh soil amendment and fertilizer and they have performed better since.

Time will tell whether things will improve in that bed now the ailing Acer campestre has been removed. That was our spring project last year, taking out the maple and two other ailing trees on the property. And after that herculean job, John and I have decided our tree removal days are permanently behind us. Whew!