. . . I would wander forth/ And seek the woods.*
Witch hazels at the botanical garden of the University of Hohenheim, yesterday afternoon.
Streifzug means ‘foray,’ ‘ brief survey,’ or ‘ramble.’
*William Cullen Bryant, from “A Winter Piece“
Tag: Germany
GB Foliage Follow Up: tree peonies
The garden beside the 18th century Spielhaus of Hohenheim University’s Exotic Garden has a number of mature tree peonies. Like red corals, their new leaves are emerging now.
I took these pictures yesterday while it was snowing.
Because I really haven’t been gardening here in Stuttgart, for this year’s Bloom Days and Foliage Follow Ups I will record the flowers and leaves of this nearby, very pretty perennials and woody plants garden.
Thanks to Pam at Digging for hosting Garden Bloggers’ Foliage Follow Up the 16th of every month.
If you were with me
We should need no light
But peonies.— Grace Hazard Conkling, from “Diary Written on Peony Petals“
GB Bloom Day: snow day
Because I haven’t really been gardening here in Stuttgart, I decided that for this year’s Bloom Days, I would make a record of the flowers of the display garden of the 18th century Spielhaus at the Exotic Garden of the University of Hohenheim, which is close to our neighborhood.
Unfortunately, when I visited this afternoon it was snowing hard, and I didn’t take as many pictures as I would have liked. I may have to try again later this week.
Please click on any thumbnail in the gallery below to scroll through larger images. And to see what’s blooming today for other garden bloggers, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens.
First seeing the Spielhaus through Japanese cornelian cherry trees in bloom.
Cornus officinalis.
The Spielhaus or playhouse,
which is part of the “English Garden” (now called the Exotic Garden) constructed by Duke Carl Eugen and his mistress (and later wife) Franziska von Hohenheim in the late 1700s. It’s now incorporated into modern Hohenheim University.
Abeliophyllum distichum. . .
. . . or white forsythia.
At this point, I was really hoping that my camera was water resistant.
Flowering Arabis ferdinandi-coburgi ‘Variegata’ or Alpine wall cress.
I believe the patch of blue on the right is a planting of Scillas.
Of course, there were snowdrops.
Abeliophyllum distichum ‘Roseum’ with hellebores in the background.
Aubrita-Hybride ‘Lavander’.
Pansies on the terrace.
Wisteria on the arbors.
Lonicera x purpusii ‘Winter Beauty’. . .
. . . or sweet-smelling winter honeysuckle.
A huge Platanus x hispanics or London plane tree.
You must stand still; and then. . . you will hear the infinite march of buds faintly roaring.
— Karel Capek [on the coming of spring], from The Gardener’s Year
In a vase on Monday: grape hyacinths
On Saturday, I wandered around the downtown Stuttgart flower market admiring all the blooming spring bulbs — which were being sold both potted and as cut flowers (pictures below). I bought some cut tulips and then went to Butler’s for a vase and another container of seashell chips. On the way home, I stopped at a florist and bought a little pot of forced Muscari, or grape hyacinth, bulbs.
I think I should have set the bulbs lower in the vase, but I didn’t want to disturb their rootball, which I covered with the chips.
Click on any thumbnail in the gallery below to scroll through photos of the flower market.
To see what other gardeners have put in a vase today, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
The flower market at Schillerplatz.
Tulips — 6.50 euros for 10.
Potted forced dark blue irises.
Potted primroses in almost every color are a feature of the markets and florists right now.
Potted forced Fritillaria meleagris.
Cut tulips and Narcissus.
Cut Narcissus.
A potted lime green Chrysanthemum.
This stall had the prettiest colored cut Hyacinths, Muscaris, and tulips.
Cut Muscaris.
Cut Dutch hyacinths.
Potted forced tulips and Fritallarias. This was in the farmers’ market in the square in front of the Rathaus, or Town Hall.
I caught this woman in mid-step. I love the colors of her outfit.
Potted forced Narcissus and Dutch hyacinths.
The “ingredients” of my Muscari arrangement.
On the coffee table in our living room.
The baskets are from Rwanda.
In a vase on Monday: Fritillarias
Potted Fritillaria meleagris in our living room this week.
The plants are 13″ to 15″ tall.
I love the checkered pattern on the blooms.
Right now, almost all the supermarkets and florists here are selling small plastic pots of three or four blooming or almost-blooming spring bulbs (about €3.30 each — cheaper than a lot of cut flowers).
I replanted these into two purple ceramic pots that I had from a previous plant purchase. Then, to catch the excess water, I also put them down in blue pottery teacups from Rwanda’s Gatagara Cooperative.
I covered the soil with seashell chips.
The yellow-blue sake pitcher and cups in the photos above were made by American ceramics artist Hayne Bayless. They were purchased years ago at the Smithsonian Craft Show — which will be held this year from April 21 to 24 at the National Building Museum* in Washington, D.C. If you plan to be in the D.C. area that week, you can buy advance (discounted) tickets here.
To see what other gardeners have put in a vase today, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
*The Oehme/van Sweden exhibit will still be there.
enclos*ure 