2012 Garden Log

This is the 3d year TPP has kept a garden flowering log for all perennials.  Rather than bore everyone with a month by month run down, this year only the year end summary will be foisted upon you.  Here's the summary data.  Flowering in 2012 started on Feb. 18th (snowdrops, witchhazel), an unusually early spring in comparison to 2011 (Mar. 11) and 2020 (Mar. 1).  2012 also extended the flowering season until Oct. 28th when a black snakeroot finally flowered a few days after the monk's hood (Oct. 25th).  Last year the last flowering was Oct. 21st, the monk's hood,.just 4 days earlier.  In 2010 our gardens had 275 different perennials flower.  In 2011 there were 293 different perennials that flowered (and we group many varieties based on their seasons, so this is closer to species than varieties.).  In 2012 in spite of the heat and drought in June and July, 283 perennials flowered, but that includes 17 new perennials, so there werequite  a few no-shows and a couple of deaths.  The increase from 2011 to 2012 was largely due to new plantings and some woody plants coming of reproductive age.  If plants recover next year, the number of flowering perennials may break the 300 barrier.  Winter now seems constrained to a little less than three months: December, January, and early February.  Today was a lovely November day, with a high of about 54 F, and the petunias in the window boxes are still flowering although we have had a few real freezing nights.  Having planted quite a number of new trees and shrubs to landscape the rennovated lily pond. The Phactors had little choice but to water or lose these new plants, not without some significant cost.  Fortunately the water situation was such that watering was possible.  All of these newbies look like they will survive, but a dwarf mountain laurel has us worried.  In general flowering was not as poor as might be expected considering the severity of the summer.  A very early and quite warm spring pushed some spring perennials though flowering very quickly: bloodroot emerged, flowered, and way done in just 3 days.  More analysis will have to wait until the data is entered into the data base and analyzed in more detail.