What's in Bloom
Bloom Highlights
Corydalis solida 'Beth Evans'
Beth Evans Fumewort
Native to much of mainland Europe through eastern Russia and central Asia, Corydalis solida can be found in the moist soils of shady woodlands. In the spring, mounds of medium green, fern-like pinnate leaves are produced with leaflets that are deeply lobed and divided. Shortly thereafter, flower stalks are produced with up to 20 flowers on each stalk. The purplish-red flowers are tubular, each with a long, slightly hooked nectar spur extending up and back from the opening of the flowers. This cultivar is noted for its bright, rosy-pink flowers. This plant is considered a spring ephemeral since after blooming, the whole plant dies back to underground tubers for the next year. The genus name comes from the Greek word korydalis, meaning “lark,” because the floral spur looks like the spur talon of some larks. The specific epithet means solid or dense, referring to the dense mounds of foliage.
Forsythia ‘Courtasol’
Gold Tide™ Hybrid Forsythia
This plant was first developed by exposing Forsythia X intermedia ‘Spring Glory’ to gamma radiation, which caused a mutation in the genetic code. Forsythia are generally native to far eastern Asia. In late winter through spring, clusters of one to four flowers are produced from leaf axils and at the terminus of each branch. These flowers are bright golden yellow with four petals that are fused at their base before spreading out into a bell-shaped plus sign. Once the flowers start to fade, the ovate, medium-green leaves develop and persist until autumn. This cultivar is noted for its compact growth and semi-weeping habit. The genus Forsythia was named to honor Scottish botanist and royal head gardener William Forsyth, who was a founding member of the Royal Horticultural Society.
Narcissus ‘Raoul Wallenberg’
Raoul Wallenberg Large-Cupped Daffodil
Generally native to western, southern, and eastern Europe, northern Africa, and throughout the Middle East, Narcissus are found along streams and in grasslands, meadows, and woodlands. Narcissus cultivation dates to the ancient Greeks and Romans. In the spring, pairs of strap-like, medium-green, basal leaves emerge from the underground bulb. From among these leaves, a single scape with a terminus papery spathe is produced. Extending from the spathe, the flower emerges and nods forward. Each flower has six outer perianth tepals and a cup-like outgrowth from the inner side of the outer perianth parts called a corona. This cultivar is noted for its soft yellow perianth parts and golden-yellow ruffled cup and is named in honor of Raoul Wallenberg—a Swedish architect and businessman who saved thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Nazis during World War II. Narcissus comes from the Greek word narkissos from narkē meaning “numbness” (cognate with words like narcolepsy and narcotic). The mythical youth who fell in love with his own reflection was named for this plant, since the flowers nod downward as if to look at themselves in a stream.
Petasites japonica
Japanese Butterbur
This plant is native to the shady riverbanks and woodland edges of eastern China, North and South Korea, and Japan. In spring, this plant sends up stout, pubescent flower stalks with ovate to lanceolate, pubescent leaves that are sessile to the stem. At the terminal end of each flower stalk are clusters of dense corymbs of fragrant flowers. Each corymb has five to 20 flowers with deeply veined bracts. The flowers are white and tubular, and the five-pointed petals spread out like stars. After blooming, the stalk elongates and pushes out long petioles from which large, kidney-shaped leaves develop. The green leaves have serrate margins and are pubescent underneath. The petioles are eaten as a vegetable in Japan. The genus name comes from the Greek word petasos, which is a hat with a low crown and a broad brim usually worn by farmers, hunters, and travelers. The choice refers to the butterbur’s broad leaves. The specific epithet means of or relating to Japan.
Puschkinia scilloides
Striped Squill
This plant is native to Turkey, the Caucasus, and the northern Middle East, where it can be found in alpine and subalpine meadows and on rocky slopes. Each spring, bulbs produce pairs of strap-like basal leaves that widen near their apices. The leaves are dark green and slightly glossy with smooth margins. Each bulb produces a single raceme flower-scape of up to 20 cup- to bell-shaped flowers. The flowers start facing upward before nodding out and downward as they mature. The flowers have six white tepals with a dark blue midvein and a stout, frilled, white corona tube surrounding the short, flat stamens and central pistil. After blooming, the plant dies back to the bulb as other spring and summer plants put out foliage. The genus was named to honor Count Apollos Apollosovich Mussin-Puschkin, a Russian chemist and botanist. The specific epithet means resembling the genus Scilla.