Hi BlueAng, Yes, some orchids are easy to overlook! The swamp pink you're refering to is probably Calopogon tuberosus, a very widespread orchid found throughout the entire eastern half of the country. The Stemless Lady Slipper, or Pink Lady slipper is Cypripedium acaule. The Rattlesnake Plantain over there was probably Goodyera pubescens, but could have been G repens or tesselata also. The green orchids in the 8th & 9th pictures are of the genus Platanthera, loosely known as Bog Orchids. Lady's tresses are of the genus Spiranthes and have white flowers. In the boggy places in your area, you might be able to also see Arethusa (quite uncommon), the Eastern version of the Calypso if you're lucky (very uncommon up where you are), as well as many other Cypripedium, Platanthera, Spiranthes etc. Best, Ross

Well, there are stupid people everywhere, and people who manage to be stupid about everything! Mind you the PNW is guilty for creating some of its own myths. My parents had one close friend who was into gardening. I remember in the late 80s they took a big trip to the west coast after their son moved to San Francisco. I was just getting into gardening there and he said to me "David, you wouldn't believe the roses at Butchart Gardens. And do you know what, they told us they don't even have frosts in the winter." I was skeptical of that at the time, and consulted my trusty World Book encylopedia LOL. Anyhow I can imagine the PNW once seeming remote - that's the reason the likes of David Lynch set Twin Peaks there - but I don't think it seems that way as much anymore in these internet connected times. it is after all the secondary silicon valley. (OTOH my Mom jokes that my brother who lives in Seattle was trying to move as far away as possible LOL) I will say one thing that struck me driving south from Seattle to LA was that after the Willamette Valley, that highway _really_ clears out. In the middle of the day, headed south through southern Oregon, it was mostly logging trucks, some RV/campers, but really desolate. Very very little "just people in cars" traffic. In comparison the whole of the I95 corridor from Boston to Florida is busy all years, all days. Even in the less dense sections there are people on the move for whatever reason. In southern Virginia on 95 it's nothing at all to see New Jersey and NY license plates. I've been at a gas station near here and run into some kids from the Boston area driving to South Carolina to go to the beach. OTOH, it seems like for a Seattle area person to even drive to the Bay Area is rather rarer...and LA would be like driving to another country LOL. I don't think there's anything like the mass exodus to/from Florida which happens on the east coast. Just in my definitely middle-class neighborhood...in this county (most northeasterly in Maryland) but not even on the water...I know of a couple older families that winter in Florida.

I don't know what Euphorbia this is, but it occasionally seeds, though not to any great degree. It is unfussy and tidy, and provides a nice foliage contrast to the other plants in this bed. From Late May 2014 False Solomon's seal, Smilacina racemosa, volunteered here, probably from seeds in the soil we moved in to level off the bed. I like it at this time of year, but later in the summer it gets a bit ratty in the sun. I need to move it to a shadier spot where it will remain ornamental when the weather heats up. From Late May 2014 My Halesia is fading now, but it while it is blooming the bees love it. This one is more of a shrub than a tree because it froze back to the snow line several times when it was young, so it has many low branches. From Late May 2014 The bed along what was an old barn foundation. From Late May 2014 After a rough first year between my neglecting it in a too-small pot and the voles noshing on it over the winter, this Leucosceptrum japonicum Gold Angel is glowing this season. It reminds me of a golden coleus, but is perennial. From Late May 2014 At DH's shop, the redbud and a Viburnum burkwoodii bloom at the same time. The underplanting of woodland phlox hasn't gotten large enough to show yet, but I am hoping for a haze of lavender under the redbud in future years. From Late May 2014 All the rain has given us scenic effects, like mist rising off the fields as the sun sets From Late May 2014 From Late May 2014 and a rainbow. From Late May 2014

Jaymie, I've been babysitting trades for the past month or so. I've never seen a bigger bunch of [dare I say it?] PANSIES in my life. I was called off the desk for anything from plumbing valves not fitting in a tub deck to notching a sixteenth out of our harwoods for an HVAC opening. We moved beds in with a week to go[then moved them out after the electrical inspector advised he would not give a final until ALL personal posessions were out of the home], and I found myself just this past Sunday afternoon grading an enclosed crawl [a second time] to please our building inspector. Having said that, I hope wifey and child grow bored of this one quick because I can't wait to do it again! Full details after the touch up and cleaning crew has been through on friday............I'm looking forward to relaxing weekend of culinary delights, a bit of puttering, and a relaxing night with Abby watching E.T. on our Pioneer Kuro. PS.....cabinets are AWESOME.....worth the wait!