Peepers at KenGar: take a listen!

It's about 7 P.M. February 29, 2012. I've just come back from the local wetland site of the peeper ponds. It's raining and the temperature is about50 ⁰ F (about 10⁰ C): good conditions for the annual emergence of the peepers. I listened carefully and I think I heard two widely separated peeps. That's justification enough for me to make this posting. Tomorrow the temperature is predicted to be about ten degrees F higher, and sometime during the day the big choruses should start.

What are peepers? They're small (almond-sized) frogs.  For well over a century peepers were known as Hyla crucifer; in fact, the vernacular name hylas is still used. But in modern arrangements they are called Pseudacris crucifer. I attended an Episcopalian funeral recently and was intrigued to see that there is a participant in the ceremony called the crucifer. The word literally means cross bearer. The frog merits the name because of the big X on its back.

Here's a link to a recording I made last April at the same ponds. The sound of the peepers is accompanied by images of tommies, Crocus tommasinianus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH5pT3If_nA

Tommy time

Tommies are in full bloom this week. These are Crocus tommasinianus, in many respects the best crocus for our gardens.

Buying tommies can be tricky because the widely marketed forms such as 'Ruby Giant' are not really true tommies. They are probably hybrids with Crocus vernus. But even if that is not the case, the forms such as 'Ruby Giant' do not behave in the garden the way true tommies do. True tommies seed around and form thick clumps of bloom; if you have the time to spend with them when they are in bloom, you'll notice that every plant is just a bit different from its neighbors.

When they are naturalized in lawns in their hundreds they produce a charming (but fleeting) effect on warm winter days. Look for the ripening seed capsules in late April; collect and then scatter the seeds to get colonies going in other parts of the garden.

If a gardening friend offers you some crocus corms with the comment "I don't know the name of this one - it's the little purple one that you see in old lawns in February", accept them with thanks! That was the source of one clump here in the garden.

January's parting gifts

Has January 2012 been the mildest January on record? It certainly has seemed so. Those who have planted gardens for winter interest are really getting their money's worth this year. If you planted seeds of poppies, larkspurs, corn flowers and other hardy annuals you are probably seeing a lot of green by now - and, barring a severe shift in the weather, the promise of lots of huge plants in a few months.

Here are some photos taken today which give an idea of what is happening in the garden. From top to bottom: Galanthus 'S.Arnott', Hamamelis 'Jelena', Crocus tommasinianus, Jasminum nudiflorum, Cyclamen persicum and Taraxacum officinale (dandelion).

The cyclamen are florists' cyclamen and were purchased about a month ago; they have been outside since except for one or two extremely cold nights. If you have failed with these plants in the past, try again but this time keep them as cool as possible (but above freezing). Plants purchased during the Christmas holidays can still be blooming in April if they have been kept cool and moist. That is moist, not wet: the roots rot quickly if the drainage is poor. The big, large flowered forms have a disagreeable odor, but the smaller pink and white  ones seen above  are very sweet (the red one has the stink of the big ones). As you can see, they are worth growing for their foliage, too.

Tommies doing their magic trick

In the images above you can see a selection of forms of lawn tommies, Crocus tommasinianus, performing their little magic trick. In cold, dull weather the flowers are bolt upright and tightly closed. All the viewer sees is the silvery exterior of the slim buds. But once it begins to warm up a bit, the flowers start to open. This is when the magic takes place: the silvery exterior hides an intense amethyst interior. The sliver spears slowly change into cups of amethyst.

Even the commonest plants sometimes provide the most engaging enchantment.

Tommies

There are probably more crocus varieties available in the trade now than ever before. Specialists offer a bewildering array of species. A good assortment of garden crocuses is readily available. I've never seen a crocus I didn't like, and I grow a lot of them, from the familiar Dutch crocuses to rarely grown wild crocuses.

Yet I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who feels a special affection for tommies. Tommies are the forms of and near hybrids of Crocus tommasinianus. They are early, free of growth, make themselves at home and eventually form seeding populations which vary and provide keen interest to those with sharp eyes.

Tommies can be divided into three groups: the wild forms, the garden forms (these probably of hybrid origin), and the ones which arise in the garden wherever an assortment of tommies grow. I call this last group the "lawn tommies" because they make themselves at home in lawns, eventually seeding into broad masses. One sometimes sees them in old neighborhoods producing a fleeting haze of amethyst over the lawn.

In the image above, you see a richly colored garden form. This garden form lacks the silver exterior of the lawn tommies, and is a less attractive flower because of that. When the sun comes out again, I'll post some fresh images of lawn tommies.

You can't buy lawn tommies; you have to acquire them from someone who already has them. A few corms or a pinch of seed will get you started.

Several years ago a member of our local lily society appeared at one of our bulb exchanges with a handful of crocus corms to exchange. He didn't know what they were except to say that they were the little purple ones which grow in lawns. I brought some of these home with me, and each year they have bloomed and provided a reminder of that friend who has since died.

For the observant, tommies provide one of the neatest little flower spectacles in the garden. Once they begin to seed around, they revert to what is evidinetly the wild form, a slender crocus silvery on the outside and brilliant amethyst on the inside. On cloudy or rainy days, the thin buds stand upright, barely visible little pewter exclamation points scattered over the lawn. But when the sun comes out, there is a little miracle: the silver outer tepals open to reveal the rich amethyst of the inner tepals. You want to catch this as it happens in order to be able to enjoy the contrast between the silver and the amethyst.

Take a look here:
http://mcwort.blogspot.com/2010/03/tommies-doing-their-magic-trick.html


Once you've seen this, you will understand why tommies have such a loyal following.