🌿Happy Earth Day 🌿

Lunaria annua
'Honesty' seed harvest
2015
from Mary Lou Clark,
Shaw Island, San Juan Archipelago, WA.
Blooming on this day of 22 April 2020
at the Shaw Island Gatehouse.
The willow tray was handwoven in England.

"All seeds are most interesting, whether winged like the Dandelion and Thistle, to fly on every breeze afar; or barbed to catch in the wool of cattle or the garments of men, to be borne away and spread in all directions over the land; or feathered like the little polished shuttlecocks of the Cornflower, to whirl in the wind abroad and settle presently, point downward, into the hospitable ground."
      Celia Thaxter. An Island Garden.

Cleaning seeds of mature
Money Plant
(Lunaria annua)
Fresh seed packets are available
at the Gatehouse shed
Reefnet Bay Road, Shaw Island,
San Juan Archipelago, WA. 

Money Plant Seeds 
Available at Gatehouse Seeds,
Shaw Island, San Juan Archipelago, WA.

🌿Summer Snowflake blooming on Shaw Island 🌿

Summer Snowflakes
(Leucojum aestivum)
Blooming this day of
5 April 2020
Gatehouse Garden,
on Shaw Island, WA.

The so-called summer snowflake, Leucojum aestivum 'Gravetye Giant' is in full bloom by early April, and may run on into May. The common name is a misnomer because it blooms in spring, and has gone dormant by summer. It is deer resistant, and a great naturalizer for Z 4-8. 
      In spring, leafless stems that are up to 36" in height bear up to 8-bell shaped, slightly chocolate-scented, white flowers. 'Gravetye Giant' is a standout of this genus because of its vigor. It is a more robust, taller, and heavier bloomer. The summer snowflake prefers to not dry out completely in summer while dormant. It never flops, according to Christopher Lloyd.
      The Elizabeth Miller Library includes this bulb on their list of Great Plant Picks. Best of all, gardener Gwen Yansen, one of the first to grow this plant on Shaw Island, had fat clumps of Leucojum in her perennial flower beds and was generous about sharing to those friends without.