MH0434R

36 E 3.5, NearWhite Self, Dor Dip
Ice Trumpets * MH0207K = Ice Trumpets * (Boston Symphony * Early And Often) * (Millie Schlumf * Early And Often)

Stella De Oro still has not opened (it's late this year in my garden, perhaps because I moved it and perhaps because of the chilly, dry weather), but this beauty has. I don't know if this earliness is normal yet: the two scapes are both much smaller than last year's and might be outer scapes (as opposed to normal scapes.) Or it might be due to the extreme spring sickness I've had in my beds this year.

It's not the whitest white, but why would I care with that green throat and that delicate play of colors? It's EARLY! Pollen is going on to all the extra earlies that can throw melon, including Begin With A Bang (which can lose the yellow and could throw red, pink, or white.)

The season does Begin With A Bang!

Begin With A Bang opened June 2, and so far every bloom has been pollinated and has set pods (using mostly frozen pollen.) It was just so beautiful today, with two days worth of flowers open because of the cool weather, that I had to put up a photo.

A Kamensky seedling (Little Rosy Cloud * Judge Orr) was actually the first thing to bloom, but I ignore yellows. :-)

It's been really cool and dry so far this year; I've had less than 1/2 inch of rain in the past 5 weeks. Stella De Oro will be later than usual: it's still about a week from blooming.

However, I do have a yard full of scapes! I'm going through the usual anticipatory anxiety for the seedlings. Every day, I stare at the slowly appearing and enlarging buds and scapes, hoping they show signs of being white flowered. Then I'll go through the next phase, of hoping that they rebloom. I do have one seedling that already shows a rebloom scape coming, even though the first scape hasn't opened a bud yet. Hope it has a good flower! I can see I'm having some success in breeding for dark scapes, but the key question is whether I'll leave the yellow behind and get white.

The garden is mostly under control this season, with some good mulching (for the first time.) Maybe I'll need to weed less this year.

Folks who'd like to visit should phone to invite themselves over. Seedling peak is usually early July.