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The Everblooming Primrose

July 12th, 2011

This primrose was one of the first plants I planted in the garden, a few months after we moved in over nine years ago. I saw a basket of primroses on clearance at the grocery store, bought them, brought them home, and planted them in the garden. Most of them didn’t make it through the first winter, except for this one. It’s generally the first thing to bloom in the spring, usually while there’s still snow around. It will also bloom again in the fall and the flowers will hang on until the first snowfall. So it’s usually one of the last plants blooming in my garden as well.

This spring I moved it because it was being shaded out by a ‘Limelight’ hydrangea. Ever since it was replanted it’s been blooming – all summer long – which is kind of strange. I hope it isn’t wasting all of it’s energy and will still survive the winter as I’d hate to lose it.

Do you have any plants that have surprised you this year?

9 Comments to “The Everblooming Primrose”
  1. Melissa on July 12, 2011 at 7:50 am

    I love primroses! But I don’t think they’d do well in my hot southern garden. We’ve got temps of 103 today!

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    • itchbay on July 13, 2011 at 1:13 am

      I have my primroses in a part of the yard that gets shade most of the day during the summer. They have really surprised me. I planted them two years ago, and they’re still healthy and happy. Of course, it’s not quite as hot here in Northern California, but it can get into the mid-90s.

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  2. Jaye Whitney on July 12, 2011 at 8:23 am

    Your primroses are beautiful!

    Yes, pumpkins! Go figure! I hadn’t even planted any! I kept watching this vine growing, as they developed, I thought they were Crenshaw or some cross-pollinated squash…well, as they developed I was stunned. After a lot of thought, I finally remembered that in some leaves that my friend had saved for me last year (that I composted with), there were a couple of dilapidated jack-o-lanterns in there from Halloween…the seeds must have survived and thrived!! So, I have several pumpkins with more plants coming up. Ahead of schedule for Halloween this year :)

    It’s been years since I’ve grown pumpkins (when the children were smaller), but none were ever as beautiful as these. They’re the perfect jack-o-lanterns! Nature rocks.

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  3. Daedre Craig on July 12, 2011 at 8:57 am

    I made a point of not sowing any cherry tomatoes this year, and I’m still going to end up with a ton of them because they self-sowed everywhere! I left all of the particularly healthy ones (I can’t bring myself to pull them out and they aren’t in the way of anything), although I will probably never eat any of them.

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    • Susy on July 12, 2011 at 9:02 am

      That’s funny, at least you’re feeding the birds. I too usually allow my volunteer tomatoes to come up almost everywhere. It looks like this year I have a good crop of volunteer brandywines instead of cherry tomatoes.

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  4. MAYBELLINE on July 12, 2011 at 10:34 am

    Split leaf philodendron.

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  5. Lindsey @ NW Backyard Veggies on July 12, 2011 at 5:37 pm

    Wild bachelor buttons – they are spreading everywhere on my property and it seems like last year I had a couple, and this year they’re everywhere!

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  6. Miranda@eCarpet Cleaning Service on July 12, 2011 at 9:37 pm

    I love your primroses! They are simply beautiful!
    Yeah, a surprising tomato! :) My friendly neighbor gave me this plant in a little container. I really take good care of it. I watered it, put it outside the house in the morning then put it inside the house at night, so no creature can harm or eat my blooming tomato. Then the flowers start to bud and turned into fruit. I was really happy watching it grow bigger and ripe. I was very proud of my first harvest and inspired me to plant more. :)

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  7. Kimberly on July 13, 2011 at 11:06 pm

    Primroses always die on me :( But speaking of being surprised by a plant, I’ve got some Tropicannas that never stop. They bloom in the summer, and leave some orange/red foliage behind in the winter.

    Reply to Kimberly's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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