I received a few comments from fb buddies about this post. Here’s what they had to say.
Gina: The first pic is Columbine;the second is probably a native violet, but definitely in the violet family – therefore it should have a purple bloom; the purple leaves are oxalis, it will flower either pink or white; the thing you thought was ivy IS – great ground cover. The Columbine is the only of the above that is a true sun plant – it likes sun. The rest are shady/partial sun. All this from my DH who knows every single plant ever grown, I think.
Heather: the first pic is definitely columbine, they spread around by dropping seeds, and its entirely possible that some of that seed may have somehow found its way to the back porch, strange but true. the second is also definitely wild violet, some people consider it a weed because it also seeds itself about and will frequently come up in grass and places you might not necessarily want it, but also many others don’t think of it as a weed, because they think its cute. luckily if it comes up anywhere you don’t want it it’s pretty easy to pull. Gina was right about the oxalis, i love it, its very cute. ivy on the other hand is quite invasive, its a “great groundcover” because its a thug and once you have it its nearly impossible to get rid of. that might be a plus in your book though. the fountain grass i would just cut it back and it might resprout, you never know! also keep you eyes open in that area and you may get seedlings of it as well.
Thanks to everyone for all of your comments!
The rose and columbine have bloomed even more. Here are some pics:
I’m also very excited about this:
My violet is blooming! I don’t think I’ve ever seen it bloom before. Pretty cool.
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When my granny passed away, I inherited her plants. I knew that where we were living was temporary, so rather than plant them in the the ground and have them go through the trauma of being uprooted again when we move, I put them in containers. A lot of the plants die back every year so by the time that spring rolls around and things start growing I’m not always sure what should be in the pot and what shouldn’t. When I went to trim the rose bush for the winter I found another plant residing in the same pot. It had interesting leaves so I wasn’t sure if I had put it there or if it was a weed. I pulled out all the other weeds, but decided to leave this one and see what happens. Well, it continued to grow and now it’s begun to bloom. I’m still not sure if it’s a weed or a legitimate plant. Any experts out there know? It’s pretty whatever it is. By any other name… right?
I’m also not sure about this one. I’m pretty sure it’s legit, but I don’t know what it is or if it’s supposed to bloom or anything. Anyone recognize it?
Evan came down in January to do some work on the house to save up money for his mission. He repainted the front decks and my planters ended up getting left out over night. Needless to say it frosted and all of the plants in them turned to mush. Sad. Or so I thought. I’m not sure what they are called, but these little guys are hardy! They came back with a vengeance! Their near death experience must have been life affirming or something, because they’ve more than tripled in size! I need to spray them. It looks like something is nibbling on them.
Kenzie thinks it’s a game to knock my plants off the deck. If the container isn’t heavy enough it gets dumped and carted off. I’ve lost a few plants thanks to this. I was sweeping off the back porch the other day when I noticed this:
It’s the same purple plant! I had combined it in a little plastic container with a few others on the back deck, but Kenzie took off with it. These little guys decided to bloom where they were planted!
Is the following plant ivy? We have quite a bit of it in the back yard. I’ve considered digging some up to take with us when we move. I don’t want to do something I’ll regret, so if anyone has any advice to offer up on the subject that would be great.
I love spring. My rose bush is about to bloom and there’s new growth shooting up from my lirope. I breathe a huge sigh of relief when I realize I haven’t killed another plant.
I wish I could say the same for these poor guys. They used to be fountain grass, but I’m pretty sure they’re dead. Sad.
I can’t say I know what your first two plants are, but your ivy looks like ivy. We have a ton of it at our place too and I love it. It can take over, but the more the merrier I say. How long into spring are you out there? Because that is what my fountain grasses look like in the spring. If you cut them back to stubbs watch and see if green grasses don’t shoot up still. If not, sad, but don’t pull them up just yet. I’ll send your pictures on to my mom, and ask if she knows what those plants are. Your Ezra is sure growing up. You are a good mom. Love, Erin.
The top one looks like a Columbine to me. The flowers should be really pretty and quite delicate looking. The next one looks like it could be some sort of mint. Do the leaves smell like mint if you break one up in your hand? Your purple shamrock is beautiful. We can hardly get those to thrive as a house plant in Utah. I love the ivy you have there we noticed it all over the place and again barely makes it as a house plant here.