It’s the end of April and plants here in the PNW are on the move. After a long dormancy, it is so refreshing to see growth happening. It’s been pretty busy in the garden the past few months. A lot of the work happens right before the explosion of growth. There’s the traditional pre-growth clean up. This includes (but not limited to) re-potting, dividing, trimming, and also building some things. As of 30 Apr, most of the trimming has been completed. (Just a couple bins left…)

These are strange times we are currently in. This new norm is so surreal. As things continue to dynamically unfold, I’m thankful to have the opportunity to tend to a garden. Working with these plants helps to ground my being. It’s almost like they are watching over my mental well being. In working with these plants, something I’ve come to admire about them is their ability to adapt and thrive in what would otherwise be adverse conditions. It’s good energy to be around.

Dormancy feels like it can just drag on here in Oregon. It’s cold. It’s wet. It’s cold. It’s dark. But then – a little bit of sun and blue sky would peek through. (Even during a hail downpour. See hail video below.) Then it would happen more often. Then I started to see signs of new growth show up in the garden. New pitchers starting to form and flower buds starting to rise. Then – it happened. I saw the first Sarracenia flower open on 27 Apr. And at this moment, many more buds are getting ready to burst. Gardening – it’s something I really appreciate. It’s something that gives me hope for a brighter future.

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Trim: 20 Feb 2020

My favorite trimming clippers provided by the homie Jenn.

There was some hail in early March. Here’s some dried hail hitting Sarracenia ASMR for your enjoyment.

Hail in reverse.

Snow (in reverse) – 14 Mar 2020.

To think I was once growing these plants in a greenhouse in California doing pollinations as early as January.

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Here’s a few photos of how things are coming along.

There’s a lot to look forward to. Stay tuned!

Sarracenia flava – first flower to open this season.

Sarracenia hybrid

Sarracenia flava

Sarracenia oreophila x AF flava seedlings waking up.

Darlingtonia flower