Early Spring

We have had a bumper year for rain,
which after a drought is very welcome.
As soon as the rain lets up,
plants (including weeds) reach for the bits of sunshine.

I have been watching my crocus for years
and observed the various colored flowers bloom in a specific order:
yellow ones first, then the lavenders, next come purple and white striped,
then purples, and the pure white ones last.

Here is a crocus fact that I can vouch for from experience:
If you want to move the bulbs, wait until the blossoms are spent,
but before the leaves have died.
It is a short window of opportunity,
but the bulbs are easy to locate in the ground.
* * * * *

Bergenia are starting to bloom.
This large-leaved groundcover has such pretty, delicate flowers.
* * * * *

I know a little about hellebores,
like deer do not eat them and they love shade.
In contrast to the crocus, the white blossoms come first,
while the pink flowers are still budding.
* * * * *

I have planted and divided and planted hundreds of daffodils around our plot of land.
All I see around the house are emerging leaf blades.
What a surprise to find these flowers near the driveway, closer to the county road.
On a south-facing slope, with little shade from trees,
the micro-climate here must be quite a bit warmer.

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Winter Warm

A couple of dry days in a row, and I was gifted a spring surprise.
Early blossoms.

This is the only purple crocus I saw, but there should be many others.

White crocus (is the plural croci?) are apparently the last to bloom.

Milkweed & Monarchs

Last summer, I attended a workshop on attracting Monarch butterflies to your garden.
I purchased these seed packets of Milkweed seeds to plant in the dormant season.

Today, I planted my seeds along fence lines in 3 separate areas.
This is to insure the seeds will come up in at least one bed.

I have since read that Milkweed grows ‘like a weed’ in certain areas.
I truly hope I have not gone over the line,
and introduced any more invasive plants in my locale.

National Botanical Gardens

While in Washington DC, we visited the Smithsonian, which is great,
but the National Botanical Gardens were just amazing!

Maybe they strive to put the blooming plants on display,
or maybe we just got lucky to see so many flowers.

I am amazed that spiny plants and succulents
can produce such beautiful flowers.

Some of the flowers looked ordinary,
while others were quite exotic appearing.

The orchid greenhouse is always one of my favorite places to visit.
Again, quite insignificant plants and spectacular flowers.

I don’t think it is weird to be captivated by carnivorous plants – they are cool!
I have seen Pitcher plants growing wild in Oregon – in a marsh at the coast.

Outdoor plants were as interesting as the indoor plants.
Do you see the flowers hidden in the grapefruit-size, prickly ‘balloons’?