Window of Opportunity

There is a small overlap of the end of daffodils
and the start of Oregon Grape blooming.

I love seeing the shades of yellow
and shades of green in nature.

Advertisement

Scent of a Hyacinth

I love the scent of a hyacinth flower!
Some people actually complain the aroma is too ‘heady’ for them:(

I got a good whiff just walking along the brick path.
It smelled so good, I walked back and forth a few times!
Made me smile on an overcast day:)
* * *
Long ago, I made and sold porcelain hyacinth vases,
which were used to ‘force’ a bulb to bloom indoors.
There were always extra bulbs at the end of the season,
which I planted under bushes within deer-fences.

White hyacinth live at the base of this budding lilac bush.
Because deer ignore daffodils,
those bulbs get to live outside the protective fence.
* * *
Lots of hyacinths live below this rhododendron.

Did you know that blue, white and purple hyacinths
are the best color of these flowers to force?
I can’t say for sure if I bought the bi-color flower bulbs,
or they hybridized naturally.

Very Early Spring Daffodils

Spring bulbs are emerging particularly early this year.
Not only blooming snowdrops & daffodils,
but tulip & hyacinth leaves have poked through the ground, also.

I have been gardening in this same place for over 35 years,
and this is the earliest, by a large margin,
for these flower bulbs.

Argh!  Please excuse my focus.
I should have had my glasses on!

Here the flowers look so small & insignificant.
It is a south-facing rise, a break in the trees,
a particularly sunny area.
Also a tractor & vehicle shortcut,
across a fork in the road,
which makes me think it amazing the daffodils have persevered.

An Early Bounce from Spring

We took a two week trip to visit grandboys,
missing a snowstorm, cold and rain while gone.

Upon our return home, I took my camera
around the house to see what had bloomed in my absence.

These hyacinth bulbs are in the same bed.
Photos confirm that white hyacinth flower before the blue ones.
I love the scent from hyacinth, even though it can be strong.
* * * * *

In the same bed as the hyacinth above are these bloomers.

The windflower anemones shown are in various stages of bloom.
They have self-multiplied all through this bed,
and will flower for at least another month.

Our local weather has sun and cold rain in spurts (significantly less sun),
which has extended the bloom time of early spring flowers.
Tons of daffodils are planted in front of the house.
They are starting to bloom at not-exactly-the-same-time.
I am not sure if this is the soil or the particular micro-climate.
Those are clumps of bluebells coming up near the daffodils.
* * * * *

More purple flowers!
Just a small bunch of miniature iris here.
Up close, they show some weather damage, but are still pretty.

Anemones are short, but sweet, flowering.
There is a bud behind and to the left of this blossom.
* * * * *

I have shown this batch of flowers already this year, but am doing so again.
Bergenia are blooming in many places – they were easy to divide.

Pink hellebore are finally blooming, much later than the white.
There are still buds on the pink-flowered plant, and
the weather forecast has enough cool rain to keep these around for awhile.

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.

Dozens of Dozens of Daffodils

For me, daffodils are the sure sign of spring.  They are not subtle, but come on strong and take over the gardens.  I love it!

Neither deer or rabbits are interested in eating these bulbs or flowers.
I keep dividing the bulbs as they multiply generously.

This bouquet lives in a Goddess Vase I made.
Of porcelain clay, fired in my hybrid wood-fueled kiln.

Late Winter Blooms

We’ve had rain and cold with very few hours of sun here and there.
This weather is making hyacinths slow to fully open, also the daffodils.
On the other hand, it is truly violets favorite weather, as they are thriving.

* * * * *

Pale lavender windflowers, anemone blanda, growing at the base of a rose bush.
These flowers spread easily, and compliment the purple violets.

* * * * *

Spinach planted last summer is now flowering.
The flowers look prettier than the leaves tasted.
I will try a spring or fall planting next try, the summer planting was strong tasting!

Weeping Cherry tree looks good even in the rain

We had some good rain over the weekend resulting in droopy daffodils.  But there is no problem with the weeping cherry tree as rain does not dampen its appearance.  This photo is only a couple of days old, and the hanging branch on the right is now full of blooms.
It was just a few short years ago this tree was planted, and it took so long to look established, I wondered if it would survive.  Now, it is starting to fill out and there are no dead branches in sight.

Winter Sprouts

Bluebell and daffodil leaves are sprouting all over my garden.  Signs indicate that spring can not be far away, no matter what page the calender is on.  But I know to be wary, as a freeze can come at any time and set things back.

The bluebell clumps look like they are getting a bit crowded, and may need to be divided again.  These are prolific bulbs, and I wish I could plant them in the woods.  Unfortunately, for me, the local deer find them quite tasty and they do not last long in the wild.

On the other hand, our deer do leave daffodils alone.  Yesterday, I moved some sprouting bulbs out of an enclosed area, to the “wilds”, as they do not need to be protected.  I’ve tried to plant daffodil bulbs in the fields, but they rarely regrow and bloom again.  Finally, I realized that spring grass mowing also mowed down the daffodil blades.  The plant needs its leaves to die-off naturally to replenish its nutrients and energy to rebloom another year.