Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, March
Despite the warm weather and a relatively mild winter, the plants are slow to burst forth. The birds are claiming their territory and I can hear a cardinal whatcheering away. Also heard some red-wing blackbirds but the mocker is late ... not a peep from him.
This is quite an amazing primrose. It tried to bloom all winter and now that the warmer weather has arrived its already blooming when all the others have yet to even set buds.
This was the freebie hellebore someone threw out on the curb for the recyclers to take to the composting center. I rescued it and it's rewarded me with these flowers.
My favorite crocus battered by the wind and rain and soon to be a memory.
Two Pieris japonica, Japanese Pieris, Andromeda, Lily of the Valley shrub.
This is quite an amazing primrose. It tried to bloom all winter and now that the warmer weather has arrived its already blooming when all the others have yet to even set buds.
This was the freebie hellebore someone threw out on the curb for the recyclers to take to the composting center. I rescued it and it's rewarded me with these flowers.
My favorite crocus battered by the wind and rain and soon to be a memory.
Two Pieris japonica, Japanese Pieris, Andromeda, Lily of the Valley shrub.
posted by Ki at
5:35 AM
26 Comments:
Lovely flowers, thanks for sharing them today! I am starting to get excited about the spring. I esp love the little Johnny jump up, what a cute face it has.
I love that green hellebore, why would any sane person throw that out?! Your flowers look wonderful, I hope to have a few more myself in a few weeks!
Thanks for joining us again for bloom day.
Carol, May Dreams Gardens
Thanks Mumm,
This is the first of the wild johnnys to bloom. They regularly self seed so are wonderful to have around. Thanks for stopping by. Yes! it's spring.
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Hi Carol,
I was very curious to know what kind of flower the hellebore would produce. I agree with you that the flower looks great. I'm surprised too that someone would throw it out. Luckily they dug it out roots and all in a clump so I could easily replant it. We have a lot of neighbors who don't give a fig about plants or gardening - a suburban manicured lawn hell. Thanks for hosting GBBD.
Your colorful photos are a feast for my 'white' eyes, ki ... still snow covered gardens here but I do see hints of green popping in a few bare spots. Your adopted hellebore is quite handsome ... glad it has a wonderful home.
Hi Joey,
Though it didn't have flowers when it was thrown out on the curb, I instantly recognized the leaf shape as that of a hellebore. I couldn't believe my good fortune. Actually it turned out to be two plants so I have to remember where I planted the other one. Who knows it may be blooming too. I guess the old saw - one man's trash is another man's treasure was true in this case.
I feel for you mid-westerners who really got socked this winter. I'm sure it'll make spring all the more beautiful. Thanks for the nice comment.
The primrose color is just gorgeous. Thanks for the tour.
Oh so beautiful! I can't wait for my Pieris japonica to bloom, I just love the way they smell.
Your blue primrose is stunning!
Wow, ki... you've got a lot of stuff blooming (must be nice). Your fave crocus is a real beauty!
don
Holy cow, Ki - I wish *my* neighbors set out "trash" like that! You have a good eye and deserve a gold star for giving that bit of beauty a loving home. And that primrose of yours - wow!
Hi Bonnie,
The actual color of the primrose is slightly more purple than the photo but the camera came fairly close. The flower in the top right looks about right. I find digital cameras have a difficult time capturing the different shades of blue more than any other color. Thanks for stopping by.
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Hi Melanie,
I wasn't aware that Pieris had a scent. I'll have to stick my nose up to the flowers to check. I read that Alzheimer's disease diminishes the ability to smell. Something about the limited amount of brain cells allotted for this sense. They've developed a test based on this knowledge. Maybe my not detecting a scent should alert me to have some testing done. ;) :( Thanks for your comment.
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Hi Iboy,
I've casually looked around to see if I could obtain more of my favorite crocus but I haven't found any yet. I don't even remember where we bought it. It was transplanted from our old home 7 years ago and we must have had it a few years before we moved. Hasn't multiplied much considering the number of years. I really do like the light blue and white combination. The camera seems to have caught the colors on this one almost perfectly. I'm sure your garden will be a riot of colors soon too. Can't wait to see your many interesting plants. Thanks for visiting.
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Hi Nan,
Yeah, I should have knocked on the door to see if they had any more plants they didn't want! ;) As I wrote, it was fortunate they dug out the hellebore and didn't just pull it up instead. I see the other plant I rescued is also starting to sprout a bud. I hope it's a different variety. This is fun. I like surprises. Especially free ones. That primrose deserves the gold star. It doesn't know when to quit. We have at least a dozen others planted all around the house and this is the only one with flowers let alone buds. If I were a propagator I would certainly choose this one to be the start of a hardy strain.
You have a nice collection of crocuses. Your favorite looks a lot like one I have that only produced one flower this year. I'm not sure which variety mine is either, but I think it might be 'Blue Pearl'.
Thanks for the name of the crocus. I looked it up and I believe you're right so now I can buy dozens more eh? Now if I can get rid of the pesky squirrels who have dug up the hundreds we planted in a new bed so completely that there's no evidence of any and are even digging up the old ones in established beds. This is the first year they started doing this and it's driving me nuts. ;)
I loved all your blooms, Ki - the colors are so intense and alive, making me miss crocus and wish for pieris and hellebores.
I've seen advice to use hardware cloth boxes for planting bulbs, but what good will that do when a squirrel eats the flowers, too?
In IL the squirrels sometimes dug up the crocus and scilla but replanted them rather than eating the bulbs - that caused them to spring up in unexpected places.
Good save on the hellebore!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Great plants and great photography!
Hi Annie,
My next blog is going to be about the squirrels digging up the crocus. For some reason they are digging up many of the crocuses this year and have caused great devastation. We thought some plastic deer fence material would be a deterrent but if they can open the latches on the bird feeders the plastic fence wouldn't be much of a barrier. I'm spraying hot sauce but I'll have to reapply often because of the frequent rains. It looks like they ate the bulbs and all leaving just a few stems.
I'm sure any garden blogger would have snatched up those freebie hellebores. That's like finding a Tiffany lamp at a garage sale for $10... well not quite. ;)
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Thanks Phillip. Love your camellias and wish I could grow more too.
You have a good selection of stuff for this early. I really liked the shot of the group of Purple Crocus.
One thing I do to stop the critters from digging the minor type bulbs is to plant them with some sharp gravel in the backfill (traprock, not round pebbles). Doesn't seem to hurt the bulbs.
I am looking forward to seeing your garden through pictures this year.
Thanks for the March tour of your lovely blooms, Ki. Your photos are outstanding.
Hi Chris,
Thanks for the squirrel tip. I'll try it out and see if it will keep those nasty critters from digging up the crocus. The weather has been strange. Cold then warm in about a 3 day cycle. It's actually pretty good for the flowers because the fluctuations seem to prolong the bloom time. The tulips are slowly starting to emerge and the flowering trees are starting to develop their bubs but I'm surprised they aren't blooming already with the mild winter we've experienced this year. Thanks for your comment.
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Hello Carolyn Gail,
As I walked around the house I was amazed to see this many plants in bloom. I could clearly see the crocus blooming but the rest were pretty inconspicuous until you were almost right on top of them. Thanks for you comment and for stopping by.
Hi Ki,
Your Primrose is a gorgeous colour - imagine it trying to bloom during the winter months! You have a wonderful collection of crocus and two beautiful Hellebores. And what a pretty pansy - I love the markings on it.
Update on Twitter - more gardeners are using it. It's great fun keeping up with gardeners elsewhere.
There are so many primroses here in England. Nice to see some in the USA too.
Lovely photos, Ki...very Spring like, each bursting forth with joy :)
Good grief. I just wrote some replies and I clicked on another link before I published it and poof! it disappeared into the ether. I hate when that happens.
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Hi Kate,
We had a very mild winter this year with temps rarely dipping below 20F and only for very brief periods of time at that. I guess the primrose knew it was going to be mild so it kept trying to bloom although I don't know if there were any pollinators around.
About Twitter- MSS of Zanthan Gardens uses Twitter as a notepad to keep short garden notes. A clever and unintended use of that app. Thanks for your comment.
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Hello Sarah Laurence,
When I see primroses, I immediately associate them with English country gardens. You must have the perfect climate to grow them. They do suffer our hot and humid summers but soldier on. The ones we have, have been in ground for three years now. Lovely to see your white primrose in bloom! Thank you for your comment and for visiting my blog.
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Hi Wildlife Gardner,
Thank you very much. It does good to see the flowers bursting forth. I would be much happier if those dadburn squirrels would stop digging out the crocus but that's a subject for an upcoming blog. ;(
Thanks for stopping by.
Such a wonderful spring display in your garden Ki for garden bloggers blooms day. That hellebore was certainly worth rescuing!:-)
Thank you Yolanda Elizabet. I replied earlier yesterday but I don't see it, my apologies. I'm usually not very lucky so I could hardly believe my eyes that someone had just tossed the hellebore next to the street curbing. It turned out to be doubly lucky because the single plant actually turned out to be two. I'm eagerly awaiting the second one to bloom and I hope it will be a different color but will be happy even if it is the same. I love surprises. Thanks for your comment.
It is nice. I like it very much.
Good Job! :)
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