Blooms Are Marching In

Grecian Windflowers (Anemone blanda)

 

I can hardly believe it's already the 15th--the fateful Ides of March! That means it's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, hosted by Carol Michel's May Dreams Blog. Here in my zone 6b Virginia garden spring is coming in early, with the past week of unseasonable temperatures in the upper 60's, hitting almost 80 in the past few days!

The warmth has triggered blooms that wouldn't be open until April, like the Grecian windflowers above. The violets usually don't bloom fully this early either, but it's wonderful to see them anyway. I planted 'Queen Charlotte' several years ago, but the local deer find this plant extra-tasty, so it must be protected with a wire cage. The Sweet white violets were volunteers that somehow came into my garden and have spread nicely--the deer leave those alone--go figure.

 

Violet 'Queen Charlotte' (Viola odorata)

Sweet white violets (Viola blanda)

In the front yard the February Gold daffodils have been blooming for a couple of weeks now. The last of the purple Tommies (Crocus Thomasinianus) are still blooming too, while the other Narcissi develop foliage. The hyacinths are making an entrance with their pervasive perfume.

'February Gold' daffodils

Front yard two days ago.

'Delft Blue' hyacinth.

Blue and white Hyacinths in the front yard.

These Grape Hyacinths (Muscari armeniacum) were actually planted here by the squirrels--dug up from my other beds. They have some charm next to the Creeping Speedwell (Veronica filiformis) weed that grows so profusely in everyone's garden.

 

Muscari armeniacum and slender speedwell by the front walk.

 

My Hellebore 'True Love' is full of blooms, but 'Flower Girl', which had buds develop earlier, is still not opening--it's a mystery to me, as these seem to have identical growing conditions. The only difference is the plant below is about two years older than the other Hellebore.

Hellebore 'True Love'

The Forsythia in the back yard is starting to open, and clumps of February Gold daffodils are up too. The Winter Aconite that I planted last fall finally came up, a little late in the game. I don't know if this was due to how dry last fall was, or if the species I bought, which is Eranthis cilicica rather than the more common E. hyemalis, was a factor.  With the recent warm temperatures these are already starting to fade--I hope for a better show next spring.

Forsythia bush starting to show color.

Winter aconite (Eranthis cilicica)

My Seven Son Flower tree (Heptacodium miconoides) is among the earliest of my trees to leaf out. I love its peeling bark, which gives the tree three-season interest: small fragrant flowers in summer, pink bracts in the fall and peeling bark in the winter. The Viburnum prunifolium has buds that will soon to open.

 

Seven Son Flower Tree leafing out.

Black haw Viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium) buds.

The Glory-of-the-snow are up around the base of my red maple. Last year the deer ate them all before I even took photos, but this year I sprayed them with repellent as soon as they started coming up.

Glory-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa luciliae)

Glory-of-the-snow.

 

I'd forgotten to check on my Magnolia 'Butterflies' in the front yard--the buds are shedding their winter coats and starting to open! I hope we won't have a frost now just as they are starting to open--it's about time for my garden to have one good year when the blossoms aren't burned to a crisp by frost!

 

Magnolia 'Butteflies'

Yellow Magnolia 'Butterflies'

 

More blooms to come in the coming months--I live for this time of the year!

Leap Year Stirrings

White crocus.

 

We have an extra day in February this year to enjoy, and it seems the first signs of spring are stirring--I wanted to write this special post to commemorate the Leap Year. So many varieties of crocuses are blooming in both front and back yards! Last fall I planted some species crocuses along the back bed; the one above is a lovely snow-white.

 

Front yard with crocuses.

Deep purple 'Tommies" (Crocus thommasinianus)

Yellow species crocus

Feathered species crocus.

The pale lilac "Tommies" in the front garden are looking blowsy, as the deep purple ones begin their show. Odd, how some varieties prefer to bloom a bit later, even with the same exposure--this happens every year! My Winter Aconite has yet to sprout, I hope the voles didn't eat them all.

The deer (or maybe rabbits?) chomped off most of the snow drops, but I did get to enjoy them for a few days at the beginning of their bloom cycle. I hope they'll multiply to eventually become nice clumps.

The February Gold daffodils have started to open, and the other narcissi are popping up. The hyacinths are starting to break ground too.

 

'February Gold' daffodils

Hyacinth buds

I even found one tiny Siberian Squill blooming in the east bed.

 

Siberian Squill (Scilla siberica)

 

I'd been hoping my Hellebores would be starting to bloom soon, but the buds are still closed up tight. Yesterday's rain will help.

 

Hellebore ' Flower Girl'

 

My 'Queen Charlotte' violet is reviving and has some flowers. It's been trying to spread, but the deer eat most of the plantlets that grow outside of its protective wire cloche.

 

Violet 'Queen Charlotte' (Viola odorata 'Queen Charlotte')

Last weekend I entered my painting of the native Pink Lady Slippers in the Virginia Orchid Society's show at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden and received the third prize in the professional category--a number of my fellow artists from the Central Virginia Botanical Artists Circle also received awards. 

I couldn't resist buying this miniature orchid from one of the vendors there, the tiniest Encyclia I've ever seen--the pseudobulbs are about 3/4" and so is the tiny fading flower. The grower had labeled this as Epidendrum polybulbon, but when I looked it up, the genus has been changed to Encyclia.

The miniature Encyclia requires a lot of moisture, so I've put it in the master bath with my other orchids, next to a couple of bromeliads. I hope I can keep it alive long enough to paint it, perhaps even get it to re-bloom!

Encyclia polybulbon orchid.

 

I can't wait to see what the month of March will bring--will it come in as a lion or as a lamb?

March Bloom Day

Delft Blue hyacinths with strawberries as ground cover.

 

The unseasonably warm days of last week have brought forth new flowering bulbs in my zone 6b garden in Virginia. The hyacinth bulbs along my front walk have opened: 'Delft Blue' and a white variety the name of which I forget. The sedum 'Angelina' and the ground covers are still sporting their rusty winter colors but they'll soon be greening up. We need a lot of rain!

 

Hyacinths along my front walk.

The February Gold daffodils have lasted longer than usual with the cooler temperatures this week, along with a little surprise snow on Sunday. 

 

February Gold daffodils in the back bed.

 

Hyacinths and February Gold daffodils along the front walk in the snow.

 The Glory-of-the-Snow (Chionodoxa luciliae) flowers are starting to pop up at the base of the red maple.

Glory-of-the-Snow flowers at the base of the red maple.

Close-up of Glory-of-the-Snow (Chionodoxa luciliae)

The Siberian squills (Scilla siberica) on the east bed are also popping up along with the Hellebore 'True Love' and the Japanese Pieris.

Scillas with Hellebore Wedding Party 'True Love'

Pieris japonica on the right, with Scillas.

Hellebore 'True Love'

 

Despite the cold and blustery day, today I found a few tiny purple anemone buds peeking out from the mulch--the flowers are closed, but they will open on a warmer day.

 

Greecian windflowers (Anemone blanda)

 

Though not a flower, I see that the leaves of my autumn flowering Colchicum 'Waterlily' are coming up too. The scented violets (Viola odorata) died back a lot this winter, but tiny new plants are emerging.

 

Colchicum 'Waterlily' foliage emerging.

Viola odorata.

Indoors on the windowsill, the Streptocarpus 'Wow' has colorful, exclamation-worthy flowers!

 

Streptocarpus 'Wow'

February Dreams

Crocus tommasinianus in two colors.

 

It's late February, and my early spring bulbs are starting to put on a show. The rosy purple tommasinianus crocuses are emerging now, about a week behind the lighter mauve ones. It's wonderful to see how they've formed thick clumps in the front garden over the years under the cherry tree.

Front  yard under the cherry tree.

 

The 'February Gold' daffodils have started to bloom; in the fall of 2021 I divided these and now have two large clumps--one by the driveway and another in the front yard.

 

'February Gold' daffodils by the driveway.

Spring seems to be just around the corner, but I know this is a treacherous time of the year. We may yet get some snow, which we haven't had this winter. These spring bulbs don't seem to mind the cold and will easily survive a snowfall. The hyacinths are starting to break forth, but it may be a few weeks before they open fully. One of the early spring bulbs I don't have in my garden are snowdrops--I must buy some to plant in the fall this year.

Delft blue hyacinth

This afternoon I spotted the first buds on my Hellebore 'True Love'; the other Hellebore I planted last year, 'Flower Girl' is showing a few new leaves.

Hellebore 'True Love' buds.

My witch hazel tree 'Diane' is also blooming. I'm hoping that my little tree will grow tall enough this year to be able to be freed from its protective deer enclosure--it's difficult to admire or take good photos with that nylon netting around it. 

The two viburnums I raised from seed and planted on each side of the witch hazel appear to be developing into leatherleaf viburnums (V. rhytidophyllum), in which case I may have to dig them up and plant them elsewhere. That variety of Viburnum can grow to 6'-10' tall, and they would soon overtake the witch hazel if left there.

 

Witch hazel 'Diane'

It seems like a good time to start my spring clean-up, prune, and clear away the old stems of perennials. I usually don't do this until later in March. I'd love to start re-edging my beds now, and move a few plants around into new flower beds, but the earth isn't ready to be worked yet--in another week or two, perhaps. One can always dream!

Orchid Opening

Orchid Bud begins to open

Yesterday morning I noticed that one of my orchids which had developed a booming spike had started to open. I bought this orchid years ago at a roadside stand in Florida during one of our trips there--most likely a Brassia/Miltonia/Oncidium/ hybrid. The unfolding of an orchid flower is such an amazing sight, I recorded its progress with my phone's camera.

First, the sepals start to lift up, revealing the column and folded labellum inside. Gradually the sepals fold back and the two upper petals unfurl, revealing the burgundy and greenish-white markings.

As the petals fold back, the showy lip (the labellum) begins to emerge, with its white tip still folded like a pointed cap. Amazing how all these structures are all neatly packed into the bud!

Finally, the white tip of the labellum unfurls, revealing its ruffled edges. The flowers may last for up to a month, depending on the growing conditions. I'll now move it to our bathroom where the humidity will help it last longer. I find it useful to periodically move my orchids to different locations around the house--the higher light levels at some windows can stimulate the orchids into blooming. I've yet to coax blooms from my Cattleyas, I'm hoping for better luck this year--maybe even try putting them outdoors this summer if I can find a suitable spot.

February Gold daffodils

Outdoors, the sequence of early spring flowers begins--this week the February Gold daffodils and purple crocuses were out in force on warm afternoons.