The Annual Miracle is Here

Magnolia 'Butterflies'

 

It's been one of the driest winters in this corner of Virginia, and March was little better until the very last day, when a series of thunderstorms hit our area, dropping nearly an inch of rain overnight. What a delightful surprise just before April Fool's! 

With the stealth rain, my garden has come alive with the annual miracle of spring! My yellow-flowered Magnolia 'Butterflies' didn't get badly frosted this year--ironic, considering there were fewer buds than any year before, due to last summer's drought. But still, it's the first spring since it was planted eight years ago that I've had the opportunity to enjoy its beautiful blossoms.

 

The front yard with Thalia narcissus and Magnolia 'Butterflies'

 

As the early 'February Gold' daffodils fade, the front yard comes alive with the blooms of Thalias, Tazettas, and Poet's Narcissus, forming thickets of white with touches of yellow. The creeping Phlox under the cherry tree is starting to revive too.

 

My front yard on April Fool's Day.

Tazetta, Thalia, and Poet's Narcissus.

The Yoshino cheries in our neighborhood are gorgeous at the moment, though with the wind today the blossoms are bound to be short-lived. It will take a couple more weeks for the Kwanzan cherry in my yard to open, although the buds are swelling and starting to show some color.

On the east side of the house several patches of blue Siberian Squill are all in bloom, and my Hellebores finally open. The Pieris beyond is also sporting its delicate blossoms.

 

Siberian Squill (Scilla siberica)

Hellebore 'True Love'

Hellebore 'Flower Girl'

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pieris japonica

 

Last fall I planted a native Jacob's Ladder plant in the woodland garden on the east of the house, and it's loaded with flower buds, the first of which are starting to open. I'd had a couple of beautiful hybrids with variegated foliage of this plant a few years ago, but those were eaten by something (deer? voles?) and died out. I think the species may prove a bit more resistant to the onslaught of the critters, but I'm keeping it under a cloche in hopes it will spread.

 

Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium reptans)

 

My Allegheny Serviceberry tree (Amelanchier laevis) is also blooming, though my little tree hasn't made a whole lot of progress in the past years. I hope this year it will finally grow tall enough to be out of the deers' reach.

 

Allegheny Serviceberry tree (Amelanchier laevis)

The back bed  has exploded into bloom with assorted daffodils: 'Pink Charm' at one end, with 'Mount Hood' and a mixture of other varieties. The redbud tree is just starting to show some color, while the Seven Son Flower Tree leafs out. The Forsythia beyond is holding its blossoms well despite the wind.

 

The back bed with Forsythia beyond.

The back bed.

'Pink Charm' daffodils

'Pink Charm'

Yellow 'Prince Alfred' substitutes are blooming in another bed, and the Mount Hood daffodils I divided a couple of years ago are everywhere too. 

 

'Mount Hood' daffodils

'Prince Alfred' look-alike daffodils.

 

There's a nice patch of blue Muscari blooming in the front bed next to the driveway, along with charming little Anemones in a blue-and white combination, but today it's too chilly and windy for the Anemones to open (these photos are from a few days ago).

 

Blue Grape Hyacinths (Muscari armeniacum) and Anemones (Anemone blanda).

Grecian windflowers (Anemone blanda)

As Mother Nature revives, the annual miracle of Spring is on full display...I can't wait to see what will come into bloom in time for April's Bloom Day!

Ides of March Bloom Day

Reticulated iris.

It's the Ides of March, and the spring equinox is not far behind now. On this March Bloom Day, hosted by Carol Michel's May Dreams Garden blog, it's a bit overcast here in my Zone 6B Virginia garden. We may get a shower or two this afternoon, with more forecast for tomorrow with thunderstorms and wind as a front moves in. We've had nice warm weather this past week, but desperately need a lot more rain to bring out the spring flowers--here's hoping.

I was thrilled to see the dwarf iris (Iris reticulata) I planted last fall coming up in Herb's bed! I have never grown these before, how did I ever overlook them? Such perky flowers deserve a place in everyone's garden. My order included assorted varieties in blue shades--some have light yellow eyes, others deep yellow, almost orange, and some none--those reddish purple ones are gorgeous! I hope they'll multiply in the years to come.

Iris reticulata in the Herb bed.

 

 

Reddish purple iris.

The 'February Gold' daffodils are out in force, with clumps in the front yard, the bed by the driveway and several spots in the back yard beds. I can't help but smile when I see their bright yellows, always a cheerful sight! Even better, deer and other critters never bother daffodils as the plants are poisonous.

 

'February Gold' daffodils in the front yard.

Clump of 'February Gold' by the driveway.

'February Gold' daffodils in the back bed.

 

My winter aconite (Eranthis cilicica) are popping up in the back bed, but they have yet to carpet the ground as I envisioned. I wonder how long it it will take before they begin to look like an actual ground cover?

 

Winter aconite (Eranthis cilcica)

 

Within the yellow flower spectrum, some of my crocuses are still blooming--these must be the 'Orange Monarch' variety I planted last fall, but they are not very orange, more like a deep cadmium yellow with feathering. The other crocuses are pretty much done with their flowering.

 

Crocus 'Orange Monarch'?

 

The hyacinths are coming up too--I love the startling turquoise bases of the 'Delft Blue', and the white ones are also lovely.

 

Blue hyacinth.

 

A few Siberian Squills are coming up in the woodland garden on the east side of the house. The two Hellebores under the Japanese maple 'Bloodgood' are in bud, but not open yet.

 

Siberian squill (Scilla siberica)

Buds of Hellebore 'Flower Girl'

 

Buds of Hellebore 'True Love'

The sweet violet 'Queen Charlotte' is sporting its first flower today--the deer seem to find this variety particularly tasty, so it hasn't spread as much as I'd hoped, but it's making some progress.

The Forsythia in back has buds patiently waiting for a warmer day to open--probably in one week to ten days more.

 

Sweet violet 'Queen Charlotte'

 

Indoors, my white Phalaenopsis orchid has two flowers open, and two miniature Phals are budding--I hope these will be in bloom in time for April Bloom Day. My yellow hibiscus is still blooming too.

 

White Phalaenopsis orchid.

Two miniature Phalaenopsis orchids in bud.

Yellow hibiscus braided standard.

That's about it for my garden this month, thanks for visiting, and Happy March Bloom Day!

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?

My Early Spring Garden

Hyacinth 'Delft Blue'

 

With the Spring Equinox past, early spring manifests itself in my garden. 'Delft Blue' hyacinths bloom along the front walk, as the carpet of several varieties of sedum begins to revive from its winter slumber. 

 

Blue Siberian squill, Pieris, and young rosettes of great blue lobelia.

"Queen Charlotte' violet (Viola odorata)

Along the east side of the house, the tiny blue flowers of Siberian squill (Scilla siberica) carpet the ground near a Pieris in bloom, among the sprouting young rosettes of the Great Blue Lobelia that is spreading here. My 'Queen Charlotte' violet is reviving and spreading nicely, but so far I detect no scent--perhaps it's still too chilly for the violet to emit its lovely perfume?

Hellebore Wedding Party 'True Love'

Hellebore 'True Love'

Close-up of 'True Love'

At the foot of the 'Bloodgood' Japanese maple, the hellebore Wedding Party 'True Love' is flourishing now that it's protected from the browsing deer. As soon as the critters have enough to eat in the woods, I'll remove the barrier so I can admire it without obstructions. I'd love to grow another hellebore near this one, perhaps one with white flowers with a touch of pink on the edges. There are so many beautiful varieties to choose from in my gardening catalogs, but all are so expensive, I may have to wait until I find some on sale.

Blue grape hyacinths (Muscari armeniacum) with 'Mount Hood' daffodils

In the back yard some grape hyacinths that haven't been browsed too much by the deer are emerging among the 'Mount Hood' daffodils, while the Forsythia's yellow announces the official start of spring. A few of the 'February Gold' daffodils in the back bed are in bloom, but most of the others won't open until a week or two later.

The back yard this week.

The Little Indians bed.

Lots of new shoots are coming up in all my flower beds--above are 'Autumn Joy' sedum with muscari and daffodil bulbs, and daylilies. I'd forgotten about the anemones I planted last year, and was surprised to find this tiny one coming up near my roses. Such a delicate little thing!

Anemones.

Bergenia buds

Front yard this week

In the front yard, the seasonal progression continues: the February Gold daffodils are finished, now the Thalia and Tazetta narcissus are just about to pop open. And, I have great hopes of seeing a few camellia blossoms for the first time--the buds are just beginning to unfold.

 

Camellia 'Kumasaka'