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!

Daylight Savings Time Sunday

Deep purple 'Tommies"

 

The days are gradually getting longer and warmer despite the usual fluctuations, and more spring bulbs are sprouting every day in my garden. The dark purple 'Tommies" (Crocus thomasinnianus) are now blooming in the front yard. Last night we set our clocks forward an hour for the seasonal time change--the beginning of Daylight Savings Time is another welcome sign of the onset of spring. That extra hour of light in the evenings extends my studio time significantly.

 

Two colors of "Tommies", pale and dark

 

Looking over the bed by the driveway I was surprised to find a number of the pale mauve crocuses sprouting among my irises there--I know I didn't plant any there, so the squirrels must have planted them. Typical squirrel behavior--they dig up the bulbs from my flower beds and re-plant them where it pleases them!

 

Crocuses re-planted by squirrels in iris bed

 

I must say it does look rather interesting, though the crocuses there will likely not have much of a chance to grow well. But it's going to be hard to dig them out without damaging the iris. If I try that, it won't happen until after the iris have bloomed.

The early 'February Gold' daffodils in the front yard have budded and are starting to open, always a cheerful sight!

 

'February Gold' daffodils

 

Other crocus varieties are blooming in other parts of the garden, like these yellow ones with purple feathering. 

 

Yellow crocus

 

The Hellebore 'Flower Girl' is sporting more buds today. I haven't cut back the old foliage yet, as I love the contrast of the old dried leaves with the green of the new growth--such lovely colors would make a wonderful painting!

 

Hellebore 'Flower Girl'

 

The first of the Siberian squills popped up in the woodland bed on the east side of the house--a beautiful touch of color. My eyes are so starved for color at this time of the year!

Siberian squill (Scilla siberica)

Out back in the Herb bed, another surprise--the dwarf iris planted last fall is sporting two blooms! I planted about a dozen of these in an assortment of blue shades last fall, can't wait to see what the other varieties look like.

 

Reticulated iris (Iris reticulata)

 

A couple of the Winter Aconites in the back bed have also popped up, but one flower was eaten by a critter--wonder who the culprit could be? Probably deer. 

 

My Winter Aconite (Eranthis cilicica)

 

I really love seeing the huge patches of Eranthis hyemalis under the large trees at Blandy, which are a different species from mine. I wonder how many years it's taken for them to form these enormous expanses? I bought a dozen or so bulbs of Eranthis cilicica because the other species was not available at the nursery where I usually buy my bulbs. The two species look very similar but the cilicica blooms later. I hope mine will eventually form large patches like those at Blandy, but we'll see.

 

Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) at Blandy Experimental Farm.

Winter Aconite at Blandy

 

 Here are some recent additions to my botanical artworks done over the winter. This piece titled "Between the Cracks" depicts three rare ferns found at Calmes Neck, which I sketched from life last spring, along with  two associated plants that grow on the same ledges. The plants, from upper left to lower right are: Violet wood sorrel (Oxalis violacea), Purple Cliff-Brake (Pellea atropurpurea), Maidenhair Spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes), Wall-rue Fern (Asplenium ruta-muraria) and Yellow Corydalis (Pseudofumaria lutea). The latter is not a native of our area, and was somehow introduced, but has naturalized there. The others are all natives.

 

"Between the Cracks" watercolor, 17"h x 14'w.

 

I rushed to complete these two others, and I'm not sure they are as successful as the ferns, but I needed more work for my upcoming show at Long Branch Historic House and Farm in Millwood, which will be on display from April 1 through May 30, 2025, as well as Art at the Mill show, also in Millwood.

 

Downy Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid (Goodyera pubescens), watercolor, 17.5"h x 13.5"w.

Rose Bay Rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum), watercolor,

 

21"h x 13"w

.

 

 These last two were done from photos taken at Ice Mountain last spring, let's hope I can sell them. I have lots coming up art-wise, a very exciting start of the season for me!

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!

Gardener's Bloom Day February 2024

'Tommy' Crocuses (Crocus 'Thomasinianus')

Tommies under the cherry tree in front.

It's the fifthteenth of the month again! Garden Blogger's Bloom Day--hosted by Carol Michel's May Dreams Garden blog is here. As expected, after the recent warm weekend there are plenty of spring crocuses popping up in my garden. Showiest are the 'Tommies' I planted years ago that have been multiplying to form these lovely clumps. Yes, I know I should dig up that dandelion there next to the Tommies, shame on me!

 

White crocus

More species crocuses

My snowdrops have finally started to come up! I planted these Galanthus elwesii ' Mount Everest' last fall, inspired by Carol's photos of her beautiful snowdrops--it was one spring bulb that my garden lacked completely. Eventually I hope these will form clumps like hers.

 

My snowdrops (Galanthus elwesii 'Mount Everest')

I also planted some winter aconite, but those have yet to come up. There is a wonderful spot at Blandy Farm Virginia State Arboretum that has a broad expanse of these lovely early flowers that I'm hoping to eventually re-create here in my garden. Here is a shot of some of the ones at Blandy.

 

Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis)

My Hellebore 'Flower Girl' is sporting its first buds. The buds of my other Hellebore, 'True Love' are barely perceptible, but you can see them just emerging.

Hellebore 'Flower Girl'

Hellebore 'True Love'

 

My hybrid witchhazel 'Diane' is showing its reddish blossoms, and the native witchhazel too. Both of these were planted as very small saplings; I hope to be able to get rid of the deer barrier later on this year as "Diane' gets taller.

Witchhazel 'Diane'

Native witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana)

Hard to believe that this is what my back yard looked like just two days ago on Tuesday morning after the overnight rain turned to snow!

 

 

But today it's a different story--the green shoots of  Daffodils and Narcissi are popping up--the February Gold' Daffodils will be opening soon! With the weather so changeable at this time of the year, I leave you with this sign filled with hope for the spring blossoms to come.

Green shoots of Daffodils.