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?

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.

February Bloom Day

Crocus Thomasinianus in front yard.

 

It was a sunny day here in Virginia, and extraordinarily warm--the thermometer hit 70 degrees in the afternoon! Sadly, with my husband very ill in the hospital, I was not really able to be here to enjoy my garden. I spent most of the day at the hospital with him. I figure there will be time for that later, when Herb is out of danger and back home.

 

Front yard under the cherry tree.

I didn't have time to take a look at my hybrid witchhazel 'Diane' to see how the blossom are opening today, but this is what it looked like a few days ago.

 

Witchhazel 'Diane'

 That's it for today. Next month I hope to have more--the Siberian squills, daffodils, grape hyacinths, and glory-of-the-snow should be popping up by then and my Hellebores may be budding. I need to cut back the old foliage, as the new foliage is emerging.

Spring Is Marching In

 

Crocus thomasinianus.

 

Spring is marching in early this year (pardon the pun!) with lots of crocuses blooming in my front yard under the cherry tree. The Crocus thomasinianus continues to spread; this species seems to be the only one that is impervious to squirrels in my yard. I've transplanted a few to other beds where they can continue to spread, and next fall, I'll transplant a few more to the backyard beds. My yard could use some snowdrops too, next fall.

Clumps of Crocus thomasinianus.

Species crocus with feathered veins.

The 'February Gold' daffodils in front are also bursting into bloom. The clump on the other side of our driveway, in a less sheltered spot, is about a week behind this one. The buds of white hyacinths along the front walk are coming up too.

'February Gold' daffodils.

'February Gold'

White hyacinth buds.

 

My hybrid witch hazel 'Diane' is blooming profusely now, along with the native one planted several years earlier.

Witch hazel 'Diane'

Shoots of 'Mount Hood' daffodils.

The new shoots of my "Mount Hood' daffodils are coming up too. Soon, my garden will be filled the flowers of spring bulbs!

My front yard on March 2.

Early Spring Flowers

 

Crocus thommasinianus

Crocus tommasinianus in two colors.

The recent warm weather is gradually ushering spring in, and more crocuses are blooming in my front yard. A couple of dry weeks after some good rains, the clayey earth in my garden has now attained the perfect consistency for being worked, so I'm hard at labor on my bed expansions and soil improvements. I can't help noticing new shoots coming up everywhere!

 

Feathered mauve crocuses

Witch hazel 'Diane'

My witch hazel 'Diane,' planted last year, has put out its first blooms and they are lovely--it certainly lived up to my expectations! It should be even better in a few years as it develops into a small tree. When it reaches above deer browsing height I'll remove the protective netting which obscures it now.

'February Gold' daffodils

The 'February Gold' daffodils that I separated and re-planted in the front yard last fall are starting to bloom. The display is a bit skimpy now, but it will become fuller in the coming years as the bulbs grow and fill in the space.

Bearss lime

Indoors, my Bearss lime tree has been very prolific--this is one of six limes harvested since I brought it inside last fall, with one more lime left and lots of new blossoms setting fruit. My hand pollination efforts on the Australian red lime seem to have been successful, and a few limes are starting to develop. They are only about 3/4" long right now, but hopefully, they'll reach edible size by summer, when I take it outdoors.

Australian red lime

A new crop of blossoms should develop then. I'm curious to see whether any bees will pollinate the blossoms--I don't recall any fruit setting last year when it bloomed outside, but then again it was a very hot and dry summer and it was the first set of blooms. It's possible a specialized pollinator simply doesn't exist in the USA, because it's a native of Australia, though small bees should be able to pollinate the flowers.

Signs of Spring

Crocus buds growing with red thyme.

A few warms rains in mid February brought out the first crocus buds in my front yard. The first crocuses are always a hopeful sign of spring, and over the years mine have been spreading nicely under the cherry tree, in spite of the voles and squirrels that eat the bulbs.

Crocus clumps under the cherry tree.

Species crocuses.

This year a few of the yellow species crocuses actually bloomed--this color seems to be the most frequently eaten by wild creatures, oddly enough.

Below is a drawing of a bunch of radishes in color pencils that I did as a demo for a workshop at the New Day Art Center in Martinsburg, WV a couple of weekends ago. It has nothing to do with spring crocus,  but when I see lovely bunches fresh radishes like these and other produce arriving to our grocery store, it seems like another wonderful sign of spring. At this time of the year when fresh flowers are hard to come by, I rely on my grocery store to find botanical specimens to use in my botanical art classes and workshops.

Bunch of radishes, color pencil drawing, 7"h x 8"w.

Speaking of the New Day Art Center, I'm offering another workshop there on March 28 and 29: "Sharpen Your Drawing Skills." Talking to other artist/instructors I find that drawing is the skill most of our students are weakest in. Drawing directly from life is a challenge, but one of the most useful skills in an artist's toolbox.

Spring Paintings

Rhododendrons in the Mist, pastel, 9" x 12."

Here's a couple of new pastel paintings for this spring's Art at the Mill show. The one above was done from photos of last spring's week-long botanical excursion to SW Virginia with the Virginia Native Plant Society (VNPS). This particular day when we visited Cumberland Gap was the only rainy day we had. It had been pouring in the morning, but the rain had started to let up a bit when we drove up this hilltop. The spectacular view of the valley below was completely veiled in mist, it was very cold and wet, but the Rhododendrum minus on the hillsides covered with soft pink blossoms looked lovely in the moody light.

The View from Sky Meadows, pastel, 9" x 12."

This other pastel was done from a photo taken a number of years ago on an overcast day. The lush grasses on the rolling hillsides hadn't been mowed yet, and the sprinkling of white dogwood flowers in the thickets of trees were echoed by the dots of the houses in the small town of Paris beyond. It's a classic view of the Blue Ridge Mountains that surround us here in Virginia.

Crocus thommasinianus, last week of February

Early daffodil 'February Gold' in first week of March

White hyacinths, first week of March

The first signs of spring are popping up in my garden--crocuses, early daffodils and white hyacinths are emerging. Unfortunately, this particular hyacinth clump was dug up and eaten (likely by ground hog) just a few days after I took this photo. I've sprinkled powdered hot pepper on the flowers as a deterrent to future depredations--let see if it works. The deer don't seem to find the C. thommasinianus too palatable, thank heaven, and daffodils are known to be toxic to them, so those are safe, but it's a constant battle to keep all these pests from eating everything in my garden. They're particularly ravenous at this time of the year.