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!

My Spring Garden

Dawn and Dusk.

This year my spring garden has been more floriferous than ever. My climbing 'New Dawn' rose and clematis 'Etoile Violette' on the porch are looking even fuller than last year! Other plantings that were just getting established last year are starting to come into their own, like this old-fashioned iris my mother used to grow in her garden. It may not be as showy as the newer varieties, but its wonderful perfume, which many of the other varieties lack, more than makes up for it.

Old-fashioned iris

With such warm weather during the winter the grape hyacinths bloomed early, although the new batch I planted last fall (a mixture of several varieties) didn't bloom until late April, along with the Spanish Bluebells (Hyacinthoides). The new pink dogwood in the background complemented the soft blues beautifully.

Spanish bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica) with pink dogwood

The rhododendron planted on our first spring here (I've forgotten the variety, probably 'Yaku Princess') finally put out a few blossoms this year, though the leaves sustained a lot of winter damage. I hope that now that it's getting more shade it will continue to improve. In this alkaline soil, it's hard to grow acid-loving plants such as azaleas and rhododrendrons.

Rhododendron 'Yaku Princess'

The 'Admiral Semmes' azalea planted last year didn't put out much bloom his year, it will need more time to get going. I had expected the flowers to be yellow, but the soft peach color is as lovely as the fragrance (It's a cross between the southern Azalea austrinum and Exbury hybrids).

'Admiral Semmes' azalea

Clematis

I had ordered a metal arbor structure for the clematis that my sister Bea gave me last year but
I've been having trouble assembling it, so the poor vine is just leaning against a couple of bamboo stakes at the moment. Lovely flowers, though I can't remember the exact variety-- it looks like it might be 'Nellie Moser'.

The east bed

The Japanese maples on the east side of the house are growing nicely. Recently I put in two new native trees--a sourwood (Oxydenrum arboreum) to shade the Carolina Silverbell (Halesia caroliniana) partly visible on the left in this photo, and a honey locust in the back yard. The trees came bare-root and the recent rainy spell has helped the locust to start budding out, but the sourwood appears to be dead--I may have to call the nursery where it was bought to replace it.

Irises and Double Knockout rose

The front walk.

The irises in the front didn't perform as well this year--perhaps they need to be given a bit more room to spread? But the general tapestry by the front walk is finally starting to look as I had envisioned. The expansion and consolidation of the backyard beds continues, with two new shrubs: a Fothergilla gardenii and a Blue Mist shrub (Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Longwood Blue').

Today, I have quite a number of annuals and a couple of perennials to plant, so I'm off to toil in the garden. Happy springtime, dear friends!