March 2026 Bloom Day

February Gold daffodils in front yard

Front yard in March

After a long, drawn-out winter, spring is finally on its way! Welcome to March Bloom Day, hosted by Carol Michel's May Dreams Garden blog--let's see what is blooming in my Zone 6 B Virginia garden today. The daffodils are all coming up, with 'February Gold' being the earliest to bloom--the original clump by the driveway has multiplied greatly over the years, divided and been tucked here and there into beds in the front and back yard.

 

February Gold daffodils, original clump by the driveway

February Gold clumps in the back bed.

Back beds from the deck.

The scented violet 'Queen Charlotte' has formed a beautiful clump in my east woodland garden, and is spreading. They'd be all over the yard by now if the deer would only stop eating them!

My two Hellebores are both flowering, though they look a bit sloppy at the moment--I need to cut off the old foliage. The blue Siberian squills are blooming under the Japanese Pieris.

 

Viola odorata 'Queen Charlotte'

 

Hellebore 'True Love'

Japanese Pieris (Pieris japoinica) with blue Siberian Squills

The dwarf iris (Iris reticulata) I planted the fall before last are starting to pop up--not exactly a spectacular display yet, but they're surviving, and hopefully, will multiply.

 

Dwarf iris

 

'Delft Blue' hyacinths with Sedum 'Angelina'

 Hyacinths are also popping up along the front walk, in blue and white.

  

White Hyacinths

Last spring I bought a White Forsythia (Abeliophyllum distichum), a rather uncommon shrub of Korean origin that is part of the Forsythia family, and planted it in the front bed by the garage. I hadn't realized that deer would find it appealing, and they munched the tips back before I had a chance to protect it. Despite this, my little plant has put out a few flowers, and they are wonderfully scented! I hope I can protect it better this growing season to grow into a lovely shrub next spring. This is a plant that deserves to be seen more in gardens.

My yellow Forsythia in the back yard is still about a week away from blooming, but the buds are showing a little color. 

 

White Forsythia (Abeliophyllum distichum)

 

Indoors, my Thanksgiving cactus has decided to bloom again, and is looking very pretty. My miniature Dendrobium orchid is also re-blooming.

 

 

Thanksgiving cactus (Schulmbergera hybrid)

Miniature Dendrobium orchid

 

The other morning when I came downstairs to open the blinds, I saw what looked like a dried leaf in the middle of the foyer.  I went to pick it up, but it moved! Turned out it was a small toad, perfectly camouflaged. He must have come inside in one of the pots when I brought in the houseplants last fall, and has been living in here all winter. By the time I got my phone to take a picture, he'd moved into one of the pots.

 

Toad in a pot.

 

 Thanks for visiting--there will be more flowers next month!

 

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!

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'

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'