Late Winter in the Garden

Winter is almost over, right? According to the calendar, it is anyway. After the mild winter we had last year, this more normal type winter has been discouraging. But we've had a few mildly pleasant days mixed in here and there, so the signs of spring are out there. I can make it! Whenever the little Siberian iris pop out, I know that the start of spring is almost here.

And soon the hellebores will open up. The flowers on these may not be the boldest in the garden, but they'll stay in bloom till July. That's a lot of bang for your buck. Plus the seeds will drop to the ground and sprout up everywhere. I love free plants.

I'm hoping that soon it will be time to buy and plant pansies. I'll know it's time when the flats of pansies show up in the garden center. In the meantime, I did find a few pots of these double pansies to hold me over.

Now when post people think of early flowers, they think of crocus. My crocus are usually about the third ones to arrive, and they should be here any day now. If somebody doesn't nibble them all!

That's about it. Just a few early blooms to hold me over till warmer days arrive. But I'm almost there!

Winter Wears On

Winter is starting to wear me down, which is funny when you think that the end isn't too far away. But can I make it through the next month or so? Last year, I had Siberian iris blooming by the end of February, but I doubt we'll see that again this year. It's cold and snowy, day after day. Phooey.

 Still, hubby and I keep remarking on the nearness of spring. "Soon it will time to plant peas" I said today. "Won't be long till I'm out fertilizing the lawn" said hubby.

It means we have hope! Spring will come, eventually. Do you think I can hold on till then? Or will I burst out crying next time it starts snowing again?

I think the biggest problem is that it's so darned cold all the time. Oh I know. I should wear a sweater, and slippers, and sit with a blanket around me. Well, I do all of those things and I'm still cold! And what happens when you have to go out into the world? Brrrrr!

Well, I'll make it through, I always do. I have my seeds all ready to go, and the plans for this years garden are all swirling around in my head. I'll be taking my Master Gardener classes in the spring, so I am fully expecting to be really, really geared up for a big garden year. Becoming a Master Gardener also means I'll be out working on the community gardens around town to fulfill my volunteer obligation. But that won't feel like work to me.

So throw your worst at me Old Many Winter, I'm ready. But if you'd consider leaving early, I'd consider it a personal favor. Got it?

Where Flowers Never Fade

It's time for the garden to sleep. Flowers have faded away, and the colors are dulled. 

But I know where the flowers never fade.

 I can go there any time and find them waiting for me.

 All the beauty of the seasons past are still there.

 Colors bright and colors fair smile up at me.

 Here is where my garden still shines.

 All it takes is a moment, and I can be in the garden once more.

 That's why you should photograph your garden.

 Because then your flowers are frozen in time for those dark and dreary days of winter.

 Just when you think you can't take another gray day, you open up your photo files, and the colors save your spirit just in time.

 So come with me to the where the flowers never fade. It's even better than the memories.

Got To Get Back To The Garden

We often vacation in early May, which is a bit of a dangerous proposition for a gardener. There is so much to see and do at that point, and I hate to miss it. You would think that being on vacation in Florida would distract me from thinking about my garden back home. But it sure doesn't! I keep wondering what I'm missing. This year, for instance, I knew that there were buds on my peonies. Since I've never even seen them in bloom I didn't even know what color they are, and I was afraid to miss them. I didn't! Turns out my peonies are white. It was a little dark when I got home, so bear with me on the photos being a little fuzzy.

I kept wondering about my roses too, and yes, some of them did bloom for me while I was away. Funny Face is always the first and most prolific of my roses.

Second most floriferous would be the Knockout Rosa Sunny. Gorgeous, blooms non-stop and very, very fragrant. What's not to love!

My Fourth of July climber isn't fragrant, but it's just plain pretty.

The May Knight salvia had started to bloom before I left, so I knew they'd be in their glory. That's them, hiding behind the columbine and the last allium. I had no idea the columbines would get that tall. 

 Moonshine yarrow had buds when I left, so I knew I'd find blooms. This was one of those 75 cent bargains at the end of the summer last year. 

Last year's tall snapdragons were expected to be blooming and they didn't let me down. I love the color mix.

I knew the clematis by the lamp post would have lots of flowers in bloom, and it did.
And yes, it was about to storm.

But there were a lot of flowers that I had forgotten all about, like Evening primrose,

perennial geraniums,

the rhododendron Catawbiense red,

 and Brilliant Star dianthus. 

 I had one little surprise bloom out front, when one of my white Siberian iris returned. I dug them all out last year because I didn't like where they were, but the bulbs have languished in the garage. So it was nice to see one of them that escaped. 

But the biggest surprise was a few more of my iris in bloom. I know I'm not the only gardener who forgets what they planted. I think this one is Rock Star,

 and I know this one is Batik. I had one of these back in Michigan, and I forgot all about planting it here. It really tickled me to see it in bloom for the first time.

Sure feels good to get back to the garden, even if it isn't Woodstock!

Sweet Surprises

February is not generally a busy gardening month. Usually I just content myself with indoor blooms this time of year. I saw this little geranium seedling popping up in October, so I rescued it by planting it in a pot to spend the winter indoors. See how it rewarded me? Such a tall bloom for such a tiny little plant. That's not even a regular size coffee cup, it's just a mini one!

 And this kitchen begonia has been blooming for months now. Gorgeous. 

But with the mild winter that many of us have been enjoying, I thought I'd go out to see if the garden was waking up early. Boy was it ever! My first stop in the winter is always my Angelina Sedum. I know I've shown it here many times, but seriously, this plant is a winter show stopper. Look at the colors! I absolutely need to plant more of this one.

 I could show you all kinds of little plant babies popping up out there, but most of them are just little green specks. This one really caught my eye though, and I'm not even sure what it is. I think it's an agastache of some kind.

Of course there are all kinds of bulbs popping up, especially swelling daffodils. They will certainly be early this year.

Violas and pansies are still hanging in there, no surprise.

I also figured the hellebores would be heading towards blooming, and I was right.

So as I was casually studying my late winter garden, I turned around to find the sweetest surprise of all. Not in a million years did I expect to find the Siberian Iris in bloom. To say I was thrilled is putting it mildly! This is a full month earlier than they bloomed last year.

I'm so happy that I went out to check on the garden yesterday. It brought me such a sweet, sweet surprise!