Here is the new growth on the Lot’s lenten rose (Helleborus x hybridus) after a dousing of snow. The temperature today is predicted to max out in the mid-thirties. Brr. The perennial is an evergreen acclimated to Zones 4-9 so it should be able to weather through this. No pun intended. Well, maybe a little. In comparison, this gardener is ready for the more warm temperatures of Spring.
Yesterday I spent a nice chunk of the afternoon cutting back dead plant bits leftover from last growing season. As I worked on garden squats (yeah, the backside is burning today) and happily clipped away, I caught glimpses of plants emerging from the ground. It’s fun because you are busy clearing away hollowed stalks and crackling leaves when your fingers brush again something alive. While the Other Half and I have been cooped up inside bemoaning the fact Spring cannot arrive soon enough, these plants have been stirring. They’ve already begun their move toward the surface of the soil seeking sunlight.
So, I thought it would be fun to make a psuedo-First-Day-of-Spring (it was yesterday) post with photos of the first arriving plants on the Lot. This first grouping is of some Spring bulbs. Winter aconite and snowdrops have been open on the Lot for a few weeks now, but the tulips, daffodils, and remaining bulbs are queuing up in the wings.
In the South bed, sedum is already growing, as well as the bearded iris, bee balm, and coneflowers.
Along the east bed, lady’s mantle and columbine are fanning out new growth.
In the backyard along the fence bed, the tall garden flox is well on its way. The dwarf iris rhizomes are sprouting leaves and two poppies are racing ahead. Loosestrife is appearing as red spear-like columns.
Near the rain barrels, the snakeroot and brunnera are just emerging. The snakeroot seems to be pushing up a fiddle-head like shoot to break the soil surface.
In the backyard bed, the Himalayan cinquefoil has been well on its way for awhile now. There are little bits of frost bite around the edges of the leaves.
The weather forecast for the upcoming week is a bit more on the chilly side, with chances of frost during the evening. Because of this I left the layer of dead leaves the plants have been growing beneath. So begins my Spring routine of a quick, daily stroll about the Lot to check on the progress of the plants.
Spring is on its way to our Zone6a Lot. Bulbs I planted in Fall 2015 have broken through the ground. Birds visiting our feeders only during migration, like junco, bluejay, and black-capped chickadees have been singing. I saw my first robin last Wednesday. I heard the first flock of Canadian geese flew through yesterday… but on to the blooms!
Bloom Day is a meme among garden bloggers around the world. We share photos of what’s blooming in our gardens over at May Dreams Gardens. I agree with the hostess Carol that Spring seems a touch earlier than recent years. Looking back through my photos, March of 2012 was the most recent Spring similar to the behavior of this year.
First on the Lot are the little snowdrops we added after the Other Half took a liking to them. Over the years they have multiplied. I like the look of snowdrops more when they appear in larger groups.
And then are the crocus, a floral harbinger of Spring. They always sprout up first on the east side of the house along the foundation. The yellow versions appear, shortly followed by the purple and striped versions.
Here are the winter aconite planted last Fall. Again, the smaller the bloom, the better they seem to look in larger groups.! I also chose to plant them closer to the walkway where the snow would melt first and we could enjoy them on our way between the garage and house. I love this photo of the delicate flowers pushing up and aside chunks of soil
I noticed like the crocus, the aconite only open up when they can turn up toward a shining sun.
While photographing the blooms, I heard an insect buzzing around for pollen. Upon closer inspection I found a fly! I wonder how many other early Spring-blooming plants rely on flies for pollination since the bees have not emerged yet. Here is a photo of it wading around within the bloom. It had pollen stuck all over its body.
So those are all the blooms for the Lot, but I wanted to make a note of the emerging lenten rose. I’ve trimmed back all the old growth from last season to allow room for this new growth.
And finally, I snapped this photo as another bookmark on where the Lot is in its growth for this year. Daffodils are the next flower up, and these are well on their way. Collapsed around it are the old seedheads of sedum, one of the last plants to bloom in the Fall.
