Tag Archives: crocus

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – March 2013

bulbs, fellow gardeners, spring,

There are only a few photos to share today for the March 2013 Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day. We had a sunny day yesterday on the Lot that caused a few of the spring bulbs to push further out of the ground. A single yellow crocus was in bloom, but I didn’t get a picture of it today. The blossom was closed up due to the overcast skies.

The first spring flower to show in number has been the snowdrops my Other Half so lovingly plunked into the ground in a matter of minutes in fall 2011. We both noticed the little bulbs are already growing in number and spreading. Here they are growing in both a bed directly behind our house and in a bed at the southwest corner of the garage.

Snowdrops SnowdropsDaffodils, a few tulips, and some star of Bethlehem are all beginning to peak up through the ground. The south bed at the front of the house is always ahead and brings a lot of the Lot’s early spring flowers. Hopefully I will be able to share those during next month’s Bloom Day.

PrimroseHere is a little primrose keeping me company in my home office. It bloomed just in time for March Bloom Day. Outside I hear the first of the Canadian Geese returning from their winter migration. We have lost a lot of our snow, but the weather remains cold which is good. Though it was lovely strolling down the road and seeing trees in bloom at the end of last March, it really messed up the fruit crops in our state. The sudden, late frost killed a lot of blossoms. Hopefully this year we will be able to more naturally ease into spring.

Anything interesting blooming in your garden this month? Make sure to visit May Dreams Gardens who hosts Bloom Day. It’s always a lot of fun to see what other gardeners around the world have blooming.

Pruning, Containers and Guerillas

alley bed, bulbs, containers, future plants, guerilla gardening, pruning, sidewalk bed, spring cleanup,

Pruning Mission Accomplished

Last weekend, Miss A stopped by our lot to help me with some pruning. After doing the research on butterfly bushes, I took a crack at trimming ours by myself. I think it turned out okay. Here are some “before” and “after” shots.

However, when it came to pruning the dappled willow and a few other multi-stem shrubs, I called Miss A. She has much more experience under her belt with gardening than I do. She patiently walked me through the process, answering my constant questions. Even my cringes when the little handsaw came out were politely tolerated.

Here’s what I learned.
  • Keep up on your pruning! Growth neglected last year gave us some difficulty this year. Plus, constant upkeep gives more control over the shaping of the tree or shrub.
  • Remove older canes near the base. This was important on the dappled willow since the new canes are usually the shoots that have the prettier, dappled leaves and red bark. In most instances, removing the older canes will lower the overall height of the shrub. Plus, it will thin out the interior of the shrub, allowing more light in and encouraging new growth.
  • Afterward, we inspected how the branches of the shrub were growing. In some areas, the branches had crossed. This leads to the branches rubbing together, opening wounds and possibly introducing disease to the shrub. So, I had a few hard choices to make about which branches would stay and which branches would go.
  • The next step allows more fine-tuning of the shrubs height and shape. Miss A and I clipped off any winter damage we found and any longer branches seeming out of place. She said this is also the point we could lower the shrub further in height if desired.
  • Overall, when pruning a shrub, be sure the cuts are at an angle. The cut should be made between the length of the branch to be removed and the “collar” area where the branch meets the shrub. This area will allow for the cut to properly heal.
Bulbs Sprouting Indoors
Remember the bulbs I had forgotten about and tossed in some containers? Here’s an update.

Three of the five containers have healthy bulbs growing in them. As my better half commented of the other two, “if these haven’t shown activity yet, I’m not sure we’ll be seeing anything from them.” I think I may be leaning toward agreeing with him, though I think I’ll give the containers a bit more time. After all, I’m not in need of the pots right now anyway.
Notes for This Fall
This picture is from Miss A’s cottage garden. My better half expressed genuine affection toward these little guys. Note to self: order snowdrops for next spring.

Guerilla What?!
This is just fantastic. I’ll be looking around on the community boards to see if there is a chapter near us.

Crocus-time Continues
Hoorah! We also have purple AND white in the sidewalk bed.

First Day of Spring

bulbs, fence bed, front bed, house bed, sidewalk bed, , ,

Even though it was only 30 degrees outside this morning, when I returned home from work I was greeted by the first splash of color on our lot. We have crocuses. Now I know what flowers will be emerging from all the thin, dark green blades with light veins. These guys are in the sidewalk bed with what looks like some tulips. I wonder if there will be some purple as well. I hope these yellow ones open this weekend since the weather forecast is calling for sunshine and warmer temperatures.
Also, I found the first signs of bulbs I planted last fall. I believe this one is a “Queen of the Night” tulip. I mixed some of these with red anemones in the new fence bed. I scratched down what I planted where, though I have to find my notes to be sure.
There is activity in all the garden beds now. Tulips and star of Bethlehem are growing like crazy in the front bed. Sedum is budding up from the sidewalk bed and daylilies are poking out from house bed.