The Thrill Of Spring Flowers

For me early spring ephemerals in the garden  are an exciting waiting game.  Some of my favorite plants look mostly dead or missing.   This year with all of the rodent tunnels the possibility of them being gone for good is a bigger concern.  This delightful blue carpet of Giant Glory of the Snow makes me almost giddy! The flower stems are 4-6 inches tall.  Someday I will cut one and bring it indoors, but I really like them where they are.

 

I adore blue flowers and this Siberian squill  hiding in the grass made me get down to get a close up of its blue pollen.  The flowers are like tiny little blue stars growing here and there in the grass.  The original bed where these were planted became overgrown with tall grass.  The survivors are right next to the old bed where Ed keeps the grass cut. 

The first Windflower opened today. These are planted where I can watch them dance in the wind from  my bedroom window on chilly mornings.  While they last they are a special treat.

I gave the windflowers an encore because I could not choose between the pictures. The dark pink bud will be coming right along.  The soft grey leaves are a nearby Rose Campion that will bloom after the windflowers are gone except for the stone marking their place.

Ed and I have become very interested in Native plants.  I have been watching and waiting for the arrival of these Sharp-lobed Hepatica flowers.  Most years last year's leaves remain but this year they did not. That was worrisome.  It is a real joy to see these flowers.  I know my plants will return if they can.  They want to grow and are just waiting for their chance in the rain and the sun.  Spring is a wonderful time in the garden. This is just the beginning!

Delights Of Early Spring

Oh wow, spring has finally arrived in the garden.   There are buds forming everywhere but these coltsfoot buds are right next to two bright cheery yellow flowers.  These two flowers are just the beginning.  Leaves will follow the flowers.  Then seed heads resembling dandelions will form.
 

This native plant is a tough customer. We also find it growing from the sometimes worked face of the gravel bank.  It comes up early, grows in ditches and out of cracks in pavement.  These are growing in the stones at the base of the house foundation on the north side.  I was so happy to see them!

Blue Siberian Squill buds are a promise of beauty to come.  The buds are still tight to the ground.   It doesn't take a plant expert to tell the this plant is an alien.  That is fine with me!  I love this plant's little blue flowers with blue pollen!  They are begging to be weeded.

Frequently the first flowers of spring are snow drops.  These were up in February and have been waiting under new snow.  Most of the snow is now gone.  We have had some sun and the buds are opening at last.

Right next door are the winter aconites.  I can actually see these from the house providing I use my binoculars.  After all the white snow, yellow flowers are a delight!

The blossoms look so delicate, but don't be fooled.  Spring ephemerals are tough customers.

Winter Storm Watch

I was not sure what to expect when I awoke this morning.  There was talk of snowing, blowing and frigid temperatures.  Ed and I had decided that this would be a great day to stay cozy  in the warm house.  We did get snow overnight.  This morning when we woke up at about 7:30 the garden looked beautiful.  I love the way it looks when it has a new blanket of snow.  April snow is common here.  It just happens that this year snow has been uncommon here.  I missed it.
 

Snow was perched on top of the wires of  the cage that had been placed over my Siberian squill.  The daffodils that were open had a similar topping.  It was calm and quiet but not for long.  I watched as it began to snow again and the wind picked up.  Swirls of snow danced along the ridge.  Wind whistled around the house drifting snow in some places and leaving others bare.
  

By lunch time the  ridge disappeared in a cloud of white.  Sometimes the snow was falling straight down at an incredible rate.  Other times it seemed to fly past the window parallel to the ground never landing on the garden at all.

One thing about winds like that, they move the clouds right along.  Dark storm clouds were replaced by fluffy white clouds and patches of blue sky.  The April sun is strong and despite the cold, the snow began to melt.  On the south side of the house the roof dripped like crazy.  On the North side the dripping was slow enough for icicles to form.

Now the cage has no more snow and the Siberian squill are uncovered again. The bed on the south side of the house is nearly naked.  Most of the stone garden paths are free of snow.  If you look closely the yellow of daffodils can be seen inside the square.  For some of the garden the snow is here today and gone today.  Now the warm April sun is dropping behind the hill.  The temperature will drop too.  When I first came to live here in upstate New York I was told, " If you don't like the weather, wait it will change."  Today it was fun to watch!

Now This Is Spring In The Garden!

We did have frost this morning, but the rest of the day was perfect for being in the garden.  It's sunny, but not too hot.  Ed's lettuce that got zapped by hard frost before is making a comeback.  Even the plants that I cut back hard are making a comeback.  The plants are making new little leaves.

Ed's tomato plants are big enough to spend the nice part of the day outside. Soon they can be moved to bigger pots.

Ed spent the day working on a project he had hoped to finish last fall. Today he moved the clove currants. Tomorrow I think he will have the bed finished!  That  will be a great feeling.   Actually every thing that we can get done makes such a big improvement  a wonderful feeling of accomplishment comes with the effort!

Ed's bloodroot not only came back this year, but it multiplied over the winter.   We have to keep an eye on it. The plants flower and go to seed very quickly. Ed's watering after the plants went dormant paid off.

The frost didn't make much of an impression on my squirrel corn and in spite of its name it didn't get eaten either.  The plant looks great!

We have some gorgeous blue Siberian squill growing in a place where we did not know we had planted it.  It will take some patience to separate it from the weeds but who could not love those gorgeous blue flowers?

I saved the best surprise for last.  I had circle onions also known as curly chives for years.  Somehow in the last couple of years we lost them.  I was sure they were gone for good, but today I walked by this plant and stopped  dead in my tracks.  There way down at the end of one of the garden beds, growing in the stone path was a curly chive plant.  How it could be growing there so far away from where they had been planted before is a mystery to me, but I am thrilled to have noticed it.  Imagine if it had been pulled as a weed by mistake.  It will be moved to a nice spot and well marked.  Now that we have been reunited, I don't want to lose them again. Maybe if I'm lucky they will send up a nice purple flower for me come July.

An Exciting Spring Walk In The Garden

Oh Yippee, I finally got to walk around in the garden today.  Yesterday was special because I saw my first bluebird and that always makes me ecstatic, but today it was actually warm enough to walk around in the garden a bit.  I know my old photography teacher would say this is a picture of dirt.  You're darn right it is! I had to look for awhile to find a nice bare patch of garden dirt that wasn't under water or snow.  This one had the bonus of Siberian squill breaking through the surface.  It won't be long until magnificent blue flowers will appear.

Most of the garden looks  more like this.  The great majority of our plants are still covered in white icy snow  and water.  This dianthus looks pretty terrific to me even surrounded in icy white.

The very tips of the first of my daffodils can be seen here.  I was hoping to see my snow drops or lovely little Dutch iris that are in this bed making an appearance, but they are still under the snow.

Ed's lettuce that he planted in the basement is coming up. Just the idea of having my own lettuce makes me salivate in expectation.  I'm glad we can buy lettuce in the store through the winter, but the price is steep and the quality poor when compared to fresh lettuce from the garden.  Ed's lettuce came up in just 3 days!  Not every pot has the four plants he hoped for, but it is still early.

Just feast your eyes on these four gorgeous, if tiny, lettuce plants.  Three days ago they were a tiny seed. Imagine the changes a week will bring.  There's a lot of dirt in this post, but there's a lot of  great promise for the future too!

Now We're Talking Spring

Yesterday, Ed thought it warm enough to spend time in the garden.  He found in most places the ground was still frozen.   I went outside for awhile in the afternoon. I did a little clean up, but mostly I walked around with the camera.   I took this incredibly promising shot of the Siberian squill.  The deep blue of the buds is just a small preview of the flowers to come.  As I walked around I noticed that the snow drop and crocus flowers were closed up tight.  They thought it was chilly and I had to agree.  I like it in the garden when it is warm enough for the flowers to be open and the bees buzzing.

Today started out cold again, but the sun warmed things up and we just had to be out there.  Ed placed his tray of new lettuce plants on the wall for some time outside.  We eagerly await the chance to plant these out in the garden, but for now just looking at these beautiful baby lettuce plants makes me happy.  From the Flashy Trout Back  in the front to the red and green types in the back they are a promise of a season of delectable salads from the garden.

This afternoon the sun warmed the crocus flowers enough to make them open.  The bees in the neighborhood arrived right on schedule.

These delicate purple striped Pickwick crocuses are my favorite.  We don't have too many of them because the deer like them too.  If they find them before we do, they get nipped in the bud.   Some of these flowers and  lovely striped leaves were nibbled on before we added a cage.  These flowers will close back up tonight and be ready for another grand opening tomorrow.  

  

Many of my Dutch iris are blooming beautifully now.  The bees have taken notice of them as well.  Some are blooming but others have just started to come up.  These hearty flowers love this kind of weather.  They are a spring delight that lasts longer in  chilly weather and I love them for it!

Our To Do List Grows

As the sun climbs higher and its light grows stronger, the gardener stirs and finds activity among the plants.  These hens and chicks have had a good winter and look ready for the next growing season.  Sited adjacent to the ramp leading out of the basement they receive almost daily attention because we walk there many times each day.  Any weed that tries to grow here is quickly removed.  The growth habit of the hens and chicks tends to claim an area as its own.  Either way weeds have no chance here.

We found catnip growing wild here when we first came to this place.  Every year since then we have tried to transplant catnip wanting it to grow in open places.  Every year our transplants die while self seeded plants flourish.  This catnip is growing among the Siberian squill.  We will find out if squill plants can be reset after we remove the catnip.  The root mass of the catnip is huge and dozens of squill will be displaced when it is levered out.  Or we may just keep the catnip cut to the ground as this area belongs to the squill.

We expected that our snowless winter would be hard on the cardinal flower.  Repeated unprotected freeze thaw cycles have pushed the crown of this mature plant out of the ground and many of its green leaves have already turned to grey mush.  Still the plant is alive and it will soon get some help.  One tray of new cardinal flower transplants will be placed on the stone wall near the basement ramp.  If a freeze threatens the tray will be moved into the basement.  In the past this method has been foolproof.  We really love the intense red color of cardinal flower blossoms and find them well worth the effort needed to help them survive here.

These thyme plants on the patio outside of the west door have received frequent attention.  When Becky finds the morning sun oppressively hot, she moves to the shade of the house to tend her plants.  Seated on the edge of the patio, she moves with the shade and beats back the weeds.  In most areas of the garden the weeds appear ahead of the cultivated plants but here the favored plant grows alone.  Outside work is close at hand and we are itching to get out there and start again.