Monday, March 19, 2012

Mid-March Blooms Are Way Ahead of Schedule

As others in various parts of the country have been noticing, this was the winter that wasn't. At least where I live it wasn't was;~}  Many of my plants are at least 2 weeks ahead this year. Others seem more like months ahead...

Dicentra, Brunnera and Pulmonaria did not bloom until April last year...but not this year! 

Dicentra spectabilis (Bleeding Heart)
Dicentra spectabilis 'alba'

Brunnera macrophylla (Siberian Buglose)
Pulmonaria 'Raspberry Splash' (Lungwort)
I have barely been able to keep up with the blooms that pop daily out of the ground and begin to show off their colors. Every day I walk through the garden and take photos--and without fail, the very next day, there is something new. Sometimes it all happens within the same day: I'll go for a garden walk in the morning, and again in the afternoon--and there is frequently something new that has emerged or opened up within a span of a few hours. It's overwhelming at times, very surprising, and wonderful!


Mertensia surprised me about a week ago...

Mertensia virginica (Virginia Bluebells)

...and Hepatica has been blooming for at least a week and a half--again, weeks before last year as shown in my March 23, 2011 post.


Hepatica acutiloba 'f. rosea'

Hepatica nobilis 'v. acuta' (white)

Hepatica nobilis (Liverwort) pink
This has been the best March I can ever remember! (Of course, February was pretty good, too. Plants were surprising me then, as well). It's just that this month, some of the plants that have opened don't usually bloom until later on in the spring. So it sometimes feels as if I've hit the jackpot when I do a walk-through! Look at my Bloom Day post from mid-March, 2011. There wasn't much blooming last year! This year things are definitely different.

The Kerria opened on the 15th--my post on Kerria from a year ago showed it opening the last week of the month (about the 27th).

Kerria japonica

Helleborus niger (Christmas Rose) started blooming in January, which is normal...but many Helleborus hybrids were blooming in February, and by early March, all were blooming. (Except for those gnawed off by squirrels. Luckily I have found a way to keep them at bay and have been spraying with Bobbex regularly. It seems to be working!).


Decided to beat the squirrels and pick off a few blooms before they could get to them!
                                       
Buds are ready to pop on the native Rue Anemone:

Anemonella thalictroides (Rue anemone)
In fact, on one of them, they already have:



Just planted Fritillaria bulbs (in January--very late!) so this is the first I've had one coming into bloom in my garden. I don't know if it's early or not, but I'm happy I 'Bobbexed' it before the critters could get to it:

Fritillaria meleagris  (Checkered Daffodil, aka Snakes Head)

Lots of Heuchera are up and have small blooms already (such as Heuchera 'Georgia Peach', and others). Heucherella is also blooming in my garden:

Heucherella 'Day Glow Pink' (Coral Bells and Tiarella combo)

As are the Tiarella...many are leafing out and sending out blooms:

Tiarella cordifolia (Foam Flower)

The Arabis has taken off, as has the Creeping Phlox (both lining the driveway):

Left: Arabis 'Snow Cap' (Rock Cress) and Right: Phlox subulata (Creeping Phlox)

Iberis sempervirens 'Purity' (Candytuft)
Euphoria 'Blackbird' with blooms opening:

Euphorbia 'Blackbird'

Blooming for a couple of weeks, with plants opening at various times, are Hyacinth:

Hyacinths...Blue and Pink  (Surprisingly few of the pink varieties have bloomed at this point...
but that's ok, since the blues are my faves)

...and of course, Narcissus.  While some daffodils bloomed early and are finished, others are still in full bloom, with yet my newest varieties just now popping their foliage through the soil. I'll upload the newer ones when they start to bloom, but those that have been in bloom and are currently blooming are:

2 unidentified Narcissus varieties, with Hyancith 


Narcissus--unidentified smaller bloom, many have still not flowered yet.

Narcissus 'Jetfire'
 Pieris 'Valley Valentine' has really increased her blossoms since my last post:


Hydrangea is really budding out...

Hydrangea is really filling out
The Trillium haven't bloomed yet but are above ground, fairly early;  I just hope I can stay ahead of the squirrels with the 'Bobbex'.  So far, so good:

Trillium recurvatum (Bloody Butchar)

Trillium luteum (Yellow Wakerobin)

More T. recurvatum 'Red Trillium'

Trillium pusillum (Dwarf Wakerobin)
I was surprised over a week ago when Polemonium began to bloom...



It just gets more lovely each day:


I just planted light blue Muscari (in January, when I planted other bulbs) and they are coming up nicely:

Muscari 'Valerie finnis' (light blue)

3 crocus varieties have been blooming for a couple of weeks:

Crocus 'Blue/White Striped'

Crocus 'Romance'

Crocus 'Ruby Giant'

Many Iris reticulata are still blooming--but I think they are about finished:


I was really surprised to see Golden Groundsel already in bud...it was not this early last year (I got it last year at Carolyn's Shade Gardens in April and didn't bloom until late April)!

Native Senecio aureus (Golden Groundsel, aka Squaw Weed) *The blooms will be bright yellow.
With several Forsythia varieties, 2 have been in bloom for about a week, with one type a much later bloomer. It's funny to see in person, as they are planted right next to each other:


A 3rd variety is planted in a different location, with about half of the branches in bloom:


Creeping Speedwell and Lamium are really pretty on one side of the house:


Veronica (Creeping Speedwell)

Lamium maculatum (spotted dead nettle)
Bloodroot was another plant that I posted for Bloom Day last year in mid-April...this year, it bloomed  before mid-March!

Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot)

Another batch of Bloodroot, in bloom

I am linking this with Garden Bloggers Bloom Day at May Dreams Gardens. GBBD is on the 15th of each month, and features garden bloggers around the world who show us what is blooming in their part of the planet.  Even though I am a few days late, my photos show a pretty good 'mid month view' of my Virginia garden. After I publish this, I can guarantee something will have changed in the garden. Another bud will have opened up, another plant sprouted. I'll walk outside and hosta leaves will have shot up a quarter of an inch from where they were this morning. It is truly a season of change!

Well, that's all for now. I hope you are discovering gifts every day in your garden of life, too:-)


Words and photos ©Thanks for today.™, by Jan Huston Doble @ http://www.thanksfor2day.blogspot.com/
Not to be reproduced or re-blogged without express permission of the author.

25 comments:

  1. Wow! You have so much going on already! I am so jealous of how warm and mild the rest of the country is. It is still so cold and wet here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is different...that is for sure, Alison. Don't be jealous...your blooms will come in time. It is nice, I must admit...but it could still get cold and even freeze. As I recall, last April we had snow here!!

      Delete
  2. Jan,
    You have so many wonderful blooms!

    On one hand, it is exciting to have an early spring. On the other hand, 80+ degree temps have me worried about how hot it will be in late spring and through the summer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Freda, I'm also concerned about a possible late frost, or very cool weather that will do these beauties in;( Nothing to fret about though, it's pretty much out of our control!!

      Delete
    2. Our local meteorologist doesn't think there's a frost coming in the next few weeks...so, let's hope for the best! I looks like April instead of March. We're heading to France next week and I can only imagine what I'll miss. We're usually back in time for "spring" but may miss it with this mild weather and lots of rain.

      Delete
  3. Wow. You have a lot of blooms. Early here too. I swear I can watch the leaves appear. Today we got a nice rain. That will only help seeds start sprouting making it even more green. I hope we don't get a freeze!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi GSS...long time no visit:-/ Will try to stop by soon. It has been the nicest winter in memory (at least in this area!), and apparently yours, too;-) Yes, I do worry a little about a late freeze...but what can we do? Just enjoy the 'now' and if we have time to 'plan', cover what can't withstand frost when we hear the weather reports!

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  4. Wonderful blooms!! My Bleeding Hearts are just up, no blooms yet. My Pulmonaria has been blooming for a while, love yours 'Raspberry Splash' was what I wanted, but found 'Diana Clare'-- so there you go.
    Good for you to have labeled all your sweet little natives.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It is an amazing Spring. I was removing old pinestraw mulch and adding fresh cypress mulch and in the time it took me to remove the old and pull the weeds, leaves were out on Elephant ears, Canna lilies and the Banana tree! It was crazy but I am loving it... I have a tan already!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wonderful blooms! I have several plants blooming as well! I absolutely love your Pulmonaria! I have been wanting to get one for a long time, maybe this will be the year, especially after seeing yours! Happy Spring! May many more blooms come your way!
    Mindy

    ReplyDelete
  7. Seeing your Kerria reminds me of the double one I use to have. It was such a pretty shrub; I don’t know what possessed me to remove it from my garden. I suppose I had good reason to at the time even if I don’t remember what it is now. LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Randy, I'll bet it was because it was sending up shoots everywhere! It's not native, and really can get quite wild and out of hand if you don't stay on top of it! I have to not only cut mine back drastically each year, but also dig out new shoots and huge sections of it that have roamed and started entirely new bushes! If you can keep it contained it is lovely, though;-)

      Delete
  8. My goodness Jan this is amazing. My garden is about a week or 10 days behind you and a month ahead of last year..hottest March on record here...

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am pretty sure you are my new BFF through blogger! lol found your page on fb & followed you back here! i'm so excited to see all your gorgeous spring photo's! I host a garden party that starts back up again in May ~ would love to see you link up sometime! xoxo, tracie

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wow jut look at all of the blooms in your garden already. My garden is about a month and a half ahead this year too and it is scary. LOL! I really like your Kerria japonica. What beautiful yellow blooms Jan.Have a terrific week.

    ReplyDelete
  11. So many beautiful blooms! My garden is a little ahead of schedule but not dramatically so - in fact, my forsythia was behind by about two weeks which was a surprise since the weather has been so warm. My kerria is also blooming, but it's a new plant so I didn't have anything to compare it to. But my Jacob's Ladder is just not putting out foliage - blooms seem a long way off.

    ReplyDelete
  12. What wonderful blooms! It is such a treat for me to see all of these. So different than our tropical bloomers down here. Thank you for posting your spring beauties.

    Happy spring gardening ~ FlowerLady

    ReplyDelete
  13. I truly enjoyed your photos of what's blooming. Beautiful. Your photo of the Veronica (Creeping Speedwell) solved a mystery for me. I have some blooming in my east central Illinois garden also. I just noticed it today. I didn't remember planting it last year and was trying to figure out what it was.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Goodness Jan, you have lot going on in your garden. Our Trillium are almost done blooming, but the Fritillaria haven't quite yet thrown up their flower stalks, just leaves. Your Hepatica flowers remind me a lot of our native wood anemones. Happy Spring!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Like you, everything here is coming into bloom all at once. Will there be any color other than green in April?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Jan, hasn't it been fun to enjoy the early spring this year? Every day has been a treasure hunt in the garden!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wow Jan, that's impressive. Sorry, I'm a little late to visit that I'm glad I stopped by.

    ReplyDelete
  18. everything looks fantastic! I distinctly remember coming home from Spring Break every year and being excited about hyacinths. Not peonies in bud, hydrangeas leaving out, sinocalycanthus in bloom, clematis about to bloom. it's crazy! (though I'm not complaining!).

    ReplyDelete
  19. Fantastic pics. I love them. I wrote some down to see if they will grow in my garden. I have been working in the gardens for a couple weeks now. So tired & hurting but keep going. They say it's good for me. lol Finished my Asparagus bed today so I planted some cukes to go up the fence. Hope that works.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Lots of lovely goodies in your garden. I was annoyed to see something, probably a slug or snail, ate my one and only Fritillaria meleagris bloom, of course I should have had bait out sooner.sighhhh!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for visiting and taking the time to comment! Please enjoy your TODAY and all of the gifts in YOUR garden of life!

Jan

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