We took a walk along the local rail trail today since it was cold and damp and buggy in the woods. The wildflowers were incredible!!!
Pink ladyslippers
White ladyslipper
Wild Geranium
False Solomon’s Seal
Star flower
Fringed polygala
Wild columbine
Bluets
Wild lupine
Painted turtle laying her eggs
Back to the garden tomorrow….
Fairyland. That’s what the garden looks like right now. All the little spring things are blooming and there is magic happening. The plants sure like the cool spring weather we are having and the blooms are lasting a long time.
Lilac
Flowering almond
Primroses and primula
Iris cristata
Dodecatheon (Shooting star), primroses, epimediums and flowering almond
Hens and chicks
Androsace primula “Chumbyi’ in the rock garden
Lewisia, columbine, and sedums
Epimedium ‘Domino’
Epimedium (also called Fairy wings)
Some fairies showed up too
I lost a dear friend last week. We were gardeners, grammas, knitters, and friends. We often talked about our gardens being the places we would go when we needed to sort things out – like when our parents passed or when other problems arose. Now, I go into my garden to grieve and try to make sense of things and find peace. I have many plants in my garden that my dear friend shared with me. They aren’t blooming yet, but they are growing and thriving and give me great joy. My friend will always be with me when I am in my garden.
Spring has come…. here are a few beauties:
Hepatica
Primula
Miniature violet in the trough graden
Hellebore buds
Primrose in the trough garden
Bloodroot buds in an embrace
More later……
I purchased a yellow Clivia miniata many years ago from Logee’s Greenhouse in Connecticut. It never bloomed, it got scale, it looked lousy, and yet I couldn’t quite part with it. This year, I put in the basement and left it for the winter with instructions to be watered once a month. When we returned the first of April, there was a bloom spike. Ta da!
Outside it is not so lovely. We are forecast to have freezing rain and possible icing today and tonight. The daffodils have buds on them so I will be out covering some of them with buckets so the weight of the ice doesn’t ruin them.
The Hepatica bloomed Friday when we had a warm interlude. I think I will cover them as well.
Ah, spring in New England. The roller coaster ride continues……..
We have returned from the sunny south. I was eager to see the garden and to assess the winter damage. Moles and voles were busy this winter and something nibbled the hens and chicks. The deer left hoof prints in the dirt and perhaps they were the nibblers. The storms left some tree damage. Oh yes and we had snow…….
Luckily it melted fast. This birch had split and needed to be removed..
And it was added to the burn pile
The turkeys are strutting about doing their thing
We took a walk in the woods this morning and there was hoar frost – beautiful but ….
Spring IS just around the corner though … these bluebirds are checking out the nesting box.. sorry for the blurry photo.. I was so excited to see them that I didn’t get a good shot
It is supposed to warm up the next few days.. maybe I’ll find a few buds or blossoms to photograph and share. Despite the late spring, it is nice to be home.
Spring is on the way, right? My northern friends and neighbors have endured yet another huge snow storm. I know my garden is slumbering beneath feet of snow so there aren’t any little green shoots popping up yet. (I can’t complain since I am “wintering” in the coolish but sunny south.) I took a walk yesterday and photographed some local Florida plants so my readers could enjoy some color. Enjoy!
My orchids continue to be happy here in the south too.
I am looking forward to returning home soon and watching the glorious Massachusetts spring unfurl. I’ll bet the deer, moles, voles, rabbits, chipmunks, groundhogs and other garden visitors can’t wait either. I wonder what they munched on while I was gone????
Its been cold, then warm, then cold , then warm again in Massachusetts…… or so I am told. I have escaped south for a bit so I don’t know what my garden is doing. I am glad that there was snow cover during the super cold weather though because that helps protect the plants.
I thought perhaps readers would like to see what I am up to in the (chilly and not very sunny) south. I had some seeds at home that needed using so I brought them along and planted some up in grocery store salad containers. They have sprouted..
I also brought along some cuttings from my Brugmansia to give to a friend here in Florida and they have sprouted roots as well.
I have been bringing the orchids with me the last few years. They spiked and I couldn’t leave them behind. Now they are starting to bloom. I think this year they will remain here in Florida at my son’s house when we return north.
Tillandsias are other plants that like to winter over with us however they will return home.
This little patch of succulents grace the front walk and look much better after much needed weeding.
There is so much color here… I found this beautiful specimen while walking the dog this morning.
And just for fun.. here’s one of my favorite mailboxes in the neighborhood
I hope readers enjoyed this little adventure in Florida gardening.
