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| Lent lily, Narcissus pseudonarcissus |
While most gardens in North America are sleeping, including most of my garden, there are a few harbingers of spring around here. These daffodils, identified by Scott Kunst of Old House Gardens as Lent lilies, are almost always the first daffs to bloom for me. They're only about 6 inches tall so the blooms are not huge, but they are a cheerful way to perk up winter.
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| Joker hellebore and Lent lilies |
More Lent lilies accompany the blooms of this fantastic hellebore - Joker (Helleborus 'HGC Joker'). Joker is the first hellebore to bloom for me and it blooms reliably for months. I could probably cut back a few leaves to show off the blooms more.
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| I have no idea what insect made this. |
About a week and a half ago we had a lovely foggy morning. I found this dew-covered web on one of my salvias but it was gone the next day. Hmm...
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| I like fog |
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| The garden is sleeping, for the most part. |
While strolling around with camera in hand looking for signs of spring life, I remembered to look up, not something I do very often! Here you can see another view of the backyard. The flags are marking where an edge will be placed and the grass (and weeds) from there towards the camera will be removed. It'll be the start of my tiny woodland garden. We'll see if what's in my head comes anywhere near reality!
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| Camellia japonica 'Pearl Maxwell' |
This is the first bloom to open on my one and only japonica. Here's hoping there are no more hard freezes!
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| 'Peggy Clark' flowering apricot |
'Peggy Clark' is still in full bloom (she started to bloom around January 1). The tree is humming with bees! I'm glad I have a little something for them.
That's a quick tour of my winter backyard. I can't wait for the garden to fully wake up though!
This post was written by Jean McWeeney for my blog Dig, Grow, Compost, Blog. Copyright 2015. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.
Jean, I so enjoyed these wide shots of your garden to get an overall sense of it. I'd never realized just how BIG your yard is, for one thing. Your home looks so inviting, and I like the formal layout of the garden beds just off the porch. I am eager to see how your woodland garden develops, so please keep us in the loop!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Pam, but It's actually not THAT big. It's long but not very deep. I'm up against the fence in the last yard pic!
DeleteLove those daffodils and hellebores. They are two of my favorites. I have daffodil foliage, but I'm still a little bit away from actual buds and blooms. I saw a tiny bud developing on one of my hellebores last week as well, but you've reminded me that I need to go back out and check on it. The apricot is stunning.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Diana. I'm surprised your daffs and hellebores haven't started blooming yet since you're in a slightly warmer clime.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to see blooms already. I have the same daffs that are the first to bloom in April. Only 2 months away...
ReplyDeleteI love these early blooming beauties and think 'Peggy Clark' flowering apricot is delightful. Pink flowers on gray days like we have is perfect. I have one daffodil in bloom and of course the witch hazel.
ReplyDeleteHere in the PNW we have had nothing but foggy, cold, damp days lately, all last week in fact. I go out occasionally to wander and day-dream about the coming gardening year.
ReplyDeleteDaffodils and hellebores in bloom--how wonderful! We got another blast of snow yesterday, and it was 0 this morning, so I don't think I will be seeing any blooms here for awhile:)
ReplyDeleteYour garden is so beautiful. I love being able to see it. Even if I had a Winter Garden it would not be visible today or any time soon - it is buried under about the 3 feet of snow that has accumulated over the past week - and still snowing!
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