Tag Archives: hyacinth

Spring Again

March 20, 2014. In the tiny speck of Northern Hemisphere that I call home the vernal equinox occurs today at 12:57 P.M. EDT.

Hyacinthus orientalis (common hyacinth)

Blue sky, sunshine and warm temperatures arrived on schedule to welcome the change of the season, although winter threatens to return next with a chance of snow.

After this week’s ice storm most of the daffodils remain bent over, some have broken stems, but at least one is reaching toward the sun this morning.

This Narcissus ‘King Alfred’ weathered the recent ice storm

A couple of weeks ago a friend brought me some moss from her yard to add to the existing small bits of moss that have sprung up along one edge of the meditation circle. The new transplants appear to be doing fine, enjoying all the recent moisture.

Moss Edging Along Meditation Path

One of my favorite evergreen plants, Iberis sempervirens, is finally starting to bloom. This has almost completely died out in the mediation circle but there are a few patches elsewhere that have thrived for many years.

Iberis Sempervirens (Candytuft)

Happy Spring!

Beginnings

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A sunny, warm afternoon yesterday gave me a chance to try out my new Felco 8 Classic Pruners. They worked great and I was able to easily trim the liriope and creeping juniper in the front along with a clematis and a few other things in the back garden. So, although there is another month before spring officially arrives, my spring gardening season has begun.

As I worked I uncovered 3 hyacinths making their way out of the winter darkness. These were planted twelve years ago before the liriope that came with our home’s “landscape package” had spread so thickly. I did not understand at that time that some liriope clumps and some runs. Unfortunately this is the rascally running type, not very desirable and not so easy to contain. At any rate, yesterday I managed to trim the old leaves of the liriope without damaging these three surviving hyacinths.

Each spring I chide myself for not taking time the previous fall to plant lots of new spring bulbs. Oh well, these three little treasures will bring special enjoyment and there are lots of daffodils coming up as well.

Hyacinthus orientalis (Common, Dutch or Garden Hyacinth)

Welcoming March

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Sunlight greeted the garden this March morning, pulling an Iberis inflorescence out of shadow as February slipped into history.

Iberis Sempervirens (Candytuft)

A blue-violet Hyacinth opened this week, one of only two remaining from an impulse planting a decade ago.

Hyacinth

Almanac and Mulch

Clouds are moving in this afternoon and temperatures will remain cooler than normal, but at least rain is out of the picture for a few days. When I began a project at the beginning of last month to mulch the garden, little did I know we would have rain for 14 of February’s 28 days. And it was cold. What I estimated would take a week is dragging on, although progress is visible and the effort actually has been enjoyable. The driveway had been hidden by 14 cubic yards of double-shredded hardwood mulch, but at this point the remaining pile seems almost a minor detail. There is still a lot of weeding and trimming to do in the back.

Hardwood Mulch Delivery Feb 4 2013

Mulch–Feb 28 2013

Partially Mulched Garden

Looking Around

The mulching project has afforded me a chance to notice the garden’s earliest plants waking up.

Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten rose)

Aquilegia canadensis (Eastern red columbine) and Monarda didyma (Scarlet Beebalm)

Monarda didyma (Scarlet Beebalm)

Daffodils

Moss in Meditation Circle

Iberis Sempervirens (Candytuft)

Lychnis coronaria (Rose Campion)

Stachys byzantina (Lamb’s Ear)

Powerful Wings

A Bald Eagle flew over the garden today. What an enormous bird and, in the true sense of the word, awesome. The Jordan Lake EagleCam is currently monitoring a nest with one chick at nearby Jordan Lake.

A Sunny February Day

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Today there is flowering on the Red Maple.

Acer rubrum (Red Maple)

Near the front sidewalk a lone hyacinth planted a decade ago is again working its way out into the open.

Hyacinthus orientalis (common hyacinth, garden hyacinth or Dutch hyacinth)

February has been wet. There may be freezing rain tomorrow morning and another wet weekend is forecast, but today the sky is deeply blue and the sunshine is warm enough for face and heart.

I am making progress mulching the garden, though the job has been slowed equally by the wetter, cooler weather and a healthier crop of weeds than I had expected.

Though many birds keep watch as I work, only the Carolina Chickadees are brave enough to attempt a move toward the feeder while I am in the garden. From the windows I have been watching them too. Flocks of American Robins have been around for several weeks. They teamed up with Red-winged Blackbirds and Cedar Waxwings on Monday to strip the neighbors’ holly berries and make merriment. Eastern Bluebirds are beautiful but fairly pushy at the feeders. Northern Cardinals are lovely too but seem much more patient. The Mourning Doves make me smile.

Early March Garden Tokens

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Low temperatures in the twenties for the last couple of nights seem not to have damaged the lovely blossoms on the Coral Delight Camellia.

Camellia 'Coral Delight'

The first flower stems are visible above attractive foliage of the Eastern Red Columbine.

Aquilegia canadensis (Eastern red columbine)

Blooms began in late December and Helleborus orientalis (Lenten rose) continues a charming display in several sections of the garden. There are lots of new seedlings this year.

Helleborus orientalis (Lenten rose)

Helleborus orientalis (Lenten rose) Seedlings

Hyacinth and Iberis Sempervirens (Candytuft) brighten a garden near the front sidewalk entrance.

Hyacinth and Iberis Sempervirens (Candytuft)

Hyacinth

pbmGarden

Sense of place, purpose, rejuvenation and joy

Tag Archives: hyacinth

Spring Again

Beginnings

Welcoming March

Almanac and Mulch

Looking Around

Powerful Wings

A Sunny February Day

Early March Garden Tokens

March Surprises