When I was out taking pictures I could feel how saturated the ground is with all of the rain we've had. With each step I took I could feel it squish beneath my feet.
Tete-a-tete Daffodils are popping open left and right, these are definitely a little early.
I might be jinxing myself by posting blooms of the Winter Daphne (Daphne odora), but I can't help it. The smell of just the first few blooms open already carries halfway across the yard. This is right on time for this shrub to be blooming.
Lots and lots of Hellebores blooming with more on the way in other parts of the yard. The annoying Bishop's Weed is already coming up in this bed. I've been working on removing it for the last 10 years from this area, but it comes back every year.
A closeup of one of the pinkish flowers.
Pansies that have been blooming since they were planted in early Fall.
Hellebore 'Mardi Gras Double' fully opened. I think she'd get lots of beads at the real Mardi Gras.
Camellia japonica 'Marie Bracey'. I love the bright pink of these against the glossy green leaves.
Pulmonaria just starting blooming. You can see the blooms starting to change color on some of the flowers. They start pink and eventually turn purple. I've found that these self seed as well as form clumps that are easy to divide. I started with one and now have 6 plants, all but one of the seedlings from last year even have buds on them. This plant was also blooming last year in February, and will bloom for a couple of more months.Carol of May Dreams Gardens hosts Garden Bloggers Bloom Day on the 15th of each month. Visit her to see what she and other bloggers around the world have blooming.
Hi Catherine~~ I've got my fingers crossed for an early spring. El Nino and all... It's interesting that your Pulmonaria starts pink and morphs to purple. The variety I grow starts blue and morphs to pink. But from the looks of it, the foliage on mine is identical to yours.
ReplyDeleteThose little Tete a Tetes are just the sweetest, aren't they? So reliably early and maintenance free.
Your hellebore garden is fabulous. You're definitely doing something right! My ten-year old clump is still just a few flowering stems. I know they can tolerate dry soil but I'm wondering if mine is TOO dry. Any ideas?
Do you bring sprigs of Daphne indoors? I've had a vaseful for a week now and although not the prettiest at this point they're still sweetening the air.
Is Blotanical working for you?
aloha catherine,
ReplyDeletewow, what a celebration for bloom day...what a nice collection you have blooming today. I enjoyed reading your beautiful post today:)
The flowers are sparkling with natural beauty. Wonder why some flowers prefer to droop and look at the ground, while some choose to be elegant and poised facing the sky. ~bangchik
ReplyDeleteGrace - I just saw a comment at Garden Joy 4 me that Stuart tweeted or twittered or whatever it is :) that Blotanical is being moved to a new server and some sort of upgrades done on it.
ReplyDeleteI need to bring some Daphne in, great idea!
Those Hellebores get no special treatment. It's mostly full shade there and pretty dry, except for the winter. When it rains really hard the gutter overflows into that bed. Maybe the extra water there and there helps?
Noel - Thanks! I was pretty happy with all the blooms I found out there!
Yes, Mardi Gras would get a few beads tossed her way by me. She's a looker--I especially love the celestial pink dots all over...
ReplyDeleteCatherine, you are so lucky having all those flowers blooming in your garden. It sure looks like spring to me =)
ReplyDeleteDear Catherine, Your clumps of hellebores are outstanding. You must be so pleased with that border which really is at its best. All the Daphnes are such worthwhile shrubs on account of the fragrance of their blooms. Sadly in the UK, and perhaps elsewhere, they appear to be quite short lived.
ReplyDeleteChe magnifici cuscini di hellebori! Fanno venir voglia di strofinarci le guance..
ReplyDeleteFortunata te che puoi già assaporare l'emozione delle prime fioriture. Qui da me l'inverno ancora non ne vuol sapere di andarsene via e lasciare posto alla primavera!
What a beautiful array of colourful blooms, your posts always brighten my day! :)
ReplyDeleteWowee Catherine. It IS looking 100% like spring in your garden. So pretty ~ that Mardi Gras hellebore is the BOMB! I could almost switch over from wanting the double black to one of those!! Beautiful blooms for February. There is absolutely nothing blooming outdoors here! boo hoo.
ReplyDeletebtw, I have 21 Amaryllis going this winter. Isn't that embarrassing? Most of my older bulbs didn't bloom tho ~ I think they didn't store enough energy last summer? I remember a lot of them didn't get very many leaves (which they need at least seven to re-bloom). I chalked it up to the cool, wet summer we had since I haven't had the problem before. Hopefully this summer will be better and they'll all bloom next winter.
Catherine, These are absolutely beautiful photos of your flowers. I especially like the daphne and the daffodils. Happy Spring!
ReplyDeleteBeth
You have beautiful flowers...unfortunately with our cold snaps, some of my plants have gone to an early grave.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day,
Sylvia
I love how the Hellebores look like little umbrellas with their down-turned petals and the Winter Daphne is just beautiful.
ReplyDeleteCatherine I cannot believe how many hellebores you have. What a beautiful bed!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, what kind of ferterlizer do you use. Or is it all the rain out there. I love all your what we call Lenten Roses.
ReplyDeleteYou have all those blooms and I don't even have one! As the kids would say "That is SO not fair!" Hope to see my daffs in a couple of months....
ReplyDeleteChristine in Alaska
I'm soo jealous of you Daphne Odora. It's one of my favorites. I need a new one to replace the one I killed a couple years ago - it didn't like the move we made. I can't wait until my hellebores are as big as yours! How old are they?
ReplyDeleteYour hellebores are just to die for! Awesome display! How long have they been growing there? I hope I get some like that one of these years:) I have the Bishops weed too and it sure can be annoying. Urgh! P.S. Having trouble with Blotanical? My computer can't find it.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't mind walking around on some rain saturated ground right about now. Beats the frozen tundra.
ReplyDeleteLook at your Tete-a-tete daffodil, so cute. I have some of those, too.
My goodness, the pansy photo is outstanding. They look amazing.
I have Pulomonaria and like it a lot. It's one of my favorites.
Still need to do a GBBD post, but that will only take me a minute because nothing is blooming here.
donna
You have such a beautiful yard...I love the fullness of your hellebores.....
ReplyDeleteThe daffodils are so pretty and sweet looking. Spring is obviously right around the corner.
ReplyDeleteThe Garden Belle - I don't fertilize the Hellebores other than adding some compost every year or so. They just seem to like that spot.
ReplyDeleteAngela and Tina - I think they've been there around 7 years. I guess I've been lucky they like it so much there.
I saw that Blotanical is being moved to a new server and some other things being done, so it's supposed to be down for a couple of days.
It seems that you are about a month further ahead than us Catherine - it certainly looks like spring in your garden :)
ReplyDeleteHappy bloom day! Those hellebores are amazing.
ReplyDeleteThat Mardi Gras Double is a real beauty Catherine.
ReplyDeleteOk...another thing to put on my to do list are Hellebores.
ReplyDeleteWonderful blooms to see !!
YOur Hellebores are just spectacular! Oh, how I wish we could naturalize daffodils down here, they've always been my favorites.
ReplyDeleteI really love that 3rd pic of the floating cloud of hellebores. How beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWe're saturated here too. I bet that Daphne does smell wonderful! Your Hellebores are beautiful. I don't think I've seen them that covered with flowers before. I love the bronzy purple shade of those pansies too.
ReplyDeleteTruly beautiful blooms! I always look forward to your photos!
ReplyDeleteYour flowers are lovely. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteStunning flowers! We never get to see these beautiful blooms in this part of the world. The hellebores are amazing! Your hard work has paid up and your garden is getting back its colours!
ReplyDeleteI will plant hellebores. I will plant hellebores. I will plant hellebores. Someone remind me of this when there are a thousand choices in the garden center. I've already carved out the spot, just need to buy the darn plants! Thanks for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteIt's still soggy in parts here too, after all our rain. Your blooms are just lovely!
ReplyDeleteWhat satisfying hellebores! Usually I think, why bother. But when they finally attain some size, it seems worth it.
ReplyDeleteWow, you've got a lot in bloom. So nice to live vicariously through you :-) - nothing in bloom here in CT. Love the double pink hellebores - so fancy.
ReplyDeleteHi Catherine - Great start to spring, whether or not it's officially here. Yay for daphne! Not sure mine have opened yet, I'll have to check tomorrow. We walked past a few of them at the CUH today that almost bowled us over with fragrance. I've never seen a hellebore like your 'Mardi Gras' - wow! Can't wait to hear all about your backyard bird count, we did ours today but at a local (public) birding spot, to see more and a bigger variety of birds. Fun!
ReplyDeleteThat's the first daffodil that I see in the blogland this year! Lovely. It already seems like spring there! I so wanna smell that first bloom of the Daphne! Lovely! I wish they bloom a lot more and its pervade your entire garden!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for my daphne to bloom like yours! Nice shot.
ReplyDeleteI love looking at your garden! Very pretty post, Catherine.
ReplyDeleteOh Catherine - they are ALL beautiful. The Winter Daphne is so pretty and looks so dainty. And the Mardi Gras is simply stunning. It is so good to see some blooms right now. I can't wait to have some to show off too.
ReplyDeleteWow, look at that row of hellebores! I want to carry my computer out to show my baby hellebores what they should be shooting for - I'll be so happy if they grow up to be just like yours :-)
ReplyDeleteOH Catherine, soooo pretty! Do I need to say again how much I LOVE your hellebores???? At least mine has a bud.
ReplyDeleteWhat a breathtaking post for bloom day.
Lovely Bloom Day post! Kudos to you for doing something VERY right. Green with envy here! :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's a field of hellebores! It's all gorgeous, Catherine! I always wonder, about this time of year, why I didn't plant pansies or violets in the fall/early winter. I need to add that to my to-do list. Happy Bloom Day;-)
ReplyDeleteThose are really very awesome blooms. What can you ask for: flowers and birds abound around your area, it feels heaven and smells heaven. Pansies are my favorites but they maybe dont grow in hot climes, sorry for me!
ReplyDeleteI just love to see spring arriving in your garden, it really gives me hope! I'm still buried in deep snow, so I need all the hope I can get. I sure hope my hellebores bloom this year, as I just planted them last year and have never seen the flowers. Yours are gorgeous! I have Mrs. Moon pulmonaria, and it was so pretty last year. Hope it comes back!
ReplyDeleteYour blooms are so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI've really gotten behind in blogging. I'm glad I made it here to see your awesome clumps of hellebores! Most of mine are in a spot where I need to water them. I don't know if they will bush out like yours.
ReplyDeleteI hope you are having a great weekend.