February Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.

It's hard to believe we're half way through February already and it's time for another bloom day post.  With all the work we've been doing in our front yard I've barely had a chance to look at anything else in the garden.  I did look back at last February's bloom day post and saw that Camellias and Daffodil Tete-a-tetes were already blooming.  Quite a few plants are behind right now.  We've had heavy rain and wind the last few days and now there is the possible chance of snow this week.  It seems as the snow is starting to melt on the East coast that it's now getting colder and wetter on the West coast.  Next week is when we hope to make lots of progress on the front yard and I sure hope the weather will cooperate, but I guess there's not a lot I can do about it.

 Hellebore 'Red Lady' blooms in a wine barrel.

 Iris reticulatas caught me by surprise even though they are right on time.

 Pulmonarias will be blooming for at least another month.  I love everything about this plant.

 Crocuses also surprised me.  I moved lots of them as I rearranged the front bed, they are in a much better spot now instead of under plants and behind trees.  These purple ones are the only ones blooming though so far.

 This poor Anemone blanda has gotten quite beat up by all the walking over/on it.

And of course Pansies are blooming all over the place.

Also blooming still are the Sarcococcas, double Hellebores, Primroses and Violas.
Join Carol at May Dreams Gardens to see what she and other gardeners around the world have blooming today or to join in with your own blooms.

A good day!

I try not to complain too much on here about things other than the weather, but the last couple of months just seemed to have been one thing after another around here. Nothing serious any of them, but after a continual stream of something expensive breaking or someone being sick I was feeling a bit overwhelmed and stressed last night. I remember thinking to myself last night, "Please let tomorrow be a good day!"
Going in to wake Sweet Pea this morning, never an easy task, I raised her shade only to be greeted by this beautiful sunrise:

It was the most bright red sky and the fog had settled in the low areas behind the school yard.

Just to the right of the sunrise the fog was heavy but the red sky still glowed. How could something this pretty not signal a good day?
Later in the day after returning from a nursery where I found a beautiful double Hellebore that I'd been looking for, I went outside in the backyard to do a little cleanup. (The Hellebore is still in bud, but I will show pictures when it opens.)

As I looked across the pond I realized that a couple of Water Hawthorn flowers had opened with more buds coming through the surface of the water.

A Primrose along the path that was planted last year is just about to bloom.

The Corsican Hellebore is opening more too.

The buds on this Oxalis crassipes 'Rosea' seemed to have appeared overnight. It isn't unusual for this Oxalis to bloom in the Winter, but I hadn't seen flowers on it for quite a long time.

Another Pulmonaria bud from a division I made last year. This probably isn't that early either early, maybe a couple of weeks. Still I was very happy to see it.

And the Iris reticulata that I shared in bud late last week, has now bloomed. They remind me of a watercolor.

An unplanned pairing; the sign and the Iris, but a perfect combination I think!

Yes, today was a good day. I hope it was a good day for everyone else too!

Warmest January on record - Fertilizer Friday.

It looks like some of us Pacific Northwesteners on our way to setting another weather related record. This January is on it's way to becoming the warmest January on record. During this past summer we hit the hottest day ever recorded in Seattle, then this past December we had record setting lows when an Arctic blast came through. While it's been kind of nice to have such a mild winter, I also know that many plants here need that winter chill to help set buds. We also need the cold to help get rid of many garden pests. I'm going to be very interested to see what this Spring brings.

Last year the iris reticulata was blooming on the first day of Spring. Now it's almost in bloom and Spring is still a ways off.

The Hellebore 'Royal Heritage' looks so pretty with the sun shining through it.

I don't think I'll get tired of looking at this 'Royal Heritage' variation. As the sun has been out, they have been lifting their faces more. I think this is my favorite flower picture of the year so far.

One of the Hellebores in my front yard seems to have perked up since I cut away the old foliage. It's flowers are beginning to lift up as well.

Seeing all this new growth and flowers has gotten me to thinking about starting to stock up on my fertilizer of choice: compost! There have been years I was too busy to have a chance to get a nice layer of it in my garden, but after seeing what a big difference it makes I'm already planning on when I will start to get some of that black gold into my garden.
Fertilizer Friday is hosted each Friday by Tootsie at Tootsie Time. Visit her to see what she's got happening in her garden or greenhouse as well as other gardeners from all over.

Seems early,...

But I guess it's not. One thing I've loved about starting a blog last year is the way I can keep track of my garden and what's growing when. While I was outside this weekend starting winter sowing I noticed quite a bit of new growth. It seemed early for some things, but as I came in and looked at my pictures and posts from last year it's seems as though most everything is right about on time. Last winter our weather was a lot different, we had a good amount of snow and cold weather. This winter we had icy weather in the beginning of December but other than that it has been fairly mild and very rainy.

More Hellebores (H. orientalis) getting ready to bloom. This one is 'Royal Heritage'. These I know are right on track.

Iris reticulata seemed early, but looking back at my records they are at about the same place they were last winter.

Clematis 'Nelly Moser' as well as pretty much all of the other Clematis in my yard have new growth.

Old fashioned Bleeding Hearts (Dicentra spectabilis) seemed really early to be sprouting, but looking back it's not. All of them are at about the same stage as this one.

Corsican Hellebore has buds that seem to be growing daily, last year they bloomed through the snow. I think they are typically later bloomers than the other Hellebores (H. orientalis), but in my yard they bloom right around the same time.

Variegated Wallflower (Erysimum linifolium) was new last April, but it came in full bloom when I bought it. It has only stopped blooming during the freeze back in December, it's now got quite a few new buds. As I've said before this has been one of my favorite new plants this past year. If you see it and it grows in your zone (USDA 3a - 9b), buy it!

Winter Daphne (daphne odorata) never got a chance to really bloom last year. Hopefully these quickly growing buds will be able to flower before any more freezes.

Winter Hazel (Corylopsis) 'Buttercup' didn't really get a good chance to bloom either last year. It's loaded with yellow and pinkish buds.

This house down the street from me has a tree that has new growth all over it, I can't tell what type of tree it is though and this was the best picture I could get. Any ideas? This house is going to be for sale, anyone want to be my neighbor? :)

Sarcococca is now blooming, but I'm saving those pictures for Bloom Day. They are exactly on time, Grace's are blooming too. The Snowball bush (Viburnum) actually has some leaves beginning to open as well as some of the Hydrangeas. The Hydrangeas worry me though, since one good freeze and I say "goodbye" to all the flowers for summer. Another thing I'm a little concerned about are the pests that seem to be enjoying our mild weather, I've seen both Aphids and Leaf hoppers on my plants. As much as I've loved this mild winter I would really love to get at least one snowfall.