It's just a matter of time.

Not too long I mentioned how behind the garden was getting from all of the below normal temperatures we'd been having.  I knew a few days above 50 would inspire the plants to get growing.  Along with some warmer weather (50 degrees feels warm right now) we've had lots of rain and wind.  Yesterday we set a record for rainfall.  I'm not sure I've seen it rain that hard many times before.  In one day we received half the average rainfall for March.  But, it's hard to complain when the plants seem to be getting revved up for a nice big spring show.

The Blueberry Bushes are loaded with buds.

Camellia japonica 'Marie Bracey' is finally starting to show a little pink.

Ribes sanguineum or Pink Flowering Currant is usually in bloom during March.  It looks like it won't be long now though.

Tete-a-tete daffodils are behind too, they sure got beat up by the rain.  I love how bright and cheery they are.

Marsh Marigold has one tattered bloom.  I also saw that the Water Hawthorne in the pond is starting to bloom.

These Daffodils seem to be on time, they bloom after the Tete-a-tetes are finished.

This Pulmonaria was a seedling that surprised me a couple of years ago.  I think this will be it's first year blooming, it's got lots of buds on it.

Crossing my fingers that this Magnolia 'Vulcan' finally blooms.  We had a late frost last year that killed the buds.

The Weeping Cherry tree is starting to bloom.

This might not look that exciting, but to me it's great news.  I dug up and moved this Peony a few weeks ago, just before the big freeze and snow.  I was hoping I hadn't killed it.  I'm doubtful it will bloom, but still hoping it might.

I found this the other day at a little antique mall near us.  I can't wait to plant it.  I'm trying to decide whether to make it a small water garden or a container garden.

I spotted this Bewick's Wren in the Snowball Bush with a little tuft of what looks like dog fur.  I couldn't figure out where he was going with it.  Early today I noticed sticks on our deck under the Pine tree and wondered where they were coming from.  Were the school kids throwing them over the fence?  (You'd be surprised at what they throw over).  They were not Pine tree twigs.  After seeing this wren with it's nesting material I remembered that a few years ago Crows built a nest in the Pine tree and I found the same types of sticks on the deck.  The wind must have knocked them loose.

I probably won't be around much the next several days since we will have company staying with us this weekend.  Hopefully the next time I post some of these buds will have opened into flowers. 
All words and photos in this post are property of A Gardener in Progress.

March 2010 Bloom Day!

It's already mid March and just 5 days until Spring is officially on the calender. It's also time for March Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. I looked back to see what was happening last year for March's bloom day and was reminded that it was snowing! I also saw that about all that was blooming were Hellebores, Pansies and Pulmonaria. This year all those and then some are blooming. This looks more like an April bloom day post, but I won't complain about that.

Blooming near the pond is Old Fashioned Bleeding Hearts (Dicentra spectabilis), the White Bleeding Heart is behind this one. The short yellow flowers to the left are Leopard's Bane (Doronicum orientale) and to their left are Tete-a-tete Daffodils.

In the pond Water Hawthorn (Aponogeton distachyos) is blooming although they look a little beat up after the freeze we had about a week ago.

Behind the pond are Daffodils 'Dutch Master' and Drumstick Primrose (Primula denticulata).

Out front the Weeping Cherry is in full bloom. It got a very short haircut last year, so it's a bit shorter than it should be. We thought it looked like a "Who" from Dr. Seuss.

Camellia japonica 'Kumaska' is covered in blooms and buds.

Lots and lots of Muscari is blooming. They've spread like crazy and are overtaking the Heucheras. Guess I'll have to divide and thin them out after they finish flowering.

In the back corner of the path garden it's never looked so good. There are several different types of Hellebores blooming, another Bleeding Heart, Muscari, Pulmonaria, Corylopsis 'Buttercup' and the Camellia japonica 'Marie Bracy'.

Not too bad for it being the middle of March. Garden Bloggers Bloom Day is hosted on the 15th of each month by Carol of May Dreams Gardens. Join her to see what she and other gardeners around the world have blooming today.

A flowery Fertilizer Friday.

I've been continuing to get out in the garden and get as many chores done as I have time. One job I had to do was clean out two of the birdhouses that bumblebees have decided they want to live in. I've only had this problem once before, but this year with two being claimed by bees already I had to do something about it before it was too late. It looked as if the bees were using the actual birds nests made in previous years to build their own nest in. I certainly didn't want to (and didn't) kill the bees, just let them know they needed to find another place to live. Once the nests were cleaned out the bees buzzed around for a little while, and I haven't seen them near the houses since. I also rubbed soap on the inside roof of the houses because I read that will help deter bees. Hopefully it works and the birds will still come and use the houses. If anyone has any other tips to help I'd love to hear them.

Now it's time to show what's blooming this Friday in my garden:

Leopard's Bane (Doronicum orietale) has not been an easy plant for me. I've tried growing them several times and this is the first one that has made it a full year. They do not like to be in dry soil, and that has probably been the reason it has disappeared in other places. My husband thinks it looks far too much like a dandelion, but I think the flowers are pretty. I'll take a picture of it once it's in full bloom, the flowers are daisy like.

Drumstick Primula (Primula denticulata) just starting to bloom.

Don't you love when your neighbor has something pretty blooming in their yard that you can enjoy too?! I don't have the space for a Forsythia, but our neighbor's shrub is right next to the low part of our fence so we can see it almost as well as if it was in our own yard.

Winter Hazel (Corylopsis) 'Buttercup' is just beautiful this year. I keep going by to admire it since last year it hardly bloomed.

The Weeping Cherry tree is in full bloom now with lots of bees visiting it. The Littlest Gardener stood under it with a stick knocking petals down saying, "It's snowing!" That's as close as we've gotten to snow this winter.

Anemone Blanda has started popping up around the front garden.

One of my favorites Old Fashioned Bleeding Hearts (Dicentra spectabilis).

And the Flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum) is getting closer to blooming. I love how it looks against the bark of the Ponderosa Pine.

Tootsie at Tootsie Time hosts Fertilizer Friday each week. Visit her to see who else is "flaunting their flowers".

"It's still February."

While outside so much the last week working in the yard I've been noticing how many plants seem to be in a hurry to start blooming. It seems like almost every day I've found something new beginning to leaf out or flower buds beginning to show color. They are making it hard to believe we still have 25 days of Winter left. While walking through a nursery on a sunny day last week I had to keep reminding myself, "It's still February, no reason to buy every plant I have on my list today, pace yourself." I was eying a Hydrangea 'Annabelle' (thanks to Edith Hope mentioning it in a post and it sounding like the perfect plant for a difficult area in my yard), but it was still sticks and not one leaf on it yet. Despite my excitement in finding it, I knew it was too early to buy it, especially since I couldn't tell if it was alive or not. "It's only February" I told myself, "still plenty of time to come back and find an 'Annabelle' that has signs of life."
I know that even if our Spring is early I still need to pay attention to the last frost date, which for my area is April 9th. I also need to remember that it's generally around Mother's Day or mid May when it's warm enough to plant things such as annuals or tomato plants outside here. Our Springs are generally not that warm and quite wet.
These plants are some of why it's hard to believe that it's still February:

Pink Flowering Currant (ribes sanguineum) is pretty close to my favorite blooming shrub. In another month or so it will be covered in drooping pink flowers. The flowers don't have any scent, but hummingbirds do fight over this shrub while it's in bloom. When I bought this plant 6 or 7 years ago it was a tiny 1 foot tall stick. I couldn't imagine it ever getting very big. It's now about 8 or 9 feet tall. It did take about three years before it began to bloom heavily, so be patient if you try this one. It's worth waiting for. I have it growing right under a large Pine tree and it does great there.

Mock Orange (Philadelphus coronarius) has the most delicious smelling blooms. This one has chartreuse colored leaves and just pops out in this part of the yard. The leaves tend to change to a more green color as the summer progresses, it may be because it doesn't get as much sun as it would like.

Lilac 'Ludwig Spaeth' ( Syringa vulgaris) buds are growing quickly. This is one I'll be concerned about if we get a late freeze. I moved this from the back yard a few years ago because it wouldn't bloom. It's gotten really tall and has lots of flowers now that it gets the full sun it needs.

The top of the Lilac is a favorite hangout for the birds visiting the bird feeders in the front yard. This guy was singing his heart out.

The Weeping Cherry tree is blooming a little early now. This was the first tree we planted about a year after we moved in to our house 10 years ago.

Two years ago we planted two Pear trees in our front yard, one for each daughter. It's important to plant different varieties that will cross pollinate each other. We're hoping to get our first pears this year.

The Water Hawthorn (Aponogeton distachyos) is really beginning to bloom a lot now. They begin blooming when the water is about 50 degrees. I've told in earlier posts that I had read these blooms smell like vanilla. After I took this picture I picked this flower to give it a whiff. It does smell good, but I wouldn't compare it to vanilla. I think these flowers are so pretty, I love all the brown seeds contrasting with the white flower.

So while it does feel and look like Spring, it still is only February.