See Previous | See Next The very red tulips are here, poking up out of the leaf mulch and opening wide in the sun. I look forward to them, and they are always startling. Also, some of my other scattered hellebores are starting to bloom as well. Looking back 1-2 weeks and 1-2 years shows just how very consistent my very-early red tulips like to be, marching in a straight, red line down the years. The crocuses dance around near…
See Previous | See Next Well, this week the snow melted, the crocuses and hellebores emerged from beneath it to bloom gleefully, and then it snowed again. Looking back 1-2 weeks and 1-2 years confirms that it is definitely pretty crocuses season! (And crazy red, front-garden tulips season soon to come!) Looking back 2-4 weeks and 2-4 years shows off a bit of haunting, snowy March symmetry, but also promises that the snow will be giving way to lots of…
See Previous | See Next And now is the season for knocking snow off of tree branches with a stick lest they get so bowed down they break – or at least it was, for a day or two there. Snow now starting to melt, but there’s a lot of it. Looking back 1-2 weeks and 1-2 years shows almost no concurrence with snow, but rather with hens-and-chicks, and hellebores, and crocuses. Before it snowed, I did spot one crocus…
See Previous | See Next Well, ‘tis the season to go hunting around in the leaf mulch, uncovering the poor tulip shoots all valiantly trying to force their way up to somewhere there’s light! Sometimes one or two other green things gets discovered too, but mostly it’s tulips, erecting dead-leaf tents as their way of shouting, “I’m here! I’m here!” Looking back 1-2 weeks and 1-2 years is a reminder that this time of year can be variable about just…
See Previous | See Next It’s been warm, feeling like spring. The snow finished melting off my white lentin roses (hellebores), and apparently they were even more ready to bloom than the fancy red one up front that’s still working on its buds. All of the sudden, pretty spring flowers! Looking back 1-2 weeks and 1-2 years doesn’t corroborate the lentin-rose phenomenon, but does agree that hens-and-chicks and maybe some other little things do start peeking out around now. Looking…
See Previous | See Next The snow is steadily melting down in my garden, and like some sort of sneaky alien, the buds from my beautiful, red hellebore are now starting to emerge! Looking back 1-2 weeks and 1-2 years suggests one or two other things may be emerging soon – along with critters, apparently? or maybe they’ll just be getting cuter shortly. Looking back 2-4 weeks and 2-4 years shows other examples of struggling out from under the snow…
See Previous | See Next With one more round of snow and melting, my back garden is sunny and thawing, while my front garden is pretty well buried. Looking back 1-2 weeks and 1-2 years confirms that this is a pretty standard dual state and that this season is supposed to be a nice mish mash. Looking back 2-4 weeks and 2-4 years seems to be forecasting both new garden growth and more snow both at the same time. Definitely…
See Previous | See Next The snow from last week melted a bit. And then we got another round of snow. And then it started to warm up and get a bit soggy again. For a minute or two it felt like Winter is Here! but then we moved briskly on to This Is What The Snowy Garden Feels Like When Spring Is Almost Here! Looking back 1-2 weeks and 1-2 years does confirm that this is the correct time…
See Previous | See Next The snow has re-arrived! Very muchly. Heavy and wet and very white, and enough of it to bow down the bushes and the tree branches, and to mean that the warmer temperatures immediately following the snow aren’t going to melt all of it at all soon. Looking back 1-2 weeks and 1-2 years seems to be in the firm agreement camp that this snow is how things should be, and the sunny greenery of last…
See Previous | See Next Sorry for the late posting! My only excuse is that I was traveling this weekend and that apparently turned my brain to mush. Things are mostly warming up again around here, most of the snow melted again or persisting in huddled clumps here and there. My garden isn’t fooled into thinking its spring quite yet, but the (tough and kind of sharp!) hellebores leaves are evergreen. The dianthus really aren’t, but so far they’ve gotten…