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Tag: lenten rose

Early-March Blooms

Last week, I wrote about the blooms on Arnold’s Promis Witch Hazel. It’s looking better than last week with flowers continuing to emerge.

This week I’ve got a few more things in bloom. Nothing is knocking it out of the park but need I remind you it’s early-March with temperatures going down to the twenties, and sometimes teens, at night.

My Lenten Rose has a few small flowers. I don’t remember the cultivar so we’ll call it Helleboris sp.

You have to look through the foliage to see the flowers. I had to kneel down to get this picture. There’s one flower in the middle with two other stalks flanking it.

I have a couple of clumps in the shade that aren’t as far along. They’re significantly larger clumps and put on quite the show every year. Every bit of purple you see is going to be a flower stalk. Green are the leaves emerging.

My Japanese cornel dogwood, Cornus Officinalis, is going to be in full bloom in a week or two. Even though the flowers aren’t fully open the tree has as much, if not more, color than my Witch Hazel.

The last flower in bloom is Crocus. About 8 years ago Crocus clumps started showing up in my side yard. Every year I find a few more. You have to be within a few feet to find the clumps but they give me something to look at as I wander the yard on warm days.

As I write I’m reminded of one more early blooming plant I’d like to add to the garden. Snowdrops, or Galanthus nivalis, have small drooping white flowers this time of the year. They only grow a few inches tall and form spreading colonies in humusy soils.

What are your favorite late-Winter blooming plants? Do you have anything in bloom?

March 6, 2020
Early Spring Blooming Plants – Part 1

I visited the Bartlett Arboretum in mid-April and had a ball looking at early spring blooming plants. Below are some pictures from my visit.

Cornell Pink Rhododendron (Rhododendron mucronulatum ‘Cornell Pink’)

Cornell Pink Rhododendron was in full bloom. Cornell Pink is a deciduous rhododendron and blooms before foliage emerges.

A close up of Cornell Pink Rhododendron flowers.

Winter Hazel (Corylopsis pauciflora)

Winter Hazel in full bloom. I’ve never planted it but I like the compact habit and bright yellow blooms in early-spring.

Winter Hazel flowers aren’t big but there’s enough of them to catch your eye.

Lenten Rose Sp. (Helleborus sp.)

The Lenten Rose was in full bloom. You can see last years foliage under the flowers. If you have Lenten Rose you can prune the foliage back in early winter once it goes dormant or early spring. There’s no harm if you don’t cut back last years foliage before bloom.

Star Magnololia (Magnolia Stellata)

Gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous.

Because they flower so early Star Magnolia blooms are often damaged by frost. These blooms are as good as it gets for Star Magnolia.

More pictures from my visit coming soon.

May 8, 2017
Spring Begins in Fall

This morning as I waited for the school bus I noticed my daffodils emerging. It’s been a mild fall and they’re just poking through the soil.

New growth on Sedum called buttons.

Plants set bud in the fall so they’re ready to go when the warm weather arrives.

The old foliage on my Iris died back leaving miniature Iris plants. The new growth won’t look this good in the spring after repeated freeze thaw cycles.

Flower buds on my Lenten Rose (Helleboris sp.) are ready to go. Lenten Rose blooms in April often while snow is still on the ground.

Don’t think your plants are the only thing growing in the garden. There’s a class of weeds called winter annuals that germinate in the fall. Now is a great time to pull them.

Chickweed is one of the most ubiquitous winter annuals. Chickweed is remarkably easy to control if you get it while young.

If the weather stays mild take advantage and do some weeding. It’ll make a huge difference in the spring.

December 2, 2015