15 March 2010

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: Surprises indoors and out

Well, I don't know about you, but I'm quite pleased about this. Here I was thinking that all I'd have to offer in the way of blooms for this month's version of Garden Bloggers Bloom Day (created and still hosted by the delightful Carol of May Dreams Gardens!) would be the forsythia that I clipped last weekend, and which has obligingly popped into bloom. After all, we're still in the dreaded Farch, right?

Well, yes we ARE, but the weather seems to have gone into detente. As you saw in the previous post, we still have quite a bit of snow in some parts of the property, but otherwise, winter seems to be in retreat this week. I managed to get outside on Saturday and get quite a bit done in the places where there was no snow, before my joints screamed "Eeee-frakkin-nough!" and I had to go inside and recuperate.

This lower bed is one of my favourite parts of our garden. Not only is it a memory garden to beloved people lost to diseases, it's a pollinator garden from early spring until the last killing frost.

It's also home to the earliest bloomers in the garden. Hamamelis Diane is just stretching out her flower petals hesitantly at the moment, unconvinced that this time it's safe to do so. Under her strong, graceful limbs, Hellebore 'Ivory Prince' whispered this afternoon that it was probably safe to remove the evergreen mulch, at least for a couple of days.

This hellebore is doing very, very well thanks to the tutelage of several gardeners: Frances gave me wise tips a couple of years ago on how to cope with late winter/early spring when it comes to protecting hellebores from erratic weather. And Mr. McGregor's Daughter, (Barbara) did an excellent post on cleaning up your hellebores just the other day. I haven't taken the secateurs to mine yet, mostly because...I can't find my secateurs. Ooops. I hope they aren't in the bottom of the compost heap. I hate it when that happens.

Now, I know, I got a little excited on Friday night/Saturday morning, and told y'all about the first of the snowdrop flotilla putting in an appearance. Haven't started to count them yet, because there's still snow in part of that garden, and the other bed still has evergreen boughs over it because of my precious echinaceas and some new stuff I'm trialing. So we don't want to tickle the weather deities' feet too much. Or else I'll wake up to three feet of snow on top of everything again. And then I'll swear like a sailor. Trust me. I can do it.

But I will give you a sneak peek of what these double galanthus will look like in just a few days, if this weather continues. They are so small, yet so fragrant and so happy-making.

A further programming note; because I'm still really buried in work, I'm going to let the current 'Spotlight Saturday' blog stay as is for the rest of this week. There aren't enough hours in the day, and work takes precedence. But that's fine with me. I have snowdrops. And hellebores. And daylight savings time. It's all good, friends. It's all good.

32 comments:

  1. Glad you have more than just your forsythia this time of year, Jodi...Diane is looking lovely, as is the 'Prince'. Snowdrops are going to look fabulous in just a few days! I noticed a comment you made at Carol's re: Fiskars...You DO know, don't you, that Fiskar's WILL ship to Canada? I thought I'd mentioned that already...they WILL send you that rain barrel if you win, so you should enter the contest!!! Jan

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  2. aloha jodi,

    you have some beautiful blooms coming from your garden today ...thanks for sharing, i love how the pictures turned out...beautiful :)

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  3. Dear Jodi, It must be so exciting for you to see the gradual retreat of the snow and then to discover that all of your treasures are safe and sound. Well, hopefully so.

    I know exactly what you mean about the aches and pains when one first ventures out to work seriously in the garden after the break of winter. And as for losing secateurs in the compost heap - I am glad to know that I am not the only one!

    I hope that your week goes well for you.

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  4. Jodi girl do NOT over do it !
    We know how easy it is to fall backwards .. some times literally when we try to do too much !
    I am still paying for the clean up garden buzz I went through .. but it was worth it ! : )
    I can't wait to see if my hellebore (the new ones .. especially the Golden Lotus) will flower this year .. Orientalis has buds but it is tough as boots ..
    It is wonderful to see so many signs of Spring isn't it ?
    Rest up girl !
    Joy

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  5. I'm glad I'm not the only one who drops my garden tool sin the compost Jodi! Thanks for more lovely photos of your garden emerging, I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed that the plants are allowed to get on with it without more snow!

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  6. It is thrilling beyond all get out to see so much happening in your garden right now, dear Jodi. Your hellebores are looking so good, next will there will be so many more to show, I promise. Thanks for the linkage my dear. Having all those snowdrops is also a treat. Our little patch of three is going to be divided as soon as the flowers wilt. A very happy bloom day to you, and so nice to see earth instead of snow. Hope that didn't make the Farch gods angry! :-)
    Frances

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  7. You bet it is good. March seems to be the start of gardening around here too. It is exciting to see the buds begin.

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  8. You, swear like a sailor, Jodi ? Can't imagine it :-)

    Great post for GBBD. Love those double snowdrops.

    Keeping my fingers crossed on the weather as well. We're due for a major warm-up in Chicago this week which will make the bulbs appear from their long winter's rest.

    Just hope we don't get a slam-dunk in April.

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  9. My forced forsythias are about to bloom too, jodi. Considering it Farch, you have many happy blooms.

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  10. Jodi, your forsythia stopped me in my tracks...one of my mother's favorite blooms. I grew up with it in all forms...live planted, cut branches, dried branches, fake silk renditions, etc. It's cheerful and one of the first signs of spring! Lovely!

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  11. How wonderful to see your garden coming to life. You obviously took great care in protecting it over the winter.

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  12. How crazy Jodi that in Canada you have things in bloom and in Italy I don't. It's been a mad winter here ...

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  13. Jodi - is it all right if LNS lifts some of the Dick Steele words from your page? Pam is going to send out a small piece to the membership

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  14. I ran afoul of the weather deities last week when I composed a post on the "Five ways to know it's spring in Alaska." Set it to publish automatically a week later. Poof: we had a blizzard that dumped several feet. I'm lying low now (and saving the post for another day....). No time to swear like a sailor, too busy shovelling the driveway!

    Christine in Alaska

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  15. Honey, I'm so with you on the achy joint stuff - ick! Isn't it great that you can get out for a little stroll and work in your gardens? Love your pics and am looking forward to seeing your garden this year! (....beGONE dreaded Farch!)

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  16. I will speak softly in parentheses in order not to anger the capricious weather deities, on your end of the continent or ours. (What darling little snowdrops, and I'm so happy for you, seeing the first signs of color on your hellebore and witch hazel. We're moments from the blossom pop on the forsythia -- outdoors.)

    I do hope you can locate those secateurs. I lost my favorite ones and *never* found them again last summer. It seems impossible they could just disappear completely... :(

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  17. How wonderful, your garden seems to be waking from a long winter's sleep. I keep threatening to spray-paint all of my garden tools bright orange. I'm constantly setting down hand trowels, and pruners, and spending too much time zipping around throwing my hands up in the air when they disappear :P I hope your lost secateurs reveal themselves soon!

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  18. Thanks for the kind words & the shout out. I'm so glad the weather is finally cooperating for you. Don't you find yourself wishing for a giant blowdryer to get rid of those pesky snow piles? Happy Spring!

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  19. let the counting begin! I am ready to know what the count is this year! Those of us with snowdrop envy love this event!
    The forsythia looks lovely all golden and springy. Last march it was blooming in my garden...not this year! Happy GBBD xogail

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  20. Jodi, wonderful GBBD showing for you. Those hellebores are oing tobe beautiful and of course I love the double snowdrops. I am thrilled to see your snow receeding this early(as I know you are). Frach will soon be gone for all of us.

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  21. It is all good. Thanks for sharing - I can't wait till you can see your snowdrops in all their glory. Best of luck surviving the rest of Farch (hilarious!)

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  22. Love your bloom day post especially because as I read it the catchildren were making faces at me the whole time! Ha!

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  23. P.S. I love your new header!

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  24. Jodi, I love how you can hear your Hellebores whispering and I love the color of your 'Ivory Prince'. It is true we have to be careful not to overdo it this time of year! Hope you are not aching too much in muscles and joints. Hopefully there will NOT be anywhere near the amounts of snow you mention... that would be a very bad joke on the deities part! Good luck with the progress of your book. ;>) Carol

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  25. Snow drops! Have you ever seen a time lapse video of them? The petals look like a butterfly as they open and close.
    Oh and I feel like a moron. Was going to email you but can't find your email address.

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  26. I love that you have stuff blooming in the cold. I'm being too paranoid about the chilly weather. methinks it's time for my plants to toughen up a bit!

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  27. Jodi,
    Those joints do have a way of talking to us, don't they? It's B#$@! getting older! LOL-- Randy

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  28. Hi Jodi~~ You're right. It's all good. I'm glad to see the receding snow mounds and the burgeoning Snowdrop mounds. Tell me though, are those Christmas wreaths bedecking your house's walls? LOL

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  29. Happy for your snowdrops and Hellebores! We have had El Nino weather this winter and the warm temps have been so welcome, but we are very short on snow pack in the mountains, which may make for a long dry summer.

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  30. I always forget that your clocks go forward before ours - we have to wait until the end of the month although the days are definitely lengthening. Lovely to see signs of spring emerging in your garden Jodi and you have beaten us to it with the forsythia :)

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  31. You take fantastic pictures! I can't wait till spring fully kicks in and my flowers start blooming too :)

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