15 April 2008

Blissful surprises for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day


Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen and all the ships at sea, welcome to another round of Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, created for your viewing pleasure by the always-delightful Carol of May Blooms Gardens! This particular episode of GBBD is of great satisfaction to me because, finally, I have something outside I can share with you all.


Let's get right to the entertainments for this lovely cold but sunny day, starting out with the crocus collection. Although schoolbus yellow is not my favourite shade of yellow at the rest of the year, it's like sunshine made solid at this season, when spring is still a little coy, winds have some bite in them, and most of the garden is still shuddering off its old drab winter coat.


These little darlings have wine-purple accents on their slightly different shade of yellow, and I can see them from the house with no trouble at all.


Hamamelis 'Diane', who has been working on flowering for about two months now is in comfortable and wonderful full bloom. The only drawback is that this cultivar doesn't have the fragrance of some, but I plan to add 'Arnold's Promise' and 'Jelena' to the garden very soon, as well as our native species.


A couple of the heaths, glad to be clear of their winter mulch--only put down to protect them from the cold drying winds of midwinter--are just yawning and stretching and preparing to flower in the next couple of weeks. Although all my heaths and heathers are small, I have more heathers than I do heaths. But I'm going to Bunchberry Nurseries on Saturday to give a talk, and will promptly remedy my heath-shortage at that time.


If memory serves me correctly--it very often does not--these are pink flowered chionodoxa, or glory-of-the-snow. They are in the rock-garden in a south-facing spot, and tend to come up promptly and joyously as soon as sunlight hits them regularly.


These aren't flowers, obviously, but I just love the way Sedum 'Angelina' is contrasting with the rich deep colour of the sempervivum, don't you?


A host of single-form galanthus has popped up out in the back garden. I don't remember planting them and I don't seem to have photos from other years--normally there are a few leucojum or summer snowflakes here, but not for quite a few weeks yet. Maybe they've spontaneously generated, knowing of my love for snowdrops of any size or colour?


Looking a little tattered, but still sweetly charming, the first of the Johnny Jump-ups that freerange around here have opened up to the sun. I happen to adore any viola, and these remind me of my grandmother, who loved them too.


After several days of wet weather, the paddock had dried up enough that we could put Leggo and his donkey-from-Mars out today. Leggo has been charging around the paddock snorting and bucking and acting silly a good part of the day, while that tangle of feet in the background is Jenny, down for a roll to scratch her back.


There were two things outside today I was especially happy to see. This is the first one--common as can be, but still cheering to my heart. It's coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) the first wildflower to start blooming here; its little yellow flowers come up first, followed by its big thick leaves in a couple of weeks time. Now all I need to hear is the frogs glunking--they haven't started yet, probably still thawing out, but their songs and the coltsfoot blooms tells me that it IS spring, no matter the temperature or the precipitation.


And this...can it possibly BE???? Thanks, I am sure, to Frances of Faire Garden, who advised me some weeks ago on what to do with my hellebore plant...IT'S GOING TO FLOWER! Jubilation reigns supreme. This is good gardening karma, which to my mind proves that Kylee is gonna have blue poppies, and Lisa is going to have annual poppies, (but I can't remember where she told us about her poppy challenges) and...well, whatever challenges YOU is going to behave itself this year.

Ohhhhh. I hope I haven't jinxed myself by showing these hellebore buds...

To wrap up today's post, thank you so much to whomever of you nominated Bloomingwriter for Mouse and Trowel awards. I'm very touched by your support, especially as the nominations land me in the company of some of MY favourite bloggers. There are so many marvelous blogs out there, it's hard to pick only a few, and I want to vote for everyone. (but we only get one ballot, so I've had to flip a coin in a few cases.) I'd just like to win the LOTTERY, so then I could go visit everyone--or bring everyone here for a visit in midsummer. Bouquets to all of you, and best wishes to all the nominees.

41 comments:

  1. Thanks for the tour. I envy you the Hamamelis -- I don't think I've got the right space to do one justice, and I get to share my neighbour's wonderfully fragrant one every February, but still . . .
    I'm with you on the violets -- while they do spread themselves, I have a hard time understanding why so many dislike them as weeds.

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  2. I love your schoolbus crocuses and the coltsfoot - I'm with you - I love yellow in the spring - later on a little goes a long way. Congrats on your hellebore! We'll all be waiting with bated breath for opening day!

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  3. How exciting to see blooms ... it doesn't take a lot to please Canadian gardeners in spring does it. I have my fingers crossed for your hellebore plant.

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  4. You have some wonderful colorful plants now in bloom, Jodi. I love your phrase 'sunshine made solid', that is a the glory of the yellow blooms after the winters dulls. Congrats on your nominations, very deserving on both counts. Thanks for the link on the hellebore, but be ready to cover it with the evergreens if you have a sharp cold snap, your weather is very foreign to me. We go warm, cold, warm, cold ad nauseum, for weeks. Hope your weather holds so the lovely Leggo and his sidekick can romp their legs off!

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  5. Yippee, it's finally showing signs of spring your way. Now why did you send us this cold mess? I've got my fireplace on for crying out loud. But Saturday it will be 80. Do you have cat scratch fever yet? I'm waiting you to grow fangs and spiked ears and lick yourself clean. Or do you do that already?

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  6. Spring comes at last to Nova Scotia! Headline material, indeed. Doesn't it just tickle your toes to finally see life outside?! Thanks for another enjoyable post.

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  7. How wonderful for you to finally have some blooms! Everything looks lovely, I can't wait to see photos of your Hellebore blooms when they come up. I bet them move along quickly right now.

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  8. Angelina JOLIE!!! I found this thing at Home Depot for $5, and thought it was unique, but everyone has them it seems. I thought HD was just maybe worth something. Alas. She's a pretty sedum.

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  9. Oh Jodi, all of your blooms, buds and succulents look great. Don't they just raise your spirits?? I felt like Leggo and Jenny wanting to dance around the garden and roll in the fresh green grass. Seeing your witch hazel makes me realize I need one for our garden. Hopefully I will get a batch of poppies going soon too. Ain't spring grand!

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  10. Isn't it wonderful to finally have something in bloom? I have been looking at blogs for the last month, envious of others farther south who had so many blooms already that I became impatient for the first blooms in my garden.

    I'm really interested in the heath and heather--I have no idea what the difference is. Perhaps you've already written about this and I need to look at your older posts, but if not, I'd love to hear something about them.

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  11. So wonderful to finally see gardens coming alive in Nova Scotia! Great shots of all your beautiful blooms Jodi. Good luck with your hellebore...sounds very exciting!

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  12. Yay - Jodi gets to play too this month! Only you could have snowdrops spontaneously generate in your garden. Curiously, our coltsfoot opened only yesterday, even though we're rather warmer than you.

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  13. Oh, I'm so happy for you, Jodi. Your crocuses are lovely and so colorful. And all the best on your nominations - so deserving. Loved seeing your animal friends - especially the back scratching - that's a hoot.

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  14. I have a feeling that if there were a photo of you out scouting blossoms, that you might have been as frisky as your horse! You deserve to be so delighted! You have waited long for those school bus yellow crocus!

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  15. Lovely flowers, and congrats on your Mousie nominations, Jodi.

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  16. It is great to finally have a few things to show or soon to show in the garden. I have to get some viola's to greet me next spring.

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  17. I am glad to see that spring has arrived at your garden and that Leggo and Jenny are enjoying it.

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  18. I'm so happy for you that you have blooms OUTSIDE, finally! And congratulations on the Mousie nominations.

    Carol, May Dreams Gardens

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  19. Yay spring! We finally have blooms Jodi! Aren't they wonderful? I love the bright yellows and purples of the crocuses!
    No wonder Leggo and Jenny feel like cavorting...bright spring sunshine does that to me too :)
    Lucky you to have hellebores. I suspect mine died because it doesn't look good, but I haven't given up yet.
    Happy Bloom Day!

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  20. I love the yellow crocus and I love your description of them.
    Congratulations on your Mousies, you are so very deserving!

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  21. YES I love that combination of sempervivum and "Angelina Jolie sedum," as Benjamin calls it! Wow.

    Speaking of girls, I'm still giggling at Jenny. She looks like she's having a grand old time out there. :)

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  22. The spring came at last. One of the first flowers in the spring here in my parts of the world is Tussilago farfare with the love flowers like small suns, I think they are so pretty and reminds me of my childhood.
    To a brilliant writer,Jodi congratulations!

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  23. Blissful surprises, eh? Hmmmmmm :-)

    It's a great relief to see that my fellow garden bloggers in Canada also have blooms to show in their gardens for the April GBBD. I was getting to feel kinda guilty about all my blooms, you see. So I'm glad that the joy has spread to your nick of the woods too.

    Looking forward to the festive opening of your hellebore blooms. Coming soon on a blog near me, I'm sure about that. ;-)

    Congrats on your nomination!

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  24. Spring is well and truly with you now - lovely Spring blooms
    Regards
    Karen

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  25. You are on the downside of winter for sure now and all will come fast and furious! It is amazing how quickly things change in the garden once growth begins! I have used that term 'school bus yellow' many a time and LOL at your use of it. I agree and it is one reason why Stella daylilies are not my favorite. They are 'fifty mile per hour' plants though as you can be driving that fast and still see them! Always a plus to any flower.

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  26. Congrats on the Mousie nomination, Jodi , and the arrival of beautiful spring flowers in your garden.

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  27. Although our gardens are so different in climate and temperament, I see they have one thing in common--even this time of year--the little Johnny-Jump-Ups. I so prefer them to their larger cousins the pansies.

    I have always wished I could grow Galanthus down here but must content myself with Leucojum. I bet by next month you'll be teasing us with photos of tulips and daffodils and the sleepy hellebore...flowers not to be readily found in Austin.

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  28. Yay! It's so nice to see the northern gardens waking up.

    Maybe somebody snuck into your garden and planted snowdrops for you? That never happens here, but I keep hoping.

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  29. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!

    You need to come over to my place to collect an award on Friday. Hopefully Google will behave itself and my post dated for then will pop up and all will be revealed! It's a thank you for all your support and encouragement plus recognition in particular for all your thoughtful posts.

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  30. You must be elated that spring is really on its way to you, Jodi - and as MSS notes, with a completely different group of plants than the ones that mean spring to us in TX - Johnny jump ups and sedums, yes... snowdrops and crocus, no!

    Congratulations on your nominations.

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

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  31. I'm so glad spring has finally arrived ... I know you've been waiting for a long, long time. Nice pictures from your garden! Tussilago is the first wild flower to bloom in Sweden too!
    /Katarina

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  32. I am so happy to see some spring color in your garden! I know you are ready to put away the thick blankets and "get to gardening." I can see your smile clear from Texas!
    Brenda

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  33. How wonderful to see so many flowers blooming this early in the year. We still had a light fall of snow last weekend :)

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  34. I am not only delighted that spring found you at last, Jodi, but also about your nominations for Mouse and Trowel. You most certainly deserve the honor for, after all, you are our 'Guru'!

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  35. It's just one big party at your place - even your animals are celebrating the Bloom Day flowers. Do any of your neighbors have Snowdrops? I noticed this Spring that my Snowdrops have seeded into the neighboring property by the pond, a good 25 feet away at least. Do the ants disperse the seeds? I know I didn't do that.

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  36. Love the donkey-from-Mars. Too funny. That's exactly how I behave after being cooped up for too long. Hooray for the hellebore!

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  37. Hi Jodie: I drove by a neighbour's field today just as one of his horses collapsed for a roll - so sweet and incongrous and such a look of bliss I had to laugh out loud! Lovely to watch, very unpleasant to have happen if you are on the horse's back - smile!
    Watching for anything to bloom or even spring up in my garden.
    Janet over in Hall's Harbour

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  38. I love the purple and golden-yellow together. Guess mother nature knew what she was doing.

    How did the horses get in on bloom day??

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  39. I'm still trying to catch up on all the GBBD posts...I'm so happy for you, it looks like from now on your garden will "raise from the dead" (well from the dormant...)
    I love the hamamelis, such a peculiar flower. I don't think I've ever seen one around here. I hope to see your hellebore blooms on your next GBBD post.

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  40. "Solid sunshine. . ." I just love that. All of your photos make me want to go "aah . . . ."~~Dee

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