March Miracle

So you are looking at this nice, but ordinary purple crocus and wondering, "why the title 'March Miracle?' Has he gone crazy?"  I will let you judge that for yourself.

When I walked out into the labyrinth, hidden behind some boxwood where six of these purple crocus flowers, scattered around.  The miracle is that they are still there, still blooming, rather in some small critter's stomach!  The bulbs were planted some autumn more than three years ago. I had never seen them in bloom, for all of the time they have been growing there. I do have the memory of stumps of chewed off leaves.  I am surprised that they have been able to survive, much less bloom.  A miracle!

One of the few flowering plants that do seem to survive in the garden are the hellebores.  Only the deer nibble on them, forgetting that they don't like the taste.  This one is my earliest, a feast of color early in the year when all else is brown and grey. 

Hellebores Finally Opening

Looking back over the last four years I have been keeping this blog, it is clear that this has been the longest winter.  Last year I had Hellebore pictures a week earlier, and in 2013, they were almost three weeks earlier!  So now they are up and blooming after so much cold and rain. 

These first two pictures are of the same clump, my earliest bloomer, from different sides.  It grows in a place near the entrance of the labyrinth garden that disappears behind other plants in the summer, so it enjoys the opportunity to shine forth with the yellow and pink shades.

This purple beauty grows in the North garden.  I had planned on trading its location with day lilies last fall, but with all that I was doing and bad weather on the weekends, nothing got moved.  I hesitate to move them all in the spring, but that might be what is necessary.  This coming autumn I will again be busy all week, and unable to do many projects.

Finally, there is this more demure variety.  The flowers will be more dramatic as the flowers open up, but even so it brings color into a still dreary landscape. 

The crocus in the grass have finished their bloom, and there are a few crocus blooming in the labyrinth.  They are survivors of the rabbit rampage last spring.  I hope a few more show up in the weeks to come.

Hellebores in March

The Hellebores have been slower than usual this year, putting out a few flowers but waiting for things to get better before really showing their display.  These photos were taken a week ago, while the thermometer was hovering in the 30's, and this Winter's Bliss was the only color to be found.  The arrival of warm weather has hurried the flowering, so now this plant is covered with a couple dozen of flowers.  Each flower is a pale yellow that is startling when all else is still brown and gray.

I have spent much of my outside time over the last two weekends cutting down the tall grasses.  I then haul it down the sides of the hill into the different stacks of decaying organic materials that are too coarse or  massive to fit into the compost  heaps.  It is also a time to find and root out any of the invasive vines.  There are still roots of wild grape vines and honeysuckle, among other invasive vines, that grow up into the holly, spruce, crape myrtle or even up the tall grasses.  They attach to anything that is vertical.

Working on the hillside is physically tiring, since the sandy soil is constantly sliding away under my boots. It is hard to concentrate on what I need to be doing with my hands when my feet have decided to take a trip downhill.  A neighbor describes me moving like a goat.  I often use my arms as well as my legs to get round.  If I feel myself losing balance, I essentially push my torso down onto the ground, face into the soil.  There have only been a few times when I have had to tuck my knees into my chest and curl up into a somersault and roll down until I can get my feet out to stop.

So, returning to the level area around the house, I delight in the few flowers blooming.  I did see a few striped white and blue crocus yesterday, so maybe we have turned the corner into warmer weather?

Hellebores!

What can I say, but that I love Hellebores!  When everything else is sulking in the ground, waiting for warmth, they push their way up, and give their best.  The variety of colors is not wide, but the differences from one plant to the next are part of the party.

So, here are photos of five different Hellebores. For some of these plants, this is the best they have done, having been bought as small plants.  None of these have fancy names or plant patents.  But all make me smile.  So, rather than try to fill this out with words, let me just let the pictures say it all.

February views

So, here is the promised picture of the blooming Hellebore "Winter's Bliss."  It sits slightly under the large viburnum at the edge of the road, and you can see the remains of last year's long stems of the pink hibiscus in front of it.  This is a great place for a Hellebore, where it can jump out of the bare soil with leaves and flowers, but then retires back when the larger and more dramatic hibiscus upstages it. This is easily seen from the entrance of the labyrinth, and provides a pleasant welcome at a bleak time of year.  The other Hellebores are being much slower in blooming, but I will let you know when they come through.

There have been short periods of mild sunshine over the last week, allowing the occasional views like the ones below.  If you look carefully at the bottom edge of this first shot, you can see the yellow of Winter's Bliss glowing in the sun.

Here is where the seasonal change of zoysia grass into a soft tan color is really effective in my opinion.  This view just wouldn't be the same if the grass were solid green.  The more neutral soft tan color is so much more distinctive than green would be.  This is the view of people walking their dogs down the road or hiking into the county nature preserve, but don't tell the county that our neighbors regularly go in the nearby unofficial entrance. 

The last photo is just another 15 feet down the road.