Late Winter is Looking Like Spring
Sunday, February 2, 2020 at 8:50PM I have been publishing this blog for over ten years, and sometimes I think I am running out of things to say. I wonder if people are tired of seeing pictures of the same scenes, after all these years.
Here is the February 2020 edition of my woodland garden moss path. It is lush after all the winter rain we have had. Last year I added the blue bottle tree.Then I wander out into the garden and feel the pulse of the turning seasons. Every year I am thrilled at subtle changes, with the same familiar plants doing well or new ones settling in. I never grow tired of my garden. I always find some little surprise, like these fern shadows on my moss path:
Or this cluster of trident maple seed pods; I think they are fascinating!
So here we are with a new year, and late winter is looking like spring, just as it does every year about this time. Occasionally we may have a few inches of snow dumped on all my late winter bloomers, just to keep things a little exciting. No snow yet this winter, but it could still happen. Probably not. Here in the Deep South it really is feeling like spring.
So here are some familiar plants, my reliable late winter bloomers. They make me happy. I hope you enjoy seeing them, too!
Hellebores, also called lenten roses, will bloom for months. They eventually fade to white, then green. I have an assortment. Over the years, many have intermingled and produced assorted offspring:
Daffodils began to bloom this past week:
Variegated winter daphne (Daphne odora 'Marginata') has been blooming a while. The waxy blooms are fragrant. Good drainage is critical for this plant, and I grow mine in a large pot:
Flowering quince (Chaenomeles) is another reliable, long-blooming plant. These flowers are from the original shrubs that were here when we moved to this property in 1985:
Here are a few more images from my late winter garden. First is Deodar cedar 'Feelin' Blue.' It was a few inches tall when I planted it more than a decade ago. It has always been one of my favorites:
This is another woodland garden view I have featured before. I like how the tree shadow points to the gazing ball:
And finally, I am particularly pleased with a resurrection fern growing in the crack of a large boulder:
May all of you find joy in a garden! Deb
Reader Comments (12)
Your garden is always a joy to tour, if only virtually, Deb. That blue cedar is spectacular and I'm envious of your wide variety of hellebores. My garden is hurrying toward spring as well. We had temperatures in the 70s, climbing nearly to 80F, over the past week, although we experienced a rapid shift downward into the low 50s this afternoon. I'm still hoping for more rain but at present that's far from certain.
Hier in Nederland is ook al veel in bloei.
Als het zo doorgaat hebben we geen winters meer.
Mooi de Narcissen, bij ons staan ze in knop.
Gr Jan(Wilde een Tuin)
I never tire of seeing your garden, and I'm so happy you continue to share year after year.
It is indeed feeling like Spring here in Georgia, with the predicted high today 71! We seem a little behind you, though, as our daffodils are just budding up good, none having opened yet. This is a lovely time to work in the gardens - enjoy! xo
I think we both started posting at about the same time, it has been lovely seeing your garden through the years with all the improvements that you have made. You have a wonderful selection of hellebores, I have just added another 3 to mine! More daffodils are opening each day now, but it is still too early to say that spring has arrived!
I so much enjoyed the Japanese flowering quince I inherited in our Porterville garden. The lady we bought from and I could both revel in the flowers in our birthday month! Happy memories.
I always love the way you "feel" your garden, it's fragrances, it's shadows, etc. I have been admiring your Deodar cedar "Feeln Blue" for many years. Makes me feel "Really Happy" !
It's even feeling like spring here in the not-so-frozen north, where late January and early February have felt more like March. Like you, I never get tired of the miracle of new spring growth, no matter how often I have experienced it.
Oh, I never grow tired of your coverage of your garden, or any garden for that matter. As you say, the changes make it new every time we observe. Enjoy the late winter/early spring beauty!
Such lovely daffs and Hellebores. Can't wait for them to bloom up here. I know what you mean about being concerned that you'll run out of things to say. This is why I am always buying new plants!
Good Lord, you have nice looking daffodil clumps.
Ours are petering out after half a dozen years.
But the only plant that really makes me jealous is your single-flowered Chaenomeles. Nowadays, it seems like it's impossible to find a nice single-flowered one. They all seem to be the double-flowered ones that I assume are not as good for the bees and probably won't make fruit. I hope to eventually find some nice single-flowered ones and get bees and fruit and beautiful flowers to boot!
I’ve thought the same, do people get tired of my same views? Well I never do, and I mostly keep my blog for my own records. So keep at it Deb, I’m still around too!
I am not tired of your posts and photos at all -- I just stumbled on your blog looking for information on dwarf Alberta spruces because I am thinking about getting a small one as a last minute Christmas tree, and now I'm reading more. Your writing is as beautiful as your garden, which I would literally pay to see in person. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and for making the world a more beautiful place. It's been a difficult year and I feel out of emergency, but you are inspiring me to try with my small lot in the suburbs, clay soil and all.