I can't really say that Garden Bloggers Bloom Day arrived without warning. It was hard not to be aware that yesterday was February 14, and the 15th always follows the 14th. I have been distracted from flower watching in my own garden though, by seedling-watching and up-potting, and by seed-sprouting-watching. It certainly seems as if flowers are blooming all over suddenly. Until a few days ago I thought maybe spring would come early, and winter was over, but then this week has seen some cold temperatures (in the mid-20s at night), and there is worse to come, at least for me up here on the ridge, 600 feet above sea level, south of Seattle and east of Tacoma. They're predicting snow for the weekend and a night-time low of 18. I do not like it, Sam I am.
Here's what I found just now when I went out with my camera to take photos -- lots of flowers low to the ground. I got my day's exercise workout, doing all that squatting. It's a good thing no one was following me with a tape recorder. All that grunting as I struggled to rise was very unbecoming. Hey, tennis players grunt, so I'm in good company!
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| It's hard to see in this photo, but the snowdrops that I planted a couple of years ago in this dark corner have really brightened it up |
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| Pardon my fat fingers |
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| Crocuses are up, if not completely open on a gray day |
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| Cyclamen coum is flowering profusely in a few patches |
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| I really should spread it around |
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| Winter jasmine/Jasminum nudiflorum |
There are a few things flowering in pots in the pot ghetto.
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| Double red Primrose, dug up and divided last fall, has been sitting in four-inch pots since then |
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| The same with this double peach Primrose |
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| I just bought some already flowering Fritillaria, the ones in the ground in my garden haven't shown up yet |
Shrubs:
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| Sweetbox has been filling the garden with its scent for a few weeks now, even Nigel remarked on it |
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| Witch hazel is starting to open its flowers too |
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| Indian plum/Oemleria cerasiformis |
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| Mahonia x media 'Charity' is nearly finished |
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| Yellow Corydalis self-sows everywhere, but I don't mind |
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| Euphorbia rigida |
And there is quite a parade of Hellebores. I no longer have any clue about their names.
There were flowers in the greenhouse, but when I went in to take photos, the lens on the camera steamed up. It made for an atmospheric picture.
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| I got these red tulips from the Toyota booth at the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival/Show/Orgy |
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| Alstroemeria something sunset/sunrise/something to do with the sun |
At this time of the year the fancy-leaf Begonias that winter over in the greenhouse start to flower, rather non-descript flowers, but since I pretty much ignore the plants except to give them a drink occasionally, they always pop up unexpectedly.
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| A long flower stem has reached up from the shelf below to appear amongst the succulents |
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| Where does that tall stem go? |
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| It was hiding behind a package of disposable nitrile gloves |
I think that's everything -- quite a lot, I think, for February. Carol at May Dreams Gardens hosts Gard Bloggers Bloom Day on the fifteenth of every month, and bloggers around the world participate. You should check it out
here.
