Friday, March 11, 2022

Early Signs of Spring

 

There is always something going on in my garden, even in winter, but come the end of February things start to become exciting. My garden is always my place of calm and peace, but now even more so. February gave us some unseasonably warm days as well as very cold ones with frosty nights - the way it should be. Even now nights are quite chilly, but spring is definitely on its way. There are signs of it everywhere.

The camellias usually start to bloom in winter, some as early as December. This variety - unfortunately I don't know its name - has been going strong since the end of December. 

Some early tulips are here - this one is Mystic van Eijk - and the daffodils are such a beautiful bright spot in the otherwise rather bare front garden.


I love the pink flowering currant - Ribes sanguineum - so much that I actually have four of them in the front and am thinking of planting another one in the back come fall. They don't need much water, tolerate some shade and are low maintenance except for cutting them back every other year of so. Deer also don't like them and the berries are loved by the birds.



Of course there are also wildflowers in my garden, most of all our state flower, the California poppy - Eschscholzia californica -, but also those wildflowers that are called weeds. Like dandelions. I don't pull them out anymore because the bees go crazy over them in the very early spring, so I just leave them in the ground.


Calendula do best in cooler weather and don't really like the heat. They are annuals, but easily re-seed. I love them because they remind me so much of home. I was quite excited that the scabiosa never stopped blooming in the winter and am delighted by its lavender color.


Can you belive that the clematis already has buds? Every fall I cut them back hard and wonder every time whether they will come back - and they always do. They are gorgeous when they flower. All my clematis - I have three - are in pots since I never was successful growing them in the ground. Even in pots I killed many of them. 

The best for last - French lilac. No, California is NOT the best location for French lilac, but how can you NOT have at least one of them? Those of you who have have read my blog for a while might remember that I planted this lilac in memory of my dad who loved lilac and would always stop to smell the flowers.

What signs of spring do you see in your corner of the world?


9 comments:

My name is Erika. said...

You have a beautiful start to spring. Right now we still have some snow (and more coming tomorrow) as well as big puddles and muddy ground. That's the beauty of parts of California. I love seeing your flowers and having an arm chair view of a beautiful spring garden. Happy weekend Carola.

Red Rose Alley said...

Carola, your garden is coming along nicely already. I love that Camellia. I would see the same ones at the Rose Garden in my old town, and I used to call them candy cane flowers, as their stripes are pretty with the same color as the candy cane. That is an unusual color of Tulip, so lovely. And of course, I love our California Poppy. I see them all the time at the Creek during Spring. That is one of the best Dandelion photo I've seen. And one of my favorites for sure. That's nice that the Lilac reminds you of your Dad. The scent is wonderful. No flowers here yet in the mountains, and I hear we may have another snowfall on Sunday, we'll see.

~Sheri

kathyinozarks said...

Beautiful-thank your for sharing your flowers-very uplifting Happy weekend

Mae Travels said...

Your flower photos are lovely. Each blossom comes to life in being set off against a dark or contrasting background. I hope you enjoy all the flowers!

best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

Valerie-Jael said...

Fabulous photos, so glad ypring has come your way at last! Hugs, Valerie

Jeanie said...

I saw a couple of daff sprouts pop up -- definitely a spring sign. And mixed temps -- 60s one day, 20s next. But you know more 60s are coming. Love that pink flowering currant. I wonder if they can survive a Michigan winter. Every photo here is a gem!

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Lovely to see what flowering in your garden, Carola, but sadly there is nothing to report from Nashua, NH, as I have not seen a daffodil or even a crocus but then we have had either snow or ice despite a few 60-degree days. It will be many more weeks before anything comes close to the blooming beauties you have posted here.

Barb said...

I love your garden - maybe even more than I love mine since yours always seems to have something growing. There are no signs of spring at high altitude in Colorado except for the melt/freeze cycle. Today we first tried to go out on the touring skis but it was too crusty on top of the snow. It wasn't "if" we'd fall but "when". So, we changed into snowshoes and even that was difficult because the crampons kept catching on the icy top layer. Thank you for these beautiful bloom photos, Carola. I like seeing how your garden grows.

Lowcarb team member said...

Such a beautiful start to Spring, your photographs are lovely.

We've had a beautiful spring-like day and the daffodils are looking so lovely.

Have a good week ahead.

All the best Jan