Despite the additional snow that we had during the past week, signs of spring continue to emerge. The peach tree we planted last year at Mother's Day is loaded with buds! The tulip leaves are a bit taller than they were a week ago.
On a whim, I followed a trail and a make-shift footbridge across the creek. On the back hill is an old garden bed that I've nearly forgotten about. I planted bulbs there before our house was finished being built, because I knew that the hill behind the creek would not be disturbed by construction. In the years since, I have moved some crocus and daffodils from that little bed into the butterfly garden, and many of the flowers planted there have disappeared. Today, to my delight, I found our first blooms for this year... two little purple crocus.
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photos by Aisling, March 22, 2009
15 comments:
I dunno. There something awfully wonderful and perfect about Crocus specifically. They're so simple. Love'em. Buds, buds, buds! We have a few weeks yet, but we're getting there up here in the North. Lovely stroll!!
Charming. Love your walkway. Don't you love finding hidden treasures in old garden plots. Perfect secret gardens are everywhere. I love driving along and seeing where old homes sat by the daffodils now filling the yard.
Small Pines, I agree with you about crocus. In part, it is their simplicity of form... and then too is their sudden appearance as winter ends! Love them. I need to get by and catch up on your progress!
Cloudhands,
Thanks. I love my walkway too. It is a very favorite place for me.
Yes, old gardens, secret gardens, wild and windswept gardens, overgrown gardens... they're all good. *grin*
I just love the purple and orange of the last photo. Perhaps I'll have to plant crocus for next year.
Abbie,
I couldn't do without crocus. They are often (not always) the first thing to bloom here, and I am so starved for that color by then.
Thanks for visiting!
Exquisite. Love every photo...a fantastic stroll. I could see springtime and feel the crisp air!
Margaret, Thank you very much! I was thrilled to find something blooming. I'm glad to be able to share it with other gardeners and nature lovers here. :)
Aisling,
Looks like your snow is definitely disappearing there---finally!
Love those precious purple crocuses!
Happy Spring!
Ruth
Ruth, There is still quite a bit of snow in the shady places... but for the most part it has melted away. As you say... finally! We had more this past week and week ahead may hold a "mixed bag" of snow and rain. I'm hoping for rain. My daffodils seem to thrive with rain, if I remember correctly from previous years. A couple of good rainfalls and they shoot up and bloom in a hurry.
Thanks for visiting!
Look at all that beautiful spring growth! Just makes me sigh... Lovely.
Kathie, Yeah, you're probably a litle behind me out there I guess. It'll be spring soon there! Thanks for the nice comment.
I think I like surprises like your purple crocuses most of all! It's funny - I think of you and I having much the same climate, but I think you are actually warmer earlier than here. I don't have any spring flowers other than daffodils which come the first part of May, so I can't be sure. I have some daylilies up about two inches. How about you? I see a lot of open view around you. Are you exposed to high winds? Can people see you from afar? Even with your kind tour you gave me, I still have a hard time picturing your layout. PS - how do you pronounce "Aisling?" I always thought it was a long A sound - like Asling, but I recently saw it somewhere and it was pronounced with a short A. And is the accent on the first syllable?
Nan,
We are high up on a windy hill, open to the elements on the south, west, and somewhat on the north. The hill to the east and the woods behind us shelter us from that side, but most of the weather comes from the west off the big lake. I believe you and I have very similar climates, but there is a moderating effect from the lake. A drive inland about 30 minutes finds a much colder, snowier region.
On the other hand, my daylily leaves are barely peeking up through the soil... so it could be that it seems warmer where I am because I have some very early blooming flowers here, such as the crocus. Even my daffodil leaves are just about 1/2 to 1 inch tall. The tulips I've shown on this post are right in front of the house and they seem to be in a warm microclimate. The tulips in the butterfly garden (lower in elevation and east of the house) are just beginning to emerge.
There is a very gaelic way to pronounce Aisling, which is sort of hard to explain. The s has more of an "sh" sound and the "ai" is like the "a" in "ash" but with more of a gaelic lilt. lol. I don't have to say it outloud very often but generally think of it with the gaelic sound to it, since I chose my blogging name from an Irish poetry form.
I love it when our gardens surprise us . . . while I'm only maintaining 4 small beds around my townhouse, I was happily surprised to see an unknow (to me) perennial popping up in one of my corner lots.
Great photos too!
Green Mamma, Won't it be fun to find out what that unexpected perennial is? My gardens have grown so much in the almost 13 years that we have lived on this property. Sometimes I just forget what I've planted where... other times somethings comes up that I know I haven't planted. I always suspect that my fellow gardeners ... the wind, the bids and perhaps a few chipmunks... plant a few things to surprise me each year.
Thank you for coming back to see my stroll! :)
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