Spring Spring Spring Spring

This week spring arrived literally and figuratively - it is easily 20 degrees warmer this week than it has been these past several weeks of snow and ice. Hooray! That makes me want to go outside and take plant pictures. Therefore, I give you the first days of spring at Chickadee Gardens, 2019.

Thymus 'Silver Posie', a sweet little plant, backed by an Erica (unknown) with similar coloration.

My Drimys winteri has put on much new growth in the last year. It's been in the ground for about a year and a half. It can reach heights of 25 feet, up to 50 in its native Chile and Argentina.

My mom gave me some old crocus bulbs that she couldn't plant. I stuck them in the ground last year and completely forgot about them. I'm pleased they were able to climb through the several inches of wood chips to reach the sun.

Salix gracilistyla 'Melanostachys' or black pussy willow with its distinctively black catkins.

Spirea thunbergii 'Ogon' starting to bloom.

Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Goshiki', one of my favorite evergreen shrubs for part shade. Slow-growing, but worth it.

Sweet little Veronica 'Georgia Blue' is finally blooming. An evergreen ground-cover for my region, this is a great edging plant in part shade. Plus, that color!

Plants are fascinating. There is a group of pure white hellebores in the gardens at Joy Creek Nursery where I work. Directly below them were hundreds of seedlings, so naturally I assumed they too would be white. Was I wrong. This is the first year they bloomed after being in the ground since 2016.

Erica arborea 'Estrealla Gold' or golden tree heather is still small, but I have high hopes for this. 

Ribes sanguineum, our native flowering currant coming into bloom. I have several of these throughout the property. Hummingbirds love them, by the way.

Hebe 'Karo Golden Esk' with chartreuse echoes of Euphorbia rigida behind it.

One of many cistus without an i.d. These evergreen shrubs are perfect for full sun, good drainage and do not require amended rich soil. They flower like crazy in summer so bees visit them often.

Ipheon uniflorum, a sweet little bulb I picked up at work. One of the earliest to bloom, I love its star-shaped flowers.

The edge of the gravel garden.

One of the benches we inherited with the house. It was a cheerful blue, but now it's a sexy black. I kept thinking of the Stones' song 'Paint It Black' while painting it. Blue was nice, but . . . this goes with the house better.

Arctostaphylos 'John Dourley' in the labyrinth garden.

Emerging foliage of Stylophorum diphyllum or celandine poppy. Its bright yellow flowers are a cheerful site in a woodland setting. Native to the eastern U.S., it blooms in summer. New to my garden, I'm looking forward to seeing it spread a little in time.

These little green guys are seedlings of Limnanthes douglasii or Douglas' meadowfoam, a native wildflower that looks a little like a fried egg. Very cute.

Hebe, I think, is 'Red Edge' glowing in filtered light.

Saxifraga x macnabiana at the edge of the woodland garden.

View of the garden from the shade garden. Not much happening in the hosta and podophylllum department, but soon . . . very soon.

Ceanothus gloriosus 'Point Reyes' foreground right. Festuca 'Beyond Blue' on the left. These are the Himalayan mounds where plants have grown amazingly fast.

The kitties are feeling springtime, too. Here Hobbes explores a grassy corner of the property where voles live.

Annie, his ever-faithful companion, has to know what her brother is up to. She follows him around the gardens, having to know exactly where he is. He has effectively taught her about being outside and what the rules are. She's a little whipper-snapper to big brother Hobbes' old man ways. Now to find Hobbes.  

She spots him. She races to catch up.

Wait for me, big brother!

Here I am! Annie sure loves her big brother while Hobbes, we are happy to say, loves her right back.

Regarding the garden right now: Because I don't have a lot of bulbs (I can't handle the dying foliage), there isn't a lot of color this early. It's coming, however, and soon. It's the time of year that you can almost hear the plants growing. For now, the little bits that the garden has to offer are salve to my parched soul. There are lots of evergreens that have their own soothing kind of beauty, and I am a big lover of foliage. They have carried me through winter, and now it's the flowering trees and perennials that will have their turn.

Regarding the kitties and other critters: Everyone is happier now that the sun has come out and the air is 20 degrees warmer. The chickens and other birds are happier and so are we. None happier than the kitties, I'd venture to bet.

That's a wrap for this week at Chickadee Gardens. As always, thank you so much for reading and commenting! Happy gardening and yes, we can all say it now, Happy Spring!!