March Can Be Pretty

 Coming off a very mild winter we are quite happy with the garden. I am holding my breath, though, as it is technically still winter. March is fickle and usually frustrates me, but time will tell for 2025. I'll let you know in a few weeks. As I mentioned in a recent post, my eight-year-old brain considers March as full-swing spring. However, from a garden's point of view it's anything but. There are dormant things everywhere and what is evergreen wants sun and warmth to shed the funk in which they currently reside. Oh, the gardener's woes. Very trivial in the scheme of things. I suppose I'm excited to get on with it, to totally immerse myself in my happy place, to grow some food and be with the birds. We have been able to do a lot of that this winter so far, but some color and life wouldn't go amiss.

So what's looking good right now? The arctos or manzanitas are. This is Arctostaphylos 'Austin Griffiths', a favorite. A bonus beyond its beauty is the fact that it supports so many bumble bees right now who have recently emerged from hibernation. This plant in particular has been very popular and I swear it feels like a swarm of bees when I walk by, there are so many.

The berm garden is perky with pink colors of Erica 'Rosalie' and a second unknown variety in the foreground. Since there are many evergreen plants in this part of the garden it doesn't look drastically different from other times of the year but the pink flowers do look fresh.

The last days of the Phlomis russelliana pom poms. I trimmed them off shortly after this was taken, though I could have left them longer. There's just so much to do this time of the year that I take it a little at a time.

Much of the shade garden looks rather good. I've been told by several gardeners whom I admire to cut back just about all my ferns this time of the year to allow the new fronds center stage. While I don't consider myself a lazy gardener, I just can't bring myself to do it. Partly because it would probably take an entire day to do all of them, and also because I never do and they generally look healthy and happy. Pictured is Lonicera 'Briloni', Mahonia x savalliana and Fatsia 'Spider's Web', all good evergreen shade plants.

Asplenium scolopendrium, hart's tongue fern is another that I don't tend to prune, though maybe I should. I think they look pretty good right now.

Daphne odora 'Aureomarginata' buds are opening to lovely flowers.

Daphne x 'DapJur01' - more commonly known as the trademark name Perfume Princess has strongly sweet fragrance and large foliage. It's been a great daphne so far, not skipping a beat as far as hardiness is concerned.

The mossy path and shade pavilion in winter. I've noticed that plants around the pavilion, since the solid wood pile is gone, now receive more light and are happier.

Miscanthus sinensis 'Cabaret' (large grasses against the house) are still relatively intact, indicative of a calm winter. Usually by now they are blown all over the garden but this year they still have a presence. They will be cut to the ground in a couple of weeks. Other large grasses will get the same treatment, but many are evergreen such as the Stipa gigantea in the center and will only take a gentle groom.

Seeing the willow in the photo above (in front of the Miscanthus 'Cabaret') reminded me that a few weeks ago (when we had our only snow of the season so far) I took a few photos of birds hanging out in said tree. They do this year-round, not only in snowy weather, it's just I happened to be inside looking out with my camera and caught some sparrows and a towhee. Birds LOVE this tree. I have my theories as to why, but I'd love to hear yours if you have any.

More grasses, these are Muhlenbergia rigens, deer grass. While technically evergreen, they will get cleaned up a little in a few weeks.

Edgeworthia chrysantha gets a little bigger and a little better every year. 

Oemleria cerasiformis, oso berry, is a native deciduous shrub that is super early to bloom. Here the white dangling flowers are just beginning to open up.

Meanwhile in the greenhouse, onion and leek seeds have germinated and are growing nicely. I just sowed broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage seeds and I was really surprised that they germinated in only about four days. Let there be veg!

I like the bark of hazelnut trees this time of the year, they remind me of birch bark.

Finally Clematis cirrhosa 'Wisley Cream' looks good enough to photograph. It's had a rough couple of years but is bouncing back largely due to our nice mild winter (so far).

Juniperus conferta 'Blue Pacific', one of a few I have, is spilling down the edge of the berm garden retaining wall. It took a while but it's finally doing what I envisioned. Outside of being slow-growing for me, it's incredibly easy and adapted to weather extremes.

The trilliums are coming up!

Another reason to grow Erica or heath - early food for bumble bees. This is Erica 'Rosalie', a low-growing form with pretty pink flowers.

The hydrangea patch has yet to be cleaned up. Because I enjoy the faded flowers as they catch the winter light, it's a task I leave until the last minute.

Iris unguicularis has been in bloom, I'm not kidding, for at least three weeks.

A dark-stemmed hellebore, one of many seedlings I dug up from the garden at Joy Creek Nursery years ago.

And a lighter colored plant. I honestly prefer the dark ones but this is cheerful.

Helleborus argutifolius 'Janet Starnes' has lovely mottled white and green foliage with toothed margins and pendulous white flowers.

One of many Sedum spathulifolium containers around the garden. This is either 'Cape Blanco' or just the species, I can't tell any more as I tuck in broken off bits everywhere I go so it's a hodgepodge out there. Add Sedum divergens (the green) and it's an Oregon sedum mash up.

Closing out this post with one more bumble photo because they brighten up any garden. How wonderful to see so many so early - and finding food. This is on Arctostaphylos 'Sentinel'.

The Ribes sanguineum are in bud, they should be blooming soon and many perennials are peeking up about a quarter of an inch above the soil level. The raspberries have been pruned and the no-till veggie garden is ready to go since there's really no work to be done before planting. Quince flowers are swollen buds ready to pop any day now and the daffodils are showing signs of yellow flowers. Tulip foliage is up, deciduous shrubs in general are showing a glowing hint of leaves and the birds are out in force. I saw a hummingbird with a mouthful of aster seeds, presumably for nest building. We hear frog song and chickadee calls. Soon I'll be planting those onions. The hens are laying again, hooray for the girls! All in all, life is good out here. Even if it is still, technically, winter.

That's a wrap for this week at Chickadee Gardens, as always thank you so much for reading and commenting, we do love hearing from you all. And a special THANK YOU and shout out to all the lovely people who came to the Benton County Insights Into Gardening extravaganza to hear my talk, it was a pleasure!