Crocus in C&L wildflower bed click to enlarge any photo
The nurseries are locked down tight~~not a perennial in sight!
under cover~~this entire row is sedums!
~~Plants are tucked in to protect them from the freezing nights that have been our late winter weather.
I did see a tree that has my heart a fluttering!
Speaking of evergreens! Nurseries always have lots of evergreens available...Perfect, if you have full sun. But, not what I was looking for~~
It's kind of nice at home!
I hope that signs of spring are beginning to show in your gardening world! Have a delicious weekend!
"The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size."
- Gertrude S. Wister
I did see a tree that has my heart a fluttering!
Hamamelis vernalis "Amethyst"
Isn't she a beauty! She has a hint of H vernalis' yellow hidden in her flower, but the amethyst red petals are the show! There is a touch of fragrance that let's you know that when the sun is out and the day warms up~~she will perfume the garden. I love our native witch hazels.
It's wonderfully exciting that more cultivars of our native plants are being developed. One complaint has been that many native flowering trees seem to only have white flowers...the witch hazels are an exception! But, they are not spring bloomers, either! Now, if they can start on more evergreens...
Speaking of evergreens! Nurseries always have lots of evergreens available...Perfect, if you have full sun. But, not what I was looking for~~ No signs of spring~~
Daffadils in The Susans' Bed
Then, yesterday, I found myself driving v-e-r-y slowly past the grocery store; with my head hanging out the window...(think Leon's rubber neck giraffe) I was looking for a sign that Krogers might be selling perennials.
No signs!
No plants on shelves!
Nothing...
Spring is not ready to sign in!
Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) at C&L
So, I guess I'll just stay home and wait~~maybe it will show up somewhere soon~~
Pink Dawn Viburnum Bloom moved in recently
It's kind of nice at home!
Crocus in the wildflower bed
I hope that signs of spring are beginning to show in your gardening world! Have a delicious weekend!
Gail
"The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size."
- Gertrude S. Wister
Just keep driving east, over the mountains to Virginia or Carolina. I can assure you garden centers are ready for a visit.
ReplyDeleteGail ! I managed it again : ) here I am in the early stages of your post girl ! LOL
ReplyDeleteEven though it will be far longer for us to see any garden center/nursery activity, I still can't help but look longingly ? at the spaces they occupy .. even the landscaping supply company I use, well I stare at them too .. now how sad is that I ask you ? LOL
Love the pictures .. I really like that Viburnum .. mine is a rather plain Jane girl .. but I love her .. she is a standard I can count on : )
Les,
ReplyDeleteA road trip combined with nurseries would be wonderful! You must be knee deep in spring...Winter still wants to hold on...snow is forecast with temps in the low twenties. Gail
Joy,
ReplyDeleteGood morning! It's good to talk with you...The wait for spring is forever...I seem to remember saying that last year! I have to tell you...that we are supposed to get snow, not a lot but then really cold weather! No wonder there are no perennials available! It is bleak looking... all the empty shelves! Joy, I can hear a dove in the back yard...they sound so mournful...maybe I can get him/her to pose for a pretty photo! Have a good day!
Gail
Gail
Hi Gail,
ReplyDeleteDon't feel too bad, not much out here either & what is has been nipped by the freezes. They don't look very good. I know most of them could be brought back with a lot of care. But I don't wish to pay full price for a damaged plant.
So I will wait & see.
Good morning Gail, thanks for taking us along, even if there is nothing going on just yet. It does look very colorful at C & L though. I know that a close up of a flower doesn't mean that the whole yard is awash in color, or that's the way it is here. The waiting is so hard. It is pouring rain here, nothing outdoors today except maybe a walkabout if there is a break in the clouds. Keep looking with your head hanging out the window and one of these days there will be something on those shelves!
ReplyDeleteFrances
Good morning Gail! Another beautiful witch hazel! I haven't seen them in nurseries around here, but maybe I wasn't looking hard enough. I'll definitely have my eyes open for them this year, especially if they're on sale! They seem to be just a wee bit pricey and I'll be scouting for bargains!
ReplyDeleteNurseries around here will still be locked up tight for a few more weeks even though there's lots going on behind the scenes in preparation for spring. Good luck on the shade-tolerant evergreens. I'll be interested to see what you're able to find!
Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
C'mon to North Florida Gail!! We are beginning to see signs of spring here. Saw a yellow sulphur yesterday in my yard. I love the trip you took us on.
ReplyDeleteLola,
ReplyDeleteThe shelves are bare and they are selling the old, tired looking ground covers at full price. Pretty soon we'll see a few beauties that tempt us! Have a delicious weekend.
gail
Frances,
ReplyDeleteYou are so right! I have a few crocus and always happy to bloom...February Gold narcissus, but it is still brown leaves/mulch and brown grass! It is pouring right now; like a Hollywood movie...where the heroine (me) gets drenched as she runs outside to get her wooden handled perennial spade! So glad the cold temps haven't arrived or we would have 3 or 4 inches of snow on the ground right now! have a good day!
gail
Hi Linda/garden girl,
ReplyDeleteI was completely surprised to find the Witch Hazel...and it was pricey...more then I wanted to spend. There are a few nurseries(online) that sell many named varieties of H vernalis...but they are quite costly...then there is shipping! But a winter bloomer in a snowy garden would be a delight.
Native evergreens for shade are pretty non-existent unless you live further south or in the mountainous areas where native rhodos are happy!
have a great day...thanks for posting a link to the form for Spring Fling registration!
gail
Darla,
ReplyDeleteLucky you! I haven't seen a butterfly in months..although, I did see a moth yesterday! He'll be gone tomorrow when winter stops by for a long weekend visit.
have fun in your garden~~
gail
Hey Gail. In my area you would need a backhoe to dig a planting hole in this frozen ground;)
ReplyDeleteI always get excited and buy plants weeks before they can safely be planted out. Then I'm watering twice a day, moving them from too much or too little sun. Moving them into the garage on frosty nights. Still, buying early is the only way to grab the best plants;)
Marnie
Marnie,
ReplyDeleteI could use a backhoe, too...to get past the limestone!
I do ther same thing...I also buy later then I should...really this month and some of next is the best time for us to add flowers to the gardens. Any plants i put in after April take copious amounts of water all summer long. But I do buy late summer plants that are on sale...put them in a holding area to plant in the fall! I wish the nurseries would stock up for fall planting...they won't!
gail
It won't be long Gail. Be patient! You'll be able to help the horticultural economy very soon!
ReplyDeleteJust hang in there. I have a feeling that it won't be long before you start seeing plants.
ReplyDeleteSpring is popping up everywhere! That Ameythyst looks great. A bit of purple in her. Did you get it? Just yesterday in the warmth my daffys began opening. Last year the first one opened on the 2nd of March. Funny these are earlier because the crocuses opened later. I'd say spring is near. That storm last night proved it. It was horrific! Very scary for the dogs too, but not much damage. Have yourself a great weekend. I hope no snow and not too cold. I planted all the cold weather crops so they need to get used to this.
ReplyDeleteGail, Hang in there! I'm watching you first, remember? ;-)
ReplyDeleteGail,
ReplyDeleteIn about two weeks, it will change. I'm already seeing the signs here. PDN is having an open house this weekend. I stopped by one of my favorite garden centers to buy the rabbit repellant and they have been busy designing some gardens. There are still violets for sale everywhere around here.
There's no better place than your home garden!
Cameron
Cameron,
ReplyDeleteCan you feel envy across the co-axil cable! I would love to visit PDN! They have a trillium I list after and so many other plants! There is no place like home!
gail
Tina,
ReplyDeleteThe storm woke me up and I wished I had put in ear plugs...the wind was so strong. I didn't purchase the WH...she was over $90 and that wasn't in my budget!
Although she is lovely...that particular nursery rarely has sales on trees! We are expecting very cold weather this next few days!
Gail
Good morning Gail. There'd be no point in even looking here. Nothing is stirring, not even a mouse...well, that's probably exaggerating just a tad :)
ReplyDeleteI know how much you're appreciating those little touches of color at C&L. I love the beautiful shade of the the Viburnum, and aren't the crocus blooms incredibly sweet?
We're expecting rain today today. The temp was 48ºF/8.8ºC on the back porch this morning, but the wind is fierce! The poor woodpeckers are being buffeted wildly as they cling tightly to the suet.
Ther Ferns are in at our Wally World! I picked up tulips with big buds on them for half price last night! About 8 plants per pot for $1.75...
ReplyDeleteKerri,
ReplyDeleteI wish that winter was receding just a little bit up there were you live...But that would mean wishing for extreme Climate Change and we don't want that! We had a similar rainy day and fierce winds last night! The crocus has been smashed by it but I enjoyed them while they were here!
I hope you have a delightful weekend filled with sunshine and fun.
gail
Noooo! Why did you have to post a photo of Hammamelis 'Amethyst'? I'd read about this plant, but how am I supposed to live without it now that I've seen its picture?
ReplyDeleteI have Witch Hazel in orange and yellow. I have not seen the color in your post. I will have to look for that one. Our local Lowes stores did get their packaged plant in.
ReplyDeleteDebbie
Garden Thyme
My Mom has a bed of crocuses and I'm sure (if you could actually get to them through the snow) there would be some tiny bits of green pushing their way skyward. I'll tell her to keep an eye out. I planted some bulbs in containers on the balcony last fall, but they're filled with ice at present, and I'm not sure if they made it through the winter or not. Time will tell! Soon! (That new Witch Hazel is amazing!)
ReplyDeleteHi Gail,
ReplyDeleteSpring has sprung here. Still getting a lot of cold and rain but things are blooming and it feels like Spring to me(-: I know it will be there for you soon too(-: Until then Dream Big!!!(-:
Gail, I may have said this before, but I love those crocus.
ReplyDeleteWe're on the wild weather roller coaster too. 70's today, chance of snow flurries later this weekend.
A Witch Hazel I'd really like to get my hands on is "Christmas Cheer". I believe it's H. vernalis, and the fragrance is out of this world.
Spring is definitely, almost, possibly, here in north Louisiana. Just ask the birds. They're the ones I've been consulting with. The nurseries around here on the other hand, haven't gotten that message.
ReplyDeleteThat Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) that you pictured looks exactly like the wildflower I picked at a rest stop while driving through Texas last weekend. I thought it was so pretty and dainty that I picked one to bring back and research. Looks like you've supplied the answer for me, thanks!
Wow - a witch hazel that isn't orange or yellow! I love the thought of their early, fragrant blooms but was turned off by the colors. I'll have to think about a place for an amethyst witch hazel. - VW
ReplyDeleteVW, It is gorgeous isn't it! A compliment to the hellebores in my garden...but this beauty isn't here! Maybe later~
ReplyDeleteGail
Gail, thanks for letting us come along on your search for spring :-)
ReplyDeleteYou got me all excited with your mention of a yellow Hellebore, I'd like to get one of those!
The Hamamelis vernalis 'Amethyst' is stunning, I can almost smell it through my laptop screen.
Melanie
Your crocus are so pretty, Gail. I feel like there's a biodome of cold hovering over the house--it's ok today (though really windy), but it's supposed to snow by Monday. Lots of buds, but the blooms are still on hold . . . Sigh.
ReplyDeleteWe stopped by Home Depot today for furnace filters and I cruised through the nursery, taking my baby girl to see the pansies and cyclamen. I'm so ready for spring too :)
ReplyDeleteGreetings:
ReplyDeleteIt went from +8 to -5 inside of three hours! I am most anxious as I am due to start work Monday at the local nursery here in town. I will try and remember to take the camera and post some photos.... the evidence that we all need that Spring is just around...the next snowdrift! In no time there will be more distracting plants than we can keep track of.... like My Gran used to say...... slow she goes, with gentle moderation!
We have daffodils does that count? That witch hazel is something else. I didn't even want one until you and Frances made such a fuss over them. Now I'm going to die if I don't get one.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely nice at your home Gail. Looking decidedly springy to me ~ maybe I can come over? My yard is still bare and brown! Our nurseries and greenhouses are on lockdown too. There is an abundance of house plants, and some spring bulbs but that is IT. ugh. I want some hellebores and can't find one anywhere! Isn't it frustrating? The Amethyst witch hazel would be a beautiful addition to your collection. Will you get it?? Have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteI've been doing the same thing recently, lol. Can't resist peeking inside any nursery or floral area in the stores. ;)
ReplyDeleteI have been practically haunting our local nurseries. They are full of spring time color and beauty!
ReplyDeleteBrenda
I just bought some seeds last week. They were on sale though it's not quite yet time to plant them up in these parts. I just got 6 more inches of snow last night.
ReplyDeleteAh, Claytonia. She's my girl. Oddly, the witch hazel doesn't grab me; I guess I prefer the more vibrant colors of Diane and Arnold's Promise. Not that I'd refuse it if it showed up in my yard, you understand (and I hear witch hazels roam the countryside!). :)
ReplyDeleteOh, Gail. I would have had difficulty resisting that beautiful witch hazel. We have one nursery in two open, and I've visited twice. I've given up buying plants for Lent. Don't feel too sorry for me. Several were ordered beforehand and will be here before Easter.~~Dee
ReplyDeleteHi Gail,
ReplyDeleteThe wait is getting frustrating, eh? At least you have crocus and daffodils! Ours are still hiding, though I discovered a few brave snowdrops the other day that I'll post soon...
You've seen the weather out our way already (the hail flood), and tonight we have more snow! I think March is going to come in like a nasty, cranky uncle/aunt you never like to see... but I could be wrong!
LOL, Gail; I am picturing you stalking the nurseries:) Actually, Beckie and I did the same thing a few weeks ago when we attended a workshop on seed starting at our favorite garden center. There were a few shelves stocked with seeds and some potting soil but nary a plant in sight!
ReplyDeleteOK, Gail, I am going to blame you if my bank balance dips too low soon--I have fallen in love with that "Amethyst" witch hazel. Pink is my favorite color in the garden; I HAVE to have this plant!
I was driving throuhg our Northern Illinois town and checked our tiny garden center for spring yesterday. The center was closed up tight...no flowers....but....in the nursery yard they were unloading bags of top soil, mulch etc.It gave me hope that Spring was coming.
ReplyDeleteWell, here in NC we just started to get our Spring shipments in at the garden center over the last week or so (although some further to the East have a good stock already), and beleive me, we're as happy as you all are when we start getting to see some nice fresh plants arriving!
ReplyDeleteI have never seen that beautiful Witch Hazel before, gonna have to be on the lookout for that one next year.
Balisha...our nurseries don't close in the winter...they sell shrubs and trees because winter is a good time for us to plant...and it is only in late january and February that our ground might freeze. I am so glad that spring is beginning to signal its return to your part of the garden!
ReplyDeletegail
Stu,
ReplyDeleteWe are waiting to see more goodies arrive at the nurseries! Every day that is warm and sunny finds the obsessed gardeners already wandering around looking longingly at the empty shelves! The witch hazel is a beauty. I bet she's gone when I go back next week!
gail
Rose, Hi! Now you are going to be really mad at me...I emailed a witch hazel page to you! The plants are fantastic but very hi priced...maybe you can find it locally! or get it here when/if you drive through our area!
ReplyDeletegail
IVG,
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw your photos I thought immediately of last year! It was so bad up there...let's hope the cranky relative is just stopping by for a brief visit on her way to some other place!
gail
Dee,
ReplyDeleteYou are a stronger woman than I! Six weeks without plant buying... The upside is NO impulse buying with plenty of time to think about what really makes sense.
gail
Monica,
ReplyDeleteClaytonia is wonderful...there are front yards all over this neighborhood that are covered with SB for weeks each summer...Mine isn't one of them. I have the shallow soil and limestone of the cedar glade!
Witch Hazels are pleasant trees and what I like about this one is that it's a named variety of our native tree...I am excited that folks are seeing their worth. Of course it probably was developed over the pond!
gail
cinj,
ReplyDeleteYou are a stronger woman then me Cindy! How you survive those winters is incredible...I think you are a very strong woman and you love your extended family deeply..or I suspect you and your family would move to a warmer climate! I may be projecting the whole moving thing...i really don't ike cold weather and snow.
gail
Brenda,
ReplyDeleteA haunting we will go! If it weren't raining with more rain forecast I would be over at my favorite nursery right now... Btw, loved your little tree frog!
gail
Racquel, it is so tempting to keep visiting and looking...that is how I found a few new plants for the GOBN last week! Soon they will all be open and we can look at blooms and dream...I am so glad your granddad is doing better! gail
ReplyDeleteKathleen,
ReplyDeleteLockdown...I would be bereft! One must be able to visit and stare at the houseplants that can't come home because of Coal the plant eating cat! I would love to have an amethyst witch hazel, but it is too expensive right now! Loved your hyacinths...the pink is so pretty~~
gail
Anna,
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean you haven't one! You must get one, it's perfect for your NC garden...now which shall it be? The reds, oranges, yellows or the nice amethyst? Gail
Teza,
ReplyDeleteYour grandmother was very wise...and pretty soon spring will arrive and you can show us your beauties...I already want the corydalis you tease me with each time I open your blog!
gail
I love this post Gail. I was rubber necking all the way home from TExas. I was so hopeful that I would find a nursery open so I could bring home a nice plant as a trip rememberance but all I found was what you described, covered and or closed. I did manage to bring a couple of pieces of pottery home. Oh I was wishing for driving a truck on vacation. tee hee.. I thought about you as we drove through TN. We drove by Memphis though not Nashville.
ReplyDeleteLythrum,
ReplyDelete.....and did any pretties end up in your shopping cart or just the furnace filters? Our furnaces are getting another big workout...are you getting the cold weather this next few days?
gail
Cosmo, Do you miss the blue skies and sunshine of Arizona? These last days of winter are brutal..snow and deep freezes. Sigh! gail
ReplyDeleteMelanie,
ReplyDeleteBoy am I ever glad to see you! I have missed your posts...do you have Witch hazels in your garden? The yellow hellebore is beautiful I must post about it soon!
Gail
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteIt must have been frustrating...on the other hand pottery is a great addition to the garden! I wish you had been closer...but the weather has been anything but visitor friendly! Cold and wet! Sounds like Ohio! I am so glad you had a good time in Texas and I expect a few posts on the birds you saw!
gail
Jean, Glad I could help..there are a few nurseries that sell them..if they like your garden they will seed themselves about...then later in the season disappear! You can't put preemergent weed killer on the lawn or they will die.
ReplyDeleteGail
Sweetbay, That is a new one to me and I am going to google it right now and finish my comment after viewing the images! No luck getting a good image but I will keep looking. Mobot has it in their WH collection...they have over 75! The crocus photo is not bad...are we allowed to say that here in the south! NO but I am a midwesterner from Missouri!
ReplyDeletegail
Gail, you asked what color we decided to paint the bathroom? Well kind of definitely not hot pink. I was leaning towards a mocha, or even a light mossy green with white fixtures. I have this magazine cliipping.......
ReplyDeleteJen
Oh that witch hazel looks amazing. I've seen a couple around the garden blogs and I feel pressured to buy one.
ReplyDeleteNot that I mind the pressure...
Hi Gail,
ReplyDeleteWe are having that roller coaster weather in SE Nebraska, too. It was in the 60s a couple days last week. Right now, late morning, it's 9 degrees with light snow. We had several inches come down in the night. Well the moisture will be good for the plants.
Hang in there!
Sue
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOops, I got impatient, and hit "PUBLISH YOUR COMMENT" 3 times, because I didn't see a spinny thing showing me it was trying to send, and then it showed up 3 times. I deleted one, and will go delete one more. ;o)
ReplyDeleteSue,
ReplyDeleteNo problem! It is slow at times! The roller coaster weather is not fun for us or the garden plants...let's hope March is kinder! gail
Oh there are signs of spring in Maryland....there is a little Primrose in bloom outside my front window. I hope it makes it through the wintery balst that is coming tomorrow. Love your photos! :D
ReplyDeleteDiane
Amethyst is truly a gem....wonder just how hardy it might be, hmmmm. Keep on stalking - the best garden prizes go to the one who gets there first - you go girl!
ReplyDeleteBarbara,
ReplyDeleteYou are so correct! I will be there the next warm sunny day! It is a pretty flowering witch hazel~~hardy to zone 5.
gail
Oh Gail,
ReplyDeletethat witchhazel is dazzling. I am a nursery stalker too. Only ours never close down and always have tempting things to buy. For the past many weeks our nurseries have been loaded with customers and lots of brightly colored annuals and perennials. It is very dangerous to make stops. But, you know me, I do live on the edge and take my chances. HA. don't worry, Gail, spring is so close now... the crocus and the daffodils are reminding you...
Meems
lovely things are blooming at clay and limestone i would say spring is on your steps. although with all the cold rainy weather it is hard to feel like it.
ReplyDeleteThe colour of the witch hazel is fantastic! I wish I had that one growing in my garden...
ReplyDeleteWe haven't got very many signs of spring yet here, but it won't be long now!
Katarina
Katarina,
ReplyDeleteEuropean growers are usually the folks who develop our native plants...and I think this one may be from there as well. You may actually have an easier time locating the Witch hazel then we do!
gail
The Hammamellis is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteGail - thank goodness for all the lovely signs of spring you can enjoy in your own garden until the hurseries catch up with you!
ReplyDeleteGail,
ReplyDeleteWe've gone from spring back to winter today, but it's lovely to enjoy the unexpected snow. Hopefully the daffodils, crocus, and snowdrops will manage OK.
Spring is definitely around the corner.
Lisa
Wow, that H. vernalis 'Amethyst' is just fabulous. I'd happily have that in MY garden, but it likely wouldn't be hardy. Sigh. I'll just ogle this one instead.
ReplyDeleteWell, your early flowering plants are a lot more fun than the local stores anyway. I like that Pink Dawn Viburnum! I did notice last week that Lowe's had gotten in a big shipment of plants. Wonder what happened with the 5" of snow from yesterday or the 9 degree temperature expected for tonight.
ReplyDeleteNothing here yet. Our ground is frozen still, but it's supposed to warm up this weekend! Patience isn't my strong suit. LOL
ReplyDelete