Gardens of Earthly Pleasures: Early Spring in My Garden

Forsythia blooms in mid-March, 2012, weeks earlier than usual.

Narcissus "Jenny" amidst Forsythia.

Due to global warming, New England weather has been extremely unstable. In 2010-2011 winter, we had almost one foot of snow every week, with the combined precipitation totaling 80 inches from December 2010 to March 2011. This winter (2011 through 2012 A.D., or, the last year on the Mayan calendar), the combined precipitation was less than 8 inches from December to March , while the average precipitation is nearly 44 inches.

While some of my tulips and narcissi failed to make it through the winter due to the drought, the mild winter has induced spring to come early. An entire month early. The following photos dated March 14, 2012.

Narcissus "Mount Hood" opens up with a butter-colored trumpet which fades into a beautiful cream.

Narcissus "Foresight" is a reverse bicolor trumpet with a gorgeous milky center. This cluster of bulbs has been at this location for five years now and returns with more beautiful flowers every spring. It is one of the earliest narcissi to bloom. I like to think that it shows the foresight that spring is here.

Narcissus "Wisley." Planted in the autumn of 2010 and blooming for the second time since .

N. "Wisley"

N."Wisley"

Narcissus "Wisley" was bred by the late Dutch breeder Karel Van der Beek and named after a beautiful garden in England.

Isn't it beautiful?

Gorgeous!

This beauty is Narcissus "Sagitta." It is a early-blooming "pink" bicolor narcissus, making it thrice unusual (being pink, bicolor, and early).

N. "Sagitta" blooming for the second season.

N. "Curly Sue"

N. "Curly Sue"

Okay, so I have a fondness for narcissi. Can you blame me? There are so many varieties that come in all sizes, colors and shapes that I always need to have one more different one! More on narcissus later.

Now onto something different.

I also have a fondness for Helleborus, species and hybrids, more commonly known as Christmas rose and Lenten rose. Typically some of these hybrids bloom between late December and spring, often covered under a thick blanket of snow and the flowers frequently get destroyed. Not a problem this year. I did not need a shovel to find the flowers.

Helleborus "Party Dress"

Helleborus x ericsmithii "Ivory Prince, " bred by David Tristam.

This plant had bloomed at least one month ago and is now forming beautifully shaped seed pods.

Helleborus x hybrida "Blue Lady," on the top, is dark as the night. H. "Ivory Prince," on the other hand, is a bright prince in shining armor.

White hyacinth and Tulipa "Toronto" have bloomed in my garden two years in a roll.

The atypical warm weather in March induced a prized tree peony to send out growth.

Helleborus is a tough plant that grows in partial sun/shade and is difficult to kill. It does, however, grow slowly, takes a few years to establish, and is difficult to multiple by division. That leaves the propagation methods to cloning and seed-sowing (did I say that it grows slowly?). From what I heard, the seeds take a long time to germinate, requiring stratification (hot-cold cycles) to send out growth. So yeah, it can take a good number of years to see your Helleborus hybrid flower. I admire the patience of Helleborus breeders.