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Antique Roses
melissaaipapa

Gardens and gardeners waking up

7 months ago

I notice that we are emerging from our winter torpor, at least, judging by the increasing posts on the forum. I've been struggling for a couple of months with short days, relentlessly gray, and more recently, gray and rainy weather, and one or two personal ills. I doubt this sounds like much to a bunch of forum members who've been through some very rough weather, but it did slow me down quite a bit, though at least we haven't had to deal with serious snow and ice. Just mud. Lots of mud.

Here is a photo DD took of me in the garden a couple of days ago:


It's shaggy, but at least the sun is beginning to make an appearance, and we can finally see that the days are truly lengthening. I've been working in the garden all winter, mainly that category of activity I call 'piddling', and planning as I go; the heavy work has been done by my helper, who had dug numberless holes and undertaken other tasks. We finished planting at the end of the year, but, being a gardener, I'm projected toward the future, and already planning what's going to go in the ground this coming fall.

Meanwhile, spring is on the way, a little too early for my taste. The early crocuses are in bloom, as are the sarcococcas, primroses, snowdrops, hellebores, shrub honeysuckle, and others. Most of these are properly winter-blooming, though not the crocuses, and I was surprised the other day to see my too-few hepaticas in full flower. The first daffodils are showing color; the tulips and erythroniums are poking up out of the ground. I have this constant frustration of having terribly too few spring bulbs in the garden, whether cultivated or wild...we have beautiful wildlings here. Many are not that easy to get started, and are slow to increase. No doubt I'll be fretting about this for the rest of my days, along with occasionally doing something about it.

A couple of weeks more, though, and spring will truly and legitimately be under way. We're forecast to get rain mixed with snow on Thursday, so winter's not giving up without a fight, thank goodness. I plan on going out again after lunch, if only to lie in the grass. But if I feel like working, there are always a thousand things to do.

Featured Answer
  • 6 months ago
    last modified: 6 months ago

    Fumy and cloudy here, not precisely cold, but dank. DH made a fire this evening at my request, as I couldn't get warm.

    The early spring flowering has been so irregular this year that violets weren't among the first as usual, but they're going strong now and, as every year, causing me great delight. Blue violet, red violet, white, light steely blue, violet flushed red-violet--these are almost fluorescent--pink and pale pink, speckled, and I found a remote descent of 'Safrano' that I thought I had lost, and a good long way from its last location. What a joy. These are sweet violets, oh so perfumed. I moved a couple of kinds out to the Serbian Bed hedge, where they'll no doubt flourish, and intend to shift some more. I also transferred double snowdrops and poet's narcissus (which doesn't want to flower for me; perhaps it will like this spot better) out there.

    The number of erythroniums in the woods is still tiny, but growing, possibly exponentially. These are not so striking individually, but I once saw a woodland carpeted with them, and have never recovered from the sight. The tiny little blue-flowered squills are flowering and spreading, as are the invasive green snowdrops, which were NOT what I ordered! I'm not giving them any more territory to conquer. I've planted and lost who knows how many narcissus, but some have stayed and multiplied. I ought to divide up and spread some of the clumps once the foliage has died down, if I get round to it. The winter aconite hardly bloomed this year.

    The warm climate roses are leafing out boldly, looking very lovely. They may get away with it, as there are no temperatures even close to freezing in the two week forecast. I'm not happy with it, but this is our world. At least it's all beautiful.

    Comments (9)

    • 7 months ago

      What a stunning photo and description of your winter garden !!!

      i too would love to just lay in the grass and forget all the world sround me . sounds perfect !

      here in so cal spring came for January but left this week in exchange for rain and a very soggy back yard . im grateful tho , and excited to get back to work when my bare roots finally come in .

      have a lovely spring Melissa !

      Oh .. i will be visiting Florence in April .. i am so excited for that :)

    • 7 months ago

      Have a great time in Florence! There's never an off season there, but April will be less crammed than usual, and you have a good chance of nice weather.

      Just as well spring took a breather for you, in my opinion. Winter can be a pain, but summer goes on for way too long. Re your soggy yard, you have my sympathies. The ground has been going squish here for a while, and is due to be topped up again on Thursday if the forecast is correct.

      You have a lovely spring, too!

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    • 7 months ago

      I love your photo, Melissa! I am piddling along here. Sap is rising.

      Melissa Northern Italy zone 8 thanked Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
    • 7 months ago

      Gorgeous photo. I love how the beam of light shines down upon your garden.

    • 6 months ago

      Spring has Sprung here - most of our Spring bulbs are up and blooming - hyacinths of various kinds, crocus, Iris, Daffoils, etc..They came up early, and have overlapped with our winter blooming Hellebores (blooming in 3 large beds, plus volunteers popping up here and there) which are still in full bloom, and our "Christmas" cactus, which are still blooming also.


      The only bulbs which are not in full bloom yet are some Dutch iris and several kinds of South African bulbs, whcih I am looking forward to: Iaxias, sparaxis, and others whose names I forget.

      The funny thing along with all of this is that some of our tea roses started blooming in Dec/January, (Safrano), and others joined them in Feb., as did some of the hybrid chinas. I attribute all of this to the fact that this Winter is the third of THREE WINTERS IN A ROW of normal or more than normal rain here. We have not gotten three years in a row of good rain for a long time, and the garden is celebrating it.


      Jackie

      Melissa Northern Italy zone 8 thanked jacqueline9CA
    • 6 months ago

      Spring is sprung here too Melissa. I am hating on voles and gophers whose effects I see every Spring. The joy is coming.

      Melissa Northern Italy zone 8 thanked Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
    • 6 months ago

      Huh. I wrote a long comment and Houzz made it disappear. Anyway, good to hear from you all.

    • 6 months ago

      The warm weather we had several weeks ago followed single digits (F) just before that. Friends in Knoxville (a heat sink) report that they are seeing the bracts on their dogwood trees. Mine are still dormant.

      Among the roses, Old Blushes are showing lots of very small leaflets, polyanthas of Orleans Rose kin are showing their non-multiflora side, and the biggest and totally unexpected producer is "The Morocco Rose" from Antique Rose Emporium which was grown there from a hip collected in Morocco. Silly (fragrant pink once bloomer) rose must not remember the dry heat of Morocco or maybe Moroccan springs are this wonky?

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