#bloom_records

Mud Season 2020: The course of true spring never did run smooth, but it's getting off to an early start this year! How many different kinds of plants do you have blooming during mud season? Bet you I have more!

How was your winter? My winter was pretty mild, and mud season started in February, with alternating snows and thaws. I was fortunate to miss a heavy snowfall that buried gardeners north of here, so mud season is here in earnest now, and I’m enjoying the rewards of planting the earliest blooms where the snow melts first. As of yesterday, all the snow has melted. As of today, it’s snowing but not…

Fall Flowers For Cold Climates

Where do people get this silly idea that hardly anything blooms in autumn? I gave my colchicum presentation this week and one attendee remarked that I inspired her to have color in her fall garden. There’s plenty of color in my fall garden, without even looking at the trees. Here’s just a sampling of what I see as I stroll around. (more…)

Move over, hyacinths. Stand back, amaryllis. It’s time for lily-of-the-valley to take center stage. Yes, lily-of-the-valley!After my hyacinths bulbs rotted last winter and my amaryllis were clearly not going to bloom on my schedule, I was feeling a bit gun-shy about forcing bulbs. In fact, I had made up my mind I wasn’t going to force any. (more…)