At Last!

Tags

Dicentra spectabilis, Identifying young perennial shoots, Newly emerging perennials, Old Fashioned Bleeding Heart, Solomon's Seal

Today was the epitome of spring here–clear and sunny, with temperatures in the mid-sixties all afternoon!  I was excited to go outside and find what might be hiding beneath the thick blanket of leaves that had protected the gardens through the very long winter.

Many daffodils have poked their noses above ground.  These are Narcissus ‘Fortissimo’, which will boast big, bold, bright yellow trumpeting flowers in a couple of weeks.  They are one of my favorite daffodils:The vegetable garden is finally snow-free (hooray!), and a few of the tulips I planted within its fenced boundaries have emerged above the leaves:I think this is Tulipa ‘Formosa’.  Maybe I’ll see its yellow flowers, highlighted with green flames, by May Day!

As I lifted leaves up in the lasagna bed, I was drunk with delight to find that so many plants had broken their winter dormancy.  Truly, I hope the neighbors weren’t watching or listening as I clapped my hands, chortled, and literally danced around the garden as I found more and more baby shoots!

First I found Old Fashioned Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis):I’m glad to see these shoots because I moved this plant from another spot early last fall, and Bleeding Heart is not always a happy transplant!

If you can read the name of this plant without a certain song ringing through your brain, you did not attend Vacation Bible School as many summers as I did in the 1970’s!  Here is Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium boreale ‘Heavenly Habit‘):

This is Heuchera ‘Berry Smoothie’, already looking as delicious as the treat for which it’s named:Here’s one of two primroses unfurling their new leaves.  No sign yet of the third member of the trio I planted last spring:The Turtlehead (Chelone ‘Hot Lips’) has some tiny new shoots at its base:I was somewhat startled to find this!  It may look like a beetle from a strange planet, but it is really Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum‘Variegatum’):Here’s something much prettier, I think–buds on the Lenten Rose, Hellebore ‘Pink Frost’:Back down the hill, in the rock and terrace gardens, several other plants are sending out new growth.

Alyssum ‘Basket of Gold’:

Candytuft (Iberis):Creeping Phlox:Monarda ‘Jacob Cline’:Scabiosa ‘Butterfly Blue’:Shasta Daisy ‘Becky’ ((Leucanthemum x superbum):
Creeping Sedum:Sweet William (Dianthus barbartus):

Finally, a beautiful, long-awaited sight–a very few tiny, early snow crocuses, bringing me great joy!