Photos: Flowerbeds

[ysabetwordsmith]

The first crocuses are blooming! I just had to take pictures when I spotted them this morning. Yesterday they were just buds.


Today I saw that the snow crocuses had started blooming in the rain garden.




These are blooming pale lavender.




Here is a closer view of one.




The one that had faint stripes on the bud yesterday turns out to be a slightly darker lavender once open.




Daffodils are now sprouting in the daffodil bed, so I need to rake that off soon. Just in the last day or two, they're up a couple inches.




I spotted one of the mourning doves high up a tree at the west edge of the savanna.




There are squirrel flets all over the big trees in the yard. This one is up the maple tree that stands between the house yard and the south lot.

Comments

[kaishin108]

Gorgeous! We are still waiting...I will go have a talk with them tomorrow. LOL!!!

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

The weather warmed up for about a week, and that was enough to spark the growth. :D

[alatefeline]

Oh, lovely!!! Yay purple, brave crocus.

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I do like the delicate colors of the snow crocuses, which tend toward pale lavender or ivory.

Re: Yes ...

[alatefeline]

The palette of early spring can be so particularly soft and luminous.

Re: Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

That is so true. Most of the earliest flowers are small and pale, with the exception of bright yellow in witch hazel and forsythia. You don't see the deep purples or reds until later.

Admittedly, last year the hummingbirds arrived early too, so in fall I bought more red tulips and red-cupped daffodils to plant in hopes that would help them if it happens again.

[witchpoetdreamer]

So pretty!

[jonw]

You are about the same level as us on Vancouver Island. It’s my first winter here and seeing flowers popping up in February is new to me!

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

My part of central Illinois was Zone 5b when I was little. It started snowing in late November or early December, and we saw the ground again in March.

Then it shifted to Zone 6a, and by now it's probably just across the line into 6b. Flowers in February is not normal here, but they've been coming out earlier over time.

Re: Thoughts

[jonw]

I only learned about zones this past year when I moved to Vancouver Island. I think this area was recently reclassified to zone 7 ish or something like that. We have palm trees in our yard that somehow survive what passes for winter here, so it’s pretty nice compared to to the rest of the frozen winter tundra in Canada.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

That is amazing. I looked it up -- parts are even listed as Zone 8 or warmer! *boggles* Palm trees in Canada, wow! You could make a spectacular food forest in that locale.

Re: Thoughts

[jonw]

Maybe “tree” is a little generous. But they’re a year old and growing!

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

Okay, maybe saplings rather than trees, but they're still exciting!

Here I have yuccas. When I was little, they rarely set seed because there were no yucca moths. But apparently the moths followed the trail north, because now the yuccas set plenty of pods, some with little holes drilled by emerging caterpillars. :D I even have a couple volunteer yuccas that sprouted in the wagonwheel garden, across the driveway from the white garden where the original yuccas live.

Re: Thoughts

[jonw]

We are lucky enough to have a dear friend that is a horticulturist and knows sooo much about this stuff. He was over last weekend showing us how to prune properly. We have what will become a little fruit orchard in our backyard, and we’re new to the climate so that was welcome help.

I didn’t know about moths and I know precious little about this stuff at all. My wife is much more in tune with vegetation and has plants and orchids and jasmine all throughout house.

Aside, she had to kind of relearn how to place orchids here. Our previous home was from 1871 and had almost all original windows. Which, as you can imagine from that era, do not filter any of the light like modern windows do. I tried those polarizing sunglasses once and they did the opposite of what I wanted: they went dark in the house due to the full light coming thought the panes and didn’t darken in the car because the windshield filters UV. The orchids are the same way, they need to be placed differently because our more modern window filter some of the light which we are not used to.

We only moved here in May so we don’t even have all the seasons under our belts yet. But we are learning so much. It’s lovely to be surrounded by all this life all the time instead of just half the year as it was in Nova Scotia- the other coast in Canada (ok technically there are three coasts but the northern one isn’t a place I’m looking to live!)

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>We are lucky enough to have a dear friend that is a horticulturist and knows sooo much about this stuff. He was over last weekend showing us how to prune properly. We have what will become a little fruit orchard in our backyard, and we’re new to the climate so that was welcome help.<<

It's wonderful to have friends like that. :D

>>I didn’t know about moths and I know precious little about this stuff at all.<<

Yucca moths are cool. And here are some moths in your locale.

>> My wife is much more in tune with vegetation and has plants and orchids and jasmine all throughout house.<<

So pretty! My favorite tropical flower is gardenia.

>>Our previous home was from 1871 and had almost all original windows. Which, as you can imagine from that era, do not filter any of the light like modern windows do.<<

Our house is a little later than that. Most of the windows are modern though.

>> We only moved here in May so we don’t even have all the seasons under our belts yet. But we are learning so much. <<

How exciting! I look forward to hearing more of your adventures.

>>It’s lovely to be surrounded by all this life all the time instead of just half the year as it was in Nova Scotia- the other coast in Canada (ok technically there are three coasts but the northern one isn’t a place I’m looking to live!) <<

USA has four coasts -- the Great Lakes, Atlantic, Gulf of Mexido, and Pacific. Once upon a time, the indigenous trade network connected all four.

[pameladean]

Oh, that's so exciting! I'm not expecting mine until April. P.

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

When I was little, flowers typically emerged in mid-to-late March, sometimes early April. They bloom much sooner now, but mid-February is still way early.

[shirebound]

Thanks for reminding me of spring! Snow is finally melting here, but another big storm is forecast for Sunday/Monday.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Thanks for reminding me of spring! <<

I figured everyone would enjoy seeing the first flowers. :D

>> Snow is finally melting here, but another big storm is forecast for Sunday/Monday.<<

At this time of year, a big storm is very ugh.

[bookscorpion]

Oh, crocuses - what a lovely sight! My body is so ready for them to come up here

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I know that feel. Even though they're way early here, I'm happy to see them.

[turlough]

So pretty and such a lovely purple hue!

Yes ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

It's amazing how many shades they have. These lavenders are common in snow crocuses. There are also some that are a pale silvery-blue or periwinkle. Then the giant crocuses have deep purple along with purple-and-white stripes. There's even one where the petals are dark purple outside but white inside. :D

[yourlibrarian]

Oh interesting that those might be squirrel creations! They become so apparent during the winter, and I've assumed by the size that some were for crows or hawks.

Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Squirrel flets are made primarily of leaves with some twigs mixed in, about 1-2 feet wide:
https://www.metroparks.net/blog/all-about-fox-squirrels/

Crow nests are made from sticks and are about 1 1/2 feet wide:
https://corvidresearch.blog/2016/03/29/everything-you-want-to-know-about-crow-nests/

Hawk nests are also made of sticks, lined with softer materials, but bigger, usually 2+ feet wide:
https://birdfact.com/articles/red-tailed-hawk-nesting

[adafrog]

Pretty.