Last updated on December 2nd, 2011
IN SPITE OF THE LINGERING SNOW, I received three very encouraging signs of spring this week. In my Serpentine Garden, the flowering Witch Hazel shrub, Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Jelena’ (above, click to enlarge), opened hundreds of spidery, fragrant, yellow-orange blossoms. I can’t tell you how nice it has been to sit outside (in 40 degree weather) and breath in the perfume. Also offering hope were two minor bulbs who pushed their flowers through barely-thawed earth:
Above the south-facing stone wall, Galanthus nivalis bravely opened its nodding white bells in a setting of snow. Do you have these “snow drops” in your garden, too?
Eranthis hyemalis, or the Winter Aconite, also showed up this week. I profiled this bright harbinger last year. Hyemalis’ buttery blossoms remain closed on overcast days, but they open wide the moment the sun peeks out. I have them where I can easily see them — in a bed beside the front porch.
Of course there many more flowering bulbs and shrubs to come. But what a joy, after this long and vengeful winter, to see just a few signs of life when snow still threatens.
Have you noticed any signs of life in your garden yet? Let me know in the comments field below.
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Judy says
I saw a few trees beginning to bud in Central Park today, Kevin. Spring is definitely on the horizon!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Judy – Be sure to stop by The Shakespeare Garden in Central Park — it should be filled with colorful bulbs now.
Sheila says
Kevin, I love the witch hazel flowers. I have lots of bulbs coming up – mostly daffodil – but no blooms yet.
Yolanda says
My snowdrops are in bloom, too! The winter aconites have come up, but their buds are still tightly closed. Its great to see this bit of yellow, though!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Sheila – isn't it a relief to see bulbs popping up?
Yolanda – glad you're getting some spring in the midwest, too.
Mary Frances says
Here, in the North of Ireland, the snowdrops have been and gone. The hellebores are shyly nodding their beautiful heads and the forsythias are blazing yellow in the country lanes. Lovely!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Mary Frances — you are SO lucky to live in the North of Ireland, where anything will grow. I won't have hellebores and forsythia for another month.
Now, Mary, should I visit Ireland, expect a knock on your door. I'll want a glass of sherry…and a garden tour!