At last! Friday and Saturday were gorgeous days; sunny but not cold, not cold at all. A day to open the windows to let the heat in. Spring? Well all gardeners only need a little sunshine to believe the end of winter is in sight. Today, of course, is grey with a cold wind and so it’s back to wanting to be in fount of the fire. But at least those two days remind me about spring.
The garden has its own rhythms, more dependent on day length than the temperature.
Snowdrops
If I see any snowdrops for sale in pots, I’ll buy some more and I might try to spot when the seedpods are ready to open and sow them into pots to increase stock
Violas
The jolly little faces of Violas are in pots on the terrace, tulip shoots are pushing though.
Iris unguicularis
Iris unguicularis
There are now three clumps of Iris unguicularis in the garden. They flower for so long and seem so delicate, but flower on the coldest of days.
Iris unguicularis
Primrose
Primroses bought last year display inside the orangery were planted out in spring
Pale fleeting Crocus tommasinianus
Anemone coronaria ‘The Bride’
Anemone coronaria ‘Mr Fokker”
Anemone coronaria ‘Sylphide’
Anemone coronaria ‘Sylphide’
Anemone coronaria ‘Sylphide’
Anemone coronaria a chance seedling with much paler inner petals
The Anemones produce copious amounts of seed and a few do eventually grow but again I think I could increase stocks more consistently if I sow some of my saved seed. Does anyone know if they need heat to germinate or a would they be better left in the coldframe to experience some cold?
Anemone coronaria it seems almost lilac
Something to enjoy even on very cold days is the wonderful sunsets. So difficult to capture but a pleasure just to sit gasping at the colours nature can produce.
Wonderful sunsets
Wonderful sunsets
Have a good week.
Have you had success growing snowdrops from seed, Christina?
I’ve never tried before but the few snowdrop bulbs I planted have seeded a bit already so I think they are fertile.
I see we have some of the same early bloomers. My spring post will be out tomorrow. I had to learn the lesson about the length of days when I moved to the South. While many flowers can bloom in the warm winter, most rely on the hours of sun they receive. Your sunsets are spectacular.
Yes, I’m sure that spring bulbs flower to day length more than temperature once they’ve had the required period of chilling.
Lovely, so good to see these first flowers. Amelia
The first flowers are so precious.
Nice photography! love the light and the sunsets. You made me miss Violas, they are really hard to find here and one of my favorites.
Despite them being known as plants for damp spaces, the ones here seed and germinate in the gravel.
Lucky you, they look like what we call Johnny Jump Ups.
Lovely signs of spring in your garden Christina, no sign of Sylphide in my garden yet, not even the leaves. We too have had some wonderful sunsets, the perfect end to time spent in the garden.
The Anemone foliage has been around for a while but they are only just beginning to flower.
The sunsets are amazing. The colors and the view must be quite a show from the terrace!
I was thinking of you this past fall when I ordered a few anemone tubers. They’re not hardy for me but I did pot them up and will try to grow them indoors although I don’t think my lights are strong enough. Out of 12 only three remain…. so I think you will always have the advantage! But I’m hoping I can see at least one home-grown bloom.
Nice to see your snowdrops continuing to do well. That’s an excellent sign that they’ve self sown a bit, those seedlings should be even better adapted to your garden than anything new you can buy.
That’s true about self seeded plants. I was surprised the snowdrops survived one summer but this is their third winter so I’d like to try to get some clumps growing in the woodland walk. These are close to where we park so I see them immediately which is good.
Your early spring is lovely. I don’t know whether I prefer your sunset shots, or the blooms, but all lead to a gorgeous setting.
The sunsets are a consolation on cold days
Oh it was most cheering to see your early spring flowers Christina. A biting wind here today peppered with hail showers so it seems nearer to winter than spring. Yesterday afternoon though was calm and sunny and nearer to spring than winter 🙂 Good luck with your snowdrop and anemone sowing plans.
Our day today seems to be like yours; the wind is howling and the curtains are already drawn although yesterday it was lighter for much longer.
Lovely sunset indeed, like a wash of color. The random warm days tease us as we await the spring.
It is great that snowdrops self-sow so readily. My collection has grown considerably and now I can dig clumps to move around. So easy!
From the web: ‘Anemone seed needs to be refrigerated for three weeks before spring planting indoors in peat pots or trays of potting mix. Barely cover the seeds with soil and maintain a room temperature of 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit (14-18C). Germination occurs in about four to five weeks.’
Thanks for the research Eliza. They have been in a place that has been fridge temperatures for quite a few weeks now. I’ll plant some tomorrow and some I’ll put in the fridge (just in case).
Your flowers definitely give a taste of spring – a very mouth-watering one at that! Everything here is still cased in ice rapidly turning to frosty slush, so it’s difficult to imagine any plants sticking their noses out for a bit.
The variations in your anemones are wonderful; it must be quite tempting to attempt to propagate them further.
Yes, some free plants with variations to the parent plants would be lovely. Eliza has sent some recommendations of how to grow them so I will be sowing some this week.
Christina the photos are magnificent and I am very glad that you had two days of real Spring. The Snowdrops are beautiful. Violas I like very much: I have a few that were planted alone and every year at the beginning of September they come out as I say “already grown”. The Iris unguicularis I love. The Springs are very beautiful in all colors. The Crocus fugaz tommasinionus are very beautiful and I did not know them. The coronary Anemone “The Bride” I love. The coronary Anemone “Mr Fokker” has a wonderful color. The Anemone coronaria “Sylphide” is a charm not only for its color but also for the shape of its petals. Your garden is wonderful with these beautiful flowers: it must be very special to walk through it. The sunsets are exceptionally beautiful. Likewise Christina, have a very good week my friend. Take care. Greetings from Margarita. 🙂
I hope you will be enjoying some spring-like weather soon in Madrid too.
How lovely to see your signs of spring. The crocuses are especially lovely and remind me of the joy I feel when I see the first burst of colour appear. 🙂
Winter has already seemed long here this year so its good to have some signs that it might be over soon.
I can never fathom what prompts plants to bloom when they do. It seems to vary so much year on year. I don’t remember seeing daffodils before March here before and yet they are already breaking out of bud..
About five years ago I saw daffodils flowering in early December in Somerset. Mine here flower after the tulips
I think you’re closer to spring than we are, Christina.. Spring usually arrives early here but, with rain still arriving at regular intervals (yay!), it feels as though we’re still well within winter’s grip. I love that Iris unguicularis, which my local garden guide claims will grow here but the only source I’ve found was a mail order nursery on the east coast with a truly shocking delivery fee. I thought your almost lilac Anemone seedling looked like a tulip in the first photo – it’s gorgeous.
I doubt that very much. Your garden seems like summer all year to me.
Hi Christina, it is wonderful to see signs of spring and to feel it in the air! We have had a few glorious spring-like days, but now we are plunged back into gray, near-freezing days. But I know spring is coming from all the life I see emerging in the garden. I adore your anemones! And your snowdrops! I have not grown either. I don’t see them for sale locally, so they may not like my climate. One thing we do share are fabulous late winter sunsets.
I think snow drops might grow for you but it might be too damp for the Anemones. Mine are not irrigated. Even a few blooms give such pleasure in winter.
Every year I say I’m going to plant Iris unguicularis, but never do. Love seeing yours Christina. Your anemones has are way ahead of mine.
Do try to plant it as it does take a while to establish. It carries on flowering for so long and the blooms are exquisite.
Lovely, Christina! We have snow and more snow.
I’m glad I can share a little of my spring with you.
A nice gift for the winter-weary, Christina. Thank you!
My pleasure.
I can tell from this post just how much pleasure you found in your garden in those few mild and sunny days and I hope you have more of them soon – we have certainly had quite a few days like that recently. Lovely to see your anemones, which I don’t seem to have any success with, especially Sylphide. It will be interesting to see how you get on with your seed sowing ‘experiments’; here, if there are noticeable seed pods on my specials nowdrops I tend to bend the stem down and push it into the soil. And with self-seeders generally I have come to the conclusion that most of them skip a season before they germinate, as I frequently find seedlings of things I haven’t grown for a couple of years. Lovely sunsets – sadly, we can’t see them from our house
One of the things that sold us the house was the open view to the west. We added another window to the sitting room; and perfectly the sun sets in the middle of that window in mid-winter. By summer the sun sets much further round. Thanks for the tip about the snowdrop seeds; I think I might just put a pot of compost under the seed pods, then push them gently into the soil. That way I’ll be able to be sure I haven’t picked them too soon.
I am glad you see it as a tip – I tend to do it to keep any potential seed near its parent so I know where a seedling has come from!!
Such dramatic sunsets – and now you are getting color in the garden as well. I love the blue of that ‘Mr. Fokker’.
Yes, Mr Fokker is a very intense blue