Saturday, March 28, 2015

Spring has arrived



Spring arrived a couple of weeks ago. The pastures started to green
up and Bradford pears and daffodils started blooming everywhere.

I don't have any Bradford pears, but it seems like everyone else does. Actually that's not true. Now that other cultivars have been released that are compatible with Bradford Pears, those trees produce a lot of fruit. I can't tell you how many pear seedlings I have seen pop up on my farm in recent years.

Here on the farm redbuds and daffodils are the first harbingers of
spring. All this past week the redbuds were getting more purple every day.



Narcissus pseudonarcissus, also known as Lent lily, is the earliest daffodil to bloom here.


The daffodils are shining, even through the detritus of last year's garden.



I was inspired to do some clearing. The birds are still using the old stuff for cover but many of them -- the song sparrows, the white-throated sparrows, the juncos, the hermit thrushes -- will be moving on soon and there's still plenty of cover elsewhere.


The daffodils in the front are 'Trevinthian', a fragrant jonquil that blooms for a very long time.


The daffodils in the back are from DH's grandmother's garden.





'Trevinthian' by the front sidewalk




A tiny little 'Tete a Tete' daffodil

and crocus in the old back yard.


The only way I can grow crocus is in sunken pots mulched with gravel.
Still, they were eaten by deer as they were starting to fade.



Spring starflower (Ipheion uniflorum). So far these are mostly blooming at the edges of the beds now; it's nearly impossible to not pull the short slender leaves while pulling chickweed.


Blue speedwell


The serviceberry that was covered in flowers last year doesn't have nearly as many flowers this year.


Unfortunately we're expecting a low in the mid 20s tonight. I hope the wisteria buds will be spared. We didn't get to see it bloom last year because a) I had cut it back too far the previous summer and b) it would have been frozen anyway even if I hadn't done that.


20 comments:

  1. Look beautiful carpets of daffodils, beautiful spring flowers. Regards.

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  2. Gosh sweatbay, these mass plantings of daffodils and/or naturalized daffodils are sooo... gorgeous!!! I love that you have the land to garden like this. It has such a different impact on the eye when daffodils show up to welcome spring in the hundreds and thousands other than just by five or seven or ten. Well done!
    The Blue Speedwell is such a wonderful little plant. I adore its specific color of blue, so clear, so pure.
    Wishing you that your garden is not taking a hit by the expected dip in the temperatures.
    Happy spring!
    Christina

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  3. Your masses of daffodils make ours look puny by comparison - they're gorgeous! Narcissus are marginal here - they don't like are warm winter temperatures, I guess. I hope your frost is brief and doesn't do any serious damage.

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  4. So many lovely daffodils, spring has definitely arrived in NC. I read you have already Wisteria in bud, it's earlier at your place than in our wet tiny country in western Europe. First daffodils are blooming here too, but it's too wet and too cold for end of March, it feels more like autumn.
    Wish you happy gardening!

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  5. Love, love your field of daffodils! Nothing says spring to me like these cheery beauties. It was very cold here this weekend, too, but nothing is really blooming yet, so I didn't have to worry. But I hope the cold temps didn't hurt any of your blooming trees.

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  6. Beautiful spring flowers!! I'm so glad that spring has arrived!

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  7. Do the sunken pots with gravel keep away the voles, or what? To bad the deer like them so well. Your rivers of daffodils just make me swoon--such a vision. I really hope last night's cold didn't harm your hydrangeas. Mine didn't bloom last year either and I'm so hoping to see them this year. Happy Spring!

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    Replies
    1. The sunken pots and gravel help keep the voles out. Unlike mice voles won't chew through plastic, and they are deterred from digging in sharp-edged gravel. The bottoms of the pots are cut out to allow drainage. Voles don't tunnel deep enough to be able to get in the pots from the bottom.

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  8. So many daffodils !!! I am dreaming !!! Your garden is just perfect, dear Sweetbay.

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  9. How wonderful to have daffs from DH's grandmother's garden! I am going to try the sunken pot. The 1000 Tommies I planted last fall were almost all eaten! Happy Spring.

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  10. An exciting time of year for sure! We got down in the upper 20s but I don't think it hurt anything. I hope you are spared as well.

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  11. Love all these beautiful spring blooms, your garden is beautiful. I'm particularly fond of the starflowers, they're a lovely sight to find.

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  12. Your daffodils have naturalized beautifully. That must be quite a site. Send some of those song sparrows my way. I look forward to having them here. The males sing so beautifully when they first arrive and are pairing up. Love to listen while I do my garden cleanup.

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  13. Your garden is lovely in spring. The happy faces of daffodils and crocus are enough to cheer a grinch.

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  14. Everything is looking lovely, and you have lots of colour already. I love the lone little Tete a tete standing alone, so bravely!!

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  15. We are in the process of removing all of the Callery pears from the botanic garden where i work, including a beautiful allee of them. We had seedlings coming up everywhere. I can tell you that chipped pear wood makes a lovely mulch.

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  16. Spring is glorious in your garden SB!! Love the swathes of daffodils & the redbuds. I have small clumps here & there but I think I need to plant more since the rabbits & voles leave them alone. I am going to confine the tulip bulbs to containers from now on ~ much like you do your crocus ~ just to have a few. I bet it's even prettier there now? We had a little snow & overnight temps in the mid 20's last night & expected again tonight. Like you. I'm wanting certain things to survive. How did your wisteria fare? Happy Easter!

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  17. Thank you Kathleen! The wisteria did not fare well. All of the buds were frozen. I'm hoping next year will be the year. We haven't gone more than 2 years in a row without a spring display so far.

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  18. It is so lovely when daffodils are massed as they are in your garden. The cheery yellow flowers scream spring. Hopefully spring will make it here soon. I planted a Redbud last fall and can't wait to see if it will bloom. Fingers crossed it made it through our terribly cold winter!

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  19. Beautiful! The change of seasons always seems so pronounced in your garden. I love the masses of daffs. So colorful!

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