A GUIDE TO NORTHEASTERN GARDENING: Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day & Foliage Follow-Up March: The Spring Garden Awakens!
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| Welcome March! |
Spring is arriving and it is an exciting time of year here in the northeast! I invite you to join me on a tour of my zone 7a Long Island garden for another Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day and Foliage Follow-Up, the day of the month in which we all walk out into our gardens to see what surprises await. This has been one of the most unusual winters I can remember, with temperatures in the 60’s in February, followed by our first and only accumulating snow of just two inches on February 28th, to a calm start to March with daytime temperatures fluctuating from the mid to upper 50’s to the 40’s and back again. To add a little excitement, a nor’easter with large sprawling snowflakes and enough snowfall to cover the garden came to us on the 14th, which was Mother Nature’s way of saying, “I’m not done yet!” Even with the unpredictable weather, every day continues to bring new foliage, buds and blooms! Let’s start the tour!
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| Crocus vernus ‘Flower Record’ |
The first stop is at the front garden berm where my favorite cluster of crocus in the garden grows, displaying a deeper purple bloom when compared to others. This variety is known as ‘Flower Record’ and it continues to thrive after many years.
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| Crocus vernus ‘Remembrance |
In the back perennial border are Crocus vernus ‘Remembrance’ with their pretty lighter purple blooms to bring in spring!
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| Hellebore ‘Champion’ |
The various varieties of Hellebore have been blooming since the beginning of January. This variety is Helleborus ‘Champion’, which blooms from February through March and possibly into April.
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| Allium ‘Globemaster’ Coming up! |
The Allium bulbs in the pool surround are coming up much earlier this year. This one is ‘Globemaster’, which will display large purple blooms in June, so keep on the look out!
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| Sedum Rosettes |
Sedum ‘Brilliant’ is a wonderful plant even for its foliage, which emerges as mini rosettes in late winter-early spring. Deep pink blooms will appear in late summer.
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| Weeping Pussy Willow (Salix caprea ‘Pendula’) |
A sure sign of spring are the fluffy white catkins on Weeping Pussy Willow. FUN FACT: Pussy Willow are dioecious, meaning they are either male or female. Male plants have larger catkins that open to expose longer filaments and more yellow looking flowers, while female plants have smaller, thicker catkins with greenish flowers.
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| Shade Garden! |
Venturing over to the shade area, here is Magnolia ‘Royal Star’ with a backdrop of Leucothoe ‘Axillaris’ and Golden Sweet Flag. The moss and lichens on the tree are much more prominent this year with the mild winter and will slowly disappear as the weather warms.
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| Happy Visitors! |
In this same garden, the bird visitors keep me busy filling up the feeder on a regular basis, as they are loving their new seed mixture containing and assortment of seeds and nuts for some culinary delight!
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| Nandina ‘Obsession’ |
Moving along to the back foundation garden is a combination of Dwarf Cryptomeria and Nandina ‘Obsession’. The foliage of this dwarf form of Nandina has been a vibrant orangey-red all winter.
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| Rhododendron Buds! |
Back in the pool surround is Rhododendron ‘Elegans’, as it prepares for its early spring bloom!
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| Black Mondo Grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus) |
Here is Black Mondo Grass in a planter in the back perennial-patio border. Mondo Grass remains evergreen all winter and in early spring I remove any damaged foliage to allow for new growth.
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| Pieris ‘Cavatine’ Buds! |
In the back raised island bed, Pieris ‘Cavatine’ is getting ready to show off its beautiful white bell-shaped blooms in early spring, while the structure and foliage of Weeping White Pine keep the garden going all year long.
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| Weeping White Pine and Golden Japanese Sedge in Pool Garden |
The Golden Sedge seems to have taken a beating this year with the fluctuating temperatures, but should pop back up in spring. Once the temperatures warm up, I will remove any damaged foliage so that new foliage can emerge. HELPFUL TIP: Golden Japanese Sedge remains evergreen in zones 6-9 and does not get cut back, except for the removal of winter damaged foliage.
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| Daylilies Emerging! |
Another early arrival this year is Hemerocallis (or Daylily). Along the back patio, you can already see clumps of green foliage emerging above the ground!
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| Front Lawn |
As we come to the end of our stroll, here is a March view the front lawn with Blue Atlas Cedar, and a glimpse of the front walkway. This is perhaps the last glance of the bright red bark of Coral Bark Maple before its foliage arrives.
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| Front Walkway |
As outdoor blooms become more widespread, new blooms continue in the indoor garden.
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| Indoor Garden: Thanksgiving Cactus Still Blooming! |
The Thanksgiving Cactus has continued to bloom throughout winter and into spring, putting on quite a show…
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| Indoor Garden: Echeveria Blooming! |
and the succulents are blooming too! Here is Echeveria with its orange bell-shaped flowers.
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| Indoor Garden: More Succulent Blooms! |
The new planter I created over the winter with a combination of succulents is thriving in the bright west facing window and it is fun to watch flower stalks appear, followed by delicate white blooms!
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| Thanks for Visiting! |
I hope you enjoyed your visit to my March garden and as always, I look forward to your comments and seeing what you have growing in your garden! Special thanks go out to our hostess Carol at May Dreams Gardens, who makes it possible to see blooms on the 15th of every month with her meme Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day. Also, special thanks to Pam Penick at Digging who had hosted Foliage Follow-Up, a meme I will continue to honor. I am also linking with some other wonderful hosts and hostesses at Floral Friday Fotos, Friday Bliss at Floral Passions, Macro Monday 2, Mosaic Monday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf, Nature Notes at Rambling Woods, Image-in-ing weekly photo share every Tuesday with NC Sue and Gardens Galore Link Up Party every other Monday with Everyday Living. I am also happy to join the Weekly Photo Link-Up at My Corner of the World on Wednesdays and Garden Affair at Jaipur Garden. Wishing all a wonderful 2023 planting season with gardens that thrive!
IN THE NEWS: It’s that time of year for the Great Grow Along Virtual Garden Festival running from March 10th to the 19th. You can still register for an abundance of gardening workshops and tours. Search for “The Great Grow Along Virtual Garden Festival” to register for this free conference. Gardens make the world a better place!
