Spring..Are You Here?

I've been looking back on past mid-March blog posts to see if spring is slow this year in contrast to years past. Turns out, spring is about on track. We've had years where March was a soggy mess and we had a year (2015) where March was quite dry...a prelude of a hot, dry year to come.

March 2018 in the PNW has been cool and gentle. The hellebores are all blooming and their foliage hasn't been tattered by hail or bugs. We've had a few days of hard rain, but then we've had breaks in the weather, allowing the soil to dry out.

Spring perennials are pushing forward, showing off gorgeous foliage like the columbine below.

Aquilegia or 'Columbine' foliage

All things considered, March has been pleasant. We've had cool evening temperatures and a mix of rain and sunshine. Good weather for growing plants. Trees are beginning to leaf out. Overall, March is not a terribly exciting month in my garden, although, I get excited by seeing the emerging foliage.

euphorbia 'Rainbow Ascot'

My collection of 'Bleeding Heart' fuschia's are some of my favorite perennial plants of spring. They are fragile plants..late season stormy weather has damaged these plants in the past.

lamprocapnos spectabilis 'Bleeding Heart Fuschia'

Adiantum venustum 'Himaylan Maindenhair Fern'

I've been adding native plants to my garden this winter..about 38 in total. Here's the bloom of our native 'Red Currant'. The resident hummingbirds love it!

ribes sanguineum 'Red Currant'

I love the blooms of pieris. They remind me of draping lace curtains. I've seen large species of the plant in bloom mirror the effect of an Victorian Era, silk tassled lampshade. So elegant! And the early bees love these blooms too.

pieris japonica 'Scarlett O'hara'

Daphne is a sweet delight in the early spring garden. I've been spending time working on winter clean-up in the backyard flower beds and it's all the more pleasant when the scent of daphne fills my senses, carried on the light breeze.

daphne odora 'Zuiko Nishiki'

emerging lupines, growing strong for a late spring show!

I have enjoyed the blooms on our old Star Magnolia tree. It was heavily pruned last fall after suffering damage from the neighbors tree falling on it the winter prior. Since we have lived here, the tree generally blooms during the last week of Feb or first week of March. This year it was two weeks late, in response (I suspect) to the late season snowfall and frigid temps we had during the third week of February.

Here's a peek at the new front perennial bed. It needs a lot more mulch but the spring plants are steadily rising and filling the bed with color.

Cheers to Spring...even if it feels like it's arriving at the pace of a snail (but really is on time).
Jenni