A "Frigidly Breezy" Day

Yes! This picture of daffodils (Narcissus) was taken today. Granted, these blooms are two weeks early, they are in a "hot spot" along our north path where they get plenty of sunlight. Despite nice sun, the wind chill outside today was around freezing and took a toll on everyone outside. Terry's been filling containers with our soil mix and pruning roses while Larry's been working on projects around the hort center. Jim H. brought in more RECAPPERS to help out with clean-up in the Japanese garden and we were happy to see that Jim was honored as one of the "50 People That Matter" in our area for all his volunteer efforts. Vern was here doing carpentry and Dr. Gredler is still sealing the last of our benches. Bill is out braving the elements as well while Marianne and I focus on indoor work. Sweet shot (to the left) today of winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) blooming out in the gardens. The flowers have a different look when they're closed like this than when opened up in more sun and heat. This is a great minor bulb for mass planting (very affordable) in deciduous woodlands as it goes dormant before the canopy fills in. We plant these by the thousands and wouldn't be without them.

Nice shot of glory-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa luciliae 'Pink Giant') in our alpine garden. This is another warm spot with all the surrounding rocks but there are many other Chionodoxa species blooming around the gardens right now. This is an often overlooked, hardy bulb that for us has formed little colonies and comes back as a solid perfomer each year. Look for whites, pinks and a full range of blues. Most are under 10" in height but have great flower power throughout early spring.


I'm looking at a huge pile of shredded bark and mushroom compost that we'll start to use to mulch select areas. We like to spread a 1" layer of the compost around emerging perennials and will use the shredded bark around trees, shrubs and other areas to deter weeds and maintain more moisture. Previously mulched areas with bark will receive a fresh 1" while new areas get 3-4". Always be sure to taper mulch away from the bases of all plants. I'm not a big fan of "ornamental rock" mulches (we have none here) as they don't break down (for the most part) and while looking neat and clean for the first couple of years, will eventually be infiltrated by weeds without frequent herbicide applications. See below for the extreme in rock mulching (not far from my house...) Too much!?