Although it is late February with a cold, cloudy aspect today, there are more than a dozen flowers in bloom in my Atlanta garden.
Edgeworthia
You may notice a theme here. I think plants ought to be fragrant as well as pretty. Camellia Magnoliaflora, Camellia Nuccio’s White, fragrant Winter Honeysuckle Lonicera fragrantissima, fragrant Paperbush Edgeworthia papyrifera, strongly fragrant Wintersweet Chimonanthus praecox, Lenten Rose Helleborus x hybris, Christmas Rose Helleborus niger, Bearsfoot Hellebore Helleborus foetidus, Fatshedera lizei, extremely fragrant Leatherleaf Mahonia Mahonia bealei, fragrant Rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis, upright White Quince Chaenomeles speciosa Nivalis, Johnny Jump Ups, Pansies, extra-fragrant Blue Hyacinths and Daffodils that have been in bloom non-stop since about January 5.
Also too good to omit is the implied promise of swelling buds on my Native Azaleas Rhododendron austrinum, R. canescens, R. alabamense and on Bay Laurel Laurus nobilis. I think it’s the first time I have had bay in bud, although these evergreen shrubs were covered with flowers on a late November trip to the south of Spain.
Winter Seed Sowing
Twitter is aflutter with people tweeting about #supersowspring, but I’m not waiting until March 21. Last weekend I scattered seeds of Shirley and Ornamental Poppy directly into the garden. I saved a whole bin of them last spring. They prefer bare soil but I have a lot of mulched areas, so I am hoping they will still come up all over the place. In the vegetable garden I cleared out excess swamp sunflower roots and I shared a clump of late chrysanthemums in order to make room to sow oakleaf lettuce seed too. It rained them in nicely the day after, but they haven't sprouted yet. Tomorrow snow and rain are expected, so it’s just as well.
Saved Poppy seed from last spring.
Fat buds of Native Azalea, out of focus due to wind
I forgot one! Stellaria media is blooming all over the garden. (sheepishly) It's Chickweed. :-)
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