Early bloomers
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| Bear's Foot Hellebore (Helleborus foetidus) |
Okay, I don't think we are getting any snow this year so I'm ready for Spring. Bring it on! I'm tired of the cold weather and the cold wind. Today was sunny and it looked nice and warm outside but that was a teaser. The wind was blowing from all directions and it was downright cold!
The daffodils have been blooming for ages but there are other blooms of interest. The above photo is of a plant given to me by Margie Anderton (she is on the garden tour and I highly recommend that you see her garden). She called it "Bear's Claw" hellebore but most descriptions I have come across refer to it as "Bear's Foot". It is also called "Stinking Hellebore" but what an awful name for a plant. I think I'll ignore that. (And for good measure, I didn't smell anything while photographing it although I didn't stick my nose in it). This hellebore grows in an upright position and the flowers appear on stalks. It is evergreen and has been blooming for weeks now. I have three of them planted together and they really catch your eye from a distance.
The plant I'm most excited about at the moment is Pieris japonica or Lily of the Valley Shrub. I have never grown this plant before and I cannot remember what prompted me to buy it last year. I think I wanted a tall plant to fill in a empty spot and bought this on impulse. Imagine my surprise when I saw all these blooms on it this week! And, most incredibly, this is a very small plant, not even a foot tall.
I leave you with this lovely forsythia which is blooming at my mother's house.
Comments
And I have what looks like that exact hellebore, and mine is called a stinky hellebore. :-)
And yes, they do smell icky!
Wayne, I will have to smell it.
What would your mother think of your showing pictures of your bloomers to the whole world?:)