Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Spring is getting nearer!

Sunday was beautiful, the crocuses really opened up. Below is the Flower Record crocus I planted in 2009. Wondering what this will look like in a few years.

Pickwick is also planted with the Flower Record, one of my favorites for sure. Both these crocus we have had others in the yard since I have lived here almost 15 years.

Last fall I planted snowdrops, here are the first blooms. Hoping the double ones will open soon, they were expensive.
Today I worked in Durham and was outside painting it was 80 degrees. I had an Eastern Comma butterfly land on me! Two butterfly species in February, certainly not unheard of here in North Carolina. Meg saw a Cabbage White in the school garden today also. Mid day I watched a pair of Red-tailed Hawks mating in a tree about 100 foot from where I was working!

Our cat Valentine was studying the ground  when I got home, she had found an immature Black Racer snake, my first snake of the year also. I took this photo and placed it where she could not find it. The ID on this was done by looking under the chin, the white is only under the chin, so it has to be a Black Racer. If the whole underside had been white it would have been a Rat Snake.

Speaking of the devil, here is Valentine sitting in one of Meg's house plants. Grumpy pees in them, we usually cover the soil so no cats can sit in them. Valentine looked very comfortable.
Today I'm cleaning out the work van and getting a load of sand in the trailer. Getting ready for the designing stage of our bottle walls. Should be a busy day. It stormed last evening so no watering is needed for several days, and the high temps are history also. Maybe some of the seeds planted a week ago Sunday will emerge.

Our first spring camellia Crimson Candles, soon there will be 40-50 blooms. This is our second year with this camellia. Speaking of camellias my seedlings I have 4, one did not make it. The one I posted a photo of has 4 leaves, one the size of a quarter already.
 Our second year with muscari "Golden Fragrance '. It has not multiplied at all, maybe the compost I put over it will surge some new growth next year. The bulbs for this are the size of daffodil bulbs.
 Here is 'Red Lady along with Blue Lady they were our first hellebores. If I'm correct we planted these in March of 2009. Both plants will have 6-8 blooms this year.

One last piece of exciting news. Sunday we mounted one of Meg's old blue bird boxes on a fence post in the back yard. I just saw a pair of blue birds checking it out. Our credit union has blue bird boxes for $10 sponsored by a bird bird society. I'm heading out there to mount the one I picked up yesterday it right now.

20 comments:

Southern Lady said...

Isn't this weather divine? Carla

Carolyn ♥ said...

Still waiting... but hopeful.

Darla said...

Your crocus drift is beautiful and will become more so in the coming years. Valentine does look comfy. Could have done without the snake photo. Beautiful Camellia bloom...sounds as if you are staying busy.

Skeeter said...

I laughed so hard at Valentine in the plant! I have to keep our wintering plants high up or behind closed doors during the winter months. The first year I had our fur babies, Cheetah girl would get into the pots and nap! When I would catch her in the act, she would kick dirt out as the leaped from the pot when she saw mommy coming. Sheba likes to eat them so I must keep plants from paws reach. I am looking at Cheetah sitting on her perch now looking at me as I laugh. As if to say, “What? What are you laughing at me for? I have not done anything funny, yet” Thanks for the laugh and I so need to find some red hellebores to add to my one little lonely plant…

I spotted my first butterfly about 3 weeks ago! It was fluttering so quickly all we could tell is it was a ornage one. lol...

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

So, you say 'roll over' to the snake, I need to make an ID. hahaaha.
Your spring blooms are lovely. I like the Golden Fragrance Muscari. How unusual. Hoping last night's rain will perk the plants up and I will have a little more bulb action. Awwww spring!

Sunray Gardens said...

Love the crocus they are really pretty. Could have lived without the snake. :) But the great one is that adorable cat surveying it's domain. Probably thinks it ran off the snake.
Cher
Goldenray Yorkies

sweetbay said...

Our family had a cat that loved to lay on the pansies. When he got up you'd never know he'd been laying on them. I don't know he did it. It was like he was some sort of princess.

Those crocua are beautiful. I'd love to try them but fear the voles will all be ringing dinner bells.

The Muscari looks intrguing. I didn't know Muscari could have such large bulbs. Does it live up to its name fragrance-wise?

Ginny said...

I don't have crocus or snowdrop blooms yet but am eager for them to appear. It would give me such a thrill to see a butterfly!

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

Spring sure is on it's way there! Your Snowdrops look bigger than the ones growing here in my garden. I think I have the Pickwick Crocus too, although it hasn't bloomed yet. How exciting to have seen butterflies already!

Beth at PlantPostings said...

Darn cats! You gotta love 'em though. I have similar issues with mine -- one eats plants and the other one uses them as a litter box. So I have to put any indoor plants up high, too. Loved your photos of Crocuses!

Søren said...

Those crocus pictures... *sigh*

I hope that when I go up to my garden, some of the spring bulbs will finally have sprung into action, but it's still very wintry here in Denmark, so who knows...

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Ginger said...

your crocus photos look straight out of a magazine! the ones I planted a couple of years ago have clumped but not spread for some reason.

cute kitty :-) our cats are the same with houseplants. we now "mulch" with black rocks and that helps a lot.

Andrea said...

How beautiful those crocus are! And i am amazed that snake is not hiding fast for you to take its photo. In our case our cats usually fight with snakes and sometimes they come home with wounds on the face. We are afraid of snakes and we have some of them in our property in the province too.

Carolyn @ Carolyn's Shade Gardens said...

Spring has really sprung at your house! Red and Blue Lady are two of my favorite hellebores--gorgeous colors. I have tried Golden Fragrance muscari at least twice and never gotten anything but leaves. I really don't think it's a good plant. Double snowdrops always bloom later but not usually the first year you plant them. I believe commas hibernate, I know mourning cloaks do. I always find that amazing.

Victoria Williams said...

Nice pics. Also refreshing to see that someone is getting some decent weather. The bird boxes are a great idea. Birds have nested in our squirrel feeder and squirrels moved into one of the bird houses so I guess it's all worked out here.

Meredith/Great Stems said...

Love that snake -- so glad you were able to rescue it. Valentine was hilarious -- cats always choose to nap in the funniest of places. Gorgeous flowers!

MLight said...

The snake is lovely! I'm not quite used to early spring yet - hearing peepers and seeing insects. Winter still seems very recent.

Nature Rambles said...

Stunning photos, Randy! A treat to see the crocuses! Snakes freak me out but the shot is beautiful! The bottle wall sounds most interesting. I'm looking forward to your project.

Garden Lily said...

So much Spring! I really love that Black Racer photo - he seems to have a stern look on his face.