Well it’s been a crazy year for weather so far.  We began the month thoroughly in winter and we are in the midst of Spring happening now.  In between there has been extreme thunderstorms, threats of tornados, and 80 plus degree days.  So I will share our blooms but bear in mind that nothing normal is going on in Maryland for this GBBD.

Though I could easily begin with the daffodils and other outside bulbs what is particularly striking is the Clivia which is having an all mass of blooms.

Clivia in full bloom

Many other good flowers are in the house at the moment.

Hellebores in the house

Daffodil ‘Jack Snipe’ on the dining room table.

Two other imports from the greenhouse are particularly striking.

Freesia

Sparaxis

In the greenhouse I have one of the exotics that you could never grow outside here.

Ferraria divaricata

In the greenhouse there is also a very nice Scilla peruviana coming into bloom. 

Scilla peruviana

I  have a couple of these Scilla planted in the ground but they only rarely flower in our climate.  Other outdoor plants include the Edgeworthia at the front of the yard.

Edgeworthia at the edge of our property

Another item up front is the flowering Apricot, first of our fruit trees to bloom.

Prunus mume ‘Matsubara Red’

One of the flowers I like most at this time of year are Hepatica.

Hepatica nobilis Pink

They are hardy enough that I have some planted in the woods as well.

Hepatica nobilis in the woods

Nearby to the Hepatica in the yard is a particular Jeffersonia dubia just coming into bloom.

Jeffersonia dubia ‘Dark Centers’

One of my discoveries this year is that I had misnamed this plant when I put it in years ago and called it ‘Dark Eyes’.  What I realized is that if you search for Jeffersonia dubia ‘Dark Eyes’ you will only find references to my citings on MacGardens and not to the original plant from Garden Vision Epimediums where I bought it.

Another plant with a little story to it is the planting of Scilla siberica ‘Alba’ in the forest.  I planted a number of these bulbs next to the forest path years ago and the bulbs slowly moved themselves from the forest into the pathway where they were apparently much happier.

Scilla siberica ‘Alba’

Also in the woods for years now are a couple of patches of small Daffodils that are apparently quite happy being just visible from the path.

Daffodil ‘Jack Snipe’ in the woods

One of the things I relish about planting in the woods is that there is little upkeep.  Either the plants succeed and enjoy their space or they don’t.  A new planting for the woods are three large bulbous plants that I imported this year from Japan

Cardiocrinum cordatum var. glehnii

The large green leaves are already quite striking.

Not only in the woods but everywhere on our property we have Glory of the Snow.  It grows abundantly and is absolutely lovely in flower.

Glory of the Snow (Chionodoxa forbesii)

Another vigorous grower for us is the same Primula that is a wildflower in England. 

Primula vulgaris

I am often surprised that these are not more commonly grown in the U.S.

Of course Hellebores are abundant for us right now.  They are happy in the woods and the yard.  This is one of my favorites.

Helleborus x hybridus ‘Cotton Candy’

One item to share is a very unusual Fritillaria.  Most Fritillaria do not share this flat open blossom.

Fritillaria stenanthera

And let me close with a final look at the Adonis which are reaching the end of their blooming cycle.  What a joy they are!

Adonis amurensis ‘Fukujukai’

Our winter gardens

Well we went from buds creeping into the yard to a snowfall yesterday and super cold temperatures for this GBBD.  It went down to 15 degrees last night.  Despite the cold I thought it was worth noting that one of the Camellias seems to have cold resilience built in as the flowers are still showing on the Camellia ‘Yume’.

Camellia ‘Yume’

All the other Camellias have lost their flowers or are patiently waiting for Spring.

Camellia japonica (this one has had a few early blooms already)

I did notice that the flower buds on the Mahonia in the forest are still there, though whether they will actually open is a matter of question.

Mahonia in the forest

Otherwise I thought it was worth noting that, like the Mahonia, some plants are just as noteworthy for there beautiful green leaves.

Cyclamen hederifolium

And there are a number of perennial plants putting their early shoots out of the ground.

Adonis ‘Chichibu Beni’

For flowers we turn to the greenhouse which is benefiting from my thorough cleaning this Fall.

Freesia

Lewisia longipetala ‘Little Raspberry’

Princess Flower (Tibouchina urvilleana)

The Princess Flower is about ten feet tall in the greenhouse and has been flowering since June.  I really don’t know why more people don’t grow these.

I thought I would also share the leaves of a new Hydrangea in the greenhouse that is a birthday gift for Beth.

Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Inspire’

The mahogany coloring is inspiring…

This Hydrangea is from Juniper Level Botanic Garden.  If you haven’t visited Tony’s website, I encourage you to check it out.

Fall Camellia (Camellia sasanqua red)

Well it’s GBBD and it’s hard not to look at the Camellias as the main focus for this time of year.  They just seem relish the colder temperatures even though they are just barely hardy here.  This particular C. sasanqua actually died back to the ground one year and I was ready to take it out but instead it began growing again and now goes up to the roofline.

Fall Camellia (Camellia sasanqua red) shrub.

Its companions for Fall weather are another C. sasanqua and a very long blooming hardy hybrid.

Camellia sasanqua ‘October Magic Orchid’

Camellia ‘Survivor’

But surprisingly there were a couple of unusual flowers showing up despite the fact that we have been below thirty degrees on a couple of nights.

Alstromeria ‘Sweet Laura’

There was also an azalea that yielded a flower and then this morning I noticed that the Loropetalum had a single blossom wanting to bloom.

Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum ‘Zhuzhou Fuschia’

Perhhaps the Loropetalum was not aware that it is barely hardy here.  

Of course there are lots of things in the yard that are getting ready for spring like the Edgeworthia.

Edgeworthia chrysantha

As we look forward to winter actually arriving (they are calling for over 60 degrees next week), we have cleaned out the greenhouse to make it fully usable for the citrus and various small pots for South African and South American flowers.

Greenhouse in order…

You can get some appreciation for why I do this with close up images from the right side and upper left of the greenhouse image.

Nerine undulata

Princess Flower (Tibouchina Urvilleana)

The other thing that struck me as I wandered the grounds over the last couple of days is what marvelous color we’ve had this year.  There are just so many ways in which fall colors make the days seem special, sometimes from trees you wouldn’t think of for color..

Threadleaf Japanese Maple

Carolina Allspice leaves

Hybrid Witch Hazel (Hamamelis x ‘Amethyst’)

Paperbark Maple

And then me close with another sort of color

Sunset on the hillside

Dahlias from the garden

I thought I should start out this month’s GBBD post with the Dahlias that have been so glorious for us this year.  Mostly they come from Swan Island and they have never been so large and productive as this year.  I think part of the credit goes to son Josh for rigging up the watering system.  They look wonderful in the house.

Dahlias brought inside

We have also gotten wonderful production from the Bishop of Llandaff which stay outside in the wintertime.

Dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff’

I’ve noticed that the bees and monarchs are very fond of the Bishop.

We are also harvesting the first of the fall camellias.

Camellia x ‘Survivor’

In the yard the Cyclamen hederifolium are nearly done flowering but the leaves remain with their lovely patterns.

Cyclamen hederifolium leaves

In the front yard we have a lovely Aconitum specimen that stands out at this time of year.

Aconitum carmichaelii (Arendisii)

In the backyard are a couple of fall crocus that delightful in detail.

Crocus speciosus ‘Conqueror’

Also the backyard we have a nice patch of toad lillies that are sharing their flowers.

Toad lily (Trycyrtis hirta) in the garden

And there is even one flowering in the woods at this point.

Toad lily (Trycyrtis hirta) in the woods

As we exit the backyard the Cestrum at the gate continues its flowering.

Cestrum ‘Orange Peel’

I should probably share a picture of the whole plant to give some idea of how remarkable it is that this plant dies back to the ground each winter.

Cestrum ‘Orange Peel’ whole bush

Right next to it are many Black and Blue Sage flowers which were said to be marginally hardy in our area but which continue to spread every year.

Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’

Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’

The greenhouse has also been sharing flowers with the house this month.

Zephyranthes fosteri

This is one of the nicest of the rain lillies.

I also found a nice Nerine in Flower this week.

Nerine Zinkowski hybrid

I will close with one of very nicest developing shrubs on the property.  This is the Temple of Bloom that we got from Nurseries Caroliniana a couple of years ago.

Hepticodium miconioides ‘Temple of Bloom’

When it’s white flowers are done in the fall it ends up with beautiful red bracts that are like flowers as well.

Hepticodium leaf bracts