With the mild winter up here in Ottawa, Ontario, it seems that most of our plants have survived this year. The current dry spell is a bit of a challenge to new growth. Seedlings, with their shallow root systems, are really struggling. Here in the valley, it keeps looking like rain, but at the end of the day our accumulation is less than 1/8 inch of water over the last week. Time to connect the hoses and start watering, me thinks.
One of my favorite flowers, the Virginia Bluebell, is now out in all its glory. Most spring flowers tend to be yellow, which contrasts beautifully with the blue of these flowers. We split the main plant apart last fall. Because of the mild winter, the new Bluebell plants have really taken off. I’m just fascinated with how the flowers start off as a delicate pink, and then change to a delightful shade of blue as they mature. I’ve seen this transformation a thousand times, and it still captivates me every spring.
A plant that never ceases to amaze me, Corydalis Noblilis, is now in full bloom. With delicate stems, fragile foliage and delightful yellow flowers, speckled with black, this plant is one of the first bloomers every spring. This delicate plant is a lady of iron, pushing through layers of leaves that would choke and stifle lesser plants (and hopefully weeds). We acquired the moist packed seeds from Gardens North about 8 years ago, and managed to get three plants to grow. Now, with an abundance of seeds and wet summers, I have another dozen baby plants pushing up all over my shade garden. The lovely golden blossoms brighten up a normally dark corner of the yard.
Sadly, the cherry bushes are just about finished blooming. Delicate pink flowers fill our two bushes late each April. The larger of the two bushes is now about 6 feet or two meters high and provides a nice landscape impact when fully in bloom. The branches make lovely and elegant cut-flowers that I usually place in a tall dark colored vase. The pink flowers also work well with my Ikebana arrangements by providing structure for delicate white daffodils.
The shade is keeping the flowers blooming a bit longer than usual. The daffodils and tulips are both up, and I’ll cover those in the next article.
Happy Spring to you all!