Monday, March 14, 2011

Bloom Day March 15, 2011

It's Spring! A-woo-hoo!! I missed bloom day last month due to lack of bloomage. Everything was frozen! But it is warm now and the plants are making up time quickly and blooming on schedule for March bloom day.

Here we go!

Lotsa Species tulips:

Yellow and red ones (Tulip Clusiana Cynthia)-




These truly do naturalize down here. Every year I have more:



So very buttery yellow inside:



White and pink ones with a glorious deep magenta center (T. Clusiana):







Lavendar and yellow ones (Tulipa saxatilis):




New this year Anemone Blanda:



Closer:



Many of the narcissus are finishing up blooming like Narcissus - Flore Pleno (I took this pic about a week ago):



But these guys are still going strong (Avalanche):



Sadly, one set of jonquils that I had planted - Narcissus - Sweetness - didn't come back but just for some sparse and fried looking leaves. It either got too hot last summer or way too cold this winter for it (maybe they started to come up then were frozen) or maybe a little of both. Anyway, those guys are toast. I'll have to re-plant that section this fall with another variety.

I have a few crocus in the garden - they never put on the kind of show for me they did back up in the Northwest (oh my, what a spring show!), but I do always have a few pop up here and there. These are Tommies:



Grape Hyacinth. I planted a TON of these by the garden path because I found a pack of 50 for 5 bucks at Lowes last fall and as I was walking along the path yesterday I smelled the most beautiful fragrance and looking around for a while, I finally realized it was eminating from these little guys! Wonderful!:



Freesia Laxa are also along the garden path. So tiny, but so pretty! They froze back in the deep freeze last month, but are making a comeback:



Oh, and my poor TX Mountaim Laurel. All the blooms froze off the front side of the shrub. I went out to look for blooms the other day and to my horror I noticed what looked to be grey bloom spikes scattered all about under the shrub. Sure enough, upon closer inspection, all the blooms were gone from the front of the shrub. Luckily, some blooms did survive being sheltered from the icy winds on the interior of the bush and along the back side very near the fence. So there will be some blooms, but only a precious few. No overpowering grape soda fragrance event in my garden this year.

The back side:



The few surviving blooms:



The flowering quince could care less how cold is was it seems. It is blooming crazy!:



A violet volunteer that finally bloomed! I think it must be the sun. This one seeded itself far enough into the sun that it actually produced a normal flower. The volunteer violets all initially seeded themselves in deep shade in my garden and all they ever produced before were cleistogomous flowers that pollinated themselves. But finally! An actual flower with petals:



And finally, the redbud is blooming:



Happy Bloom day everyone!

18 comments:

James said...

I love to see all the interesting tulips out there. My climate lets me grow a big list of different plants, but virtually all tulips aren't anywhere on the list... Happy bloomday.

Rebecca said...

You have so much blooming - lucky you! Thanks for sharing your photos and have a great GBBD :)

BernieH said...

You really have such some wonderful blooms. How fantastic that you can grow tulips ... and so many stunning types. They are truly lovely.

Loved the Anemone, that little Violet and that stunning Redbud. These are all plants that don't grow in my part of the world so I enjoyed seeing them in all their beauty in your garden.

Christina said...

Lovely tulips, but I'm surprised you have so many daffodils as well - I thought mine weren't doing well because it was too hot here but if they're growing for you then maybe there's another reason. Thanks for sharing all the colour in your garden, I love seeing when everything flowers all over the world and how the seasons change. Christina

Racquel said...

I just added a couple of species Tulips to my own garden last fall, now I know I need more. :) You have some beautiful things blooming this spring.

Caroline said...

What a lovely selection of bulbs! Only a few of the four dozen species tulips I planted in fall came up, and those have buds but no blooms. I've heard several Austin gardeners had their mountain laurel buds freeze on the tree. Wish I had room for a redbud. Happy GBBD!

ARK said...

oh man I'm jealous...wish my spring would hurry up and get here like yours!

loving the tulips!

flwrjane said...

Who would have thought you could grow bulbs in Texas?

Loved seeing your photos.

Look forward to what the future months will bring.

Jane

Rosie Gan said...

I'm so happy for you that spring has arrived in Texas...you have such lovely blooms surfacing like magic, there.
Rosie

Rock rose said...

Oh How we love those species tulips. I am wondering abut your anemone. Did you buy the anemone corms or are they the native ones. I also have lots of violet flowers this year. It must be their year. Happy bloom day.

webb said...

You Texas girls make me so jealous - with your early springs and warmer winters. But, if you can grow bulbs there, maybe I can in Central Virginia. Have never had much luck with tulips, but yours are lovely. thanks for sharing!

bacon seed said...

Spring has sprung in your garden, wow! So lovely!! Happy GBBD :)

Unknown said...

Tulips are my favorite--and I'm having serious tulip envy right now! Yours are lovely--ours aren't quite ready yet. Happy bloom day!

Isabelle said...

You have so many lovely tulips !
Glad to meet you through GBBD.
Greetings from Belgium !

Iris said...

All stunning blooms--wow! I really have to get some flowering quince. They remind of paintings my grandmother brought back from Tokyo in the 1940s. Happy GBBD!

sb158 said...

Very nice! I live down in the Valley, by Brownsville, and don't think bulbs of any sort do real well down here. I so wish we lived up your way; you can grow so much more than I can. Plants hate hot and humid as much as I do, I think.

Tina Poe said...

Your yellow and lavender tulips look like they were painted with watercolors, love it!

Anonymous said...

I have those lavender and yellow tulips, too. Thanks for giving me the name. All of your blooms are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing.