I'm hopeful that we won't have any more freezing temperatures, this season, now that the plants are getting further along in their spring wake-up.
The first evening that was supposed to be near freezing, I took a few photos of plants, just in case they were bitten back by the cold. As it turns out, I don't think many things were damaged, but there's no reason not to post those photos now...
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The 'Joseph's Coat' rose on the other side of the arbor still isn't looking that healthy. I'm tempted to cut it back, dig it up, move it elsewhere, and start over with something else, in this location-- but I'll probably give it another growing season to redeem itself. (And it will give me time to think about what else would be good to grow here, if not that particular rose...)
I believe this must be the 'Fireflame' clematis, because though the color isn't as bright as it has been in the past, the stamens aren't the right color for it to be 'Pink Climador', which is the other clematis I planted on that side of the arbor... Maybe the earliness of the bloom made it paler than usual.
The white clematis have been blooming-- not as prolifically as in some years. Still beautiful, though.
The mountain laurel has buds...
Pineapple lilies (Eucomis comosa) are beginning to emerge. This might be 'Twinkle Stars', based on the purple foliage. I didn't realize that clump of daylilies was quite so close, when I planted the eucomis bulb, so I will probably go back and carefully dig up the daylilies, which can find a home elsewhere in the garden. (Oh, and the purple foliage in the foreground is purple heart.)
I've been surprised by how early the gingers have come up, this year. This is variegated shell ginger (Alpina zerumbet 'Variegata'). Butterfly ginger has been up for a while, now, including the one named variety I have-- 'Elizabeth'. My tiny bit of orange bottlebrush ginger lily (Hedychium aurantiacum) has also recently sent up its first shoot of the year. It stayed in a pot over the winter, so I'll have to find a permanent home for it soon...
And here's some pincushion ginger (Hedychium thyrsiforme). The only ones not yet showing signs of life are Curcuma elata and Curcuma 'Scarlet Fever'-- and if they were up in early March, I would be stunned.
The Confederate rose in the backyard has kept all its new spring leaves, but the tiny piece in the front lost them. I think the one in the back is benefiting from the shelter of the shed to its north. Of course, its location also comes with a potential problem-- restricted sunlight.
More and more of the spring starflowers are showing up, now. 'Jessie' was the first to emerge (see an earlier post). Then came some that I think are 'Rolf Fiedler':
Next came the species, Ipheion uniflorum (in the photo below)-- and just today I noticed some that are closer to white that I think might be 'White Star' (not pictured). I'll have to give them a closer look to decide if they're pure white or a paler iteration of the species, which can vary quite a bit. (I'm pretty sure they're white, though.)
I'll also have to get down on my knees and give them a sniff to see if I can detect the violet-like fragrance they're supposed to have. I sniffed one of the very first ones and didn't notice much, but maybe I'll have better luck if I try again.
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The threat of killing frost put a damper on my gardening mood, so I haven't done much outside in the past several days (beyond protecting plants), but now that the danger is past (or at least that particular cold snap is over), I'm getting more excited about gardening, again, and I hope to do more mulching and weeding in the coming week or two. There are also things needing transplanting and bigger projects to work on-- and more seeds to start, when it's warm enough. (When is it warm enough?)
Ah, and we bought some tomatoes and an herb or two to go in the vegetable beds, which we weeded (as best we could) last weekend. Maybe we will get them in the ground before the end of this weekend!
