It really had to happen eventually... precipitation in the form of rain rather than snow, and night temps above freezing. Without a doubt, spring has sprung, despite the frightfully cold winds that blew all day. It's amazing how much good a layer of snow can do, but also how much damage as well. Join me on a bit of an expectation tour, as in...'this is where that will come up and bloom' and the like...
Last post I was very concerned about the hellebores... many of them are now looking better, although not all... those touches of subtle color barely visible in the next photo means there will be some bloom for certain...
This garden is a garden of mummies in the winter and with good reason. Virtually every pine that wasn't protected this past winter has burn... from the small ones to the large ones... check out Pinus mugo 'Tannenbaum' and secondly this Tanyosho pine...
And now for the mummy parade... this is just a small portion of them... Chicken wire against the rabbits and burlap against the cold... not a lovely thing to watch all winter, but entirely necessary...
I find this particularly important in the first few years of young dwarf conifers in the gardens...
In some cases a young plant is hardy enough to just need protection from the rabbits as in the case of this young magnolia 'White Rose'... the problem comes when the snow gets deeper than the height of the protection, and it becomes necessary to dig out around each of them...
The other type of protection involves my elderly collection of spiral tree wraps... on every branch in late fall and off as soon as rabbits will leave the young magnolias alone in the spring... this minor monstrosity is a Roseanne magnolia with amazing potential if once gotten through the first several years of its life...
And then there is the power of receding snow drifts... the one following spent the majority of the winter seven feet high...
As hard as ice, its recession can take the branches of a young tree with it as in the case of this magnolia
'Bushing Belle', considered by its hybridizer to be the best cultivar he's come up with to date... but alas, not all is lost... see that little side shoot that is still vertical? That may eventually be the trunk of an amazing flowering tree...
Others indications of snow load damage always include arborvitae, and even this fastigiate english oak... best remedy is to cut it to the ground... believe it or not, it will almost certainly come back...
So yes, there is much to be thankful for ... a year ago on the 4th of April we had a snow storm... on top of blooming flowers, we can see the ground most places today, tulips and daffodils are coming through as well as minor bulbs being in bloom, vole damage to the lawn is minimal when compared with last year and no signs that they've been near the lily bulbs, and best of all, it could hit 50 tomorrow and we have plenty of moisture for the plants with more on the way...
... and there is no shortage of things to occupy one's hands and mind... seed starting, yard work, my soon to be completed lamp commission, and when my shoulder allows... creating some hyper-tuffa as seen here in the wood shop...
So for those of you with real flowers, we'll catch up soon enough! Larry
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