Were it not for three weeks of 70's and 80's a while back, this spring would have been just fine... unfortunately many nights of frosts and days of ice cold 30 mph winds are playing havoc with my capacity to appreciate my gardens.
As noted in an earlier post, the key to surviving this disillusionment appears to be looking at things from a distance, at least the things that are too big to be covered each night. For example, the magnolias pictured above actually have lots of brown tepals, but from a distance only a brownish cast can be observed.
Toro pictured below, reveals what a close-up can show... and it "ain't purdy"! Frost and magnolias just don't mix all that well.
Now I have to admit.... this is the first year in the past 30 years of growing magnolias that I've experienced anything this destructive with the weather... yes the occasional tree would get hit in some years, but never the nearly complete collection as in this very odd season. I do have hopes for a few yet, but unfortunately we will be at about the 30 degree mark or lower for the next three nights.
So far Daybreak and Elizabeth have been in pretty tight bud and avoided much damage with a big white pine standing guard at their sides, apparently serving as a break to the cold sliding down the hill...
Yellow Lantern is faring ok thus far as well... again, it's just downwind from a large spruce... is there a lesson to be learned here?
As far as younger trees go, Simple Pleasures continues to put out fresh blooms that allow one to overlook the damaged ones from the night before... here's one that opened today...
I continue to install baggies each evening over buds that show color on the cultivars that are blooming for the first time this season... working so far! Really looking forward to seeing what these new blooms will look like.
It's interesting that the hellebores whose blossoms were very faded out three weeks ago, are now putting on fresh and colorful blooms with the cold temps. A case in point is this flower of 'Pink Picotee' hellebore.
Primulas love the crisp weather so they are looking just fine.... I've been covering the epimediums as they don't relish the cold and can be damaged.
Radical Red is a favorite primrose which I divided last season... some divisions didn't make it, but three are now coming into bloom.
Here are more examples of my hardy crescendo series plants started from seed 18 months ago... I am very pleased with them....
The epimedium pictured above and below is Ubi and is much further along in its development than the other clump forms in the rockery, some of which are barely showing new growth...
Suphureum is a spreader and I feel hardier than my other forms...
Other primulas in the garden include these pictured below... all very hardy and dependable, as well as easily dividable.
The majority of tulips throughout the gardens are in bloom... after frost their blooms lay over but come back by mid-day... here are a few...
The daffodils are bizarre this season... the early ones are lasting a very long time, having been in bloom for close to three weeks already. The late ones are still a ways from opening. I was concerned that I might have to divide the bulbs in the large daffodil bed as I noticed few buds on many of the clumps.... they are starting to show slowly now and blooms are more obvious as seen in the wind swept photo from earlier this evening... still some time before the drift effect kicks in though.
Early viburnums are in bud as well as bloom... carlesii is pictured here...
In retrospect, things could be worse... I'm thankful for what I do have in bloom and eventually real spring temps will arrive. Until that time I'm keeping my new plant purchases under cover and am thankful that this year's weather is an anomaly... pictured below, Butterflies with a brown tinge from the cold. Take care, Larry
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