More Spring Flowers Around the Farm
It always amazes me how quickly plants grow from day to day - I love watching the transformation around my Bedford, New York farm.
Every day, something new comes to life or blooms with vibrant spring color. The temperatures in the Northeast have been rising, and recent days have been mild, sunny, and beautiful. This week, the crocuses are putting on a fabulous show with bright white, purple, yellow, and pink flowers. We're also seeing puschkinia, irises, and the interesting shapes and colors of the skunk cabbage growing in the woodland.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Among the first gardens one sees when visiting my farm is the one under the long and winding pergola located along the carriage road to my Winter House. It’s now lined with gorgeous spring croci beneath the lush green boxwood. Soon, it will display a colorful palette of alliums, lilies, camassia, and fritillaria.
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- The crocus is lavender and white with yellow centers and purple edges.
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- Here are some white crocuses across from the pergola. Crocuses only reach about two to six inches tall, but they naturalize easily, meaning they spread and come back year after year.
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- These are pink, white, and yellow croci. Crocus is a genus of flowering plants in the iris family made up of about 90-species of perennial plants.
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- Patches of crocus can be found everywhere around my farm. This is a bright golden-yellow variety at the edge of my Stewartia garden. Crocuses are native to the Alps, southern Europe, the Mediterranean area, North Africa and the Middle East, and across Central Asia to Xinjiang Province in western China.
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- Crocus colors include white, mauve, lilac, lavender, yellow, striped, and this darker purple. This crocus is growing beneath my bald cypress trees.
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- This one is just about to open. The grass-like, ensiform leaf shows generally a white central stripe along the leaf axis. It is often referred to as the light bulb flower because it looks like a bright light bulb until the petals unfurl into the cup shaped flower.
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- New growth is also emerging in the woodland. Symplocarpus foetidus, commonly known as skunk cabbage or swamp cabbage is a low growing plant that grows in wetlands and moist hill slopes of eastern North America.
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- They look so pretty, but be careful not to step on them. Bruised leaves present a fragrance reminiscent of skunk.
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- I have puschkinia growing near my Tenant House. Puschkinia is best grown in moist, fertile, well-draining soil in full to partial sunlight. Puschkinia scilloides, also known as striped squill or Lebanon squill, is a perennial bulb that originated in Asia Minor, Lebanon, and the Caucasus. Each Puschkinia plant produces a single flower stalk topped with a cluster of small bluish-white flowers with delicate blue stripes down the middle of each petal and a pleasant aroma.
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- Irises are also gorgeous flowering plants. There are more than 300 species of Iris flowers around the world, making them not only beautiful but also incredibly diverse. This miniature iris has light blue and deep blue-purple blooms. This variety blooms in early spring and grows to about four to six inches tall. Irises come from a vast genus of plants, but nearly all show the recognizable iris flower form – three standard petals and three hanging outer fall petals.
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- Snowdrops continue to fill the gardens with their small, pendulous bell-shaped white flowers that hang off stalks like “drops” before opening.
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- The tree peonies are also beginning to bud. Once in bloom, these long-lived deciduous woody shrubs will have an abundance of colorful flowers.
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- In this area of the Summer House garden, between the burlap-covered European boxwood and the netted American boxwood is a row of melting snow – a small reminder of the still changing seasons.
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- The daffodil border that stretches along one side of my farm is growing rapidly. There are several varieties planted here – all in large groupings, providing a stunning swath of color when in bloom. The original daffodil border was begun in 2003. It now stretches all the way down from my Summer House, past the stable, and ending at the Japanese maple grove.
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- Sedum does really well growing along stone walkways and even between the crevices in stone walls. I first planted sedum in walls many years ago at my home on Turkey Hill in Connecticut. Most sedum has a trailing nature – I love how it cascades down the side of this wall outside my Winter House.
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- Eranthis, or winter aconite, is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae – the Buttercup family. I have winter aconite growing just below the linden allee on one side of my stable barn.
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- The witch-hazel outside the Summer House continues to bloom nicely. Witch-hazel is a genus of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae. Most species bloom from January to March and display beautiful spidery flowers that let off a slightly spicy fragrance.
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- And don’t forget the spring blooming hellebores. These come in a variety of color and have rose-like blossoms. It is common to plant them on slopes or in raised beds in order to see their flowers, which tend to nod. Hellebores are members of the Eurasian genus Helleborus – about 20 species of evergreen perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. They blossom during late winter and early spring for up to three months.
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- Hellebores are widely grown for decorative purposes because of their love for shady locations and resistance to frost. I have them near my gym building, in the shade gardens near the Tenant House, and in front of the blog studio.
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- Yesterday, there was not one cloud in the sky above my farm. Today is expected to be just as pleasant. What spring blooms do you see around your home this week? Share them with me in the comments section below.
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