Spring Emergence Around My Farm 2022
Spring is officially here and all the gardens are beginning to transform here at my Bedford, New York farm.
So many of the flowers are finally erupting after the long, dreary winter. We have crocuses, snowdrops, hellebores, daffodils and so many more peeking through the soil. Soon, the grounds will be covered in spring color. Here’s a glimpse of what is flowering in my gardens now.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Once the weather starts to get warm, it’s so exciting to see what flowers open up each day. Crocus is among the first flowers to appear in spring, usually in shades of purple, yellow and white. There are about 90 different species of crocus that originate from Southern Europe, Central Asia, China, the Middle East, and Africa.
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- Crocus lives in alpine meadows, rocky mountainsides, scrublands, and woodlands. Patches of crocus can be found everywhere around my farm.
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- This patch is right outside my gym building. I love to see them every morning on my way to exercise.
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- Here are some white crocuses. They only reach about four inches tall, but they naturalize easily, meaning they spread and come back year after year.
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- These white crocus look great planted in bunches. Choose a planting site where there is well-draining soil.
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- This is ‘Natascha’ miniature iris – a lovely ice blue color. They bloom in early spring and grow to about four to six inches tall.
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- In another area, dark purple irises. The blooms have a very light and subtle violet-like scent. 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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- Eranthis, or winter aconite, is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae – the Buttercup family.
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- Winter aconite produces such cheerful yellow flowers that appear in late winter or earliest spring. And, they are deer resistant.
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- All around the farm, bulbs are pushing through the earth with so much energy. The daffodil border that stretches along one side of my farm is growing fast. There are many daffodil varieties planted in large groupings, providing a stunning swath of color when in bloom. The original daffodil border was begun in 2003.
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- Here is one of the first daffodils to bloom outside my Tenant House. I plant early, mid and late season blooming varieties so that sections of beautiful flowers can be seen throughout the season.
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- Do you recognize these plants? These are the rows of saffron planted by my friend, Hannah Milman. She planted thousands of saffron corms in various gardens around the property. Saffron, Crocus sativus, is a perennial fall-blooming corm that is grown extensively in southeastern Asia and parts of the Mediterranean region.
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- This crocus patch is growing beneath my bald cypress trees across from my pergola. I love the deep purple color.
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- Here are purple and white striped croci growing in the back border of my pergola in front of a row of bold green boxwood. This striped flower produces several upright, cup-like, purple and white striped blooms on stems rising to four to six inches above basal, grass-like leaves.
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- 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 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.
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- Puschkinia is a genus of three known species of bulbous perennials in the family Asparagaceae. It is native to the Caucasus and the Middle East. The leaves are green, strap-like, and grow in pairs. The flowers open in early spring in racemes up to about 10 inches high.
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- I have puschkinia growing in a large patch near my Tenant House. Puschkinia is best grown in moist, fertile, well-draining soil in full sun to partial sunlight.
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- Chionodoxa, known as glory-of-the-snow, is a small genus of bulbous perennial flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae, often included in Scilla. The blue, white or pink flowers appear early in the year making them valuable garden ornamentals.
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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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- This is a red sedum. Sedum, a large genus of flowering plants, are also known as stonecrops and are members of the succulent family. Sedum does really well growing between the crevices in stone walls. We planted this sedum several years ago. Most sedum has a trailing nature – I love how it grows on the side of this wall outside my Winter House.
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- And one of my favorite flowers – the snowdrops, Galanthus nivalis, are another sure sign of spring. These beautiful white flowers are blooming all around my houses. Snowdrops produce one very small pendulous bell-shaped white flower which hangs off its stalk like a “drop” before opening. What flowers are you seeing on this first full day of spring? Share your comments with me below.
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