Spring Emergence 2024
It’s so wonderful to see the gardens transform this time of year.
We’ve had quite a mild winter here in the Northeast. And while spring doesn't officially start for another 10-days, we're already seeing many signs of the season - flowering crocuses, snowdrops, hellebores, irises, witch hazel, and more. Soon, the grounds will be covered in spring color. Here’s a glimpse of what's blooming at my farm now.
Enjoy these photos.
-
- And just like that there are flowers popping up everywhere. Every day there is something new to see. One of my favorite spring blooms is the snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis. 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.
-
- Galanthus is a small genus of approximately 20 species of bulbous perennial herbaceous plants in the family Amaryllidaceae. These delicate flowers bloom January to March.
-
- Eranthis, or winter aconite, is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae – the Buttercup family. Winter aconite produces such cheerful yellow flowers that appear in late winter or earliest spring. They are deer resistant and multiply more and more every year.
-
- Crocus is also an early season flower that pops up 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.
-
- Croci can be found in alpine meadows, rocky mountainsides, scrublands, and woodlands. I have groups of crocus blooms all around my farm.
-
- Beneath my allée of pin oaks and in an area near my blueberry bushes, there are lots of white crocus. They only reach about four inches tall, but they naturalize easily, meaning they spread and come back.
-
- Here is a dark purple crocus near my Basket House.
-
- Golden crocus bears vivid orange-yellow bowl-shaped flowers.
-
- There are also lots of irises blooming – this one in a creamy yellow. These dwarf irises are good for use in borders, along walkways, by ponds, or woodland areas in mass plantings.
-
- 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 petals.
-
- They bloom in early spring and grow to about four to six inches tall.
-
- This miniature iris is called ‘Natascha’ in a lovely ice blue color.
-
- 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. Puschkinia is best grown in moist, fertile, well-draining soil in full sun to partial sunlight.
-
- The flowers open in early spring in racemes up to about 10-inches high.
-
- The witch-hazel is also blooming nicely. It grows as small trees or shrubs with clusters of rich orange-red to yellow flowers. Witch-hazel is great for splashes of winter color. They’re very hardy and are not prone to a lot of diseases. Most species bloom from January to March and display beautiful spidery flowers that let off a slightly spicy fragrance.
-
- Witch-hazel flowers consist of four, strap-like petals that are able to curl inward to protect the inner structures from freezing during the winter.
-
- 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. The flowers appear before the leaves and show a mottled maroon hoodlike leaf called a spathe, which surrounds a knob-like structure called a spadix.
-
- One can see the spadix inside. The spadix is actually a fleshy spike of many petal-less flowers. As the flowers mature, the spathe opens more to allow pollinators to enter.
-
- 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.
-
- Hellebores come in different colors 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.
-
- These white hellebores are growing beneath my allée of lindens.
-
- All around the farm, bulbs are pushing through the earth with so much energy. Along the daffodil border, in the woodland and in various areas around the farm there are patches of daffodil foliage. I have thousands of daffodils planted in large groupings, providing a stunning swath of color when in bloom.
-
- Much of the farm still looks like winter, but not for long. Soon these trees will be filled with glorious leaves, and all the gardens will be bursting with color – wait and see!
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
