The calendar says it’s mid-February. The weather says it’s spring. And nature is responding by presenting its buds and blooms.
Hellebore
Some of these early bloomers are prized because they give gardens a shot as color in February, and in some cases as early as January, as Marjorie Rachlin explained this time last year.
And with forecasters predicting temperatures in the mid-70s (!) this week, it may seem like we’ve seen the last of winter. But The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang says March tricked us last year, and might bring a surprise for people and plant life this year, too.
Witch hazel flower
Rhododendron buds
Crocus
Winter jasmine
Aucuba bud
Aconite
Beware the fig buttercup – see Jane’s comment below!
Hydrangea bud
Pieris Japonica
Daffodils
Stewartia buds
Snowdrops
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Jane Solomon says
All welcome signs except for fig buttercup (Ranuculus ficaria) one of the most rampantly spreading invasive species in the country and extremely hard to eradicate. The Park Service has been fighting it for years in Rock Creek Park. You’ve probably seen the carpet of bright yellow in April. Here’s a quote from a Park Service study: “The cover produced by growth of the vernal Ranunculus ficaria was most impressive, almost a monoculture, such that by mid-April it covered nearly 95% of the Rock Creek floodplain in the study areas, although the density was greater in some patches than others. When R. ficaria was in bloom in April the floodplain became a sea of yellow flowers.”
I’ve been diligently controlling this plant in my garden for at least 15 years. Fortunately it has an Achilles Heel–it’s emerges from the soil many weeks before anything else, making it easy to spot. It also allows you to spray it with Round-Up without killing any adjacent plants. I rarely use Round-Up, but in this case it’s necessary. Trying to pull it makes the stems break off from its tiny bulbs. You can dig it, but it’s easy to miss the bulbs and they can be very deep in the soil. And NEVER throw them in the compost pile because the bulbs may well survive. Your opportunity to act is short–by early May the plant goes dormant and vanishes from sight. Here’s a helpful link: https://www.gardeningchannel.com/how-to-get-rid-of-invasive-lesser-celandine-fig-buttercup/