Secret Pleasures

A sense of humor is essential to the lifestyle garden and I got a good laugh out of the above pictured Galanthus (snow drops). I had long ago lost track of the name and all memory of planting this little patch of snow drops next to my driveway, but I was looking at them this spring and was struck by how the flowers seemed strangely fat. Upon closer inspection I discovered they were doubles. Of course, you can't tell the flowers are doubles unless you turn them upside down. I found this all both gratifying and mildly humorous. It is like a private little secret of mine that I can enjoy any time I want to tip up one of the flowers, and they really are beautiful if I take the time to look.

These Modest Flowers are Eagerly Awaited

Some Brits seem to be over the top for snowdrops (Galanthus). They are certainly one of the most welcome of plants to see bloom but...


Winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis)is cheap, reliable and a spot of pleasure in an otherwise bleak landscape.


Witch-hazel varieties like this one (Arnold Promise) deliver on the promise of something cheerful to look at early in the spring warm-up.

Winter finally broke. The snow hasn't all melted yet, but it is on the run, and my thermometer says 70 degrees, yippee. People seem to come out of the woodwork on these first warm days of spring and walk around the public garden I work for (Kingwood Center), presumably expecting the landscape to be transformed. I suppose they are disappointed to find the duck feeding with the kids is inhibited by the ice that still covers about 90% of the pond, and there is precious little sign of spring in the gardens. There are a few things blooming and they are the topic of my lifestyle garden homily for today. These first few warm days of March are hugely important to people's spirits. Give yourself a reward on these sorts of days by having those handful of super-early bloomers in your yard like the three pictured above. They may not compare to what is to come, but they are probably some of the most appreciated flowers in the garden.

Hope Confirmed

Snow drops (Galanthus) pictured on top, are rather common bulbs, but for the lifestyle garden they play an important role. Every year for as long as I have been an adult I have eagerly looked for the first signs of spring by seeking out the first blooming plant. More often than not they have been snow drops. We may take it for granted, but I think it is an important emotional lift to see those first spring flowers. I know at Kingwood Center on the first warm day of March we get a sudden little surge of visitors, and I suspect most have their heads down looking for some sort of floral assurance that spring is on the way. It is a rare spring indeed that I don't hear someone almost breathlessly announce the first snowdrops, hearing the first spring peepers, hearing the first red-wing blackbirds or some other sign of spring. These things are important to us, and having one of those gratifying signs of spring right outside your back door, like I have my snow drops, is very satisfying.

I included a second picture of Christmas rose (Helleborus niger), because it blooms as early as snow drops but more spectacularly for even more end of winter gratification. I grow this clump outside my back door as well.