And Now It's 'Real' Spring

Many of us who live in climates featuring extreme seasonal swings often joke about the many "seasons" of spring--from fake spring, to "spring of deception," to real spring. I think we've made it to the last stage. We'll still be cold a few times in the next few weeks, but I'm officially packing away the parka and the snow boots.

And the garden is signaling it's time to move on and grow!



The stars of area gardens right now are the Crabapples (Malus spp.). They seem to suddenly explode with lush flowers and intoxicating scents.

A few blooms of various Hellebores still hang on--especially those in colder, shadier areas.

The Mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum) in the woodland resemble a convention of umbrellas. As they flatten out in the next few days, apparently that's a sign it's time to hunt for Morel mushrooms.



Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica)...sigh...I wish they could bloom all summer. Their time is too fleeting.



Same with the Bleeding Hearts (Lamprocapnos spectabilis). They're great companions for the Virginia Bluebells, as shown in the top photo.

Finally, for this "Six on Saturday," I'm including a nod to the Barrenworts, in this case, Epimedium x warleyense. I have several Barrenwort varieties, but this one seems particularly happy with the garden's conditions.

That's it for this week for my "Six on Saturday," a meme hosted by Jim at Garden Ruminations. Head on over to his wonderful blog to visit gardens around the world.

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Our book, "A Journey of Seasonal Wisdom," is now available in ebook format, internationally, on Amazon!

Fellow blogger, Donna Donabella, and I co-wrote the book, and its readers are truly part of the story. The paperback will be out next week! We're both so thrilled: Our collaborative effort of several years is now a finished product. Visit Golden Dragonfly Press or my previous post to learn more!

A Few Starts in March

Every March in this part of the world is a roller-coaster ride of weather. But going from 4F/-16C to 72F/22C within a few days (what we experienced last week) is crazier than "normal."

Anyway, most of the plants survived and seem to be thriving. A heavy blanket of snow last week helped, I guess, and now we'll be warm again this week.

So...on with what's happening in the garden for Six on Saturday!



A few beauties are blooming away with abandon, including the 'Tête-à-tête' Daffodils (Narcissus).

Crocuses seem more abundant and more varied in colors and shading this year. The wind whipped them around yesterday and today, but they're tougher than they look!



Rhubarb (Rheum hybrid) is making good progress, and I'm already salivating, thinking about a delicious pie.

Tulips (Tulipa hybrids) will be blooming very soon. They're surrounded by fencing to protect them from naughty, hungry rabbits.



Ornamental Alliums (A. giganteum) have longer to wait for their bloom time, but they've made amazing progress since the beginning of the month. I guess the snowy blanket helped them, too.

Finally, I briefly lifted leaf mulch from a patch of Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) and discovered they've emerged! They look other-worldly at this point, but it's so magical to see them carpeting the woodland with blue flowers in mid-spring.

Soon, I'll have way too many things to share for "Six on Saturday"! But for now, I hope your week will be pleasant. Head on over to Garden Ruminations for more wonderful garden happenings. Thanks to Jim for hosting!

Sprouts and Blooms in the Sunroom

The weather here is bizarre for a few days, so I'm in denial and hiding out in the sunroom. We keep it partially heated, but closed off, so it seems to simulate winter in a warmer climate. Temperatures never drop below about 45F/7C, but they warm during most winter days to about 60F/15C. During short winter days, many plants go semi-dormant, and then "wake up" in late winter/early spring with longer daylight.

So for this "Six on Saturday," I'm sharing some indoor happenings: First, the Kalanchoe (K. blossfeldiana) is about to bloom (see above). It's a great indoor potted plant year-round, but I take mine outside (along with all my pots) from May through early October.



I started some seeds! And they're sprouting fast! These are mixed Dahlias. I've never grown Dahlias from seed, so I'm thrilled they're successful (so far)!



This potted Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) has come back for several years now in its pot in the sunroom. It's a joy to see the sprouts climbing their trellis in spring and blooming in the summer. I also have some vines planted along the west, sunny side of the house on an outdoor trellis, although those plants have never bloomed (yet). I'm so glad I planted these--they're easy-care, and they bring so much joy!



Yay for Zinnias (Z. elegans)! I post about these guys way too much (sorry), but they're definitely a garden staple for me. Tiny little sprouts like this eventually yield continuous, weekly blooms for cut arrangements--from late May through mid-October.



This was an accident: In October, I left some Impatiens (I. walleriana) in a mixed planter when I brought it inside. These plants looked terrible in December and January, and I forgot about them. To my surprise, they perked up and started blooming in March. Fun!

Finally, I'm thrilled to say California Poppies (Eschscholzia californica) are waving their little tendrils in a planting trough in the sun! I've never had luck planting these seeds directly in the garden, as many people do. They seem to get lost in the mulch and the competition with other plants...and maybe wildlife eat them? Anyway, we'll see how they perform in this trough, which I can move around and control a little easier. Some day, I'd like to try planting their Papaver cousins, using a similar technique.

That's my "six" for this week. Head on over to Garden Ruminations to see what's happening in other gardens around the world!

February Flowers in the Sunroom

Oxalis vulcanicola 'Zinfandel'

Kalanchoe blossfeldiana buds

Spathiphyllum wallisii

Fuchsia 'Marinka' dried

(It's Wordless Wednesday.)

Miscellaneous Pleasant Memories of 2025

Do you designate a folder or a notebook (online or physical) to save pleasant experiences you don't want to forget?

As a blogger, I often set aside photos that capture "magical" moments I'd like to remember. They're hard to put into words or fit into a blog post. I'm sharing a few here that remind me of special days and unique experiences during the past year.

I've placed them roughly in the order they occurred. The first six, including the top photo of the bumble bee exploring White Wild Indigo (Baptisia alba), greeted me on one of those partly cloudy, perfect days in mid-June. The final three are early October memories, when the garden, nature, and local harvests were full, colorful, and plentiful.

There are many more memories, of course, but these were specifically placed in my "Miscellaneous 2025" folder.

A stem of Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea), about to pop and declare the joy of summer.

Blue Flag Iris, at peace within its marshy home. I believe this is Southern Blue Flag (I. virginica), because it displays more yellow on its sepals than Northern Blue Flag (I. versicolor). Both are native here.

A redwing blackbird nestled among the grasses and forbs of its favorite prairie.



Oxeye Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides), ready to burst in the warm sunlight.



The solid, yet graceful and fascinating structure of Foxglove Beardtongue (Penstemon digitalis).



Bird's Foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), declaring the growing season extending a bit longer into autumn. Introduced here, this plant can be invasive in some settings. But it certainly is bright and cheery on a warm autumn day.

Locally grown apples (Malus varieties), crowned by a delicious apple cider donut.

And finally, a bright Zinnia bloom (Z. elegans 'State Fair Mix'), started from seed in the sunroom in late March and sparkling through October.

Do you have special memories of gardens and nature from the past year? Please share them!

Autumn to Winter, Overnight

Impatiens x hybrida 'Compact Purple Candy'

Six on Saturday: Rose Blooms at Peak Display

I'm "borrowing" an idea AND I'm cheating for this Six on Saturday. The borrowed idea is to focus on one type of plant/bloom, in this case Roses. I'm cheating because I'm including one that isn't quite blooming yet (on the arbor in the first photo above), but I'm including a bloom from last year:

1. This is Climbing Prairie Rose (Rosa setigera), and for some reason it's simply taking a little longer to bloom this year than last year. But it's a beauty when it happens.

All the others here are blooming or have just finished blooming:



2. Here's an unknown cultivar that was here when we moved to this property more than 20 years ago, and it wasn't marked. It's a short little buddy, but it has a beautiful color and shape.



3. Next is Rosa X Oso Easy Double Pink. It's perhaps the hardiest and longest-blooming Rose in my garden. I started out with two shrubs of different sizes, and over the years the smaller one has caught up with the larger one.



4. Rosa X  'At Last' is such a lovely color, and the scent is amazing. It doesn't bloom as long as some of the others, but it's a beautiful flower, and sometimes a repeat bloomer.



5. Another unmarked Rose that greeted us when we moved in all those years ago, this one above is ruffly, hardy, and a deep Fuchsia color.

6. Finally, here's the Rose my paternal great-grandfather created, we think by crossing a tea Rose with a wild Rose. The story of its beginning goes back to a farm in Minnesota (northern U.S.) in the early 20th Century. Our family nicknames for it are 'Sweet Mary' and 'Grandpa Buffham Rose.'

I have a couple more Rose varieties in the garden, but they will have to wait for another post. Thanks to Jim at Garden Ruminations for hosting Six on Saturday!

Saturday's Signs of Spring

It's warm, and spring is on the way! Things are happening in the garden, so I'm joining in with Garden Ruminations' Six on Saturday. And since I technically have blooms, I'm also linking in with May Dreams Gardens' Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. Thanks to both bloggers for hosting these fun memes.

The photos here are a couple of days old, so plants are even a little farther along than shown. First, the Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis 'Flore Pleno') above are more open, and there are more patches in other spots in the garden. Such a joy to see.



Second, Allium 'Ambassador' is right next to the house, facing south, so it's one of the first plants to pop out of the ground. The foliage is almost as lovely as the later blooms.



Third, I have several different species of Sedums growing here and there in the garden. The Stonecrops above (S. kamtschaticum) are growing in a pot with lava rocks to decrease digging damage by squirrels.



Fourth, Mixed Daffodils (Narcissus spp.) are garden staples in many locations. This is a genus of plants the rabbits don't eat. (Yay!)



Fifth: In some sunny, warm locations, the Irises (I. germanica) are making strides.



Finally, sixth, the Hellebores (H. orientalis) are just about to pop. I always look forward to their hardy, beautiful blooms.

Head on over to Garden Ruminations and May Dreams Gardens for garden highlights from all around the world.

Six on Saturday in the Sunroom

My garden is currently "reset" on winter, after one storm dropped more snow in one day than during the entire month of January. I admit it's prettier, and the plants now have a white blanket of protection. I'm joining in Jim's "Six on Saturday" meme at Garden Ruminations, but I hope it's OK if I focus on my indoor garden in the sunroom...



I'm thrilled to see that some shoots of the 'Canova Rose' Canna Lily (Canna x generalis) are breaking through the soil in their pot. (If you see lava rocks in my pots, it's to protect the plants from digging squirrels and chipmunks when the pots are moved outside during the growing season. The rodents don't like to dig through the tough lava rocks.)



Fuchsia  'Marinka' (F. hybrida) is putting on more buds.



And there are plenty of edible Fuchsia fruits, too!



The potted Passionflower (Passifloria incarnata) vine that I bring indoors for the winter is budding. I have another Passionflower outdoors, and I hope it survived the bitter cold of January with no snow.



Flaming Katy (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana) is full of buds, too. When open, the blooms are a beautiful bright yellow.

Purple Shamrock Oxalis (O. triangularis) is happy all winter in the sunroom. Its companion in the pot is variegated English Ivy (Hedera helix).



And the Gerbera Daisy (G. jamesonii) is the brightest star in the group. I have to smile when I see these happy faces.

So much to celebrate (in the plant world) indoors and out. Happy Six on Saturday and Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!