Pussy Willows! Still teensy, but reassuring.
Our Pussy willows ( Salix discolor), are just showing their catkins. These remind me of when I was young, because every March 7th ( or for whatever reason, the first Sunday in March) my parents would go Pussy Willow hunting, which would involve our Ford Country Squire station wagon, some clippers and these old galvanized buckets. We would drive around the countryside, looking for native species, and then my Dad would pick armloads of long branches of pussy willows. He then would plunge the branches into buckets of water in the cellar where it was dark, because he felt that the darkness made the catkins pink ( not sure if this is true, but I may try it again for nostalgia’s sake).
Crocus tommasinianus poping out of the ground near our stone foundation, these, I remember planting 35 years ago ( Ugh, I am old!) ( OK, I was 14, but still….). It’s amazing how long some of the Crocus colonies have lasted in our garden.
Tulipa greigii ‘Oratorio’
Tulip foliage can be more spectacular than their flowers, as we with Tulipa greigii ‘Oratorio’. When the new foliage emerges, it is very beautiful, and even more so when the temperatures are still cold. Best yet, these bulbs are longer lasting than most tulips, these were planted 5 years ago and they still bloom.
Hamamelis ‘Jelena’
The color on this new addition to the garden is spectacular, what a surprise today when it bloomed, like fire in the garden! I can’t wait until this one becomes larger ( if only the other Witch Hazel introductions we added last year survived.).
Erica’s can be very colorful in the late winter cold. White flower buds are forming on this Heather, and the snow just melted four days ago.
Homeland Security, catching some rays.
It's so wonderful to see the signs of spring! I love pussy willows.