Early Flowers

February 16, 2012 by Sherry

I wandered around the garden for awhile today looking at (and fussing about) all the deer damage to my hydrangeas and the constant rain and wet soil this winter, and was cheered by the flowers blooming now— daffodils, crocus, miniature iris.

Crocus

Iris reticulata ‘Harmony’

Daffodil

It’s so nice to see the garden coming alive again!

Posted in Flowers, Garden, nature, Photos, weather, yard | Tagged crocus, daffodils, deer damage, early flowers, miniature iris, spring | 8 Comments

8 Responses

on February 17, 2012 at 3:39 am | Reply Spider

Hi Sherry, we can’t wait to see your upcoming pictures so full of color and life… Happy Spring…!!
- on February 21, 2012 at 1:47 am | Reply Sherry
  
  Thanks Spider, I’m looking forward to getting back to the garden!
on February 17, 2012 at 8:05 am | Reply Jim

we have not received the rain up here in CT as you have but we’ve had a warmer than avg winter just like you. I survey the yard frequently as well and I see NOTHING coming up yet. No crocuses or daffodils. But because it was so warm in January and Feb so far, the roses have leaf buds all over them. Crazy. The flower buds on the quince that set last fall are big and plump and seem like they are going to burst open any day now. But, come on, it’s still too cold! :o)

Your first pics of the garden coming back to life are lovely. I really do love the iris reticulata. I’ve seen your pics for two years now and I STILL HAVEN’T GOTTEN ANY!

Jim
- on February 21, 2012 at 1:53 am | Reply Sherry
  
  Hi Jim,
  I’m sure it won’t be long before you’re seeing growth up there too! It does seem a little early, but I’m so ready for it.
  
  This winter has been much closer to normal (whatever that is) than last year — it was so unusually cold and snowy here and completely opposite this year. We’ve had so much rain that I am tired of it… I’m sure I won’t be saying that this summer though. :)
  
  You should get some of those miniature iris, they’are always the first thing to bloom here, even earlier than the crocus some years. They are a bright purple patch in the secret garden right now, so cheerful after the blah winter.
  
  Just a month til spring now! :)
  
  -Sherry
on March 3, 2012 at 7:33 pm | Reply Brenda Dailey

Sherry,
I planted some flowers last year and to my surprise they are blooming again this year! They survived the winter with no help from me because i though they were annuals. Now, I cannot identify them. After looking on the web for many hours I found your website and I think they are dianthus. I bought them at Home Depot and they were tagged as annuals. I would send you a picture, but I do not have your email.
Enjoying your beautiful flowers! Do you have any suggestions for flowers that honeybees would love. We have bee hives, and I would like to plant a field of flowers for them to enjoy!
Thanks,
Brenda
- on March 14, 2012 at 1:32 am | Reply Sherry
  
  Thanks, Brenda. :)
  
  Glad the post helped you identify your plants. Yes, most dianthus are perennials.
  
  About the flowers that will attract honeybees: Here, they are especially attracted to marigolds, poppies, zinnias, sunflowers, cosmos — just about any annual flower.
  
  Good luck with your garden this year, and thanks for visiting! :)
  
  -Sherry
  - on March 14, 2012 at 9:38 am | Reply Brenda Dailey
    
    Thank you Sherry,
    Now, just one more question. I would like to plant some flowers that can live in soil that is “woods dirt, roots, and briars”, and also deer resistant and perrineals. That is not too much to ask is it “Ha Ha!!” When the dianthus came back this year I was so excited, so now I want to plant more hardy plants. Also, thank you so much for the list of flowers that will attract our honeybees. I thought honeybees liked red bud trees, but they are not going after the blooms. Any help you could give me would be appreciated.
on March 17, 2012 at 12:07 am | Reply Sherry

Hi Brenda,

Add in “rocks” to your list and we would have the same type of soil! lol

Coneflowers, black-eyed susans, shasta daisies are my go-to perennials for covering ground in my sunny areas — bees love them and they come back reliably every year and spread (but not invasively). They can also be divided and spread around a little more each year, they make great flower bed fillers for summer. Bee Balm (Monarda) is also a very reliable perennial that attacts lots of bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. It does spread though, (quite a LOT lol), but it’s easy to dig up clumps of it in early spring and spread it around. If you have hot dry areas with less-than-fertile soil, gallardia will do well and attract bees.

As for being deer resistant, I’m not sure… hungry deer will eat -anything-! I haven’t had problems with them eating the above listed perennials — yet.

Good luck and hope this helps,
Sherry