Early spring flowering plants
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Bulb companions, Bulbs, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Conservatory, Early spring flowering plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Flower arrangements, Flower Shows, flowering shrubs, Forcing Branches in Winter, Fragrance, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Gardening Inspiration, Glamorous Gardens, Green House Gardens, House Plants, Indoor Eden, Indoor Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, Inspirational Gardens, Lyman Conservatory, MA, Massachusetts, Smith College Botanical Garden, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Spring Flowering Bulbs, Springtime
Narcissus, Tulipa & Fragrant Hyacinth: Smith Botanic Garden’s 2018 Bulb Show
Tulipa, Narcissus & Sweetly Fragrant Hyacinth at Lyman Conservatory It’s 3:30 p.m. and snow is falling steadily here in Southern Vermont. The forecast is calling for 5-8Â inches overnight. These late winter storms can really give a gardener the blues, but I knew this nor’easter was coming, so I prepared. Bread and milk? Oh, no, […]
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Early spring flowering plants, flowering shrubs, Garden Design, Hamamelis, Native North American Woodlands, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Nature, New England, Shrubs for early spring blossoms, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Witch hazel, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Forward March: Signs of a New Season
Vernal Witch Hazel (Hamamelis vernalis) greets the sun Although it’s a mostly-winter month —and oh how I dread the lion’s roar!— March is filled with the promise of springtime. Witch Hazel, Pussy Willow, Spring Heath, Snowdrops, Crocus: everywhere I look, the signs appear! And so I venture forth, into the garden, calling out the lamb. […]
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Birds, Birds in the Garden, Early spring flowering plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Music in the Garden, Native North American Woodlands, Native Plants, The Seasons, Witch hazel, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Purple Finch & Springtime Blossoms: Rejoicing as Sleeping Beauty Awakes . . .
 Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) in Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) It’s been a raw and chilly April in Vermont, and yet springtime songbirds, undaunted by the lingering chill, have flocked to my garden in search of sustenance. Some species are merely passing through, but others will settle and set up summer residence. This month’s standout is the […]
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Early spring flowering plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Springtime, The Seasons
First Hints of a Changing Season . . .
April’s Promise: Beloved Blossoms on My Bodnant Viburnum (Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’). Read More About this Beauty in My Previous Post Here The first hints of a changing season: warm breezes from the south and silvery pussy willow catkins, soft against the skin, flirty pink buds on my favorite viburnum and the taste of sweet […]
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Bulb companions, Bulbs, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Early spring flowering plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Ferncliff, Ferns
The Seasons are Changing & It’s Time to Begin Burying Our Bulb Treasures …
A Tisket, A Tasket, A Basket Full of Narcissus . . . Anticipation. True gardeners really know how to revel in the wait. We are, essentially, pleasure-delayers. Gardening differs from many modern-day activities in one significant way: it is not an instant gratification activity. Not at all. Gardeners do a lot of waiting, watching and […]
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Bulbs, Decorating Ideas, Early spring flowering plants, Flower arrangements, Garden projects for kids, Gifts for Gardeners, Glamorous Gardens, Indoor Eden, Indoor Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements
Indoor Eden: Preparing & Chilling Bulbs For a Glorious Mid-Winter Display …
Last Winter’s Forced Narcissus by the Front Door in February My friend Eve recently said that autumn always makes her think of spring. I couldn’t agree with her more, and as I squirrel away hoards of daffodil, tulip, and hyacinth bulbs, my mind drifts to the scents, sights and sounds of late April and May. […]
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Autumn Color in the Garden, Bee-Friendly Gardens, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Bird Friendly Gardens, Birds, Dining Outdoors, Early spring flowering plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Fantasy Flowers, Ferncliff, Flowering Trees, Foliage, Garden Design, Hummingbird/Butterfly, Native North American Woodlands, Native Plants, Nature, North American Trees, Plant Spotlight, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Springtime’s Shimmering Silverbells: Halesia tetraptera in Full Bloom…
Carolina Silverbell (Halesia tetraptera) Carolina Silverbell Blossoms Attract Bumble Bees and Hummingbirds Looking up from the Terrace Dining Table, Into Thousands of Tiny White Bells Halesia tetraptera When it comes to the springtime show in my garden, Carolina Silverbell really knows how to steal the stage. Smothered in […]
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Climbing plants, Dan Snow Stonework, Early spring flowering plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Ferncliff, Furniture, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Gardening without Lawn, Ground Covers, ornamental grass, Paths and Walkways, Perennials : Vermont, Perennials for Spring, Plants for shade, Pots, Pots and Pottery, Rare Plants, Reflections, scree gardens, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Garden Room, Secret Gardens, The Seasons, Woodland plants
A Peek Inside the Misty Moss Walls: Springtime in the Secret Garden …
By May, a cool tapestry of springtime color carpets the Secret Garden path… This week my design studio and office began slowly migrating back down to the Secret Garden Room, where plants and paperwork happily mingle from late spring through early November. Each day on my way to and from appointments, I pass through the […]
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Dan Snow Stonework, Early spring flowering plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Ferncliff, Ferns, flowering shrubs, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Garden Room, Secret Gardens, Shade Gardening, Shrubs for early spring blossoms, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Spring Ephemerals, Spring Flowering Bulbs, Steps and Stairs - Stone, Stone Walkways, stonework, Woodland plants
The Moment of Spring: A Walk Along The Secret Garden Path in Magical May
Pretty is the Cool Morning Mist; Softening the Landscape and Intensifying the Fragrance of Springtime So busy is the month of May… Days pass so quickly, I can barely remember to flip the pages of my desktop calendar. Things in the garden change rapidly from day to day, and I try to take a different […]
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Birds, Books, companion planting, Early spring flowering plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Ferncliff, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Nature, New England, Perennial Close-Ups, Plant Spotlight, Plants for shade, Secret Gardens, Shade Gardening, Spring Ephemerals, Wildflowers and Meadows, Woodland plants
Ephemeral Woodland Wildflowers & Return of the Ethereal Hermit Thrush…
Red Trillium (Trillium erectum) There’s no place quite like New England for experiencing three seasons in one day. Sunday morning I rose to find a chilly house and snow covered gardens. Soon –with the sun shining brightly outside– temperatures soared to 63°. Breakfast in the snowy garden … Well, why not? I threw open the entryway […]
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Bulbs, Early spring flowering plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Spring Flowering Bulbs
Narcissus & Nostalgia…
Narcissus in April Snow at Ferncliff Late April snows always bring me back to my mother’s rocky, alpine garden in early spring; colorful bulbs poking up through chilly, crystalline white glazes. Here in New England, spring often arrives in fits and starts, and this year is classic. Winter-weary though we may be, there’s still something […]
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Bulbs, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Early spring flowering plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Ferncliff, flowering shrubs, Ground Covers, Insects/Entomology, Lawns, Naturalistic Garden Design, New England, Old Fashioned Flowers, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Spring Flowering Bulbs, The Seasons, Woody Plants
Hazy Color Drifts Carpet the Garden: Tiny Gifts of Early Spring…
Spring Heath (Erica carnea) Begins Blooming in Early April (click here to revisit my Erica carnea plant-profile post from last year). Here, Sprawling Across the Ledge  in the Entry Garden… The Pink, Hazy Blur of Spring Heath is Particularly Lovely Against Grey Sky and Cool Stone. On a Blustery Day, I Can’t Help but Think […]
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