March Bloom Day: An Early Spring

According to the calendar, the first day of spring isn't until next Tuesday, but you could have fooled me.  We have had record-setting temperatures this past week, and the garden is bursting forth with blooms and all kinds of new growth, just in time for this month's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.

Flowers and gardeners are not the only creatures feeling the stirrings of spring.  Even a lone hoverfly was out last week enjoying some early blooms and frolicking in the pollen.

Checking through past years' records, I did have a few tiny crocus blooms opening last year.  But this year the crocuses have been in bloom since early February, which also sets a new record in my garden.

I noticed in my past March Bloom Day posts that three years ago I was wondering what had happened to all the crocuses I had planted, because only a few had appeared.  I'm not sure if the crocuses blooming now are from that mystery year or from later plantings, but they seem to be multiplying everywhere.

 I'm glad because although each tiny little bloom is such a welcome sight, especially after a long winter, they look so much better in groups.

It's also early for daffodils in my zone 5b garden. On Monday I took a few photos of the buds, but by Tuesday, they had opened up completely.

In the coming weeks there will be other varieties of daffodils coming into bloom, small tazetta blooms and ruffled doubles in different hues, but the first unnamed yellow stalwarts are always the most appreciated, for they signal the true beginning of spring for me.

Spring bulbs are slower to emerge in the shade garden, but the hellebores are capturing all attention right now.  Taking a picture of the white blooms requires some contortion and playing with the camera, as most of them are the downward facing variety.

A few years ago, I purchased a collection of five plants in different colors but all the same species from a mail order company.  I'm no expert on hellebores, so I don't understand why the white ones look like this . . .

. . . while the purple ones look like this. 

The upright blooms of what I think is 'Red Lady' are definitely easier to see and photograph!

Cleaning up the flowerbeds this week has revealed more budding growth and a bonus surprise--the first primrose bloom.

Hydrangeas are budding early, too. After seeing these on the macrophyllas one day, I've been checking all the other hydrangeas and new shrubs nearly every day for buds.  I've had my fingers crossed about a few plants that didn't do so well last year, so any sign of new growth brings a sigh of relief from me.

This morning I noticed one of the flowering crabapples is beginning to leaf out as is the lilac.  Looking at the garden shows that it will soon be time for the parade of tulips.  Yes, spring has definitely arrived early this year!

I hope you are enjoying some early blooms in your garden as well.  For a look at other signs of spring, check out the list of participants at Carol's May Dreams Gardens.  And yes, I know I'm late to the monthly meeting, but I spent the day yesterday at the Indianapolis Flower and Patio Show.  More to come on that later ...