Spring Mulch Before Week of Freezing Temps

I got around and mulched the utility box bed and the west side yard (aka wet shade side), and I had a little bit of mulch left to go around my green panda bamboo, which survived another winter but had some dead tips I trimmed off.

I have crocus about to open - if we had another 24 hours above freezing I think it would open, but we have about a week of freezing temps upon us. It's a high of 34ºF today and low of 14 tonight, so it's not feeling much like spring at all.

I wanted to show my spring mulch and clean up a bit, these will hopefully make some great "before" pictures for later this season. I also wanted to show what my Gladiator allium look like first emerging. I think we got 5 out of 6 to come up, with one MIA.

Crocus about to open up! If only we had one more day of warm temps!

Day before a hard freeze, don't expect these guys to stick around unfortunately

My favorite mystery sedum and an emerging Gladiator allium

Gladiator allium poking through

Green panda hardy clumping bamboo with a new haircut

Coral bell in a rabbit cage

Side yard looking pretty barren, I could use some structural plants

Coral bell that the rabbits nibbled down to a nub is coming back with protection. Notice the Japanese andromeda staying green all winter and already flowering. You the real MVP!

Utility box bed. Not sure if the Gaura are going to come back, so I'm devising some plans for what else I could put up here. 

Hosta eye checking things out, trying to see if it's safe to come up yet (hint: it's not). 

First Crocus 2017 and Mulching in February Because I Can

Crocus vigil 2017 began with the first sighting on February 12, this little guy was poking through the mulch when I got back from my trip to Washington DC.

Crocus watch 2017 - first one poking through on February 12, probably emerged a couple days before. 

Still no blooms. We had a cold snap come through and everything pretty much stopped where it was. Here's a status update:

Sedum 'Dazzleberry' on February 24, 2017

Royal Candles also on February 24

Unknown creeping sedum in the rocks looking pretty gorgeous, February 24

Surprise Lily - February 24, 2017, these things are early risers ready to go!

Mulching on this unusually warm day in February

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - March 2016

It's finally (almost) Spring here in central Indiana! I'm pleased to report that I do have blooms on Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day for March 2016. The 15th of every month, bloggers gather at May Dreams Gardens to celebrate and exchange links to what's blooming or interesting in their gardens.

This month, I'm bursting with purple crocus blooms...

Gorgeous purple crocus sprinkled with water droplets

March 2016 purple crocus blooming

I also have flowers on my new addition, a Japanese Andromeda (Pieris japonica 'Passion') - I'm always hesitant to post store-bought blooms on Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day because these were probably forced to bloom early to look nicer in the garden center. Who knows if they would actually be blooming right now. I guess I'll find out next year.

Pieris japonica 'Passion'

Finally, I'll mention my new addition just because I happened to put them in on the 15th and I haven't blogged about them yet. I got some resurrection lily aka surprise lily aka magic lily aka naked lady (Lycoris squamigera) from my grandpa's yard. You're not supposed to transplant them while they are growing like this, but I'll take what I can get, especially for free.

I heard they don't like to be moved, so who knows if they will even bloom this year, but I spread them around to different parts of the yard to see if they like a certain area over another. I did a mass planting in the side yard, a couple on the other side, and two clumps in the full sun back yard bed along the back. On second thought, I don't think I planted them deep enough. We'll see!

Free bucket of Lycoris squamigera - we'll see if any come up this year, I hear they are a bit picky about being disturbed

Mass planting of magic lily (Lycoris squamigera) on my side bed but toward the edge to get more sun

Crocus Blooms Ahead of Last Year!

Today I had crocus blooms that opened all the way up in brief afternoon sunlight. Amazing! I'm well ahead of last year at this time, probably because of the very mild January we had and the fact that my flowers were already rooted in and not starting from a fresh bulb.

Last year, I had my first bloom of Spring on March 28, 2015... this year, I've got crocus blooms on March 12, 2016. The first day of Spring is March 20, so that means I have winter blooms. Pretty cool!

All of the bulbs came back - some had more sprouts than before and some had fewer. For some reason the west side of the yard is struggling, and the east side is winning. The bulbs up by the electrical box in the front yard even came back after I disturbed them re-burying the internet cable.

Purple crocus blooming March 12, 2016

Purple crocus in Indiana, March 12

Crocus blooms 2 weeks ahead of last year

Temp Swings and Restless Plants Ready to Wake Up

I'm seeing an awful lot of green brewing just below the surface. These perennials are poking little tester leaves up before they decide to wake up for the Spring. The crocus' are also a good bit ahead of schedule compared to last year. It's looking like a good week with several days in a row above 60°F in the week ahead.

Salvia sylvestris 'Little Night' putting out little feeler leaves trying to decide if it's time to wake up

Crocus today, March 4, 2016

Crocus coming in ahead of schedule, March 4, 2016

We had about an inch of snow a couple days ago on March 2, hopefully the last snow of the season. I think these two photos below sum up the past week. I'm surprised my plants aren't more confused, because I certainly am.

One more thing I wanted to post, I modified the tiny side bed with the emerald green arborvitae. The rocks weren't high enough to hold up a level mulch bed, so the mulch would slide down the side whenever it rained. I raised the rocks and added a few larger ones. Now it looks like too many rocks, maybe I'll take away some of the smaller ones. Anyway, now the bed is level on top. I noticed a ton of red roots probably from the arborvitae - that thing rooted in better than I thought. I'm hoping it puts on some vertical growth this season. At this rate it'll be years before it provides any kind of privacy.

Noticed a lot of roots as I was adjusting the height of the rocks to level the mulch bed. Mixed feelings about the smaller rocks. We'll see.

Crocus Vigil 2016 Started Without Me!

Last year I stood watch eagerly anticipating the emergence of my first crocus flowers after planting bulbs in the Fall of 2014. I didn't have to wait long, as little tiny sprouts emerged the 2nd day of my vigil. Those first shoots emerged on March 8, 2015 - and the blooms peaked on April 5.

This year, we've had a warmer winter, and I was anticipating an earlier emergence along with the face that they already have roots grown in rather than being grown from bulbs. But I wasn't expecting them this early!

As of today, February 19, 2016 I already have shoots emerging. Because I was ALL OVER my crocus watch last year, I have photos basically every couple days covering the month from first emergence to peak. Judging from those photos, I'd say these sprouts are already 5-7 days old but not quite 10 days old. Then again, there is no real way of knowing because they could have emerged and paused or emerged very quickly based on the weather.

February 19, 2016 crocus already emerging, high of 63°F today

Keeping an eye on other parts of the garden, I noticed a lot more rabbit damage, and a few other plants trying to wake up. The pale blue iris leaves are starting to emerge, and there are some fat buds on the wild ginger. An unknown evergreen succulent is also a nice surprise that the rabbits seem to be leaving alone.

Unknown succulent that hitchhiked from Dayton on the iris clumps

Siberian Iris plotting for an early spring

European wild ginger - Asarum europaeum - buds looking like little lobster claws

Purple Crocus sp. Photoshoot

The crocus bulbs that are coming up are smaller than I thought they would be. I'm wondering if I got the kind you can put in the yard that naturalize, rather than the big honkers that are almost like tulips. Either way, I'm loving the splash of color, especially the contrast of the orange yellow stamen with the purple pedals.

This is peak crocus time, let's have an iPhone photoshoot on this gorgeous sunny day!

Some kind of purple Crocus, not sure the exact variety

Crocus in the rocks

Close up of a stunning purple crocus

Crocus trio

Crocus Vigil Day 22: First Bloom of Spring

That's it! There it is! The first bloom of Spring, it's official, my crocus vigil is over after 22 days on March 28, 2015.



This little guy bloomed in the sunshine even though the weather was still bouncing above and below freezing. It's a lot smaller than I thought it would be, the open flower is only about as wide as a quarter.

Day 22, the first bloom - it opened in the sun briefly but then closed overnight

March 28, 2015

Another one getting ready to go, March 29, 2015

My first crocus bloomed during the day my parents came to visit and drop off some Matrix Citrus Mix pansies - so now technically I have them blooming in my yard as well, but my crocus was still my first bloom of Spring.

The pansies, technically Viola X wittrockiana 'Matrix Citrus Mix' were looking a little wilty, but perked right up with some water (except for the ones in the container, which are taking a little longer to perk).

Instantly gives me something to look at other than a dirt pile

I got them in the ground right away before we were out the door to dinner

I wasn't planning to buy annuals for myself, but the splash of green, orange, and yellow at least makes the yard look alive and is a nice change of pace from the unseasonably cold weeks. I also didn't realize pansies were so tough when it comes to cold, they just wilt and come right back in the sun. My parents say they should bloom for about a month and then die right as the other perennials in my yard are emerging - so it will be nice to have some overlap there.

I think next year if I do annuals in the early spring, I'm going to do a LOT to make a statement because a few here and there looks kinda wimpy.