Crocus Vigil Day 14: First Day of Spring

So here I am on the first day of Spring, we have drizzling rain and a high of 54°F. No blooms yet! I've even been getting comments on Instagram that their crocus are in full bloom in Colorado. [grumpy face].



Nevertheless, I'm patiently waiting, and the crocus are doing their best in the clay soil. Oh, excuse me, I just looked up the plural of crocus and it's crocuses or croci. So the croci are doing their best in the clay soil.

Croci coming through on the first day of Spring, but no blooms

Itea virginica 'Sprich' Little Henry® and 'Henry's Garnet' Sweetspire

I got a recommendation from my friend Mike for Itea virginica 'Little Henry' Sweetspire (also called 'Sprich') as a great small shrub option for my backyard, especially for it's brilliant fall display. When I was at the 2015 Indiana Flower and Patio Show on Monday, I noticed this little guy in about 4 different displays. Looks like it's getting quite popular!



It's always nice to see plants in person before you buy them, and I was pleased with the shape and floppy leaves and flowers. I'm looking forward to getting these in April. I was going to order online from Monrovia but they said this item was unavailable in Indiana? Odd. It looks like it's also available from Proven Winners direct from their site.

What's the difference between Little Henry and Henry's Garnet? It looks like the only real difference is the size, with Henry's Garnet getting up to 5-6 feet tall, and Little Henry staying around 2-3 feet tall and wide. Both are said to sucker, so they will spread out gradually. 

Itea virginica 'Henry's Garnet' Sweetspire

Itea virginica 'Henry's Garnet' Sweetspire

Itea virginica 'Sprich' Little Henry® Sweetspire

Itea virginica 'Sprich' Little Henry® Sweetspire

Itea virginica 'Sprich' Little Henry® Sweetspire

Dryopteris erythrosora 'Brilliance' Autumn Fern

A while ago I was trying to identify the fern in my side yard, even though it was rather mangled in the dead of winter. After Googling for hours and looking at tiny details all the way down to the lowest pinna - I think I spotted the identical fern at the 2015 Indiana Flower and Patio Show.

My rationale: If I got an un-labeled fern from a local nursery, it's more likely that I will stumble upon a match in person at another local event, rather than on Google. Using Google is sort of like trying to match your symptoms to all possible illnesses in an internet database, when it's much more likely to be whatever is going around town at that point.



This Dryopteris erythrosora 'Brilliance' from the garden show is a dead ringer for what I thought was Dryopteris intermedia - although I must say I got pretty close just using image searches, considering the shear number of fern varieties.

Dryopteris erythrosora 'Brilliance' Autumn Fern

Dryopteris erythrosora 'Brilliance' frond

Dryopteris erythrosora 'Brilliance' lowest pinna