With the unseasonably warm weather I thought it was about time that I headed outside to check on the garden. We have only had a couple of really cold days this season, so a number of plants are confused. I have been very pleasantly surprised with a couple of the cabbages that I bought this fall. This is the first time I have planted these and I thought that they would be long gone by now. The pink ones are fairing better than the darker purple ones, but the fact that they aren’t all shriveled up but nice and full is impressive.
A couple of my succulents (hen and chicks) have also been quite happy. The one above is in my front urn. The one below is still in the nursery pot because I never got around to planting it. I am really liking these little guys as fillers for my pots and planters. They tend to get a little lost when the other plants are in full bloom, but they sit there so nicely, helping to fend off the weeds. And now that most everything has died back, they provide nice texture and color. Both of these are mostly green in the summer, but with the colder weather have added a nice red to the tips.
Speaking of succulents, my Autumn Joy Sedum are sprouting. I thought that they sprouted early last year at the end of February. I guess we will see if we get some serious snow or cold, how they fair.
I am still in love with the Nandina Domestica ‘Gulf Stream’ (Heavenly Bamboo) that I planted in the fall of 2011. This miniature variety does not produce berries, but the colors are so nice and it looks so good this time of year (all year for that matter). I also planted a regular one with berries by our driveway and it is doing equally well.
Finally I thought I would show you some of the hellebores. My main grouping of common hellebores have not started blooming yet, but this other patch of Helleborus foetidus are just starting to. I picked these up at the Scott Arboretum Plant Exchange a couple of years ago but this is the first time that they are going to bloom for me, so I am pretty excited about that. The only issue is that they are kind of tall, so I may need to do some more rearranging in the planting bed later this spring.
Do you have anything interesting blooming in your garden?
P.S. To see previous Blooming This Week posts (and imagine warmer weather) click here.
