Friday, March 20, 2015

Happy First Day of Spring 2015

My pear tree is in full bloom and looks like spring. It is right on time considering spring officially begins this evening, March 20, at 5:45 CDT. However, it has been the bulbs in my garden this year that have been giving me hope that spring really would be coming soon even when winter hung around long after it had worn out its welcome.

It started with two varieties of paperwhites followed by February Gold and 4 other varieties of daffodils and jonquils. My favorite spring bulb growing up was crocus. They often bravely poked up their pretty little flowers through the snow. I have not had luck getting them to repeat in North TX but I do have some hyacinths that I planted in a micro climate that they are happy with and have just begun to bloom once again this year.

If you got snow today on your first day of spring, may it melt soon and may you see signs of impending spring in your area. If you already have spring blooming bulbs popping up, you might want to run out to the nursery for some spring flowering annual companions to plant near by. Later as the foliage of the bulbs ripens and dies back, the annuals will have gotten larger and begun flowering to help disguise the retreating bulb foliage. By allowing the foliage to fully ripen and not cutting it back prematurely, you will help your bulbs store the needed energy to produce a good flush of flowers next spring too.

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