First day of Spring.....dare we hope?
By dorjac
10 comments
I had look round the garden today and found one of the cyclamen coum is in full flower. It has rather a plain flat leaf. Less decorative than its near neighbours. They have been in leaf a long time. Very brave of them this awful winter.
Then I peered at my one and only, so far, successful clematis, The Duchess of Albany and found she has buds in the axils to about 5 feet up. Another brave plant. All the rest of the plant is dead. Will need disentangling from the Camellia. It still has its label with pruning instructions, so I will follow that.
The birds may not have much out of the mahonia this in the way of those black luscious berries that take so long to ripen.It is so odd with some plants that they bloom in winter. Something comes along and pollinates them, if the season goes wrong, or the night flying moths that some plants rely on are unable to function. What happens then? The tough little cyclamen develope those seed cases on springs (pictured earlier)
My one and only primrose bravely flowering. It was a dry summer that nearly killed it rather than a severe winter.
Winter flowering Cyclamen coum enjoying the first really sunny, warm day for ages. They have very silvery leaves, a lot less patterned than than other coums
The difference in the leaves can be seen to the left.
Here are these brave flowers, close up, really showing off in the sunshine. I think they are marvellous
I am so pleased The Duchess of Albany has come through the winter. I have been so unsuccessful with clematis in the past. It will be the third year for this plant. I have a plastic bottle round the base to try and stop snails from munching any new shoots.
This primrose has survived for many years, drought and being in the wrong place ,even. I have tried several times to get others going and never succeeded.
Just to illustrate the sparse berries on the Mahonia
This to illustrate the springy seed cases of the coums that pop open, the seeds dry off and presumably get propelled a short distance. Fascinating plants!!! I don’t know just how they fling the seeds unless it has to do with that springy coil, as I can’t stand and watch!!!!
2 Mar, 2010
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Comments
Love the cyclamen, bought a couple last year still only small but noticed they had flowers about to open yesterday too, also really excited as there are also some babies around the base, can't wait till they look as good as yours :-)
2 Mar, 2010
Those pics look hopeful... very pretty :o)
2 Mar, 2010
spring arriv a monht agoi in south wehn the temp was 8C durin the day -that temp make chemical in plnts react wich is why plnts apeer durin hte cold frost -your clemtis ugest 2 week growth at leest, so maybe you no so difrent to many other
2 Mar, 2010
Love the springs on the cyclamen - what are they for??
2 Mar, 2010
the spring get more tite eech day until thye propel the seed away from plnt,sumtime many metre -many yeer ago i was hit on side of face by one- big shock!
3 Mar, 2010
Hi Sarah I think they must be there to propel the seeds a short distance away from the parent plant. When the pods first fold back the seeds are moist, then they dry in the opened pod. Then the pod is empty. You can just see a dried out 'straightened spring', bottom right in the picture.
Derekf. Diary says frosty for several days before and after 1/2/10. A hospital visit 3/2/10 revealed a nasty visitor in the woodshed!!!! GJ not pleased, but managed to record it was milder on 4th and warm and sunny on 5th.Have to keep routine going, but did not record weather on day of visit. It wasn't a raging blizzard of horizontal sleet as it was in Feb last year at our first ever visit.
3 Mar, 2010
Lovely to see such a huge clump of cyclamen, Dorjac, they are beautiful.
3 Mar, 2010
Dorjac -pleese try serch for my blog on 2/2/10- i rite htis cos it weer 8C on that day - i agree wiht you bout hte frost - no mater reely cos you no live wiht me but sumwheer elss an that reeson for no same
3 Mar, 2010
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All I have in colour in my garden at the moment after our VERY harsh winter snows are a couple of - as you said - 'brave' little aubretia flowers and a seasonally dysfunctional dark red Sweet William! I shall have to wait and see what else has survived.
2 Mar, 2010