I’ve recently noted that flowering in the garden has been delayed by a chilly January and a weeks long cover of snow. Temperatures during the month were not extreme, just colder than in recent mild winters. Looking at my log of photos from the past year, I’m surprised by the abundant flowers in the first weeks of February a year ago, but with melting snow and milder temperatures the last weeks of this winter should be glorious.

I delayed planning for spring as long as possible and remarkably waited until the first days of February before making the first online purchases of Asian mayapples, Solomon’s Seals, and jack-in-the-pulpits. These are easily plugged into shaded parts of the garden, so no deep thinking is required. Deliveries are set for late March, so some growth in the garden should be evident to avoid planting one thing on top of another.

I recently became aware of a Nepalese paperbush (Edgeworthia gardneri), an evergreen but similar in appearance to the paperbush (Edgeworthia chrysantha, below) that is a favorite for flowers that tease me through the early weeks of February until reaching its peak late in the month. The Nepalese evergreen is available only by seed, but I ordered immediately. Of course, I’ve consistently failed to provide the necessary care to succeed with growing anything from seed, so this is my opportunity for redemption. I’ll be motivated by this newly discovered (to me) paperbush, so possibly this will work. Where space can be found to plant this large shrub if the seeds are successful is a secondary and less critical issue at the moment.

Flowers of the Nepalese paperbush are much smaller but similar to my familiar paperbush. I have little doubt that if it’s successfully grown, the shrub will be favored only due to its rarity, but the effort seems worthwhile. As always, I’m excited by new projects and spring planting that will begin in a few weeks.