Sneaking into spring

After several warm days, a few blooms of hellebores (Helleborus spp., above and below) have opened, just in time to be buried again by eight inches of snow. Of course, in March it is assured that snow will not last long, so I expect that many of the hellebores will reach peak bloom by the…

Late March flowering shrubs

With warm winter temperatures several varieties of Japanese andromeda (Pieris japonica, below) in the garden began to show a bit of color late in February. As the mid month heat wave of March has turned to cooler temperatures at the start of April, the blooms have persisted, though I expect they will begin to fade…