Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - February 2017

Welcome to Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day for February 2017.

Here in my USDA Hardiness Zone 6a garden in central Indiana the mild winter continues. We speak of it in hushed tones–the warmer temperatures, the lack of snow, the sunshine–as though saying anything about it out loud will cause the snow, ice, and sub freezing temperatures to return abrubtly.

So, let me whisper to you about the blooms in my garden today.

The garden was bathed in full sun when I walked about and took pictures of the blooms. I wore a winter coat but I would have been comfortable in a heavy sweater.

There are crocuses in bloom, of course. I've planted so many over the years. Some disappear, some return.

There are still a few gold crocuses nestled in a bed of sedum under a tree in front.  I generally don't plant gold crocuses in the lawn, lest someone mistake them from afar for dandelions.

Instead, I fill the lawn with white, purple, and lilac colored crocuses.

They are up all over the place. I walk from one group to the next admiring them, remembering them, and marveling at their resilience in the face of winter weather.

The first to come up are those that tend toward the blue side of the purple spectrum, along with the occasional white crocus.

A few days later, these crocuses which tend more toward the pink side of the purple spectrum pop up.

I plan to plant more crocuses, specifically C. tommasinianus, in the lawn  in the fall, to increase the amount in bloom and stay ahead of the squirrels who like to dig them up.

These crocuses are not alone in the garden.

The witchhazel, Hamamelis vernalis, is in full bloom as well.

It has a lovely scent but you have to get right up to the blooms to smell it.

Nearby, the Christmas Rose, Helleborus niger, is also blooming.

It's like a bit of Christmas decoration that I never got around to putting away last month.

What else is blooming?

The snowdrops, of course.

I do like them but they are tiny and I don't have enough of them. They come up in singles and doubles here and there but would be much nicer in drifts, don't you think? I'll add a few dozen to my next bulb order which I'll place as soon as the bulb vendors start taking them.

I may also add another favorite to my order, Iris reticulata.

Yes, the first Iris, Iris reticulata, just opened up in time for me to share it on bloom day.

I'm hoping soon it will be joined by the hundreds of other reticulated irises I've planted over the years, mostly in the front garden.

What's blooming in your garden on this lovely February day? Please join us for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day and show us.

It is easy to participate and all are welcome. Just post on your blog around the 15th of the month about the blooms in your garden, then leave a link in the Mr. Linky widget below and add a comment to tell us what you've got to show us. As your hostess, I intend to visit each and every one of your gardens, via your blog posts, in the next few days.

And remember always and every year since the first post in February 2007, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year.” ~ Elizabeth Lawrence