Weekend Garden Notes
Snowdrops are blooming. It’s a relief to finally see the first snowdrops (Galanthus) in bloom. In 2012 they bloomed in February and were done by mid-March. This year they are just getting started.
I really should have kept track of the varieties I planted, but I didn’t so I can’t know which kinds are early and which are later.
Right now there are a few clumps in bloom. There are larger clumps that are getting close to blooming. And there are others that are just now poking up out of the ground.
Regardless, it is a pleasure to see them, as they are the only blooms to be found at the moment.
Reports of winter’s demise were a little premature. I may have jumped the gun in a recent post when I declared Victory over Snow. There are still patches of snow here in the front garden (north of the house). We even had a dusting of snow over Saturday night. However, based on the current weather report I am confident the snow will be gone by next weekend.
The back garden is already snow-free, I’m glad to say.
Fun with pruning. Today was on the cold side, but pleasant when the sun wasn’t hiding behind clouds. I took advantage of some free time to get started with spring clean up. I pruned the Clematis jackamanii, the cranberrybush Viburnum (Viburnum trilobum), and the trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens).
Oh, and I cut back our various roses. We have shrub roses that are pretty hardy (‘Cassie’, ‘Sallie Holmes’), plus the rambler ‘Darlow’s Enigma’ and the wild prairie rose (Rosa setigera). I’m not expert at rose pruning, but tough plants like these are pretty forgiving – they remind us that roses are basically descended from brambles.
I also got started on the red and black elderberries (Sambucus racemosa and canadensis). Elderberries benefit from cutting back pretty hard, in my experience.
There is something very satisfying about pruning, especially at this time of year. When you are done the plants look clean, streamlined, and ready to jump into spring. Also, it just felt good to get started on getting the garden ready for spring.
A dead rose and missing hellebores. It looks like my new rose, ‘Strike It Rich’, did not survive the winter. This is a sad loss, but I’m not surprised that a rose planted in late summer did not survive this frigid winter. I have never had to cover my roses with mulch in the past, and even this year my established roses didn’t need it. But perhaps it would have saved ‘Strike It Rich’.
Any thoughts on a replacement? I want something fragrant and either yellow or orange.
Also, the rabbits seem to have eaten all the hellebore (Helleborus orientalis) foliage. The hellebores were all planted last fall – my first venture with this plant. Can I expect them to come back? I surely hope so.
How was your weekend? Were you able to get out and work in your garden?
gardeninacity 
At long last… you got some blooms, nice crop of them too. We are in the low 20’s and still have the ice and snow, but hopefully soon my snowdrops will make an appearance. Rabbits were bad this year, so I will be surprised if there is no damage. Wind too made quite a mess.
Rabbits were incredibly bad. I think I’m going to have to replace 2-3 serviceberries. But I’m still grateful to see the beginnings of spring.
Glad you are finally seeing some uncovered ground and flowers. Hope it all melts soon. I like pruning at this time of year too. We had some very nice weather here this weekend, partly sunny and temps close to 50 (for here that’s warm). I got lots of new plants into the ground.
It was in the 20s on Sunday but should be in the 50s by the end of the week. Looking forward to next weekend!
Lovely weather in st louis this weekend…in the 70s Saturday and mid 40s today but sunny . Nice weather to rake and do some cutting back. I enjoy this time if year and making way for planting began p preparing two small beds.
Glad you had a good weekend in the garden!
Great news that you are able to garden again!!!!!!! ENJOY
Thanks!
There may still be some snowy days but it looks like your on the sunnier side of the equinox after all! Those blooms look great and it is nice to be outside handling something other than a snow shovel.
I like ‘ livin easy’ rose. Carefree, but I don’t think it’s any hardier than your strike it rich.
You said it regarding the snow shovel. I may have to be restrained from treating my snow shovel with a circular saw.
Is this unusual for Chicago to have such a huge amount of snow and low temperatures? I am glad you have at least been able to get back into your garden.
It’s become more uncommon. This is kind of a throwback winter – actually the fourth snowiest on record.
Lucky you having all those pretty blooms. Something special about these early flowers. I’ve never had much luck with hellebores. Hope yours are just slow. Although I would think the foliage would at least be up by now.
Yes, those early flowers are such welcome arrivals.
I can recommend the David Austin Rose called Golden Celebration. It was planted by a previous owner on the east side of our house. We moved it in 2006 when we redid the garden.
It now gets full sun on the south side. It blooms at least twice if you keep it deadheaded. I give it alfalfa meal in the spring. It does get a little bit of black spot late in the season. It’s a shrub rose that gets about five feet tall and wide.
We’ve had a few more days this month to get outside (Everett, WA). I moved a small golden smoke tree from a full sun location in the front to a more protected area in the back. The leaves got scorched in the full sun.
We usually get a truckload of compost to spread in our beds. My husband bought 25 bags this year. It does make it easier though more expensive. I need at least 25 more. My husband is having back problems and I have hip bursitis. We might have to hire a younger person to do the garden cleanup in the future.
Wouldn’t mind an assistant myself.
Hooray for victory over snow and for snowdrops! Pruning does make everything look better. Because I pretty much ignored my garden last year, including all of the plants that needed to be moved to more appropriate places, I’ve been doing a lot of transplanting and dividing of plants. It feels great to be outside digging in the dirt again! If the bunnies ate the old hellebore foliage, they did you a favor as it should be removed each year to prevent fungal diseases; if they ate new foliage, it may grow back but it may also be time to consider a nice warm rabbit stew. (Big pot, carrots, bugs, and Elmer Fudd with a large spoon.)
Rabbit stew, yum! Minus the Elmer Fudd, though. Ground is still frozen so no digging right now, but maybe next weekend.
According to an interview on A Way to Garden.com that I received today, Hellebores sometimes take a year to get established. So don’t give up on yours just yet.
I’m staying hopeful for now.
The excitement of Spring!
Exactly!
If you are finally getting rid of your snow, our turn must also be coming up. I am glad you can work outside again.
Thanks. Keep the faith!
The snow was so deep in the backyard this winter that the rabbits were able to “prune” my cranberry Viburnum, but not too badly. I *thought* about starting some clean up, but the wind discouraged me (16 degree wind chill). Maybe next weekend?
Same here but luckily they pruned my Annabelle hydrangeas instead, but they need to be cut back anyway.
I’m glad that your snows are finally gone, and you can start to enjoy spring. We had such a mild (though wet wet wet) winter here in contrast to yours.
I’m glad as well. Hard to believe, but some people are now starting to worry that our spring is too dry – it’s always something!
What a pleasure to see your snowdrops. You must be thrilled. Slight chance of snow here in the morning but winter’s moving on (I keep telling myself anyway).
I think it’s actually true this time.
Lovely to see your snowdrops, they should keep you going for weeks. I do hope that last dusting is the end of the white stuff.xxx
The snowdrops should last for weeks if it stays cool which I would expect. Hope to see some other blooms also before too much longer.
Lovely snowdrops. They are still buried under deep snow in my yard. Nice to see most of your other plants survived the winter.
So far, so good (mostly).
I wasn’t able to work in the yard because of all the snow but I was able to get into the woods without trudging through knee deep snow, and that was a real treat.
I suppose so, depending on your definition of “treat”.
Walking without snow shoes and not having to dress in layers are treats.
Your snowdrops are such a cheerful sight! My alpine garden looked just like yours after a long winter but it’s quite amazing how fast things pick up again and make up for it. It’s raining here so I’m working at my desk and enjoy the garden from there.
I hope it does pickup quickly. Last year things were pretty slow to warm up.
Every time we get some cold temperatures I think this has to be the last of it, but then…We are almost into April so we must be hopeful! Nice to see that all your snow is melting pretty quickly. I have been pruning and mulching whenever weather permits and searching for spring blooms.
Got up this morning and there was a light covering of snow again. Aaack!
Spring can’t be kept away forever! Here (Houston), blooming things have appeared on schedule despite the still chilly weather. It’s a perfect time to garden.
Wasn’t sure if it was ever chilly in Houston. Glad you’re having a good spring!
Great to see your snowdrops! Ours are past their best now and I am already missing them. I agree about pruning – very satisfying and really very easy at this time of year. We had a fabulous weekend planting honeyberries and sowing carrots, radish and spring onions. Hooray for spring!
You’re the second person to mention honeyberries today. What are they?
I see you love pruning, Jason!As we say: the best gardener’s friend is the secateurs.:)) Lovely snowdrops, I have them too.
Happy gardening!
This is an excellent time of year to prune, you can really see the structure of the plant.
Oh!!! Isn’t it just fantastic to get back out in the garden! Your groupings of snowdrops are beautiful!! I went around assessing a bit as well and chasing mr. rabbit out of my beds! I did not enjoy seeing snow covering my little sprouts this morning but hope that it is the last of it! Sorry to hear about your losses though I will be interested to hear what you decide to replace them with! Here is to Sunday…60 degrees!!! Nicole
No garden work but the snow continues to recede by 2/3 or 3/4. Snow crocus and snowdrops in one or 2 spots. It will be a slow spring still but it is under way. Too bad about the rose. My rabbits do not eat the hellebores so I was surprised to hear this. Did they eat the new buds or the old foliage? Old foliage is no big deal and if they didn’t eat the new buds too far, I bet they recover.