09 March 2009

A trio of early spring blossoms

It is cloudy, and hovering right about freezing, in a couple days, we're predicted to get lows in the teens again, but spring is on its way! I took a stroll through the Beal Gardens on Michigan State's campus, and here are the blooms I enjoyed:

Witch Hazel (Hamamelis mollis)

I love these flowers -- like little streamers of crape paper celebrating the incoming season!


Double Snowdrop (Galanthus -- not sure what species. They all look the same to me.)

Snowdrops are such a joy, though I wish they were a bit... rowdier. They're so elegant and understated, which is all well and good in the summer and fall, but right now I want COLOR!


Color which is happly provided by:
Winter Aconite (Eranthus hyemalis)

Because it was cloudy, they kept their flowers closed, but even so, they are such a cheery shade of yellow. This fall I am going to have to order several hundred of them and plant them in my yard. Sneak into parks and plant them after dark. Give them to the neighbors. Because in March, in Michigan what we need is bright yellow flowers EVERYWHERE!

5 comments:

Victoria Williams said...

We have snowdrops blooming, but Winter Aconite sounds like it would look great on our mound area.

Jennifer AKA keewee said...

I don't have any snowdrops in my garden I will have to remedy this situation.

Jared said...

I was thinking about winter aconites this week after reading about them on A Way to Garden, which has become my favorite new blog. Brent and Becky's has them for a pretty good price (10/$5.10). Do you have a less-expensive source? They are beautiful!

Joseph said...

J, I got mine from my favorite bulb source, McClure and Zimmerman. I find they can be a little hard to establish from dried bulbs -- only about half of the ones I've planted (from any source) come up, but after that they spread vigorously.

Jared said...

Ah! Thanks for the tip. Glad to hear yours are spreading; an always welcome event (except in the case of bishop's weed) to be celebrated with much glee.

I really like your blog, by the way.