Yep, we did visit Trader Joe's before Valentine's Day and I picked this pot of tulips that had only green leaves at the time! Within two days I saw this lovely pink color starting to peek out among the leaves! A bargain of spring experience for only $5.00!
And a new blue hyacinth jumped in the cart along with two new pink ones (Valeintine Gifts for two gardener friends!)
Somehow I am handling the white snow outside better recently!
Ah..... the fragrance of a hyacinth in bloom...... love it!
The tiny daffies are adorable!
And I am enjoying my latest copy of Garden Gate magazine!
I enjoyed an awesome zoom program yesterday on "Cutting Gardens"! A great hour with lots of tips, if only I had the space, sun and physical energy to do it! But, I did pick up some great tips on using hydrangeas in arrangements and growing annuals taller for more ideal cuttings!
A Zoom meeting for the Shades of Green Hosta Society of SE MN was inspiring!
A few evenings ago we joined a meeting with an interesting speaker, Josh Spece, a young man who is inspiring in not only his knowledge and love for plants, but that is he very handicapped and experiencing a very successful life style in partnership with his Mom in a Garden Center in Iowa! He is active in the Hosta World, so to speak, on the national level and talented in the use of computers to share his talents in gardening. He has quite an extensive collection of orchids also!
Josh shared information on a selection of the newer hostas we can expect to find on the market for 2021!
Having no more room for that beloved plant in my gardens, I was exploring his website for shade loving perennials that I can add to my part shade environment where hostas don't seem to handle the seasonal sun times. I have not grown any Hellebores before and found that Josh has a selection of 3 of them which were hybridized by Hans Hanson, a well known and respected hosta hybridizer originally from MN!
So, I placed an order for a white one to give it a trial this spring! I suppose I will need to wait until early spring 2022 to enjoy the flowers, but that will give it a year to settle in and get ready to bring me its spring time beauty! If it grows well in that area, I will be anxious to add a few more colors for sure!
Any tips from those of you who grow these in zone 4?
Here is what I ordered, a Hellebores "Wedding Bells". It looks nice and showy, I should be able to enjoy it even from my office window!
For more information about Josh and his website click here:
A visit to our local Trader Joe's found touches of spring that just jumped right into my cart to go home with me!
For only $6 I decided they were welcome additions to a spot next to my favorite chair in the living room! Love the contrast to the winter scene outside!
Can't wait to see the yellow tiny daffies....and what color the hyacinth will be and also enjoy the fragrance!
I figure I will make another stop to Trader Joe's in about two weeks just in time for a pot of Tulips, etc! A perfect valentine for hubby to get me! And they have his favorite candy that I can get him.... what a perfect shopping trip!
I love their "light shredded cheese" and "shredded mozzarella cheese" also! And the variety of forms of brussels sprouts ... shredded, chopped, etc . A quick stir fry with some garlic and butter is soooo yummy to my tummy!
Reminder, Feb. 8th is the next free gardening seminar provided by our Rochester Garden and Flower Club.
If you have not registered for this series, you can still take advantage of it and get in on the remaining seminars!
My friend Jan, former AZ Snowbird of mine, is staying in touch with Facebook! I miss our annual January plant shopping days in Az to gather some plants to enjoy for three months! This year she is staying safe in the Seattle area, where she resides most of the year.
But, she just shared her enjoyment of a pot of tulips she received as a gift! Each day she took a picture to capture the changes as they unfolded from buds to full flowers!
Just have to share with you the magic and inspire you to contemplate that spring is coming and with it the magic of friends coming back from the earth to visit you!
I think I need to go shopping for a pot of spring bulbs to enjoy!
So what are your dreams for spring this year?
My gardening neighbor, Tammy, is dreaming of a green house! Actually she is drooling over what she is finding on the internet for sale and trying to figure out who she can get to assemble it!
I am checking into a few webinars on line for new ideas and new plants to look for that might fit into my beds. I may be losing some shade area due to a sick tree in my neighbor's yard, which provides lots of shade for my big hosta bed and also part shade for a bed along the garage! So, wondering how that is going to change my growing conditions!
Also looking into tips on growing hostas in more sun, which seems to be provide moisture, lots of moisture, at the base of the plants!
Lots of new annuals I might look for as I mix those in to provide longer season of color among the perennials! And occasionally looking at some smaller flowering shrubs to consider moving in that direction here and there towards less labor as I age more.
Gardening always provides new plants and changes you can make each year to provide new interests and looks.
