I think most people would be more likely to say they have the “January Blues”, but for me it’s blooms. I put several Hellebores in last spring, at the end of their bloom cycle, and they have grown like crazy since then. They’ve just started flowering, and I am so excited. They will continue to put out their delicately drooping blooms until May. Each flower lasts so long because it’s “petals” are actually sepals, modified leaves. The true flowers are the little white fuzzy things in the middle, which turn into big seedpods as the flower ages. They bring me joy on a bleak winter day.
I love this time of year in my garden because it changes every day. I was gone for a week visiting my sister in Indiana, and I came home to a changed landscape. I have so many crocus, daffodil, hyacinth, and iris shoots coming up—I know the effort I put in last fall will definitely pay off in a few short months. The daffodil and hyacinth shoots below have grown so much in just a short week! You can’t even see the tulips yet, but they’ll be up in a month or so, and flowering their pretty heads off in late April and May.
More favorite winter bloomers here in Portland are pansies. The one in the upper left of the above picture isn’t blooming currently, but taking a break in between months of throwing up ruffly flowers. The pansy below peeks out of a pot on my deck, overlooking the yard next to a butterfly garden ornament handmade here in Oregon.
Also soon to bloom in my garden is my Pieris Japonica. This one is a miniature, and has only put on enough growth over the past 2 1/2 years to shoot it up another 5 inches or so. It’s loaded with little bead-like strands of flower buds, which open into pretty white bells in mid to late February, about the time the crocuses will bloom.
I hope you’re enjoying your winter garden too! Whether it’s snowy or dry, it can bring joy once you realize it’s holding all those blooms and life dormant, right under your feet. The winter garden is a beautiful unspoken promise.
