tete-a-tete

Daffodils and spring bulbs in bloom…


Almost all of my daffodils are up and putting on a spring show of blooms. Only one late-blooming variety is waiting to open. This one is a Double Campernelle, or Narcissus odorus plenus.
These are the ‘Yellow Fortune’ daffodils – I’ve lost quite a few of them in recent years – I suspect the drought has been hard on them.



I cannot locate the label for these pretties right now – they are packed away in a massive garage clean-out before installation of cabinets next week (cabinets to hide away all my garden *stuff* that seemed to have taken over the garage). These are my first pale yellow daffodils and I must say I like them. They seem almost illuminated on a pretty day.

I think this is Jonquilla ‘Simplex’.

These are the lovely and always prolific “Tete a tete” — a shorter variety — about 8 inches tall and very dense.

My new Muscari ‘Dark Eyes’ are all coming up and filling in nicely, making a pretty, purple textured carpet against the grey of the winter mulch.
Pretty in purple are the hyacinths of unknown variety, courtesy of HEB’s indoor planter two years ago.
This Hellebore is Helleborus x hybridus `Gold Finch’ with beautiful contrast. I just had to have this one since we have so many goldfinches in the wooded garden bed where this is planted.
Another unlabeled Hellebore (also known as a Lenten Rose) — I just love those wispy markings in the center. They are hard to see and photograph, though, because of their growth habit and how they demurely keep their blooms bowed down. It also means I have to lie on the ground and hold up the foliage to try to get a photo.
This is muscari golden fragrance. They are a delicate yellow and have a wonderful scent.

A few little garden early birds…

Most of my garden is awash in a sea of browns, grays and deads. Everywhere you look, there are dried limbs, waiting, desperately waiting to be pruned.
But thank goodness for my passion for early spring bloomers. They never fail me. There are daffodils scattered all about … Yellow Fortune, Tete a tete, Dutch Master, Double Campernelle, Jonquil Simplex. These are Dutch Masters above, also known as King Alfred.
And here we have one of the newer Hellebores. I believe that this one is Phoenix, but I’m not sure because the two about to bloom are not tagged, I didn’t keep the receipt, and I didn’t blog their names or record their names in my master notebook.

I hate it when I do that! I do have two that have tags, but they are sad and pathetic and not blog-worthy! That’s how it goes, isn’t it?!
This is the Double Campernelle Daffodil. See how fluffy and full it is?
And right behind it I have this lovely Japanese Quince that blooms and heralds the spring every year.
Not sure which one this is. I keep meaning to take photos of them all and try to pin point which is which, but that’s low on the list of garden-to-dos!
This one I can ID – it’s the Tete-a-tete. They are tiny little Daffs with a nice upright shape and lovely, neat little blooms.
Unknown variety hyacinths from a grocery store bulb planter I was showing off inside the house two years ago — see it here.

So, while I’m waiting to prune, purge and plant in the garden, I can always count on these pretty early birds to perk me up.

Who’s perking you up in your garden? Any signs of spring yet?

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