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Although some of these flowers bloom during a specific month, they do not consistently bloom only during that particular month, so I've included them on the Various Spring page.
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V-1. This is a potted hibiscus that survived the winter with a few buds that bloomed as early as February. It was lightly touched with frost in late February, and although the foliage suffered some, the plant continued to bloom. I recently found some spider mites on the buds and sprayed insecticide soap. I only lost a few buds and the mites went away. |
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V-2. What is a spring garden without Snap Dragons? Actually, these were planted in the fall. I call them my diss snaps because they were one of the first plants to be planted in a bed that I call my dissertation bed since the entire bed was made out of drafts upon drafts of my dissertation. I laid the paper, the numerous drafts, on the Saint Augustine and then covered with mulch. I let the bed sit and compost for three months before I started to plant it. These Snap Dragons didn't look as though they would take at first. I watched them daily, and then suddenly I had some of the most beautiful snaps that I've ever grown. These are the tall variety. Below is a picture of the small variety that grows just a few feet from the ones on the left.
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| The pansies on the right are also in the
dissertation bed and have been planted since the fall. I have roughly
seven different varieties in this bed, and I prefer these the most because
of the striking variation of each bloom. Unfortunately, these will not
survive the summer heat as well as some that are in the back beds.
This particular bed gets both morning and afternoon sun, and these pansies
will not be protected from the harsh summer afternoon heat. I will try
to collect seeds in a month or so that I can plant more in the fall.
Next week I am having a truckload of mulch delivered, and I will try to mulch these well in hopes of protecting them from the heat. These, like the Snap Dragons above, have been blooming since the Fall, but they have been most vibrant in the last few weeks, which is why I decided to add them to the Spring group of bloomers. |
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This shrimp plant has multiplied considerably since I moved it to where it is now. I put it under the Ligustriums almost two years ago to see it would bloom in deep shade. Although the plants are still in pots, the plants have taken over almost the entire area under the Ligustriums. These start to bloom in early February and continue blooming well into the summer. The hummingbirds love the nectar, and they add a nice color to an otherwise dull area in the deep shade. I suppose I should take them out of the pots now, but they seem to be doing well, so I guess I'll tend to more pressing matters until these need my attention. I have started several more plants using cuttings and am waiting to decide where to put those. |
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This Freesia is the last to remain blooming as
late as April. The majority bloomed in February. This particular
plant was planted in a this spot and then I put in a cistern right next to
it, so it gets pounded on with water when the cistern overflows. I
will add an overflow valve soon on the cistern to save the vulnerable plants
beneath.
When the Freesia begins to bloom in February, I know that spring is near. The vibrant colors add such a fresh sight when all else is dormant because of winter. |
| I had tried and tried to grow Texas Bluebonnet for years and then this year, I had two beautiful patches until the buds started to open. I don't understand what happened to the plant that was in full sun and seemed very healthy, but it was the fullest and prettiest (and what seemed as the healthiest) and then one morning, I went outside and the entire plant had shriveled up. I thought that that would be the plant to produce the most blooms since the other, the one on the right, was in partial shade and did not seem as robust. To my surprise, the plant in partial shade has bloomed and is still blooming (late April). |
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| My cousin cleaned out my aunt's flower bed last fall and gave me a bag full of these coreopsis cuttings. I tilled a very neglected area in the yard, the soil was the poorest I've seen throughout the yard. I added some mulch, not much, and a sprinkling of peat moss. After I planted the cuttings, they remained dormant for quite a while. I didn't think they would take, but around January, they started to show signs of life and now, every time that I pass them, they remind me of that e.e. cummings poem, "when faces called flowers float out of the ground." |
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I call this particular coreopsis the "Regular
Garden" variety; I'm not sure if that is correct or not. I collect the
seeds from this plant every summer and reseed again in the fall if I have
bare spots. These make wonderful cut flowers. The bush can get
"gangly" at times, but cutting the blooms helps.
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These add a bright contrast in any garden. The low,
ever-blooming plants creep along, mixing with other bordering plants.
I planted these in the fall in full sun and have enjoyed the blooms ever
since. I am not very disciplined in dead-heading, but the blooms just
keep appearing.
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