March at a Glance

Sombreuil

~~ Notes on the March Garden ~~   
    

If I had to choose a favorite month out of the year it would...without a doubt...be March!

Warm days...cool nights...and a RIOT of non-stop flowering plants. There's so much blooming at this time of year that I barely have time to catch my breath between the waves of spring blooms.

MARCH MADNESS

You could call it March Madness...not that boring basketball stuff (no offense :-) to all you basketball fans), but the wonderful madness of a garden exploding with spring flowers in all shades of the rainbow.

And it all started with the azaleas in soft shades of pink and purple.

Followed by the bright yellow Tabebuia tempered somewhat by the blue (Blue Sage) and white (Indian hawthorne) beneath her. But she definitely takes center stage.

Along with the warm weather comes the beautiful  winged creatures. Their return to the garden is a most welcome sight as they drift from one flower to the next drinking up all that first sweet nectar of spring.

And, then the roses!
After a short rest period and a trim in late February they're back in full swing.
Just look at all those eager buds.

Planted last year...this Double pink Knock-out has won my heart with its phenomenal flush of beautiful flowers. I can count over 65 blooms just on this one side...definitely one of the best bloomers in my garden. It must be very happy with its location...and all those sweet words of praise I keep lavishing on it.

It's an amazing transition from the reddish new leaf growth...to the first early blossoms...and then that "wonderful madness" of blooms!

Something New!

I like ground orchids...but I don't like the fact that they need protection from the cold weather, so this year I decided to try the Chinese ground orchid more commonly called the hardy ground orchid Bletilla striata. This orchid can be planted in the garden without fear of freezing. Its foliage disappears in late fall (similar to the peacock ginger and caladiums), and returns in late February for a March bloom.

I ordered a plant from an online nursery that quickly developed buds and bloomed. The funny thing is that I was visiting my neighbor Nancy, and noticed several clumps of this jewel in her backyard. I asked her about it, and she eagerly shared that this was the plant that got her hooked on gardening. She also insisted on giving me a nice-sized clump to take home with me. I split the clump...kept half of it and shared the other half with my mother, who also likes ground orchids. I look forward to dividing clumps of it in the future and spreading it around the garden.

Another newbie and first-time plant in my garden is the delphinium. I've admired them in other people's gardens, and this year I bought 3 and planted them in a sunny location in late January. They did not disappoint! Next year I'll plant a few more.

Don't you just love it when you discover you can grow plants you never thought you could?

 A little more blue and white

Left to right: Virginia sweetspire (wonderful fragrance), along with two natives:  Blue-eyed grass and Flag iris.

And, the WONDERFUL MARCH MADNESS continues...  

Is it obvious that I like color...all colors?

In the upper right photo you can see that delphinium towering up in the air.

Four Reasons to Plant a Bottlebrush Tree

This small tree was alive with polllinators...so much so that it sounded like the tree was buzzing.

Life's Simple Pleasures

So much sweet juicy goodness in one small berry!

As the month of March winds down...one by one...the amaryllis bulbs are joining in on the blooming madness of a Florida spring garden,

And the English Dogwoods are joining in, too. This airy, free-flowing plant will soon be covered in these simple but adorable bright white flowers.

This cold-tolerant plant...located in the shade...loses some of its leaves in winter, but spring brings a new flush of fresh green and pretty flowers, too.

It very slowly multiplies in size, and new plants can easily be separated from the mother plant.




But not all was pleasant about March. The last day of the month brought a scary storm...with winds over 60 mph...that left a lot of damage in its wake and a deluge of rain...so far 3.5 inches.

A large oak branch toppled many orchids on the back deck.


As well as knocking over a stand of hanging orchid pots.

Our back and both side yards are littered with small and large oak branches. The poor oak over the deck took a real beating.

I do hope that no one experienced devastating damage to their gardens from our uninvited visitor. Another bit of March Madness...but definitely not the good kind. We are fortunate that we don't often have such damaging spring storms. It looks like I've...and probably most of you, too...got a little clean up work to do. :-)

I have enjoyed seeing the many blooms in all my Florida garden blogger friend's garden's this month, and find it fascinating watching as spring spreads northward week by week.