Having an idle day yesterday and a husband with the day off himself, we decided to take advantage of wonderfully mild and pleasant weather and visit the Winter Garden at the Washington Park Arboretum. What an astounding display!! In full bloom were 8 different cultivars of witch hazel, assorted heathers, sasanqua camellias, wintersweet, hellebores, winter jasmine and honeysuckle, cyclamen, mahonia and sweet box (sarcoccoca). Additional color was provided by the bark of shrub dogwoods, ghost bramble and various ornamental grasses. It was extremely inspiring to see the variety of winter interest plants available - at least for those of us fortunate enough to live relatively mild winter climates.
Have you ever noticed how many winter blooming plants are intensely fragrant? I would assume that is to maximize the attraction to whatever early season pollinators are out there. The hummingbirds were sure having a field day, though.
In article <3A5F28A0.61EFD...@home.com>, Pam <grdnga...@home.com> wrote: > Have you ever noticed how many winter blooming plants are intensely > fragrant?
To be honest I haven't. Winter flowers isn't part of my climate. Thanks for sharing the view!
>Having an idle day yesterday and a husband with the day off himself, we >decided to take advantage of wonderfully mild and pleasant weather and >visit the Winter Garden at the Washington Park Arboretum. What an >astounding display!!
Like the plants, I am green...with envy ;-)! Wendy
>>Having an idle day yesterday and a husband with the day off himself, we >>decided to take advantage of wonderfully mild and pleasant weather and >>visit the Winter Garden at the Washington Park Arboretum. What an >>astounding display!!
>Like the plants, I am green...with envy ;-)! >Wendy
>> Have you ever noticed how many winter blooming plants are >> intensely fragrant?
>To be honest I haven't. Winter flowers isn't part of my >climate. Thanks for sharing the view!
Zone 5 should have witch hazels that bloom in February, possibly hellebores, too. i need to get out in the woods & see what's going on... it's almost time for syruping :) lee in NH
In article <9029ADC5Eenigmamvmv...@199.125.85.9>, eni...@empire.net (lee) wrote: > cang...@ulster.net (Steven Cangemi) wrote in > <cangemi-ya023080001301010802360...@news.mybizz.net>: > >To be honest I haven't. Winter flowers isn't part of my > >climate. Thanks for sharing the view!
> Zone 5 should have witch hazels that bloom in February, > possibly hellebores, too. > i need to get out in the woods & see what's going on... it's > almost time for syruping :) > lee in NH
You've got me seriously confused. Is NH standing for something other than New Hampshire? The witch hazel that grows here blooms in autumn. Hellebores cannot bloom until they are exposed typically in March, sometimes as late as April. The maple sap tends to run sometime in March.
>> cang...@ulster.net (Steven Cangemi) wrote in >> <cangemi-ya023080001301010802360...@news.mybizz.net>:
>> >To be honest I haven't. Winter flowers isn't part of my >> >climate. Thanks for sharing the view!
>> Zone 5 should have witch hazels that bloom in February, >> possibly hellebores, too. >> i need to get out in the woods & see what's going on... >> it's >> almost time for syruping :) >> lee in NH
>You've got me seriously confused. Is NH standing for >something other than New Hampshire? The witch hazel that >grows here blooms in autumn. Hellebores cannot bloom until >they are exposed typically in March, sometimes as late as >April. The maple sap tends to run sometime in March.
ok, so we have confused witch hazels. i find they bloom in early spring when there's a warm spell. yellow flowers... not showy. i don't know about hellebores, i don't have any. i've just heard they bloom before the snow completely melts. syruping starts as soon as daytime temps go above freezing. that can be anytime between February and April. it sometimes runs in fits & starts too. it's not an exact science :) lee
I'm especially fond of a variety of Witch hazel named 'Firecracker', it blooms a lovely red.
-- David J. Bockman, Fairfax, VA (USDA Hardiness Zone 7) Bunabayashi Bonsai On The World Wide Web: http://www.bunabayashi.com email: d...@bunabayashi.com
> >> cang...@ulster.net (Steven Cangemi) wrote in > >> <cangemi-ya023080001301010802360...@news.mybizz.net>:
> >> >To be honest I haven't. Winter flowers isn't part of my > >> >climate. Thanks for sharing the view!
> >> Zone 5 should have witch hazels that bloom in February, > >> possibly hellebores, too. > >> i need to get out in the woods & see what's going on... > >> it's > >> almost time for syruping :) > >> lee in NH
> >You've got me seriously confused. Is NH standing for > >something other than New Hampshire? The witch hazel that > >grows here blooms in autumn. Hellebores cannot bloom until > >they are exposed typically in March, sometimes as late as > >April. The maple sap tends to run sometime in March.
> ok, so we have confused witch hazels. i find they bloom in early > spring when there's a warm spell. yellow flowers... not showy. > i don't know about hellebores, i don't have any. i've just > heard they bloom before the snow completely melts. > syruping starts as soon as daytime temps go above freezing. > that can be anytime between February and April. it sometimes > runs in fits & starts too. it's not an exact science :) > lee
>ok, so we have confused witch hazels. i find they bloom in early >spring when there's a warm spell. yellow flowers... not showy. > i don't know about hellebores, i don't have any. i've just >heard they bloom before the snow completely melts. > syruping starts as soon as daytime temps go above freezing. >that can be anytime between February and April. it sometimes >runs in fits & starts too. it's not an exact science :) >lee
No, they're not confused, many of the cultivars bloom in February/March. Arnold's Promise is a nice one, there's a huge plant just beyond my property line I enjoy every spring.
-- Ann, Gardening in Zone 6a Just south of Boston, MA ******************************** http://www.annzoid.com
Michael Strauch <mstra...@earthlink.net> wrote: >> ok, so we have confused witch hazels. i find they bloom in early >> spring when there's a warm spell. yellow flowers... not showy.
>Are you quite sure that you are not talking about forsythia?
Forsythia is quite showy, especially compared to witch hazel. Here in SE Pennsylvania the witch hazel has showy fall foilage and flowers that come anywhere from late fall to early spring depending upon the variety.
-- Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to shenn...@fast.net
Visit my Rhododendron and Azalea web pages at: www.users.fast.net/~shenning/rhody.html Also visit the Rhododendron and Azalea Bookstore at: members.aol.com/rhodyman/rhodybooks.html
mstra...@earthlink.net (Michael Strauch) wrote in <mstrauch-94DB54.18071420012...@news.earthlink.net>:
>> ok, so we have confused witch hazels. i find they bloom in >> early spring when there's a warm spell. yellow flowers... >> not showy. >Are you quite sure that you are not talking about forsythia?
quite :) forsythia is a weedy shrub & the flowers are showier than witch hazel. forsythia also blooms later here, although there are the odd fall flowers when there's a freeze & then a warm spell... perhaps that's why your witch hazel bloomed in the fall? lee
djb_map...@bunabayashi.com.invalid (David J. Bockman) wrote in <94dab4$n...@bob.news.rcn.net>:
>I'm especially fond of a variety of Witch hazel named >'Firecracker', it blooms a lovely red.
yeah, i'm looking for one (or more) of those. i've had no luck locally. do you know if anyone has it for mailorder? oh, and it's not going to be invasive, right? lee
Witch hazels come in a range of colors - some cultivars should be readily available in your area. Gossler Farms in Oregon does mail order and has a great selection. These are some of the more readily available cultivars.
Diane - deep red Jelena - bronzey-orange Ruby Glow - red Winter Beauty - orange Arnold's Promise - chrome yellow Hiltingbury - bright, clear yellow Pallida - pale yellow
there is even a purple flowering one - sorry, can't remember the name and it's also pretty hard to come by.
lee wrote: > djb_map...@bunabayashi.com.invalid (David J. Bockman) wrote in > <94dab4$n...@bob.news.rcn.net>:
> >I'm especially fond of a variety of Witch hazel named > >'Firecracker', it blooms a lovely red.
> yeah, i'm looking for one (or more) of those. i've had no luck > locally. do you know if anyone has it for mailorder? > oh, and it's not going to be invasive, right? > lee
